The plan boss, the plan

OK folks, I’m beginning to put a plan together. At least an exercise plan. Changing eating (and drinking) habits is, I think, going to be hardest so I am going to start with the easiest.

Through my Medicare plan, I was able to join a local gym here in Sattler. AnyTime Fitness. They have what looks to be nice equipment and is very convienant. I also was able to get a free membership to Golds Gym (old age has some benefits). The Golds Gym is in San Antonio and about a 40 min drive but they have a pool.

A few days ago, I went to a water aerobics class at the Golds Gym. Being that all the other participants were old fat women, I felt like I might drown in a pool of estrogen. I was about as gracefull as a bull frog and had trouble getting in the rythum of the program. But being in the water did allow me to walk more freely. Oh, a little background info is in order. Last November I did some serious damage to my right foot. I fractured the 5th metatarsal into 6 pieces requiring surgery. The doc pieced it together with lots screws, plates and misc hardware. Being its location and the severity of the injury, healing has been slow. This is also the same foot that I broke my ankle and tore a ligament two years ago. Saying all this as background as to why I have to avoid impact exercises like treadmill and much walking. At least for now, but this limitation will improve.

The problem with exercise equipment at home in my lack of self discipline. To get this started, at least for now, I felt my best option would be to retain the services of a personal trainer. No this is not covered by Medicare.

Both AnyTimeFitness and Golds Gym offered PTs and the cost was about the same. The PT at AnyTime was a young woman and the one at Golds Gym was a guy with biceps the size of tree trunks. Wana guess which one I chose.

No I’m not talking about the WW2 offensive, but rather my mid-section bulge. My reason for this posting is to make public my battle and goals among friends and to make myself publicly accountable.

I did something like this years ago when I decided to quit smoking. I had tried (in secret) many times but failed. I never had to tell anyone I failed because no one knew I had tried. Once I made my goal to quit smoking public, I could not be seen anywhere with a cigarette and I would have the embarrassment of everyone knowing I failed. It worked, and that was about 25 years ago. Now I have a new addiction that is killing me.

This came about because of my desire to ride the Continintal Divide Route (CDR) this spring. Yes, this will be attempt #3, but that is a different story. Although I’m retired, my kitchen passes are normally limited to 2 weeks (longer than that, the dishes start to stack up), but this trip was looking to be at least 3 weeks. My good friend pleaded with the my wife (AKA: The Saint) for an extended pass and she reluctantly agreed but with the stipulation that I get in better shape so that she does not have to deal with retrieving my fat corpse from the middle of nowhere because I had keeled over from a heart attack.

With this goal, I started to do some research and found with my weight and height I have now achieved the honorable status of MORBIDLY OBESE! obese is one thing, but morbidly obese is, well … morbid. Obese can always be glossed over with nice terms like “Husky”, “on the heavy side”‘, etc. There is nothing you can do with morbidly obese. That’s just plain FAT. I have to lose the “morbidly” from my classification.

Some time back, another friend and I were talking about health goals so that we would have many years of riding and we agreed that I needed to lose weight and he needed to stop chewing tobacco. He quit chewing for a while but I did not live up to my end of the bargain and he has returned to chewing. Now that I have publicly called him out he has to quit chewing as long as I live up to my end of the deal.

Physically I am 65 and the thought of having to slow down because of my age and health is depressing. I can’t do much about my age, but I recognize I must get in better condition if I want to continue to have good adventures on the roads less traveled.

I’m asking for your support, encouragement and damnation if I fall off the wagon. About once a week I will post my current weight and what I have done to condition my body.

So, here is the starting point.

Height 5’10
Weight: 287 lbs.

There is an annual event called “Tour of Honor” benefiting the wounded warrior project. It begins in April and if you are one of the first to visit all of the designated memorial sites within a state, you earn a trophy. For the past two times, I have had some kind of conflict and not able to start in April in order to compete for the trophy. This is actually OK by me as I am not one to scurry around going from site to site anyway. I prefer to take my time and just complete the tour for the sake of completing it and oh, by the way, I do get a pin and a certificate.

Last year, I completed Texas and it took me all the way to the deadline in October to finish. Having conquered Texas, so to speak, I am going after another state and begin earning pins for each state. Let’s see, there are 50 states and if I complete one state per year, I will be 114 years old when done. So then I may stop doing my adventures. I have this philosophy that as long as I have things on my bucket list, it is not my time to go. When the Lord comes calling for me, I simply tell him to look at my bucket list and come back when I am done.

My next adventure is to complete all designated memorial sites in Colorado. I’m heading out in the morning and hope to complete all sites and ride some of Colorado’s twisty mountain roads for the next week or so and then head home.

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********** Colorado TOH – Day 1 ********
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Riding across west Texas is not one of the more exciting things in life, so not much to report today.

My brother (Hap Hazard), joined me early this morning and we headed out from my house near Waco.

One could not have asked for better riding weather especially considering we are in Texas and its July. It was in the 80′s the entire trip. Some threats of rain, but we escaped the wet stuff and the worse we dealt with was light wind.

We rode and rode. By time we made it to Clovis, New Mexico we decided that was enough for one day. We found a motel with an indoor pool, a bar and next to a sonic drive in. What else could a man ask for?

End of day 1

G’nite Y’all
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********** Colorado TOH – Day 2 ********
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After a pretty nice complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we got off early and headed northwest.

For the most part, the difference between west Texas and east New Mexico is the state boarder. Miles and miles of nothing. After several hours we approach Santa Fee and the terrain begins to improve. North of Santa Fee the scenery turns to beautiful red rock cliffs.
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Shortly before crossing into Colorado the roads and views greatly improved. New Mexico is somewhat restrictive. Beautiful winding roads and views with posted limits of 55 mph. I mean, gee whiz. Being the law bidding person I am, I obediently observed the speed limits at all times.

We were on the edge of a cold front blowing in so the temperatures stayed in the high 60′s. It boarded on being too cold.

We decided to take a coffee break in the town Pagosa Spring. This town is famous for its hot springs and related type resorts. We had our coffee on a deck overlooking a river where lots of folks were playing. It looked cold to me.

As we were leaving, it starts to rain.

As we were debating if we wanted to brave the rain, sleet and hail began to fall.

We no longer debated if we wanted to ride. Back inside for another cup of coffee or two until the storm passed. I’m sure glad we stopped when we did and avoided getting caught in the hail.

The storm did not last long, so off we go. Just in case, we put on full rain gear that turned out to be unnecessary. We rode through the forest and arrived at our last stop for the day in historic Durango.

Durango is a nice tourist type of town with a lot of nice restaurants and bars.

Durango has a trolley/bus that goes around and picks you up near your motel, takes you to the downtown venues and then you can catch a ride back to your motel. So after our thirst had been quenched and our tummies full, we return to our motel and call the day at end.

End of Day 2

G’nite Y’all
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********** Colorado TOH – Day 3 **********
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We found a nice place for breakfast and headed north on U.S. Route 550 otherwise known as the Million Dollar Highway. The history of why this highway earned this name varies but one thing I know is that the road and views are worth a million.

OMG, tight twisties, and breathtaking views.

We stop in Silverton for a coffee break



We then continue north on the million dollar highway. Breathtaking!







Arriving in the picturesque town of Ouray, we stop for lunch.

From there we continue north to Ridgeway and then head west and hook on to beautiful CO-142, then northwest towards Grand Junction.
As we went west of the million dollar road on Colorado 141, the scenery changes to a more rugged desert terrine. Still mountainous, but not the same as we had before although it is still gorgeous in its own right.

We stopped to view the Dolores Canyon near the Utah boarder.

In need of water to work its Dolores Canyon gold mines, the Montrose Placer Mining company’s built A thirteen-mile canal and flume to deliver water from the San Miguel River. The last five miles of the flume clung to the wall of the canyon itself, running along the cliff face. Constructed between 1888 and 1891, the four-foot deep, five/foot-four-inch-wide “hanging flume” carried over 23 million gallons of water in a 24 hour period. Its construction dazzled mining pros with its sheer ingenuity.

This is what it used to look like.

The placer claim, unfortunately, dazzled no one; after three years of indifferent yields the company folded, abandoning the flume to the ravages of weather and time.

Following is a picture of what remains when we were there.

Continuing towards Grand Junction, the rugged red rock views continued.

We are now in the high desert and the cool mountain temperatures are no more. By late afternoon, it got up to 103. That’s a tad warm.

We make it to Grand Junction and able to find a cheap motel near downtown. After a cool off time in the motel’s pool, we walk to the downtown area.

Downtown Grand Junction is surprising quant with nice shops and fine dining.

We had a great meal and wine at this place that had been recommended.

Well after an enjoyable but tiring day of riding and our tummies full, we called the day done.

End of Day 3

G’nite Y’all
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********** Colorado TOH – Day 4 **********
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Well this trip was about doing the Tour of Honor after all, it just took a long time to get to the first one that was in the town of Fruita just outside of Grand Junction.

This is the Western Slope Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The focal point of the memorial is a Bell Utility Helicopter (UH-1H) Iroquois or “Huey”, the workhorse of the Vietnam War. The Huey became the symbol of the conflict, as the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps all flew missions in the aircraft, and all branches of service are represented here. For me personally, anytime I see or hear a helicopter, memories of Vietnam enter my mind. Whenever we were at a base camp, there was the constant sound of the Hueys. The first time I had the “opportunity” to ride in one, I thought it to be a thrill. I soon discovered that when in combat zone, they don’t land, they just hovered briefly near the ground and we would have to jump out and then run for cover. The thrill of my first helicopter ride was over.

The names of all those from the Western Slope area who were lost in the Vietnam War are listed here.

Afterwards we ride through a National Park called the Colorado National Monument.

Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grand landscapes of the American West. Bold, big, and brilliantly colored.

<a href=http://beemerbob.smugmug.com/Scooter-Stuff/Tour-of-Honor/2012-07-Colorado-TOH/i-RRTK3kk/0/M/032-M.jpg

Our goal for today is to make it to the small town of Paonia, CO the site of the “Top of the Rockies BMW motorcycle rally”, so we head east.
But perhaps not the most efficient routes because we “have” to ride through the Grand Mesa area.

Colorado’s Grand Mesa Scenic Byway leads through old-growth forests, aspens, meadows and so many lakes you’ll lose track

At this point we are at an elevation of about 10,600 feet

We arrive in the town of Paonia, the site of the “Top of the Rockies BMW motorcycle rally.

What can I say. Lots of BMW motorcycle and the people that ride them.

I find a place to hang my hammock. I forgot to take a picture, but hey! You know what a hammock among a sea of tents looks like.

The remainder of the evening was spent listing to the provided live music, shooting the bull with old and new friends and consumption of large amounts of adult beverages.

I am able to stumble back to my hammock and pass out.

End of day 4

G’nite Y’all
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********** Colorado TOH – Day 5 **********
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Today’s quest was for the best hamburger in the world. Seemed like a worthy cause, so off we go.

This hamburger waits for us in the town of Buena Vista. There is a faster way to get there and a shorter but longer in time scenic route through the mountains. We of course take the scenic way.

Our first leg takes us by way of the Black Canon of the Gunnison

Despite the awesome views, much of our time was spent doing this

Waiting for this

A good portion of the road was under construction and we got stuck in several of these blocks waiting for our chance to go through.

The road was muddy and slick and when the pilot truck would finally lead us through, it proceeded at a snails pace making motorcycling difficult. I would have to stop now and then (holding up those behind me) so that I could proceed with a little more momentum for short bursts at a time.

But at last we make it though and the hamburger quest resumes.

Next we ascend up to Cottonwood Pass. On the west side of this pass is dirt/gravel but well maintained and packed, so it did not present any problem.

I waited a while to take this picture without people but these ladies just stood there and looked at me, so I gave up.

But then one of them offered to take this picture of yours truly and she didn’t steal my iPhone. So all was good.

The road down was paved, twisty with magnificent views.

We arrive in Buena Vista early afternoon and very hungry. The trip took longer than anticipated. We “dine” here.

Their signature burger was a 1/2 pounder grass feed beef burger with green chili mixed in. I didn’t think that I could eat that much, so I talked The Hazard into sharing one. He whined about that for the rest of the day because he wanted the whole thing.

It was delicious and they have their own micro brews that are excellent as well. Well worth the trip.

For our trip back to our campsite at the rally we go by the way of Independence Pass.

Independence Pass reaches a high point of 12,095 feet, then descends into the even more beautiful valley of Lake Creek, eventually joining US 24 fifteen miles south of Leadville

The scenery at the pass and all along the route is some of the most spectacular in Colorado and perhaps the finest viewable from a major highway

The road runs right beneath many great mountains including the highest in the state (14,433 foot Mount Elbert)

And rises well above the tree line into the stark Alpine tundra zone, while also passing lakes, rivers, steep sided valleys, thick forest of fir and extensive aspen groves.

It’s currently July but you can still see some remains of snow in the mountains.

Independence is the highest paved mountain pass in Colorado.

