Round the U.S.-Yellowstone and back in three weeks

[tjhess74]

my friend steve and had kicked around the idea of doing a 'big' ride for a couple years.  the thought of going to yellowstone and touring the surrounding states kept rearing its head...so we finally started cementing plans, made reservations, and before you know it, we were pulling out of my driveway for an epic adventure!

we planned for several weeks and picked august 21st through september 11th as our time to ride.  the thought was that the weather shouldnt be as hot as summer, and it wasnt quite fall yet.  the only wild card was coming back via the southern route...hurricane season.  we knew that weather would be our biggest variable, so we carefully packed cold and hot weather gear, and just about anything else we could think of...including a spare tent!  ours jobs were none too happy that we were going to be gone that long...but who cares?!  we made our packing list, checked it hundreds of times and somehow made everything fit in the bike. steve found a small stuffed monkey and attached it to the back of his bike to be our trip mascot.  push his stomach and he makes a monkey battle cry!  youll see pics of him later...

of course, our money wasnt picked from trees.  we planned to visit some family and friends along the way to help offset the costs of lodging.  steve travels alot for his job and stays in alot of hotels.  the result of this is rewards points that paid for most of nights that camping and family couldnt take care of.  this planned worked well and if i recall correctly, i think we only paid actual cash for two nights out of a total of twenty one!

so, on friday aug. 21st, at about 8:00 in the morning, steve met me at my place.  his honda pacific coast was LOADED!  he had ingeniously fashioned a milk crate to the back and it worked perfectly.


my kawasaki concours 14 was equally as loaded, i just hid it alittle better!  my saddle bag lids had to be coerced alittle to get closed! we lined up on the starting line at the bottom of my driveway while the wife started took some pics


we were fresh and ready to go!


we let out the clutches and off we went for the adventure of a lifetime...as of now at least!



the first day consisted of making it from north charleston, sc to new richmond, oh-just outside of cincinnati, oh.  it was going to be about 600 miles total.  our plan was to make time and distance on the first few days by using the interstates.  then, as we neared good roads, abandon the interstate for more a scenic america.  there arent really many pics from day 1, as the roads are old hat for us.  we jumped on i-26 and headed west.  i-26 and i-40 have some pretty good twists in them in the appalachians, which we knew was just a taste of things to come!  we stopped for lunch just above knoxville, tn at a steak and shake (my favorite!).  steve was in the mood for a shake, but i was wanting to hit the road to avoid some dark skies heading our way.  his thirst and my eye to the sky turned out to be a very fortunate combination.

we were about 40 or so miles above knoxville on i-75 when we crested a hill and the few cars that were in front of us suddenly came to a stop.  we knew it was a wreck, as we could see an suv in the median.  initially we started to weave through the vehicles in front of us to simply bypass the whole thing and continue on our way.  thats when i saw the guy laying on the left shoulder.  now, as a former leo, normally i steer clear of things like this.  usually there are people around and i would just contribute to the clutter and getting involved just puts you at risk.  also, honestly, ive had my share of blood and guts and am just kinda over it.  when i saw the guy laying there, i thought surely he was dead.  there some people around him, but it was obvious they werent sure what to do.  i looked around to start getting a better picture of what happened.  the suv, a tahoe i believe, had obviously rolled several times from the southbound lanes.  there was a camper trailer sitting perfectly in the number 2 southbound lane...without a vehicle attached to it.  alittle simple math, and i came to the conclusion that the tahoe was towing the trailer, lost control, flipped, and ejected said passenger.  i yelled for steve to stop so we could get some more appropriate help for this guy.  i was walking towards him, not in a hurry cause i thought he was dead, when i saw him body jerk in an attempt to breath in. upon seeing that i was stunned!  i then ran over and started helping the others in assessing the guy.  he was in very dire straits.  broken limbs, obvious internal and head injuries, and a crapload of blood coming from his head.  the blood was all over the pavement and had started to coagulate into a gooey mess that stuck to everything it touched.  have i mentioned that i have an aversion to peoples blood?  too many cooties for my comfort.  i guess its all those years of chasing diseased crackheads.

i ran back to my bike and grabbed my meager first aid kit and donned my gloves.  about that time, a nurse came on scene and together we reestablished his airway.  shorty thereafter a tennessee state trooper arrived.  we advised him that the victim was a category 3 and needed an airlift.  his breathing was becoming more labored and less frequent and did not respond to any stimulus.  he was also out cold, which for him, was probably a good thing.  the ambulance got there quickly, but was staffed with some local volunteers, much to my dismay.  that is not what this guy needed.

the helicopter from the university of tennessee medical center arrived within about twenty minutes of the initial call. by this time the guy was being tended to in the ambulance.


the helo was on the ground for nearly forty minutes before he was loaded onto it...not necessarily a good sign.


the three other guys standing around turned out to be the remaining passengers in the tahoe. they were on thier way to bristol for the race and were completely in shock.  one guy was very distraught over his friends condition.  seatbelts do work, as those three found out.




the camper sitting quietly on the highway


turns out the guys were passing a semi truck and the trailer started to weave.  despite trying to accelerate out of it (im sure they were already going pretty fast) the tahoe spun, smacked the left side of the trailer (you can see the marks on the bottom of the trailer), disconnected, and flipped.

another reason i hate stopping for accidents, is that i usually see something that really pisses me off.  after the guy was loaded into the ambulance, the nurse and i start gathering all of the biohazard blood items that were scattered about.  we had a large shopping bag full of stuff (you can see the white bag in one of the pics) that was contaminated...including the bag itself.  the nurse and i informed the local volunteer types (not a big fan of rescue rickys) that the bag needed to be disposed of properly.  they acknowledge they would take care of it.  we all patiently waited for the highway to reopen and the wrecker driver started gathering items and throwing them into the back of the tahoe so he could clear the scene.  thats when the driver picked up the biohazard waste bag and threw it into the tahoe along with all the other personal belongings!  i ran over to him and informed him what was in the bag and that it needed to be removed by protected personnel before he left.  he thanked me for letting him know and i returned to the fire fighters that were now standing around sharing good laughs. i told them what had happened and they said they would take care of it...then they just returned to thier conversation.  i realize that in the backwoods of tennessee that bag might not have much importance, but in the real world that is a serious violation of biohazard handling protocol and puts many lives at risk for disease transmission.  think of all the people that will come in contact with that bag...insurance people, family members, vehicle dismantlers, and so on.  upon the lack of interest from those guys, i informed another fire fighter.  he seemed much more interested, but again did nothing, so i let it go.  screw em, i did my part.

remember that milkshake??  well, lets just say steve is a proficient eater, and didnt waste time bottoming that cup!  thats about the amount of time between the accident and our arrival.  not sure i would have wanted to see a tahoe (and a person) flipping oncoming at me...not my idea of fun.

well, they eventually loaded up the guy, his name was kieth and was from ohio btw, and it didnt look good.  im fairly certain he didnt make it, although i couldnt find anything online about the accident.  the trooper let steve and i take off before he reopened the interstate, very cool!  traffic was backed up for nearly seven miles!!!

EDIT: i finally found the article regarding the accident.  unfortunately, the passenger, keith smith, did die two days later on 8/23/09.
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=96801&provider=gnews#
"An Indiana man was killed after an accident involving a camper Friday.

According to Tennessee Highway Patrol, Wade P. Shindlebower, Jr., 45, of Bellbrook, Ohio was pulling a camper behind his SUV. He was driving southbound on Interstate 75 near mile marker 145 in Campbell County.

When the vehicle reached a steep hill, the trailer began to sway out of control. It then separated from the SUV, causing the vehicle to flip. The SUV turned three times before stopping in the median.

Passenger Keith Smith, 51, of Indianapolis, Indiana was transported to UT Medical Center where he passed away on Sunday.

According to the report, he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Troopers said they believe safety restraints would have made a difference.

Two other passengers, Robert M. Grounds, 46, of Springboro, Ohio and Roy D. Deal, 46, of Edinburgh, Indiana were both injured. They were both wearing seatbelts.

Authorities said drugs and alcohol weren't a factor."


my mind was still stuck on that wreck for the next several miles.  but eventually as we passed into the beautiful kentucky landscape, the thoughts of the wreck faded and i just prayed for continued safety for us.  then, like an oasis in the desert, i spied cincinnati! i started singing the 'wkrp in cincinnati' theme song!


we stayed with the parents of a friend of ours.  man, they had a great time telling us childhood stories about him...poor guy, hes gonna hear about this!!!  they cooked a good dinner and we got a good nights sleep.  our next day would be our longest of the trip, just over 800 miles.

stay tuned for subsequent days of our adventure.  as we progress into our trip, the pics become much more abundant!  this ride report will be on a couple other sites, so if you start reading it and get that deja vu feeling, relax, the matrix doesnt have a glitch...its just me!

[mustang28027]

Charleston to  Yellowstone...  sounds like a good trip. I'm in. Looking forward to more posts...

[UHOH]

sure to be a real trip, but what a start!

good writing / pic for day 1  

[Marcster]

Charleston to  Yellowstone...  sounds like a good trip. I'm in. Looking forward to more posts...

Me too....  And last year I was on a divided highway and witnessed an accident with Medivac response.  I was behind a delivery truck when a woman driving a Ford Escort stopped but didn't look and just darted across our two lanes to get to the other side of the highway to continue her way West.  Well, that delivery truck didn't have more than 1/2 a second to jam on his brakes before spinning that Escort like a top into the guardrail.  I stayed as a witness...  They blocked both sides of the highway for Medivac.  It was eery driving the next 5 miles being the only car on my side of the highway (traffic was bumper to bumper on the other side).

[tjhess74]

  It was eery driving the next 5 miles being the only car on my side of the highway (traffic was bumper to bumper on the other side).

SO TRUE!  it was like the apocolypse or something!  cars stacked up everywhere on the opposite side and people everywhere...and not a soul on our side except for steve and me...very strange feeling.  the people on the other side stared at us in fascination as to how we got there cause no one was behind us.

day 2 will follow this evening...

[Smoker]

Looking forward to the rest, Tom! Great job so far.

[tjhess74]

DAY 2: 8/22/09

so, here we were spending the night in cincinnati...a city i had not been to yet.  you have to understand something about me...im addicted to the news.  whenever i go to a new city/area, i feel compelled to watch that city's local news to see whats going on there (besides murder and mayhem, of course).  well, i learned that cincinnati spends apparently loves high school football!  nearly half of its news cast was dedicated to the area schools.  the demand for sportscasters is so high, they had TWO sportscasters!  one of whom had a segment where he goes to a school and 'eats for free'.  what a job.  i forget his name, but the guy was a goofball.

anyway, after a long night of the wkrp theme song echoing in my head, we got up early for our long day.  today was planned for just over 800 miles, to sioux city, ia.  we opened the garage door and the blast of COLD air hit us!!!  it was in the 50's! hmmm, ok, i was pretty sure the midwest and such had warm weather this time of year.

we take off for another day of vacation...a cold day.  oh, another thing you need to know about me...i hate change.  when im familiar with something i hate replacing it and relearning something else.  i recently, and begrudgingly, changed over from my preferred gps to a garmin, for its weather resistance and ability to import routes.  many of you have heard me complain about it. well, the route line is bigger than the route road.  the result of this is if there are many turn offs right around the one youre supposed to be on, you can end up on the wrong exit (and yes, i was zoomed in...im talking an exit within an exit here!).  thats what happened to me on the interstate in downtown cincy.  so we ended up in kentucky for the third time in two days...big deal!  steve got me back on track and we were on our way to indiana.

now, remember, i said earlier that i didnt have too many pics from the first couple days. well, i wasnt kidding!  we made our way across indiana and i made a very astute observation...the roads suck!  interstate 74 contained pothole after pothole.  sections of broken pavement after the next.  very annoying.  i also happened to notice the state was one of the flatter ones ive been too.  i do like indiana though.  the fields and farmland are very scenic, especially in the morning light.

it finally started to warm up mid way throught the state, and we continued on through indianapolis.  now, lets cover this right now.  we can sum up a big portion of this trip in one word...CONSTRUCTION!  the west side of indianapolis was the beginning of that part of the adventure.  trust me, youll see and hear of more construction as this story unfolds.  

OH, i almost forgot...so were cruising through the winding and bumpy construction zone on the west side.  well, steve had this box of gobstoppers that he had placed in the milkcrate.  i was behind him and i kept seeing little, what seemed to be, colorful objects coming from the back of steves bike.  then it donned on me, they were gobstoppers!  every time we hit a big bump, two or three would come bouncing out and tumble down the highway!  i was laughing out loud and hoped the bumps would stop cause i wanted some gobstoppers later on!

so indiana came and went.  we passed into illinois. the weather was still cool, but comfortable. maybe low 70's.  we stopped to have lunch on the outskirts of peoria.  it was midday and the doldrums of the interstate and the knowledge that we were not quite halfway were kicking in.  but, as with any long ride, you just get back on and take it a few miles at a time.  time, miles, and the continuing farmland go by.  before you know it we were about to enter iowa...but not before some more construction on the section of i-80 going around rock island!  ah yes, love single lane interstates!

we make it into iowa and i was pleased to see the terrain actually begin to turn into gentle rolling hills.  steve and i are cruising along and the interstate is singing.  suddenly, thats when i saw it...a billboard for the world's largest truck stop!  hey, i know this place...ive seen it before on tv!  steve, we gotta stop!!!  i point to the billboard and anxiously await the exit.  we pull into the parking lot and are greeted by this sign

the famous iowa 80!



i saw this place on the history channel's 'modern marvels'.  a virtual trucker city!  we go inside and find plenty of places to eat, a dentist, sleeping quarters, tons (literally) of tractor-trailer accessories and merchandise.  then, thats when we saw them...actual semi trucks inside!  there were two trucks, and one full truck and trailer combo!  all we needed were trucker hats!






we gas up and push on.  we pass through des moines.  the capitol city looked nice from our vantage point.  yet we push on some more.  we stopped for gas again west of des moines at a convenient store chain named 'kum and go'.  well, i found humor in it!



while there we stopped and talked to some guys on there way to a truimph rally somewhere west of here. we were gonna stop by, but we never did find it.  by this time the day was beginning to fade into night...a beautiful iowa sunset!


i was actually very impressed with iowa.  nice rolling hills, lush green landscapes, and good road conditions...nice!  we made our way north on interstate 29 and into sioux city.  we ate at a mexican restaurant and called it a night at the hotel afterwards.

surprisingly enough, i was kinda dreading today.  the long distance on interstate through stereotypically flat and boring states was what we wanted to put behind us.  but they were actually quite pleasant and i found my energy level at the end was quite high.  i could have easily done another 200 miles for an iron butt 1000+mile day.

yes, i watched the news.  steve had used one of those luggage carts to put all of our crap on.  the thing was full and instead of unloading it in the room and returning it, we just kept it.  why not, right?!

tomorrow youll see the luggage cart and more pics, PROMISE!  lets see, that would be nebraska, and onto rapid city in south dakota.  oh yea, we also dumped the interstate for awhile!

[tjhess74]

ok, day 2 pics are up! sorry for the delay!  day 3 starts later tonight!

[bluepoof]

Great report so far! And thanks for stopping to help the accident victim.  We need more good samaritans out there.

