Motorcycle Trip 2011 " The Awesome Southwest"

Motorcycle Trip Blog Accounts



Let’s be sure to take the time to remember our Military personnel for their service to us and our country. Also remember to think of and pray for their families. Whenever you see a Veteran on the street stop, shake their hand and thank them for their service. God bless all of the men and women of our armed forces and pray that they all come home safe. Honor – Remember – Respect all Veterans Thank You

It's that time to get started on blogging about another motorcycle adventure. I'm kind of having fun with it, along with reminiscing about our previous trips. This is my forth blog and my hopes are to continue writing about all of my motorcycle adventures. RIDE ON and RIDE SAFE.

I am going to try and update this blog on a daily basis during our trip if time and Internet access permits so all my family and friends at home can see our trip as it progresses. Everyone be sure to check back often to see our motorcycle journey updates. Also be sure to check out this site too which was created by my good friend and Brother Firefighter Steve Mast aka Elvis. http://www.outforacruise.blogspot.com/ Love ya all, see ya soon and stay safe.

After all the planning and wondering what all the routes that I put together were going to be like. I hope that they are routes that everyone will enjoy. We will be traveling to Mesa Verde National Park, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, North & South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Hopi Indian Reservation, Painted Desert, over into New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois. This year our trip membership grew a bit. We finally hit the maximum allotted number of members we are at six. I'm excited to see that Steve M.(aka Elvis)is joining us on a trip. Looking forward to meeting Rick who is a friend of Steve E.,and Russ who is a friend of my brother Michael.Wally you really shocked me by selling your bike and not joining us on our motorcycle journeys anymore.You will be missed,thought of,and I'm sure talked about along our journey.But it's all good. Thanks for being part of our original trip memories. The clocks a ticking TIC-TOC, TIC-TOC, we’re burning daylight. Just a few more days and we will be riding down the road.

9/09/11 Friday

Friday is finally here and my motorcycle and trailer are packed and ready to hit the road. After all the planning and hoping that the routes that I put together are going to be awesome rides. My Bushtec trailer was finally loaded up and ready to go. I have all my electronics; cell Phone, IPod, Digital Camera, Video set up and my GPS. My brother departed from Calhoun, Tennessee this morning around 5:00 a.m. I am anxiously awaiting his arrival at my house in Lockport, Illinois for the start of our 4th Annual Motorcycle Trip. I'm all jacked up on an adrenalin rush waiting for our morning departure from my house to "The Awesome Southwest" Eva got home from work and we went to Papa's Pizza in Woodridge for some pizza and cold beverages. The food and service was excellent like always. Thank you Sandy, Andrew, and the entire Papa's staff.

9/10/11 Saturday

We left my house in Lockport and had to deal with fog for about the first three hours into our trip. When the sun finally showed its wonderful self and made the fog disappear it made for some awesome riding for the rest of the day. Our first stop of the day was in LeClaire, Iowa at the headquarters of the Antique Archaelogy from the T.V. show American Pickers. This show is about a life long picker, Mike's been picking through junk since he was waist high. Over the years, he's earned a reputation as one of the country's foremost foragers, traveling coast to coast in search of forgotten American treasures. Vistit them on the History channel Mondays 9/8 Central.

Antique Archaeology

LeClaire, Iowa

Our second stop of the day was at the Freedom Rock located in Iowa. Take I-80 to exit # 86 and go southon Hwy 25 for approximately 1.5 miles. The rock is on the left side of the road at the intersection. This rock was created bya talented artist, Ray (Bubba) Sorensen II. Every year for the last nine years he has done this Memorial Day tribute to our servicemen and servicewomen, both past and present. Its a must se, go and see for yourself and visit his website at http://www.thefreedomrock.com.// After we stopped there to see it and pay our respects to Veterans and to Bubba for his dedicated work we continued on to Grand Island Nebraska for the night at the KOA. We stopped for dinner at T-Bones Steak House before going on to the campground for the night. Eva & Samantha I hope you both are having fun during Mom's weekend at WIU. Samantha be sure keep your mom out of trouble. I love you both and I will post some pictures at a latter date.

