After leaving Sturgis I headed for Bozeman, Montana. Did not see much of the town, but being a college town, it had a nice “feel” about it. Downtown is old and well maintained. Seemed a very vibrant community.
I left the next morning for home, a 700-mile journey, on the way I took a side trip. Starting from the interstate at Anaconda, Montana is the Pintler Scenic Highway. I started on it and then took highway 38 across the mountain. The pass is named Skalkaho Highway. That was a 50-mile trip, with almost 25 miles of it on a dirt road. Great ride, beautiful views, but no barricades on the road’s edge. Took a couple of photos (will post later), of the valley below – could not even see the bottom. YIKEES!!! Saw a waterfall that was full from the spring rain, a small group of mountain goats and four horses that loved to be petted. The horses were on a ranch. They kept trying to push each other out of the way to get a few strokes from the old biker guy. Cute.

http://www.missoula.com/news/node/130

http://travel.mt.gov/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordID=11543&siteid=1

The rest of the trip home was uneventful until I was just south of Penticton, BC. It was dark and I saw this black mass on the road. Thinking is was a black trash bag, I moved to the left only to see a head come up. It was a black Labrador retriever that had already been injured by a car. I though if I don’t stop, Fran will kill me, so I turned around and went back, thinking that he/she was probably already hit for a second time. In the mean time another car had stopped to help the dog. Bottom-line, as a result of calling Fran and her calling her cousin Lynda, the SPCA came and picked up the dog. Our best guess is he/she will be okay.

I will post a summary of my trip later. It was good to go, and good to get home. Did close to 13,000 miles in a little over 6 weeks. Considering all that could have gone wrong, the trip was flawless. Would I do it again - you bet.

Where is Allen_5 remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Today I was talking to another rider who was going south from Alaska – he was in emotional shock regarding the heat. His next stop was going to be the next motel. He was going to ride at night. Tomorrow is to be cooler.

Saw Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Mountain. Needless to say, Rushmore was very enjoyable, but Crazy Horse Mountain was fabulous. Several years ago I saw a PBS program about how this site got its start. One man, who had worked on Rushmore, had a dream of doing something with his life that would be remembered. He was approached in the late forties to do this mountain sculpture as a tribute to all of the American Indians that were mistreated by the US government during the 1800 hundreds. He has since died, but his wife and 7 of his 10 children continue to “work” the mountain. The entire project was and is financed without the aid of government money. He was a pure entrepreneur. When looking at the mountain, it appears that not much has been done, but to put it into perspective, all four heads on Mount Rushmore are smaller than Crazy Horse’s head. The hole under Crazy Horse’s arm is the size of a 30-storey building. In my view, it is an amazing project. One of the highlights of my trip.

Give yourself a treat and put this monument on your agenda next time you travel to South Dakota. You will not be disappointed.

http://www.crazyhorse.org

About 2 – 3 days back to Kelowna – seems like a long time since I left. I hope I don’t look older. ;-)

Bye for now….Allen

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I Left the Chicago area and am staying over night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Three more toll booths to get out of Illinois. What a pain. Road interstate 90 for over 500 miles, driving across Wisconsin and Minnesota. Saw some beautiful farmlands. The highway is a bore, but the most direct way to Mount Rushmore. Tomorrow going to Rapid City, South Dakota, which is the area of the monument. Look forward to seeing it.

It has been a long day – going to bed.

After tomorrow, I will be 2 – 3 days from Kelowna. It will feel good to get back. This is the start of my seventh week.

Till later…Allen

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My next adventure was the drive through Chicago. What a nightmare – the trip across the city took well over an hour. Almost every road I was on was under construction, and much of the construction had detours that my GPS did not understand. (the detours were created after the GPS software was created) At one point the GPS instructed me to exit the interstate to the city streets to connect with another highway. The minute I left the interstate it was apparent it was a mistake. Not from a routing perspective, but from a personal safety perspective. All I could see were police vehicles, emergency vehicles and a plethora of people who appeared to be regular customers of the judicial system. My though was I needed to keep the bike moving and get the heck out of there. (which I did) This was really scary. Aside from the issue, the GPS was a major tool I getting me through Chicago, without it I might still be cruising those road.

What was great was the view of the city from the Skyway Bridge. Chicago really has a beautiful skyline.

Now the next issue is the toll roads. Currently I am located at Elgin, Illinois, about 20 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Since entering the greater Chicago area there have been four toll booths. Three were staffed and one had an electronic basket where the coins were to be thrown in. I was lucky enough to have the correct change. Don’t know what the option is if a person does not have the correct change. It is my understanding there are three more toll booths before I will be out of the greater Chicago area. Yikes – on a motorcycle, stopping, taking the gloves off, getting the toll ticket, retrieving the money and then reversing the process so I can move off is more than an irritation.

Next, it is dark so I get a motel in Elgin. After getting to the room, the desk person called me and suggested that I move the motorcycle under the motel’s canopy. She was concerned that is might not be safe to leave it in the parking lot. Hmmm – I thought I was in the suburbs and this would not be an issue. Hope it is there in the morning.

