Day #11:Kellog, IA to Indianapolis, IN
OUR LAST DAY! This morning was a warm one, since we knew there wasn't food in the area, we had planned on heading up the road before breakfast. As we packed away our humidity filled tents a fellow camper stopped by. We asked about food and he suggested that we take US 6 to Gillete, which was about 10-15 miles in the direction we were heading.
By this time we had our camp packing routine pretty much down, and we got out of there at a pretty good time. We headed up the road to Gillete where we found gas was about $.20 cheeper and we had seen in days. We ate at McDonalds, again... and filled up the tanks. Unfortunately there isn't too much to write about on these last few days. Much like the first two days, the terrain is flat and boring.
The heat came up again, and we both knew the end of the day would be the end of the trip. This fact, I think, made the day not as enjoyable as the rest. Just before we entered Indiana we noticed a pretty good looking rain storm. As the sprinkles fell we stopped to gear-up. This turned out to be a good idea, since less than 1 mile up the road, the rains poured from the heavens. This was a huge rain, second only to our first in Pueblo CO. I guess you could consider it a welcome home so to speak. Today I had to ride without music, because the mount for my XMradio had finally broken on the 10th day. This was good time for reflecting on the trip, and life. I had plenty of think about it too.
The day ended at about 6pm when I got home. I put the bike away and rested inside the cool house.
I will soon be posting a reflection piece on this trip. Look for this to come in the next few days...
Thanks for reading!
-matt-
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Wild West Tour: Issue 11
Day #10: Valentine, NE. to Kellog, IA
The day started out a little earlier, so that we could make up some time. The route today was a bit more boring, we also knew it would be much hotter. We had only one real place to see and that was Beemer, NE. Since Mike rides a BMW, he had found the only Beemer in the country, and it just happened to be in our route.
We ate lunch in Beemer at a the Beemer Cafe. It was a small restaraunt with about 10 farmers in it playing cards. Beemer was located in the middle of pretty much nowhere. After lunch we headed toward Kellog. The heat was up again, and the ride was pretty flat. I think we hit about 4 curves the whole day.
We got off the interstate at Newton, IA. which ended up being the wrong exit. But we were able to pretty quickly locate our route. We headed to the campground which was a State Park, the first of our trip. Rock Creek State Park, a nice state park campground, with self-service camping. We were hungry so we headed back towards Kellog to eat. There wasn't much there, but 2 bars, so we went in one and ate. The food was pretty good. I had a cheeseburger, I think my 200th for the trip.
After eating we set up camp and chilled out for a while. It was HOT so we didn't need much for warmth. Since we had entered Iowa, the humidity had come back too.
Only One Day Left
-matt-
The day started out a little earlier, so that we could make up some time. The route today was a bit more boring, we also knew it would be much hotter. We had only one real place to see and that was Beemer, NE. Since Mike rides a BMW, he had found the only Beemer in the country, and it just happened to be in our route.
We ate lunch in Beemer at a the Beemer Cafe. It was a small restaraunt with about 10 farmers in it playing cards. Beemer was located in the middle of pretty much nowhere. After lunch we headed toward Kellog. The heat was up again, and the ride was pretty flat. I think we hit about 4 curves the whole day.
We got off the interstate at Newton, IA. which ended up being the wrong exit. But we were able to pretty quickly locate our route. We headed to the campground which was a State Park, the first of our trip. Rock Creek State Park, a nice state park campground, with self-service camping. We were hungry so we headed back towards Kellog to eat. There wasn't much there, but 2 bars, so we went in one and ate. The food was pretty good. I had a cheeseburger, I think my 200th for the trip.
After eating we set up camp and chilled out for a while. It was HOT so we didn't need much for warmth. Since we had entered Iowa, the humidity had come back too.
Only One Day Left
-matt-
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Wild West Tour: Issue 10
Day #9: Devil's Tower, WY. to Valentine, NE.
Today's route was full of sites to see. We left pretty early today, around 7:45 AM. There isn't much in the close area to Devil's Tower so we had to ride for a while to get to some food. We ended up eating breakfast in Sundance WY. This little town was about 30 miles from Devil's Tower and a nice gal at the gas station told us where to eat. It was a little restaurant, of which I have forgotten the name already. The food was really good, I had there flagship breakfast the Devil's Tower. This was a biscuit, sausage and egg all covered with sausage gravy. I thought it was very good.
After eating we knew that we had a big day ahead of us, on the plate for today was, Sturgis, Deadwood, Crazy Horse, and Rushmore. We also had a ride of about 400 miles to get to our end point of Valentine NE.
Sturgis, as you probably know, is home to the World's most popular biker rally. Even though the rally doesn't start for another 2 weeks the town is already getting busy. Sturgis is really a small town with a population of around 8600 people. During the 2 weeks that the Sturgis Bike Week occurs the population jumps to about 160,000 people. The vendors are already set up in some places, which was nice for us to be able to look around. We were able to look at the shirts that were all still very organized, and on the radio, you could here ads for businesses, looking for employees for the rally.
After finding a few shirts there, we left for Deadwood, the place where Bill Hickcock is buried. This town is now very touristy and was bustling with tourists. We noticed that a lot of the upstairs windows had photos of or manikins of women. We took a few photos and moved on through towards Rushmore and Crazy Horse. This area of the Black Hills seems to be pretty tourist focused, the scenery was great none-the-less. We ate lunch at a cafe in Hill City, across the street was some sort of museum that had some trains, they would blow the whistle every little while.
We headed next to Crazy Horse Memorial which was really quite a site to see. The size of this project really was amazing. You don't get to get really close to the memorial unless you want to pay a hefty fee, but this memorial is amazing. There really is a great story behind not only Crazy Horse himself but the designer and originally creator of the mountain side sculpture.
After Crazy Horse we checked out Rushmore, which was also a great feat. Up close you get an idea of the detail that went into the memorial. I think we got some good photos of it. It was starting to get hot and we had a long way to go so we really didn't stay too long there. We did get one bit of information from the booklet. This granite is among the hardest and oldest rock on the planet. It erodes at the rate of 1 inch every ten thousand years. This is really amazing when you think about it.
