Sunday, June 30, 2013 – Day 17 – Harrisonburg, VA
Well, tomorrow is the last day of my trip (thunderstorms
allowing). The forecast is for
thunderstorms pretty much all the way home from here, but that was the forecast
for today also and it was a beautiful day.
We’ll see. When I do finally
arrive, I’ll have gone over 5,800 miles during this trip.
Today started out as a cool day with blue skies. It warmed up a bit during the day, but it was
beautiful. The ride out of North Carolina,
through Tennessee (again) and part of Virginia was great. Check out “The Dickie” awards below to find
out what I think of this area.
I was doing great on time and planned to blow past
Harrisonburg,VA and ride on to Harrisburg, PA so I could shorten up tomorrow’s
ride by a couple of hours, but then traffic happened. I was stuck in a traffic jam on I-81 that
added 1 hour and 45 minutes and from then on, traffic was a “caterpillar” …
speed up, slow down … for over 100 miles.
Result? Checked in to my hotel in
Harrisonburg over two hours later than scheduled (over 8 hours on the road) and
scrubbed the plans to go to Harrisburg tonight.
Oh well …
Well, it’s been a great trip and I’ve seen and done a
lot. I started thinking … every time you
turn around, there’s an award show of some sort on TV. Well, this one won’t make the tube, but at
least you’ll see it! Drum roll …
In the “most beautiful state” category, the award goes to
….
This was a tough one, because everyplace I went to had some
unique qualities, but the winner is …
Colorado (west of I-25.
East of 25? Forget about it.)
This place has it all … snow capped mountains, canyons, beautiful
mountain lakes, clean and modern cities, quaint towns nestled in those
mountains, deserts … the list is nearly endless. BUT, a close runner up is:
Eastern Tennessee/Western North Carolina. The Smokies, while not as high as the Rockies
certainly give Colorado a run for it’s money.
Riding through these forest covered mountains and experiencing the
surrounding vistas is something that must be seen to be truly appreciated.
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The “Most Challenging Motorcycle Ride” award goes to …
“The Tail of the
Dragon”. Over 300 curves in 11 miles, up
and down mountains and no guard rails along steep cliffs. Come on, how do you beat that one? (not to mention the party at the end complete
with DJ and band)
The “Most Beautiful Motorcycle Ride” (would also be
beautiful in a car) award goes to …
The “Million Dollar Highway” and the town of Ouray in
Colorado. An unbeatable visual delight
with plenty of photo ops and other places to stop.
The “Best National Park I Visited” award goes to:
The Badlands. Stark
beauty around every turn and not overloaded with tourists
The “Most Disappointing Place I Visited” award goes
to:
Taos, NM. While I had
visualized (based on what I’ve read) and neat little eclectic town, what I got
was an over commercialized, high traffic tourist trap.
The “Most Pleasant Surprise” award goes to:
Los Alamos, NM. A
really neat little town that hasn’t been “discovered” yet. Not tons of stuff to do, but clean, quiet and
in a beautiful setting.
http://visit.losalamos.com/
http://visit.losalamos.com/
The “Lowest Price Gas” award goes to:
Roanoke, VA. An off
brand for $3.10 per gallon (cash regular).
Regrettably, I need high test.
The “Highest Price Gas” award goes to:
For you New York State residents reading this blog, take a
wild guess.
The “Most Over-Policed State” award goes to:
Shockingly, New York.
Come on … give me a break … SIX speed traps (5 state police and one
local) between my house and Niagara Falls … that’s only 96 miles or an average
of one speed trap every 16 miles!
The “Best Casino” award goes to:
The Harrah’s Cherokee, NC Casino. This was a tough one because casinos were
absolutely everywhere I went and I only went to two of them. However, this place is a world class property
that could hold it’s own anywhere.
Beautiful place. (Also, after two
hours of gambling, I at least broke even.)
The “Best Food I Ate” award goes to:
The same place … Harrah’s Casino buffet. Great barbecue, Mexican, Chinese and
desserts. Not your normal tasteless
buffet offerings. I’m on a diet and I
didn’t have too many “big” meals, but this one was a clear winner and clearly
worth blowing the diet for.
The “Best Hotel” award goes to:
The Best Western in Devil’s Tower, WY. A little jewel tucked away in a little,
obscure town in the middle of nowhere.
And, the only restaurant in town just down the street was pretty good
too!
AND NOW, FOR THE MOMENT YOU”VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!
The “Best Blog Audience” award goes
to:
You all! Nearly
1,300 page views! Thanks so much for
staying tuned and commenting either on line or via email (and I also got a few
phone calls!). I can’t thank you enough
for taking the time to follow this journey and sharing it with me. I hope that I have kept it entertaining and
informative. And, thanks for all of your
well wishes expressed to Patti and I before and during this trip. I’m looking forward to chatting with you when
next we meet.
I’ll leave just one more short update to this blog …
when I get home.
Thanks!!