Look around, He is there

Today was a great day. I rented a set ot snorkeling gear and after we dropped Kian off at school, I borrowed Tif's car and went adventuring. Took a few wrong turns, but ended up at Ala Moana Regional Park.

I sent snorkeling along the main beach and it was a good swimming beach, but not that great for snorkeling, at least not up close and I didn't want to go out to the reef which was quite a ways out. So I got out and walked over to the lagoon, which had a pretty good reef along the edge with a few openings where the tide was coming in. I swam that entire thing and it was pretty good. Not a ton of great fish, but good enough and some I'd never seen. Some strong current along the openings in the reef, some shallow and deep areas. I probably spent a good hour swimming, which is good for my arm/shoulder. So that was all very cool and I was tired out and had that "I just swam for quite a while" feel, which I love.

So I grabbed my stuff back off the beach (which I had hoped no one would bother and no one did) and then showered off in cold water (felt great) and then changed. I then went looking for food as I was starving. I figured there might be a shrimp truck or something around. Tif said I could head over to the mall.... but dude... I'm on the beach in HI, I don't want to eat any mall food! :)

I was basically just walking around the park, just watching all the people and the birds, (this dude was walking around with birds all over his arms and shoulders and head. No idea what that was about), people biking, folks sleeping in the shared, little kids swimming. It was just so chill, so cool, so laid back. And so beautiful. It just makes me appreciate the coolness of the Father to look at his creation.

Anyway, I saw some folks carrying to-go boxes and so I knew there had to be some food *somewhere*. I saw this tent and it looked like it had about 15 to 20 folks around it. Seems a little big for a party so maybe there were selling food. As I got close I could see it said "New Hope Christian Center, Oahu". Sounded like Tif's church (it wasn't exactly) and maybe they were selling food or something. So I headed over.

I walk up to this guy and say "Is this New Hope?" and he says "Yeah bra, first time? Sign here and get in line" and I say, "I think this is my daughter and son-in-law's church" and he says "Just sign here and get in line" - so the next thing I know he is saying "First time in line" and this guy is waving at me and they hand me a plate of food. Its all kind of a blur. So I look around and finally realize they are feed folks in the part, mostly (totally?) homeless. So I take the plate of food and the person says "Bless you bra" and I say "Bless you!" and then I go sit down on the beach wall with some other homeless folks and eat my plate of food.

(About this point in the story, as I relate it to Tif, she is just staring at me with her eyes very wide and her mouth kind of open... o.o <== like that. And I just start laughing.)

So I'm sitting there, eating some awesome tasting poke, and a piece of whole wheat bread and some white rice. And its really good. And I'm eating that up, and then 1/2 a chocolate muffin (yeah... not on my diet - but God provided, it must be cool, right?)  So I'm just hanging out on the wall and eating my food with some other folks and the church is packing up and folks are walking by, "Good to see you again Raymond. The meat was pretty good today huh? Make sure and come back!" and then to me "Bless you brother" and I say "Bless you" back. I mean... what was I going to do, say "Hey, its all a mistake! I'm not homeless." Nope, just take what God gives me, and in a way be a blessing to those who gave it to me and ask God to bless them for the work they do.

So anyway, I'm just sitting there... in Hawaii, in the park, in my swimming gear, just having gone snorkeling, eating a plate of food that kind of appeared out of no where - and is just what I was looking for... street food, Hawaiian food. And I'm thinking "Wow... I am so blessed". So blessed in the little things. Now many people probably are shaking their heads about now... but Tif said "Sounds like you dad." and I'll take that. I'm His kid. Some times its the little things... Just sitting on the beach, looking around and just thinking how cool it all is. It wasn't that I couldn't afford to buy lunch, it wasn't that there was no lunch in sight (there was a little cafe about 1/2 block away it turns out). But it was just such an adventure for me. And such a blessing for me. And He does that kind of thing for me all the time. I'm sure He does for others too... although perhaps in a different way. I guess not everyone would think sitting on a beach wall with a bunch of homeless people, eating pork and rice and throwing some bread to the birds, would be the most awesomest thing every... But for me it was.

And then I went and got back in the car and drove over to the "Hawaii Five-O HQ" and took a pic and then headed back to Tif's. Going through the base gate and showing them my pass (I got one yesterday) and getting all choked up when the 18 year old kid with the M-16 checked my id and waved me through... because: a) its a military base, and b) there is this kid guarding it. I told him "Thank you for your service" and he just kind of looked away and said "You're welcome" and waved me through... Which is pretty much what every service person I've said it to acts like. Like embarrassed and that its nothing... but its a *big deal* what they do.

Anyway, sitting my kid's kitchen, typing all this up, and just feeling extremely blessed by my Dad that I get to do this, and that His creation is so cool, and so many of His children are so cool - and just... well everything.

I hope in some way this blesses you (if anyone reads this, lol) and that even if it seems weird to you, that you think about the little things that He does for you, that bless you. That flower poking out of the snow, the sound of your child/grandchild giggling, that picture that you took that captured just what you wanted it to, that... whatever it may be.

Be blessed... I am!

Backroad Pizza - Day 1 - Labor Day Trip to Tif's

Earlier this week I was watching Diners, Drive-In's and Dives and they covered Backroad Pizza in Santa Fe, NM. Since I knew I was coming down to Tif's this weekend, I decided to see if I could make it to Santa Fe (since I was leaving in the afternoon) and try it out. An adventure!

Trip south was pretty good, until I came up over the pass. Its always exciting to see what Northern NM has to offer. Sometimes the mountains stop the weather and you top the pass and its all clear blue skies. No such luck! I could see big storms in the south. The kind where you can see the rain falling to the ground in big black strips! But there was blue spots too and the road is all curvy, so you never know. I'd be heading for the storm, then head towards the blue, then back again. This kept up for about 30 or 40 minutes - and then I could see lightning and it was pretty obvious, by the cars heading towards me with their wipers going; that I was going to hit it. So when the first few drops hit; I pulled over and put my gear on...