This has been a very enjoyable but very tiring ride. I’m exhausted.

We finally make it back to the rally site, eat dinner, listen to the live band and drink large quantities of adult beverages

I climb into my hammock and pass out.

End of day 5

G’nite Y’all
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********** Colorado TOH – Day 6 **********
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Today, the Hazard and I part company. I to resume my Tour of Honor and him to head to Utah to meet up with some friends. Yes Utah is where the Hazard had his last misHap, so hopefully this time won’t be a repeat performance. Be careful Bro.

I now head up to Golden Colorado for the next memorial site on my list. There is a quicker all highway route or a longer, more scenic route going through the mountains. Guess which way I go.

I passed by the town of Redstone and came upon these old coke ovens.

These beehive coke ovens were constructed in the late 1890′s to carbonize or coke coal mined coal basin for the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. A narrow-gauge railroad, approximately 12 miles long (removed in 1941), brought the coal down grades exceeding 4 percent from the mine to Redstone.

Coke is carbonized coal, a product produced by baking coal in a heated oven. By using a process that allows the impurities in the coal to be burned off, while not allowing the carbon content of the coal to burn, the coal is turned into coke. The impurities burned off were actually the volatile matter contained in the coal, such as tars, oils and gases. When burned, coke generated an intense amount of heat but produced very little smoke, qualities that made it an ideal fuel for use in producing iron and steal and was good for blacksmith operations.

As I continue northward (or sorts), the views and roads do not disappoint me. Fantastic! A portion of my route was on I-70, but even there the views were great with the mountains in the background.

The small world of motorcycle enthusiasts is amazing. Everyone seems to take their toys all over the place and you can meet up with people also 1,000 miles from home. This is Brad from Austin. I met Brad a few years ago when I rode with the Hill Country BMW club out of Austin to the Big Bend area. Brad had seen through my blog that I was in Colorado and told me him and his wife were vacationing in the area and invited me for lunch. Vacationing is a word us retired folks use simply to say we are far from our home base. If you are retired, every day is a vacation. So we decide to meet in Breckenridge.

As I neared Breckenridge a rain stormed loomed on the horizon but I have been lucky this trip so far and able to skirt around the rains, so I did not bother to stop and put on rain gear. That turned out to be a mistake. About 10 miles out of Breckenridge, the temperature drops to about 50 and the sky opened up and dumped its rain on me. I got soaking wet, could not see but a few feet in front of me and thought I was going to freeze to death. On the edge of town was a subway and I ducked in to get out of the rain. Their bathroom had one of those stupid hand dryers that we all hate. But I was able to divert the blower to my chest and kept running it over and over again to warm my core and dry out a bit. I decide that I will live after all and the rain lets up a bit, so I continue to our meeting place to meet up with Brad and his charming wife.

Sorry, no pictures of the charming wife, just me and Brad. We had a very nice lunch. I had the shrimp po-boy and the waitress assured me that is was local catch out of the nearby river.

After bidding goodbye to Brad and wife, it is still a light drizzle so I done my full rain gear which of course made the rain stop and the sun come out.
There in Breckenridge was my second TOH memorial site. This is the 10th Mountain Division Monument

The 10th Mountain Division (Infantry) of the U.S. Army was activated in 1943 because of the need for mountain-trained soldiers who could endure the harsh terrain and weather conditions of winter-time Europe. Camp Hale in Colorado was chosen for its altitude of 9400 feet and varying terrain similar to the Alps and Tyrenees. Soldiers were trained with snowshoes, skis, mountain climbing equipment and sleeping in the snow without tents.

They are perhaps best known for their feats during World War II, leading the way into the mountains of Northern Italy, driving back the Germans after many weeks of heavy fighting. By the end of the war, the 10th had suffered more casualties than any other division.

The 10th Mountain Division is still fighting today in the mountains of Afghanistan.

My next stop is Golden, CO but of course I cannot take the highway, I take the more mountainous route and go my way of Hoosier Pass. And of course, the views and roads are spectacular.

<img src=http://beemerbob.smugmug.com/Scooter-Stuff/Tour-of-Honor/2012-07-Colorado-TOH/i-25Mj4CJ/0/M/hoosier-1-L.jpg width=640 height=480

After some nice sweeping roads through the mountains, I arrive at the United States Marine Corps Memorial in Golden Colorado.



Like the Marines themselves, words are scarce about this memorial, just a quiet pride and immense sense of honor.
Semper Fi.

Today was a long day of nice riding, but I am pooped, so I find me a sleazy motel for the night. I’m too tired to even go out to eat so I heated up some dehydrated something for dinner, but fortunately I had a box of wine, so all was good.

End of day 6

G’nite Y’all

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********** Colorado TOH – Day 7 **********
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Now heading towards the next Memorial site in Woodland Park and of course, I take the most scenic route I can find. Frankly, in this part of Colorado it is almost impossible to find a route that is not scenic so I have to weigh between magnificent views or more magnificent views. I plot my route and head back through the mountains.

Great views most trip but as I get closer to Woodland Park going through the Pike National Forest, the views are somber as a result of the recent forest fires in this area.

Don’t you know that the folks that live in this house consider themselves to be very lucky?

As I travel through the Pike Forest, I came across this series of signs that had been placed by the local firefighters.

Very sad indeed. What was once lush forest now lays barren.

But continuing on, the remaining forest still holds its beauty. Incidentally, during my travels on this trip I saw many signs in front of homes and businesses thanking the firefighters for all their hard work. I too add my thanks to firefighters everywhere.
Much was lost, but much more was saved.

Added to my honor ride, I stopped to give my honor to the famous Donut Mill in Woodland Park.

OK, maybe the Donut Mill is not famous, but some years back we actually lived in Woodland Park and this was our favorite memory of this town so I had to get a donut and take these pictures to send to my wife. I’m having a donut at the Donut Mill and you are not – Ha Ha Ha.

I move now to the Fallen Soldier Battlefield Cross monument in Woodland park as a memorial to all those of all military branches that gave their lives for our country.
“ALL GAVE SOME – SOME GAVE ALL”

The Fallen Soldier Battle Cross, Battlefield Cross or Battle Cross is a symbolic replacement of a cross on the battlefield or at the base camp for a soldier who has been killed. Made up of the soldier’s rifle with bayonet attached stuck into the ground, helmet on top, dog tags sometimes hanging from the rifle and the boots of the fallen soldier next to it. Its purpose is to show honor and respect for the fallen at the battle site. The practice started during the American Civil War or maybe earlier as a means of identifying the bodies on the battleground before they were removed.

Today, it is an immediate means of showing respect for the fallen among the still living members of the troop. It might be seen in the field or base camp after the battle.

Used less today as a means to identify the fallen but more as a private ceremony among those still living as a means to mourn, as attending the funeral is not always possible for soldiers still in the fight.

As “macho” at the military tries to portray themselves, they have mastered the art of making grown men cry. I remember all too well this type of service and attended more than I cared to attend. Our friend’s body had already been sent home but we would have these services as a memorial. They were short and painful. We would be in formation facing the “cross” of our fallen friend’s rifle, boots and helmet while the chaplain would say a few words and the taps was played. The playing of taps is where I and most would usually lose it. After the service, we were expected to carry on and not waste time in mourning – DAMN YOU ARMY.

Next I head to Colorado Springs. From the recent fires I had heard that the quaint town of Manitou Springs had been evacuated, so I took a short detour to see if there as any damage to this cute little town. All seemed well and no evidence of fire in the main section. I guess during the time when the fire was out of control, the officials had taken precautions just in case the fire came through this valley.
Then I headed over to the Garden of the Gods. This site has also been closed as the fires raged nearby. It’s hard to make out in this picture but just down the road from the garden one can charred timers in the background. Fortunately, the they were able to protect the area immediately around the garden

A quick stop at the garden to admire the rocks

It was a Sunday afternoon with nice weather, so there were at least 10,000 people per square foot, so I did not stay long and headed onward to the next memorial site.
Within the city of Colorado Springs I arrive at the Fallen Firefighters Memorial.

Several of the figures had been adorned with artificial flowers

In the shadow of Pikes Peak is this statue of a firefighter rescuing a child. It stands in front of a memorial wall that includes the names of 1,775 fallen firefighters from North America. Included on the wall are the names of 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11, and another 122 names were added in September 2006.

This plaque had been decorated with toy figurines of Batman and Robin. I wondered if there was a story behind this?

Now I headed to Pueblo for the next site. I attempted to find a scenic route but had little success once I got more than 50 miles away from Colorado Springs. The pleasant mountain temperatures were gone as well. It hovered around 95 to 100 most of the way. No offense to the fine folks that call Pueblo home, but this is not one of my favorite Colorado towns.

I find the Medal of Honor Memorial, the site of my next memorial site

Four of Pueblo’s heroes are the centerpiece of this memorial outside the Convention Center on Heroes Plaza. In addition to the statues there are 3,400 names of the other MOH recipients.

There is a water feature referencing President Eisenhower’s comment, upon placing the medal around Pueblo native Raymond Murphy’s neck, “What is it in the water out there in Pueblo, all you guys turn out to be heroes?”.

The four granite blocks upon which the statues stand, contains a map of where their action took place, as well other awards they earned listed. The designers of the memorial were able to work with each of the recipients to make sure their uniforms and equipment was accurate.

The four Medal of Honor recipients from Pueblo:
William Crawford, World War II, 1943
Carl Sitter, Korea, 1950
Raymond “Jerry” Murphy, Korea, 1953
Drew Dix, Vietnam, 1968

Onward to the eastern Colorado town of Lamar. I though Pueblo was hot but the ride to Lamar proved that I ain’t seen nothing yet. The afternoon was spent going down a straight highway of lands so flat it made west Texas look hilly. The temperature hovered around 105 most of the time. It was a very dry heat that made it slightly more tolerable than humid Texas heat, but 105 is still hot. It filet like I was riding in an oven and breathing the hot air was slightly less than fun.

In Lamar, I make it to the Madonna of the Trail Monument.

Madonnas of the Trail

A recurring piece of public statuary stands in twelve locations from Maryland to California, tracing a historic travel route from “covered wagon days. The statue is the Madonna of the Trail, an 18-ft. tall tribute to the pioneer mothers who traveled west with their crazy husbands.

The Madonna of the Trail is a pinkish, stony-faced pioneer Mom, in long dress and bonnet, strutting westward with a rifle on one arm, an infant on the other, another little cruncher grasping Mom’s skirt

The Madonnas of the Trail were a project of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, dedicated in 1928-29. They are strung along the National Old Trails Road

This was the fifth Madonna of the Trail statue to be dedicated on the National Old Trails Road from Bethesda, Maryland to Upton, California. It drew the largest crowd of all the dedication ceremonies and the entire town closed down for it. Area pioneer women were honored during the week’s festivities that included parades and dances. President Truman was listed on the program but was unable to attend.

In case you have not noticed, but I have traveled many miles today and spent the afternoon in very hot weather, so I am exhausted. I can go no more. I need to find and air conditioned motel and call it a day.

I find this motel with unusual figures on the balcony above the office.

A place that decorates like this can’t all bad. They had good rates, so I call this home for the night. Too tired to go out, I fix me a fine meal of dehydrated something and attach my box of fine wine.

End of day 7
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********** Colorado TOH – Day 8 ***********
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The previous monument (Madonna of the Trail) was the last on the list for Colorado. So as far as the Tour of Honor ride goes – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. But now I need to get home.

At Lamar, I head south. This was as exciting as riding eat in southern Colorado but at least it is morning and not as hot. I stop for breakfast at the great metropolis of Campo, CO. This is a picture of the café and also a picture of the entire downtown of Campo.

The breakfast was good but I found the blue balls on the bottom of all the chairs interesting.

I ride through a section of the Oklahoma panhandle that looked like the desolate south east Colorado. Then I ride through the Texas panhandle area that looked like the Oklahoma panhandle.

I arrived in Amarillo, Texas early afternoon. There was still a good 7 to 8 hours riding before I could get home so I was not going to make it today. I could have ridden for a few more hours before calling it quits for the day, but I love the “Big Texan Steak Ranch and Motel”, so I called it quits here in Amarillo.

It’s the Cattlemen’s Hotel for me tonight

After checking in, I cool off for a while in their Texas shaped swimming pool. Come supper time, I mosey of to the Steak Ranch to rustle up me some grub.

The Big Texas is famous for their free 72oz steak. That’s right, it’s free along with all the fixings to include a baked potato and salad. There is, however, a catch. You have to eat the entire steak and all the fixings within an hour. If complete this task, your meal is free. If you fail, your bill is $72.

While I was there, two young men stepped up to take the challenge. They were seated at a special high table of honor so we could cheer them on to victory.

There was this Longhorn fan;

The timers you see to the side were not his. He had been working at his for a while and only had a short time left.

Then later this young lad had probably pestered his dad until he gave in and let him take a whack at it.

