Trip Log for the ET/ National Parks Tour
Day1 Toledo, OH July 25
Well I'm now sitting in Perrysburgh, OH, just South of Toledo.. Roughly 580 miles. Right on course for what I had planned. If I can keep this up Ashland is well within the 5 day reach. I might even get to do some sightseeing in California while on my way. We'll see.... I'll update more as the days go along. No problems so far.
Day 2 Des Moines, IA July 26
Sitting in Urbandale, Iowa has me tired, that's for sure. Today was a difficult day. A lot of construction delays, weird weather and viewing an hearing of an accident. The first delay came about near Gary, Indiana. 2 lanes to 1 merging had traffic running pretty slow. This wasn't the worst. Once in Iowa I thought things were now going good. The weather was still teasing me, but I decided just to wear the mesh Phoenix Jacket and worry about rain later on. Traffic wasn't too bad until hearing on the radio that it was going to be backed up a few miles since there was an accident. As it turned out, it was a motorcycle accident (NO NOT ME). Life Flight was called in and one of the victims was airlifted out. As is turned out, a Full dressed Harley hit a pickup truck and threw both rider and passenger off the bike. From what I saw of the bike going past, it was on the shoulder of the road, pretty messed up. Apparently both people were lying on one lane of the road and the bike the other. Needless to say the traffic was backed up for MILES. I was about 2 miles behind, and met some nice folks while waiting. As I was waiting on the traffic, a weird thought went through my mind....Here I was traveling across the country for a vacation, while either minutes before, or after, someone was receiving a phone call that would change their and many others lives. The male driver was killed in this accident and the woman was flown away. I have no idea who they are, but if you would take a moment, say a prayer for them and their loved ones. Life has no time line as to when we enter it's portals and when we leave. I hope their families are coping as they learn of the tragic events.
Tomorrow should take me through Nebraska and hopefully into Wyoming. I hope to get to Cheyenne by Sat evening, but that might be a stretch. Until then....
Day 3 Laramie, WY July 27
I'm now sitting in Laramie, WY. The trip today was pretty uneventful and long. 674 miles covered and picked up another Time Zone. It's now Mountain Time, but my body is still on EST. Most of today's traveling was in 99o weather. Drank lots of water and tried to keep cool. Just before reaching Laramie the temperature dropped into the high 60's and that was a nice change. Tomorrow I'm headed toward Reno Nevada. 954 miles so I'll take it in two days. I hope to get to Wendover, NV. Then the following day will hit Reno traveling over Rt. 93 to Rt. 50. Will meet up there with a few fellow ST1100 owners for the ride to Ashland. I wish there were a way to take more pictures while traveling, but I'll work on that one. Oh last night I forgot to mention a place called the Machine Shed. It looks similar to Cracker Barrel, but with a John Deere flair to it. They had the best Baked Potato Soup that I've ever had. Thick and creamy with cheese, green onions and bacon sprinkled on the top. Tonight was a Chicken Caesar Salad from Applebee's. Lunch was Arby's (yes for everyone at work wanting to go to Arby's, I was there...)
Day 4 Salt Lake City UT July 28
I actually made it past Salt Lake City and got as far as Ely, NV. Ely sits at the junction of Rt.93 & Rt. 50. Today was 620+ miles leaving me two easy days to go. Tomorrow I'll head up to Reno, and meet up with a couple of other ST1100 owners. We'll then head on up to Ashland on Tuesday. Today's ride took me through some very scenic territory. Rt. 80 goes down through a Canyon through Coalville (gee, I wonder what that was named after..) Then to Salt Lake City (SLC). The hill going into SLC must be 6-7 miles long and a 6o downhill grade, very steep. Then 80 take you through the Salt Flats. I never realized they were actually the Bonneville Salt Flats, where some land speed records were set. After the flats you hit Nevada, and I took Rt. 93 South to Ely. What a lonely desolate road. 110 miles of great scenery, but quite boring. Not much CB chatter to listen to so the CD player went on.
Here are some pics of the day
Day 5 Copperfield NV July 29
I actually made it to ELY, NV. This is at the intersection of Rt. 93 and Route 50. Route 50 is known as the Loneliest Road in America, and I can see why. Very barren but scenic. As I left this morning I was passed by two other ST1100 Owners. As it turns out they stayed in ELY as well, but not the same Motel. I rode the day with them as we went up to Gerlach, NV and then on to Reno. There were 8 of us in Reno for dinner. Played $10 on Video poker and won $120, so not a bad evening. Tomorrow on to Ashland. Here are some pics from today.
July 30 Ashland, OR
Well got here safe and sound. NO DEER !!!! Wahoo !!!
