Friday, June 28, 2013- Day 15- Tullahoma, TN

Today started out great.  When I left the hotel, the temperature was a cool 86 degrees and during the day, as I ascended the Smoky Mountains, it never got any higher.  Compared to the last two days of 100+, this was downright chilly … wish I had brought a sweater with me!  A cloudy or partially cloudy sky followed me throughout the day but the last hour of the ride was spent enduring a thunderstorm that soaked me.  I got my bag covered, but by the time that was done, I was already soaked so I just hopped on the bike and rode it out.  No sense putting a rain suit over wet clothes.

Tennessee is a beautiful state, especially as you enter the Smokies.  Of course, these mountains can’t compete with the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains but they are nevertheless beautiful.  Heavy forest with farmland interspersed covers these modest peaks and it makes for a very pleasant and scenic ride, especially along the winding backroads.

On the way here, I swung 45 minutes out of my way and hit Mississippi just so I could add it to the list of states I’ve ridden my motorcycle through.  Since I’ve visited this state previously, there really wasn’t anything I needed to see.  I also decided to divert into Memphis, the idea being that I would have lunch on Beale Street.  Well, things have changed since I was last here about 30 years ago.  Like most famous places, Beale Street is now just another tourist trap.  The street is blocked off to traffic and the only place to park is well away from the shops and restaurants.  Considering my bag is on my motorcycle and it’s packed with cameras and a computer, there was no way that I’d park it in a ramp garage.  Result?  I cruised around the city a bit and then headed out for my final destination.  To bad … I had a taste for some ribs.

The Mud Island Monorail with The Pyramid Arena in the background - Memphis, TN

 Tomorrow, I head for “The Tail Of The Dragon” a very scenic highway that has a lot of the fun parts that motorcyclists love (318 curves in 11 miles).  I should have a lot of pictures from that BUT … the weather forecast is calling for thunderstorms.  I’m going to ride the damn thing even if I have to do it in a flood!

http://www.tailofthedragonmaps.com/maps_ridemeposter.html

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

Once I finish my run, I’ll head to my hotel in Cherokee, NC.  Since there is a very large casino next to the hotel, I intend to sacrifice some of my rest time and force myself to gamble.  I’m not a pro like certain readers of this blog, but considering how well this trip has gone, I feel compelled to respect that as a good omen.  If the gambling goes half as well as the trip has, I’ll hit it big! 

The trip to Cherokee marks the beginning of the final leg of my journey. Depending on weather, I’ll be getting home on Monday or Tuesday latest.

A little anecdote for today.  You have probably seen “My Cousin Vinny” and one of several memorable story lines involves Joe Pesci being unable to sleep because some thing always happens to wake him up.  The train rumbling past the hotel is particularly funny.  So, I’m checked in at the Holiday Inn Express in Tullahoma and directly outside of my window is a road.  Directly on the other side of that road is a train track.  Not just any train track, mind you, but a high speed train track.  Guess what has rumbled by twice in the last three hours?  I’ll leave you with that thought.

Thursday, June 27, 2013 – Day 14

Not surprisingly, today was much the same as yesterday … just eating up the highway on my way to the Smokies.  The scenery did improve … it was flat, hot and dry when I first started out and by the time I hit Arkansas, I was into the Ozarks, which are really rolling hills with some higher hills interspersed and the whole thing is covered with a verdant green carpet.  Very pretty actually.  A lot of haze though due to the heat.

The issue today was, once again, the incredible heat wave that’s hit this area.  I had a 5 hour ride and by the time I hit Conway, Arkansas, the mercury was at 101.5 degrees.  But, this gets even better.  Because of the low humidity in Western Oklahoma, the 104 I experienced yesterday actually felt like 105.  Today’s 101.5 degrees, when taking into consideration the high humidity level, feels like …… 117 degrees!!!!  Okay, so I’m all about the adventure and experiencing the road on top of a bike.  Nevertheless, let me be the first to tell you that riding a bike under these conditions is damn hard work!  I was literally stopping every 30 to 60 minutes to replenish fluids, even though I wasn’t visibly sweating, because at 75 mph, the sweat just evaporates off of you and dries you out like one of those little tiny flat sponges.  You know the ones … as soon as you hit them with water, they puff up to about 10X their original size.  I think I dropped about 20 pounds today until I got to the hotel and hydrated!

