Those look like nice highways to me, not goat trails!
-
Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! 
Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!
GixxerJasen goes to California, and other places...
- Thread starter gixxerjasen
- Start date
This has been great as we're heading to Yosemite next weekend & I had no idea about needing a permit!
Not Dave
Technically I AM Dave
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2011
- Messages
- 2,608
- Reaction score
- 707
- Location
- Taylor, TX
- First Name
- David
- Last Name
- Hogate
I spent the first 31 years of my life in SoCal and never went to Yosemite or Kings Canyon. Someday.
You should get a small cell phone tripod. I have one and it came with a blutooth shutter remote. If you're not lugging around a regular camera (even a point & shoot). They're easy to set up and quick to use for those solo photos. Much better than the selfie arm or selfie large head taking up half the frame.
In the late 90's I took a vacation road trip from San Diego to Crater Lake in Oregon. There were a lot of fires then and it was hazy everywhere. Saw Mt Shasta, Crater Lake, Climbed Mt. Lassen (and camped there, it was in the 30's too) and saw a lot of neat places. The west coast has a lot to offer, just stay away from the coastal metropolis's. I still miss mountains 21 years after moving to TX and seeing your pics reminds me I miss them. But your pics are awesome and I'm still jealous.
You should get a small cell phone tripod. I have one and it came with a blutooth shutter remote. If you're not lugging around a regular camera (even a point & shoot). They're easy to set up and quick to use for those solo photos. Much better than the selfie arm or selfie large head taking up half the frame.
In the late 90's I took a vacation road trip from San Diego to Crater Lake in Oregon. There were a lot of fires then and it was hazy everywhere. Saw Mt Shasta, Crater Lake, Climbed Mt. Lassen (and camped there, it was in the 30's too) and saw a lot of neat places. The west coast has a lot to offer, just stay away from the coastal metropolis's. I still miss mountains 21 years after moving to TX and seeing your pics reminds me I miss them. But your pics are awesome and I'm still jealous.
Check on that. There's like six parks that were requiring it but we are coming to the end of the busy season and I remember seeing that the permits were only needed until a certain date.
I've got one, used it for a few things posted here already, like the Forrest Gump shot. It's a little bit of a pain when I just want a quick shot, and there's something about kit actually being a legit selfie sometimes. Some of those were shots I took real quick to shoot off to the family following along back home too, and I just decided to include them in the report.
I may be SOL, have to log in at 8am PST tomorrow to try & grab one!
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2004
- Messages
- 17,406
- Reaction score
- 5,547
- Location
- Sun Lakes & Show Low, Arizona
- First Name
- Brian
Small world. I've known Tyler for a long time, but we never met until Don Stanley's funeral in 2016. Yes, she is always a bundle of smiles and hugs.
ps. Great ride report and photos. Brings back tons of memories.
ps. Great ride report and photos. Brings back tons of memories.
Gixxer I owe you one! Got on the website at 8am, had to refresh a few times but secured a 3 day pass. Without this ride report we would have just shown up next Friday complete with hotel reservations & the like and been turned away.
Another brilliant CA ride is Paso Robles to Hollister via 120 miles of CA-25, fabulous twisties, great scenery & almost completely without traffic. Also running parallel is Carmel Valley Road, another twisty through the pine forests ending up at Carmel Valley village which has a great motel & dining options plus an amazing motorcycle museum.
Terrible news in the headlines today. This is where I was at on Day 8. The big trees will likely survive, they all have fire scars from previous fires, but still.
www.kxan.com
World’s largest tree wrapped in aluminum blanket as wildfire races toward historic Giant Forest
The General Sherman Tree is the largest in the world by volume, at 52,508 cubic feet, according to the National Park Service. It towers 275 feet high and has a circumference of 103 feet at ground l…
www.kxan.com
Day 10
Friday, September 3, 2021
Distance: 173.5 miles
Duration: 7 hours, 0 minutes, and 53 seconds
Average Speed: 24.7 mph
Minimum Elevation: 5643 feet
Maximum Elevation: 8391 feet
Today we set out on a group ride led by Tyler. We are riding what she described as a "Lake Loop" which will take us around the local area to several scenic lakes.
We head back south through Lee Vining again where we stop to top off our tanks and I get the biggest sticker shock of the trip.
We turn onto 120 headed toward Benton. I've been warned by Doug (Bugnatr on FJRiders) that this road is mostly straight but has some fun roller coaster hill sections. I take some time on straight flat bits with a good view of the road ahead to pull up next to the various riders in our group and film them riding with the GoPro. Just as I do this with Tyler leading the group we hit the first roller coaster sections. I zip ahead and wick up the speed a little and am yelling "Wheeee" inside my helmet.
I let some other riders come by and slip back behind Tyler just as we hit a big one with a steep drop on the other side of the crest. We come over the top fast enough that the drop causes my stomach to drop and spin. Crazy feeling to do that on a motorcycle but lots of fun.
We stop just outside of Benton and while stopped Tyler pulls me aside and lets me know that one of the riders, Robert, will be headed back out and I should follow him if I want to ride a little "Zippy."
We head back out 120 the way we came in and Robert leads on his Super Tenere through the fun curves just outside of Benton and we are having some fun. Then he turns south on Benton Crossing Rd and we are zipping along.
At one point I look far ahead and see one of the largest and most well formed dust devils spinning along the left side of the road. I've seen a lot of these in Texas but this one is easily 3X the largest one I've ever seen. We are zipping along toward it and it's got a lot of dirt in it that it looks pretty amazing. At the last second it moves right into the road ahead of Robert. I watch as Robert punches through it and it's about to be my turn. Because of the spinning wind it's like getting slapped from one side and then immediately slapped from the other side as I go through it. It was a pretty crazy surreal experience and I had the GoPro running for the whole thing!
Robert pulls off at an intersection up ahead so we can wait on the other riders and we are talking about the dust devil. I take off the GoPro and something is wrong. It's locked up on me. I pull the battery out and put it back in and it powers up. There's zero media from the entire morning. No video of the other riders, no video of the roller coaster and especially no video of riding through the dust devil. I'm crushed over this, but at least the GoPro is functioning again.
Here's me and Robert waiting on the other riders to show up.
After the riders show up, we reform back into one group and head out.
