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Monday, June 24, 2013 – Day 11 – Santa Fe & Los Alamos, NM

Yet ANOTHER great day, this one more laid back and relaxing than previous days.  I didn’t leave the hotel until 9 AM and I took a short ride to The Plaza in old Santa Fe.  Santa Fe is a lovely city with lots of adobe buildings and a tradition of going well out of it’s way to respect it’s roots.  They have done an excellent job.

Two things about this place.  First, it is very historic and charming.  Second, for those of you who love to shop, there is nothing for you here … just a few small, poorly stocked shops … OK, I cannot tell a lie.  This place is a shopper’s paradise and actually, I did shop.  After all, I needed to take time to get some gifts for the fam.

Yes Patti, Diane and Inta, there are shops UNDERNEATH the shops you can visit at street level

While I was there, I attended a ceremony for a local hero of the Iraq war who was just awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and unlike most of these heroes his was not awarded posthumously.  It was an honor to be there.

After stopping by the post office to send the gifts back home, I set out for Los Alamos.  This was the place where the atomic bomb was developed in the mid-1940’s.  For those of you who don’t like math, that’s about 70 years ago.  For people like me who are in our mid-60’s, that’s a scary thought.  Anyway, the site where the first nuke was detonated is a few miles away from Los Alamos and is only open to the public twice annually, so I didn’t see the blast site.  I don’t suppose I missed much – just a huge expanse of arid high desert with a lot of glass fused from sand during the explosion.

It's a bit of a hill climb getting to Los Alamos

As far as the town goes, it amazing the difference 70 years can make.  This place went from a bunch of Army barracks to an absolutely charming city in the high desert mountains.  It’s an  beautiful, eclectic little town.  The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories just outside of San Francisco runs the Los Alamos National Laboratory and I was talking to a physicist who moved here from California.  He said he will never leave because he and the wife can’t think of a better place to live.  He also said that there is a huge number of millionaires per capita here because all of the high powered scientists employed at Los Alamos labs.  Seems they retire and never leave.  It really is a special place, especially considering how it was started by US Army Major General Leslie Groves for the express purpose of  developing the weapon that ended World War II (let's don't forget Dr. Robert Oppenheimer who actually managed the scientific development of the bomb.  For you history buffs, Major General Groves was also the chief architect of The Pentagon. If you want to see a great movie about this, get "Fat Man and Little Boy", starring Paul Newman.

On the way back, I snapped a few pix of yet another major forest fire in the Southwest.  These states are really getting hit hard and this is a major fire.  Look at the size of that smoke cloud.

Back to the hotel after all this for a shower and then dinner after only clocking about 150 miles today.  Tomorrow, Taos.

Sunday, June 23, 2013 – Day 10 – Over 3,200 miles behind me

Hello from the great Southwest Desert, where the skies are incredibly blue, there is rarely rain and it is HOT.  Four hours in the saddle today in temps that ranged from the low 80’s to the low 90’s, with a blaring sun.  My planned stop in Santa Fe for two days (which I’ve extended to 3) is perfect timing … it gives me some down time to relax and do some sight seeing.  I checked into the hotel at 1:30 and I’m just chilling now.  Later this evening when it cools, I’m going to see Santa Fe at night and try some of their famous Mexican food. (or maybe no, because one Mexican dinner equals about 300 of my Weight Watchers Points).  By the way, even tough I’m on vacation, I’ve managed to lose a couple of pounds.

Before I get started on the day, I want to say hi to my special grandkids.  Hi Lily!  Hi Mason!  Hi Emma!  Hi Logan!  Grandpa misses all of you guys and when I get back, everyone is going to get a great big bear hug! XOXOXOXO

I pulled out of Durango this morning headed for Santa Fe.  It was warm when I left and the further I got, the hotter it got.  The trip was uneventful and certainly not as exciting as the past few days.  Don’t misunderstand me … the scenery was beautiful in a stark, desolate sort of way, with the landscape covered with mesas, buttes, arroyos, small canyons, scrub brush and dry desert earth.  The colors were striking also, with reds, burnt oranges, tans and other earth tones assaulting the eyes.  I actually love the desert because it’s a place where you can get “lost” and be totally alone with your thoughts.  The total lack of sound once you get away from the beaten path is stunning.  I’d say I could hear myself think, but we all know how silly that idea is …

Anyway, you could take a million pictures of this place and they would all kind of look the same, so here’s just one:

One comment here.  If you ever get to this area, don’t miss the ride down Colorado Route 550 from Montrose, CO, through Ouray and Durango then down into Santa Fe.  What a great ride.  Also, DON’T follow the signs that tell you to take Route 50 … wrong way entirely!