[tjhess74]

here we go, DAY 3...this is were it gets good and the real adventure starts!  sunday, 8/23/09

so, we wake up in our free hotel (steves reward points, remember?!)  steve and i enjoy a decent continental breakfast.  you know, the kind where you cook your own waffle, and get some cereal.  steve loved the breakfast burritos!  we had commondeered the bell hop luggage cart the night before.  only having to make one trip from the room to the parking lot...priceless!


our plan, since we made really good time yesterday, was to abandon the interstate for awhile and enjoy some scenery.  we only had 450ish miles to cover today, but we were not sure how nebraska would be in the scenery department, but anything had to be better than i-x!

we cross the river into nebraska and need some fuel.  why get it in town where its plentiful when you can wander the countryside in search of a station?!  we find one not too far down the road and gas up.


now, if you stare at that picture (and if youre not from that area) you may notice something odd.  mid grade is cheaper than low grade!  it took us awhile to figure this one out.  but alas, we got it!  its cheaper because it has 10% ethanol, whereas the other grades do not. huh, who knew?!

so, off we go!  i was amazed!  it was a beautiful, brisk morning and the scenery was gorgeous!  highway 20 was laid amongst some beautiful green and gold hills capped by an amazing blue sky.  it even had some nice twists and turns.


rolling along and we see this interesting piece...a windmill museum!  again, who knew?!


as we rode by, you could easily several different styles of windmills and signs explaining them.  in this modern age, i have never given much thought to a windmill before and that there could be so many different kinds.  while riding, i thought about it and it made sense. back then a windmill would have many uses.  but you need wind to have a windmill. its nice and calm...uh oh, i just spoke too soon!  we wind through a few small...no seriously, really small towns.  the kind where the population is measured in low four digits...sometimes three.  it was a real glimpse into old time america.  as we progressed, the wind started to kick up.  it turned into a 40 mph left cross wind with higher gusts. it takes alot of energy to battle a wind like that for long, but i managed to get some pics still.


the miles go by and the scenery becomes the stereotypical nebraska...flat!  at least there are still some trees.  oh, that damned wind!  before to long, we encounter...you guessed it...construction!  the detour is something like 20 miles long!  up 7, over a few, and down 7.  sheesh!

we pull into valentine, ne and the scenery became stark with some mesas and bluffs, but we are starving!  a billboard some miles back for pizza hut planted a seed that just wouldnt die!  so, you guessed it, we ate at pizza hut.  uh, actually, we over ate.  let me say this, steve LOVES parmesan cheese.  so much so that the holes in the container top just dont cut it...off comes the lid!

we saw a road to a historic sight on the way into town.  after lunch we decide to go back...and were glad we did!  the historic sight was the 1932 bryan bridge.  it has long since been taken out of mainstream use, but you can still drive across it, and you are afforded some great views in the small niobrara river valley.




heres the story behind the bridge


the obligatory 'we parked on it and got the picture' picture (overlooking the new hwy 20 bridge)


have i talked about the grasshoppers yet??  no? well let me tell you about the grasshoppers!  starting many miles back, steve and i kept feeling 'whacks' and 'thumps' on our feet and legs.  we were baffled for awhile until we had lunch and we saw the culprits


they were everywhere!  anything on the lower half of a vehicle was covered with grasshopper guts! our legs, shoes, bikes, etc...  so we started to look at the road carefully, and sure enough...grasshoppers!  they dotted the road for miles.  as soon as you get to them, they get spooked and jump...right to their deaths!

fortunately, out of valentine (which has a scenic river entry and exit, btw) the hwy 83 turned northward towards south dakota.  you know what that means...TAILWIND!  hell yea. sometimes it was even better than this!


our ultimate destination today is rapid city and its now later in the afternoon.  we get to interstate 90 at murdo, sd to get some fuel.  there is a car museum next door that has a very interesting vehicle at its entrance


this thing was huge!  purposefully oversized for effect, of course!  it was built on a bus chassis and the body was made of wood and the fenders were made of fiberglass.  it had an engine, drivetrain, and full instruments.  i believe it is, or was at one time, driveable.

we jump on i-90 to get to our next stop; wall drug.  we head west again...ugh, crosswind.

earlier, steve and i saw some fairly good size fields full of sunflowers.  actually, they are everywhere, roadside and all, but these fields were cool.  both of our wives love sunflowers, so as good husbands do, we love sunflowers too.  awwww!!

we then saw this mega field!  steve motioned for me to stop so we could snag some pictures.  it was as far deep as you could see and easily over a mile wide!


it looked like yellow/green carpet, very cool!

we stopped at a scenic overlook near the badlands on the interstate.  we run across this guy...touring the states on his ural.  at first i thought it was gary stitcher, but it wasnt!


steve and i didnt originally plan on going throught the badlands. but while at the overlook, we had plenty of daylight and energy and said 'why not, were here!'  so off we go, into the badlands national park!




its a beautiful kind of ugly.  very stark and barren, yet full of color and depth.  there were plenty of goats along the way as well. the road through the badlands, hwy (if you want to call it that) 240 ends in wall, sd home of the world famous wall drug.

we make it to wall drug.  what a tourist trap, but cool nonetheless!


the original store was purchased by the husteads in 1931, looking for a new direction in life.  to help drum up some business, they put up some signs along the road offering free ice water (a valuable commodity back then).  the place took off and today it encompasses all the neighboring buildings.  you can walk through all of them from the inside.  it is filled with trinket shops, an outdoors/camping shop, clothing stores, and a restaurant that still has $.05 coffee on the honor system...oh, and yes, free ice water!


in the back, are lots of stuffed animals and displays.  there are also walls filled to the ceiling with pictures from a long long time ago in the area.  here is steve, apparently not happy with the buffalo


here is me, very happy with mr. buffalo!


we cruise around the store for awhile, then hit some of the nearby stores on the main drag.  neat, but the typical tourist stuff.

we hit the road again and encounter another beautiful sunset


my view for the past 1894 miles


we make it into rapid city and of course i take another wrong turn.  im just not jiving with this gps.  steve is determined to get me up to speed with it!  for quite awhile, we saw billboards with actual firetrucks, for a restaurant and bar called firehouse brewery in downtown rapid city.  yep, thats whats for dinner.  the beer was delicious and the food was good too.  the scenery was good to look at too!  

tonight is another comfy bed after a good days ride!

[UHOH]

THIS IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY AND OFFENSIVE TO COMMON SENSE.
I'M NOT GOING TO LOOK AT THIS THREAD EVER AGAIN.

... hell yea. sometimes it was even better than this!

[tjhess74]

DAY 4 monday 8/24/09

alrighty, we got a good nights sleep at the super 8 in rapid city (had to pay for this one).  we awoke refreshed and ready for another days ride.  we really started looking forward to each day now that we have put the interstates behind us and were are beginning to run into the sights that brought us here.  it was another brisk morning; clear with a stiff breeze and the smell of pine trees in the air.  i absolutely love that smell; it never gets old.


we eat our continental breakfast, pack up the bikes, and hit the road.  our first stop is mt. rushmore on hwy 16.  our plan was to just stop by, snag a few pictures and move on our way.  of course, there was construction...new guard rails, i believe.  because of this, there wasnt a good place to pull off for some shots.  instead, i opt to pull into the entrance to the mt. rushmore monument.  upon doing so, i realize its a one way entrance with no way of retreat. steve and i pull off to the side and formulate a plan.  about this time, one of the attendants starts to walk our way. i asked her if we could grab a couple of pictures since we were just passing through.  her irritated response was 'youre not supposed to'.  hmmm, ok.  'hey, steve, hurry and grab a shot!'


the lady let us pass through the gate to turn around, but gave us implicit instructions to go straight to the exit. we obliged and left.  what a racket that place was.  the road approaching and leaving the area is littered (yes, thats the word i want to describe it with) with 'no parking' signs.  basically, you pay the $10 or you get nothing, not even a picture! well, of course we stopped again!


we continued down the road and found a scenic turn off that gave a spectacular view of washington's profile. did you know his nose is 21 feet tall?!


we continued on to see crazy horse.  on the way there, i wondered if we would have the same amount of difficulty in obtaining pictures.  as we arrived at the main entrance, we pulled off and began taking pictures.  steve and i discussed as to whether or not we should try to get closer, so we did.  i explained to the lady at the gate that we were just passing through and wanted a couple pictures.  she gladly directed us to continue into the park and have at it!  nice!


i was here about 15 or so years ago, and im pretty sure it hasnt changed much!

we jump back onto hwy16, heading towards wyoming, specifically devils tower.  hwy 16, close to the state line, is very twisty.  there had been a forest fire that went through there at some point.  the bare and burnt trees went on for miles.


the road meanders into wyoming and begins to stop meandering...it becomes straight, very straight.


as we approached devils tower on hwy 14, we could start to see it peek out occaisionally on the horizon.  i was getting excited!  ive always wanted to see this place ever since i was a kid and saw close encounters of the third kind!  after a few pleasant miles on hwy24, we make it to the entrance...oh look, even the foot trails have construction on them. SHEESH!


there is a path that goes around the tower was being repaved and half of it was closed. fortunately, we didnt want to walk that far anyway.  we went to the opposite side and turned around.  this thing is crazy!  its so unique in its structure. its also somewhat, ahem, phalic in appearance.  ok, so were childish, big deal!


if you look closely, you can see some small specks on the left half of the tower...those are climbers.  no way you would get me to do that! if you squint, you can see at least three climbers.


at the visitors center, you can find all sorts of native american legends regarding the tower.  in fact, it is sacred land for them and they come here to pray.  they leave ribbons and other various objects tied on tree branches as an offering.

in the 1800's, the first two guys to climb the town did so by connecting a series of wooden ladders together and wedging them into the vertical cracks.  not just no, but hell no would i ever do that.  modern equipment would be bad enough for me.

steves getting hungry.  matter of fact, so am i.  we asked one of the park rangers were we could grab some grub.  another ranger chimed in and both said the 'ponderosa cafe in hulett'.  okie dokie, were in!  a short and scenic ride up hwy 24 to hulett, wy and we were there.  the town is small, the cafe was easily spotted.  what wasnt easily spotted by me was the sign i parked in front of.  steve got a kick out of it and raised it to my attention.




we sat down and a cute, shy young girl greeted us and got us started (i forget her name).  turns out it was her first day of serving...ever.  she was having a hell of a time, but i thought she did just fine.  this place was good!  if youre passing through that area, its on the list of 'must eat at'.  they had a potato side (i forget what they called them) that turned out to be mini potatos...like an inch or two in diameter.  they were awesome!

with full stomachs, we venture into montana and onto hwy 212.  they call this big sky country, it was a couple hundred miles of this


this is also were we encountered our first rain drops.  there was alot of virga in the skies and they were dark, but fortunately just a very light rain is all we experienced.  i must admit, i was somewhat disappointed with montana.  not that it had anything to do with the state or its scenery,  but it was some of the people.  many of the small towns were very depressing.  they had a heavy native american population and people just seemed to kind of wander around aimlessly.  lots of gallopies and yards full of trash.  certainly not the way i would take care of my property, regarless of my income level.

another destination for us is the little bighorn national battlefield.  im a history buff, so this would keep me entertained for awhile.
the park contains a national cemetary (for anyone who qualifies for that honor)


there is a road that wanders through the battlefied for miles.  all along its trail are markers on the site that that person was killed.  it is a very somber and amazing glimpse into a dark day in our history-regarless of whos side you were on.


there is a main area, in which custer himself was killed, along with many men on both sides of the battle


a monument has been erected just above that site


its plaque speaks for itself


hwy 212 merges with i-90 from the battlefield and onto billings, which is were we are spending the night.  now, one thing i will say about montana...they like high speed limits!  i guess the days of unlimited speed up here are over (or maybe it was urban legend), but 75 is still ok in my book!  billings is like a modern day oasis in the wild west.  tall glass buildings with pedestrians clad in stetsons and tony llamas-classic!  we get to our campsite at the yellowstone river campground on the outskirts of town.  this was a very nice campground.  mostly rv's, but it was quiety and clean with nice views on the river. i definately recommend it.



we were directed to eat downtown at jakes on 1st street.  its a mix of a casino, fine dining, and a sports pub.  unique to say the least, but very nice.  our server, jessica...wow.  she gives us our locally brewed frothy beverages and steve and i decide to share the sampler platter. jessica said it is big, so we took her word for it.  well, upon arrival, her estimate of platter size was spot on.  at the end, steve and i were stuffed.  we wandered back--through some road construction downtown---back to camp.  another good nights sleep awaits us in the cool montana air.  

tomorrow we awake to hit the road for the beartooth hwy and yellowstone...the reason for our trip.  we are very excited for what tomorrow brings!

[Diablo Rojo]

Great ride report.  

[Marcster]

Looks like quite the epic adventure so far...  I've always wanted to visit Mt. Rushmore, is there a lot to do in the area?

Carry on!

[tjhess74]

marcster, it depends on what youre into, but i would say yes.  mt. rushmore, crazy horse, the badlands, and some fantastic roads like the needles highway.  lots of tourist type attractions in and around rapid city.  i would recommend it...especially on two wheels!

[mustang28027]

Great report so far. Just out of curiousity, what speeds  are you running when you have a long straight road and there is no traffic?

[tjhess74]

were generally sticking with the speed limits.  neither of us care for any speeding awards and were not in a hurry.  that and the pacific coast loses its efficiency past 70-75mph anyway.  with our loaded bikes and all 70 was just fine.  many of these two laners in the north west were posted at 70 and 75 mph, so it worked out perfect.

[eggmandingo]

Sounds like a GREAT trip so far.  Very nice!!
 

[tjhess74]

Day 5 of 22.  tuesday 8/25/09

today is the day that the dreams of this trip are realized...our entry into yellowstone national park!  for the next few days, we will camp here and ride/see as much of the park as we can.  first though, we need to get there.  

we wake up from our campsite in billings, mt.  the morning sun shining off the yellowstone river bluffs was amazing.  again, the temps were brisk, but nothing a thick jacket wouldnt solve. we purposefully picked hwy 212, which turns into the north east entrance to the park, for one reason...the beartooth hwy!  ive seen pics on other ride reports and heard that it is phenomenal!  we jump onto i-90 for a brief spell until hwy 212 branches off again.  it didnt take long and we began to see them...the mountains.  i became visibly excited and couldnt wait to get to higher altitudes!


we passed through the town of red lodge, mt.  its one of the many towns that you could, after having built a nice cabin nearby, move to.


the terrain became very aggressive.  the mountains stood like a brick wall in front of you.   it didnt take long and we were gaining some serious altitude.  steve and i picked up the pace as our hearts started to race at the sight of some serious mountain road curves!  the road conditions were good, but not great.  lots of rocks in the roadway from erosion, and lots of pavement patches.  but what became amazingly noticable after throwing down a few miles were the views...spectacular! the valley below, is where the road came up.  it then quickly climbed the face of the mountain.


you can see the road below us. look at those curves!


we stopped at a pull off near the top of the mountain.  there were these little chipmunks everywhere. one of them just about climbed up steves pants leg!


we neared the wyoming border...then it all came to a stop.  remember our buzzword for this trip...construction!


this wasnt just 'road work'.  there wasnt really a road left; they tore it all up!  every few miles you would have to stop at a flagman and wait for the pace car to come back and guide you through the carnage they called a road.  the 'motorcycles use extreme caution' signs were spot on.  some spots of the road were a hard packed fine gravel, which wasnt too bad.  i should let you know now, my concours14 does not, under any circumstances, like unpaved roads.  some of the roads were down right atrocious!  they were freshly ground up, loose gravel, ruts, and some of it was a sloppy wet mess.  the entire wyoming side of hwy 212 was like this.  we did meet some fellow motorcyclists while at the pace car stops.

the beartooth hwy meanders between montana and wyoming a few times.  back on the montana side again, we finally make it into cooke city.  again, another nice town nestled next to the mountains.  the same construction we had encountered was running right through the middle of town.  steve and i were famished at this point (i believe breakfast consisted of some strawberry pop tarts).  we got gas and headed over to a bbq joint directly across the street.  check out those gas prices!  thats alot where i come from!


bikes were parked in front of this joint, so it has to be good, right?!  well it was! i dont know if it was the food, our hunger level, or both. needless to say, the food didnt last long in front of us.  them were some mighty fine tastin' baked beans!


after devouring lunch, we saddle up and finish out the last little stretch before entering yellowstone.  just past the first curve outside of town, we hit this...  


the flagman (woman) was yelling at steve to get out of the road while taking that shot.  steve has cat-like reflexes, he could easily jump out of the way of any heavily-laden 18 wheeler full of dirt and asphalt coming his way!

thankfully, only after about 20 or so minutes, the pace truck came and guided us through the mayhem and onto the gates of the park itself.  


our original plan was to stop at the parks entry sign, but it was stuffed back behind some bulldozers.  ill guess well have to remember to get a picture of it when we leave in a few days.  i did get this one though.  molest the animals?  nah, havent been away from the wife that long yet!


