Day 26

Well, today I drove the best road I’ve ever been on! Route 152, between Hillsboro and Silver City in New Mexico. It was an endless sea of long, short, sweeping, and tight curves! Up and down, and all around we went through the Gila National Forest, and eventually up and over Emory pass! If you enjoy riding motorcycles, this is one road you have to check out in my humble opinion. Just before Silver City I pulled off to the side of the road to check out the Santa Rita copper mine. There I met another Canadian couple, Patrick and Deborah from Ottawa. We chatted for a while, and then decided to ride into Silver City together and grab some lunch since it was about that time. Anyways, we had some lunch and shared stories about our trips past and present. After lunch we parted ways even though we were going roughly in the same direction because I needed to go to the Wal-Mart and pick up some supplies. From Silver City I cruised south on 90 to Lordsburg and then hopped onto I-10 west into Arizona. I rode I-10 about 100 miles in, until I turned off onto Vail road headed to Saguaro National park. There I found a local RV park to set up my tent, and then went back to the Saguaro National park to ride the scenic loop and watch the sunset.

Well that’s about it. Now I need to try and firm up my itinerary for the next couple of days. Going to try and meet up with an old college buddy in Los Angeles.

Here are the pictures from today:

Day 25

Just another day in paradise! Started out the morning by going down to White Sands national monument. It was pretty cool; white sand dunes that go on and on as far as the eye can see. Supposedly, it’s visible from space! From there I back-tracked north a little bit, and went on up route 54 to go see the petroglyphs at Three Rivers. It was really neat. You got to walk around un-guided along this trail and were encouraged to go off trail to see as many petroglyphs as possible. Everywhere you turned, there was another rock with some sort of symbol or drawing on it. If you’re ever out this way, come check it out. From here, I continued north, until I turned west on 380 to go see the Valley of Fires. This is an area that is covered in lava flow! The interesting thing is that it’s not because of a volcano eruption. Apparently, the lava came up and out of vents in the ground! Pretty cool; check out the pictures. Being that it was mid to late afternoon, I continued on west on 380 until I reached I-25. There I turned south on route 1 with parallels I-25. After a while I ended getting on the interstate in order to reach my destination point for the evening. And so now, here I am in Truth or Consequence, New Mexico. Yes, that is the name of the town!

Well, here are the pictures for the day.

Day 24

Well, before I start talking about what I did today, I need to go back and cover what happened last night after I completed my post. So there I was in the campground office lobby working on the computer, like several other people, when I heard a motorcycle firing up. I thought that it sounded a lot like mine so I peeked out the window to have a look, but it turned out it was a Buell; makes sense, after all they have a Harley engine in them. Anyways, later that evening, back at my camp site, this couple comes walking by and I recognize them as being the ones with the Buell. So I say, “Aren’t you the ones with the Buell?” I can see them processing what I say, and then in some broken English they respond that yes they are. Then they ask about how I pronounced Buell, so I can’t help myself and I ask them where they’re from. Turns out they’re from Montreal! So, we I switch to speaking in French! You can imagine their surprise. Anyways they sit down and we talk for a long while about our respective trips. I show them my pictures of Big Bend National park since they weren’t able to make it there. I also get a few more reasons to visit Montreal on this trip. Eventually we say goodnight and I go to bed shortly after.

The next morning, same routine as usual. Head out to Carlsbad caverns by 9:00am, and I’m taking the elevator down to the cavern by 10:00am. The ride up to the caverns is pretty cool too; check out the panoramic shot. Anyways, the caverns are pretty cool. A lot like Luray caverns, but I seem to remember that Luray caverns has more colors. Anyways, I take a LOT of pictures! I finally leave around 12:30pm, and head north to Roswell, NM. There I stop for some lunch; another new one for me, a guacamole burger! It was pretty tasty. From there I had to the Harley shop in Roswell to pick up a couple of tshirts. I was thinking of checking out the ‘Bottomless Lake state park’, but I skip it since time is running out and I need to make it through the Lincoln National Forest, and the Mescalero Apache reservation before nightfall. Anyways the drive through the forest and the reservation is gorgeous. I reach an altitude of about 9,000 feet! It’s a little chilly up here! I finally reach Alamogordo around 7:15pm and find a campground to set up my tent.

Well that’s it, here are the pictures from today!

