Tuesday's events, 6/29

Started the day with a wonderful breakfast at Kitty's Cafe, then a liesure walk along the waterfront before heading north along the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), also known as Hwy 1. This is the main reason for this trip, to ride the PCH and I wasn't disappointed. Most of this road hugs the coast line with breath taking views, although I wasn't able to really appreciate the views as my concentration was required on making sure I didn't run off the cliffs.

Lunched at Lucia Lodge in Big Sur, good food and great view of the coast and ocean. Also very nice flowers. Following lunch, we continued north toward San Francisco hoping to find a state campground close to the city. As we passed a couple of state parks, the signs said campgrounds full which didn't leave us much hope we could get a site with the great weather for camping, eg. 65 F and sunny. As we approached Half Moon Bay, we decided to stop at the state park to see if they had any sites and to our luck they had one left which we took. This was about two hours before sunset giving us plenty of time to set up our tents and stow our gear. Met out campsite neighbor, Tom McGee, who is an LA County motorcycle patrolman. Naturally talked for hours about a host of topics including motorcycles. Sunset on the Pacific Coast is absolutely spectacular this evening; cool and cloudless weather made for great photos. Had a fire and drank a glass (or two) of wine before calling it a night. A great day!

Morro Bay boat dock:

View from PCH:

Elephant Seals along PCH:

View from Lucia Lodge:

Sunset @ Half Moon Bay State Park:

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Monday's events, 6/28

Left Beatty, NE about 8:30 PDT to travel across Death Valley National Park, US190, early before the extreme heat. The terrain was much different than I envisioned; plenty of mountain passes to cross. The valley is located in the middle of the park. Temps reached about 105F before noon. Glad we crossed it when we did.

Death Valley, CA:

Death Valley, CA:

Next, we headed for the west coast, taking US395 south to CA178. This provided more difficult mountain roads to cross, specifically the Kern River Canyon before we reached Bakersfield. After lunch continued on US58 to Morro Bay. Arrived at the West Coast about 7:30 pm PDT. HOORAY!

Kern's Canyon, CA along CA178:

Big rock formation of the coast at Morro Bay, CA:

The docks at Morro Bay, CA:

Very hot day, 100 plus temps, all day except when we reached the coast. By the time we got to Morro Bay it was 60 and cloudy, perfect for riding motorcycles. We hope not to repeat the temps of the last few days for quite some time.

Sunday's events, 6/27

Left St. George, UT for the Hoover Dam about 9:00. Traveled thru the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada's first, on NE167 on our way. Beautiful rock formations like this:

As we approached Hoover Dam, ran into a very slow moving line of traffic, so slow we couldn't ride without stopping the bikes. It took us an hour to go the three miles to get to the security check point. Didn't spend much time there, enough to take some pictures and eat and head out to our final destination for the day which was Beatty, NE.

The day was extremely HOT, starting our trip in the 90's and ending about 110F.

View from the Hoover Dam:

Power Stuff at the Hoover Dam:

View of the Dam itself:

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Saturday's events, 6/26

Left the Navajo town of Tuba City about 10:00 heading for the north rim of the Grand Canyon via US160 and US89. We chose the north rim because apparently less people are willing to take the extra time to go there, about one in ten. Stopped at the Navajo Bridge (photos) to see the Colorado River. Bridge built in 1928. Stunning view is difficult to convey in photos.

Steve and Ron on bridge crossing the Colorado River on Alt US89:

Colorado River @ Alt US89:

Continued on to the north rim. The ride in on US67 was as pleasurable for us motorcyclists as the visit to the canyon itself. Again, photos cannot completely convey the feeling you get when you're there. The rock at the bottom of the canyon approaches two billion years old. Now I don't feel so old myself. It's 13 miles across from the north rim to the south rim but if you drove around it's 213 miles.

North Rim view of the Grand Canyon:

A hiking trail at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon:

Left the north rim of the Grand Canyon in late afternoon and headed for Zion National Park in Utah, about two hours away via US89 and US9. Easy riding to get there. After entering the park, discovered road construction the entire length along US9 which is not fun on two wheels when they remove most of the road surface and what's left is pot holes, loose gravel and very uneven surfaces. Not a pleasant experience for us, so much so that we didn't even stop in the visitor center to pick up a souvenir. Although I did take a couple of photos while we were stopped for traffic to pass.

Zion National Park (when we were stopped for construction):

Continued west and ended the day at St. George, UT. Will head for Hoover Dam tomorrow. Predictions for temps well over 100 degrees. Looks like a good day to end our journey early.

trip leg for 6/26

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Friday's afternoon events, 6/25

A lot has happened since yesterday's entry.

Left Durango in early afternoon heading for the Four Corners on US160. Lunched in Cortez, CO. Arrived at Four Corners late afternoon and found that the monument was under reconstruction and thus closed to the public (photo). Not sure when it would be opened again but the locals thought around the end of July.

