A Glacier Experience - Day 4

Day 4 – Tuesday, June 26 – Jackson WY to Bozeman MT

A balmy 38* was the forecast for today. Like the day prior, it was going to be cold, so a later start was in order due to chilly conditions.  Not like the 100* plus temps back in Kansas City…  Today, the plan was to have a small riding day and take in the Grand Tetons National Park and Yellowstone National Park.  The goal was to get to Butte or Helena Montana, which would have been around half way to Whitefish, near Glacier National Park.

Since we were on a streak, we at Mcd's for the 3rd day in row.  Really, the coffee is consistently ok and the food is, well, at least edible…  Once we left Theresa’s place (now I know why she married a guy named Ronnie), we headed to the Jackson-Hole HD store to procure a shot glass for the collection.  I walked out of the store with the shot glass and a shirt, since I liked the design of the back. 

Grand Tetons National Park

We headed north to the Tetons for the majestic views.  Then, after donning our America the Beautiful park pass, we felt like we had the park to ourselves.  We had several stops that took us near the end, but decided, after some coaxing from Kathy, to head back track to Jenny Lake...   It was worth it.  I got some great photo shots of a trail near there as well as some of Lake Jackson on the way back north towards Yellowstone.  We stopped at Flagg Ranch (a dude ranch) for some gas and candy bar stop and take pic for my cousin, Roxanne. Turns out, she used to work there during a couple of summers of her youth.

Jenny Lake at Tetons

There is a check gate in Yellowstone as well, which we used our America the Beautiful park pass to gain entry.  In 1988, there was a pretty significant fire in Yellowstone, which burnt a lot of the pines and cedars.  It was a little sad, since in 1978, I went through the same areas and remember a clean forest area… well, not really, but in my imagination I did.  Anyway, we enjoyed a lot of the kickoffs for photos, which included some waterfalls and finally Old Faithful. 

Speaking of Old Faithful, we had lunch in the tourist trap café, which was surprisingly good.  Though a southbound end of a northbound skunk would have been good 6 hours after breakfast…  The grand ole geyser was a bit underwhelming. However, there were thousands of people that partook.

Old Faithful

Yellowstone

We hit a 2-mile turnout for some waterfall photos.  Traffic was a little concerning, since we were on bikes and there were a lot of ‘cagers’ around rubbernecking and stopping in the middle of the road.  Right before we left the park, there were some buffalo chomping on grass and just plain chilling out, so I had to approach for some photos. 

Once we left the park, we hit Bullwinkles in West Yellowstone, Montana. Moose Drool brown ale brew for me, Ronnie, Theresa, and Kathy had the regular.  We gassed up and headed north on Hwy 191.  That. Road. Rocks.  It was 88 miles of most excellent 65 mph curves by riverside and mountainside.  Even though it was chilly when the mountains covered the road with shade, it was still awesome. 

Lewis Falls in Yellowstone

Buffalo at Yellowstone

We ended up in Bozeman Montana, instead of Butte or Helena.  It’s all good. On a trip like this, you play it a day at a time.  The Rockin R Bar was host for dinner, which was good for a couple beers and sandwiches.  The Lewis and Clark Motel (and casino with a whopping 3 slot machines) had our bid for the nights rest.  It wasn’t the most popular landing spot amongst the group, but it worked.  Heck, they had great banana bread as part of their continental breakfast.  I think the sliding glass doors used for each rooms entry had me perplexed…

Other highlights:

·      National/State Parks: Grand Teton National Park; Teton National Forest; Yellowstone National Park; Targhee National Forest; Gallatin National Forest; Big Sky (ok, Big Sky is not a national or state park, but it is a area to see)

·      Miles: ~ 275

·      Route Map: http://tinyurl.com/0626-Day4


Click Here for Day 5!


 

A Glacier Experience - Day 3

Day 3 - Monday, June 25 – Steamboat Springs CO to Jackson WY

Today was planned to be up a little later than normal due to mid-40 degree weather.  Of course, Ronnie was up around 4:50 AM or so and already had a pot of coffee drank before we got up.  Once packed, we headed from Steamboat Springs to Craig Colorado.  We checked out a route to get us some footprints in Utah just to add a state to our total, but declined the gravel road and decided on 13 Hwy north to Wyoming.  If you've never been on that road, don't worry, you are not missing anything.  Even though we desired to stay off interstates, we caught I-80 west to Rock Springs Wyoming.  I opted to stay away from the right-off-the-highway-chain-restaurants and ended up in the ‘historic downtown district’ and landed at Broadway Burger Station.

