OUR TRIP WEST JULY & AUGUST 2005
July 26th
On the Road Again!! To say that the weather today was unusual would be an understatement. It was really warm this morning & we were in T-shirts when we left at 6:00 AM. It seemed like old times with us leaving for a month by ourselves. That’s the way we traveled for years! It was nice riding even though it was a bit cloudy. We ate breakfast at I-55 in Braidwood, IL.
Barb Pick had called & said that it was raining & cold at their place in Iowa. We had not planned to go there but appreciated the info. We were going to go across northern Iowa. Just before we crossed the Mississippi River at Savannah, IL it started to rain a little. We pulled into a church parking lot & got under their entry way to put our rain gear on. It had also cooled off a lot. It never did rain real hard but just enough to be messy.
Later in the day it got a lot cooler. It was down to 64 degrees which is quite a change from the 102 we had on Sunday! It was an unbelievable change. We actually got a little cool riding.
RT US 20 across northern Iowa is a super road. It is 4 lanes. There were not many services from Waterloo to Webster City where we got a room for the night. It was also very windy this afternoon which made it seem even cooler.
Hopefully the wind will go down tomorrow. It is supposed to be sunny & in the supper 70s.
433 Miles
July 27th
Boy O Boy it sure cooled off. It was 53 this morning! A major change from the past week or so at home. We had plenty of clothes on this morning. Sharon wore her sweatshirt all day. I finally got to my white sleeves but not until later in the day!!
We saw many windmills today. They were the huge ones that generate electricity. Most of them were not turning. The windmills are south of Storm Lake, Iowa
It was beautiful riding today. It was nice & cool with a bright sun over head. There is very little traffic on US 20. We would ride many miles with out seeing any traffic. We enjoyed rolling off the miles. Western Iowa must have had plenty of rain because the crops really look good.
We ate lunch in Laurel, Nebraska at an Amish restaurant. We did not know that that was what is was when we went in. There were no telltale signs on the outside of the building. There was no choice of what there was to eat. It was a tuna casserole & beans! It was really good so we enjoyed the meal.
Eastern Nebraska is really dry. The dry land corn looks terrible. The irrigated corn looks good. The farther west we got the less crops were being grown. Hay & pasture are the crops grown in the sand hill area of Nebraska. Many acres of hay had been made. There were also many farmers out mowing hay. The sand hills seem green so evidently they have had some rain.
We really enjoyed rolling off the miles today. The road was good & we zipped along at 70 MPH or so! Luckily we have XM satellite radio on the bike. We could have music when ever we wanted it. There are areas in this area with NO radio reception.
We got to Valentine, Nebraska & decided to stay the night. We had a good meal at a local type café.
398 Miles
July 27th
Another GREAT day on the road. It was sunny & cool this morning at 61 degrees. We ate at the motel & headed west on US 20 again. We still did not talk live to Sharon’s friend Judy Young who lives in Gordon, Nebraska. We decided to head to Gordon which was 90 miles west. There was not much between Valentine & Gordon. Just a couple of tiny settlements. The sand hills are sure green for this time of year. The woman at the motel said that they have had an unusual amount of rain this year.
We had coffee & an egg & toast in Gordon. We still could not in touch with Judy. We decided to ride to Hot Springs, South Dakota for lunch & then go to Wind Cave National Park in the afternoon. While we were eating lunch Judy called. They were in Chadron so we decided to ride back to Chadron & get a room. It was a nice road both ways. There is lots of elbow room in this part of the country. There was not a single town in the 60 or so miles to Hot Springs. This morning we rode over 60 miles before we saw a single vehicle going our way.
We met Youngs at our motel & had a very nice visit. They stayed several hours. They are both super people. We enjoyed the afternoon. We’ll have to decide which way to head tomorrow.
259 Miles
July 29th
It was cool riding this morning but really nice. We rode back up US 385 to Hot Springs, SD. We stopped for coffee & a doughnut. There was a nice water falls across the street so we took several pictures of it. We then rode on to Wind Cave National Park.
We decided to take a tour of the cave. We had not been in the cave for many years. It was 53 degrees in the cave. Our guide was really good & was interesting. He did a GREAT job! The cave has a lot of box work formations in it. In fact Wind Cave has 98% of the known box work in the world.
