No Country for old Mooses

[Moose]

On any solo trip I take I always try and take a good book.

This time I've settled on a little Cormak ....seems appropriate as the last 40 minutes of the movie always lost me and I hope this will be thematic on this trip

Left 9/6 and returned 9/14, a few days early as the trip was to have several days in Colorado

 

[Moose]

Friday 9/6 - Day 1 - Texas to..well...Texas:bubba

around 700 miles

I live just south to Houston, and launch time was a fricken unbelievable 4:30am. What can I say, Texas is a big place and I always like to get out of state on the first day

The goose ready for flight

We are talking a straight drone thru downtown Houston, turn left and twist the throttle kinda day...not much in the way of good roads, just I10 to 285 North to Carlsbad

Quick look see around the cavern - nice road to the cavern & back down..however religiously patrolled by park rangers hunting revenue. The big room is easily the size, or larger, of any domed football stadium

Inside -

After leaving the cavern I head south 30 miles back to Texas and camp overnight in Guadalupe NP - really a nice little camp ground even if the Host reminds me a little of a creepy Bruce Dern sorta way

 

[philipbarrett]

Actually, apart from one glaring change (which I won't spoil), the movie is possibly the closest adaptation of a book I've ever seen.

Probably my favorite McCarthy and a fantastic cinematic interpretation to boot.

Safe riding, best to avoid bad haircuts and anyone carry abattoir equipment!

 

[YoDoc]

Actually, apart from one glaring change (which I won't spoil), the movie is possibly the closest adaptation of a book I've ever seen.

Probably my favorite McCarthy and a fantastic cinematic interpretation to boot.

Safe riding, best to avoid bad haircuts and anyone carry abattoir equipment!

Hey, that's just good advice, regardless of where you're traveling.

 

[txplants]

Waiting for more!

 

[Gravel Guy]

Love that goose!

 

[shanedman]

was that Carlsbad, NM???

if so my grandmother used to take me there (caverns) every summer as a kid. Loved it! I used to ride horses in the canyon down the street from one of her houses. fun stuff...
She used to take me all over the country on road trips in fact.
Now im getting all nostalgic.. perhaps i should plan a trip up there to the caverns again.

but i digress.. More pics please!!!!

 

[Tourmeister]

 

[Duke]

indeed!

Been a while since we had a RR from Moose!

 

[Moose]

Day 1 minus 2 - backstory

The Wednesday night before I leave I awake about 2am feeling warm. Check the thermostat, which is set to 76 and see the inside temp is 79....shoot, gets warmer thru the night and no more sleep for me:knary

Arrange a guy to come out Thurday, who tests the unit and finds the compressor is shorted internally:rolleyes

Discuss the options and settle on a replacement unit as the current one is original to the house (crappy builder model) and over ten years old

Sign my life away and arrange for the new unit install the following Monday, when I'm away. Throw in our small window unit we have for when the power is out (can run off our small generator)

Not real happy at that point but after discussing it with my lovely wife decide to carry on with the trip and she and my oldest boy will handle things going forward

 

[wanabeguru]

 

[Moose]

Day 2 - Guadalupe NP TX to Silver City NM

Packed up Saturday Morning, turned right from the campgroud back to the NM line, thru Carlsbad and turn onto 82 to Alamagordo. I'm looking for a green chilli burger

82 is boring until you get closer to Cloudcroft and get some elevation (and in my case rain) and drops you into the NM desert

Green chilli burger at Rocking BZ is good but not the fantastic thing I had hoped for. Fill up and head down 70 to White Sands NP. Very neat place but it's getting hotter then hades and bail quickly after driving the loop

Head farther south on 70, cross over to 185 and head up to 152

Couple miles up 182 I'm stopped at a checkpoint and after I show my papers talk quickly to the border guard who mentions the green chilli burger at nearby Hatch...music to my ears!!!!!!

