Day 18 Going Home

Sleeping arrangements for last night were as follows:
Chuck and Bruce
Al and Jan
Ken and C.E. (Newbies)
We spoke last night that we would meet at the lobby for breakfast at 8:30 AM. Jan and I stayed up talking about the past 17 days, as I'm sure that Chuck and Bruce were and Ken and C.E. Jan and I spoke as I was doing my blog and listing the pictures. We had done this before, however, we didn't stay up as late as we had the prior days. This was NOT a 2:00 AM night! I finished about 11:30 PM and it felt strange that Jan didn't have the weather channel on. He had on regular programming.

My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM and for the first time, put it on "snooze." I didn't want to get up, knowing that our journey was about over and we were going to head for home today. Don't get me wrong, I missed my wife, daughters, 3 month old grandson, 5 month old Beagle puppy and the two Great Danes. It was just sad that the journey and camaraderie with close friends was about to be over. We got dressed and packed our Motors, which were parked in front of our room. We cleaned them and walked over to the lobby to get our passes for our breakfast inside JB's. As we were having breakfast, Ken was telling us that after he got back to his room last night, he found that his cell phone was missing. He walked back to The Native New Yorker, playing "Frogger" again across Hwy 260. He thought that he may have lost it when he sat on the dinner booth and scooted over. It wasn't there. He left and played "Frogger" again crossing Hwy 260 and saw a small pile of scrap on the street which happened to be his cell phone. It had been run over by the traffic. Ken is going to have to buy a new, modern, 21 century cell phone. As Ken has been throughout the ride, he had a very good attitude about it. We finished breakfast, checked out of our rooms and left at 9:40 AM.

As Ken was about to lead us out of Show Low, AZ., Bruce said his good byes to us and told us that he was going to break away from the Group in Overgaard, AZ. where his family were. Ken led us on Hwy 260 out of Show Low. When we arrived in Overgaard, Bruce broke away and headed to the family property. We all continued on. We were going to stop in Star Valley, just east of Payson, to gas up our Motors. About 25 miles before getting there, Chuck's "Low Gas Warning Light" came on. We were going down the hill from the Woods Canyon Lake area and Jan had to put his "reserve" on. We made it to the gas station at 11:06 AM after riding 89 miles without a problem. Chuck has plenty of gas left! He filled with 4.5 gallons in a 5 gallon tank. Luckily we were going down hill! We left at 11:31 AM.

It was my turn to lead and we headed west on Hwy 260. Chuck and Jan talked about stopping in Camp Verde at a Shell gas station to say our good byes to Jan. The told me and, unfortunately, I was thinking of the Shell gas station in Cordes Junction. We had intentions of going north of Payson and onto the General Crook's Trail coming out at I-17. We rode through Payson and then north Pine, AZ. and Strawberry, AZ. Finally we started heading west on Hwy 260 with some mountainous, curvy roads. The CB cracked with Chuck's voice saying, "This is GREAT!" We continued on and entered Camp Verde. We passed the Shell gas station and I was oblivious. I was thinking ahead to Cortes Junction. We didn't stop and I led the Group onto I-17 southbound. At the Prescott exit, Jan waved good bye and exited. Sorry Jan, I promise that the next time we ride our Motors in the area of Camp Verde, I'll stop TWICE at the Shell gas station to make up for this. :) We stopped in Cordes Junction at 1:03 PM after riding 91 miles for our last pit stop. I told Chuck that it is tradition that since he leads us out of Phoenix to start our journey, that it would be appropriate, and tradition, that he leads us back into Phoenix. He smiled and agreed.

Chuck led us southbound on I-17. We passed Sunset Point, which is now open. We passed the sign for "Maricopa County" and then later the sign for "Welcome to Phoenix." I got on the CB and told Chuck that I would see him again in Denny's for our Tuesday coffee. C.E. and I exited I-17 at the 101. C.E. rode westbound and I went eastbound for home. Chuck and Ken continued southbound waving at us.

I arrived home at 2:11 PM after riding another 55 miles. Laura, my lovely wife of 34 years greeted me with the garage door open and open arms. She welcomed me "home" and we entered our house. When I entered, my 5 month old Beagle cried, whimpered, whined, jumped and nipped at me for at least 10 minutes. He was very happy to see me! He stayed by my side for the rest of the night. It is Great to be home!

This ride was different from the other two rides that we took the past two years. We had four original guys and two "newbies." I want to thank all of my good friends who rode with me and gave me great material to write on the "blog." Somehow I felt that the guys were afraid to do or say anything for fear that it would be on the blog. I also want to thank all of my friends and family at home who read about our journey through Chuck's and my blog. I hope that you enjoyed reading about our adventures.

We rode for 18 days and through 7 states in 5,217 miles. OK, so Chuck rode an additional 88 miles on Day 16 when he had to return to Cedar City, UT. to retrieve a bag. We also rode in areas below sea level as well as elevations above 9,900 feet. We also rode on some fantastic roads. We were very blessed that we never rode in nasty weather and that none of us suffered any major mechanical problems. It was a great journey. Next year, who knows! Until then...

Day 17

Well, last night, Chuck and I tried to get our laptops to log onto the Internet. We failed. Something was happening that we couldn't get on. Chuck gave up and went to the Motel computer and I opted to do my blog this morning. My alarm went off at 6:00 AM and I got dressed as quietly as possible so that I wouldn't wake Chuck. I dressed and packed and went to the motel computer. Chuck was still asleep. When I got to the lobby, C.E. was there having breakfast. I got on the computer and started with checking my e-mail. A German gentleman sat at the table next to me facing me and looking at me. As I was checking my e-mail, he kept staring at me. How rude! I was nice and got off of the computer to allow him to get on. Before I got off of the chair, he was already there, sitting on the chair and my left hand was still holding onto the chair. I went over and had breakfast with C.E. The old "krout" finally got off of the computer so I went over and started my blog. Everyone finally came and had breakfast and I finally finished. I went to my room and got my bags and loaded my Motor. I returned to the room and checked the room for anything left behind...Chuck's. I was on my hands and knees looking into all of the cracks and crevices to make sure that Chuck didn't leave anything behind. I didn't find anything left behind. I asked Jan to go check the room also. I went back and checked it again. I saw Chuck and asked him if he had all of his stuff and he said that he did. I gave him my key so that he could check out. He returned to the room and rechecked for any items left behind. We were both certain that NOTHING was left behind. As I was walking to my Motor, Chuck was at his and I noticed that he was adding oil to his Harley. Jan was with him watching. We all got on our Motors and left at 9:04 AM.

Chuck led us toward Show Low, AZ. Before we left Page, Chuck and Jan wanted to put in a couple of dollars of gas in their Motors to make sure that they would have enough gas to make it to Tuba City, AZ. We went through Page and Chuck and Jan had to make a u-turn and returned to a gas station that we had passed. The rest of us waited by the side of the road for Chuck and Jan to return. Chuck and Jan returned and we were off again.

We headed east on Hwy 98 and rode through the Navajo Indian Reservation. It wasn't the same kind of landscape that we were used to, however, it was different and cool to see. We got passed the desert area and started to go up in elevation. It was getting cooler and we were getting into some trees. Chuck put on his right turn signal and we turned into an opening of a fence with a cattle guard. We entered and made a u-turn on the dirt road and back by the street where we all parked. We were at milepost 345. It was 10:01 AM and we had ridden 52 miles. Chuck told us that this was as good a place to stop as any, since now we had trees. It was time for a pit stop. It was great timing, since we ALL utilized the stop wisely. As I stated, it was cooler weather so we all put our jackets on. Since we all felt better, we left at 10:09 AM.

We continued on and enjoyed the scenery. We rode for another 59 miles and stopped at 11:01 AM in Tuba City, AZ. We stopped for gas. We all gassed our Motors and it was decided that we would take an early lunch. There was a billboard a couple miles back that advertised a Subway. We left the gas station at 11:15 AM. We rode a couple of blocks and stopped at Subway at 11:17 AM. The price for the subs was a lot better that the price that we paid in Bryce, UT. We liked Tuba City, AZ. better! We left at 12:03 PM.

It was Jan's turn to lead now. We were driving and we needed to stop for our "after lunch break" soon. I'm not sure about the others, but I was tired and falling asleep as we rode. I was doing as much as I could to keep myself awake. Jan stopped at 1:26 PM after riding only 35 miles. It felt like it was 150 miles! We stopped in Keams Canyon, AZ. We went into the store of the gas station and made a pit stop. We bought some refreshments also. There was a young Native American who came walking up to us and introduced himself to us. He spoke some English and Hopi. His name was James Edgar. He spoke to us in both languages and said a prayer for our Motors and our wives in the Hopi language. He was "strange" but nice. He kept talking of the "Hopi Way" and of peace. There was also a German Shepherd puppy begging for food. He liked the Fig Newton that Bruce gave him. After that, Bruce couldn't shake him. We left at 1:45 PM.

We continued on with Jan leading the Group. We rode for another 34 miles and stopped at 3:01 PM in Chambers, AZ. for gas. We gassed our Motors and, while we where there, made a pit stop. We left at 3:22 PM.

It was Ken's turn to lead. Ken led us to I-40 where we rode for a very short leg and stopped a the Petrified Forest National Park Visitor's Center. We had ridden for 24 miles and stopped at 3:42 PM. We went inside to check it out and some of the guys bought "stuff." We got back on our Motors and entered the Park. We rode around the park and saw the Painted Desert and eventually saw some Petrified Logs. We rode in the Park, and took a scenic short cut, for a total of 30 miles. We left the Park on the south end at 4:44 PM.

OK, next stop...Show Low, AZ. Ken led the Group and we rode on some nice roads and landscape. We finally arrived in Show Low at 5:50 PM after riding 64 miles. We stopped at the Best Western. Some of the guys entered to "make the deal," however, came out and said that the lady at the desk didn't get up and told them that the motel was booked solid. We thought that she saw and heard the motorcycles and told us that just to get rid of us. We went across the street to Day's Inn. They checked us in right away. We rode to our rooms where we were able to park in front of our door. We took our bags inside our rooms and tucked our Motors in for the night. It was rather sad that we knew that this would be the last night together for this year's ride and this would be the last time that we would "tuck in our Motors" in for the night. We walked across the street to The Native New Yorker for pizza and beer. We had promised the "newbies" that we would have pizza and beer for the last night. We call them "newbies." They are the two oldest of our Group. And, for the last time on this ride, we raised our glasses in celebration. It has been a great ride. The roads were wonderful, as was the company. Today we rode a total of 398 miles. Tomorrow we head for home. Of course, we are going to go home on a good motorcycle road. We are going to go on the General Crook's Trail. That will be fun. So, until tomorrow...