Day 23

Everyone once in a while your faith in humanity is restored; today was one of those days for me. It started out as any other day of the trip so far, with the only exception being that I was getting up early because I was going to the Harley dealership in Odessa to get my bike serviced; I passed 50k miles the other day going through Big Bend. Anyways, I got a little lost on the way to the dealership, but ended up getting there a little before 9:00am. The people there at Legacy Harley Davidson were very accommodating, and were able to fit me into their schedule. So I spent the rest of the morning, and a better part of the afternoon hanging around their break room. Around lunch time, I asked the nice ladies working in the motor clothes department about a good place to eat. Turns out there was a little mom and pop place just down the road. So one of the ladies took it upon herself to set me up with a demo ride bike to go down the street for lunch. Sweet! Filled out a little bit of paper work and off I was on a brand new Dyna Street Bob! Nice ride by the way. Had a great lunch; some meat loaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a pea salad. Then back to the dealership. They finished my bike, including washing it which was in dire need, and I headed out around 3:00pm. On my way out of Odessa, I stopped by Meteor Crater. Not much to see but a slight indentation in the ground about 75 yards in diameter. Took a couple of pictures for you to see. Then I was bound northwest towards Carlsbad Caverns. This is where things turned for the worst. First of all there was a very strong head wind, which sometimes gusted sideways; not fun. Also the speed limit was 75 so I was tacking pretty high. Anyways I was cruising right along when I came to an intersection where I had to stop, and the bike just sputtered out!? I was at 140 miles so far on the tank, and I normally hit the reserve around 165 to 185, so I didn’t think that I could be on the reserve already. Turns out I was. No worries I thought. There’s a little town on the map just 16 miles north of here. Just in case I take it easy and cruise along at 60 miles an hour so as not to guzzle what gas I have left. Well, our good friend ‘Murphy’ must have been watching me today, because wouldn’t you know it, the town was abandoned! I immediately got this knot in the pit of my stomach and just thought to myself “Oh #@%$!^&^*!!!!!” I looked at my map, but not another town within 40 miles of where I was; no way was I making it that far. I tried to flag down this truck that came by, but no such luck. So I decided there was nothing left to do but get my cell phone out, pray for reception, and call AAA; thanks to Shyla who got me a membership as a present! Luckily I have reception, and so I call AAA, and after some transferring to the Texas office, and a lot of holding, I finally get a hold of someone and explain my situation. As I’m about to get off the phone with this person, a truck pulls up to me and so I tell the gentleman behind the wheel my problem and he says no problem! He lives just up the road and will be back in about 10 minutes or so with some gas! Wow, I couldn’t have asked for more. Needless to say, I thank AAA but tell them their services will not be needed. Sure enough a few minutes later, Bob, as I later found out, and his son Decker (I hope I got the spelling right) and grandson pull back up with a 5 gallon gas can. Unfortunately, I flat out of cash so I can not repay Bob on the spot, not that he would have accepted I have the feeling. Anyways, we chit chat a bit, and tell him all about my trip. He offers me a beer to quench my thirst from the heat of the day, and tells me about what he used to do before he retired. Turns out, the lady in the first truck I tried to flag down was his daughter-in-law and she called him up to let him know about me because he owns the property on which this old abandoned store where I had pulled up to stood. Eventually, after getting Bob’s address, and thanking him several times, I decide it’s time to continue on. Feeling re-energized by this wonderful encounter I make it to Carlsbad caverns in no time at all, and get a camp site just outside the park. There’s a group of Boy Scouts camping out right by me too! Anyways, that’s about it. Started out pretty boring, then got very exciting in a not so good way, but in the end as Shakespeare would say “All’s well that end’s well.”

Here’s the couple pictures from today.

Day 22

Another awesome day of riding. Got up and did the usual, and then drove on out of Seminole canyon. Took a couple of pictures of the canyon in the morning light, to go along with the ones I took last night; then onto 90 west bound. First stop, Langtry for the visitor center and museum on Judge Roy Bean, “the law west of the Pecos”! Pretty neat, especially since you were able to walk through the actual saloon! Then back on the road, still west bound on 90, until I reached Marathon, at which point I turned south on 385 towards Big Bend National Park. I had planned on having lunch in Marathon, but after waiting at my table at the ‘Oasis Café’ for 15 minutes without even getting a copy of the menu, I decided to go find a better place to eat. Unfortunately, that would not be until after I got out of Big Bend. Anyways, here the views became gorgeous! Also, the road was just a pleasure to ride. Just check out the pictures to see what I mean. Finally, I got to Terlingua, and stopped for a late lunch at the ‘Chili Pepper Café’. After some beef enchiladas, I felt re-energized and decided to press on! I continued west on 170 along the Rio Grande until I reached Presidio, and then cut north on 67. Once past Marfa, I hit antelope jackpot! And finally got some pictures of these elusive little creatures. I then continued north, all the way to Pecos, TX. My plan is to get up early tomorrow morning and head to Odessa because I’m in need of a service on the motorcycle; I passed 50,000 miles today! Woohoo!