Tyler takes us around some barricades to Convict Lake. The smoke is blowing our way today and has made a lot of the scenic views today either obscured or very hazy. This lake is supposed to be a beautiful clear view but the haze makes it look kind of gloomy.
We sit and chat for a bit and then we are back on the road, which you can see here how the smoke obscures the views of the distant mountains.
We ran up the road and into Mammoth Lakes where we stopped at Roberto's Cafe and had lunch out on the patio. I had Chicken Taquitos and some pink lemonade.
After lunch we ran up and hit 158 to pass June Lake, Silver Lake and Grant Lake.
We stopped by this boat rental area to view the lake and enjoy the wildlife. There were some friendly ducks there and about 6 deer came walking through the parking lot while we were there.
More tall tales being told in the parking lot.
After that we headed back to Virginia Creek Settlement for a relaxing evening before dinner. We ate at the on site restaurant where I had this crazy huge incredible meatball sandwich. I had to use a fork and knife to eat it, the thing was so huge and messy it was impossible to eat as a sandwich.
Then it was off to bed to get ready for the last day of YFO riding and the banquet tomorrow.
Friday, September 3, 2021
Distance: 173.5 miles
Duration: 7 hours, 0 minutes, and 53 seconds
Average Speed: 24.7 mph
Minimum Elevation: 5643 feet
Maximum Elevation: 8391 feet
Today we set out on a group ride led by Tyler. We are riding what she described as a "Lake Loop" which will take us around the local area to several scenic lakes.
We head back south through Lee Vining again where we stop to top off our tanks and I get the biggest sticker shock of the trip.
We turn onto 120 headed toward Benton. I've been warned by Doug (Bugnatr on FJRiders) that this road is mostly straight but has some fun roller coaster hill sections. I take some time on straight flat bits with a good view of the road ahead to pull up next to the various riders in our group and film them riding with the GoPro. Just as I do this with Tyler leading the group we hit the first roller coaster sections. I zip ahead and wick up the speed a little and am yelling "Wheeee" inside my helmet.
I let some other riders come by and slip back behind Tyler just as we hit a big one with a steep drop on the other side of the crest. We come over the top fast enough that the drop causes my stomach to drop and spin. Crazy feeling to do that on a motorcycle but lots of fun.
We stop just outside of Benton and while stopped Tyler pulls me aside and lets me know that one of the riders, Robert, will be headed back out and I should follow him if I want to ride a little "Zippy."
We head back out 120 the way we came in and Robert leads on his Super Tenere through the fun curves just outside of Benton and we are having some fun. Then he turns south on Benton Crossing Rd and we are zipping along.
At one point I look far ahead and see one of the largest and most well formed dust devils spinning along the left side of the road. I've seen a lot of these in Texas but this one is easily 3X the largest one I've ever seen. We are zipping along toward it and it's got a lot of dirt in it that it looks pretty amazing. At the last second it moves right into the road ahead of Robert. I watch as Robert punches through it and it's about to be my turn. Because of the spinning wind it's like getting slapped from one side and then immediately slapped from the other side as I go through it. It was a pretty crazy surreal experience and I had the GoPro running for the whole thing!
Robert pulls off at an intersection up ahead so we can wait on the other riders and we are talking about the dust devil. I take off the GoPro and something is wrong. It's locked up on me. I pull the battery out and put it back in and it powers up. There's zero media from the entire morning. No video of the other riders, no video of the roller coaster and especially no video of riding through the dust devil. I'm crushed over this, but at least the GoPro is functioning again.
Here's me and Robert waiting on the other riders to show up.
After the riders show up, we reform back into one group and head out.
Tyler takes us around some barricades to Convict Lake. The smoke is blowing our way today and has made a lot of the scenic views today either obscured or very hazy. This lake is supposed to be a beautiful clear view but the haze makes it look kind of gloomy.
We sit and chat for a bit and then we are back on the road, which you can see here how the smoke obscures the views of the distant mountains.
We ran up the road and into Mammoth Lakes where we stopped at Roberto's Cafe and had lunch out on the patio. I had Chicken Taquitos and some pink lemonade.
After lunch we ran up and hit 158 to pass June Lake, Silver Lake and Grant Lake.
We stopped by this boat rental area to view the lake and enjoy the wildlife. There were some friendly ducks there and about 6 deer came walking through the parking lot while we were there.
More tall tales being told in the parking lot.
After that we headed back to Virginia Creek Settlement for a relaxing evening before dinner. We ate at the on site restaurant where I had this crazy huge incredible meatball sandwich. I had to use a fork and knife to eat it, the thing was so huge and messy it was impossible to eat as a sandwich.
Then it was off to bed to get ready for the last day of YFO riding and the banquet tomorrow.
Day 11
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Distance: 115.1 miles
Duration: 6 hours, 34 minutes, and 23 seconds
Average Speed: 17.5 mph
Minimum Elevation: 6448 feet
Maximum Elevation: 9195 feet
Today would be another day of flexibility. Craig and I had plans to do more walking than riding today. We plan to hit the Bodie State Park and the Bodie Ghost town, then head into Bridgeport and walk around as there's some interesting things to see there. We decide that since the morning temperatures are in the thirties, we'll have a lazy morning and hang out for a bit and let the sun come up and warm things up a bit.
After a light breakfast and coffee I head back to the wagon to get suited up and ready. As I pull back up to the front Craig has a concerned look on his face. He comes over and tells me that he just got a call and he has to leave ASAP as he has a family member critically ill at home. This is a bummer because instead of Craig getting to go riding and hang out with friends at the evening banquet, he'll be making miles for home with a whole lot of worry to deal with on his own.
One of the other folks there invites me to ride with them, they are headed down to Mammoth Spring HD was doing a demo day to allow test rides of the all new HD Pan America. That sounds like fun but I tell them to head on down and don't wait for me, I'll catch up as I'm going to help Craig get going. Craig tells me he needs ice in his cooler and needs to be checked out at the front office. I head up to get this taken care of, which means I actually stood around waiting while our amazing waitress did all the work. I made sure to let the owner know later how after explaining what Craig needed, that she sprung into action and did so much to help Craig get going faster and with less worry.
