cowpuc Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share #76 Posted January 23, 2015 Wow! That's awesome Puc! Lots of pleasure packed miles on those Ventures! So, you've put a million miles or more on 83 and 84 Ventures!!! By gosh I hope that is getting really close, I am getting to old for this stuff:backinmyday:,, I kept the side covers off Beeg, my original 84 Blonde (kids named her Beeg = Big Girl = B. G. = Beeg) thru all these years for memory sakes.. I have often thought it would be cool to, after they do break an actual 1 million miles on them, hang em on the wall in the living room... I have a shirt that one of my daughers had made for me that I have also been taking really good care of.. A while back,, someone on here made mention of placing it in ,, what I think he called a "shadow box" to display it.. I think for final retirement, those side covers and this shirt would be a cool display,,,, sorry bout getting sentimental but I think thats part of getting older... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share #77 Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Tweeks and I have got an agreement between us, I try to take care of her and be somewhat reasonable in my maintenance habits and she does her best to get us home in one piece.. One of the things she has always enjoyed is the switch from 15w/40 oil to the heavier 20w/50 that I use when running the desert regions.. When Squid and I were talking on the phone about doing the stator repair on Tweeks, he told me he had a good clean oil pan to salvage Tweeks oil so I wouldnt have to change it when we put the new stator in her but advised me to pick up some oil if I wanted new.. I had just put new oil in Tweeks before we left Michigan so I opted for the salvaging.. As we pulled into Flagstaff,, better known as "Flag" to us modern contemporary folks, I noticed that Tweeks clutch was feeling funny and, she had been a little sticky in her shifting too.. A NAPA Auto Parts store caught my eye as we rounded a corner in Flag so we pulled in.. I love Auto Parts Stores.. I have changed out Tweeks oil in all kinds of places like Dollar Store parking lots, Walmart Parking lots,, even resturant parking lots but, when it comes to on the road oil changes, my favorite spot is the good old all American Auto Parts Store.. One of the main reasons for this is that I am basically lazy.. I dont like to bother Tweeks right saddlebag (her maintenance department) unless I have to.. Not only am I lazy but, it seems like every time I go pawing around in all those parts and tools she has hanging on her side, Tweeks takes it as a sign to take a break from her side of our agreement and I end up "Tweekin" on her,, a Murphys Law as it were.. Most guys, and some women, that I hang out with know that Auto Parts Stores not only carry parts and pieces but they will also loan you tools,, especially if you act like your a needy person that is gonna buy something from them and than leave town (so they know that whatever you bought has a zero percent chance of being returned).. They also normally have a tank to dump used oil into, free little funnels and sometimes - even free coffee.. The NAPA Auto Parts Store in Flagstaff was really nice and was staffed by some great people.. I grabbed some 20/50, a small container of Brake Fluid (to fill the clutch master) and walked up to the counter.. Gave the parts guy that sad "I am from out of town look" and asked if he had a Phillips Screw Driver, Big Cresent Wrench, Oil Pan, Paper Funnel and a pair of pliers I could borrow to swap out the oil in my bike.. He looked me over, smiled and said - sure,, why not.. He also handed me a couple of shop towels as he followed me out the door to admire Tweeks.. He looked her over, mumbled something about wishing he could join us on our tour and went back inside.. After the oil drained from Tweeks main oil pan, I capped it, moved the collector pan under her filter housing, loosened the filter housing and drained it too (I dont usually swap filters on the road).. Pulled the little plastic cover off Tweeks oil fill area, unscrewed the cap, stuck in the funnel and put Tip to work dumping in oil.. I took the screw driver, stuck it in a clutch master cover screw, grabbed the screw driver shaft with the pliers and popped the screw loose, jumped over and snapped the other one loose and backed em both out.. Popped the cover, sure enough, low fluid.. Filled the res and told Tippy we'd better take the remainder of our brake fluid with us cause Tweeks was probably gonna need an occasional refill (seals dont last forever).. Returned the tools, dumped the old oil, shook hands and thanked the Parts Guy for his hospitality... He asked where we were headed and shook his head when we told him we were gonna camp down on 89A and then go down to see Jerome, than head to California.. He smiled and said - "you two have fun and be careful - wish I could go with ya".. 89A is a really neat side road that goes down to Jerome from Flag (I am sure it goes farther but Jerome is a far as I ever did ride it), it winds thru rock canyons, dense forests that have lots of Elk and other wild life.. It is, in my opinion, one of the countrys prettiest tours for motorcycling and I had been bragging about it to Tippy for a long time.. That said,, you can only imagine the sadness that over took us as we came to the beginning of 89a just south of Flag and saw the "CLOSED" sign on it!! As we continued down the ick-spressway (I think that is 17) toward Sedona, I told Tip that it was ok,, we would just have to make another trip out just to ride 89a!! As it got later and the sun started to go down, we were still in the high country the makes up the landscape between Jerome and Flag.. I had forgotten about the altitude differences between Sedona and Flag and quickly remembered as the temps dropped drastically.. We stopped to put on our gloves and balaclava's (nylon hoodie thing that makes me look like one of the Nights Templar who were guarding the Holy Grail in that Indiana Jones movie).. It finally warmed up as we were pulling into Sedona for dinner.. After we finished our chili, we loaded our jackets back up, stuffed the winter clothing back into Tweeks left saddlebag (clothing department), filled the water jug and stumbled off into the dark to find a camping spot.. We started to put the tent down on the grass beside a shopping mall when it dawned on me of how narrow and busy Sedona is.. The town has this series of round abouts that go thru the area and the round abouts that we were near were doing a lot of round abouting.. Way to much to be able to actually sleep thru the noise.. I tightened the tent back up and we went exploring.. Just a short distance out of town, things really mellowed out. I pulled off into the foothills on a two track and found the coolest camping spot.. The air tempts had dropped just low enough in the valley to make