Day 8: Oklahoma City, OK to Russellville, AR

Well, the night passed QUIETLY! ( for the record).

T had his foam earplugs in for one of the following reasons:

A. So G not feel guilty about making noise when placing his hands in the ice during the night.

B. Because there was fear of a returning stray dog in the room.

C. He was afraid that he would be bothered by G snoring.

D. He was afraid he would snore so loudly that he might wake himself up. 

We will argue the correct answer for years to come. 

G had some work to tend to ( not every day is Saturday for him) so we got a later start than planned. Not a problem since the whole trip has been planned around his work commitments.

The weather started superbly, overcast and comfortable in short sleeves. It was perfect riding weather for the first 80 miles, though we missed seeing the shadows of the birds of prey from overhead because of the clouds-but be careful what you wish for! Sure enough, the clouds dispersed and..." The day was balmy..."

The landscape was fairly flat and bucolic, though greener and less aromatic than yesterday.

The temperature rose at least 15° once the clouds dispersed. We stopped for water in Henryetta, Oklahoma.(yes , correct spelling). It was then that T confirmed his earlier suspicion that his new steel pony had a minor oil leak. Minor at the moment, but who knows what it could be or turn into with several thousand miles yet to ride. Jointly we focused on the shortest path to a Harley dealer for diagnostic work. This meant deferring lunch and side tours like Lotawatah Road that goes to Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma (we're not making this stuff up!)

We did occasionally try to make a bathroom stop but the pictures will show you that even that simple task can be challenging for the poor traveller.

A fast paced, hot 90 miles later we arrived at Old Fort Harley Davidson in Fort Smith, Arkansas-temperature 102 degrees. The guys were friendly and efficient and started work on the bike as soon as it cooled off. Two and a half hours later we were back on the hot road and heading to Russellville, Arkansas.  Showers and water served to refresh and then a short walk to a light dinner before logistical disasters struck:

1. A heavy storm was quickly rolling in with heavy wind, rain and serious lightning. We needed to stay close, very close. The thunder is so loud it is setting off all the car alarms.

2. We learned for the first time that we were in a dry County. Not that we were in any condition to drink heavily, but a couple of cold adult beverages were deserved after 102 degree temperature riding!

There were not many photo opportunities given the days distractions.

Day 7: Amarillo, TX to Oklahoma City, OK

After last night's blog, G made an aggressive decision to improve the chances of overcoming the bad hands situation-ice. The ice bucket was commandeered and filled with ice and water. For the rest of the evening G's  hands were immersed. We believe there was a stray dog hiding in the room under G's bed and whimpering much of the night but we couldn't find him in the morning. The ice routine seemed to help enough so that G might shave at least a little around the edges. T's razor, on the other hand, has seen less activity than many of the ghost towns we passed. 

Seemingly successful means the ice routine gets duplicated the rest of the trip.  It also leads us to the strong belief that we haven't seen the last of that stray and that T will likely have a new chorus to sing, "who let the dogs out"....

If you've seen the Danny Devito and Billy Crystal movie "Throw Momma From the Train" then you know the novel starts out "The night was humid/sultry."   Well, the day was balmy.  By 9 a.m. it was 77degrees, humid and degrading quickly. Short sleeves and sunscreen took us through fuel and 100 miles of low, flat agricultural land that was often occupied by grazing livestock. We enjoyed amazingly fragrant aromas particularly later in the day as the temperatures reached 100°.  Our first stop, a quick (aching) butt break, was in the town of Shamrock (population 1910) just for the "luck" of it.

Soon we departed the Interstate for the back roads. We happened across the town of Cordell, Oklahoma in Washita County and had lunch there. The people were friendly and down to earth. We stopped for photos around the county courthouse and visited several of the shops. As you will see from the photos, the town has seen better days but it is very easy to visualize that it must have really been something years ago. And with some restoration it would be a perfect movie set for an old-time movie today.

