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

[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.