OK... had to give those folks that know me a minute to recover. Yes - even though it wasn't *pouring* yet; I actually pulled over and suited up. Everything... helmet, pants and the jacket! Good thing too because in another mile or so it started raining. Not hard. Not the kind that makes you want to pull over and hide; but the kind that makes you glad you have a helmet on (so you can see) and a suit (so you are dry). The drops weren't too hard, and then the rain started hitting a little harder... That was when I noticed it was actually striking the ground and bouncing - and that it was little white balls. Yup - it was hailing. But not the golf-ball size stuff, more like peas. Not too bad really. Just enough to make you know you are alive! This lasted for 30 or 40 minutes... probably Springer down to north of Las Vegas. And from there it was clear all the way into Santa Fe.

As I got close to Santa Fe I toyed with the idea of heading into Albq.... but given I really wanted to try this place out, I decided better to stop while it was light out and I could actually rest up and stuff, rather than just pushing on.

So - I looked the place up online (yes laptops come in handy on the road) and it was about 10 minutes from my hotel. Woo hoo! I went there and it was pretty busy. I was standing in line with this family (grandparents, parents, little kids) and the dad says "I saw this place on food network so we decided to try it out!" and I said, "Me too!" and we talked a bit about Harleys and stuff. Then I ordered (walk up, not at your table) and went to sit outside and wait for them to bring me my food. I had my gear on and figured it would be warmer outside. Well... there was no place to sit. All 8 tables or so were full! I'm standing there looking around and this woman sitting at a table for four with her husband said, "Good luck!" and I said, "Yeah, looks like they are all full." The man then said, "You can sit with us if you want." And so I did!



Yes... more waiting for Kristi to recover from falling off her chair! ;)

So I sat with them and I asked them if they had ever eaten here before. "No, we say it this week on the food network!" Wow! :) The wait was probably 30 minutes or so at least; just because the place was so busy. So we just sat there are drank beer and talked. Their food came about 15 minutes before mine. They said the meatballs were very good - worth coming back for! I had a small pizza with homemade sausage (which has green chilies in it) and black olives. Plus a dinner salad and a Nut Brown Ale. It was all very good. And while the small was only 12 inches, and I hadn't eaten much since breakfast (other than some dill pickle sunflower seeds while I was driving down the road), it was hanging off the plate and so I brought 3 slices back to the hotel for breakfast! :) So - all in all I would definitely recommend this place. And because we had so much time to talk, they told me about 3 other good places:

• Horseman's Haven Cafe - little dive cafe with good breakfast in Santa Fe (just down the road from my hotel) if you like hot green chili. I'll probably pass since I'll be having pizza for breakfast!
  
• Buckhorn Tavern, San Antonio, NM - another little dive, with probably the best green chili burgers around - and they have good homemade fries too. Not on my trip on the way down to Tif's (since I'm taking 40), but definitely on the way on the trip back. And being south of Socorro... I might hold out and go there for lunch!
  
• Gabriel's - north of Santa Fe. Great Fajitas and they make the guac at the table.

So... I'm all set for Road Food in this area! Woo hoo!

And since Kristi gave me homework when I'm out on the road... info to prove I actually *talked* to these people and not just about food!

• Leroy and Melanie
  
• He is from this area (grew up here his entire life) and she is from South Africa
  
• They are going to their family cabin for the week
  
• He worked at Pizza Hut when he was in college
  
• He is a liquor salesman
  
• They go skiing at Wolk Creek and stay in Pagosa Springs
  
• They want to do a cruise to Alaska (not a motorcycle trip!)
  

There - I'm such the extrovert! ;)

Beartooth Pass

The accident show in this article happened a little before we passed by. There was a second truck there and it had about half the load cleaned up and reloaded. By the time we got there it wasn't slowing anything down too much; although we heard the road was closed for a few hours.

Twisties, great on a bike, not so much on a semi...

105 Trip - Day 2 - Saint Louis - 981 miles

Day 2 - weather was great. Missouri going across Hwy 50 was really pretty. Rolling, windy, green. Stopped and got 9 or so ABC pictures. Took some photos of the route... best I could while driving at 65MPH. :) Got in to the dealer party at Gateway Harley, met up with Ted and Christi and hung out for quite a while - then to their house. They have their Toy Hauler all set up for us and it is great. Just hanging out, sipping a beer chatting.

Still a bit tired this morning - but not sore. Plan to go into IL today to 'X'enia - pick up about 4 more ABCs then back to their house where Christi is making some ribs. YUM!

105 Trip - Day 1

Left home at about 6:15, running a little late but got to Pueblo about 7:10 and we headed out. It was a good first day. I got tired in the afternoon and pretty sleepy, but once it cooled off I was fine. Got 11 ABC pictures today!

Stopped in Kinsley, KS for lunch. Asked a fireman doing the "boot for MDA" thing where was a good place to eat. He directed us to a Mexican place that was pretty good. Food wasn't very spicy, but alright and the quality was pretty good.

Had one car passing a lane of traffic, heading at us, and we had to slow down (and so did the lead car) to let him in w/o hitting us. :( - Other than that (and it wasn't close or anything), no mishaps or potential ones.

Radio is acting up. Didn't come on twice. Will have to have someone look at it later.

Dinner, after dark, in Emporia, KS, was at the S & S cafe. Little tiny, "Good Food - Open 24 hours" place. VERY LOCAL. Old time mid-west type salad bar... radishes, green onions, cucumbers and onions in vinegar! Young waitress - a little attitude. Chicken fried steak was homemade. Meat was good. Gravy was good. Hashbrowns "done crispy please" were PERFECT. This was definately my kind of Road Food place. Just what I wanted in all aspects - even the locals smoking (not too much smoke) wasn't bad. It all screamed road food diner, and the quality and taste was exactly what I was looking for.

Time to hit the hay soon. We made it over 1/2 way to Ted & Christi's on day one, so should get in early enough tomorrow to go to the dealer party. Plus did 11 ABCs today and only plan on 9 tomorrow... But some are standard letters so if I don't get them all, no big deal.

