What a Ride!

What Beautiful Country we are seeing!  We had no idea of what we would see on our ride through Utah!

Shortly after leaving St. George Utah on Thursday morning, we drove through Zion National Park.  It was beautiful... but honestly, now that we have drove through so much more of Utah's great Rocks, it was no more impressive than all that we drove through (for free!) later on. 

After the ride through Zion National Park, we were ready for a break, and what luck!  there was a lot with vacant RV spaces, and shade... and chairs!

We didnt ride far on Thursday, since we were meeting up with Ginny and Mike again, and they had further to go... so we found an RV park/campground in Red Rock RV Park, out of Panguitch, UT. 


We pulled in and asked about the tents sites... then the next question... "how cold has it been getting here at night?"  The answer?  about 40.  Okay... oooh... how about those cabins over there??
They were only $33 so we took a cabin!

Ginny and Mike rode in about 6pm...

... and after they settled into their cabin, we enjoyed a campfire for the first time on the trip.  Jeff and I had gone into the little town of Panguitch before they came, and splurged on groceries for dinner... hot dogs!!

Friday, after a stop for breakfast at the restaurant nearby...

... we made the spectacular ride on the Scenic 12 byway.  It was Spectacular!!  Just a few minutes up the road, we had to stop to take pictures!  A man offered to take a picture of the four of us.

We chatted a little, and it turns out they (their family of four) are from Israel.  This is their first time in America.  We offered to take their picture of all of them on the bikes, and they went for it!

Now they can show their vacation photos, and tell their friends that they saw America in Style!

We stopped at a museum in Boulder, UT... but I cant tell you much about it because I really wasnt paying attention!!

 We settled in at Green River State Park, in Green River, Utah for the night.

After setting up, we rode into town for a burger and beer at Rays Tavern.  We had been told by the man who took our picture at the museum, that this place was a must!

The place is operated by three brothers...

We asked if there was a liquor store in town, and we were told to go to the truck stop down the road.  The truck stop sent us to the restaurant and gift shop next door.  Here is the liquor store!

A display case of a few choice bottles of liquor, amongst the postcards and magnets and mugs, etc...  Funny... huh?


Saturday - After tearing down camp, packing up the bikes, and before parting ways this morning, we all had breakfast at the truckstop restaurant.

Then we said our good-byes. 
They were going West and North, and we were headed East and South.



Jeff and I had a great day, but only made it to Delta, Colorado for the night.  We got a motel room, where we are able to charge our electronics and get internet.  I will tell about today in the next blog post... which I may still do tonight!


If you would like to view pictures of our entire road trip so far... click here:

Road Trip Summer 2011

"Stayed Put" in St. George, Utah

We woke this morning ready to spend the day here, rather than hit the road today.  We wanted to visit the Harley Shop here, and get maps and campbooks at AAA, and there is a state park here, Snow Canyon SP, that we wanted to check out in case we may want to camp host there.  Besides all that... we have a swimming pool outside our door!

So we did all of that!

It was a beautiful ride to Snow Canyon SP....

But I cant imagine us fitting our 38 foot RV with 3 slides, and truck and swivelwheel with motorcycle, in this little space.

That is two sites

It was SO hot again today... around 105... so we were eager to get back to our room, where we could jump in the pool again.

... and darken those areas that get missed when we're on the bike.

The plan for tomorrow is to ride through Zion National Park, then meet up with Ginny and Mike again, at a campground around Panguitch, UT.  It wont be a long ride for us, but that will give us time to enjoy Zion National Park, and whatever else we find along the way.

Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to blog again in a couple days.  It's so hard to play "catch-up"... which I still need to do for the last part of July, and some camphost get-togethers.
Heck... I never got our One Year Anniversary of Full-Timing post done!

Hmm... Oh Well.

Road Trip Day 4 (and continuation of Days 1-3

We finally made it to Utah!  The helmets can finally come off!

It was a warm and windy day... infact, it got hotter than hot and the wind was horrendous... at times it couldnt decide whether to push me into the other lane or shoot me off our side of the road.  The ride was great, but its alot more work when fighting the wind.

I just wish there was some way to take pictures along the way.  About 15 miles out of St. George, Utah as we came around a corner on the downside of one of the many summits, the view was breathtaking!  I can't describe it... I need pictures!!   A moment after the breathtaking view, someone opened the oven... it got so hot, it must have jumped 15 degrees in that second.  Jeff's bike showed 105 degrees.