we arrived in the early afternoon.  we were anxious to get a good campsite.  our original plan was to stay at the norris campground on the west side of the park, but due to some road construction near gibbon falls (of course!), that made for some awkwardness in our ride plans which consisted two main loops; the north and south loops.  the roads in the park essentially laid out in a big figure 8 design, with roads leaving the park branching off every so often.  instead we chose to stay at the canyon campground.  this turned out to be better, as amenities were very near by (showers, shoppping, food).  we set up camp and lucked out with a very large campsite.  this afforded us to have some distance between the picnic table and fire ring, surrounded by tall pines.  the only downside was that we were right next to the bathroom building, but the noise and traffic werent as bad as we had feared.



great! camp is set up and we still have a couple or three hours of daylight left!  today has only been about 200 miles so far, so we decided to go ahead and do our north loop.  we headed west to the norris geyser basin.  from the road you could see the steam from some of the geysers.  this was unlike anything i had seen before!!


the area included the artist's paint pots.  basically its a bunch of bubbling, gurgling mud.  if it werent so hot, i would jump in!


what we found truly amazing were some of the colors found in the parks nature.  some of the geysers were breathtaking in color and depth


we learned that the hotter the geyser (closer to 200 degrees or more!) the more blue (clear) the water. as it cools into the upper 160 degree range, you start to get bacterial growth.  this growth has a beauty all its own.


the yellow, orange, and reddish hues are bacteria that can grow in high temps; from 167 degrees on down.  as you get into cooler temps (still in above one hundred) you start getting golds and greens.


we continued up the west side towards mammoth area and upper terrace drive.  the geysers and silica content of the ground (all the white stuff) was spectacular.  as the thousands of earthquakes in the park each year occur, this changes the locations of some of the geysers.  sometimes this results in fields of trees being taken over.  apparently they dont grow to well in that stuff...perhaps its the rotten egg smell!


mammoth is like a ritzy resort town. nice restaurants, shops, perfectly manicured lawns...and elk, lots of elk.  i guess they dont like to be pet.



we left mammoth and stopped at the petrified tree.  there used to be three of them, but tourists from back in the day took too many pieces as souveniers, so now there is one...hence the fence.


the sun was starting to set.  we had accomplished alot in this day, so we decided to save the remainder of the north loop for later and better light.  basically, all that was left was tower falls.  we found ourselves in very light traffic and had a spirited ride back to camp.

we brought some mre's with us for a reliable food source, not knowing for sure that our campsite would be near any restaurants.  so we decided to break them out and have us some dinner and beer.  mre's are much better tasting than i remember!  the desserts were very good and i loved the lemon-lime sport drink.  time to break out my tin cup!



as we ate, the sun disappeared. i look up and the view was breathtaking.  it was so dark, not only could you see millions of stars, but also the milky way.  i havent been this happy in a long time.  tomorrow begins another day of discovery in the nations first national park.

[MK96xj]

Report reads good however the pics are not showing. Photobucket says bandwidth exceeded upgrade to pro

Maybe my connection at work. Will need to check back when i get home

[Marcster]

Report reads good however the pics are not showing. Photobucket says bandwidth exceeded upgreade to pro

Maybe my connection at work. Will need to check back when i get home

Nope, no more pics here either...

[MK96xj]

marcster, it depends on what youre into, but i would say yes.  mt. rushmore, crazy horse, the badlands, and some fantastic roads like the needles highway.  lots of tourist type attractions in and around rapid city.  i would recommend it...especially on two wheels!

I would definitely agree with this. I was out there in 94 and rode through a dirt road in the Badlands. It took all day, there was a small family restaurant that opened just for me and my bro as we were the only ones and we rode with wild horses while knocking out prairie dogs with our front tires . I also ran out of gas with the sun going down and coyote's howling. It was a trip I will never forget

[tjhess74]

sorry guys, im using my wifes photobucket and didnt know there was a limit.  she didnt think it was necessary to let me know they had emailed her saying i was close to the limit.  were all good now!

[MK96xj]

sorry guys, im using my wifes photobucket and didnt know there was a limit.  she didnt think it was necessary to let me know they had emailed her saying i was close to the limit.  were all good now!

Deleted the wifes pics huh I will need to finish reading before she finds out

[Smoker]

Awesome, just awesome. Looks like a great time. Can't wait for the rest!!

[DosEquis00]

Great Report and please keep it coming. I also rode Beartooth Highway this year and was amazed by the views and construction.

[tjhess74]

DAY 6 wednesday 8/26/09

morning comes and whoa, is it brisk outside!  i believe temps that morning were in the very low 40's.  we hurriedly get the days clothes on and try to warm up.  the bathrooms didnt have any hot water.  washing your hands and face were 'awakening' experiences to say the least!

we were able to cover alot of ground yesterday, so today we set out accomplish the south loop.  remember that part of the road is closed in the west-central portion of the park near gibbon falls (opposite side of the park from our campsite at canyon).    we set out and went clockwise all the way to the road closure, then came back counter clockwise and stopped at the sites that way.  the thought was, when we were done seeing stuff, we would already be at the campsite.  the plan worked wonderfully!

we stopped at 'tuff cliff', where the road was closed.  the cliff was an exposed sheer cliff that clearly showed layers of silica and volcanic ash.  it had been over an hour since we left camp, so the temps had picked up considerably.  it was there that we started shedding layers.


i was laying on the ground taking that picture.  steve has this canning ability to take a picture when im not expecting it.  this is me right after taking the above picture


after warming up at tuff cliff we hit the road again and started stopping at the sites.  our next stop was firehole canyon.  its set back off of the main road and is a narrow curvy road. the canyon and its white water were amazing


further down the road was another group of geysers and other geological structures.  now here is where i need to make some corrections/additions.  steve, being as detail oriented as he is, informs me that yesterdays report may have potentially mislabeled some geological structures.  most of the sites pictured were geysers, which occaisionally release steam and water into the air.  there are also hot springs, which are a constant source of running hot water.  next are fumeroles, which vent mostly steam, as their water supply is low.  there are the mudpots, which are the gurgling mud baths which i think i labeled correctly.  the last kind are steam vents, which a crack in the ground that releases steam.  so all that to say this...i forget what this one is technically called, buts its cool nonetheless


again, spectacular color


this is one of the many wooden boardwalks that snake around the geysers (or whatever their called!)


one of the many thousands of angry geysers in the park.  the smell wasnt too bad, depending on the wind.  a warning sign stated that if you inhaled the fumes, you may become sick.  if that is the case, you are to exit the fumes quickly and find fresh air.    the sulphuric acid is toxic not good for you i guess!


much of the runoff from the above geysers came here, and into the river


we continue to mosey on down towards old faithful.  were not sure what time the next eruption is but what we do know is that not only is it time for fuel, but also lunch.  now ill say that old faithful is probably the most popular attraction here at the park.  the area surrounding it is like a small city.  huge parking lots, lodges, shopping, etc... its almost confusing.  after getting some near 4$ gas, we find some decent parking in the shade (its pretty warm by now).  we find a small cafe and order up some grub.  it was very busy, and we offer to share our 4 top table with a couple.  they were just passing through the park and were from wisconson.  we had a good lunch with them and we got a kick out of thier accents!  after lunch, we checked the time on the geyser information board and realized we had about 15 minutes to get out there.  after a confusing walk through the parking lot, we find the circular seating/viewing area around old faithful.  there were people in all directions
looking left


looking right


old faithful was starting to vent and tease everyone with some very small spurts.  the crowd would 'ohh' thinking it was the 'big one', but then would 'aww' in disappointment.


it wasnt long (right on time actually!) and the eruption reached full force


the eruption lasted for a few minutes and went as high as 50 or 60 feet.  it was pretty cool to see, but soon began to sputter out


old faithful was great to see, but i think there are far more beautiful and impressive things to see in the park.  far less croweded things too!  but, if youre there, you might as well go see it.  its kind of like going to san francisco and not seeing the golden gate bridge!

after the eruption, we went to the temporary visitors center to see what was for sale and to get some postcards for the wives.  before entering, we noticed the flag was at half mast.  we asked a park ranger inside and found out it was for the death of sen. ted kennedy, earlier that day.  the ranger then struck up a conversation with us and asked if we had already seen the the old faithful inn.  not really knowing what it was, we said no.  he implored us to go see it and promised we wouldnt be disappointed.  after a slightly confusing walk around some building construction (for the new visitor center) we found it...and immediately were awestruck.  the workmanship and labor put into this building is amazing.  the place is gigantic



the inside took our breath away.  this place was built by hand during the winter of 1903-04.  its even bigger on the inside


check out the size of that chimney. mounted to it is a giant mechanical clock


while upstairs, some rooms were being cleaned, so i snuck in and grabbed a shot.  the bathroom is down the hall, if you know what i mean


we see people walking around with ice cream.  hey, i want some ice cream...you steve?  yea!  we ordered the double scoop.  good thing i didnt get the triple!


we sat in some very comfy chairs in the lobby while we finished our ice cream.  through the window, i could see another geyser erupting. we make our way outside and closer so we could see it better.  this thing went off for several minutes, and was taller than old faithful!


after a couple hours in the old faithful area, we took off.  it felt like we had left a big city!  we get closer to yellowstone lake and find some more geysers and pools.


these were the most beautiful ones yet! the camera doesnt capture the vibrance of the color like being there in person!  this one was 'abyss geyser'...cause its very deep.  if i remember correctly, it was 50 or 60 feet deep.


closer on the deep end


this one was called black geyser (or black pool, i forget).  it actually used to be black, but an earthquake changed all that and provided it constant fresh water


another close up of its deeper end


runoff from the springs/geysers into lake yellowstone


note the temperature sign.  remember the clearer the water, the closer to 200 degrees it is.



we continued around lake yellowstone (which is quite large) and got closer to our campsite.  it was early evening at this point.


we encountered one more area of geysers and other formations.  this group was reported to be the most acidic of all in the park...just under battery acid!  this one was 'dragons mouth'.  it was like a cave, but the steam and water spewed out sideways, just like a dragon.  it sounded evil too!


we made it back to camp and decided today would be a good day for a shower.  the hot water was a nice change and the shower facilities were very clean.  we ate more mre's and enjoyed the coolness of the evening.  before long, we were beat, and hit the sack in anticipation of our last full day in the park.  tomorrow will be the canyon area.

[tjhess74]

Day 7  thurdsay 8/27/09

what a beautiful morning!  what low temps!  it was 39 degrees this morning.  


steve and i accomplished alot in just two days in the park so far.  because of this, we now plan on spending a good portion of the day in the canyon area, which by all accounts is the  most beautiful area of the park. we shall see...

because we werent in a hurry, we decided to go to the canyon area shopping/visitors center.  the visitors center was very nice. of course it was full of displays explaining the parks history and geology.  we continued onto another store, which turned out to be a full fledged grocery store!  we were very impressed.  we were also shocked that the prices werent really that bad...about 10-15% above normal prices. you name it, they had it!  as we kept walking around the area, we stumbled across a cafeteria that had menus posted for all meals.  after reading the breakfast menu, we decided to have a go at it.  the food was really good!  after breakfast, we mailed postcards to our wives at the post office next door.

with full stomachs and plenty of motivation, we headed for the south rim drive.  we stopped at the first parking lot and walked over to the hiking trial to see lower falls. it wasnt too long til we came across this sign


a little further down the trail and you could hear the waterfall and see the spray and its resulting rainbow


check out the vegetation growing as a result of the spray


not too long after, the canyon started to come into view. like much from this park, the pictures just dont do it justice. note the stairs near the bottom of the picture.  now, i finally realize why the park is called 'yellowstone'!



now, im not a big fan of heights.  remember the sign you just read?  it said nothing of the stairs being transparent!  you could see all the way down.  stair after of stair started making my head spin.  its hard to tell, but we were at least 40 or so feet above the ground.  the stairs were just bolted into the rock


when we went to the north rim (later in the post) we had a great view of the magnitude of the set of stairs...stand by for that picture!  at the bottom of the stairs is a viewing platform, from which you can see the lower falls


the skies were just as beautiful as the canyon, not a cloud in sight


we start making our way back up the stairs.  about halfway (and ready to rest!) we run across an older couple who was also resting.  we struck up a conversation and they began giving us some advice for locations along our future path.  we continued back to the top.  steve doesnt like uphills...


at the top, steve discovered he had a little hitchhiking friend!  strange bugs here...


we jump back on the bikes and head further down the south rim to artist's point.  huh, i wonder why they call it that?


it almost doesnt look real


me, very thirsty!



this area was magnificent! the colors and topography of the canyon were very apparent here


some geological strata (again, yellowstone!)


its now time to jump across the canyon to the north rim.  this side is slightly higher than the south rim and offers a different perspective
we come across this sign, which gives some idea to the size of this place


a small road between the south and north rim roads offered a good view of upper falls and the main road (bridge)


at one of the lookouts, we ran across these people.  they were from great britain and were touring the world!  what a gig that is!  they had already toured europe and parts of africa.  they had shipped the camper to south america and, over the course of three months, worked thier way up to yellowstone.  when asked how long they planned to be out touring the world, the reply was simply 'til we see it all!'  wow, now thats adventure!


now, remember i said we were able to see the stairs from uncle toms trail from the north rim?  well here they are...at the very bottom you can see the colored dots.  those are people on the lower viewing platform.  the stairs go all the way up into the woods


the views on this side of the park were equally amazing.  this place has certainly exceeded our expectations.  the canyon area is by far the most beautiful part of the park.


steve, losing his balance at upper falls...bye steve!!


along the north rim road is the glacial boulder.  as the name suggests, a glacier rolled this sucker down the hill!


after spending a few hours, and walking countless steps and trails, we were getting very hungry.  we went back to the canyon area shops and grabbed some sandwiches at the canyon deli (next door to the cafeteria from this morning).  once that was accomplished, we were very tired.  all the hiking at altitude, riding, and being in the sun was taking its toll. we headed across the road back to camp and decided a nap was in order.  i believe that was around 2:30 pm.  a couple hours later, we arose ready to finish what we had started.  the only area left that we havent seen was tower falls.  this was north of our campground on the north loop.

after arriving at the tower falls parking lot, we took a short, and downhill, hike towards the bottom and was afforded this view.  it suddenly became obvious why they named it 'tower falls'.


of course there was some construction on the trail!  the very bottom was closed so we couldnt get to the base of the falls. instead, we took a detour off the beaten path.  we decided to walk east along the yellowstone river and see what was in the area.  the water was chilly and the views were nice of the bluffs. the tower falls trail ended on the bluff at the left of the picture


we kept smelling sulphur, which we thought was unusual because most of the thermal activity was on the western and central sides of the park.  after snooping around, we located a few small thremal springs which hosted the bacteria giving the river its 'gold' colored riverbanks.  also along the river were extremely small vents, just giving out enough steam to create tiny bubbles


we hiked a good mile or so down on the river, and i found a nice seat, provided by mother nature!


for the past two nights, we had intended to go to a presentation given by one of the park rangers.  we either returned to camp too late, or were just too tired to attend.  tonight however, we were gonna make it!  we left tower falls with plenty of daylight left to eat dinner, snag some souvienirs, and see the presentation.

for dinner, we returned to the shops in the canyon area. in one of the gift shops was the canyon cafe, a 50's style retro diner.  we looked at the menu and agreed this was our place!  brats with sauerkraut...YUM!  we grabbed the obligitory tshirts for family and went to see the ranger presentation.

we arrived at the small amphitheater a few minutes early. the ranger was talking about listening to the soft music and 'visualizing' it.  we knew this was strange!  i think this lady had spend too much time in the park.  her presentation was like a childs story, in which she had a conversation with herself with alice (from alice in wonderland).  it was really strange.  honestly, if you go there, skip it cause youre not missing anything.

we returned to camp afterwards and enjoyed a nice, warm campfire.  once again, the skies over our last night in the camp gave us a great view of the stars and beyond.  it wasnt too long afterwards and we retired for the night.  i was looking forward to finally getting my picture of the 'yellowstone' sign we had missed on the way in.  our destination tomorrow...grand teton national park.

[servicerifle]

Well, despite your dissing of Tennesseans, this is still quite an enjoyable ride report.  Looking forward to your next installment!

