Missssippi to Kentucky

Another beautiful morning. We have been favouring the Best Western Motel chain rather than the cheaper Motel 6 or Super 8. Both of these chains are in every small town and normally charge around $60 (NZ) a night with no frills. Clean rooms and bedding but very basic. Best Western however charge around $70 to $80 but the rooms tend to be newly decorated and you normally get a substantial buffet breakfast included. Such was the case in Clinton.

We were both eager to hit the road today as we had planned to do the entire 400 plus miles of the Natchez-Trace Parkway which is a scenic route that prohibits commercial vehicles. The designation "Parkway" denotes that is scenically (and often) historically significant and is not disimiliar to a National Park. This was a beautiful road to ride, absolutely immaculate with neatly mowed berms and sidings. This lasts for about the same distance as it is from Wellington to Taupo.  The Parkway is very significant in American history. It started as a series of tracks with early Indian cultures several thousand years ago and slowly evolved into a major walking route to get through an important part of the country. In the 1700's it became strategically important  for the movement of troops and continued well past the Civil  War as a route that remained the backbone for the movement of trade goods and people  I'll let the pictures do the talking.

 

This was a highlight and despite the 55 mph speed limit, worth every minute of  the 6 hours we spent riding it. Nashville came and went and as the sky closed in again with lightning and thunder we finally pulled into another little town called Bowling Green. Now this place is famous as the birthplace of the Stingray Corvette and the vehicle is still made here. As we pulled into the Best Western we noted a Harley dealership right up the road. After unpacking we rode up there and picked up some more paches. We then enquired as to the location of a good bar and were pleased to be pointed  towards  the direction of out hotel (and a fairly non descript) white building. We showered ancd walked across, were served ice cold drinks and called it a night at Dennys with a Philly sandwich (lots of turkey, bacon, cheese and other stuff. Simply delicious. 

Louisiana and then North to Milwaukee

The ride from Fort Stockton to New Orleans was outstanding - mainly because we were finally surrounded by large stands of vegetation and water, unlike the landscape we had been in for the last week or so. Having said that, we swapped the dry heat for the wet heat, i.e. serious humidity! We also got caught big time in one of the many thunderstorms that are attacking this part of the cou ntry. People have already died as a result. The trick is to try and find an overpass and park under it very quickly as they pass over within 30 minutes or so. Forked lightning, thunder, rain you can't see through makes the whole experience pretty dangerous on bikes. You need to keep an eye on the sky. The dark clouds roll in quick from nowhere and the next thing it is chaos.

 As we waited under the overpass another biker hauled in across the road and so did the local Sheriff. I guess it is just part of life around here. It cleared quick and as soon as we got back on the Interstate we travelled less than 500 yards and the roads were bone dry. Go figure. As we approached Louisiana you could feel the change in the humidity, we could have cut the air with a knife. We hit amajor traffic snarl up as we got into New Orleans, adding around an hour to our ride that we hadn't planned on. Luckilywe had booked a hotel in the French Quarter, where we could park the bikes out front and it was a quick unpack, a shower and straight on the town.

It had been 11 years since we were last on Bourbon Street. Back then there was a lot of Cajun, Blues and Jazz bars operating. We were disappointed with what we found this time round. It was tailored for the younger drunk with most of the music being pretty average new rock and covers. I hated it. We tried to find some Cajun music but were unsuccessful. Pleased to say the food is still pretty good and I finished the night off with a Catfish Po Boy (in other words a very tatsy fried fish sandwich with lots of spices and sauces - delicious). For anyone planning to come to New Orleans I recommend avoiding Bourbon Street other than for the interest factor, and instead you should get on to the streets that run adjacent to it - great bars, restaurants and yes - good music. Unfortunately we didn't get to enjoy them, but we still had a good night and were pleased to be able to ride through the city post Katrina. On the face of it New orleans is a bustling, vibrant place and you do not immediately notice the boarded up windows and empty buildings in some parts of the city. I was surprised at how the place seems to have rebounded from the effects of the Hurricane. We managed to get into some of the residential areas and there were still signs of abandoned homes, but overall I did not get the impression that the place was not recovering. The French Quarter still looks the same, and remains vibrant and appealing.