Day 16 Zion National Park

Chuck and I roomed together again and 6:30 AM came quickly. I finished my computer work last night about 12:30 AM and finally made it to bed. We got dressed, packed and walked to the lobby area for the breakfast room. The others soon joined us. The weather was great for a motorcycle ride. We soon finished our breakfast and returned to our rooms to pack our Motors for the day's ride. Knowing that Chuck was my roommate and his history of forgetting stuff, I made my normal sweep of the room. There wasn't much left in the room when I walked out. All of my stuff was out of the room and on my Motor. Chuck had a bag, jacket and helmet in the room. I thought that that shouldn't be hard to miss. Chuck went back into the room to go to the restroom one last time. I was at my Motor setting my Navigation System. Chuck came out of the room, closed the door and went to his Motor. We were all set to go and then rode to the lobby to check out. We left at 9:25 AM.

C.E. was in the lead and took us out of town and south on I-15. As we were getting onto the freeway, the winds were very strong. We traveled on I-15 for a short time and then got off onto Hwy 17. The road took us through small towns and farming communities. We stopped in LaVerkin, UT. at 10:04 AM and after riding for 44 miles, we stopped at a Chevron gas station to take a pit stop. We were all parked at the side of the gas station drinking, (water and pop, NOT alcohol!), and talking when Chuck had this look on his face. It was like his whole world fell! He was noticing that all of the Motors had a bag on the back rack except Ken's. He thought that Ken's Motor didn't had a bag on the back of his Motor like his...and then the world fell! He told us that he had left his bag back in the motel in Cedar City. I got on my cell phone and called the Motel and spoke with the gentleman behind the desk. He told me that he would go to our room and take the bag to the lobby. I told him that Chuck would be returning to pick it us. Chuck got on his Motor and left us. He told us that we could go on to Zion and he would catch up with us.

After Chuck left, Jan told me that because I was Chuck's roommate, I was on "probation" because I let Chuck forget his bag. I told Jan that I would much rather be on "probation" than be on the "blog" because of something I did or didn't do! Jan said that I had a good point. We weren't going to go on to Zion. We moved our Motors to the other side of the building, in the shade and went inside. There was a good size sitting area with tables and chairs inside the store. They had coffee and water inside. This was the Gold Wing guys. Guess what the other two Harley riders, Jan and Bruce, did? There was a Harley store in Zion, about 13 miles away, that they went to. Who would have guessed? They left and we waited.

Chuck rode the 44 miles back to the motel with the wind at his back. He had enough gas to get there. He picked up his bag, gassed up and returned to LaVerkin, where C.E., Ken and I were waiting patiently. Chuck came in and went straight to the restroom, came to us and reloaded his system with another cup of coffee. Minutes later, Jan and Bruce returned from the Harley store. Bruce bought two new t-shirts and a quart of Harley oil for Chuck's Motor. We had a good time talking about the incident and Chuck tried to convince me NOT to include this incident on my blog. I told him that I would consider...NOT! chuck finished his coffee and we left at 12:04 PM.

C.E. led us into Zion Canyon where, 22 miles later we stopped at 12:31 PM for lunch. Jan had told us that if we didn't stop to eat before we entered the Park, we would have to eat much later, as there was no place to eat inside the Park. We finished lunch at 1:35 PM and headed for the Park.

We entered the Park at 1:40 PM, which was only 1 mile from the restaurant. We toured the Park on its many winding, mountainous roads. The landscape was spectacular! We rode into dark tunnels. The first tunnel that we rode in had a sign that told us that the tunnel was dark, put on our headlights and take off our sun glasses. The tunnel was 1.1 miles long and was build, or dug, in 1930. IT WAS DARK! We stopped a few times and took in the splendor and took pictures. We stopped at Checkerboard Mesa and took pictures. A bus load of tourist, German and French, stopped and many cameras were trained on us and our Motors. One gentleman took many photos of Jan's Motor. I told him that that German tourist was probably thinking, "Dat is a good looking Gold Ving!" We left in unison and the cameras were clicking away! We had ridden 23 miles in the Park and exited at 2:50 PM.

We rode Hwy 9 through more farming communities. We passed a large pasture which had an Ostrich farm. We then passed a Buffalo ranch. The weather was still kind to us and we enjoyed the ride. We stopped in Mt. Carmel, UT. at 3:03 PM after riding 13 miles. we gassed up and then left at 3:11 PM.

Chuck's turn to lead. He led us onto US 89 southbound. Chuck had mentioned at the gas station that he was craving an ice cream and that we would stop for one soon. We stopped in Kanab, UT. at 3:31 PM after riding 21 miles at a gas station with a mini mart. Ken had seen a sign a few miles back about an Ice Cream Parlor. Chuck led us all over Kanab for 7 minutes looking for a Dairy Queen, Cold Stone Creamery or SOMETHING before stopping at 3:38 PM at a Wendy's. We had Frosties. With our bellies content, we left at 4:18 PM.

We continued on US 89 and at about 4:15 PM, we crossed into Arizona! Since we were back in Arizona, we gained an hour. Although, did we? We did spend an hour or so waiting for Chuck to ride his 88 miles round trip back to Cedar City to get his bag that he forgot. We stopped at Glen Canyon Visitor's Center at 4:23 PM after riding 74 miles. We, again, did the tourist thing and took a lot of pictures. We left at 5:00 PM.

We only rode for 3 miles and at 5:04 PM we stopped at the Best Western Arizona Inn in Page, AZ. We went in and checked into our rooms. We took our bags into our rooms. Chuck left his "forgotten bag" in his Motor. We changed and all went into the hot tub. It felt sooooo good! When we finished, we changed back into our street clothes and walked to Ken's Steak House" across the street and had dinner. Afterwards, we walked back across the street back to the motel and tucked our Motors in for the night. We spent a little time talking in the lobby. Chuck and I couldn't get on the Internet on our laptops. Chuck did his blog on the motel computer. I chose to wait until the morning.

We rode 191 miles today. Chuck rode an additional 88. Tomorrow before we leave Page, AZ. and our motel, we ALL will check Chuck's and my room to make sure that Chuck doesn't forget anything. We plan to ride towards Show Low, AZ. tomorrow. That should be a nice ride. After a night in Show Low, it will be time to go home. So, until tomorrow...

Day 15 Bryce Canyon National Park

Chuck told us last night that we would probably make today a late morning but C.E. and I still woke up at 6:30 AM to my alarm. C.E. looked outside and said that we would not be leaving anytime soon. There was snow and ice on our Motors. We got dressed and packed our bags. We didn't even bother going out to clean our Motors or take the covers off. We waited until the others were ready and we all walked to the restaurant for breakfast. We had a good breakfast and we returned to our rooms. We got our Motors ready by cleaning them and packing them with our bags. C.E. rode back to the front desk and checked out. Jan followed and then Bruce. We were all waiting on Chuck. C.E. had returned after checking out. C.E., Ken and I waited for Chuck and finally, Chuck was ready. We rode to the main building and met up with the others. We left the motel at 10:30 AM and headed for Bryce Canyon National Park.

It wasn't far to the entrance to the Park. We rode 3 miles and arrived at 10:35 AM. We entered one at a time, showing our passes and Id's. We went into the park and rode a wonderful road. Soon after we entered, we saw a sign that said, "Prairie Dog Crossing." There was a large meadow and I saw several prairie dogs. There was one by the street that was a big as a large chihuahua! Chihuahuas are large, but their size is large for a prairie dog. As we continued on the road, we passed by two antelope grazing by the side of the road. They were not fazed by the noise of the Harleys. We toured the Park and were in awe with the beauty of the Park. The winding roads, snow and the lack of traffic! Everywhere we went, we didn't have to fight the traffic or crowds. We stopped at just about every place there was to stop and took pictures. Some places we took more pictures than others.We spent most of the day in the Park. The weather was very kind to us. It was a lot better that yesterday. The skies were mostly clear. As we were heading back towards the entrance, we passed by the same two antelope, which were now on the other side of the road and still grazing. We dove by them slowly and I was able to take a good picture of the two. We went to one more location of the Park named Sunset Point. We finished the tour of the Park my exploring this area and taking more pictures. We left the Park at 2:05 PM after riding 44 miles.

We exited the Park and 3 miles later, at 2:09 PM, we stopped at a gas station and filled up. After the long day at the park and doing some hiking, we were all hungry. We were told about a restaurant a mile away which was supposed to be good. As we arrived at the restaurant, there was a Subway next door and can you guess where we went? Yup, you guessed it. It was Subway. We parked our Motors, went inside and ordered. This was the most expensive Subway that any of us have ever been! A sub, chips and soda cost just shy of $10. Normally we have paid about $6 for the same thing. The owner must have been very proud of his subs. We all agreed that we should have gone to the restaurant, but, too late! We left at 2:58 PM.

C.E. was in the lead now. We went west on Hwy 12 with a destination of Cedar City, UT. We rode for a couple of miles when Jan, who was riding in the 5th position, saw about 5 or 6 antelope on the right side of the road. Bruce was in the last position saw them also. We continued until we came to US 89 and turned southbound. The road got better. The scenery was awesome. We rode for a while and at 3:31 PM after riding 36 miles, we arrived in Long Valley Junction, UT. We made a pit stop and got some drinks and snacks. This was our "after lunch break." We left at 3:56 PM.

We continued and turned onto Hwy 14. This was a much better road than US 89. As the road started to start the curves, I saw a deer to the right side of the road. We continued on the mountain road. The speed limit was posted at 60 MPH. We did all of 60 MPH and it made the ride very enjoyable. We rode through areas where there had been recent rock slides. The mountain had scattered boulders and the pavement had been repaired. There were large meadows that was covered in snow. We climbed a mountain where the summit was at 9,910 FT. There was snow on either side of the road and some of the snow had melted and the roadway had melted snow on it. Don't worry, we were very careful! This great road had to come to an end and at 4:41 PM and after 42 miles, we arrived in Cedar City, UT. at the Best Western. We checked into our rooms, rode to our rooms and took our bags into our rooms. I know what you are thinking! No, we didn't tuck our Motors in for the night. We changed into our swim suits and went to the hot tub. It was HOT but it felt good. We returned to our rooms after about 45 minutes and changed our clothes. We rode to a nearby Appleby's for dinner. After dinner, we returned to the motel and then tucked our Motors in for the night. We couldn't believe that we were in for the night so early. I immediately uploaded all of the pictures that I took today. I took 117 pictures by brought it down to 100. I did my blog and then started on the pictures. I don't know what time I will finish the pictures. I'm sure that my roommate, Chuck, will be "cutting some heavy logs." (sleeping)

Tomorrow we hope to go to Zion National Park. It isn't very far from here. After looking at the map, Zion National Park is bigger than Bryce Canyon National Park. Who knows where we will end up. So, stay tuned and thanks for reading.

