Day 7 – Friday.
Hard to believe that we’ve been on the road for a whole week. The only time we go indoors deals with food; either taking it in our letting it out. But we still haven’t seen any rain or bad weather of any kind so all of our nights are still in the tents.
Our objective today is Albuquerque.
Since we got in to the campground late last night, we don’t get a very early start this morning. Ray and Dan go up to the office to pay for last nights stay and are very taken with the park managers. It seems that they belong to a group called ‘Campers for Christ’. Very nice people. One of the park residents (Buc, I think) stops by our site to socialize about our adventure. We tell him where we’re going and, like everybody else, thinks it is great. He asks if we’re doing any ‘sightseeing’ on the trip. I explain that we’re now at a point in the trip where we can start to slow down. He recommends the Palo
Duro canyon just south of Amarillo and the Cadillac ranch just west of the campground.
Across the interstate is a Gander Mtn store; we’re still looking for a campground directory and may need some camp supplies. Ray is still securing his gear, so Dan and Chris head over to check out the store. No luck on a campground directory but Chris finds a new pair of sunglasses; they’re getting pretty bent trying to get them under the helmet. Ray meets us at the Gander Mtn and we’re off for breakfast at Ruby’s Tequila restaurant; no breakfast but we get an early lunch (11:30). Head off to the Canyon. The park manager tells us that this is the second largest
canyon in the U.S. Kind of hard to believe since I’ve seen the Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon and a couple other un-remembered canyons. Entrance is $4 per bike. The park office and visitor center is about ½ mile from the entrance and I’m thinking we’ll stop there, look over the rim of the canyon and get back on the road. From the visitor center we can see that the road goes all the way to the bottom of the canyon. We all agree that this looks like a pretty cool ride. Down through the canyon we encounter some pretty aggressive switchbacks, water crossings and bunches of Roadrunners. Chris manages to get some pictures while riding of Dan and Ray (good experiment at 20 mph, but I wouldn’t want to attempt it any faster).
Next stop is the local hardware store to get some spray paint ???
Heading west on I40 the wind is again very strong out of the south; hard on our beam.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the Cadillac Ranch. Apparently some eccentric guy bought a Cadillac (used, new who knows) and buried it nose first in the dirt. Now there are about a dozen Cadillac’s buried nose first in the dirt in a nice straight row. People paint their names on the cars, take pictures… Disposal of the partially used spray paint cans is no problem: just give them to the next group of tourists.
3:30 pm. Gas, 2.9 gallons. 2509 on the ODO – West Amarillo. So far we’ve put about a hundred miles on the bikes but have only gone 5 productive miles into the trip. We can still see the campground from the gas station (but out here, you can see 3 days in every direction).
Wind extremely strong from the south. I feel I need to ‘hike out’ on the port side to counteract the healing.
5:00 pm, TX/NM border.
Very strange phenomenon; as soon as we cross the state line, the winds die down and change directions 180 degrees. Thank you to the people of New Mexico for such excellent weather control. The temperature is definitely decreasing.
4:30 (we’re now in Mountain Time). I decide to exit into Tucumcari, NM for fuel and to see if Dan wants to switch back into his warmer jacket; I’ve been pulling up my zippers, tightening my straps and buckling down.
ODO – 2610. 2.8 gals.
There is a guy in the gas station walking around with a 6 –
8 foot rattlesnake. That is one of the reasons I live in Michigan.
There are some pretty nasty looking clouds west of us and the weather predictions are not favorable. All agree that Tucumcari is a good place to spend the night. Our shortest day riding, but stopping is the smart thing to do – we’ve got lots of time.
Dan notes that there is a KOA campground about 1 mile east of the gas station, so that is our target. Very friendly camp staff and lots of tent sites.
Tent sites seem to be an anomaly in RV parks. Not sure why, but many of the parks prohibit tents.
Drive back into Tucumcari for dinner. Ray suggests that we cruise the main drag, scope out the restaurants and pick the best one on the way back. The town is full of motorcycles and lots of Valkyries (Chris’s personal bike back home). Seems there is a rally further north – Red River, and a lot of the bikers are coming an going.
Dinner at Del’s restaurant. Good salad bar, soup and generally good food. Our waitress is especially nice. Ray orders a lemonade and she tells him its not really that good, but will let him try it and if he doesn’t like it can order something else.
Talk to a Valkyrie rider that came from the west. Says the weather in Albuquerque is pouring rain and cold; staying in Tucumcari is looking like a better decision all the time.
Ray heads off to find a locksmith (still trying to get a spare key made) and Dan and Chris head back to the camp.
Wind is very strong ant the temp is dropping fast.
Ray arrives a little later – no key, but he’s got beer.
Couple of shots of Scotch and beer chasers to ward off the cold and then we’re all in our tents to get out of the wind. Still it’s pretty cold, but better with the wind off of us.
That’s about it for now. I’ve got to get to a better internet connection to post the pictures. Right now I’m on a picnic table plugged into an RV site power post.
