Trip Report....The final installment!!
Sego Canyon, RED ROCKS, Kansas City and a bit of Columbia, Missouri
6/17-6/23 2012
Wow, I've been slacking with my reports. After 37 days on the road, I think I'm due a bit of slacking. Please forgive this “last week” installment.
Awoke in Sego Canyon,
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ut-segocanyon.html to a wonderful morning. Headed deeper into the canyon, to find these remnants....The old American Fuel Company Store and this old railroad trestle......
Headed back to my camp, packed up, then ventured out to find the “art”. One would think it would be easy to find, but it took a bit of hunting.
Onward to Denver, and my only option being I -70, didn't provide for many photo opps. The scenery was great, but very limited ability to pull over and shoot stuff!! A long tiring day, as about 30 miles outside of Denver, the traffic came to a halt. Took over 2 hours to go about 5 miles. And of course, no accident. Nice thing, it was all downhill, so for the most part I had the engine shut off and coasted.
Arrived in Denver and located my old neighbors new house. A family friend, he had recently moved out to Denver. I think I could have been the first guest. It was very nice to see my old friend. Worst thing of all....the heat in Denver that day was 99. I guess somewhat of a rare happening. No AC in the house! It was going to be a hot night. (by myself). Slept miserably, as the temp in the house hovered around 82. Literally peeled myself off of the couch a couple times. It was soon light, and after a quick breakfast, Evan and I headed out for some exploration. First stop was atop Lookout Mtn. Located just West of Denver, it provides a very nice view of Golden and Denver.
It was a smoky morning, as the fire up north near Colorado Spring was still ablaze.
We were turned away from the “top” of the Mountain, as the road was closed for a commercial shoot for Can AM spiders. No problem as the next stop was RED ROCKS! Never having been to this incredible place, yet having “seen” it thousands of times in college,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U2_Live_at_Red_Rocks:_Under_a_Blood_Red_Sky , I was quite excited to be able to visit this place. So often times expectations exceed reality, and let downs are frequent. Not this time. Red Rocks is, well, uh, AMAZING!!! This place is worthy of the adjective.
Really nice thing about this place. The venue is jointly owned by the city of Denver and the County...As such, it is treated as a county park, and is “open” 7 days a week from 6:00AM to 10:30PM for people to enjoy...and/or to sweat their asses off traversing the amphitheater. In that thin air, I had experienced plenty of sweat. Talk about leg room!!
And below the "Rocks" is a very nice museum......
We then traveled to Boulder. Wow, what a really nice college town. Above Boulder we found the antitheses of Red Rocks......The Sunrise Amphitheater. Reminded me of something from the Flintstones era......
Next morning departed Denver. Destination somewhere in Kansas. It really didn't matter as it was Kansas. The drive was tough. Hot temps, about 95, winds out of the south at 35 mph, gusting to 45-50. All day long. It was like riding without a windshield, sideways. Most unpleasant. The motto for Kansas should be.....”Kansas doesn't suck, it blows!!” Was planning on camping in Ellis, a small town, yet when I arrived it was still in the 90's, still extremely windy, with a low of 80 for the evening. Didn't sound like a comfortable plan, so continued to Hays, KS and got a room.
Thought I would depart early before sunrise to beat the wind. Great plan, but the wind had other ideas. It never really stopped. Hit the road before 6:00am, and it was still gusty. And warm. Didn't even need long sleeves. Road for about an hour and a quick stop in Saliva, (oops, I meant Salina), for gas and coffee. Here are my images from Kansas.....
Oops again....I didn't get any!!
Thursday night headed to another old friend who lives on the “Plaza” in KC, and headed to The Peanut, (KC's oldest bar), The Well in Waldo, and perhaps some Tom Foolery. It was a fun night. So fun I thought this picture of a parking garage would be really cool. Funny how some substances can alter perceptions!!
After looking at it, is it pretty cool!!
Headed to Blue Springs to the World's Famous Bon S Garage and Motorcycle Repair Shop. For those of you following closely to these reports, about day 5 it was discovered that my right fork was leaking oil. And leak it did. For about 6000 miles. Sometime later the left started leaking a bit too. Bon and I tried the “fix”, and it seemed to work on the left. Not sure if it worked on the right fork as it might be out of fluid. To be determined!!
It was getting late, and time to continue East. Looked up another old friend who lives in Columbia, and fortunately he was in town and drinking. Met up and caught up and had a nice rest. In the AM, decided to check out some of the old “stomping ground” and got this nice shot of the columns and Jesse Hall....
When I was attending school in Columbia, I had a small scooter. Actually, it was a Yamaha Riva 180. Still a scooter, but hey, it would go 73 mph downhill!! Anyway, one day while out riding I found this really giant tree close to the Missouri River. I guess it has become quite famous, as it is even pointed out on Google Maps. While at my friend's house, I spotted a picture of this same tree. Too weird, as I've often thought about it. It was only a few miles from his house, and very easy to find. I headed towards the town of McBaine, MO and soon found it. I guess someone else had the same idea that morning as another photographer was there shooting this HD for Bagger, (or something like that Magazine).......Here is my shot.
That was it. Only about 90 miles to go. Made it home safe and sound. Perhaps a bit low on fork oil, and my front tire has some very strange wear patterns....(scalloping).....Other than that, an excellent trip. 7913 miles. $1005.36 in fuel. By far the biggest expense. Lodging? Maybe 300 bucks tops, as camping has its perks!
Here is a map of my general route.......
Now time to dry out, rest, exercise, and get ready for Inzane. I will be available for HDR portraits in the gorgeous Boston Mountains of NW Arkansas!! Think of a professional portrait as indoor bling. Something to admire for years! And for less $$$ than a rear tire!!
Thanks for all the positive comments. I appreciate them.
Gordo
