Welcome

Welcome to my online journal. This is the log of our motorcycle adventures as well as camping with the Grandkids. If you would like to see more of the country, from the seats of our motorcycles, then check back anytime!

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Catching up---Winter 2016-17

I noticed that I haven't posted much this winter, so I thought I'd share some photos from some of our winter adventures.

Arizona sunset

The Parker Dam, the start of a three day ride with Bob and Cindy

 The burros in Oatman were the next stop
 We camped at Jumbo Rocks in the Joshua Tree National Park
Moon rise
It was the night of the full moon.  Sunset was at 4:24 and moon rise was at 4:44.  It never did get very dark that night.

Girls ride out of Quartzsite



Gathering the group at the Imperial Dunes
You find the oddest things out in the desert


Camping at Indian flats
Biggest Hens & Chicks plant either of us has ever seen
One of the locals told us about a walk down to a water fall.  It proves that California did get rain this winter!!!
I'll say it again, the oddest things are in the desert.

Arizona got rain this year too.  Lots of little lakes this year


On the way north we stopped to visit Vickie and Richard.  We spent one morning hiking around the area.  Chek out the cool rocks
Hiking up the canyon
We took 2 days to do a street ride past Lake Mead, down to Hoover Dam

Richard's Gold Wing makes my bike look tiny

Then it was time  to continue our way north to Boise, then onto Snohomish for a quick visit with family. 

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

November 17-20, 2016 Ontario EnduroCross

We moved to an RV Park west of Yuma.  This gave us a base to use, a place to leave the coach and trailer while we rode the street bikes to Ontario CA.
 Sunset the night before
 As usual we took the long way to our destination. We started through the Imperial Dunes. The Imperial Sand Dunes, sometimes called the Algodones Dunes, are the largest mass of sand dunes in California. This dune system extends for more than 40 miles along the eastern edge of the Imperial Valley agricultural region in a band averaging five miles in width. Rising to heights of over 300 feet above the surrounding desert floor, the dunes are a well-known landmark to local residents and the thousands of highway travelers who pass by them every year. While summer temperatures often rise above 110°F and annual rainfall averages less than two inches, the mild climate between October and May attracts tens of thousands of off highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts to the area.
From the dunes we went north on the west side of the Salton Sea, then west towards Julian. Before we got there we turned north to Temecula where we stopped for lunch.
 After lunch we went by Lake Elsinore, home of the Lake Elsinore Grand Prix which was made famous in the original "On Any Sunday" movie.

The road up above the lake was a whole bunch of fun!!!
 We arrived at the KOA in Panoma in plenty of time to put up our tent.
My baby!!

The events on Friday have been moved to Saturday, so that means we are free to go riding.  We headed up on top of the mountains just north of Highway 210. 
Silverwood Lake
We ended on the Angeles Crest Highway. What a great road, if you're ever in the area, it's got to go on the bucket list!!!!!

Saturday was the EnduroCross. We spent the day first watching the amateurs, then the night show with the pros.
 This is the Alta Electric Bike.  Very cool.
 The racers lined up out on the concourse.  Then after the gate drops, they hop a log then jump over this into the arena.
It was a great course this year.

 On Sunday, we once again took the long way home.  This time after going east we headed south on Scenic Route 74, the Pines to Palms Highway. I was a little turned around at this point, but managed to get us heading in the correct direction, south to the Salton Sea.
 We could see it from the top of the hill, but it sure wasn't where I thought it should be.  Talk about turned around!!
 The sea is huge!!!
 We walked down to the water's edge.  There was a band of dead fish in the sand
 then a large band of barnacles.

 I decided not to go all the way to the water, but Wayne did.
From the sea we went back through the dunes.  People where playing in the sand!!

Finally, we got back to the RV. We unloaded the bikes, and put all our stuff away.  Then it was time to watch a little football.  Go Hawks!!

Next we go to Quartzsite AZ to spend the next couple of months.  If we ride anywhere new I'll post pictures.  Otherwise I might not post until April or May.  Have a wonderful holiday, and Merry Christmas!

November 8-15, 2016- Catching up on rides we took

We left Springerville and headed southwest on Highway 60. This took us down off of the Mogollon Rim and into Globe.
 It really is a long and winding road
 but very pretty
 We stayed at the fairgrounds in Globe, at the RV Park.  The next morning we got up and decided to see if we could do some dirt roads.
Check out this tree, very cool
 It started out looking really good.  The first 20 miles of the Cherry Creek road was in great shape.
 The next 20 miles... not so much.  Wayne picked up a piece of wire in his tire, so an hour was spent changing the tube and fixing the flat.

 This is what the rest of the road looked like, washouts and tons of rocks.
 We kept going, but I did wish I had my other bike; the Versys is a little heavy for this kind of terrain.
 When it was really bad, Wayne would take my bike over for me.  It was faster then me doing it!!
 But after we finally got to the highway, then of course it was construction time!
Before we made it home, we had to pump up Wayne's rear tire ...again!

From Globe we moved to Tucson, staying at the Casino Del Sol.  This gave us an opportunity to do some shopping and take care of some chores.  Of course we also took a day to ride.
 We walked every morning, and found this wall of art.
 Cool tile work

 Our day of riding started at the Kitt Peak National Observatory
 This is the WIYN Observatory 
 The view going up to the top
After the Observatories, we headed south toward Nogales, then up through Patagonia . Once again we raced the sun back to camp.

We left the next day and headed to Yuma.