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drfood

drfood

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Location
Houston
First Name
Darrell
Last Name
Gerdes
Jay and I will be out west June 18-July 8 due to a convention in Lost Wages the last week of June. It's rough having to plan a riding vacation around a convention ain't it :rofl:

Going out there things are pretty set timewise due to Jay having to be in Lafayette the week before we leave. His parents are in their 80's and he is having to spend more time over there these days helping them keep on top of things.

Day 1--Houston to Ft. Stockton (hotel) (Leave on Father's Day)
Day 2--Ft. Stockton to Silver City, NM (hotel)
Day 3--Silver City to Mather Campground Grand Canyon (191 in AZ has been removed the the trip this year :giveup:)
Day 4&5--South Rim Grand Canyon :sun::sun::sun: (camping)
Day 6--South Rim to Lost Wages via old route 66 :rider:
Day 7-11--Lost Wages :eek2:
Day 12--Lost Wages to Zion NP
Day 13-14--Zion NP (camping and hiking Angel's Landing :nono:)
Day 15--Zion NP to Moab UT (via Utah 12)(Is there any way to avoid riding all the way up to I-70 to get to Moab and still ride 12?)
Day 16--Moab==>going to Arches NP want to be at Delicate Arch for sunset(Staying in hotel for 3 nights in Moab)
Day 17--Moab==>riding to Moki Dugway, Natural Bridges Nat'l Monument, Valley of Gods and back to Moab
Day 18--Moab, UT to Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park CO (camping)
Day 19--Black Canyon of Gunnison to Alamosa (camping or hotel)
Day 20--Alamosa to Santa Fe (going to Great Sand Dunes on way to Santa Fe) (hotel or staying with sister)
Day 21--Santa Fe to Abilene (hotel)
Day 22--Abilene to Houston

The route out west is set in concrete due to timing. I have to be back in the office on July 10, so we cannot extend the trip past day 22.

Road/route/sights to see suggestions on the 2nd half of the trip are welcome. I'm especially interested to hear of route suggestions between Moab and Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Jay rides a 2012 V-Strom 650 and I have a 2014 V-Strom 650. We are running Pilot Road 4's on the bikes. Moki Dugway is about as off-road as we want to get on the trip.

Thanks.
 
If you are going to camp try the KOA at Gunnison they have A-frame cabins that are like $40 bucks a night. Call ahead of time because there are only maybe five of them or so. For a motel The Long Holiday is a great place to hang your helmets also. Eat a steak at the Ole Miner steak house in Gunnison and breakfast at the "W" cafe. French toast and bacon yummy.
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Day 19 if it was me I would go CO50 to CO149 all the way till South Fork then 160 to Pagosa Springs,next 84 south to Chama,NM. ON 149 you can visit the North Clear Creek falls and take some pictures. Spend the night in Chama. Take a ride on the Toltec @ Cumbres train. Then 64 to Taos. Loop 38 the enchanted circle to NM434,last 518 to Las Vegas,NM. On 38 you can go north or south depending on time. Home from there. Hope this helps.

From Moab take 70 to Delta CO then 92 to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The back road is excellent. Here is a shot of what you can see riding around the back side of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

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North Clear Creek falls. Watch for it many including myself have driven past not knowing it was there.

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Thanks for the suggestions.....Forgot to notate. Camping at Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Reserved the site via the NPS camping site.
 
drfood said:
Thanks for the suggestions.....Forgot to notate. Camping at Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Reserved the site via the NPS camping site.
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In Chama stay at the Branding Iron and eat at High Country. Have you been to Colorado or New Mexico before?
 
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Yes. We did the Durango to Silverton train 3 years ago in October.

Many many many years ago as a kid we visited Royal Gorge. Never been to Black Canyon area.

We've been to ABQ and Farmington and Santa Fe, my sister lives SE of Santa Fe in a housing development where there are a lot of homes w/horses.
 
drfood said:
Day 15--Zion NP to Moab UT (via Utah 12)(Is there any way to avoid riding all the way up to I-70 to get to Moab and still ride 12?)
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You could take 95 south from Hanksville down to Blanding and then up 191 to Moab. I rode 12 and 95 a few years ago and 95 was spectacular. It is about 90 more miles than taking 24 north from Hanksville up to 70 to get to Moab.
 
A turn off from Highway 12 in Boulder is Burr Trail. The highlight of our trip and that's saying a lot since we were in Southern Utah and Eastern Utah. It's 20 miles long paved and then 10 more miles of maintained dirt. Very beautiful.
 
I'll be in the same region around the same time but going on up to Alaska

Detailed trip on Spotwalla.

I'll start on June 13 with attending RockSTOC III in Ouray, CO and then take a leisurely long route through the National Parks to attend NatSTOC XII in Spearfish, SD. Then north to Canada and Alaska through the rest of July. After fitting a new set of tires in Fairbanks, if the weather is kind the goal is reach the Arctic Circle on the Dalton Highway. I plan to return via Vancouver and then across to Tofino on Vancouver Island. The goal is to follow the west coast all the way south to San Diego before turning east and returning to Texas.

Detailed Planned Itinerary
 
drfood said:
Jay and I will be out west June 18-July 8 due to a convention in Lost Wages the last week of June. It's rough having to plan a riding vacation around a convention ain't it :rofl:

Going out there things are pretty set timewise due to Jay having to be in Lafayette the week before we leave. His parents are in their 80's and he is having to spend more time over there these days helping them keep on top of things.