All in all, a good day because everything worked out for the best and I have three great stories (storm – toll booths – folks on the streets)

Tomorrow I am continued my path towards Rapid City, SD to see Mount Rushmore.

Thanks for read the blog...Allen

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Needless to say, my postings to the blog are not current. I find that after riding all day, and then doing my preparation for the next day (cleaning the bugs off of the bike, doing my laundry, etc), I am out of energy. Soooo, I have decided to change the plan. The current goal is to finish the blog postings once I return to Canada. These postings will also include photos.

Going forward, I will write abbreviated posts to the blog titled "Where is Allen". That way you can still track my progress closer to real time.

My last post was for June 19 to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Since then I have traveled through the following states and provinces in the following sequence:

Pennsylvania
New York
Vermont
New Hampshire
Maine
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
And then back to
New York
Pennsylvania and then to
Ravenna, Ohio (near Cleveland) my home town (my current location)

Tomorrow I am heading toward Chicago, Illinois, after a stop in Akron, Ohio. This is the start of my return to Canada.

Yesterday the trip meter rolled over 10,000 miles or 16,000 kilometers. That represents about 250 hours of riding time. As Lisa, our daughter –in-law would say, “I bet your ass is getting flat.” It probably is – but so far no saddle sores. Thank gosh for that.

Take care and thanks for read the blog….Allen

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Daily Miles: 275
Accumulated Miles: 6,175
Day 27

Today was a travel day. Most of the riding was on an Interstate. There are two things I don’t like about a motorcycle on the interstate highways – one they are boring, and two the 18 wheel trucks rule. They drive between 70 – 80 mph and usually run in packs of 2 – 4. I found I needed to be at least 6 vehicle lengths behind them or I was continually being bounced around by the wind turbulence they created. It is not dangerous, but the bouncing around takes it toll on the body – very exhausting.

On to Gettysburg and Hershey, PA

Blacksburg, Virginia to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Daily Miles: 250
Accumulated Miles: 5,900
Day 26

PHOTOS ARE THUMBNAILS - CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE LARGER PHOTO
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Blacksbury – the site of the awful student shootings. I asked a local person if security had been intensified on the campus since the event. He did not seem to understand why I was asking the question, and indicated if I want to see the campus, just drive on. I have vivid memories of my experience in trying to tour the campus of Austin University in Austin. Those who read my post for that day, may remember my mention of the guard stations at every access point and that only people with a reason to be on campus were permitted entrance.

When I arrived at Virginia Tech’s campus, there were no guard stations and no restrictions. The campus and the buildings are terrific. Vast open common areas with all of the buildings constructed from, what appears to be, a common type stone. Don’t know the history of the how that construction came to be – it would interest to learn more about the school. The students I talked with were all so open and helpful. There responses me hope for the future.
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Sign on a local merchant's store
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Downtown - very small town, only a few thousand residents
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Campus
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Common Area
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Alumni Building - it is hugh
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Park next to campus
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Plantation Home next to campus
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I liked Blacksbury, as I do most college towns.

Heading NE – stop point to be determined.

Johnson City, Tennessee to Blacksburg, Virginia remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Daily Miles: 225
Accumulated Miles: 5,650
Day 25

PHOTOS ARE THUMBNAILS - CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE LARGER PHOTO
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Another good day. At the suggestion of another rider, the riding day began before 8:00 am. The reason – the tourist are starting to come to the parks, and there is only one lane and nowhere to pass. As is was, I was almost alone on the road. Air was cool and crisp – it felt and smelled good.

Smokey Mountains

Once a person arrives at a viewpoint, it is apparent why they are named the Smokey Mountains. Apparently the topography creates a situation, no unlike Los Angeles, where an inversion layer develops that restricts air movement. Hence – air pollution. One of the local people told me the sources of the air quality are from man made as well as from natural sources. The area was very picturesque, with valley areas and 5,000 foot mountains. To learn more about the Smokey Mountains go to:

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/
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After riding the Smokey Mountains, I stop and had lunch. The greatest buffet ever is located in Cherokee, Tennessee. Great assortment and everything tasted soooo gooood. Needless to say, I pigged out for $8.98 plus tax.

Blue Ridge Parkway

After lunch I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway. The entrance is very close to the end of the Smokey Mountains Park. This parkway is about 500 miles long and runs NE at about a 45-degree angle across Tennessee and Virginia, ending to the north about 1 – 2 hours from Washington, DC. The scenery alternates from trees on both sides of the road to ridges with vista views. About every 40 – 50 miles there are access points for the communities that close the parkway. I enjoyed the ride, but the road has a 45 mph speed limit and for a road that goes through the mountains, has almost no tight turns. I got bored with it after 150 miles went searching for a country road. To learn more go to:

http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

Northern Tennessee

After leaving the Blue Ridge Parkway, I headed north in the rural areas of Tennessee, the vastness of the forest is not any greater that what is seen in the western US or western Canada, but the difference is there is no visible clear cutting to scar the view. The mountains look like they are covered with broccoli – no visual breaks.