falling asleep a breeze, Tip proved that once again as I could hear her stacking logs as I was putting the cover on Tweeks for the night.. After waking up and filling our lungs with the fresh desert air, I made a quick phone call to another friend from Venture Rider.. VideoArizona, I call him David cause thats his real name, is a resident of the Tucson area.. We had communicated plenty on the VR website but never met each other.. David had contacted us and asked that we let him know as we got close to Jerome and that maybe he would ride up, meet us and ride with us some.. I was able to make contact with David but he had other plans at the time and was unable to meet up with us.. Someday, we will meet him in person and get to share some riding stories in person and listen to some of his too!! After chatting with VideoArizona, we headed over to a place called Montezooma Castle National Monument.. The ride back over to the other side of 17 was laced with an amazing mix of desert looking bushes, rocky terrain and a small amount of pine forest.. The Monument is a very good example of what life in this region was like many years ago.. Places like this always makes me wonder how Native American people survived back than when there were no motorcycles to carry them into town for food and water.. The weather warmed up so it was time for the higher altitudes of Jerome.. After a short stop for a Taco at the bottom of the mountain that houses the town of Jerome, we headed up the hill.. I love Jerome - it is a really neat little town way up on a mountain side with some fantastic views. I also love the ride up to the town. It is filled with some really fun corners and overlooks that will take even the most adventurous bikers breath away.. Jerome is also a very old town and has some beautiful old buildings with some old vintage cars and trucks scattered here and there.. We parked Tweeks and went searching for an official Jerome sticker.. We checked everywhere and came up empty.. One lady at a tourist shop was really apologetic about not having stickers and promised to get some and have one for us if we ever came back thru the area.. I told her not to feel bad, that collecting stickers seem to be a thing of days long gone by.. She said that she actually had several people ask about them in the recent past - made me feel good anyway, like I am not getting as old as I really am.. Tweeks was a little disappointed with not getting the sticker she had earned but I promised her we would go back and get one for her.. She was still moaning a little about the sticker till I announced that we were gonna play our little coasting and that this one was gonna include a coast right thru town.. Many years ago my oldest daughter (biker name Awahoo) and I were crossing the top of North Dakota, we had ran Beeg's (the Blonde 1984 Yamaha Venture we rode back than) fuel tank to bone dry and had to camp in a gas station parking lot not to far from a Casino. We would be 1st in line for fuel when the station opened in the morning.. Awahoo was shivering as we climbed into the tent that night, still covered with all our riding gear, I zipped the sleeping bags together and slipped inside and cuddled my daughter up next to me to warm her up.. After we thawed out and were laying there staring up at the stars she announced that she had gotten kind cold during the last part of the days ride.. Laying there looking at the stars, I told her how much CTFWing reminded me of being a Trout.. She laughed and asked what I was talking about.. I told her how fish will suspend them selves at certain depths depending on water temperature.. Thats right I told her,, I said fish are pretty smart,, if they get cold they go up if they get warm they go down,, they just move around until they find the perfect temps.. I told her that as soon as daylight hit, we were gonna become a couple Trout and point ol Beegs front wheel south and ride that way until we found warm air!! After coasting down the Jerome Mountain, I stopped and told Tippy that I thought we oughta do the "Trout" routine.. We laughed as I explained to her where that had come from. It appeared that very hot tempts were awaiting us to the west (we were still heading toward California to get to our daughters graduation).. We had experienced Death Valley the year before and the "Trout" inside me was reminding me of how brutal 120 degrees can be.. Tip agreed that maybe a ride up across the Grand Canyon would be fun so we went CTFWing that general direction.. We were shocked at how relatively empty the South Rim of the Grand Canyon was.. It only took a few minutes to get thru the West Gate and we soon found ourselves in the parking area at the furthest western point of the south rim. After a using the restrooms and having a snack we discussed and finalized our decision about heading up around to the North Rim to stay in tune with being "Trout" as the tempts here were perfect!! The south rim ride is an amazing, almost spiritual experience that can even leave the best of us talkative types spell bound and speechless.. After breaking lose from the deep hypnotic state that the beauty of the rim had held me in, a thought occurred to me. I wondered how many people had ever rappelled down the into the Grand Canyon from the edge of the South Rim.. Tippy and I got talking about it as we rode along the edge.. I told her it sounded like fun and that I wished I had some rope to give it a shot.. Then it dawned on me,, I had that extension cord that BikerJohn had loaned me back in Round Rock Texas hanging on the back of Tweeks. I knew it was only a 25 footer but, I told Tip, maybe with my weight hanging on it, it would stretch the extra amount needed to get me to the bottom of the Canyon.. We got goofing around with that big ole orange extension cord of Johns and people actually stopped and took some pictures to join in the fun. . Not far from the spot that I went rappelling we found these awesome Tusayan Indian Ruins.. It was remarkable to read about the lives this peaceful group of Native American Indians had led.. The ruins area was very well preserved and the museum was splendid.. After we left, I used the rest room and had left my camera laying inside.. We got about a mile down the road and Tip asked me to hand her the camera,, ah oh.. We turned around and went back, thankfully it was still there!!! One of the last things we ran into on the ride out of the East Gate of the South Rim was this Tower over looking the Canyon.. It was a place of deep spiritual connection for the Indians and is still that way to many people.. Long ago there was an airplane crash that happened in the Canyon.. A display shows where that happened and speaks about how difficult it was handling the whole mess.. One can only imagine as this canyon area, besides it shear ruggedness, has some very strong winds and horrible storms. We exited the East Gate FILLED with great