May 3, 2008

DAY 1

Here we go again! When last I wrote, we had finished our Route 66 ride and J.B. was still with us. He stayed a few days in Phoenix to visit some friends before returning to Susie and Gladstone, MO. So that J.B. would not return home by himself, Chuck accompanied J.B. So that Chuck would not return to Phoenix by himself, I went along. Somebody has to take care of Chuck! We met at Cracker Barrel at I-17 and Deer Valley at 7 AM for breakfast. Barney Dierks and Bruce Stallman met us there and had breakfast with us. J.B., Chuck and I plan to get to Gladstone, MO. in a hurry and hopefully get there in two days. I start this blog with my odometer reading of 45833. We left at 8:27 AM and I was in the lead. When we were at Sunset Point, traffic started to slow because of a grass fire just north. There were two guys trying to put the fire out. One guy was stomping the fire while the other was emptying his "Evian" bottled water on the fire. At least they were trying. Prior to getting to Munds Park, we had to slow down again because of traffic. We came up to a van that was burnt. Police and Fire were present taking care of the situation.

After riding for 46 miles, we stopped in Cordes Junction, AZ. at 9:08 AM. We all DRANK TOO MUCH COFFEE at breakfast! This was a welcomed pit stop. Since there are only three of us, we didn't take long to "take care of business." We continued on at 9:15 AM.

We rode for another 81 miles and at 10:32 AM, we stopped in Flagstaff, AZ. for ANOTHER pit stop. WE DRANK TOO MUCH COFFEE at breakfast! Wouldn't you know it, J.B. and Chuck had another cup of coffee. I didn't dare. I know that if I did, we would be stopping 10 minutes later. We decided to gas up and hopefully get through Arizona with this fill up.

Chuck was up next to lead. We continued eastbound on I-40. We rode for another 69 miles and stopped in Holbrook, AZ. at 12:04 PM for another pit stop. I warned them not to drink that cup of coffee, but NOOOOOO, they didn't listen. We didn't stop for very long and left at 12:17 PM.

Chuck continued to lead us. We continued eastbound and crossing into New Mexico, losing an hour. We rode for 90 miles and stopped in Gallup, NM. at 2:28 PM where we stopped for lunch at Subway. We took our time and enjoyed the stop. We broke another record! We rode for a total of 179 miles on one fill up. When the group was together, we had ridden for 177 miles on one fill up. We left at 3:21 PM with J.B. in the lead.

J.B. took us eastbound on I-40 and at about milepost 78, we came up to another problem. There was a long line of traffic tying up both lanes of travel. We were stop and go for about 3 miles. We finally passed the problem. There was an 18 wheeler that had rolled over in the median, spilling its load. It was clear sailing after that. We were able to speed up for about 10 miles when we had to stop for traffic again! We had to go slow because of construction. We finally got through that and after 56 miles, we stopped in Moriarty, NM. at 7:18 PM for a pit stop and gas. We broke another record for miles between fill ups. We traveled 181 miles. It was still daylight, so we decided to continue on and hopefully get to Tucumcari, NM.

It was my turn again to lead. As we rode eastbound, the sun was setting and it was getting colder. As we headed eastbound, I saw a group of deer grazing by the side of the road to our right. We were in the curb lane. I pointed at the deer to Chuck and J.B. and quickly moved to the left lane. As we rode, I saw another group of deer grazing by the side of the road on the right side. We didn't feel very comfortable riding in the dark with deer in the area. We were riding and looking for deer in the area. We kept looking side to side. It was not a comfortable feeling! Not only were we looking for deer and other critters, but it was getting colder. Chuck said that he thought that a bat flew and struck him on the right leg. I thought, "better a bat than a moose!" (cow). I then remembered that I had forgotten my "cold weather" gloves at home. We were all wearing our thin gloves at the time. We rode up to Santa Rosa, NM and arrived at 8:32 PM after riding 81 miles. I pulled into a Best Western and both, Chuck and J.B., were happy that I did. It was time! We didn't make it to Tucumcari, but it's OK. We'll be there tomorrow. We checked in, unloaded our Motors and rode about 1 mile away to a Denny's for dinner. We went into the Denny's and they had a decorated Christmas tree inside. The waitress called it a "Holiday tree." It was decorated for Mother's Day. We returned to the Best Western where I had a room with a King bed and Chuck and J.B. had a room with 2 "queens." HMMMMM? We parked our Motors and tucked them in for the night. Tomorrow we will get to Gladstone, MO. and see Susie. A tornado hit Gladstone a couple nights ago and Susie is still without electricity. Susie and the pups are OK. Susie is left doing crosswords by candlelight. Hopefully the electricity will be turned on soon. More tomorrow...