Principal Savage Retirement Motorcycle Camping Tour

Principal Mike Savage has retired from the Richardson School District after 39 years of continuous employment.

To help Mike celebrate his retirement and entrance into the "Every Day is Saturday club, this year's camping tour has been given a special name.

 

The seven of us on the trip will be tent camping every night except the first night in Trinidad, July 4th in Laurel, Montana, and the last night in Amarillo.  Scroll down past the big map to see our daily itinerary with links to places we'll be visiting. 

 

We're Leaving on July 1st and returning on July 15th.  The trip should include over 4,000 miles of riding over 15 days.

If you see us on the road, you'll know we're going somewhere!  Our motors will be loaded to the hilt with camping gear.

 

 

 

Click on the maps and links below for more information

George will also be carrying a SPOT.  Click here to see where he is.

 

Day One, Saturday, July 1st:  We leave Garland at about 7:00 AM, meeting the others along the way.  Total of seven of us.  

 

 

 

We all get together at our usual gas station in Decatur by 8:30 AM to fill and synchronize our gas tanks.  Then, we're off on an epic tour! 

We'll ride into the Texas Panhandle, stopping for gas if needed.  Lunch in Childress, we should be there at about 11:00 AM.   We continue on to Amarillo, Dumas, Dalhart and finally cross into New Mexico at Texline where the weather will turn much cooler and mountains come into view.  We should make a 1-hour stop at Capulin Volcano before finishing the day in Trinidad The Holiday Inn  is cheaper right now than the La Quinta and it has a restaurant in the first floor  The new La Quinta is across I-25.  We've never stayed there. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day Two, Sunday, July 2nd: Leisurely morning, leaving the hotel by 8AM after breakfast.  The day's mileage is only 212 miles. 

 

 

We'll depart the Holiday Inn around 8 AM and travel up I-25, taking the Colorado City exit.  This will be our first taste of mountain road riding and it will be extremely twisty with lots of ups and downs.  We follow the road to Bishop's Castle.  We can spend an hour or so there before continuing on to Royal Gorge. 

 

On the way to Royal Gorge, we might  take a little detour to ride the world-famous Skyline Drive.  This will probably delay our arrival at Royal Gorge by 30 - 45 minutes, but I'm thinking worth the ride.  At least we can tell others about the sheer drop-offs on both sides of the knife edge road.

 

We will probably be at the Royal Gorge in time for lunch at 12:30 or so.  Then, we can spend as much time there as we wish.  Lots to do at the Royal Gorge.  When we've had our fill, we'll head up to Cripple Creek and the Molly Kathleen Gold Mine for a tour.  Then, it's only about 2 hours to our campsite at Mueller State Park on the west side of Pike's peak.  Reservations have been made.

 

We plan to buy groceries in Cripple Creek and cook dinner on the campfire.  Cripple Creek is a vacation destination with good restaurants if it's too late in the evening and we want to eat out. 

 

We have a prepaid reservation to camp at Mueller State Park for the night.  Next day is a longer riding day, but includes several tourist points of interest.

   

 

 

  

Day Three, Monday, July 3rd:  Mueller State Park to Douglas, Wyoming via Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods 

 

We'll start the day fairly early and get a bite of breakfast at Grandmother's Kitchen in Woodland Park.  They only serve breakfast and brunch.  Then, it's Pikes Peak or bust.  It's only 2:15 minutes up Pikes Peak highway to the top and all the way back down again. We can stay up there as long as we want and then come back down.  We should try to be back to the bottom by 11 AM. 

 Then, we'll ride through Garden of the Gods to get to Interstate 25.  It's actually shorter but much more scenic than going down into Colorado Springs proper.  We can stop for pictures if anyone wishes. 

 

From there, it's only a bit over four hours to Douglas KOA via Interstate 25.  We can stop at Johnson's Corner for lunch, north of Denver before heading farther north.  It's approximately 2  hours from  Garden of the Gods to Johnson's Corner.  We'll probably be ready for lunch.

 

The  KOA just outside of town and 4 highly-rated restaurants in town.  We can buy food and cook meals on a campfire at the KOA, or go into town and eat  If we don't want to cook, there are the four restaurants with good ratings in town.

 

If we're there early enough and want to go see a natural bridge, There's Ayers Natural Bridge Park, only about 14 miles or 18 minutes from our campground.  It one of only 4 natural bridges with water flowing under. 

