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I have been meaning to write about my recent trip for a week, but life has gotten in the way. For those of you who don't know, I am a recovering alcoholic. My wife passed away late last year and I fell off the wagon, hard. I have gotten myself back into recovery and am clean and sober 33 days now. I have spent a lot of time immersing myself in AA since getting back from my trip, so I am just now getting to this.
I took off on Thursday, June 13th from Seattle and headed down to Santa Monica, CA in a 2000 Silverado. My brother from another mother, Darryl Carriere, is an amazing harmonica player in a blues band called the Celso Salim Band. Darryl's wife, Eve, is Trina's cousin. The band won the southern California region of the national blues competition, then went to Memphis and won the whole shebang. Darryl won the best harmonica player award. They played a great gig on Venice beach and it was a privilege to see them. This band is definitely going places!!! While I was there a picked up bike #1 from Darryl, a 2003 Honda XL650. It's like new with 3000 miles and has always been garaged. I got it for $3200. He was selling it because the band was ready to record a new album and he needed money for the recording studio. I wanted a dual purpose for exploring the logging roads and trails around my new place, so win-win.
The next day I headed for Denver to see my old friend Kevin. I have known Kevin since junior high when I moved to a new school. He was the first kid to come up and introduce himself to me. Heading up to Vegas, my GPS tells me there is a wreck ahead. The highway was packed and everyone was trying to do 80-85mph. This was Sunday morning with travelers heading back north after their weekend in SoCal. I backed off a bit and, sure enough, we found the wreck. I started braking early and peeled off into the desert sand as the drivers in front of me all decided it was time for a game of dominoes. Bap bap bap bap bap bap bap. I'm not sure how many fender benders there were. I got back on the road and about 5 minutes later realized the XL had fallen over and was resting on the side of the bed. Oops. I got it secured better, got past the mess and had smooth sailing all the way to Vegas.
Vegas was a mess. The interstate was completely shut down and it took my an hour to get through the old Fremont area and get back on course. More construction in St. George. This would become a pattern throughout my trip, something I hadn't planned on. Road construction everywhere. The economy is doing well in America which must mean lots of tax dollars available to fix our interstates.
Utah brough the most beautiful electric storm I have ever seen!!!! The lightning was crazy and lit up the hillsides in this beautiful orangy-purple color that was just amazing!!! I wish I had pulled off and made a video, but everyone was getting the hell out of Dodge so I followed suit. I made it to western Colorado from Los Angeles that day, a long drive for sure.
The next day I made it to Denver by about 1pm. Kevin took me out for lunch and then we went and did some hiking around the Red Rocks amphitheater. I now have a concert at that place on my bucket list, I have never seen anything like it!!! After that we went up to Falcon Mountain, which overlooks the whole area. I will be dedicating a future trip to Utah and Colorado for sure!!!
l left after dinner and made it to Burlington, CO that night. That place was a serious armpit. I wanted to get a lock for the bike and found the WalMart. Talk about irony. I couldn't decide if I was more afraid of getting the bike stolen or getting out of the truck. I didn't waste any time, that's for sure.
The next day I drove through Kansas. The excitement of this leg of the trip was the occasional bridge over the interstate. And I decided the Wizard of Oz is a total hoax. I didn't see a single scarecrow, tin man, lion, flying monkey or pretty girl with a yappy little dog. There was a wicked witch though. She put a curse on my cell phone and it took a dump smack dab in the middle of the state. Good thing I brought a spare with me. I rolled into Joplin, Missouri around dinnertime and got some Arby's and went to bed at 7pm, super tired. I had driven 840 miles that day, which was, ironically, the exact same mileage I had put on from LA to Colorado.