motorcycle touring smells, sounds, sites and memories burned into our hearts and minds forever.. There are only a couple ways to cross the Colorado River that flows thru the Grand Canyon and get around from the South Rim to the North Rim.. Of course, playing this "Trout" routine and trying to stay in the survivable tempts meant we were riding up to a place called Page. The Pagenites up there have a Dam on the river called the Glen Canyon Dam that provides a path to the other side of the river. The ride up to Page is really fun and full of some really interesting views as long as you don't mind long, straight roads.. Most of the ride up is just that.. We pulled into Page hungry and tired from a long day of traveling. We located the local sub shop, sat down and filled our bellies and chatted about what kind of place we'd like to camp at. We decided on something overlooking the Dam and the river.. About a half hour later, people in the area who were observant could see a tired ol bike named Tweeks parked under the overhang of an abandoned motel whose picture window behind the ol motorcycle had the most spectacular view of the Colorado River and headlights of cars crossing the Glen Canyon Dam farther up stream.. A really observant passerby may even of caught a glimpse of two very tired best friends, soundly sleeping next to that ol worn out motorcycle.. Edited January 24, 2015 by cowpuc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted January 24, 2015 Share #78 Posted January 24, 2015 How freakin IRONIC is that!!! Nina and I had just been watching a show about that 1956 airplane crash just before I came here and read your latest post! EEEERIE !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share #79 Posted January 24, 2015 How freakin IRONIC is that!!! Nina and I had just been watching a show about that 1956 airplane crash just before I came here and read your latest post! EEEERIE !!! [ATTACH=CONFIG]96663[/ATTACH] THAT is flat crazy,,, I say to myself as I am slapping my face thinking I am in some kind of a twilight zone!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted January 24, 2015 Share #80 Posted January 24, 2015 Sigh.....wish I could have met you last June! If you can plan your next trip in Spring or Fall I can show you Southern Arizona and parts of New Mexico! Enjoying your Adventure! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted January 24, 2015 Share #81 Posted January 24, 2015 puc, making progress on your "book". Got all the text up to your prev post so far. Captured all the pics for later inserting. 31 pages without the pics LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share #82 Posted January 24, 2015 puc, making progress on your "book". Got all the text up to your prev post so far. Captured all the pics for later inserting. 31 pages without the pics LOL SHEEESSHHH CAPEEESH Silvr!! Sorry bout that,, didnt know I was sooo long winded,,, maybe I better kick these fingers into the short version mode:bang head: Lets see,, how's this,, We went for a ride on our motorcycle, we saw lots of cool stuff and met some really really great people along the trail. We even had some good food. It was a very strange 50 year ride. The end.. Sure hope Freebird didnt have to update the system cause of all my clutter:yikes:,, I can see a new sticky note on the opening page of VR,,, *All MEMBERS PLEASE NOTE* - MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE BEING INCREASED TO $500 A YEAR BECAUSE SOMEBODY IS LONG WINDED - THIS CAUSED A MAINFRAME TO BURN UP AND WE ALL HAVE TO PAY FOR IT!!! I cant help but wonder if this is the reason my deceased Father never really wanted me to get involved in motorcycling in the first place.. He was a pretty sharp guy,, probably foresaw the disaster of combining the thrill of biking with my strange type of personality.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share #83 Posted January 24, 2015 puc, making progress on your "book". Got all the text up to your prev post so far. Captured all the pics for later inserting. 31 pages without the pics LOL Oh, by the way, THANKS SILVRT!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted January 25, 2015 Share #84 Posted January 25, 2015 SHEEESSHHH CAPEEESH Silvr!! Sorry bout that,, didnt know I was sooo long winded,,, maybe I better kick these fingers into the short version mode:bang head: no worries here M8T ... Microsoft Word is capable of 56,000,023 maximum pages so we're barely scratching the surface. Keep 'er commin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share #85 Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) The night breeze coming down the Colorado River as we slept next to that abandoned motel was just amazing.. It was perfect in the sense that it covered even the slightest noises coming from the town of Page located a few blocks up the Mountain side.. There is something special about camping on the desert floor that is almost unexplainable.. As harsh as the desert regions are (trust me - they are harsh) during the day hours, darkness creates a change that offers some of the best sleeping known to man.. The next morning, we rolled our tent up and headed west across the Glen Canyon Dam.. Crossing over the Colorado River I couldn't help but remember how tiny of a stream it had appeared to be while viewing it from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Back there it looked like nothing more than a muddy little stream but from the bridge crossing into Utah and across the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, one has a whole different opinion of the mighty Colorado.. It felt good to be back in Utah.. Tippy and I have always enjoyed the endless and almost supernatural landscape that this state offers.. The colors hidden in the mountain slopes offer an inescapable dream of wondering whats around the next corner!! Little two tracks and trails running off into those same mountains can also play games with your mind by constantly beckoning you to follow them and find out where they lead... Being fairly easily distracted by this call of the wild,, it wasn't long before we found ourselves bouncing along an old Utah mountain two track whose summoning had gotten the best of me.. The sign a couple miles back mentioned something about an old town only a few miles in (more like 11 but dont tell Tip) on a trail that the Utah Highway Department strongly suggested people headed there be traveling in a 4 wheel drive vehicle.. Folks that ride motorcycles know that usually a sign that informs the reader that they should have a 4x4 to enter, actually means "4x4 or road bike" and that "Road Impassable" actually means "you must have a real 4x4 with locked differentials or a Dirt Bike".. I have come to believe that most Highway Departments don't finish their notice signs when printing them because most signs don't have enough space on them to cover all the bases. The criminals