We then continued our trek toward Oklahoma city. The land was still mostly flat but parched or tilled to clay colored earth. We chose a fast pace because of the high temperatures and the desire to complete the days miles. It's interesting how a loose piece of gravel or even a piece of sand will affect your bare skin when traveling at 70+ miles per hour. And 100° at 70+ miles per hour does indeed feel like a blast furnace. We stopped and hydrated as necessary. As in California, and several other spots, we passed acres and acres of wind turbines.

We found our hotel in Oklahoma City and immediately set to work on a far more pressing task. Laundry. We are at about the halfway point of our trip and we are almost out of clean clothes. And, of course, nothing tops off domestic chores like a good dinner and several glasses of wine. And that is of course before G's whining begins.Woof woof!

Day 6: Albuquerque, NM to Amarillo, TX

The morning blessed us with sunshine and hot air balloons floating on the horizon. We hoped it was a good omen. It was another bad hands day for G and we had about 300 miles to ride.

About now we realized that the tour was pretty ambitious. It is humbling to see so much country and beauty day after day. It is a veritable smorgasbord  of opportunity and we know that to make it to the end of the meal we are going to have to nibble selectively. To be strategic we are alternating between highways and back roads to cover the miles. 

The morning was cloudy and cool but pleasant. We started with highway miles just because we have so much to cover today. The scenery has largely been low-lying with scattered brush. With our throttles/cruise control set and music playing it is easy to let the mind wander about what we are seeing– it's a neat thing. But with all that time to think we cannot help but think appreciatively about our supportive spouses who have helped us toward this bucket list dream– now that's REALLY neat!

Another neat thing,

BEEP BEEP!

T was tooling down the road at about 65 miles an hour when a critter scurried across the road in front of him from right to left. When it reached the road on the left side ( why DOES a chicken cross the road) it got confused or scared and quickly darted back in front of T's bike. How it wasn't roadkill we do not know other than the after-the-fact realization that it was a road runner! And the roadrunner never loses.

A bit shaken we continued on to Tucumcari, New Mexico for lunch. Next stop, the Cadillac Ranch ( Cadillacs half buried in perpendicular fashion) just before Amarillo,Texas.  We didn't see any Subarus buried nosedown at the ranch-they must all still be on the road. This rates up there as one of the most unique"landmarks" we have seen on this trip.

We then traversed the remaining miles to our hotel but passed a Harley dealer on the way. We made a mental note and after checking in at the hotel we circled back so that Tcould get his tail light replaced- it is been out since Kingman. And, of course, he came out of there with a shirt. We beat the rain clouds back to the hotel successfully and then a short walk for some good Tex-Mex food. 

Technical Notes:

We are now on central time.

We have now completed over 1500 miles on the trip.

Pictures are being added at the end of each day's blog but usually one day in arrears so you need to go back to that day after the fact to see the pictures.

Day 5: Winslow, AZ to Albuquerque, NM

In the morning we awoke to streaming sunlight and puddled remnants from the evening before. G was having a bad hands day so T acted as bellhop, water boy, bike detailer and patient man. Well, maybe three out of four.

The morning started pleasantly as we went about trying to acquire the Winslow, Arizona pictures we missed out on due to the rain. T got a few more choruses in on his favorite song as we got pictures on the actual site in downtown Winslow.

We had a lot of miles to cover so we departed on route 40 that morning. The weather and the scenery were perfect. We covered a lot of miles quickly. Signs for the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert caught our eyes and we took a detour. As you will see from the pictures, it was a worthwhile detour. We then jumped on interstate 40 and started to log some serious miles. We reached Gallup, New Mexico and had a quick lunch and then back on the road. Shortly thereafter we spotted an old nemesis. Yes, those devil rainclouds found us again. At first they spit on us from a distance to test our mettle. But our resolve was unbroken. T grabbed his trusty top-of-the-line Harley rainsuit and quickly put it on. G reached for his 15-year-old run-of-the-mill red white and blue and did the same. This appeared to anger the devil rain clouds and they issued another challenge. Our resolve was unbroken and we forged ahead. The devil rainclouds hit us with their best shot and it felt like piercing cold needles on the hands and face. The temperature dropped 20° and our speed dropped 20 mph. The game continued volley after volley, cat and mouse for what seemed like hours. Pictures are very few this afternoon because we were immersed in the rematch. When the clouds broke for a moment we pitched our rain gear and jerked heavily on the throttle to leave the devil rainclouds behind. Sometimes it is better to fight and run away to live to ride another day.