At a local view point, on a major highway, I encounter Tiny. He is a local person, who was just enjoying the day at the summit. I asked him a question about the local trees, his response was, “what the f…k you talking about boy.” I immediately knew he was going to be my newest “best friend.” We talked for a while about this and that and then he suggest that I stop at an even more spectatuar view point up the road 5 miles. We bid our adues and I head toward the new view point. I arrived at the new view point and started taking pictures from the ridge, as I returned to my bike who is standing there - Tiny. Sooo, I told him I had just meet a fellow as good looking as he is back down the road a piece. He seems quit amused with that - thank gosh, no more expletives. He then noticed that the safety reflective tape on the back of my bike was coming off and said he had a roll of it at his house, and if I wanted to go there, he would replace it for me. I would have gone, but I was late in the day and I did not have a motel room.

I then asked him if he could suggest a two-lane road that would take me to Johnson City. He suggest route 89, four exits up the highway. Soooo again we said our goodbyes and I drove off heading for the fourth exit. Halfway there, I look in my rear view mirror what do I see – Tiny was following me in his van. Hmmm, I say – this is getting scary. When I was at the stop sign of the off ramp, he was still behind me, but signaled a right turn, I was going left. As he moved off to the right we both waved and said our final goodbyes. My guess is he is just a lonely guy that wanted human contact.

Tomorrow off to Blacksburg, Virginia

Maryville, Tennessee to Johnson City, Tennessee remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Daily Miles: 225
Accumulated Miles: 5,425
Day 24

PHOTOS ARE THUMBNAILS - CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE LARGE PHOTO

Commerce, Georgia to Maryville, Tennessee

Deals Gap (aka Tail of the Dragon) was the only reason I went to Maryville. It is the most famous motorcycle road in the US. Located on route 129, this road is through the mountains that is the border North Carolina and Tennessee. This section is 11 miles long and has 318 turns. Met John at a burger place. He is from Tennessee and rides the Gap several times a year. I was not quite sure where the Deals Gap was, so he gave me his maps and outlined where I should go. Nice guy.

John from Knoxville, TN
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On the way to the Gap, John suggested I take a photo of this dam. It is the actual dam that was used in the opening scene of the Fugitive. This is the dam Harrison Ford jumped from to escape.

Dam used in opening scene from Fugitive
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The young, of both genders, take their sport bikes and travel back and forth on this section of road. The goal - travel the 11 miles as fast as possible. I know those of you who don’t ride can’t relate to this activity, but I just loved being around this spectacle. The sound of those highly tuned engines running at 10M to 15M rpm, what a rush. Apparently the police only show up when they get a series of motorist complaints. On any given weekend there are 200 – 300 motorcycles waiting to take there turn going through the turns. When I moved off, I was nervous, but I got through the 11 miles (it was not pretty) and now have the bragging rights to say “I road the Dragon.” To learn more go to:

www.tailofthedragon.com

Images of the day
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This kid has about $40,000 invested in this custom motorcycle
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Warming up the tires
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The entry point
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Deals Gap summit
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Princes Motel

The motel was very old and so was the owner. At least it was a place to sleep. Five riders from Ontario Canada were also staying there. I had a beer with them and then returned to my room. They were into the beer before I got there and were still at it 4 hours later. At least the had the sense to take a cab when going for dinner. My guess is they may have suffering the next day. They were heading for Deals Gap, can’t image doing that road with a hangover.

Tomorrow heading north toward the Smokey Mountains.

Commerce, Georgia to Maryville, Tennessee remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Macon

Traveled from Metter to Macon’s United Parcel Depot to pickup the GPS Cory sent me. I fired it up and bingo – it works beautifully. While at the UPS Depot, I asked the UPS Service Representative two questions, where to have lunch in Macon and did she suggest I continue on to Atlanta. (I have never been there) After she gave me a list of sites in Atlanta she presented an alternative. Motor north out of Macon on highway 129, also known as the Grey Highway (guess where that name came from. Yup Civil War days) First lunch – punched in the restaurant’s address into the GPS and 10 minutes later I was parking in front of their door. And this was without making one wrong turn.

Lunch was great, a different style of buffet. A person goes to the food line and tells the person what he/she wants and then he/she sits down. Then the server brings your filled lunch plate. This was my first opportunity to try some additional Southern food. I don’t know what I ate, I just pointed. An excellent lunch.

Lunch stop
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These are images from Macon. A local businessman stopped to talk and gave me a brief history of Macon during the Civil War. Only one home was damaged when General Sherman ordered a cannon to fire on a home. Needless to say the home was repaired and is located on Cannon Street (named after the incident). He closed by saying that Sherman was the original American terrorist. I guess, because of my Canadian License plate he had no idea I am a Yankee. Hmmmm. By the way, this gentleman owns a fishing lodge in Saskatchewan. Want a new neighbor?

