| USA Four Corners Ride In the summer of 2006, while at Sturgis, my brother David proposed the 4 Corners Ride for our next adventure. Naively, I replied, 'Oh, you mean out West, the 4 states!' Upon his clarification of the route, I was hooked! Over the next 12 months he retired from 24 years in the US Coast Guard, and I passed my 50th birthday. The only other reason to take on such an adventure that can top these two, is, For the Ride. We did our research and hooked into the SCMA (Southern California Motorcycle Assn.) and then to Dave Johnson, the Chairman of the 4 Corners Ride. I cannot say enough about Dave’s responsiveness and professionalism. We set the start date: 24 July 07. We would give ourselves 14 days from when we left home until our return, well within the 21 days allotted by the Tour to visit all 4 corners. My bike: 2006 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic. Dave’s bike: 2004 Harley Heritage Softail In preparation, we decided to hit Key West first, then Maine, Washington, and California before heading home. Living on the SW Florida coast, we figured that it would not be as fun to save Key West for last as we really did not want to have ‘ride by’ our homes to the last checkpoint and then to have to retrace the route home. We received our packages from Dave Johnson in the mail the week prior. After reading a number of ‘journals’ as posted on the website, looking for ideas and feedback, we were psyched! (Note: while we both enjoyed some of the ‘older’ journals from a few years back, the most helpful were obviously the most recent which discussed road construction (long-term projects), metropolitan traffic, and weather as it related to our time of the year. Both of us have ridden long and hard before. Last year we had a couple of 1000+ days back-to-back while heading to Sturgis.... So the ‘comfort’ factor and packing factors were not a big concern for us. I packed relatively ‘light’. A few shirts (all long-sleeve.... Those Columbia fishing shirts with the high SPF were great... I wore those to Sturgis), an extra pair of jeans, sandals (let my feet breathe at night!), socks, a jean jacket, my heavy leather jacket, and rain gear. I took two one-gallon gas cans (which I carried in my hard bags) as insurance, a Polaroid camera (as a back-up for the digital), and the new GPS that I reluctantly accepted from my wife and daughters as a birthday present. (Who needs a GPS? I’m only making 4 left-hand turns! Besides, I am not the most tech-savvy guy in the group... my 8 + 10 yr. old daughters control the TV remotes!) (Note: I was at fault for not paying attention to the fact that the 2 day Florida Mini- Lobster Season kicked off in the Keys 25 - 26 July! That is a huge influx of traffic into the Keys for this event.... Everyone towing boats!) July 24th 2007 Awoke at 0150 hrs. Tough sleeping.... Maybe 4 hrs. sleep. Looks like a light rain on the radar East as we leave town. Met brother Dave at The Bagel Factory (my business) in Ft. Myers where we left at 0300. Had our chief baker, Marcelo take a couple of pictures and a short video. We rode I-75 (Alligator Alley) through the Everglades until we got to the East Coast (Ft. Lauderdale). From there we went South on the Florida Turnpike until it ended south of Florida City, turning into US 1. It was best to get through the morning commute early. There is no question about it, while toll roads are a pain, they are certainly faster than the bumper-to-bumper crowd on the Interstate. We were advised to consider taking the small toll road through Card Sound just prior to passing through Key Largo where there was a lot of road construction. The additional 18 miles were more than offset by the beauty and almost nil traffic. However, once we got past Key Largo, the traffic count picked up, and we were further slowed by the visible increase in police patrols for speeding. We arrived in Key West at 0900. We took pictures at the Southernmost Monument (rode our bikes up on the sidewalk) as well as the Post Office. We secured our gas receipt coming into town, and asked the postal clerk for the Post Office Phone # for our ‘check-in sheet.’ (Note: the clerk who hand cancelled our envelopes was not very accommodating/friendly. While I come across so many wonderful people in the Postal System, how this fellow won the bid to work out front with customer contact is beyond me. He would be better suited to sorting mail that did not ask him questions.) On the way out of town, we met up with Dave’s buddy, Al, a former Coastie who served with Dave on the USCG Cutter Northland. Al was going to ride to the top of the Keys with us, but his current job held him hostage that week due to the lobster fishermen flooding the area for the next two days! We rolled out of Key West at 1045. It was already HOT! Humidity we live with down here... it was just plain HOT. The 7 mile bridge was backed up going out of the Keys. All that we can figure is that the police were using the bridge every so often as a place to look for those people in boats tied off below and snorkeling for lobster early. We exited the Keys by the same route, through Card Sound. It must have been around 1430 - 1500 by the time we reached the Florida Turnpike in Florida City. By then the afternoon showers were coming in (like clockwork) and we donned our rainsuits. We made it through the showers and up in Broward County, but not before the afternoon traffic appeared. Once into Broward County, around the Glades Exit, all hell broke loose from the skies. Tons of water, thunder and lightening. Only once before have I ever pulled under an overpass for shelter, and that was for hail (it hurts). We pulled off and for 45 minutes nothing let up. Finally, we broke free for a Service Plaza up the road where we got gas. Since it was near 1700, and we knew that more rain was coming, we decided to head over on State Road 80 for a few miles to an Outback for dinner. We figured now since we would be riding late to make up time, that we should get a good meal and miss the evening traffic in the storms. If I thought the rain was bad on the Turnpike, getting to the Outback was like riding my bike under my swimming pool as it was being poured over me! Coupled with the instantaneous flash of lightening and bursts of thunder, this was not the place we wanted to be in during traffic with zero visibility. Top it all off, and as the crow flies, we were only about 150 mi. directly across the State of Florida from where we started! We nearly floated into the Outback where we ate, soaking wet (yes we had on our suits). We re-grouped and saw that my ‘grand plan’ of making it to NC or SC was clearly un-attainable the first day! When we tried calling ahead for a reservation (we used Marriot Courtyards/Fairfield Inns) in Brunswick, GA, they were full. We made it to Jacksonville, FL that first day at 2345 hrs. 868.1 miles. (So much for our goal of not riding a lot at night!) 