The cave got its name from the air that comes & goes from the cave which is caused by different barometric pressures. So far 117 miles of the cave have been explored. They think there are many hundreds yet to be explored.
After the cave tour we rode to Blue Bell Lodge for lunch. We split a buffalo burger & fruit plate. The burger was huge so it was a good thing we split it. We took pictures of prairie dogs. Sharon walked very slow towards them & got really close.
There were lots of Buffalo on the road & next to the road. We had to wait for them to go across the road. There must have been a couple of hundred of them. We enjoyed the ride in Wind Cave National Park.
It was then on to Custer State Park. Just as we entered the park there were several antelope that crossed the road. Sharon took several pictures of them. We again saw several hundred buffalo in the park. They just meandered across the road. We just waited until they got off of the road.
We took the Needles Highway. It is a fantastic motorcycle road with lots of rock formations & several tunnels. The tunnels are narrow so it was not possible to meet another vehicle in the tunnels. Other than at the Eye of the Needle the traffic was not bad.
Biermas had left a voice mail for us. We tried to call them back but they do not have voice mail set up on their cell phone. We finally got a hold of them tonight. They were in Grand Junction, Colorado & plan to head for home tomorrow.
We decided to stay in Hill City. There was a Laundromat in the motel so Sharon got the clothes all washed. Not many miles today but it was a GREAT day with good weather, super scenery, & nice roads.
We plan to visit Sturgis tomorrow & then head towards Yellowstone.
There was NO cell phone service in Hill City tonight.
117 Miles
July 30th
Great weather again today although it got to the low 90s this afternoon but with the low humidity it was not bad at all.
Yesterday my (Bill) air seat developed a leak. It would NOT hold air. I really missed it. It seemed strange to just sit on the seat without my cushion. I carry a repair kit so we repaired it last night & it held air. It held air all day today so I am a “Happy camper”!!
We rode to Sturgis to see if anything was going on. The rally does not start for a week but there are lots of bikes in the area. We went to a T-shirt shop & bought a couple of T-shirts. We then took a ride down Main Street. Lots of vendors were setting up their tents & getting ready for the action next week.
We then headed for Devils Tower in Wyoming. On the way we stopped at Aladdin, WY which has a population of 15! The store was 110 years old & interesting. We could see Devils Tower from a long way off. It just rares up out of the ground! We stopped & took several pictures before we got to the National Monument.
We took pictures of the entry sign & then rode the 3 mile road to the Tower. It is truly impressive. We walked around the base of the Tower. It is 1.3 miles but there were quite a few up & down sections. We were at an elevation of 4200 feet so that was also a factor.
We took lots of pictures while on the hike. We made it OK. There were several climbers up on the face of the Tower climbing. Unbelievable that anyone would even want to climb it!!!
We left the Tower & rode on to Gillette, Wyoming & got a room for the night. We were tired from riding in the 90 degree weather & also from the hike. We’ll ride on west tomorrow.
213 Miles
July 31st
We got up early this morning to get on the road. However, it really looked rainy in the west & that is the direction we wanted to go. We ate breakfast at the motel & hung around an hour or so. It cleared a little & the radar looked fairly good so we left at 8:00 AM. It did sprinkle a little off & on for an hour or so but no big deal.
One thing about the west is that one can really roll off the miles. I-90 is a super road out of Gillette, WY. It was nice & smooth & very little traffic. We got it on & zipped to Buffalo. We gassed up there & had coffee.
The ride from Buffalo to Worland Wyoming is quite a ride. It goes up into the Big Horn Mountains which are spectacular. We got to over 10,000 feet so naturally it was on the cool side in the upper 50s! We took lots of pictures. There was a lot of snow up on the taller peaks. The road is in GREAT shape with lots of big long sweeping curves!!
The road then goes through Ten Sleep Canyon which is truly spectacular. The rock formations are outstanding! At one point the road sign said that the next 18 miles would be a down grade. It was & quite naturally as we went down the temperature went up. When we got to the town of Ten Sleep it was in the 80s! We stopped for a break & took our jackets & sweatshirts off.
There were some Harleys at the convenience store. They were amazed at all the stuff we carried with us. They all agreed that our seat looked a lot more comfortable than their seats.