On getting Craig on the road, I saddled up and pointed south to see if I could catch up with them. I figured an HD demo event would be at a dealership. On arriving in Mammoth Spring I find there's no motorcycle dealerships really, just this oddball motorcycle shop in a warehouse district that sells dirt bikes. I roll in there figuring if there's something big going on with motorcycles in town that they'd know.
I'll say, these folks at Mammoth Cycle Works were so friendly and helpful, even knowing full well I wasn't there to buy anything or have service done. They had no idea where the HD event was and were kind of surprised they hadn't heard about it. They were on the computers doing some searching and we found the event but it just listed the town as the location. They offered to let me stay as long as I wanted using their wifi, but as it was nearing lunch time I just asked them to point me in the direction of a good local place to eat.
The guy tells me to go to Burgers. I'm like "That's the name? Burgers?" He says "Yes, get the burger and they give you a lot of fries so ask for half fries half salad." Ok, sounds like a plan, so I head into downtown following the GPS and am soon parked at Burgers restaurant. I head to the upstairs dining room as it has a nice view of the main street of downtown and the waitress gets me seated and points out their daily special, the pulled pork sandwich plate for $10. Now, I haven't found inexpensive food since I've been in California and this sounds like a really good deal, especially since it's usually $17. So I ask if I can do the half fries half salad with that and she confirms I can so my order is placed. Man what a good lunch that was.
After lunch I head up the road to the Mammoth Mountain ski resort and keep going on a fun twisty road until I reach a barricade telling me I can go no further so I turn around and head back. I catch the Mammoth scenic loop back to 395 and am intent on reriding yesterday's loop back around June Lake, Silver Lake and Grant Lake.
At June Lake Junction, right at 395 and 158, is what used to be a gas station, but is now a small shop and a grill/ice cream station. The Joey sweet tooth hits me hard when I see their banner for milkshakes. I try to order a Chocloate Malt but they are all out of malt so I settle for a Mint Chocolate Chip shake instead.
Back on the road, it's a good day. The winds have shifted and the haze from yesterday has moved elsewhere. My lungs and eyeballs are happy the smoke has moved on.
The ride around the lakes is beautiful, but the traffic for the holiday weekend has moved into the area and I'm forced to make a couple of double yellow passes around some painfully slow moving RV's.
I get another opportunity to photograph the boat house without all the background haze, what a beautiful little location this is.
Like many of the lakes, Grant Lake is looking a little low.
I finally head back through Lee Vining and top off with that expensive gas to be ready for my departure in the morning. Passing by Mono Lake again.
I get back and have a relaxing afternoon getting the bike packed back up and ready for the morning. This is technically the last night of the adventure before pointing the bike for home. I have a long three days ahead of me but it'll feel good to be moving back toward my family as this is my longest trip away from them and as much fun as I'm having and all the wonderful things I'm seeing, I'm definitely quite a bit homesick.
The evening is a lot of fun hanging out with friends new and old, the banquet is delicious and I once again got too caught up in the conversation to take a photo, but you'll have to trust me on the details. Then it's time for one last sleep under the heat of the electric blanket inside the cold wagon, a blissful way to sleep for sure.
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Distance: 115.1 miles
Duration: 6 hours, 34 minutes, and 23 seconds
Average Speed: 17.5 mph
Minimum Elevation: 6448 feet
Maximum Elevation: 9195 feet
Today would be another day of flexibility. Craig and I had plans to do more walking than riding today. We plan to hit the Bodie State Park and the Bodie Ghost town, then head into Bridgeport and walk around as there's some interesting things to see there. We decide that since the morning temperatures are in the thirties, we'll have a lazy morning and hang out for a bit and let the sun come up and warm things up a bit.
After a light breakfast and coffee I head back to the wagon to get suited up and ready. As I pull back up to the front Craig has a concerned look on his face. He comes over and tells me that he just got a call and he has to leave ASAP as he has a family member critically ill at home. This is a bummer because instead of Craig getting to go riding and hang out with friends at the evening banquet, he'll be making miles for home with a whole lot of worry to deal with on his own.
One of the other folks there invites me to ride with them, they are headed down to Mammoth Spring HD was doing a demo day to allow test rides of the all new HD Pan America. That sounds like fun but I tell them to head on down and don't wait for me, I'll catch up as I'm going to help Craig get going. Craig tells me he needs ice in his cooler and needs to be checked out at the front office. I head up to get this taken care of, which means I actually stood around waiting while our amazing waitress did all the work. I made sure to let the owner know later how after explaining what Craig needed, that she sprung into action and did so much to help Craig get going faster and with less worry.
On getting Craig on the road, I saddled up and pointed south to see if I could catch up with them. I figured an HD demo event would be at a dealership. On arriving in Mammoth Spring I find there's no motorcycle dealerships really, just this oddball motorcycle shop in a warehouse district that sells dirt bikes. I roll in there figuring if there's something big going on with motorcycles in town that they'd know.
I'll say, these folks at Mammoth Cycle Works were so friendly and helpful, even knowing full well I wasn't there to buy anything or have service done. They had no idea where the HD event was and were kind of surprised they hadn't heard about it. They were on the computers doing some searching and we found the event but it just listed the town as the location. They offered to let me stay as long as I wanted using their wifi, but as it was nearing lunch time I just asked them to point me in the direction of a good local place to eat.
The guy tells me to go to Burgers. I'm like "That's the name? Burgers?" He says "Yes, get the burger and they give you a lot of fries so ask for half fries half salad." Ok, sounds like a plan, so I head into downtown following the GPS and am soon parked at Burgers restaurant. I head to the upstairs dining room as it has a nice view of the main street of downtown and the waitress gets me seated and points out their daily special, the pulled pork sandwich plate for $10. Now, I haven't found inexpensive food since I've been in California and this sounds like a really good deal, especially since it's usually $17. So I ask if I can do the half fries half salad with that and she confirms I can so my order is placed. Man what a good lunch that was.
After lunch I head up the road to the Mammoth Mountain ski resort and keep going on a fun twisty road until I reach a barricade telling me I can go no further so I turn around and head back. I catch the Mammoth scenic loop back to 395 and am intent on reriding yesterday's loop back around June Lake, Silver Lake and Grant Lake.
At June Lake Junction, right at 395 and 158, is what used to be a gas station, but is now a small shop and a grill/ice cream station. The Joey sweet tooth hits me hard when I see their banner for milkshakes. I try to order a Chocloate Malt but they are all out of malt so I settle for a Mint Chocolate Chip shake instead.
