Riding the West with good friends

There are so many great American road trips to be taken; I’ve had the opportunity to make a few myself. My friend Max and I took off earlier this summer, Max on a Harley-Davidson Road King and me on my Honda DCT Goldwing for a two week experience of the west and back to the east.

We left our homes in Athens, Georgia early in the morning, to hit the interstate early enough to hopefully get through the always ridiculous Atlanta traffic. For the most part it was smooth sailing right past the golden dome of our state capital building in the middle of Atlanta. Rolling west on I-20, we stopped at a huge Buc-ee’s by Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama for gas and snacks. Once we got past Tuscaloosa we took Hwy. 82 toward Columbus, Mississippi. The summer has been stiflingly hot and humid here in the Deep South, but highway speeds and breathable protective gear definitely helps.

We swung up into Arkansas and crossed the mighty Mississippi River on Hwy. 49 in Helena, the plains and fields flat like a deck of cards before us. We rolled along through rural farmland as I listened to BB King on my Sena headset. We finished up the first day with 600 miles under our belt and stopped for the night in Brinkley, Arkansas.

The author, somewhere in the Ozarks; Mike and Max entering Oklahoma.

The second day we got on I-40 West to Little Rock then I-30 into Hot Springs. We rode through downtown Hot Springs and it was depressing, as the city seems to have fallen into disrepair. We took a scenic route through Talihina, Oklahoma and the Choctaw nation. After lunch in Talihina, we rolled for Lawton, Oklahoma which was to be our second night’s stop. On the way, we came upon the small town of Sulphur, Oklahoma. Riding through town, we were shocked by what looked like destruction from massive fires, until we learned the town was torn up from a recent massive tornado. It was sobering to see such devastation up close and personal, rather than on a screen, removed from it all.

After a restful night in Lawton, the home of Fort Sill, the U.S. Army’s Field Artillery School, we got up early as usual and had a great breakfast at a local Omelette Shoppe restaurant. Heading deeper into the west, we saw many old towns with brick streets and closed businesses like Frederick, Oklahoma. The speed limits in rural Oklahoma and Texas are often 70 to 75 mph, so we made good time and got to the city of Lubbock, Texas for lunch. There we were quite surprised to find a small restaurant owned by the former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, so I had to sample some fine Cajun food. No Drew for an autograph, sadly.

Frederick, OK mural; Roswell, NM.

By the time we rolled into Roswell, New Mexico it was well over 100°. As you roll along the heat hits you like a blast furnace. If you open your face shield it feels like it will cook your face. Intense. We made it to Ruidoso Downs in the Mescalero Reservation around 5 PM, for a welcome beer at the Mexican restaurant next to our hotel and settled in after another 500 mile day. The day after we left Ruidoso we heard that the whole town had to be evacuated for a forest fire nearby. Over 1400 homes were burned. We were glad we left when we did, yet felt terrible for those who lost everything there.

We hit the scenic US Route 380 W, where we stopped and marveled at the black volcanic rock formations all along the way. Continuing on to Quemado, NM, we visited the Petrified Forest National Park. We then headed west toward Flagstaff, Arizona to spend a couple of nights and meet up with a fellow Vietnam vet helicopter pilot. On the ride there, the winds picked up so hard that we struggled to keep our bikes on the road. it was also extremely hot. Not a pleasant portion of our ride. We made it safely to the cabin that my old friend Dan had arranged for us and unwound at a nice country club restaurant nearby. We earned that meal.

Is anyone out there? Entering the Petrified Forest National Park.

We spent two nights at the cabin in Flagstaff so we could spend a day riding around that area, which includes Sedona to the south and the Wupatki National Monument just north. After a colossal breakfast at Mike & Ronda’s in Flagstaff (highly recommended) Dan, Max and I headed south on Hwy. 89, a twisty scenic road leading to Oak Creek Vista Overlook, a local scenic stop. We rode down to Sedona where we mixed with way too many tourists, so we left and headed up to a small town on the side of a mountain called Jerome. We spent a couple of hours there checking out the shops and visiting with locals like the sheriff and a few native Cheyenne at a small taco joint. Super kind folks. It’s very hilly there and was hard to park my big motorcycle. After we got off the mountain we rolled around 15 traffic circles (I counted them) and finally hopped back to I-17 north toward Flagstaff.