Day 14 End of Week 2

C.E. and I got up at 6:30 AM when my alarm sounded. We got dressed and packed. We went out into the cold and cleaned our Motors. They were very filthy after yesterdays dust and rain. We got the Motors to look at least half way decent. We went to the breakfast room and ate. The others came in after we had finished eating. Chuck and Jan came in and ate. Bruce and Ken arrived later. We went out to finish packing our Motors. We had the TV on in Chuck and Jan's room and The Karate Kid was on. Chuck was practicing the Karate Kids fighting stance which he uses at the end of the movie. Keep practicing Chuck. We were getting ready to leave and Chuck came out of his room and, again, did the Karate stance. This time I got a picture. We left at 9:35 AM.

Ken was leading and we had talked about stopping in Blanding, UT. to gas up. We were going on a road with towns that we weren't sure if they had gas stations. We arrived in Blanding at 10:00 AM after riding 22 miles. We gassed up and made a pit stop and we were ready to go again.

It was my turn to lead. Jan had suggested Hwy 95 to go to Bryce Canyon. I headed toward Hwy 95 and got on about 5 miles from the gas station. Hwy 95 immediately started with rolling hills and curves. It looked promising! The longer we rode on 95 the more we liked it. The landscape was awesome. I took several pictures. As we were riding down on stretch of roadway, in the distance I saw two deer cross the road. I got my camera out but didn't get it out in time. The deer had crossed and gone over the hill. Those suckers are fast! As we continued, we rounded a curve and, there by the side of the road, were three deer. I already had my camera out and took a picture. We continued and rounded another curve and saw 4 to 6 deer grazing by the side of the road. We dove by them slowly. And again, as we rode down the road, there were several deer in a meadow about 15 feet by the side of the road. They were also grazing and they never moved as me rode by them.

We were riding for a while and we came across a bridge. It was over the Colorado River. It was time to take a break and stretch. After we crossed the bridge, I pulled over by the side of the road at 11:44 AM after riding 88 miles. Jan came up next to me and asked me if I was alright. Chuck stopped next to me to check and see what was the matter. I simply told them that I felt that it was time to stretch and take a short break. Jan said, "You have to pee?" I told him that it was a very good idea. We all took the opportunity and made a pit stop. How refreshing! We left at 11:54 AM.

We had checked the map and knew that we were coming up to Hanksville, UT. We figured that this would be a good place to stop for lunch. Now, if only they had a Subway. We arrived in Hanksville at 12:38 PM after riding 46 miles. We rode through 3/4 of the town and didn't see any Subway. We made a u-turn and headed back to a restaurant named, "Blondie's." After we parked, Jan stated that he was having a problem with his "choke" on his Harley. He would look at it after lunch. Bruce also said that he was having a problem with his Harley. We would look at that after lunch also. We finished lunch and now back to the Harley problems. Bruce took his right saddle bag off and saw that three of the zip ties that were holding the muffler to the bracket had broken. Out came my "Harley repair kit" from my Motor. Bruce and Chuck fixed the problem...again. Jan fixed his problem with a zip tie also. The Harley's were fixed. Time to go. We left at 1:44 PM.

We continued on and, knowing that we need to take our "after lunch break," I knew that we weren't going to go too far. I stopped at a Sinclair gas station two miles from Torrey, UT. at 2:34 PM after riding 47 miles. It was empty and looked like a fairly new business. This was a pit stop but the guys stopped at the gas pumps. None of the pumps had premium gas, which meant that the Harley's couldn't gas up. Jan and Chuck told me to continue on and find another gas station. I pulled up to the front door of the station and parked. I told the guys that I needed to make a pit stop. As I walked in the door, everyone followed. As I walked out of the restroom, there was a line of five of my buddies. We finished and Bruce had spoken with the clerk of the store who told him that there was a Texaco gas station about 2 miles up the road in Torrey and they had premium. We left at 2:40 PM.

I pulled into the Texaco gas station at 2:34 PM and it was 2 miles. We all gassed up and some of us made another pit stop. There were two bikers who rode into the gas station and told Bruce that they had just come down from the mountain and it had snowed on them, however, the snow was not sticking to the pavement. They also said that it was cold. This mountain had a summit of 9,200 feet. We added a few more articles of clothing for the cold. We left at 3:00 PM.

Bruce started to lead us onto Hwy 12 southbound toward the mountain. Chuck followed, then Jan, then Ken and me and then C.E. Did you notice that the Harley's were in front again and the Harley's parts runners were following? As we rode Hwy 12, it was also a great motorcycle road to travel on. As we rode, it started to rain. The clouds didn't look very friendly. The wind picked up a little and the rain turned into snow. We started to ascend the mountain. The road was curvy and the pavement looked like it had rained. The road was wet in spots. As we climbed the mountain, the view was spectacular! I thought that it would be a good time to take another video. A good song came on XM 70's so I put it on my external speakers and cranked up the volume. The video started. It was fun to do this. It was 2 minutes and 31 seconds long. We continued up the mountain and at the summit, I took a picture of the sign that read, "Summit 9,600 FT." It was time to put the camera away for a while. We were now going down hill.

We climbed another mountain and reached the summit at 7,600 feet. As we started to descend, we were riding on a very narrow, two lane road. What was different about this road is that Chuck got on the CB and yelled, "We're on the ridge!" We could look on either side and there was NOT a shoulder. It was the sides of the mountain dropping down approximately 7,500 feet. It was very intimidating! I thought that there was NO way that I was going to take one hand off of the handlebar so that I could make another video. You guys just have to believe me. We travelled a short distance where there was a scenic lookout. We stopped at 3:53 PM after riding 46 miles. We hesitantly walked to the edge and looked down. WOW! We took pictures and I set up my tripod on an incline toward the Group just below, close to the edge. I set the shot and as quickly and SAFELY as possible, WALKED down to stand in the shot and just made it. OK, we were done. We left at 4:06 PM. There was a couple there with us in a minivan. The husband was walking around in shorts and a t-shirt. We told him that he was making us look bad. He reminded us that he and his wife were riding in a minivan and had the heater on and that he was cold walking around.

We continued on Hwy 12. We entered a little town named Cannonville, UT. Bruce started to slow down and those of us in the back didn't know what was going on. Bruce then sped up. Chuck got on the CB and asked me if I had seen a gas station. I asked him if he needed gas again. He stated that he didn't, that Jan need to go to the restroom. We continued on. We stopped in the next town, Tropic, UT. at a gas station at 5:11 PM after 60 miles. Jan found the restrooms very quickly and disappeared. The rest of us followed. We try not to let a pit stop opportunity pass us by. As we were at the gas station, we looked back to the direction that we had just come from. The clouds looked very dark and threatening. It looked as if the rain and snow was on our tail. It started to sprinkle. We knew that it was time to get out of Dodge. We left at 5:21 PM.

We arrived in Bryce, UT. and the Best Western Ruby's Inn at 5:31 PM after riding 9 miles. We went into the lobby. It was an awesome place. We checked into our rooms, got on our Motors, rode to our rooms, parked and got our bags. We parked right in front of our doors. All three rooms were side by side. We then tucked our Motors in for the night. Some of the guys changed into their tennis shoes and we walked to the lobby and the gift shop. It was a very large gift shop/grocery store/convention center/restaurant. I'm telling you, it was LARGE. We did a little shopping and Chuck went back to his room with all of our treasures and got Jan from the room and told him that we were going into the restaurant for dinner. Dinner was great. After dinner, we returned to the room.

Chuck came back from the hot tub and told us that the sky's were clear and it was getting colder. It should be somewhere in the 20's to lower 30's tomorrow. We AIN'T leaving the motel until it gets warmer! We will sit and have coffee for a while. We hope to get to Bryce Canyon National Park and explore tomorrow. It should be interesting. Until tomorrow...

Day 13 Arches National Park

My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM. I got up and got dressed. Bruce was still asleep. I packed up my bags got my computer and walked out of the room and Bruce was still in bed. I went to the lobby area where there was a room with comfortable seats, a sofa and a TV. I plugged in my laptop and checked my e-mail and checked my Facebook. Jan walked into the room and we talked for a while. Ken walked in and then C.E. Jan told me that we were going to ride to another location for breakfast. I shut down the laptop and went to my room and got my bags, jacket and helmet. I went out to my Motor and the rest of the Group were at their Motors and getting ready to leave. It didn't take me long to get ready and we were off. We left at 8:44 AM.

Chuck lead us to JB's Restaurant in the middle of town. We arrived at 8:51 AM after riding 3 miles. We had breakfast and at 9:46 AM we left riding eastbound about two blocks to a gas station. We arrived at 9:47 AM, got gas and left at 9:56 AM.

Jan led us to a town that we talked about yesterday. The town of Green River, UT. A lot of you have heard of Green River. It is one of the title songs from Creedence Clearwater Revival. We arrived at 10:55 AM after riding 64 miles. Jan had mentioned at the time he took over leading that he was going to make a pit stop in Green River. We stopped at a Chevron gas station and that was what we did. We made a pit stop. We had some drinks...no, not alcohol! We had water, pop and coffee. We then left at 11:16 AM.

Jan led us onto I-70. We were taking the long way to Moab, UT. We were going to go onto a scenic drive. When we were on I-70, I was behind Jan and the rest were behind me. I had seen them behind me and I looked at the road ahead. I checked the rear view mirror to check on them and they were not there. I sped up to Jan and told them that they were out of sight. We pulled over at 11:51 AM after riding 23 miles. We were 3.5 miles from the turn off to the scenic drive. While we waited, Ken pulled up. Jan had asked Ken if he had seen the other guys and Ken stated that the other guys pulled over by the side of the road. A few minutes later, C.E. pulled up and the same question was posed to him. C.E. stated that Bruce had to pee so they stopped and Bruce took care of it by the side of the road. I don't remember, but I sure hope that there were trees or bushes. Chuck told me later that he tried to contact me on the CB, but it is hard to transmit anything on his CB when it was NOT connected to his headset. Duh! We left at 11:53 AM.

We continued eastbound on I-70 and then southbound on Hwy 128. this was the scenic road. It had a curvy road and dips. It was a two lane road and other cars/trucks were on the road also. I thought, "This is the scenic road? I'm not impressed." The longer we were on the road, the better it got. the road became more curvy and more dips. Chuck got a hold of me on the CB and asked me to check the Navigation System to see if there was any place close for a pit stop. I told him that there wasn't so I told Jan to pull over whenever he could. Jan pulled over by the side of the road at the first pull out at 12:25 PM and after riding 27 miles. I checked the Navigation System and it indicated that we were 25 miles from Moab. There was no cover close so the guys had to walk up a road and over a small him to "take care of business." (pit stop) I figured that since opportunity was knocking, I answered and took advantage also. We left at 11:33 AM.

As I wrote earlier, the more we rode, the better the road became. We were following the Colorado River. The road curved a lot and we had a lot of dips. We rode in a mountain road. There were several camp spots along the river and many people were camping. We saw several rafts in the river also. There were people on bicycles riding the road and other motorcyclists. On the curvy mountain road, I took the opportunity to make a couple of videos of the ride.

