Day 23

Today was a relatively relaxing day. Tigger and I went to Great Sand Dunes National Park. This is one of those parks you hear very little about but it was fun to see. We rode over from Ted’s house and were back by noon.

My GPS had a stroke and died. All of a sudden it started shutting off and turning back on by itself. It gradually stayed off longer and longer and finally would not come back on at all. I did, of course, have a back up which I put in service. In addition, I had ordered a new one and it was at Ted’s house waiting when I got there.

When Tigger and I returned to Ted’s we had a lot to do. Wash clothes, clean up the bike, install the new GPS and spend time with Ted. My first priority, of course, was the GPS, but Ted could not stand my dirty bike in his meticulous garage for another minute. So, while I was setting up the GPS Ted cleaned and waxed my bike. He then gave me directions on how to clean it each night so that the dirt, grime and bugs would not build up so badly. Fat chance!

We did have time to catch up. They say you are lucky if you have five people you can truly call a friend. For me Ted is certainly one of them. We tend to be different in almost every aspect of our personalities but we have a great time together and he is a wonderful host. On the other hand, he still would not tell me about that undisclosed strenuous activity that caused his hernia.

I have the tendency to become somewhat obsessive about things such as this trip. Let’s face it, getting up at 3:00 AM to get an early start is not the action of a rational person. On the way home from Great Sand Dunes I had an epiphany. I have been checking my route and mileage against my original plan and our mileage is 1,200 more than I anticipated at this point. I have decided that we have two options. We can stick to the original route and not have time to relax and enjoy ourselves or modify the route somewhat and take it a little easier. We will likely not be able to visit all of the parks I had planned because there are forest fires near Redwood in California that could prevent us from going there. So there are a few parks we will miss. I will still get the stops needed for the Iron Butt designation and we will have more time to spend in the parks we really enjoy.

Day 22

Today I wanted to get an early start since I knew it was going to be an early day. I have this internal alarm clock that never fails, so I never need a wakeup call or alarm. When I awoke the clock said 3:00 AM. Now just so you don’t think I have gone completely bonkers, Tucson seems to have their time all screwed up. They were an hour earlier than the time zone I woke up in the previous morning and the time zone I would be sleeping in that night so I never reset my internal clock. Poor Tigger was not ready to get up, but he did so with his indomitable smile.

Today began the mountain phase of my trip and I was riding in the mountains rather than around them. There is a stretch from Globe, AZ, to Show Low, AZ, that I have ridden before and it has become one of my favorite rides. Riding a motorcycle is a multi sensory experience. As opposed to an automobile where you ride through your surroundings, on a motorcycle you ride in them. The scent of an alpine glade, the temperature fluctuations as you climb from 5,000 feet to 10,000 feet and even a sudden mountain shower are much more part of the experience. These elements, combined with the fact that, for me, the rugged peaks, sheer rock faces, fast flowing streams, towering pines and aspen trees that shimmer in the breeze create a place of serenity I find no where else, makes this my favorite place to ride.

Today I pulled a “Fabio”. As you may recall the suave and debonair model who has adorned the covers of countless romance novels was riding a roller coaster in Virginia a few years back when he hit a goose with his face. A face that has many similarities to mine, although I can’t remember any of them at the moment. Well, it seems there is some type of bird that likes to sit in the middle of the road at dusk and play chicken – or would that be bird – with oncoming vehicles and today one of them lost. Fortunately, I had on a full face helmet so no damage was done to this face which has adorned no covers of romance novels but I don’t believe the bird had a great day.

I arrived at Ted’s house at 4:30 and I was dead tired. My posterior was so sore form sitting nearly twelve hours on the bike that even sitting in an overstuffed chair was uncomfortable. I need to work on this.

The picture of Tigger in on petrified wood in the Petrified Forest National Park and the vista is from Mesa Verde National Park.

Took a couple of days off

I have been relaxing in Durango for the past couple of days. I will bring the blog up to date soon.

Day 21

I know the titles of my daily blog postings are not very creative, but it is the only way I can keep track of how long I have been gone. I have lost track of the dates and days of the week. I guess that means the vacation is going well. I didn’t realize until someone else told me, today is the 4th of July.

As I was looking at my map to plan today’s ride, I noticed I was going through Las Cruces, New Mexico. A friend, Tom Ferguson, moved there a couple of years ago. I called him to see if he was interested in having breakfast. Since I was only a little over 200 miles away I figured I could make it by 9:00 AM. Turns out I got there about 40 minutes early. We had a Mexican breakfast and it appears Mexican food initiates a gastrointestinal reaction in Tigger. It’s a good thing we were on the motorcycle rather than in a car. It was great to catch up with Tom and introduce him to Tigger.

