On the 19th of November myself and Richard (Bob’s son) will be heading to New Zealand to have another adventure with Bob. We’ll be updating the site here with pictures, words and anything else we so desire. It’ll be a hoot!!
Day 21
I leave burn and head south to my first off road track of the day , it doesn’t take long to realize this is not good, it’s okay to plot a route on base camp or Google Earth but that doesn’t give you the complete picture and this was one of those tlmes, the track turned into a Sandy rutted bull dust holled pig of a track heading into a huge expance of flat nothing but desert the likes I have not seen before Iturn and head back to the safety of the gravel Rd 2 hrs later I go past where that track crosses the Rd I’m on and disappears into the most barren flat landscape I think I have seen
I continue on into Hart mtn national antelope refuge with great scenery and end up in the very small settlement of Adel , there’s nothing there except a small store
the nearest accommodation is cedarville a 100 odd Ks away which has one motel ,my phone doesn’t work so the lady at the store phones through for me and I get the last unit.the first 50ks is gravel that runs along the foot of a large mountain range and reminds me of the wide skiddy sth island rds, the perfect way to finish the day and the sealed section was just as good
As a footnote regarding my lnitial route I spoke to a bloke at the motel who had competed ln the Baja on KTMs and ls still an avid ADV rider and he said that the area I was heading into is regarded as the most isolated place in the USA thanks Kylie for making me make the right decision
Photo of sun in the smoke haze and it’s not just the bike doing this trip
Day 20
A long day , started with another locked gate and another detour through another state forest which was actually quite enjoyable and I did some nice side tracks and another viewing of Hell’s canyon . Back on route and I start a 80 km track and soon realize I’m not going to enjoy this at all , it’s 1st and 2nd gear on small rocks and ruts ,after a couple of kms I turn round , go , back and find an alternative route to my Next town and it turns out to be one of the highlights of the ride ,it takes me up the valley along side of the Snake River,
a great gravel Rd with great scenery all be it dulled by the smoke of the fires in California
The downside of this detour was it took me about 130km off route which meant a lot of sealed Rd some of which was quite boring Including a 40km dead straight flat piece of Rd
to my overnight stop at a not very tidy Town of Burn who’s main activity seems to be running large old jacked up 4wd trucks up and down the main St which seems to be empty of people
Photo s , straight Rd, snake river,on the way back off stoney rutted track 
Day 19
If yesterday was crap today was spectacular . For a start I was out of forests and headed for Lewiston across plains of wheat , the patterns and colours across the rolling landscape and the great winding gravel rds were a stark contrast to the confines of a Forest
I stopped for fuel in Lewiston and got talk to a local ADV rider ,he suggested a great route to Joseph and checking the route on the GPS was exactly as I had planned but little did I know how draw dropping it was going to be I followed the snake river before climbing 7000ft up a rocky track and then ride along the rim of the deepest river canyon in America at 7000ft, about 1000ft deeper than Grand canyon and not a tourist in sight Because of the fires in California any photos I took could not do any justice to this magnificent landscape It is called Hells canyon and to cap off the day a leasurly ride on more gravel rds to the town of Joseph
Day 18
Today started with a great ride out of Alberton and slowly went down I was looking forward to the Lolo motorway but by the time I popped out of the mountains at the top of Lolo pass I was cold and wet ,A great facility there offered free coffee and hot chocolate,a warm area and the best amenities I have ever seen
After 3 cups of hot chocolate I left to get into the Lolo motorway which is not a motorway but a high mountain track once used by the local Indians .I followed my GPS which led me to a locked gate but had a way around it I thought it a bit strange as it was just an overgrown track with no sign of any bikes been on it. The GPS can’t be WRONG! I keep going and the track starts to disappear then it stops ,I have to retrace back to the Rd and around the locked gate. That was a waste of 20km . I finally find my way to the Lolo track and there s only 160km of it. By the time I’ve done about 50k’m things had turned bad, the temperature dropped to40f , it was raining heavily with sleat and I was cold , I get onto the GPS and look for a route down I find one that takes me to Lolo pass about 20 km away and it turns out to be a very pleasant and scenic Rd and the ride down the pass on the seal following the lochsa river on what is retarded as one of the great motorcycle rds. I arrive at Lowell, and there’s a motel a cyclest arrives at the same time, and we share the only room left ,he’s a nice lad who’s cyclng to Chicago, a great thanks to dry rider fluro wet gear for.