So as the heat rose we moved on, we came to Wall, WY which is the home to Wall Drug, probably one of the most famous stores in the U.S. It is a huge store that contains, just about anything you can think of. There claim to fame comes from there, $.05 coffee and there FREE Ice Water. Here I got to sit on a Jackalope for a picture. Again, we didn't stay too long, but long enough to eat an ice cream.
After Wall Drug we still had about 140 miles to go and it was getting later. We also knew that we would be headed into Central time so we would actually loose an hour. We finally arrived in Valentine NE at around 9:10PM. We checked in to the camp site, but didn't set up because we hadn't eaten yet. We ate at the PepperMill Restaurant downtown Valentine. Oh, Valentine is really in the middle of nowhere, but the people here are amazingly nice. We found out that the closest WalMart is 2.5 hours away. Did I mention that we are in the middle of nowhere.
Our campsite is nice, and right next to some sort of cattle place, we get to hear the cows moo all night long. Fortunately the wind is blowing the other direction or I am sure we would also smell them :).
Well that was our day, full yes, but again another FUN day. We only have 1 more campground to stay at on the way home, and that will be in Newton, IA.
See you next time!
-matt-
Today's route was full of sites to see. We left pretty early today, around 7:45 AM. There isn't much in the close area to Devil's Tower so we had to ride for a while to get to some food. We ended up eating breakfast in Sundance WY. This little town was about 30 miles from Devil's Tower and a nice gal at the gas station told us where to eat. It was a little restaurant, of which I have forgotten the name already. The food was really good, I had there flagship breakfast the Devil's Tower. This was a biscuit, sausage and egg all covered with sausage gravy. I thought it was very good.
After eating we knew that we had a big day ahead of us, on the plate for today was, Sturgis, Deadwood, Crazy Horse, and Rushmore. We also had a ride of about 400 miles to get to our end point of Valentine NE.
Sturgis, as you probably know, is home to the World's most popular biker rally. Even though the rally doesn't start for another 2 weeks the town is already getting busy. Sturgis is really a small town with a population of around 8600 people. During the 2 weeks that the Sturgis Bike Week occurs the population jumps to about 160,000 people. The vendors are already set up in some places, which was nice for us to be able to look around. We were able to look at the shirts that were all still very organized, and on the radio, you could here ads for businesses, looking for employees for the rally.
After finding a few shirts there, we left for Deadwood, the place where Bill Hickcock is buried. This town is now very touristy and was bustling with tourists. We noticed that a lot of the upstairs windows had photos of or manikins of women. We took a few photos and moved on through towards Rushmore and Crazy Horse. This area of the Black Hills seems to be pretty tourist focused, the scenery was great none-the-less. We ate lunch at a cafe in Hill City, across the street was some sort of museum that had some trains, they would blow the whistle every little while.
We headed next to Crazy Horse Memorial which was really quite a site to see. The size of this project really was amazing. You don't get to get really close to the memorial unless you want to pay a hefty fee, but this memorial is amazing. There really is a great story behind not only Crazy Horse himself but the designer and originally creator of the mountain side sculpture.
After Crazy Horse we checked out Rushmore, which was also a great feat. Up close you get an idea of the detail that went into the memorial. I think we got some good photos of it. It was starting to get hot and we had a long way to go so we really didn't stay too long there. We did get one bit of information from the booklet. This granite is among the hardest and oldest rock on the planet. It erodes at the rate of 1 inch every ten thousand years. This is really amazing when you think about it.
So as the heat rose we moved on, we came to Wall, WY which is the home to Wall Drug, probably one of the most famous stores in the U.S. It is a huge store that contains, just about anything you can think of. There claim to fame comes from there, $.05 coffee and there FREE Ice Water. Here I got to sit on a Jackalope for a picture. Again, we didn't stay too long, but long enough to eat an ice cream.
After Wall Drug we still had about 140 miles to go and it was getting later. We also knew that we would be headed into Central time so we would actually loose an hour. We finally arrived in Valentine NE at around 9:10PM. We checked in to the camp site, but didn't set up because we hadn't eaten yet. We ate at the PepperMill Restaurant downtown Valentine. Oh, Valentine is really in the middle of nowhere, but the people here are amazingly nice. We found out that the closest WalMart is 2.5 hours away. Did I mention that we are in the middle of nowhere.
Our campsite is nice, and right next to some sort of cattle place, we get to hear the cows moo all night long. Fortunately the wind is blowing the other direction or I am sure we would also smell them :).
Well that was our day, full yes, but again another FUN day. We only have 1 more campground to stay at on the way home, and that will be in Newton, IA.
See you next time!
-matt-
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Wild West Tour: Issue 9
Day #8: Cody, WY. to Devil's Tower, WY.
The KOA in Cody offered a pancake breakfast right on site, which was fantastic! Cody had very little humidity and we were able to quickly pack up our camp, head to breakfast and get on the road. We ate with the Star folks from WA and then we all headed to get fuel.
From Cody we had 320 miles to Devil's Tower, there were some good twisties on 14 for about the first 130 miles. This was basically our last hooray for the mountains, it was so sad to say goodbye to the mountains. The route from here home will be much more flat and straight.
To make some time today we hopped on I90 to head to Devil's Tower. We made really good time and got into Devil's Tower around 4pm. This was amazing, and the first time we had made a destination before 6:30 or 7 PM. This gave us time to set up camp, which is literally the first thing outside of the park. We set up camp and headed into the park.
Devil's Tower is AMAZING. We had some extra time to actually explore the park and I took a 1.3 mile loop trail around the tower. This was an up close exploration of the Monument which was actually the FIRST US Monument Established in 1906. I was able to get some great photo graphs of the Tower which projects from the ground up to about 1200 feet. We saw more deer here, and I was looking for some porcupine, but wasn't able to see any.
At the base of the monument is a prairie where you can find hundreds of Prairie Dogs. These interesting creature pop out of the ground like a "Whack-A-Mole" game. They are everywhere. I got a few photos of them, but they don't like you to get too close.
After the park we headed back and eat some Chili dogs at the store next to the campgrounds. Tonight the Campground is showing "Close Encounters", which features the Devil's Tower Monument. I am excited about that since I have never seen the movie.
