What a Long Straight Road It Was

July 24, 2022

5 miles outside of Virginia City on RT 287 heading for Ennis, MT. Looking north/northeast.

Sign of the day. Not your normal wooden “Welcome to…” sign.

Ruby Creek Recreation Area on RT 287 heading to Earthquake Lake. This one is looking right. I didn’t post the one looking left.

We think this is an Eagle but maybe an Osprey. Max we need your help here…

Picture one of two from the runoff side of Earthquake Lake.

Picture two of two from the runoff side of Earthquake Lake.

The story of Earthquake Lake. Educational opportunity.

Earthquake Lake. Maybe my favorite picture of the trip so far.

Our little cabin for the night. About 15 miles outside of West Yellowstone.

I may have a strange sense of humor but I thought this was funny. In the mens room at the Happy Hour Bar and Grill.

Rolled out of Virginia City to a nice surprise. We thought we had a 5 mile climb that averaged 7% grade BUT it turned out to be only 3.25 miles of average 7% grade (it’s the little things). It was a good climb, great views at the top, and a spectacular descent into Ennis, MT. Stopped in Ennis for breakfast and headed back out on the road (RT 287)

We interrupt the normally scheduled blog posting for a brief rant…

RT 287 must have been designed and planned by a group of civil engineers with ZERO imagination. The road is literally straight for about 40 miles. Ok a slight exaggeration…there were two curves. Now if there were more curves I must have missed them because I had fallen asleep. Eventually once the road started to follow the river it got curvy (no credit here to the engineers). Then on top of that, for the whole road there we rumble strips and the shoulder was pretty narrow for maybe half the ride (not the best riding conditions).

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog…

It got hot today 92-94 degrees and we encountered our first real head winds (the last few days have started in the 40’s but warmed up quickly to the 80’s or low 90’s). In addition the places we thought we could stop for lunch were closed so we pressed on to Earthquake Lake and Hebgen Lake, MT and got a real late lunch/ early dinner there. Rolled into the cabin park, showered and did laundry.

Some really pretty scenery today right from the start and all along the way. I’ll post the pictures. My favorite pictures are from Earthquake Lake.

Sorry but not barns today. There were a few but they were set really far back and frankly not all that interesting. Do have a sign of the day and I’ll post the story about Earthquake Lake.

We did see two eagles today (we think they were eagles).

Tomorrow is mostly a rest day. About 15 miles into West Yellowstone, then we’re renting a car and going into Yellowstone National Park. We’ve got a hotel in West Yellowstone (thanks Randie and Mark), so another night with a shower and a bed!

Finally, I can’t resist posting the picture of the men’s room at the Happy Hour Bar and Grill we stopped at for lunch. It’s PG-13 so no need to send the kids away.

Today's ride: 72 miles (116 km)
Total: 3,240 miles (5,214 km)

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Michele GordonWow those are some beautiful pictures …..you know the anniversary is coming up for earthquake lake (august 17th) …..7.5 on the Richter scale 😳(must have been one scary event)
Have a great time in Yellowstone (know you will 😘)
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2 years ago

Mike AylingIf you don't like straight roads avoid the Nullabor in Australia!
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2 years ago

Ian GordonI’ll make a note of that. Also don’t ride monument valley in Arizona
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2 years ago