From the Snowy Range our destination was Lander, where "Road Damage Rob" from Steamboat had said there was a great free camping area in the city park. I'd been through Lander a couple of times previously but it was only a fuel stop each time.
Heading north through Saratoga we left the lusher green valley near the Wyoming border, hitting I-80 at Walcott then headed west for Rawlins. Zipping along the interstate, I spotted a blue Yamaha dual sport with a rider dressed in black paralleling the freeway about 100 yards to my right across the fence in a field. He had soft bags on the bike and a spare tire, so I assumed he was on some form of the Backcountry Discovery Route. He was going slowly as we rocketed past at 75. Kim had not seen him so I described what I'd seen.
The exit for Rawlins and the road north came up soon after, where we stopped for ice and gasoline. While we waited, the blue Yamaha rolled in for gas. I introduced myself and Dustin said he was heading for Montana. I asked if he was on a BDR route and he said no, but was simply was trying to avoid the freeway since he was running a Yamaha 250 with gear, however his GPS showed an old road in the field which wasn't actually there. It finally ended and he had to backtrack to the freeway anyway.
Dustin from Lubbock
I told him about the city park camping in Lander before we headed on over the rolling terrain, drier and a bit more desolate but with massive vistas all around. Kim spotted a herd of wild horses amongst the hills while we rolled on in the ever increasing heat. At the Three Forks / Muddy Gap intersection, we again stopped for a water guzzle and after a bit watched Dustin on his Yamaha 250 make the turn towards Lander.
We eventually passed Dustin again and by the time we reached Lander it had gotten seriously hot - 102º per the signs in town. Along the main drag, I was surprised to see six or seven WWII era Harleys parked in a row in front of a restaurant. Kim thought they were "very cool". I wanted to stop and check them out but it was so hot we kept going to grab some groceries before heading off to find the park.
When we stopped at the park, Kim realized she'd dropped her BMW gloves somewhere along the neighborhood streets, so we retraced the route but they were nowhere to be found. We turned around and rode slowly back to the park again, but never saw them again, assuming someone had picked them up.
The park turned out just as Rob had described - thick green grass, tall shade trees and plenty of room for tents. We got set up and relaxed for a while in spite of Kim's grumbling over the lost gloves. At the other end of the park I saw Dustin setting up his tent and he eventually wandered over. We sat and talked til well after dark. He was on his way to Glacier National Park where he was to start his Continental Divide Ride south. He'd left Lubbock 4 days previous and was anxious to get to the Montana border. We wished him well and he headed off for sleep and an early departure.
Lander City Park - a great free camp spot
The next morning I was up early and surveyed the place. Many campers - hikers, cyclists and others - had arrived late in the night and some were sleeping openly on the ground. As the sun came up people began to stir. Through bleary eyes I watched Dustin pull away about 7 am. We packed up camp with plans to head for Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park, having made the decision to brave the tourists hordes since she'd never seen the area before.
It had been a week of camping and we needed showers badly. A call to the local Holiday Lodge next to the McDonald's, brought good news of $5 showers, so we headed for a quick breakfast at Mickey D’s and then walked over to the adjacent motel. There sat the WWII Harleys, several guys working on them, oiling chains and doing maintenance.
The motel had a washing machine also, so we stayed to wash clothes after our long, hot showers. While waiting for the laundry to finish I heard the Harley guys speaking in what I thought was German. That was a real mind twist to see rare WWII American bikes with European riders. Kim had decided to bring her bike over from the McDonald's parking lot, and as she rode past the guys all gave a thumbs up.
After she parked, one of the guys wandered over and introduced himself. "Hugo" was Dutch and told us the story of the group. There were 10 guys who'd all grown up together in Utrecht, each buying an old GI Harley and forming a riding club years ago. They had decided to ship the bikes to Denver, then ride the American West for a cancer charity. They'd left Denver a few days before and made it to Lander, where one of the bikes broke down - an ignition shaft that, of course, was the only part they hadn't brought along. Their mechanic who'd worked on the old bikes for 30 years had never seen this part break and they’d decided to leave a spare at home.
Turns out there was a Harley shop in Lander - Strokers USA - and the owner had opened the shop to them to use whatever tools they needed. They'd overnighted a part from a vintage dealer in New York and it was due in by 10 am, so they hoped to be on the road for Cody the next day.
Hugo, who's name I couldn't pronounce in Dutch, told us about all the Harleys that had been left after the war and how they were dirt cheap for years, but now were in the hands of owners and collectors. He told us goodbye, handing Kim a commemorative shirt and exchanged info with us, then he and a couple other riders left, the sirens on the bikes blaring loudly. Kim and I both laughed out loud. It was a lot of fun.