Well that is all for now, I am all caught up. What a fantastic trip this has been, unbelievable really that I have been able to see everything that I have. I can't wait to get home and share the stories with so many people. It really gives you a sense for how large the United States really is. I don't think you can appreciate it until you do something like this.
I am at awe from this trip, which is something that will stick with me for a very long time!
Thanks for reading! E-mail me if you have any questions!
-matt-
The KOA in Cody offered a pancake breakfast right on site, which was fantastic! Cody had very little humidity and we were able to quickly pack up our camp, head to breakfast and get on the road. We ate with the Star folks from WA and then we all headed to get fuel.
From Cody we had 320 miles to Devil's Tower, there were some good twisties on 14 for about the first 130 miles. This was basically our last hooray for the mountains, it was so sad to say goodbye to the mountains. The route from here home will be much more flat and straight.
To make some time today we hopped on I90 to head to Devil's Tower. We made really good time and got into Devil's Tower around 4pm. This was amazing, and the first time we had made a destination before 6:30 or 7 PM. This gave us time to set up camp, which is literally the first thing outside of the park. We set up camp and headed into the park.
Devil's Tower is AMAZING. We had some extra time to actually explore the park and I took a 1.3 mile loop trail around the tower. This was an up close exploration of the Monument which was actually the FIRST US Monument Established in 1906. I was able to get some great photo graphs of the Tower which projects from the ground up to about 1200 feet. We saw more deer here, and I was looking for some porcupine, but wasn't able to see any.
At the base of the monument is a prairie where you can find hundreds of Prairie Dogs. These interesting creature pop out of the ground like a "Whack-A-Mole" game. They are everywhere. I got a few photos of them, but they don't like you to get too close.
After the park we headed back and eat some Chili dogs at the store next to the campgrounds. Tonight the Campground is showing "Close Encounters", which features the Devil's Tower Monument. I am excited about that since I have never seen the movie.
Well that is all for now, I am all caught up. What a fantastic trip this has been, unbelievable really that I have been able to see everything that I have. I can't wait to get home and share the stories with so many people. It really gives you a sense for how large the United States really is. I don't think you can appreciate it until you do something like this.
I am at awe from this trip, which is something that will stick with me for a very long time!
Thanks for reading! E-mail me if you have any questions!
-matt-
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Wild West Tour: Issue 8
Day #7: Jackson WY. to Cody, WY.
Day 7 started in Jackson WY, also called Jackson Hole. We were going to eat breakfast at "Bubba's" but it was too busy. Instead we ate at the Village Inn. After passing through the tourist area of Jackson, we entered Teton National Park. Almost immediately we saw a bison in the pasture. The Tetons are magnificent and they have snow spotted about the peaks.
Today is actually about our half-way point. It is hard to think that we are now more than half-way through our Wild West Tour. Next we entered Yellowstone National Park, just looking on the map you can see how large the park really is. The first thing we noticed was the number of new trees replacing the burnt down ones that had been left after the fires. As we drove in from the South entrance the clouds started to come in and it looked like rain. Thinking it was pass pretty quickly we didn't stop to put our gear on and we got pretty soaked. The rain came down for about 15 miles and it was a cold rain. Fortunately there was about 15 miles to go to Old Faithful and the sun came out which helped us dry out.
We reached Old Faithful and had about 30 minutes until the next predicted eruption. We listened to one of the Rangers explain how Old Faithful works. He described it using a coffee percolator and how the water boils at the bottom and then spews up through the hole at the top. Old Faithful erupted at about 2:20pm and we watched from the boardwalk. After that we ate at the Geyser Grill and bought a few souvenirs.
From there we headed towards North-East Entrance to continue on our route. Lucky for us it again started to rain, this time it was really windy and we had to fight the rain for about another 15-20 miles. We saw a couple elk. This route through the park was scenic and mountainous. As we crested one of the mountains we came across a lot of parked cars. They were all staring down into the valley below. We approached and asked what was down there and they said there were Coyotes. There were 2 or 3 adults that were eating an elk and 4 pups that were playing some distance away. You could see them with the naked eye, but the were very far away and binoculars helped a lot. This was an amazing event to witness, Mother Nature at work.
After the coyotes we continued down the mountain and headed into a plain area, where the bison wondered about both in herds and alone. We actually had one cross the road right in front of us. You really get to understand how large they are when you see them up close, they are large and ugly!
Yellowstone is an amazing place, we cheated it by not staying for more than a day, but we both knew that our plan was to ride not necessarily see the sites. If nothing else this trip has touched the taste buds for what the West has to offer. I will definitely be coming back to spend much time in Yellowstone.
We left Yellowstone and headed toward Cody WY. we had to travel through some construction, but once we where past it the road was another amazing route. It was 81 miles from Yellowstone to Cody, and they were a wonderful 81 miles. 212 and 296 offered some fantastic riding. Then we entered the Chief Joseph Highway. This road, I think was probably the best one on the entire trip thus far. This highway is full of twisties. There were plenty of 20mph and 30mph turns, which we were able to take at about 40mph. WOW was this road fun. I can't wait to share the photos from this road.
Today's ride was our shortest distance, a measly 277miles. Needless to say it wasn't our shortest day out. We ended up getting into Cody around 8:30 PM. The funny thing was as soon as we got to our camp site we ran into some Star members from Washington State. Chapter 154 from Burlington WA, and Chapter 350 from Renton, WA. They were a great group and we chatted for quite some time.
Did I mention that Cody was full of bikers due to the Hells Angels being in town? We rode back into Cody to eat dinner at The Irma, which was Buffalo Bill's Hotel/Restaurant. The Irma Bar is all cherry wood and is the most photographed thing in Cody, except, I forgot my camera back at the campsite.
Today's ride was both the best and the worst. The best because the scenery was unbelievable, the trip through Yellowstone was unimaginable. The worst, because we cheated so many things by rushing through. Yellowstone is one place that would take more than a week to see. It is unmatched in any one place that I have been to date. The amount of different geography is just amazing.
Speaking of Amazing, when we got into the KOA in Cody, there were Amazing Race postcards at the front desk. Apparently the Amazing Race, seen on CBS, was in town about 2 weeks ago.
In one word, today was: UNBELIEVABLE!
-matt-
P.S. I am working on the photos from the trip, be looking for them soon.
