Redfish Hunter Goes West!

I took a short (11 day) trip from my home in South Louisiana someplace called "Out West". I thought I might share a little bit of it with my friends. First, the short version.

Baton Rouge LA, across Mississippi River backroads to Shreveport LA, into TX. Paris TX, Wichita Falls TX, Amarillo TX, Tucumcari NM. Hwy 104 to Las Vegas NM, Mora, Angel Fire, Taos, hwy 64 to Chama, then Pagosa Springs CO. Wolf Creek Pass (hwy 160) hwy 149 through Creede and Lake City, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Hwy 141, Hwy 145, the 4 Corners, Mexican Hat Utah, Monument Valley, Lower Antelope Canyon (Page AZ), Kanab Utah, North Rim Grand Canyon, Million Dollar Hwy CO,.......then, Back Home. 4300 miles on the ST.

Long Version to follow.

Looking forward to it! Looks like you touched on some of the roads I hit.

We need pictures.

Or it didn't happen.

Punk.

And stay off my lawn.

It sounds hot, very hot...what gear did you wear?

He he....I have some pictures, eagerly awaiting the rest of them though!!!

This is our annual "Family Motorcycle Trip". It was supposed to be myself and Pop along with two of my first cousins. My Harley riding cousin backed out the week before so it was just 3 of us. Most of you already know that Pop is the FJR pilot, I ride a Honda ST1300. Cousin David rides a GoldWing (Hondapotamous).

Sat 7/6/13
Pop and I met David just outside Denham Springs at one of the Amite River Bridges and we headed NW to Hwy 10 across the MS River at St. Francisville. We took backroads up through Louisiana until Shreveport, then we drove 16 miles on Interstate 20 into Texas. Cousin David wanted proof that we actually went to the different states so...


Yes, I know the state is backwards but you cannot park on the front side of the damned marker.

We stayed on TX backroads up to Hwy 82. We made it to Sherman TX and spent an unremarkable night at an unremarkable hotel and ate an unremarkable supper at an unremarkable restaurant. Up early, we headed due West on 82, then turned NW on Hwy 287. A note here about TX highways. They are excellent and the speed limit is high. A good two lane road is likely to have a 70 or even 75 mph limit. We enjoyed 82 very much even though it was pretty straight. It looked like they needed some rain though. I told Pop I was sure I could make it rain there since I was riding a clean motorcycle. This came back to haunt me over and over...

Once on 287 the CrossWinds began to kick our butts. I came to hate the wind and David hated the wind more. He hated me for putting him in the wind. He hates anyway, this just added to the reasons he dislikes me.

On 287 David saw the Wind Farm and had to get pics. I did not mind. Here is Pop with some very powerful machines:


We made it to Amarillo TX and headed straight to The Big Texan Steakhouse. I wanted to eat there and we were past due for lunch. For those of you that don't know, The Big Texan will give you a free 72 ounce steak and all the fixin's...IF you can eat the steak, the salad and all the sides in under an hour. They have a table on a raised platform right in the center of the place with timers on the wall above. We did not want to ride on that full of a stomach, so we just ordered the 18 ounce Ribeyes. David likes to eat even more than I do and we actually had a decent steak.




I wanted my picture taken with this little fella:



Then, we headed due West on I-40 for Tucumcari NM.

I am going to devote a little time to our "Motel" in Tucumcari New Mexico. I am not a big fan of the whole Rte 66 thing. It is interesting but it just isn't my thing. But... I had found a '50s era Rte 66 motel that had been lovingly restored. It was called the Blue Swallow Motel and it was pure vintage Rte 66 in every detail. I was able to rent a Suite with 2 Queen beds and one single for $109 a night. This place was wonderful. The owner walked us to our rooms, walked us through, explained everything, answered all our questions and provided us with info on all the local restaurants. He gave us advice for our ride out the next morning. I was very very very impressed with what these people did with this motel. I was very interested in the vintage transformer for the Neon lighting, 15,000 volts. The wires were uninsulated "nob and tube", exposed along the ceiling of the lobby.

Pop at the New Mexico Welcome Sign:


The Blue Swallow Motel:



After dark:



This thing actually worked! I made a call just to check.