You see a full plate of meat on the lad’s plate and that plate in front containing a side of beef is the portion that he has not gotten to yet.

Wait, it looks like the Longhorn fan is beginning to falter.

He gets up and gracefully accepts his defeat (and $72 bill) . They do put the rest in a to-go box, so it is not too bad.

I left before the kids time was up, but he was not making much of a dent and I’m sure dad got a nice $72 bill. But what the hey, I bet it was fun trying.

I return to the hotel and declare the day done.
End of Day 8
G’nite Y’all
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********** Colorado TOH – Day 9 **********
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Rather uneventful today. Just rode and rode and rode.

I made it home by about 5ish. The day is done, the trip is done
Mission Accomplished

Bye Y’all

Two Slices of Pie (A CDR Adventure)
To further my search for the perfect pie as well as some adventure I headed to Pie Town, NM for a rendezvous with some fellow members of Two Wheeled Texans (TWT). After a big slice of pie in Pie Town, NM on June 16th, 2012 (the date of the first annual Texas Invasion of Pie Town), I am planning to head up the Continental Divide thorough Colorado and a portion of Wyoming. Then to loop westerly and tour Moab. After Moab, my plan is to return to Pie Town for seconds on that Pie. This trip as planed will be about a two week trip.

A friend (Nadeem) and I will be trailering our rides to Pie Town. We plan to store our truck and trailer there and then we head north (after pie of course).

I once attempted to ride the CDR last year on a BMW R1200GS, starting at the Mexican border, but I only made it just a tad north of Grants, NM (Long story). This time I will be on a Ural with 2 wheel drive and setup for off-roading. I can pretty much go anywhere a dirt bike can go except single track. In addition to Nadeem and myself, we will also be bringing along Mr. Pie

Mr. Pie is part of a “Pony Express” game within the TWT community. I was dubbed “IT” at the last TWT pie event, so now it is my duty to bring Mr. Pie along with me on my journeys until the next TWT pie event.
Mr. Pie checks out the sidecar and is ready to go.

Mr. Pie’s motto is “Safety First”, so here he tests his new DOT approved crash dew rag.
In case of a mishap and he hits the pavement, the dew rag will keep his blueberries from spilling out.

As we plan our trip, we read about the fires in New Mexico/Colorado and Mr. Pie becomes concerned about the smoke engulfing many parts of those states. Mr. Pie is sensitive to smoke, so he procures some additional gear for protection.

As I was preparing to gather my stuff, I had a problem with my gear. I was going to bring my full face helmet, but it seems I had a problem with that helmet.
nest

Oh well, it looks like I will bring my ¾ helmet.
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***************************** DAY 1 **************************************
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I meet up with my friend, Nadeem, in Fredericksburg. We transfer my trailer from my truck to his and my bride takes my truck and a credit card to go shop in Fredericksburg.

The three of us hit the road. We had a boring ride through the nothingness called west Texas.
There are a lot of fires currently in New Mexico and Colorado. One of them is just south west of Roswell and we were going to route well around Roswell, but the reports were that the Roswell route was OK and that was the shortest route, so we forged ahead.
We push on and make it to Roswell by about 7. Check into a motel 6. Once we landed, Mr. Pie made a new friend.

Now it is time to go in search of nourishment.
The local McDonalds looked like a spaceship, and that was cool.

But Mr. Pie, being the snob he is, wanted better. A place called “Peppers Bar and Grill” was recommended by the motel desk clerk. Great hamburgers, seasoned fries and $4 mary-go-ritas.
Mr. Pie approved.

Mr. Pie had way too many mary-go-rittas and had to head back to the motel so he could go to bed.

G’nite Y’all
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***************************** DAY 2 **************************************
*
I’m happy to report that Mr. Pie had a good night’s rest.

While in Roswell, we went in search of illegal aliens

We visit the UFO research center so Mr. Pie can get more info about the government’s coverup of the crash site and the aliens that visited us.

More aliens.

Time to hit the road. We push on. Mr. Pie had always wanted to see the big dishes at the “Very Large Array(VLA)”

If you are not familiar with the VLA, a short description is that a large array of dishes are used to “see” into space to study our universe. The sight, however, is based on radio frequencies outside of the optical spectrum.

We push onward to Pie Town.

We pull in to The Good Pie Café

The owner graciously allowed us to park our truck and trailer at his restaurant.

We had a “lite” dinner.

After our “lite” dinner. It was Pie Time.

We enjoyed a New Mexico Apple Pie. This apple pie includes green peppers and was surprisingly quite good. The above picture is actually one pie that we shared.

Mr. Pie flirted with all the wait staff.

And then there was this interesting looking man

With full tummies, we head to a place called “The Toaster House”. This is a hostel for those doing the Continental Divide. This is owned and maintained be a fantastic lady by the name of Nita. She had stopped by to replenish supplies.

It may not show well in the pictures, we are standing in the “Toaster Gate” So called because of all the toasters hanging on the fence and arch. I don’t know why.
A few pictures inside Toaster House.

We had a very enjoyable and relaxing stay at the Toaster House.

G’nite Y’all
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***************************** DAY 3 **************************************
*
The rest of our TWT group was not going to be here until noonish, so we hung around the toaster house for a while.
There is no cell phone coverage in Pie Town so we headed over to the Pie-o-neer Cafe about 11 so we could tap into their wifi to check email, etc. BTW, there are two restaurants in Pie Town that are known for their pies. Today’s café is the other one.

For those that read about my last trip (that failed), I had stopped here on my way up from the Mexican border on the continental divide BC (Before Crash). On that trip I had stopped here and I had mentioned that the waitress was cute. Later I was chastised for not getting a picture of the cute waitress. Well she was still there and Mr. Pie flirted with he so he could get her to hold him for this photo op.

While we waited, we were presented with a task. Kathy (the owner and head pie maker), had two stainless bowls that she had stacked together but could not get them back apart. They had been working on this problem for quite some time, but no success.

At first Nadeem accepted the task, put he could not seem to get it out.

So he enlisted my help. We tugged and tugged.

Until finally …

Success!!

We were both awarded with a free slice of pie for our efforts.

After a while we were getting hungry so we went ahead and had a slice of pie with the plan to order lunch once the gang showed up. After pie, we were still hungry and our group had not shown yet, so we went ahead and had lunch. After we finished lunch, the gang shows up and so we had ANOTHER slice of pie with our friends. Our goal for this trip was to have two slices of pie and now we have had 3 slices and we haven’t even started.

The gangs all here!

After the lunch rush, Ms. Kathy (AKA: The Pie Lady) posed with some pies.

Sad moment here. It is time for Mr. Pie to move on. We had to pass him on for adventures with another. So sad. Bye by Mr. Pie. You will be missed.

Nadeem, poor guy, has gout in his ankle and he was starting to have a flare up. We decided that it was best for him to follow me in his truck and trailer north to Grants, NM. We would spend the night there and see how he felt in the morning.
So on to Grants. We check into a motel 6, I have wine, Nadeem takes pills.  By morning, Nadeem if feeling OK but is concerned that his ankle may give him problems if he rides but he wanted to go. So, we load all our stuff on the Ural and Nadeem rode monkey (in the sidecar tub).

Onward we go through hill and dale. Me driving, Nadeem holding on for dear life.




Things are going good, but once or twice, Lyekka over heated so we had to stop and let her rest up a bit. Notice Lyekka’s load. She is a pack-horse.

Our first stop is the “Crash Site”. No, not aliens but me.
In August of 2010 I was attempting to travel the Continental Divide culminating with a ride up Pike’s Peak. But I crashed at this site and cracked my sternum and hyper extended my rib cage that prevented me from being able to pick up by bike much less ride out. I was in McKinley County, NM but this counry did not have anyone competent enough to find me despite the fact that I carry a spot tracing device that provided them with the exact GPS location. I ended up in the open 19 hours until I was rescued by some fellow riders and the NM state police. I went to this location to see how hard it was to find. I entered the coordinates into my GPS and was routed straight there. Conclusion: The officials of McKinley County are morons.
Following are a few pictures from my previous encounter with this spot.


Well, here I am at the same location with my hack. Notice, however, that the road has since been graded. The grader operators could find this road, but not McKinley county rescue?
We deposited a geocache of sorts near this location and will soon be posting a “Are you smarter than McKinley County?” challenge soon.
The rest of the day was fun and frustrating at the same time. When I had crashed previously, I was attempting to route around what showed on my routing to be a washed out area. The route that I took, was actually worse than the actual CD route Anyway, we were now off the CD route and not wanting to turn around where thought “surely, we could keep heading north east and rejoin the correct route” Surely. We went this way and that way. Every route we took was met with some sort of obstacle. A river, a deep ravine, a fence, always something. Then we started having lots of problems with Lyekka. She would run great for a while, then overheat and shut down. We got to the point where we could ride for about 5 – 10 min and then have to wait an hour for her to cool down.


Interesting old building.

As we traveled north we would be on roads that the GPS map said did not exist and then there were roads shown on the GPS map that did not exist. Sometimes we were just riding though open fields looking for a way to get to the main route.


We came upon this river crossing and we debated back and forth as to whether or not we should attempt to cross.

We found a section of the river that looked passable (50/50 chance) and we were going to try it but we were not sure that was not going to be another one of the roads that go nowhere and the return way at the crossing looked worse. So we kept on trying to find a way back to the main route.

The ravine you see in the background was our problem. The main route was on the other side but the ravine ran for miles and we could not find a way to get across.

Lyekka stops here and refuses to move another inch until she cools down.

So it is siesta time while Lyekka rests.

Trying to get Lyekka started again.

OK, got it started again. Run back and jump in Nadeem!

Desert terrain

Lyekka has overheated again. Time for a break.

Deep sandy roads

Lyekka will run about 5 mine and overheat and we would have to wait 30 to 45 min for her to cool down before we could continue on. We are trying to get back to Grants but the sun is setting and dark is approaching.

At the last “cool down” spot, we were thinking seriously about just laying down our sleeping bags and were going to have to wait until morning. We give it one more try and right around the corner is pavement going downhill. Lyekka says OK and we make it to Grants and find us a motel for the night.

We feel that the issue is valves are not within proper gap. Actually that is Nadeem’s idea, I don’t have a clue. I’m going “what are valves?”. Well not that bad, buy my mechanical knowledge is limited. So in the morning, we reset the valve clearances and for good measure I hit a few time with a large hammer.

We put it all back together, she starts right up and I am able to drive halfeway around the motel before it dies again. Ugg. Upon close examination, it now looks like there is a short in the ignition wire. We fix that and all is well.

We load all our stuff back on and it is time to hit the trail. Having spent most of yesterday trying to find our way back to the CDR, today we begin where we were supposed to in the first place and vowed not to do any side trips today.

Off we go! Running great! CDR here we come!

We make it a few miles out or down, then she sputters, farts and dies. After she cools down, we head back to town but notice how nice she runs all the way back to town, so we turn around and head to the trail.

Off we go! Running great! CDR here we come!

We pass the spot where we last crapped out. Still running great. We are finally on our way.

Then she spurts, farts and dies. After cool down, we drive backs to town, needless to say, she is running great. We think perhaps there may be some gunk in the gas or in the valves that needs to be burnt through so we go to an auto parts store and get some sea foam stuff to put in the gas. Did I mention that she is running great now? We pour in some gas cleaner and head back to the trail.
Off we go! Running great! CDR here we come!

We pass the spot where we crapped out the first time this morning. We pass the spot where we crapped out the second time. Still running great. We are finally on our way.

Until she sputters, farts and dies. We let her cool down and head back to town. It’s time to give up, lets head to the motel. Well, before we make it, Lyekka craps out. Fortunately this time it was near a taco restaurant. We had lunch giving Lyekka plenty of time to cool down. But after lunch, she would not start. We fiddle farted around with for it long time, but no go. After a while, Nadeem hitches a ride back to the motel to get his truck and trailer. Sadly It is time to give up, whatever is wrong with Lyekka is beyond what we can do in the field. We load bikes up and head home.

We decide to do a stop at Carlsbad Caverns on the way back. A few pictures.

This picture, Nadeem thought was interesting. He thought it looked like a part of a woman’s anatomy.

Nadeem tries to pinch the boob.

Views from the top of the Cavern’s site.

That’s all there is. There ain’t no more. It sure seems that I am having trouble ever doing the CDR. This is the second attempt, so I guess there will have to be a third time. I’m wondering if my problem is that I keep trying to do this route from south to north. I think I should try doing it north to south so that I will be going downhill the whole time. I wonder if that will work?

Currently my plan is to try this again later August or early September, See ya then.

Oh, BTW: while I was trying to ride CDR, the real mother bird was back home setting on her nest.

El Camino Del Diablo

I recently completed a short adventure. I know it seems it has been a while, and no I have not died and yes I am still wandering around on motorcycles of sorts getting into mischief, it’s just that for the past few months it’s been local short trips.

I was going to return to Baja but instead, I decided to go ride the El Camino Del Diablo in southern Arizona.