One last piece of good news.  The Colorado State Police have decided not to press charges in the untimely demise of the rodent I ran over two days ago.  They determined he had been drinking prior to stumbling out in front of me.  How terribly sad …  Hey, animals have rights too!

As I mentioned, into Santa Fe tonight, then sightseeing in the city and surrounding area tomorrow and then up to Taos on Tuesday.  Until the next update, thanks for following me!

Saturday, June 22, 2013 – day 9 – 2,800+ miles so far – past the halfway point!

Today, in the spirit of changing things up to avoid boring my audience, I’m using a storyboard format.  Same information, different look, with more web link interaction.

I had a change of plans and instead of going over to Utah to see Arches National Monument, I decided to stay in Colorado.  I made this last minute change because Utah would have been another long “in the saddle” day (I’m starting to walk bow-legged I’ve been riding so much) and I started thinking that Arches would be another hugely crowded National Park because there is a cluster of them in that area and summer is the peak season.

I started my day by riding a coupe of hours to “The Million Dollar Highway”.   But first, I passed a place called Escalante Canyon that was accessible only via a gravel road.  Now, I have an 800 pound cruiser that’s meant to eat up the highways and byways, but I figured I may not get back this way again, so what the hell.  Adapt, improvise and overcome, right?  Well kinda … I got my bike in and out of the canyon, but the effort it took qualified as my exercise for the next two or three months.  Ouch!  However, a truly beautiful place that most tourists don’t see, so well worth the effort.  Once again, my “Get Off The Interstate” philosophy pays dividends.  Here’s a few pix and a web link that also has some pictures:

 This sign faced the road, not oncoming traffic ... almost like they don't want you to find the place!

http://redrockman.com/?page_id=1019

After taking quite a bit of time “working” Escalante, I finally reached Montrose, CO and picked up CO Route 550.  The section between Montrose and Durango comprises the Million Dollar Highway and thanks to Chris T. for recommending this ride.  One word:  SPECTACULAR.  I you travel to Colorado, don’t miss this (unless you have phobias about heights, roads without guardrails, steep ravines, etc.).  The road winds through the mountains and runs past abandoned gold mines.  Click here for a quick overview and history lesson:

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/million.htm

About halfway between Montrose and Durango sits the charming little town of Ouray.  A bit of a tourist trap, but still very neat.  I took an hour or so to walk around and to have lunch at a neat little restaurant with a fabulous view.  Relaxing and rewarding, given the views!

  

My lunchtime view

After lunch, I moved on to finish up today's journey in Durango.  Don’t picture an old west town with wooden sidewalks and saloons wit swinging doors.  This is a clean, small, modern city that has been able to retain the nuances from it’s history.  By the way, Durango is HOT – as in 90+ today.  But, it’s a dry heat … then again so is my oven and it does a swell job cooking the turkey.  There’s a lot to do here … check the website:

http://www.durangogov.org

I’m still deciding on tomorrow’s agenda, but as always, I’ll keep you posted.

Day 8 –Friday, June 21, 2013

 I GIVE UP!

OK.  I give up!  I am running out of descriptive terms that actually capture the beauty of this place.  I mean, how does one describe the majesty of the Rocky Mountains or the raw beauty of a mountainous desert terrain?  It really isn’t possible to portray the overwhelming sights that I have been bombarded with during the last two days.  It just seems like each day of this trip is better than the one before it.  Of course, I attribute a lot of that to seeing all of these things for the first time from atop a motorcycle instead of through the tinted windows of an air conditioned car.  The sights and smells assault the senses and it is just a different experience doing it this way.  So, rather than try to describe each sight, I’m going to post a few pictures and then give you an overview of what I saw today.