In case you ever wondered how Dutch riders washed their undies...
It was past time to hit the road, but we needed to find some cheap gloves to replace the ones lost and hit a local hardware store to look. A few blocks down the road I saw an Ace Hardware and popped in to see what they might have for gloves as well. Walking inside the store with my helmet on, in my headset I heard Kim talking to someone about the BMW's and when I returned she was speaking with a guy who had a hockey puck in his hand and was talking about the R1200GSA. Turns out his name was Dave, a long time BMW rider who'd just come to the hardware store to find the right screws to attach the puck to his GSA sidestand. Kim laughed and pulled out her custom hockey puck with cord attached. He laughed out loud and invited us to come to his home later that day, suggesting we ride up Sinks Canyon after swinging by his place. We exchanged info and agreed to meet later, then we headed to the post office to ship a few items back after editing our clothing after the wash.
We had a couple more errands to deal with and Kim decided we should check out the Harley shop for gloves since it was just a couple of blocks away. We pulled in to see all the Dutch guys sitting on the porch with their bikes in the lot. They waved and we went over to join the discussion. They were talking with the owner, Jeff, about where to ride that afternoon to test the repaired bike. Jeff had taken them up Sinks Canyon the day before and they were wanting to kill some time in the afternoon now that the bike was ready.
We went inside to look at gloves and shortly after Jeff came in. Kim found some gloves to use until we could find some better ones. By this time it was well after noon and we needed sustenance. Jeff suggested a cafe downtown and when we pulled up, all the Dutchmen with their Harleys were there. We laughed and waved then found a spot on the patio for some fish and chips and a Mandarin salad. Before we finished, Hugo came over and invited us to ride with the group a few miles down the road to Hudson, where Jeff had suggested an after-work brew.
These guys sure got a lot of attention in downtown Lander
By this time the day was blown and we had enjoyed camping in the park so much we decided to stay another night in Lander. After lunch while loading the bikes, we were debating whether to ride with the Harley guys, only to hear the wail of sirens and looked up to see the Dutchmen group riding past, Hugo giving a big wave to follow them. We laughed and joined the group, stopping briefly at the motorcycle shop before Jeff and friends joined us for the short ride to Hudson.
Headin' to Hudson
The guys all pulled in in front of the bar and backed in, the Butterfly and I taking up last position. The bar was old, funky and cool, and we spent a couple of hours talking to the guys about bikes, politics and life.
An old veteran came in asking to see the soldiers who were riding the bikes, only to be a bit surprised they were from Holland.
Finally it was time to head back, so we said our goodbye's to the group before heading for Dave's place near Sinks Canyon. The bar owner gave us all black Harley doo-rags but Hugo didn't want his picture taken with it on, as he didn't want to look like a "Harley guy".
It was truly a great time running into these guys and getting to hang out with them. They continue the great tradition of Dutch adventurers and explorers, riding these old bikes around the western U.S. and having a ball. You can follow da boys at their Facebook Page.
Watching him trying to kickstart the bike in the heat quelled my enthusiasm to own one
The road to Dave's place out in Sinks Canyon was an easy dirt road ride to the base of the hills, where Dave was standing outside his garage and waving us in. His garage was a great man-cave, replete with several BMW's including a Paris-Dakar, 1200GSA and 800GS. I drooled over the place until he figured I needed something to drink. We sat on his porch with his lovely wife Audrey, a talented photographer, and talked bikes, travels, life and photography. The sun was getting low and we said our goodbyes, Dave telling us to come back by on the way through or if we needed a place to work on the bikes. Dave was just an awesome guy!
Back at the park we ate and watched a guy setting up a 50' long slack line nearby. He'd been camping there and walking a short slack line the two previous days, us watching him in amazement at the ability to stand up from a sitting position and then balance walk the line.
Kim went over to ask him questions and was wrangled into helping him pull the line taught. it was very high due to the length and Kim wanted to try, but he and another slack-liner said it wasn't a good idea to try on that tight of a line for the first time. We watched him try for an hour until he finally walked the entire line and return multiple times. His name was Will, and he set up a lower, shorter line for Kim to learn on. She was up for it and managed to do well, standing free for a few seconds before having to grab my finger for balance. It was fun to watch while Will coached her on.
The Iron Butterfly did well, standing free for a few seconds on the line but also impressed with the extreme difficulty of it
The tools of Will the Slackliner
The tools of Joseph the Slacker…
Sleep came easily after a very full day