Many homes in the South are build with red brick.
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There seems to be a pattern of three faiths in many Southern cities, Baptist, Catholic and Jewish. The Jew were invited to the South, because the general population needed doctors. These three churchs were almost next to each other.

Baptist
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Catholic
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Jewish
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Marker in a public park
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As I have written in previous posts - touring through a large city, with all of its traffic is not my idea of a good time. Soooo I took the Grey Highway. What a beautiful ride. The air was cool as I took the road through miles and miles of rolling treed hills. Northern Georgia is very pretty.

Athens

Athens is the home of the University of Georgia. I liked the town, which has about 100M people, and the campus. What shocked me is the major presence of the Greek houses. The houses are like plantation homes – HUGH. They reminded me of the fraternity house that was used in the movie Animal House. Wonder if this university is a party school!!!

To learn more, go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens,_Georgia
Greek Houses
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Commerce

This place is nothing but an interchange on an interstate highway. I never saw anything like. It is nothing but restaurants, motels and shopping centers – no houses. Very weird and very ugly. (but the room was cheap)

Next day on to Deals Gap!!!!

Metter, Georgia to Commerce, Georgia remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Hilton Head Island

First stop was Hilton Head Island, SC. Busy place. The density of cars was brutal. The thought of riding the same highway on the return was more that I was willing to deal with. And as my dad use to say, “a person who has seen one island, has seen them all”. Sooooo, I did a u-turn and heading back to the interstate to Charleston.

Charleston

Charleston, in my view, has a total different feel to it from Savannah. I motored through town and went to the area were the tourists spend their time. There was no end to stores and booths selling goods. I think Savannah spoiled it for me. Yuk – back to the interstate. Went south back towards Savannah and then west.

Metter

Metter, GA is about half way between Savannah and Macon, GA. The place is a spot on the interstate. Stopped at the DQ before going to the room for a Blizzard. Gave the young DQ gal my flavor preference and paid. As an after thought, after I paid, I wanted to change the flavor. The sweet young thing told me I could not change the flavor now because the order was already entered into the computer. I then watched her go the counter where the flavors were all lined up like ducks in a row and select a container. I guess she was unable to pick another container because that would have been against the DQ rules. WOW, talk about rigid. The deal breaker was when I asked for a glass of drinking water and she wanted to know what size. Knowing were this was going, I asked her to show me the available sizes. The size I wanted was twenty-one cents. My response was, “let me think on it.’

Miscellaneous

This was a banner day – the trip meter rolled over 5,000 miles today. That translates to well over 100 hours of riding time since the start of the trip. I am amazed my butt is not really sore, but so far so good.

Tomorrow on to Macon. Cory is shipping me a GPS unit to the Macon UPS Center. Knowing where I am and where I want to go has been a major hassle, especially when trying to find my way through cities or looking for a specific motel. Many times I stop to ask for directions (Yes, I do ask for directions) and that usually entails turning off the motorcycle, taking off my helmet and getting off the bike. A very time consuming stressful process.

Savannah, Georgia to Metter, Georgia remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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This was a short riding day. Weather was still dicey. It rained much of the ride, but there was no wind, lighting or hail. All in all a good ride. I connected with Roy (he is the rider in the yellow) while waiting for the rain to stop. We road together for the last 100 miles to Savannah. Later I discovered he is an Iron Butt rider. He was an excellent rider. I envy him. To learn more about the Iron Butt go to:

www.ironbutt.com/about/about.cfm

These riders are hardcore long distance riders. If I were younger, I would love to do some of their events.

Roy in the yellow
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SAINT AUGUSTINE

Seemed to be nice small beach town. Pretty beaches and was not crowded. I took a picture of the sand, it was that type of sandy beach that motoivated me to move from Ohio to California.

Great Beaches
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JACKSONVILLE

Hated it. Did not even stop. Heavy traffic, roads need repair and in my view, a very ugly city. Could not get out there fast enough.

SAVANNAH

WOW what a city. I loved it. For some reason it reminds of the casualness that a person finds in California’s Venice Beach. The city has so much history. Many of the homes and commercial buildings date back to the eighteen hundreds. Most of them have been restored with some open to tourist. I saw several of the homes on this tour.

http://www.savannahtrolley.com
A person can also tour the city by carriage.

http://www.savannahcarriage.com

Much of the infrastructure shows its age, but in my mind it adds to Savannah’s charm. The city still gives off the feeling of a small town. It has a great visitor’s center. It was built on a grid, which include several blocks. There are 24 “squares” that are actually city parks. Each park is an entire block. The trees are old and beautiful. To learn more go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah%2C_ga

To the person, the people were all terrific. I don’t think I passed one local person that did not say “hello”. It did not matter if that person was serving me, or just someone walking down the street. Everyone had a smile – neat huh!!!

Lane and Sharon are from Atlanta. The spent 20 minutes with me making riding suggestions for my next destination - Deals Gap.
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One of the streets still has the original “ballast rocks” that were used in the seventeen hundreds to stabilize the ships bringing in goods from England. After the ships arrive, the rocks were off loaded to make retain walls and streets in Savannah. Those streets and walls are still in use today.