We awoke early in anticipation of the ride North. This would have us riding through the bayous and across Lake Ponchartrain. The roading system is amazing. They have built these amazing freeways over the bayous and it is an indication that the government is pouring money into this area, they are an engineering wonder. Miles and miles of elevated road like one great big long bridge. This is some of the best riding we have done. Then there is the bridge across Ponchartrain , reputedly the longest bridge of it's type across water in the world.

The next few days will really test us. We ride out of Louisiana, into Missisippi, then Tennesee, Indiana, Illinois then Wisconsin. All within three days. Our first stop was just North of Jackson after stopping i  at the local Harley delaership (of course). This was an incredible place, it was unlike all the other Harley dealerships we have seen in that it looked rough and well used from the outside. There were staff with their families (and babies) and everyone was sort of sitting around talking about the weather, old Ma Smith up the road and numerous other local issues. But they were sure as hell friendly, and it turned out one of them was married to the local Sherrif. She gave us some good tips on where not to stay that night. This place had the biggest selection of Harley clothing I have ever seen. They had trestle tables with all their unsold winter gear just piled high. $1200 leather jackets for $200. If only we had room.

Based on the advice we got we rode past Jackson and pulled into the very nice University (College) town of Clinton. Another beautifully appointed Best Western room for the princely sum of $60 including breakfast. Clinton was memorable because we discovered the joys of Applebees. This is a bar and grill chain here in the USA and they are bloody good. A meal, lots of beers and out the door for under $30. Bring it on. Tomorrow we push past Nashville before the last leg to Wisconson.

Out of Arizona Heading for Louisiana via New Mexico and Texas (again)...

Out of Havasu (which we did not get much time to look at) and on the road to New Orleans. There was trouble with the RV which meant that the main group would be delayed. Since this leg would be the final one that we would do with the whole team (less Mike) we were keen to do most of it  with everyone. Bo and I had the most distance to travel with the need to night over at least two nights before New Orleans (Norlins to those wanting to say it with a Texas accent). Whereas the others needed only one night over to reach Dallas. Bo and I decided that we needed to go early to try and make El Paso We got lost somewhere in the back of nowhere Arizona and seriously low on fuel, and as is always the case there was a Diner just standing there on its own We walked in and I swear I was teleported back into the fifties. Apparently you can't move in this place in the morning but I swear there was only three buildings that I could see, otherwise there was no other sign of people,.

The little old lady who served us said we were only six miles from the Interstate (US10) and that there was gas, food and drink available. None the less we ordered up a Coke and took it all in.These places are bloody marvellous. Straight onto US10 (after refuelling) and a drag race to El Paso. We were never going to make it in a day, just too far and too hot. Meanwhile Dino and Lajey had also set off on their bikes, but on a different route. We finally called it a day in a small dusty town called Lordsberg, just 160 miles short of El Paso, but after travelling over 500 miles in temperatures well over 45 degrees I texted Dino to say we could not make El Paso only to find that he was in the motel across the road after having come from a totally different direction. What were the odds on that happenning in this huge country! We caught up, agreed to have an early night and ride out of town at sunrise for El Paso.

The early start was the right call. We got in well over 100 quick miles long before the sun put any heat into the day. We had breakfast in a diner in Los Crucas where Billy the Kid lived and killed people. From here we rocde hard and fast to El Paso. The main attraction for Bo and I was Barnett Harley Davidson, which is meant to be the largest Harley Dealer in the world. Before we could get there we went to Saddlebags which sells everything Western, from beautiful furniture to gun belts. Now El Paso is huge and sits just across the Rio Grande from the most lawless part of Mexico.  Funnily enough it is regarded as the safest city in Texas Everything in El Paso is about cowboys and Saddlebags is the Cowboy mecca.  

That gun belt I am wearing is a stock item that they sell to Texans who literally  put guns in them and wear them out on the ranch. From here it was down the road to Barnett Harley Davidson. What a place. It was simply enormous. The bikes in stock must have been worth millions.