25 Jul 2007 Wednesday New day! Alarm set for 0630. Wiped down bikes, and ate a good breakfast. While eating and cleaning, we took the wet clothes to a dryer in the motel. Called my friend Steve Surrette in Easton, PA to say that we were running a little behind. By my grand plan, we were scheduled to meet him in Eastern PA at the end of the day and he would ride with us for a few days. (I was still in denial that we could be ‘so far behind’!). Kudos to my brother for humoring me! Left JAX around 0900 (it took us another 3 days to grasp that these good, healthy breakfasts, while nourishing, were causing us to leave much later that we wanted). I-95 North to S. Carolina. Donned rain suits again and with the heat, glasses kept fogging up. Rode in rain gear until 1330. Called to let Steve know that we were further behind! We nixed going up I-95 to Fredericksburg, VA in favor of 95 to I-26 to I-77 through Columbia, SC and Charlotte, NC. Made it through Charlotte in afternoon traffic thanks to a red Ford p/u with Fla. Plates! We followed him on one of many Mr. Toad’s Wild Rides! After having entered into VA, the cooler weather came immediately with the hills. Quite beautiful! Pulled off to put on leather jackets, and then again in 5 minutes for rain gear (we kept the rain suits on for the rest of the evening, even after the showers stopped). From I-77, we turned onto I-81 and rode it up through VA. Gorgeous! Through Blacksburg, VA and the Shenandoah Valley (it was so cool to see all of the historical markers). With darkness at 2050 hrs, our stamina gave out. I had to call Steve and admit that we would see him on Thursday. I-81 is nice, and almost all was newly resurfaced, but there were a lot of trucks, and just the two amigos on bikes. We finally called ahead and found a Marriott Courtyard in Winchester, the upper corner of VA. It was difficult to find off the interstate, and we were tired. After Dave checked in, and we chained the bikes right outside the main door, the clerk asked me as I am dragging my bag inside, still in my rain gear, 'Did ya’ll ride motorcycles?' (Not a rocket scientist this one!) 'No, we walked, can’t you tell?’, I replied. She was confused. Dave rolled his eyes. We will meet Steve tomorrow, and make it to Maine. No dinner, it’s too late. Before I walked down to wipe the bikes, I found the washer + dryer and through our clothes in there. Asleep at 2400 hrs. Total miles today: 750 26 Jul 07 Thursday Alarm at 0530: too soon! Hope to be on the road by 0700. Another great breakfast (I have still yet to come to grasp with this causing us to leave later than we want.... The hotel breakfast is not open until 0600). Left at 0715.... Hope to be in Bangor, ME tonight. We left East on I-81 through VA and were surprised that it took us through a small part of West Virginia. Passing through Maryland and then into PA, it was neat to pass by all sorts of Civil War Battlefields, including Gettysburg. We also passed by York, PA and Hershey. When we arrived at I-81 + I-78, we realized that Steve and Easton, PA was another 71 miles down I-78! We took exit 71 and went on 33 North to Stroudsburg where we met him around 1115 and had a bite to eat before starting out together. While in the parking lot, an oldtimer drove up to the three of us and started to admire the bikes. (Steve has a nice Kawasaki Roadster, the fact that he chose not to bring his windshield on the subsequent two day ride will forever etch him in my mind as one of the grittiest riders I will ever come to know.) In the meantime, this fellow (somewhere in his 80’s), made some small talk, and then whipped out his wallet, offering to show us ‘his baby.’ There it was, the picture as clear and clean as the day it was taken, of his ’48 Electra Glide parked right next to a ’45 Chevy pick-up! He rode this baby down to Daytona in ’48 with his young wife on the back (buddy seat). At the time she didn’t know it, but she was two months pregnant! What an honor it was to have him share his story.... And there she was, sitting in the car patiently smiling, his wife! Now that Steve was with us, and he knew the roads in the Northeast, it was up to him to guide us through to Maine. At his suggestion, we went doubled back on I-80 to I- 380 where we headed North towards Scranton, looking to turn East on I-84. We had a very pleasant ride through the Pocono Mtns. and in doing so, passed into NY at the point where PA, NJ + NY intersect. In riding along I-84, we bypassed the afternoon traffic in the South closer to Newark and NYC. We entered CT and gassed up in Danbury at a small Mom + Pop Gas Station/Deli. The visit took on a life of it’s own with some old fella (a sure knock-off for Junior Soprano) who was rude to everyone, selective in his hearing, foul-mouthed and was very adamant in pointing out the sign that said 'No Public Restrooms.' Instead, he told us to cross the street and whiz in the bushes like everyone else! After his concern over our bikes being a little too close to his one handicap spot, he really got worked up! Dave concluded the visit by backing up his bike to his front door, and blowing out those Vance + Hines Staggered Big Shots that are so difficult to ride next to! Afternoon traffic was not too bad as we made it through CT, as we went through Waterbury, and Hartford, remaining on I-84 into