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Water Street is the orignal dock where the cotton was shipped from over 200 years ago

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A "ballast rock" street

Savannah has the largest Art & Design college in Georgia.

http://www.scad.edu

The food was great. I had a seafood Alfredo with shrimp and scallops. I never saw so much shrimp and scallops served in one meal. It was fabulous. Because of the all of the great food, if I lived here, I would be candidate for a bypass in a few years.

Bottom line – do I want to return for a longer visit – YOU BET. SAVANNAH made the entire trip worth the time and money.

Some random photos of Savannah

Parks
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Women enjoying the day with their music
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Houses / Offices
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Home of the woman who brought the Girl Scouts from England to US
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Tour the city by horse drawn carriage
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Incredible Catholic Church
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Tomorrow off to Charleston, SC.

Palm Coast, Florida to Savannah, Georgia remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Margate, Florida to Palm Coast, Florida

Daily Miles: 275
Accumulated Miles: 4,675
Day 20

Today I am heading north up the Atlantic side of Florida. My first stop is to visit a friend of mine who lives in Ormand Beach, Flordia. Met him while Fran & I lived in California. He and his wife retired in Florida 6 years ago. Have not seen him since he moved – never met his wife.

The trip was interesting. Ron warned me a thunderstorm was brewing, but of course I minimized the risk. WELL – Mother Nature taught me lesson. In the space of 20 minutes the sky went from grey to black, then the lightning and thunder started. It seems the whole sky was full of electricity. AND then the rain started, not a slow steady rain, but the clouds presented a major downpour. AND then the winds started – my best guess is the wind gusts were 40 – 60 mph. At this point I see cars pulling off the side of the interstate to wait out the storm. There is nowhere to get cover and no exit close by, so I followed their lead. After sitting on the bike for about 10 minutes the heavy rain and wind reduced to a manageable level and I moved off. Ron later told me, that I was very fortunate, because the storm that I encountered also dropped major size hail in other areas. That could have put a few dents in the old motorcycle.

Needless to say, I did not have my raingear on (I am not too bright) and I as soaked. I feet even sloshed in my boots. Yuk!! Oh well, it is only water.

Finally arrived at Ron and Terry’s (his wife) home. They ordered me to strip down so they could put my clothing in the dryer. Neat way to meet people – huh!! They provided a nice lunch and we had a great visit. It was neat seeing him and meeting his wife.

After lunch I put my clothes back on and motored to Palm Coast, Florida. It was really great to be dry (well almost dry – there was the issue of the boots) again.

Ron & Terry
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After I was dried out (almost)

Ron & Terry live in a beautiful planned community. There are over 800 homes covering a large area. To learn more go to:

http://www.icihomes.com
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Now off to Savannah, Georgia

Margate, Florida to Palm Coast, Florida remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Daily Miles: 350
Accumulated Miles: 4,400
Day 17

Tarpen Springs

Tarpon Springs is a little village and is known as "the sponge capital of the world". All aspects of the sponge industry take place in Tarpon Springs, from the harvesting of the sponge, all the way to the auctions that are held weekly at the Sponge Docks for the wholesalers. To learn more to go:

http://www.tarponsprings.com

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Photo of my new best friend in Tarpen. He is of Greek ancestry and owns a sponge store. In true Greek fashion, he agreed to pose for the photo only if I agreed to mail him print.

Pensacola

A very popular resort and retirement city. Very busy, lots of “folks”. To learn more go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensacola,_Florida
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Sunshine Skyway Bridge

WOW – what a bridge. It crosses Tampa Bay to the south. The enormity of this engineered marvel can only be appreciated by being there. What a fabulous ride over this peaked bridge. It would be very dicey being on a motorcycle if it was windy and / or raining. Wind is very common over the any of these open waters. Including the approaches, the length is approximate 8 miles. “YES”, 8 miles!! To learn more go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge
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Road to Margate

After crossing Tampa Bay, I headed east from the Gulf side of Florida to the Atlantic side to go to Margate. It only took 3 hours to cross the entire state. The terrain was very open and very green. Beatiful pastures with several ranches. After arriving on the east coast I then headed south to Margate.
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I Spend Sunday June 10 and Monday June 11 visiting my cousin Ron and his wife Arlene in Margate. This area is “feeling” the same changes that are occurring in Miami, which is 1 – 2 hours to the south. There is a heavy Cuban and Mexican influence. Many business signs are appearing in Spanish. Drugs and alcohol issues are increasing.

Ron and Arlene live in a senior community that has a canal flowing through it. The canal and the banks are full of wildlife. There is a variety of birds and water life. Fish up to 3 feet can be seen.
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My cousing Ron and his wife Arlene.
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Port Richey, Florida to Margate, Florida remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Daily Miles: 300
Accumulated Miles: 4,050
Day 16

Stayed off the interstate today. Made good time on Highway 19 that runs through the western edge of Florida. Lots of pretty treed areas and several small towns. Temperature was down from yesterday – as Martha Stewart would say, “and that is a good thing.”