Just east of Worland the barley harvest was in full swing. The barley was going to the Coors Brewing Company elevator. It was a great day to harvest. It was sunny & low humidity.
There was lots of farming going on in the valley from Worland to Cody. The crops were all irrigated. No water--no crop. It was a real desert where it was not irrigated. We did not even see any cattle on the non irrigated land.
It was in the high 80s & low 90s in the desert area. We felt very fortunate to have those temperatures. It could have easily been 100 or more!
About 30 or 40 miles east of Cody it started to look very stormy. We lit it up & managed to get to Cody before it rained. We just got the bike unloaded & into our room when it really rained hard with thunder & lightening. We were glad to be in off of the road.
The weather cleared up so we did go to the rodeo. It was GREAT & they really put on a good show. We specially enjoyed the bull riding.
275 Miles
August 1st
We decided to eat downtown at the Irma Hotel. The Irma hotel was built by Bill Cody for his daughter Irma. The buffet was rally good. The bar is huge & outstanding. There were lots of heads hanging on the wall. It is an interesting place.
We stopped at Buffalo Bill Dam just a few miles west of Cody. It was the highest dam in the world when it was built. It is not so wide but it is awesome to stand at the top & look down. The lake it backs up is beautiful. Lots of great scenery in the area.
The road to the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park is spectacular. It is a great road to ride a motorcycle. The ranger at the entrance station said that there was construction in about 3 miles & was 4 miles long. It was bad but could have been worse. There were places where it was gravel & others it was DIRT!! Luckily, they had not watered it excessively so it was not real slick. The bike got a little dirty but it was not very clean anyway. We made it OK & were glad to get through it.
We ate lunch at Fishing Bridge & decided to call to West Yellowstone, MT to get a room for the night. We saw lots of buffalo & one really close up. He was drinking out of one of the hot streams & was paying no attention to us. He came within about 6 feet so we got some good pictures.
We took lots of pictures at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. The view of the falls is spectacular!! There is a huge amount of water coming over the falls.
We decided to ride up to Mammoth Hot Springs. It is a spectacular area with the mineral laden water coming out of the ground & making various shelves etc that the water flows over depositing the various minerals. There are many colors & it is quite a sight.
We had some ice cream & were riding back to the springs for another look. We pulled into the parking lot when a Harley pulled up along side. Lo & behold it was Dale & Bev who are Art & Virginia Bierma’s friends from Canada!! They had met the Biermas in Utah & rode with them for a week or so. They were on their way home. We had coffee with them & shot the breeze. It sure was GREAT to see them again.
On the way back from the springs we saw a herd of elk. They came fairly close to the road so Sharon took quite a few pictures. A few miles later there were a lot of cars stopped on the road. There was a huge bull elk right along the road eating!! Sharon jumped off of the bike & got some GREAT pictures of him. He had a HUGE rack which was in the velvet.
It was super riding in the late evening to West Yellowstone. A few miles before getting to town a big thunderstorm came up. We thought maybe we could get to town before it hit. WRONG!! The funny thing was that the sun was shining so bright that it was difficult to see & it was raining pretty hard. We did not get too wet & the motel had a canopy that we got under. There was a beautiful rainbow.
All in all a very interesting day.
191 Miles
August 2nd
It was raining a little when we looked out this morning. We ate breakfast at the motel & just hung out for an hour or so. It finally cleared up & we headed back into Yellowstone National Park. There was a long line up to get in the park. There was a lot of traffic to start with. Soon the traffic was stopped. Evidently there was some wildlife people were looking at. By the time we got there it was gone. We were stop & go for quite a while all to no avail. At least the traffic then moved right along.
It was really nice riding & most of the roads were in good shape. We stopped at the Fountain Paint Pot area & walked quite a ways looking at the various thermal features. There were mud pots boiling, steam vents, & hot water pools running water. It was an interesting place to say the least.
We then went to Old Faithful. There was a crush of people!! We ate lunch & thought we could see it blow off but we missed it by a minute or so. There are many other geysers & thermal features. It was a lot of walking but well worth it. We got back to Old Faithful a half hour ahead of the time it was supposed to go off. Most of the seats were already taken. Luckily, we found a couple of seats.