Back on the road, it's a good day. The winds have shifted and the haze from yesterday has moved elsewhere. My lungs and eyeballs are happy the smoke has moved on.
The ride around the lakes is beautiful, but the traffic for the holiday weekend has moved into the area and I'm forced to make a couple of double yellow passes around some painfully slow moving RV's.
I get another opportunity to photograph the boat house without all the background haze, what a beautiful little location this is.
Like many of the lakes, Grant Lake is looking a little low.
I finally head back through Lee Vining and top off with that expensive gas to be ready for my departure in the morning. Passing by Mono Lake again.
I get back and have a relaxing afternoon getting the bike packed back up and ready for the morning. This is technically the last night of the adventure before pointing the bike for home. I have a long three days ahead of me but it'll feel good to be moving back toward my family as this is my longest trip away from them and as much fun as I'm having and all the wonderful things I'm seeing, I'm definitely quite a bit homesick.
The evening is a lot of fun hanging out with friends new and old, the banquet is delicious and I once again got too caught up in the conversation to take a photo, but you'll have to trust me on the details. Then it's time for one last sleep under the heat of the electric blanket inside the cold wagon, a blissful way to sleep for sure.
AllByteNoBark
Forum Supporter
Jason, if you don't mind me asking, where do you have your GoPro mounted? I have thought about getting one and your images have almost convinced me as they look great. I see a lot of stuff I would like to capture but end up not taking the time to do so. From some research it seems some people prefer the chin mount. I thin in my case a chin mount would only show my dirty wind screen in most cases.
Day 12
Sunday, September 5, 2021
Distance: 584.6 miles
Duration: 10 hours, 40 minutes, and 56 seconds
Average Speed: 54.7 mph
Minimum Elevation: -250 feet
Maximum Elevation: 8134 feet
It's Sunday, and that's head for home day. You might think this trip is over, but I know that the slog home is usually the worst part if you are just trying to make miles and get home. I have three days to get home so I've decided to make this a part of the trip and have some things to see on the way home.
First up is Death Valley. I'm not so excited about it but it's on the way, let's see it, get the stickers and magnets, and cross it off the list.
The problem here is weather. True to it's name, it gets pretty hot in Death Valley, so I'd like to hit it as early as possible. However, that means shoving off early in the morning when it's still hovering just above freezing. I make a plan to start off right before the sun will come over the mountains so I'll only have to freeze for a little while before the sun starts to warm me up.
It's a beautiful morning and while I can't see the sun yet, I can see it lighting up the tops of the mountains. I'm certainly in for a spectacular sunrise on the road.
It warms up to around 50, then drops back down, then back up, then back down. I see 34F at the coldest point of the morning.
I might be slabbing it south, but the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Range sure does make it a scenic slab.
Before turning East toward Death Valley, I stop in the last town and top off the gas tank, have a bio break, and remove all my warm layers as it's now gotten quite nice, and I know what's ahead.
You wouldn't think there'd be twisties out here but the road does twist and turn as the elevation plunges ever lower. I'm headed toward one of the lowest points in the United States.
Somewhere around here I descend to below the altitude of my home.
We go up and twist a little before heading back down down down.
The road descends below sea level and that's when I learn that the Garmin Zumo XT will display negative numbers for altitude. I film quite a bit here trying to find my lowest point. Eventually I get down to 250 feet below sea level. If you head to Badwater Basin, which I did not, you can go down to 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in the United States.
I realized somewhere that it's 10am and it's already over 100F here. This is a place to visit in the winter so I do not linger, I stop at the visitors center and buy my sticker and magnet, then give the camelbak a much needed refill and get back on the road.
The hope is that I can climb out of Death Valley and into more tolerable temperatures. The joke is on me and my optimistic self.
I stop off at Rubalcaba's Taco Shop in Pahrump, NV for lunch, a little hole in the wall behind the local Walmart. I do this right after filling up with some finally sane gas prices here in Nevada. Lunch is delicious.
I have plans to swing through Red Rock Canyon on my approach to Las Vegas. The temperatures are around 105F and I've seen Red Rock Canyon before. Even though it only supposedly adds 12 minutes to my route, that's 12 minutes I'd rather not spend in the heat, so I skip it.
Before that I'm passing through Las Vegas again. Only the road doesn't really pass right through the city, it dumps you onto surface streets that you have to navigate to get to get back up to 215.
I've got Hoover Dam set in my GPS as the next location. As I approach, there's a little exit to the "Robert L Mendenhall Scenic Overlook" so I take it. There's not a lot of parking spots and they are all occupied. I wait a bit for a couple to get into their terribly parked truck and finally figure out how reverse works and get out of the spot. I grab my camera gear and trudge up to the scenic overlook and find, the worst scenic overlook of my trip. It's an overlook of the highway I've been riding on!
I exit the highway and take the twisty 2.5 mile road toward the dam. As I round a corner I see a horrific sight in front of me. I can see about a half to a full mile of standstill traffic trying to get through the security checkpoint to get into the dam. I can see once in there that there's a lot of walking and climbing of stairs that I'll have to do in full gear carrying my tankbag and helmet again. Sweat is pouring off me as I come to a stop noting that my thermometer on the dash says 109F. I look at the not moving traffic and decide this is something to come back and see in a vehicle with air conditioning. As soon as there's a break in traffic I flip and U and get back on the highway. That's two things scratched off the itinerary today that I'd planned on seeing, but it's just too hot.
Eventually I see 110F today, which is a long way from the 34F I experienced this morning.
Moving into Arizona I'm tracking south of the Grand Canyon area, which I'd tracked north of on my way west. The views are quite nice here.
It's still freaking hot though. I stop at a gas station to fill up my gas tank and my camelbak. As I get back to my bike with a camelbak full of ice and water, an older guy gets out of the truck next to me and we have the following dialogue.
Him: Hunnertanate.
Me: Pardon?
Him: It's a hunnert and ate degrees.
Me: Oh yes, that's what my dash has been telling me too. {Duh captain obvious}
Him: Stay haadrated, this shitell kell yea!
Me: Yes, thank you, got my camelbak full of ice water
Eventually I climb in altitude, and things get greener and I rejoice at 91F temperatures.