We arrived in Moab, UT. at 1:07 PM and after 25 miles to our surprise, it was very crowded. It was bumper to bumper traffic and most of the businesses were very busy. We stopped at Wendy's for lunch. We found out that this is one of Moab's busiest weekends of the year. They were having a Car Show and Car Cruising this weekend. We ate lunch at Wendy's and left at 1:59 PM.

We rode next door to the gas station and filled up with gas. We had only travelled 140.7 miles since our last fill up. Krys, would you please let Chuck buy a new Motor? His Motor has the shortest range and while he is running on empty, the rest of us have 3/4 to 1/2 tank of gas left. The newer Motor would have a larger gas tank and better mileage. Chuck could upgrade his Harley to a Gold Wing. The Gold Wing would be less expensive but have more toys on it. He could be riding in luxury. I but YOU would LOVE a Gold Wing. Give it some thought. We left at 2:08 PM.

Ken led up to Arches National Park. We arrived at 2:19 PM and rode for 6 miles. We rode around the Park and enjoyed the fantastic scenery! The road was a two lane road with curves. We were in awe with the beauty. We stopped several times and took pictures. We rode for 42 miles inside the Park and stopped at the Visitor's Center before we left. The last few minutes that we were in the Park, it started to rain. When we arrived at the Visitor's Center, it had stopped raining, however, when we left at 4:23 PM and turned eastbound, the clouds were black and the strong wind was blowing dust. We had to ride in that direction, through town to get to the next town. As we rode through town, it was bumper to bumper traffic. People were lining the curbs and sidewalks. There was to be some cars from the local Car Show cruising Main Street. This reminded all of us of the Laughlin River Run. There was a Comfort Inn at the east end of town and we decided to stop to check on prices. Maybe we could stay the night and get out of the dust, wind and rain. We stopped and the best price they could give us per room was $171 per night. That price was not good for us, after all, we are retired, living on a fixed income and barely squeaking by! We left right away and headed for Monticello, UT.

We rode southbound on US 191. The dark clouds were all around us. We rode in some strong winds and were riding in an angle. At times, we were all close to "scraping soles!" We were, however, lucky that we didn't get any rain. It seem like we rode in a window of clear skies. We arrived in Monticello, UT. at 5:46 PM after riding 61 miles. We checked into the Best Western Wayside Inn. It was 50 degrees when we checked in. We got our room keys, rode to the backside of the motel, parked our Motors, got our bags and tucked our Motors in for the night. We went to our rooms and soon after, walked next door to a restaurant for dinner.

We were done with dinner before 8:30 PM! We were amazed that we were done so early and had some time to go back to our rooms and relaxed from the day of having to fight the wind and the heavy traffic. We rode for a total of 267 miles today and we got to experience Arches National Park. Tomorrow, we hope to have better weather and visit Zion National Park. So, until tomorrow...

p.s. Krys, all of the guys ask that you think about what was asked of you earlier. :)

Day 12

Bruce and I were rooming together. Chuck and C.E. were together and Jan and Ken were together. My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM, as usual, and I got up and got dressed. I was in the middle of packing when Bruce woke up to go to the bathroom. When he got up, I turned the lights on and turned on the TV to watch the weather channel. Bruce returned and got back into bed and fell asleep. I turned the TV off and turned off the lights. I thought that Bruce was up for good, but I was wrong. I finished packing, grabbed my laptop and went downstairs to the breakfast room. I was working on the computer, checking my e-mail and Facebook. I was in the breakfast room by myself for almost an hour when C.E. arrived to have breakfast. The others later came in also. We checked the map and it was decided that we would travel southbound to try and get out of the weather that was supposed to hit here in Pocatello. We were going south and try to get to Price, UT. or Green River, UT. We left at 9"15 AM.

Bruce was in the lead and took us southbound on I-15. We rode for 61 miles and stopped in Soda Springs, ID. at 10:14 AM for our first break. Since we had breakfast just a short time ago, we needed a pit stop. It was COLD , when we left Pocatello, UT., it was 43 degrees! We were all bundled up for the cold. From the time we left Pocatello, it sprinkled off and on until the end of the day. It also snowed on us at times. We thought that the further south we rode, the warmer it would get. When we stopped in Soda Springs, it was 41 degrees. The thermometer was going the wrong way! We got gas first and then entered the store, which had tables and chairs and a small restaurant inside. We had something warm to drink, coffee for me and Chuck. We were there for a while trying to "thaw." Ken was like a Popsicle. He was very cold and didn't bring enough warm clothes. He was wearing two shirts and his jacket. He was still cold. We we left Pocatello, I had turned on my seat and grip warmers. My tush was toasty! There is nothing like having a toasty tush on a cold day. By the way, I also had my heater on. Life is good! As I stated earlier, we were on our break for a while. We left almost an hour later. We left at 11:02 AM.

Since we gassed up, it was C.E.'s turn to lead. Just before we left, I told him to set his Navigation System for Green River, UT. That would lead him in the right direction. As we headed south on I-15, we turned onto US 89. We rode through beautiful country. C.E. was in the lead with Ken following, Chuck was next, then me, Jan and Bruce. Remember, we stopped in Soda Springs for a break and I had coffee. I was in desperate need for a pit stop and raced in front of C.E. when we were in Paris, ID. and pointed at a Sinclair gas station on the left side. I rode in front of C.E. and turned into the gas station. We all turned into the station and parked. It just seamed like I couldn't get the gloves and helmet off fast enough. Once I did, I quickly went into the store and searched for the restroom. What a relief! When I was done, there was a line outside the door starting with Chuck and Jan. We were done and felt much better. We left at 11:55 AM.

We continued south on US89. We passed through several small towns. There were numerous farms, cows, horses, mules, donkeys and more. We passed a couple of large lakes and mountains. It was beautiful country. We crossed the Idaho/Utah border. We followed US 89 and rode up and down a two lane mountain road. This was a different ride than what we were used to. It was very cold and it started to sprinkle harder and snow flakes were falling on us. The road had many curves. We were doing just fine with the conditions existing. We were very careful. We also go to a summit that was approximately 7,500 feet. The coldest it got was 37 degrees. We finally arrived in Logan, UT. It was passed lunch time and we happened to find a Subway, where we stopped for lunch at 1:07 PM after riding 61 miles. While we were in the Subway warming up, it started to rain a little harder. We went to our Motors, got our rain gear and put it on. We were ready now! We left at 2:27 PM.

C.E. continued to lead us on US 89 heading for the area of Salt Lake City, UT to get gas. As we were on US 89, we had to turn southbound onto I-15. C.E.'s was leading and the Navigation System indicated to turn left onto I-15. C.E. saw that we needed to turn left, but he turned right. We were all headed northbound on I-15 now. C.E. realized the error and got off at the next exit, made a u-turn and then headed southbound on I-15. This was good for a little fun later. C.E. said that he saw that he needed to turn left but didn't know why he turned right. There was no harm, just a little fun later. We stopped in the outskirts of Salt Lake City in a town named, Centerville, UT at 3:40 PM after riding 76 miles.

While we were in Centerville, we got gas. After filling our tanks, we took off our rain gear and most of our warm clothing. It was now 64 degrees and NICE riding weather. Since we were taking a break, we cleaned our windshields and headlights. They were filthy. By the way, we also made a pit stop. We were ready to leave so we did at 4:11 PM.

It was Chuck's turn to lead. Chuck got us back on I-15 and we headed southbound. We rode through Salt Lake City during rush hour traffic. For it being rush hour, it wasn't that bad. Salt Lake City has mountains surrounding the city. The mountains were beautiful. There was also some snow on most of the mountains. We got to the south end of Salt Lake City and it's suburbs and turned onto US 6. US 6 was a very nice road that went into the mountains. It was nice to see the different terrain of the mountains. Sometimes the terrain was green landscape and sometimes it was rocky. The road was curvy and if the traffic was lighter, the weather better and the road drier, we could have had a good "scraping soles" ride. Chuck kept the speed down. It was a nice ride. Chuck stopped at 5:43 PM after riding for 97 miles at Soldier Summit Rest Area. It was time for a break. We parked next to a white Ford with a young lady and old man standing in front of it. The hood was up and the young lady seemed distressed. Jan had asked her what the problem was and she replied that the fan belt broke. She had asked us if she could borrow a cell phone to call her parents. I took out my cell phone and saw that it was roaming and couldn't find service. There was a pay phone about 20 feet away and we directed her to it. While she was on the phone, we all went for a pit stop. When we returned to the Motors, I noticed that she had a child in the back seat in a child seat. He was sleeping. I asked her if he contacted anyone and she told me that she spoke with her father, who was en route to help her. It was time for us to leave. We got on our Motors and left at 5:59 PM.

We continued on US 6 with our destinations of Price, UT. We rode for 39 miles and arrived in Price at 6:37 PM at the Best Western. The sign said, "No Vacancy." Chuck and I entered to speak with the man at the desk. He told us that the motel was full. We left at 6:41 PM and headed for the Holiday Inn back at US 6. We arrived at 6:53 PM after riding 2 miles. We all went in, checked in, got our room keys and rode our Motors to the back of the motel. We parked our Motors, got our bags and tucked our Motors in for the night.

Today we rode for 378 miles. We rode through beautiful country, cold weather, rain, snow, clouds and great roads. This was a good day! As I type my blog, I don't know what is planned for tomorrow. I'm sure that during breakfast tomorrow we will talk about our destination. So, until tomorrow...

Day 11

My alarm went off at 6:30 AM. I got up and started to get dressed in the dark. I didn't want to bother "the old man," Ken, who was still asleep. As I was dressing, Ken got up and started to get dressed. We finished getting dressed and packed. We went to breakfast in the lobby area. This motel is very nice! As we were eating, the others started coming in and having breakfast. Chuck brought his computer and I went and got the maps so that we could decide where we were going to go. Chuck checked the weather for the area of Yellowstone and found that it was NOT GOOD! We all talked about it and decided to head south instead. We talked about heading toward Salt Lake City, UT and explore that area for a couple of days and watch the weather in and around Yellowstone National Park. We loaded our Motors and left the motel at 9:01 AM.

Ken led us to a gas station and we arrived at 9:04 AM. It was less that a mile away. After getting gas, remember we had breakfast and drank coffee, we made a pit stop. We left at 9:18 AM.

It was my turn to lead again. I programed my Navigation System for Twin Falls, ID. and we left. We headed eastbound from Boise and enjoyed the scenery. As we were on I-84, the Snake River paralleled the highway. We rode through farm land and saw a lot of cows. Not only did we see a lot of cows, but we smelled a lot of "cow plop." When we rode Route 66 last year, we rode through areas where there were a lot of cows, however, it didn't smell like this! We rode for 67 miles and stopped at 10:13 AM in a small town named Glenn's Ferry, ID. We stopped at a gas station/convenience store for a pit stop. After the pit stop, some of the guys bought some drinks to "reload." Just before we left, Chuck gave me the address for the Harley Dealership in Twin Falls. I loaded the address on the Navigation System and away we went. We left at 10:42 AM.