Oh - and one more thing. There is nothing like going down the road at 65 MPH, cool breeze rushing past you, worship music on the iPOD, across the plains of CO and KS, looking at the farms, green, streams, trees, etc. - to bring God's creation into focus and clarity.

Day 1 was a great start to the trip!

Harely 105 / HOG 25

Many of you know this, but perhaps not everyone...

In about 1 week I'm heading to the Harley 105 / HOG 25 celebration in Milwaukee. Originally Tina was going to go to; but she hasn't been feeling well lately and decided it would be too long of a trip. Because she was going to go; I planned the trip to be 3 weeks. Take a few days to get to St Louis where we'd meet up with some friends; spend a day there; then all of us head up to Milwaukee. Stopping about "a hundred miles out" somewhere on Wed (to avoid the high event hotel fees) then stay there Thur, Fri, Sat. Tina's Aunt Pat and Uncle Ward live in MI which is "so close", so we'd leave on Sun morning, take the ferry across a Great Lake, and then hang with them for a few days; then start the long ride back. Given Tina gets tired of riding after a few days, the plan was to do light riding for a couple of days; then spend a couple of days somewhere. Maybe stay in St Cloud, MN for a few days and just check the area out. Then go on to SD and check out Mount Rushmore, Sturgis, etc. Then finally head home. So all in all a 3 week trip. Lots of riding, but lots of breaks as well. So late last year I OKed that much time off at once with my boss and then have been double checking throughout the year.

So... I've got the time, and we discussed it and Tina still thinks I should go - so I'm going for it. However, now I'm going alone so the plans changed.

• I'm still taking the full 3 weeks, since I have it off anyway
  
• Terry, who is another Sheriff Architect, just bought a Harley this year, and has family in St Louis, is going with me.
  
• We are still meeting up with Ted and Christi in St Louis and hanging out there for a day or two. They are awesome and have a Toy-Hauler with double beds all set up and said the fridge would be stocked with beer and snacks and just show up when ever. Awesome. Also for the whole HOG "ABC Rally" thing I always do - there is a town with that starts with 'X' 2 hours away, so we are going to all go ride over there on Tue just for the fun of it, then head north as planned on Wed.
  
• Stop at Fast Eddie's; which I've mentioned before in this blog, on the way up.
  
• Then its the big event for 3 days. Lots of bands, lots of fun, lots of motorcycles... what could be cooler? :)
  
• Head to Aunt Pat's and Uncle Ward's as planned.
  
• While there get my bike serviced somewhere
  
• And from then on the plan is kind of up in the air. I've got about 12 days till I have to be back, and it would take maybe 4 to ride it! Even less if I pushed it. So I'm just heading down the road. I've got two different thoughts right now:
  • The plan was to come home through SD and I've got friends in WA, and haven't been "home" to MT forever - so maybe head up through MT to ID and then into Spokane.
    
  • Tif and Brian are going to be in MI about the same day I was planning on leaving Pat and Wards; but they will be down south in Detroit and maybe heading up to Sarnia for the day. So... I could meet them wherever along Lake Huron, then do some Canada traveling for a few days! Go into Sarnia and then up around the "outside" of Lake Huron and end up at Ste St Marie... And then maybe still head to MT.

So... I'm not sure at all the plan after Aunt Pat's... but that is kind of the plan. To hit the road and see where it takes me. I could also go up through Thunder Bay! Don't know. Basically there are a few goals:

• Not to be too planned
  
• Hit plenty of states, territories, counties, cities for the ABC Rally
  
• Cover lots of miles
  
• Go wherever it looks good
  
• Get home right before I have to go back to work.

If I hook up with Tif and Brian then that will add a bit more planning, but that is fine. So... lots of decisions to make in the next few days!

As noted on another post, I have set up Twitter. One of the main reasons I did that is that I can update my status via my cell phone, so while I'm on the road I can text msg where I'm at and anyone watching my facebook status or following me on Twitter will know what is going on. Pretty cool.

Plus I'll be taking plenty of ABC pictures, and hopefully other pictures as well, and I plan on uploading all of those to the computer and to facebook albums every night. That's all the plan... reality will probably be different, but hopefully close. :)

AZ State Rally - Trip home

Left Tif's about 11:30. Forecast was sunny through AZ with maybe showers in Albq. and showers on Monday. Forecast didn't look better through the week - so we decided to go ahead and head home, rather than waiting and trying to do it on Mon/Tue. We weren't sure if it would take 3 days or not, in case we had to hang out and wait for rain to stop.

Ride through AZ was great. We took it pretty fast - not a lot of side trips - as we were trying to beat any rain. But really only clouds on the horizon. Took 26 from Deming to Hatch and the back way all the way up to ToC and then up to Socorro for the night. We thought about trying to make it to Alb. but Tina was beat and we had put in a good day. Stayed at a Motel 6 - which was clean and sleepable - but had NO ammenities. No hair dryer, no coffee pot, and NO INTERNET! So - no update or upload of photos. :(

Got up the next morning and it was sunny out. Figured we'd try and make it to Raton or Trinidad that day - stopping when we hit the afternoon showers.

We took back roads all the way up to Alb and ended up on the west side of town. Hit I-40, took it east to I-25 and headed north. It was a nice lesiurely drive up to that point - although a bit cool. We were layered up pretty good.

Stopped in Las Vegas for gas - and so decided to eat. We ate at Pizza Hut - which is usually pretty fast - but took forever. Got some pizza to go - yeah, just threw it in the "trunk" and headed out. The windy was coming up and it was looking like it was going to storm any second. The rest of the trip was pretty much spent in the "maybe we can make one more town" mode. Figured we'd maybe make it to Raton - Trinidad was looking less likely.