By the time I hit the hotel, it was time for a shower and a nap.  However, no rest for the wicked … I did my laundry instead and now I’m writing this.  Once it cools off a little out there, I’ll take the bike for it’s daily bath at one of those “do it yourself” car washes.  After the first day on this trip, I got tired of trying to clean the bugs off the windshield, especially when two bucks and 5 minutes leaves my bike sparkling!  (little road trip trick here)

Really, I don’t have any pictures because I haven’t taken any today.  Let’s face it, pictures of flat, dry land and rolling, green hills are just plain boring.  However, there is one milestone I hit today … I’ve crossed the 4,000 mile mark on this trip, with a total of just over 4,300 miles on the trip odometer.  With all that behind me a 1,000+ miles in front of me, I feel absolutely great!  This trip has made me feel 30 years younger (even though the beard I’ve grown is gray).

That’s it for today.  Tomorrow is going to be another 7 hour run and the last “snoozer” day because on Saturday and Sunday I ride The Dragon and the Blue Ridge Parkway … should be very interesting.  I’ll be taking a movie of The Dragon with my bike cam and if I can get around to opening a YouTube account, I’ll post a link top that on this blog.

Stay tuned.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013 – Day 13 – 420 miles

Well, I said on yesterday’s post that I wouldn’t have much to write today, and really, I don't. The next couple of days are just a run across the country to get to some interesting rides through the Smokies.  But what a trip this has been so far!

This is what two weeks on the road does to you (I can't wait to hear from Patti after she sees this!)

Since I had a 7 – 8 hour ride ahead of me, I left the hotel early and hit the road towards Clinton, Oklahoma.  While having breakfast before leaving, I met a older couple from Dayton, OH and had a discussion that got me thinking while on the long ride ahead.  But, more on that later.

Heading out of Santa Fe, the scenery was pretty nice until I got about a hundred miles down the road, at which point it began to exceed my expectations that I mentioned yesterday.  When I said it would be flat and not very interesting, it was an understatement.  The panhandle of Texas is flat, hot and basically barren.  Oklahoma so far isn’t hugely different but there are some rolling pine covered hills.  Don’t misunderstand … the ride today wasn’t a visual feast like it has been, but it was still a new experience and an adventure.  The Texas panhandle was loaded with hundreds (literally) of those huge, ugly, white windmills.  Normally, when I see those things on the New England Coast or in the forest covered hills of New York’s Southern Tier, I regard them as an eye sore.  On the flatland of the Texas Panhandle, they add an interesting perspective.  Also, wherever I've stopped, the people have been very friendly.  This area is no different.

On the way over here, the temperature hit 104.  That’s not as bad as it sounds though, because at 75 mph, the thermometer on my bike only showed 102 degrees … much cooler …  Tomorrow, it’s climbing to 108 … I’ll be leaving VERY early.  Let me be the first to say, riding a motorcycle for 7 hours at 104 degrees is an adventure in itself!

During one of my many gas stops (I fill up every 150 to 175 miles), I took a brief 2 mile detour to the original Route 66 and then back to I-40 (which parallels Route 66).  Now I can say I rode Route 66, just like George Maharis and Martin Milner (for those of you under 60, don't worry about it ... it's not important).  I also saw the "Leaning Water Tower", which is one of the many unique landmarks along this historic piece of Americana.

