The Wrapup

Its Saturday, October 8 and we've been home for several days.  The final leg of the trip-Clarksville, AR to home was so uneventful (unlike last's year's harrowing trip through the mean streets of St. Louis) that I never found anything to write about.  The drive on I-40E to Memphis, then south on I-22 to I-20 and through Atlanta was smooth and, except for a brief ordeal with surface street traffic while transitioning from I-40 to I-22, devoid of traffic or construction delays.  Even hitting Atlanta at 6:30PM posed no real obstacles thanks to our use of the HOV and Peach Pass lanes.

So, I guess a recap is in order.

The trip was excellent...in many ways in excess of what I expected.  KC did a masterful job of planning most of the trip and the sights we saw were magnificent.  The Grand Canyon was stupendous, the Enchantment Resort was beyond luxurious, the desert drive in the 4WD Razor and seeing the Honanki Ruins was incredibly fun.  Sedona is a bit touristy, but is a world class area to visit.  Jerome, AZ was weird and unforgettable.  The red rock formations in Valley of the Gods, the ride up Moki Dugway and out to Muley Point were gorgeous.  BUT THE ASPENS IN COLORADO WERE SO EXTREMELY GORGEOUS THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET THEM.  Our timing was perfect.

And that brings up the subject of timing on a trip like this. Planned a year in advance, we had only the vaguest notion of what the weather might be.  You use your best guess, but its always a crap shoot.  Four days before we arrived it snowed in Silverton, CO.  And four days after we returned home, it was 23F and snowing in Telluride.  As it was, we had a couple rainy days and some temps in the thirties.  The Rockies are ALWAYS iffy and that is especially true in late September.  So, given the possibilities, KC and I believe we nailed it timing wise.

Our gear...truck, trailer, GS's, panniers, Bluetooth intercoms, GPS's, and iPhones all performed perfectly.  Or nearly so.  I had an issue with my horn and I honestly think that was about it for me.  KC was trying out his Klim riding suit for the first time and did his best to make me regret not having one.  Warm in cold weather, cool in hot weather, waterproof as a pair of fireman's boots...he sang the Klim's praises repeatedly.  I'm an Aerostich fanboy, but I was listening.

Speaking of fanboy...my love affair with Hampton Inn's flourished.  Easy to make reservations from their mobile app, flexible when I violated their cancellation policy, consistent from one hotel to the next, excellent WIFI, very good DirecTV service, great AC, great bedding and tolerable breakfast.  One morning I presented the desk clerk with an unresolved noise complaint from the night before and she said, "That's unacceptable.  I will credit you the entire charge.  Free room." It is a consistent and quality experience at a reasonable price and they take their Satisfaction Guarantee seriously.

I tried a couple of new approaches to photography during this trip.  First, KC and I discovered (with Kyle Campbell's help) an iPhone app called HDR Pro X.  It takes high dynamic range photos with the option of applying several preset edits to the pics.  The result is much more dynamic landscape shots.  I also began shooting in RAW format with my Fuji XT-1 (mostly using an 18-135mm zoom lens, though some shots were done through a 10-24mm wide angle zoom).  The RAW format is a MUCH larger and more complete capture of everything that the sensor "sees".  The downside is that the RAW files must be processed after their shot, but the processing (I use Adobe's Lightroom 5) gives you the ability to draw out much more from the original file than you'd ever get shooting jpeg.  Lightroom 5 is the digital equivalent of the darkrooms of film days.  I think shooting RAW + Lightroom 5 has noticeably improved my results.

So, the burning question is "What's Next?"  KC and I have tossed around some ideas...touring along the Mississippi River, touring around the Great Lakes, touring the Finger Lakes area of NY, touring New England have all been discussed.  I also have a desire to see the eastern Canadian provinces...Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and I still like the idea of a far northwest tour...Olympic Peninsula and Pacific Coast tour.  For now, the question burns with no answer in focus.  We'll just have to see.

Thanks to my loyal readers...it was always fun to know others were looking in on our adventure.

Cya next time!

Bob

Ozarks- Day Two

Today was our second and final day of riding in the Ozark Mountains.  And it concludes the motorcycle portion of this trip.  Following a delicious Hampton Inn breakfast, Jim, KC and I departed with KC leading us along a route that he and Kyle collaborated on. 

The highlight was to be Haw Creek Falls, which Kyle thought would be beautiful.  He recommended I take camera, tripod and filters to get a blurred water shot of the falls.  The falls turned out to be a bust due to the extremely low water conditions we'd picked up on yesterday, but the ride was a jewel...better than yesterday's ride.  Most of the roads were in great shape, though we hit one spot on Hwy 123 that was loaded with gravel for probably 5-10 miles.  Weather was perfect-temps ranged from 60-80 and skies were clear.  Traffic was light to non existent.  Most of the roads put us in very isolated areas...no stores, no homes, no people.  In one respect this was nice, since we were there to ride, not dodge traffic. OTOH, when we wanted food or gas, there were very limited options.