Million Dollar Cowboy Bar

 

After lunch, we went to Harley Davidson dealer called Flaming Gorge HD for a shot glass for my collection and a visor for Theresa, since she lost hers due to the cross winds on Saturday.  Heading out of town on 191 looked interesting, but until we were just past Pinedale, it was a bit boring.  However, we did land a watering hole in Boulder Wyoming, which is just prior to Pinedale.  Simply stated, it was a gas station, convenience store, and pub all in one called “The Boulder Store and Pub.”  We had a couple waters (cough) and headed north.  Getting in to the hills near Jackson proved magnificent on 191.   The pines were tall, rocks were majestic, and the afternoon shadows casted against the rocks and mountainsides.  We rolled into Jackson Wyoming, or Jackson Hole as some of you know it, and took it all in. 

Kathy, Theresa, Ronnie, Rob

As we passed through Jackson, we made mental notes of hotels and motels that we could call for availability.  Starting a trend, we found a bar to make our decision through phoning for availability and rates.  Landing at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, we bellied up to the bar and got a cold one.  Technically, we saddled up to the bar, since that is the type of seats they had there. However, we were a bit ‘saddled out’ due to riding all day, so we posed for candid photos and then stood.  A friend of mine, Chris, recommended this place. It has saddle bar stools and nice adornments throughout the bar.  We started calling hotels and motels and got the Ranch Inn Motel for $145 a night for two queens and split it between each couple.  We moved all our clothing bags and other stuff in to the room and went for a walk around the square in Jackson. The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar was the choice for dinner and drinks.  Kathy and I had elk nachos, Ronnie had an elk burger, and Theresa had chicken quesadillas. The reason that is important to call out is that Theresa had a strong preference for non elk or buffalo meat…  btw, the elk was wonderful.

Ronnie and Theresa

Guidiup Kathy!

Ronnie and Theresa left to go back to room leaving us to partake the locals and tourists dancing to the country band, Crawford and James, who were very good and entertaining.  As we were getting ready to leave the bar, Ronnie called saying the air conditioner in our room was not working correctly.  He wanted to know if we wanted to move three doors down or get box fan. We moved...

Other highlights:

·      National/State Parks: Gros Ventre Wilderness; Bridger National Forest

·      Miles: ~ 400

·      Route Map: http://tinyurl.com/0625-Day3


Click Here For Day 4!

A Glacier Experience - Day 2

Day 2 - Sunday, June 24 – Wray CO to Steamboat Springs CO

I set my alarm for 5:30 AM MST.  Kathy woke up at 4:30 AM MST, thinking it was 5:30 because her phone did not pick up the local time change, where mine did.  Not sure what happened there.  Anyway after tossing and turning for around 40 minutes more, I got up and began the packing for this second day.  Around 6:00 AM, our neighbors in the motel were getting ready to head out for work.  One of the guys looked like he wasn’t too happy about that, but I can understand why.  I wouldn’t want to be working on a Sunday either.  The truck said ‘Mobile Home Installers’ and as the story goes, there was understanding abounds.  If you still need more information, it went something like this.  Skeery!

Foggy Start in Colorado

We packed up and headed west via 34 Hwy.  It was a pretty foggy start as we passed several cow farms, cow feeding farms, stink farms, and lots of cows.  I mean a lot of cows!  As ‘Dean’ a blogger I found through a quick google search stated on http://catbirdblues.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/oregon-trail-day-2-2/

But the idyllic ranches along I-80 was a thing of Nebraska. I was in eastern Colorado now: the land of factory farmed cows. Along my route down I-76 since entering Julesburg, I was witnessing the monstrosity of the giant feedlots for what would be the first time. I’d seen chicken and egg factory farms in Illinois, Iowa, other states, and even Israel, but not these. Every dozen or less miles was another concentration camp. I was driving about 72 miles per hour and it would take me over a minute to pass up these bio-generators from end-to-end. (Check out Google Maps: A mile and 15 miles north-east of Sterling. A mile from the Brush Municipal Airport. A half-mile east of the Empire Reservoir.)

The largest of all was not a filthy, ugly, barren dairy cow factory (with hundreds of “replacement calf” shelters), but a “beef” feedlot–much like the one seen in the opening scene of Food Inc.–on US-32, one mile outside of Kersey. Google maps confirmed my mental note that these were “mile-long factory farms.” The shit lagoons alone were the size of city blocks in Chicago. From the satellite image, the factory farm not only has more bovine inhabitants than the entire population of humans in the town of it belongs to; it is also larger than the entire down town area. A city within a city.

