May 2007: Short Way ‘Round Cross Country Tour: Oilheads Across the USA! 9,200 miles through 22 states over 30 days
TPP Web Team2024-05-17T11:52:02-04:00
Terri is anxious to leave NJ!
Stopping for a break in Port Jervis, New York
Who knew Indiana had beaches?
Terri enjoying the Chicago night
Arriving at the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District
Each house is a work of art
Wright’s Moore-Dugal Residence
Wright’s Hill-Decaro House
Arriving at the Art Institute of Chicago
Terri at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum
Arriving at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum
Terri posing in an old colonial house
MKL cooking the old fashioned way
The Wilder Inn, with marketing tagline by Borat….
Entering South Dakota – the stretches are loooooooong!
Terri enjoys the rolling green hills
Arriving at the famous Wall Drug store
Cowboy figurines are everywhere
Getting into the gambling mix with the locals
Thar’s gold in them there hills!!
Terri being mauled by a buffalo – we hadn’t seen one on the road yet!
Terri rushes down to explore the cliffs!
The scale is vast – stretching out as far as the eye can see!
Continuous 40-50 mph winds made standing still a challenge
Great! Another thing to worry about…..
It almost looks like you’re in a cartoon – the colors of the landscape are like nothing we’ve ever seen….
Terri does some light reading over breakfast at the KOA in Mount Rushmore
As soon as we parked the bikes, these mountain goats came out of nowhere and walked right up to us!
Terri poses with our new friends
Big G’s profile, by sculptor Gutzon Borglum. The head is over 60 feet tall!
The mountain goats soon moved from the mountain to the road
My “Glen Heggstad style” attempt at photography
The Crazy Horse Memorial – mini-scale statue in the foreground, actual in the background.
Parking the bikes outside the Memorial, waiting for a blast
BOOM! The Memorial is carved from the mountain using explosives
Our first Buffalo sighting
Arriving at tranquil Lake Sylvan
Fishing – the water is as clear and still as a mirror
These 1-way passes through mountains are common out here – let’s hope a Suburban isn’t coming the other way!
The buffalo are now everywhere – getting closer to the road too!
Lots of buffalo babies about – don’t get near one while Mom is around, though
Terri heads off to see more
Passing these guys slowly, and cautiously.
The buffalo dwarf a small car, and can run very quickly!
Nice landscape to ride in
Roads to die for are everywhere out here….
Here, you have to watch for crazy drivers and crazy animals!
Breathtaking to ride through
Cabin K302 was ours for the night
Towing the heater back to front desk at the KOA.
Terri shows off her new bling. We got engaged May 7.
Whoa! Amazing to behold Devil’s Tower…..
Incredible – Native Americans consider this landmark Holy.
Mountain climbers… Crazy!
Native American prayer cloths hang from the trees
Did we mention the stretches are long?
8,500 feet and climbing! 10 minutes ago, it was 80 degrees and now it’s 40 with snow on the ground!
The first of many excursions off-road. My RT sometimes thinks it’s a GS!
Lakes are still frozen out here…
To quote Neil Peart, “Adventures suck when you’re having them.” Another “shortcut” suggested by the Zumo ends in mud and frustration.
Tooooo risky, baby! Turning around in search of pavement.
When it snows here, it SNOWS!
The entrance to Yellowstone. Not paved, of course!
OK, there’s a 2,500 pound buffalo headed for us. Let’s give him the right of way!
This is not a joke – an actual spectator at Old Faithful.
Old Faithful doin’ her thang
These guys are getting a little too close for comfort
Terri briefly considers replacing her R1150R
Mamas and babies – do not disturb!
A waterfall at Yellowstone
Steam vents, releasing steam at around 2002-80 degrees F.
The different colors represent different water temps
It was so quiet, you could here the ice melting in the Lake.
The RT blending in nicely
Having made it this far, I am one happy motorcyclist!
More danger – we went anyway.
Hiking back towards civilization…
The “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone” – H-U-G-E!!
This tree hangs on for dear life…
Then the sun came out and all the hills started glowing golden…..
Talk about postcard perfect….
En route to Glacier – what’s next, the “Wham Bam Cafe?”
Well, we did get engaged…..
Terri’s R1150R now has some battle scars….
A veritable bug massacre adorns the R’s front end.
Her left side system case latch also broke, prompting this setup.
