After finishing Route 66, I really did not have an exact planned trip to return home. My friend Ed suggested taking Hy 50 across Nevada. I did ride up California Highway 1 to Oxnard and then stayed overnight in Bakersfield. I pulled uo Mapquest and it showed me a different route to Carson City, NV.
Between Bakersfield and Mojave, I drove through part of California's farm region. Dairy cows, hogs, oranges, almonds, peaches, grapes, sod, corn and other crops that I could not identify proliferated the landscape. Then I drove over another small mountain pass and was back in the desert.
So, I eventually got to US 395 which is called the East Sierra Scenic Highway. I started out in the desert (again) and headed north. As the elevation climbed, the temperatures dropped. Trees surrounded this beautiful cruise which came complete with winding roadway during the ascents and descents. There is a distinct advantage to riding on a motorycyle - you get to use your sense of smell. Everything from the aroma of pine trees or fresh cut grass to the smell of roadkill (can you say skunk?) add to the riding experience.
Enjoyed lunch in a small town called Big Pine. Had prime rib in a casino in Carson City because the price was right. From now on, the bike will be headed east. I have logged over 3,500 miles on the trip odometer.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Day 13 - The Finish Line
July 4th began early for me as I awoke at 4am to a temperature of 89 degrees as I prepared for my journey through the Mojave Desert. My Amarillo friend and mechanic Bo suggested soaking my shirt and covering it with a jacket so the evaporation would keep me cool. I took it one step further and not only soaked my clothes but put them in a bag and put that bag in the refrigerator!
I started at Needles and headed west on I-40 until the turnoff of US 95 towards Las Vegas. ZIt was tempting to just stay on 95, but I did want to finish what I had started, so I turned off on Goff Road and saw the painted logos on the road reminding me that I am on the original Route 66. It is an isolated ride through the desert as you hardly see another vehicle. Its like you own the road. I was concerned about whether or not I would have enough gas, but was reassured that the stations in Ludlow would be within the limit of my gas tank. The desert is beautiful and desolate at the same time. I saw remnants of former businesses that must have thrived during the existence of the mother road. I stopped at a roadside kiosk and learned that earlier travelers would take 2 days to traverse the Mojave desert. Their stops (and those of the railroads) were primarily for water. I also got to see the Amboy crater which is a lava outflow. Also along the road are "shoe trees". This is a scrub tree festooned with cast-off footwear.
Interestingly, there are dips in the road designed to accomodate floods passing through after storms. Also, sometimes there are bridges over these areas and they refer to them as "Washes" and even name them like Diablo Wash West.
I made it to Ludlow and had breakfast at a quaint diner. Filled my gas tank and then headed westward on the Route 66 frontage road. While the road through the desert was well maintained, this frontage road was like riding a washboard. I got off it about 15 miles later and returned to the super slab. I picked up Route 66 in Barstow where I-40 ends. It is part of the National Old Trails Highway and I took it to Victorville. The California Route 66 Museum is located in this community, but they were closed for the 4th of July. Shucks!
In Helendale, they have a sign for Polly brand gasoline with prices of 18.9 for regular and 21.9 for ethyl. Oh, for the good old days.
I missed a turn and ended up missing the final miles of Route 66 and ended up on an expressway headed for Santa Monica. I'm not sure if I missed not having to stop and go or deal with congested traffic on my way to the final destination.
After reaching Santa Monica pier, I was tempted to stop and dip my toe in the ocean, but it was an absolute madhouse and a sea of people celebrating their holiday at the beach. So, I found a the road for the Pacific coastal highway and headed up north towards Oxnard. It was 60 degrees on the coast, a sharp contrast to the 100+ temperatures in the desert. I ended up in Bakersfield heading north towards Carson City Nevada.
I started at Needles and headed west on I-40 until the turnoff of US 95 towards Las Vegas. ZIt was tempting to just stay on 95, but I did want to finish what I had started, so I turned off on Goff Road and saw the painted logos on the road reminding me that I am on the original Route 66. It is an isolated ride through the desert as you hardly see another vehicle. Its like you own the road. I was concerned about whether or not I would have enough gas, but was reassured that the stations in Ludlow would be within the limit of my gas tank. The desert is beautiful and desolate at the same time. I saw remnants of former businesses that must have thrived during the existence of the mother road. I stopped at a roadside kiosk and learned that earlier travelers would take 2 days to traverse the Mojave desert. Their stops (and those of the railroads) were primarily for water. I also got to see the Amboy crater which is a lava outflow. Also along the road are "shoe trees". This is a scrub tree festooned with cast-off footwear.