According to my friend in Greeley, the people (in general) are quite proud of their agri-business. It’s not something to hide, but to embrace as part of their identity. (The local roller derby team name is Slaughterhouse). This was even the case several years ago, before legislation was passed banning the burning of blood at rendering plants. The smell and toxins under the right (or wrong) wind conditions could fill the city for days and even reach Fort Collins, 20 miles to the northwest.

Big Thompson Road Nearing Estes Park

Enough about that…  Our first stop was going to be near Fort Morgan for breakfast, which we landed at, yet again, another McDonald’s.  I know I just ranted, through Dean, about cow farms, but have you had one of their steak breakfast burritos yet?  If not, I suggest you try one.  As we made it through Greeley then Loveland, we stopped for gas and spoke with some locals about the fires around Fort Collins and even in Estes Park the day before.  A couple of the guys, one with handlebar mustache, provided us with some advice of not trying to go through Estes Park of Rocky Mountain National Park to get to Granby due to the park being shut down on Saturday.  Turns out there was a house fire on Saturday, which spread in the Estes area and got 21 homes and 20 acres total, but they had it under control and in ‘mop up’ stage.  Once we got in to the Estes Park area, we were met with some of the local smoke.   However, the first part of the pass was awesome as we ran on Big Thompson Canyon Road next to the Big Thompson River. 

Chilling Chipmunk

We made it up to the Estes Park Visitors Center to get some information about the fires from someone we thought would have good info.  After we chatted with the park ranger behind the information desk, we proceeded up the northern pass towards the fee gate.  Once at the gate, I approached the ranger collecting fees about an annual pass.  Turns out, if one bike rider signs the $80 America The Beautiful annual national park pass, and if another one signs it, both bikes get in, regardless of passengers having a pass or not.  So, Ronnie and I split the fee and headed up the mountain.

Chipmunk saying 'Cheese!'

Since we had a long first day, we took it pretty easy and had plenty of stops.  The altitude gets up there pretty quickly, so not to far up, we paused and made friends with a pretty cute chipmunk.  The traffic was pretty heavy as well, presumably due to not being open the day prior.  The wildlife was not as prevalent as what we would have hoped, but we heard there were Elk near the top.  Sure enough, we got near Medicine Bow Curve and there they were, around 20 of them.  We paused again; I took some photos then continued down the pass towards Granby.  We arrived at the Brick House 40 for lunch and a beer, but as it turns out, they only have a buffet breakfast brunch on Sunday mornings (and expensive drinks).  So we had one and motored down a couple blocks to Maverick’s Grille, which donned ‘biker friendly’ signage out front.  We ate, we drank (water), and we had a great experience. 

Estes Park / Rocky Mountain National Park

Once done with lunch, we had a little bit more left in us, so we headed towards Steamboat Springs.  We got to a gas station and began calling local hotels and motels for availability and rates.  After a few calls, Kathy landed a couple rooms at the La Quinta. 2 king beds for us, 1 king bed for Ronnie and Theresa, and adjoining rooms.  This was probably going to be the best hotel of the trip for the price, since this ski town is proud of their area and the hotels know it.  $79 each room, plus tax – we thought we got a great deal, since most were around $149 per room everywhere else!  We had some beer at the hotel, enjoyed the indoor pool and hot tub, then ordered dominoes pizza and hit the beds around 10:00 PM.  Heck, John Wu, the front desk guy even gave us bike rags to wipe our bikes off in the morning.  What a nice gesture!

Other highlights:

·      National/State Parks: Rocky Mountain National Park; Roosevelt National Forest; Routt National Forest

·      Miles: ~ 350

·      Route Map: http://tinyurl.com/0624-Day2


Click Here for Day 3!


 

A Glacier Experience - Day 1

Day 1 - Saturday, June 23, 2012 – Kansas City MO to Wray CO

On Saturday, June 23, 2012, we arose at donut making time to start our journey. This was in hopes to have a beat-the-heat day, since the weather was quite warm for the afternoon. Bags were neatly packed the evening before and bikes were made ready. Actually, this story begins a few days earlier…  Early in the week, Ronnie had taken his Honda Goldwing to his buddy to get two new tires installed.  I took my HD Ultra Classic to the local Harley Davidson dealer for a routine 10,000-mile service (change motor oil and filter, change primary oil and adjust chain, change transmission oil, inspect and service air cleaner, etc).  Ronnie got his bike back on Tuesday. I got a call from the dealer stating the exhaust mounts were broken on my bike – and they did not have the parts on hand – and that if I desired to have the bike ready for the weekend, I would have to get said parts overnighted.  So I did.  Spending a couple extra bucks to get parts overnighted was not my main concern.  The service writer not remembering that I needed the bike back by Thursday evening was…  Long story short, the bike was in my hands on Friday afternoon, fixed right, and running great.

