HOME!
Well after 21 days, 6574 miles, 17 states (5 of which I visited twice) and a whole lot of fun, I am back home.

Today started out in Indiana as a cold morning that never got much warmer and when I got to the New York State line, it started to pour! I had decided at some point today that no matter what, I was going to sleep in my own bed tonight and so I rode the last 200 miles or so in tropical rain-and it was fun! (630 miles total today)

Japanese Riders

Lionel From France

Friends

When I began this adventure, I had no idea what to expect. It was something that I had wanted to do for a long time but I didn't really know why or if I would even like traveling like this. As I think about it now, I would do this trip or one like it again in a second. As much as I experienced, there is still so much that did not get done or that I didn't see simply because there is so much to see and do. There are so many side trips that could be taken from The Mother Road, trips to so many of the places that helped to shape our country much as Route 66 did. After that there is the Pacific coast, all the way up to Washington State and Oregon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Bryce, Mt Rushmore, Glacier, and the list can go on and on. So maybe I'll be planning a new adventure to one or more of those places. Along the way on this trip I met some really nice people both  from America and around  the world. That is as much a part of the fun as the travel and the history. I also got to see the absolute majesty of a good part of this great country. I am truly blessed to have been able to do this.

Friends

Mediocre Musicians

So, I'm glad that you came along for the ride, you cannot imagine, even with this blog, just how much I enjoyed myself.




So, take note-dream a lot but every chance you get, live out a dream, it can be magical!

All my best,

Miles

Big Circles
Today's ride was long and hard in a effort to get close enough  to home to avoid most of the bad weather tomorrow. Did 664 miles and it was a beautiful day to ride.
Just past Davenport Iowa, we crossed the Mississippi, this time from west to east. The river at this point was much wider than at St Louis a couple of weeks ago and so the bridge was higher and longer. Hate those bridges. Then we passed Rte 66 just south of Chicago, completing another circle on this journey. as I rode today I was thinking about this trip. One of the things that was really neat is that for a good deal of the Mother Road, there are railroad lines in close proximity and a lot of  Long cargo trains with multiple engines to help get them up the mountains. As we passed the trains, we got in the habit of giving them the "blow the whistle" signal and the usually would. It reminds me of why we like to do those things as kids, gives you a great feeling!
So the ride today was uneventful , mostly on 4 lane interstate with more corn than I could have ever imagine. One thing that happens on the motorcycle is that you smell everything. So when there is an orchard you smell apples, an vineyard, grapes and when there is a cattle ranch or the farmer is spreading manure....................
Tonight we are in LaPorte Indiana, just west of the line for the eastern time zone. I'm going to try and get an early start tomorrow as the weather looks as if it won't settle into western NY until later in the day. I'm at the point of wanting to sleep in my own bed, you know what I mean?
So, help me hope for a mostly dry trip home tomorrow, OK?

BRRRRRRRRRRR!

This morning we awoke to a very cold morning in Colorado. When we left the hotel at 7 it was 41 degrees so we put on a lot of warm clothes. We got about 30 miles down the road, stopped and put on more warm clothes! Despite the cold though, it was another breathtaking ride for the first 135 miles as the road climbed peak after peak and then descended into the canyons and gorges on the other side. Vail peak is the highest at 10,630 feet of elevation. We passed all of the well known resorts including vail and Breckenridge. Very very beautiful country and now with the aspens turning golden it is even more so with the morning sun. It took the better part of the morning to get to Denver and we stopped for lunch just northeast of there.

Now I am not complaining but once you get east of Denver and at least as far as we got today (Grand Island Nebraska) there is a lot of open land and not a lot of note to report on. It is beautiful country and you see a lot of ranches with cattle and horses but there is not a lot other than that and because we are somewhat anxious to get home, we are not doing a lot of exploring off the interstate. We did see an original Pony Express office but the museum was closed. Late today we passed under the Great Platte River Road Archway. Apparently this archway, which is massive and spans the interstate, was designed by Walt Disney studios for a private investor and it is quite a museum to the history of Nebraska. Only problem is that while it spans the interstate, there is no exit for it and it is only accessible via a service road off the exit before it.
 look it up with this link: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9790
We also noticed that there are a number of wind socks along the road. According to the lady at the gas station, the winds here get so severe that they are to warn motorists. Luckily they were hanging pretty limp today. She told us if we had been here yesterday, we would have experienced quite severe winds.
When we stopped at one gas station in Western Nebraska, there was a group of kids in a car with NY plates. Ever the inquisitor, I asked them where they were from. "Oh a little town about 40 miles north of Syracuse" was the reply. Turns out they were from Mexico and Pulaski and I know one of their Dads. Small world HUH?
So we are hunkered down tonight in Nebraska and after tomorrow, I'll be riding alone. Looks like it will be another great day weather wise tomorrow and we'll see how far we get.

Mountains!
We didn't make Denver but we had a fantastic day. We stopped in Glenwood Springs Colorado.