I saw a couple who had ridden in on a Harley Road King with California plates. I walked over to chat. I asked the gentleman if he had actually ridden from California on it. To my astonishment, he was from England. He had actually flown into Chicago with his wife, rented the Harley from Eagle Rider and was retracing the whole Rte 66 from Chicago to California. "It has to be done on a Harley to truly experience it." he told me. When I asked him if he rode back home, he replied that he rode a Triumph ST (Sprint). "It looks a bit like your Honda Pan-Euro, but it runs more like that FJR..."

Good stuff here, Redfish. Only 18 Oz????? I couldn't eat that much steak if I wanted to.

Redfish Hunter said:

We stayed on TX backroads up to Hwy 82. We made it to Sherman TX and ate an unremarkable supper at an unremarkable restaurant.

Click to expand...

Had I known you were going to push to Sherman instead of Paris as I was told, I might have been able to recommend a decent inexpensive place to eat. But it would have been of that bottom feeding fish and a connoisseur such as yourself would never eat that nasty fish I'm certain!

Tucumcari is an interesting place. I too am not a fan of the whole Route 66 stuff but my dad was. On our last trip to Colorado we stayed at a different restored hotel and got the same type of service. Sure was neat even if it wasn't my thing, and dad loved it.

A few random thoughts here.

Before I went on this trip I had a Laam Custom Seat made for my ST. I hated the OEM seat and had been running a Sargent for the past year. Oh my, what a difference a custom seat makes. I will not lie and say that I was completely comfortable at the end of the day but the difference was well worth the money.

I left my mesh jacket at home. I stayed with the Tourmaster Transition Series 3 only. I was very happy for the most part. My cousin who can really work like a mule all day wore T-shirts behind the screen of that GoldWing and he suffered. We actually had a group of Harley riders come ask us "How come you guys aren't sweating like us? Do those suit things really work?" We had been playing tag with them all day and they were sweating, slathering themselves with sunscreen, and were obviously suffering. I asked them if they thought they were the modern version of the Real American Cowboy. Well, yeah kinda, they said. "Then why the hell don't you dress like the cowboys did? Didn't you ever wonder why Clint Eastwood was wearing that poncho in the desert heat? You gotta insulate yourself from the heat or you'll dehydrate!" Of course, I am sure wrestling a Harley on Colorado mountain roads is a bit tougher than a Sport Tourer...

Good stuff Red... it's been hotter than crap here, couldn't imagine it out there and I didn't know you made the switch to a ST13?

No switch actually. I picked the FJR for Dad, he bought that for his retirement present to himself. I did all the research and told him what I thought he wanted. A year or so later I got the ST1300 used so he and I could ride together, I had a 750 Suzuki and it was not as comfortable for long distances. If there had only been more money available at the time...

I will cover the weather thing as we go, but it was only "hot" the first two days...

Loving the trip report Redfish.

I wonder how they got the old rotory dial to work. Pretty cool!

Enjoying the hell out of this trip Redfish. I wish I was in that pack!

Monday 7/8/13

A good breakfast at Kix on 66, a splash of fuel and we head north out of Tucumcari. Hwy 104. Wow. I was very worried that after 2 long days I would have to start off day 3 with something boring. So good to be wrong sometimes...

I expected this:



But I did not expect it to be as nice as it was. Hwy 104 was a very nice, very scenic ride through what was supposed to be the "High Desert". The occasional twisty section, the rocks and scenery made this one of my happier choices.

At the "Canyon" overlook.


The first half of 104 is around 5200 feet through desert??? then it climbs 1000 feet to the top of a rolling prairie that seems to go on forever. Even though we were at higher elevations during this trip, being on that rolling prairie and seeing for miles made me feel like I was really "On top of the world".

Now, I read Frenchy's RR about going to Alaska and that he named his FJR "Rain Cloud Follows". I won't plagiarize so I will call my ST "Dances with Rain". I have had this talent ever since I started riding Dad's GoldWing at age 15. I can make it rain anytime, anywhere just by riding a motorcycle there. I can make it storm if the bike is clean. I am sure I ran one local weather man (weather guesser?) into the insane asylum. This trip confirmed that. I made it rain. And rain. And rain. Fortunately, most of it was in my wake.

I was pleased to see that the rain washed into that "desert" right behind us. Rain was visible all around us as we reached Las Vegas New Mexico.

Enjoyed the report, Redfish. I thought several times about contacting you and maybe stopping by to visit, but the timing just didn't work out. Oh well. One of these days.

Gary

darksider #44

Good stuff!

Keep 'er coming!