At this temperature the mesh on my jacket does it's job and allows my sweat to evaporate in the dry Arizona air and provide some cooling effects, which is better than the earlier part of my day. I spent about 5 straight hours in triple digit temperatures.
I've spent so many miles on this trip all over on roads lined with the yellow flowers seen above. It's definitely a theme for the trip.
I've been sucking down the water for a while and now that things have cooled off I have to stop and use the restroom, shortly after using the restroom at the last stop. I'm definitely hydrated. Only this is a mistake as I'm dumped into one of the old Route 66 towns. As I gear back up from my stop I get to hear the family having a screaming fight in the car next to me as teenager girl thinks she's being mistreated. I hop back on the road only to find out there's no entrance ramp to the interstate for another 12 miles, so I cruise along reading the recreationis of the old burmashave ads along the old Route 66.
Eventually I roll in and check into my room at the Red Roof Inn+ in Williams Arizona. I'd originally had my heart set on camping in the Flagstaff area because I heard it was beautiful (It is) but there was a slight problem with that plan. See, it's Labor Day weekend and I'm within an hour of one of the biggest tourist spots in the USA, the Sout Rim of the Grand Canyon. Every campground is requiring a three night stay because they know they can fill up even with that requirement. I find a local KOA that'll rent me a single night, but it would cost me $50. Red Roof Inn will rent me a room for the night for $55 so it was an easy decision when I was making my reservations.
Williams Arizona is another of those Route 66 towns, but one that is definitely located well to continue to prosper as other towns have long since died off. I walk down the main street enjoying the old Route 66 vibe and swing in for dinner at the Station 66 Italian Bistro. There's a long wait but since I'm by myself I'm let right in. I have the lasagna with garlic bread for dinner.
Later, back at my hotel, I hear all kinds of commotion and booming outside. I step out and am treated to what is apparently a Labor Day fireworks show. Also, man, that's a lot of bugs I have to wash off when I get home.
Sunday, September 5, 2021
Distance: 584.6 miles
Duration: 10 hours, 40 minutes, and 56 seconds
Average Speed: 54.7 mph
Minimum Elevation: -250 feet
Maximum Elevation: 8134 feet
It's Sunday, and that's head for home day. You might think this trip is over, but I know that the slog home is usually the worst part if you are just trying to make miles and get home. I have three days to get home so I've decided to make this a part of the trip and have some things to see on the way home.
First up is Death Valley. I'm not so excited about it but it's on the way, let's see it, get the stickers and magnets, and cross it off the list.
The problem here is weather. True to it's name, it gets pretty hot in Death Valley, so I'd like to hit it as early as possible. However, that means shoving off early in the morning when it's still hovering just above freezing. I make a plan to start off right before the sun will come over the mountains so I'll only have to freeze for a little while before the sun starts to warm me up.
It's a beautiful morning and while I can't see the sun yet, I can see it lighting up the tops of the mountains. I'm certainly in for a spectacular sunrise on the road.
It warms up to around 50, then drops back down, then back up, then back down. I see 34F at the coldest point of the morning.
I might be slabbing it south, but the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Range sure does make it a scenic slab.
Before turning East toward Death Valley, I stop in the last town and top off the gas tank, have a bio break, and remove all my warm layers as it's now gotten quite nice, and I know what's ahead.
You wouldn't think there'd be twisties out here but the road does twist and turn as the elevation plunges ever lower. I'm headed toward one of the lowest points in the United States.
Somewhere around here I descend to below the altitude of my home.
We go up and twist a little before heading back down down down.
The road descends below sea level and that's when I learn that the Garmin Zumo XT will display negative numbers for altitude. I film quite a bit here trying to find my lowest point. Eventually I get down to 250 feet below sea level. If you head to Badwater Basin, which I did not, you can go down to 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in the United States.
I realized somewhere that it's 10am and it's already over 100F here. This is a place to visit in the winter so I do not linger, I stop at the visitors center and buy my sticker and magnet, then give the camelbak a much needed refill and get back on the road.
The hope is that I can climb out of Death Valley and into more tolerable temperatures. The joke is on me and my optimistic self.
I stop off at Rubalcaba's Taco Shop in Pahrump, NV for lunch, a little hole in the wall behind the local Walmart. I do this right after filling up with some finally sane gas prices here in Nevada. Lunch is delicious.
I have plans to swing through Red Rock Canyon on my approach to Las Vegas. The temperatures are around 105F and I've seen Red Rock Canyon before. Even though it only supposedly adds 12 minutes to my route, that's 12 minutes I'd rather not spend in the heat, so I skip it.
Before that I'm passing through Las Vegas again. Only the road doesn't really pass right through the city, it dumps you onto surface streets that you have to navigate to get to get back up to 215.
I've got Hoover Dam set in my GPS as the next location. As I approach, there's a little exit to the "Robert L Mendenhall Scenic Overlook" so I take it. There's not a lot of parking spots and they are all occupied. I wait a bit for a couple to get into their terribly parked truck and finally figure out how reverse works and get out of the spot. I grab my camera gear and trudge up to the scenic overlook and find, the worst scenic overlook of my trip. It's an overlook of the highway I've been riding on!
I exit the highway and take the twisty 2.5 mile road toward the dam. As I round a corner I see a horrific sight in front of me. I can see about a half to a full mile of standstill traffic trying to get through the security checkpoint to get into the dam. I can see once in there that there's a lot of walking and climbing of stairs that I'll have to do in full gear carrying my tankbag and helmet again. Sweat is pouring off me as I come to a stop noting that my thermometer on the dash says 109F. I look at the not moving traffic and decide this is something to come back and see in a vehicle with air conditioning. As soon as there's a break in traffic I flip and U and get back on the highway. That's two things scratched off the itinerary today that I'd planned on seeing, but it's just too hot.
Eventually I see 110F today, which is a long way from the 34F I experienced this morning.
Moving into Arizona I'm tracking south of the Grand Canyon area, which I'd tracked north of on my way west. The views are quite nice here.
It's still freaking hot though. I stop at a gas station to fill up my gas tank and my camelbak. As I get back to my bike with a camelbak full of ice and water, an older guy gets out of the truck next to me and we have the following dialogue.
Him: Hunnertanate.
Me: Pardon?
Him: It's a hunnert and ate degrees.