[tjhess74]

Day 8 8/28/09

another beautiful morning in yellowstone!  another cold morning in yellowstone!  this mornings temp was 37 degrees.  each morning has become progressively colder...hmmm, maybe its a good thing today is our last day in the park!

actually, we were ready to move on.  the multitudes of people we have talked to about our journey, and them sharing their input on what we have yet to see has us excited to continue on.  we take our time getting up (i mean, getting warm!) and taking down camp.

once we get started, we head south out of the park.  'hey, steve, look for the yellowstone sign!'  he's on it before i even had to say it.  


while stopped, we checked out an information post regarding grand teton national park.  we figured out where to get some gas and a good idea of where to find some food.

it wasnt long, after we passed a few slow moving rv's and left yellowstone that we encounted this


our motto for the trip remains: construction for all!

soon traffic comes to a halt; waiting for another escort vehicle to guide us along.


we have spent hours at this point waiting in construction traffic. at this point, all you can do is laugh about it and enjoy the scenery.  'steve, say chee...uh, im mean construction!'


ah ha! i finally caught one of those warning signs for bikes.  sometimes they really werent kidding!


this trip really embodied why we love motorcycling and the community in which we place ourselves.  not only was seeing america on a motorcycle a spiritually awakening, destressing experience, but we also had the chance to interact with dozens of like minded folks willing to help and share.  in this case, as fellow motorcyclists were passing us as they were escorted through the construction, they would yell out to us the remaining distance we had left to go in the mess.  it really did help and we returned the favor, of course.

soon, we reached untattered pavement and we were able to continue along.  we came around a bend, and thats when we saw it.  for the next several miles, i was awestruck


they kept getting bigger as we got closer.  steve and i both were guilty of looking at them more than the road sometimes


we arrived a colter bay and stopped for gas.  the attendant directed us a short distance down the side road for some good food.  heres the view from the parking lot at colter bay


after our big buffalo burger and chili lunch (which was pretty good!) we moved on to snag a good camping spot.  our goal was to camp at jenny lake, but its first come, first serve...on a friday.  as we rode, i started getting the idea to take pics of people that had gotten pulled over


it bacame a past time, and there are dozens of pictures of people caught in the act!  we pressed on and the mountains continued to grow


upon finding the jenny lake campground, we saw that it was packed!  not a campsite to be had anywhere.  ok, plan b.  we confired and decided to back north a few miles to the signal mountain campground.  we circled around there and found a decent spot.  we set up camp and prepared to go out for a ride around grand teton national park.

steve had walked away from the campsite a short distance to the bathrooms.  i was just sitting on the picnic table minding my own business when i heard steve yell over to me, 'hey tom, come here. bring the camera!'.  i asked him what it was and he replied 'just come here, bring the camera'.  i told him this better be good...and it better not be a bear!  so i go trouncing throught the heavily wooded path and i hear 'stop!  in front of you!'.  i look up and 'holy crap!'  not more than just a few feet in front of me was this deer, chowing down on the vegetation.  she didnt care about me one bit!


yep, glad it wasnt a bear.  thanks steve. so anyway, off we go to see the park.  our first stop was at the top of signal mountain.  the road was freshly paved (glad we missed that work!) and was a nice curvy road.  nice views ahead:


mt. moran


grand teton herself


we continued on.  on the map the green park boundary led us to believe that the entry posts were much further away than they were.  suddenly and unexpectedly, we came to the park entry/exit. we havent even gotten to the visitor center at moose (southside of the park) yet!  we pull into the visitors center after 'leaving the park' and i realized that my reciept to reenter was still back at camp!  the entrance fee for yellowstone also includes grand teton.  looks like i may have to pay again!  after sightseeing at the visitors center, we hit the main highway back north and attempt to reenter the park at the northern entrance near moran junction.  i explained to the ranger at the gate my situation and even showed her my reciept for lunch at colter bay.  she gave me that 'im not supposed to do this, but ok this time' look and off we went!  woohoo!

on the way back to camp, we stopped at jackson lake dam


view from the dam


down on the riverbank there was a japanese couple fishing.  we struck up a conversation about whats for dinner, and all of the sudden his wife starts yelling.  'I GA FEESH, I GA FEESH!' what was so funny was that, instead of reeling the line in, she just started running backwards up the river bank to pull the fish in!  all of us were getting a kick out of this and the husband explained this was her first time fishing.

once we made it back to camp, i enjoyed a nice snack!


we broke out our mre dinner and began chowing down.  it was then that i finally was able to get steve back for all of those 'surprise' pictures he took of me!  it was, of course, in the name of getting a picture of the deer behind him!


two fawns came within a few feet of us and we were as quiet as church mice.  then, right behind them came the two moms.  unfortunately, a barking dog scared them off after i took this picture


after dinner, we diligently cleaned up our mess.  these signs have been prominant since we entered both parks


at last, the sun was beginning to set over the tetons


steve and i walked to the bar in the nearby lodge at signal mountain and enjoyed a couple frosty local brews, then headed back ready for a good nights sleep.  its much warmer in the park here and the temp tonight isnt supposed to get near as cold as yellowstone.

grand teton national park is beautiful, but after one day we saw most of it and were ready to move on.  we were itching to be IN the mountains, not just LOOK at them!

[MK96xj]

  on the report. Make me want to go now.

The Pork Crakklin's though Does not sound appetising. And is that a sell by date of Sept 29th, 1992?

[tjhess74]

  on the report. Make me want to go now.

The Pork Crakklin's though Does not sound appetising. And is that a sell by date of Sept 29th, 1992?

lol! no its 092909. not sure what that last '2' is!  i love some fried pig skin...good stuff!

[tjhess74]

Day 9 8/29/09

if you remember from previous days, i stated im a news junkie.  since we entered the park, i have really lost track of time.  in fact, ive lost all reference of time.  i have no idea what day it is, what is going on in the world, and no idea of what weather patterns are in our future.  gotta be honest with ya, i kinda like it...feels wierd, but i like it.  each hour, each day, is just another hour and day of a great vacation.

morning arrives in grand teton national park.  our final destination for today is just outside of salt lake city.  if were feeling up to it upon arrival, we may head out to the bonneville salt flats and peek into nevada.  the temperature this morning is very pleasant, its in the low 50's.  once again, we pack up camp and load the bikes.

we hit hwy 191 heading south just before jackson, wy and guess what we hit...yep, construction.  we sit waiting for our escort vehicle for several minutes.  while waiting, i decide to hop off and grab some sage that is plentifully growing along the road side.  i rub it on my gloves and enjoy the fresh scent.  traffic starts to move and were on our way to jackson.  a place that many people said we had to go to was the silver dollar bar.  being fairly early in the morning, we werent sure if it would be open.  upon arrival we find that the door is open, but there is not a soul anywhere to be found.


we walk around and inspect the bar...inlaid with silver dollars.  a rough estimation by steve guesses that there are approximately $4000 worth of silver dollars in the bar itself.


moving on, we were just about to make our way into alpine, wy when i saw something very strange.  is that...a crane...with a car?  what the...?


once we got closer, we see a banner hanging on the other side of the car...CAR SHOW.  uh, yea, were stopping!  it was the 'top of the rockies' annual car show.  it was a small turn out but there were some very nice vehicles entered.  the kind of pristine vehicles you find in the mountain states (the ones that dont use salt!)




after about an hour at the car show, we hit the road again and make a right onto hwy 34 and shortly thereafter find ourselves in idaho.  the landscape here is beautiful. gentle sweeping curves and mild hills.  combined with the good road conditions and cool weather and this is one great road!



as we advanced through idaho, we begin to feel pains...hunger pains!  we though about stopping in soda springs, id, but decided to press on to montpelier.  unbenounced to us, this was going to be a great decision.  arriving in montpelier found us looking for a good place to eat.  both steve and i are very indecisive about food, well eat just about anything (especially steve!).  we passed a couple fast food chains, and a couple local places that werent hitting any buttons for us.  a turn down main street(hwy 89) yielded even fewer choices.  


i saw a small place and thought we would peek our heads in to see what they had.  if nothing, we would go back to the places we had passed.  the place was aho's espresso deli, owned by the aho's-a couple of self proclaimed hippies.  when i walked up to the door, i thought to myself, 'this is stupid, it looks like they just have espresso...whatever.'  i lean in the door and find some people sitting around talking (small town style).


i ask if they have any food, and the lady says 'yes, good sandwiches!'.  i said that was 'good enough for us' and we place our order.  we find the hospitality very gracious.  the lady asks us the usual 'where are you from/going' questions then asks us to sign her book (brown book on the counter).  im thinking that seems kind of rediculous because the place is like 8 feet wide, who really comes here?!  upon opening the book, i flip through page after page of peoples listing from all over the world!  the lady then explains that the hundreds of postcards on the wall come from people who visit, then send a postcard from where they are from!(notice the postcards all over the one wall).  we get our sandwiches and are amazed at the size


son, let me tell you right now, that was one of the best sandwiches steve or i have ever had.  mine was the reuben and steves was 'the monster' club.  frikken delicious!  during our meal, a local guy (overalls and white beard sitting in picture below) has a seat outside with us and begins a funny and random conversation.  guys like that are always full of entertaining stories! what a hoot this place is!!!  if you are EVER in or near montpelier, id, you MUST go to aho's espresso deli; tell them tom and steve from charleston sent you. you will not be disappointed and yes, i am advertising for them!  oh, and yes, i did send them a postcard from charleston, sc when we got home.


while sitting outside eating, we noticed a sign in the window of the building next to us (brown building to the left of aho's).  this was the old bank that butch cassidy and his gang robbed back in 1896.  a sign across the street tells the story...alot of history in this town!


with full stomachs and happy hearts we press on towards utah.  first, we come across bear lake.  it seemed that every square inch of water front on the idaho side was private property-no beach access (and heavily touted as such on signs!).  after passing into the utah side of the lake, we find a public marina.  the gate operator let us in for free so we could get some pictures.  the aho's described the lake as a small lake tahoe.  they were right, it was beautiful.


check out the color and clarity of the water


this lake and the beaches were packed with people!  beach goers, waterskiers, boaters, jetskiers, tubes, floats, etc  were everywhere.  i personally tested the water...ah no, its freezing.  whats wrong with these people??!!

riding up hwy 89 away from the lake and up the pass offers this view


hwy 89 was fantastic!  the road was in great shape and the curves were tight and plentiful.  there was a bit of traffic though, but we were able to pass most of it.  coming out of the mountains we enter logan, ut.  its a very scenic town and we decided to stop for gas and a few minutes rest.  the temps are starting to rise. in fact, its quite warm now.  we noticed something strange since we entered civilization in utah...the street names.  they are all four digit numbers, ie, 3100, 2200, etc. until we figured out, its was sort of confusing.  

another leo we dont need to worry about!


around brigham city, we jump on interstate 15 to head to our hotel in lake point, ut.  the interstate parallels the mountains and offer great views as we super-slab it


we moved along for a while until the interstate came to a halt. well, a creep actually.  for a few miles we just edged forward a few feet at a time.  great, seems to be more construction.  nope, not this time


before long, we were on the far west side of salt lake city and at our hotel, the oquirrh inn; exit 99 off i-80.  a nice place for a decent price. its on the recommend list.

were feeling good and decide that yes, we will go onto the salt flats, just over 100 miles to the west.
we ride alongside the great salt lake for quite awhile at first.  you can tell that this is one massive body of water when you cant see the far side!  there were huge mountainous islands sporadically placed throughout the lake


 i-80 going towards nevada is one of the flattest and straightest roads we have ever seen, ever!  almost too straight.  every few miles there are huge yellow 'drowsy driver' signs alerting you to stay awake or pull over.  we spotted this contraption, which seems to have lost a piece.  we have no clue what it is.  doesnt seem like a water tower or an antenna, but also seems randomly placed and too large to be a sculpture


riding on the interstate, the terrain becomes a tannish white.  the salt is starting to take over!  you can see numerous places where people have pulled off of the road and onto the salt itself.  rock, bottles, and various items have been arranged by people into words, phrases, and symbols along the road side.  sort of a scenic graffiti/litter.  i guess there are some soft spots, cause this guy is stuck!


we get to the exit for the bonneville salt flats speedway.  on the narrow road leading to the entrance, a woman was getting her wedding pictures taken.  i thought it was a cool, surreal landscape for this purpose


here, we have arrived!  this place is so cool!


its hot outside (87 degrees) and your body tells you that, but your eyes are fooled by the salt.  your brain keeps thinking 'snow, it should be cold!'  it looks like snow


crunches like snow


packs like snow (would you want this car in a few years?)


and tastes like...uh, doesnt taste like snow!  yep, we tasted it.  its like table salt times ten.
this guy was having fun!  would you want this bike in a few years?


we hung out for awhile and talked to some of the people camped out for the BUB speed trials (motorcycle speed week).  there was an old guy arguing with one of the event staff about why his bike was disqualified for safety reasons earlier that morning.  there wasnt much reasoning with that guy!

once again, we were hungry and we wanted to gamble.  we headed over the border into nevada in west wendover


this towns industry is casinos. probably wouldnt be much here without them


this guy greets you when you get off the interstate. howdy partner!


we hit the montego bay casino to eat and try our luck.



we squeezed our $20 worth from the food line...this was plate 1 of ??!


i lost my initial $20 in the slots fairly quickly (i know, big spender!).  steve however, was able to play on his money for quite some time! it was his first time in a casino...beginners luck!  he ended up $.25 behind.  you read that right...only a quarter in the red!

it was that time of the night, to head back and get some shut eye.  the ride back was very peaceful and dark...very dark except for the occasional oncoming headlight


as we got closer to lake point, we noticed a smell.  as with most road side smells, you hold your breathe as long as you can, and when youre ready to breathe again, the smell is long behind you.  not this time.  each time we held our breathe, then took a 'test breath', the smell got worse.  before long it was so foul even i could hardly stand it (i have an iron stomach).  i can only describe it as the stench of a thousand rotting corpses soaked in fermented urine.  hows that for a visual?!  yea, it was that bad.

we made it back to the hotel (and fresh air), did some much needed laundry, and dozed off.  ill tell ya, the hot shower was godsend.  i believe ill take another in the morning just because i can!  tomorrow is an exciting day for me, COLORADO, my favorite state!

[bluepoof]

Your sculpture in UT along I-80 is Metaphor: The Tree of Utah.

http://www.utah.com/amusement/metaphor_tree.htm

[Guy]

Day 9 8/29/09


as we got closer to lake point, we noticed a smell.  as with most road side smells, you hold your breathe as long as you can, and when youre ready to breathe again, the smell is long behind you.  not this time.  each time we held our breathe, then took a 'test breath', the smell got worse.  before long it was so foul even i could hardly stand it (i have an iron stomach).  i can only describe it as the stench of a thousand rotting corpses soaked in fermented urine.  hows that for a visual?!  yea, it was that bad.

May have been following a collection truck for dead animals (roadkill, not-so-live-stock) on the interstate. I once started smelling human s**t that got slowly stronger over 5 miles, then passed the septic truck, and no more smell.

[XbbX]

enjoying the ride report


 

[tjhess74]

thanks blue!  

guy, we were the only vehicles on the highway that time of night, although i cant rule that out.  if thats what it was, i feel sorry for the driver!

[mustang28027]

I'm really enjoying the report, especially since  we are relatively close( the Carolinas)... when you get finnished I'd like a report of your gear and equipment used and your costs... in  the meantime, ENJOY!