It went off right on time. It was spectacular as it always is. Everyone gave it a big hand after it was done. Yellowstone has 2/3 of the geysers in the world!! We then walked to the ice cream shop & had some ice cream. We decided that we would not go back to the Old Faithful area in prime vacation time in the summer.
We then rode to West Thumb & stopped for coffee. It was much less hectic than Old Faithful. It was actually enjoyable. We then rode on out of the park. All in all Yellowstone was a GREAT experience. It is a spectacular area. One that everyone should see. One thing that was very noticeable was the lack of English being spoken.
We did see a moose on the way out of the park. It was too far away to get a picture but at least we did see it.
We then rode south on the Rockefeller Parkway to Grand Teton National Park. The mountains are truly spectacular!! They rare straight up out of the surrounding area & are very jagged! That indicates that they are relatively young mountains & have not had time to weather. There was a lot of snow on the tops & also a few glaciers were visible. We took lots of pictures.
About 25 miles from Jackson it started to look really stormy with black clouds. We decided to stop & put on the rain gear. It did not rain till we got to our motel. Luckily we had the seat covered because it rained hard with some hail before we could get the bike cover on.
It is a good thing we reserved our room last night via the computer. Jackson was absolutely filled. Every motel had a No Vacancy sign out front. We paid $96.00 for a Motel 6!!!! That tells one how full the town is & that the demand for rooms is HIGH!!
We did get the bike covered & walked to a Subway a couple of blocks away & brought the sandwiches back to our room.
It was another super day in the National Park system.
151 Miles
August 3rd
It was cool this morning in Jackson at 50 degrees but at least the sun was shining. We gassed up & ate at the Virginian Restaurant. It was probably the best run restaurant we have ever been in. Everyone was hustling & the service was fast & the food was super.
We then rode south towards Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The only bad miles were about 10 miles of construction. There was a big cat tractor that had a chisel plow on behind & was pulling up the pavement. The pilot car led us through the gravel & dirt. It could have been worse but it was not very good either. We were glad to get through it OK. It was GREAT riding in the cool weather. Who would have ever dreamed it would be this cool in Wyoming in August!! We stopped at the Visitor Center & got a map. The flowers were super & we took several pictures of them.
The first miles in the Recreation Area were desert like but really nice riding. Soon we were in the canyon & red rock area. The scenery was absolutely breath taking. The road into Vernal was truly spectacular. There were 12 switch backs with 5 to 8% grade!! What a ride!!! We got a room in Vernal & will head for Moab in the morning.
We saw 2 llama farms today! Must have been 25 or 30 at each farm!
321 Miles
August 4th
We really had a GREAT ride today. We left Vernal & headed east a little & then south on the west side of Colorado on RT 139, It was fantastic. The scenery is truly outstanding. There are mountains & red rock country. Some areas we could zip along at 75 MPH & other were very mountainous with hills, curves, & switchbacks. It was a super ride. We got to Fruita, Colorado & had lunch. We then rode up into Colorado National Monument. The road is really nice going up. The views are super in that red rock area. Words can not describe how fantastic the views are.
We then rode I-70 west to US 191 & then south to Moab. There was a tremendous thunderstorm just to the north of us. Luckily, we only got a few sprinkles. We did get the wind blast off of the storm! US 191 is a great motorcycle road south of I-70 into Moab. The last few miles are in a canyon with super high walls of red rock! It was hard to believe but it was 84 degrees when we got to Moab. Usually it is at least 100 or even above in Moab in the summer. We got a nice room in a motel with a Laundromat. We washed clothes. That was a good job done.
Our Gold Wing passed the 150,000 mile mark today!!!
281 Miles
August 5th
The weather today was absolutely UNBELIEVABLE because it was so cool for Moab & surrounding area in the first part of August!! At noon in downtown Moab, Utah it was 82 degrees!!!! Other times when we have been in Moab it was at least 100 & up to 110!!! It was a joy to ride the area today.
After a small breakfast at our motel we rode to Arches National Park. They are building a new Visitor’s Center. The parking lot was gravel & not too bike friendly.
We made it in & out OK. The road up into the park is spectacular with some switchbacks! The red rock formations are fantastic making for a somewhat weird landscape!