Me: Oh yes, that's what my dash has been telling me too. {Duh captain obvious}
Him: Stay haadrated, this shitell kell yea!
Me: Yes, thank you, got my camelbak full of ice water
Eventually I climb in altitude, and things get greener and I rejoice at 91F temperatures.
At this temperature the mesh on my jacket does it's job and allows my sweat to evaporate in the dry Arizona air and provide some cooling effects, which is better than the earlier part of my day. I spent about 5 straight hours in triple digit temperatures.
I've spent so many miles on this trip all over on roads lined with the yellow flowers seen above. It's definitely a theme for the trip.
I've been sucking down the water for a while and now that things have cooled off I have to stop and use the restroom, shortly after using the restroom at the last stop. I'm definitely hydrated. Only this is a mistake as I'm dumped into one of the old Route 66 towns. As I gear back up from my stop I get to hear the family having a screaming fight in the car next to me as teenager girl thinks she's being mistreated. I hop back on the road only to find out there's no entrance ramp to the interstate for another 12 miles, so I cruise along reading the recreationis of the old burmashave ads along the old Route 66.
Eventually I roll in and check into my room at the Red Roof Inn+ in Williams Arizona. I'd originally had my heart set on camping in the Flagstaff area because I heard it was beautiful (It is) but there was a slight problem with that plan. See, it's Labor Day weekend and I'm within an hour of one of the biggest tourist spots in the USA, the Sout Rim of the Grand Canyon. Every campground is requiring a three night stay because they know they can fill up even with that requirement. I find a local KOA that'll rent me a single night, but it would cost me $50. Red Roof Inn will rent me a room for the night for $55 so it was an easy decision when I was making my reservations.
Williams Arizona is another of those Route 66 towns, but one that is definitely located well to continue to prosper as other towns have long since died off. I walk down the main street enjoying the old Route 66 vibe and swing in for dinner at the Station 66 Italian Bistro. There's a long wait but since I'm by myself I'm let right in. I have the lasagna with garlic bread for dinner.
Later, back at my hotel, I hear all kinds of commotion and booming outside. I step out and am treated to what is apparently a Labor Day fireworks show. Also, man, that's a lot of bugs I have to wash off when I get home.
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2004
- Messages
- 17,406
- Reaction score
- 5,547
- Location
- Sun Lakes & Show Low, Arizona
- First Name
- Brian
What a wonderful time you had. While I'm not in agreement with much of California's politics, their roads are the only ones I've found that are better for moto riding than Colorado.
Crazy, we'll be riding the exact same route next weekend as we slowly return the GSA back to Texas. I'm stopping in Las Vegas though as I can store the bike in our warehouse there, we'll fly home & leave the last part for another day.
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2004
- Messages
- 17,406
- Reaction score
- 5,547
- Location
- Sun Lakes & Show Low, Arizona
- First Name
- Brian
You can thank this year's monsoon rains for them; we don't normally have that kind of a showing, but in the higher elevations with good rainfall this year they have been popping up everywhere.
I took this two weeks ago near my place in the mountains...
Day 13
Monday, September 6, 2021
Distance: 554.9 miles
Duration: 9 hours, 31 minutes, and 37 seconds
Average Speed: 58.3 mph
Minimum Elevation: 4051 feet
Maximum Elevation: 7321 feet
Today I'm running from one old Route 66 town to another. I've got my sights set on Tucumcari NM.
I ride off into the sunrise, yay! Not.
Apparently there's an early morning smudgie/bug on my camera lens that takes me waaaaaay too long to notice. Apologies, I'll try to stage my captures so it messes up the image as little as possible.
My route destination today is fairly early on. As I depart my hotel I'm still not sure if I'm going to take the time to check it out after my day of heat yesterday. However, I spent yesterday evening looking at the weather predictions for my route and it seems like today will se a comfortable 95F for the high temperature of the day. I can definitely handle that. So, I make the decision to hit my morning destination and swing through the Petrified Forest National Park, thus bagging my fifth National Park of the trip. Stickers and magnets are of course purchased at the visitors center.
Side note. At the Grand Canyon I presented my Veteran's ID to get in and was given the military park pass.
The guy at the Grand Canyon informed me that I'd just have to present this to get into the parks. However, the lady at the gate of Sequoia National Park read me the riot act about how I'm to present this AND my photo ID. I offered to get out my photo ID and she said it was fine and sent me on my way. I showed both this and my ID at Yosemite but they were more concerned with seeing my reservation pass to make sure I had that. Death Valley didn't have anyone to check, but instead had a vending booth that sold the access tickets, which irked me because I had to pay for that one. Oh well, if I only had to pay for one, that's not bad for all the enjoyment I got. It occurred to me riding off that maybe instead of putting my credit card in the machine that maybe it would have accepted my pass. Oh well. The best though was the guy at Petrified Forest. I handed him my pass and ID and he didn't even look at them, just handed them right back as soon as they touched his hands, and then being super friendly he engaged in a conversation with me about motorcycles. Crazy.
Petrified forest is a nice little ride through with some stops to check out. I should have stopped at the Crystal Forest but I was well past it when I realized what it was.
Once again, I'm walking back to my bike and am struck by the beauty of the old girl who is wrapping up the adventure with me.
Crossing back over I-40 with just a little more to see before exiting the park.
Then, I know it's going to be a boring day after this so I start messing with putting the GoPro in other locations, specifically on the Ram Ball on my brake reservoir.
Hey, it's me!
Still me, trying to figure out which way I have to go apparently. This also gives a good view of the chin mount that I usually have the GoPro attached to.
Trying to capture a sideways view of the passing scenery and the oncoming train.
Not the greatest view.
Making sure I stay hydrated.
GoPro back on my chin, taking in the dwindling nice scenery as I continue to head East, knowing sooner or later I'll be back in the area of the country that is flat, hot, and boring.
And then I come to Albuquerque. I stop just prior at a truck stop and have some of whatever fast food restaurant is inside. The food is not memorable and there wasn't a reason for a photo.
For a long while I watch a column of black smoke in the distance. Most of the time it's off to my left, however, as I approach I see the road curve to the left and realize that there's trouble on my side of the highway.