The ride started by heading south across Lake Dardanelle and towards the 2,753' Mt. Magazine.  After riding along the spine of Mt. Magazine and through the State Park we headed towards Dardanelle, AR and then Russelville, AR, across I-40 and then back into the Ozarks along Hwy 27, then Hwy 16.

Around 12:30 and at the intersection of Hwy 16 and Hwy 123 we spotted a roadside store called Hankin's Country Store with several motorcycles (NOT Harleys) parked in front.  It was in the booming settlement of Sand Gap, AR.

We were well past hungry at this point and the temperature was rising.  Perfect spot for a break.  The store was operated by an elderly woman who made fresh sandwiches for us.  

KC ordered a "Bologna sandwich with too much mayo."

She asked, "What's too much mayo?".

KC replied, "When you take a bite, the mayo squeezes out the sides."

She nailed it.

The store was very old, with lots of character.

Jim asked how old the stove was, and our hostess replied, "I don't really know, but its the second one we've had.
 

Sitting at picnic tables in front we engaged the young riders from Louisiana who seemed enamored with our bikes.  They asked lots of questions about our GS's and Jim's Triumph Tiger.

After lunch we headed down Hwy 123S looking for Haw Creek Falls.  On the way we found lots of road work and an abundance of gravel on the road.  It slowed me and Jim down considerably...KC, not so much.

Our final stop was Haw Creek Campgrounds.  We approached on a gravel road, forded a very shallow water crossing, cruised through a small campgrounds which was saturated with the smell of campfires and pulled up alongside the "falls".  The most important ingredient in ANY waterfall is water.  Haw Creek Falls has almost none. 

Nice setting, disappointing falls.

Ozarks- Day One

Today was our first of two days riding in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.  These roads are fabled twisties and it was both KC and my first attempt at them.  Our destination was Eureka Springs, a town both of us had heard about, but really knew nothing.  Our route took us north on Hwy 21 through Ozone, AR to Berryville, AR.  The weather conditions were perfect- 55-75F and blue skies, the roads were in excellent condition- smooth pavement and lots of turns and changes of elevation and traffic was very light.  Berryville posed a navigational challenge for me and we had to make several mid course corrections, but eventually found the road I was looking for- Hwy 221 to Eureka Springs.  Once inside the city limits of Eureka Springs, we were confronted with heavy traffic and a ton of motorcyclists...no BMW's in sight. 

So, how to describe Eureka Springs?   Not my kind of town.  Not KC's kind of town.  Its a really precious place.  Really heavy tourist oriented.  Tons of B&B's, cute shops, windy streets, old, historic buildings....and CRAWLING with cars, bikes and people.  Sherry and Karen would devour the place.  Me?  KC?  Not so much.  So, we've been there, done that.  Moving on.

Following a quick lunch we headed out of town on Hwy 23 South (AKA the "Pig Trail") and we took this through Huntsville, AR and eventually traveled along side the White River and the Mulberry River which were an odd shade of green due to the magnesium, sulfur and iron found in the water. 

We noticed that all of the rivers in this area were very low on water, if not totally dry.  Hwy 23S gave us a very different experience than Hwy 21N...a bit more traffic, but better roads, more views, better views.  If 21 was good, 23 was excellent.

From Hwy 23 we went east on Hwy 215, then south on Hwy 103 which brought us back to the Hampton Inn.  Within minutes of getting to my room, KC alerted me that Jim Dennis was here, so we both went down to greet Jim and learned that he'd had a good ride here. 

We'll fully catch up over dinner...Mexican if I get a vote!

Amarillo to Clarksville, AR

Sorry for the confusion...yesterday's post was titled "Gallup to Albuquerque"  when we actually ended the day in Amarillo.  The Albuquerque to Amarillo portion was via truck...so that's why I screwed up the post title. 

Today was all truck, all interstate and all I-40.  We left by 8:00AM and sailed on past our hotel in Clarksville, AR to have dinner in a very popular catfish joint in Russellville, AR called Brown's Catfish. 

It was killer and being an all you can eat kind of place, I am now suffering.  The catfish, et al was great.  But the killer item for me was the cinnamon rolls.  Huge, warm, soft, sweet and covered with all-you-want frosting.  OMG...the best I've ever had.

We heard from Jim Dennis today and he's well on his way.  Loyal readers will recall that Jim is motorcycling from home in north GA to meet us in Clarksville, AR. 