[tjhess74]

Day 10  8/30/09

morning arrives in salt lake city.  we are really enjoying being in the mountain time zone.  the extra two hours has been great for my sleeping in requirements!  we step outside to wrap up some the laundry from last night.  it wasnt quite dry, but by the time we get showered and eat breakfast its ready to go.  one thing we noticed immediatly this morning is the temperature. today is gonna be warm!  we eventually get packed up and hit the road.  we plan on cutting through the middle of the city to see downtown then work our way to hwy 40 east.  now, today is sunday.  we of course do not know this because yet we are lost in time, but it will mean something to us later on.

one last look at the great salt lake


we approach downtown.  its very scenic pressed against the mountains and overlooking the great salt lake


nice wide roads.  we wondered why it was so quiet...we didnt realize then it was the weekend.


leaving the city, we jump on the interstate to cut over to hwy 40.  hmm, now which way should we go?!


in very short order, the city


turns into the country!


we pass through park city, home of the 2002 winter olympics.  from the hwy, you could see the giant downhill slopes for the ski jumps from the olympic games.  the olympic symbols for the 02 games was visible on the middle of the slopes.  by the time i realized what they were, it was too late for a pic.  although its getting warmer with each passing minute, this is an ominous reminder that winters here are very real


after a couple hours of being on hwy 40, a very noticable difference in landscape has occured.  the more lush and green mountains have turned into a stark and more barren high painted plateau


at this point we have a fantastic tailwind...as my gas mileage shows! i also pass the 30k mark on the concours14


the change of landscape is nice, but the heat is starting to get turned up. now remember, for the most part, we have been in temps of 70 or below up to this point.  today marks the first real 'hot' day weve had so far.  on the plus side though, the roads are fantastic as well.  plenty of passing opportunities and fresh, smooth tarmac


as lunchtime nears, we enter vernal, ut. the city is much bigger than i expected for being out in the 'high desert'.
 

this is the home of the utah natural history museum.  this area of the country is very rich in dinosaur fossils, and thats what weve come to see.  first however, it is lunchtime.  i havent eaten at an a&w in quite awhile, so when i see, i know thats what i want!  the place isnt busy, and it doesnt take long before the employees become very curious about us and our loaded motorcycles.  the usual barrage of questions ensue: where ya been, where ya going, where ya from, how long ya been on the road, are ya gettin' sore, are ya havin fun????????  i love talking about  our trip, but serioulsy, were trying to eat!!!

well, lunch is down the hatch and we head off to the museum to see some dinosaurs...and perhaps pay homage to their remains that have so selflessly given themselves so i could put them in my gas tank.


ive had a wierd vibe all day.  nothing is as busy as i think it should be...including the parking lot of the museum.  then, its hits us...ITS SUNDAY!  crap, ill bet the museum is closed.  steve checks the door and confirms our suspicions.  well, we succumb to defeat reluctantly, but manage to get some pics of the outside dinosaur sculptures


well, its really-i mean really-hot out here, so its time to get outta town.  looks like vernal pd is making the best of a slow sunday. i really like those chargers!


a little while down the road, we notice a strange 'break' from the normal mountain scenery.  there is a lighter colored area with a large gap running through it


we turn down the road that leads to the dinosaur national monument fossil quarry. as we get near, we realize that the unusual break in the mountians is the location of the quarry itself...very cool!


unfortunately, the dinosaur gods are against us.  the quarry, we learn is closed and has been for quite some time.  something is wrong with the building and must be repaired.  dashed once again, we turn back around and jump on the highway to continue east into northwestern colorado.  but not before we see another strange rock formation. these vertical formations actually lean. its times like this i wish i knew more about geology


after passing into colorado, it seems the temperature actually jumped!  we stop at the east entrance to the dinosaur national monument and go into the visitor center.  the air conditioning was nice for a change and we had a good educational conversation with some park rangers.  after a few minutes of rest in the shade and some warm water from our camelbacks, we chug into craig, co.  at the gas station, we notice a rain storm ahead.  if you are familiar with a typical colorado thunderstorm with lightning, then you understand whats ahead of us.  fortunately for us, i am familiar with them since im from colorado.  i know that these storms come and go quickly and the rain can be very sporadic. im banking on this when i make the decision to not put on the rain gear and move on.  it is the frequent lightning that i have my eye on.  we have only hit some very light sprinkles in our 10 days on the road...well see how our luck holds out!

the road seems to meander between the storms, with the occasional few drops here and there and lots of wet roads.  the added benefit to this is much lower temps!  we make it to steamboat springs, co and the showers forming around us become heavier and darker. the lightning becomes more frequent.  knowing now that its sunday, i use this to our advantage and keep my eyes peeled for a bank.  not because i need money, but because the drive throughs are covered!  we find one and pull in.  about ten seconds later, it starts to rain pretty heavily.


that shower passes, and i make the call to head out.  again, the road seems to dance between the showers.  we climb the pass out of steamboat springs and the temps fall like a rock!  we went from the 90's to the 50's in a matter of an hour.  raindrops here and there continue.  on the other side of the pass the dark clouds subside somewhat and we enter kremmling, co.  looking up towards grand lake (our camping destination) however, it appears very dark.  as we approach grand lake, the showers return and the temps continue to drop.  this time, we couldnt avoid the rain, fortunately it wasnt too heavy, but it was cold!!!  

the rain made taking pictures while riding impossible.  we arrive at the campground before sundown, but the office was closed.  a nearby gas station attendant gave us some ideas for camping and some nearby motels.  as the forcast called for more rain through out the night, we made the call to get a motel.  we back tracked and stopped at the first place we came to, the blue bird motel.  our criteria: $60 or less.  the lady says $55 plus tax=SOLD!  this place was definately a mom and pop operation.  quality and cleanliness was my concern.

to our surprise, the rooms were very nice and plenty big.  the shower had great water pressure and the water was as warm as you could stand it!  this place turned out to be a very pleasant surprise!  grand lake was literally across the street. these pictures were from the next morning, which you can see, has great weather! put this place on the recommend list



its after dark, and we gather up the courage to get back on the wet bikes to head into town for dinner.  we ate at the sagebrush bbq & grill, which offered some good hot food.  upon returning to the hotel, the local news (yea, the world is still intact!!) says the weather should be good for the next few days.

the beds were very comfortable and the base board heaters did their job!  tomorrow is rocky mountain national park and onward to my parents house in cascade, where we will stay for a few days and take a couple day trips.

[tjhess74]

Day 11  8/31/09

What a beautiful (chilly) monring!!!  after last nights cold, rainy monsoon, we are really excited to see the sun.  if today had crummy weather, that would have made rocky mountain national park miserable...and perhaps impassable.  the blue bird motel was a great find and offered a great night's sleep.

our first stop, which didnt take long, is the entrance sign.  the ranger at the entrance booth gave us good news...clear weather, no construction, fresh pavement, and everything is open...YES!


we planned on spending quite a bit of time in the park today, so that means lots of on's and off's.  after  a few minutes we come across the continental divide.  a ranger took our picture for us


otherwise known as milner pass


we stopped at one of the first major overlooks.  a guy runs over to us and starts talking to steve about his pacific coast.  he had one too and was thrilled to see another one.  we actually saw quite a few over the course of the trip


soon, we were greeted by some friendly warning signs.  one bad step and its a long way down...


at this point the wind is kicking up considerably and the temperature (which was chilly to start with) is dropping with every foot we climb.  its down right cold now!  we arrive at the alpine visitors center and the temps are in the 30's with a bitter wind.  we decide to hike up the trail to the mountain top a short distance away.  its even windier here!  at this point, we cannot feel our faces and our ears are burning.



the view from the INSIDE of the alpine center was fantastic.  it over looks a huge glacial valley with headwaters at the bottom.  its a great spot to watch the herds of elk grazing on the vegetation


after warming up in the visitors center we turn the corner to the highest spot on the trail ridge road.  there used to be a sign marking the spot, but the ranger told us people kept stealing it so they just gave up.  now i know the park service, they like to make stuff out of thick steal, paint it brown, and bolt it down. so i know they could make a sign that would stay put!


at this altitude, both bikes are doing exceptionally well.  steve was concerned about his, having carbs.  i was pretty sure mine, being injected, would be fine...but you never know til you start climbing!

from this point on, the road faces more toward the traditional 'rockies' and the views are spectacular. from here you can see longs peak


lots of switchbacks and slow curves


big horn sheep guarded the road


the wildlife in the national parks is a double edged sword.  its spectacular to see the animals in their natural habitat, but the downside is that people see a four legged creature and they lose all sense of rationality and common sense.  something as simple as a deer, and traffic comes to a halt, people abandon their cars on the road to get a picture, or they only pull off partially.  they stand in the road or they get too close to the creatures.  some of those people just need to have some sense knocked into them.  ok, rants over...

long grade downhill with great scenery


steve really wanted to ride old fall river road.  ive never been on it either (or at least i dont remember it) so i figure 'what the heck'. parts of this road were in horrible shape and i really had to fight to keep the connie upright on some of the washed out, washboard, switchbacks.  some of the turns were very narrow due to people parking on the road side


again, though we were rewarded with great views
 

old fall river road comes back out at the alpine visitors center (top of the road in the pic), so we basically just made a huge loop.  i should have mentioned, it was very warm at the bottom of the estes park side of the park.  cold, here we go again!


upon completing the full loop and approaching the exit into estes park, we saw some prescribed burns taking place.  


we reach normal temps and settle into estes park.  were hungry, you know what that means...LUNCHTIME!  there was a place steve wanted to eat at that he had been to a few years back, so we found it and stuffed our faces.  our plan was to walk around town for awhile, so we had a delicious cold beer with lunch at ed's cantina


after lunch we walked up and down the main drag and went into many of the stores.  we bought the required stuff for the people back home then headed over to see the stanley hotel...where the film 'the shining' starring jack nicholson, was filmed.



the hotel was celebrating its 100th anniversary.  its the typical ornate building for its era and has lots of dark wood and rich appointments.  notice the stanley steamer tucked back in the corner


the hotel is built on the side of the surrounding mountain ridge and over looks the city of estes park, co


upon leaving estes park, we headed straight south on hwy 7 and worked our way on a direct path to cascade, co near colorado springs.  we passed through the gambling towns of central city and blackhawk.  lots of new casinos since the last time i was here


there arent as many tunnels as i remember.  one of them had been blocked off, as i imagine it was taking too much work to keep it open.  the same thing happened in cripple creek, the road now goes around the old tunnels.


we were on hwy 67 now, and as we neared my old stomping grounds i was getting very excited.  its nice to be 'home' again!.  i was grinning from ear to ear when i saw pikes peak on the horizon!    i remember my parents telling me about a couple large wild fires (in the vicinity of deckers and below) from a few years back.  the forest was scorched for miles in every direction.  you could see the occasional new house.

we make it to my parents house in cascade.  we had a nice big dinner and start unpacking our stuff.  we plan on staying here for a few days, doing some basic maintanence, and taking day trips to and from here.  after checking the weather, it looks like first thing tomorrow morning we will take on riding up pike's peak.  a hot shower and a bed await...

[DosEquis00]

Great pictures tjhess and I am jealous you got so close to the big horn sheep as I hoped to see them in Montana & Wyoming during my visit.

[tjhess74]

Day 12 Tuesday 9/1/09

Last night was a full home cooked meal and a comfortable bed.  it feels great being home again.  i absolutely love the colorado springs area and its been at least three years since my last visit here.  we awake refreshed and enjoy some good opportunity to sleep in.  our schedule is very relaxed this week, and is going to be arranged according to the weather forecast.  

todays weather looked goodon the news, and the weather man got it right!  i know that if one plans to go to the top of just about any mountain in this area, the morning is the best time to do it.  so today, pikes peak it is!

my sister cooks us some breakfast and we make it out the door around nine o clock.  my parents live across the hwy 24 from the entrance to the pikes peak highway, so we get to the gate in a matter of minutes.  the ranger at the gate tells us the weather is good and everything is open, however there are some slow moving trucks on the road for some ongoing construction.  

our first stop is alongside crystal reservoir.  that part of the road is new since i last saw it several years ago.
 

we continue up the hwy and find that its virtually all paved now :.(...  there were only a couple miles that had the old dirt road i was familiar with.  i wonder how the racers feel about that for the pikes peak hill climb every fourth of july?



we make it to the top (after being choked by dust from some slow moving construction trucks) and walk around to enjoy the views.  i think this is the warmest ive ever been up here!  the wind is very calm and it was probably in the 40's.  it was very hazy because of the california wild fires.



the always scenic cog railway


we took a moment to read the plaque in honor of katharine lee bates and the poem she wrote when inspired by the views from the top of pikes peak.  you may have heard of it...


with all of the things we have seen up to this point on our trip, its impossible to not see the vision she had when she wrote that piece.  our country truly is an amazingly beautiful place.

we take a moment to check the altitude.  i guess there are some accuracy issues with someones measuring device.  it probably isnt the national geological survey's equipment!


now, lets go inside and do what we came here to do.  if youve been to the top of pikes peak before, you know what im talking about...


ive been hiking this mountain for many years and many times my motivation for getting there was eating those donuts!  i think its unamerican to go up there and not eat some!

its time to start heading back down the hill.  we will stop and see the sights on the way down.  


near devils playground


about halfway down, rangers check the temperature of your brakes at a check point.  300 degrees is the cutoff.  the white taurus in front was ordered to pull over.  that didnt surprise us because they were riding thier brakes on the way down.  some people just dont get it.  i remember the days when the rangers did have the temp gun.  they would just put the back of thier hand to the front wheel and judge the temperature from there.


after making it down the mountain, we make a brief pit stop at my parents place, and then head back out again to go sight seeing around colorado springs.  we rode around and looked at where i used to work, live, and play.  wow, alot has changed in just the last few years.  this city is absolutely huge now.  definately not the city i left when i moved to south carolina in 1995!  of course we did the obligatory tour through garden of the gods


we work our way north to the north gate of the air force academy. this place amazes me no matter how many times i see it.  our first stop was the cemetary, which im ashamed to say i had never visited here before.  in typical military fashion it was a very majestic scene.  this was a detailed sculpture


there were hundreds upon hundreds of plaques in memory of and placed by those in different divisions from wwII and other wars.  it was a sobering reminder of the sacrifice made by many in that, and other generations


we then stopped at the static b-52 display


this particular plane has a place in history and was placed here in the early 80's


we found ourselves at the visitors center shortly thereafter and took the short hike over to the academy chapel and barracks overlook.  here there are static displays on each corner of the commons area


the chapel, an amazing piece of architecture


the stained glass rides up the entire wall and pours a blue hue over the interior of the chapel.  notice the organ on the balcony


we walk around and visit the student center building and look at many of the sculptures on display in the area.  a friend of steves wanted a hat from the academy, so we go back to go shopping.  its closing time, so we hurry.  after checking out, we are the last visitors to leave the building!

its dinner time, so we head back home after a full day of sightseeing in the city.  going home is fun here, because that means going up hwy 24, ute pass!  

based on the weather, we think well head out towards gunnison, black canyon, and aspen tomorrow.

[Diablo Rojo]

Another great ride report.  

[eggmandingo]

Great pics!  I'm from the Springs and, as you mentioned, when I see Pikes Peak....I know I'm home.  Very Nice!

