Had a brilliant ride today along route 89 from Jackson. Lovely sweeping bends through mountains, forests and alongside rivers. Came through this town called Afton in Wyoming which had an arch across the road made entirely of antlers!!

Thought the bears on the roof was cute!

Yesterday we spent a long day in Yellowstone National Park - we just wish we could have had longer. There is so much to see that you can't possibly hope to see a fraction of it in a day. We came here 8 years ago and it looked very different as it was June then and it rained. There has been a lot of investment in new visitor centres at different parts of the park. 

The Park is an active volcano with 300 geysers and it has 1000-3000 earthquakes annually. 

The park is so large it has 5 different entrances for the 466 miles of roads. As the crow flies it is 63 miles north to south and 54 miles east to west. If you are lucky you can see bears, bison, wolves, elk and much more.  And to think we saw all this for the cost of $20 (for a motorcylce permit) - which covered us for 2 days.

The Park is made up of forests, lakes, waterfalls, mountains & geysers.

The below waterfall is in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, as shown above.

As you travel through the park you come across the below geyser basins. There are walkways around them so you can get closer, but the ground is like a bubbling cauldron. People have lost feet when they have stepped off the walkways!

Below is a photo of the famous Old Faithful geyser which spouts every 90 minutes - great fun to watch.

At the end of the day after leaving Yellowstone and heading South you enter the Grand Teton National Park. As we entered the sun was going down and the mountains looked spectacular with the sun's last rays shining through as we rode alongside them.

Fortunately the weather was glorious when we crossed over the Beartooth Highway today. The road which is rated as one of the most scenic roads in America, starts just south of Red Lodge in Montana, crosses into Wyoming and finishes 64 miles later just south of Cooke City back in Montana. After 6 degrees yesterday (we had to put our heated jackets on) the temperature rose to 16 degrees at the summit today which is at an elevation of just over 10,000ft.

We then entered Yellowstone National Park via the North East gate and saw Bison herds in the distance. We stayed overnight just outside the park at a place called Gardiner and will spend the day tomorrow touring the park and then on to the Grand Teton National Park.

Left Cody, Wyoming today in much cooler weather. Travelled through the Chief Joseph Highway which is meant to be very scenic but unfortunately we had low cloud and 6 degrees so saw nothing. What a difference from the weather we have had which has been mostly in the 30's. Really appreciated the heated jackets - didn't think we would need them just yet.
Went over the Beartooth Highway which is rated one of the most scenic highways in America and luckily we had a good view although too cold to stop today but going back the other way tomorrow (which is the best direction to see the scenery at its best) and into Yellowstone Park.
The rain set in once we had reached Red Lodge, Montana but the forecast is for warmer weather tomorrow. Hope to get some good photos then.  Its lovely to reach cooler mountainous areas with many bends after the long straight roads across the prairies.

Went to a rodeo this evening in Cody, Wyoming. Wonderful family fun night out with a big element of skill and danger. Met a guy called Monty (named after Field Marshall Montgomery) from Michigan who was riding a 650 BMW and parked alongside us. A really charming guy who insisted on buying our entry tickets. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and friendliness of the people we have met.

For anyone that saw 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', they will recognise the Devil's Tower that was used in the film. Today 2 more aliens landed:-)