in the prisons who make these signs therefore only include vehicles with 4 wheels on them because the state wants to save ink. They also know that most bikers cant read anyway.. Which brings me to another interesting point that involves Tippy and possibly even has something to do with how I have come to live as long as I have.. Even though she's a biker, Tip can read. She was a school teacher before I married her and twisted her life all up by dragging her into such highly volatile extremes as raising four children, all of who learned to ride a dirt bike before they were 5 years old. If that weren't twisted enough, I than expected her to have enough energy after raising those kids to ride on the back of old Tweeks all over the country and put up with bouncing down two tracks like the one we are on here in Utah.. Unlike me, Tip actually learned something in school and has remembered a remarkable amount of the things she was taught.. Her ability to read has actually gotten better during the years I have known her, clearly proven by her uncanny ability to read me like a book.. Maybe its something she feels in my body language as I am leading us off into the desert on some wild goose chase, or, it could be that she has some hidden 6th sense of fear about having to walk more than a few miles out of the desert to find a highway should we have to abandon Tweeks.. I have gotten to know her well enough to know that when she addresses me by my first name, saying something like "what are you doing Scott", that she is on to me and I have some explaining to do.. Fortunately, I am usually able to smooth talk my way out of most situation's and distract her with "WOW - LOOK AT THAT MOUNTAIN" or the reasonable excuse of "Did you happen to notice that sign a ways back there that said 4x4's only".. Thereby buying myself a few more miles of time to actually find out what really is around the next bend and to figure out exactly how I am gonna get us out of this mess.. Tip actually really enjoys getting off the main roads and CTFWing out in the middle of no where as much as I do.. One of the main reasons we pack like we do and don't use a trailer is because we do a fair amount of back roading and snake trailing on our youthful excursions.. I have had numerous friends and acquaintances who have inquired about this, some being almost insistent that we borrow their trailer for our trips - we just smile and say no thank you because we both know that dragging a trailer behind Tweeks would probably not be a good idea back on the "4x4 Only" two-tracks.. We finally found what was suppose to be an old Mormon Town.. There wasn't much left of the place. Apparently some pranksters had driven back into this desolate area and burned down the 100 year old buildings that had survived everything from Indian attacks to major sicknesses but couldn't escape some kids with matches. Even though the buildings were long gone, its still almost impossible to not imagine how hard it must of been to raise a family back in a desolate area such as this.. Beautiful,, but miles and miles from the nearest McDonald's and the closest internet connection.. Fortunately, cause our tummys started to remind us that we hadn't eatin in a while , we had good old dependable Tweeks to take us into Kanab Utah where there was a McDonalds.. This McDonalds was really a funny place.. We have eaten at a lot of different McDonalds since our children purchased a Tablet for us to keep track of our whereabouts .. They wanted to this because we got lost for 3 days in the Utah Mountains a couple years ago and the darlings got concerned about us.. We didn't know it, but they even had the State Police out looking for us.. The kids didn't see the humor in the fact that a couple delinquent backpackers had destroyed some trail head maps and it took us a while to figure out how to get out of the mountains we were riding.. Out offspring purchased this Tablet for us and gave it to us with the understanding that we would check in with them.. It didn't take us long after that to learn that McDonalds is one of the few places that a couple old bikers can depend on to have the internet and salads to flop over hamburgers... As I was saying.. the McDonalds in Kanab is a really funny place. We noticed right away that there was a sign posted there that read "1/2 hour max internet use" - I can go thru a half our of time playing on the internet in just one breath.. We also noticed that the same Breakfast that cost $3.69 back when we were lost in the middle of Chicago was $8.48 here in Kanab Utah.. We found this all humorous cause there were only 4 other people in the store and two of them were McDonald employees who suspiciously appeared to be monitoring the amount of time we were using on their internet connection.. I laughed as Tippy looked down at her food that had cost us 9 dollars with the funniest look on her face, she had THE look that clearly said - a cowgirl could starve if she had to live on McDonalds in Kanab.. A couple minutes after I took this picture of her obvious concern with her breakfast, I noticed that one of the guards who had been keeping an eye on me while I played on our Tablet had disappeared.. Within a couple minutes after that, I lost my internet connection and never did regain it.. This overly friendly "guard" did finally come back out, but, now his concerned glare had turned into an odd smirk.. It was obvious that there was a lot more to this sleepy little town tucked away in the bottom of Utah than first meets the eye.. One can could probably understand the odd behaviors of the employees at the McDonalds if one considered the looks of Tweeks, Tip and I as we strolled into Kanab on that day.. We weren't exactly what would probably be considered desirable in appearance - unless one had a background as a Prospector or a Hobo.. The food prices really kinda threw me though as there was no way these folks could have changed all those prices between the time we pulled into the driveway and when we walked inside,, impossible.. Tip and I were still talking about this issue as we were filling Tweeks fuel tank at a gas station a few blocks away.. I went inside to pay for the fuel, which also was considerably more expensive than we had paid back in Page.. When I came out of the station an older gentleman was standing beside Tweeks, reading her life's picture story pasted all over her plastic panels .. He immediately asked if we had been to all those places and a discussion ensued about motorcycle touring.. This gentleman had some pretty interesting stories of his own. He had ridden motorcycles and did some cross country touring before he could physically no longer balance a bike.. I could tell by talking to him that the memories of the times he and his wife had toured the country, like Tip and I were doing, were still very clear in his mind, regardless of his other disabilities.. The two of them had