Here are the pictures:

Day 21

What a day today! Today is now my new “Best day of the trip so far”! I mean, just about everything went right today. So here goes. Woke, up and hit the continental breakfast at the hotel, packed up all my stuff and hit the road by 9:15 am. First headed north up route 16 to go check out Enchanted Rock. Pretty cool, check out the pics. I may have to come back here at some point in the future and do some rock climbing! From there I headed south down 965 back to Fredericksburg, and then west on 290 until I cut south towards Ingram and Hunt on 783. I was trying to go and check out Stonehenge II, a replica of the original Stonehenge in England, just smaller. They also supposedly had replicas of the Easter Island statues nearby. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any signs indicating which way to go, so I ended up not finding it. No worries, I continued from Hunt down 39 west, and eventually cut south on 187 to go and check out The lost maples. This is a large tract of land, where you will find the only maple trees in all of Texas. Kinda cool. I mean, after all it’s just trees! From there I continued south on 187 until I reached Utopia, where I stopped for lunch; a patty melt with fries and an iced tea! Yum! Then back on the road, going down 1050 west, then up 83 north to Leaky, TX. From there 337 west, and then 55 north, through Rocksprings, until I hit 277 and took it heading north for a few miles until I could turn west onto 189. Followed 189 down to Juno where I then turned onto 163 heading towards Comstock. Once in Comstock I hoped onto 90 west and went just a few miles before pulling in to Seminole Canyon state park. This is where I’ll camp for the night.
Now that you know the route, let me describe it. I’d say between 40 to 60% of the road was just gorgeous winding roads. Going up and down, and all around the hill country of Texas. It was a motorcycle riders dream; long sweeping curves, and the weather was nice to boot! Then, the wildlife! I must have seen at least 50 deers today! Not to mention, wild turkeys, antelope, and of course horses, cattle, goats, and sheep. I also saw my first road-runner! To bad I couldn’t get a picture of him. I was also unable to get pictures of the antelope; they’re so skittish. I also started taking pictures of some of the entrances to these ranches that I’m passing along the way. Some of them are really cool and elaborate.

Well, I think I’ve made this post long enough. Enjoy the pictures!

Day 20

Well, with USITT being over, I packed up my stuff and left Houston this morning around 10:15am. I headed out west via 59 South, and soon turned onto Alt. 90 West towards San Antonio. The weather this morning is nice, upper 60's and mostly sunny. I stopped for lunch in a little diner in Halletsville, and had a nice lunch. I guess because it's Easter Sunday, I got a free piece of cake with my lunch! Woohoo! From there, I continued onto San Antonio and went to check out the Alamo. I walked around the Alamo a bit, took some pictures, and had a nice little conversation with some Texas peace officers; even got one of them to take my picture in front of the Alamo. Afterwards I got back on the road and headed north via 281. About 15 miles north of San Antonio, I turned west onto 473. This road was just gorgeous. I was now in the hill country of central Texas. Too bad the temperature had dropped about 10 to 15 degrees and it looked as though I might get some rain up ahead. Sure enough, about 15 minutes later, it started to sprinkle. Since it wasn't too bad, I continued on, but eventually I had to stop to put on some rain pants and get my gloves out because it was just getting too cold. Around 6:00pm I pulled into Kerrville, and decided to stop here for the night and get a hotel. I had planned on trying to make it to Enchanted Rock State park, but with the weather like it was, I just decided it wasn't worth it. Turns out it wasn't such a bad idea. I checked into this hotel called the Whitten Inn; a family owned placed with 5 locations around the area. Now while I got a good price for the room, and the place has free wireless internet as well as a continental breakfast, the best part is yet to come. Get this, you get a complimentary beer at check-in! Yes, you heard correct! Now it's nothing great, but they do have a choice: Coors Light, Bud Light, or a bottle of water just in case you don't drink! :) Now that's what I call service!

Well, nothing else to recount, so here are today's pictures.

Day 16-Day 19

Well, I haven't posted these last couple of days because I've been attending the USITT conference (United States Institute of Theater Technology). I figured I wouldn't bore you all with daily updates of the seminars I've been attending, but instead just give you a brief overview of the last few days. So, my daily routine basically consisted of attending between 3 to 5 seminars a day; some as early as 8:00am and some running as late as 10:30pm. In between seminars, I would go into the stage expo area. This is where dealers, vendors, manufacturers, schools, professional theaters, etc... had booths set up to show what they had to offer. An added bonus with all of this was that I saw some old friends that I hadn't seen in a while; some since college, and even a former Woodberry student! Overall it was a great time, and if possible, I'm going to try and make it to USITT every year, or atleast every other year.