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Texas to The Grand Canyon

10/7 The home stretch

OK, I pulled my shift at the FD so now time to wrap this thing up.

We slept a little longer than intended with the hot tub, adult beverages, and the comfy beds at the Motel 6. Oh well :shrug: As we were loading up the manager came out to wish us well. His name is Tom. Very nice guy, lets us park on the front porch with the bears. Thanks again Tom; see you next time.

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After breakfast at Chef Lupe's on the main street through Ruidoso, it was time for the 11 hour trip home through WEST TEXAS :puke: Air temp was around 55 as we got on the road, 75 but the time we hit Roswell, and into the upper 80 by the time we made the state line. Lots of this....

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Some dual sport roots started popping up in Perry's riding style.

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As we crossed the state line the wind picked up out of the southwest. That meant we would have crosswinds of 20-25 from mid morning to late afternoon when we finally got to make the turn east at HWY29 in Llano. Blowing dust and sand would be the rule of the day. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I do not like riding west Texas. I don't like this part of our wonderful state. Apologies to those forum members who, by whatever circumstances, are stuck living out there. Love Big Bend and the southwest. I can handle the panhandle. Lamesa, Big Spring (recently renamed dry spring), Sand Angelo and the areas between there and Roswell, NM; no thanks. But it got us home. To make the most of our time I shifted into a semi-iron butt mode; stopping only when the tank was too empty to make the next fuel stop. And, stopping for lunch at a buffet for quick service. Chinese buffet in Sand Angelo, on US87 going south out of town. Quite tasty with a great selection of meats and seafood.

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The group peeled off one by one going our separate ways as we got closer to home. I pulled into the home garage in P'ville just before 8 pm.

Miles for the day: 585

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Total trip miles: 2844

Final results; one filthy bike and one wore out rear tire. I got about 16k miles out of this one so no complaints.

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Thanks Perry and Chris for riding along. Thanks to the Mrs. for understanding the need to go and for the warm welcome upon the return. Until next time :rider:
 
Thank you so much for this! I really want to make this trip, from Austin to the Grand Canyon.

Just do it. Other than gas (I don't have the bill for that yet) I only spent a couple hundred cash. Six days, just about anyone could fit that in. But wait till next year. Winter is settling in out there at higher elevations.
 
But wait till next year. Winter is settling in out there at higher elevations.
Tough call, deal with the cold at higher elevations or deal with the heat of west Texas. blah. It's never just nice in both locations.
 
Thank you so much for this! I really want to make this trip, from Austin to the Grand Canyon.

Tough call, deal with the cold at higher elevations or deal with the heat of west Texas. blah. It's never just nice in both locations.

The North Rim road normally opens around the middle of May. If you leave Texas toward the middle/end of May you will still catch cool temps on the north rim but you won't be facing the blast furnace when you get back home.

The South Rim is always open, but it is too touristy for me. It's good if you have never been to the Canyon before, but after you've been there once or twice you'll grow to appreciate the smaller crowds on the north side, and the views are just as good.
 
The Bruce said:
Just do it. Other than gas (I don't have the bill for that yet) I only spent a couple hundred cash. Six days, just about anyone could fit that in. But wait till next year. Winter is settling in out there at higher elevations.

Not this year, anyway - I already took a couple weeks off in September for Burning Man (and drove a lot of the same route, but hauling a trailer behind a car). But this is a strong blip on my radar and will happen.
 
Great job on the report Bruce. I had a great time. We packed a lot into 6 days. Like you I budgeted about $600 for the trip and had some left over even after steak and shrimp at the Claim Jumper. $300 of it was for gas. Sharing campsites and rooms really helps too.
 
Thanks for the ride report and pics. Looks like a great ride. :zen:
 
That is really close to the trip I've been wanting to take. Great report and pictures! Thank you. :rider:
 
Great job on the report Bruce. I had a great time. We packed a lot into 6 days. Like you I budgeted about $600 for the trip and had some left over even after steak and shrimp at the Claim Jumper. $300 of it was for gas. Sharing campsites and rooms really helps too.

Budget? What's that? :lol2: You probably spent more because of the peanut m&ms and beef sticks. Thanks for sharing :eat:
 
Thank you so much for this! I really want to make this trip, from Austin to the Grand Canyon.

Like others said, the drive around to the North Rim is worth it. A park ranger once told me that 90% of park visitors go to the South Rim.
 
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