moved to Kanab UT to escape some of the ailments that had followed him into old age and they both really loved the area.. Having made friends with this gentleman (anyone who is willing to sign Tweeks and become her friend is ok by me), l was comfortable enough with him to ask him about the odd behavior of the McDonalds employees and the prices in the area.. The gentleman explained that because Kanab is the only real sign of civilization between Zion and the Grand Canyon's North Rim that it is kind of a tourist trap.. Then he laughed and told me that Tweeks, Tip and I didn't look like the typical tourist they see come thru town and that this appearance might explain any strange looks we had gotten back at McDonalds - Tippy and the gentlemans wife both laughed when he pointed that out - I thought about erasing his name from Tweeks side.. On our summer tour of 2013 we happen to make the big Harley Davidson rally out in Sturgis South Dakota on our return trip from the west coast.. A company called Polaris had purchased the Indian Motorcycle marquee a couple years prior to this, had started producing the Indians again and had chosen the Sturgis Rally to show off what they had created. Tip and I had followed the process of this whole new breed of Indian, from its inception to its engines unveiling at Daytona and were very excited to see the new bikes that year. Even though we also had test rode the gorgeous critters on a couple of occasions since the Sturgis Rally, we had always wanted to see one being ridden and, up till today, we hadn't had that opportunity. While heading south, just a few miles out of Kanab, a group of motorcycles appeared on the roadway in front of us. Tweeks noticed em right away so the chase was on. As we drew closer to the rear end of the last bike in their group it became obvious that the search for a glance of the new Indian Motorcycle in full use was now over! We followed the group of several of them into the little town of Fredonia and gave them all the thumbs up as we continued our journey to the North Rim. Years ago when my daughter and I toured the North Rim, we had the opportunity to watch firefighters in Helicopters do battle with a forest fire that was attacking one of the gorgeous Ponderosa Pine valleys that surround the rim. Fire is common in this area, especially when its as dry as it has been. Tip and I rode lots of miles on the path into the area that displayed a reminder of how cautious we all really need to be.. I love captive audiences and one of my favorite of all audiences within captivity that we seem to encounter are people who work in those little buildings along the road and collect money from people who are traveling. One time out in New Jersey we pulled up to one of these little houses. The lady who lived there looked really bored, she smiled haphazardly as I handed her the few bucks she was charging us to ride on her high way, I told her that her job looked kinda boring but, judging from the line of cars waiting behind me, I bet it paid pretty good. We went about another 5 miles and came to another little old lady with a very similar looking home, I stopped to pay again for the joy of riding on that last 5 miles of special, motorcycle friendly, pavement. We pulled up to the booth and suddenly noticed that the women inside looked just like the person who had taken my money at the last little house. This one was a whole lot friendlier though, she chuckled when I asked if she was related to the other lady about 5 miles back, she told me they were not related as she took my 6 dollars. The captive person who lived inside the little house on the trail to the North Rim was a very friendly person and, because we always get the yearly pass for the National Parks, she didn't even want any of our money. Instead of asking us about dollars, she mentioned that we looked like we had traveled a long way on our bike and inquired as to where we were from. As soon as she heard we were from Michigan, she stepped out of her booth and started telling us that she to was originally from our home state! Come to find out, she was born and raised a couple towns from our home port of Muskegon!! We talked as she walked around Tweeks admiring all the places that the ol girl had taken us to. Tweeks, Tip and I gained yet another friend as she gladly signed Tweeks side.. Unless you don't mind two trackin and deer trailing, there is only one way to see the North Rim by roadway and we followed that one way to the Rim.. It was a wonderful warm day and we were not alone in getting to motorcycle to the National Park on that day.. As we pulled into the parking lot, I could feel the eyes of several groups of bikers looking us over pretty cautiously as we found a place to park. One couple, who were riding a gorgeous big Yellow Gold Wing and pulling a trailer, strolled over to at least give us a chance to explain. After some brief interaction and finding out that the 3 of us were really quite friendly, this lovely couple shared some of their own ride history.. They were from Bozeman Montana (nice area) and were also on a cross country trip of about 2 weeks.. Very friendly people who took to signing Tweeks like they were shaking hands with a long lost friend. They offered to have us stay with them at their home should we ever make it out their way.. There were a group of people gathering around Tweeks who had been sitting there minding her own business, one of the kids in the group walked over and told us he really liked Tweeks decor.. I smiled at the lad, finished saying goodbye to our Wing Riding friends from Bozeman and walked back over to Tweeks to make more friends and get more signatures from people wanting to tell us their stories.. An interesting note here, Tip and I did get a phone call from the folks on the Wing last December, just checking up on Tweeks, Tip and I to make sure we made it home from our summer touring - LOT OF REALLY GREAT PEOPLE OUT THERE!! This side of the Canyon is totally different than the other, it has a very small viewing area located behind the lodge.. During another motorcycle trip with my second born out here, she and I went climbing on the rocks over looking the Canyon.. Cappy (her biker name) slipped on a rock ledge and I caught her by the belt loop on her pants as she was falling into the Canyon.. As Tip and I walked along the edge of the overlook, Tip asked me to point out where that had happened years ago.. I took her to a spot in the viewing area and showed her a white colored outcropping of rock and pointed exactly to the spot that my daughter almost fell in - there are times I cant remember where I left Tweeks parked but - THIS IS SOMETHING I WILL NEVER FORGET! After viewing all the views, playing with all the squirrels and making sure all the other tourist had a chance to watch Tweeks and I make fools of ourselves waiting for Tippy to take pictures in front of the sign so all