We continued on I-84 and followed the Snake River. We saw distant mountains with snow caps. After 65 miles of riding, we arrived in Twin Falls, ID at 11:47 AM. We stopped at the Harley Davidson Dealership so that Bruce could get his 5,000 mile service. Bruce and Jan started arguing as to who was going to enter the store first and get first crack at the t-shirts. You know that it is so important for Harley riders not to buy the same shirt. God forbid that we go on a ride and two riders have on the same t-shirt! It turned out that Jan didn't buy a shirt and Chuck and Bruce bought different shirts. Bruce took his shirt to the service area and sign it in. We looked at the new motors and Bruce told us that we could go for lunch and that it would be his treat because we stood by to let him get his Motor serviced. We all agreed to the "free lunch."

We all got on our Motors, except for Bruce. Bruce's Motor was being serviced, so he had to "double up." Ken was nice enough to offer to give Bruce a ride, after all, Bruce had to go with us. He was buying and he didn't want to give up his credit card. As Bruce got on Ken's Motor, I couldn't resist and took a picture of it. We left at 12:41 PM. When we got to the restaurant down the street, Bruce approached me and had a wad of bills in his hand and asked me how much it was going to cost him for me not to post the picture. I told Bruce that I would not put on the blog that he is now Ken's "bitch." That would NOT be nice.

We arrived at the "Burger Stop" at 12:44 PM after riding 1 mile. We had a good lunch. After we finished, a gentleman approached us and asked us about our Motors and our journey. He was a nice man and was very interested in what we were doing. He left us and soon returned. He told us that he worked for Wrigley Gum and put 7 new packs of gum on the table for us. He told us that they were new and were not currently sold at stores. Ken got one pack and Jan got two packs. The cookie battle continued. We left at 1:59 PM.

Chuck had to go next door to the bank and visit the ATM. The Group left and I was the last to follow. The Group was about 4 car lengths ahead of me so I quickly drove through the traffic and caught up. I got my camera ready and rode next to Ken and Bruce. I took a few pictures of Ken and his sweetie. Ken's sweetie made an obscene gesture at me! We came up to a red light and I heard Bruce tell Ken that I was doing a video. Bruce was right. As I stopped at the red light, I had set up the camera for video and as soon as the light turned green, I started filming. They looked so cute. We arrived back at the Harley Dealership and waited in the service area waiting room. We arrived at the dealership at 2:03 PM. Bruce's Motor was finally finished and we were all at our Motors waiting for him. Bruce told us that they did a very good job in servicing and washing his Motor. Chuck and I talked about where we needed to go and where we were going to stop for the night. We decided that we would stop in Pocatello, ID. for the night. I set my Navigation System. We left at 3:18 PM.

I was still in the lead and headed eastbound. After riding for 36 miles, we stopped at 3:49 PM in Burley, ID. Chuck told me that he needed gas and he didn't want me to go too far. We gassed us, made a pit stop and left at 4:02 PM.

Bruce led with Chuck behind him. I was communicating with Chuck on the CB and telling him which exit to take and where to turn. We rode for 81 miles and arrived in Pocatello, ID at the Best Western at 5:10 PM. Jan entered the motel lobby and made "the deal." We got a great rate! We parked our Motors, took our bags into our rooms and tucked our Motors in for the night.

We checked into our rooms and we decided that this would be our laundry night. We were rushing to get our dirty clothes and get to the laundry room on property and be the first to get started. Would you believe it, Chuck beat us all to the only working washing machine. When Jan and I arrived, Chuck was already loading the machine. I put my laundry on top of the machine and Jan did the same. We went back to the lobby for some coffee and a few minutes later, Jan called Chuck on his cell phone and told him that his laundry was done. Back to the laundry room we went.

We stayed in the laundry room and B.S.ed while the laundry was being done. Chuck and I got our lap tops and did our blogs while we were waiting. I'm sure it was a funny sight to see six grown bikers in the motel laundry room doing laundry.

We had somewhat of a slight disappointment today in that we weren't able to go to Yellowstone National Park and NO refrigerator magnet! We did, however, stay at a very nice motel and today, checked into a nice motel. We traveled 252 miles and we are still in Idaho. We at least got Bruce's Motor serviced and dad many laughs. We are here in the laundry room and doing our blogs. This is one night that I won't be up until 2:00 AM typing up my blog and uploading pictures! We are not sure what tomorrow brings. We will see. Life is good...

Day 10

Ken was my roommate today. Chuck and C.E. roomed together and Jan and Bruce. were roommates. The alarm sounded at 6:30 AM and Ken was already up answering a nature call. I got up and we both got dressed, packed and went to the breakfast room by 7:00 AM. We were the first ones there. We wanted to make sure that there was enough Fruit Loops and Raisin Bran for the two of us. Jan came down early soon after Ken and me. Jan had a motive. Jan went to his Motor to make sure that it started before anyone went outside and before we were ready to leave. The others came down soon and we all had breakfast. We were all pack and on our Motors and left at 8:59 AM with no problems.

Chuck led the group north from the motel and onto a bridge that crossed over the Columbia River. This river is HUGE! Once we were across, we were in the state of Washington. We turned eastbound on Hwy 14. It was a two lane road on the side of a mountain overlooking the Columbia River. We rode for 14 miles and Chuck stopped at 9:14 AM at a scenic overlook called the Klickitat County Information Center. This Information Center consisted of a paved parking lot and a gazebo with four frames on its wall with information. We were looking at the river and saw a bridge with its drawbridge up so that a barge could go through. There was a railway station, green landscape on both sides of the river and in the distance, we saw Mt. Hood with its snow cap. What a sight! We took pictures. you know, the tourist thing. We left at 9:26 AM. Our plan, which was set this morning at breakfast, was to ride to at least Boise, ID. We are en route to Yellowstone National Park. Most of you are familiar with this Park. It is the home of Yogi, Boo-Boo and Ranger Smith. They call it Jellystone.

We continued eastbound and got to a fork in the road and a sign which read, "No gas for the next 82 miles." I got on the CB to Chuck and asked him if he had read the sign. I also asked him if he had enough gas to make the 82 miles. Chuck pulled over and we all stopped. I checked with Chuck again to see if he had enough gas. Chuck stated that he didn't have enough so we made a u-turn and went back to the fork. The other road was US 97 which led us over another bridge and back into Oregon. We rode into a small town named Biggs. Chuck saw a Shell gas station with a Subway inside and it was habit to ride into the gas station and stop for gas. We had traveled only 117 miles when Chuck stopped in Biggs to gas the Motors. He caught hell for stopping so soon! We told him that we were going to register a complaint on him for shirking his duties and stopping too soon. Jan started on him because it was now Jan's turn to lead. We left at 9:53 PM.

Jan took the lead and we headed eastbound on I-84. We rode for 80 miles and stopped for a much needed pit stop at a gas station and convenience store in Hermiston, OR. We, again, made a pit stop, bought some drinks and snacks. There were tables and chairs inside the store so we sat and talked about the last 80 miles. We were all tired because of the drive. It was warm and there was not much to see. Most of us were bored! I was so tired and bored that I put my Motor on cruise control, put my music louder and started playing "air drums!" You should have seen the faces of the other drivers that we were passing. I had a good laugh. The Motor handled quite nicely at 75 mph, on cruise control and "auto pilot." We left at 11:33 AM.

We continue eastbound on I-84 and after riding through much nicer country, we arrived in La Grande, OR. at 12:46 PM and after riding for 84 miles. We pulled into a Shell gas station with a Subway. It was time for lunch. After parking our Motors by themselves in a neighboring Dairy Queen parking lot next door, we walked into the Subway and enjoyed lunch. After lunch, we talked about gassing up again and stopping for our customary "after lunch break" in about 30 to 40 minutes. We gassed up our Motors and it was Ken's turn to lead.

Ken took over the lead and we sped eastbound on I-84. We didn't really speed, well I guess we did because the speed limit was set at 65 mph and we were going 75. We sped eastbound on I-84, but traffic was light and the countryside was nice to look at. The weather was also a little cooler. Did I mention that we also made a pit stop at the Subway? Well, we did. Any way...Ken rode for another 35 miles and at 2:14 PM, we stopped at the Baker Valley Rest Area. YES, we made a pit stop and then did a little stretching. Chuck went to a cement park bench on the south end of the rest area. It was under a ramada. I walked over to where Chuck was and laid down on the cool cement bench. Ken joined us as did the rest of the guys. C.E. also sat at the bench, Ken stood by and Jan laid on the grass. Bruce finally joined us and sat on the grass. We rested for a while...it's a "rest area" isn't it? We finally got back on our Motors and left at 2:41 PM.

Ken continued to lead. He didn't stop real quick to gas up with only 100 plus miles so that he didn't have to lead like someone we know! Ken took us another 60 miles and stopped at 3:34 PM at a gas station and convenience store in Huntington, OR. We had just passed a sign a couple miles back indicating that we were now in Mountain Standard Daylight Savings Time. This means that instead of it being 3:34 PM, it was now 4:34 PM. We lost an hour. We made a pit stop and Chuck started something that everyone of us had to do! Chuck bought an ice cream bar! With the temperature what it was, we all bought some form of ice cream bar or sandwich. It was 82 degrees and we packed away our jackets. We were all outside of the store when there were three kids, their mom and grandma getting into a Lexus SUV. The grandma was telling the three kids that they were not going to get any cookies while in the car. Jan spoke up and told the grandma that she could leave the "homemade" cookies with us. Nice grandma walked over to Jan and Ken and gave Ken a Ziploc bag of "homemade" chocolate chip cookies! We all had some cookies and Jan made sure that he had two cookies and Ken only had one. After all, remember Cave Junction two days ago at the Subway when an employee gave me a bag with six cookies? There was a cookie for each of us. Ken ate two and Jan didn't get any. This was payback! I took out the Best Western book and looked for a place to stay for the night in Boise, ID. I found on which looked very nice and set the Navigation System with the address. We left at 5:06 PM after finishing the cookies.