El Camino Del Diablo is Spanish for “Highway of the Devil”. This route earned its name by taking the lives of travelers without mercy. Even before Columbus discovered America, this passage across barren desert lands was luring travelers into its clutches and never letting go.

In 1540, eighty years before the mayflower arrived at Plymouth Rock, Spanish explorers traveled the Highway of the Devil. During the 1690s, it was being used by those traveling between missions. By 1800, settlers were using it as a shortcut to connect points in Mexico to points in California. During the 49ers fold rush, would be prospectors charged into its summer heat in a dash for California riches. Many of them unprepared for what they called, a trip through hell. An estimated 400 graves soon lined the narrow dusty path.

El Camino Del Diablo, is pretty much unchanged and is one hundred plus miles off sandy, shady, single track trail that winds through the Sanorum desert zone of Arizona. Along its length, it travels through a National Wildlife Refuge, a National Park, within a mile of the international border with Mexico, and through the middle if a military live bombing range.

I completed this trip on Lyekka, my not-so-trusty oil leaking Russian Hack (a Russian motorcycle with a sidecar). I based my ride through El Camino out of Ajo, AZ and rather than spend several days trying to get there and risk breakdown with Lyekka, I opted to trailer to Ajo and then go explore on Lyekka
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***** Day 1 *****
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Rather uneventful day. Just lots of driving.

Started off at first light.

Very foggy morning.

Stayed that way for most of the morning which made traveling slow. By noon the fog had lifted and I was able to make better progress.

Traveling through west Texas is not an exciting time. I was determined to be out of Texas before the end of the day. Not for any logical reason, other than if you drive all day you should be in a different state. That is sometimes hard to do in Texas. I plugged on and finally passed into New Mexico about 5 that afternoon.

Keep on trucking.

I make it as far as a small town called Lordsville, NM. I remember once on a trip with Hap Hazard we stopped here and were excited to find a nice, inexpensive motel. It was dark when we checked in and did not notice the motel was right next to a busy train track. We did not get much sleep that night.

Anyway, I’m by myself so I don’t have anyone to split the cost of a motel and I’m too cheap to pay for a motel, so I park the truck in the lot of a Flying J truck stop.


I lay the passenger seat back, grab some pillows and a blankie and prepare to catch some shut eye.

But first, I’m not some country bumpkin without class. I travel prepared.

I pour myself a nice tall glass of merlot to sip while I relax and type this silliness on a keyboard about the size of a postage stamp.

G’nite Y’all

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***** Day 2
*
I slept in the truck last night, although not well. A Honda is not big enough to lie down and as the night progressed, more and more trucks pulled in and parked right next to me with their loud diesel engines running all night. All this and it was quite cold.

Anyway, as soon as I could, I hit the road. Crossed into Arizona but did not get a picture. Trust me, I went to Arizona.

Near my destination town, I came upon this sign.

What do they mean? Like what is the alternative? Are they questioning the reason for the existence of senior citizens? Perhaps I should drive on VERY QUICKLY.

I later find out that the name of the town is Why. I ask a local why Why is named Why. I’m told why not Why.

Why not indeed.

I make it to my destination town of Ajo, AZ.

I check into my motel, the Copper Sands. I had made previous arrangements with them to allow me to park my truck and trailer there while I go play in the desert.

El Camino Del Diablo crosses the Cabeza Prieys National Wildlife Refuge and a portion of the Barry Goldwater Military Range. To do that, one has to go get a permit and sign a hold harmless statement in case the air force drops a bomb on you while you are in the test range. So I went to the appropriate office to get that taken care of.

Then my next issue was that an 8′ pole with a bright flag must be attached to your vehicle while on the trail. A good portion of the day was spent trying to find the flag setup, but everybody was sold out. The next town that “might” have these flags was an hour away. So instead, I went to the hardware store and made my own from wire ties, bailing wire and duct tape. This is my homemade safety flag attached to Lyekka.

Since I will be traveling through a military firing range, I think the flag is required to aid in their target practice. A black motorcycle wound be too hard to see from a jet, so the flag makes more of a sport of it.

I enjoyed a nice lunch in the historic downtown. For a small town, they have a beautiful square.

There were several more interesting buildings and museums that I wanted to explore, but then it started to rain so that plan got canceled. If I have time when I return from the desert, I want to explore this town more. From what little I saw, I was impressed.

In the morning I will meet up with a fellow Ural rider and we will begin the trail. I will be out of cell range for the next couple of days.

Tomorrow: El Camino Del Diablo

G’nite Y’all

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***** Day 3
*
I met up with my new friend, Walt, at a downtown spot. We had breakfast together, then headed out on the trail. Walt was a very young 76 year old dude ready for adventure.

We begin our trip from Ajo cutting through a portion of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Walt was quite capable of riding at a brisk pace through the desert obstacles and it was a challenge to try and keep up with him. This guy can haul ass through the rugged terrain. His Ural, however, was encountering some various mechanical issues that necessitated several stops for some “adjustments”. First issue was the sidecar brakes were dragging.

This section of the Mexican border is brutal for the illegal immigrants attempting to cross in to the U.S. This is a desolate desert where it is next to impossible to carry enough water to survive all the way through the desert. This issue brings up an emotional conflict. On one hand, I want strong border security but not to the point to allow those attempting to cross to perish in the desert. Sometimes, you can see blue flags in the distance such as this.

These flags marked locations of water.

Obviously the border patrol is watching these sites and the Mexicans realize this, but this at least offers the Mexicans the choice of being captured by the border security or perishing in the desert.

Some shots along the way.

Some of the trail is very rough and bouncy. The Urals have the suspension of a tank so the bumps were quite jarring. My tachometer broke loose of its mount and was just hanging by a connecting wire. I had to stop and snip the tachometer off and put it away. After traveling a bit further down the road, Walt had to perform a vasectomy on his oil temp gage that had broken loose of its mount. Next problem Walt had was some loose wires related to his ignition switch. We would be riding along and then his scooter would die. He finally found if he shook some of the wiring behind the headlight and some applies some Russian profanity, it would start again and we could continue for a while until offending wire shook lose again. Then Walt would repeat the same procedure of off we go.

The first historically significant spot we came across was the main house of the Bates Well Ranch. The Bates Well Ranch was one of the fifteen ranches and line camps in the Gray family cattle business in the Sonoran Desert country north of the US-Mexico border in Pima County, Arizona. Operating for nearly 60 years, the ranch is now part of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

The Bates Well property represents a very complete and intact example of the frontier ranching pattern in Arizona typical of the Sonoran Desert during the first third of the twentieth century. The Gray family controlled essentially all ranching operations in the Organ Pipe National Monument area.

When we were here, there was a project going on to restore the building so we were not to get close or go inside. Some volunteers and archeologist were on site that we had the opportunity to visit with were looking for the secrets from the past that the building and it’s foundation would reveal.

Some of the folks there were intrigued by our odd looking vehicles and came to visit.

Moving on, we leave the National Park land and enter Cabeaz Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.

While we may have been in a remote area, we were far from alone. We would encounter a Border Patrol Vehicle every hour or so. They would always want to talk to us and ask us were we were going, how long we would be in the desert and ask us what the hell were those things we were riding.

As we rode along, you could see these monitoring towers. I was informant that there contained some pretty sophisticated sensing equipment to detect movement so that border patrol could be alerted.

Every now and then, we would encounter one these locators.

The primary purpose of these was for an illegal immigrant to call for help if they were hurt or unable to survive the harsh desert anymore. The rescuer was the border security so if you were an illegal, you would be caught, but at least you would live to try and cross the border another day. Note that the instructions are not only in Spanish and English but also in native Indian. I later learned in a discussion with a native American that there are tribes in the area (north and south of the border) that have held on to their native language and not necessarily learned English or Spanish.

A lot of these kind of locators and water stations were as a result of a book written by Luis Urrea titled “Devils Highway”. In the not too distant past, border security was lax in this area because most illegals would die before the made it through the desert. Mr. Urrea did extensive research and tells the story of a group of men that attempted to cross the border through this deadliest region of the content in May of 2001.. Fathers, sons, brothers and strangers would enter a desert so harsh and desolate that even the Border Patrol was afraid to travel through it. For hundreds of years, men have tried to conquer this land, and for hundreds of years the desert has stolen their souls and swallowed their blood. Along the Devil’s Highway, days are so hot that dead bodies naturally mummyify almost immediately. And in that May, twenty-sex men went in.

Only twelve came back out.

The book, “Devil’s Highway” is considered a literary masterpiece and had been a finalist for the Pulitzer. I read it prior to embarking on this trip and although interesting, I found it hard to follow, but then again I’m not a literary kind of guy. But Mr. Urrea showed the world that these 14 men that died trying to cross where not just illegal immigrants but they were people looking for a better life. They were someone’s father, brother or son. Now the Border Patrol is very active in the area and serves as much of as a rescue operation as they do border security.

Every now and then, we would come across these

The Border Patrol will drag these tires behind their trucks to smooth the sand on the trail. The purpose was so that if someone tried to cross over, they would leave footprints. The Mexicans have learned to strap large sections of carpet on their shoes to hide their footprints, but a depression is still made although much more difficult to track.

Our next stop was a site called the Papago Well. Another of the wells used in the ranching operations years ago by the Grey family. This seemed like a good spot to stop for lunch and a break.

At the well site there was another of those locator beacons to signal for help

The well is still a working well but I would not drink the water myself. I noticed, however, that there was a fresh water spill. Had someone just travel through here that needed water?

As we continued our journey. We met up with a group of guys on dirt bikes that had come from the other direction.

Every time you ride with someone new, you lean something. Walt lives in Colorado but is a winter Arizonian and stays the winter at the Pipe Organ National Park as a camp host. As such, he is an experienced desert dweller, he knew to bring some shade.

This is the remains of some poor chap that attempted to cross the desert in the summer of 1871. Perhaps a prospector hoping to find gold in California.

A few random shots of the desert.

Next we encounter some nice folks coming from the other direction on 4x4s.

We visited for a while. You meet some of the nicest people in the middle of nowhere.

Walt and I rode through a pretty rough washed out section with deep ruts that made travel tenuous. I was too busy dodging 3 foot deep ruts that I forgot to stop and take a picture. So just trust me on this one.

Next we rode through the lava fields. “Back in the day” there were some active volcanoes that spewed lava rocks in this area.

The picture does not do the reality justice. Some of these rocks were quite large and sharp. I was sure glad I had installed a skid plate prior to this trip because I could hear rocks hitting on the plat frequently.

Near the end of the day, we reach Tule Well. Tule well was the most significant of the wells in the area. This site even boasted a nice adobe building.

We made camp for the night. Walt set up his tent, but for me I sow no reason to let a perfectly good adobe hut go to waste, so I made my camp inside. Walt, who I believe was jealous, kept telling me that the hut would be where the snakes go to get out of the sun. When that didn’t deter me, he then started ranting about all the scorpions. There was a table inside the hut, so I lay my sleeping bag on the table away from the snakes and scorpions.

Beautiful sunset in the desert.

Our campsite. Note that even though we are truly in the middle of nowhere, the national preserve folks had actually placed some picnic tables and grills at this site. Pretty nice set up all things considered.

It was a long fun day and we are tired. I have a nice wholesome dinner of something dehydrated and went to sleep.

G’nite Y’all

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***** Day 4
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The following photo did not come out well at all but the hut actually had a little fireplace in it. It gets pretty chilly in the desert at night (and it is February), so in the early morning a started a little fire in my hut.

When dawn broke, there had been very heavy dew almost like it had rained. Some of the dew was actually frozen. Walt complained of how cold he was during the night but I pointed out that me, the snakes and the scorpions had done quite well in our cozy heated hut.

Sunrise in the desert.

On a nearby hill, there was a monument of sorts that Walt and I hiked up to see what it was.

This monument was actually erected by the boy scouts in honor of Major Frederic Burnham. In 1936, the Arizona boy scouts mounted a state-wide campaign to save the Bighorn sheep, leading to the creation of the Cabeza Prieta wildlife refuge that we are currently riding through. The Scouts first became interested in the sheep through the efforts of Major Frederick Russell Burnham, the noted conservationist who has been called the Father of Scouting.

Not only was the monument itself very interesting, the views from atop this hill were fantastic. The valleys were covered in fog making the scenery quite picturesque and the morning sun broke through.

Time to hit the trail and continue our journey.

This area is covered with Saguaro Cactus and the shapes are very interesting. These cacti would come in all interesting shapes. Much like one can look at clouds and imagine various shapes, the same can be done with the Saguaro.
Some have the traditional arms slightly raised

This one had a surprised expression with its arms waiving high in excitement.

Younger ones (under 50 years) have no arms at all.

Some over 100 years old have many arms

Some were just relaxing

And some, like this poor fellow, seemed a bit embarrassed and felt the need to cover his “privates”

Proceeding down the trail we left the wildlife refuge and entered the Barry Goldwater military range. The range, sadly, was much better maintained and so the challenge of the ride was lessoned. Walt and I picked up our pace, enjoyed the scenery and finally arrived at the sidecar rally site at Martinez lake north of Yuma.