Day 7 started in Jackson WY, also called Jackson Hole. We were going to eat breakfast at "Bubba's" but it was too busy. Instead we ate at the Village Inn. After passing through the tourist area of Jackson, we entered Teton National Park. Almost immediately we saw a bison in the pasture. The Tetons are magnificent and they have snow spotted about the peaks.
Today is actually about our half-way point. It is hard to think that we are now more than half-way through our Wild West Tour. Next we entered Yellowstone National Park, just looking on the map you can see how large the park really is. The first thing we noticed was the number of new trees replacing the burnt down ones that had been left after the fires. As we drove in from the South entrance the clouds started to come in and it looked like rain. Thinking it was pass pretty quickly we didn't stop to put our gear on and we got pretty soaked. The rain came down for about 15 miles and it was a cold rain. Fortunately there was about 15 miles to go to Old Faithful and the sun came out which helped us dry out.
We reached Old Faithful and had about 30 minutes until the next predicted eruption. We listened to one of the Rangers explain how Old Faithful works. He described it using a coffee percolator and how the water boils at the bottom and then spews up through the hole at the top. Old Faithful erupted at about 2:20pm and we watched from the boardwalk. After that we ate at the Geyser Grill and bought a few souvenirs.
From there we headed towards North-East Entrance to continue on our route. Lucky for us it again started to rain, this time it was really windy and we had to fight the rain for about another 15-20 miles. We saw a couple elk. This route through the park was scenic and mountainous. As we crested one of the mountains we came across a lot of parked cars. They were all staring down into the valley below. We approached and asked what was down there and they said there were Coyotes. There were 2 or 3 adults that were eating an elk and 4 pups that were playing some distance away. You could see them with the naked eye, but the were very far away and binoculars helped a lot. This was an amazing event to witness, Mother Nature at work.
After the coyotes we continued down the mountain and headed into a plain area, where the bison wondered about both in herds and alone. We actually had one cross the road right in front of us. You really get to understand how large they are when you see them up close, they are large and ugly!
Yellowstone is an amazing place, we cheated it by not staying for more than a day, but we both knew that our plan was to ride not necessarily see the sites. If nothing else this trip has touched the taste buds for what the West has to offer. I will definitely be coming back to spend much time in Yellowstone.
We left Yellowstone and headed toward Cody WY. we had to travel through some construction, but once we where past it the road was another amazing route. It was 81 miles from Yellowstone to Cody, and they were a wonderful 81 miles. 212 and 296 offered some fantastic riding. Then we entered the Chief Joseph Highway. This road, I think was probably the best one on the entire trip thus far. This highway is full of twisties. There were plenty of 20mph and 30mph turns, which we were able to take at about 40mph. WOW was this road fun. I can't wait to share the photos from this road.
Today's ride was our shortest distance, a measly 277miles. Needless to say it wasn't our shortest day out. We ended up getting into Cody around 8:30 PM. The funny thing was as soon as we got to our camp site we ran into some Star members from Washington State. Chapter 154 from Burlington WA, and Chapter 350 from Renton, WA. They were a great group and we chatted for quite some time.
Did I mention that Cody was full of bikers due to the Hells Angels being in town? We rode back into Cody to eat dinner at The Irma, which was Buffalo Bill's Hotel/Restaurant. The Irma Bar is all cherry wood and is the most photographed thing in Cody, except, I forgot my camera back at the campsite.
Today's ride was both the best and the worst. The best because the scenery was unbelievable, the trip through Yellowstone was unimaginable. The worst, because we cheated so many things by rushing through. Yellowstone is one place that would take more than a week to see. It is unmatched in any one place that I have been to date. The amount of different geography is just amazing.
Speaking of Amazing, when we got into the KOA in Cody, there were Amazing Race postcards at the front desk. Apparently the Amazing Race, seen on CBS, was in town about 2 weeks ago.
In one word, today was: UNBELIEVABLE!
-matt-
P.S. I am working on the photos from the trip, be looking for them soon.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Wild West Tour: Issue 7
Day #6: Richfield UT. to Jackson WY.
Today was to be a catch-up day, We decided to take some Interstate today to make up some time. We wanted to get into the Jackson WY area earlier so that we could have a little time to do nothing. We had to go a pretty long distance today, 420 miles. So we took a ride on I15 through Salt Lake and Provo. Both seemed nice with rolling hills to the East.
As we crested the top of one mountain we looked down at a beautiful lake that we didn't know what it was. Since we had picked a different route this was an unexpected lake. It turned out to be Bear Lake, which was beautiful and blue. This was the point where said goodbye to Utah, and hello to Idaho! We stopped in the little town of Montpelier for fuel.
Back on US 89 into the Jackson area. The Snake River was the site in the area, many places offering rafting trips down the river. It turned out that our camp site was nearly on the shore of the river, which made for a nice backdrop. Shortly after we arrived a couple more Bikers from Idaho arrived to camp as our Neighbors, they were very nice an also had some good suggestions for riding in the area. I was up late trying to get my laundry done before bed. Which ended up being pretty late.
Todays trip was different than the rest, with the Interstate route, but the Snake River area was NOT at all bad. The road ran with the river which made for a very scenic ride.
Tomorrow we head for the Great Tetons, and Yellow Stone. -matt-
Today was to be a catch-up day, We decided to take some Interstate today to make up some time. We wanted to get into the Jackson WY area earlier so that we could have a little time to do nothing. We had to go a pretty long distance today, 420 miles. So we took a ride on I15 through Salt Lake and Provo. Both seemed nice with rolling hills to the East.
As we crested the top of one mountain we looked down at a beautiful lake that we didn't know what it was. Since we had picked a different route this was an unexpected lake. It turned out to be Bear Lake, which was beautiful and blue. This was the point where said goodbye to Utah, and hello to Idaho! We stopped in the little town of Montpelier for fuel.
Back on US 89 into the Jackson area. The Snake River was the site in the area, many places offering rafting trips down the river. It turned out that our camp site was nearly on the shore of the river, which made for a nice backdrop. Shortly after we arrived a couple more Bikers from Idaho arrived to camp as our Neighbors, they were very nice an also had some good suggestions for riding in the area. I was up late trying to get my laundry done before bed. Which ended up being pretty late.