 

 

 

  

 

Day Four, Tuesday, July 4th:  Douglas KOA, Wyoming to Laurel, Montana via Little Bighorn or options.

 

Only 340 miles plus stops via Interstate 25 today; estimated 4hrs 50 min if non-stop.  Add time for visiting the Little Bighorn battleground.  The route takes us right by the monument;  several in our group have never been there.  We don't have to stay there very long.   There are no good restaurants in Laurel. I suggest that we eat a good meal at Olive Garden in Billings; maybe on the way to Laurel if after 5 or 6 PM. 

 

That evening, watch the largest fireworks display in all of Montana, only a few blocks from the hotel.  

 

Optional Routes:

If there isn't any interest in the Little Bighorn National Park, there are several other ways to get to Laurel:

· Via Bighorn Mountains 5hr 52 min + stops

· Via Thermopoulis/Greybull 5hr 42 min +stops

· Via Cody and straight up   7 hr + stops

I have GPS routes for each so we can decide on the route before rolling. 

 Tomorrow is an exciting day.  We do Red Lodge, Beartooth Pass, and enter Yellowstone!

 

  

 

 

Day Five, Wednesday, July 5th:  Laurel, Montana to Canyon Campground in Yellowstone National Park

 

 Total distance is only 159 miles, but lots to see and do.

If it hasn't been fun so far, it's certain to be fun for the next week.  We can have a leisurely morning before traveling to Red Lodge to have a special breakfast served outside at the Alpine Inn.  We should probably leave the hotel by 8:30 AM.  Then, ride to Red Lodge, MT for breakfast at the Alpine Lodge before climbing up and over Beartooth Pass.   From there, it's a wiggly ride down the high plateau and into Cooke City.  We can stop there if we want.  Then, a few more miles and we enter  Yellowstone National Park.  We should eat at the Roosevelt Lodge Restaurant  and then work our way down to our campsites at the Canyon Campground where we have reservations for three nights.  We should arrive by 4PM or so; plenty of time to set up camp and decide what to do for dinner.  We can buy food at the general store and cook on open fire.  The campgrounds have showers so we don't go to sleep smelling like food.  (bears and all, ya know). 

Day Six, Thursday, July 6th:  Explore Yellowstone National Park.  Lots to do including both sides of the Yellowstone Falls, Old Faithful, All the way up to the famous and historic North entrance Roosevelt Arch, and the town of West Yellowstone,  wildlife tours, nature talks at night in the amphitheater, Yellowstone tours, West Yellowstone and all the features along the way, etc. etc. etc.  Camp in same campsites

  

Day Six, Thursday, July 6th: 

Explore Yellowstone National Park.  Lots to do including both sides of the Yellowstone Falls, Old Faithful, All the way up to the famous and historic North entrance Roosevelt Arch, and the town of West Yellowstone,  wildlife tours, nature talks at night in the amphitheater, Yellowstone tours, West Yellowstone and all the features along the way, etc. etc. etc.  Camp in same campsites 

Day Seven, Friday, July 7th:   Final day in Yellowstone National Park.  What we didn't do yesterday, we can do today.  Or, we can just enjoy whatever we wish.  If there's varied interests, we don't have to all do the same thing at the same time.   It's always nice to return to our campsite that is already set up.  Camp in the same campsite for our 3rd  and final night in Yellowstone National Park. 

 We leave Yellowstone and head to Teton National Park the next morning. 

 

  

Day Eight, Saturday, July 8th:  Travel to Grand Teton National Park in the morning, distance is only 113 miles, a little over 2 hours. 

 

  

Even though the ride is short, it'll take several hours.  First we'll go to the Grant Village Dining Room for Breakfast and then make a quick stop at the visitor's center before leaving Yellowstone National Park. 

We make our home at  the KOA campground where we have reservations and deposit paid.  Planning on a two-night stay in the Tetons The KOA  has a check-in time of 3PM so we can do other stuff on the way down.  There aren't any Teton mountain views from the KOA, but it's alongside the Snake River, has firewood, and also has their own river rafting tours.

 

On the way to the KOA, We can visit and stop for pictures at:

            Coulter Bay Visitor's Center

            Eat lunch anywhere we like

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One of the requirements of staying at the KOA in July is to also purchase a river rafting tour, so I've reserved TWO.  We have arranged a whitewater rapid tour and a calm-water wildlife float tour for our visit at Jackson Hole. 