The rally was an unofficial not-so-organized gathering of sidecars. The area selected was large and crowded as there were several other boating and fishing events going on at the same time. Walt and I were unable to find the main cluster of sidecars but we did find a group of about 5 or 6 Urals, so we set up out tents there.

Not much to talk about or take pictures. We ate dinner at a nearby restaurant, visited, told lies, and went to bed.

G’nite Y’all

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***** Day 5
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Pretty good night last night, not near as cold or morning dew. I was able to snag this picture of one of the attendees as he left. This gentleman looked the part of a rider on a vintage rig, or was that a vintage rider on a rig?

Walt and friends start tearing into the wiring trying to discover his mystery connection problem.

My flag is beginning to look a little battle worn.

I hooked up with the two folks planning to do the west-to-east back through El Camino. They said they were not in a big rush, so I had a leisure breakfast at a nearby grill and took my time packing up and when ready to go, well … They brought a new meaning to the term “not in a rush” They had packed everything. I’m pretty sure there was a kitchen sink in there somewhere. Grill’s burners, ice chest, you name it. After they prepared their gourmet breakfast they loaded up.

By time they got everything loaded up, it was noon. I was afraid that they were then going to unload everything so they could make lunch. But at last we are on our way. By time we gassed up and they replenished their groceries, it was 1:30 in the afternoon.

I prefer for my culinary moments to be at home or at a restaurant but when I’m on a road trip, I prefer to be on the road. Each to their own.

An “oddity” about Arizona is that it is an open carry state. Both of my new riding mates were packing as well and one had a shotgun in the sidecar in addition to his sidearm. One carried his pistol strapped to the gas tank. Should we enter a war zone, I guess we are ready.

When you stop at a gas station, folks have their side arms on them. It looks like a scene out of the old west. As I understand it, so special permit is needed, no training classes, etc. If you meet the requirements to buy a gun, you just strap it on. I felt a little uncomfortable with all the open carry of guns by any Tom Dick and Harry.

Anyway, we finally get on our way. Opps, one of their ice chest came off. Had to recover that, re-strap it on and go back to town to get replace the ice and the broken eggs.

But at long last, we head on the trail. A portion of the route parallels one of Arizona’s famous irrigation canal systems.

We wondered if it was legal to put a small boat in one of these canals and putt up and down. It would be fun, but I did not bring a boat.

Along the trail

Came upon an old armored tack vehicle. I assume this was used in border security or as target practice by the Air Force?

Leaving the Goldwater range, we enter into the refuge area.

We plod along and make it to Tule Well again and make camp.

We visit, tell lies and generally conclude that I am a wimp because I refuse to carry a gun  I’ll leave it to you to guess as to how a 3 time combat veteran with a purple heart may feel about that assessment.
• Note, I am not opposed to carrying pepper spray, tazers or bear spray (of which I do), I just refuse to carry anything that has the potential of killing someone.
G’nite Y’all

*
***** Day 6
*
Pleasant weather for camping. The desert is so quiet at night it is almost unnerving. That quite was disturbed frequently by the Border Patrol making their rounds and they would investigate our camp site to see if all as legit. Sometimes they would ask if I was a U.S. citizen and I would respond with “Si Señor!”

No not really – just joking. Actually all they would do was shine their lights around our campsite, then head on. One of my fellow riders had a dog. It was a nice well behaved dog but in the middle of the night when I would get up to relieve myself, the dog would go into a barking fit. The dog was actually doing its job, but I have to go pee at night.

Some shots of our campsite in the early dawn.



My Hammock

The weather was so nice that the other guys just put up cots and slept under the stars.

I had not mentioned this before, but the other two guys are cousins and have known each other all their lives. As a result, they were on a common wavelength. It was apparent that I was not on the same wavelength and we were getting on each other’s nerves. Our riding styles were different our interest were different. We were very different. I decided that if I wanted to maintain any kind of friendship with these two, I needed to split off go my own way.

So I decided to head over a trail called Christmas Pass and they continued the traditional El Camino route. This route would actually take a more northerly route and eventually loop back to the main highway (Hiway 8) east of Welton, AZ

Christmas Pass from Tule Well The Christmas Pass Trail sweeps up, following the line of the Mohawk Mountains and then crossing the wide, flat, sandy Mohawk Valley. I have no idea as to why it was named Christmas pass and was not able to find any information as to the origin of the name.

As you gradually gained altitude, the terrain become more desolate with less vegetation and the tall Saguaro cacti was no more. This would be the shorted route to civilatation for those trying to cross the desert on foot, but also the hardest to travel. Evidence of those that did not make it were plentiful.

Several unmarked graves dotted the landscape. Some were right along the trail, but most were in the distance requiring a short hike to find them.

The trail and terrain being less traveled are a little rougher.

As I wnt through the actual pass, the trail was very uneven requiring me to go very slow and work to keep the sidecar from tipping over.





I made it through the pass OK, but had to stop many times to let the clutch and engine cool down. Onve through, I enter the valley. Miles and miles of nothing.

Another locator station.

The wording on this one was a little different. It specifically warned you that you could not make the remaining section on foot. Call for help or die.

Once in the valley there was SAND! Lots and lots of sand. Sand so deem walking was difficult.

It seems that I was the first vehicle to cross through since the trail had been “drug”. The sand had been piled in the center of the road and was quite difficult to navigate through. This is a view of a section recently passed. Not how my track had almost been swallowed by the deep sand.

The flat landscape of the valley with the mountains in the background held their own kind of beauty.

As I left the refuge and reentered the Goldwater range, I took advantage of the shade area next to the sign to take a brake and have lunch.

As I pulled out of this area, I hit a very deep section of sand and Lyekka was gaining all she had to get through and once we emerged from the deepest of the sand, Lyekka let out a puff of smoke and informed me that I had just melted her clutch.

I let her cool down to see if that would help. But I pull the clutch lever and nuttin. I adjust the clutch linkage as much as possible, but nuttin. There just ain’t no clutch.

I’m able to get it in natural by pulling on the reverse lever. I start her and then cram the gearshift into first. For the first several times, once I got it in gear, the engine would stall. But at last, I am able to get her in gear and get some momentum so off I go. Once rolling, it’s easy enough to shift without a clutch. The technique is called speed shifting, but to use the word speed and Ural in the same sentence is conflicting.

Anyway, I make it to the highway and head to Ajo. When I don’t hav e the drag of the sand, it is not as difficult to force it into first gear (although not gracefully).

I arrive in Ajo. As I’m loading Lyekka on the trailer, I see one of my other riders from this morning. I go to visit and learn that one of their rigs broke down big time (final drive failure) and they had to leave it in the desert and hitch a ride with some ATV folks that passed by. I offer to use my 4 wheel drive truck and pull a trailer to go get there rig, but they declined. The rig is fairly new and still under warranty and said the dealer would go get it. Anyway I give them my cell number and tell them that I am spending the night in Ajo before I head home, so if they need me to help give me a call.

I’m tired, I find me a motel and go nighty-nite.

G’nite Y’all

*
***** Day 7
*
Good morning. I had a nice breakfast on the square in downtown Ajo (pronounced AH-hoh) . As I previously stated, Ajo was a surprisingly beautiful town. Surprising in the sense that it is a small town (population less than 4,000) in the middle of nowhere not far from the border. Most such small towns, in my experience, are dumps. But not Ajo. So I decided to hang around a bit and sightsee. Unfortunately, their museum did not open until afternoon, so I took a walking driving tour of the town.

Other buildings around the square

The old historic Hotel Cornelia currently being renovated to resume operation

The Elks

A local community outreach center with hand painted murals

An old school that has now been converted to an artisan condo.

A nearby hill with a big ‘A’ to mark the town site of Ajo.

A condo complex overlooking the copper mines

The coper mine.

Well it’s time to head home. As I’m traveling east on I-10 (insert a big yawn here), I see a sign for Tombstone, Az. Sure, what fun is a trip without a side-trip (or two). So I detour to Tombstone.

My first stop was the famous “boot hill” cemetery.

The old Tombstone courthouse

I walked on down to downtown Tombstone. A bit touristy, but still interesting.

Its lunch time so I stop at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon

Big Nose Kate, BTW was the first prostitute in Tombstone as well as Doc Holliday’s girlfriend. I looked around and could not find a picture of Big Nose Kate to see why she was called that but could not find one. I did find this bartender that must have been there as a modern day “Big Nose Kate”. See how your eyes (if you’re a guy) are immediately drawn to the size of her nose(es)

Inside shots

I was told by the bartender that they have the best Ruben in the state, so that’s what I get and wash it down with a Big Nose Kate local brew (or two)

They had a small group providing entertainment. ‘Click on picture to play video’.

It’s time for this traveler to go home

I take the scenic route back and stop in Columbus, NM, find a nice motel and sleep. Next morning, I don’t do anything but drive. I do, however, make it home in time to take my best girl to the movies that night.

That’s the end of this trip.

Gota go now and pack for my next trip. Heading to Big Bend

If you had read my previous blog, because of mechanical problems with Lyekka the leaking Russian (burned a hole in a piston), I was unable to complete my “Tour of Honor” project.

Well last week I decided to finish my last two sites, but this time on Scarface (the Beemer) and just make a short trip of it so that I could call the mission accomplished.
I got off about 9ish and head north to Amarillo

On my way, I passed by a veterans memorial in the small town of Rising Star. This was not one of my destinations but I figured that since the “Tour of Honor” project was going to specific memorial site, I should stop and pay my respects at other Veterans memorial sites that I may pass along the way.

Along the way, near Sweetwater, I find this building. It just didn’t seem quite politically correct

Actually this was the “WASP museum” WASP in this case referred to The Women Airforce Service Pilots.  Durring WW2, this was a service organization of female pilots that supported the war effort . As more men joined the war effort, more women took Home Front jobs once considered for males only. In 1942, that trend took to the air when the U.S. Army Air Forces launched the civilian Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program. From 1942 to 1944, these first women to fly U.S. military planes logged 60 million miles, ferrying military aircraft to bases nationwide.  They also opened the way for women in the Air Force. WASP pilots trained at Sweetwater Army Air Field (Avenger Field).

As it turns out, Scarface is a big Buddy Holly fan. So by time we hit Lubbock, we seek out the Buddy Holly museum. Who would have known a German would be a fan of the man that invented rock-and-roll.

Today is Monday and the museum is closed on Monday. Scarface was very sad. Have you ever heard a grown GS cry?  It’s enough to chock you up.  I explained to Scarface that we would pass back through Lubbock after we tag the memorial site in Amarillo and I promised him that we would visit then.

In the meantime, we did view some of the outside tributes to Buddy.

Two guys with funny looking glasses

Near the town of New Deal, I see a sign for a winery and that that would be a fun side trip.  Going down a side road I pass a very unusual liquor store that I just had to stop at.

This was a combination liquor store, feed store, and horse tack shop. Additionally they had a vegetable stand and a garden where they sold plants.  I met and visited with the owner (Bill) as he told me about his enterprises.

This is the building, run by Bill’s wife, that housed the liquor store.

Afterwards, I continue on and find this small winery.

I buy some of their wine (of course, and I see this t-shirt that I just had to buy.

I press on and finally reach Amarillo by dusk and go to the Big Texan Steak Ranch.

And then I check into the adjoining western-town hotel.

After a short rest from a long ride, I head back to the ranch for some grub.
I order a steak, of course, and one of their own micro brews (Texas Red)

The inside was already decorated for Christmas.

With a pleasantly full tummy, I mosey back to my room and enjoy some of the wine I bought today at the winery utilizing some of the motel’s fine crystal wine glasses.

END of Day 1, Segment 3, attempt 2
Aprox 475 miles today.

G’nite Y’all

—————————————————————————–
Day 2

—————————————————————————–  

In the morning, I go back to the ranch for breakfast and guess what I order.
Yep, Steak and eggs.

After retrieving my steed from the livery stable, it’s time to head out.

I then go find the first quest of this trip. The Texas Panhandle War Memorial.

This large memorial pays tribute to soldiers who either lost their lives or went missing in action in all wars since the Spanish American War. Several large red granite stones, each dedicated to a different war, list the names of veterans who came from the 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle.

Next destination is Midland, so I head back south.

I take a side trip to ride through Palo Duro Canyon.

Continuing our journey to Midland, Scarface and I are happy to pass through Happy.

A promise is a promise, so we pass through Lubbock again and stop by the Buddy Holly museum.

Scarface was not allowed in, but he was happy with me taking the tour and I bought Scarface a Buddy Holly CD that made him happy.

I make it to Midland a little after dark. Riding in the dark does not make me happy. I did not make any reservations because I figured that between the large towns of Midland and nearby Odesa, surely there would be a lot of motels to choose from.

