This is one of a series of blog posts about my summer motorcycle travels.
So far, Phase 2 of my summer travels have been going well. But it is always wise to keep in mind my motto of “Proceed as the way opens” (from William Least Heat Moon’s travel book Riverhorse).
The trip started on Thursday, July 5, riding Nebraska Highway 2 through the Sand Hills country. People who think that Nebraska isn’t very interesting have likely only ridden through the state on I-80 in the Platte River valley, which has its charms but is arguably the least interesting path. Highway 2 winds through the hills, with increasing numbers of badlands rock formations as you head north and west.
I took this part of the ride with my friend, Mike Konz, a long-time Kearney newspaper man. One of the fascinating things about traveling with Mike is that it is physically impossible to go anywhere in the state without someone recognizing him. This trip we were making a gas stop somewhere north of North Platte, and someone Mike knows comes up to see him.
We had about 10 of 15 miles of messy road construction that reminded me of Canadian road repairs. Long segments with nothing resembling real pavement. More post-apocalyptic roads. My dual-sport with on-off road tires was perfectly happy, but Mike’s Gold Wing was less amused.
Ralph’s and Mike’s bikes
We finished up by spending the night in Douglas, Wyoming.
Day 2 had Mike heading south to Denver to visit family, and me going west to Idaho. On the way I traveled through the edge of Grand Tetons National Park. I had had thoughts of going to Yellowstone during my off day in Idaho Falls, but brutal traffic in the tourist town of Jackson, Wyoming convinced me I was better off sticking in town and getting work for my publisher done.
Approaching Grand Tetons National Park
In addition to have a nice locally owned hotel to stay at in Idaho Falls (great homemade biscuits!), I found an excellent coffee shop downtown to get work done on copyedits. But the great discovery was Reed’s Dairy.
Should you ever be fortunate enough to come to Idaho Falls, you must go to Reed’s Dairy. If you are looking for food, they have grilled cheese sandwiches (with their own cheese!) and cream of tomato soup. If you’re looking for dessert, they’ve got fantastic local ice cream. Try the two huckleberry flavors. I manage to do this by walking a mile there and back to help work it off. I was in Idaho Falls a day and a half, and I’ve went to Reed’s Dairy twice. Lots of work done, grilled cheese, and great ice cream. I’m happy with the way things opened.
Reeds Dairy, Idaho Falls
Note – I’m posting this with extremely limited internet from Yellowpine, Idaho. Will add links when I have a better connection.
Coming next: Ralph and Howard Have a Science Day!