cowpuc Posted September 28, 2018 Author Share #26 Posted September 28, 2018 Having covered over 1 million miles in 31 years while tent camping off the back end of a motorcycle in areas all over the lower 48 states of our country and many parts of Canada, we thought we had accomplished something by being able to drop the tent and be inside of it within 5 minutes of stopping the bike. We never dreamed of an easier, faster "camp routine" but have truly discovered it. Simply pull in, put the saddlebags (now duffle bags) on the front seats and slide the seats forward. Move the sleeping boards with bags on them forward, climb in, push the lock button on the fobs (hit the AC or Heat if ya need it) and nod for the night!! Having done that, I can honestly say the early morning wake ups such as this one over looking the Pacific Ocean have not changed - PARADISE right out side!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted September 28, 2018 Share #27 Posted September 28, 2018 Careful...Trooper may spoil you both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted September 28, 2018 Share #28 Posted September 28, 2018 Having discovered this knarly, switchback infested, no guard rail cliff hanging endless hairpin turning, bicycle trail width in spots, +50 mile pathway thru the Redwoods roadway that runs eastwardly from Stewarts Point CA on Hwy 1 over to Gyserville, many years ago,, it was a very seldom occasion that we made the trip to the west coast on our touring bike that we didn't take the time to ride this trail that embarasses the likes of "The Tail Of The Dragon" just one more time and our initial voyage in that direction with our new Sports Car named Trooper played out no differently!! Trooper did just SUPER in this environment and his Sport Mode was a blast here!! We have shared the secret of Skaggs Springs Road with many touring riders in the past and now eagerly expand the encouragement to "Get Out And Ride" that trail with our fellow Micro Motor Home travelers too!! Going to have to put that one on my Bucket List. You guys have to do RT 191 in eastern AZ too! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted September 29, 2018 Author Share #29 Posted September 29, 2018 Tip and I had heard from a very reliable source (our daughter) that Shelter Cove California was/is a world class whale watching location so we headed that way. Little did we know that the trail leading from Redway down to Shelter Cove, an amazing little coastal town with black sand beaches, would also be world class in it's gorgeous views and driving opportunities!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted September 30, 2018 Author Share #30 Posted September 30, 2018 I am sure that most people have a "bucket list" in life (a place/item or accomplishment they hope to access before life's journey below is over). My fight with cancer and a discussion with a surgeon pertaining to that fight was just cause to kick in my own thoughts about my personal bucket list. What resulted was my ownership of a Yamaha R1 motorcycle which I aptly named "Maggie" due to it's amazing ability to fill my beat up old body with adrenaline similar to the way the "Magnum" roller coaster at Ceder Point in Sandusky Ohio used to do. Tip, Trooper and I discovered some of those same feelings along 120 that runs from Mono Mills (located on Mono Lake on the east side of the Sierra Nevada's) over to Benson in southeastern California!! Whether by car or by bike = those feelings of weightlessness and reverse G-Force that one encounters on a roller coaster are all there waiting to be discovered!!! YEEEE HAWWWWW - Get out and ride and GET OUT AND RIDE 120!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted September 30, 2018 Author Share #31 Posted September 30, 2018 Tip and I have always enjoyed Ghost Towning our way across the vast western U.S. and we were glad to find out that, while Benton Hot Springs is not actually a Ghost Town,,, Trooper really seemed to enjoy exploring old western towns and history as much as we. Benton Hot Springs in California is a treasure of a spot for folks like the 3 of us!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 1, 2018 Author Share #32 Posted October 1, 2018 When Tip, Trooper and I pulled into this tiny rest area just west of the town of Tonopah NV which is part of Area 51 I couldn't help but notice two gentlemen with some high end/exotic photography equipment set up at the rest area. As a normal course of event in life, thinking they were either looking for Aliens (a sport I LOVE) or watching for some other strange activity coming out of Nellis Air Base (another sport I love too), I thought I better inquire into their suspicious activity.. What I learned from these very professional bird watchers was nothing short of amazing!! Come to find out,, a certain percentage of migrating birds get lost in their migratory flights (amazing it happens to birds just like us people!!!!) and when this happens over the desert the need for WATER becomes an issue!! This tiny little rest area houses the only tree cover and WATER for many many many miles around so it ends up being the perfect place for professional bird watchers to collect data/gather picture as rare birds from all over the world end up in this tiny location!! Think of it - rare people from around the world end up coming here to photograph rare birds also from around the world = who'ld of ever thunk it!! A side note: Notice the shirt that the fellow that I am interviewing is wearing? If you are a Bee Keeper like one of my daughter's (or even just someone interested in the balance of life on our planet), that shirt may mean something special to you (the man does NICE work!!). The guy who is wearing that shirt actually designed it and is into bee's and their survival. I have his contact information. If you are interested in aquiring a shirt like his just drop me a note in the comment section below and I will get it to you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted October 2, 2018 Share #33 Posted October 2, 2018 Fascinating stuff youse guys.... Got any stickers on the new ride YET?? :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share #34 Posted