Day 1--Houston to Ft. Stockton (hotel) (Leave on Father's Day)
Day 2--Ft. Stockton to Silver City, NM (hotel)
Day 3--Silver City to Mather Campground Grand Canyon (191 in AZ has been removed the the trip this year :giveup:)
Day 4&5--South Rim Grand Canyon :sun::sun::sun: (camping)
Day 6--South Rim to Lost Wages via old route 66 :rider:
Day 7-11--Lost Wages :eek2:
Day 12--Lost Wages to Zion NP
Day 13-14--Zion NP (camping and hiking Angel's Landing :nono:)
Day 15--Zion NP to Moab UT (via Utah 12)(Is there any way to avoid riding all the way up to I-70 to get to Moab and still ride 12?)
Day 16--Moab==>going to Arches NP want to be at Delicate Arch for sunset(Staying in hotel for 3 nights in Moab)
Day 17--Moab==>riding to Moki Dugway, Natural Bridges Nat'l Monument, Valley of Gods and back to Moab
Day 18--Moab, UT to Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park CO (camping)
Day 19--Black Canyon of Gunnison to Alamosa (camping or hotel)
Day 20--Alamosa to Santa Fe (going to Great Sand Dunes on way to Santa Fe) (hotel or staying with sister)
Day 21--Santa Fe to Abilene (hotel)
Day 22--Abilene to Houston

The route out west is set in concrete due to timing. I have to be back in the office on July 10, so we cannot extend the trip past day 22.

Road/route/sights to see suggestions on the 2nd half of the trip are welcome. I'm especially interested to hear of route suggestions between Moab and Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Jay rides a 2012 V-Strom 650 and I have a 2014 V-Strom 650. We are running Pilot Road 4's on the bikes. Moki Dugway is about as off-road as we want to get on the trip.

Thanks.
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North of Silver City on US180 is the wide spot in the road called Glenwood. There is a sign for the Catwalk, a nice place to cool off for a few. A catwalk goes up the canyon over the stream where there used to be a water powered ore crusher. Check it out if you have time.
Hwy 12 up over Bolder Mtn in fun you ride the Devils Backbone on a ridge with sheer drops on both sides. Nothing over 35 ft is "supposed" to be on that road. Watch out for deer, much bigger than Texas deer by a long shot.
 
We are now T -3.5 days and counting. Lots of small projects to do...what did I get myself into. :eek2:

Left to do--
  • Install Eastern Beaver circuit and fuse box in 1 bike
  • Install LED headlights on J's bike
  • New helmet for Darrell arrives today, make sure it fits
  • Install shelf on Darrell's DL650 w/powerlets and volt meter
  • Install Barkbusters on Darrell's DL650
  • Install new tank bags on both bikes
  • Install LED turn signal "bulbs" on both bikes
  • Install LED brake "bulbs" on both bikes
  • Finish cancelling double booked motels
  • Set up tent to air out and repack
  • Pack panniers
  • Test and play with new Sony A6000 camera before we leave--This is most important thing :rofl:
  • Pack and ship clothes for work convention in Las Vegas
  • Update Sena 20S firmware if available

I hate being OCD.

Any other suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated.
 
Don't forget chargers for S20s, or anything else for that matter. And don't forget to actually charge them before leaving! DAMHIK... :doh:
 
Thanks for the reminder Scott. All the chargers are in a zip-loc bag on the dining table with all of the other goodies to pack. We purchased a Li-Ion battery jumper with USB outputs for when at the Grand Canyon and no power to charge things.
 
Which jumper did you get? I have been thinking about those and have a trip coming up where we will be camping off the bikes for 8 days with no place to recharge anything.
 
drfood said:
We are now T -3.5 days and counting. Lots of small projects to do...what did I get myself into. :eek2:

Left to do--
  • Install Eastern Beaver circuit and fuse box in 1 bike
  • Install LED headlights on J's bike
  • New helmet for Darrell arrives today, make sure it fits
  • Install shelf on Darrell's DL650 w/powerlets and volt meter
  • Install Barkbusters on Darrell's DL650
  • Install new tank bags on both bikes
  • Install LED turn signal "bulbs" on both bikes
  • Install LED brake "bulbs" on both bikes
  • Finish cancelling double booked motels
  • Set up tent to air out and repack
  • Pack panniers
  • Test and play with new Sony A6000 camera before we leave--This is most important thing :rofl:
  • Pack and ship clothes for work convention in Las Vegas
  • Update Sena 20S firmware if available

I hate being OCD.

Any other suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...


Check air pressure.
 
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Thanks! And by the way, have a safe trip and a good time :thumb:
 
Thank you. Leaving about 0800 Sunday morning. Fort Stockton here we come.
 
Thanks. We've been keeping an eye on the weather. Will be taking it easy, drinking lots of water.

I almost cancelled the ride. Would have flown to LV Friday. But I don't get 1 week blocks of time to ride very often anymore.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
But it's dry heat. Lol

Yesterday riding into Tucson was 110, today will be 115. Tomorrow west thru Yuma will be 120 degrees. But shortly after will hit the mountain twisties detouring around San Diego and temps drop to the 80's.
 
As I pulled into the garage yesterday.

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I only saw four other riders on the way home. All on Harleys. All without any gear at all. I don't know how they do it. I was fully geared with the visor and vents closed.
 
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