BMW MOA Rally, Gillette Wyoming

Bob Daigle, Mike Scott, and Tommy Zeringue took an extended trip to the BMW MOA Rally in Gillette, WY, during July 2008. The trio met in Shreveport, LA on Friday, July 10. On Saturday, we rode to Amarillo, TX where we had to sample the steaks at The Big Texan. The special there is a 72 oz steak with all the trimmings. Anyone eating this complete meal in one hour will get the meal free.

Sunday's ride was through the northeastern corner of New Mexico where we stopped for a side trip up to the crater of Mt. Kaplan, an extint volcano. From there we crossed Colorado to enter Wyoming south of Laramie. To our surprise, we found a "cajun" restaurant in Laramie. The owner was from Louisiana and the food was real cajun. They even had filet for the gumbo.

After spending a night in Laramie, we traveled across Wyoming to Grand Teton National Park. We stayed in a cabin in Moran, just outside the park. After unpacking, we proceded to Jackson Hole.

The Tuesday morning temperature was 40 degrees at the cabin, and once on the highway it dropped even lower. Wearing as much clothing as we could, we rode into Yellowstone National Park. In Yellowstone, we visited some of the geysers, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and rode around Yellowstone Lake. From there, Bob headed to Cody to spend time at the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum and Mike and I continued through Yellowstone and riding the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, a must ride route in the area. This was a 47 mile route with lots of curves, switchbacks, and hardly any traffic. The highway terminated just north of Cody, where we met Bob at the museum.

Bob rode to Gillette Wednesday morning, while Mike and I again rode the Chief Joseph Highway. On exiting Chief Joseph, we took the highway through the Bear Tooth Pass. This highway took us through the higher elevations crossing from Wyoming to Montana. Even in the middle of the summer, there was still snow at the higher elevations. We stopped in Red Lodge for delicious hamburgers at the Cabosse. We then headed east across Montana and returned to Wyoming north of Gillette. We arrived at the rally site late that evening.

Thrusday's ride was to Devil's Tower, the site of the UFO landings in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. An American Indian legends tell of six Lakota Sioux girls who were picking flowers when they were chased by bears. Feeling sorry for them, the Great Spirit raised the ground beneath the girls. The bears tried to climb the rock, but fell off, leaving their scratch marks on the sides. This is only one of the many legends associated with the tower.

Mike and I headed to visit the Crazy Horse Monument that is being constructed out a mountain in South Dakota. Unfortunately for me, I lost one of the lens in my eyeglasses before crossing into South Dakota. I was able to find a Lenscrafters in Rapid City and since I could not see that well with only one lens, Mike led me to Rapid City. I spend the rest of the afternoon getting an eye exam and glasses before returning the to rally site. Mike went on to see the Crazy Horse Monument.

Saturday, I headed out alone to visit Deadwood, SD, the location of the saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was killed. He is buried in a cemetery in Deadwood along with Calamity Jane.

Since I had to return to work on Tuesday, I headed towards home on Sunday, traveling 997 miles to reach Vernon, TX. Had I known I was only 3 miles short of a thousand, I would have rode around the block to reach the 1000 mark. Mike and Bob continued the trip for a few days more.

Tommy