July 9, 2014 - Home After 28 Days

After 28 days on the road, we're finally home.  Last night was spent at the Best Western in Nephi, UT, a motel we've stayed at several times in the past.  Only 250 miles to home, but last night we were done and needed to stop.  The heat really wore us out.  You think we'd be used to the heat living in St. George, UT.  But, after all that time in the north, we were more used to the cool climate and I guess we will have to re-acclimate to the heat.

It's kind of funny, for about 24 of the 28 days on the road, I wore my heated jacket liner and kept my heated grips on.  Now, on the way home, I'm wetting down the LD Comfort top to stay cool and drinking a ton of ice water.

Our final stretch on I-15 to home was uneventful.  Well, except for the grooved portions of the Interstate.  The Heidenau tires on my bike like to jump around on the grooves which makes me a bit uncomfortable, especially at 80 mph.  I'll be happy to put the Continental Trail Attacks back on the bike.

As we motored along the scenery became quite familiar.  No longer were there any forests, streams, lakes or green stuff.  Nope, it became dry with patches of farm fields, patches of sage and lots of hot.

We made a couple of rest stops along the way.  We weren't in a hurry, we didn't have far to go.  Traffic was light and we were making good time.  Oh, we slept in and didn't leave the motel until almost 10 am!!!  Man, it felt good to sleep in :-)

We stopped here for gas and thought this would make a good rally bonus location.

I mean, how many times have you seen a green bull with red horns and hooves? (His name was Felix!)

Back on the Interstate, we saw more of this. And knew we were close to home.

 It was this view that said "Welcome Home", our big red mountain.

Wow, what an adventure we've had.  28 days, two countries, six states, two Canadian provinces and two Canadian Territories.  How good is that?  Yup, it was super, awesome good.  

My odometer says I rode 7,820 miles.  My tires held up but the rear is now toast, (it did have 1k on it when we started).  However, it got me home :-)  My chain held up and I believe the daily squirt of lube made that happen :-)

My little 2011 BMW F650GS now has 81,594 miles on her and she ran like the little sewing machine she is.  Hooray, hooray, no GS problems!!

Eric's 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere now has 82,135 miles on it and also ran like a top.  He had some fuse issues but that was his own fault due to wiring an SAE plug backwards.  The unused plug was bouncing against the handlebar and grounding out.  Duct tape to the rescue!  No other issues.

Both bikes ran just fine.  Of course, they are filthy as is our gear.  My gear can stand in the corner or run around the block all by itself.  Ick!!!  I can't touch my bike without getting disgustingly dirty.  We will correct all of that soon.

Anyway, we're home safe and sound.  We had a trip of a lifetime.  We rode, we saw stuff, we talked to people, met new friends, encountered new challenges and had a freakin' fantastic time!

I will post an epilogue in a few days and talk about what did and didn't work.  What we took that we needed and what we took that we didn't.  I'll give an overview of all our good and bad choices.  But, for now, I think I'll go to bed, in our own bed, in our own home, surrounded by our familiar and comfortable things.

It's good to travel but it is also good to come home.

Thanks to all who have followed our adventure.  I'm thinking we might have another adventure or two in the future!

Cheers and goodnight,
Cletha (at home in Ivins, UT)

July 8, 2014 - Slabbing it Home

What a great night sleep!  I so didn't want to get up, put on stinky riding gear and hop on the bike.  We stayed in Challis, ID at a motel called the Holiday Lodge Motel.  Only 10 rooms which are being rehabbed.  We got a king room that also had a microwave and fridge along with a coffee maker and lovely linens.  Yup, I slept well.

 We finally rolled out of the parking lot shortly after 8 am and headed south on Hiway 93.  Of course, just out of town, the deer were out in droves.  Fortunately, none decided to be suicidal and we just motored past them.  The scenery became arid with not much but brown sage to look at.

Oh, we also had cows on the road to dodge.  Fortunately, we were adept at dodging :-)

I giggled as we rode along Hiway 93 as we went to several bonus locations on that stretch of road when riding The Good, The Bad & The Ugly rally in 2011.

We stopped in Arco, ID for brekkie. I couldn't resist taking pictures of the giant rocking chair in front of Pickle's Place (where we had breakfast).  Silly fun!

After a fine meal, we fueled up the bikes and continued on our way to I-15.  Yes, the Interstate.  We hadn't been on an interstate in almost 4 weeks but it was the quickest way home and we both have work waiting for us.

The rest of the day wasn't very exciting unless you count the crazy, stupid cagers.  We got on I-15 just before Blackfoot, ID and slogged our way south.  The temperatures began to rise.  When we left Challis it was in the high 60's and just went up from there.

We made a pit stop at a rest stop where we wet down our LD comfort tops and opened vents in our gear to get some airflow.  We were conscious to drink plenty of water.

Man did it get HOT.  For the past month I've pretty much been wearing my heated jacket liner (and turning it on!) and my heated grips.  Not today.  The high temp I saw on my bike thermometer was 103.  Fortunately my bike behaved and didn't overheat.

We made another pit stop just north of Salt Lake and then back on the Interstate.  Our timing was good and we missed any rush hour traffic.  We stopped again in Santiquin to fuel up and cool down.  While fueling the aux cell, I slipped and the gas nozzle came out of the cell and sprayed gas!  Yikes!!!!  I quickly released the lever and shoved the nozzle back in the cell.  Dang, I've never done that before.  It was a clear sign that I was tired.  The droning down the freeway in the high heat had taken it's toll and I was done.  Stick a fork in me done.