Everyone is on their brakes headed for the left shoulder, me included. Well, all except that semi truck you see in my mirror that came blasting up on my right before he woke up and realized what was going on and hit the brakes pulling over and right behind me.
yep, somebody is having a bad day.
As I roll past it, I realize it looks like it started in the engine compartment and is burning it's way back, but hasn't reached the gas tank yet. That makes me quite nervious and feeling exposed as I roll by.
But I'm on my way and I end my day stopping into my favorite little motel in the world, the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari NM.
It's changed owners but the new owner is just as friendly and helpful, and very proud of his little establishment. As he walked me to my room I started laughing and told him that this was my third or fourth time staying in this room. He was blow away that I've been there before, let alone that many times. I pointed out the one other room I stayed in my first time there and we got a good chuckle that I and my family have been in the same room ever since.
I unloaded the bike, then headed down the street to gas up for the morning, and to the grocery store for a six pack of Shiner to enjoy this evening. Then I walked down the street to Del's Restaurant.
My meal is delicious.
Then it's back to the motel for a few beers as I enjoy the usual show of the fully restored neon lights from the old Route 66 era powered by the original restored power transformer. I've taken more photos before but I snap a few anyway.
This guy rolled in so I had to walk over and chat and take a few photos. He tells me it's all for show, and that he's in a hearse club and tells me about some of the other fully functional vehicles in the club.
Oddly, tonight the mosquitoes are pretty bad. They are biting despite me applying the spray that's been working for me the entire trip. I decide that I've seen the neon before and head inside a little early so I can get a head start in the morning. I'm close to the time zone line to enter Central Time Zone in the morning so I plan on a really early start so I can be home before my son gets off the school bus.
Monday, September 6, 2021
Distance: 554.9 miles
Duration: 9 hours, 31 minutes, and 37 seconds
Average Speed: 58.3 mph
Minimum Elevation: 4051 feet
Maximum Elevation: 7321 feet
Today I'm running from one old Route 66 town to another. I've got my sights set on Tucumcari NM.
I ride off into the sunrise, yay! Not.
Apparently there's an early morning smudgie/bug on my camera lens that takes me waaaaaay too long to notice. Apologies, I'll try to stage my captures so it messes up the image as little as possible.
My route destination today is fairly early on. As I depart my hotel I'm still not sure if I'm going to take the time to check it out after my day of heat yesterday. However, I spent yesterday evening looking at the weather predictions for my route and it seems like today will se a comfortable 95F for the high temperature of the day. I can definitely handle that. So, I make the decision to hit my morning destination and swing through the Petrified Forest National Park, thus bagging my fifth National Park of the trip. Stickers and magnets are of course purchased at the visitors center.
Side note. At the Grand Canyon I presented my Veteran's ID to get in and was given the military park pass.
The guy at the Grand Canyon informed me that I'd just have to present this to get into the parks. However, the lady at the gate of Sequoia National Park read me the riot act about how I'm to present this AND my photo ID. I offered to get out my photo ID and she said it was fine and sent me on my way. I showed both this and my ID at Yosemite but they were more concerned with seeing my reservation pass to make sure I had that. Death Valley didn't have anyone to check, but instead had a vending booth that sold the access tickets, which irked me because I had to pay for that one. Oh well, if I only had to pay for one, that's not bad for all the enjoyment I got. It occurred to me riding off that maybe instead of putting my credit card in the machine that maybe it would have accepted my pass. Oh well. The best though was the guy at Petrified Forest. I handed him my pass and ID and he didn't even look at them, just handed them right back as soon as they touched his hands, and then being super friendly he engaged in a conversation with me about motorcycles. Crazy.
Petrified forest is a nice little ride through with some stops to check out. I should have stopped at the Crystal Forest but I was well past it when I realized what it was.
Once again, I'm walking back to my bike and am struck by the beauty of the old girl who is wrapping up the adventure with me.
Crossing back over I-40 with just a little more to see before exiting the park.
Then, I know it's going to be a boring day after this so I start messing with putting the GoPro in other locations, specifically on the Ram Ball on my brake reservoir.
Hey, it's me!
Still me, trying to figure out which way I have to go apparently. This also gives a good view of the chin mount that I usually have the GoPro attached to.
Trying to capture a sideways view of the passing scenery and the oncoming train.
Not the greatest view.
Making sure I stay hydrated.
GoPro back on my chin, taking in the dwindling nice scenery as I continue to head East, knowing sooner or later I'll be back in the area of the country that is flat, hot, and boring.
And then I come to Albuquerque. I stop just prior at a truck stop and have some of whatever fast food restaurant is inside. The food is not memorable and there wasn't a reason for a photo.
For a long while I watch a column of black smoke in the distance. Most of the time it's off to my left, however, as I approach I see the road curve to the left and realize that there's trouble on my side of the highway.
Everyone is on their brakes headed for the left shoulder, me included. Well, all except that semi truck you see in my mirror that came blasting up on my right before he woke up and realized what was going on and hit the brakes pulling over and right behind me.
yep, somebody is having a bad day.
As I roll past it, I realize it looks like it started in the engine compartment and is burning it's way back, but hasn't reached the gas tank yet. That makes me quite nervious and feeling exposed as I roll by.
But I'm on my way and I end my day stopping into my favorite little motel in the world, the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari NM.
It's changed owners but the new owner is just as friendly and helpful, and very proud of his little establishment. As he walked me to my room I started laughing and told him that this was my third or fourth time staying in this room. He was blow away that I've been there before, let alone that many times. I pointed out the one other room I stayed in my first time there and we got a good chuckle that I and my family have been in the same room ever since.
I unloaded the bike, then headed down the street to gas up for the morning, and to the grocery store for a six pack of Shiner to enjoy this evening. Then I walked down the street to Del's Restaurant.
My meal is delicious.
Then it's back to the motel for a few beers as I enjoy the usual show of the fully restored neon lights from the old Route 66 era powered by the original restored power transformer. I've taken more photos before but I snap a few anyway.
This guy rolled in so I had to walk over and chat and take a few photos. He tells me it's all for show, and that he's in a hearse club and tells me about some of the other fully functional vehicles in the club.
Oddly, tonight the mosquitoes are pretty bad. They are biting despite me applying the spray that's been working for me the entire trip. I decide that I've seen the neon before and head inside a little early so I can get a head start in the morning. I'm close to the time zone line to enter Central Time Zone in the morning so I plan on a really early start so I can be home before my son gets off the school bus.