October 3, 2018 Fascinating stuff youse guys.... Got any stickers on the new ride YET?? :-) As you know Jack, you bring up a subject that is very dear to our hearts.. Long story made short,,, I refused to let the new car dealership here in Muskegon "detail" Trooper and brought him home just the way he came off the ship because I wanted his original stickers right from his birth place in Korea.. Little by little and one by one those original stickers are coming down and landing in his treasure chest.. As you probably know,, we are gathering his future displaying technique as he hauls my tired old worn out body around the country and, like Tweeks,,,, he earns them.. Because he is brand new with a paint job and clear coat that was applied early in '18, we have been forewarned that it would probably be in his best interest to give the clear coat on his "Electric Blue" (it is a really cool Pearl color that changes colors in the sunlight) factory paint job a chance to cure before applying his stickers... Time frame suggested is 1 year. I am not to concerned with rust gathering (his hood and hatch are aluminum and the entire car has an 8 year no rust warranty) but I do think it best to hold off on applying his earned stickers... Make sense?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share #35 Posted October 3, 2018 I think Trooper has found his real calling in life as an explorer and treasure hunter. In this short video he leads Tippy and I around a treasure of a western gold rush town that his nose for adventure sniffed out!! Yes,, the towns boom days are long gone by and with less then 300 people keeping it alive, Ghost Townism is nipping at the cowboy towns heals BUT - WOWZY WOW WOW WOW - one gaze at the building architecture should give the viewers some understanding as to why a couple ol Cowpokes like Tip and I fell in love with this town even if it is stuck in days gone by!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YamahaLarry Posted October 3, 2018 Share #36 Posted October 3, 2018 on Hwy 1 over to Gyserville, many years ago,, it was a very seldom occasion that we made the trip to the west coast on our touring bike Rode PCH a many a mile back in the 70s on my Honda 350, and also in my 1971 Galaxie 500. Took the family out there in 2004 and 2005 and spent a couple more days driving it. Those times it was in a Ford Expedition one trip and a Lincoln Town Car the next, so not as much fun. Have I ever told you that I love your videos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share #37 Posted October 3, 2018 (edited) Rode PCH a many a mile back in the 70s on my Honda 350, and also in my 1971 Galaxie 500. Took the family out there in 2004 and 2005 and spent a couple more days driving it. Those times it was in a Ford Expedition one trip and a Lincoln Town Car the next, so not as much fun. Have I ever told you that I love your videos? """"Rode PCH a many a mile back in the 70s on my Honda 350, and also in my 1971 Galaxie 500. Took the family out there in 2004 and 2005 and spent a couple more days driving it. Those times it was in a Ford Expedition one trip and a Lincoln Town Car the next, so not as much fun."""" OUTSTANDING BROTHER!!!!!! My first trip along that edge was in 78 aboard a Shovelhead Lowrider I won on a job site while tiggin tube for the Boilermakers! Been riding the west for a lot longer but that California trip in 78 was the beginning of a whole new horizon for those ol lop eared varmint!! Ya got me jealous Larry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! """"Have I ever told you that I love your videos? :)"""" Awe,,, THANK YOU!!!! The kindness found in a brotherly is always appreciated my friend!!! Whats that I smell burnin??????? Speakin of cookin up another vid here,,,, I think another one just popped up!!!! Edited October 3, 2018 by cowpuc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share #38 Posted October 3, 2018 I have always been a desert rat and like my kids who rode on the back of many of our Ventures thru the years, Tip caught the love for it's untouched vastness and endless beauty from my borderline madness for the deserts endless beauty and harsh songs of loneliness. Perhaps that is why we both totally enjoyed the time spent exploring this gorgeous area known as The Mojave National Preserve so much.. There were many many miles of roadway during this night that produced "unpassable due to flooding" signs as Trooper worked thru the midnight hours in search of late night exploration fun and crossing opportunities that only places like this can produce. Thankfully Trooper's fuel tank of 10 gallon's of gas easily produces over 600 miles of run time (our record for one tank so far is 673 miles)!!!! As a matter of fact,,,, even running his AC (it runs off his Hybrid Battery) all night when it was time for him to become "TROOPER THE MICRO MOTOR HOME" was done with no fear at all!! We left the AC on all night and I noticed his fuel gauge had not dropped even one needles worth by the time rise n shine as shown in the vid was upon us!! Remarkable,, JUST REMARKABLE!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share #39 Posted October 3, 2018 It never ceases to amaze me what a person can learn about any given area at any given time just by stopping and exploring concrete monuments (I call em treasures of the road) and the like left standing on the roadways across this great land of ours!! This particular monument was nothing short of astounding when read with the endless harsh desert land sitting there in front of us!! It takes very little imagination when doing this to realize that we modern day travelers are still only one roadway away from a day and age when just staying alive here was a moment by moment struggle!