MA. Passing through Sturbridge, MA, we turned right onto the Mass. Turnpike I-90, riding just south of Worcester until we intersected I-495 (our loop North around Boston). Fueling up somewhere around Lowell, MA, we stayed the course on I-495, riding it until it turned back into I-95, just 2 miles short of the MA NH border. Once inside NH it was fast moving with the evening commuters as I-95 is also known as the Blue Star Turnpike. While we were in NH for maybe 25 miles, it was pretty awesome entering into Portsmouth and seeing the shipyards and the old buildings. The weather was a bit cool and starting to get brisk as the sun began to set. ME soon greeted us with the Maine Turnpike (aka I-95) where we rode it into Portland. Since we had reserved a room in Bangor (132 miles away), we decided to catch dinner in Portland. As we wanted to get in and out quickly, and not load up on carbs (puts us to sleep), once again it was the Outback for dinner at 2100 hrs. It was a little confusing getting back onto the Turnpike (why we didn’t take I-295, I do not know). But it was North and into the darkness. People warned us about the moose at night, and that kind of freaked us out. However, Steve and I proceeded to press on as fast as we could ride. Dave prevailed at a toll plaza of having us run behind some of the packs of cars or the large pick-up with monster fog lights lighting up the road for hundreds of feet in front of him at 60 degree angles! (At this point, I have to give full recognition to our friend Steve Surrette who was riding w/o a windshield. At 90 – 95 mph, most of us know what it feels to have our faces distorted. I ride a Fat Boy at home and I rarely use my windshield. Throw in the nighttime summer bug factor, and only his eyes were protected with his goggles! It must have been brutal, but Steve never complained!) We arrived in Bangor at 1245, tired, bugged and frazzled from the moose watch! Total miles today: 827.4 27 July Friday Awoke at 0800 in Bangor. Summertime up here is beautiful, and families are out to get as much vacation time as possible. The hotel was filled with vacationers (lots of children...and it was great to see the kids in the pool at 0815!) After a brief breakfast, and having retrieved our clothes from the washer and dryer, (Steve had a lot of bugs embedded in his shirt), we rolled out of Bangor at 0945, taking I- 395 to I-95 N. Lots of beautiful trees.... Everything was so beautiful in the summer time! Once we got onto US 1 is was even more beautiful. Lakes, wildflowers.... So hard to imagine what a harsh winter would turn this place into. We went through all kinds of small towns on US 1, it reminded me of driving through rural Wisconsin. We were looking forward to arriving in Madawaska, especially after having read others accounts of how they have been ‘welcomed’ in the city. We were not disappointed! The local Post Office had us sign in, presented us with certificates, people outside took our pictures, someone from the local Chamber of Commerce walked us down one block to sign us in again, advised us of the new park being built where the 4 Corners granite monument sits, and even tried to get us to stop in at the local newspaper for a photo opp! We had to pass on the last suggestion, but we did stop in at a local diner right there downtown for a great chicken sandwich. They were in a heat wave, and most businesses did not have a/c. The monument was pretty impressive, and the local pump jockeys at Doc’s Place where we gassed up were clued into our ride and very excited for us. What a great place to have as the upper Northeast Corner! The small town hospitality is what makes this country great! Crossed into Canada pretty much w/o any fanfare. While they kept us for 45 min., they were a bit concerned over the Gerber knife which Dave declared, and the amount of cash that I declared. Both of these were ‘red flags.’ Note: No one was concerned about a US Passport, the Driver’s License worked fine (Dave and I had our passports). We entered into New Brunswick Province and turned down Canadian Highway 20 (I-20). It was 2 lanes each way, just like an Interstate, so it was ‘open throttles’ and away we went! We paralled the St. Lawrence Seaway, and that was cool. At times it looked as though eons ago that this highway was ‘underwater’ as we appeared to be in-between the seaway and high cliffs on our left. When we crossed into Quebec Province, the signs turned to French, and the speed postings read 100/60. Rationalization took over and so we took it as an invitation to cruise at 100 mph! (Our speedometers only list mph, not km/hr. So much for the ‘French Officials’ posting kilometers! Of course, it’s unreasonable to expect most Harleys to cruise at 100+, so we settled for 95. Still, with dusk coming, and Steve now wearing a white shirt, well, just imagine the collage of bugs he collected minus the windshield! We phoned ahead to Montreal for a reservation at the Marriott. (Little did we think that the one assigned to us was in the heart of downtown on a Friday night!) Eight miles outside of Montreal there was a bad accident, and so traffic was backed up, and it was miserable creeping along at a snails pace for miles. The GPS saved us! It guided up through the spaghetti interchanges into downtown Montreal, arriving at 2200 hrs. The area downtown reminded me of a cross between Times Square and downtown New Orleans. No dinner tonight, we were exhausted. Total miles for the day: 664 28 July 07 Saturday 0500 came way too soon. Showered and ready to go, Steve departed for home on a 7 hr. solo ride where he was welcomed as a hero for his ‘bug man’ adventure with his buddies. David and I set the GPS for Ottawa, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. We exited Montreal early w/o any problems, following I-40 (Hwy 417) into Ottawa. 