my friends cant say we were never there, we pulled out and headed for Zion.. Because we had to back track up toward Kanab, Tips wasn't to surprised to hear me say I was bored and needed a break.. Back tracking on a motorcycle can be a little like going back and watching the beginning of a good movie ya just finished.. The boredom comes from having already seen it and knowing how the movie ends.. I picked a two track to follow to break the boredom. After we rode a ways thru the dust and climbed a couple pretty cool upgrades, my boredom disappeared and we finally came out in a meadow like area, surrounded by gorgeous Ponderosa Pines and, inhabited by Buffalo! We sat and listened to em grunting and visited with some of the other tourists.. Then jumped back onto the pavement.. Zion National Park is located conveniently along the trail leading from the North Side of the Canyon if your trying to get to your daughters graduation ceremony in Sacramento California.. We would have taken the time to visit the park anyway cause that is all part of CTFWing, but, even you aren't a CTFWer and you happen to be going that the way we did, you WILL get to see the Zion. Good thing too cause Zion is another GORGEOUS area! Lots and lots of really unique overlooks, some great hairpin turns AND seemingly endless tunnels that will echo a motorcycles backfire (Tweeks likes to do that at just the right times) for what seems like hours.. Once we got out of Zion, the north bound coin flip won the toss, there was no west bound trail heading toward California so we headed north on the ick-spressway.. Not to far north of Zion we found yet another little National Park area called Kolob Canyon.. We couldnt resist!! Good thing we didn't too cause God spared no expense in creating the shear beauty of this "mini - Zion"!! Beside being beautiful, Kolob Canyon also offers some really nice coasting opportunities if your into coasting like we are.. It was getting pretty late in the day and the $18 dollar breakfast we had eaten back at McDonalds in Kanab had long since lost any form of satisfying the hunger triggers in our now empty stomachs. Tip and I were very glad to see the approaching town of Cedar UT coming into view. We could also see our first glimpes of a road that headed out across the desert toward California running west out of Cedar.. We decided to not give McDonalds two chances in the same day so we started looking for a little mom and pop type of burger joint. We pulled into this placed called the "Top Spot". Just as we walked to the side door of the Top Spot their interior lights went off.. I could feel a poochy forming on my bottom lip as I realized that we had gotten into Cedar to late and were probably gonna be stuck staring at some guards at McDonalds again.. A very nice lady stuck her head out of the door of the Top Spot, took one look at Tweeks (kinda like that song,, some girls dont like guys (bikes) like me,, ahhh but some girls do) - and seemed to take an instant liking to the ol girl.. She smiled and told us to come on in and she would feed us! She let us use her bathroom to wash up (felt good) and even told us to take as much time and use as much water as we needed. We went back upfront, looked over the wonderful menu they had, ordered and sat down to see what kinda of meals they presented. I gotta say, this place rivaled the burgers we had way back at Laguna Burger! Talk about a meal!! If you happen to be taking the time to actually read all this nonsense I have been writing, you obviously have some time to burn. Take just a couple seconds and look back up at the pics of Tips face when looking at her Kanab Utah McDonalds breakfast and than notice the look on her face in the pictures below and remember, a picture is worth a thousand words! We left the Top Spot with those sending units in our stomachs telling our brains we were FULL!! With vast open western Utah foothills calling our names, we were far from being compelled to camp in a parking lot in the town of Cedar.. Even though it was dark by the time we had finished eating and had fed Tweeks, we got on the west bound trail and grabbed the first set of two tracks about 20 miles out of town.. It doesn't take long in this region to go from city living to real nice, quite desert camping.. Less than a couple miles off the main road, we found a perfect little "Y" in the trail, kicked the stand down, dropped the tent and fell fast asleep there under the clear, star lit skys of Western Utah.. Edited January 29, 2015 by cowpuc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyinfool Posted January 29, 2015 Share #86 Posted January 29, 2015 Nice. All I can say is NICE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted January 29, 2015 Share #87 Posted January 29, 2015 WOW!!! looks like I gotta get back to work on that document! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venturous Randy Posted January 29, 2015 Share #88 Posted January 29, 2015 As I sit here with it about 20 degrees outside, it is absolutely amazing to be able to live vicariously through puc, tippy and tweeks on this marvelous journey. As I have gotten older, I am realizing more and more how important it is to get out and enjoy life, and this is definitely a good motivator. Thanks so much for so eloquently sharing this. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted January 29, 2015 Share #89 Posted January 29, 2015 I've been in all 50 states, but Puc...you've been places I've never seen. And for that, I'm so grateful to able to follow along. Thank you! d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted January 31, 2015 Share #90 Posted January 31, 2015 And the book begins .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share #91 Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) And the book begins .... [ATTACH=CONFIG]96860[/ATTACH] SilvrT,, Tip and I are sitting here staring at your piece of work,, speechless... I dont know what to say.. Tip just said,, all she can say is WOW... Talk about talent my friend,, you got your share! WOW.. THANK YOU for your work.. THAT IS AWESOME!! We really appreciate what your doing Silvr!! I can say this right from the bottom of my heart,, YOU inspire me to keep writing and,, more importantly,,, it inspires both of us to look beyond all this medical stuff and KEEP RIDING!! Just flat out cool!! THANK YOU SilvrT!! Puc, Tippy and of course, Tweeks Edited February 1, 2015 by cowpuc I had "can she" where I meant to have "she can" - it totally messed up what I was trying to say!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted February 1, 2015 Share #92 Posted February 1, 2015 it inspires both of us to look beyond all this medical stuff and KEEP RIDING!! All of us here truly wish you all the best and that you'll have many more stories to share! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share #93 Posted February 1, 2015 In order to find obscure places on this planet of which we are all part of, you almost have to be an obscure kind of person. Most people that I have had the pleasure of meeting in my life will draw the fine line in risk management when motorcycling somewhere between comfort and sensibility. I have found that if one really wants to locate obscure little hidden treasure spots, one almost has to throw back a shot of very little southern comfort with big gulp chaser of "whats sensibility got to do with it". I cannot express to you, the reader of some of this nonsense, how many times Tip and I have experienced the neatest obscure things simply by letting Tweeks enjoy some CTFWing and getting us good and lost. As I packed Tweeks up on this gorgeous Utah morning I was actually wondering what kind of obscure things she was going to lead us into. We hadn't traveled very far from our the beautiful campground (Tip and I call anywhere we have camped without getting chased out for vagrancy a "campground") which we had stayed at that night, before I heard Tips gentle voice mentioning something about seeing a marker of some sort back on the side of the road. Tweeks has taken to listening to Tippy almost better than she listens to me (got some kinda girl thing going on) and was already starting one of her famous "lets go the other way turn arounds" even before I could get upright in her saddle. That old sign that Tip had noticed said something about an "Old Iron Town" and had an arrow pointing down some lonely gravel road. You, the readers, have got to understand something about what we were about to do. A person really needs to grasp and appreciate CTFWing in places like Utah and Nevada to fully comprehend just how obscure these places can be. There are VAST sections of these two States (some other places in our country too) that use some weird kind of math formula to calculate politically correct distances between fuel stations and water sources. Choosing to run off into the desert in this part of Utah is what might separate the people who are on one side of the risk management line from the people who are willing to travel on the other side of that line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share #94 Posted February 1, 2015 As Tweeks led Tip and I off CTFWing down this old gravel road looking for some ghost town called Old Iron Town, probably because I once spent a night in the desert with no water, I felt my throat going dry.. After reaching up and taking a swallow of water from our high class styro foam cup that sets in a cup holder I had rescued from the middle of the road at a Sturgis Rally, I leaned back and told Tippy how much I LOVE Ghost Towning. We hadn't traveled very far (under 15 miles as I recall) on that dusty old road and sure enough,, we came to some signs that said Old Iron Town!! There were no other human beings around that we saw. A real friendly desert dog greeted us as we slipped out of Tweeks saddle.. Tippy reached down and patted the pooch on the noggin and mumbled something to the friendly critter about being thankful to him for chasing away all the snakes that may have one time inhabited the ruins we were about to investigate.. Tip has never really been fond of snakes,, matter of fact - she dislikes them with a passion. I know this has never occurred to most folks who know me but, I like to hang the remains of dead animals on Tweeks. Once we were down in southern Florida traveling along the "Alligator Alley" and we found a genuine dead Alligator on the side of the road.. Tips actually held the plastic bag for me as I stuffed the feet that I had broken off the dead gator with my 16 inch Channel Locks (and people have the nerve to ask me why I carry those great big pliers - sheesh) into the bag for storage.. We later had to dispose of the feet because not even Febreze could conquer the likes of that odor but, thats beside the point. Tippy has never even squinted about helping me fulfill my love for dead animal parts, even gator feet.. Until earlier in this trip that is.. I had found a dead Rattle Snake (a BIG one) on the side of the road back in Texas and was headed back to procure its head to mount on Tweeks front fender. Tippy despises snakes so much that she said if I did so she was gonna make me walk home. She really meant what she said to our new friend, the desert dog too.. I didnt realize how well the dog was trained as a tour guide until I realized that the bond between Tip and the hound were instantly solid enough that the puppy would be our guide for the entire tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share #95 Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) Old Iron Town was fascinating in an obscure kind of a way. Signs were everywhere describing what had taken place there many years ago. I had no idea that the mountains of Utah were so rich in Iron Ore. It was amazing to find out how much Iron had been removed from this area and also how much still remained. Definitely a place that any CTFWer would be proud to claim they had a chance to see. After showing me where the restrooms were, I thanked our tour guide for his kindness, Tippy tossed him the remains of a left over piece of jerky I had tucked away in the little tour pack located on the center console thats attached to Tweeks back. We both gave him a hug and watched the kind hearted desert dog snickered at us as we rode off, probably never to see him again. Edited February 1, 2015 by cowpuc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share #96 Posted February 1, 2015 After a short but interesting single track ride around the area that left Tweeks with some tumble weed branches dragging behind her, we once again hooked back up to the pavement and headed out in a westerly direction. Later, after it had been a while since we had crossed into Nevada and our human fuel tanks were once again blinking low fuel signals to our central computer systems, we started looking for food.. We pulled into this little out of the way town called Caliente Nevada just in time to find a late breakfast. If you are ever out wondering around in the deserts of Nevada and happen to be hungry, you can do far worst than this place called The Brandin Iron in Caliente!! Great food, great service and you will not leave hungry!! I would suggest this though, if you are in any kind of a hurry OR if you are bothered by trains, you should ask what time the train comes thru before you decide whether you want to dine in or whether you are better off with take out at the Brandin Iron. Tweeks, Tip and I have encountered western trains whose car count seem to be in the hundreds and measure in miles not feet. We have always enjoyed traveling beside them, waving at the Engineers with vigor in an attempt to get them to wave back - many times they do.. Its always a special treat to get them to blow their train horns wildly at us in response to our childish waves. Trains are a