We rode to several of the arches & hiked back to North & South Arch. It was a little tough hiking to them but well worth it. Naturally, we took lots of pictures. The unusual thing was that it was so cool it was enjoyable hiking. We took pictures of several other arches & rock formations including Balance Rock. There are over 2000 arches in the park. Most of them are not accessible to the public. After several hours in the park we rode back to Moab for lunch.
After lunch we rode north of Moab about 10 miles & went into Canyonlands National Park. The park is in 25 miles from the main road. The ride in is again spectacular with lots of rock formations. We stopped at the visitor center & then rode in to Shafer Canyon. It is reminiscent of the Grand Canyon although not as big. We hiked to the rim & took pictures of the canyon. There was a storm brewing so we did not go to the end of the road because there was some lightening.
We rode out of the park & then north to I-70 where we headed west. Our plan was to go to Green River & get a room for the night. There were several big storms in the area. We lit it up & our plan was to outrun the storms. It did sprinkle on us a little bit & the wind blew pretty hard. We did, however make it to Green River & managed to stay dry.
We got in our room & unloaded the bike & then walked a couple of blocks for supper. All in all it was another GREAT day on the road.
164 Miles
August 6th
Today was probably the most spectacular 1 day of riding we have ever done!!! We ate a little at the motel & then went west on I-70 for a few miles to Utah RT 24 & headed south to Hanksville. We think we have found the “middle of nowhere” as far as a town goes & it is Hanksville, Utah. However, it had what we wanted, namely fuel & food!!
The scenery was truly spectacular!! We got to Capitol Reef National Park. There was a scenic road into the park about 10 miles. We rode it & wow, what a road. The scenery & rock formations + the canyons were just beyond description!! Words just can not describe the terrain,
Capitol Reef National Park protects a formation called the “Water Pocket Fold” which is an out cropping of rock many hundreds of feet high, it extends for 90 miles. It was a real joy to ride.
We got to Torrey, Utah just outside the park & took a break. We then took RT 12 south. We went up into the mountains & got to an elevation of over 9600 feet. Naturally it was cool at that elevation. There were also several thunder storms in the area. We did ride on some wet roads but it never did more than sprinkle on us!!
Soon we entered Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Just when we thought the riding could not get any better, IT DID!!! The canyons, rock formations, etc were just outstanding!!
There were several places where we were on narrow strip of land just wide enough for the road. It was about 1000 feet straight down on each side to the bottom of the canyons!! The road was very crooked with lots of hills!! It was a real motorcycle road!
We had reservations at Bryce Canyon Resort so we did not have to worry about a room. We got to our motel & decided to wait until tomorrow to go into Bryce Canyon National Park. It is nice and cool here.
It was a SPECTACULAR DAY ON THE ROAD!!
249 Miles
August 7th
Today was another GREAT day to be on a Gold Wing. It was 50 this morning at Bryce Canyon when we left. We rode into the park & ate breakfast at the inn. It was good & the atmosphere was super in the old inn that was built in 1924-25. After breakfast we rode to some of the scenic parking areas.
Words can NOT describe the view in Bryce Canyon. The formations are amazing & hoodoos very spectacular. Naturally, we took lots of pictures. It was nice riding in the cool weather. We saw a deer cross the road in front of us!!
We then rode towards Zion National Park. The scenery on the way was spectacular in its own right! Our lunch was at the Junction into the park. It was amazingly cool for Zion in August. It was 84 degrees!! The scenery in Zion is truly spectacular with all of the various colors & the straight up & down canyon walls.
We took the shuttle up to the inn & had some ice cream & bought T-shirts. It was quite busy at the inn but nothing like it was at Yellowstone. One thing we noticed in all the National Parks was the lack of English being spoken by the visitors. There were lots of French but many other languages being spoken.
We decided to go to St. George, Utah & stay there. We lost altitude & naturally as we went down the temperature went up. The road was super & more fantastic scenery! It got to 103 as we pulled into St. George! It was a dry heat so it was not too bad. It did feel good to get in our air conditioned room.
145 Miles
August 8th
We left St. George at 6:00AM. It was still dark but we wanted to get going early because of the possible heat. It was 80 when we left but we put on jackets because we thought it might b cool out in the desert away from the city. WRONG, it did not cool off so after about 40 miles we stopped & rode the rest of the way to Las Vegas in our shirt sleeves.