Interestingly, there are dips in the road designed to accomodate floods passing through after storms. Also, sometimes there are bridges over these areas and they refer to them as "Washes" and even name them like Diablo Wash West.
I made it to Ludlow and had breakfast at a quaint diner. Filled my gas tank and then headed westward on the Route 66 frontage road. While the road through the desert was well maintained, this frontage road was like riding a washboard. I got off it about 15 miles later and returned to the super slab. I picked up Route 66 in Barstow where I-40 ends. It is part of the National Old Trails Highway and I took it to Victorville. The California Route 66 Museum is located in this community, but they were closed for the 4th of July. Shucks!
In Helendale, they have a sign for Polly brand gasoline with prices of 18.9 for regular and 21.9 for ethyl. Oh, for the good old days.
I missed a turn and ended up missing the final miles of Route 66 and ended up on an expressway headed for Santa Monica. I'm not sure if I missed not having to stop and go or deal with congested traffic on my way to the final destination.
After reaching Santa Monica pier, I was tempted to stop and dip my toe in the ocean, but it was an absolute madhouse and a sea of people celebrating their holiday at the beach. So, I found a the road for the Pacific coastal highway and headed up north towards Oxnard. It was 60 degrees on the coast, a sharp contrast to the 100+ temperatures in the desert. I ended up in Bakersfield heading north towards Carson City Nevada.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Day 12 - For the "Hail" of it!
Today was a 400 mile day (trip odometer at 2500 miles) leaving New Mexico, crossing Arizona and stopping in southern California. The landscape has changed again. From pine trees in northern NM to Palm Trees in CA. Gone are the Prairie Dogs challengin me as they try to cross the road. Now the challenge is to cross the Mojave Desert without breaking down, dehydrating or running out of gas. My 4th of July will be spent in California at the Santa Monica pier and then a ride up the Pacific coast.
But that's for a future blog. Todays journey started out cool and dry and ended up hot and dry, but there was precipitation inbetween. I traveled through no less than 10 different showers and thunderstorms. I gave up taking off my rain gear because I could see the next storm on the horizon. Just outside of Kingman, I believe that I was pelted with hail for a brief period of time. But I dried off heading towards Yucca. I got a picture of the mountains along with a rainbow. I hope that the digital camera captured it. In Yucca, the winds started picking up coming from the mountains. It made it difficult to keep the motorcycle straight on the road.
I took side trips through Flagstaff, Winslow, and Williams. Winslow, AZ is the town that the Eagles song "Take it Easy" made famous. I had been to Flagstaff and Williams before,but I wanted to see if they had changed. One Yes, one No.
Temperatures at 10:30pm CDT are 97 degrees. I need to get to bed because I want to start tomorrow morning about 5am. I have been told that the temps. at that hour are already in the 80's. So, a happy July 4th to you and your families.
But that's for a future blog. Todays journey started out cool and dry and ended up hot and dry, but there was precipitation inbetween. I traveled through no less than 10 different showers and thunderstorms. I gave up taking off my rain gear because I could see the next storm on the horizon. Just outside of Kingman, I believe that I was pelted with hail for a brief period of time. But I dried off heading towards Yucca. I got a picture of the mountains along with a rainbow. I hope that the digital camera captured it. In Yucca, the winds started picking up coming from the mountains. It made it difficult to keep the motorcycle straight on the road.
I took side trips through Flagstaff, Winslow, and Williams. Winslow, AZ is the town that the Eagles song "Take it Easy" made famous. I had been to Flagstaff and Williams before,but I wanted to see if they had changed. One Yes, one No.
Temperatures at 10:30pm CDT are 97 degrees. I need to get to bed because I want to start tomorrow morning about 5am. I have been told that the temps. at that hour are already in the 80's. So, a happy July 4th to you and your families.
Day 11 - Old Coots on Scoots
So far, every day has proven to be an adventure. And today was no exception. As I was riding in towards Albequerque, I stopped at a Harley dealership and saw a bunch of bikes and riders lined up. I was looking for directions on how to find Route 66 in town. This group is actually a chapter of senior bikers who call themselves Old Coots on Scoots. They were going on a ride for lunch and invited me to join them. I accepted and off we rode on a section of the mother road that I had not traveled. Looking around, I was probably the youngest person in the group.
