[Wheeldog]

The story is a bit long to post here, but the link will take you there. I hope you enjoy it.


http://home.gci.net/~wheeldog/

 

[wsmith]

True Ironbutt

 

[FifthGear]

The story is a bit long to post here, but the link will take you there. I hope you enjoy it.


http://home.gci.net/~wheeldog/

Wheeldog,,,,,,You da man! That was great! In every way from the pictures to your narrative. I almost felt like I was there. Thanx for sharing that trip! WOW!


FifthGear

 

[HIPPO]

Sounds even more impressive then the first time I read it some time ago. Come to think of it, I have done about 80% of part one at one time or another, as well as the AZ to Key West thing last year during Daytona (it wore me down some), but never have managed to get it all into one single trip. I'm lucky in the sense that the AZ leg of your trip is my playground, and if you come this way again make sure to look me up.
Your wife must be a real trooper, not sure that I want to do that sort of trip on a 750.

 

[Wheeldog]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys!!

Hippo,

I think when I posted on the old site we had just finished part 1 and hadn't done (rode) part 2 of the trip yet.

We are staying home this winter, but are planning to hang out in AZ next winter. The game plan is to
hit Quartzite, AZ and camp (BLM land). Ride the area and move on (east) ride the next area etc. till we get to NM.....There is a couple in NM we are friends with, who have a VW trike and plan on
joining us and working their way back home. All that cold weather on the last trip forced us to motel /eat in restaurants too much and we went WAY over budget. Next winter we are going to trailer the bikes behind the motor home and use it as a base for our exploring. We probably won't leave here until November so we would have to trailer quite a ways anyway to get out of the snow. So I figure we may as well just take the motor home all the way for a place to live.

We will be sure stop and say "Hi" on the way through..........I will probably pick your brain on places to ride as the time gets closer.

 

[HIPPO]

Sure thing, as it stands now I will still be here next winter.

Plenty of places to ride even staying at lower altitudes. While I can stand the cold weather fairly well for local standards, down to 50 instead of the usual around here 60 LOL, it doesn't put me in the class of someone used to the weather in AK, and we do the high roads in summer.

Quartzsite is at the CA border, it puts you less then 2 hours from Phoenix, but it's just a little hop to Laughlin and Vegas, and it's a good time of year to do Death Valley among other things.

A few of us are also looking at a possible trip to Houston towards the end of the first quarter of next year, so maybe something works out.

We just have to see how the cookie crumbles.

 

[Wheeldog]

Hippo,

Laughlin is on the list. We have been there before and plan to go back. I would like to do Death
Valley. Last time I couldn't talk the wife into it as she was afraid it would be too hot. We both about died in Key West as the temperature got up to the high 80's. We have the same problem with heat as you do the cold. LOL The last trip we just watched the weather and picked our routes and
destinations at the last minute.

We are still working the logistics out on how to handle Christmas down there. Either our 17 year old son will fly down there, we will fly home, or end up cutting things short and driving home. So we still aren't sure how much time we will have. Also, much is riding on how good business is this summer. If things go as usual we will have enough $$$$. If the economy turns to crap up here we wouldn't be able to make it.

 

[HIPPO]

Hey, Chrismas around here is a piece of cake, ride to the top of some mountain, watch the lights flicker in the Valley, and listen to the coyotes sing their carols.

I hear you on the economy, if it keeps going this way around here we might all be riding 500 buck motorscooters at the end of next year.

120 F, isn't so bad. Remember it's a dry heat. LOL
Riding down to the keys was well worth it, but the humidity gets to you after a while.
After october or november it's usually nice even in Death Valley, but the weather changes from day to day, and at times you can downright freeze. As little as a 100 miles makes a big difference, we are lucky here as the weather that usually follows the jetstream mostly misses us, sometimes by as little as 10 miles.