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

[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!