But it was beautiful as we headed north. Large storm clouds in the distance - but then the road would turn and the clouds would be over some mountain and we'd be heading towards a clearing in the clouds. Hit Raton and decided to try for Trinidad. Not that far and if we hit rain it wouldn't be that much. Going into CO it got beautiful. Looks more like "home" and less like desert and the sun was shining off of everything. Hit Trinidad "What to stop?", I asked Tina. "Nope, Walsenburgh is only an hour a way, lets see if we can make it". Hit Walsenburgh, "What to stop?" - "No, its only 90 miles to home, lets keep going". It was getting cloudier and cloudier and we could see a big storm to the north. Walsenburg was cool because all the clouds were along the mountains to the west. Looked like it was snowing and the sun was shinning through in spots - but out on the plains it was sunny, where we were headed.

The closer and closer we got to the Springs, the worst is looked. Looked like it was really bad up there. "Do you think we can make it?" - "Sure", I replied.

By this time it was getting pretty cool and there was moisture in the air. I was shivering - but didn't want to stop. Neither did Tina. Just get home, so on we went. Gas was getting low - but surely we could make it. Just get home.

Getting closer to town and a rain drop hit the windshield. I looked over to the side of the road and there was the "Colorado Springs City Limit" sign - and from then on it rained. Not poured, but rained - stinging the face. I don't like doing 75 or 65 in the rain - so when we hit the south Nevada exit, we got off. Wound our way through town, getting wetter and wetter. Probably would have been faster to head up I-25 - but again, I don't like driving fast in the rain. Stopped about 2 miles from home for gas. The light had been on a while and I did NOT want to run out of gas a mile from the house or something.

Pulled into the garage cold and wet... But really it was just the front of my neck warmer (which was up over my mouth) and my beanie. My bandana on under it was still dry! Brought in all the stuff, got out of the wet clothes and we were home and snug and dry once again!

---

It was a great trip home. Really only 30 minutes of rain or so, and given the forecast that was a blessing. Did 480 miles the last day - probably the most we'd done in a day, getting home close to 7:00PM. But it was worth it to get home.

Trip total: 2093 miles!

Next morning I was choming at the bit to hit the road again... Usually after a long ride Tina is ready to be off the bike - but I go through withdrawls and want back on it. I mowed the lawn, went through the mail, paid some bills, got caught up on work email... But then at 4:00 I couldn't take it any longer and road the bike to go get groceries. :)

Then I looked up the Posse ride... a Coast to Coast HOG ride. This year it goes from Delware to Oregon - through Montana. Right through Big Timber. We are already booked - but would have been a fun ride... Maybe someday. 18 days, 14 states, over 3K miles. :)

AZ State Rally - Day 3 of the Rally

As noted, Tina slept in, but when she did get up I talked her into heading over to the rally pretty quickly. I didn't want to miss anything! We checked out the vendors, which were fewer than "big" rally's we had been to (such as Thunder in the Rockies), but were still cool.

We found the "cool vests" - but they were kind of expensive and we don't really need them that often, so skipped buying any. There was a vendor selling patches and sewing them on. There usually is, and I had counted on it and brought some patches with me - so got those sewn on my vest plus a few more. "Loud Pipes Save Lives" - plus had her sew on my HOG patch with the "Pikes Peak Chapter" and also the "HOG State Rallies - Arizona" patch. I figure I'll add the CO and the National on as well. Vest is starting to fill out some.

We also bought a small child genuine leather vest for PeaBaby and had an Air Force sticker sewn on it! We then went and watched some bike games and just hung out. We then went and had lunch - and ate in a Bud area and got a beer. I mention this because this is the first time I've seen a "beer tent" type area that had a sign "No Firearms Allowed!" You can carry firearms in the open in AZ - just not where they serve alcohol. But you can take them into banks. We talked to a guy who says he does it all the time. Tombstone and the wild west live on I guess!

We then watched some more games and then went back and had a Harley patch sewn onto PeaBaby's vest. It probably won't fit him till he is 2 or 3 - but its still very cute.

Basically just hung out most of the afternoon and then went and gathered for the parade. Talked to some folks from Phoenix, did the parade and then headed back to Tif's. We discussed hanging out for night activities - but decided that spending the last night with Tif was the better thing to do.

AZ State Rally - Day 2 of the Rally

Day 2 the ride to Tombstone left at 8:00! So - we had to get up about 5:30 to get around, get packed up and get over to the hotel. This was the longest scheduled ride of the day - 200 miles. We picked it because it was long and was going to Tombstone. I had been there about 30 years earlier and remembered it as being pretty cool.

After we got to the hotel someone asked "Is this the short ride or the long ride?" Turns out it was the short ride, as they had thrown another longer ride together. But we knew a few folks that were going and decided to stick with the "short" 200 mile ride. Turned out the ride was going to go back the way we had come, pretty close to Tif's house, and then off I-10 out into the desert.

It was brezzy on the way down, and there were people that were even putting on jackets because they were cold! Tina got a bit chilly and put here jacket on, but I was good with just my long sleeve shirt. A bit gusty here and there, but not bad.

We stopped in Sonita for gas. And I took a couple shots of all the bikes!



Our particular group had about 20 bikes in it (they split into multiple groups if there are tons of bikes) - but we had lost 5 right off the bat. The "sweep" will usually block a road if we are turning so that we can all keep together and not get split up by oncoming traffic. While this is a bit of an inconvience for the motorists (perhaps) - it is much safer for the bikes when everyone is together. Well when we turned south coming off of the main road that the hotel is on, and getting onto the interstate onramp - the sweep blocked the traffic and towards the end this lady pulled up, looked at him and drove right around him. Splitting 5 bikes from the rest! We didn't know any of this till we got to Sonita and because we stopped there for about 30 minutes (bathroom break, gas, etc.) everyone caught up.

Then it was on to Sierra Vista. We had actually played at the Holiday Inn here, probably about 30 years ago. Yeah... I didn't remember the town at all!


One of the reasons for the Rallies is a sense of brotherhood and fun stuff to do - but its always a way to foster loyalty to the company and pick up some business for the local dealerships. So we stopped at the dealership. Its seems fairly small - had about 20 bikes out front. Then we showed up with about 50 more! :) They had free water and ice tea, so we chugged some water and then bought a couple of t-shirts.