 

Before I start, I want to tell you that I had my first motorcycle accident today.  I’m all right, but it was a close one.  As I was tooling down some back road through a series of rocky canyons, a prairie dog (or some other sort of rodent) ran out in front of me in a zig-zag pattern.  I only had a microsecond to react and decide if it would be me or the rodent.  The rodent lost.  No one was charged in the incident, but a police investigation is ongoing.  I’m so ashamed …

Now for the serious stuff.  Today was a “mega day” starting at 7 AM and ending around 7:30 PM and I put over 350 miles on the tires.  I left Fort Collins and rode up to Estes Park – a lovely little town that borders the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Sadly, it has become much more commercialized than when I first visited years ago, but it is still a lovely little town that sits on the edge of a natural paradise.  I had breakfast at a little local place and sat on the patio looking at mountains that are stil topped with snow.  From there, I headed up to the park and what a ride!  Beauty that assaults the senses at every turn and roads that have a lot of those “fun parts” I told you about.  These winding roads take you to an altitude of over 12, 700 feet before beginning to wind their way back down.  Two lessons learned:

1.     If you are going to dismount your ride and walk a pretty hefty distance to get that “perfect picture”, remember that there is a lot less oxygen up here and you have to walk back to where you started (in my case, it was an uphill walk).  The paramedics say I'll recover ...

2.     If you are astride a motorcycle, remember to bring winter riding gear, because there is at least a 30 degree temperature drop from the bottom to the top.  This I was prepared for, with a “dickie” (again, let’s forego the crude remarks) for my neck, winter riding gloves, a riding jacket with a wind resistant layer and a quilted layer underneath that can be added or removed as required.  Am I glad I took up some of the limited space in my luggage for this stuff!

Also, did I mention the cliff hugging roads without guard rails?  But that's OK ... if you do drive a couple thousand feet down a ravine, I'm pretty sure that the National Park Service is required to retrieve you ...  Also, the high crosswinds that were blowing so hard, I had to lean my bike into them to keep going straight.

After descending from the high point, I came upon the Continental Divide – supposedly the point where, if water is poured on it, half will flow towards the Pacific and half towards the Atlantic.  I don’t know … I poured some water on it and it just sat on top of the ground for a while then soaked in …

 See the water I poured out?  You should have seen the look on the face of the lady who took the picture!

Once out of the park, I again stuck to my back road philosophy and rode through such places as Rabbit Ears Gap, Nine Mile Gap, the town of Rifle (who names a town “Rifle”), Steamboat Springs (a world famous ski resort and a pretty cool little town) and a whole bunch of other tiny little patches in the road that are referred to as towns.  By the way, I saw a sign in the men's room of a gas station in Rifle that sad: “Please dispose of chew in the trash can, NOT the urinal” … a sage bit of advice for all of us indeed.  By the way, gas is fifty cents per gallon less expensive in Colorado than it is in New York …

Another thing I saw while riding today was two huge forest fires.  Well, I didn’t actually see the fires but I did see the huge, billowing clouds of smoke rising over the mountain tops.  The girl at the gas station in Rifle told me that this has been one of the driest springs ever, coming on the heels of a winter that brought below average snowfall.  Hard to even imagine after the spring the Midwest and Northeast have had!  I’m telling you, I have the formula for the financial resurgence of the northeast … run big pipes from the Great Lakes to the Southwest and charge by the gallon!

I ended the day by riding along Interstate 70 to Grand Junction, Colorado.  Now, I know I suggested staying off of the Interstates, but in this case, I had two choices … take the Interstate or don’t go to Grand Junction.  Pretty simple.  Anyway, I must admit that the ride down I-70 through Western Colorado was stunningly beautiful.  The road is carved out of some of the most unique and fascinating dessert rock formations I have ever seen.  Against my standard wisdom, this is one Interstate ride I must recommend.  The real problem is that there is absolutely nowhere to stop for pictures.