The ride today took us from Reno to Ashland. We rode through Lassen Volcanic National Park. This was spectacular, but no pictures since we were making time. Oh well, maybe next time. The Gorge created was pretty magnificent. In Ashland the smoke is pretty thick. There are three forest fires about 50 miles or so away. Two off to the West are the Sour Biscuit fire (35,000 acres) and the Florence Fire (145,000 acres). The one North of Ashland and North of Medford is the Timbered Rock Fire (16,000 acres).The sunset pictures are actually smoke hazed sunsets. Quite a twisty rode through the park too. Here are the pics of the day.
July 31, Ashland, OR
Well today was a nice trip, up to Crater Lake past one of the fires and a fire camp. The Florence fire is now at 200,000 acres, but only grew by 9,000 acres yesterday or so. The news said this was good...hmmm ! This fire is only 5% contained. When I got back, at the end of the day, my shirt did have a smoke smell to it. Hard to believe. In the morning, there is a light dusting of ash on the bikes.
Crater Lake...
Absolutely Magnificent. Words can't describe the magnificent view and the sense of serenity you feel standing at the rim looking at the Lake. This mountain spewed more ash & pumice across the western US than Mt. St. Helens could ever have dreamed to spew. IT was about 12,000 high and is now roughly 7000 ft. It's one of the purest and deepest lakes in the World. Here are some pics.
August 1, Ashland Or.
Easy Day today. Just took a ride around the area, about 100 miles or so. Rode out in the country up to Grants Pass, up and down the Main drag, back to Ashland, grabbed a bite to eat and back to the Hotel. This evening was the bike picture (most of the bikes in attendance) group photo, and dinner. On of the owners cooked for the 225 people attending and with his Crew did a great job. Awards and door prizes were given out. Didn't win anything, but had a great time matching faces with names from the ST1100 newsgroup. Tomorrow starts the ride home.
Aug 2 Ukiah CA
Today was a nice ride, long but nice. Due to the Fires, I had to take a long way around. Tool the interstate to Rodeburg then Route 42 to the coast. Then rode the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Route 101Down the Oregon Coast and quite a bit of the California Coast. Quite impressive. This took me through the Redwoods National and State Parks. Now these are BIG trees. Some a good 15-20 diameter and a couple of hundred feet tall. Not just one or two, but groves of them. Simply amazing.
Aug 3 Bakersfield CA
Took route 20 across CA toward Yosemite. What a scenic beautiful ride that culminated in Yosemite. There aren't too many words to describe Yosemite National Park. But the word Yosemite probably wraps it up, especially for anyone who has been there. Simply amazing and beautiful.
Aug 4 Grand Canyon AZ
I rode from Bakersfield to Grand Canyon AZ and had a couple of nice conversations at stops along the way. There is a lot of desert out here and the heat is incredible. Rode past Hoover Dam, and in the stop&go traffic, the thermometer measuring the engine heat and all was reading 124. Yes 124. The outside temp was around 100 to 102. At 5 MPH you certainly feel the heat, and I don't care if it's a "dry" heat, it's still very very hot. Getting bakc to the Grand Canyon has been a goal of mine since seeing it about 6 years ago. I'm going to attempt to get up early and see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon. This hotel is about 10 miles from the rim. If someone told me to pick one place that they could pay for me to come to every year until I die, this is the place. It is a most amazing and awe inspiring place on earth. If there is a heaven, this is probably something that is there. If you ever get a chance to come here, jump at it. You'll never regret it. It's one of those places that you can sit there and stare out at it and be mesmerized by the colors, smell, sound and size. It is a HUGE hole in the ground. One of the people I met today was telling me that there is stone in the bottom of the GC that dates 3.6million years. He then said the earth was about 4.5billion yrs old, so there is some real old rock down there. I'll post today's pics later and have more on the Grand Canyon, Zion NP, and Bryce Canyon tomorrow. I plan on getting to them all tomorrow, but then, maybe not....
Aug 5 Page, AZ
Today was spent in two National Parks. I had planned on getting to three, but poor planning on my part. I Was in the Grand Canyon at 5:30 AM for the 5:38 Sunrise. Unfortunately for me there was some cloud cover that made the sunrise a bit poor, but I've seen the sunrise in the Grand Canyon, whatever that's worth. I spent about 4 hours or so there and headed to Zion, NP. On the way there it is one "Kodak Moment" or in my case a Canon Moment, up to there. At one point you pass over the Navajo Bridge, spanning Glenn Canyon 700ft above the River. Pretty impressive sight. Then on to Zion. Zion has the largest Sandstone cliffs imaginable. Quite spectacular as well. I'll be headed off to Glenn Canyon Dam tomorrow and then to Bryce Canyon. I took over 250 pictures today alone. I think I'm now up to over 700 pictures.