9/11/11 Sunday

Got up this morning and started loading the bike's and trailers for today's ride. Let's take a moment to reflect and remember all those we lost on September 11, 2001. And continue to say a prayer for their families. We also need to remember all of our military personnel for a safe return

home and continue to pray for them and thier families. We arrived in Colorado Springs, Colorado and checked into the KOA campground, unloaded the motorcycles, and took a ride over to Memorial Park to see the IAFF Firefighter Memorial.

IAFF Firefighter Memorial

Colorado Springs, Colorado

After we left the Firefighter Memorial we went to Applebee's for dinner and thenwe stopped at Walmart for some supplies for tomorrow ride. It was another great day of riding. Weather was sunny and 85. We will get up tomorrow and head towards Cortez, Colorado. It was warm during the day and nice cool evening for sleeping.

9/12/11 Monday

Got up this morning and once again loaded the bike's and trailer for today's ride. It's another beautiful morning and should make for some more awesome riding. We are getting ready to depart Colorado Springs KOA. We arrived at Cortez, Colorado KOA and had another great day of riding. The temperatures were up and down from 50 to 86 degrees. We had three brief rain showers that lasted maybe five minutes each. We will be staying here in Cortez Colorado KOA for the next two nights. Tomorrow we will head to Mesa Verde National Park and then over to the Four Corners. Everyone is doing well and we are having a great time. Everyone have a great day and I will post more later.

9/13/11 Tuesday

Once again we hada spectacular day of riding. It's was sunny and probably in the 80's. We got up and our first stop for the day was Mesa Verde National Park. That took up most of the the morning. We saw some wild horses and also saw the Cliff Dwellings made by the Ancestral Puebloans as there place to live and flourished here. They built these elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of canyon walls. In the late 1200s, in the span of a generation or two, they left thier homes and moved away. Mesa Verde National Park preserves a spectacular reminder of this ancient culture. Archeologists have called these people Anasazi, from a navajo word sometimes translated as "the ancient foreigners." We now call them Ancestral Puebloans, reflecting their modern descentants. It was an amazing site.




Then after we departed Mesa Verde National Park our second ride of that days was to the Four Corners Monument. This monument is a unique landmark ran by the Navajo Nation. The Four Corners is the only place in the United States where four states intersect at one point: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. This location is very remote. The original marker erected in 1912 was a simple cement pad, but was redone in granite and brass. Navajo vendors sell hand made jewelry, crafts, and traditional navajo foods nearby.



We then continue our journey for the day back to Cortez Colorado KOA for the night. We took a dip in the pool and tried to decide where to eat dinner tonight. We ended up eating at a place suggusted by someone at the campground. it was Jack & Janelle's Country Kitchen on Main Street. It appeared to be a dive from the outside but it was excellent home made food, great service, great prices, plenty to eat, wonderful homemade deserts and a friendly family owner and operated establishment. I will have to give them an A++++ across the board. We will depart Cortez in the morning and continue our journey onto to Arch's National Park and stay in Moab, Utah KOA for Wednesday night. I will post more at a later time. Hope everyone enjoys reading this blog as much as we are enjoying our trip. Love everybody back home see you in a short while.

9/14/11 Wednesday

We got up this morning and left camp from Cortez, Colorado KOA and headed towards Moab, Utah. It was a cloudy morning with light rains on and off. We are blaming the rain on Rick because yesterday he went into Walmart and ask if they had any Sun Block. So see what happens when you play with mother nature. We got into Moab, Utah and rode through Arch's National Park. What a magnificent ride and amazing rock formations. It's like you were on another planet.




We made it into camp and hoping that it stops raining before dinner and tomorrows ride over to Bryce Canyon - Cannonville, Utah.








We went out to dinner at Zak's Resturant on Main Street. The food was excellent and the service was good. I decided to toss my slab of ribs onto the floor so I could get another slab of ribs for nothing. Just kidding about wanting free stuff. They fell onto the floor and the manager came out and gave me another slab at no charge. They ran out of coconut cream pie so the manage said we could flip a coin to see who gets the last piece. Michael and myself decided that we would just split the piece. Everyone is doing great and having an amazing trip.


Here is a glipse of the night sky here in Moab, Utah. Visit this blog again for further trip updates.