Ken took the lead with Chuck following, Jan was next, then me and Bruce and C.E. We continued and soon passed a "Welcome to Idaho" sign. We continued on and I kept telling Chuck how many miles we needed to travel before we got to the exit for the Best Western. As I was telling Chuck on the CB, he was telling Ken. We finally arrived at the Best Western at 5:22 PM after 106 miles. It was good that we arrived when we did because Chuck was almost out of gas. We parked our Motors under the front porch and we walked inside "to make the deal." The lady at the desk, Rachel, was the Assistant Manager. She was extremely nice to us. She gave us a GREAT rate, changes her mind and lowered the rate. She then told us that she would give us the Manager's Special rate and lowered the rate even more. On top of that, she told us that once we were settled in, she would be serving beer and wine and the first drink was free. She also told us that we could leave our Motors parked under the porch to keep it our of the rain. She told us that it is supposed to rain tonight and maybe even hail in the morning. She also told us that after 8:00 PM, she would be putting our complimentary cookies and milk. WHAT A GREAT PLACE!!! The motel is very appealing to the eye. On the property, a very short walk away, was a Perkin's Restaurant. Rachel told us that they were very good. After getting our stuff our of our Motors and taking the stuff to our rooms, we tucked the Motors in for the night. We were in the lobby area and drank our "free" beers. We then walked, not staggered, to the Perkin's Restaurant for dinner. We were greeted by the Manager, who was working only with the cook. The Manager, Tanya, told us that because we were staying at the Best Western, we get 10% off of our meal. What a great thing! We had a good meal and spoke with Tanya a little while, there weren't very many people in the Restaurant. Tanya told us that she used to live in Phoenix but moved because she didn't like the people. She told us that she worked at a Denny's on Van Buren. We knew that it would be at 32 Street and she confirmed that. While Tanya was checking us out...no, not that way!...I mean taking care of our bills, a family of four came in and Chuck stepped in and assisted Tanya since she was busy with our group. Chuck welcomed the family to the restaurant and gave them two adult menus and two kid menus along with coloring books and crayons. He told them that they could sit wherever they wanted. Tanya couldn't stop laughing. Neither could we! We returned to the motel and, sure enough, the cookies and milk were waiting for us. We had some and later went to the hot tub for a while.

We had a good day today despite the tiring 80 mile ride. We rode for a total of 371 miles today and spoke with some very interesting and fun people. Tomorrow we will attempt Yellowstone National Park. Chuck checked the computer for the weather and found that it has a 70% chance for rain with a high of 40 degrees. If it is raining tomorrow morning, Bruce said that he would put on his rain gear and ride 11 miles away to a Harley Shop and get some required maintenance on his Harley. We will see what tomorrow brings. Until tomorrow...

Jan got up at about 7:00 AM and I was already dressed and packed. I went out to the lobby and played on the computer. C.E. walked down the hall from his room to me and asked me what kind of stuff was I putting on the blog about him. I told him that I only report the facts. C.E., Ken and I went into the breakfast room and sat and had breakfast. Jan soon joined us and Chuck and Bruce joined us a little later. Jan, C.E., Ken and I went out and loaded our Motors after we ate and Jan and C.E. cleaned their Motors. It was strange this morning. The regular morning ritual didn't occur! No one had to fix their Harley! We all loaded our Motors and checked out of the Motel. We left at 9:29 AM with C.E. in the lead.

C.E. led us northbound. After riding 46 miles we entered a small town named, Redmond, OR. We passed a Big 5 Sporting Goods store and Chuck, who was second in line, made a u-turn. We all followed and turned into the Big 5. A day or so prior, Bruce's boot broke at the side zipper and he wanted to buy a new pair. We stopped and Bruce entered and bought a new pair of boots. Jan entered and bought a new pair of sunglasses. The rest of us seized the moment and made a pit stop. We were done at 10:45 AM and left northbound again.

We rode north on US 97 and then on US 26. We had just entered the Mt. Hood National Forest when C.E. pulled over by the side of the road at 12:03 PM and after riding 77 miles. It was time for a break. It was a good thing that C.E. chose to pull over at this particular spot because the trees and the plants looked like they needed to be watered. We made a pit stop and helped the trees. We felt better. We left at 12:15 PM.

We were starting to get hungry and were looking for a Subway or something. We rode into a town named Rhododendron, OR. and C.E. stopped at a Dairy Queen at 12:47 PM after riding 23 miles. We had a tasty meal and Jan ordered some kind of a chicken wrap. He got his order and I think that a small egg roll was larger that what Jan had for lunch. We told him to order something else but, he was good and didn't. I got on my cell phone and called a good friend of ours, Louie Martinez. He lives in Dundee, OR. and had told me that he would love to meet up with us and ride his Motor with us for a while. We set up a meet at Gresham, OR. We left at 1:38 PM.

C.E. headed northbound and we were hoping to so to Mt. Hood. When we arrived at the fork in the road for US 26 and Hwy 36, C.E. chose Hwy 36. He rode for a short distance and stopped at the side of the road. He wanted to check and see if the Group wanted to go this route. We decided to turn around and follow US 26. We made a u-turn and followed US 26. We rode for a while and since we didn't go to Mt. Hood and didn't get any souvenirs, we started looking for a gift shop or something that might have a refrigerator magnet or something. We rode for 11 more miles and stopped at a Fred Myers store at 2:13 PM. Bruce, Chuck and I went inside the store and came out with refrigerator magnets! We were happy and it was time to leave. We left at 2:25 PM.

We continued westbound and arrived in Gresham, OR. at 2:37 PM after riding 23 miles. We stopped at a Union 76 for gas. Do you know that in Oregon, customers are not permitted to pump their own gas or run their credit/debit cards through the machines? People riding Motorcycles are permitted to pump their own gas, however, the attendant must be in the immediate area and will push the button for a receipt. We all gassed up our Motors and parked them out of the way to the rear of the gas station and waited for Louie. Louie arrived about 15 minutes later on his Harley. It was good to see him! We all greeted him and spoke with him for a little while and then it was time to leave. Louie was going to ride with us. He told us about a fantastic water fall called Multnomah Falls. Sure, it's easy for you to say! Bruce is still having problems trying to pronounce it. When we went on our 4 Corners Ride two years ago, he had a problem pronouncing Madawaska. ( A city in Maine and one of the 4 Corners). Any way...we left at 3:23 PM with Louie in our Group.

Chuck led us west on I-84, which paralleled the Columbia River. What a beautiful ride! We arrived at Multnomah Falls at 4:06 PM after riding 23 miles. We parked our Motors in the parking lot north of I-84 and walked to the Falls on the south side of I-84. No, we didn't cross the freeway and play "Frogger!" There was a pedestrian tunnel under the freeway and then under a railroad bridge. The Falls was beautiful! As we got closed to the Falls, the temperature became cooler. Some of the guys went for an immediate pit stop while others went into the Gift Shop. We then went to the Falls and took pictures, you know...the tourist thing. There was a path which led higher up and onto a bridge and closer to the Falls. All of us, except for C.E., walked up the steep path. We were close enough to get wet from the mist. Again, we did the tourist thing and took pictures. Wouldn't you? Yes you would! After a while, we came down from the bridge and sat around by the entrance. Chuck and I enjoyed a cup of coffee and we spoke with Louie and caught up a little. We then returned to the parking lot and the Motors. C.E. was sitting on his Motor talking on the cell phone. We decided that we had had enough of the coast area and continued eastbound. We said our good-byes to Louie and he left us. :( It was sooo sad...:(

Anyway, Chuck led us eastbound on I-84 and headed for Hood River, OR. We were en route to a Best Western there. After riding 35 miles, we arrived at 5:58 PM. The motel was very busy. I entered the lobby area with Jan and spoke with the clerk who told us that they were booked solid. We returned to the Group with the news and broke out the Best Western, Comfort Inn and Days Inn books. I found a Comfort Inn in The Dalles, OR. I called the motel and spoke with the clerk, who told me that they had rooms available. She gave me a good rate and I held three rooms with my credit card. We left Hood River, OR. at 6:20 PM.

Chuck led us eastbound rather quickly and we arrived in The Dalles, OR. Comfort Inn at 6:43 PM after riding 24 miles. We checked in and got our rooms. We got our stuff from our Motors and took them to the rooms. After doing this, we called our "Sweethearts" at home and reported that we were safe and sound at our motel. We left the motel at 7:28 PM and headed for Cousins Restaurant for dinner.

With directions from the motel clerk, we rode for 4 miles and arrived at the restaurant at 7:37 PM. There was a John Deere (Harley) tractor parked in the restaurant right behind our table. We enjoyed a good meal and a good waitress and left at 8:32 PM. We took the long way back to the motel through downtown. We arrived at the motel at 8:41 PM after going 5 miles.

We saw a lot of beautiful countryside today. We enjoyed each others company and the company of a good friend, who accompanied our Group for a couple of hours. We rode for 275 miles and hope to ride more miles tomorrow. We should get into the state of Washington tomorrow...maybe, unless if we change our minds...which can happen. So, until tomorrow...

Day 8

We got up, got dressed and packed our stuff to load on the Motors. Jan and I cleaned our Motors and the others came out of hibernation and started to clean their Motors. C.E. and Ken we together and Chuck was with Bruce. We walked over to have breakfast and took our time. During breakfast, we talked about riding toward Redwood National Park in California and then to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Chuck rode his Motor to the office to check out and Ken, C.E. and I followed. Bruce and Jan stayed back by the rooms getting ready to ride. The four of us were waiting...and waiting...and waiting, wondering what was keeping the two from joining us. Chuck walked back and I rode. I thought, why walk when you can ride? When Chuck and I got to the other two, Jan was taking his Motor apart. This is becoming a morning ritual. Jan's Motor didn't want to start. He checked the battery and the wire connecting to it. He noticed some corrosion at the connection and Bruce went to ask a motel employee if someone had a wire brush. The maintenance man arrived with some tools. Jan and the maintenance man were both working on Jan's Motor. Jan checked the connection to one of his battery terminals and found that it was loose. He tightened the connection and the Motor started right up. I told him again that it was time to get a Gold Wing. The Motor was fixed and put back together and we were on our way at 9:22 AM.

Ken led us northbound on US 101. We continued north until Ken turned off of US 101 and into Redwood State Park. Oh, just before we exited US 101, I saw an elk in a field to our left side. I pointed at it and I saw C.E. and Bruce look in that direction. They were ahead of me. Jan and Chuck were behind me and Chuck told me on the CB that he had seen the elk. As we were riding in the State Park, there were many signs indicating that people should not approach the elk. There was a radio station that had a recording on some information on the two herds of elk in the Park. Ken stopped in the Park at 10:27 AM after riding 46 miles. We stopped off the side of the road and took several pictures of the scenery and of us. Oh by the way, I'm sure that you probably guessed that we also made a pit stop. After all, the giant redwoods need to be watered! And believe me, THEY WERE WATERED! We left at 10:40 AM. We were happy and I'm sure that the trees and plant life were happy.

Ken led us to Crescent City, CA. where we stopped for gas at 11:15 AM and after riding 31 miles. Of course, we made a pit stop too! We took a short break and had some snacks and drinks. We left at 11:47 AM. It was getting close to lunch time, however, after the break we weren't hungry.

