Trip Video

We did it!

If you have not read the prior posts the following is a brief summary of our trip...

Debbie and I recently completed a motorcycle trip of 25 days, 6972 miles, through 20 states. During this time we returned to Birmingham, my childhood home... went to Nashville, which we decided might be a great place to spend more time. We saw the Arch in St Louis, rode through 7 National parks, visited several national monuments and many national forests. We slept under the stars at a campground in Sturgis after a concert, in a cabin at Old Faithful Lodge, in a wonderful room at the Hard Rock in Biloxi, and 17 others of various quality and comfort along the way. We took a raft ride down the Snake River in The Grand Tetons and hiked up the Virgin River in Zion.

Although most days the weather was clear, we did ride through rain, and on occasion sought shelter from storms so heavy we couldn't see to ride or lightning so close we didn't feel safe. We saw temperatures ranging from the low 50's at night to triple digits in the afternoons. We road through cities, along cobblestone streets, interstates at 75 mph and mountain roads with switchbacks up and down steep grades which, at times, forced us to slow to 25 mph, or less.

We learned that big city traffic is less fun than the open road on a bike... that high bridges, tunnels and mountain roads and switchbacks with no guardrails, while fun and challenging for the rider can be stressful and more challenging for the passenger who has no control of the situation.

Although we had not even one close call, on two occasions we passed others who were not so fortunate. The latest statistics I could find indicated 4 motorcycle related deaths at this year's rally.

We met dozens of others who were on, or had taken trips similar to our own, and found that people who would not otherwise give you the time of day, will when they see you riding a bike... or even wearing evidence of attendance at Sturgis will engage you in conversation. They will inquire as to the details of your trip and share their own experience. These folks may range from we might call mainstream, to those who may be more 'seasoned' or 'colorful' and living closer to the edge, but all share this common interest, which seems to help bridge other cultural and socioeconomic barriers.

In order for us to preserve our memories we tried to keep track of everything from our big events to small ones including our meals (we splurged and each had 8 hamburgers, the best from Oscars, a Mexican Restaurant in Springdale Utah outside Zion, the worst from a vendor on Main Street in Sturgis and twelve of our lunch stops consisted of peanut butter sandwiches at rest areas or gas stations.) Our worst day was day # 4 when we got lost in downtown St Louis, stuck in rush hour traffic and the only hotel we could find was one where you had to turn the key, lift the knob and kick the door all at once in order to enter. We ended up leaving the IPOD there in our rush to get out the next morning. Our best day could have been the concert at the campground or riding through Yellowstone or Tetons or hiking in Zion... it would be impossible to choose.

Our biggest surprise was that we were not more tired and at the end of 3 weeks we were not really ready to be home. If we would change anything, it might be to add more points of interest along the route home rather than having such a long ride with no real sightseeing along the way. We'll keep that in mind when planning our next ride.

Thanks for taking time to read our notes and check out our pictures.....

Jeff & Debbie

Texas to Florida

If you are still reading this, thank you for checking on our progress.

Well day 24 we made it back to Florida, decided to stop in Tallahassee and finish up on Friday. We never a actually expected to ride all the way home today. Since we left the crickets in Wichita Falls on Tuesday, we traveled highway 287 and 82 in Texas to avoid the interstate for a day and ended up in Alexandria LA. Other than oppressive heat there is little to report for the ride through Texas. I went to Walgreen's early on Tuesday morning to get some pictures saved to CD and that took an extra hour so we left without coffee or breakfast. About an hour before arriving in Alexandria we stopped for dinner in a small college town Natchitoches, and found pizza and lots of water since we really had not eaten much or stopped to rest like we should have. Since we had no planned sightseeing, we just tended to ride on rather than stop. This is one thing we would probably do differently next time. We met a couple who were interested in our trip and had recently returned from an RV vacation to Canada, passing through some of the same areas we had been. The hotel in for the night was one step above the Travel Lodge that we stayed at in Missouri, and I felt the need to check on the bike a few times during the evening.

Wednesday we went to Biloxi, and found an interesting mix of beautiful new hotels/casinos and ruins of buildings damaged or destroyed by Katrina 2 years ago. The city (at least the beach area) is very low with no dunes to protect property from the storm surge, so it is not surprising the amount of damage they have suffered. We had a wonderful room at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino... this hotel was set to open for the first time on August 30, 2005 but was heavily damaged by the hurricane losing most of the rock & roll artifacts that decorate the property.

Most all of the hotels on the beach are newly built or rebuilt in the past 2 years, but there are dozens of properties that appear to remain just as they did after the storm, with no efforts to repair or even clean up the debris.

Tonight, Thursday I believe, we are in Tallahassee at the same hotel where we stayed just over 3 weeks ago as we were beginning our trip. Just as we got to town we were welcomed by some rain along with thunder and lightning, so even if we had planned to go farther, we probably would have stopped anyway.

