Day 9, UT

Driving into Boulder, UT was a little cooler than Moab.  Altitude was the change.  Evidence of the climate change was evident in the more green landscape.  With green also comes the risk of deer crossings, which we did see a few grazing not far from the road along with open range cattle.

We saw at least three of these to date in our travel across the country.  I thought it was some sort of beacon for aircraft.  Come to find out they are indeed VHF omnidirectional radio range stations or VORs.
What are VORs??

This was a cool little motel.  Although, to get to the office you had to walk through a minefield of beautiful flowers guarded by killer honey bees!  I had one attached to my jugular by the time I entered the front office.  And he wasn't happy when I tried to detach the vehement creature from my neck. To be fair, I do look like a giant sunflower in my hi-vis riding jacket.

Rode through many areas which had burned recently. Could still smell it in the air.

Day 10 Monument Valley, UT - AZ

Riding to Monument Valley in UT was probably one of the cooler days we've had on the road so far out West. Temps only in the mid 90s, Not bad. 

Beautiful camp site at Monument Valley.   Winds starting to pick up. 

As beautiful as the Navajo land is, in areas it also resembles a 3rd world country.  On four instances we had who appeared to be Navajo people try to hit us up for a handout.  The last instance felt threatening as I stepped up and abruptly informed the gentleman I would not want anything from him and will not give him anything.  He commenced a stare down with me. Waiting for the other to flinch or succeed, I did not intend on giving any ground.  He did finally
mumble something, turned and walked away.

What happened to pride!

Anyone traveling through this area should be cautious about doing so alone.  Regardless of being alone or not, take note where and when you make your stops.

Great Navajo food. Fry bread with some of the best taco filling and burgers in between Navajo fried bread.  Gives a new meaning and opens all kind of doors for Italian East coast pizza fritta. 

STRONG Winds are picking up

We should have taken this as a sign of things to come. Winds started to pick up after lunch in Kayenta, AZ.   Winds picked up to at least 25mph sustained with gusts of who knows, but much worst.  Along with the winds, there is also sand and tumbleweeds in the air, and scattered rain.  All on a stretch of poorly maintained crumbling roads, 50 miles from any type of town.  Oh, and maybe the best. This section of road also runs through open ranges complete with cattle, goats, sheep, and what appeared to be wild horses all freely wondering along the side of the road. 

About 10 miles from Kayenta, winds steadily picked up.  At it's peak we tilted about 60 degrees into the wind.  For 30 plus miles we became one with our bikes.  Constantly fighting the wrath of some Navajo God nudging us toward and over the center line.  We keep the bikes moving forward. As fatigue starts to set in, options for ending this force of the gods start racing through our minds.  

Can we pull over & stop? No, no shoulder and any slowdown or stopping and the bike is going to be blown over with me on it into the road.  Can we ditch safely with out too much damage to our selves or the bike? Well, rather not try it!

So we continue down the road finding the perfect combination of gravity and forward momentum by throttling up or down.  We call on every riding skill ever learned.  I keep telling myself, The bike can do it, I just need to hold on.  

By time we arrive at the next town, we are both exhausted but in one piece.  Mr. Grey and the Mighty KLR has taken us through the worst conditions we've ever encountered.  As we continue our trip we will do what ever needed to avoid high winds like this.  I never want to go through that again!

10 Days with Thal

Traveling on the road now for 10 days and 3,543 miles and counting.  My pal Thal hasn't been misbehaving much.  A couple of days with bad headaches and fatigue.

Always wanted to be a cowboy

The first day out was the worst. Arrived at our first stop in Ohio feeling mighty ill.  Nothing seemed to help but sleep. Took an awesome three hour power nap and woke feeling pretty normal.  Got some food in me thanks to our gracious hosts and friends.  Some fresh home cooking helped take the rest of the edge off.  I've never been sure what triggers these bad times.  I had just gotten two for the road the day prior so it wasn't that my counts were low.

Rode several days without a much of a peep from Thal. Then he tried to cause some problems on the road in New Mexico.  At first I just felt very fatigued.  It was hot out and we had been riding a couple of hours.  So, I powered through abut an hour more of riding then we stopped for fuel.  While stopped we always take a few minutes to hydrate and rest which usually is needed by both of us.

Liz could tell I wasn't feeling well which means if I look "icky" (Liz calls it) things are going down hill.  We parked the bikes and sat in the shade for about an hour.  I could have curled up for a nap right there!  We then noticed a small shack in the rear of the parking lot serving fresh ice cream.  We each had a couple of scoops. Mocha  nut fudge for me and cookies and cream for Liz.  Surprisingly it seemed to help.

Could there be any correlation between feeling icky and quick intake of carbohydrates?  So, Liz suggested trying glucose tablets, see if it helps.  My response was, "Why not just eat ice cream!"  Also, just before and the day of getting blood Liz noticed I crave carbohydrates, true. I could sit down at that time and go through a box of cereal.  The only two other Thal patients I know said they also eat and crave the carbs around the same time.

So the experiment begins...  At least twice since New Mexico when I've started to feel icky I've stopped to fuel the bike and me with ice cream.  So far so good. Interesting...

Howdy!

Day 7 (NM & CO)

Just a few picks from today (Thursday 6/9). Some video to follow.

 The mighty KLR met her match today.  The Rocky Mountains slowed her.  Altitude, winds and gear weighing her down slowed progress on long hill climbs. While Mr Grey has fuel injection and a few more horses, but he was more than willing to throttle back as needed. Liz upgraded her engine with the the 685 kit weeks before we left CNY.  Probably made a difference with the KLR's ability to pound through the miles at this altitude.

We still chewed up the miles today. Riding out of NM through a corner of CO and into Moab, UT.

 Scenery changed with every turn of the corner, every hill climb and descent. From dry prairie to rocky cliffs or forested valleys. We saw it all today. Touched the sky at 7,000-ish feet. Rode through pleasant wooded cool areas, out to desert hot, then up altitude to cool again. Which is surprising, being closer to the sun you'd think warmer.

We went up and down some 8% grades and 90 degree 20 MPH turns.  No cell coverage out there.  If nobody saw you go over the side, nobody will ever know.

Just can't stop when the carrot being held in front of you looks like this!










The heat here in Moab is incredible. As we descended from the nearest mountain into Moab, it felt like riding down into an oven.   Stopping for dinner I watched the air temp gauge on my bike rise from 100 to 101 in a split second. By time we finished eating it was 105!  Too hot for us CNY kids.  With intentions on camping and the temp rising we opted for a motel to cool off.

Day 7 (Aztec Ruins)

 Before leaving NM this morning, we had to check out the Aztec ruins.  Come to find out they are not Aztec ruins, rather they are Pueblo.  For some reason it took me a good 15 mins to understand that.  Liz had the patience to give me a quick remedial review of the who and why.

 http://www.britannica.com/place/Aztec-Ruins-National-Monument

90% is original and has not been rebuilt.

Some original wood structure (900 years old).  Wood materials (thousands of pounds) were carried in from the nearest forested area about 25 miles away. All before the horse or even the wheel was in North America. 

 Not sure if the Pueblo people where smaller 900 years ago but the doors were awfully short!

Aztec Bunny

Aztec Lizard