I finally exited for the hotel, took the bike to a  “do it yourself” car wash to clean of all the bugs (as well as any residual rodent stuff) and then checked into the hotel.  The most rewarding day of this trip yet was over, but I’ve got a feeling tomorrow will be a home run also.

I’m exhausted and going to bed.  My apologies for any typos.  I’m lovin’ this little adventure!

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Day 7 – June 20, 2013 – about 2,400 miles behind me.

Today was largely a repeat of yesterday … perfect.  As you read this, think of this advice:  if you decide to travel the country via car, stay off the Interstates.  These things get you there quickly (sometimes), but you wind up missing the best parts of America.  Better yet, stay off the Interstates AND do the trip on a motorcycle … like the billboard says, rolling down the windows ain’t even close!  But hey, that’s just my opinion.  It’s also my opinion that we live in a great country.

Departing the sleepy little burg of Hulett, WY I headed south and rode down more roads with “the good parts”.  I rode through more pine covered, rocky hills and then descended into vast plains of grass with herd after herd of grazing cattle.  After a couple of hours under the same blue sky that was there yesterday, the landscape turned into farmland as far as I could see and I began to make out the shadowy outline of the Rocky Mountains behind the thick haze in the distance.  The temperature climbed to nearly 90, but as I pulled into Fort Collins, I was much closer to the mountains and so the haze was considerably less.  I checked into my hotel and then hit the road again … I’m not here to relax in a hotel room.

This is what I call a "Sleepy Little Town" The only restaurant in town - but the steak was good

Fort Collins is a clean, growing, modern city.  It is the home of Colorado State University as well as to Sandy’s ex-wife.  Sorry Sandy … I tried to deliver your well wishes but couldn’t find her!  I’m very familiar with Fort Collins, having visited here multiple times during the period when Kodak had a plant in Windsor, CO.  I always like this town … a very nice place.

Another great place to visit is not seen by many tourists, but the locals sure know about it.  I first visited here when my Kodak friends told me about it and I promised myself I would visit it again on this trip.  If you ever get out here and don’t see this place, then shame on you because I feel it’s one of the most beautiful places in America.  It is Cache la Poudre River Canyon or as it is referred to by the locals, “Pooder Canyon”.  It’s a 40 mile ride up Colorado Route 14 through a rugged rocky canyon carved by the river.  I took movies of this ride with my “cycle cam” and as soon as I edit them (once I get back) I’ll be posting them to YouTube.  If you do get here, spend the day … it's free, it's not crowded and it is beautiful.  Go slow, take pictures, have a picnic next to the river and feel the place.  Another reason to stray from the beaten path.

 (Pictures don't even come close to doing justice to this place)

Tomorrow, I’m on to a truly beautiful small town, Estes Park Colorado and then I’m riding down the Continental Divide to Grand Junction, CO.  It's a huge ride ... over 7 hours, so I'll probably be too tired to blog when I get to the hotel.  I’ve been to Estes Park before but once I venture south, It’s new territory for me.

Day 6 – June 19, 2013

Went through Belle Fourche (pronounced bell foosh) on my way to Montana.  What’s the significance of this?  Well, it seems that old Belle is the geographic center of the United States, with the marker 20 miles north of the tiny town.  How is this the center of the US?  Well, it is NOT the geographic center of the CONTINENTAL US, but, when you consider the location of Alaska and Hawaii, you have the geographic center of the US (you just have to know what questions to ask).   And there folks, is today’s geography lesson.

I made a quick, short run into Montana, just so I could add it to my “states ridden through” list.   My turn point was some little burg by the name of Alzada and I wasn’t expecting what happened.  Instead of a boring ride through more farm fields that just smelled of manure, I got what turned out to be the best day of my vacation so far.

To start off with, I was blessed with a warm (hit 90 at Devil’s Tower), sunny day and azure blue skies with a few fluffy white clouds.  Clear as a bell with no haze at all and of course, there is no such thing as polluted air up here.  I had an absolutely perfect ride through America’s high plains, starting the day by riding through endless, rolling fields of prairie grass that were dotted with clumps of evergreens and herds of cattle.  This is where the premium beef comes from … the kind that you get in a great steakhouse, not the grain fed stuff we buy at Wegmans.  There were some bison and herds of elk grazing here also.  (Patti, I definitely won this round of “My Cows”).  All of this was truly a beautiful sight.