Aug 6 Richfield, AZ
Rode to Glen Canyon Dam. The bridge is over 700 ft from the Colorado River. Has 8 Generators and helps supply power and water for irrigation. Lake Powell was created when they created the Dam. It is actually more impressive than Hoover. Much more dramatic than Hoover. I then rode to Bryce Canyon. Another marvel of Nature. It's hard to imagine how long it took to get the canyon to look like it does. Tomorrow I start the ride home. Not really looking forward to it, but has to be done. As I've said before, I'll post pictures soon. Probably when I get a broadband connection at home.
Aug 7 Ogallala, NE
Today was the ride from Hell. Started in cool temps and bright sun right in the face. Saw some great scenery, until I hit Glenwood Springs, CO. From that point on the day really sucked. Around Vail, the temps dropped from 80 to 47, hail, hard rain and wind, wind, wind. This lasted an hour or more with me stopping from time to time since I couldn't see anything anyhow. It then sort of stopped, and by the time I hit Denver it was 90 again. And yes I still had on all the clothes. I thought I was supposed to take Rt 25, but I really wanted 76 East. Well this I figured out at Fort Collins. I began to take a road due East and this was fine, until the Sky South East of me was not looking good. The Lightning strikes to the ground were impressive, but being on the motorcycle would definitely make me the highest point in the road. Trees ? HA !!! Not in northern Colorado. So I took a road North to get away from it. Well this was Ok until I hit Rt. 80, which was my destination at Cheyenne, WY. Then the Rain started again, stopped, started. This whole ordeal added about 2 hrs to my day. All in all about 740 miles or so. Got to a room at about 10PM. I'm bushed. Tomorrow might be a later start then I have been doing. Until then......
Aug 8 Davenport Iowa
Today was Super Slab all the way. I only got as far as 621 miles. Construction delays took it's toll and I lost an hour's time with driving into the Central Time Zone. Tomorrow I'll again lose another hour, so I'll try and get on the road earlier than normal. This morning was 8:30 since I got in late, so after about an hour's drive it was already 10:30 damn... It's about 9:30 Central Time now and I plan on getting t sleep very soon. One of the best things about staying here, is it is right next door to a Machine Shed Restaurant. Back on July 26, I stayed in Des Moines, Iowa at a Sleep Inn. In the same parking lot was a Machine Shed. These are similar to a Cracker Barrel, except there aren't as many in their chain. I looked over the menu and they had Baked Potato soup. This was delicious. Did I say delicious ? I had booked the hotel room for tonight at about 5PM CST not knowing exactly where it was. Getting nearer the exit, I noticed a sign for the machine shed. It is right next door. As you can imagine I had to have the soup again. It was delicious. So if you're ever out this way, be sure to stop and have a bowl.
Aug 9 Grove City, PA
Another Super Slab day. 600+ miles and am staying at a comfort Inn in Grove City. It is just under 400 miles to home from here so I should arrive in the early afternoon. I'm treating myself to a room with a Jacuzzi in the room. Plan on sitting in it for a long time to relive some aches and pains. It will be nice to get home and relax after this trip.
Aug 10.....Home at last
I got home about 2PM today. Of course I made better mileage today then throughout most of the trip. 388 miles in 6 hours. I got on the road a little later than I had during most of the trip. I left Grove City about 8 and stopped at McDonalds. Was on the road at about 8:15 or so. It was a nice ride even though a bit hot & humid. Gotta love the East Coast.
Final thoughts.....
First off I still need to get more pictures posted. I ended up taking about 920 pictures or so during the trip. Looking at them over and over reminds me of the days and the trip in general. We live in an amazing country. Rich with Wonders both Natural and Man-Made. The beauty of the country is not only with it'd National Parks, National Forests, but with it's people as well. I almost hate to say it, but once you leave the East, the friendly quotient goes up dramatically. I met some very nice people on my trip. The gentleman in Barstow was the most memorable since I spent almost an hour chatting with him about the countryside, the history of the west, weather and his feelings about the East Coast and New Yawkas. Nice guy, even though I was a bit nervous when he pulled up behind me. In some ways I got a very big feeling of accomplishment getting myself and the bike from the East Coast all the way to the West Coast for a little bit of time. The planning for next year's trek has already started in my mind, and the research into what to see in and around Moscow, Idaho will start to kick in soon. This was a fantastic trip. It showed me a part of the US I had never seen, and now wish to go back and see in more detail. It would be nice to take a few day trips to the parks and really wander around and get a better appreciation of them. I can see getting a National Parks Pass every year now, even if I don't ever get to a park. If the funds from purchasing them help to save one of our precious resources, then the money will be well spent.
I hope you enjoyed following along with my trip. It was fun sharing my experiences and pictures and wish you all could have the time to see what I have seen. Let me know what you thought, it will be nice to hear from you.
Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon
Zion National Park
Glen Canyon Dam
Bryce Canyon
"It's a Hell of a place to lose a Cow"....Ebenezer Bryce on his thoughts about this place
