My road crew and I were planning to make teh Sturgis area in mid to late Aug (after the Rally) but due to commitments beyond our control we can't leave until after Sept 20th. Here is our itinerary: Day 1; leave Clt NC to St Jo Mo. (Iron Butt). Day 2 St Jo to Badlands. Day 3; Badlands to Ellsworth AFB. Day 4; Devils Tower, Spearfish Hwy, Deadwood. Day 5; Custer SP (most roads), Crazy Horse Monument. Day 6; Hill City, Sylvan Lake, Custer, Iron Mnt. Road, Mt Rushmore (day and night viewing), Deadwood. Day 7; Ellsworth AFB to Battle of Little Bighorn, Billings Mt., Red Lodge Mt. Day 8; Red Lodge up over Beartooth Hwy to Northeast entrance of Yellowstone NP (staying in Mammoth CG). Day 9 & 10; Yellowstone and Jacson Hole Wy. Day 11; Jackson Hole to Cheyenne Wy. Day 12; Cheyenne Wy to RMNP and Denver Co. Day 13; Denver to Kansas City. Day 14; Kansas City to Nashville Tn. Day 15; Nashville to Clt NC. I am most concerned with Yellowstone and RMNP but any help and advice is appreciated. Thanx.

 

i don't travel like that but you can do it how ever you want. it's too much planning and it sounds like your trip is chiseled in stone. i wouldn't have that much planned. i don't make any reservations anywhere or have any predetermined night time stops. the only thing planned is where the destination is. anything else isn't planned.

 

We're taking 6 motorcycles, an RV, a trailer and two trucks. No plan equals plenty of hungry pissed off soldiers. Plan and execute for a good time, too many people to not have a plan. You can't deviate if there is no source of deviation. We stay rigidly flexible but it is nice to know where that many people can stay. If it was one or two bikes, no problem but we also have four women going along and that means someone has to have a plan to feed the masses and bed down...

 

so where does the "(iron butt)" come into play here? i didn't know they had that for rv's and trucks.

 

I didn't say we were trailering. I ride... I did a double Iron Butt last Oct, CLT to Dallas (400 miles in the rain) and from Houston to CLT. I am waiting on my confirmation now. It's over 1000 miles from my house to St Jo Mo. Five motorcycles make that ride and one on a trailer (motorhome driver). Like I said we make a solid plan and execute it as flawlessly as possible.

 

By the last week of September you can expect night temps to be well below freezing with a fair possibility of snow.

FWIW, I rode out of Yellowstone/Jackson Hole last week in August heading to Colorado but got snowed out in the higher elevations of the Rockies...had to go back west then south before turning east back to Georgia.

Good luck!

 

That's not what I wanted to hear but is the info I wanted. Thanks for the info. I was worried about that myself. Sep is late in the year for the Rockies, esecially high in the mountains. What was your route to Co?

 

We left Jackson and headed to Rock Springs, Wy then on to Craig and Eagle, Co with Durango as a destination. But reports of approaching storms (and heavy snow) took us west to Grand Junction instead. We got to Grand Junction just as the real bad weather hit (one rider was actually blown over while still on his bike).

We never did make it to Durango but instead headed back into Utah and then south to Shiprock and Bernallio, NM to head back east.

Be safe!

 

The days in the middle, i.e 6 nd 7, seem like you will have to snap pictures as you ride by. Maybe you have been out that way before, but I would probably leave a little more time to soak up and enjoy the sights.

I agree with Pine Tree. We will be bringing layers for the evenings even in August (but hopwfully no snow).

 

Way to late in the year to hit the rockies last year the first weekend of October in Gillette Wy had 6" of snow and was down below zero Just saying after labor day you never know what to expect bring a snow mobile