[tjhess74]

Day 13 wednesday 9/2/09

our second full day in colorado springs and a forecast for good weather for most of the state means its time for us to run the inner loop.  its down to canon city, over to gunnison, up to cannondale, over to aspen and independence pass, then to buena vista and back home.  heres how it goes...

we set out early, about 8 am and its fairly chilly up in ute pass.  however, we dont even make it out of colorado springs' south side before its now too warm for our heavy gear.  we stop for a moment and put on some lighter stuff.  we continue towards canon city and then onto hwy 50 west.  we uneventfully pass through some of the winding canyons and small towns in the beautiful morning light.  

steves view for the trip


steve has been getting exceptionally great gas mileage on this tank.  he is well over 200 miles and we are very near gunnison.  now, i am getting nervous for him because i used to own a pacific coast and the farthest i went on a single tank was 214 miles.  steve is past 220!  i keep watching him in my rearview mirror...were 8 miles from gunnison...is he slowing down?...yea, i think he...oh, yea, hes outta gas!  we pull over and he coasts to a stop.  now remember that gas can you keep seeing in his crate tailbox?  this is why we brought it.  224 miles, unbelievable!



well, we tried.  anyway, we putt into gunnison around lunch time...and we are once again hungry!  we stop for gas and notice a colorado state trooper wrapping up a call for service.  i ask him the usual 'whats good around here' question and he replies, 'the blue iguana is good'.  sold.  its right next door, so we finally find a spot to park a few doors down at another eatery.  now, when you see bikes AND cops parked in front of a restaurant, you know its good...


those cops are from montrose, and were along way from there.  so either they had something to do in town, or this place is good!  i was too hungry and forgot my camera, but trust me, if you are in gunnison, you must eat at the blue iguana-mexican food.  its a little hole-in-the-wall and we pop in.  behind the counter is an absolutely gorgeous young woman.  wow, were off to a good start here.  the menu consists of painted letters on the wall.  two different walls actually!  i try to take it all in, when a local guy suggests the lunch chimichanga.  sold once again.  the gorgeous girl behind the counter walks us through the options (of which there are plenty) and we patiently wait outside on the picnic tables.  

we get our food and start to dig into the chimichanga.  this thing is not only big, its delicious!!  definately one of the best ones ive had.  lunch is over, and its time for us to part with the beautiful girl.  we hit the road a couple pounds heavier and soon turn off of hwy 50 and onto 92.  it wasnt long before we found the beauty of black canyon


the views looked southwest towards the san juan mountain range



the canyon is deep and its waterway changes from a narrow winding river to a large wide lake


hwy 92 winds along the north rim of black canyon. its a fantastic road that is in great shape and has spectacular scenery.  i call it the 'pacific coast highway of colorado'.


the speed limit was 45, i think.  i cant say how fast we were going, but it sure wasnt 45!  we saw no law enforcement on this stretch of road...fortunately.



the beauty of black canyon soon gave way to a different kind of beauty.  the lush green fields overshadowed by the mountains


we pull into the small town of hotchkiss, at the junction of hwys 92 and 133.  


the skys are beginning to look threatening in the direction we were headed (typical afternoon showers). we decide to push our luck and not suit up in raingear, however we do put our cameras away for the time being.  we only encountered a few sprinkles before the sun came out again.


the rain drops were, once again, a welcome change from the heat.  we work our way up hwy 133 through redstone, co. appropriately, there was quite a bit of red rock on the cliff faces.  we are pleasantly greeted with fresh asphalt


soon we were in the town of carbondale.  luckily this guy was busy


our next stop was aspen, on hwy 82. thats good, cause its snack time. nah, make that dinner time!


now, i know aspen has a reputation for being full of rich famous people and earthy types.  guess it holds true...hybrids.  polluting the earth, one car full of batteries at a time!


if youve been reading prior to this, you know that steve really enjoys getting pictures of me when i least expect it...'hey tom, CLICK!'  well, apparently i was grumpy while waiting for dinner


after walking around aspen for awhile and enjoying the scenery, we press on towards independence pass.  as it nears the pass, the road becomes very narrow, notice the lack of a centerline


the road begins to wind a bit tighter and climb, overlooking lush valleys



the temperature drops considerably as we near the over 12,000 foot high pass.  sadly, this will be the last time we reach such altitudes on this trip.  in just a few days, we will be below sea level in louisiana.


it was very cold so we took that picture in a hurry!  coming down the east side of the the road had some more great curves. in just a quick minute, we will be down in that valley enjoying those lazy curves


looking back over my shoulder at twin lakes and the fading sun


when turning onto hwy24, i hit a patch of gravel that i didnt see.  the bike slid sideways and neared the centerline, but fortunately i regained traction and didnt go down..but it was damn close.  steve had a similar occurrence while in yellowstone.  i guess the 'keep the rubber side down' gods were on our side!  we make it just west of buena vista when our trips motto was once again called...'construction for all!'


after a dozen or so miles of the resulting slow traffic, we find some opportunities to make nearly mile long passes over slower traffic.  hwy 24 near hartsel is very flat and you can see the oncoming highway for miles.  its good for getting the lead out!  the moon is beginning the rise, and the sun is touching the mountain tops.


the evening chill sets in and both of us have to pee.  we use it as motivation to drive on and get home.  passing through florissant, co, i decide that im not ready to go home just yet.  i ask steve if he wants to go to downtown colorado springs and have a celebratory beer.  in true steve fashion, he says yes.  i knew he would!  we pass through the now very chilly ute pass and into the warmth of downtown.  we go to the phantom canyon brewery on cascade street.  we were able to find motorcycle parking in front of the entrance and immediately head to the bathrooms.  whoa, that was close...we both breathe a sigh of relief!  now, back to business...to the bar!  a couple cold, well crafted brews and some slammin' appetizers later (i recommend the calamari!) we make it back home.  another night in a comfortable warm bed.

according to the weather guy, tomorrow looks good.  i see golden and denver in our future. well see what tomorrow brings.

[Ves]

Nice... I have only one comment...  can we agree that what's shown in this photo is physically impossible?

Seriously... Honda 250 Rebels get 70 mpg... not fully loaded touring rigs... clearly you need to take the bike in and have the electronics serviced...  

[tjhess74]

lol, thats what a stiff tailwind will do for you!  thats the second time that happened on this trip for an extended period of time.  not to worry though, we had plenty of head/cross winds that negated the gain you see in that picture!

[tullys]

I *had* to join the forum just to vouch for the photos. Those readings are accurate. I usually average 46 MPG in the flats of Charleston, SC on the PC800, but was averaging 60 MPG when we had the stiff tailwinds and closer to 40 MPG with the headwinds/crosswinds. Remember that photo with 224 miles on the trip? The PC holds 4.2 gallons of fuel. An average of 53.3 MPG for the tank isn't bad.

[Dugzi]

Awesome ride report! Thanks for sharing.

[tjhess74]

hey steve, welcome to the party!

[tullys]

thanks for the warm welcome!

[tjhess74]

Day 14 9/3/09

good weather? check!  yesterdays 500 miles ride around the state was great!  today, were going to head up to golden and denver.  surprisingly, ive never been to golden, and i havent been to denver in years so it should be a good time.

were not in any particular hurry, so we slowly get ready and hit the highway.  its already a warm morning, but pleasantly so.  we jump onto I-25 north and away we go!  if youve never ridden the 'I' between denver and colorado springs, its a race.  any speed less than 75 and youll get run over!


we make a beeline to the coors brewery and get there around 10 or so.


the tours are now self guided.  they give you a handheld device with a small speaker.  you press the button on the keypad that corresponds to where you are on the tour, then hold the thing up to your head.  i dont like talking on the phone, and i wasnt really interested in holding this thing in the same manner.  i listened to a couple of its recordings, but mostly just read the signs along the way. one of the first things you see is the area where the beer is brewed


there are dozens of these huge copper kettles!  here a brewmasted is testing some of the mash


one of the next things you see is the packaging area.  now this was cool!  how in the world this stuff gets designed and built is beyond me, but it all works flawlessly.  the maching putting the beer cans into the boxes was moving very fast...thats alot of beer!


this is the quality control lab.  looking inside, you would think this was some kind of medical facility!


next comes the reason for really coming here...free beer!  you get three full size beers and can choose from any of coors's brews.  the killians and bluemoon were my first choices.


while enjoying our tasty FREE beers, an older gentleman asked if he could join us.  we obliged and had a great conversation.  this was one of those guys that has been around and has some great stories to tell.  he told us about his wwII navy service, his time at pearl harbor, his life in golden (of which he has spent the last 50 years here).  he also talked about his sons trip with his family around the u.s., much like ours.  meeting people like this has been a highlight of the trip!

after that we walked around the gift shop.  t-shirts, coozies, and just about anything else you can put the coors name on.  i joked with steve about knocking this display over and watching the resulting crash...what a mess that would be!


after leaving the brewery, we saw a mountian with a road on it.  the 'm' on the mountain side is for the colorado school of mines, which is in golden.  the coors brewery tour bus driver told us how to get there...


were gonna go walk around golded for awhile then well head up the hill.  on the main drag, a large banner welcomes you to town


one of golden p.d.'s working a hit and run accident.  i personally believe that black and whites should not wear stripes. just doesnt fit in my opinion.


after seeing the sights, we head up mt. zion, not really knowing what well see up there.  after hitting some great twisties, we make it to the top.  we see a sign for buffalo bills grave and start heading that way.  i had no idea he was buried here!



the view from the top, overlooking the city of denver


its time to start heading that way, so off we go...after a quick snack at the gift shop of course.

once we get into the city, i want to stop at casa bonita.  i love this place!  i know, its a tourist trap, but its so cool!  


a little farther down colfax is invesco field, home of my beloved broncos!  this is the first time ive seen the new stadium.  i miss the old mile high stadium, but this one is really nice!  its built on the old parking lot for the old stadium


we cruise into downtown.  


my bearings around there are alittle rusty, but we make it to the 16th street mall and score some rock star (and possibly illegal) parking across from the hard rock cafe.


the 16th street mall is closed to vehicular traffic, just the occasional bus that runs the length of the street.  its full of restaurants and shops...and an interesting mix of denvers finest citizens!  some are hot, some are not, some are high, and others need to be!  regardless, the views of downtowns skyscrapers is phenomenal


unmistakable buildings and a beautiful sky


colorados spectacular capitol building.  its against the law to build a structure in front of the capitol that blocks the view from it to the mountains.


im also an aviation fanatic, and when i was younger we flew in and out of the (now long gone) stapleton intl airport, just outside of downtown.  i have heard that one of the control towers still stands, so i must go see it.  alot of the surroundings are different and i dont remember exactly where it is, so we just start heading in the general direction and start looking for a control tower where one should not be!  not too long afterwards we find it


one time when i landed herein the late 80's, i took a picture from the plane parked at the gate very near this spot.  actually, it would be just to the right of the tower from the above picture and would be somewhere near the right side of the road in the picture below.  all those houses are where one of the runways used to be.  this airport had some of the best places to sit along side the runways and watch the planes come and go.  i used to spend hours here plane spotting.


the original parking garage still stands as well.  ive taken many picture from the top of that garage as well when the airport was still open.  its funny how things change over time.

steve has a grandmother in aurora, so, being not too far away, go visit her. its rush hour, so it takes us awhile to get there. after a big meal and some catching up on family stuff, we begin the journey home.  

one of aurora's finest letting one go.  i guess it was a speed trap, cause there were a few of them with victims


the sun starts to fade as we make it into castle rock.  gee, i wondered how it got that name?


we make it back to cascade after dark and enjoy a lazy night at the house.  my mom is taking tomorrow off from work, so we will hang out with her and also make the long overdue oil change on the bikes.  oh, i almost forgot, tomorrow morning is one of my favorite places to eat breakfast, so stay tuned!

[tjhess74]

Day 15 friday, 9/4/09


today is friday, and another beautifully perfect day in the mountains.  its also going to be a short and boring ride report day. the only agenda for today is bike maintanence, rest, family catching up, and food.  really the only highlights are breakfast and dinner.

we got the family rousted together and headed up to woodland park for breakfast.  i have been craving the biscuits and gravy at the donut mill, right on hwy 24.  this place has been around forever and has fantastic food.  i say the biscuits are big, so really the one biscuit order is plenty of food.  dont belive me?  have a look at the cinnimon roll and youll get the idea that bigger is better here


after breakfast, we head to the store to get our oil change items.  my parents dont have a driveway so to speak, just an unlevel gravel pad.  steve and i finally wrangle a way to get our bikes level, and high enough for the improvised oil pan.

wiping the dirt off from having finished my bike


steve wrangling with the limited space under his bike!



once that is done, we just lounge around the house for awhile and enjoy not having to be anywhere or do anything!

along comes dinner time...hmm, 'hey ma, where we goin'?'  the reply is 'el taco rey'.  ok, sounds good!  el taco rey is just outside of downtown colorado springs at wasatch and colorado streets.  this place is awesome!  its super small and family owned.  the food portions to cost ratio was very good and they make thier own tortillas, chips, and sauces.  the food was fantastic and after dinner we are stuffed and head back to the hacienda.

my parents have a family reunion of sorts planned for tomorrow afternoon. there will be some people that i havent seen in close to 15 years!  im looking forward to it, but also am looking forward to taking a ride in the morning.  perhaps we will go to cripple creek, co and do some gambling!

[tjhess74]

Day 16 Saturday 9/5/09

are you freaking kidding me??!!  upon looking outside this morning we find yet another perfectly clear and beautiful day.  16 days of perfect weather, and only some sprinkles here and there.  cool, well take it!

we have a few hours today to knock out a quick ride before the family madness starts later in the afternoon.  steve and i originally wanted to go to the sand dunes, but time just wont allow for now.  we instead decide to go to cripple creek and do some amateur gambling.

the ride up hwy 24 and onto hwy 67 is fantastic.  traffic is light for a saturday and the roads are in great shape


we begin our decent into cripple creek. the town has a 6% grade on the road in and is over 9000 feet in elevation. the collegiate peaks are on the horizon


welcome to cripple creek!  a small gold mining town that has seen bigger days.  the economy here depends heavily (solely?) on casinos and the resulting tourism


we find a great shady place to park and begin our hunt for a casino that wants to give us some money!


we go to three or four different casinos dropping a few bucks here and there (hence the earlier amateur comment!).  steve loses out pretty quickly (dont feel bad, remember he did pretty well in neveda).  i however, seem to have lady luck on my side.  cripple creek has always been good to me.  a few bucks here and there add up



we eat lunch after our gambling spree.  im way ahead at this point.  we plan on hitting another casino in mississippi, so well see how this trend goes...

we have a couple more hours to kill before heading back down the hill, so we stop at the new pikes peak visitors center.  after seeing the displays, the lady at the center tells us the the tour at the molly kathleen mine is well worth it...uh, ok, were in!

we literally ride across the street to the mine and snag our ticket for the show.  we have some time before our 'cage' leaves so we walk around and look at some of the old mining equipment laying around


this is the original molly kathleen mine, where molly herself discovered a gold deposit while chasing some elk in the area way back in the 1800's.  she was the first woman to get a deed for a gold mine


next to the cages that go down the shaft is this sign.  we thought it was hilarious, then, when we were in the 'cage' the sobering reality of that sign kicked in!


the wheel house is where one man manually operates, by way of an electric motor, the cages that go down the shaft.  there is a gauge with a mark on it (center of pic) that gives him the depth reading.  a complex series of bells are the only communication between the wheel man and the guy down in the shaft.


if the power goes out for 30 minutes or more, they turn on an old chrysler hemi engine (tail end is in far right of pic)that is attached to the  cable.  they use it for hoisting the trapped miners (tourists, in this case).  im hoping for no power loss.

now, its called a nine man cage.  i think people back in the day must have been smaller than they are now.  perhaps 'tunnel rat' small, cause this little wire cage aint holdin' no nine people!  the operator arranges us facing in certain directions to maximize the space.  this is the view from above, steve is taking the picture and im in front of the kid in the brown jacket....its cramped...and you can see why its against the law to 'fart'.


there are two cages, one on top of the other. so when ours gets loaded, it goes up to load the one underneath of us...up we go!


then, we are quickly dropped into the depths of the earth 1000 feet down in a very dark and narrow shaft.  occasionally you pass a 'drift', basically a horizontal  mine shaft, like levels in a multi story building.  the trip takes a couple minutes


its cool and damp down here, maybe in the 50's.  our tour guide is a former west virginia coal miner.  he has the west virginia accent and is very knowledgeable about the subject of mining.  he actually demonstrates the use of old and new mining equipment...which is pretty loud by the way.


from the demonstrations of how it was done in the old days, i can tell you now that you would not have wanted that occupation back then.  heck i wouldnt want it now!

we walk through a twisted maze of tunnels (drifts) and see displays depicting mining life.  


basically, they see a 'vein' of gold (which doesnt look like gold at all) and follow it where ever it goes.  if they need to go up, they did vertically (called a 'stope'). here is a wooden ore chute coming down out of a stope.  the turquoise on the wall is copper.  it literally 'drips' from overhead!


looking up that same stope.  you can see (barely) miners (mannequins) sitting on cross beams working on the rocks...uh, no thanks, not this guy.


at one point, we needed to get to the other side of the tunnel faster than we could walk, so we were loaded onto a series of connecting cars no bigger than the ore carts you see in the above pictures.  it was driven by a pneumatic motor and a huge air tank.  it sounded like a very slow moving, bogged down impact gun.  you can see the tank below


the mine is no longer actively mining gold, even though there is lots of gold left to obtain.  actually, there is only one active gold mine in the entire area, and its owned by some south africans.  the ore and gold go directly to them. they hold all mining rights to the area...i wonder who the lobbyist was who fought for that was?!  i wonder who the politician was that signed off on that deal...and what his kickback was?!  anyway, the mine does however keep the shafts clear and works on small spots here and there.  here is a pocket below our level that is currently being 'mucked'...the process of clearing loose debris


we make it back topside and truly enjoyed our tour. it was well worth the cost ($10 i think?? i forget).  as we start heading back, we see a typical afternoon shower that looks like its right over the town of woodland park.  dang, we gotta go that way!  we stop for gas and decide to put on our rain gear (FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 16 DAYS AND OVER 5000 MILES!!!!)  the shower is brief, but very cold.  we get to the heart of it and OUCH, what the heck was tha OUCH!!!  oh, its hail. thats nice.  it was only pea size, but still stings the knuckles through the gloves nonetheless!  that nonsense lasts for about two miles.  in woodland park, the roofs were packed with small hailstones...almost like snow.

the storm ends and we make it home.  the rest of the day is spent with the extended family.  i saw cousins, neices, and nephews that i havent seen since they were kids...now they have kids!!  

it was a good family get together, and the food was great! another day in the books.  tomorrow is time we hit the road again and move on.  im gonna miss being out here, thats for sure!  i believe we should make it to texas tomorrow and do some camping.  stay tuned...

