Tag Archives: Hwy

The Church Members Are Gone…

Posted on October 3, 2013 | 2 comments

East of Fort Sumner, NM off US-84

It’s obvious the church members are gone… but there is more to this church when you have a closer look… Recently Janet and I were returning from visiting our daughter and her family in San Diego. When we return we take the opportunity to travel a different route each time. This gives us a chance to see different parts of the country between California and Texas.

Janet and I like anything old… homes, barns… churches, etc. While driving through Fort Sumner, New Mexico Janet spotted an old abandoned church just off US-84 on the east side of town. I turned around and went back just for Janet… It was a small one room church. It had been abandoned for some time. As always I found myself wondering about all the people who have attended this church over the many years. Love, sadness and joy have been held within these walls.

Standing outside I could see graffiti on the walls… obviously left by people who have little respect for much of anything… Entering the building I found there was not that much graffiti… Surprisingly, what I found really touched me. There were many notes written on the wall left by past visitors… Earnest notes of praise, prayers and confessions… from their hearts.

The church members have gone but this little church is still a place of worship …

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Tagged 84, abandomed, church, Fort Sumner, Hwy, New Mexico, nm, us-84, worship

Day 15 & 16 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Heading Home

Posted on September 19, 2013 | 4 comments

Day 15 OshKosh, Nebraska to Pampa, Texas (479 Miles)

Day 15 Ride map …Oshkosh to Pampa

Today is day 15 of our national park motorcycle ride. Over the course of 16 days we rode some of the best national parks, historic sites and national monuments in the U.S. and Canada (Pikes Peak National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, Little Bighorn National Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial). Checkout the previous days as we rode one of our dream rides on our bucket list.

We were up early (5:30) as usual getting the bikes and ourselves ready for today’s ride. We were expecting a big storm to blow in over night but it didn’t happen… But it was over cast and looked like rain. Our luck with the weather has run out. Today is the beginning of the end of the best motorcycle ride I have ever been on… to date. I am leaving with mixed emotions. Larry and I will be splitting up at Oakley, Kansas. He will take I-70 toward home to Georgia. I will continue riding on US-83 to Texas. I can’t believe it is over except for riding home… The good part is I will be getting home to my sweety, Janet ;).

Packing up and getting ready to leave Oshkosh, NE

At North Platte we stopped at the same convenience store we stopped at 5 years earlier. What I remembered about the store was the sign above the door that read “You Are Nowhere”. This was where we split up 5 years go but today Larry will be riding a bit further south to Oakley.

We are nowhere… Actually North Platte, NE

The rain… We were riding in intermittent misty rain until North Platte, Nebraska. Not enough to put the rain suits on. As we headed south from North Platte the rain increased and the visibility decreased to 100 yards (meters) or less. Out came the rain suits. When we arrived at Oakley it was raining a lot. I’ve ridden in worse…

YES, it’s RAINING… Really raining for the first time in 15 days…

At Oakley we stopped at another convenience store for gas and a bit of lunch. A tour bus had also stopped for lunch so it was a bit crowded and food selection was minimal.

This is where we split up. Leaving in the rain…

This was our splitting up point. We said our good-byes. Larry headed east down I-40 and I continued south on US-83. Larry had 1057 miles ahead of him and I had 789 miles… a bit less.

Back in Texas… Yes, that is an oil drilling rig…

It wasn’t too long before I rode out of the rain. The roads dried up and it was clear sailing. The rain slowed me down a bit. By days end I was back in Texas. Pampa was where I ended my day. 530 miles and I will be home to Janet 😉

Day 16 Pampa, Texas to Georgetown, Texas (530 Miles)

Day 16 Ride map… Pampa to Georgetown

I was up at 5:30 and on the road before 7:00. I wanted to cover as many miles as possible before I would hit the triple-digit temperature forecast for this afternoon. Today was just riding and enjoying the scenery of the “Panhandle Plains” along the way home.

This is by far the fanciest rest stop I have ever seen… Even for Texas…

It didn’t get very warm until the afternoon and even then the temperature was 97 degrees. Today was the hottest temperature over the last 16 days of our trip. The weather over the 16 days has been amazingly good. There were only a few days that reached 90 degrees and the lows were in the 50’s most mornings. Just one low in the upper 40’s. We only wore the rain suits once. We did encounter light misty rain several days with heavier rain in the area that we somehow always managed to avoid. Having good weather on the ride made for very enjoyable riding and allowed us to enjoy all the amazing scenery the way it was meant to be seen.