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We hung around this place long enough for the boys in the RV to catch up and meet us in El Paso for lunch. We went to Lin's Chinese Buffet where for $8 you can eat as much as you like for as long as you like choosing from about 50 different dishes. Bloody marvellous. We bade e veryone farewell and headed off on Interstate 10 which would take us all the way to New Orleans (after two days riding). We ended up just before dark in a little town back in Texas called Fort Stockton. Time to do some washing!  

Utah into Nevada

Once again the morning was clear and warm. We hit the road early after making the decision to miss Bryce Canyon in favour of a shorter ride direct to Vegas (still around five hours). Kayenta is typical of the small towns that dot this landscape, real mainstreet USA. A main street backdropped by mesas and mountains, the usual franchises such as McDonald's, Starbucks and Burger King are always represented  These are normally centred around gas stations and malls, but you also get local cuisine and this is normally very very good.  

Everyone of these small places is gearing up for the 4th of July. The Americans aren't afraid to fly their flag and most of the streets we travel down are full of houses with "Old Glory" proudly displayed. With the 4th of July approaching the flag waving is reaching a new high. Breakfast (once again) was in a diner in the middle of nowhere that always seems to have local people  in them. Where the hell do they come from?

The ride had us go over the Lake Powell dam and the lake behind is a popular destination for boaties of the seriously big V8 engine kind. This is another aspect of the US culture that you really cannot get away from. Big engines and going fast.

We hit Vegas around 3.30 and it was seriously hot. Straight to the Harley dealer and more T shirt buying. This takes the T shirt toal from Harley dealers well past ten. Once again the female relatives of Miss Universe and her twin sisters from Dallas were in attendance but with noticeably less clothes on. In the interests of keeping this a family blog I will leave this to your imagination. While in Kayenta I logged on to the net and booked a suite at the historic Sahara Casino. This is where the rat pack aka Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr all performed and cut loose. It was once owned by the mob and  sits on the strip as the last of the old school casinos. As we pulled in to the carpark I noticed a large group of bikers parked up. As both Bo and I were "patched up" with the Ulysses Club vests I got a bit concerned when this 6 foot 10 inch dark guy ambles over to us from the group. Fearing we had inadvertantly upset them I was prepared for the worst, however he introduced himself as Jessie, the President of "The Regulators" Motorcycle Club and invited Bo and I to their Pool party at a nearby address.  We graciously declined, but thanked them for the invite. Not sure where this would have taken us had we accepted, but I am sure it would have been interesting.

Vegas has changed since we were last here, but not significantly. After showering and putting on our best "stepping out" clothes we asked the concierge to send us to the best bar in town to kick the night off. Funnily enough that turned out to be Margaritaville (so yes Bill, you have a T Shirt), where upon we made friends for life with everyone in the bar as we worked our way through the entire margarita menu. From there it was straight to Mickey Gillies Bar at Treasure Island where they had a kick ass country rock band. From here it was a blur as we walked the strip calling in to various bars to top up. When I finally looked at my watch it was 4.30 in the morning and we were seriously "rat legged". As we had seperated from the main group (they were in Lake Havasu) we dicided to save the money put aside for the Vegas Wedding and keep it for New Orleans. None the less we went to the Little White Wedding Chapel to make sure we knew what we were missing out on.

  

As we had a passing drunk in a tuxedo ( I kid you not) take this photo the Minister appeared and told us we needed to ride the bikes round to the side entrance and wait in the line that had already formed to get married in the drive thru tunnel of love. Elvis was not in the building so we rode off heading for Havasu. As we did we passed the "porn shop" (no not the sex one) and there was also a line of about thirty people waiting to sell whatever they owned worth anything to get more money for gambling. It sort of sums this place up, winners and losers. You sure as hell do not want to be in the latter group. The ride to Havasu was gruelling. We spent most of it in the Mojave Desert in temperatures in the late 50's. We passed out of Nevada, into Arizona, then into California. By the time we got to Havasu we were exhausted. We reunited with the team who were in good spirits just in time to farewell Mike who was off to New York to visit friends before heading home. It is ribs on the BBQ tonight mexican style, washed down with beaucoup beers and of course... the guitars and some singing. No sleep tonight for the locals.