[tjhess74]

Day 17 Sunday 9/6/09

well, today is the day we leave colorado, and that time has come.  we get the bikes all packed up and say our goodbyes.  we hit the road around 0830.  did i mention that the weather is once again fabulous?!

travelling south we venture into raton, new mexico


we stop at a dairy queen brazier, and are once again bombarded by questions surrounding our trip.  its ok, we like it!  our next stop after lunch is capulin volcano national monument.  this is one of the best preserved examples of a cone volcano and was turned into a national monument in the 20's (if i recall correctly).  apparently there is alot of old volcanic in this region. the road spirals up around the volcano itself and has some nice twists to it


thats me in the bottom of the volcano (zoomed in).  yea, i made it! that trail was alot steeper than it looked!


the white dot near the top is steve


moving on, we come to the granddaddy of all states...texas.  well, thats what they tell us at least!


no offense to you texas guys, but this picture pretty much sums up the nearly three days it took to cross this political entity...


what that picture cant tell you is how freaking hot it was.  this is definately the hottest weve been on this trip.  the roads are very abrasive and are scrubbing my rear tire way too fast.  at this point im not sure if ill make it out of the state on this tire. only time will tell.

the law was very prevelant here.  a state trooper upholding the law


im gettin' real bored here partner, yee haw!


soon we come to amarillo.  our goal here is to see cadillac ranch.  what a strange, iconic piece of america this place is!  graffiti welcomes you to graffiti!


now, the state has to draw the line somewhere, and that line is right here


10 cadillacs, all lined up perfectly


this place is so cool!  its private property and you can do as you please here.  youre encouraged to leave your mark!


the tires are barely hanging on...mostly by paint.  the rear ends still turn freely and operate properly, as do the rear brakes!


look how thick the paint is!!!! now thats corrosion protection!!!



at one point, there was cloth and vinyl covering these seat springs


there were so many people filtering through here.  it was just a constant flow of people coming and going...at one point a tour bus stopped and let its passengers enjoy the sites


a stray shower comes very close to us while there, but gave us nothing but sprinkles.  as we continued down the road, the temperature had dropped considerably and the roads were wet.  our plan is to camp at lake meredith, in fritch texas about 20 or so miles northeast of amarillo.  its labor day weekend so were not sure how crowded the campsites will be.

we wind through a mobile home neighborhood, which had us a little concerned at first, and crested a hill which offered us this view


this lake is set down in a canyon.  the view is absolutely beautiful!  ever better than the view is the lack of people...NOBODY!  we set up camp under a metal overhang next to a picnic table.  it works out perfectly and gives our bikes some shelter as well.


in that picture, look at how my jacket is hanging over my windscreen.  i always put it there, but it has a story tomorrow morning.

this picture gives an idea of how high we are above the lake.  the dark spot on the lake in the upper part of the picture is a sandbar that had alot of party goers on it


steve and i are still in awe of how great this place is...then the sun started to set, offering a fantastic sunset


we eat our last remaining mre for dinner.  for once, we dont have to worry about bears!  its the animals out here we dont know about that concerns us!  it has been very windy all day, especially here.  now that the sun is setting, the wind is slowly starting to die.  we settle in and steve gets a fire started.  its a nice, quiet, peaceful evening which affords us a great nights sleep.


tomorrow we go to irving, to my sisters house.

[st2sam]

Great job TJ, looking forward to "the rest of the story"...    

[XbbX]

really enjoying the RR

the weather you guys have had is unbelievable

[BigBeavk]

Man what an epic trip.  :bigok:Nice job

[tjhess74]

Day 18 9/7/09

in the middle of the night, the wind was so fierce, it was caving the tent in on steve!  (thankfully that was his side!!)  steve got up and jerry-rigged some counterweight on the outside of the tent to make it more rigid.  when morning arrives at lake meredith and its a beautiful, wind free morning.  when i woke up, my air mattress was flat!  i found the culprits to be some burrs that had gotten stuck on my pants from last night when i was hunting fire wood.  man, that sucks.  the good news is that this is the last night of camping we have planned so it shouldnt affect any future nights sleep.  

we lazyly get up and start getting our stuff packed.  i grabbed a rag that was in the tent along with some other items and set them on the picnic table.  shortly thereafter, i noticed this little guy crawl out from inside the rag


upon opening up the rag, i discover the 'cocoon'!  'uh, steve...'.  'what?'  'uh, check youre stuff man, there is a big spider that made it inside the tent!'
well, time to start checking everything else! i have no idea how he got in there...  we comb through the rest of our belongings and found nothing out of the ordinary.  we then turn our attention to the bikes.  remember i asked you to remember my jacket draped over my bike?  well, heres why...i looked over everything without touching it and then looked up under my jacket while it was still on the bike.  heres what i saw..


nasty!  im not afraid of spiders, but im not fond of them either.  i did not, however, want one making his presence known while i was riding!  notice the web is spun around the brake lever.  heres a close up of this fella


using a knife and a stick, i seperated the spider and cocoon from the jacket.  this spider was PISSED! it was so upset that it actually chased me once it was on the ground!  im not kidding one bit!  i put it on the grass and was on the concrete pad.  it came out of the grass and followed me as i walked away from it on the concrete.  i made a zig zag walk and it continued to track me!  it finally gave up and crawled up the picnic table.  steve, lets get outta here!

we pack up and hit the road.  we took some farm-to-market roads (small texas backroads) to start heading south/southeast.  nearby were large grouping of windmills


on a small road east of amarillo, we passed a plant called plantex.  i didnt think anything of it until i saw signs posted on the nearby fence stating 'deadly force is authorized'.  hmm, that place isnt normal!  i then saw a huge steel platform.  there was steel plating on one side of it with square holes cut out.  around the holes were black, burnt areas.  downrange was a HUGE dirt burm.  my guess is they shoot some big chunks of lead at that range!  sorry, i had a weird feeling about it and didnt feel like stopping for any pics and stirring up the locals.  steve and i stop shortly there after and he looks up the place on his internet phone.  oh, man i glad we didnt stop!  this place is the ONLY plant in the united states that is authorized to assemble and disassemble nuclear weapons!  we were glad we didnt stop for pictures, as im sure it may have lead to a lengthy delay for us answering questions.

onward we go.  want me to describe the remainder of our day on the road in texas?  here, lets let the picture do all the talking


let me tell you, its hot out here!  heres another picture that says alot


keep in mind, thats the temp showing as were moving!  many of the bank signs we past showed well over 100 degrees.  the heat didnt stop the local law from coming out to play


this guy did something wrong, not sure whats going on here.  there were two other troopers cars on the backside of the truck


we stopped for gas in wichita falls, tx. across the street was some, assumably, homeless guy acting out his part.  it looked like he was either pretending to fish, or play baseball...or both! im guessing we were on the shady side of town.  we stop at a nearby dennys to grab some chow.  good thing were not in a hurry!  it took about 15 minutes just to get our drinks.  45 minutes for chicken fingers??!!  between the heat, my back tire which is being chisled away by the texas road and heat, and the crappy service, im fairly annoyed at this point.  come on steve, lets get out of this town!  not a big fan of wichita falls.  anyway, we weave our way through the northern dallas metro area and pass the texas motor speedway



finally, we arrive at my sisters house in irving, tx!  ah, air conditioning!!!  ah, a swimming pool!!! we catch up on old times (we havent seen each other in years) and i met my nephew for the first time!  being seven, he was intrigued with our motorcycles! after a fantastic home cooked meal, we went for a nice relaxing (cooling) swim.  mmm, brisket with all the fixins! thanks sis!

another good nights sleep awaits.  tomorrow we plan on stopping by the branch davidian compound in waco, tx and continuing on to lafayette, la.

[tullys]

Remember Tom mentioning that Denny's in Wichita Falls? Yeah, it was HOT, and pretty miserable actually (Sorry the photo of the temperature was blurry). I was pretty thirsty at this point and decided to order a drink. I usually just order water, but saw the "New! Four Berry Fizz - (A four berry blast of raspberry, strawberry, blackberry and blueberry blended with Minute Maid® Lemonade and cold, refreshing Sprite®)" on the menu. I don't normally care for Denny's all that much, but those Four Berry Fizz drinks were really good, and after 7 of em, I was fairly well hydrated. I just want to go on the record saying that it isn't a good idea getting back on a bike after 7 drinks, even if they are non-alcoholic!

[tjhess74]

day 19 Tuesday 9/08/09

get out your seat cushions kids, todays a long day!

after getting out of bed, we find my sister has cooked a rather large breakfast for us.  so far, this is the only real positive thing about texas-people can cook!  we eventually say our goodbyes and hit the roads...or should i say 'pile of spaghetti'?  are you freaking kidding me???!!!


if you remember back in the early days of the trip, i was having trouble reading my gps because of the way the lines are drawn.  steve had to lead this one, cause i had no idea what road it was telling me to get on!

we maze our way onto one of the many '35's' (put a number in front of '35' in dallas, and there will be an interstate with that label) and soon hit bumper to bumper traffic


after about 45 minutes we come to this...another fantastic driver that is helping others get where they need to go


after cruising past that moron, we come to downtown dallas!


all i could think about was being a kid in the late 70's and my mom watching the show "dallas" with jr and the crew.

we stayed on the interstate  (35 east i believe, one of two southbound 35's!) and make our way to waco, tx.  our plan is to stop at the site of the branch davidian compound, but we have no idea if were welcome or what to expect.  after hitting some remote backroads we find the entrance and are greeted with this sign


were not texas dot, wo we pull in and look for signs of life.  we ride down the dirt driveway looking for anything/anyone to guide us.  our first priority is to make sure were ok to be here.  we were not wanting to intrude or be disrespectful.  immediately, you get a very sobering and somber feel for what occured here.  we make it to the end of the dirt road and it dead ends.  great, just great!  we were being chased by dogs nipping at our feet coming in and now we have to turn around and go through them again??!!  here goes nothing...  after backtracking, we stop at a small chapel and find it has some maps for people to use.  that makes us feel better about being here


refer to the map to get a reference for where things are in the pics below.  here is the crudely make cement swimming pool.  notice the dogs (one in the water) were two of the group that was chasing us.  i guess they dont like motorcycles!


sentences were painted along the rim of the pool, but were faded to much to read fully.  they basically pointed to certain areas where things happened on that day. to the left of the pool were the underground tornado shelters



in front of that was the buried school bus which was part of the tunnel system


sobering reminders that what happened here was very real



this would have been the front of the compound building.  the church was built on top of the site on the far right portion of the map above.  you can see the foundation outlines


in front of the church was a memorial to the batf officers that died on the property.  honestly, i was kinda surprised to see this


near the entrace are marble memorials to those members who lost their lives.  regardless of your personal beliefs, it was very sad seeing all childrens names




once we were there for a while, it was obvious that they welcomed visitors on the property.  i also got the impression they truly did regret the death of the officers in the raid, but also just wanted to be left alone by the government.  no matter how you feel about that group of people or the government, the result was very tradgic. knowing what i do about law enforcement and tactics, i believe this could have come to a much better end versus what actually did happen.

it was incredible to stand on a site where history unfolded on tv many years ago, and were both glad we stopped.

after continuing on and getting back on the two-laner, we were VERY hungry, VERY hot, and had to pee VERY bad!  steve was leading and was responsible for finding lunch.  we meandered throught this small town (marlin, tx) and found the worst road conditions ever!  yes, i was getting grumpy again!  steve stopped a little mom and pop place called 'sister's restaurant'. this place was in the top 40 restaurants in the state of texas, which had to mean some good food!


i, however, wasnt in the mood for surprises and just wanted some quick, familiar food but once again, steve came through!  the food was so plentiful steve couldnt lick the plate clean!  never thought id see that day!!  he had the chicken fried steak (the size of your head!) and i had the meatloaf sandwich (very large chuck of meat!).  the food was good and we had some good conversation with the owners.  now were hot, tired, and FULL!  ok, lets hit the road again!

just before getting to houston, we think its gonna rain on us.  but like most of the other showers, it disappates before we get to it and we get only sprinkles!  the temperature drop was VERY welcome.  heres houston!


steve wanted to see the battleship uss texas, so thats the destination.  downtowns skyscrapers give way to oil refineries and tanks.  now, everyone knows that texans are very proud of thier beloved state.  nothing helps you realize this like battle memorials muraled on the tank walls! my texas history is a little rusty, but i belive the first one is sam houston himself



we arrive at the battleship, and find its part of the san jacinto  battleground state historic site, which is were the revolution occured and texas was born.  this ship saw wwI and wwII...now thats getting your moneys worth!


across the way is the monument to the battle. the brochure said this was the tallest free standing piece of masonry at over 555 feet tall.


after leaving the park, we discovered that the road continued on by way of a ferry to get across the river.  we had no idea how much or how long it would take, but we checked it out.  turns out its free and we just barely made this one!  the guy waved us on just before taking off!  


it was a very strange sensation to feel the ground move beneath the bike!  this is definately a first for both of us! the car behind us missed the boat...literally!


two ferrys were taking turns going back and forth across the river.  ours looked just like this one


its starting to get late, and we have alot of ground to cover still, so we jump on i-10 to lafayette, la.  not too long after that we finally leave texas


after dark, we see alot of lightning ahead and to the left. our hope is to make lafayette before hitting the storm.  the storm passes to the north and we pull into lafayette...tired and hungry.  after checking into the hotel we start to unpack the bikes.  we see two crackheads arguing out in the street.  one breaks off and comes over to tell us his life story.  after being thankful that we arent as down as these people, we head across the street to shoneys for dinner.  

on the table was a reminder that we are in cajun country!


tomorrow well spend some time in new orleans and start following the coastline of the gulf.  for now, i praying my back tire will last me til we get home. hopefully tomorrows slower speeds will help.

[tjhess74]

Day 20 09/09/09

Today is one of those days where the numbers on the calender all match.  hopefully for us this means good travels and good weather!

after another fantastic continental breakfast consisting of waffles, cereal, breakfast burritos and such, (another free night thanks to steves reward points!) we pack up and hit the road. today we want to spend some time in new orleans to see how its coming along and also see some of steves family along the way.  off we go!

i realized that southern louisiana is mostly soggy, but this is one long bridge! it went on for miles!


lots of swampland, beautiful in its own way.  theres some gators down thar, i gayr-rone-tee!


louisianas best were out in force today, so we keep our speeds reasonable


i havent been to this part of the state before, so it was cool to see the states capitol, baton rouge


lake ponchartrain, one seriously big lake...and home to another seriously long bridge!


alas, new orleans!  niether of us has been here since katrina hit, so were curious to see how much damage is still left.  well, the superdome looks good!


as we ride the elevated interstate, we think back to all the news footage of the scores of people escaping the rising waters walking, and dying, in these very lanes.  its sad, but you really shouldnt stay in a negative elevation city, surrounded by water and inadequate levees, during a hurricane.  i guess its the governments fault, as always.

as we begin our descent into the city, we pass one of the 'elevated' cemetaries.  these are very cool to walk through if you ever get the chance


we hit some side streets and start to survey the damage.  there is still alot of construction going on and many buildings being refurbished


another sobering reminder of what happened here.  searching all of the structures for the stranded and deceased was and exhausting task.  i forget the exact breakdown, but the spray paint markings indicate what agency searched the structure and what they found, if anything


approaching the french quarter and bourbon street.  yep, just as cool as i remember!


we find a parking spot just off the main drag and hope our stuff is still there when we get back!  we tour the french quarter and the amazing st. louis cathedral


pope john paul II worshipped here in 1987 and the church has been here since the 1700's
inside are murals painted on the ceiling were amazingly detailed


the very ornate alter


we climb up the levee to the banks of the muddy mississippi.  there is a very nice walkway on the levee that follows the river and offers fantastic views of the city


the bridge in the background is the greater new orleans bridge.  back in the mid 90's, a freighter ship lost control and crashed into the riverwalk mall near the tall building in that picture.

well, that time has come, we need to hit the road again.  as we exit the city, we hit a low spot...


one last look at the crescent city as we leave


as you can see in that picture, one of the reasons we head out is the weater.  dark, ominous clouds are gathering...especially in the direction were going!


