It's Wednesday, August 5th, and I arrived in Troy yesterday afternoon around 5:00 PM, and parked in my old spot in the center of Kelly and Craig's big garage. It felt like coming home :-) Craig pulled in right behind me. The ride from Topeka to Troy was uneventful, and the rush hour ride around St. Louis wasn't too bad. I shamed a guy in a little red car who has texting next to me at 60 mph into putting his phone down. Idiot.
Anywho, Craig is at work this morning, and Kelly and the kids are taking care of a couple of appointments, so I'm doing laundry and hanging out with their two newest additions to the family, Mason and Finley, a beautiful (and sweet) Pit Bull and a giant (also sweet) Great Dane. I took this picture after lunch, Alex hanging out with her four-legged siblings.
I'm going to try to get this blog caught up today.
Friday, July 31st, on my ride from Pocatello, Idaho to Lake Powell at Bullfrog, Utah, in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. I left Pocatello early after a quick breakfast at the hotel, and took I-15 south to US 6, then jogged west for a couple of miles on I-70, then south on Utah highways 24, 95 and 276 to Bullfrog Marina. A total of about 460 miles.
The ride down US 6 was pretty and curvy, but there was a lot of traffic in some places.
I had left Pocatello with a full tank of gas, and filled up a couple of times during potty breaks and "wake-me-up" stops along the way, but as I approached I-70, with a bit over 100 miles to go, I had about a third of a tank of fuel. I was just sure an intersection of two major highways, US 6 and I-70, would have services, but there was absolutely nothing, out in the middle of nowhere. Oops! Once on I-70, there was a sign that said "No services on I-70 next 100 miles." Oh chit! I was pretty sure there was gas at Hanksville, where Utah 95 and 276 meet, so I slowed down and enjoyed the scenery, and watched the gas gauge drop below a quarter of a tank, hoping I wouldn't be sitting on the side of the road before it was all over. I had been traveling at pretty high speeds on the highways before then, so I really didn't have a good feel for how much fuel I had left, since the last half of the tank always seems to drop like a rock. I sure was happy to see Hanksville, and I actually still had a gallon of fuel in the tank, or about 40 more miles. Rose didn't fail me, as usual :-) I love this bike!
Some of the scenery on the way down to the lake...
Some pretty cool rock formations. I'm fascinated by what millions of years of wind and water have created.
Hmmm, what's after that drop-off? Slowing down a bit...
I just love it when I can see the road disappearing into the next little canyon. It seems like it just goes on forever.
The scenery gets more dramatic as I get closer to the lake.
Some of the road was like a roller coaster. Fun roads to ride!
First glimpse of Lake Powell.
Entering Bullfrog.
Bullfrog Marina from a distance.
I met Sue, JJ and McKenna at Defiance House Lodge at Bullfrog, where we spent Friday night. We drove out to the RV parking area and had dinner with their friends Betty and Greg Britton, their daughters Danielle and Tonya, and their families. Betty had cooked up a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs out of their beautiful fifth wheel. These two are retired and living the life, traveling all around the country with their little dog Sally. They are such wonderful, gracious hosts, and welcomed me into the group from the first minute. There were 15 of us, including 9 adults and 6 children, ready to board the houseboat on Saturday morning.
Saturday, August 1st. This is the view from my room at the lodge on Saturday morning. It was overcast all day, but it didn't rain. The clouds kept it cooler than the normal temps for this time of year, which I understand are usually 100+ in this area. It made for a very pleasant day!
I can't believe I never got a photo of our houseboat from the shore. I was so fascinated by all of the stuff that was getting loaded on the boat, and the area surrounding the lake, that I forgot to take a picture of the boat!
Miss McKenna after lunch. I think she wore a little bit of the ketchup from that yummy hot dog :-) Such a sweetheart.
One of the two boats being towed by the houseboat. This was from the top deck.
A very roomy deck with a great view
McKenna, Addy, and Colton relaxing on the top deck.
Canyon walls surrounding the lake. That white line is probably about 100 feet from the water level, and is the high water mark.
Feeling like an ant again...
On Saturday evening, Betty and Greg made a wonderful pork tenderloin on the grill and we had a delicious dinner on the top deck. You definitely don't go hungry on this cruise!! Of course, I forgot to take my camera up there. Later that evening, the guys blew up 8 or so big air mattresses, and out came the sheets and pillows, and we slept on the top deck under the stars (and a few clouds). It was wonderful. So glad it didn't rain!
The next morning, I regrettably had to say goodbye and get back on the road. Sue, JJ and McKenna took me back to the marina in their ski boat. It was a much quicker ride back to the marina than it had been out to the cove in the houseboat the day before :-)
A windblown McKenna
And Sue, always smiling, my friend for 35 years. I love this woman!
Sue, McKenna and JJ heading back to the houseboat after dropping me off at the marina, where I caught the shuttle to the lodge to repack and hit the road. I sure wish I could have spent the entire week with these great people. Maybe if I'm good they'll invite me back :-)
I was having such a great time in the water with the kids, I completely forgot to get pictures of the whole group and all of the fun. I know Sue took some really good ones, so once she's back on dry land this weekend I hope she'll send me some I can share.