Out of Utah on the Way to Nevada

Finally - two nights blogging in a row. Again the day dawned clear and got progressively hotter, starting around 25 degrees first thing and reaching well above 50 by mid afternoon. Today's ride was bloody amazing! We set out from Moab well rested after two days of just cruising instead of the flat out A to B stuff we had endured earlier in the trip. First destination was The Needles, a part of Canyon Lands about 60 miles out of Moab.

There are many moments on this ride when I am struck by the solitary nature of riding through this country. You have these amazing roads to yourself and literally only see one or two other cars (or bikes) over a considerable amount of time. Riding to the Wairarapa will never do it again for Bo and I - we are ruined for life. This is the country they built Harley's for and you can see why. Big open roads with no need to change gear - just sit back and take in the scenery - and there is plenty of that!

After the Needles we headed out for Monument Valley. This is the land that  John Wayne, Eastwood and many other cowboy movie greats made their own. To get there we took a road less travelled that had us (once again) in the most amazing country with no one for miles. If you look to the bottom left hand corner of the next shot you can see the road we were to travel on and get some idea of the scale, After about two hours of riding we ended up at the top of the mesa that this shot was taken from and found that the road went from tar seal to gravel. The interesting point was that this gravel road went down the side of the cliff face with no barriers and a sheer drop to the bottom. 

As we approached there were about 10 Harley's parked at the end of the sealed road, festooned with US flags and a group of guys milling around looking at the road and clearly not keen to go down it. We rolled into this group, gave them a friendly wave and just kept going. We could hear them talking animatedly as they realised that one of the two that waved was a woman and they had just been seriously found wanting! Takes a Kiwi to show em! Here is what they were concerned about.

The road you see in the distance was where we were headed once down of the cliff face. We hit the bottom and high fives as it was a pretty exhilarating experience. I was proud of Bo, she did it like she had ridden roads like this for years and as soon as she got down said an f word that is common when people are tested and realise they passed when they thought they didn't have a shit show. She followed that word with "I need a beer" and we were off in search of it in that empty land pictured above.

Actually the beer arrived quicker than we thought it would when the road led us to a sleepy little Utah town called Mexican Hat (population 40). Now Mexican Hat derives it's name from a weird rock formation that actually does look like a Mexican hat. A Moab it is not. About six buildings surrounded by dirt and dust. What attracted my attention as we rode into this collection of shacks and rusted out cars was a big board with the words "Pizza - Beer" boldly painted on it. Now there was no one in sight and the building,looked derelict. None the less we pulled in and as we did so a dilapidated old golf cart meandered out of the shade with this old guy in it and he pulled up as we parked the bikes. "Where yo'all frum" he asked and we said New Zealand. He said "Damn - I's a bin waitin to meet a Noo Zeelanda ever since the Vitnim woar Met sum those Ozzies but never a Zeelanda. How yo'all doin, my name is Richard. What rung yo'all here" I said 'the need for a beer' and explained we were going to try and get one inside. He explained that we couldn't get a beer as Utah law required us to purchase a meal. We were obviously disappointed, but he then said he owned the place and whilst he could  not sell us a beer he could give us one. With that he produced an iced cooler from the golf cart and began serving us beer in that hot dusty car park. He was one of life's genuine good bastards and typical of some of the people we have met in these out of the way places. When he heard we had ridden the gravel road he was astounded and proceeded to give us more beer. He was obviously impressed with Bo's efforts. Meanwhile no sign of the yanks we saw at the top. Hell those beers tasted good. You can see the golf cart and me in the centre of this shot.

This was a bitter sweet moment. The very cold beer on a hot dusty day, well earned after a pretty challenging ride was the sweet part. To be told that it would be the last beer we would be able to get for the next 24 hours was the bitter part as bot Bo and I had talked about hitting a local bar at Kayenta after riding Monument Valley. Turns out Monument Valley and the towns within it are part of the Navajo Nation and no alcohol can be served, purchased or drunk within the borders. Somewhat subdued by this news we headed for Monument Valley and then our overnight stay in Kayenta. Richard do offer to give us more beer but we still had a lot of riding to do and we couldn't carry it. Monument Valley was a disappointment after the Moab experience as we were both sad to see that the Indian owners had made some poor decisions about where they would place buildings and dwellings. It detracted from the overall grandeur of the place and probably the only time I have ever thought that our Resource Management Act might actually be worthwhile. Still this was another great piece of geography despite the man made eye sores that dotted the landscape as we rode through it. It is a shame really.