Then we headed to Tombstone. We were going up through the "mountains" (hills really), but the terrain changed quite a bit. You could actually imagine cows and cowboys out here, as it was grassy, green and there were some trees. Very pretty ride.

We got to Tombstone


and ate lunch together at Big Nose Kate's. She was Doc Holliday's girl friend. Tina and I then walked around the town a bit and saw the OK Corral.


We wandered through a few of the places, then decided to go get gas - as we had skipped it at Sonita. Didn't want to be the only ones that needed gas! Then came back and sat on a bench in the shade on main street and watched tourists, locals, gun slingers, etc. walk up and down the street. Cool place to visit, though different that I remember it from 30 years ago!

From there it was back to the hotel. We headed to Benson where everyone gassed up before heading back on I-10. It had been a very windy ride - with the wind picking up as we came out of Tombstone. Standing at the gas station an old American Indian biker came up and started talking to us about CO - seeing our plates. He then said, "Its going to get windy now." - "NOW! It already been windy!", Tina said. "Nope - *now* its really going to get windy!", he said and smiled. And he was right!

The wind coming back was much stronger. We pulled in line 4th, behind the sweep in the right side of the stagger - since we were going to be going by Tif's exit. We told the captain we'd be peeling off there - so they didn't think we broke down or something. Tif's house is about 20 miles from the hotel - so no reason to go all the way back just to turn around! There was quite a bit going on this night, but Tina was beat, so we had decided to just hang at Tif's and do some more visting!

Anyway - the trip back was very windy. The folks behind us pulled up next to us to tell us to be careful of the guy in front of us - he drifted quite a bit. Asked if we wanted to switch spots, but I said no. I didn't want on the left side because then we'd have to cross the stagger to exit. They were right - the guy would drift all the way from the left almost to the ride side. And not just when it was windy. But I just kept and eye on him and would fall back some if he started to drift. So - the ride home was windy - but still fun.

We hit Tif's exit - waved at everyone and peeled off. And that was the end of Day 2!

Day 3 there aren't any rides - just bike games (no we are not in any), a bike show, vendors and just hanging out. Oh - and a parade through downtown at 4:00. So we'll probably sleep in some (ok... so I woke up at 6:00 - but Tina will sleep in some) then wander over when we feel like it. Checking out the vendors, buying some stuff undoubtedly (they have a vest you can chill that keeps you cool for desert riding!) and just check things out. A couple of bands are playing tonight - but I don't know if we'll make it to that or just do the parade at 4:00 and head back.

Outlook for the trip home is stormy. Looking better up through NM - but still looking at the I-10/I-25 route. Going north and up through 4 corners looks too cold/snowy. And Raton/Walsenburg looks cold/raining on Mon. We might wait to leave till Monday morning and make a 2 day quick trip home!

Well - that's all for now!

AZ State Rally - Day 1 of the Rally

Thur was the first day of the rally. The web site said that the first ride was at noon and that was when registration started. It was already hot out, so we through some extra clothes in the saddle bags, dressed lightly, and headed out around 11:00:


Got signed up at the rally and saw that there were some earlier rides that we had missed. :( - But there was one at 1:00 that was going to the
San Xavier Mission. This was about the longest ride of the afternoon and looked cool, so we decided to do that. Met a few folks going through our registration packet and had lunch with them. Lunch took so long we *almost* missed the ride, but the road captain said he'd wait for us so I ran and got the bike and we took off with everyone. The ride was mostly through town and then out into the desert. You can see the mission from a ways off and it was under construction, but very cool:



The inside was pretty amazing. This little mission out in the middle of nowhere, and pretty ornate inside. Check the website for better pictures.




Tina and I checked it out and then I took a picture of her by some cactus:


and by this Saguaro:


Tina calls them "grandpa cactus". We found out on this trip that the reason the flowers open at night is because they are pollunated by bats!

When we got ready to head back, Tina - ever the bold one - said, "The trip out was too short! Can we take a longer way back?". The road captain, Kevin, was really nice and said sure. He asked for a vote of who wanted a longer ride back - and everyone said yes. So we went back through the desert and up over Grant's pass. Very pretty and nice twisty road up over some hills.

By this time Tina was bushed and hot, so we decided to head back to the pool once we got back to the hotel and the trip ended. When we got back everyone parked in the garage, but we followed Kevin around to the main area and he snapped this photo of us in front of the State Rally flag!



After that it was back to Tif's for an hour in the pool. Tina wasn't too keen on heading back out, but I talked her into it and we went to the BBQ at the dealers. Lots of bikes, loud music, good food. :) - Met a few more folks and bought some more cool baby clothes. A set of 7 bibs and a newborn black skull cap. :)

2007 HOG AZ State Rally Run - Day 2: Storms

Got off to a great start. Left about 8:40 - so got an early start, and the weather was supposed to be warm - with 30% chance of rain. Not great - but hopefully we'd miss it. We left Los Lunas and decided to take 314 south and then hit 116 at Belen. Again, sticking to the backroads and off the interstate.

Hit Belen and snapped a quick 'B' photo. Nice and sunny, things are going well.



Stopped at McDonald's for a quick breakfast. Missed the turn onto 116 - which means we were on the I-25 on ramp - only would have been about 15 more miles of backroad, so we just headed south.

Kept heading south and it started to look stormy as we got close to Truth or Consequences. I was figuring we'd stop in Hatch for lunch, so we pulled over at the Fort Craig Rest Area to take a short break. We did much better on this trip than the last one, stopping more frequently. Really helped:



You can see the clouds building over the Magdalena Mountains to the northwest. Looked like that towards the southwest as well.



East over the San Andres Mountains things looked good - but that wasn't the way we were going...



North of Arrey we took the 187 south. This would put us back onto a backroad and also take us through some small towns - maybe snapping some more ABC picks. Would have zipped right through Derry, but Tina saw the post office and called it out to me. Right off the road, easy pic:



Hit a couple more small towns. Very agricultural. You'd never know it much from the interstate. But traveling the backroads you see all the chili farms - and nut farms as well. Pecans, Walnuts, etc. Went through Garfield and could have used a 'G' - but it was starting to look stormy so just kept going.