We grow a lot of cotton here in Texas

I made good time and was home before 4:00. I can’t believe it is over. I am glad to be home. It was nice to be sleeping in my own bed again and I finally am able to share some of my wonderful ride with Janet. Hopefully she can make the next one.

Almost home… 🙂

This has been one amazing ride for Larry and me. Check out the other post from this ride using the links below…

For more pictures of our ride click here and don’t forget to like “The Texas Rambler” Facebook page. Look for the “Subscribe to Texas Rambler via Email” at the bottom left column to receive notifications of new posts by email. Also please take some time to leave us a comment. We always love hearing from y’all…

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Posted in Motorcycle Touring Logs

Tagged 83, Hwy, I-40, ks, Motorcycle, motorcycle ride, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips, Motorcycle Touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle trip, ne, North Platte, Oakley, Oshkosh, Pampa, panhandle, plains, rain, ride, Texas, touring, travel, trip, tx, US, US-83

Day 14 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Mount Rushmore

Posted on September 7, 2013 | 9 comments

National park, motorcycle, touring, Mount, Rushmore, Crazyhorse, monument

Day 14 ride map

Today is day 14 of our national park motorcycle ride. Over the course of 16 days we will ride some of the best national parks, historic sites and national monuments in the U.S. and Canada (Pikes Peak National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, Little Bighorn National Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial). Come follow along as we ride one of our dream rides on our bucket list.

Everyday, except one or two, we have been up at 5:30 getting the bikes and us ready to ride. We are usually on the road around sevenish. This has been an amazing ride, not only because of all the wonderful scenic country and great people we have met all along the way, but also because we have felt good both physically and mentally. We are not getting any younger and this is always on the back of our minds. All of this makes for some enjoyable riding…

Five years ago we rode up this way for the first time. It is good to be back and to be able to ride some of the places we didn’t have time to ride on that last ride.

The front desk clerk at the motel gave us some good information and a map about riding today. Due to some confusion on my part we rode the route backwards from what he suggested. I may have just misunderstood his directions. It ended up being a good mistake. We rode the loop counter-clockwise instead clockwise. I think this is the best route (counter-clockwise) because when you ride Iron Mountain Road, Mount Rushmore is framed in the tunnels. A picture perfect view of Mount Rushmore. If we had ridden in the clockwise direction Mount Rushmore would have been behind us when riding through the tunnels. I was also given some misinformation by a friend, who said Needles Highway was the road where you could view Mount Rushmore through the tunnels. Needles Highway does have 3 tunnels just like Iron Mountain but there are no views of Mount Rushmore. That caused us some confusion since we rode Needles Highway first. Larry asked a park ranger to help us. He got us straightened out about Iron Mountain and showed us how to get there. We got some good pictures riding Iron Mountain to prove it.

If you would like to ride the loop we rode, these are the directions.

From Rapid City take US-16 south to US-16A
Left on US-16A to SD-244
SD-244 follow the signs to Mt. Rushmore
From Mt. Rushmore continue on SD-244 west to US-385
Left on US-385 for 0.2 of a mile to SD-87 (Needles Highway with 3 tunnels)
Follow SD-87 for about 16 miles to Highway 753 (Playhouse Road)
Follow Hwy 753 for about 4 miles to US-16A (Iron Mountain Road with 3 tunnels)
Left on US-16A for a little over 9 miles to SD-244 (Take the pullouts and take pictures of Mt. Rushmore through the tunnels)
When you reach SD-244 you have completed the 41 mile loop.

Below is a map of the ride around the loop.

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41 Mile loop with views of Mt. Rushmore

If you like narrow twisty roads you will like the Needles Highway. It is a must ride if you are in the area. The best part of the loop was riding Iron Mountain Road with views of Mt. Rushmore through the tunnels. Because of the speed limits and stopping to take pictures it takes about 1 hour and a half to 2 hours to ride. It is well worth the time.