 Despite the introduction of detracting buildings, you still get to ride these roads on your own and view the towering monuments in all their glory. Pretty amazing really. We arrived int he town of Kayenta, exhilarated and thirsty. We purchased some fruit, powerade and water and had a wee party. Tomorrow Vegas!  

Out of Colorado Into Utah

I am still running behind on these blogs and a lot has been happenning travel wise. Our one night in Crested Butte led to some itinerary cahnges for Bo and I, with the rest of the team heading for Lake Havasu in Arizona and Bo and I deciding to spend extra time in Utah. We rose early and set off on our own leaving the team to sober up at their leisure. Mike (Dino and Craig's younger brother) has been working over time capturing this trip on high quality video and film. He is involved in movie production and will be making a film of the event when he returns. Here is a link to Mike's website and more pictures which you may find interesting.http://gallery.me.com/msr_nz#100067 

Here are some shots taken from our landing at Crested Butte - as you can see it is a beautiful place.

 

It was strange at first to be riding on our own without the rest of the team but three days at Havasu wasn't in our plans. So we took to opportunity to ride to Moab in Utah, where we would spend the next two nights based in Moab so we could ride Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Canyon State Park (where they shot Thelma & and Louise and Mission Impossible) and The Arches National Park. As soon as we approached Utah, the climate went from a cool 15 degrees in the morning to around 40 degrees. Finally reaching Utah was a special moment.

The decision to base ourselves in Moab was good on a number of levels as we got to spend some quality time in this amazing piece of geography and more than one night in the same bed. Moab rocks - as soon as we checked in we found the receptionist also rode Harley's and she sent us to a nearby bar where the beer was cheap and the locals friendly. Just what we needed after a 250 mile ride. The next day it was straight to Canyonland Dead Horse and The Arches. We took so many pictures it is difficult to choose but here are a couple.

This day went way to quick, and we covered nearly 150 miles of National and State Parks, all within 30 miles of Moab. The scenery was stunning and words and pictures can't really do them justice. This is beautiful country on a monumental scale and worth making the time to visit. On top of that Moab is a real little party town and all the shops, selling everything from beautiful art and western antiques to rubbish' stay open late. Meanwhile the rest of the team had some real drama when "Laney" hit a corner too fast and had an off. Luckily he only sustained some bad grazes and the bike was rideable. They made it to Bryce Canyon without further incident. Meanwhile Bo and I had another great night in Moab and tomorrow we ride Monument Valley.  

Colorado & Over The Rockies

The day dawned fresh and warm in Paragosa Springs Colorado. There is a lot of thermal activity which produces hot springs (hence it's name) and this town is a popular tourist destination because of that and of course the hunting and the fishing.

The river running through the town is the San Juan River. We breakfasted and hit the road. Bo and I were both looking forward to this leg and we weren't disappointed. The trip would have us go right over the top of the Rockies and end up in a beautiful ski resport called Crested Butte (that's beaut and not but). The road out of Paragosa was awesome and the scenery was breathtaking. It was very easy riding despite the fact that we were going up to a seriously high altitude. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

We have so many pictures from this leg it is hard to decide which ones to put up. I hope these give you an idea of the sort of country we went through. We went over 11000ft, crossed the Great Divide, and had the Harley's missing because of the lack of oxygen. Mark you some of us were also "missing" for the same reason. The last leg of the day had us in the back country where we really opened the bikes up. There was literally no one else there, it was amazing. We arrived in Crested Butte around 3pm only to find Dino had not written down the address of the lodge we had rented. We spent the next two hours trying to find it. It was worth the wait. Will post some more pictures of this place tomorrow. The guitars are out, the roast is on and someone has found the beers.  Let the good times roll!