We decided to call it a day in Nephi which was only about 20 miles from our fuel stop.  We pulled into the Best Western where we've stayed before.  A nice motel.  It made me laugh to only pay $85 for a king room with microwave, fridge, desk, table, coffee maker, and more.  A very large, spacious, well appointed room.  After what we were paying up north, this was almost a joke!  A good one, though :-)

So, here we are, 250 miles from home and all tucked into a nice room at the Nephi Best Western.  Our wonderful, epic adventure is quickly coming to a close.  I look at our bikes and our gear and think, geez, we brought a lot of our trip home with us in the way of dirt, grime and  bugs!!!  Disgusting is how I would categorize our bikes and gear.  I'll be posting pictures in the next few days before we clean up all our stuff :-)

So, that's it for today.  Just mostly a slog down the superslab.  More of the same tomorrow.  As we go south, I'm sure the temperatures will increase.  It could get interesting!

Thanks for following our adventure!
Cletha

July 7, 2014 - Lolo Pass to Challis, ID

Today was a ride day.  A day to get closer to home and the end of our wonderful trip.  However, it doesn't have to be boring and it wasn't.  We choose to ride Lolo Pass.  Surprisingly, I've never been on Lolo Pass.  Surprising because I've been on so many roads in the West, but this one escaped me until today.  Oh my, it was so worth riding!

But, first, here are a few shots of the Elkhorn Lodge in Grangeville, ID.  The remodeled rooms are super nice.  Very well decorated, nice finishes, fairly large, quiet and just plain nice.  Microwave and fridge (no coffee maker).  Very nice linens!

 This is a picture of the office and some of the original rooms.  We're thinking early 60's and not so very nice.  Cinder block construction and very dated.

 Nice lawn area with a BBQ and several tables and chairs.

Yes, this was a nice place to stay.  Much better than the Super 8.  At least the Elkhorn has character! 

 We left Grangeville and headed toward Lolo Pass.  The ride to the pass was excellent, scenic and twisty.  However the road sucked!  It was all buckled and rutted.  Once we hit Hiway 12 in Idaho, the road improved.  We stopped for this obligatory photo!

 Here are just some random shots of the road and river.  The highway follows the river through some awesome forest.

We stopped here and wet down our LD comfort tops to help cool us down.

 It is so incredibly beautiful.  I'm glad I had the chance to ride it.  I would do this highway again in a heartbeat!  Once we reached the town of Lolo, MT, we stopped for lunch.  Then on Highway 93 south back into Idaho.  The landscape changed from forest to desert hills and the temperatures increased accordingly.  I think the high I saw today was 98.  Hot!!!  (I bet it will get hotter before we get home!).

 We rode in to Challis, ID and looked for a place to stop for the night.  We checked out the town and then looked at a few motels.  I've stayed in Challis several times and nixed two places.  We finally settled on a little Mom & Pop on the north end of town.  A pleasant place with everything we need, microwave, fridge, king size bed, full bath and space for all our stuff!  I think we'll have a good night here.

Tomorrow we'll probably head toward Arco, ID and the Craters of the Moon National Park for a park stamp.  Then hightail it to the Interstate and book on toward home.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

I'm not sure I want to end our vacation!  In some ways, I'm anxious to get home to the stuff I'm familiar with.  Our own bathroom and bed.  Our kitchen and meals.  Just our stuff.   On the other hand, this has been such an adventure that I'm not sure I want it to end!  Well, I am looking forward to really clean clothes :-)

Thanks for following along.  I'll keep posting until we're home and then I plan to post an Epilogue.  So, please keep following!

Cheers,
Cletha

July 6, 2014 - The Party's Over, Time to Head Home

Another good night sleep and we were up packing our stuff.  Today is a ride day.   We were sad to leave our delightful hosts, but our vacation time is running short and we need to make movement toward home.

We didn’t dawdle, but we didn’t hurry either.  Tyler supervised Eric oiling my chain.  We loaded up the bikes, donned our riding gear and headed out.

 Before leaving, we placed a Big Tex Rally sticker at the entrance to the Zimmerman abode.  Possible rally bonus location?

We consulted a map with Tyler to pick our route for the day.  We headed south on Highway 95 and then east on Highway 12.  We stopped for brekkie at some small town café that had great food.

Today was mostly just ride to get some miles behind us and fewer miles in front of us.  We watched the landscape change from thick evergreen forest to lush rolling hills.

We stopped briefly at the hill overlooking Lewiston, ID.  Fantastic views from here.  Note the roads twists and turns, this is the famous "Spiral Hwy" that many a motorcyclist has ridden up and down.

  

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We also left a DPK sticker at this scenic overlook at the top of the Spiral Hwy.

The roads were fair to good and traffic was surprisingly light considering it was the end of a holiday weekend.  It seemed that most traffic was headed north while we were headed south.  I didn’t mind that at all.

The scenery changed from green forest and ranches to rolling hills of alfalfa, canola, wheat and other crops.  The weather was sunny with a few clouds and the temperatures elevated as the day wore on.  At the hill above Lewiston, it was about 86 degrees and when we descended to the valley, it was 98 degrees!  I was glad when we began to climb out of the valley again as the temperatures subsided a bit back down to 86 or so.

We pulled into Grangeville, ID around 5 pm and rode through the small town checking out our lodging choices.  I hadn’t made any motel reservations for our return trip once we were back in the US.  I really didn’t think we would have a problem getting a room.  So, a lap through the thriving community of Grangeville yielded a Super 8 and an independent Elkhorn Inn.  We choose the independent.  They are in the process of remodeling and we have a lovely room.  The rest of the motel is not nice at all!  But our room is new, clean, nicely decorated and appointed.  I like this much better than the Super 8.

Now, we’re off on foot to find some dinner, early to bed and early to rise tomorrow.  We plan on riding Lolo Pass and want to start early to avoid traffic.  I’m very excited about tomorrow’s ride!

Cheers,

Cletha (currently in Challis, ID on the way home)