Check back next week and hopefully we will have some updated pictures and video to share

Santa Rosa New Mexico to Witchita Falls Texas

Day 20 we made to Texas today. If you have ever driven through Texas you will understand that there is little to write home about. After 5,300 miles we stopped in Amarillo to have the oil changed and had lunch.

Apparently recent rains and flooding in the area have caused the crickets (soon to be the new state insect) to migrate from the creeks to higher ground, like our hotel in Wichita Falls. When we arrived there were thousands camped out just outside ( a few inside ) our hotel lobby. Debbie, not to be denied a hot shower and king size bed, marched right past them and checked in... ordering a room NOT on the 1st floor and promptly checked the room and closed the drains to keep out unwanted visitors. (the picture here does not begin to show the numbers)

Heading Back to Florida

After leaving Zion on Saturday Aug 19, we rode through the switchbacks and tunnels one more time and then headed south on US 89 toward the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We only took enough time here to take a few pictures and ride the south rim before moving on toward our destination for the day, Williams Arizona. Williams is located on Route 66 and has lots of old diners and gift shops to seperate tourists from their money. It is also the base for the Grand Canyon Railroad which runs from Williams to the south rim and back.

We were lucky to get a room as there was a gun show and antique car show in town. An early dinner at Rod's Steakhouse ( not one of our better choices ... but unlike Utah they did have a full bar).

Sunday we rode all day on I 40 which also hooks up with Route 66 and ended up in Santa Rosa New Mexico, also along route 66. After 20 days, 13 states and 5,000 miles we are still doing well. We road through a portion of the Painted Desert, landscape similar to badlands and other areas we have seen so far. Beyond that there hasn't been a lot to look at, and I think that will be the case for the rest of New Mexico and Texas.

The weather does seem to be more questionable the past few days and we have had a little rain. We start the day in full leather, shedding those before noon but usually we have to stop to put them back on because of a the rain or threat of rain.

There must be something going on somewhere east of here because we were passed numerous times today by groups of riders, jackets bearing the name Banditos of Texas. The first group passed be as I was passing a semi at 75 mph, 1/2 the group were my left and the other 1/2 between us and the semi... I refrained from making any gestures as they passed. For the first time I thought about the gun we didn't bring on the trip.

We hope to get an early start Monday and get to Witchita Falls Texas before we stop for the day.

Zion Thursday & Friday August 16 & 17

The past three days we have been here in Zion. Thursday we took a 6 mile riverwalk, rented attractive neoprene socks and water sandals and walking sticks. Most of the hike was in the river and we both managed to avoid falling in. We have had a little time to rest up for our trip home beginning Saturday.

Today, Friday, we took a ride to Bryce Canyon National Park about 2 hours from here. As we got closer to Bryce it appeared that the rain would catch us today. We were able to make it through the park get a few pictures and a few miles back before being stopped by some serious lightning. We found shelter at the Red Canyon visitors center along with 7 others on bikes who decided to wait out the storm. One of them was riding what appeared to be a rather small dirt bike and when we got ready to leave he had trouble getting it started... we waited a few minutes and he did finally get going though we lost him later on the trip. The ride to Bryce required us to travel through the mile long tunnel carved in the mountains. Debbie had been here before and was not looking forward to this, but did great and managed to take pictures as we road through.

I saw the guy on the dirt bike later after dinner so I guess he finally made it to town.

Saturday we travel south, hopefully to the Grand Canyon, unless the weather washes us out. Then we go through New Mexico Texas Louisiana and Mississippi before we get home.

Yellowstone to Zion

We are still here after 16 days on the road and over 4,000 miles. The past few days we have been without access to internet, and have had limited cell service. Since Saturday we have continued to travel south through the western portion of Yellowstone staying Saturday night at the Old Faithful Lodge. Actually we stayed in a rather rustic cabin near the lodge. Had dinner at the Inn and saw Old Faithful erupt right on schedule....

From there we left Yellowstone by way of the west thumb and headed toward Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton National Park. We crossed the Continental Divide as we left Yellowstone, and as the road wound it's way down the mountain we would cross it at least 4 more times.

We continue to see motorcycles, however as we travel farther from Sturgis it seems that we are more the exception than the norm on the highways. We had dinner at Bubba's BBQ and when we ordered drinks we found it was BYOB... so we found drinks at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson. Next day we took a relaxing float down the Snake River where we learned some history of the area, we have forgotten most of it already.

Next two days were spent riding to Zion in Southern Utah. The trip was uneventful except for downtown Salt Lake, lots of traffic. This afternoon we took a short hike here in the park. We will be here for 3 days, hiking and resting before beginning our trip home on Saturday.

Tetons

Old Faithful