 

At the KOA, We have campsites labeled A, B, and C on the map. 

 We have e reservation for a 2:30 PM pickup for the river rapids tour.   I've asked for early check in at the KOA for 1PM so we can set up camp, change clothes, and meet the ground transportation to the downtown departure place. 

 Next day, we do have a 7:15 AM reservation to do their calm, scenic wildlife float tour through Teton National Park.  

 

 

 

 Day Nine, Sunday, July 9th:  This is our last day in the Teton/Jackson hole area. 

What we didn't do yesterday, we can do today. 

We have the wildlife and scenic rafting tour that picks us up at 0715 that morning.  They bring us back to the KOA  about 4 hours later at 11:15. 

 

When we return, we can ride our motors up to Teton Village, have lunch,  and do the Arial Tramway tour to the top of the mountains.  Then, we have two places to stop along hwy 191 that we had to bypass yesterday because of time constraints.  One is a special photo shoot pull-out and the other is the Discovery and Visitor Center at Moose.  If it's dry, we can take Moose-Wilson road.  It's a really nice narrow road except for 1-1/2 miles which is not paved.  Moose-Wilson road cuts off 30 miles of highway and is very scenic through the trees.  Wildlife hangs out there. 

 

We have time to do any more touring anyone wishes, even riding over into Idaho for those that have never motorcycled there. 

 We Camp our last night in the Tetons at our established Snake River KOA campsite.  Enjoy a fire, maybe cook dinner or go into town for dinner, whichever we like.  Our campsite is actually 10 miles south of Jackson, which is about 15 minutes closer to our next day's destination.   I suggest that we eat dinner and fuel-up in Jackson this evening to prepare for a long riding day tomorrow.  Also buy a snack for breakfast the next morning because there is absolutely no place that serves breakfast within 60 miles. 

 

 

 

 

Day Ten, Monday, July 10th:  Leave Jackson Hole area for Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake. 

 

This is a moderately long day with 451 miles to cover and will take about 9 hours.  We have paid in full reservations at the Elk Creek Campground.

 NOTE:  There is absolutely no place serving breakfast on the route within 60 miles of  the KOA.  We'll have breakfast at the Wrangler Cafe in Pinedale, approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes along our route.   We can think about gassing up there or  in Rock Springs before heading to Rawlings for lunch and more fuel.   There is absolutely nothing between Rock Springs and Rawlings. 

 On Monday night we already have reservations in Grand Lake, about a mile out of town.  We'll be traveling some roads on which we've never been, starting right out of the chute when we leave the KOA alongside the Hoback River.  There are ranges of tall mountains on both sides of the road.  Eventually, we're on the plains of Wyoming where we'll see plenty of antelope playing.  Last time I drove through there, we saw herds!  They've even built animal overpasses so that the antelope (actually pronghorn deer) and other wildlife can migrate from one side of the highway to the other).  

 The owners of the Elk Creek Campground  in Grand Lake, Colorado have given us their large party tent campsite.  It's really close to the front of their campground.  There weren't enough 2-tent campsites available on the days we'll be there.  The owners did say that there are plenty of moose in the campground during July and we'll see them for sure.  The bears stay closer to downtown where they raid the dumpsters.  

 Downtown has many places to eat.  The Grand Lake Pizza is highly rated.  I've eaten there and it was good if we want pizza.  There's also home cooking, Mexican food, etc at the other restaurants. 

 

 

 

 

Day Eleven, Tuesday, July 11th:  Leisurely morning in Rocky Mountain National Park.   

 

We can rent 4-wheelers, bicycles, or do whatever we wish and leave the area at any time to travel over Trail Ridge Road to our next destination, Moraine Park Campground.  Distance as the crow flies is only about 20 miles; but 43.5 miles by road and it'll take us probably 3 hours because there's lots to see and places to stop.

We should get to our campsite by 3 PM or so when it's open for us and setup camp.  From there, we can set up camp and go exploring.  Some may wish to ride roads, others may wish to hike.  Or, we can go into town and ride the Aerial Tramway.  Might want to visit the Stanley Hotel where Stephen King got the idea to write "The Shining".  If our interests vary, we can split up or all go together. 