We had to get off the bikes in this heat, so we found ourselves a cheap motel, here in St. George.  We had stopped at a little store (a pee stop) about 38 miles out of St. George, and a girl there told us that the Econolodge here was the best place for the price, so I looked up the address and thats where we came!  Only $39 for a big room with fridge and microwave and we are just our sliding glass door away from the swimming pool!  We werent even unpacked, before we had our swimsuits on and were out our back door into the pool... did it ever feel good!!

If you look close, you will see that is Jeff lounging there by the pool.  He wouldnt allow me to post the close-up!

We are considering staying here two nights, but we will probably leave in the morning.  Our plan as of tonight, is to go through Utah, then through Colorado, up through Nebraska, into South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington then back into Oregon.

Here's a few random pictures from the last few days.  (should have been on the last post.)

More to come soon hopefully... just depends on whether we are in a motel or a campground.

Thanks to all of you who bother to check our blog and read about our adventures.

Harley Road Trip Summer 2011 - Days 1-3

Whoo-Hoo!!  Road Trip!! 
After much dilemna about what to do with our wheel home, we decided to park it, along with the truck,  in RV Storage and go on this road trip.  That gives us the month of August to two wheel it.  This was a trip that Mike and Ginny had planned, and invited us on.  The initial plan was to ride up through Montana and Wyoming and meet Mikes sister somewhere in Wyoming, but the plan got changed to riding through Utah, and meeting up in Idaho Falls or West Yellowstone. 

Day One - Jeff and I left Saturday morning, from Grants Pass, and met up with Mike and Ginny in Klamath Falls.  Our destination was Eagle Lake, in California.  Mike had camped there before, so he led the way...  We rode 285 miles... but we really only went 257.  It turns out, the last time Mike was here was about 25 years ago!  So we rode what seemed too far down a road, then turned around since we were sure we missed it.  But turning around, our leader (Mike) pulled off the road, where the ground was so soft, his tire sunk and he went down.  We all came to his rescue, but it broke his kickstand, so his kickstand now works with a bungie cord instead of a spring.

We rode back several miles and took a different turn, but still no campground.  So we stopped at a market, where we were told that it was back the way we went originally, but 10 miles further.  So we madet it... just a little added adventure.

A stop for what Mike says is our last chance for Ice... (NOT!)

The campground was great... but it sure did get cold!  We all froze. 

Day Two:  Eagle Lake to Fallon, NV.  From Eagle Lake, we continued on Hwy 139 into Susanville, and what an awesome ride!  The views were spectacular!!  I so wanted to pull over and get pictures, but there wasnt enough road to pull over... so if you haven't been on the road, you'll just have to trust me on how beautiful it is.
In Susanville, the plan was to get breakfast at Black Bear Diner, but it was closed for remodeling and there were no other real restaurants in the town... so we had to settle for a quick bite at McDonalds.

From there we went through Reno, with a short stop at Silver City Casino, only to find out that it was closed down!  So we took a short break and headed out for the Nevada 50, which would take us across to Ely, NV.  When we got to Fallon, NV we were hot and beat and with not much restful sleep the night before, we decided to stop for the night.  There were no campgrounds, so we stayed at the Bonanza Inn and Casino.  It was great and only $57 for a big room.


Day Three:
After a restful sleep, we got back on the Nevada 50... known as "the loneliest road"... and it is!
There is nothing out there... but it was a great day.  We stopped at all 3 of the small towns there were along the 250 mile stretch.

Our favorite stop was at Cold Springs, near the town of Austin.  We enjoyed the company of the owners, and shared stories.  The new place is less than one year old, after a fire took their original establishment.

One Day Before and One Day After the fire

Today - Day Four:  We woke at 6:30 to a change of plans. Ginny announced that she was going to leave early and go down to Winslow, AZ to see her grandkids.  Of course, Mike wouldnt let her go by herself, so they took off this morning, for the 550 mile ride.  They will leave there on Thursday and head back North, but we arent sure where we will be by then.  We are heading South for Zion National Park in Southern Utah, today.  Then we will decide from there.

We need to pack up and get going... so I am going to post this, but will return to it tonight to add pictures.  So if you read it today... check back!