After lunch, one of the members gave me a guided tour of town taking me all the way to the western edge and an abandoned girder bridge before bidding me goodbye. He suggested that I try the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup for my evening stay.
This hotel was built in the 1930's and is a rugged wooden lodge structure, but it also was the place where famous stars came to play. My room is named for Humphrey Bogart. His signed photo says, "To El Rancho Hotel, with every good wish."
I am 22 miles from the Arizona border and I have logged over 2200 miles on this journey. I am hopeful that today will be a productive ride.
After lunch, one of the members gave me a guided tour of town taking me all the way to the western edge and an abandoned girder bridge before bidding me goodbye. He suggested that I try the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup for my evening stay.
This hotel was built in the 1930's and is a rugged wooden lodge structure, but it also was the place where famous stars came to play. My room is named for Humphrey Bogart. His signed photo says, "To El Rancho Hotel, with every good wish."
I am 22 miles from the Arizona border and I have logged over 2200 miles on this journey. I am hopeful that today will be a productive ride.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Photos
I have been trying to link my Picasa photo album of the trip to the blog, but I have been unsuccessful so far. But if you are interested, here is a link where you can view the public album at your convenience. I will continue to add to it during my travels. http://picasaweb.google.com/kenavetro/RidingRoute66?feat=directlink
Day 10 - Santa Fe bound
My motorcycle was finished by about 11 am, I got a ride to the shop and loaded my gear for the trip. I thanked Bo for his mechanical wizardry, paid my bill and headed west towards New Mexico and Big Sky Country. It was interesting to see the landscape change between Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. In western Texas, they have limited frontage roads and Route 66 seems to disappear under the Interstate.
In New Mexico, I stopped at the Pow Wow restaurant for lunch. It is attached to an original motel. Then heading westward, the scenery is rangeland with plateaus. I found some frontage road that was original Route 66 and it was beautiful.
Outside of Santa Rosa, I took US 84 north towards Santa Fe. This turns out to be a pre-1937 road that was Route 66. My final destination for today was Santa Fe, about 300 miles from Amarillo. One advantage was the gain of an hour changing to Mountain time. Santa Fe is an interesting tourist town. I would enjoy returning again for an extended vacation. Enjoyed dinner outside on an upstairs porch.
In New Mexico, I stopped at the Pow Wow restaurant for lunch. It is attached to an original motel. Then heading westward, the scenery is rangeland with plateaus. I found some frontage road that was original Route 66 and it was beautiful.
Outside of Santa Rosa, I took US 84 north towards Santa Fe. This turns out to be a pre-1937 road that was Route 66. My final destination for today was Santa Fe, about 300 miles from Amarillo. One advantage was the gain of an hour changing to Mountain time. Santa Fe is an interesting tourist town. I would enjoy returning again for an extended vacation. Enjoyed dinner outside on an upstairs porch.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Day 9 - Halfway and Back
Tuesday started out as a cool and sunny day as I set out to try and reach Albequerque, but that meant that my motorcycle was going to cooperate. That was not to be the case. It was only starting intermittently as it was determined that it needed a starter clutch. I eventually got it to start. I found a local Christian mechanic named Bo who agreed to repair my bike. He also owns an Indian, so he was sympathetic to my situation.
About 4pm, he finished my bike and I headed out to continue my westward journey. I stopped at the Cadillac Ranch. 12 Cadillacs are planted vetically in an open field. Graffiti artists are welcome to adorn these vehicles.
Then I went on to Adrian, Texas which claims to be the mid-point on Route 66 between Chicago and Santa Monica, 1,193 miles either way. My trip odometer shows over 1,500 miles so far.
Unfortunately, my bike was still experiencing starter problems, so I returned to Amarillo and Bo is going to troubleshoot my problem on Wednesday. Hopefully, I can make good miles and try to get to Albequerque by nightfall.
About 4pm, he finished my bike and I headed out to continue my westward journey. I stopped at the Cadillac Ranch. 12 Cadillacs are planted vetically in an open field. Graffiti artists are welcome to adorn these vehicles.
Then I went on to Adrian, Texas which claims to be the mid-point on Route 66 between Chicago and Santa Monica, 1,193 miles either way. My trip odometer shows over 1,500 miles so far.
Unfortunately, my bike was still experiencing starter problems, so I returned to Amarillo and Bo is going to troubleshoot my problem on Wednesday. Hopefully, I can make good miles and try to get to Albequerque by nightfall.
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