Still pretty full from Alamagordo I order the kids burger with extra chilli's. This is the burger I'm looking for:tb

152 starts good and gets better...but watch the speed trap at the bottom of the hills in Hillsboro - 50 to a 35mph right at the bottom of a 6% grade, cop sitting just past the speed sign - not ticket for the moose tho:randy

152 is a very nice road, however the last 15 miles were in heavy rain & by the time I get to Silver City there is also lightning all around so I bail into a nearby KOA and get a cabin for the night

Just over 400 miles to the day

 

[kickstand~prophet]

Sweet the caverns are nice and cool even during this part of the year. Where in New Mexico and Colorado are you going? Once you get up north the temps will fall if your at elevation. Look like fun wish I was with you. Ride safe and enjoy the scenery. KP

 

[kickstand~prophet]

Just watched that movie Friday night after work. I was looking for a scene that they say has The Frontier from Albuquerque in it. I guess I looked away during the movie and missed it. One of the weirder movies around. Call it now heads or tails? If you get to Albuquerque do stop in and have a bite to eat. KP

 

[cdc]

 

[Moose]

Sweet the caverns are nice and cool even during this part of the year. Where in New Mexico and Colorado are you going? Once you get up north the temps will fall if your at elevation. Look like fun wish I was with you. Ride safe and enjoy the scenery. KP

Patience grasshopper

Actually I just get a general idea were I'm going & how long I want to be gone and go - but I've been back a week now

 

[kickstand~prophet]

Patience grasshopper

Actually I just get a general idea were I'm going & how long I want to be gone and go - but I've been back a week now

Opps see the dates now. I did not see anything other than CO and NM.

 

[Moose]

Day 3 - Silver City NM to Kingman AZ

Pullled out of Silver City around 8:30 and headed up 180. 30 miles later.....rain suit on:baldy

180 is a pleasant road, nice sweepers but nothing technical. There is an pass between Luna and Springerville. Unsuprisingly the town at the top is called Alpine

180 eventually spills out onto I40, which sucks, but brings me directly to me next destination - Winslow AZ, which I've wanted to visit for years

Standing on the corner - sorry about the Banana suit, but it did work as advertised thorough the entire trip

complete with flat bed Ford

quick lunch at a nearby Mexican place, named Casa Blanca I believe

Back on the road I head to Meteor Crater which I've wanted to see since I was a kid. Is I near the site the skies continue to darken and by the time I'm at the exit its pouring. Being an optimist I head there anyway and it gets worse and worse, to the point that I pull into the parking lot, look at the entrance wistfully and beat feet the **** out of there before the road washes away

I though this was suppost to be some sort of desert!!!!!!!!:baldy

Get back onto I40 in the rain and head over to Seligman, where I take route 66 over to Kingman AZ. This is a pleasant, straight and relatively empty road - and almost dry!!!!!!!!!

Grab a cheap room in Kingman as the weather is again turning crappy

 

[Texas T]

180 is a pleasant road, nice sweepers but nothing technical. There is an pass between Luna and Springerville. Unsuprisingly the town at the top is called Alpine

Did you intentionally choose to not ride the Devil's Highway? 78 from 180 over to 191 is a great road by itself, and then you could have taken 191 north from there. The Bear Wallow Cafe in Alpine is THE place to eat. Very rider friendly and very good pie.

complete with flat bed Ford

There used to be female mannequin inside the truck.

quick lunch at a nearby Mexican place, named Casa Blanca I believe

Good choice. Decent food. Decent prices.

I though this was suppost to be some sort of desert!!!!!!!!

That's what happens when you show up in the middle of our monsoon season.

Get back onto I40 in the rain and head over to Seligman, where I take route 66 over to Kingman AZ. This is a pleasant, straight and relatively empty road - and almost dry!!!!!!!!!

Did you grab an ice cream at the Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman? World famous place.