Now, there are rumors that Montana doesn’t have any speed limits but that has changed and they do in fact have speed limits, but very generous ones.  I am proud to say that I never exceeded those limits by being more than 50 mph over the limit … come on I’m only human.  Flat, well-paved back roads, straight as an arrow and empty as far as the eye can see.  I just couldn’t resist (by the way, I think that Montana only has 3 or 4 State Troopers, as opposed to one every 10 miles in New York.)

From Alzada, MT, I headed south and dropped down into the town of Hulett, WY where I am spending the night.  The ride here was stunning, through pine forest covered hills and valleys with beautiful red rock outcroppings.  This route is definitely the road less travelled and was exactly what I had in mind when I planned this motorcycle tour of the west … my bike and me on lonely back roads that wound through some of the most beautiful country in America.  What a day!

Along the way, on a particularly lonely stretch of road, I came across this:

It was easily visible from the road, so I snapped a few shots.  The large vehicle at the top with the missile on it’s back sure does look like a mobile ICBM missile launcher to me and the picture on the bottom looks like perhaps an anti-missile battery.  Very strange that these should be in plain view.

Once into Wyoming, I visited Devil’s Tower.  There is nothing else out here … literally; this thing is in the middle of nowhere.  However, ever since I saw “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, I’ve wanted to come here.  Perhaps the ET’s invited here, just like the movie.  If I disappear, never to be heard from again, you’ll know that I’m on the mother ship!

Devil’s Tower was our first National Monument and is an amazing sight.  You can’t really get a perspective of how big it is until you look at the climber I photographed.

I also spent some time riding over to Sundance, WY (the Sundance Kid supposedly got his name while being incarcerated here.)  The trip over was on a road that had a lot of “fun places” (curves) and I wasn’t stuck behind a bunch of travel trailers like I was yesterday in the Black Hills.  The front desk clerk at my hotel said that Mt. Rushmore gets about 4 million visitors a year.  Devil’s Tower only gets about a half million.  The roads I took today maybe get 10 or 12 visitors per year …  The previous days of this vacation were good … today was GREAT!  Much less "touristy".

This trip means I’ve ended the northern leg of the journey and have just commenced the western leg.  Over 1,800 miles in the saddle and still cruising strong.  Love it!

By the way, this vacation is truly invigorating.  Not only do I feel 45 years younger … I also LOOK 45 years younger.  And, I’ve lost a TON of weight.  This is truly amazing!  You be the judge.

 http://dickgaudy.blogspot.com/

Day 5  – The Black Hills- Mt. Rushmore and Deadwood

First, I’d like to apologize to anyone who may have been directed to an “adult” site when clicking a link I included in a previous post.  I don’t have a clue why that link did that to a few of you, but I hope there were no kiddies in the room.  From now on, I’ll do my best to verify each link.  For those of you who were not offended, you’re welcome.

Started today out with a trip into the Spearfish “downtown”.   For those of you who love visiting quaint little towns, this area of the country would be paradise for you.  I then went to historic Deadwood – yet another quaint little town that was settled during a great gold rush. Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead here and it’s also named in the National Historic Register.  The town is done up with all the businesses having period facades on a quaint little main street that is loaded with shops and other tourist traps.  Of special note is the fact that every shop, restaurant, bar and hotel also seems to be a “casino”.  Now, these aren’t big Vegas or Atlantic City size casinos … they are all small casinos (some of them with just a few slots) and they all promise a pot of gold.  Certain members of my family and friends of mine (and you know who you are) could arrive here and be lost forever.  I’m not sure, but I think I saw a Dunkin’ Donuts that had a casino in it!  Anyway, a nice place to visit with some historical significance, but I don’t have a clue what you might do after being here for a day.

 There are casinos on either side of this casino ...