There was a rainstorm today, but I think it helped me figure the rain issue. First, just before it rains, the temperature drops several degrees. It provides about a 3 – 5 minute warning. Also, it never seems to rain very long, or over a very large area. So my plan now is, nix the raingear – just keep riding. After I have ridden through the storm, the wind helps dry my clothes (some of the time ;-) Barring being drowned, this may work.

Below are a few images along the way.

I love these bridges. Each bridge gets more spectaular.

This brige is about 3 miles long. Notice the "peak" towards the back of the photo. That is the half-way point. Fabulous.

And then there is the Panama City beach, not toooo bad....

I was planning on staying in Saint Petersberg tonight, but then I discovered the motel rooms are expensive there, so I decided to stay in Port Richey, about an hours drive to Saint Petersberg. What a dump. The town is nothing but strip malls and strip joints, but dam the rooms are cheap. Went to a little pizza joint for dinner. Lucky they didn’t kill me. Ordered a couple of pieces of pizza and it was placed on a grill to warm it up. What disgusting concept. I left most of it for the flies. They seemed to enjoy it much more than I did. YUK!!!

Called my cousin Ron, who lives just north of Fort Lauderdale in Margate. I am planning on going to their home Saturday night through Monday. Will give me a chance to visit with him and his wife Arlene. Have not seen either of them for over 15 years. Will also have an opportunity to see his mother Ethel, who lives near by in a retirement home. Those of you who have met my cousin Shirley, Ron is her brother.

A decision was made not to go down through the Florida Keys. I have been there before, and from my currently location it would have added 2 – 3 days to the trip. Currently I have been on the road 16 days. There are so many areas in the northeast US and Canada that I have never been to, so I decided to invest my time in those areas.

Chipley, Florida – Port Richey, Florida remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Daily Miles: 275
Accumulated Miles: 3,750
Day 15

Good day today. Again stopped early because of the mid-afternoon heat. I intended to make Tallahassee, Florida tonight, but the old body was tired.

Great room, it was a suite for the price of standard. Guess it was all they had available. Also had another great Mexican dinner from a little beat-up restaurant (the kind I like). The food was to die for. Had shrimp enchiladas – a meal to remember.

Speaking of meals – I am now down to two per day. Sitting on the bike all day and eating three meals would probably add 10 pounds to me before I get home. I already jiggle enough.

Gulf Port, Mississippi to Chipley, Florida remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Took several secondary roads. Every time there was something to take a photo of – there was no opportunity to pull off.

I went through New Orleans after leaving Patterson. It is apparent the city, even in its famed Bourbon Street and French Quarter is still in the throws of re-construction from Katrina. Many of the homes outside the tourist area have FEMA trailers parked on their yards while the house is being repaired. In general, it appears that the city has years of repair work ahead of it. The tourist area gave me a feeling it was a high crime rate district. Since much of my gear is simply strapped to the outside of the bike, I did not feel comfortable leaving the bike unattended, so I decided to leave exploring New Orleans for subsequent dedicated trip.

Also went through Mobile, Alabama. Really liked the city. Very old - with a checkered history regarding civil rights before the sixties. But the city is well maintained with thousands of beautiful trees. The photo below is typical of what a person will see on several Mobile streets.

To learn more about Mobile, Alabama go to:

http://www.cityofmobile.org/visiting.php

Alabama appears to be a state with many beautiful areas, would not mind coming back just to visit this state.

Today I was preoccupied dealing with the heat and humidity. It has been over 90 and very humid. In addition, I was wet from a morning rain. So, with the weather plus the heat from the motorcycle plus wearing the helmet and riding jacket I was “toast” about mid-afternoon. Up to this point I was doing okay. My guess is the accumulation being tired from several days of riding was taking it toll.

At Gulfport the motel sits under the flight path for Keesler Air Force base. When the F-16 fighter planes come in for a landing, a person could almost feel like he could reach out and touch them. The report from those engines is unlike any other sound I have heard. They are so beautiful to watch – it is so incongruent with their purpose. Thank gosh, they stopped the touch and go landings at dusk or there would have been no sleep for me that night.

Patterson, Louisiana to Gulf Port, Mississippi remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Daily Miles: 475
Accumulated Miles: 3,300
Day 13

IMPORTANT CHANGE: PHOTOS NOW ARE THUMBNAILS. CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE.

Ray was one of my best friends during high school in Ravenna, Ohio. After high school graduation we took different paths. We have not seen each other for over 50 years. He is the reason I went to Patterson, LA. We had a great evening. He introduced me the fine art of eating crawdads, crab legs, onions and potatoes. All of these were boiled in a common pot with seasonings. The crawdads are like tiny lobsters. A person removes the tail and then cracks the tail with their fingers to get at the meal. The tradition is the table is covered with brown shipping paper and the shells are thrown on the table. After the meal, the server simple gathers up the paper and places everything in the trash. What a mess – but very tasty. Wish i had a photo of that table.