It was my turn to lead now. As I pulled out of the gas station parking lot, Jan was behind me. There was a Subway right next door to the gas station and I started to pull into the parking lot of the Subway and Jan followed. Jan knew that I was just kidding, but to look at the faces of the other guys was priceless. I didn't pull into the Subway. I continued northbound. We left Crescent City, CA. and changed to US 199 headed for Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. We were finally out of California. It took us a week! After riding for 55 miles, we stopped in Cave Junction, OR. at 12:47 PM. I pulled into a Subway and parked next to the building next door to the Subway. I parked my Motor and Jan followed and parked next to me. I got off of my Motor and was writing information on my notepad when C.E. parked next to Jan. As C.E. was getting off of his Motor when it fell over on its right side, striking Jan's Motor. Jan was already off of his Motor and on the right side standing next to me. As C.E.'s Motor his Jan's, it started to topple Jan's Motor over on to us. Jan caught it and kept it from falling over. C.E. went over to the right side of his Motor and started to pick it up and I went over to the left side of his Motor and helped him. We picked it up and steadied it as C.E. got back on and moved the Motor over to where the others were parked in front of the Subway. There was minor damage to C.E.'s right grip and Jan's left side fairing. We got our Motors settled and went inside and ate lunch.

Just prior to arriving in Crescent City, OR. for lunch, I noticed that my right highway peg was loose. I remembered that prior to leaving for the trip, I was making an adjustment to the peg and didn't tighten it up properly. It got loose. There was an auto repair shop across the street of the Subway and I told the guys that I was going over to see if the nice mechanics would take 30 seconds to tighten up the loose peg. Jan told me that I needed to go with Chuck accompanying me so that he could take pictures of the Gold Wing being repaired. I told Jan that I would welcome Chuck to tag along. Chuck didn't go. I went over, spoke with the two mechanics and one told me that he would tighten the peg for me. As he was tightening up the peg, he stated that it was loose. He also asked if I was traveling with the Harley's parked across the street at the Subway. I told him that I was. He told me that maybe I shouldn't ride too close to the Harley's because they are contagious and make parts from other bikes become loose because of the loud noise and hard vibrations of the Harley's. We all laughed! I liked this mechanic. He had a great sense of humor and was very honest. :) I was done in about 30 seconds. I returned to Subway and told the guys what was said. The Harley riders weren't amused. I laughed again.

We were getting ready to leave when one of the workers of the Subway came out with a bag of six of their chocolate chip cookies and gave them to us as a gift. I took them and passed them out. Ken ate two. One his and the other Jan's. Jan gave Ken a hard time about that the rest of the day. The female worker came out, looked at me and asked me where her cookies were. She kept looking at me for an answer. I had a mouthful of cookie, looked at her, couldn't answer so I opened my mouth and showed her "chewed up cookie." She looked at me, made a face of disgust and walked back inside the Subway without another word. We laughed. That will teach her to ask me something with my mouth full! It was time to leave. We looked at the map and Chuck decided that we needed to stop in Medford, OR. to gas up. It was uncertain as to whether there would be another gas station north of Crater Lake. We left at 1:52 PM.

We continued on US 199. It turned out to be another dream Motorcycle road. It was a mountainous, two lane road with plenty of curves. When we were still on the Department on Motors, we rode our Motors and at times leaned our bikes left and right and "scraped pads." I don't have floorboards on my Motors so when I lean my Motor left and right, I "scrape soles!" When we are finished with our three week ride, I may need new boots! We continued on US 199 and I-5 and after riding for 56 miles, we stopped just shy of Medford, OR. in an outskirt town of Central Point, OR. at 2:53 PM for gas. We were there for a while, and when we are somewhere for a while, we made a pit stop. It's tough to have bladders the size of peas! HA! get it, pit stop/peas...any way, we left at 3:13 PM.

It was Bruce's turn to lead. I showed him the map so that he would know the route that we would be taking. We followed I-5 for two miles and turned on Hwy 62. After riding Hwy 62 for a while, it also turned into a great ride. We rode for 78 miles and at 4:48 PM, we arrived at the Admin Building and Gift Shop for Crater Lake. From Central Point, OR. where we got gas to Crater Lake, the temperature went from 92 degrees to 52 degrees. There was a lot of snow at Crater Lake. Not only was there a lot of snow on the sides of the road, but there was water from melted snow on several spots on the road. We parked our Motors next to a mound of snow which was about 12 to 13 feet high. We took pictures. We saw that the gift shop closed at 4:00 PM. We just missed it! We left at 5:03 PM.

We rode for 5 miles and at 5:11 PM we made it to Crater Lake. The entire area was snow covered except for the roadway. We parked our Motors and walked up a short hill in the snow so that we could stand by the edge and see the lake. WHAT A SPECTACULAR SIGHT!!! As we walked along the edge, our legs would sink into the snow. We played in the snow and tossed snowballs at each other. We took several pictures of each other and of the scenery. There were two young men there with us and I asked one of them to take a group picture of us. He agreed and took two pictures of our group. He asked me if I would take a picture of the two of them. I agreed and took his camera. As they were setting up the shot, I turned away from them and took a picture of myself. They didn't know it. I guess they will see my picture later. They were grateful for me taking their picture. We left Crater Lake at 5:30 PM and headed for La Pine, OR., where we will be spending the night.

Just prior to arriving at the Best Western in La Pine, OR., Chuck was in desperate need for gas for his Motor. We arrived in a little town named, "Crescent" and Chuck pulled into a Chevron gas station. I got on the CB and told him that we only had 35 more miles and he pulled out and continued. We arrived in La Pine, OR. at the Best Western at 7:28 PM and after riding for 114 miles. It was still daylight. We checked into the Motel, took our bags into our rooms, made our phone calls to our wives and left for dinner.

We went to Gordy's Truck Stop and arrived at 8:14 PM and gassed up our Motors. We had traveled 3 miles. We parked our Motors and went inside the restaurant and had dinner. We left at 9:23 PM and returned to the Motel. What a day! We rode for a total of 392 miles and we are now in Oregon. Tomorrow, we hope to travel to northern Oregon and hopefully catch up with a good friend of ours, Louie Martinez. We used to work on our Motor Squad. Louie lives in Dundee, OR. It will be fun! Soooo, until tomorrow...

Day 7 Pacific Coast Highway...again

The alarm was set for 6:30AM. I forgot to take the phone off of vibrate! Luckily I heard the hum at 6:45 AM. I got up and got dressed, being very quiet so that I wouldn't wake up Chuck. I went into the bathroom to wash up and closed the door so that I wouldn't disturb Chuck. He is soooo sensitive! When I finished, I walked out and Chuck was dressed. We finished dressing and packing our bags and took them out to our Motors. We packed up and cleaned our windshields. While we were doing this, the other guys came out one at a time and started doing the same thing. We walked to the "upper 40" to the lounge (that's where the breakfast buffet was served) with computers in hand. We couldn't do the blogs last night because we had poor reception for the wi-fi in our rooms. There wasn't much time so I didn't do the blog. Sorry! I did check my e-mail and also checked my Facebook. We finished breakfast, returned to our Motors in the 'lower 40," and rode them back to the office to check out. We left at 9:05 AM with Chuck in the lead.

We had talked last night and during breakfast about going back westbound and catching the Pacific Coast Highway again, north of San Francisco. We wanted to stay away from the City because of the traffic. Chuck had checked Map Quest for the map between Yuba City and Fort Bragg. It gave him Hwy 20, which would take up to Fort Bragg. We headed westbound. We weren't on Hwy 20 for very long when we found that we were on another great, Motorcycle road! The longer we were on it, the better it was.

AT 10:22 AM after riding 76 miles we stopped in Clearlake Oaks, CA for gas and a pit stop. Chuck said that although he didn't really need gas at this time, it was time for a pit stop and, instead of having to stop in another 30 miles, we gassed up. Chuck took a lot of lip from Jan! After all, it is Jan's turn to lead next. We left at 10:49 AM.

Jan took over the lead and we continued westbound. This road got better and better. When we were within 22 miles before reaching Fort Bragg, we were riding in a mountainous, forest road. We turned at a curve and there were two deer "puppies" standing by the side of the road. We all slowed and I rode very close to them. I rode to within 4 feet of one "puppy" (OK, fawn) and reached out my hand to it. (I didn't know if it was a he or she, and I wasn't going to take the time). I didn't stop, even though I wanted to so that I could take a picture, because we were on a curve and there was traffic behind us. We continued on this great road and 12:48 PM and after riding 93.7 miles, we stopped for lunch at Denny's in Fort Bragg, CA. Did you notice that it took us two hours to ride 93.7 miles? We were riding at an average of about 45 mph. We left at 1:50 PM with our bellies content. We drank a lot of water and pop, so guess what is next?

Jan led us northbound on PCH. We continued northbound and 7 miles from Leggett, CA, which is where PCH ends and US 101 starts, Jan stopped for our "after lunch break." Jan pulled into a roadside stop area with a gravel parking lot. Jan entered the area and we had to slow so that we wouldn't "go down" on the gravel. Jan rode to the opposite end of the lot and came to a controlled stop. I was behind and stopped to Jan's left. Ken was behind me and slowed to a stop to my left. C.E. was slowing, came too close to Ken's Motor and C.E.'s right handle bar bumped Ken's trunk. This caused Ken's Motor to drop on its right side, narrowly missing me and my Motor. Jan went to Ken's aid and helped Ken lift his Motor. C.E. felt very badly that this happened and he apologized. We didn't say anything much about it at this time...at this time. We let it go for a while and then we brought it up! This is one of those things that we don't forget about and we will mention it again later, just like Bruce dropping his Motor on the Four Corners Ride in Key West, Florida. This can happen to anyone, which is what makes our rides that much more interesting! I'm sure that C.E. will be laughing about this later. We sat around for a while, threw rocks at a large pipe, took pictures, talked, laughed and made a pit stop. We then left at 3:17 PM.

We had talked about heading for a small town named, Arcata, CA. for our rest stop. Jan led us northbound and 4 miles later, I saw a sign for the "Drive Through Redwood." I stopped and honked at Jan. Jan stopped and Chuck rode up next to me. I told Chuck of the drive through tree and he said, "What the hell, let's go!" Jan turned and we arrived at 3:29 PM. It was a private park and Chuck was kind enough to pay for our admittance. It was $3 per motorcycle. We all decided that we would keep Chuck in our group! At least for a while longer. :) We rode up to the tree with the hole in it and, one by one, rode through and I took pictures of every one in the hole. While there, we made a pit stop. We left at 4:08 PM.

Jan led us north again and 16 miles later, we stopped at 4:30 PM in Piercy, CA. for gas. After we all gassed up, Chuck told us that he had noticed Bruce's right tail pipe loose and bouncing. Bruce parked his Motor in the shade and took off his right saddlebag and exposed the tail pipe. I told Chuck and Bruce that I had a "Harley Repair Kit." This kit included plastic ties, two hose clamps and electrical tape. We used 4 plastic ties and tied the tail pipe to the existing bracket. Harley fixed! Bruce put his saddlebag back on and we were off again. We left at 4:55 PM.