417 is a good road, mostly 2 lane (1 each way), but with lots of passing lanes. We donned our raingear just outside of Ottawa for about 20 miles, and then took it off. It was a bit on the cool side. On the western side of Ottawa, we picked up Hwy 17 and followed it to North Bay, then Sudbury and then to Sault Ste. Marie. Somewhere before North Bay is Mattawa. It is a small town, but everyone turned out for the celebration of Mattawa Days! Pretty cool, everything going on there! We mostly cruised at 70 mph, as we had to go through a lot of small towns (lots of large trucks). Again, it is summer and everyone is out enjoying the weather. Locals considered it a heat wave, being as it was so hot. Road construction was at a minimum, but the signs warning of DEER are enough to discourage anyone from riding at night. We met a Canadian on a Rice Rocket while gassing up at Massey. He was headed home to Eastern Canada from a 3 week solo ride through the Western US and Canada. He was exhausted, but was kind enough to set me straight on my ‘ambition’ of making it to Duluth, MN that evening! He asked, 'Do you have any idea just how long Lake Superior is?' I needed that ‘wake-up call’ from someone other than my brother! The remaining ride through Canada was beautiful as we rode along the North Channel (just above Lake Huron). Passing through Sault Ste. Marie was uneventful. The bridge over the water connecting Whitefish Bay and Lakes George and Nicolet were impressive (the locks). It was a toll road, and US Customs did not even ask for a passport! Out we came on I-75 where we rode 20 miles south to State Hwy 28. We headed west on 28 through the Hiawatha National Forest, numerous small towns, toward Marquette, MI. By the time we reached Munising ((about 90 mi. short of Marquette), we found a nice Mom + Pop motel where we got dinner an bedded down for the night. During a previous gas stop, I realized that I would be looking for a new rear tire, so this concern was now somewhere on our radar screen. It was Saturday night. Over dinner we discussed the future of our routing. Dave was correct. My ‘plan’ to take Hwy 2 across ND, MT, ID and into WA was no longer viable in as much that I come to grips with the fact that my ‘crude timetable’ as it related to distances was not realistic. We agreed to seek out the help of I-35 and I-94 in MN. Total miles: 742 29 Jul 07 Sunday Alarm goes off at 0500! Weather report is that it should be perfect! All of the bad weather is on the East Coast and in the South. Went outside to pack the bikes.... Low 60’s.... it’s cool (that’s cold for us Floridians!). It’s leather jacket time! We actually left around 0700, and we did not have breakfast. What took so long? I guess we were both just tired. Hwy 28 along Lake Superior through Marquette, Ishpeming and Wakefield was beautiful. Lots of summer cottages (but plenty of snowmobile signs). Passing through Ironwood, into WI, Dave noticed that someone had modified the sign to read 'Ironwoody'. It was Sunday morning, and so traffic was relatively light early on. However, as the morning moved on, it’s like everyone with a bike was out and cruising! We guessed that with such a limited summer, they had to ‘get it while they could.’ It was just outside of Ironwood(y) that we picked up US 2 and rode that through WI. Ashland, Iron River, Maple and Wentworth were the towns. Going into Duluth, MN through Superior, WI was neat! The bridge was huge and there were all kinds of ships being loaded there on Lake Superior! Lots of big cabin cruisers and sailing boats as well! Once we made it onto I-35S, we made great time to Hinckley, looking to cross over just north of Minneapolis/St. Paul onto I-94N via State Road 23. It was a bit confusing as we took exit 183. It would have been better 3 miles down the road at #180. Riding into St. Cloud, we hopped onto I-94N and rode as fast as we could towards Fargo, ND. The landscape was mostly flat and agricultural. Getting gas outside of Fargo (maybe Sabin), it was a small town and everyone was there at the local community pool cooling off from the heat! Arriving in Fargo, ND at 1800, we still had 3 hrs. to reach Bismarck. Not much to see, except that it is a lot like riding through SD on I-90 towards Sturgis. Same time of year, same heat. A fellow rider in Fargo pointed out that the speed limit was now 75 mph, and that we could safely cruise at 83 - 90 mph. It’s tantalizing to imagine the Plains full of buffalo (Tatonka). Arrived in Bismarck and checked into our hotel, a Fairfield Inn just around the corner from the State Capital Building. Caught dinner at Famous Dave’s BBQ, and a couple of cold beers. Wow, that was great! While it was still light at 2100, we were ‘fading fast.’ Tomorrow (Monday morning), it’s time to stake out Rough Rider Harley Davidson in Bismarck for a back tire. Looks as though Dave will do the same, as he does not want to have a worn tire on the ride through Texas and the Gulf Coast where we anticipate a lot of wet weather. Total miles: 810 30 Jul 07 Monday Woke up at 0600 in Bismarck, ND. Decent sleep, good breakfast. Headed right over to Rough Rider Harley Davidson next door in Mandan. We showed up at 0740 since the Service Dept. opened at 0800. BJ, the service manager was great in getting us right in. Dave decided that he needed a rear tire as well, with 30% left and anticipating a wet ride through Texas and the Gulf Coast, it was inevitable. Kelly, the young clothing manager out front recognized us from last night.... She was behind us from Fargo to Jamestown where we got gas... she took notice of the 2 Florida Bikes as we were hauling at 95 mph. Like I said, everybody is friendly here. I bought some new foot pegs... something I should have done last year! We had about a 4 hr. wait in the dealership. Most people assume that we are headed to Sturgis. Missoula, MT is almost 800 miles away, Dave wonders if we can make it. By the time that we left at 1200, it was 97* outside. Bill, the owner of the dealership was fantastic. Really, a great guy. He spent a lot of time with us. Nothing except a straight, flat road out of Bismarck on I-94 heading West. We got off around Exit 27 at maybe Medora for gas. Really a neat little Western like town that is nestled in some terrain that looks like the Badlands in SD! There was an entrance to the Theodore Roosevelt State. Pretty cool place. Getting into Montana, I figured that I could take some good pictures while on the bike on cruise control. I did, and I only got better at it! Saw that Custer’s Little Big Horn is here in Montana, and I could not figure out why we crossed the Yellowstone River at least 4 times! (Yes, it runs along I-94). As the day went on into the late afternoon, I now see why Montana is referred to as BIG SKY COUNTRY. It is beautiful. But kid you not, this was the hottest day so far. Riding through an oven at 100*+ has no relief. (Note: I- 94 merges into I-90 just east of Billing.) The sunsets were surreal. Yes, plural sunsets! It seems as though we were ‘chasing sunset after sunset.’ Just when the sun set, we crossed over/through a mountain divide and we were treated to another one! The mountains seemed ‘on fire’... so different from sunsets over the water. (I never enjoyed anything like this while living in Colorado Springs for 4 years.) While taking Exit 316 into Livingston, MT for gas, my shift linkage broke while down-shifting. It was already 1800 hrs, and we still had 215 miles to go to Missoula! Dave quickly grabbed the zip-ties and fastened the link-age in place! It wasn’t too long down the road that I ‘pushed this bandaid- repair’ out of my mind as we were ‘screaming’ through Rocky Mountains chasing sunsets and slicing through curves in the passes. Since we moved into Mountain Time, we gained another hour. The sunset must have finally left us around 2200! Bugs! Lots of bugs! Somewhere, after having passed through Butte, we were looking for gas. Riding out from Butte with mountains behind us, in the dark, it looked as though we were crossing through a big plain (a few lights scattered far and about). We took Exit 208 as the sign pointed to Anaconda for gas. Where was the sign that said, 'Gas 16 miles from this exit'? At 2130, it’s a little frustrating to be chasing a gas station 6 miles away in the dark! We backtracked to I-90 with enough fuel to make it to Missoula. Whatever the frustrations were, they were erased with the final leg of the night. In the last 70 mi. of our ride, we were back into the mountains. Somewhere after Deer Lodge, we suddenly came around a mountain that was on fire! No wonder we kept smelling smoke! This mountain top was red and orange, with flames leaping to the sky! As we rode next to the side of one mountain that has just burned, the heat radiating from it was powerful. The smoldering embers aglow against a black carpet of where there was only recently a green forest, was surreal. It was like out of a Hollywood movie! The signs in the road said to keep moving, but the two 18-wheelers pulled off side-by-side must have enjoyed ‘taking it all in!’ When we arrived in Missoula at 2330 hrs, we were dusted with soot, and tired. No dinner tonight. In bed at 0030. Total Miles: 781.8 31 July Tuesday Woke up at 0600. Another good breakfast. Arrived at Montana Harley-Davidson in Missoula at 0730. They opened up at 0900. The folks were great, especially the techs who arrived early and chatted with us. There was no new linkage parts with which to replace my busted piece, but someone had an ‘extra’ (used as it was probably a stock piece left behind when someone bought an up-grade). Paid $20 for it and I was good to go. Dave asked that someone check his rear brakes as that last 100 mi. the night before left him ‘second guessing’ his rear brake. Sure enough, the guys did a quick job at bleeding them (no charge), and we were off! It was cool enough to wear my Jean jacket. We rode the last 200 miles out of Montana into Idaho, never spotting a trooper in the entire state. Once again in another state, and Idaho was very beautiful. It seems as though before I-90 was paved, there were small (old) homes perched along the road in the canyon. When the Interstate came through, the road expanded right up to these homes! Got gas somewhere in a small town at a small country store, may have been Kellogg. Eastern Washington State, what an eye-opener! Once we passed through Spokane, from the Interstate’s perspective, this half of the state resembles Kansas/Nebraska! With all of the farmland, I kept thinking, 'We must be in Kansas.' We passed 4 State Troopers (3 on BMW bikes) working the noon traffic through Spokane, but it was clear after that. (Note: when we left Missoula, I decided to empty the gallon gas can into my tank which I carried though Canada. I figured that we would not need it until we left San Diego on the way home. Dave agreed.) Once we left Spokane, it was ‘farmland.’ Few exits, and even fewer gas stations. I imagine that it was exit 245, Sprague, when we passed the gas station. Soon after, my low-fuel light came on, but I figured that I had maybe 50 mi left on my tank. Shortly Dave would switch to his reserve (he does not have fuel injection), but come on, surely there would be a gas station within 50 mi! Nope, nada, no way. It was ‘pucker-up’ time. Farm access exits, no services. Dave finally coasted out at Exit 191... 54 miles. I soldiered on, with Dave holding down the fort at Exit 191. Finally, 12 mi away, at Lake Moses (Exit 179), I found gas. I topped off, and filled both of my one gal. cans! Racing back, bikers had stopped for Dave, a fellow on a Sportster and another on a Victory. We gassed up, and from there forward, I kept both cans full! Once we crossed the Columbia River (it was huge and awesome), the state changed to mountains & trees! It was beautiful. We could see all kinds of lakes and snow-capped mountains. Stopping for gas in Easton, WA, we explained to the ladies in this little general store that we needed to be in Blaine, WA by 1900 hrs. (It was now 1600 hrs). They laughed at us, saying, “No way! The Seattle traffic is what will do you in.” We made Blaine by 1840 hrs. Traffic was dense, but we also rode in the HOV lanes. Blaine was quaint and beautiful. We would have loved to have spent more time there, but we were anxious to make it back through Seattle to Tacoma (150 mi) to have dinner with Dave’s daughter and new son-in-law (Joan + Eric). Heading south on I-5 through Seattle around 2030 was surreal! The mountains off to our left... riding into Seattle was absolutely the