Todays trip was different than the rest, with the Interstate route, but the Snake River area was NOT at all bad. The road ran with the river which made for a very scenic ride.
Tomorrow we head for the Great Tetons, and Yellow Stone. -matt-
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Wild West Tour: Issue 6
Day #5: Blanding UT. to Richfield Ut.
From Blanding we high tailed it out into the desert. In the desert we found Natural Bridges National Park, so we stopped in to check it out. It was a nice one to see with the bikes, because it was a 9 mile loop that we could stop and see what we wanted. We new we had a big day ahead of us so we stopped a few times then took off.
Continuing on we came to Lake Powell which was set in the canyons. We stopped to take a look and met a family vacationing from Germany. They were very friendly and gave us great information about visiting Bryce Canyon.
The scenery here was again different than before, now the mountains changed from sandy colored stone to red and back to sandy. This portion of the trip was hot again.
We rode through Capital Reef but didn't have time to stop. As we exited Capital Reef it looked like Rain in the direction that we were about to travel. So we stopped for a few minutes which was enough time to let the rain pass. We then entered the Dixie National Forest at Boulder UT. This area was beautiful mountains, filled with Aspen trees. We even encountered a few roaming cattle along the way. The exit from Boulder ended us up in the white rolling canyons, the heat was high and the pictures panoramic. Deffinately this Route 12 was among the best we had ridden on.
We entered the Bryce Canyon Area and entered the park. We followed the suggestions from Claus, whom we had met earlier and he was exactly right that view from Inspiration Point was fantastic. Bryce is different from the rest, it has many little components, much like stelagtites, accept they are much larger and made of sandstone.
From Bryce we headed into Richfield which turned out to be another 140+ miles. We got to Richfield and got settled. Again this was a nice route up scenic Highway 89. Today was a great mix of desert and mountains. We saw features like; Chiminey Rock, Cheese Box Butte, Jacob's Chair, and others along the way. Anoter great day on the trip. -matt-
From Blanding we high tailed it out into the desert. In the desert we found Natural Bridges National Park, so we stopped in to check it out. It was a nice one to see with the bikes, because it was a 9 mile loop that we could stop and see what we wanted. We new we had a big day ahead of us so we stopped a few times then took off.
Continuing on we came to Lake Powell which was set in the canyons. We stopped to take a look and met a family vacationing from Germany. They were very friendly and gave us great information about visiting Bryce Canyon.
The scenery here was again different than before, now the mountains changed from sandy colored stone to red and back to sandy. This portion of the trip was hot again.
We rode through Capital Reef but didn't have time to stop. As we exited Capital Reef it looked like Rain in the direction that we were about to travel. So we stopped for a few minutes which was enough time to let the rain pass. We then entered the Dixie National Forest at Boulder UT. This area was beautiful mountains, filled with Aspen trees. We even encountered a few roaming cattle along the way. The exit from Boulder ended us up in the white rolling canyons, the heat was high and the pictures panoramic. Deffinately this Route 12 was among the best we had ridden on.
We entered the Bryce Canyon Area and entered the park. We followed the suggestions from Claus, whom we had met earlier and he was exactly right that view from Inspiration Point was fantastic. Bryce is different from the rest, it has many little components, much like stelagtites, accept they are much larger and made of sandstone.
From Bryce we headed into Richfield which turned out to be another 140+ miles. We got to Richfield and got settled. Again this was a nice route up scenic Highway 89. Today was a great mix of desert and mountains. We saw features like; Chiminey Rock, Cheese Box Butte, Jacob's Chair, and others along the way. Anoter great day on the trip. -matt-
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Wild West Tour: Issue 5
Day #4: Salida CO to Blanding UT.
Day 4 brought us thru Monarch Pass where the summit was 11,311 feet. This was the first time we got into the real mountains. We stopped for a photo shot and noticed that the air was a bit thinner. There was a group of Cobras at the top.
Shortly after going through the pass we came across the place in the road where the mud slide really was. It was pretty much cleaned up but for a bit of dust on the road.
The mountains are so massive and beautiful at this point. We continued to head toward Montrose where we would head south down Highway 550(The Million Dollar Highway).This takes us through Ouray and Silverton. Ouray is a great little town in the middle of two massive mountains. The road is full of curves and is narrower than before. The turns become interesting when you look off the side of the road and see a giant cliff. I was most suprised by the big-rigs that were also traveling the road. Some of those turns would be pretty difficult for them.
We headed next through Durango, Mesa Verde, then past Ute Mountain, in the direction of "4 Corners". 4Corners is a place that you can stand ing 4 states; Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona.
At 4 Corners we ran into a couple from California on an FJR. Their story included getting stuck 4 DAYS in Blanding UT, which was our next stop. The things they said about it made us a little interested about the town.
There was a little town in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico. It was no more than 1/2 mile in total size and was 100% surrounded by fencing. I believe it was called "Red Mesa", but it came and went pretty quickly. This area was HOT.
Onward to Blanding, and first we came through the town of Bluff, a tiny town set inside a canyon on the river. We left Bluff on a road that went up out of the canyon, the walls on both sides were huge and impressive.
Blanding is a small town that stayed in that night. The restaraunt that we ate at was nice, Mike had to buy 2 Iced Teas so that he could get more than the "One Refill" per purchase. We also noted that one of the Gas stations, also had "Edited Movies". To be honest, the town was a little strange. The campsite was great, and we met a few people there, one who was a logger working in the area.
Well that was it for now, look for the next update.
-matt-
More to come soon~!
Day 4 brought us thru Monarch Pass where the summit was 11,311 feet. This was the first time we got into the real mountains. We stopped for a photo shot and noticed that the air was a bit thinner. There was a group of Cobras at the top.
Shortly after going through the pass we came across the place in the road where the mud slide really was. It was pretty much cleaned up but for a bit of dust on the road.
The mountains are so massive and beautiful at this point. We continued to head toward Montrose where we would head south down Highway 550(The Million Dollar Highway).This takes us through Ouray and Silverton. Ouray is a great little town in the middle of two massive mountains. The road is full of curves and is narrower than before. The turns become interesting when you look off the side of the road and see a giant cliff. I was most suprised by the big-rigs that were also traveling the road. Some of those turns would be pretty difficult for them.