The road was super for an Interstate & we rolled off the miles. There are lots of mountains & hills & curves & not much traffic at that time of day. It was a beautiful sunrise that we could see in the rear view mirrors. We could see the tall buildings of Las Vegas a long time before we got into the city. As is our usual luck we got off of the I-Road & into the ghetto section of the old city!!
We could see the tall hotels of the new section so we headed for them. WOW, Las Vegas has really grown since we were here several years ago!! There are many new highways, roads, houses, & hotels! Of course, the traffic is really bad also. Luckily it was stop & go on the other side of the highway & our side was wide open. We ate breakfast in one of the big hotel restaurants & then headed south on I-15. The traffic was really moving so naturally we had to keep up.
We took US RT 93 south of Las Vegas to Kingman, Arizona. RT 93 crosses Hoover Dam. It is an awesome sight!! We had to go through a police check before we crossed the dam. No doubt that is something new since 9-11. They are rebuilding the road on a 5 year project to move RT 93 so it will not cross on the dam. Trucks are now banned from crossing the dam!
We had a frosty in Kingman & rested a few minutes. My (Bill) sister & brother-in-law bought a place 15 miles east of Kingman a year ago & we wanted to see it. We found it OK. It is a really nice house. We took several pictures & called my sister, who was on the way to Missouri, & told them we were in front of their house.
Their place is located just off of old RT 66 so we decided to ride it on to Williams, AZ & stay there. WRONG again. We stopped in Peach Springs for lunch. We left & headed east & got about 8 miles down the road & the sky was black & it started to sprinkle a little. Discretion being the better part of valor we did a u-turn & hightailed it back to Peach Springs. Peach Springs is on the Hualapai Indiana Reservation but the motel was great with an in house restaurant. We just got the bike unloaded & covered when it really rained & stormed hard for an hour or so. We were really glad to be in for the evening.
316 Miles
August 9th
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US=36YEARS!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BILL=69!!!
It was cool & cloudy this morning. We left about 7:30 & got back on old Route 66. We rode to Seligman for breakfast in one of the old cafes on RT 66. It was a good breakfast & we appreciated the coffee because of the cool morning. A few more miles on the old road & then we got on I-40 & headed east. Traffic was really rolling along but the road was good so we ran with the traffic!
We stopped in Williams, AZ for coffee & a break Back on I-40 to Holbrook where we ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We lived it up & had cheeseburgers!!! At Williams we headed south on US RT 180 to Petrified Forest National Park.
The park preserves an area of ancient forest in which, over time, the wood was replaced by minerals so it is now rock! We took several pictures & walked the trail to look at the petrified trees. There were small chunks of the petrified wood up to complete trees laying on the ground that had turned into rock.
It was looking very stormy so we rode on through the park to the north side of I-40 & the Painted Desert area. It was beautiful with many shades of reds, browns, yellows, etc. Again we took pictures. We stopped at the Visitor Center for a few minutes. It was still looking stormy so we got on I-40 & hightailed it to Gallup where we got a room for the night. We pulled under the canopy to unload. We got the bike covered before it rained very much.
We paid $2.899 for gas today. That’s the most ever for us!!!!
332 Miles
August 10th
We ate breakfast at the motel which was very good with a large assortment of things. We headed north on US 491. An interesting fact is that the name of the road used to be US RT 666 but the Mormons pressured the government to change it because 666 is supposed to be the devils sign!! The road goes through some wide open spaces.
We did not stop for 100 miles where we took a break & had coffee in Ship Rock, New Mexico. It is in the heart of the Indiana Reservation & we were the only non-Indians in the Burger King.
We got to Cortez, Colorado & the plan was to go into Mesa Verde National Park. We started in & there was a big backup of cars because of road construction, It was also starting to rain a little. After waiting for a long time we decided to not go in. We were concerned that the gravel & dirt would turn to mud when we came out!!
We rode on to Durango. It rained lightly for the first 2/3 of the way. It cleared up as we rode into town. The traffic was bad. It seems as though the ambience is gone from the way it was when we were here the last time. I (Bill) was tired so we got a room & I slept a few hours. Must be tired from so many days on the road without a day off.