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share #40 Posted October 4, 2018 (edited) oppsss Edited October 4, 2018 by cowpuc bad bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share #41 Posted October 4, 2018 Just like the numerous early model Yamaha Venture touring bikes Tip and I wore out treasure hunting all over America in days gone by,, Trooper shows off his ability to locate those hidden little treasures out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowrollwv Posted October 5, 2018 Share #42 Posted October 5, 2018 Just like the numerous early model Yamaha Venture touring bikes Tip and I wore out treasure hunting all over America in days gone by,, Trooper shows off his ability to locate those hidden little treasures out there! Puc the turn buckle you found is a chain binder. I Have five or six of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 5, 2018 Author Share #43 Posted October 5, 2018 Puc the turn buckle you found is a chain binder. I Have five or six of them. Thanks for catching that Roller!! Now that I know what it actually is,, would you mind going out and counting your Chain Binders? If you are missing one and have crossed the desert in or near Joshua Tree N.P. and may have dropped one out there I would be glad to return your errant, runaway Binder ... If you have never been there though,,,, we REALLY should try to set up a ride in that area = WOWZY WOW WOW WOW,, talk about biking country!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 5, 2018 Author Share #44 Posted October 5, 2018 If you are as in-love with our Nations vintage highways as we are, just try to imagine how Tippy, Trooper and I felt when we discovered the name of the roadway that leads to Joshua Tree National Parks west entrance!!! I can't imagine anyone who enjoys touring in our gorgeous country, being via motorcycle, car, motor home or even bicycle would have any thing other than "AWESOME" to say about traveling good ol' Route 66 like the 3 of us did!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowrollwv Posted October 5, 2018 Share #45 Posted October 5, 2018 Rt 66 that is one rt that my friend Donnie wants to ride the full length but it is chopped up so much it is herd to find any more. It is even hard to ride Rt 50 coast to coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 5, 2018 Author Share #46 Posted October 5, 2018 Well what do you know!! That thing growing back there at our camping spot in the Mojave National Preserve wasn't even a cactus = come to find out and proven here in Joshua Tree National Park,,, that great big thing I was calling a "cactus" is/was actually a TREE - A JOSHUA TREE!!! THIS NATIONAL PARK IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted October 6, 2018 Share #47 Posted October 6, 2018 Are you coming this way? I'm in Phoenix this weekend... Joshua trees are cool!! I'll be in Green Valley Tuesday. @KIC wanted to meet you the next time you came around here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 6, 2018 Author Share #48 Posted October 6, 2018 Are you coming this way? I'm in Phoenix this weekend... Joshua trees are cool!! I'll be in Green Valley Tuesday. KIC wanted to meet you the next time you came around here Hi Brother!!!!!!!! We are back home now... Tips got a heart checkup next week,, I gotta Cardiologist appt. early next week, followed by a regular Dr. Appt the next, followed by an Oncologist appt the next week so we thought best to get our backsides back in Michigan for the month.. Don't stop fearing and/or hiding out though as I was confirming with my Grandson last night that the 3 of us are welcome to come back and visit him in California this winter (something we have never done,,, seeing Cali during our blustery, Wisconsin White Washer infested winter time) and as much as Trooper LOVED the heat down/out there = I spec we will drop down that way on our way over and back. Be honored to hook up,, get some in if we do David and meet the lop eared KIC varmint too if it all worked out!! Till then,,, keep your lop eared varmint head up, live in the sunshine and: Tip sends her love as she opens another package of that AWESOME Tea her friend from Arizona sent her = getting COLD here already!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share #49 Posted October 7, 2018 This little rest area near Yuma Arizona reveals many things.. For instance,, one of the things that has always been part of our travels is the tendency to get lost in time/space and rest area's like this always serve a Compass like purpose in making sure we are pointed in the direction and this Arizonian pause on the trail did that to perfection. There was really something wayyyy more special with this location though as the three of us discover and take a moment to reflect on a monument memorial erected in respect for one of Arizona's finest who had fallen in the line of duty!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIC Posted October 8, 2018 Share #50 Posted October 8, 2018 Hey, who are you calling a lop eared varmint ?? I resemble that comment !! I would love to meet you.. Proving that PUC and Sasquatch really exist are two of my bucket list items. Of course Sasquatch was listed as the easiest to accomplish. I am in Alabama until Wednesday.. but if yo come back to the Southwest in the winter, Dave and I could take a ride ( we ride year around since we keep ice in the freezer where it belongs) and meet up with you. Come to think of it.. I've seen pictures... maybe i can knock off the Sasquatch item at teh same time... hmmmmm.. Hi Brother!!!!!!!! We are back home now... Tips got a heart checkup next week,, I gotta Cardiologist appt. early next week, followed by a regular Dr. Appt the next, followed by an Oncologist appt the next week so we thought best to get our backsides back in Michigan for the month.. Don't stop fearing and/or hiding out though as I was confirming with my Grandson last night that the 3 of us are welcome to come back and visit him in California this winter (something we have never done,,, seeing Cali during our blustery, Wisconsin White Washer infested winter time) and as much as Trooper LOVED the heat down/out there = I spec we will drop down that way on our way over and back. Be honored to hook up,, get some in if we do David and meet the lop eared KIC varmint too if it all worked out!! Till then,,, keep your lop eared varmint head up, live in the sunshine and: Tip sends her love as she opens another package of that AWESOME Tea her friend from Arizona sent her = getting COLD here already!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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