Hit Hatch and turned left into the town for a quick photo:


Yeah - storm clouds are rising - and perhaps directly in our path. So we skip lunch. :( - They ship a lot of Hatch chilies up to Colorado Springs and Whole Foods roasts them. So I wanted to eat there. But at least got a photo of the "famous" Hatch Chili town! But better safe that sorry, better push on.

So - no more photos for a while. Took 26 west out of Hatch towards Deming. Out across the flats with mountains all around, storm clouds over all of them. And that is when the rain hit. Small splatters at first - and never got where it was just dumping - but it was coming down pretty good. Tina asked if we should pull over and suit up (get on rain gear and helmets) - I shouted "NO" - and sped up. Stuck with a few trucks in front of us when another Harley roared by... OK - if he can pass, so can I. Now the rain is starting to rooster tail off of the cars, but the road is still dry enough. Yeah, water on it, but its not slick yet - so I want to just keep going. Maybe we can outrun it or get out of it. Head is getting pretty soaked now, and I have to sit up straight to see over the windshield (otherwise I'm looking through my rain spotted glasses AND the rain spotted windshield - not good). Almost catch up to the Harley when they pull over to suit up - and we just blast by them. Its starting to get cold and wet - but I'm still hoping to get out of this mess.

Sun doesn't break out - but after about 10 miles, we are out of it. Not too bad. A little wet, but things could be worse - and hey - the water washed the dead bugs off the windshield. :) And then doing 75 helped dry my bandana out!

Pull into Deming and grab lunch at "Blake's Lotaburger". Regional chain - wasn't too bad. We can still see the storm brewing and the bushes are starting to whip around in the wind - time to go.

Tina asks if I want my helmet... No way. I'm sure I can outrun whatever we head into. Tina decides to put hers on. So we head west on 10. Never having been on this part of the Highway - and probably wouldn't remember if I had - I'm not sure exactly what way we are going - other than west. So there are some clear spots and some stormy looking spots. One of the "fun" things of the road and being on a bike. You are all excited because its blue ahead - when the road turns and you head straight towards the storm. Oh well - its an adventure.

So we hit the highway and crank it up to 75. Music is blaring over the loud pipes and I just look at the storm and laugh at it... then start praying. A little rain I don't mind - but having to pull over and find a place to get out it - not fun.

So we make it about 5 miles and it starts raining again - but this time even less than before and we are out of it in a few miles. Phew - hopefully it keeps up like this.

Highway 10 - which we kind of forgot, is one big stretch of wind. There are "Gusty Winds possible" signs, which turn to "Dangerous Cross Winds ahead" signs, which as you get towards the AZ border change to "No visibility possible. Dust storms possible. DO NOT STOP ON ROAD if you can't see. Pull over." And they mean it. The bike is getting whipped pretty good. I see another bike approach a semi (two lane high way) and he leans towards the side of the road and then cuts back towards the semi right before he gets to it. Kind of leaning into the wind. I try it a few times and it seems to work. Most of the time it isn't an issue given we are on a 4 lane divided highway - but given road work - once in a while it comes in handy.

Lots of canyons and hilly areas where the winds whip down through the gullies. Heading up through some hills and around a corner, I look off to the side and then look back and my mind registers black dots appearing out of nowhere in front of my windshield - and all of a sudden the bike is peppered with something. Sounds like a car in front of me just through gravel all over the windshield - but I'm not that close to a car. I flinch and then notice that my fairly clean windshield is now *covered* in bug remains. 15 big clear juicy splots just appeared out of nowhere.

OK... so rain storm, wind storm, and not a bug storm! What next!?

We get to the border and snap a shot entering AZ



and turn to take a shot of the NM sign behind us:



Tina then climbs off the bike and says "Get this helmet off me!". It hasn't rained since she put it on, and it is scratching, hot and noisy. So I unbuckle it and "save her" from it. Back into the duffel bag it goes.

We plunge on through San Simon and Bowie, but decide to take the business loop through Wilcox. I've been gassing up fairly often. I usually get about 45 MPH - but lower on the highway because I'm at higher RPMs. 65 is a good crusing speed, 75 (or faster) eats up the gas. And we were on empty a bit earlier in the day - so I don't want to miss the chance to get gas. I can't remember how far apart the towns are here.

We pass a Dairy Queen in Wilcox, and although we are both on diets, Tina says we have to stop. So we do. Still looks like it could storm, but not too bad. As we are climbing back on the bike I hear my phone beep. Its Tif, "Dad - I'm not sure where you guys are at, but there is supposed to be a major dust storm between the border and Tucson in Cochise County - right where you guys are going. It should be over by 3:00 your time - so if you can hole up somewhere, you might want to. Be safe and call us to let us know how you are doing!".

Great - dust storm in front of us, rain storms chasing us - well lets head out and see what it looks like. Heading out of town and get close to the interstate - we stop for gas - and look towards where we think we are going - and its all brown. (Looking at a map now, this would be over the Wilcox Dry Lake Bombing Range). There is a truck gassing up and the driver asks where we are heading. "Tucson". "Just came from there. Hit a little rain, but that's about it. But I just heard the highway is closed because of a semi accident." We thank him for the information and his service (Hes served 3 tours in Iraq) and he heads out. We decide to call Tif and let her know whats up, and that we are going to hang out for a while.

I keep seeing the traffic heading west, and its not backing up, so maybe the road isn't closed. Plus we can see that the traffic is heading at about a 45 away from where we though we might be heading. So we decide to chance it - keeping an eye on the dust storm and the rain storm.

We head out and its still pretty windy, but we only hit one little patch of rain. Not enough to even get us wet - and the dust storm appears to stay to our south. Tina notices some "dust tornados" - or "dust devils" that are pretty good size. An ambulance zips by us - so maybe the road will be closed, and then we see the lights up ahead. Traffic moves over to the right lane - and I keep my eyes on the road, noticing a number of emergency vehicles and a paramedic wiping a guy's forehead who is sitting up (a good sign) and continue on. Tina yells, "Did you see the semi?" - All I saw was pieces of it strewn through the median, "NO". "It went across both of our lanes, through the median, across the other lanes and out into the other side. It was covered in dust." Well the driver looked ok and I'm glad we didn't hit any of that.