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View of Mt. Rushmore from highway

After finishing the loop we doubled back on part of the loop to stop at the Crazy Horse Monument. I was interested to see how much progress they had made carving Crazy Horse into the mountain over the last 5 years.

The Needle rock formation the Needles Hwy is named for…

Mount Rushmore viewed tunnel on Iron Mountain Hwy

Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear officially started Crazy Horse Memorial June 3, 1948. The project continues to this day. 63 years and they have a lot more to do before they finish. Korczak died October 20, 1982. The work continues today under the guidance of his wife Ruth and their children, together with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation board of directors. It was and is a monumental undertaking. The most amazing part of the project has been accomplished without any public funds.This is a must stop if you are in the area.

Crazy Horse Monument a 63 year work in progress

It was lunch time when we got to Crazy Horse. We had lunch here at the Laughing Water Restaurant on the Crazy Horse Monument campus. I had Buffalo Stew the last time I was here and since it was so good I had Buffalo Stew again. They have other Native American specialities you may want to try. The dinning room has a large picture window with a good view of the Crazy Horse carving. The waiter staff was good and as pleasant as last time. They take the time to answer any questions you may have about the campus.

Heading South to Nebraska

After a good meal at the Laughing Water Restaurant we headed south to Alliance, Nebraska, our destination for the day. We thought this was going to be just another leisurely ride. When we reached Alliance it was still early so we decided to ride another 37 miles to Bridgeport for the night. We stopped at the first motel to get a room but they were full. We asked where we might get a room in Bridgeport and was told all the motels were full. I asked why… The son (who plays football for the University of Nebraska) of one of the wealthy families in Bridgeport was getting married and anyone who was someone was there for the wedding… Hence no rooms… They said the nearest town on our route that would probably have a room was 80 miles away… No big deal except… we were also told there was a big storm headed this way… We did notice dark clouds as we rode into town. We jumped on the bikes and rode like the wind to try to beat the storm. Forty mile down the road we came to Oshkosh, Nebraska. What luck there was 2 motels and we were able to get a room for the night. Not a chain motel and nothing fancy but a room to get us out of the weather… which never came… We have been so lucky with the weather…

Tomorrow we will be heading home… Larry back to Georgia and me back to Texas. I can’t believe this ride is almost over… but it will be nice to finally get back home to Janet…

This has been one amazing ride for Larry and me. Check out the other post from this ride using the links below…

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Tagged 753, Alliance, Black Hills, Bridgeport, Buffalo Stew, chief crazy horse monument, crazy horse memorial crazy horse sd, crazy horse monument, Crazyhorse, highway, Hwy, Iron Mountain, Laughing Waters, monument, Motorcycle, motorcycle ride, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips, Motorcycle Touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle trip, mount, Mount Rushmore, mount rushmore national memorial, mount rushmore national park, mount rushmore pictures, mount rushmore sd, mount rushmore south dakota, mountain rushmore, MT, mt rushmore national memorial, mt rushmore national park, mt rushmore sd, mt rushmore south dakota, Mt. Rushmore, national park, Nebraska, Needles, Oshkosh, restraunt, Rushmore, SD-244, SD-87, south dakota mount rushmore, touring, travel, tunnels, US-16, US-16a, US-385

Day 10 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Banff National Park Canada

Posted on August 17, 2013 | 8 comments

Banff National Park, motorcycle, trip, ride, travel, touring, adventure

Banff National Park Ride Map

Today is day 10 of our national park motorcycle ride. Over the course of 16 days we will ride some of the best national parks, historic sites and national monuments in the U.S. and Canada (Pikes Peak National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, Little Bighorn National Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial). Come follow along as we ride one of our dream rides on our bucket list. Today I will finally get to see Banff. When I was working, I did a lot of work in Canada. While in Canada, I was told to visit Banff many times. I never seemed to have the opportunity… I was always putting out fires (fixing problems) and never had any time to spare. The best thing about finally seeing it for the first time is I am riding through it. The best way to see Banff is from the seat of a motorcycle!

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Nice cool clear morning heading to Banff National Park in Canada

We took Hwy 1 from Golden, BC to Lake Louise Drive in Banff. Lake Louise was the one place I was told I must see.. We were not disappointed. Lake Louise is an alpine lake, known for its sparkling blue waters. It is situated at the base of impressive glacier-clad peaks that must be seen to be appreciated. It has been said, “A pictures is worth a thousand words” but I say the heck with pictures… You need to experience this to fully appreciate its beauty.