The next day was super exciting and I was really looking forward to it. I finally got to meet Sam (Porky)!!! He drove out to meet me and took me to breakfast in his little home town of Carthage. He wasn't feeling great but you would never know it. We had a great time talking and getting to know each other in person, talking about my trip, etc. I have been working out and eating right, but there was no way in hell I was going out to breakfast in Missouri without trying the biscuits and gravy. I may regret it for life, because after having them there, they will never be the same back home. I still get a little chubbed up just thinking about it. After breakfast I followed Sam back to his place and we loaded up my second bike, a 2016 Suzuki V Strom 650ABS that I bought from him. When Sam advertises a bike as "pristine" he isn't kidding. Showroom condition, purred like a kitten. I met his son and his wife and I can't say enough about them. If you ever have a chance to meet this man, do it. He's a great guy and a class act. And he didn't give me a red cent to say these things about him
After a brief visit at their home I set off for home. Up through Missouri, Iowa, and into Rapid City, South Dakota. Evidently the tax dollars I talked about earlier haven't been funneled into Iowa yet because some of the roads there are more warped than our socialist society. Rolling into Rapid City at 1am, I found myself in an electric storm that was even greater than the one in Utah. This one wasn't exciting though, it was downright scary. It reminded me of some scene from an old WWII movie, the sky lit up white everywhere, as if bombs were exploding, nonstop. I honestly thought I was driving into a tornado. I was so tired and all I wanted was a room to sleep in. Dumping rain. I finally found one at the 3rd hotel I tried. I slept hard that night.
The next morning while gassing up I discovered that someone green with envy decided the tank of my new V Strom was too plain and needed to put some scratches on it. A#$hole.
That night I rolled into Missoula, MT. I was finally able to get ahold of my sponsor, as his number was in the phone that had died. He chastised me for not going to any meetings on my trip. I found one, but I would have had to wait an hour, and I fell asleep. I'll go in the morning, I said to myself. Well, morning came, and all I could think about was going home to Halle (my German shepherd). As I was heading for I-90 a little voice in my head said, "You're going to gain an hour on this leg of the trip, and the AA meeting is an hour long." F#$K. Okay. I went to the meeting in the basement of a church and it was amazing!!! Something like 35 people gathered together, they were cheerful and happy and I felt privileged to witness it. I heard some things I needed to hear and it put me in a great frame of mind for the end of my journey. I rolled into home around dinnertime. 5,465 miles in 9 days.
Today I finally got the new V Strom out on the road. What a great ride!!! It's smooth as silk and shifts like butter. Nimble and easy to ride. I am going to put some serious miles on this baby. At first I was a little disappointed that the instrument panel has all kinds of neat stuff on it, including a great tach and a gas gauge, but it doesn't have a clock. After an hour in the saddle I realized that is designed to lose track of time
I took off on Thursday, June 13th from Seattle and headed down to Santa Monica, CA in a 2000 Silverado. My brother from another mother, Darryl Carriere, is an amazing harmonica player in a blues band called the Celso Salim Band. Darryl's wife, Eve, is Trina's cousin. The band won the southern California region of the national blues competition, then went to Memphis and won the whole shebang. Darryl won the best harmonica player award. They played a great gig on Venice beach and it was a privilege to see them. This band is definitely going places!!! While I was there a picked up bike #1 from Darryl, a 2003 Honda XL650. It's like new with 3000 miles and has always been garaged. I got it for $3200. He was selling it because the band was ready to record a new album and he needed money for the recording studio. I wanted a dual purpose for exploring the logging roads and trails around my new place, so win-win.
The next day I headed for Denver to see my old friend Kevin. I have known Kevin since junior high when I moved to a new school. He was the first kid to come up and introduce himself to me. Heading up to Vegas, my GPS tells me there is a wreck ahead. The highway was packed and everyone was trying to do 80-85mph. This was Sunday morning with travelers heading back north after their weekend in SoCal. I backed off a bit and, sure enough, we found the wreck. I started braking early and peeled off into the desert sand as the drivers in front of me all decided it was time for a game of dominoes. Bap bap bap bap bap bap bap. I'm not sure how many fender benders there were. I got back on the road and about 5 minutes later realized the XL had fallen over and was resting on the side of the bed. Oops. I got it secured better, got past the mess and had smooth sailing all the way to Vegas.
Vegas was a mess. The interstate was completely shut down and it took my an hour to get through the old Fremont area and get back on course. More construction in St. George. This would become a pattern throughout my trip, something I hadn't planned on. Road construction everywhere. The economy is doing well in America which must mean lots of tax dollars available to fix our interstates.
