Tombstone's Travels

Monday, September 21, 2015

An Enchanting ride, part 4

We've met up with the other couples, L to R; Beverly, Julie and Brent, Wendy and Rooster, Jan and Kenny.

In Bryce Canyon; Brent suggests we hike up to a small waterfall.

It was a fun hike and excellent scenery.

Some knucklehead goofing around...

The waterfall.

The women cool their feet in the stream.

Then we grab a very good burger at Nemo's in Escalante.

And on to the phenomenal Burr Trail.

We stop to do another short hike into this slot canyon.

We rode about 20 miles into the Burr Trail then back out and back to Torrey, and dinner at this place.

The last day of our trip...we're on our way home and stop in Nephi for lunch. Note the model trains...there were three or four running while we ate.

There aren't enough "Ws" in Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwsome to describe this ride; 10 days, 2,150 miles, good food (much too much!), and great friends....how can it get better?!?

A HUGE thank-you to Beverly for taking most of the pictures, and for making this such a wonderful trip!

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Lake Bonneville was a pre-historic lake that covered a large portion of Utah. Some scientists think the lake has formed, dried up and reformed numerous times over the last 800 thousand years; proving once and for all that human caused climate change is the most important issue in our lives today..

Anyway, the lake was several hundred feet deep, at one point it was a thousand feet deep. About 14,500 years ago this pass where I am standing was not a pass, but a ridge line, then when the lake reached its highest point it broke through this place and caused a flood that lasted about a year and reached the west coast via the Columbia River.

I have long wanted to see this place, but didn't know exactly where it was. Luckily Adrian knows where it is and agrees to lead me there.

I can't get the entire pass in one shot so I take two pix standing in the same place to try and give an idea of how large the break was. The lake lowered about 350 feet in one year, the water flow was several times the flow of the Amazon river for that year.

The rocky outcropping on the left......

To the rocky outcropping on the right.

Some details.

Then we go for a burger....but BOTH restrooms at this place were out of order, so we moved about 300 feet east.........

to this place that had a working restroom, and enjoyed a delicious Swiss cheese mushroom burger.

What a great day of riding, I don't know how many miles....350 maybe, I was lost alot of the day as I had never been on most of the roads we rode on.

Thanks Adrian for helping me check one more thing off my bucket list!

The good part of the ride as I remember it...

Thursday, August 20, 2015

To Hell and back.

I want to scout a location for next years V-Strom Cache Rally.

Don, aka Nvr2old has suggested an RV park in Enterprise, Oregon. Of course all this is just another weak excuse to go for a ride, but a weak excuse is better than no excuse, so off I go. I'll meet Don at Enterprise, and he will show me some of the good riding in the area (using a map, we won't have time on this trip to actually ride them).

((The 3rd annual Cache Rally will be held in Enterprise. If you ride you are welcome to join us June 25 - 26, 2016))

Unfortunately from my house to Boise, Idaho is the Black Hole of motorcycling...there is no good choice, but it is the quickest way to Oregon. So...my maps (at the end of this post) start and end at the Freeway so I can show the good riding.

Enterprise is a goodly distance from my house, so I make it a two day ride. I ride 400 miles and then stop in Sand Hollow, Idaho for the first night.

The one eatery in Sand Hollow. You could stop here for the friendly conversation, the waitresses pretty smile or her bounteous cleavage, but don't stop here expecting a tasty meal.

Cooking breakfast the next morning.

And on my way to Enterprise via Hells Canyon,...what an AWESOME ride!

But you have to watch for cattle on the road because it's an open range..

This is the place Don suggested, and he is waiting for me when I pull through the gate.

We'll share this cabin tent for the (cold) night.

But before we retire, we visit Joseph, 8 miles to the south.

Joseph is known for the numerous brass statues all over town. You can order a brass statue for your yard at this place. They are reasonably priced...order 2 while your at it..

A few of the statues;

I think she is ..........

......checking out this lean and rippled, manly stud.

And finally, Chief Joseph.

A mural in town.

The next morning I head for home, Don has told me a cool route for part of my return trip; we ride the first of it together, then split up and go opposite directions for our homes. The route then takes me through Cove, Oregon.

An unusual design for an LDS Chapel.

600 miles later I roll into my garage. 1300 miles (and some change) all told, and a super ride.

Maps of day one and two;

and day three

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

West coast V-Strom rally

Another rally, this time the West Coast V-Strom Rally - Hosted by Hans aka NoDad.

The rally is to be held at Fortuna, California July10 - 12. I leave Wednesday the 8th for my ride over.

I decide to take highway 50 west from Ely to Reno. To get to Ely I take the Super-Straight, Super-Boring, Super-Flat, Super-Slab across the Salt Flats to Wendover, Nevada.

Shades of 1860!!

I pass an old Pony Express Station in Nevada and am surprised to see this ghost rider galloping across the desert.... Yippee-yio-ki-Yaaaaaaaaaa!

On my way again..

And on to highway 50 the Loneliest Highway in America.

I stop a few miles before Austin, Nevada at some natural hot springs...I think I'll camp here for the night.

You can see one of the springs in the back ground.

It was a good night and a good soak....life is good!

Not always.....

Next morning I'm back on the Loneliest Highway and nearing Reno I run into a hailstorm.

Myself, a couple other riders and several cars take refuge in this tunnel. The hailstorm makes me aware I forgot to pack a coat!

This is the 4th second hand store I've stopped at trying to find me a cheap coat.

The sign on the door warns shoppers that, "Cats are inside". About 20 cats are inside...........alllllllllllll over the place. But I'm freezing, desperate and need to find a coat so I shop......

I find the ugliest coat in the world, brush some cat hairs off it and plop down some 'green'....

I was very happy the rest of the trip to have that ugly coat!

Ugly eh?

Later that afternoon I make it to the rally camp site and set up camp.

Breakfast the next morning.

The group meets for one of the organized rides. One of the riders is skipping his Mother-in-law's birthday to go on the ride. He hopes this gesture will appease her.... :)