Well, not so. I was calling every motel listed on my GPS and they were all booked up. Several told me they were fully booked for the next few weeks. Argggg

Not to offend anyone that may be from this area, but this is NOT a pretty area. This is an ugly oil town and the whole place smelled of oil. I could not figure out why all the motels would be booked. Surely there is not a tourist draw here. I later learn that there has been a surge in oil field work here and there is not enough rental property to accommodate the oil field workers, so they are using the motels.

After many calls I find a motel with a room. I make my reservation and head over. This is a typical $35 a night motel except that it cost me $85. It was either pay that or sleep in an alley.

It had a bed and the cockroaches were not very large. I had skipped lunch and there were no restaurants in walking distance but I didn’t want to ride any more in the dark, so I finished off the rest of my wine and went to bed.

End of Day 2, Segment 3, Attempt 2

G’nite Y’all

===============================================
Day 3

===============================================

My “fancy” motel advertised a “continental” breakfast, so in the morning I went to partake. Their version of a continental breakfast was a loaf of bread and coffee. So I hade some toast and called that breakfast and set out to find my next designated memorial site.

On my way I pass by this bunny that begged for a picture with Scarface.

Onward I go and arrive at my next and last designated memorial. This is the Permian Basin Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

This memorial was conceived by, built by, and dedicated to the Vietnam Veterands of West Texas. Along with the engraved names of Permian Basin residents who were killed or missing in the Vietnam conflict, stand the United States, Texas and POW-MIA flags.

The image above is a chilling, but common sight from the war that I remember all to well: two soldiers helping a wounded comrade to an approaching Huey helicopter. One signals the chopper, while another watches their back

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

This was the last of the designated sites for the 2011 Tour of Honor ride. It took me almost a year to get around to completing this, but I have now finished that quest. I got this thing about quests, once started I must complete.  They are unfinished business. I still have a few more unfinished quests before I can rest.  One is Baja, while going to a place to watch whales, my brother decided to nose dive into a hill side cutting that trip short, the other was my attempt at riding the Continental Divide Route when I chose to hide in the middle of nowhere to see if anyone could find me.  These quests too that must be finished.

Being that winter is on its way it is too cold to head up north on the CDR, so I guess Baja will be next.  So, stay tuned.

Meanwhile back at the ranch. Nearby was the Commemorative Air Force Airpower Heritage Museum, a collection of WWII military aviation history.

It was time to hit the road so I did not have the opportunity to spend the time that this museum deserved, so unfortunately I had to do a quick review.  If anyone is in the area, I strongly recommend in touring this museum but plan on spending a significant amount of time to get the full impact of all that was present here.  It was all great, but perhaps what I found most interesting was the largest collection of airplane nose art in the world.  It was the custom for bombers to have pretty girls painted on the nose of the aircraft.  I found this collection fascinating, not just because the women were, well pretty with little or no clothing (but that didn’t hurt).

Following is just a small sample.

Time to head home. One the way, I find that I have my own creek.

When I passed through San Angelo I had to stop and say howdy to my friends at Jim’s.

After that, I put fire up the afterburners and head home. I arrive safe and sound.

MISSION ACCOMPLISIED. Stay tuned for the next Adventure

 

I got off to an early start before daybreak as it was a long way to my first stop (Midland, TX), But …..    Best laid plans ….

There was an extremely heavy fog and I only made it a short way down the road before having to run around and wait as a station for daybreak with hopes that I would be able to see the road by then.

At daybreak I try again.  The fog is still so thick that I have to make several stops along side the road to wait hoping for the fog to thin.

According to the weatherman on TV earlier this morning, the worst of the fog was to the north, so I figured that the sooner I could get west, I would ride out of the storm.  Unfortunately, the fog gods did not confer with this weatherman because the blanket of fog got worse.

I continued this stop and go until about noon.  I’ve never seen fog this thick and remain this long. I kept stopping at stations and having a cup of coffee waiting until the fog cleared.  I had so much caffeine in my system by noon I was about to jump up and slap someone.  At long last the fog clears and I can see my way, so I’m off and running.

I’m trying to make up a little time and perhaps pushing the Russian a little too much, and then …

And then …

Yup, that is my beloved Lyekka being loaded on a tow truck.

I was going along, all was good, life was good and then I hear a strange noise from the engine and look down and see the engine is spewing smoke. I’m not a mechanic, but I know that this is not a good sign.

I see than my crankcase vent seems to have broken (or melted), so with some handy-dandy bailing wire, I reattach said vent and check oil.  Along then some nice folks (Riche and Dora) come by and inform they thsy just live down the road and offer assistance. By then the engine had cooled down so I asked if they would just follow me a while so I could try to ride into the next town. But when I try to start the Russian , she sputters “nyet”, she isn’t going to start.  So, Riche pulls out his phone book and helps me identify some motorcycle repair shops in San Angelo (the nearest town of any size, about 35 miles away). While Riche was not a rider himself, he knew which shops had been in business for a long time. So I call ACE motorcycle shop and he agrees to see what he can do.  So, I contact my roadside assistance to request a tow truck and haul myself and Lyekkas to ACE.

BTW: My Roadside assistance cost me $30 a year.  The towing charge was about $150, that I did not have to pay. So, sure glad I had roadside asstance.

The owner, Charles, stayed past normal working hours and attempts to diagnose the problem I was hoping he would just tell me I got some bad gas, needed spark plugs or something else simple. Charles did not tell me that, instead he told me I nneded to find another way home other than Lyekka to get home.  Lyekka was very sick.  No compression on left cylinder, and very little on right. Blown rings, hole burnt in pistone, ?. Bottom line, not an easy fix.

After closing shop, Charles offers to take me to a Motel 6.  On they way I describe to him that I have not had a good day and would he mind stopping somewhere that I could get some wine.  Charles willingly goes out of his way to find a liquor store for me then to the motel.  That was certainly above and beyond the call.

I get to the motel and I’m hungry but too exhausted to go find a place to eat.  I call a Pizza Hut and order a small pizza.  I’m told that the minimum order for delivery is $10.  I tell the young lady that’s fine, charge me $10 for a small. She has some difficulty with that so I acquiesce and order a supreme medium pizza so get over the $10 minimum problem.  It arrives (burnt and greasy) , I eat what I want and save some more for breakfast. Yes cold pizza for breakfast is as bad, if not worse, that you would image.  I’m too exhausted to drink mush wine so I leave the bottle as a tip for the maid.

Now my problem.  How do I get Lyekka and myself home.  I was exploring options such as taking a bus home so I could get my truck and trailer until my sweet wife suggested I post my dilemma on the Two Wheeled Texans (TWT) forum.  The motorcycle community continues to amaze me and the “brotherhood” of TWT is fantastic.  It didn’t take long before offers of assistance started coming in.  A TWT friend, Mark, offered to come up all the way from Thorndale with truck and trailer to bring us home. Problem solved!

The next morning, not having anything better to do until Mark gets here, I walk from the hotel back to the cycle shop. I cut across an older section of town and passed this wall art along the way.

The picture does not properly show the detail of the art.  I was very impressed.  There was not any profanity and in fact, some scripture quotes.  Nicely done artwork that I assume was done by local graffiti artists.

I make it to the shop.  Charles has not had second thoughts about something cheaper and easer to fix Lyekka, so I still have some time to kill.

But before I continue with this story, I need to take a moment to identify Charles and his shop.  He seems to really know his stuff, vary friendly and the kind of guy that will bend over backwards to try to help you. If any of you guys are ever in San Angelo and need some help with your bike, this is the place to go.

Anyway, I have some time to kill; Charles takes me next door to another cycle repair shop called Jim’s Cycle Service. This is a very unusual cycle shop.  It consisted of a bunch of old guys sitting around drinking coffee and discussing politics, the weather and motorcycles.  There was a motorcycle up on a lift, but no one was working on it and no one seemed motivated to do anything (my kind of folk) except jaw. They accepted me as a visiting guest to their unnamed club and we visited and exchanged various lies.

My new friends,

I was invited to stop by again when in the area and I plan to do just that.

Mark arrives, and we load Lyekka on his trailer.

And homeward we go.  Mark drops Lyekka and I off at my house then continue on his way home.  This was a full day out of Mark’s life plus use of his truck and trailer, yet he would not accept payment.  Best I was allowed to do was buy a tank of fuel and pay for lunch and that was met with some disagrement from Mark.  Many in the motorcycle community practice “pay it forward”, obligating the recipient to help some other motorcyclist in need sometime in the future. I accept this obligation, but I have been rescued and assisted so many times that my “pay if forward” account is in the negative. If anyone of you ever need assistance, please please contact me. I need to work off some of my “pay it forward” account.  Thank you Mark!

Well the Tour of Honor quest is over in regard to being able to earn the pin and certificate of completion.  The deadline is the end of this month and there is not enough time for me to get Lyekka fixed or get my GS and try to finish this in time because of other plans.  Because I was so close (completed 5 out of 7), I plan to complete this quest someday just for the fun of it.  I don’t like unfinished mission. Besides I need to come back through San Angelo again so I can say hi to all my new friends.  So, to all the gang at Jim’s Cycle, keep a pot of coffee on and I will return someday.

End of trip

Some of you may remember (but perhaps not cared ), last April I had entered in an event called “Tour of Honor” where the goal was to visit specified memorial sites throughout a state (usually 7 per state), then take pictures of your bike at the site.  The first person to complete all 7 won trophies but in April, we were in the middle of an ice storm here in Texas so I took a pass at trying to earn a trophy.

Instead, I decided to break the trip into 3 segments and by at least completing the task of visiting all the sites I would still earn a pin, a certificate and bragging rights.  Well I did the first two segments earlier this year snagging 5 of the 7 memorials.

Thinking I had plenty of time, I kept procrastinating until I realized the deadline was Oct 31^st.  So, now in panic mode, I’m off to complete the remaining sites before the deadline.

The 2 sites remaining are the Permian Basin Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Midland, TX and the Texas Panhandle War Memorial in Amarillo, TX.

This is about a 3 day trip, but there is no telling how long it will take because of my inclination to take side trips seeking mischief and Lyekkas’s tendency to drop vital parts as we go down the highway.

I will try to post daily and of course pictures.  Be careful, I have a camera and I am not afraid to use it.

Remember you can follow my tracking by going to BeemerBob.com and then ‘clicking’ on the ‘where’s Waldo’ icon to see my current location.  I hope you are able to join me on this trip.

- Bob

I recently completed a short trip to Arkadelphia, AR to attend a sidecar rally. It was only a few days but I had lots of fun and took lots of pictures. This is my story.
The Rally was a Friday/Saturday/Sunday event but Arkadelphia is about a 8 – 9 hr trip and that is a long time on a Ural so I decided to make it a two day trip and left Thursday morning.
I get off about 8ish.

Notice the famous “wine tree” with bottles of wine growing out of the sides and hanging from the limbs. (an ongoing project to be discussed in the future).
On the way, I pass through the town of Hubbard and find this interesting VietNam war display worthy of a photo op.


I stop in Corsicana at the fruitcake place for a 10 cent cup of coffee and a complementary cookie. Coffee and cookies; Breakfast of champions.

Near Tyler, my stomach begins to complain (a constant state), and I veer off route a bit to get feed at The Shed in Edom, Tx.

I made it as far as Atlanta State Park (Southwest of Texarkana and set up camp in the beautiful pine forests of East Texas.

The park is fairly deserted; I hang my hammock and sip on the scant bit of wine I brought with me. Then along comes a dude on a Beemer sickle. He stops and we talk and he decides to set up camp next to me. I offer to share some of my dehydrated meals with him, but sadly, I tell him I am out of wine. He then tells me he has plenty of wine. My new best friend! The only thing better than meeting a fellow motorcyclist is to meet a fellow motorcyclist with plenty of wine. Mark (the name of my new best friend) and I spent the evening drinking his wine and solving the world’s problems. I don’t know if we solved any of the world’s problems, but I do know we drank all his wine and had a very nice time .
The next morning, after saying goodbye to Mark, I head towards Arkadelphia. A sidecar buddy Lee (aka: SwampFox) sent me an interesting route from the park where I was staying to the small town of Proctor where some folks had decided to meet for lunch and then ride together to the rally site. I follow this route and cross over into Arkansas.

I am unable to finish the entire route that Swampfox sent because I was running out of time so I be-lined it to Proctor so I wouldn’t be late. However not everyone was concerned about being late. Oldtimer & Tahobiker were late, so we had to wait for them to finally show up anyway.
After lunch, Swampfox tells us he has a nice route for us leading to the rally side and we get to cross over some old bridges, so off we go.
We cross (well at least some of us cross) North Boat Ditch of the Terre Noire River in Clark County. Tahobike with his fancy dancy pretty low sidecar, comes off the rail and high centers on the rail and can go no more. Immediately, everyone runs to his aid. NOT! First order of business was to get out our cameras.