We headed next through Durango, Mesa Verde, then past Ute Mountain, in the direction of "4 Corners". 4Corners is a place that you can stand ing 4 states; Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona.
At 4 Corners we ran into a couple from California on an FJR. Their story included getting stuck 4 DAYS in Blanding UT, which was our next stop. The things they said about it made us a little interested about the town.
There was a little town in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico. It was no more than 1/2 mile in total size and was 100% surrounded by fencing. I believe it was called "Red Mesa", but it came and went pretty quickly. This area was HOT.
Onward to Blanding, and first we came through the town of Bluff, a tiny town set inside a canyon on the river. We left Bluff on a road that went up out of the canyon, the walls on both sides were huge and impressive.
Blanding is a small town that stayed in that night. The restaraunt that we ate at was nice, Mike had to buy 2 Iced Teas so that he could get more than the "One Refill" per purchase. We also noted that one of the Gas stations, also had "Edited Movies". To be honest, the town was a little strange. The campsite was great, and we met a few people there, one who was a logger working in the area.
Well that was it for now, look for the next update.
-matt-
More to come soon~!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Wild West Tour: Issue 4
Day #3: Salida CO
Last Night in Garden City we had strong winds, we thought the tents might blow over at one point. There were more feed yards, that were stinky. We confirmed our belief that Kansas was FLAT!
About 20 miles from Pueblo CO. we saw some rain ahead, and decided to stop and put on our rain gear. It was a good idea. We had a serious downpour for about 15 miles coming into Pueblo. It was pretty intense with some puddles and heavy rain. As we left Pueblo we headed towards Cannon City, someone hollored at us, there was some flooding "up there".
Cannon City brought to us a BEAUTIFUL Route 50. The winding road was next to the Arkansas river which up to this point had been empty. We stumbled upon the South entrance to the Royal Gorge. WOW! was about all that was going through my mind. We entered the park and there were Cows on the road, this was the first time I had actually seen cattle when the signs said, "Open Range". This US 50 route was fantastic with sweeping turns right next to the river, there were rafts floating down the river and the view was outstanding. On both sides were the Magnificant Rockies and the everlasting road was unbelievable.
After leaving Cannon City we headed towards Gunnison, CO. with a stop in Salida for Gas. As we left Salida there was a big sign that said that US 50 was closed due to a Mud Slide. Apparently this is the "Flooding" that the man in Pueblo was speaking about. We didn't know that "Up There" was really about 150 miles down the road.
So we were forced to head back to Salida for the night. The campground we found there was a bit more rustic but also scenic with the mountains in the backgound. Dorothy told us what restaraunt to eat at and we did. It was great.
So we spent the night at Salida and at about 7000 feet it got a little cooler that night. I actually had to bundle up in my sleeping bag for the first time on this trip.
This has been a fantastic trip!
-matt-
Last Night in Garden City we had strong winds, we thought the tents might blow over at one point. There were more feed yards, that were stinky. We confirmed our belief that Kansas was FLAT!
 |
| From 2006_Wild_Wild_West_Tour |
Cannon City brought to us a BEAUTIFUL Route 50. The winding road was next to the Arkansas river which up to this point had been empty. We stumbled upon the South entrance to the Royal Gorge. WOW! was about all that was going through my mind. We entered the park and there were Cows on the road, this was the first time I had actually seen cattle when the signs said, "Open Range". This US 50 route was fantastic with sweeping turns right next to the river, there were rafts floating down the river and the view was outstanding. On both sides were the Magnificant Rockies and the everlasting road was unbelievable.
After leaving Cannon City we headed towards Gunnison, CO. with a stop in Salida for Gas. As we left Salida there was a big sign that said that US 50 was closed due to a Mud Slide. Apparently this is the "Flooding" that the man in Pueblo was speaking about. We didn't know that "Up There" was really about 150 miles down the road.
So we were forced to head back to Salida for the night. The campground we found there was a bit more rustic but also scenic with the mountains in the backgound. Dorothy told us what restaraunt to eat at and we did. It was great.
So we spent the night at Salida and at about 7000 feet it got a little cooler that night. I actually had to bundle up in my sleeping bag for the first time on this trip.
This has been a fantastic trip!
-matt-
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Wild West Tour: Issue 3
Day 2: Carthage, MO to Garden City, KS
Today we got a little later start, 8:30 local time. This was due to the first day of picking up our camp site and packing it back up. We are hoping that we will get a little better as the days go by. By the time we got started it was already 90 degrees. Oh, yeah, did I mention it is HOT!
We have about 410 miles ahead of us today and which will take us through Missouri and into Kansas. We headed to McDonald's for a quick bite to eat and some coffee. Turns out that when we get there, someone immediately comes over to ask questions about Mike's BMW. Mike rides a 2004 BMW 1200 CL. He gets a lot of comments on it, because it is different looking. In McDonald's, I asked some locals about how to get into OK, since we were so close and I couldn't pass on getting another state on my map. So we rode down 44 until we hit OK, and headed west on US400. Turns out that Kansas is a pretty flat state :). There are Miles and Miles of fields. Seemed like the roads never ended in some places.
Since the previous day my Road Star had some squeaking noise, I asked if we could get it looked at. As we pulled in for gas, the noise was back and I called the Star Touring and Riding office to find a Yamaha shop in Wichita, KS. Barb gave me the number to Advance Motorsports. I talked to Kerrey who was EXTREMELY helpful, he said yeah, come on in. His directions where a little off, but we got there.
By the time we stopped in Wichita, the temperature was 111 degrees. That is not a typo, we thought yesterday was hot, this was hotter! So they took my Roadie apart, checked out all the bearings in the rear wheel and said they all looked good. They also checked the Pushdrive and cleaned it up a little. Based on the symptoms, they figured that the rubber bushings in the push drive are swelling and causing the squeak. They lubed everything up and put it back together. I felt much better about the bike after that, and we where back on the road, well kinda, we stopped for lunch. Although since it was SO hot, we ate light and drank a lot of water.
West of Wichita the terrain is even more flat. It seemed like we would never get out of the Extreme heat. We had to make a few extra stops for fluids. Those combined with the stop at the shop we were a little behind schedule.