I didn't shoot this - I stole it off the web

So, back to the guy from Dayton.  He asked me if the bike parked out front was mine (I’ve been parking it on the front sidewalk under the canopy). Then he proceeded to tell me how he owned his own business, was 70 years old (he didn’t look it) and when he retired, he and his wife are going to be cruising the US on a motorcycle.  This got me thinking.  At 70, if he hasn’t retired yet, by the time he does he’ll never be able to do what he wants.  It also made me feel pretty good about doing what I’m doing, because I'm not retiring either, but I am doing what I've always wanted to do. There's always a reason (excuse?) to not do what we want to.  To take this all a step further and state the obvious, none of us is getting any younger and the time to do what we “always wanted to do” is now.  I’m not going to beat this one to death … 

Tomorrow, on to Conway, Arkansas

Tuesday, June 25, 2013 – Day 12 and only 6 more days left for my vacation.  Damn … I was just starting to unwind!

So, last night after I had already posted the blog update, I’m walking down to the hotel lobby through the courtyard (yes, it is a “Courtyard” with an actual courtyard … very unusual) and a guy walks past me wearing a Triumph T-shirt.  I’m wearing a Triumph T-shirt (although nicer than his) so obviously, I’ve got to ask.  I did.  Turns out he and his wife are visiting the US from England and the way they decided to do it was to fly to Chicago, rent a Harley and ride along old Route 66. They diverted a little to see Santa Fe, but tomorrow they are back on the road to Vegas then on to LA to catch a flight home.   Small world ... what are the chances of me meeting another Triumph owner who is from England, where the bike was built?.

The day started off on a somewhat sour note.  As I’m getting on the bike to head out to Taos, I notice another hotel guest walking his dog – an old Golden Lab.  The dog can’t do his stuff so the guy gets mad and starts pulling this poor mutt by his leash which is on a choke collar.  The dog is obviously scared and the “master” is obviously angry, but I absolutely hate to see people mistreat defenseless animals.  I probably should have kept quiet but nevertheless, I asked the gentleman how he would like it if someone put a choker around his neck and pulled as hard as they could.  He just huffed and puffed and walked away, but in retrospect all that I probably accomplished is to get the poor dog a beating once I was out of sight.  What can you do?  VERY frustrating.

What I was hoping the dog would do

 On to more pleasant topics.  I took a run up to Taos and while it was enjoyable, it was far from what I had conjured up in my mind about the place.  I always pictured this as an “artsy” place up in the mountains with small shops and galleries in a lovely village square.  Well, it is up in the mountains and the ride up there was scenic and pleasant.  However, at the end of the ride, the road you’re on opens up onto a huge, flat, desert plateau. The town is nestled at the foot of the Sangre de Christo Mountains, but basically, it’s sitting in the middle of the high desert.  While this place is a notable ski resort and it is a renowned artist colony, it is still a tourist trap and is heavily commercialized, with drug stores on every corner and most national food chains present.  Sadly, I guess you just can't stop "progress", if that's what you choose to call this.  The town square is bordered by gift shops, jewelry stores and “galleries” that are all basically selling the same stuff.  For those of you that love to shop, you’d certainly love this place, because it is all about shopping.   Also, the streets are relatively narrow, the place is overrun with tourists and I spent more time than I’d like in traffic.  There are some historic spots and National Parks around here, but I didn't have the time to explore.  Again, it does have a certain charm (I had coffee in a little bistro where my table was surrounded by a garden), but for my money, I enjoyed kicking around Los Alamos a lot more.  The ride down was just as pleasant as the ride up.

The Town Square (with shops)

More shops ...

and MORE shops ...

and even MORE shops!

I wound up back at the hotel by 3:30 because I had to get some laundry done before I leave tomorrow.  This ends the Western leg on my trip and tomorrow begins the Southern leg.  So far, this journey has been a real adventure and an absolute hoot!  I’ve got a 7 hour haul to Clinton, OK through some of the flattest, driest land in America (the Texas panhandle and Oklahoma).  Don’t think there will be too much to chat about on tomorrow's blog update!

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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.

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