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?

Pagosa Springs to Placerville

Today was day three on our motorcycle trip and it began with a thud. 

The Alpine Inn in Pagosa Springs where we stayed last night was one of the worst hotels either of us had been in a very long time.  The AC sucked, the rooms were noisy and the bed/linens/pillows were what you'd expect in a homeless shelter or maybe a hostel.  Could you sleep in the room?  Well, yes, technically speaking it was possible.  But for me it was a very scattered experience...a little sleep, wake up, listen to the noises, drift off.  Repeat.  My reservation, my bad.

When we got on the bikes at 7:45AM headed for Durango, CO in 36 degree temps both of us were at less than our peak operating levels.  Still, the sky was brilliant blue and cloudless, the sun was at our backs and we blasted those big GS's down Hwy 160 eastbound, determined to make Durango before the narrow gauge steam engine left town for Silverton. Our Gerbing heated jackets and BMW heated grips made a huge difference.

We had photo op's in mind.  

It was a very scenic ride, up and over Yellowjacket Pass (7,785') and into the morning commute traffic in Durango.  A short distance out of Durango on Hwy 550 Northbound we spotted the train's unmistakable plume of smoke and seconds later we pulled along side the engine and its string of cars, full of tourists full of anticipation of the adventure that awaited them.  The sound coming from the engine was stirring...the blast of its whistle, the rail cars bouncing along the tracks and the muscular engine pumping under the steam power.

A few miles later we pulled over at a rail line cross road and waited for our first chance to shoot the train. Another photographer, obviously a local, was waiting for it to arrive and as it passed by he told me..."That's Shorty at the controls.  He's only this tall but he's a worker".  He then told me how he'd lived just blocks from the train tracks and he said, "There was never any mistake about whether Songbird was running".

Although we hoped to see the train again before it reached Silverton, we did not. Posing next to the train in Silverton...taken with my Fuji camera by an Indian tourist who told me about his two Royal Enfields back in India.

But, what we did see was so stunningly beautiful, that both KC and I declared today's ride THE BEST MOTORCYCLE RIDE WE'VE EVER HAD.  Coming from me, that doesn't mean much.  Coming from KC, with 52 years of motorcycling all over the country, it is a tad more significant.

The section of Hwy 550 that runs between Durango and Ouray is commonly acknowledged to be one of the best rides in the country.  Under normal conditions this is true.  But today's conditions were so totally off the chart that we set new records for saying things like "Holy shit" and "Gawdamn" and "You ain't gonna believe this" over our Sena intercoms as we wound our way north on the San Juan Scenic Byway and the Million Dollar Highway. 

If the beautiful mountains and the crystal blue sky were the canvas, the Aspens were the paint.  The Aspens were in full, spectacular, brilliant yellow and orange.  Everywhere we turned there were huge splashes of color in contrast with the dark green pines and the gray/black rock formations.  

At one pull out we parked next to a couple about our age and I struck up a conversation.  They were Coloradans and the man remarked that in fifty years he'd NEVER seen the Aspens as brilliant as they were today.  In fact, the couple we met last night told us that we had timed the Aspens perfectly.  I believe it...they were incredibly beautiful.

Our lodging tonite is at The Angler Inn just outside of Placerville, CO which is on Hwy 145 about ten miles from Telluride. 

The rooms are clean and comfortable, the AC works great and things seem quiet.  The restaurant that is attached to the Inn was good enough for a couple of tired travelers.  We both are anticipating a good nights sleep in preparation for our foray into Utah tomorrow.

Taos to Pagosa Springs

Day two of our motorcycle tour began at 9:00AM...a late start by our standards and one that we'd agreed was needed after yesterday.  Both of us were tired and KC was still in need of some make up sleep following a couple of sub standard nights.  And we were both rewarded with great nights with high performance air conditioners and quiet rooms.  Actually I had a noisy family across the hall with a boisterous child, but they got the toddler under control before it got too late.