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Early morning Banff National Park Canada

While stopping at the Information Center we were told we needed to visit Lake Moraine too. They said it was even better than Lake Louise. It was a 9 mile/14 km ride from Lake Louise. Lake Moraine is 6181 feet/ 1884 meters above sea level. Lake Moraine is a bit higher in elevation than Louise with many scenic views on the ride up. Parking at the top was a bit of a hassle. We ended up parking in a couple of triangles by a walkway. It was perfect motorcycle parking and we didn’t get in anyone’s way. Once I saw the lake I realized I had seen pictures of it before. The lake seems like something unreal or made up. Both Lake Moraine and Louise are a deep-turquoise color with beautiful glacier covered mountains reflecting from its surface. These lakes must be seen to be fully appreciated.

Lake Louise Banff National Park Canada

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Lake Moraine Banff National Park Canada

Glacier at Lake Moraine Banff National Park Canada

If you are into hiking, there are many trails in Banff and is probably the best way to see Banff up close and personal. The rest of our ride through Banff was filled with beautiful views of the surrounding glacier covered mountains with some of the most pristine sparkling clear streams all along our route. While on our ride we were told about rides we needed do while in the area. Because of time constraints we were not able to do them… but when we make it up this way again I will include them in our plans. Several people told us we must ride up to Jasper. We were told the scenery is outstanding and is a must see. The other place is highway 40 between Highway 1 and Longview, AB. It is an outstanding motorcycle ride. So if you are headed up that way you may want to check these out and include them in your travel plans

Riding down Hwy 1 Banff National Park Canada

As we rode closer to Calgary the landscape started to flatten out… a noticeable contrast to Banff but pretty in its own right.

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Riding through Calgary, AB Canada with rain clouds rolling in.

It’s been a long time (10 years or more) since I’ve been to Calgary. It too has probably changed a lot since then. I would have liked to spend some time in Calgary but we have miles to go before we sleep… so we rode the outskirts of Calgary on our way to Lethbridge, AB, our destination for the day. As we headed south from Calgary the scenery was mostly farm and ranch land… Very nice farm and ranch land… As we left the Calgary area the clouds got darker and we did encounter some misty rain from time to time. We seemed to have ridden between several of the rain showers that were all around us all the way to Lethbridge. The clouds and rain showers did keep the temperature down for some nice riding.

One of the many farms between Calgary, AB and Lethbridge, AB

Riding past one of the many rain showers on our way to Lethbridge, AB

Riding into Lethbridge we rode into a canyon and over the Oldman River. We had a good view of the railroad bridge above the canyon. It was a very impressive sight. The bridge is a bit of good engineering and construction… A good end to a very good day… Today was another good day of riding (296 miles) through one of Canada’s best National Parks. Scenery in and out of the park was outstanding with good weather all the way. I even enjoyed the ride from Calgary to Lethbridge with its scenic farm and ranch land. I enjoyed seeing some nice farm and ranch houses and barns as well as some that have seen better days. I always find myself wondering what life must be like living there. Farming and ranching is a great life that takes a special kind of people to do it… It takes a lot of hard endless work with uncertain weather and economic futures always ahead. A gamble when you do everything right… but very rewarding in the end. Having grown up on a cotton farm in Texas, I admire farmers and ranchers everywhere.

For more pictures of our ride click here and don’t forget to like “The Texas Rambler” Facebook page. Look for the “Subscribe to Texas Rambler via Email” at the bottom right column to receive notifications of new posts by email. Also please take some time to leave us a comment. We always love hearing from y’all…

Tomorrow we will be riding to Billings, Montana. There are no planned stops, just riding more scenic Great Plains .So ride safe and I hope we will see you somewhere on the road…

This has been one amazing ride for Larry and me. Check out the other post from this ride using the links below…