Tigger and I went to Saguaro National Park today. It is close to Tucson and is part of the Sonora Desert. The Saguaro Cactus is a symbol of the American Southwest. They are very impressive structures. A large one can soak up to a thousand pounds of water in a single rainfall under the right conditions. Tigger is such a ham and he had to show how tough he is. If you look closely, you will notice he is sitting on a rock and not directly on the cactus.

Tomorrow I am heading to Durango, Colorado. A very close friend of Jane and I, Ted Steffens, lives there. Ted was supposed to accompany me for a week on this trip but some undisclosed strenuous activity gave him a hernia and he recently had it operated on. I’m going to have to have a discussion with him about what a man as old as him should and should not be doing. He is way older than me and the only reason I hang around him is so he feels a little younger for a while.

Day 20

After first entering Texas on Monday I finally reached both of the Texas National Parks today. The first was Big Bend National Park and I will say I was pleasantly surprised. The terrain was picturesque and the mountains were much more majestic than I expected. The problem with taking pictures was fog and haze somewhat obscuring the mountains. Since I arrived early I saw quite a bit of wildlife including jack rabbits and road runners.

My next stop was Guadalupe Mountains National Park. While the mountains were equally impressive, the only way to see them is to hike. There is no road through the park.

My last stop of the day was Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Had it just been me, I probably would have gotten my National Parks Passport Stamped and gone on, but Tigger had never been in a cave and we arrived too late to go into Mammoth Cave when we were in Kentucky. Jane, Chad, Wendy and I had visited Carlsbad Caverns the summer before I started to work at Kerkering, Barberio & Co. but I had forgotten how spectacular the cave is. In my opinion, while not as big as Mammoth, it is much more beautiful. Once again Tigger was in awe. I did get a few funny looks having Tigger with me, but I explained it as a grandchildren thing.

One thing I learned about Tigger today is that he is a bit of a daredevil. We were heading down this two lane road and hadn’t seen anyone for two or three miles so I decided to pick up the speed a little. Tigger was enjoying himself so much that he gave me a thumbs up. Problem was I thought he was telling me to go faster. Before I knew it we were at triple digit speeds. When we got to the park I had to stop and pick the bugs off of his teeth and out of his hair.

The new camera I purchased has a really neat feature. It allows you to take a series of photos next to each other then merge them for a wide angle shot. The first photo was made this way.

Day 19

Today ended up being an easier day than I anticipated. I dreaded the ride because I thought it would be hot and boring. The temperatures never exceeded 88 degrees and there was a nice cloud cover to make it even more pleasant. The terrain was somewhat monotonous, but the speed limits in West Texas are 80 mph and there is virtually no one on the road including troopers. Needless to say I took advantage of the situation as the bike I ride was made by Germans for riding on the autobahn.

As I left Houston Cindi Lauper was proclaiming that “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” when I noticed a sign advertising the Buc Kee Beaver gas station, store and all around great place with very clean rest rooms. Five miles later with Bill Medley bemoaning “You’ve Lost That Lovin Feeling” I noticed another Buc Kee Beaver advertisement which again mentioned the rest rooms. Another five miles and Natalie Reins was telling me what needed to happen to that scum bag “Earl” and another sign. These signs went on for over 100 miles. Ten miles before the Buc Kee Beaver I saw a sign that said “Clean Rest Rooms – You Have to Pee to Believe” and I was hooked. Not only were the rest rooms cleaner than several of the hotel rooms I have stayed in, they had thirty three different types of Jerky. It is amazing what types of animals they turn into those nasty looking strips of dried meat. For those of you who are wondering, I did start singing the jingle advertising Ipana Toothpaste a few years back.

Tonight I had dinner at the local restaurant where the elite meet to eat, K Bob’s Steak House in Fort Stockton, Texas. I had fried cat fish filets, baked potato, fresh salad bar, hush puppies, Texas toast and banana pudding, all for $8.46. That included tax. And the food was very good. Just another advantage of small towns.

Tigger decided to send an email since Owl just got DSL service. His typing is just as slow as mine.

Day 18

OK, so I am cheating a little. Today and tomorrow are days devoted to getting to Big Bend National Park in Texas so I decided to post two days together, one in advance. This is one big state and the western part is quite desolate. My challenge is to find a place to sleep after I leave Big Bend, but I won’t even get there until Thursday. Hence the post for two days since I will be very tired tomorrow when I get in and I will be leaving very early Thursday morning. They seem to do everything a little different down here. Even the back roads have a 70 mph speed limit and in a construction zone they really don’t slow you down much, they just make you dodge and swerve a lot.

I stopped today in Houston. I have over 5,000 miles on the trip and had to have the oil changed. I arrived at the hotel early and felt like I was being lazy. Then I realized I had still ridden over 330 miles. I guess getting on the bike by 5:30 AM makes a difference.

I didn’t take any photos today and don’t anticipate taking any tomorrow. Tigger is anxious to see another national park, but he told me that it is much hotter here than in the hundred acre wood. As always he wasn’t complaining and he said it with a smile.