halfjeep

The storm from the previous day was gone and for a few minutes the air was not burning onto my skin.

That soon changed and I followed my brothers advice who had messaged me the previous day to remind me to be careful in the scorching sun the more south I got where it is not uncommon for people to get into serious trouble when their vehicle breaks down on one of the desolate stretches of road without enough hydration. Although I had no space left on the bike I got a crate of water bottles which I distributed in every free crack on the bike and ended up almost drinking the whole crate during this day. Needless to say I was very glad I had bought it. I hadn’t even reached the really hot places so I learned a good lesson.

My next stop was Cody. Specifically the old buildings of the town that Buffalo Bill founded a century ago.

The houses on display here had been moved to this location from the surrounding areas to make them available for visitors. Now the modern town of Cody has a population of almost 10000 people and benefits from it’s unique history.

Not only Buffalo Bill had his home here but also Curly the “Indian Scout” of the Crow tribe who was one of the few to survive the Battle of the Little Big Horn siding with the USA fighting against the Siux. He was the first to report the defeat of General Custers army witnessing his death on the Battlefield.

Curleys hut:

I used to think that the cloths we picture Native Americans with at least to some degree exaggerated and romanticized but apparently they are portrayed accurately as this original shows.

And as if that wasn’t enough history even the two outlaws Butch Cassidy and Sundance kid lived in this area and frequented the saloon of Cody.

They were part of the “Hole in the Wall” gang which committed a series of robberies and were the famously portrayed but Robert Redford and Paul Newman in the western movie classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Paul Newman – Robert Redford

The real Sundance Kid on the bottom row left and Butch Cassidy on the bottom right:

As interesting as this journey through time was I felt exhausted and was looking for some shade before I moved north again. I had made it a habit to always get some fresh fruit for each day. Today it was grapes which by noon I was almost too tired to eat.

Next stop, Buffalo Bill center of the west.

The museum included extensive exhibitions of all kinds of fields from animals to geology and history, to historic weapons and of course Buffalo Bill. The center houses the biggest collection of old pistols, rifles and guns in the US. How ironic that the entrance greeting reads: “Check visible firearms at security”.

The weapons on display range from old Smith and Wesson revolvers …

… to unsuccessful experiments …

… and more successful ones like the famous Gatling gun.

Buffalo Bill had his own section at the museum dedicated to him. A successful soldier and pioneer of the west his fame and reputation had become so big that he started to cash in on it by staging reenactments of his adventures for paying audiences. That made his fame grow even bigger and still during his lifetime he became one of the most iconic names and symbols of the wild west far beyond the borders of the US.

With his monumental shows Buffalo Bill toured through all of Europe (even Austria multiple times) covering more distance than I probably ever will.

And this despite the primitive and heavy equipment like his tent which was probably not a 10 min job to setup like mine.

There was a lot to see at the museum but not enough time. I had to move on so I would reach the mountain pass I wanted to see before the sun set. It was summer but on the mountain the weather could be very different and I was not well equipped for cold weather.

Heading north I crossed back from Wyoming into Montana.

At over 1800m elevation I reached a little village where I met a fellow KLR 650 rider who was on a similar journey as me. Originally from Poland but living on the Canadian east coast he started his trip in the south western part of the US and was heading for Vancouver. We talked about the KLRs, our equipment and experiences. I told him that I had been worried about my bikes suspension for quite some time and that I was looking for a mechanic to get it checked. To my surprise he informed me that there was a Kawasaki dealer right in this tiny village in the mountains and he had just come from there himself. He also asked me if I wanted to join him on his way North but my trip was far from over and my general heading was still South so we wished each other luck and parted ways.

The Kawasaki dealer turned out to not have a bike-medic on site that day so I put my worries aside and got back on the road. Climbing higher and higher I reached a winding road that brought me into an alpine landscape. The familiar mountains were a welcome change but nonetheless I was a little underwhelmed because my expectations had been quite high after what I had heard about this area.

The little chipmunk probably was just as disappointed when it realized my hand was empty.

But my disappointment was premature. The road lead me higher and higher and until I reached the top elevation of 3334 meters and the view was nothing short of spectacular.

I wished I could have spent the next few hours staring into the landscape enjoying the silence but I had no idea where I was going to sleep that night and I certainly didn’t want to sleep on the mountain. The temperature was just around 5 degrees Celsius.

I’m not one for smooth tarmac roads but this road was breathtaking.

The sky was perfectly clear and the cool air up here much easier to breath than the hot thick air below.

It was summer but there was still a thick layer of snow in some spots.

In North America distances sometimes look shorter on the map than they really are. On my way down the mountains the next turn on the road was in 93km.