Hard to believe that we’ve been on the road for a whole week. The only time we go indoors deals with food; either taking it in our letting it out. But we still haven’t seen any rain or bad weather of any kind so all of our nights are still in the tents.
Our objective today is Albuquerque.
Since we got in to the campground late last night, we don’t get a very early start this morning. Ray and Dan go up to the office to pay for last nights stay and are very taken with the park managers. It seems that they belong to a group called ‘Campers for Christ’. Very nice people. One of the park residents (Buc, I think) stops by our site to socialize about our adventure. We tell him where we’re going and, like everybody else, thinks it is great. He asks if we’re doing any ‘sightseeing’ on the trip. I explain that we’re now at a point in the trip where we can start to slow down. He recommends the Palo
Duro canyon just south of Amarillo and the Cadillac ranch just west of the campground.Across the interstate is a Gander Mtn store; we’re still looking for a campground directory and may need some camp supplies. Ray is still securing his gear, so Dan and Chris head over to check out the store. No luck on a campground directory but Chris finds a new pair of sunglasses; they’re getting pretty bent trying to get them under the helmet. Ray meets us at the Gander Mtn and we’re off for breakfast at Ruby’s Tequila restaurant; no breakfast but we get an early lunch (11:30). Head off to the Canyon. The park manager tells us that this is the second largest
canyon in the U.S. Kind of hard to believe since I’ve seen the Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon and a couple other un-remembered canyons. Entrance is $4 per bike. The park office and visitor center is about ½ mile from the entrance and I’m thinking we’ll stop there, look over the rim of the canyon and get back on the road. From the visitor center we can see that the road goes all the way to the bottom of the canyon. We all agree that this looks like a pretty cool ride. Down through the canyon we encounter some pretty aggressive switchbacks, water crossings and bunches of Roadrunners. Chris manages to get some pictures while riding of Dan and Ray (good experiment at 20 mph, but I wouldn’t want to attempt it any faster).Next stop is the local hardware store to get some spray paint ???
Heading west on I40 the wind is again very strong out of the south; hard on our beam.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the Cadillac Ranch. Apparently some eccentric guy bought a Cadillac (used, new who knows) and buried it nose first in the dirt. Now there are about a dozen Cadillac’s buried nose first in the dirt in a nice straight row. People paint their names on the cars, take pictures… Disposal of the partially used spray paint cans is no problem: just give them to the next group of tourists.
3:30 pm. Gas, 2.9 gallons. 2509 on the ODO – West Amarillo. So far we’ve put about a hundred miles on the bikes but have only gone 5 productive miles into the trip. We can still see the campground from the gas station (but out here, you can see 3 days in every direction).Wind extremely strong from the south. I feel I need to ‘hike out’ on the port side to counteract the healing.
5:00 pm, TX/NM border.
Very strange phenomenon; as soon as we cross the state line, the winds die down and change directions 180 degrees. Thank you to the people of New Mexico for such excellent weather control. The temperature is definitely decreasing.
4:30 (we’re now in Mountain Time). I decide to exit into Tucumcari, NM for fuel and to see if Dan wants to switch back into his warmer jacket; I’ve been pulling up my zippers, tightening my straps and buckling down.
ODO – 2610. 2.8 gals.
There is a guy in the gas station walking around with a 6 –
8 foot rattlesnake. That is one of the reasons I live in Michigan.There are some pretty nasty looking clouds west of us and the weather predictions are not favorable. All agree that Tucumcari is a good place to spend the night. Our shortest day riding, but stopping is the smart thing to do – we’ve got lots of time.
Dan notes that there is a KOA campground about 1 mile east of the gas station, so that is our target. Very friendly camp staff and lots of tent sites.
Tent sites seem to be an anomaly in RV parks. Not sure why, but many of the parks prohibit tents.
Drive back into Tucumcari for dinner. Ray suggests that we cruise the main drag, scope out the restaurants and pick the best one on the way back. The town is full of motorcycles and lots of Valkyries (Chris’s personal bike back home). Seems there is a rally further north – Red River, and a lot of the bikers are coming an going.
Dinner at Del’s restaurant. Good salad bar, soup and generally good food. Our waitress is especially nice. Ray orders a lemonade and she tells him its not really that good, but will let him try it and if he doesn’t like it can order something else.
Talk to a Valkyrie rider that came from the west. Says the weather in Albuquerque is pouring rain and cold; staying in Tucumcari is looking like a better decision all the time.
Ray heads off to find a locksmith (still trying to get a spare key made) and Dan and Chris head back to the camp.
Wind is very strong ant the temp is dropping fast.
Ray arrives a little later – no key, but he’s got beer.
Couple of shots of Scotch and beer chasers to ward off the cold and then we’re all in our tents to get out of the wind. Still it’s pretty cold, but better with the wind off of us.
That’s about it for now. I’ve got to get to a better internet connection to post the pictures. Right now I’m on a picnic table plugged into an RV site power post.
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