Taking a cross-country motorcycle trip was something that I had always fantasized about... I'm not quite sure why... Maybe it's because of how it's portrayed in the movies... Maybe it's because my dad has been a motorcyclist all his life and has logged millions of miles on two wheels... Or maybe it's just because every man, no matter what his lifestyle and background, has the deep seeded desire somewhere in himself to just experience freedom…
I have to admit, most of my preconceived notions about being on a motorcycle for several hours a day were negative... My back would hurt, I would get hot, boredom would overtake my mind and I would not have fun... I have no idea how I came up with all these ideas, as I had never driven a motorcycle more than about 50 miles in one day... Although I had owned several motorcycles as an adult, they were all "in-town”
type bikes and they mostly sat in my garage and collected cob webs before they were eventually sold.
As for my traveling partner, my neighbor just so happened to have the first bit of September off from work… The same time I wanted to take my journey…
I met Mike when I moved in to my house on Van Buren Street after my divorce in August of 2010. I knew right away we would be friends from the first time we shared a conversation about our lawns over my front yard fence. My assumption was confirmed as I got to know him as a master woodworker, former big wall climber, long distance cyclist and musician. He had worked in Yellowstone and been to Tibet, built beautiful woodworks from scratch (including most of my best friend Brian’s newborn daughter’s first changing table) and bicycled across a great deal of the U.S. and Canada. Mike had been an adventurer most of his life and he would turn out to be the perfect person to go on this trip with.
Our first leg we planned to get from Amarillo to Eastern Colorado. The optimism I had been hiding behind doubt was quickly shattered as before we were five miles from the start, I was almost in two accidents. The first, I almost hit a man crossing the street illegally on a bicycle, followed by me not paying attention to a “right on green arrow only” light and nearly getting clipped by a car the size of a small cruise ship. Awesome… This is gonna be a long trip.
By the time we found our first camp site, the memory of the near tragedies had left my thoughts and my level of excitement was fully re-charged… Well, except for the fact that my rear-end was numb and I couldn’t feel my wrists… The good news is, my excitement and enthusiasm would grow with each mile logged and the amount of pain and numbness in my body would shrink substantially day by day…
We spent time in National Parks, meeting interesting people, navigating hair-pin turns, riding in the rain and cold, dodging wild animals and camping in serene environments… In all, we logged around 4,500 miles. We travelled from Texas to Canada and back, while stopping to experience everything we could along the way…
To tell the story with words alone would (a) take way too long and (b) be an injustice to the story itself, as my literary skills could not serve the purpose nearly as well as my photographic ones will… Take a look and enjoi! (for the record, I spell enjoy” incorrectly on purpose. I have no idea why.)
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| My 2008 Yamaha FJR 1300 outside of my house in Amarillo on the first morning of our trip. This ‘ol girl and I would become really close in the coming weeks… |
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| Day 1 in Amarillo… Just two young, naive kids with a dream... |
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| Campsite #1 in Eastern Colorado… That first shower felt REALLY good. |
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| Camping in Nebraska was… Well… Lets just say that the theme tune from themovie “Deliverance” was in my mind the entire night… I kept my bike AND my gun very close by... |
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| Mike and me taking a break just outside of the Black Hills... |
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| Where the beer flows like wine… (SERIOUSLY SUCH a beautiful state!!) |
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| Mt. Rushmore!! |
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Devil’s Tower… Amazing rock formation that makes climbers like Mike giddy with excitement. |
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| Of all the places in the world I’ve seen, this was one of the most amazing…My first view of the Teton Mountains outside Jackson, Wy. |
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| Mike just saved 15% on his car insurance… He was pretty excited... |
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| Just outside of Jackson, Wy with a great view of the Tetons. |
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| One of my favorite moments of the trip… Getting to see Mike ride into the Teton Mountains... |
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We spent 3 days visiting Yellowstone… And it wasn’t nearly enough... |
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| Made it to CANADA!!!! And I don’t know why I’m doing Jazz Hands… Hmm? They turned us away because they don’t share Texas’ appreciation for handguns… Freakin Canadians… |
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| Glacier National Park… This guy did NOT look happy that I was in his territory... |
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| Luxury accommodations with in suite coffee maker/stover combo and goose down bedding.. |
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| No one ever said that rain gear was sexy... |
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Hey, Yamaha… If you want this shot for the cover of your next catalog, just give me a holler... |
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| Sunset in Yellowstone… The steam you see in the picture is from one of thethousands of geysers in the park…. |
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| Gourmet breakfast... |
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| I had to detour to Rexburg, ID to get my front tire replaced… Turns out those air pressure recommendations on the side of the tire aren’t just for decoration… I rode the first couple of thousandmiles of the trip on a rapidly balding tire… VERY dangerous…Glad these guys at Rexburg Motorsports were able to help me out... |
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| After setting up camp and unpacking, this is what a typical night looked like on the trip... |
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| If I could bottle up sadness and put it on a shelf, it would look something like this… Don’t park your bike on gravel… It doesn’t work well… |
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| Bishop castle in Southern Colorado… We didn’t plan to stop here, but only because we didn’t know about it… One man has been building this place stone by stone by himself for the past 40 years… He was a little kooky, but this place was amazing… If you’re ever near by, it’s worth a stop… Just bring your hard hat... |
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| Royal Gorge Bridge… |
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| Every time I see this sign it brings me joy… Home! |
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| Day 16… Raton, NM to Amarillo, TX. Right after this photo, we cracked open a couple of well deserved beers... |