Theresa and Kathy in Hiawatha KS

Back to Saturday morning…  Ronnie and Theresa met Kathy and I at casa de Smith and looked at the weather.  The desired route(s) showed rain near each route.  We looked at other routes, but decided to stick with the plan.  We made it north of Kansas City to St Joseph and went left on 36 Hwy. About 20 minutes on that road, we decided donning our rain gear was in our best interest.  Once we got to the McDonald’s in Hiawatha Kansas, we decided to eat breakfast and let a heavy band of rain go past, which took around an hour.  Kathy figured out that the rain jacket she brought was not as water resistant as she thought.  Oops!  We got back out in the lighter rain and proceeded on for around 45 miles before turning off, getting gas, and taking off the rain gear.

In hindsight, 36 Hwy in northern Kansas is lacking of any excitement – especially with near 100* heat.  Most everything was normal, until after lunch at The Frontier Café in Oberlin Kansas.  You see, Ronnie and I defined that route and decided to go clockwise instead of counter clockwise, as we had been discussing in the weeks leading up to this venture. Thing is, we forgot to update the ladies on this new route. :)  We continued west with some fuel and stretch stops passing a northern route, which the ladies thought we were taking to get to Alliance Nebraska in order to get to Custer South Dakota the following day.  We touched in to Nebraska and ended at the Sandhiller Motel and Lounge for the night, which is located in Wray Colorado.

Sunflower at Sandhiller Motel

Not much exciting happened on this leg, other than Ronnie getting lost when trusting his GPS.  Oh, and the exchange I had with the front desk ladies at our hotel:

Me: Do you have entertainment tonight?
Motel Lady: No, Urine Ray.
Me: Name is Rob, friends call me Updog.
Motel Lady: Nice to meet you, Updog.
Me: Why did you call me Urine Ray?
Motel Lady: No, You are in Wray! Wray Colorado.
Me: Do you have beer? Its been a long day...

Rocky Mountain Oysters at Sandhiller

We unpacked the bikes and took our clothing and things in to the hotel rooms, had a couple of victory beers (celebrate the small things, right?), and made it over to the Sandhiller Lounge portion of our mecca motel – which included rocky mountain oysters.  We then hit the bed knowing that an early rise was in order.

Other highlights:

·      National/State Parks: N/A (unless you count breezing by Brown County State Park just east of Hiawatha)

·      Miles: ~ 485

·      Route Map: http://tinyurl.com/0623-Day1   

Click Here for Day 2!


 

A Glacier Experience - Foreword

Last June, I blogged about a trip to the Smokey Mountains that Kathy and I went with Ronnie and Theresa. We had a pretty good time on that trip, for a couple reasons.  First, it was a trip with minimal expectations, and secondly, it was a beautiful area.  This year we decided to try the same type of trip, but go in a different direction.   Theresa suggested doing a Lake Superior ride.  I suggested if we were to do that, with a little more driving we could hit Niagara Falls.  We continued to research things to do and routes to take throughout the off-season.  I mentioned going to the Montana area and the four of us decided that might be the best area to travel this year. 

Just like last year, Theresa and Ronnie rode an illusion blue 2002 Honda Goldwing. Kathy and I rode a black and orange 2007 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic Screamin Eagle. Both were equipped with intercoms and CB’s for internal and external communication.

~ The Bikes ~

We had some key areas of interest to visit planned for this trip, but nothing was set until we started riding on Saturday, June 23, 2012.  The same rule as last year, which was to minimize travel on interstate highways was still upheld as well. On Friday, June 22, Ronnie came over and we discussed a potential route. We had discussed several routes in the past few weeks, but none quite as defining as this one.  Some of the discussion included the fires that were going on in Colorado.  At the time, there was one fire near Fort Collins Colorado, which was pretty near Estes Park – a destination we were considering.  We agreed to a general direction for the first day and parted for the evening. 

I hope you enjoy this installment of A Glacier Experience. Click Here for Day 1!

An Update - Long Overdue!