A few other shots while on this road


We make it to the Rally site, register, say howdy, etc. After a while, I head over to the state park where we are staying, “Degray Lake Resort State Park”, and set up camp
Great campsite next to the lake. Their I meet up with a friend (Darrin) that I know from Two Wheeled Texans (TWT). Being just a youngster in his early 40’s he has yet embrace the concept of a sidecar rig, so he rode his two wheeled cow-wa-saki KLR.

He had some other plans for the weekend but they fell through so he decided to join me to this event.

Some views from our campsite.


We return to the Rally and join the rest of the group for hot dogs and the best road-kill chili I have ever had. Darrin and I are able to secure some adult beverages for the evening and return to our campsite to consume these beverages.
In the morning we all meet up and ride up near Hot Springs for breakfast. Great ride, great food.

After breakfast, Darrin and I go in search of dirt. Swampfox pointed us in the general direction and we went to go get dirty. Soon we found ourselves on some old logging roads and trails in the densely wooded forest.
We come upon a muddy low water crossing area. Darren skillfully and carefully works his way around this obstacle; I on the other hand choose to go right through the middle spraying mud and water everywhere. Great fun!
Continuing down the logging roads


Sometimes the road .we were on would sort of petter out leaving us to blaze a path through an open area where perhaps there used to be a road

We came upon this section of the road that was mostly washed out. I was very concerned that the width of the sidecar would present a problem staying out of the deep ruts.
A view of the washed out section.

The following is a video clip of us going through this ravine. I also learned that one should wait until you are completely through the obstacle before yelling “Yeeehaaa”
Click on picture to see clip

What there was of the road is now nothing more than a sliver through the woods where there are not trees. The pathway narrows to almost single track, about another foot more narrow and I and Lyekkas would have to turn around. We ride over some small limbs and trees, but able to continue making progress.



We find out way out of the woods and head back to the rally site to watch the sidecar game events. I did not have a willing monkey, so I could only watch. We then had a great BBQ catered dinner.
The rigs are all lined up for photo ops and for judging. Lyekka had wanted to freshen up for the judging, clean up, put on fresh lipstick, etc. but time did not permit (besides, she now had a flat), so she entered the contest covered in mud with vegetation caught in some of her framework.


After dinner, there was an awards presentation for the sidecar games, prettiest rig, rider that came the furthest, etc.
Lyekka won a trophy!  She won the “Rat Hack” award.

This is basically an award for the rattiest rig in attendance. Lyekka is not a pretty girl anyway, but covered in mud did not help her appearance much.


Lyekka and I are not much into pretty so we were quite proud of our trophy.
The next morning, Darrin and I head back to the woods. This time we were not as lucky to find as good of roads as we did yesterday. The first obstacle was a ditch going across the road. To smarter men, this would have been a clue that this was not a good route and we should find another road. But since we are not that bright, we push onward.
My concern was the only passable section of this ditch was not very wide and I doubted that Lyekka could make it without sliding into the ditch. No problem says Darren as he stacks some lose rocks and a rotted log to widen the path.

Darren and his KLR get through without much trouble, Lyekka on the other hand, well…


The following film clip shows how Lyekka got in this mess. (click on picture for video)

After some various attempts to get Lyekka out of the ditch, we discover the problem is that while sitting on the bike, the frame is pushed down into the dirt. So we decide to “walk it” through with me standing on the left side in the ditch operation the throttle and Darrin pushing from the back. This works great, except for a slight issue. Once out of the hole, I let go of the bike and then I fall down because I was standing in the ditch. One would think that once I let go of the throttle, the bike would stall and come to a standstill. But not this time. I’m laying on the ground without plans to get up real soon when I look up and see Lyekka heading down the road. Putt putt putt, there she goes. As I am truing to scramble back to my feet to give chase, there goes Darren sprinting after her. He finally catches her and hits the front brake, this time causing her to stall and die. It may be one of those “you had to be there”, but to see Lyekka putting down the road on her own with Darren running behind trying to catch up was one of the funniest things I have seem for a long time. We both laughed and regretted that we had not been able to get a video, So you will just have to trust me, this was funny.
After this good laugh, we regain our composure and continue down the road. Because of the way a sharp slab of concrete in the ditch was position, coming back the other way would be very difficult so it is important that we find another route out of the woods. A short way down the road we come upon a dead tree across the road. So tromp down some small trees and bushes that will allow us to go around the tree.

In the process,

Lyekka adorns herself with vines and limbs as she blazes a trail through the jungle.

Once past that obstacle, we find another tree across the road but with no way around.

We do, however, see a little side road going up a hill so we follow that. We end up at a deer blind with no other egress other then the way we came. We are without a doubt, now on private property. Not looking forward to crossing that ditch again, I had noticed an unlocked gate in front of a road that might lead us out of and I was suggesting that we trespass and hope we get away with it without getting shot. Darrin however, swears he hears some banjos playing in the background and was not too keen on going through a gate on private property. So we head back the we come, this time paying close attention to any side roads that may be there that we could have missed. Well, we did not miss any side roads and ended up back at the same ditch.

We explored other options to possibly go around, but none looked any better. But this time, we don’t even attempt to ride Lyekka through but instead, just walk he through. This worked fine and Lyekka did not get away from me and proceed down the road on her own.
By this time we a pooped and poor Darrin was worn out from pushing Lyekka through the ditch. We go to the nearest town and find a station that also serves food ate nd rested a bit. We gave some thought to finding another section to ride but decided that to go back to the campsite for a little nappy time.
We nap and goof off the rest of the afternoon and then we discover the park we are staying at has a nice lodge with a restaurant, so we go there for dinner. Upon returning to our campsite we discover we still have some pre-mixed margarita that needs to be consumed and we do so.
The next morning Darrin thinks one is supposed to hurry and pack up your gear and hit the road. I work to teach him the fine art of goofing off and talk him into returning to the lodge restaurant for a nice breakfast and returning to finish packing up. We finally get on the road about 10ish, I think. Darrin rides with me until Texarkana from there he west towards Ft. Worth and I break off heating southwest to the Waco area.
My original plan was to take two days to get home and stop at Tyler State Park for the night and finish the trip in the morning. By time I got to Tyler, I was feeling fine and decided to push on.

I finally got home about 8:30pm. Tired, but glad to be home.

Had a GREAT time. It was a lot of fun finding out that Lyekka is a pretty good off-road vehicle

Bri and I – A new adventure is about to begin!

Hello all. Some of you may have thought I died or quit riding. Well the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. My wife is a school teacher (someone in this household needs to have a job) and as such, she is off during the summer. My sweet wife that lets me go on my adventures prefers that I not take long trips while she is off. For some odd reason she wants me around when she is off. I have no idea why.

I’ve been doing short trips here in Texas and while those were fun, they were not blog worthy. Well school is back in session so it’s time to take an epic trip.

As most may know, it has been hot in Texas this year. VERY HOT! I live in Central Texas and we have broken numerous records with this heat spell. The record heat has been combined with a record drought so it’s time to head to the cool mountains of Colorado.

This trip will be most unique because my youngest son (Brian, age 31, sometimes called Bri) is joining me. Brian took a class to learn how to drive a sidecar rig and got a motorcycle endorsement on his license so we will be taking Lyekka the Russian (a Ural motorcycle with a sidecar). Brian and I will switch between being the driver or being the monkey in the sidecar. Brian has no interest in motorcycles and no interest in a quest to travel the continental divide or other such foolishness. Why then, you may ask, is Bring coming on this trip. TO BE WITH ME! Although Brian worded it much better, but with my tendency to ride into foolish areas or try to negotiate turns at 100 mph, he wanted to go on a trip with me before I manage to kill myself.

So this will be a father/son trip. Just the two of us. We have never done anything like this before and this will be very meaningful for the both of us.

The weather here in Texas has been unbearable. As of today we have had over 80 days of temperatures over 100 so far this year. We have broken several all-time records concerning the heat. So we are heading to the cool mountains of Colorado. This journey will begin Sept. 6. We felt it best to wait until after Labor Day so that the venues we want to visit would be less crowded and cheaper.

Beemer Bob

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*****          Day 1         *****
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We are off. The trip has begun! Bri is driving the rig and I am driving the truck.

Start of our trip began a little questionable because of the wildfires. The storm that drenched Louisiana and Mississippi with tons of water also brought central Texas heavy winds. But because hurricanes rotate counter-clockwise the winds that hit Texas had blown over very dry land. So all we got was hot, dry wind. After a summer of record breaking heat and drought, this was a disaster waiting to happen. Well it happened! Yesterday Texas was on fire! Wildfires all over the place. After this drought, almost anything would start a fire and the dry winds fed them to an uncontrollable state traveling through the woods at a fast speed. Brian lives in an area where a fire had broken out and all the roads to his house had be blocked. This presented a problem in that he could not get to his house to get his boots and clothes. I suggested to Brian that we delay the trip until he can get his clothes but he was anxious to get going and wanted to go without his stuff. So off we go, but I fear that running around the snowcapped mountains without any clothes might be too cold.

We start out about 8 in the morning. Brian drives the rig and I drive the truck

Our first stop is the Koffee Kup Restaurant in Hico for breakfast.

At this point we switch and I drive the rig while Brian drives the truck.

After a nice hardy breakfast we continue northeast. Even though we had a big breakfast, by early afternoon we were feeling the need for nourishment. So we pulled into a Dairy Queen for a wholesome lunch of blizzards.

By late afternoon we make it to our first destination on our journey, Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo.

The home of the free 72oz steak! Wow, what a deal! Well there is a catch; you have to eat the steak and all the trimmings including baked potato within an hour. If you succeed, the meal is free. If you fail, the charge is $72.

When we lived in Colorado (20+) years ago, this was our stop over place when we would come back to Texas to visit family. Therefore we had a lot of fond memories of this place.

This is a fun place and if you are ever in Amarillo, I recommend you stop.

Part of the ranch is a motel redone like an old time western town. We checked in to the dodge house hotel for the night.

The motel had a Texas shaped pool, but it was hard to get a proper picture, so trust me on this, the pool was Texas shaped.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

At the shooting gallery

Just sitting around for a while

I wish I was big. I wish I was big

After a hard day at the ranch, it was time for a homemade beer

Time for a steak

And a little music while you eat (click on picture for video)

Beer in a boot

And to end the day

G’nite Y’all

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*****          Day 2         *****
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In the morning, we swagger on over to the Big Texan for a hardy Texas breakfast. Afterwards we pack up and leave our rustic hotel.

We drive through the Texas panhandle, every now and then we even see a tree. We then cross over into New Mexico where Brian hangs around.

I, on the other hand, shimmy up the pole. This is a picture of me coming down from the top of the sign.

Through the northern section of New Mexico is a place called Capullin National Monument and it is the site of a now dead volcano. You can drive up a narrow winding road to the top but trailers are not permitted, so we unloaded Lyekka and rode her. I drove, with Brian in the tub. It was a lot of fun, but Brian did not get to see most of the views during the ride. On the way up we were on the outside lane with a drop off to our immediate right. As we would round a curve with a magnificent view I would tell Brian to look at the fantastic view, but instead he would look down at the floorboard of the sidecar and say something like “I saw it”, but never look up. Other words he said sounded like a prayer. It was funny, well at least i thought it was funny

Well we made it the top without going over the edge. Some views from the top

The crater

We return to the bottom without incident and Brian was much happier with us being on the inside lane.
We continue our journey; by time we get to Raton, NM we feel the need for a wholesome nutritious lunch, so of course that means Dairy Queen. I have a small blizzard

Brian, however, orders a supper size cone.

The monkey is happy about reaching Colorado.

I’m happy but not quite as excited.

We continue on to the town of Walsenburg, TX. This is the end of the trailering, time to unload Lyekka. We store the truck and trailer at a storage facility and it’s Lyekka from here on.

Some questions were raised as to why we were trailering instead of riding the entire way. As exciting as it is to ride through the flat boring panhandle, Brian has limited time off from work, so it was quicker to trailer to where the fun is. So anyway, we now leave the comfort of an enclosed truck and into the elements.

From Walsenburg to Pueblo, the winds were very high that made the ride a little less than pleasant. We encountered some light rain and with the high winds the drops stung slightly where it hit your skin. We stopped for a short break in Pueblo and then heading on to Colorado Springs. The winds died down and the ride became more pleasant but a tad cool. By time we got to Colorado Springs, the sun had falling and the temperatures dropped. Then it started raining. Uch

We ride on to Manitou Springs and stop at a really neat place to eat, Stagecoach Inn. We got a nice table next to the fireplace so we could thaw.

Yum yum

After we check in to a local motel (Pikes Peak Inn), the rain had stopped so we walk to the Manitou downtown area and find the shops and arcade have closed but the bars are open

That bar was a bit wild for these mild mannered Texans so we find a tamer place for a night cap (or two).

After a while we head back to our motel and deem the day done.

G’nite Y’all

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*****          Day 3         *****
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In the morning we head over to the Garden of the Gods.

The Kissing Camels

We come across this big ol’ boulder about to crash down on the citizens of Colorado Springs, but Super Bri jumps into action to save the day.