Jim stopped for the night in Olive Branch, MS and he should arrive tomorrow, so we wish Jim safe travels and look forward to riding with him on Monday.  KC reminds me that Jim pulled a 400 mile day...he's the MAN.

The highlight today was a gas stop in Shamrock, TX that put us on Old Route 66 and in front of a restored Conoco gas station/diner originally built in 1936 and restored in the 90's with state and federal grants to the tune of $1.7M. 

It was featured in the movie "Cars" and is like stepping into a time machine.  KC was in heaven.

Gallup to Albuquerque

When I awoke this morning, I peeked out my hotel window and was greeted with thick fog, blinding as the early morning sun made it glow.  

"Aw nuts", I thought.  

We're heading into a low sun through heavy fog...not my favorite conditions.  But, by 9:00AM the fog had mostly lifted, the temps rose into the high 40's and visibility improved considerably.  Its all good.

The plan today was to ride Historic Route 66 as much as we could, and cruise I-40 for the rest, as we finished our Four Corners loop and ended up in the storage area in Albuquerque where we'd left KC's truck and trailer.  Since it was only 140 miles, we hoped to have the bikes loaded and have the truck headed east by noon.  In fact, we departed Albuquerque by 12:15 and ended our day before 5:00PM in beautiful Amarillo.  

The route today was very special to KC since he'd done the route on his '76 cross country ride and again with son Kyle on their cross country trip in '96.  So first stop was the iconic El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, NM, which was home to movie stars while filming westerns on location. 

At first I couldn't understand the appeal, but on closer inspection you could see how, in its day, it must have been quite a spot.  We only inspected it from the parking lot...now wish we'd gone inside.

From there we spent a bit of time on I-40, then got off the interstate and onto the old Route 66.  The road is two lanes, in pretty good shape and roughly parallels the interstate. 

What makes it intriguing is the old buildings/businesses that you see along the road.  Most are now long shuttered but you can feel what it must have been like before the America exchanged the character of roads like Route 66 for the efficiency and sameness of modern interstate travel. 

You can hear the echo's of the Okies escaping the Dust Bowl in their clattering Model T's or families of WWII vets making a cross country trip in their Chevy station wagons to visit the National Parks.

As we cruised along Route 66 KC told me he was scouting a particular spot for a photo and shortly after that he announced he'd found it and we pulled in to the parking lot of the now defunct Budville Trading Company, Budville, NM.  KC shared an account of the history of Budville...there had been four separate murders in this building.  Steven King...if you are reading this, you may want to write something featuring this place.

As we tooled along 66, we often paralleled the railroad tracks which were surprisingly busy. 

At this point we re-entered I-40E and in an hour we were in Albuquerque.  Loading our bikes and gear went quickly and by 12:15 we were on the interstate headed for Amarillo.  This gives us a jump start on our drive to Clarksville, AR and two days riding in the Ozarks.  So, tomorrow will be a 500 mile drive which sets us up to ride in Arkansas on Sunday and Monday.  

Update:  Jim Dennis, after some hand wringing about whether or not he could come, has decided to come for one day.  We're really excited he can make it and look forward to riding with him

Mexican Hat to Gallup

This morning I stuck my head out the door of my room at the Hat Rock Inn and was surprised to see it was raining.  Great.  I did not cover my bike and my leather saddle was drenched.  KC appeared outside his room and we discussed our riding plan...we'd still try to go to Monument Valley, we'd still try to go to Canyon de Chelly and we'd still end the day in Gallup. 

We pulled out of the hotel in a light shower and temperature around 60F.  Things went downhill from there.  We gained altitude...I guess we went to about 7,000' and saw the temp drop to 50F and the rain steadily increase.  In fact, there was very little time today when we were not riding in the rain and the visibility was about what you'd expect...very limited most of the time.

So, we tried riding into Monument Valley but it was raining and the clouds were very low over most of the valley...very little to see. 

So we thought we'd press on to Chinle, AZ and give Canyon de Chelly a try.  It was worse...rained pretty hard and even less visibility.

So, we put Gallup in the GPS's and after dodging a big truck accident on I-40W, we pulled into the Hampton Inn by 3:00PM.  It was warm, dry and felt like coming home for me.

Actually an early day is a good thing, especially when clothes are wet and dirty from being on the road for two weeks.  So I'll hang stuff out to dry, do a laundry load, take a hot shower, eat an early dinner and watch Thursday Night Football.

Today's ride was a lot of high speed riding in steady rain.  It tested my gear...the Aerostich performed pretty well, although I ended up sitting in standing water on my Russell seat and even though the water did not penetrate the pants, I still felt like my butt was wet.

I know, I know....TMI.  But if you don't like it-go get your own blog.  Cya.