Wednesday morning the three of us headed out north to the Grand Canyon South Rim visitor center. We spent several hours enjoying amazing views and grounds sites, then climbed to the top of the Desert View Tower for more great pictures. We enjoyed a local slice of apple pie before heading to our hotel for the evening. Another 100+ miles to go to make St. George, Utah by nightfall.

The Grand Canyon is staggering in its vastness.

Our main objective for the next day was to visit beautiful Zion National Park so we spent several hours sightseeing there before heading to our next overnight stop in Page, Arizona. Dan‘s neck was bothering him from an old helicopter crash injury in his Vietnam years, so he decided to go home for his car and finish the trip following us in comfort and AC. Hey, he’s earned it. We got pretty hot after Zion, with temps hitting 103 F. But it’s a dry heat, right?

We spent another day in Page in cooler 80° temps. Heading east into higher country the temps actually dropped to the upper 60s by the time we reached Monument Valley. We enjoyed visiting with Navajo Indians there, where they were selling some beautiful art, but it rained overnight and the back country tours were closed. We stopped at the site where that scene in “Forrest Gump” was filmed and took a few pictures ourselves without getting run over. This is a very popular spot for people just to sit in the road. Crazy.

Beautiful Zion National Park; The famed “Forrest Gump” spot in Monument Valley.

After the Forrest Gump stop and lunch we headed for the Four Corners so we could say we stood in four states at the same time. While there a rain storm came up and we were stuck for an hour. By the time the rain stopped the parking lot was complete mud, that slimy sticky kind that makes it very hard to ride. If you’ve never tried to dirtbike a Goldwing, let me assure you it’s no fun. We finally made it to Cortez around 6 PM safely, albeit a little wet. We were assigned a much nicer hotel in Cortez because of some repair work on the one we had booked, so we got a really good deal there. We also heard that evening that large hail had pounded Page right after we left. Geez. We must be living right.

Saturday morning we departed our deluxe room at the Baymont in Cortez around 8 AM and headed into Durango, then we rolled north on the famed Million Dollar Highway, from Silverton to Ouray, Colorado. I took a side trip to Telluride for lunch and to check out a bluegrass festival there. We got up by Montrose, then discovered that Hwy. 50 to Monarch where we were supposed to spend the night was closed due to a bridge outage. We had to cancel that room and try and find another somewhere on the west side of Colorado and in the rain. Lucky for us we got a room in the town of Delta, CO and relaxed with a great Italian dinner downtown that evening.

Twin Rocks Café in Bluff, Utah; back into the green of Colorado.

We departed Delta and rolled north for Grand Junction, got on I-70 east, which honestly was not much fun. We stopped in Georgetown and some self-appointed busybody told us we had to move our bikes because it was handicap parking. I didn’t bother to show him my Vietnam War wound. We left Georgetown just in time to get caught up in 5 miles of slow traffic due to a fender bender. Yikes. Once we got to Denver, we stopped in at the big Revzilla store where I bought a pair of Kevlar jeans for riding protection. Downtown Denver was the typical zoo as they were hosting a gay pride parade just as we arrived. After Revzilla we parted ways with Dan who drove south for his home, and we headed to my sister’s place across town.

We spent Monday off the bikes at my sister’s, driving down to Royal Gorge 125 miles away. We had a good time checking out the sights and riding on the gondola in Canyon City. That evening we enjoyed a great dinner with friends near my sister’s house. Sometimes a day off the bike is a welcome change.

Thursday morning saw us up early and pointing east on I-70. Time to turn back for home. We got to Liman, CO then took US 287 and other back roads all the way to Wichita. We had a nice hotel room in Wichita, and met the family of my recently deceased helicopter gunner from our Vietnam days. That was a sweet time.

Royal Gorge gondola near Canyon City; How the Wild West was tamed.

We rode east out of Wichita toward Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the temps were comfortable because of a cold front. But it also started raining and the last hundred miles of twisty tarmac were pretty rough- we saw a car in the ditch and we had to swerve around trees and other debris in the roads. Ah, the challenges of touring. That night we ordered in pizza in the room, trying to dry everything out.

The last day we departed Jackson, Missouri near Cape Girardeau and rode 600 miles all the way home. A long day in the saddle. We got into a little rain around Nashville but nothing bad. I arrived at my home by 7 PM EST. Whew. A good trip, but always so good to be home.

Another great American road trip in the books, and in my memory.

Mike Boyd