Going To The Sun Road – all but 16 miles still closed due to snow.
The paved section open to us….
Wet conditions mean roots grow out instead of down….
Hiking towards Avalanche Lake
The RT ready to explore further…
There it is – Lake Avalanche!
MKL enjoys the fruits of the hike….
The river moves with authority!
Hiking the Trail Of The Cedars in Glacier….
Every year, bridges and roads are destroyed by landslides when the snow melts.
Terri by the Arches entrance
Amazing views all around!
Lots of little critters everywhere….
Terri mid-hike – it was getting HOT now.
How did these rocks end up like that?
Terri’s headed off again…
Terri and I rest after the hike…..
Another interesting arch….
Terri and “Herbert the German” – he bought a new Softail in Florida and took 8 weeks to tour the USA on it. He was at 16,000 miles and counting…..
Terri’s heading off once again…
A fantastic breakfast in Moab…
This time, we planning on getting near the Delicae Arch…
Hiking straight up, in the heat…
There it is! Delicate Arch – what a hike!
The bikes are back about 2 miles that way….
Terri and MKL by Delicate Arch
Posing on the way back down….
Terri poses proudly, as she is (a very small) part Ute Indian.
Look what we’re headed into – on the way to Canyonlands….
It’s gonna get real wet, real soon!
Throwing a few curves into the mix…..
The view at the overlook…
The RT, ready to head off…
I could get used to these types of roads!!
This woman’s ventilated hat provided much fodder for comedy on the tour.
So, uhhh, what is this thing exactly?
Another postcard moment….
Terri shows off her I-Pod, which make the looooong straights more entertaining.
We’ve got to cross over Lake Powell, and since the bikes don’t float….
AHHHHHHHHH! My aching feet soak in the Colorado River….
Tank, at the Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon
Terri shows no fear, unlike her fiance!
Terri and Holiday, next to Tank and MKL.
Map showing the trails of the Grand Canyon
MKL’s Certificate – Harder than an IBA Ride!
Giving my ass a break from Tank…
We made it! Just in time to catch an Indian Dance Show at the top.
A Chapel built into the mountainside in Sedona.
We are literally “Standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona…”
Entrance to the Petrified Forest National Park
Terri as we approach Painted Desert
Parked for the night at the famous Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ – right on old Route 66.
MKL poses by motel entrance
Terri and I by our teepee for the night…
Terri’s Sidi boot was being patched up while we waited
Breakfast at Joe & Aggie’s famous cafe on Route 66
Who says you can’t be in more than 1 place at a time? MKL simultaneously in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
The coal-fired locomotive on narroe gauge railroad, coming to pick us up!
Terri outside the train station in Durango
Terri ponders sitting on the snow-covered bench
Downtown Silverton. Woooo-Hoooooooo!
View outside the train headed back towards Durango
The train climbs pretty high!
The famous Strater, where we stayed in Durango.
The infamous haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO, where Stephen King was inspired to write “The Shining.”
Heeeeere’s Moshe!! The Shining runs on a loop non-stop on the hotel’s TV system.
View of the Rockies from the Stanley
So now we see where he got the name of the hotel in the Shining….
A genuine Pet Cemetery at the Stanley. Animals don’t last long here….
View of the Stanley from afar…
Exploring Rocky Mountain National Park with “Chain Gang Phil,” an avid F650 rider we met over breakfast at The Egg and I.
Terri and I at a rest stop. Climbin’ waaaaay up!
Terri and Chain Gang Phil.
Getting close to the summit….
MKL and the RT getting ready to crest Trail Ridge Road, the highest continually paved highway in the whole USA – 12,183 feet!
View from Trail Ridge Road.
Terri poses by the RT on the way back down past 20 foot snow banks! Brrrrrrrrrr….
Couldn’t leave the Stanley without going near Room 217, where Stephen King stayed.
Look what I found in the parking lot of the Hyatt in Wichita on Memorial Day. We weren’t going anywhere! The RT got new Metzelers the next day.
At the White Horse B&B in Fayetteville, WV
Terri bonds with the two golden retrievers at the White Horse, WV
Terri checks out the New River
All appeared calm at first….
And then things became more spirited….
A shot of our brave guide in back…..
Our guide keeps our resolve up….
And the rapids are picking up again….
I decided to float downriver….
Passing under New River Gorge Bridge, the longest arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
Terri & I with our guide.
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