There are great trails for those that like to hike.  They start from the Bear Lake trailhead.  Mills Lake, Loch Vale, Emerald Lake, etc.  Bear Lake Road is described in many motorcycling books.  There's motorcycle-only parking at Bear Lake.   I'd like to do a trail hike each day; about 3 hours each.  All start from Bear Lake (where they have reserved motorcycle parking).  There's Loch Vale, Mills Lake, and Emerald Lake which are all doable in 2 or 3 hours each.   We'd want to pack a lunch and water or at least heavy snacks for these hikes. 

 If more mountain riding is what you want to do, there are at least 5 3-hour canyon loops from the Estes Park area.  One is the Big Thompson Canyon.  Another is Boulder Canyon Drive.  Another is St Vrain Canyon.  

 

 

 

 

 

Day Twelve, Wednesday, July 12th:  Second day at Moraine Campground.  Another day of exploring, hiking, or riding in the Estes Park area.  Downtown is fun to visit. 

I would like to take a hike from Bear Lake trailhead in the early morning to one or more alpine lakes.  We can eat lunch in Estes Park.  We should eat light,  because we're going to eat dinner at Twin Owls Steakhouse that evening.  We'll have reservations for seven.  We'll enjoy our second night in Moraine Park Campground.  Next day, we head south.  Either spit shower in the restroom at the campground or pay-shower in downtown Estes Park.  If we wish, we can pay shower before going to eat at Twin Owls.

 

 

  Day Thirteen, Thursday, July 13th:  We head south and leave the big mountains.

 

This looks like a long day, but it isn't.  It's only about 285 miles from Estes Park to Great Sand Dunes National Park. About half will be in extreme twisty roads at 9,000 ft elevation and above. 

 

I have breakfast planned at the 100-year old lodge Dining Room at the YMCA of the RockiesThen we will travel the Peak to Peak highway to Interstate 70.  Then, we turn right and travel for about 25 miles west (to stay away from Denver) before making a left to head south via the twisty backroads and Guanella Pass  and then on US 285 down to The Great Sand Dunes National Park. 

We turn right and do a 25 mile stretch of Interstate highway once the Peak to Peak reaches I-70.  Then left turn at Georgetown to go up up up on another new road for us.  We have never traveled this road which is on the west flank of Mt Evans; actually only a few miles from its peak!  The twisty part of the Guanella Pass is really twisty.  This should be an easy, fun day of mountain riding until we get to Salida. 

 We'll briefly stop in Fairplay to get a National Park cancellation for the South Park Gold Mining District.  We can get gas and something to eat right there if we like.  I think it'll be lunchtime and the Brown Burro is nationally famous. 

Then, we're in a big broad valley to get to the entrance of the national park.   This should be a new camping experience for us.  The campground is at high elevation with trees and bear boxes.  Showers are right down the road a mile or so at the Oasis lodge.  There's also a restaurant and general store at the Oasis. 

 

This is our last night in Colorado.  Tomorrow, he head further south into New Mexico where we'll take a left turn for Texas

 

  

 

 

Day Fourteen, Friday, July 14th:  Great Sand Dunes to Amarillo via Red River, New Mexico. 

This looks like another long day, but it isn't really.  It's about the same as from Dallas to Dumas that we easily did 2 weeks ago (but in the other direction).  In any case, it's our last day with any mountain riding.  We travel down the Rio Grande valley which, geologically-speaking, is where the USA is breaking in half.  There is a string of volcanoes to our right and the Rio Grande has found this  valley area to shed water from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. 

 As we go across the northeast corner of New Mexico, we'll know it  . . .  flat and warmer.   We should get to the Holiday Inn East  in Amarillo by 5PM, have time to freshen up (especially for those of us that didn't trek down for a shower the night before) and then have a farewell dinner at the Big Texas Steak House (or elsewhere).  Tomorrow morning, we head back to Ft Worth and Dallas. 

 

Day Fifteen, Saturday, July 15th:   Amarillo to home.

 Do we really need a map for this day?  I say, "No.".  We know the way! This is the day where we ride tank to tank to tank; watching the pavement go under our wheels.  If we start out at 8:30 AM, everyone except Dennis should be home by 3:30 PM.  Pray for clouds.  It can be awfully miserable in July in the Panhandle and through to Dallas.