coolest thing going! Again, like out of another Hollywood movie! The sun was setting on the water, but shinning on the buildings. The Seattle Needle down below off to the right, with all kinds of white sails dotting Puget Sound, just like a swimming pool in front of the city! The approach to the airport was over the Interstate coming off of the mountain! At night this was unbelievable! I have to come back and share this with my family! Dave and I were separated somewhere entering Tacoma as I was following a 4-wheeler in the HOV lane when all of a sudden I was ‘juked’ into taking the wrong ramp! There he went, with Joan’s phone number and directions, but I had the GPS and it was loaded. After having circled through a few inter-changes, I actually arrived at the apartment before he did! We managed to all catch a late dinner (2230) at Ruby Tuesdays, but the conversation was loud. We were all excited to see one another, and it did not help that Dave and I were half-deaf from riding all day! Total Miles: 794.1 1 August Wednesday We slept in a bit, arose, cleaned the bikes, and planned our run into California. It was a bit on the cool side this morning. Breakfast was at IHOP with Joan in Tacoma. We started rolling at 1200. Heading South on I-5, it was nice riding, with great views and the mountains off in the distance. Portland was nice, entering into Oregon we saw some nice big metro buildings and the sports center. I managed to get some pictures of the big bridge crossing over the Columbia River. Observed more water activity (boats and things) while crossing over the Willamette River. There was a large traffic jam through downtown Portland at 1400. Wow. I wonder how it must be at rush hour? Personally, I was disappointed in the northern half of Oregon as I felt like I was in Kansas again... flat, dry, farming. Once we got past Roseburg (marker 124), it got fun. Canyonville, Grants Pass, the mountain = Gorgeous! On many ‘bursts’, it was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. The smell of the trees! Evergreens, spruces....wow! Yes, we passed many lumber mills off to the side, makes sense, all of the trees! Entering into California: MM 796. We were coming down the mountains from Oregon. We had a great view of Mt. Shasta and I took lots of pictures while riding. This was absolutely a humbling experience. The song, 'This land is your land, this land is my land...' kept running through my head! Somewhere alongside Mt. Shasta it was getting dark. Dave needed to switch eyewear from dark to clear. At a rest stop, he realized that he must have left the clear set back in Tacoma. Tension. We reached the next exit (cannot find it on the map), I believe it was Antlers, where at 2130 he found some clear glasses at a Mom + Pop gas station. Rolling again! We passed over Shasta Lake (MM 695), it was dark and the moon was coming up. Glancing over to the left side we saw the lake and valley... again, just like out of another Hollywood movie! How lucky can we be to have such beauty all around us! We blew through all 9 exits of Redding and eventually made it into Sacramento, where it suddenly got very cold approximately 15 mi out of town. (This was in contrast to the huge pocket, long... miles + miles... of hot/warm air around Red Bluff MM 650). Six miles out of Sacramento, we came to a crawl with road construction. Night Crews were busy at 2330. We arrived at out hotel at 0015. Total miles: 716.6 2 August Thursday Woke up at 0700. The chef at The Marriott Courtyard (Debbie), rides a ’52 Flathead, and recommended that we visit her favorite Harley dealership in nearby Elk City. Dave needed some eyewear as well as a tail light bulb. Everyone was extremely friendly at the dealership, and again, it made for a great experience. The folks there gave us some recommendations for heading South (take Rte 99 in lieu of I-5 for a while). Since we were already on Rte 99, this seemed like a plan. However, they all offered the same advice with respect to our plan to ride through LA on I-5. Don’t do it! The traffic is a killer! With the weather still a bit cool, and taking in the sights of the local wineries along Rte 99, I missed where the road crossed over I-5 south of Stockton. (All kinds of vineyards with small and large wineries. Beautiful homes/tasting facilities welcoming you to come in). By the time we were in Modesto, I realized the error, and we took Exit 212 (Main St.) west for a good while until it ran into Hwy 33. This brought us back to I-5 (Exit 407). As we headed south, it became HOTTER. Once on I-5 it was like a desert. It was HOT, DRY and DUSTY. We passed orchards (perhaps olive trees?), but everything was so dry and parched. Occasionally we could see the California Aqueduct paralleling I-5, carrying the precious water from the northern part of the state to the south. When we turned off I-5 (somewhere around MM 300 near Kettleman City) on State Road 41, we were headed over to Hwy 101, we just missed getting bagged by a trooper. Hwy 41 was a path through a broiler oven. Dry heat, temp over 100*, no humidity, it was just burning hot. There was some road construction, through the Kettleman Hills and the Cholame Hills (just around Orchard Peak @ 3125 ft). HOT is not even close enough to describe it. As we rolled over the last hills closer to San Luis Obispo, we cooled down nicely as we came into Atascadero. San Luis Obispo is very nice, Cal Poly Tech is there. We met our sister Carla and her husband for dinner at Margie’s Diner. Big portions, very nice visit at 1 hr 10 min. They gave us good insight as to the LA traffic and points beyond. Leaving the Diner at 1820 hrs, we figured on making 2 more hours of riding, and then bedding down, so as to get up at 0300 to beat the LA traffic. We donned our leather jackets (from a cool morning, to an oven-like day, and now to a leather evening)! Had a GREAT RIDE along Hwy 101, seeing Pismo Beach, Santa Maria (there were fires back that way), Solvang, passing the turn-offs for Lompoc and the La Purisima Missions (all places where we lived and Dave was born: Vandenberg AFB). It was getting dark as we blew through Santa