He holds the boulder in place until the city can send in heavy equipment. Bri, Our hero.

Brian is not too thrilled with the idea, but I persuade him that we should do Pikes Peak. So off we go.

We ascended about 8,000 feet with no problem. A scenic photo opp.

The peak covered by the cloud is Pikes Peak

We find Big Foot

As we gain altitude, it starts to get chilly so we done some extra layers.

After a while the incline becomes very steep and Lyekka is huffing and puffing to continue on. A few times we would stop to let the engine cool.

A few more scenic pictures once we start getting into the clouds

We plug along at a very slow pace. For a while I was thinking Brian was going to need to get out and push. But we continue and …

We go inside the warmth of the summit building and have some famous Pikes Peak donuts.

We are completely engulfed in fog with no visibility. Following are some of the majestic views from the summit.

Stay tuned to find out if the dynamic duo makes it down from the mountain.
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As previously stated, the fog/cloud was as thick as pea soup and when we were leaving, it started to snow. Well not exactly snow, nor was it sleet. It was more like “snow pellets”. Not only was it cold, but I couldn’t see 2 feet in front of me.

We find a car about to leave and I ask him to slowly lead the way for us because it was difficult for me to see. The way I figure it, if I see them go over the edge I would know to stop. This seemed like a good plan, but the idiot did not turn on his lights so without tail lights I quickly lost sight of him. I could only see him when he used his brakes or now and then he would stop waiting for me to run into him. My face shield had fogged/iced over and I could not see through it so I had to raise the shield and “face” the elements. COLD!

We are going very slowly and after a while some cars behind us pass us, so we are now on our own. All I can see is the yellow dividing line immediately in front but can’t see upcoming switchbacks, so I’m crawling along. As the roads are wet and potentially icy, Brian is ready to jump out of the tub. I ask him what he is doing and he tells me “if this thing goes over the edge, I’m out of here”.

We finally make it down to the Glen Clove Lodge where there is brake check point where they check to see if your brakes are overheating. If so, they instruct you to stay at the lodge for a while to let your beaks cool. I tell the guy no need to check us because we are going to stop anyway to change our underwear.

By now all is dry and the incline is not nearly as steep so after a break at the lodge to thaw out, we proceed on back to Manitou Springs.

On the way we pass through Santa’s Workshop in the town of North Pole. When we lived in the area a long time ago, Brian was very young (about 5 or 6, I think) and we took him here a few times.

After enjoyed a celebratory class of wine to toast our feats of the day, we take a walking tour of downtown Manitou Springs. Manitou is an interesting hippy sort of place.

In the center of town is an old arcade with several buildings full of arcade and midway types of games The one we liked best was the penny arcade full of real old time games.

After touring some of the odd shops (including one that sold books and equipment for growing “hemp” at home), we head to a place called “The Keg” (I think they sold beer), and ordered their filet mignon burgers.

We are done for the day.

G’nite Y’all

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*****          Day 4         *****
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Our next destination is Cripple Creek. On the way we stop by the small town of Green Mountain falls. Brian is standing in front of the building that housed a day care center where he terrorized the other little kids when we lived in nearby Woodland Park. It is now a private residence.

Onward we pass through our old stomping grounds of Woodlawn Park. This was our donut shop that we loved to frequent.

We take the “scenic” route to Cripple Creek and divert to the old mining town of Victor. This old town is just about dead.

We continued onward to Cripple Creek. When we lived in Colorado, Cripple Creek was a quaint little old mining town that had interesting shops. Cripple Creek voted in gambling; now the cute shops have been replaced with casinos.

It’s been over 20 years since we lived in Colorado Springs but we had come back to visit a little over 10 years ago and at that time, Brian was one month away from being 21 and they would not allow him inside. So we never got to even see the inside until this trip.

Motels were plentiful but pricy; everything was $100 or more. We ended up checking into the Grand King Mountain Inn, a nice place high on a hill. We found out later that if we had taken the time to get a “players card” at a casino, it would have been cheaper, oh well.

We then take a shuttle back to the downtown area. First thing we did was to take a ride on an old train that took us to some of the gold mines in the area.

Along the way we viewed some awesome views and the train engineer provided interesting narration during the trip. Following are some of the views from the train.

While it’s still light we take a walking tour of the area. This is Brian in front of one of the many Parlor Houses) brothels that once existed on what was described as one of the most sinful streets in America. This house is the only one that remains (no it is no longer in “business” ), now it is just a museum.

There are a bunch of casinos here, so we started at one end of town and then worked our way back. Neither of us are much into gambling so we just played the penny slots. We had this mission to get a souvenir at every casino. Now days you insert a dollar but when you “cash out”, the machine will print off a ticket that you then can take to the cashier to get real money. What we would do was play our dollar down to 1 cent and then cashout and get our certificate. These 1 cent tickets were our souvenirs. If we ever got ahead of our $1 investment, we would cash out and get real money.

The fact that we were playing, we would get free drinks so a buck for a beer was ok. We had a great steak and eggs meal at one of the casinos for only $2.99 which, with free wine was a good deal.

We continue this silliness of collecting souvenir tickets at casinos.

Overall, Brian is down only a few bucks and I’m probably down $10+. At our last stop for the evening, I win over $40 at a penny slot. So all in all, we had our all our meals, drinks and an evening of fun fully paid for. A great way to end the day.

We call for the shuttle to bring us back to the motel.

G’nite Y’all

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*****          Day 5         *****
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We begin the day with a great breakfast supplied at a local casino courtesy of our hotel. It was a casino that we had not yet visited so of course we had to try our luck at the dollar slots. But no wins today, but at least we did get our $.01 souvenir winning tickets. Fiddle with this and I fiddle with that, but nothing helps. I consider seeing if we can continue our trip through Phantom Canyon with the throttle problem. I quickly abandoned that idea and we go in search of a mechanic. Nothing in Cripple Creek, so we head to the town of Florissant because we are told there is a good mechanic there. We risk it and ride there only to find the mechanic took off today to attend a car show in Cripple Creek (where we just left). Using the telephone and phone book, we are able to locate a HD mechanic all the way back in Woodland Park but after describing my problem, he seems to feel he can fix it.. Out of other Options, we make our way back. After some searching, we locate the mechanic and after about an hour of fiddling with it, he is able to repair the doodad that connects to the thingamagig that makes the whatsit work.

So… Let the journey continue. We make our way back to Cripple Creek. We stop and have another $3.00 steak and eggs meal at a casino then onward to Phantom Canyon. We go through the old mining town of Victor (pretty much a ghost town now) and finally begin the famous “Phantom Canyon” road. This is a gravel road that has not been graded in the current decade and the road is very wash boarded. We are bouncing all over the place and our teeth are beginning to hurt from all the jittering. The front brake on a sidecar rig is extremely important for control through the turs. I’m noticing that the brake seems to be a little squwishy and Brain calls out to tell me I’m squirting brake fluid. We stop and discover that my BRAKE HAS FALLEN OFF! The caliper is just dangling from the hose but is no longer connected to the wheel disk. This is not good.

Back we go. I’m thinking I may be able to fix it, but it is getting too late to begin the Phantom Canyon road, so we head back to Victor and check into a restored grand ol’ hotel, “The Victor Hotel”. This is an 1899 hotel that has been restored back to its original glory (with modern conveniences)

There was a mechanic / tow truck operator in Victor that I contacted to see if he would help put my brake back together. Today was Saturday and he told me that he did not work on Saturday but that he would be willing to tow me to Colorado Springs. Knowing the Colorado Springs was over an hour away, I told him that the would probably be something he could fix in a short time as opposed to spending hours hauling me to Colorado Springs. He then explained that he did not work on Saturday but he would be willing to tow me to Colorado Springs…. So much for that conversation.

Upon investigation, it seemed that the caliper bolts had vibrated loose and if I could just get the caliper back on the disk, I could rig something to make it work. I telephoned a friend and he told me how to get the brake pads apart so I could get it back on the disk. I did so and then used zip ties to tie the caliper back on. Used to be bailing wire but now we have advanced to zip ties. Duct tape, however, remains a very good tool as well.

Brian is not so sure about my brakes being held together with zip-ties, but he reluctantly agrees and we declare ourselves ready to continue the journey in the morning. So now what do we do? Where is the night life happing place in Victor? There seem to be two businesses in Victor. A convenience store (but no gas) and a bar. So off we go to the bar.

It’s a nice place; the girl tending the bar, however, was a little strange.

While there we are told that we are in luck. Tonight is the big excitement night for Victor. Tonight, the Victor Lodge had BINGO!! So now we are off to go play bingo. We are so excited.

The Victor lodge bingo parlor:

It’s a whopping $1 a card for the night, so we splurge our remaining penny-slot winnings and get two cards each.

We lost all of our winnings, so we hang our heads in shame and head back to the motel. Actually, we had a ball. Out here in the middle of nowhere playing bingo with the locals. They were all very friendly and hospitable and we enjoyed out time. Playing bingo, can you believe we did that?

End of Day 5 – G’nite Y’all

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*****          Day 6 & 7         *****
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In the morning we find a local café that was serving up spicy green chili stew over biscuits for breakfast. Nothing like green chili stew to get you going in the morning.

I reassure Brian that the brakes being held on with zip-ties, duct tape and bubble gum was not an issue of concern through the narrow canyon roads. Reluctantly, he agrees and climbs into the tub and off we go to ride Lyekka through the Phantom Canyon Road leading from Victor to Canon City. FYI: Canon city has one of those squiggly ~ lines over the ñ, so it is Spanish and is pronounced canyon. I did not know that until I started to learn Spanish. When I lived in Colorado I just thought the people in Canon City did not know how to spell canyon. My Spanish, however, remains very limited I do know how to order a beer, how to ask where the restroom is and how to ask for medical assistance. My last trip to Baja I had the opportunity to use all three phrases. Thank you Rosetta Stone. Ahh, but I digress…
We proceed down phantom canyon road and enjoy breathtaking views. He road is very bumpy and the washboards are at time unbearable. Lyekka is just a rattling but for the most part, we don’t seem to be losing any more parts (yet). The views are great!

OK, so we got a bit carried away with taking pictures but that’s always better than not taking enough. The road was fun, views beautiful but the bumpy washboard road was a bitch. That road could destroy a good set of shocks. The road never got technical but sometimes it would narrow to one lane and that too was OK except when we would come to a blind curve. The drop-off was severe so it was important to not be surprised by a car coming from the other direction. I installed a truck horn on Lyekka just for this situation. Every time we came upon a narrow blind curve, I would lay on the horn so that anyone coming the other direction would get the hell out of the way because they would think a Mac truck was coming.
This is a short video Brian shot through some of the narrow turns or tunnels. Forgive the jittery video, did I mention this was a bumpy road? (click on picture to start clip)

Great ride (‘cept for our kidneys being bounced lose and comming out our pant legs), we hit a highway and headed to Royal Gorge (the other side of Canon City).. We make it to the Roal Gorge and find that it’s a pretty hefty fee to get in. All we wanted to do was cross the bridge but one has to buy a full ticket for all the attractions there, so what the hell. The world’s highest suspension bridge which spans the Arkansas River at a height of 1053 feet

First thing we did was ride the suspended cable car over the gorge. Following are the views that we saw.

Once across the gorge, we toured some of the sites there. Here we are in a make-shift old-time bar. This picture is actually Brian’s reflection in a large mirror. They wern’t serving, so we left.

We found a place serving elk burgers, so we ate an elk or two and washed it down with Coors (We asked for Lone Star, but had to settle for Coors)

Some more shots on the other side of the bridge.

We rode the shuttle back to the other side and then took the incline rail to the bottom of the gorge. Going down, down, down …(click on picture to start clip)

Some of our views from the bottom.

Now we drive Lyekka across the bridge

On the map, it shows a road that is accessible from the south side of the gorge and I had a neat route planned for us. Unfortunately, being a bit out of prime tourist season, the south gate was locked and there was not any way for us to get to that road.

So, back across the bridge we go.

Sadly our trip is nearing an end and it is time to head back to Walsenburg to get the truck and begin the journey home.

South of Canon City we were able to hook on a beautiful winding highway called the Greenhorn Highway that wound through lush green hills and mountains. As the sun was beginning to set, we did not stop to take pictures because we needed to get the truck (I only name toys, the truck is known as the truck).
The last section of our trip was on a gravel road with some bumps. It seems that Lyekka has had about enough of bumps. We are tooting doing the road and then all of a sudden there is a lot of clanging noise and then Lyekka gets VERY loud. We turn around to find that our muffler fell off. We wait until the muffler is cool enough to handle and I strap it on top of our rack, dispense some ear plugs and off we go exceeding all legal noise levels.
We roar(literly) into Walsenburg, load Lyekka on the trailer and head south.
We drive until we are tired and find a cheap motel in Dalhart, Tx. The next morning we continue heading south and make it home for dinner.

END OF TRIP

Bri and I had a great time and thank you for tagging along via the blog.