FJRfarrier
Well-known member
Day 13
So I got into the hotel last night about 5:30ish. Checked in, and first off- I don’t think I’ve ever been to a hotel that has this posted on the back of the door…
Then I proceeded to explode all over the room, and relax. Thought “great! I can get the ride report organized and posted, and then get a good night’s sleep. To be rested for the next couple of long days.” So I did. I popped a bag of popcorn, and worked on the ride report. All fine and dandy. And then I hit the hay.
Little did I know that my stomach and digestive tract had a different idea. I spent a better part of the night knelt in front of the porcelain throne. Finally managed to get a few hours of sleep. Woke up feeling….. empty. Lol. Packed the bike, and had a light breakfast. My goal was to see Scotts Bluff and get a little farther east. I had no reservations from here on out. It’s about 1,200 miles to home, and I have 3 days to do it in if needed. If I needed to call it quits early, due to sickness or tiredness, that’s fine.
So off I go. Onto the Oregon Trail…
Coming up to Scotts Bluff is a beautiful site. Longhorn cattle in the foreground.
You can see where the pioneers would decide to go- through the low middle.
Obligatory entrance sign pic…
Into the visitor center to get a sticker/pin. Neat display!! I like topo maps and scale things…
And then it’s time to drive to the top!!
What a view!! That’s saddle rock in the background…
Info board for your learning experience…
Looking east…
Looking south…
Looking north…
And then it gets a little more interesting. Lol. I made this a point to see because I knew I had some days to get home from Loveland. So mom and I were discussing what there is to see in Wyoming and Nebraska. And she got excited and said “you should go and see Scotts Bluff again! It’s really neat!” So that’s how I knew to swing up to here. She dug out her photo albums and showed me some pics. She took a picture of the picture, and sent it to me. So when I got to the top, I started the search for where she had taken these pictures.
At one time (1933) that pipe was flush with the rock…
And then it gets cute. Look at me!! HAHA!!
There was no one there to take my picture exactly as it was in the past… so I had to do my best with a selfie. (I totally forgot the tripod in the bike, and didn’t feel like hiking back to the parking lot to get it.)
Leaving the park, and these covered wagons can put into perspective how large these bluffs are. And now you can imagine what these people were thinking when they were coming across these from the east- which was nothing but flat.
Down the road a little farther to the east- you get to Chimney Rock. See that pointy thing…. Yup, that’s it.
Stopped by a train…
Tiny towns have cute decorations. Lol.
Farther along… and it starts to get real flat. Hay and straw bales for as far as the eye could see…
Onto the interstate!! YAY! Does anybody turn and look at themselves in trailers like this? Or is it just me….
So as the day goes on, I start to feel a lot better. I eat a good lunch. I stop for fuel, and pick up some beef jerky (big bag was on sale…), a banana, and a couple KickStarts.
And then I pass under this beautiful looking bridge building. For more info, visit: archway.org
HAHA!! And then as I was riding along, I kept coming across “floating” white “debris”. Could not figure out what it was… then I started seeing more of them. Thought “dang, it looks like someone is looking stuffing from a down pillow or blanket…”
And then I found the culprit of the “floating white debris”. A semi trailer full of turkeys!!!
Taking time to snack and smile…
And before I know it, I’m in Iowa!
From feeling like crap earlier today- I really flourished when I told myself “you don’t have to get that far if you don’t want to.” It’s like I took that as a challenge, and wanted to prove myself. Like a lot of other things in my life- if someone tells me that “it’s hard work, not many women do it”, well, I will prove that I can do it. And that’s how I became a farrier. Lol. “That’s a big bike for a young girl.” Well, watch me ride it all over the country. Lol.
So I set my sights on Des Moines, Iowa for an overnight stay. The sun was setting in my mirrors, and the moon popped up big and pink in front of me. (I swear it was bigger and more beautiful than this pic shows…)
And eventually it became dark, and I was left with headlights, and taillights, and the man on the moon to keep me company.
When I knew I was going to be able to make it to the area of Des Moines, I pulled into a rest area and looked up hotels. I was getting tired of interstate trucker hotels… so I decided to splurge a little and spend some earned points.
615 miles for today. Pretty awesome- considering I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it a couple hundred.
What helped was that the weather was wonderful!! Temps hovered between 70 and 80. And sunny, with clouds to provide occasional shade. I don’t know if I could have asked for better weather.
That only leaves about 600 miles for tomorrow. Think I can get another great day of roads and weather?