It started sprinkling as I got back to the lodge on Sunday morning, and by the time I came back out to load up the bike, it was raining and blowing. Oh goodie, loading and leaving in the rain :-( Needless to say, I didn't have the camera out on the way out of the park. I stopped in Hanksville for gas and lunch, because I was already getting sleepy. Too much fun in the water on Saturday I guess. Once I got back to the highway, the rain was letting up, but it was still sprinkling off and on, so I never did take the camera out. I was having so much trouble staying awake, even after a couple of energy drinks, that I only rode about 225 miles total, and stopped for the night at 4:30 p.m. in Grand Junction, Colorado. I had a nap and a shower, then went to have dinner in the bar at the hotel. What a trip. The bartender/waitress had a mouth like a sailor, and carried on with a few folks at the bar with an "I can beat your story" contest for the entire time I was there. I had my nachos and a couple of beers, and went back to my room. I was asleep again by 9 p.m. I guess my three weeks on the road was catching up with me.
Monday, August 3rd. Grand Junction, CO to Topeka, KS.
I woke up refreshed and ready to get some miles behind me on my way here to Troy to see Kelly, Craig, Alex and Scott, my 'other' kids. I love these guys, and have missed seeing them. I took photos from I-70 in Colorado until I got through Denver, then the scenery got kind of boring. I must have been hitting the selection dial a lot with my gloved hand, because a lot of the photos were blurry, and were obviously not being taken with the auto focus program. Here are the ones that I actually got.
Starting the day out with clouds. Again.
At a rest stop, I watched as several rafts floated by. There's some good white water rafting along I-70 west of Vail.
There were a lot of really cool rocks down by the river, I wish I could bring some of them home for my garden!
This was a really nice rest area with some great views.
Of course my camera battery died right before I got to Glenwood Canyon, and I really couldn't find a good place to pull over. Technology is wonderful, unless you're not prepared :-(
Riding through Vail. It's been under construction since I lived in Colorado in the 80's! TOO many people.
The Eisenhower and Johnson tunnels - fun riding through this. I'm sure glad it's lighted!
These falls were pretty, but my camera doesn't do well with side shots, too much movement. Oh well.
I can't remember the name of this one, but it was a pretty entrance.
Back to silli-visation. Goodbye mountains, hello flatland. Denver has really grown since I left in 1989. Traffic was crazy, and it wasn't even rush hour.
It's hard to believe it's been more than 25 years since I worked in downtown Denver. While I miss Colorado, I sure don't miss driving downtown!
Once east of Denver, I took one picture of the plains, and it's pretty representative of the landscape from there through Kansas. That's about the time I put the camera away.
I rode 780 miles on Monday, so I guess I made up for my short day on Sunday. I stopped in Topeka, Kansas about 9:30 p.m. I don't usually ride after dark because of critters, and I wish I had stopped earlier. I had seen a sign for a hotel at a certain exit number and decided I'd stop there for the night, but there was NOTHING at that exit. So I rode another 40 miles, and by then it was really dark out in Nowhere, Kansas. I exited at the first sign of civilization and found a hotel for the night. Unfortunately there was a Hooter's next door, and the obnoxious bikers were pretty noisy coming away from there for a while. But I was in my room by 10 p.m., and dinner was beef jerky from the gas station where I filled up before going to the hotel. I had downed a few energy drinks during the day, so had a bit of a hard time getting to sleep, but I knew I didn't have to get an early start the next morning, since the kids were working anyway and wouldn't be home until about 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Tuesday, August 4th, Topeka, KS to Troy, IL
I blogged a bit on Tuesday morning (yesterday's post), and left the hotel about 10:30 a.m. I took the scenic route around Topeka, since I-70 is the Kansas Turnpike and a toll road through there. Even with a good night's rest, I was still fighting sleep for a while in the morning. For some reason I can do early, and I can do late, but I hit a wall about noon and have to fight my way through that. I stopped for lunch about 2 p.m, and after that I was good for the rest of the ride through St. Louis and into Troy. It was on I-270 around St. Louis that I encountered the texter in the little red car. Jerk, that's how bikers die on the highway.
Kelly and Craig took me to a great Mexican restaurant called Diablitos Cantina in St. Louis for dinner. What a neat place!! And the food was excellent. They have a really neat salsa bar where you can try several different types of fresh salsas of all heat levels. Good stuff! Craig and I had a Mexican Mule, which is jalapeno infused tequila in ginger beer -- sounds strange, but it was delicious.
Then it was back to the house for an early night, since Craig had to work today. It had been a long day, so I slept like a baby. This morning Kelly and the kids did some errands while I did laundry and worked on pictures and the blog, then we went over to "Hu Hot" in St. Louis, a Mongolian Barbecue restaurant near Craig's office, to have lunch with Craig. That was pretty cool too, and the food was wonderful. As usual, I ate too much. I think we're just going to have dessert (ice cream) for dinner this evening. Works for me!
Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving early for the final leg home. I doubt I'll be taking many pictures, since I've ridden that route probably 25-30 times since 2001. While I hate that this adventure is coming to a close, I'm ready to get back to home, sweet home and have a long weekend to relax and get ready to go back to work. I hope Matt, my backup, hasn't done such a good job that they've figured out they can do without me! That's the danger in taking a month off :-)
Closing for now, I'll do a final post when I arrive back in Jefferson, hopefully in time to go play Thursday Trivia with my neighborhood friends!