Utah brough the most beautiful electric storm I have ever seen!!!! The lightning was crazy and lit up the hillsides in this beautiful orangy-purple color that was just amazing!!! I wish I had pulled off and made a video, but everyone was getting the hell out of Dodge so I followed suit. I made it to western Colorado from Los Angeles that day, a long drive for sure.
The next day I made it to Denver by about 1pm. Kevin took me out for lunch and then we went and did some hiking around the Red Rocks amphitheater. I now have a concert at that place on my bucket list, I have never seen anything like it!!! After that we went up to Falcon Mountain, which overlooks the whole area. I will be dedicating a future trip to Utah and Colorado for sure!!!
l left after dinner and made it to Burlington, CO that night. That place was a serious armpit. I wanted to get a lock for the bike and found the WalMart. Talk about irony. I couldn't decide if I was more afraid of getting the bike stolen or getting out of the truck. I didn't waste any time, that's for sure.
The next day I drove through Kansas. The excitement of this leg of the trip was the occasional bridge over the interstate. And I decided the Wizard of Oz is a total hoax. I didn't see a single scarecrow, tin man, lion, flying monkey or pretty girl with a yappy little dog. There was a wicked witch though. She put a curse on my cell phone and it took a dump smack dab in the middle of the state. Good thing I brought a spare with me. I rolled into Joplin, Missouri around dinnertime and got some Arby's and went to bed at 7pm, super tired. I had driven 840 miles that day, which was, ironically, the exact same mileage I had put on from LA to Colorado.
The next day was super exciting and I was really looking forward to it. I finally got to meet Sam (Porky)!!! He drove out to meet me and took me to breakfast in his little home town of Carthage. He wasn't feeling great but you would never know it. We had a great time talking and getting to know each other in person, talking about my trip, etc. I have been working out and eating right, but there was no way in hell I was going out to breakfast in Missouri without trying the biscuits and gravy. I may regret it for life, because after having them there, they will never be the same back home. I still get a little chubbed up just thinking about it. After breakfast I followed Sam back to his place and we loaded up my second bike, a 2016 Suzuki V Strom 650ABS that I bought from him. When Sam advertises a bike as "pristine" he isn't kidding. Showroom condition, purred like a kitten. I met his son and his wife and I can't say enough about them. If you ever have a chance to meet this man, do it. He's a great guy and a class act. And he didn't give me a red cent to say these things about him
After a brief visit at their home I set off for home. Up through Missouri, Iowa, and into Rapid City, South Dakota. Evidently the tax dollars I talked about earlier haven't been funneled into Iowa yet because some of the roads there are more warped than our socialist society. Rolling into Rapid City at 1am, I found myself in an electric storm that was even greater than the one in Utah. This one wasn't exciting though, it was downright scary. It reminded me of some scene from an old WWII movie, the sky lit up white everywhere, as if bombs were exploding, nonstop. I honestly thought I was driving into a tornado. I was so tired and all I wanted was a room to sleep in. Dumping rain. I finally found one at the 3rd hotel I tried. I slept hard that night.
The next morning while gassing up I discovered that someone green with envy decided the tank of my new V Strom was too plain and needed to put some scratches on it. A#$hole.
That night I rolled into Missoula, MT. I was finally able to get ahold of my sponsor, as his number was in the phone that had died. He chastised me for not going to any meetings on my trip. I found one, but I would have had to wait an hour, and I fell asleep. I'll go in the morning, I said to myself. Well, morning came, and all I could think about was going home to Halle (my German shepherd). As I was heading for I-90 a little voice in my head said, "You're going to gain an hour on this leg of the trip, and the AA meeting is an hour long." F#$K. Okay. I went to the meeting in the basement of a church and it was amazing!!! Something like 35 people gathered together, they were cheerful and happy and I felt privileged to witness it. I heard some things I needed to hear and it put me in a great frame of mind for the end of my journey. I rolled into home around dinnertime. 5,465 miles in 9 days.
Today I finally got the new V Strom out on the road. What a great ride!!! It's smooth as silk and shifts like butter. Nimble and easy to ride. I am going to put some serious miles on this baby. At first I was a little disappointed that the instrument panel has all kinds of neat stuff on it, including a great tach and a gas gauge, but it doesn't have a clock. After an hour in the saddle I realized that is designed to lose track of time