So I got into the hotel last night about 5:30ish. Checked in, and first off- I don’t think I’ve ever been to a hotel that has this posted on the back of the door…
Then I proceeded to explode all over the room, and relax. Thought “great! I can get the ride report organized and posted, and then get a good night’s sleep. To be rested for the next couple of long days.” So I did. I popped a bag of popcorn, and worked on the ride report. All fine and dandy. And then I hit the hay.
Little did I know that my stomach and digestive tract had a different idea. I spent a better part of the night knelt in front of the porcelain throne. Finally managed to get a few hours of sleep. Woke up feeling….. empty. Lol. Packed the bike, and had a light breakfast. My goal was to see Scotts Bluff and get a little farther east. I had no reservations from here on out. It’s about 1,200 miles to home, and I have 3 days to do it in if needed. If I needed to call it quits early, due to sickness or tiredness, that’s fine.
So off I go. Onto the Oregon Trail…
Coming up to Scotts Bluff is a beautiful site. Longhorn cattle in the foreground.
You can see where the pioneers would decide to go- through the low middle.
Obligatory entrance sign pic…
Into the visitor center to get a sticker/pin. Neat display!! I like topo maps and scale things…
And then it’s time to drive to the top!!
What a view!! That’s saddle rock in the background…
Info board for your learning experience…
Looking east…
Looking south…
Looking north…
And then it gets a little more interesting. Lol. I made this a point to see because I knew I had some days to get home from Loveland. So mom and I were discussing what there is to see in Wyoming and Nebraska. And she got excited and said “you should go and see Scotts Bluff again! It’s really neat!” So that’s how I knew to swing up to here. She dug out her photo albums and showed me some pics. She took a picture of the picture, and sent it to me. So when I got to the top, I started the search for where she had taken these pictures.
At one time (1933) that pipe was flush with the rock…
And then it gets cute. Look at me!! HAHA!!
There was no one there to take my picture exactly as it was in the past… so I had to do my best with a selfie. (I totally forgot the tripod in the bike, and didn’t feel like hiking back to the parking lot to get it.)
Leaving the park, and these covered wagons can put into perspective how large these bluffs are. And now you can imagine what these people were thinking when they were coming across these from the east- which was nothing but flat.
Down the road a little farther to the east- you get to Chimney Rock. See that pointy thing…. Yup, that’s it.
Stopped by a train…
Tiny towns have cute decorations. Lol.
Farther along… and it starts to get real flat. Hay and straw bales for as far as the eye could see…
Onto the interstate!! YAY! Does anybody turn and look at themselves in trailers like this? Or is it just me….
So as the day goes on, I start to feel a lot better. I eat a good lunch. I stop for fuel, and pick up some beef jerky (big bag was on sale…), a banana, and a couple KickStarts.
And then I pass under this beautiful looking bridge building. For more info, visit: archway.org
HAHA!! And then as I was riding along, I kept coming across “floating” white “debris”. Could not figure out what it was… then I started seeing more of them. Thought “dang, it looks like someone is looking stuffing from a down pillow or blanket…”
And then I found the culprit of the “floating white debris”. A semi trailer full of turkeys!!!
Taking time to snack and smile…
And before I know it, I’m in Iowa!
From feeling like crap earlier today- I really flourished when I told myself “you don’t have to get that far if you don’t want to.” It’s like I took that as a challenge, and wanted to prove myself. Like a lot of other things in my life- if someone tells me that “it’s hard work, not many women do it”, well, I will prove that I can do it. And that’s how I became a farrier. Lol. “That’s a big bike for a young girl.” Well, watch me ride it all over the country. Lol.
So I set my sights on Des Moines, Iowa for an overnight stay. The sun was setting in my mirrors, and the moon popped up big and pink in front of me. (I swear it was bigger and more beautiful than this pic shows…)
And eventually it became dark, and I was left with headlights, and taillights, and the man on the moon to keep me company.
When I knew I was going to be able to make it to the area of Des Moines, I pulled into a rest area and looked up hotels. I was getting tired of interstate trucker hotels… so I decided to splurge a little and spend some earned points.
615 miles for today. Pretty awesome- considering I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it a couple hundred.
What helped was that the weather was wonderful!! Temps hovered between 70 and 80. And sunny, with clouds to provide occasional shade. I don’t know if I could have asked for better weather.
That only leaves about 600 miles for tomorrow. Think I can get another great day of roads and weather?