He designed and built his home. Since he has been without a spouse for several years, its layout was designed with the man in mind – it has a kitchen, one bathroom, one bedroom and a massive workshop. End of story. There is not even a room with a sofa and television. In the photo of Ray in his workshop, notice the large table in front of him. That was my bed last night. Thank gosh I had my sleeping bag.

There is a bayou only a few hundred yards from his house. This contributes to the humidity, which is very high. This time of year, the humidity runs from 40 to 70 percent (that is assuming it is not raining) The photo below is Ray standing in front of his house. Notice the green on the siding – that is algae. Algae is everywhere.

The photo of the tree – look at the rectangles in the middle of the trunk. Those are bricks. It is an oak tree that is over 150 years old. It was split in half when hurricane Andrew went through the area in the early nineties. In an effort to save the tree, the exposed area was given a coat of concrete and a layer of bricks.

The photo of the old home is a plantation home next to Ray’s house that was built in 1850. It is incredible the number of old homes (over 100 years old) in the area. I can’t even image that our current house would be standing after so many years.

The followng photos are images of the bayou near his house.

After leaving Ray’s house, I stopped at a local cafe for breakfast. Needless to say it was full of local people. I got the impression that they wondered why was this bikers guy was in their restaurant and when was he leaving. Just my paranoia going into overdrive.

Austin, Texas to Patterson, Louisiana remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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To give my body a rest, I had a layover day in Austin. I visited the Texas State Capitol building that was built in the late 1880s. Incredible building. It is taller than the US White House (of course). The Capitol Police seemed to be a less than friendly lot. If asked a question, they answered, but never elaborated. The photos below are thumbnailes, click the for a larger image.

The Texas Senate Floor

One of many hallways used by the elective officials

Marble Texas Seal in the main floor

Confederate Monument to honor the fallen

After the capitol building I motored to the campus of the University of Austin. What I encounter was all entrances have campus guard stations. There purpose is to limit access to the campus to only people that have a reason to be there. They also have a policy of no motorcycles on campus. To learn more about the campus go to:

http://www.utexas.edu
Soooo -I dealt with my rejection by having a super lunch at a family owned Mexican restaurant. All was good.

Daily Miles: 50
Accumulated Miles: 2,825
Day 12

Austin Layover Day remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The drive to Austin was the same type of terrain as the ride to Lubbock. Nothing special. However, when I arrived in Austin late evening, I was loosing the daylight, plus the sky was telling me a rainstorm was on it way. I could not find the motel. The dang thing was along the interstate, but I could not seem to get to the motel’s location. The layout of Austin’s streets in relation to the interstate was beyond my ability to understand. So visualize this – an interstate highway, which is bracketed on both sides by frontage roads. The hooker is that the interstate is elevated and the frontage roads are one-way and loop either under or over the interstate. In addition, each frontage road is a three-lane highway that also has the same number as the interstate. (Interstate 35) This made it difficult for me to read and understand the signs. Finally got the motel and all was well.

Just after the bike was unloaded, the thunderstorm started. It was incredible. The wind was so strong that the rain was coming down at a 45-degree angle. And then the lighting and thunder started. It was an incredible event. Apparently the area was on a tornado alert because of this storm. Thank gosh, I found the motel.

The types of clouds that are previlent during huricane season

Daily Miles: 375
Accumulated Miles: 2,775
Day 11

Lubbock, Texas to Austin, Texas remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The last time I drove in Texas was during the sixties. I forgot how big and flat the state is. However, a person has to love the speed limit – 70 mph or 112 km. Some major highways are 75 – yippee. And that is on two lane roads. Colorado was mostly 55 – what a pain.

While driving down the highway a motorcycle pulled in behind me and stayed there for over 100 miles. As we were motoring towards a gas stop, I flagged him forward to invite him for a coffee. He accepted. This was the first time I have met someone at 75 miles per hour. Anyway, Mike lives in Waco, Texas and is a Deputy Sheriff. He has been riding for only 3 years and has almost 60,000 miles on his 2003 motorcycle. Nice guy – we had our coffee, he went east and I went south to Lubbock. Good fun.

For me, what made Lubbock interesting were the people I met while at dinner. Went to Dennys (I know, I know and “Yes” I did get sick from the food). The young man serving me asked where I was from and I then asked him how he happened to be working at Dennys. He then started to tell me his life story about how he is living in a halfway house and has been clean and sober for nine months. He was so proud of himself that he is getting his life on track. Nice kid. Hope he has continued success.

Then there was Karen and John, a senior couple from Austin. They saw the motorcycle and approached me. They are past Goldwing riders. Gave me several tips as to what a person can see and do in Austin. They even invited me to stay with them while I was in Austin. I respectfully declined (but it could have been fund) At the end of the conversation, they gave me their business card and said, “if I needed any help while in Austin – give them a call.” A super couple.

Now on to bed. Tomorrow Austin.