wonderful, fun part of CLFWing,, until you get boxed in by one of those endless contraptions!! In all fairness to our friends, the trains. Tweeks would like to thank them for holding us up that day as this way laid us long enough to provide me with ample time to remove some of the tumble weed remains that were making funny clicking noises as her cooling fan bumped into them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share #97 Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) Later that day, as we were riding along discussing the need for small towns like Caliente Nevada to post train schedules for tourist, a couple of genuine Air Force jets came ripping along a mountain side about 3 feet off the ground!! An instant - HOLY ROAD RUNNER CATCHER BAT MAN, DID YOU SEE THAT - came out of my mouth as the 2 jets disappeared as fast as they had shown themselves!! Tip shook her head in a manner to match my excited comment.. The sudden thought went tearing thru my adrenalin filled brain,, I betcha we are near Area 51 - yeeeee hawwww - NELLIS AIR BASE!!! I pulled my feet down off the engine cases where I usually store them when traveling for hours on end, placed em down into their race mode on Tweeks pegs and headed off in pursuit of the Jets who had disappeared off Tweeks radar screen.. Tweeks and I had a pretty good vector fix on them though as her tach jumped up to a healthy 6 grand in 5th gear as we gave those Jets a run for their money.. WHAT A RIOT!! It wasnt long before we came to this sign that said "Extraterrestrial Highway". Having long since realized that Tweeks V-4 motor, as powerful and awesome as it is, obviously it is no match for whatever those jets were housing for power plants, my minds ability to resist distraction fell aside with intrigue at the sight of that sign. Tippy and I were having the time of our lives as we laughed at the fact that we were actually traveling the EXTRATERRESTRIAL HIGHWAY - HOW COOL IS THAT!!! The next sign that we passed after the Extraterrestrial sign mentioned something about there being no gas for the next 150 miles.. A few moments after passing that sign and I felt the great big grin on my face disappear as my mind started doing the simple mathematics of calculating the miles per gallon that Tweeks is capable of and dividing that by how much fuel I estimated she had in her tank.. Tip and I have had to push Tweeks a couple of times because of a slight error on my part in doing this advanced science so, to avert the possibility of having Tippy not talk to me for a couple days, I had placed a couple quarts of extra fuel on the tent rack attached to Tweeks back side just in case we met an encounter such as this.. After doing the initial mathematical calculation and not caring for the answer I arrived at, I than recalculated the whole apparatus to include the 2 extra quarts (that's an extra 1/2 gallon to any of you who aren't as advanced in math as I am) that I had stashed.. I did come closer to a reasonable answer in my math but, for some reason, something in my gut said - DONT TRY IT. As Tweeks came to coasting stop, Tip said, I know - I saw the sign - there is no way we can make it,, the womans as good at math as she is with English - being married to a school teacher does produce its moments. As we headed back in the direction that we had just came from, we noticed to a new sign that put a whole new spin on life - this sign boldly announced - "NO GAS - 100 miles".. I stopped, looked at Tippy and said - Houston,, we gotta problem. We had passed an old guy back at this Tourist Trap building that looked like an old military quonset hut that some hippys had borrowed from Nellis Air Base and had stuck a big silver Alien in front of it. I suggested that we ride back to that building that was obviously closed, and see if the guy was still there, maybe he knew of a fuel station (or a desert cactus farmer who would sell us some fuel) within 50 miles of us.. We did just that and remarkably, he directed us to the only fuel station within miles of us - no more than 10 miles away - PHEW! After I topped Tweeks fuel tank off with some pretty pricey fuel (the lady could have charged me 10 times the price though and I would have paid it - I didn't tell her though), I wondered inside to cool off and have a pop with Tip.. We started chatting about how bad we both wanted to ride the Terrestrial and about how uneasy I was in trying to cover that distance without a lot more extra fuel than we were carrying.. I noticed some small fuel jugs that this station had sitting on their shelves - also kinda pricey (x4 of a Walmart) - oh what the heck - ya only live once right, besides,, that one time can be cut pretty short if ya get stranded out in the desert without fuel.. We decided that if we were gonna buy one though - we would by the 2 gallon jug instead of the 1 gallon jug, we could always help someone else out if we bumped into another person out there who had ran out of fuel. As we were paying for the jug, Tip asked the lady at the counter if they ever had to rescue people coming across the ExtraTerrestrial Highway.. Amazingly, the lady said usually a couple times a week!! Tip said, that don't make sense - there's a great big sign out there that says NO GAS 150 MILES on it. The lady shook her head and said "I cannot tell you how many times we have rescued people out there who have ran out of fuel and when asked if they had seen the sign they say, yes,,, but we didn't believe it was real"!! Edited February 1, 2015 by cowpuc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yammer Dan Posted February 1, 2015 Share #98 Posted February 1, 2015 Bet it is Cold out there at 5 in the morning!! Just thinking..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share #99 Posted February 1, 2015 Bet it is Cold out there at 5 in the morning!! Just thinking..... Got that right ya hippy!! Thought I best get something up for these varmints to read cause I noticed a HUGE storm was coming thru betwixed yourn house n mine!! Give em all something to do to keep em from catching cabin fever!! Thinking of drinking a cold glass of butter milk now and hitting the hay for a couple hours!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yammer Dan Posted February 1, 2015 Share #100 Posted February 1, 2015 I was dreaming about a 1st Gen and had to get out of bed!!! Skeered myself taking a Hardley in the middle of a big sweeping turn!!! Skeered me when the "Blue Beast" did that a few years back with me hanging on!! Had a mind of her own I tell ya!! Upset her when we were easing down the road and that Hardley blasted by us like he owned the road. She didn't take things like that well. Busted him in the middle of a big turn and slowed down and let him get in front again so we could do it again!! He didn't want no more!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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