About 5:00PM we took a ride to Silverton for supper. WOW, what a super ride it was too!! We climbed to over 10,000 feet & then descended into Silverton. The road is spectacular with lots of mountain scenery. The road was wet in places so it had rained just before we got there.
We ate at the old Grand Hotel. We had our anniversary meal tonight because it was not convenient where we stayed the night before. We each had steak which was very good. The ride back down was even more enjoyable than going up. We got back to Durango a little before dark.
300 Miles
August 11th
It was wet when we first looked out this morning. We ate at the motel & waited around a few minutes until the sun came out. We left & headed east on US 160 towards Pagosa Springs. It was a GREAT ride with mountain scenery all around us. We got to Pagosa Springs & had coffee & a snack which took a long time to get. The restaurant was understaffed.
Our intentions were to ride over Wolf Creek Pass. Unfortunately there was a lot of construction & there were at least 45 minute delays & it looked rainy. We decided to ride to Chama, New Mexico instead. RT 84 is a Great motorcycle road. We really enjoyed the ride.
We then rode to Santa Fe, another big city with lots of traffic. We headed south on US 285 & ate a late lunch at Clines Corner, NM. It was looking stormy in the east when we left. We rode about 40 miles & there was bad lightening & a little rain. We stopped at a gas station & waited under the canopy for a while. There was a Harley waiting there also. The Harley left but we waited a few extra minutes.
We put on the rain gear & rode east towards Santa Rosa, NM. It did rain some but the lightening subsided for a while but there it was again as we neared Santa Rosa. We zipped in & got a room at a motel with a canopy. We were really glad to get in safe & sound.
Sharon called Mary Punneo & said we could be at their place possibly tomorrow. She said “come on down”!! Sharon washed clothes at the in house Laundromat. Hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow.
359 Miles
August 12th
We had intended to leave early this morning but the weather looked a little less than ideal & it had rained over night. We ate breakfast at the motel & left about 8:00 AM. It was surprisingly cool so it was nice riding. We just beat off the miles on I-40 eastbound. It was fun running with the big boys!! We like to do that once in a while.
We lost an hour when we crossed into Texas as it was then the Central Time Zone. About 75 miles from Edmond, OK it started to look very stormy. We pulled into a gas station & waited a while. I called Mary to see what the weather was in Edmond. She said that it was raining & that a storm had gone through earlier. We decided to go on but soon it looked rally bad again so we stopped & put on the rain gear.
It never did rain much but at least we were ready. We found Larry & Mary’s house fine from the directions they had e-mailed to us. It was GREAT to see them again. Two of their granddaughters were there so it was fun seeing them. We went out for supper & then spent time in Punneo’s new Toy Hauler. It is beautiful. Really nice. We enjoyed seeing it & they are happy with it. They should be as it is gorgeous.
It was a long day & we are glad to be here.
465 Miles
August 13th
It had rained last night & looked rainy this morning. Mary cooked a GREAT breakfast. The 2 granddaughters went home with their mother. It was sprinkling a little so we went to Oklahoma City in the car to the Ominplex. The Omniplex is a science museum amongst other things with hands on things to work. It was really interesting. We also went to a planetarium show which was very informative & interesting.
It was cloudy when we came out & on the way back to Punneos. It started to sprinkle a little. Just after we got back to Punneos it really stormed with a lot of wind & rain!!! The rain came down in sheets.
It was raining way too hard to go on the bug run. We hung around for a while & then went to eat a Braums. Good burger & fries. It rained all evening & the forecast for tomorrow is for 100% rain!!
Later in the evening the deer came to Punneo’s feeders! We saw as many as 5 bucks at one time eating. It was quite a sight!!!
0 Miles
August 14th
Today was a RAINY day in Oklahoma!! It rained hard most of the morning. About 11:00 AM we went by care to Claremore, OK to Chapter P’s birthday celebration. It was a nice affair but only 2 Gold Wings were there because of the weather. There were 97 people in attendance. The meal was a loaded baked potato & dessert. It was really good & we enjoyed it a lot.
It only rained a little on the way back to Edmond but looked like it could rain most any minute. We stopped at Wal-Mart & bought a few things & had sandwiches at Punneos.
Hopefully the weather will clear tomorrow.