Barbara. The ride was wonderful along the coast into Ventura, and it got dark. I figure it was the fog coming in... Dave says smoke from the fires... end result: hazy visibility. Decided to seek shelter at the Oxnard Marriott around 2200 hrs. Total miles: 461.5 August 3rd Friday 0300 came way too soon. Programmed the GPS as follows: Hwy 101 to I-405, through LA to I-5, to I-805 through San Diego to I-5 to San Ysidro. Left the Marriot Courtyard in downtown Oxnard at 0409. Hopped right onto the 101 Freeway to I-405. We averaged 80 mph+ through LA, with speeds of 95. Used the HOV lane as much as possible, but was still passed by some commuting biker at 0430 while going 90! Saw all kinds of ‘familiar street signs’. Not a lot of opportunity to ‘look around’ as we were hauling to get through before the RUSH. There were some huge billboards, massive neon types, hi-intensity, lighting up the expressway. It was a bit chilly, and we had our leather jackets on. We made it through in what we figured was a record time for two fellows from laidback SW Florida! Exited for fuel at Exit 82 on I-5 (San Juan Capistrano). Really quite neat that it was at Dana Point where we gassed up, especially after having Dave introduce me to Richard Henry Dana’s Two Years Before the Mast. The rest of the ride through San Clemente and Oceanside brought back memories. As we approached the I-805 as it starts into San Diego, there was a slowdown... but not for long! We rolled into San Ysidro and found the Post Office (a lady graciously took our pictures together), gassed at the ARCO station, and called home to announce at 0735 that we had bagged our 4th Corner! We left north on 805 to exit 6 to meet our cousin Mark and his 3 wonderful children for an hour before riding off to Tucson. By 0940 with jackets off, we were rolling north on 805 to I-8 where we turned to El Centro, CA. Traffic was light for us, and we went through some pretty cool mountain passes. I did not realize that El Centro was so far out! By the time we rolled into Yuma, it was the desert again, and it was HOT again... MM 89: HOT. We gassed up in Yuma and rolled on. From Yuma to Gila Bend, AZ (MM 115) it was pretty desolate. We both now have a first hand look at why so many of the illegals sneaking across the border around this area die... it’s a killer! I began to think, why not have a test range for bombs and such out here! Nothing lives! Around Gila Bend we gassed and watered up, each of us downed 2 liters of water and took a 3rd to drink while riding. Met a State Trooper at the stop. Great guy, had to relate his bike adventure to Dave! Good thing the sun was behind us in the PM. Soon I-8 rolled into I-10. From MM 208 into Tucson (MM 256), I started to see a bunch of those barrel cactus.... Aren’t they also called Joshua Cactus? Took a bunch of pictures while riding. Had a bit of a problem finding the Marriott Courtyard in Tucson, as there were all kinds of heavy construction on the I-10 ramps as they were being rebuilt. We arrived in Tucson around 1715, completely wiped from the heat. Early dinner at a Mexican place (Borders), which was nearby (we could walk). Early to bed.... Planning a long ride tomorrow... to San Antonio. In bed by 2030 hrs. Total miles: 637.2 mi 4 August Saturday Woke-up at 0400 (went ahead and set watch ahead 2 hrs since AZ is not on Mountain Time). Left Tucson via I-10, and it was pleasantly cool. Took some nice pictures while moving, of the sun rising (looked almost like a sunset). I can see where the Arizona State logo gets its inspiration (the star and the colors radiating from it). The clouds over the mountains were quite impressive, especially the ones low on the horizon. It looked like it was ‘slim pickins’ living along the I-10 corridor in AZ. We did see the sign to Tombstone just before we left. There was nothing spectacular in passing into New Mexico. In NM there was a sign for 'Billy the Kid’s Territory.' Las Cruces, NM appeared to be big and affluent. From there it was a quick trip into El Paso. El Paso was huge! The Interstate was 4 - 5 lanes across each way. One of the overpasses on the east side of town was pretty cool... all sculptured and painted... kind of a Spanish motif. It was really something to look at. Both Dave and I remarked how ‘green West Texas’ was. Quite surprising, although I guess that it was due to all of the rain. Again, we were stopped at another border patrol station somewhere around exit 99. They funnel all of the traffic into one lane and then off the road under some covered area.... Something like a weigh station. (We passed through one like this either yesterday or the day prior). While getting gas somewhere around Van Horn (MM 138), we met a fellow named Will on a black Road King. He was retired Army and Post Office. He finally got his daughter through college and bought himself the bike. He was from Tucson heading to Dallas to meet his brother, where they were to ride to Miami + then Chicago. 'No hurry' Will said. 'I’m retired, and as long as the money holds out, I’ll just keep on riding.' Gassed up in Ft. Stockton, it seems like it took a long time to get there. Today was supposed to be hot, but we were sparred. The clouds kept cover over us, the rains remained off to the side, occasionally ahead of us, so that the road was cool when we rode over it. No rain on us today! By late afternoon, the cloud cover had left us and the sun was behind us. It was a great weather day! We were pushing it on gas, with the posted speed limit at 80 mph, we were cruising at 90 - 95. We were not concerned when Dave ran out of gas 2 mi. shy of Kerrville, as we had our gas cans filled and ready to go. The gas station in Kerrville was a bit on the loony side. With people backing up in pickup trucks + trailers at the gas pumps, teenagers doing the same in their cars, and a halfwit at the cash register, we got our gas, bit our tongues, and got out of there. We did not have hotel reservations in San Antonio. When Dave tried calling late in the afternoon, there were no openings at Marriott or Fairfield Inns. He wanted to call some other hotels, but I pushed us into riding, figuring that we would ‘find something.’ Bad move. When we entered town from the North, everything was filled on a Saturday night. We made our way through San Antonio to the I-10E and still nothing. It was 2200 hrs and we were hot, tired and hungry, having 900 miles under us already w/o breakfast/lunch/dinner. With both of us cranky, we had to ride 25 mi out on I-10 to Seguin where we got the last room at the Mom + Pop Alamo Suites. Crickets, flies and the like in the room, it did not matter. The Jack-in-the-Box was closed next door. Got a glass of milk at the gas station next door for dinner. (Note: today I followed Dave’s lead a couple of times and drank a couple of small cans of Starbucks ‘double shot’ as we gassed up. This kept me nice and wired! It also made it easy for ‘cleaning out my own pipes’ every time we stopped for gas! Total miles: 917.7 5 August Sunday Wake-up at 0500. Showered and wiped down the bikes. Got coffee and muffins next door at the Circle K. We are watching the weather for a rainy forecast. Today we should get wet. We are looking to find a Harley Shop on a Sunday.... Most likely in Louisianna. We would like to get some oil, a bulb, and an air cleaning kit for Dave’s ride. Left Sequin around 0620, and on Sunday morning the traffic was light. With only 200 mi to Houston, the fog was heavy. Around MM 718 (Sealy), the sunshine burned through and we zipped right through the center of Houston on I-10 without a problem. Stopped for gas around Beaumont (MM 861), and got breakfast at Denny’s. We already had 250+ mi knocked out. Checking our book on Harley Dealers in LA, we saw that they were all close on Sundays (except for Shreveport). Crossing into Louisiana was nothing spectacular. Lots of oil refineries in East Texas and that part of LA. As we approached Lafayette, we saw rain showers just ahead. We suited up only to find that they disappeared. We made 20 mi in the rain gear until the extreme heat forced us to shed the stuff. Did not use it the rest of the day. We took the I-12 cut-off as I-10 dips down into the Big Easy. I-12 is like 70 mi long until it meets up again with I-10. We made great time cruising through LA. We did see somewhere outside of Lafayette an 18-wheeler which had burned completely to the ground us a few hours prior. I mean it was melted! Crossing into Mississippi we found ourselves behind some speeding 4-wheelers, so again we made great time. This was great for me since I still have my outstanding Bench Warrant for speeding back in ’77! Lots of casinos in LA + MS. Nothing else to report with MS. When we reached Alabama, we gassed up. From there it was 80 miles through the rest of the State (Mobile) to the Florida Line. The Mobile Tunnel was fast (we loved revving the pipes!), and the causeway was beautiful. We picked up speed as we rode into Florida. It got a ‘wee bit hairy’ as we approached our exit, 13. Maybe it was Exit 10 A + B.... going East, there’s actually an ‘on-ramp’ from the left side which brought up some fellow towing a back-hoe! Caught us completely off-guard as we were passing an 18-wheeler! Suffice it to say, we ‘cooled our jets.’ We arrived at 1715. We called my daughter Christine in Ft. Walton Beach to come meet us for dinner. She arrived at 1800 and we dined next door at the Ache and Stale. The meal wasn’t anything special, the beer and company made the night! Total Miles: 686 6 August Monday Final Day. Alarm set for 0530. A quick breakfast and we were on the road by 0700. Wow, Pensacola continues to grow! The new I-10 bridge across the bay is impressive. We made excellent time to Tallahassee, setting our clocks ahead to EST. We decided to pull into Capital Harley Davidson in Tallahassee to p/u a quart of synthetic oil for each of us to put into our bikes. This dealership took good are of me on a trip two years ago when I had an issue with my brakes. Again, we made great time. It was HOT, no rain, not even a threat of it. We followed a couple of fast cars, but nothing spectacular happened. We took I-75 South from I-10 (Lake City) and headed home. Around I-75 and SR 60 (Brandon), it looked like rain ahead, serious rain. We quickly donned our gear, only to experience a 5 minute ‘dusting’ of showers. Finding ourselves sweltering in the heat, we were speeding and slicing through traffic enroute to the closet exit 6 miles away, to remove our gear. Wow, were we surprised to see the Hillsborough County Sheriff screaming up behind us with lights flashing! But it was not meant to be.... he passed us by.... More important issues to deal with! We raced home! We were happy to get on US 41 just south of Punta Gorda. This 41 was such a nicer and ‘cooler’ road than the Hwy 41 in the middle of California! Arrived home at 1730 hrs. 13 days, 14 hrs after leaving! Total miles: 593.2 Total Miles for the trip: 10,231.3 THINGS I NOW UNDERSTAND (BETTER)
- TINUB -
~ It’s important to keep your empty gas cans filled (an empty will not help ‘on the spot’) ~ What a good GPS can do for you in:
~ The importance of carrying an adequate supply of zip ties. (Repairs: ex. Linkage) ~ When planning to stay near a large metropolitan area, and arriving late at night, or even past 5 PM, you better have a reservation. ~ When planning a route, take the time to employ such tools as Mapquest to calculate distances.... Measuring map distances using your fingers and employing the WAG Method (Wild Ass Guess) messes up your entire timetable from the start! ~ Do not attempt to cram an extra work-out at the gym into your day prior to leaving... no matter how good of a shape you are in. The muscle soreness (neck and shoulders) and cramping of the abdominals on the first day of ‘hard riding’ is certainly not worth it. The abdominals especially, when you are trying to put on your rain suit over your boots.... Not a pretty sight! ~ This adventure is one that tops them all. We have a beautiful country and if you ever have the opportunity to do this ride... take it. I am proud to be an American. It’s especially ‘neat’ now that I am working on Geography homework/projects with my 10 and 8 yr. old daughters and it’s all ‘fresh’ in my mind! |