Daily Miles: 375
Accumulated Miles: 2,400

Taos, New Mexico to Lubbock, Texas remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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It was a short driving day today. My body was tired from yesterdays the 11-hour day.

On the way to Taos, the highway passes over the Rio Grande Gorge; the first image is the gorge (of course). The second image puts the gorge's size in perspective. Scan the very top of the image find the mesa - now scan down towards the bottom / center of the image and notice the white spot in the on the gorge wall. The white spot is an off road vehicle that took a wrong turn and when off the rim of the mesa. Looooong way down!!!!

now

North of Taos there is a developer that builds homes from materials that are typically recycled or placed in landfills – tires, aluminum cans, bottles, etc. The homes include technology that recycles wastewater, creates electric and a system that heats and cools the home without the aid of public utilities. It was interesting going through the model.

To learn more go to:

http://www.earthship.net
Taos is a community focused on tourist. Not my cup of tea. This place must be zoo during the summer months. To learn more go to:

http://www.taosguide.com

Setting is very beautiful, high desert with the mountains in the background. Heavy Mexican influence. I saw several small Mexican cemeteries. The Mexican culture has the most beautiful cemeteries I have ever seen.

Had the greatest Mexican dinner tonight. A good reason to return to Taos.

I am now going to pack the bike for tomorrows trip. Still have not decided if I will travel east across to Okalahoma or south through Texas.

Daily Miles: 225
Accumulated Miles: 2,025

Durango, Colorado to Taos, New Mexico remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Moab, Utah & Telluride Colorado - went there last year with Bob Meyer. Wanted to revisit them. Both are incredible beautiful. To learn more go to:

http://www.discovermoab.com

http://www.town.telluride.co.us/home/index.asp?page=1

While in Moab, a German traveler invited me for lunch in his RV. He just walked up and starting talking. Unfortunately I had just eating and was too tight on time to take him up on his generous offer. I sense it was an opportunity lost for me.

Went to Ouray, Colorado for the first time. Located about 75 miles north of Durango. What an incredible location. The town sits at the end of a box canyon. When heading to Durango from Ouray, there is a series of switchbacks. There are several that have a speed limit of 15 MPH and one that is 10 MPH. I learned quickly that these low speeds were not suggestions - any misstep while in some of these turns and a several hundred-foot drop off waits below. These switchbacks seemed to never end. The town sits at 7,500 feet - the switchbacks take a person the 10,700-foot summit. From the summit it is about 15 miles of driving the mountain ridge until a pronounced decent into the little town of Silverton Colorado. Silverton is a major summer tourist attraction. To learn more about these towns go to:

http://www.ouraycolorado.com/Home

http://www.city-data.com/city/Silverton-Colorado.html

For information about Durango, go to:

http://www.durango.org/index.asp

Between Ouray and Silverton, I saw 5 deer. All of the were single sightings, and the animals were at or near the edge of the road. There is an electronic deer whistle on my bike. Most people think the whistle is ineffective. In all five cases, the deer moved quickly away from the edge of the road.

On the way to Telluride, road repair caused a major stoppage. My best thinking caused me to take the dirt road I just passed, because the map indicated it connected back up the main road. The dirt road was 15 miles packed dirt with several areas of loose gravel. After going 5 miles i reach the proverbial "fork in the road". Unfortunately there was no sign to indicate which leg completed the loop. Soooo, I decided to go back to the main highway and deal with the road construction. Yikees.

Daily Miles: 450
Accumulated Miles: 1800

Provo, Utah to Durango, Colorado remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Left Mountain View on state highway 30. The road is the original Old Oregon Trail Highway. It is very scenic and sure beats driving the Interstate. Reverse, Utah is along this highway. In Reverse, there is a coffee shop with a fish and cross painted on the building. I had to stop. Breakfast was great – homemade bread, jams and jellies. Before leaving I needed to use the washroom and there square on top of the crapper were copies of the Old Testament and New Testament. Placing bibles in motel rooms is one thing, but this…..!!!!

Being a quart on oil I went to KFC for dinner at Provo. There was a fellow, about 50, who worked there to clean the eating area. Every time I got up he would follow me with his eyes. It became uncomfortable for me. After several minutes, he came up to me and said, “I own a scooter”. It then became apparent to me that he was mentally challenged and was simply fascinated with my motorcycle and want to know more about it. We then had a nice conversation. This was a practical lesson for me about not prejudging people.

Daily Miles: 425
Accumulated Miles: 1350

Mountain View, Utah to Provo, Utah remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Went east from Bend through Burns, Oregon. Burns is a small town in the middle of nowhere. About 30 miles out of Bend, there was a sign indicating that there was no gas for the next 130 miles. Not good news for most motorcycle riders with limited fuel capacity. Had a great lunch at little deli in Burns and then motored on to Mountain View.

Very quiet day.

Daily Miles: 375
Accumulated Miles: 925

Bend, Oregon to Mountain View, Utah remains copyright of the author asmithusa, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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