 

[Moose]

Day 4: Kingman AZ to the North Rim

Get up and pull out of the Hotel into a nearby gas station, fill up and get some liquids to go.

Since I have never been out here before I ask the girl in the store which way has the better scenery - right up 93 to Boulder City, or go the long way round thru Needles and up 95. The lady sez she thinks 95 is nicer, but an extra 100 miles. What the **** I'm here to ride & I've never been in Kali before

On my way to the next next do...and it's not even raining!!!!!!!!

Now don't be hatin on me for stoppin at Starbux - my kids gave me a gift card for my birthday that I have to use up & I got to meet this guy. He bought his Wee in June and had been on the road for the last 6 weeks, having just retired

Met this cool Houston pigeon - all one legged and pathetic looking

Houston pigeon because just like the guys here under the overpass, once the food was gone the second leg appeared and the feathers on his head were smoothed out...notice how fat he is:lol3

Typical ****** parking v2.0

Made a Dam visit

Leave the dam behind and follow the parkway along Lake Mead

And lookie here!!!!!:muttpark

Turn left past Holloman AFB where a couple large fighters fly over head and preceed to my next goal

and

more rain.....

Settle for the night at the DeMott campground about 12 miles from the North Rim of the grand Canyon. Finally get the campfire burning, a nice cup of Tullamore Dew and rain.

I retreat to my tent for the rest of the night:zombie

 

[Moose]

Did you intentionally choose to not ride the Devil's Highway? 78 from 180 over to 191 is a great road by itself, and then you could have taken 191 north from there. The Bear Wallow Cafe in Alpine is THE place to eat. Very rider friendly and very good pie.


Did you grab an ice cream at the Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman? World famous place.

So many roads, so many things to see, so little time to do it. If I'd know what I'd face later in the trip I'd probably have stayed in the area for another day or two - but it's a good reason to go back

 

[Moose]

Day 5 - a plan gone to heck

Wake up early, real early...rain again

Put off the inevitable

Snatch a quick breakfast of a cliff bar, pack up my crap and roll my sodden tent into a heap and stuff it into it's bag and finally head off to see the North rim of the Grand Canyon

Ride the last couple miles to the gate, pay my 12 bucks and make my way to the lodge area - another 12 miles or so

Pull in to the parking lot and get an awesome picture from the particularly nice vantage point

head over the the lodge for a coffee and second breakfast - wish I'd taken a pic of the nice breakfast burrito and green chilli's....really yummmm

Leaving the lodge I take another pics thru the loge windows as it's really cleared up

Done with the canyon I head out for the 80 mile ride back to town...wow what rain, no bugs were left on my bike after that

From Kanab I head over to Zion NP where it is a bit drier, but of course drier is relative

Now the plan, such as it was, is to head back thru Zion and up 89 and 12 to overnight around Freemont Junction so as to make my way up to Steamboat the next day

Some of the biggest blackest clouds I've ever seen are now to the east so I wuss out and run over to I15 and beat feet North to I70 where I head East again...thru rain that makes what I rode thru coming out of the Grand Canyon seem like a light mist

Finally get out of the worst of the rain around Grand Junction. I70 may suck but the scenery is really nice - totally roadrunner/coyote land

Exit the interstate and head down 191 and overnight in Moab where I dry my tent, shower and do laundry.

 

[DFW_Warrior]

Finally get out of the worst of the rain around Grand Junction. I70 may suck but the scenery is really nice - totally roadrunner/coyote land

Wait, what was the date you were in Grand Junction? I came through there on the Tenere on 9th. That was one heck of a soaking rain that was coming down.

 

[DaveC]

Is this the parking lot for Zion?

 

[Moose]

Wait, what was the date you were in Grand Junction? I came through there on the Tenere on 9th. That was one heck of a soaking rain that was coming down.

I went thru on the 10th - I was going to text you to see if you were still around

At one point I pondered just running up thru SLC and into WY to see if it was drier