Four Corners Monument:

So, after that short stay, headed west via US162 and US163. We saw some of the most beautiful rock formations I've ever seen. (photos). Very little traffic made this route very nice as well.

The day was getting late and in part of the country there are very few facilities. We got into a situation where we were riding much later than we wanted but had no choice. As we were heading to Tuba City along US160 it started to rain. Imagine that, rain in the desert southwest. We were riding along the edge of a thunderstorm about dusk. We could see a lot of lightning to the south and sun to the north. The result............two beautiful rainbows. This happened not once but twice within about 30 minutes.

Ended the long day in Tuba City after searching for a reasonably priced hotel. That is a story in and of itself.

River at Mexican Hat, UT:

Rock Outcroppings in Monument Valley, UT:

trip leg for 6/25

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Friday morning events, 6/25

Since last posted, we've traveled US50 from Colorado Springs to Montrose, CO then finished the day (Thursday) at Ridgeway State Park campground on US550. First time camping on this trip. Got to the site late so we had to hustle to get set up before nightfall but made it. Good experience.

Today, started with breakfast in Ridgeway @ Kate's Place. Great local restaurant. Then started our ride south thru Red Mountain, Coal Bank Pass and Windom Peak with elevation @ 14K. Not a ride for the inexperienced motorcycle rider at all. In some places it rivals the Tail of the Dragon at the south end of the Smokey Mountains. Currently taking a break in Durango, CO before we head southwest to reach the Four Corners. Then to Monument Valley at the Utah/Arizona boarder before day's end.

It's a miserable life but someone has to live it!

Ron

Thursday events, 6/24

Left Colorado Springs about noon after spending the morning with my good friend Kevin Johnson and his son having breakfast and doing some shopping. Then started the portion of the trip it took us three days to get to which is the mountain roads by starting on US50 west from Colorado Springs to Montrose, CO crossing the continental divide before heading south on US550. This was a beautiful day for riding and camping as it was sunny and comfortable temps in the 70s so we decided to camp at Ridgeway State Campground. As we entered about dusk, we were greeted by about a dozen head of deer at the campground entrance.

The campsite at Ridgeway State Park:

Local fauna, who kept greedily eyeing our supply of Gentleman Jack. Note the wicked gleam:

Steve along M50 in CO:

One of many beautiful views along the road:

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This guy keeps following me.

Mountain views along highway 50 on the way to the San Juan mountains

mile after mile of curvy roads and gorgeous scenery (which don't necessarily go hand in hand while on a motorbike)

Hey White Boy! The sun's out! Hide!

note the red splotches on my wrist where there was no jacket, glove, or watch to protect me from the ball of fire.

Wednesday events, 6/23

Today was much, much better than yesterday. Mild temps, low humidity and sunny all day. Still Windy in KS. Surprise? Now I know why they have so many wind powered generators in KS. We must have seen several hundred north of I-70 in mid-state KS.

Stopped for fuel in Rush, KS and found some of the rural humor in the window of the station:

Finally left I-70 in west KS and took US40 to CO94 to get to Colorado Springs. Wonderful ride in rural KS and CO. Two lane, great condition and not traffic.

Met friends(Johnson's and Dennis Dalton) in Colorado Springs for dinner. Very enjoyable evening. Accepted the Johnson's generous offer to stay at their place for the evening.

Miles traveled this day, 431.

Now let the excellent riding begin!

Park, KS gas station:

Wind generators in KS:

trip leg for 6/23

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Pictures

Don't forget to take pictures!

Monday, 6/21 and Tuesday, 6/22 events

Haven't had much time to post. Sorry!

Left Monday morning about 10:30 after meeting Stephen Rouse (riding partner) for breakfast @ Bob Evans on Central Ave., Toledo. Pleasant weather until Dayton. Thunderstorm forced a two hour delay so we spent it in a great coffee shop. Took I-75 to I-70 west, ending the day in Edwardsville, Ill which is close to the Mississippi River and near St. Louis. Warm day of riding after the rain. Miles ridden, 512.

Tuesday was a different story. After crossing into Missouri, the weather was very hot, humid and very windy, gusts up to 30 mph. Continued on I-70 the entire day, ending in Salina, KS. High temperature of 100 F. Miles ridden, 454.

Plan for today is to get to Colorado Springs, Co. and have dinner with a high school friend (Dennis Dalton) and Aquila colleague and his wife (Kevin/Karen Johnson). Weather forecast looks much friendlier. Will be leaving in about 1/2 hr. Later.

trip leg for 6/22

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Stormy??

Well what's up with the weather? Which rt did you take and how far?

trip leg for 6/21

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HAve a safe trip

Looks like stormy weather the 1st couple of days