9/15/11 Thursday

The morning sky as we get ready to depart from Moab, Utah and head over to our next destination which is Cannonville / Bryce Valley, Utah. We had to deal with a couple of rain storms on today ride. Oh well thats what riding is all about, ride on and deal with what mother natures sends your way. If you were to stop and try to wait out the weather you could be sitting somewhere for days. Keep rolling on and make the best of it. The scenery once again was breath taking. At times we were on roads that had drop offs on both sides that seemed like if you went over that you would never hit the bottom.This is where Elvis slipped over the side and almost fell. Elvis hang on I will get a rope and toss it to you.
Relax just kidding!!!














We got into Cannonville, Utah KOA and unpacked the bikes and trailer. We didn't have much of a choice for places for dinner tonight. We ended up at The Pizza Place in Tropic, Utah and it took forever to get our food. No ones food came out at the same time. We were all done eating before Michael even got his hamburger. I would highly recommend not to eat there if you are looking to eat anytime soon. We went back to camp and discussed the ride for tomorrow.



Here is a picture of a rainbow from our cabin.

9/16/11 Friday

We got up this morning it was a cool morning and we headed over to Bryce Canyon. It was more spectacular scenery that words and pictures can not express enough. Hoodoo - a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion. At Bryce Canyon National Park erision forms an array of fantastic shapes which are called Hoodoos. Geologists say that 10 million years ago forces within the earth created and then moved the massive blocks known as Table Cliffs and Paunsaugunt. Ancient rivers carved the tops and exposed the edges of these blocks,removing some layers and sculpting formations in others. You would have to see this with your own eyes to believe it. Pictures do not give it justice.





Here is another group shot and Russ is no where to be found. He is still out at his motorcycle doing something.








Sorry I have not been able to update this blog the last few days. I will try and catch up with the days blogging sometime soon. We hit the tail end of a storm as we headed over to Glendale, Utah KOA. We spent two nights in Glendale. We had no cell phone or Internet service.

9/17/11 Saturday

We got up and it was a beautiful day for riding. We left Glendale, Utah KOA and rode over to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We stopped first thing in the morning for fuel and coffee at the shell service station across from the Thunderbird Resturant just outside of the entrance to Zion National Park. There were bus loads of European tourist that was amazed by us on our motorcycles. They kept asking if they could take photos of us. It was like we were the animals in the cages at the zoo. We then continued to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.










What an amazing place and scenery. We spent most of the day at the North Rim and then we started back to Glendale, Utah KOA. Prior to getting to the campground we decided to have dinner at the Thunderbird Resturant. Once again the food and service was very good and reasonably priced. We will get up in the morning and depart here and head to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Once again Russ must be playing hide and seek because another group shot and he is no where to be found.

Really he is with us on this trip.

9/18/11 Sunday

We got up to another beautiful day and continued over to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. On the way there we stopped at seen some Cliff Dwellings and Indians selling jewelery and crafts that they made. Cliff dwellings are where the Indians made their homes in rock formations.



The South Rim was a very busy place much more then the North Rim. It by far was the more touristy place of the two. Its amazing that the distance from the North Rim to the South Rim as the crow flies is only ten miles but driving it is like two hundred miles.

But once again what beauty out here. I enjoyed the North Rim much more. After visiting the South Rim we continued on to the Williams, Arizona KOA for the next two nights. We got settled in at the KOA and went into Williams, Arizona for dinner.



Experience the Old West as it really was at the Wild West Junction, on Old Route 66 in Williams, AZ., a town with saloons, wooden sidewalks, hitchin' posts, and even real cowboys-you'll feel like you took a time travel journey back 100 years ago to the days of Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holiday!







This is a authentically-recreated town. We got to see some of the theme rooms that he created in thier hotel.What an awesome place. While we were eating dinner outside a skunk came walking near our table area and about scared Russ. The skunk continued to walk out towards the main street and before you knew it you could smell it in the air. Something sure disturbed it.

9/19/11 Monday

We got up to another wonderful morning for riding. We decided today to ride some of Old Historic US Route 66 instead of going to Red Rock Country - Sedona. We stopped at the Old Stagecoach Motel on Historic Route 66.

The Inn Keeper showed us some of the theme rooms that she created, the Saloon, and the Restaurant. What an awesome job she did with remodeling this old motel, resturant and Saloon.