Placerville to Mexican Hat

Today was an another amazing day.  What stands out to me is the contrast between how the day started...just outside Telluride in the high Rocky Mountains, the highest peaks now fully snow capped and the slopes below 9,000' drenched with Aspen groves in full fall colors.  And the day ended in southeast Utah in the high desert amid the most stunning red rock formations I've ever seen.  We rode about 230 miles and nearly 40 of that was on dirt and gravel roads.

So after a nice continental breakfast at The Angler Inn and some quality time with one of the staff's Golden Retriever (lawdy, I miss my Bella) KC and I loaded up and headed for a gravel road just off Hwy145 that snaked through an amazing canyon flanked by 12,000' snow covered peaks and with aspen groves that were totally engulfed with their fall colors. 

After eight miles of sensory overload we emerged onto Hwy 145 and rode through yet another stretch of incredible September Rocky Mountain scenery.  Hwy 145 southbound took us past three peaks over 14,000'...Mt Wilson, El Diente Peak and  Wilson Peak, then over Lizard Head Pass at 10,022 where the temperature dropped to 34F.  In just a few hours we'd be riding in temperatures 50 degrees higher.

By mid morning we reached Cortez, CO and had dropped down to 6,200', picking up around 25 degrees in the process.  Just outside of town we turned to the west on McElmo Creek road and we began to see the transition to red rock country and high desert, though the irrigated, deep green alfalfa hay fields stood in stark contrast to the dry-as-a-bone countryside.  Just to the north was Canyon of the Ancients National Monument and though it was tempting to venture into it, we had plans to see other things...turns out to have been a great decision.

On Hwy 163 (we were now in Utah) we headed west again and in Bluff, UT we pulled into a gas station for some fine dining.  When we went inside, I noticed a group of Japanese women sitting at a table, eating gas station pizza.  I wondered if they thought it was awful...and I pondered the terrifying scenario of eating gas station sushi along a Japanese highway.  Once outside and standing next to my GS, they walked by me and asked if they could take my picture.  And this, dear readers, is where I zigged when I should have zagged.

"Sure", I said.  

And immediately, Japanese giggling, whispering and high speed camera operation began. 

One of them approached me and asked, "How fast does motorcycle go?"

Oh God, here we go.

"One forty".  

They began ooh'ing.  In Japanese. 

Then I noticed they'd split into two groups and two of them had pinned KC down.  Run Keith, run now.

"How much does motorcyle cost?"

"Twenty five thousand."

More ooh'ing.  In Japanese.

Then I decided to take a high dive. 

"Would you like to sit on it?", referring, of course, to the motorcycle.

"Oh, yes, yes." In Japanese.

And then we spent the next twenty minutes getting each one of these 4'6" young ladies up onto the GS and then having their picture taken.  A group photo with me in the center capped off the activities and with great delight, I said goodbye, threw my leg over the GS and KC and I motored down the road en route to some of the most incredible riding I've ever experienced.

KC had passed through this area on his 1976 motorcycle trip cross country.  Some of our ride today was retracing his route...some of it was checking off bucket list items.  ALL of it was new for me and it would be an understatement to say it was jaw dropping.  The formations, the colors, the expanses...tough to describe, difficult to capture in a photo.

First was a 16 mile dirt road called Valley of the Gods Road. 

It connected Hwy 163 with Hwy 261 and ran through an amazing array of red rock towers, cliffs and buttes.  A short ways after it ended at Hwy 261 we found the road to Moki Dugway, a dirt road that is a series of switchbacks up a rock wall that looks out onto the Valley of the Gods Rd. 

And finally, we found the dirt road that leads to Muley Point Overlook, which affords incredible views of Gooseneck State Park.  

Our final destination was the rock formation called Mexican Hat which is also the name of the town nearby.  From here we had a short ride into Mexican Hat, UT, population 31 and the location of our hotel (The Hat Rock Inn) and our dinner location, The Swinging Steak.  The Hat Rock Inn is nice enough, though it is NOT the Ritz Carlton (KC claims I yelled "You're shitting me" when he pointed it out to me...I have no recollection of having said this, but it's possible). 

The Swinging Steak is named after the open wood fire grill that the "chef" cooks the steaks over.  The swinging refers to the grate that the steaks lay on and actually swings back and forth over the fire.  Steaks were great...rib eye steaks cooked medium rare and charred on the outside from the crazy hot fire below.  

Later that night I stepped outside my room to look into the night sky.  Danny Short has been after me to take advantage of being in some very remote areas to photograph the night sky and maybe catch the Milky Way.  Unfortunately, the sky was about 50% clouded over and the prospects seemed unlikely.  My neighbor emerged from his room and told me that he'd seen the Milky Way last night very clearly.  Timing is everything isn't it?