0 Miles
August 15th
It was another icky day in Oklahoma. It did not rain as much as yesterday but still not a very nice day. We had coffee at Larry & Mary’s place & then rode in the car downtown for breakfast. It was then to Best Buy to look around a little & then to Sam’s Club.
Back to the Punneos where we made hotel reservations for Wing Ding in Nashville, TN next July. We have rooms at the Opryland Hotel!!
We hope to ride on out of here tomorrow. We were here for one of the wettest periods in August in Edmond history. Oh well it was a fun time with Larry & Mary & it sure was a lot better here than being stranded in a motel for several days without a car.
0 Miles
August 16th
We are finally back on the road again after all the rain at Punneo’s place. It was good to see the sun again. Mary cooked us breakfast & then we left with Punneos leading. They led us up into Kansas.
We stopped in Pawnee, Oklahoma & stopped at the Pawnee Bill museum & mansion. Pawnee Bill was a showman who worked for & later with Buffalo Bill in their Wild West shows. He was a real character. The museum was very interesting & the mansion fabulous. We enjoyed going through both. We took pictures of the buffalo & also the long horn cattle. We ate lunch at a unique restaurant in Pawnee. We had a small steak & it was outstanding.
We rode on into Kansas & had ice cream & said our goodbyes. We headed east & Larry & Mary west. We sure enjoyed out stay with them They really made us feel right at home. Because of the rainy weather we stayed there longer than we had planned but it worked out fine.
We were in the flint hills section of Kansas. It is a very scenic area with little traffic. We really enjoyed the ride. We got a room in Fort Scott, Kansas.
335 Miles
August 17th
It was cloudy & a little foggy this morning. We ate at the motel & then headed east on US 54. We were soon in Missouri. We rode RT 54 clear across Missouri. It is a nice road with some hilly & twisty parts & some miles of 4 lane divided highway. It was a good ride & we just rode off the miles on our way home
We crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois & ate lunch. We decided to stay in Springfield & then ride home tomorrow.
379 Miles
August 18th
It was foggy when we looked out this morning. We packed up & ate at the motel. We got on I-55 & headed for home. It was nice riding as it was on the cool side & not much wind & very little traffic. I-55 completely bypasses Springfield. The road is in good shape & was smooth most of the way home. We just rolled off the miles.
We got off of I-55 near Coal City, IL & stopped for gas. We thought we would get coffee but there were black clouds in the west moving our way so we just high tailed it for home. We made it about an hour before it really stormed with lots of rain. We got one half inch in a short time. We were glad to be home!
207 Miles
5893 Miles for the Trip
TRIP OVERVIEW
Our original plan for the trip was to go to Utah & visit the 5 National Parks there & also the other red rock areas of the southwest USA. It had been so HOT in the weeks before we left that we had given up on that destination & thought we would go to the NW USA & probably up into the Canadian Rockies.
When we got to Nebraska & started checking the weather it was cooler in the SW than the NW so we went back to plan A. We were glad we did because it was actually cool in the SW. Moab, Utah is always HOT & almost always over 100. It was in the low to mid 80s when we were there.
We had rain or the threat of rain every day but that is why we also had the cool weather. It was a GREAT trip & we saw several areas & things that we had not seen before. We made it back safe & sound & that’s the MAIN thing!!
Where we stayed
July 26th Webster City, Iowa
July 27th Valentine, Nebraska
July 28th Chadron, Nebraska
July 29th Hill City, South Dakota
July 30th Gillette, Wyoming
July 31st Cody, Wyoming
August 1st West Yellowstone, Montana
August 2nd Jackson, Wyoming
August 3rd Vernal, Utah
August 4th Moab, Utah
August 5th Green River, Utah
August 6th Bryce Canyon, Utah
August 7th St. George, Utah
August 8th Peach Springs, Arizona
August 9th Gallup, New Mexico
August 10th Durango, Colorado
August 11th Santa Rosa, New Mexico
August 12th Edmond, Oklahoma Punneos
August 13th Edmond, Oklahoma Punneos
August 14th Edmond, Oklahoma Punneos
August 15th Edmond, Oklahoma Punneos
August 16th Fort Scott, Kansas
August 17th Springfield, Illinois
August 18th Home