When I decided to do this trip, I had no idea what I might see. After all, aside from a few trips west for business, I had never been west of the Mississippi. As I have described in earlier posts, I have been amazed at the beauty of this country and today was no exception. In fact, today was exceptional!
We left Vegas and the desert and soon found ourselves in some pretty high mountains in Utah. I lost count of how many times we climbed to 7 or 8 thousand feet peaks only to encounter a 6 or 7 percent drop on the other side and not straight down either. It was usually pretty tight corners. Keep in mind that this is an interstate-75 mph limit with LOTS of trucks. Makes life on a motorcycle pretty interesting. The payoff though is that these mountains are spectacular. You really have to see them to appreciate the beauty.

We did see a forest fire and rode through the smoke too. The locals told us that the fire has been burning since July and just keeps shifting in the mountains. No one seemed to know why it was not extinguished.

I'm just going to upload a bunch of the pictures for you, hope you enjoy.

As we arrived in Colorado, it started to change from the dry desert scrub to a more lush and full foliage that you expect to find in the mountain country. The interstate started to follow the path of the Colorado River, first through a magnificent canyon and later through a valley between some great peaks. We are still following it as we stopped tonight.   So there is about 1800 miles left to get back home. Tomorrow I hope to make it to Lincoln Nebraska.

Las Vegas Baby!
First stop on the trip home is Vegas. We stopped here because it's Vegas and because we all wanted an easy day to start out and it is still very hot so we only rode part of the day. Tomorrow we will get serious about putting in some mileage as we head for the rockies. The trip up here was more desert, and as before more surprises. I know that I have said it before, but the desert always seems to amaze me and today was no different. One minute we were in the low desert with yellow sand as far as you could see and then you climb to 5000 feet and are in the high desert with the craggy rock and scrubby growth. At one point we dropped over 2500 feet in just 6 miles. A real fun trip.

Harley at McDonalds

Inside the Venetian

I had forgotten about Las Vegas. IT IS SO BUSY!!! Interesting though the first place we stopped was at a McDonalds to get our bearings and it had a Harley theme. Pretty cool. I am staying at Caesars Palace (thanks Marty) and it is great. We decided to see a show and the best tickets we could get on short notice was for Legends In Concert at Harrahs. It is almost across the street so I can walk We did a little walking tour earlier and I am reminded that they didn't build all of this opulence on winners so, I won't be spending much time at the tables or slot machines.

Early start tomorrow with hopes of getting near Denver.

Santa Monica and the Pacific
This morning after 16 days on the road and 3732 miles, I reached the end of Route 66.
We left the hotel in Ontario at 6:30 in an effort to avoid the LA traffic. The 64 miles of 66 took us 2 hours and 45 minutes! The route winds through suburban LA as well as the city itself. We passed through Rancho Cucamonga, Claremont, Glendora, Arcadia, Pasadena, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and finally Santa Monica. We saw the Hollywood sign on the hills above the city and stopped at Sunset and Vine. We saw a group starting to work on a Rose Bowl parade float and a lot of the oddities that you hear about in this part of the country. There is a great felling of satisfaction today. I am so glad that I did this trip.
Tonight is the "Survivor's Dinner" at our hotel and I plan on hitting the road for home tomorrow morning. First stop is Las Vegas tomorrow night!

Oh sorry but for some reason I cannot get the pictures from today off the camera.

CALIFORNIA!!!!
Well we are at our first stop in California! What a day to get here.

Oatman Main St.

General Store

We left Kingman at 3300 feet and went down to McConnico that is I think at about 2000 feet. Then 66 follows the Oatman Highway to an elevation of 3550 along a very windy, drop off the side narrow road. It peaks at Sitgreaves Pass and boy does it go down from there! It ends at Golden shores which is at 900 feet! I am sure that I left my fingerprints in the handle grips. At about the halfway point is the town of Oatman. It has an old west motif to it and ahs a bunch of shops and stores. The biggest attraction though are the burros. It is said that he burros are decendants of the ones that the miners used and then abandoned when the mininng went dry. They are mostly white and apparently have the run of the town. While I did see some of them, I did not get a picture as one ran in front of me on the way into town.

Camper

Soda Fountain Booth

Outhouse (note the phone book)

Other than Oatman, there were not a lot of stops today until the Rte 66 Museum in Victorville. This is another private museum that collects memorabilia from the Mother Road and has a really nice display.

A good deal of the ride today ended up being on the old road and through the desert. It was difficult to say the least. There are not a lot of places to stop and the temperature was about 105 add to that the fact that I somehow caught a cold and I'll tell you  that I am beat tonight. Even so, I feel a real sense of accomplishment and satisfaction for having set out on this adventure, and really, it is only part way done.
Tomorrow we go to the pier at Santa Monica and to the end of The Mother Road. I will turn around and head back either Sunday or Monday, depending on other peoples schedules as I don't really want to go back solo.

More tomorrow!