Day 17
Left Lincoln and straight into lolo Forest heading for seely lake and then onto alberton beside Since leaving Seely lake I’m off the GDR route and onto my own and straight away, problems ! My route takes me off a rough dirt Rd and into a track , it was great for about 12 ks then it came to an abrupt halt ,i turn around and retrace my route back to the dirt Rd
I punch in Alberton into the GPS and bingo it finds a great route to my nights destination and I set up camp beside the Clark fork river, a great days Riding 
Day 16
Great riding through Deerlodge and Selena national Forest s and small access trails called unmaintained cattle access trails also old rail routes including the 2ln the photos 1 I went through the short one The other was a mile long , look closely and you can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel Passed the old ghost mining town if Comet or what’s left of it
This area is covered with old mining ruins
Being Saturday there was a few side by side and quads out on the trails the Polaris side by side s look great on the rough terrain and make easy work of it
Had to backtrack out in one forest due to a locked gate and towards the end of the day was hit by a large downpour which turned the tracks into a dark and slippery place and made me feel a little edgy Finally arrived at the small town of Lincoln a bit damp and glad to be out if the forest ,at least the weather looks good for tomorrow
Day 14 or 15
I’m in the town of Butte Montana ,I needed some brake shoes and decided to stay the night and have a look around
It’s a beautiful town in it’s run down way and has a lot of history mainly to do with copper mining It’s Friday night and the main Street seems deserted .
The busiest Cafe is the community Cafe ,as I walk passed someone invites me in, the food s great and it’s free he says ,I thank him and find a small Irish bar around the corner, The owner sponsors the local rugby team and said there’s quite a number of teams in the competition .he says the population is about 35000
it used to be about 100,000 but it’s starting to increase again
It’s the site if America’s biggest single mini disaster,168 killed in one incident
There’s still copper mining but it’s all open cast now
There’s some Great brick buildings here and the one that took my attention was a magnificent hotel. It looked empty but I found the door open and went in ,it was like stepping back to the 1920s,
I nearly missed the little lady behind the desk, she reminded me of Ronnie Corbett ln his big chair, she gave me the history of the place and allow me to look around .Next to the foyer was an equally stunning dining room ,all the tables were set in the 1920 s setting but the place was empty .I took a couple of photos,thanked the little lady and left
Check out the exterior fire escape
I liked Butte a lot
The riding was great all day by the way
Day 14
Good days riding from Colter bay to Lima covering some of wyoming Idaho and into Montana Great forestry and plains riding that sometimes reminded me of molesworth and rainbow rds ,I must say that in general gravel and dirt rds are generally in poor condition with ruts , potholes and lots of protruding rocks which require a lot of concentration and helps keep you alert ,Had to wait for a digger to fill in the end of a bridge for me to continue
Followed a disused rail line (track removed) which followed a very deep ravine and a very narrow track in one place the track had in many places a narrow gate which only allowed cycles, motorcycles and quads into it , great!
The small town of Lima is a scene I have seen many times in traveling in he USA and it’s sad to see ,it’s run down with lots of buildings in a run down state of repair with vehicles and rusty machinery everywhere the railway tracks are still there but no train has come for years I had a drink in the hotel how it’s still standing I don’t know! and had a chat to some of the locals They have a lovely large high school that use to have a roll over over 500 now it’s less than 100 .I guess what I’m trying to say that to some this country is not in a good place for a lot of people, there words not mine . Photo of hotel I had a drink in and a past symbol of American automobile greatness
Day 12 and 13
Out of steamboat springs and headed for Rawlins ,a washed it Rd had me back track for a while and then into some great forestry rds and into Wyoming with no drama . Fueled the body and bike at Rawlins Then into the red desert andgreat divide basins This brought back memories if the Simpson desert except the dunes where a lot smaller and the highest plant life was no higher than 60 cm Some of it was a challenge but all of it was great to be part of .
In some parts of this waste land oil was still being extracted and rusty nodding horses could be seen still operating and not a sole around
Because of the effort to get through this part of the route I was running late and had no chance to make pinedale but thankfully I came upon a small flowing river with a lovely spot to make camp for the night
Made pinedale for a late breakfast and headed for Grand Teton national park and Colter bay via some neat forestry rds and Union pass
It’s a pity the fires in California so far away has clouded these magnificent mountains in this park and my photos would not do them justice and in sure you can find images of them
The camp ground I’m in has these
on ever site and do you know that only 77 people have been killed by bears in the last 118 years in USA and Alaska You have 7 times more chance to be killed by lightning Maybe everyone should carry a lightning rod ,but I will be putting my food in the box