Monthly Archives: July 2015

US 60, US 89, US 212 Motorcycle Ride (5000+ Miles In 17 Days)

This year, as in past years, I’m riding with a couple of Larry’s. If my old Air Force buddy Larry C. would have made this ride it would have been 3 Larry’s. I’ve started telling everyone I will only ride with them if their name is Larry. Maybe I should change my name to Larry. On the bright side, we will be meeting up with Larry C. and his friend… wait for it… Larry! They are on a car trip with their wives and will be in Jackson, Wyoming the same day as us. More on that later…

We tried to come up with a catchy name for this year’s ride. In the past it has always been a theme or destination. Nothing we came up with seemed to fit. Larry T. suggested “Goldie, Elroy and Water Hog’s Great Adventure” named for the bikes we ride. I ride a Titanium Goldwing I call Goldie. Larry T’s bike is named Elroy for the cartoon character Elroy Jetson because everyone tells him the Victory Vision looks more like a spaceship. Larry A’s. bike is named the Water Hog because he rides a water-cooled HD Limited. But as you can see I didn’t succeed…

This year we are riding some of the roads that are on my ride bucket list. Janet and I have driven these roads and I knew I needed to ride them. On the top of the list is the ride up US 89-A from Prescott, AZ to Jerome, AZ… 127 curves in 12 miles; a very exhilarating, yet peaceful scenic ride.

On this trip I got to make good use of my GOPRO and the handlebar tripod I made. I got some good shots but I still am working out the kinks and learning. I have taken hundreds of pictures and Larry A. took hundreds of really great pictures too.

Larry T. and Larry A. met me in Canyon, Texas. They were riding in from Georgia. Here is a thumb nail sketch of our route. From Canyon we rode US 60 across New Mexico and Arizona. Just outside Prescott, AZ we pick up US 89 (US 89-A) and ride it on and off to Great Falls, Montana. Outside Yellowstone National Park we picked up US 212 to ride Beartooth Pass and on to Devils Tower National Monument. For the final leg of our ride we rode the area around Mount Rushmore before heading south. At Oakley, Kansas we split up. Larry T and Larry A headed back home to Georgia and I headed home to Texas…

Some of the highlights along the way are…

  • Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas

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    Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas

  • Pietown, NM for some good pie.

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    Pie in Pietown, NM

  • Eagar, AZ only high school domed stadium in America

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    High School Domed Stadium in Eagar, NM

  • Salt River Canyon on US 60 in Arizona

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    Salt River Canyon in Arizona

  • US 89-A from Prescott, AZ to Jerome, AZ (127 curves in 12 miles)

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    US 89-A : 127 curves in 12 miles from Prescott, AZ to Jerome, AZ

  • Ft. Apache, AZ

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    Ft. Apache, AZ

  • Kinishiba Ruins, AZ

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    Kinishiba Ruins near Ft; Apache, AZ

  • Jerome, AZ

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    Old mining town, Jerome, AZ

  • Sedona, AZ

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    A must stop in Sedona Arizona

  • Cameron Trading Post, AZ (a must place to stay)

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    Cameron Trading Post is a great place to stop or stay

  • Grand Canyon National Park

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    Grand Canyon National Park

  • Bryce Canyon National Park

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    Bryce Canyon National Park

  • Marble Canyon Bridge

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    Marble Canyon Bridge Photo by Larry A.

  • Temple Square in Salt Lake City

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    Mormon Temple on Temple Square in Salt Lake City

  • Most photographed barn in America

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    Most photographed barn in America

  • Grand Teton National Park

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    Ride through Grand Teton National Park

  • Yellowstone National Park

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    Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park

  • The Great Falls in Great Falls, MT

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    Great Falls in Great Falls, MT

  • Beartooth Pass

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    Beartooth Pass

  • Devils Tower National Monument

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    Devils Tower National Monument

  • Mount Rushmore National Monument

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    Mount Rushmore National Monument from the highway

  • Needles Highway

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    Needles Highway South Dakota

  • Crazy Horse Monument

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    Crazy Horse Monument

  • Last but not least, miles and miles of the most scenic highways

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    Grand Teton National Park, just one of the hundreds of scenic views on our ride…

Below is a video/slide show of the 17 days 5000+ miles ride day by day.

Come follow along on each days ride…

If you liked this ride post, you may checkout the other post from this ride below…

Hera are other rides you may like too…

I hope we see you down the road somewhere… Ride safe…

I Was Robbed While At Old Faithful

Yes, I was robbed while at Old Faithful. On our motorcycle ride this past June, we were at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. Motorcyclist are very trusting people, if for no other reason, out of necessity. Sometimes it is just not possible, or too time consuming, to secure all of your belongings on your bike. We routinely leave our jackets lying on our bikes if we are not too far away or won’t be long.

We were able to get some good pictures of Old Faithful from the Lodge while sipping on a coffee and munching on a cookie. We took a little longer than expected.

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The evidence…

When I got back to the bike my jacket was there but one of the zippered pouches on my top bag was unzipped and some of the contents were sticking out.  I had a Ziploc bag with some Emergen-C packets in it. The bag was torn to shreds.

My first thought was I had forgotten to secure the contents from the last stop and the wind had caught the Ziploc bag and wipped it to shreds. Then I noticed several of the Emergen-C packets on the ground. I was puzzled. Larry A. (my other ridding buddy is Larry T.) noticed that a motorcycle just down from us was being broken into by a thief… Yes, we caught him in the act. We weren’t able to apprehend the culprit but we did get this picture of him in the act. If you are in the area you may want to keep a lookout for the thief… He will strike again… We saw him later trying to get into some luggage in the back of a pickup…

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Caught the thief in action…

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Take a close look. You will see him again…