Peaks of America Tour Highlights

By Ron Beckley

I have a pin map which shows where I have traveled on two wheels. Last winter when I looked at it, I noticed

there was a big open area in the western states. The POA, Peaks of America Tour, seemed to be a nice solution to

this situation. I began my planning with the intent of revisiting some of the SW states as well as attending the RA and

Paonia rallies.

As usual things went a little wrong just before departure. I got Lyme disease at the Air Head rally and my

back started hurting. Fortunately with modern medicine, I was good enough to travel only a day late with the

precaution to stay out of the sun. Riding gear does not leave much skin exposed so I was good to go.

I arrived in Peterborough, Ontario with the intent of staying at a hostel or camping. Again, I failed to

remember that July 1st is Canada day. The hostel was closed and every camping ground was full with Canadians on

holiday. A young lady at one of the campgrounds sketched a route for me to a government forest that while not an

official campground was used by younger folks for camping. Unfortunately, while enroute, the directions blew off my

tank bag and I could not locate the area on the GPS. The GPS did locate a motel down the road which had a

vacancy. It was a little better than camping.

I spent the next couple of days on the back roads of Ontario, Michigan and Wisconsin working my way to the

Badlands of South Dakota and Mt. Rushmore. Both sites have always been too far off my travels to allow a visit.

The weather was good and the tourists weren’t too bad. Motels were very expensive so camping was the way to go.

I was using a “hammock tent”. The folks at a KOA campground weren’t too happy with it until I assured them that the

straps I used would not harm their trees.

My travels took me through Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Moon Crater National Parks while using back

roads to get to Boise and the RA rally site. The tourist traffic wasn’t bad and I made good time. Yellowstone threw

me a curve when I arrived at the east entrance early in the morning and discovered the road was closed until 8 a.m.

for construction. The sign also failed to mention the road was missing for 9 miles and consisted only of rocks and

mud from thunderstorms the night before. The RVs crawled through this section. Just before getting to Boise the

temperature went over a 100 °F. Route 20 to Boise went straight (as in ruler straight) through one of the most

desolate flat areas I have ever seen. It was good that I had plenty of fuel and water.

The rally at Boise was very good. The site was great and 950 attendees made it easy to get around and see

everything. The weather even cooperated by staying under 100. When I left Boise I changed my plans and headed

north instead of south. It was the wrong direction to get to Paonia but why not. I had missed Glacier National Park

on a previous trip and I was having a difficult time staying away from the sun. In the southwest the temperatures

were above 100 and the things I wanted to see would require some walking in the sun.

The ride north by back roads was great and relatively cool. I made it through Glacier National Park and

worked my way back to Yellowstone where I was able to take enough time to see a lot of the park instead of just

passing through. Old Faithful was on time and I was able to get a photograph I missed years ago on a visit with my

wife. Leaving Yellowstone, I again headed in the wrong direction towards Beartooth Pass. Going up to the pass, I

encountered some very nasty construction. It was only a few miles but large gravel over a hard surface made it feel a

lot longer. I don’t know if I was sweating from the heat or the bike shaking so much.

Eventually I turned south and headed to Paonia. I met Paul and Voni Glaves at a small gas station in the

middle of nowhere Wyoming. They were wandering their way to the MOA rally and not going to Paonia. When I

arrived at Paonia, I found the rally located at the park in town. It was a great location except there were only two

showers on site and the number attending appeared to be about the same as the RA rally. While there, I took a day

to have the oil changed at Grand Junction and see the Colorado National Monument. At the rally there wasn’t a

quart of oil to be found except for the local auto parts store.

The ride from Paonia to Burlington was hot, fast and dry. The temperatures were usually well over 100. I

did very little sightseeing and stuck to the interstate roads until I got to eastern Pennsylvania and took back roads to

the MOA rally. I got my pin for completion of the POA. The rally was great and the weather held until I left for home

on Saturday. The rain on the way home felt good and got a little of the road grime off my riding gear. I covered 8220

miles in 22 days and had no problems except for coping with the heat across the Plains.