Day 14
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Distance: 501.8 miles
Duration: 7 hours, 6 minutes, and 49 seconds
Average Speed: 70.5 mph
Minimum Elevation: 378 feet
Maximum Elevation: 4241 feet
Today is get home day. My alarm goes off at 5am and the bike is already packed so all I have to do is suit up and hit the road. Not much to do in the early morning hours except watch the fascinating synchronized red flashing lights on all the windmills.
More windmills on the horizon as the sun starts to light up the sky.
Riding through Amarillo, one more day of riding into the sunrise before turning a little away as I take 287 to the Southeast. The bugs sparkle beautifully in the sun. LOL.
More windmills as the sun makes it's full presence in the sky.
After that it was a pretty unremarkable ride across terrain that I know all too well. Not much to photo or film. I did get threatened with thunderstorms at one point and was enjoying using the weather radar on the GPS but the storm had rolled through by the time I got there so all I got was sprinkles from the sky and spray from the semi trucks around me.
I rolled back through Dallas in full battle mode to deal with our traffic. I rolled into the house and was greeted by my wife and my previously angry and depressed, and now super excited dog. I got cleaned up and fresh clothes and was able to surprise my sone when he got home from school thinking I'd be home about dinner time.
A great trip in the books, the trip I've dreamed about since buying the FJR and have had to experience vicariously through the ride reports of others in the past. This time it was my turn and it was so worth it.
My FJR is fifteen years old and almost ready to hit 100k miles. She took me to see my parents in Florida earlier in the summer and now has taken me to California and back. What a treasure Yamaha has developed in this fantastic motorcycle.
Two days later I cleaned up the FJR and put on two of stickers I purchased (Forgot to grab a few stickers when getting magnets, oops) on the top box to go with the others from previous trips.
Suitable stickers to remind me of the amazing things I've seen on this trip.
Now, time to start planning for next year...
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Distance: 501.8 miles
Duration: 7 hours, 6 minutes, and 49 seconds
Average Speed: 70.5 mph
Minimum Elevation: 378 feet
Maximum Elevation: 4241 feet
Today is get home day. My alarm goes off at 5am and the bike is already packed so all I have to do is suit up and hit the road. Not much to do in the early morning hours except watch the fascinating synchronized red flashing lights on all the windmills.
More windmills on the horizon as the sun starts to light up the sky.
Riding through Amarillo, one more day of riding into the sunrise before turning a little away as I take 287 to the Southeast. The bugs sparkle beautifully in the sun. LOL.
More windmills as the sun makes it's full presence in the sky.
After that it was a pretty unremarkable ride across terrain that I know all too well. Not much to photo or film. I did get threatened with thunderstorms at one point and was enjoying using the weather radar on the GPS but the storm had rolled through by the time I got there so all I got was sprinkles from the sky and spray from the semi trucks around me.
I rolled back through Dallas in full battle mode to deal with our traffic. I rolled into the house and was greeted by my wife and my previously angry and depressed, and now super excited dog. I got cleaned up and fresh clothes and was able to surprise my sone when he got home from school thinking I'd be home about dinner time.
A great trip in the books, the trip I've dreamed about since buying the FJR and have had to experience vicariously through the ride reports of others in the past. This time it was my turn and it was so worth it.
My FJR is fifteen years old and almost ready to hit 100k miles. She took me to see my parents in Florida earlier in the summer and now has taken me to California and back. What a treasure Yamaha has developed in this fantastic motorcycle.
Two days later I cleaned up the FJR and put on two of stickers I purchased (Forgot to grab a few stickers when getting magnets, oops) on the top box to go with the others from previous trips.
Suitable stickers to remind me of the amazing things I've seen on this trip.
Now, time to start planning for next year...
Great ride report, really enjoyed following along & I know how long these take to put together.
Next year I suggest you head a little further South on the slog home, through Prescott NF & Show Low, Socorro & Roswell, NM and 380 down to DFW. A lot more scenery on the 1st 2/3rds & at least some interesting towns on the Texas portion.
Next year I suggest you head a little further South on the slog home, through Prescott NF & Show Low, Socorro & Roswell, NM and 380 down to DFW. A lot more scenery on the 1st 2/3rds & at least some interesting towns on the Texas portion.
AllByteNoBark
Forum Supporter
And you answered my question about where the GoPro is mounted. 
Must have been right after you left. Here's a photo from 2015 I took the first time I stayed there.
I've been to the last part you mention before. Wouldn't mind seeing the rest.
Whirlwind two day Trinity Site trip
INTRODUCTION This is a quick trip that has been in the works for almost two years. I stumbled upon the Trinity Site purely by accident. Someone posted a picture up on a motorcycle forum and when I went to their album on photobucket there were pictures from their ride to the Trinity Site. I...
Actually, at the beginning of August I took the family to Ruidoso for a week.
Probably another thing I misremember from my past. I have a distinct memory of struggling to get the FZ off the centerstand because of how thick the gravel was. Can't find any pics though
Awesome report btw, forgot to mention that.
Awesome report btw, forgot to mention that.
Great ride report! I really enjoyed reading, thanks
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2004
- Messages
- 17,406
- Reaction score
- 5,547
- Location
- Sun Lakes & Show Low, Arizona
- First Name
- Brian
No obligatory stop to stand on the corner in Winslow?
You also rode right past the Meteor Crater. For years I thought it was just a tourist trap, but I stopped in last year and was highly impressed and have plans to visit it again.
You also rode right past the Meteor Crater. For years I thought it was just a tourist trap, but I stopped in last year and was highly impressed and have plans to visit it again.
I considered it, then thought "Nah."
Interesting, maybe next time.
Funny how that works out about the tourist places. Friend of mine hit up The Big Texan, which I always drove right past, he said it was great, so we tried it out. We loved it.
Also, while planning a trip to take my wife to Florida to see my family one year, she looked some stuff up on the internet and told me she wanted us to go see "Gatorland." I told her that no, not in any way, does any self respecting Floridian go to Gatorland and we would not spend a single penny there nor set a single toe across the threshold. Because we are married that means we compromise and we went to Gatorland. I had to admit, it was still a huge tourist trap, but I enjoyed myself and it was pretty cool.