Traveling west we passed countless cattle trucks, I think they were all empty. We hit Dodge City about 7:00pm Local, and boy was that an experience, more cows than I have ever seen, and all in one place. Then the "Cow Processing Plants" they were a disgusting mixed smell of grilled burgers and death. I don't really know how to explain it, but it wasn't too pleasant.
We finally got some relief from the sun about 20 miles before Garden City when the sun went behind some nice clouds. The temp dropped probably 15-20 degrees and the ride was so much more comfortable. We finally arrived at the campground at about 8pm. Again, showers and food was in order.
We had some semi-strong winds overnight and a little light rain, but when I got up at 5:30 this morning everything was dry. The humidity is down here, so things are drying quickly. We will gain another hour when we hit Colorado so we are taking our time again.
This has turned out to be a great trip so far, even with the heat. Seeing the great expanse of land, it makes you a bit more aware of how big this country is. I can't wait to see the rest of our trip.
If you have questions or want more details, send me an email webmaster@MetricCruisers.com. Don't know when the next update will be, but stay tuned the trips is just getting started. Oh, and I will be getting some photos around too.
till next time,
-matt-
07/20/2006
Today we got a little later start, 8:30 local time. This was due to the first day of picking up our camp site and packing it back up. We are hoping that we will get a little better as the days go by. By the time we got started it was already 90 degrees. Oh, yeah, did I mention it is HOT!
We have about 410 miles ahead of us today and which will take us through Missouri and into Kansas. We headed to McDonald's for a quick bite to eat and some coffee. Turns out that when we get there, someone immediately comes over to ask questions about Mike's BMW. Mike rides a 2004 BMW 1200 CL. He gets a lot of comments on it, because it is different looking. In McDonald's, I asked some locals about how to get into OK, since we were so close and I couldn't pass on getting another state on my map. So we rode down 44 until we hit OK, and headed west on US400. Turns out that Kansas is a pretty flat state :). There are Miles and Miles of fields. Seemed like the roads never ended in some places.
Since the previous day my Road Star had some squeaking noise, I asked if we could get it looked at. As we pulled in for gas, the noise was back and I called the Star Touring and Riding office to find a Yamaha shop in Wichita, KS. Barb gave me the number to Advance Motorsports. I talked to Kerrey who was EXTREMELY helpful, he said yeah, come on in. His directions where a little off, but we got there.
By the time we stopped in Wichita, the temperature was 111 degrees. That is not a typo, we thought yesterday was hot, this was hotter! So they took my Roadie apart, checked out all the bearings in the rear wheel and said they all looked good. They also checked the Pushdrive and cleaned it up a little. Based on the symptoms, they figured that the rubber bushings in the push drive are swelling and causing the squeak. They lubed everything up and put it back together. I felt much better about the bike after that, and we where back on the road, well kinda, we stopped for lunch. Although since it was SO hot, we ate light and drank a lot of water.
West of Wichita the terrain is even more flat. It seemed like we would never get out of the Extreme heat. We had to make a few extra stops for fluids. Those combined with the stop at the shop we were a little behind schedule.
Traveling west we passed countless cattle trucks, I think they were all empty. We hit Dodge City about 7:00pm Local, and boy was that an experience, more cows than I have ever seen, and all in one place. Then the "Cow Processing Plants" they were a disgusting mixed smell of grilled burgers and death. I don't really know how to explain it, but it wasn't too pleasant.
We finally got some relief from the sun about 20 miles before Garden City when the sun went behind some nice clouds. The temp dropped probably 15-20 degrees and the ride was so much more comfortable. We finally arrived at the campground at about 8pm. Again, showers and food was in order.
We had some semi-strong winds overnight and a little light rain, but when I got up at 5:30 this morning everything was dry. The humidity is down here, so things are drying quickly. We will gain another hour when we hit Colorado so we are taking our time again.
This has turned out to be a great trip so far, even with the heat. Seeing the great expanse of land, it makes you a bit more aware of how big this country is. I can't wait to see the rest of our trip.
If you have questions or want more details, send me an email webmaster@MetricCruisers.com. Don't know when the next update will be, but stay tuned the trips is just getting started. Oh, and I will be getting some photos around too.
till next time,
-matt-
07/20/2006
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Wild West Tour Issue 2
Day 1: Indianapolis to Carthage, Mo. (I70, I44)
Day one started at McDonald's, it was a nice morning that had promised good dry weather. We got started about 7:45 am. Following 465 to I70 West. The terrain was pretty boring, being that it was interstate, there wasn't much to see.
We stopped just before Terre Haute for gas and some water. Apparently the fueling station we picked was in the flight path for the National Guard, because four military jets flew right over our heads.
From Terre Haute, we continued west to St. Louis, the temperature came up quickly, by this time the temperature was nearing 100 degrees and the humidity was also high. We stopped for Lunch just west of St. Louis, at Steak and Shake.
This was by far the Hottest riding I have ever done, with the max temp reaching 105 degrees before we had reached our destination. Mike rode with his jacket on and I with my long sleeve T-shirt. Every time we stopped we got asked, "Why do you have a coat and long sleeves"? It turns out that with short sleeves, the sweat just immediately evaporates. With the sleeves, the sweat sits long enough to actually provide some body cooling.
Upon arriving in Carthage, at Ballard's Campground we were greeted by Wonda, a very friendly woman who promptly showed us to our site and pointed us in the direction of A) the showers, B) FOOD!
As we rolled into the campground, I also noticed a squeeking noise coming from the back of my bike. I am a bit concerned that it may be a bad bearing or something of the sort. I guess we will try to get it checked out tomorrow. Setting up camp was hot but went smoothly, the shower was like heaven, after riding through what we perceived as hell. Just up the road was a little restaurant called "Bronc Busters", the seemingly busy establishment had two sides, the lounge, which we initially passed up, and the family restaurant. We walked into the restaurant side hoping for some cool air, we found 2 people and a semi-cool room. We tried the lounge and it was MUCH cooler! We also found the people from the 20 or so cars in the lot, playing Texas Hold em. The food was ok, and much welcome after 11 hours in the heat. Mike (Mr. Tea) had his 6+ glasses of Iced Tea while I had mostly water and a COLD beer.