Ken led us north on US 101. After 90 miles of riding, we arrived in Arcata, CA. at 6:26 PM at the Best Western. We checked into our rooms, parked our Motors in front of our rooms, took our bags into our rooms and tucked our Motors in for the night. We, again, had great roads to ride and enjoyed them. We rode for 321 miles today. We walked across the street to a strip mall where there was a good Mexican food restaurant. We ate a good meal and we each had a different beer to drink. The waiter was very nice and accommodating. He identified each of us by the beer that we were drinking. With our bellies full we returned to our motel, where all of the guys by me went into the hot tub. I had some catching up to do. Tomorrow we plan to go to Redwood National Park. Until tomorrow...

Day 6 Lake Tahoe

I got up at my usual time, 6:30 AM. Chuck, my roommate for the night, was doing his Rip Van Winkle impersonation and was still asleep. After I was all dressed and packed, Chuck got up and dressed. We all walked to the office for breakfast. At dinner last night, C.E. mentioned that he needed to do some laundry and Bruce needed to go to the Verizon store because he was still having problems with his cell phone. After breakfast, C.E. rode to the laundry mat in the strip mall next door. Jan rode his Motor to a nearby hardware store to buy a part for his Harley. The rest of us walked to the laundry mat. We were there doing our laundry when Jan called me on the cell and told me that he was back from the parts store and was coming over to do his laundry also. We were all in the laundry mat having a good time, washing, drying, folding clothes and packing. We finished and returned to the motel to pack up our Motors and get ready to leave.

Jan and I were left at the laundry mat. I left Jan folding while I walked back. I packed my Motor and rode it to the office area where everyone was. We waited for Jan and later we heard his Harley coming. We heard the Harley and then it became silent. I thought that he had turned the engine off and was coasting. He parked the Motor with the others and came to us telling us that there was something wrong with his Harley...imagine that! He took off his seat and luggage rack to get to his battery. Jan thought that he needed a new battery but he jiggled a couple of wires and it started up again. Problem solved. It was a wire to the battery that was kinked. He put his Motor back together again and we were all ready to leave. We left at 11:25 AM.

We had decided during breakfast that we were going to go to Lake Tahoe. Bruce was leading and we headed eastbound on I-80. After riding for 44 miles we stopped at 11:59 AM in Emigrant Gap, CA for gas. After gassing up our Motors and it was a little past noon, there was a Burger King on the property so we went in and had lunch. We left at 12:53 PM.

It was C.E.'s turn to lead. We continue eastbound on I-80 and turned south on Hwy 89 towards Lake Tahoe. We rode through Squaw Valley, the site of a past Winter Olympics. We got into North Lake Tahoe at at 1:45 PM after riding 47 miles. It was time for a desperate pit stop! Crap! There were NO public restrooms at the Seven Eleven store. I pointed to a J-Jon across the street to Chuck, but he declined. We continued eastbound around the lake. WHAT A HUGE LAKE! We left at 1:47 PM. C.E. was leading and Chuck was behind C.E. Five miles later at 1:55 PM, Chuck pulled over at a "pull out" area. The urge went away and this was a great spot for a photo op. We took several pictures of one another. On some, the photographer was standing in the street and a couple of times cars came by honking at us. What nerve! We left at 2:04 PM.

OK, 2 miles later at 2:15 PM, C.E., still leading, stopped at a Chevron station in Kings Beach, NV. Relief at last! We all enjoyed the pit stop. Afterwards, we took a break and looked across the street and the massive lake. We left at 2:36 PM.

C.E. was still leading and we rode through Lake Tahoe, NV. and headed toward Carson City, NV. We rode through Carson City and Virginia City. (We said,"Hi" to the Cartwright's for you). When we went north of Virginia City, we were on US 395. This was a two lane, mountainous, curvy road that we enjoyed very much. We have to ride this road again! I was to the rear of the group and took a 3 minute video of the ride. I held the camera on my right hand and controlled the throttle and and brake with my right. This made it a great ride for me! You should see this video.

We got to the base of the mountain and stopped in Washoe City, NV at 4:16 PM after riding for 61 miles. We needed a break. While we were on our break, several cop cars, a fire truck and an ambulance were running with lights and sirens eastbound. A few blocks back, a motorcyclist or two had crashed. One of our group, I don't remember who, went into a ditch and made a quick pit stop. Sorry, but I'm sure that it was necessary. Don't worry, no one saw him nor did I take any pictures. Maybe next time!

We left at 4:30 PM. C.E. was still leading and we rode westbound riding through Reno, NV. No ladies, we didn't stop to gamble. This is a MOTORCYCLE RIDE! We headed westbound and at 5:18 PM we stopped in Truckee, CA after riding 48 miles. We stopped for gas and, you guessed it, another pit stop. I'm sorry, we had a lot of water and coffee earlier! We left at 5:38 PM.

We were en route to a small town called, "Yuba City, CA" which we had talked about earlier in the day. there was a Best Western there and that was our destination for the evening stop. Chuck was now in the lead and we were on I-80 and connected with Hwy 20. We had never been on Hwy 20 and didn't know what to expect except that it lead us to Yuba City. We were on Hwy 20 for a short time when we realized that it was a great motorcycle road. It was a two lane road with numerous curves and varying speeds. The temperature went from 68 degrees from Truckee and it bounced up and down and finally rose to 84 when we arrived in Yuba City. At one point we were going through the forest road curving left and right and reached a speed of about 55 to 60. It had a speed limit of 45mph. We were enjoying the ride and, yes, we were doing it safely. At one point we came out of the forest and came into a clearing and down the road, there was a CHP car working radar. He was pointed in our direction. Chuck saw the CHP car in plenty of time and slowed down to 45 mph. Way to go Chuck! After we passed him, we sped up. :)

We arrived in Yuba City, CA. at 7:14 PM after 92.8 miles of riding. We checked into our rooms and it was a large motel property. We had to ride our Motors to the "lower 40" to get to our rooms. We parked our Motors in from of our rooms, got our bags and tucked our Motors in for the night. After going to our upstairs rooms, we noticed that our rooms had a back door! These back doors led us to a courtyard where the pool and hot tub were. We ALL changed into our bathing suits and enjoyed the hot tub! We were there for a while and the returned to our rooms, changed and went to the restaurant on site for dinner. Just prior to dinner, we were all in my room and I had totalled the miles ridden for the day. I told the group that the person closest to guessing the total miles for the day, I would buy them a beer. Chuck was the closest.

We travelled a total of 299.8 miles today. We went from California, into Nevada and back into California. With all this travelling, I found that we were only 28 miles from our start at the Best Western in Auburn, CA. It was a great day!

Day 5 Yosemite National Park

C.E. and I got up at 6:30 AM and got dressed. We packed up our stuff, loaded our Motors and cleaned the windshield. We returned to our room and watched the Weather Channel, waiting for 8:00 AM for the rest of the guy so that we could all have breakfast together. We all had breakfast and then headed back to our rooms. Chuck went to my room and uploaded the pictures to the web site. We all went to our Motors and left at 9:22 AM.

I lead the group and headed toward Yosemite National Park. It was nice and cool at 54 degrees and at 10:15 AM and after 35 miles, we arrived at the gate to the Park. The guard asked me if I had a pass and I told her that we all had passes. She instructed us all to go on through. Some of the guys were kind of upset that they didn't get to show their pass. We drove about 100 yards and I pulled into a rest area for a pit stop. We were there for a while and took some pictures of the immediate area and each other...no, not in the restroom! What are you thinking?

We toured the park, stopping at Bridalveil Fall. It was a spectacular waterfall and very high. We walked about 1,000 feet to the view area. It was uphill and we were winded by the time we arrived. The mist was very cool and by the time we walked away, we were wet! We took several pictures of the Falls and each other. When we left the Falls area, we rode a short distance and took a photo op with El Capitan. This is a mountain with an elevation of 7,569 feet, straight up! Jan told us that he has some friends who have scaled the face of El Capitan and it took them more than a day. They suspended themselves on the face and positioned themselves in sleeping bags. We all agree that we would NOT want to do this. We continued on and parked in the visitors parking lot and went to the Yosemite Park Store. We purchased some "stuff" and then had lunch next door to the store.

We returned to our Motors and headed west at 12:58 PM. We were going to go west for a distance and turn onto another road which would take us east. We were going to head toward Lake Tahoe. The other road, Tioga Pass, was closed for the winter. We continued westbound and exited the park. The road was awesome. We have been blessed with the roads that we have been traveling. The road on the park had many curves and hills...or should I say mountains! The scenery was breathtaking! I took several pictures while we travelled.

We stopped at 2:30 PM after riding 52 miles in a small town named Big Oak Flat, CA., just outside of the park. We stopped and got gas and...you guessed it, a pit stop. We bought some drinks in the store, chatted and looked over the map. Bruce needed to look at the map since he was next up to lead. We left at 33:02 PM.

We had decided that we were going to go to a small town named Placerville, CA. Bruce led us onto Highway 49 northbound. It was another great road. There were curves and hills and most of the time, no one was in front of us. At 4:04 PM and after riding 43 miles, we stopped in Angel Camp, CA. for a pit stop. We also took a short break and also shedded our jackets. It was 68 degrees. Jan also did a minor adjustment to his Motor. we left at 4:29 PM.

At 5:55 PM and after 61 miles, we arrived in Placerville at the Best Western. We entered the lobby and spoke with the clerk. We tried to "make a deal" on the price and the lowest she would go was $119 a night plus tax. I left the other guys in the lobby and returned to my Motor to check the Best Western book to check for another motel close by. Chuck and I found a Best Western in Auburn, CA and I called to get info on the motel. I spoke with the Manager, Kerry, and he gave me his best price for three rooms for $81 and change for each room. I asked him to hold three rooms and that we would be there in about 30 minutes. We were told that it was about 29 miles away. We left at 6:12 PM.

Bruce took the lead again and we went north on Highway 49. This road was narrow, curvy and hilly. It went through several communities and it was anther awesome ride. We were very grateful that Placerville didn't work out and that we went to Auburn. We arrived in Auburn at the Best Western at 7:07 PM and after 32 miles. We checked in and went to our rooms. We were able to park our Motors close to our rooms. We took our bags and tucked our Motors in for the night. After we got to our rooms, we all made the necessary calls to our "bosses" to let them know where we were. We all got the response, "You're where?" There was a Sizzler close by so we walked to it and had dinner. After dinner we returned to the motel and all of us except C.E. went to the hot tub for about 30 minutes. We needed that!

Today we traveled a total of 235 miles. It wasn't much, but we were "in the saddle" for a long time. We traveled 235 miles, however, most of them were at 15, 20, 30 or 45 miles per hour. It's tough to make hairpin turns at more that 15 or 20 miles per hour, especially these hairpin turns! It was a great day. Tomorrow, we hope to get to the Lake Tahoe area. We will see, so, until tomorrow...