I'm keeping my eyes on pull off signs. Rest areas or towns. Keeping track of how far to the next one in case we have to get out of the weather.

But then there is "the sign" - "2 miles to Houghton Road exit" - Woo hoo! We are almost there. 15 minutes later we pull into Tif's driveway - Brian hears the bike, and the garage door goes up. We've made it. :)

It was a weird day. A bit nerve racking at times. A few times I though we might have to hole up somewhere - and if it had gotten bad enough we would have. But you always hear (and we have experienced) about folks who went through the rain for 10 miles, or 20 miles. Sometimes you can just outrun it or just miss it. Much of the road we covered had been rained on, but was dry when we got there. So its worth pushing through - otherwise you'd never go anyway.

I wore 3 different sets of gloves during the day. Tina wore many different layers of clothes. Hot, cold, cool, hot again, cold again. But it was all good and all an adventure. But we were glad to get to Tifs. Although I-40 seemed a lot nicer weather - and maybe we'll look at taking that back - even though I-10 is faster.

And then Tif pulled up (she was at the store) in her snazzy purple car and got out with her "hugh" pregnant stomach (which is the size of a volleyball - not a basketball) and Tina petted PeaBaby and started laughing - and it was all good.

Mi Chante, Los Lunas, NM

Had dinner at Mi Chante in Los Lunas.

We were driving down the main road, Route 6 - the "Historic Route 66", towards town and away from the interstate - just looking for some fast food place, when I noticed a "Best homemade food in town." Says you... but maybe. So we swung around and parked out back.

Nice little Mexican restaurant. A converted house. Cool - blue corn, green chili chicken flat enchiladas. Yum. Trying to stay away from rice - so got the "Calabacitas". Tina said, "No rice please" and the waiter said, "Do you want the calabacitas or pappas instead?" Never heard of either of those before. I'd already spotted them on the menu so figured I'd try one of them. After all, if I've never heard of it, I have to give it a shot. Kind of like an infant that way I guess... "Hmm... never seen this thing before. Guess I'll throw it in my mouth to see what it is." :) - Turns out it calabacitas is zucchini and corn with cheese melted on it. Yum.

First bite of the green chili... oh - this is Chavez/TeresaMiller type green chili - not gringo green chili. Tina's comment, "Well duh - you're in New Mexico." A bit of a fire... but *very* good flavor. Not too hot - just a surprise. :) - Had to get a side of sour creme to cool it down a bit. Yeah... wimp. But it was good and not too hot, I'd order it again.

So - if you are ever in Los Lunas and looking for some good Mexican food - try it out. Its on Route 6, right side of the road heading into town from the interstate. A block or two before the 314 intersection.

Apparently I *am* a good conversationalist

So... anyone that knows me knows I'm an intravert. Not big on striking up conversation with total strangers... But doing just that is one of the things that comes with owning a Harley.

I make a quick stop at the bathroom after gasing up - yes... I'm in the bathroom. Guy walks in - sounding pretty much like Cheech:

G: Hey man... is that your bike out there?
M: Yes
G: Righteous bike man
M: Thanks
G: Yeah... really righteous
M: Ah - thanks.
G: I just love bikes - even my old broke one
M: Me too
G: Yeah - I have a bike - but the handlebars got all rusty and broke off and now the wheels are almost touching the frame... But I'm going to get me a new bike soon. 'Cuz I just love bikes.
M: Yeah - they are great. turn to leave - trying to escape and get back to the ride
G: Umm... great conversation
M: Ah - yeah

2007 HOG AZ State Rally Run - Day 1 Recap

Left home about 8:40:

It was a beautiful day. We stopped in Pueblo at VI for breakfast. Made quite a few stops during the day. Clouds a few times - but no rain. Just kept getting nice and clearing up. And getting warm.

Stopped along the Santa Fe Trail:


Where it was getting plenty hot and hey... there's cactus here!


Stopped for a late lunch in Las Vegas - yeah, Tina hasn't quite warmed up yet:


We got to Albuquerque by about 5:00 and it was still good weather, so we pushed on to Los Lunas. This is almost *exactly* 1/2 way. 412 from home and 415 to Tif's! This is in Valencia County. A 'V' County! Great for my ABC Rally! We ate dinner, unloaded the bike and Tina crashed. I jumped on the bike and went looking for county buildings (after looking them up on google! Got a good pic of the County Court House with the seal - but wasn't sure how it would turn out:


So also snapped one of the Treasurer - 'cuz I was sure that would turn out.


All in all a great day. Get some good sleep (hopefully) and another good full day tomorrow and we should be at Tif's around dinner time. And see our little pregnant girl! Woo hoo. :)

2007 HOG AZ State Rally Run - Day 1

Morning of Day 1 - trip to see Tif and HOG AZ State Rally. "Are you trailering the bike?" - NO. What's the point of that?

Forecast yesterday for today - morning rain showers. :(

Woke up at 5:00 to do some work, get a few things ready... Forecast - Mostly sunny - looked outside. Dry roads, no rain. YES!

So, paying a few last minute bills, packing a few last minute things, talking to Jaimer and waiting for Tina to get up. We can't leave too early, have to wait for the sun to come up and warm things up. But its looking like a great and early start - which will make today's trip awesome.

More from the road...

T minus 2 days

Leave in 2 days... that's the morning after tomorrow. And yes, all that white stuff hiding the lawn is indeed snow... I'm sure by the morning after next it will all be gone, the sun will be shinning and it will be nice and warm...

But just in case not, we might move the departure time from 7:30 till 9:00 or so, when the sun warms up.

And when we get to Tuscon it is supposed to be 92. One day its 40, two days later its 90. Yeah... dress in layers.