The Harley Davidson Room & The Norway Room

We continued to ride Historic Route 66 into Seligman, Arizona after leaving the Stagecoach Motel on Route 66. When we got into Seligman, Arizona we stopped to walk around some of the shops. Once again there were several tour buses with European tourists and they were also fasinated with us and our motorcycles. They were asking for pictures with us. We said maybe we should put a tip jar out to help us fund this trip. Ha Ha! We rode some more Historic Route 66 before going back to Williams KOA. We got back to the KOA and took a dip in the pool and hot tub before going to dinner. Elvis went to the Harley dealer to pick up oil and filter for his bike. When he got back to the camp ground he changed it. Tonight we had dinner at Rod's Steak House. Once again the service and food was very good. You will have to ask Russ about the skunk when you see or talk to him. Tomorrow we will be heading to Grants, New Mexico.

9/20/11 Tuesday

We got up this morning to another beautiful day provided to us by Mother nature. Temperature's were between 70 - 80 degrees today. This is the day that Steve had to depart us and head home. We rode on some more of Historic US 66 and I was Standin' On The Corner Park, in Winslow, Arizona.








What an awesome town Winslow is. If you are in the area ever you must visit this town.We rode on some more of Historic US 66 and stood on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. What an awesome town Winslow is. Then we proceeded to head over to the Peterfied Forest and the Painted Desert.




After leaving there we continued onto Grants, New Mexico where we stopped at the KOA for the night.


Tomorrow ride will take us over to Maggie's Diner in Madrid, New Mexico where they filmed the 2007 Movie "Wild Hogs."


I will post more at a later date with some more photos when time allows. I hope you enjoy reading about our journey.

9/21/11 Wednesday

Today is another nice day. We have a couple of brief rain showers. Nothing to write home about. Our first stop for the day will be Maggie's Diner in Madrid, New Mexico. This is the location where they filmed the fight scene in the 2007 Movie " Wild Hogs." The Diner still look the same but it was never a real Diner. The owner said that it originally was a vacant lot that she owned and they built the diner for the movie. It is now a gift shop.






The inside still has a counter along with a couple of booths. We were able to sit it the booth that the Wild Hogs sat in when they walked into the diner in the movie.



After we left there our second stop for the day at the "Cadillac Ranch" in Amarillo, Texas. This is where they buried several 1950's Cadillacs on end all in a row. This I believe also that these cars have been portrayed in movies and some music.



After visiting the Cadillac Ranch we continued on to the Amarillo, Texas KOA. We got checked in and unloaded the motorcycles and trailer. After that we had a Limo pick us up to take us to The Big Texan Steak Ranch for dinner. We had a awesome dinner. The food was excellent and the service was just as good. We then went back to the campground snf hit the sack since tomorrow was going to be a 500 + mile ride to Springfield, Missouri.

9/22/11 Thursday

We got up and loaded up the motorcycles and trailer. It was a very chilly and windy morning. We departed the Amarillo, Texas KOA with a lightning show in the sky. We was not on the road very long before we hit the rain showers. We ended up have rain till we got to Oklahoma City. that is also where Michael departed from us to continue on to Tennessee.We all had a 500 mile + day of riding. The rain ended for us around the time we spit off with Michael. He ended up have raid for most of the day. We arrived in Springfield, Missouri KOA for the night. We had diner at the Golden Corral Buffet. Went back to the campoground and hit the sack for another early departure in the morning.

9/23/11 Friday

We got up and packed up the motorcycles and trailer. It was another chilly and foggy morning. We departed the campground around 6:30 a.m. So after we left we encounter rain showers once again. We stopped to put on our rain gear. We then continued on with another long day of 500 + miles to home. It finally stopped raining around St. Louis, Missouri. The rest of the trip home was clear and dry. We stopped in Odell, Illinois for our last fuel stop and said our goodbyes to each other. We then continued onto to our prospective exits. Everyone probably arrived home around 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. I stopped after I got back in town to get by trailer and motorcycle cleaned. It was filthy after this 5200 mile journey. I hope every had a great trip and enjoyed the routes that we put together. I want to thank Steve, Michael, Elvis, Russ, and Rick for a awesome and enjoyable journey. I hope you guys had as much fun as I did. God Bless and continue to be safe. Thanks Now its time to get together with the membership and start thinking and planing for next years journry. What will it be - Time will only tell.