July 20 Day 29 Alaska Trip

We got a really really early start this morning - It was a good thing too, since we rode through four different states, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. We were in Afton, about five miles from Smoot, Wyoming when a van made a left turn in front of us. When it looked like we were just going to be able to swerve in behind him, the idiot just froze -- stopping the van in the middle of our lane. Thankfully, we both have ABS brakes on our bikes and just avoided T-boning the side of the van. That was Oh, Crap! Numero Uno... Then we stopped for a picnic in Kemmerer. This was the little town on the way up we visited that we could not figure out how to pronounce the name. Anyway, as we pulled out of the city park afterwards, we inadvertently went about a half block down a one-way street. Wouldn't you know it, there was Andy and Barney right there at the intersection watching us the whole time! We got the full treatment as they whipped the prowler around 180 degrees in the middle of the intersection with all lights flashing and everything -- just like you see on all the cops shows and movies. And then, you may have already guessed - the two patrolmen were overwhelmed with that old familiar strong compulsion to sniff all over Leroy's yellow BMW Dual Sport 650! Long story short... we were all best buddies right away and yakking it up good with lots of Leroy's escapades thrown in. They gave us both warning tickets and we promised that we would leave town quietly without endangering the local citizens any further. Perhaps I should repaint my Wing yellow and slap a BMW sticker on it - whaddya think? That was Oh, Crap! Numero Dos... Then we took a side trip through Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. This entire landscape is ideal movie set material for any western ever made. Very desolate and rugged, with just a handful of antelope for hundreds of square miles. They do have some nice lakes here as well, and we saw quite a few boats out enjoying the water. Going into Ashley National Forest it was windy as all get out, which was Oh Crap! Numero Tres... It made it hard to keep our track through the twisties, but we did it anyway -- Hell, we rode 'em like we had a price on our heads! Final destination Vernal, Utah - 526 miles traveled.