Wyoming

July 12, 2015
Miles from Rancho Santa Fe   3043
Miles from Loreto   3853

We head out pretty early from Seeley Lake, it's cool and cloudy with a few showers. The road is nice as it wanders through the hills following a river. We pass numerous fisherman on the shore and in small doreys made for the river.
The Butler Motorcycle maps we've been using are great. The best motorcycle roads are hi-lighted and categorized by scenery, quality and fun, They vary from really nice 2 lanes to really twisty 1 lane to nice dirt.  We pick out a route in the evening for the next day and have usually stuck to it. Today the route is perfect as it takes us through several National Forests and beautiful scenery. The weather is in the 60's most of the day and we get hit with a few rain squalls. We see deer, hawks and a bald eagle. The diversity of terrain is  amazing and there is little traffic right up until we reach West Yellowstone, our destination for the night. West Yellowstone, as far as I can tell, is made up entirely of hotels, motels, Inns, cabins, lodges, bars, casinos and restaurants of every sort. We rent a little cabin for the night. Luckily we booked it last night, as almost every place we drive by has the "NO VACANCY" sign out. After we settle in, we wander down town, dodging rain showers, looking for a place to eat. There is a spectacular double rainbow over Yellowstone, but it seems of the hundreds of tourist darting around buying souvenirs and T-shirts, we were the only ones who noticed. We eventually settle in at the bar at Madison Crossing. We have a couple of really good appetizers (bison baby back ribs) and a cocktail and a few glasses of wine for our dinner. It was very good,  but twice the price of our full meal at Seeley Lake.
Tomorrow we plan to cruise through Yellowstone and head up to Red Lodge. One problem with travelling on the bike is the inability to stop and hike easily. We do get to see more in general and hopefully return in the off season to do some hiking and climbing.