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