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Tagged 1, 2, 40, Alpine, Banff, banff lake louise, Banff National Park, banff park, barn, bridge, Calgary, Canada, Canyon, farm, Glacier, Golden, great motorcycle rides, houses, Hwy, Jasper, lake, lake louise banff, lake louise banff canada, Lethbridge, louise, Moraine, moraine lake banff, moraine lake banff national park, moraine lake banff national park canada, moraine lake in canada, Motorcycle, motorcycle ride, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips, Motorcycle Touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle trip, national park, Oldman, railroad, rain, Ranch, ride, river, scenic motorcycle rides, travel, views

Day 9 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada

Posted on August 13, 2013 | 2 comments

Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada

Today is day 9 of our national park motorcycle ride. Over the course of 16 days we will ride some of the best national parks, historic sites and national monuments in the U.S. and Canada (Pikes Peak National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, Little Bighorn National Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial). Come follow along as we ride one of our dream rides on our bucket list.

Normally we are up at 5:30 getting ready to ride but today we slept in a bit since today is an easy ride of just 260 miles. I didn’t want to be rushed leaving today. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Avis, Ed and Avis’ mom. I hope it won’t be another 41 years between visits.

Yesterday, one of Avis’ neighbors gave her some huckleberries. I have never had huckleberries before. I liked them a lot so Avis made crepes with a huckleberry topping this morning for breakfast. A mighty good breakfast… The best we have had on our trip…

It was really nice to visit and catch up after all these many years. I just wish Janet could have made this ride so she could have met Ed and Avis. After taking parting pictures and saying our good byes we were on the road about 9:00.

My friends Ed, Avis and me

From Troy, MT we are heading north on Hwy 2. Hwy 2 ends at the junction of Hwy 95 in Idaho.When we reached the U. S. Canadian border we had to go through customs. That went rather smoothly & quickly. Once through customs, it was on to Golden, BC, Canada. The route today, for the most part, was traveling through the valleys between distant mountains. Beautiful scenery with crystal clear streams and lakes with nice cool riding temperatures.

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More beautiful scenery riding to Golden, BC

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Heading to Golden, BC with rain in the distance

We stopped in Cranbrook, BC for lunch at Denny’s. The service was slow because they lost our order. I miss place my camera memory card and needed to buy another. The slow service and having to replace the memory card did slow us down a bit. Later we encountered some lite rain and considered putting on the rain gear but it never got heavy enough for rain suits. We were a little behind schedule…

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More beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountain scenery

It was a bit different having to remember the speed limits were Kilometers per hour. I was glad my speedometer had both miles and kilometers per hour. The kph numbers were small and a bit hard to see in some light. I kept letting Larry know what the kph were in mph. We tried to obey speed limits but the locals seemed to be fly by us…

Another ride by shooting…

The other thing different was the gas prices were for a liter of gasoline. Also, some of the pay at the pumps operated a bit differently from those in the U.S. Nothing that we couldn’t deal with but did give us pause the first time…

More rain in the distance.

We arrived in Golden, checked into our motel and walked next door to a nice restaurant for dinner. It was another good riding day with more beautiful scenery and perfect riding weather…

For more pictures of our ride click here and don’t forget to like “The Texas Rambler” Facebook page. Look for the “Subscribe to Texas Rambler via Email” at the bottom right column to receive notifications of new posts by email. Also please take some time and leave us a comment. We always love hearing from y’all…

Tomorrow will be a leisurely ride through Banff National Park. So until then, we will get a good night’s rest and dream about what tomorrow will hold for us. Ride safe and I hope we will see you somewhere on the road…

This has been one amazing ride for Larry and me. Check out the other post from this ride using the links below…

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Posted in Motorcycle Touring Logs

Tagged 2, 95, Banff National Park, BC, Canada, Cranbrook, customs, Golden, Hwy, Idaho, Motorcycle, motorcycle ride, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips, Motorcycle Touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle trip, mountains, MT, national park, rain, ride, rockies canada, touring, travel, Troy, valleys

Tag Archives: Hwy

The Church Members Are Gone…

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Day 15 & 16 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Heading Home

Day 15 OshKosh, Nebraska to Pampa, Texas (479 Miles)

Day 16 Pampa, Texas to Georgetown, Texas (530 Miles)

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Day 14 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Mount Rushmore

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Day 10 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Banff National Park Canada

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Day 9 National Park Motorcycle Ride – Troy, MT to Golden, AB Canada

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