So, its been a while since I have posted any blog updates... I think I have a good excuse... 'cause I've been doing a lot of shooting instead! :)

You can see a lot of my frequent updates on my twitter feed @RobSmithKC - https://twitter.com/RobSmithKC  or over at my Facebook account here: http://www.facebook.com/RobSmithPhotos

I dont claim to be the worlds best blogger, but I will promise you this - I will try harder.  I will try harder. I will try harder. (saying it is the first step, right?)

For now, let me see if I can recap what I have done since the International Blues Challenge in February...


I photographed baby Olivia, who was brought in to the world on February 17, 2012.  These photos were all taken at 1-week old.  See the photos below or click here for some more samples of 1 week and more.  What a cutie!

Olivia - 1 week - Titled: Daddy's Hand

Victoria and Olivia - Titled: Before and After

Then, in March, Mr Handsome (aka Lukas) strolled in to the studio and did his thing for me.  What a nice looking young man, huh?

Lukas - 2 Yrs

Addison, a frequent flyer of Rob Smith Photography, had her 9 month shoot in February.  I have been challenged by babies.  They don't perform like adults or even young children.  The shoots have taught me patience and I believe I have retained the ability to make them smile!  Here is a peek of lil Addi.  More can be seen here.

Addison at 9 Months - CUTIE PATOOOTIE!

Melissa's 39th Birthday party was a hit.  Striving to stay 'forever young' Melissa hosted a party of the century with an 80's / 90's twist.  You can see all the photos at http://www.robsmithphotos.com/melissaprom

Forever Young Prom

Justin Murray, a blues guitarist who recently stormed in to the Kansas City music scene, consulted Rob Smith Photography for his advertising needs.  Justin came in knowing what he wanted and left getting what he came for.  His other photos are just as good as this one.  Check em out!

Justin Serving Up Blues

As photo opportunities happen, I like to be at the right place and the right time.  Here is an instance where Atticus paused during his feed of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  The look he provided during one of his bites of this delicacy was priceless!

Atticus vs PBJ

April was a busy month for Senior High School portrait sessions - one of my favorite shoots to do.  As I tell mom and dad during the consultation, my job is to make your job tough (speaking of providing enough great shots where they have a difficult time picking which ones to print).  Love it!  Below, you can see Cameron, Kayla, Lisa, and Randy. (click name for more samples)

Cameron's Senior HS Shoot

Kayla Senior HS Shoot

Lisa Senior HS Shoot

Randy Senior HS Shoot

Skylee was a treat standing there on Easter Sunday with her pretty dress on and umbrella in hand.  Superstition says never to open an umbrella inside, however I think Skylee has enough luck to spread around.  Skylee is going to have her pick of guys once she grows up, dont you think?

Skylee Easter Umbrella

Weddings can be time consuming, challenging, and a lot of work.  That is the stigma for a wedding photographer anyway.  Toni and Denver's nuptials proved to be anything but that.  This event was fun, lighthearted, and a blast!  If all weddings can be this fun, sign me up!  For more wedding examples, visit http://www.robsmithphotos.com/tonianddenverpublic or email me if you are interested to see everything I provide for my wedding packages!

Toni and Denver: I Do!

Cassie Taylor, the self-proclaimed "daughter of a bluesman" happens to be the daughter of blues legend Otis Taylor.  Cassie toured recently with Samantha Fish and Dani Wylde as a performing act called "Girls with Guitars" and were very successful on their American and International stages.  On Sunday, May 6, 2012, Cassie Taylor, playing her bass, had an open rehearsal at Knuckleheads. What a treat for Kansas City blues lovers to enjoy!  More of Cassie's shoot with her band, which consist of Graham Marshall Mueller on drums and Steve Mignano on guitar, can be found here.

Cassie Taylor: Daughter of a Bluesman

So there was some hype around the Super Moon of 2012 and I bought in to it. The moon, less than stellar, did provide for some nice night time (Kansas City) cityscape shooting however.

A full set is located here: http://www.robsmithphotos.com/supermoon2012

Ordering is turned on! :)

Kansas City Supermoon

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts - Kansas City Missouri

I attended a preschool graduation intending to just take photos of Skylee. Little did I know, I would end up taking photos of nearly every preschool grad there... What a cute bunch of kids, all with great personalities.  The full set can be found here.

 

Skylee: Pomp and Circumstance

I can see you graduated. Congrats!

Well, that is it for now.  I hope you enjoyed what photos that I provided to friends, family, and other fantastic people in the Greater Kansas City area.  If there is a person, place, or thing you would like to see me showcase on here or my website, please feel free to send your suggestion to me via email.