Spent by the days efforts we retreated to our hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico to refresh, regroup and plan our logistics for tomorrow's trek to Texas. In the meantime, we are looking for out of work meteorologist who might, for a few dollars, validate our belief that today's hail was as big as grapefruits.

Day 4: Kingman, AZ to Winslow, AZ

The day started with a hint of perfection. The weather was cloudy, a little bit cool, but very comfortable in tee shirts. We started again on route 66 and it was easy to appreciate the pretty scenery of Arizona and the southwest. The first 90 miles or so were among the best so far and it was so relaxing there was the temptation to close one eye and take a nap – since one of us only has one eye and they might've closed the wrong one, we decided against it.

We stopped in the schmaltzy tourist trap of Seligman, Arizona. We fit right in even though almost everybody else was speaking with the European accent. This was the most uniquely interesting, and populated, town that we've run across along Route 66.

We continued on Route 66 to the town of Williams, Arizona and appropriately had lunch in Pancho McGillicuddy's.

We got back on the road and the skies were turning dark with angry devil rainclouds. The devil rainclouds asked us to dance and we did the two-step with our six speeds. Then they challenged us to games of chicken and then hide and seek. We played poorly- but only at times. In the end I think we at least salvaged a tie. But we didn't like the parting comments of "We'll see you later!"

Wet and with dirty motor ponies we stopped at the Meteor Crater about 20 miles before Winslow. The clouds started to chase us again so we put it in high gear and hightailed it to the hotel just before all heck broke loose.

Lightning, heavy rain, hail and high winds ensued thus ensuring an evening in. The local pizzeria delivery boy should soon be here. However, if he hears T singing one more chorus of "standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona" by the Eagles he may not deliver our food.

Pictures are now being successfully installed in the blog so please  be sure to take a look for day one through four. We have now reached the 1000 mile mark in our trip.

Day 3 Barstow, CA to Kingman, AZ

The song starts out "hot, hot, hot"

We started in warm, graduated to hot . We finally made it out of California after we found historic Route 66 and followed it until it disintegrated beneath us at one point between Daggett and Newberry Springs. 

There were countless abandoned properties and deserted sites along Route 66 and it was sad to see the conditions. We had Route 66 to ourselves and it was fairly easy to see why, regardless of history. At one point T posed for pics ( which we hope you will eventually see) laying down in the middle of Route 66 for an extended period. No danger. He could have taken a nap!  In Needles the temperature was up to 106 and we ducked into an air conditioned spot to bring our body temps down and grab a bite.  The desert theme continued. 

From Needles ( where Snoopy's brother Spike lives) to Kingman, Arizona the temperatures slowly reduced to under 100. We gained some cloud cover and avoided the thunderstorms. We stopped at the local grocery store for water, wine and snacks. It is somewhat reassuring, but probably disturbing in some right, that after 2 bottles of wine we are still basking in our success against the elements. A good day, a good ride, good night. P.S.- we are still a very long way from home and loved ones.

Day 2 Paso Robles, CA to Barstow, CA

"The day started in cold

Not so good for the old

But before we were done 

We wanted no more sun"

We started late after trying to establish the blog. It was very brisk and we were layered up or wearing electronic accessories to stay warm. The ride was monotonously pretty with parched hills and landscape followed by stretches of desert landscape, Mojave style. By the time we reached Barstow the temperature was over 100 degrees-in the evening-so the adult beverages were required to be cold. 

We weren't sure whether we were in Barstow or Bars Two. Didn't see much else.  Sleep was not a problem .