Back to camp to sleep, and it was still HOT and HUMID. Trying to fall asleep was difficult as the sweat rolled off your face. Maybe tomorrow will be cooler, I hoped.
07/19/2006
Day one started at McDonald's, it was a nice morning that had promised good dry weather. We got started about 7:45 am. Following 465 to I70 West. The terrain was pretty boring, being that it was interstate, there wasn't much to see.
We stopped just before Terre Haute for gas and some water. Apparently the fueling station we picked was in the flight path for the National Guard, because four military jets flew right over our heads.
From Terre Haute, we continued west to St. Louis, the temperature came up quickly, by this time the temperature was nearing 100 degrees and the humidity was also high. We stopped for Lunch just west of St. Louis, at Steak and Shake.
This was by far the Hottest riding I have ever done, with the max temp reaching 105 degrees before we had reached our destination. Mike rode with his jacket on and I with my long sleeve T-shirt. Every time we stopped we got asked, "Why do you have a coat and long sleeves"? It turns out that with short sleeves, the sweat just immediately evaporates. With the sleeves, the sweat sits long enough to actually provide some body cooling.
Upon arriving in Carthage, at Ballard's Campground we were greeted by Wonda, a very friendly woman who promptly showed us to our site and pointed us in the direction of A) the showers, B) FOOD!
As we rolled into the campground, I also noticed a squeeking noise coming from the back of my bike. I am a bit concerned that it may be a bad bearing or something of the sort. I guess we will try to get it checked out tomorrow. Setting up camp was hot but went smoothly, the shower was like heaven, after riding through what we perceived as hell. Just up the road was a little restaurant called "Bronc Busters", the seemingly busy establishment had two sides, the lounge, which we initially passed up, and the family restaurant. We walked into the restaurant side hoping for some cool air, we found 2 people and a semi-cool room. We tried the lounge and it was MUCH cooler! We also found the people from the 20 or so cars in the lot, playing Texas Hold em. The food was ok, and much welcome after 11 hours in the heat. Mike (Mr. Tea) had his 6+ glasses of Iced Tea while I had mostly water and a COLD beer.
Back to camp to sleep, and it was still HOT and HUMID. Trying to fall asleep was difficult as the sweat rolled off your face. Maybe tomorrow will be cooler, I hoped.
07/19/2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Issue 01: A Tour in the Making
Issue 01: A Tour in the Making
Typically in July I attend Star Days which is a great event put on by Star Touring and Riding. This event travels the US from East to Central to West. This year Star Days is in Longmont Colorado, which is a solid two day trip from my house in Indiana.
Since this was the case, I thought this would be a great time to travel the west and see more of the country than I have ever before. I was ready to do it alone, but thought I would ask around to see if anyone else was interested. One person was, so Mike and I began talking about planning the trip. Since we would have been gone already for about 8 days we thought, why not add a couple and make the journey a little bigger.
We thought wouldn't 10 days on the road be an awesome journey. We decided to use our tents to make the trip not only cheaper, but also more of an adventure. Mike and I have riden together before and both seem to like the journey more than the destination. This time, however we also wanted to have some great destinations in the plan. Brain-storming we came up with some of the following. Old Faithful, Grand Canyon, Route 66, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Million Dollar Highway, Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore, Beemer Nebraska, 4-Corners, Jackson Hole, Cody Wy., and more.
Planning the route turned out more difficult and originally thought. With so many things to see and so little time, we had to make some cuts. After meeting a few times and looking at all the places we wanted to see. After a few planning sessions and a lot of work, we have come up with a 4300 mile journey that will take us through 14 different states and cover a number of historic and popular places. We even ended up adding a day bringing the total days on the road up to eleven.
The Journey: Here is a high-level look at what our journey will include.
Start in Indianapolis, IN
Day 1: Arrive: Carthage, MO
Day 2: Arrive: Garden City, KS
Day 3: Arrive: Gunnison, CO
Day 4: Arrive: Blanding, UT
Day 5: Arrive: West Richfield, UT
Day 6: Arrive: Jackson, WY
Day 7: Arrive: Cody, WY
Day 8: Arrive: Devils Tower, WY
Day 9: Arrive: Valentine, NE
Day 10: Arrive: Kellogg, IA
Day 11:Arrive: Indianapolis, IN
Stay tuned there will be more to come about the Wild Wild West Tour of 2006.
Typically in July I attend Star Days which is a great event put on by Star Touring and Riding. This event travels the US from East to Central to West. This year Star Days is in Longmont Colorado, which is a solid two day trip from my house in Indiana.
Since this was the case, I thought this would be a great time to travel the west and see more of the country than I have ever before. I was ready to do it alone, but thought I would ask around to see if anyone else was interested. One person was, so Mike and I began talking about planning the trip. Since we would have been gone already for about 8 days we thought, why not add a couple and make the journey a little bigger.
We thought wouldn't 10 days on the road be an awesome journey. We decided to use our tents to make the trip not only cheaper, but also more of an adventure. Mike and I have riden together before and both seem to like the journey more than the destination. This time, however we also wanted to have some great destinations in the plan. Brain-storming we came up with some of the following. Old Faithful, Grand Canyon, Route 66, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Million Dollar Highway, Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore, Beemer Nebraska, 4-Corners, Jackson Hole, Cody Wy., and more.
Planning the route turned out more difficult and originally thought. With so many things to see and so little time, we had to make some cuts. After meeting a few times and looking at all the places we wanted to see. After a few planning sessions and a lot of work, we have come up with a 4300 mile journey that will take us through 14 different states and cover a number of historic and popular places. We even ended up adding a day bringing the total days on the road up to eleven.
The Journey: Here is a high-level look at what our journey will include.
Start in Indianapolis, IN
Day 1: Arrive: Carthage, MO
Day 2: Arrive: Garden City, KS
Day 3: Arrive: Gunnison, CO
Day 4: Arrive: Blanding, UT
Day 5: Arrive: West Richfield, UT
Day 6: Arrive: Jackson, WY
Day 7: Arrive: Cody, WY
Day 8: Arrive: Devils Tower, WY
Day 9: Arrive: Valentine, NE
Day 10: Arrive: Kellogg, IA
Day 11:Arrive: Indianapolis, IN
Stay tuned there will be more to come about the Wild Wild West Tour of 2006.
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