COULD THIS BE IT??!!  besides the quick rain in woodland park, co., will we hit real thunderstorms??  steve wants to put on the rain gear, but i think we should hold out.  remember, its hot.   raingear and hot, humid weather are not good partners.  we press on and lo and behold, the storm parts!!!  no kidding! it splits down the middle and sprinkles on hwy 90, but immediatly to either side are downpours!  unbelievable, our luck continues!  once again, the lowered temps are very welcomed!

it doesnt take long, and louisiana swamps give way to the mississippi gulf coast


look at that sand!


as we ride along the coast, we see the areas hardest hit by hurricane katrina.  for miles, there are bare foundations, steps leading to nowhere, and skeleton structures



we enter biloxi for our gambling fix. were hardcore about gambling...we are armed with $20 and a winning strategy!  ok, maybe not so much. we stop at the hard rock casino and try our luck.


well, im up $5.  steve isnt doing so well again.  beginners luck didnt stay with him very long!


ok, lady luck didnt hang off my arm long either,  that $5 went pretty quick!  you know its bad when your stuck to the penny slots for the last bit of change left in our alotted funds!

shortly after that failed financial gain venture, we find ourselves in alabama


as near mobile, we venture off the beaten path to see steves grandmother.  after a nice visit and several glasses of ice water, we trudge on and pass through mobile, al


i hear they have tunnels somewhere arou...whoa!


on the other side is the uss alabama battleship.  there are aircraft displays here as well.  from the road, i saw an f-4 phantom and a b-52


we weave through some serious backroads along the gulf coast of alabama and stop at steves in-laws.  trust me, that was a welcome bathroom stop!  after that we head to orange beach, al to stay the night with steves uncle.  man, his family is coming in handy!  after a big seafood dinner at doc's seafood we hit the rack.

weve been on the road along time now, and travel sickness is starting to kick in.  i think the heat is playing a big part in just wanting to get home.  two more days, were almost there...

[tjhess74]

Day 21 Thursday 9/10/09

this morning, we find ourselves in no real hurry to hit the road.  steves uncle takes us for a drive around the town of orange beach, al and shows us around.  hes been there for decades and fills us in on the local happenings.  

once we get packed up and say our goodbyes, we venture down the road and hit florida in very short order


i forgot to take my camera out when we left the  house and i didnt realize it til we passed the sign!  so, i motioned to steve to turn around.  well were here now, and that sand was not easy to ride through, so well get an official 'we were here' picture!

our preferred (weather permitting during the height of hurricane season) was to follow the gulf coast, so that we did!  the gulf was in view for the entire day almost, and man was it gorgeous!  all the coastal towns start to look the same after awhile, so we forget exactly which city these pics are


the law in florida was very thick today, so we didnt take any chances. the speed limits through these towns were like the rocky mountains...up and down!


this resort/hotel/tourist attraction was huge!  as we passed, you found that it was longer than it was wide.  basically, it was a mini city!


the temps were steadily climbing, and showed no signs of stopping as the afternoon approached.  our speeds at times were extremely slow in the 'beach day' traffic and its starting to take its toll.  that time comes and we get hungry (i think were always hungry!), so we pull into panama city beach and hit backyard burgers to chow down.  across the street is one of the 'ripleys believe it or not' museums.  this one is cleverly in the form of the sinking titanic, complete with spinning props!


after lunch we decide to go to the beach!  we park illegally at a private residence (i had to talk steve into this one...come on, its the beach, its worth risking getting towed!).  i knew we wouldnt be there long enough to cause a problem.  oh that white sand and clear turquoise water...looking west


at the water...


and east.  resorts as far as you could see


ok, its hot, lets get going!  besides, the people on the beach were giving us strange looks with our riding gear on!

as we pass tyndall air force base i notice some jets circling around and preparing to land...HEY, THOSE ARE F-22's!!  i know its blurry, but they were fast and i was slow...i only caught one of them


i saw one of these babies in action at an airshow last year and they are amazing!

shortly after that, we start seeing signs every couple hundred feet...what does that say...oh!


seriously, you would think they should put a fence around that or something!  oh well, i guess warning you is fair enough!

it is seriously getting hot now and im begging for the traffic to die down so we can get some air moving by us and our engines.  we stop at a gas station to rest and hydrate (the camelbacks are getting warm!) and i find this little guy.  he did not want to leave his spot!  im not sure how he got there, but he must have hung on for a while


not too far down the road it does clear up and we enjoy some more looong bridges and a good sea breeze


later on down the road, we stopped in the town of carrabelle, fl. at another gas station for some more cold hydration.  i saw the ice cream freezer and couldnt resist...ice cream snickers, oh yea!  we had a great conversation with the owner.  he was a huge harley looking guy, but was super down to earth and was fascinated with our trip.  once we cooled down, we headed on to our destination for the night, valdosta, ga.

after turning north, away from the coast, we skirt around tallahassee and pass through the town of monticello, fl.  ive been here before and i love this little town.  it has that quaint, old-time southern charm to it.  the crossroads go around the town hall building


just north of monticello is a great country short cut up to quitman, ga.  turning off of the main hwy 19 just outside of town is the boston hwy (county road 149). the two lane road weaves it way into georgia and becomes hwy 33.  a couple miles north of the state line you take a right onto mitchell rd.  its a narrow, scenic backroad that passes by old cemetaries and farm houses with little, if any, traffic.  that road eventually becomes the grooverville road (county rd 275).

that dumps us out on to the main four lane road at quitman and then into valdosta.  we check into our free hotel (once again, steves rewards points!) and look for dinner.  the conversation went something like this...'hmm, where do you want to go for dinner?'  'uh, i dont know, doesnt matter'  'well, theres a hooters with in walking dista..' 'OK, lets go!'   hooters it is.  

after dinner, we enjoy some cold beer back at the hotel and meet a guy next to our room that has a brand new triumph tiger.  after a couple of hours shooting the bull with him we hit the rack.  tomorrow is a quick jaunt (or so we thought) through georgia and then over to home.  were both ready to get back...
 

[tjhess74]

Well this is it!  Day 22 Friday, 9/11/09

That day has come, our last travel day and we are back home.  When we started this trip, this day seemed like an eternity away, but like all vacations they go by so quickly.  this has been one for the books though!

this morning, we get up and perform the last bike load.  this has been more of a chore for steve, but it didnt take too long and he got it down to a science!

we blow town and hit hwy 84 east.  today is only going to be around 300 or so miles.  we designed it that way cause we knew we would be fatigued at this point in the game.  as we travel, johnny law made his presence known.  this was actually some sort of check point, stopping traffic on 84 west


the morning was cool (in the upper 70's) and we were making decent time with the non existent traffic.  we neared waycross, ga and slowed down as the speed limit dropped.  thats when i felt a very strange vibration in the handlebars.  i initially thought it was the road surface, but i couldnt see any abnormality on the asphalt.  the speed dropped to 35 mph and the vibration got much worse...the bars were actually shaking!

thats it, somethings very wrong!  the road in waycross makes some sharp turns, and on a left hander, the whole bike shook.  i immediatly pulled over.  steve looked at me like i was crazy!  we took one look at the front tire and saw a huge problem


the entire left side of the tire had large bulges in the rubber, going about half way around the tire circumferance


i was fairly certain that this was a tread delamination issue.  I CANT BELIEVE THIS!!  im tired and i want to get home, and now this?!  i had to laugh though, cause up to this point im sweating about my rear tire not making it home!!

well, we have no choice but to get it changed.  i look on the bright side; im not stuck in the middle of nowhere, and the tire didnt actually come apart-like on the interstate, or in mid twisty curve!

steve gets out his crackberry and we look up some dealers in town.  some places either didnt have the tire size i needed, or were too busy to help a stranded traveler.  one dealer, dixie motorsports in waycross, had ONE tire left in my size.  ILL TAKE IT.

the place is only a few blocks away, so we limp it there.  they let me take the wheel off in the parking lot so we found a shady spot and got to work


we had to use some of steves gear to weigh down the back of my bike to get the wheel off


the tire that went bad was a shinko -120/70-17.  i dont necessarily fault the quality of the tire, as all manufacturers have some lemons slip by. i just attribute this to an isolated failure.  the only tire that was available is a bridgestone bt020f.  sheesh, i hate those tires!  dont have a choice though.  let me tell you, that was a full price tire too!  with the mounting it cost me $185!


we kept the old tire in case i needed it for the warranty claim.  steve was able to fit it on his bike.  ill bet monkey is glad he can finally sit down!


well, now im grumpy again!  this trip was going flawlessly until that happened!  oh well, were hungry, lets go eat.

after lunch we hit the road again and cross into south carolina.  steve was leading and i missed getting a picture of him throwing up his arms in victory for making back to our state!

the traffic gods, in one last attempt to railroad us, but one more obstacle in our way.  on hwy 17 alternate outside of walterboro, sc, traffic was backed up and moving at a snails pace because someone was moving a mobile home down the highway!  ARRGGHH, i just wanna get home!!

we make it finally, and im greeted by my wife with a huge hug! were hot, were tired, and were really glad we took this incredible trip.  this is certainly one well not soon forget!  weve seen places that weve only dreamed about and did it in a fashion that many people only dream about.  we tested the limits of our bikes and ourselves and learned alot in the process.

the most amazing thing was how blessed we were with near perfect weather.  only a week prior and we would have hit violent storms in the upper rockies/yellowstone.  one week later and we would have been carried away by the flooding rains in texas all the way to georgia.  we only donned our raingear one time during a colorado day trip for about 20 minutes!

this ride report has been alot of work, but was a great opportunity to not only relive our trip and refresh some details, but also to share it with others.  i hope you have enjoyed following along as much as steve and i did telling the story.

stats:
7525 miles total (steve estimated 7530, NOT BAD!)
24 states
22 days
approximately 37 gas fill ups for each of us
highest elevation: 14,110 feet above sea level
lowest elevation: -11 feet below sea level
highest temp: 102 degrees
lowest temp: 37 degrees
highest mileage day: over 800 miles
lowest mileage day: 1 mile (maintanence day in CO)
average daily mileage: 342 miles per day
times i took a wrong turn:  only 2...i think!
approximately 15 national parks/historic sites visited
pictures taken between the two of us: 1,389

[Smoker]

 

Great job Tom, great report. Thanks for sharing. Will you be buying the Shinkos again?

[st2sam]

SHEEEESSHHHH,,, I'm beat, time for a cold one!

 

[tjhess74]

shane, yes i would give the shinkos a second chance.  there are too many shinkos out there for this to be a common occurence. the us distributor, western power sports, sent me a new rear tire since it was worn out.  normally they only replace the defective part, but i already have a new front tire!!!  the fact that they took care of me helps that decision too.

as far as the tires go, i was thrilled with their performance, especially in the wet (what little we encountered

[CJBurbank]

That's it????   Great ride report Tom....I can't wait for the sequel!  

-Chris

[TheOtherWhiteMeat]

Awesome report guys!!!

[bluepoof]

 

Loved it!  Thanks so much for taking the time to write up your trip and post photos.  I really enjoyed it.  

[Orson]

Good stuff  

lottsa lottsa pictures   It's a wonder you got any riding done  

Thanks for putting in the hours in making the report  

[tjhess74]

i added an edit to day one, just after the accident.  i found the article regarding the outcome of the passenger that was ejected.

i also added a couple of long-lost pictures from our maintenance session from day 15, 9/4/09.

[bluepoof]

i added an edit to day one, just after the accident.  i found the article regarding the outcome of the passenger that was ejected.

I don't understand why people don't wear seatbelts.

[tjhess74]

blue, in a different article, the wife of the driver commented and stated the mr. smith had removed his seatbelt 'for just a second' to get something from the back of the suv (he was in the backseat which i knew at the time).  it just appears to be a case of bad timing on his part.  i firmly believe that when its your time to go, youre gonna go no matter how much you try to prevent it.  it was mr. smith's time apparently, albiet seemingly abit early.

[bluepoof]

Awwww crap, that's so sad.  

[zzrjj]

Wow,
I really enjoyed reading about your trip, here on a snowy Michigan night, while my C14 sleeps. Nicely done! Thanks for posting it guys. Merry Christmas!

[Wilbur]

First Presbyterian Church in Gulfport.

Old condos on Cowan/Loraine Road in Gulfport. These were basically trailers on concrete stilts. Shocking they lasted as long as they did. There was a big amusement park on the other side of the street. My brother lives less than a mile straight back the way you are looking.

The Hard Rock was scheduled to open two days after Katrina hit. It was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.

[sslangs]

Looks like you took a lot of time and energy to share this with the rest of the forum - thanks for that.  It was great reading, reminded me a bit of the Neil Peart books.  How did you manage to get off work for that long?

[Brian Hudson]

Man, Tom, I keep coming back to this thread every few weeks just to read it all again. What a trip! What was your longest trip before this one? Any 'working up to it' or was it just kind of a 'screw it, let's try it' thing?

[tjhess74]

sslangs, i spent many hours working on each days post alone in sorting, transferring, and posting pics and writings.  my wife would just roll her eyes at me each time and ask when i was going to give the computer back to her!  as far as the time off, both of us had accrued enough paid time off and still have some left over, so we decided to pull the trigger.

brian, i do the same thing!  i remember it like it was yesterday and i grin everytime i think about it!  my longest trip up to that point was a cross country run when i was in college (between semesters).  most of my trips are 1000k or less.  a trip like this is mostly mental.  you have to know that long hot/cold days are ahead.  physically, stretching, getting a good nights rest, and hydrating are extremely important.  we planned this trip for the better part of a year...the nitty gritty details were solidified in the last few months.

[kendenton]

Glad this one bubbled back to the top - don't know how I missed it the first time.  Great stuff, thanks for writing it up.

Very impressed with some of your close-up photos (spiders, paint chip, etc).  What photo gear did you bring along?

[9secondsflat]

What an amazing journey you had...let me ask you a few questions,
first what is a must bring along for a trip like this? (I am planning my "getting lost to find myself ride")
what didnt you bring that you wish you would have?
What brand/model of tent did you have in the pics?
Thanks
Barry

[tjhess74]

ken, thanks!  my impressive photo equipment consisted of a standard digital pocket camera tethered around my neck!  iirc, its a samsung, 4 or 5 megapixels...nothing special.

barry, the must haves really depend on your sleeping goals.  if camping, then tent, sleeping bag, and roll are must haves.  if you plan on eating out, you dont need any cooking gear or food-that saves alot of room.  we only brought 4-5 days worth of clothes, and just did laundry along the way.  the yellow tent in the pics is steves...its a eureka brand.  as far as wishing we would have brought anything else...i would like to have had my laptop!  it would have made the ride report more of a live play-by-play.  however alot of places didnt have speedy internet access, but being able to download pics would have been nice.

[kendenton]

ken, thanks!  my impressive photo equipment consisted of a standard digital pocket camera tethered around my neck!  iirc, its a samsung, 4 or 5 megapixels...nothing special.

barry, the must haves really depend on your sleeping goals.  if camping, then tent, sleeping bag, and roll are must haves.  if you plan on eating out, you dont need any cooking gear or food-that saves alot of room.  we only brought 4-5 days worth of clothes, and just did laundry along the way.  the yellow tent in the pics is steves...its a eureka brand.  as far as wishing we would have brought anything else...i would like to have had my laptop!  it would have made the ride report more of a live play-by-play.  however alot of places didnt have speedy internet access, but being able to download pics would have been nice.

Nice.  Goes to show you, it's the photographer, and not the gear, that makes the difference.