This morning I took a place at a long table in the Hampton Inn breakfast room and looked forward to a quiet breakfast.  When I returned to my place with my breakfast food, a family of three had settled around me and guess who it included?  That's right, my boisterous next door neighbor toddler.  I recognized his too-precious high voice as he announced,  

"Daddy, I like waffles.  Daddy can I have waffles too?  Huh, Daddy, can I have waffles".  

So, ever the social butterfly, I struck up a conversation. 

"Whats your name?",  I asked.

"His name is 'Peanuts'", replied his mother.

"Well ain't that special", I thought.

Our bikes were loaded by 9:00AM but I needed air so we found a gas station that had an air machine.  Now if you've ever added air to a vehicle with spoke wheels and big disk brakes, you know that it really takes an air nozzle with a right angle.  Naturally, this one did not have that.  In fact, this air machine was really more suited to removing air, than adding air.  By the time I finished I was lying on my back with my helmet on, sweating, cursing and in as foul a mood as that time our septic system backed up on Thanksgiving weekend with a house full of inlaws. 

The route out of Taos however soothed my rotten mood in no time.  In fact our ride today was one of the most beautiful I've ever done. 

Scenery off the charts, roads off the charts, weather off the charts.
It was awesome, awesome, awesome.

While our destination was Pagosa Springs, CO we definitely took the long way starting with a 90 mile loop around Taos Ski Valley called the Enchanted Circle. 

We followed NM64 past Angel Fire and through Eagle Nest.  From there we took NM38 through Red River, a gorgeous small mountain town with a ski resort right in town, to Questa, NM. We finished the loop on NM522 southbound towards Taos.  The loop was mountainous with passes at 10,000' and stunning views of mountains, pines, aspens and ranches.

Before Taos, we turned off on NM64 West and in about 10 miles we crossed over the Rio Grande River Gorge in which the river ran about 600' below the bridge. 

We stopped for photos and I walked out onto the bridge, stopping at one of the lookouts.  At the lookout I saw a telephone with the words "Crisis Hotline.  There is Hope.  Make the Call" on it. Jeez, what a buzz kill.

Magic Bus on the way out.

Apparently this is a suicide destination...we came for the view, others come for the jump.  Once someone launched off this bridge, there'd be no second chance.

A short ways from the bridge, we encountered the most unusual settlement either of has ever seen.  It was a community of completely green/self sustaining/off the grid homes called, and I am not making this up, Earthship Biotecture. 

I struck up a conversation with a young woman who lives there and she described life there...all solar power, recycling rain water and gray water, growing vegetables, etc.  Total living off the grid hippies.  But what was most remarkable was the design of the homes.  Each was unique and like nothing I'd ever seen...it looked like a gated Martian community.

NM64 passed across the basin between the Taos Mountains to the east and the Tusas Mountains to the west.

The ride along NM64 through Tres Piedras ("Three Stones") and Tierra Amarilla, then north to Chama was fantastic.  The views were some of the best I've ever seen.  Just jaw dropping. 

Continuing along NM84 we arrived at our budget hotel, The Alpine Inn.  Karen and Sherry...it makes The Sheridan House look like the Ritz Carlton.  But it's cheap, has good internet, the sink works and there are sheets on the bed.  

Works for me.

Update:  Two things.  First, shortly after arriving at our hotel, KC remounted and rode to Wolf Pass. 

In the exact same spot he'd taken a photograph on his cross country ride in 1976 (See: Seeking America on BMW R90S) and I'll be goddamn, the same dead tree was in the same spot.  A few less dead branches, but there it was.  Go figure.

Second, at dinner tonite, a couple next to us began asking us about our trip.  They asked us to join them and we met Don and Paula...recent transplants to Pagosa Springs from Houston, TX. 

Don and Paula

They were great fun and we traded travel stories with them, but they had us with their account of taking the mule trip down into the Grand Canyon from the South Rim.  In March.  In a snow storm.  Jesus, I want to do that.  Great folks who were fun to hang with.