1860 miles

Well, we are back. Friday we made it to Espanola, NM. We had planned on making it to Taos, but were too tired, plus it was starting to get dark. We left Holbrook plenty early, but headed SE down 180 (I think it was) and into the south entrance of the Petrified Forest National Park. This was a very cool ride. 28 miles through that and the painted desert. AZ has some spectacular country. The ranger at the gate drives a Harley, so gave us all the scoop on portions of the road to watch out for, etc. :)

Turns out that I-40 is a MUCH better drive than I-10, in terms of scenary. It was pretty for the most part. I-25 -> I-10 is probably faster, but coming through the Salt River Canyon, etc. was worth it, and then I-40 itself was nice too. Plus we picked up a little Indian jewelry. :)

Headed north out of Albqu. and ran into an accident. We were sitting on the road for probably an hour in stop-and-go traffic. Plenty of people jumping the median to head back to town and take a different road north (which we don't know - so we stayed on the highway). Finally after about an hour, 3 motorcycles went down the right shoulder in about a 10 minute period. I waited a few more minutes, then followed. If I would have done that in the first place, would have saved us an hour.

Got into Santa Fe, found the Harley shop and bought a few things and asked how long to Taos - an hour an a half or two. Yikes! Made it to Espanola and stopped for the night. Ate at Joanne's - which had "authentic" southwest food. Awesome blue corn enchilladas with local green chiles. Yum.

Next day I let Tina sleep in, and we headed out around 10:00. Made it to Taos... totally wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it was a mountain town, but it is in the foothills. No mountains roads in... and none out. I was told we'd go through some twisty roads, but nothing. Maybe if we had turned to Red River at Questa... but we weren't sure where that would come out. Or maybe if we had headed east out of Taos towards Raton. But we just went due north, which was pretty flat.

Hit the CO state line... and saw clouds and mountains with snow on them. Yup, out of the desert and back into the Rockies. But the clouds were sparse, and we were in foothills most of the way. East out of Fort Garland to Walsenburg. Last time: raining, hyper-planning, etc. This time: sunny and warm. MUCH NICER. :)

Stopped in Pueblo for a bite to eat and to stretch and then home.

1860 miles total. A great ride. I'd do it again next week if we could, it was so fun. And great time with Tif and Brian.

Definately our last "major ride" for this year - but we've got a few poker runs coming up, so I'm sure we'll get some short rides and some day trips in. When we left it felt like winter was around the corner. Coming home it was in the 80s and nice. We'll see what fall holds for us, in terms of riding!

Globe to Holbrook

Coming out of globe the country starts getting cooler. We are driving along and see a sign "Salt River Canyon" and all of a sudden there it is. Oh my gosh. What a sight. It was very cool. I have a great picture, which I can't upload right now. Will do it later. Anyway, it was spectacular. We drive down into the canyon and back out. Quite a long ride so we are in the cooler temps for 30 minutes at least. A few "Tina grabbing my vest" points, but mostly just very cool. From there up into the Mountains. Really mountains with no desert plants. Very similar to CO. By the time we make Snowflake, its dusk, but we only have 45 minutes to go, so we head on. It turns dark with about 15 minutes to go. I don't like driving at night because I like being able to see what lies in the road, what is up ahead, etc. But its a straight, pretty flat road, with traffic. So its fine. Our first night ride on the road.

We pull into Holbrook, ride around and find the Best Western. Internet, ground floor room where we can park the bike, and a Steak House right next door. Awesome.

So - day 1 was great. Today we go through the Petrified Forest. We are going to go out of the way to trek through there - then east to Alburq, north to Santa Fe and stop in Taos. Weather looks good, should be warm as we are back in the desert, and then cool off as we head north.

Sunrise to Globe

Followed Sunrise down to Oracle and took a few turns so I could go to the Oro Valley post office to snap an ABC picture. No luck - turns out the post office was a Tuscon post office. So we headed north. This took about an hour to get out of town and we were very hot.

Heading up the highway I spotted a great "Welcome to Oro Valley" sign on the side of the road, so we snapped a shot and continued on.

Tucson to Globe was very hot. I didn't mind the 90s, but it was baking Tina. We decided to stop at small town to get water, etc. - but we were through it before we knew, so just continued to head north. That was a mistake. I started getting really baked, but we made it to Globe anyway.

Stopped at Taco Bell and then I went to snap a few ABC shots. One for 'G'lobe and one for 'G'ila County. I had directions to the buildings. County offices on 1100 South Stree... except it doesn't exist. Sigh. Spent some time looking for it, and having people look at me drive in circles, cops staring at me. Don't draw so much attention to yourself. :) - Oh well. Found the post office - one with a sign up high. Parked the bike across the street and got a good shot. Then back to Taco Bell... one more try along the way for the county sign. Spotted a small one and snapped it. Then back onto Ash St (highway and main street) and passed a really nice County complex with nice signs, etc. That's the way it goes. I finally find *some* sign to snap, snap it and then pass a really good one w/o trying. Oh well, told Tina I'd be about 15 minutes, and its probably been 30, so I head back. Pull up and she is asleep in Taco Bell. She hears me, wakes up. We load up and head north.

Stick Together

Left Tif's and decided to take Sunrise Drive. This would take us west along the foothills, rather than driving along I-10 and through town. Looked at a google map and got a general idea of where to go. So headed out, took a few turns, and were heading back east *way* too long so decided we better turn around. Stopped at a gas station and asked how to get to Sunrise Drive. The cashier told us and we headed back out to the bike:

Tom: Glad I overhead what she said, she didn't give you the correct directions
We turn around to see a guy standing there. He explains how to get there. We thank him.
T: Yup, us Harley guys have to stick together.
M: Turning toward where he is walking I see a Harley Dealership truck that is used to go pickup bikes. Oh, so you work at the local store?
T: Yeah. If you need anything while you are here, just call and ask for Tom. I'll come pick you up.
M: Thanks!

He then proceeds to pull past us as we are driving down the road, and then pulls into the right lane as he gets near an intersection, and motions us over. We follow him. He does this for a few turns, and then we head up a long road and he motions us past.

T: 3 lights ahead is Sunrise.

And he waves us on.