From Deadwood, it was on to more of the Black Hills – Sylvan Lake, Black Hills State & National Parks and of course, Mt. Rushmore.  If you are a biker, this place is loaded with the fun parts (also known to non-bikers as “curves”).  Lots of twisty roads to challenge ones ability but there’s only one problem.  It’s tough to run the curves when there is a guy in front of you towing his 30’ travel trailer with an underpowered pickup truck and nothing but double lines for as far as the eye can see.  Yes, I know that the road wasn’t built as a trial course for bikers …oh well.

For those of you who are not motorcyclists, the Black Hills consist of hundreds of verdant rolling hills and rocky tors.  There are beautiful landscapes wherever you go.  If you are a camper, this would be ideal, but my take of the place after spending most of the day there is that it’s overcrowded (and this isn’t the “busy” season yet) and spending more than a day there would probably get dull quickly.  That said, it is a beautiful park and a national treasure.

Of course, Mt. Rushmore requires no comment from me other than to say it is so much more impressive in person than it could ever be when viewed in any form of media.  It is truly massive and an accomplishment of monumental proportions (get it?  It’s big and it’s a monument … a little play on words … never mind …)

These are just a few of the new friends I've made on this trip ...

A comment on South Dakota.  Lovely place with lots to see and do, especially if you are an outdoor type of person.  The biggest problem is that everybody here owns a Harley (remember, this is the home of the annual Sturgis Rally) and every one of them has straight exhaust pipes, making them obnoxiously loud … seems like everywhere you go, you are assaulted by the ridiculous roar of an unmuffled engine, including throughout the Black Hills..  Don’t get me wrong … I like the throaty sound of a big bike engine as well as the next guy and I've got modified pipes on my ride, but there are limits.  Reminds me of the South Park episode about Harley riders … (Gary and Jose - not you Harley guys ... the other ones!)

Now for today’s interesting side story.  I took this picture of a motorcycle in the Mt. Rushmore parking lot but I didn’t see who the rider was.  Note my caption.

  “If you need a beaded butt massager for your motorcycle saddle, you might be getting to old to ride …”

So far, this has been a great vacation and a great ride.  Tomorrow, it’s on to Montana and Wyoming, with a stop at Devil’s Tower, completing the northern leg of my trip.

Monday, June 17 - Spearfish, SD

OK, so shoot me.  I lied and I’m back again today, but that’s only because it was a really interesting day.  It started out as just a boring, “eat up the miles day”.  I started at 7 because I had an9 hour ride on Interstate 90 through flat farmland.  Not my idea of a good time.  But then, all that changed.  Before I got to Spearfish, SD, I hit the exit for The Badlands and figured I’d do that today rather than wait until tomorrow.  After all, what’s another 50 or 100 miles when you’ve already done 500+?  Good move on my part.

This place is stunningly desolate and stunningly beautiful.  A picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s a few thousand words:

If you ever get out this way and don’t spend a couple of hours here, shame on you.  For those of you who like to camp, this would be a beautiful spot to do it.

After the drive through the park, the road hooks up with I-90 at a little town called Wall, SD.  In that town, there is a place called “Wall Pharmacy” and it is supposedly famous, having been featured on “good Morning America” and a few other TV shows.  For those of you who have travelled to Florida via I-95 and stopped at “South of the Border”, you’ll know exactly what “Wall Pharmacy” is all about.  The roadside signs start in Minnesota and there must be at least 100+ of them.  This place isn’t a tourist trap … it’s a tourist black hole that sucks the money right pout of unsuspecting visitors pockets.  I thought it was kind of neat.

 There's much more to it than this - it's a whole town.

Also, I took a quick ride through Sturgis and it is absolutely amazing to me where they put a five hundred thousand bikers (that’s not a typo) for the annual rally.  As wild a time as that probably is, I’ll pass.

As of day 4, I’ve got over 1,500 miles behind me.  The highways in South Dakota have a speed limit of 75 mph, which we all know really means 85, so I made great time.  Tomorrow, I’ll be visiting Deadwood, Mt. Rushmore and taking a long ride through the Black Hills.  Tonight, maybe a casino (Patti, eat your heart out).

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