A group of about six of us are planning on Riding the Divide this summer, leaving Antelope Wells on June 1st and hope to arrive at the Canadian Border 2 weeks later. I have a couple of questions that I hope some of you locals can answer -

1. We will be traveling to Antelope Wells from all corners of the U.S. (and perhaps one or two from overseas). We are looking for a good rendevous point. Most of us will be riding large BMW GS's on the divide. Some of us will be riding down, some will be shipping. I thought that perhaps a BMW dealer (or other reputable dealer based upon recommendations) would be a good meeting spot. That way those who rode in could get any needed service, parts, etc. Also we need someone who will take delivery of bikes shipped by independent shipping companies. It appears that the nearest BMW dealers are in Tucson or Chandler, AZ. Any recommendations or thoughts?

2. I know that we are starting this trip early in the season and we should expect some snow in the north. I have read some post say that some areas are not open until after July 1st. Could anyone me more specific? Where are we likely to run into these closures and are they weather dependent (i.e.-perhaps open sometime in June weather permitting) or is it a set policy that every year July 1st (or what ever mandated date) is the open date?

3. If we run into these closures, how much of the divide are we likely to miss? The nice thing about this trip is that for the most part there are ways to detour around trouble, but at the same time, we would like to stick to as much of the Divide Route as possible.

Thanks for your time and input.