Fourth "oops!"

It wasn't me!

My baby's last rest area before it died...

Our "oops"s seem to be coming faster. Yesterday (Wednesday) I killed my motorcycle. Today Dennis was chopping some wood into kindling. Right after he sharpened his hatchet. Funny thing about hatchets and thumbs...

Late postings

Sorry for the delays. I have no Internet service here in the middle of nowhere. I will try to get caught up soon. My apologies.

The Bike Saga....

We finally got a guesstimate for my motorcycle repairs. $2,600 to $3,600. Yeah. Right. And, bonus problem, they cannot even get started on it until NEXT month! My question is: why could they not have mentioned that tidbit somewhere along all the back-and-forth phone calls? Huh? HUH?! I could have been making other arrangements. I mean, I KNEW what was wrong. I broke it! And I was very specific when I told them I would be here for only a few days. Is the air THAT thin here that it does not reach their brain?


Phew! Ok, enough griping. I guess they think they have me between a rock and a hard place and I'll either be forced to pay some ridiculous repair price, or buy the used bike they "so kindly" offered to sell me. They don't know puertorricans. Or me.


So, what now? I have not decided yet. But I'm certainly not without options. And THEY are not in the running.

Dennis' bike is lonely...

Third "OOPS!"

Yes, this is a huge one. And not one I can laugh off. I don't even want to blog about it but, in the interest of continuing accurately chronicling this trip, here it goes.


We've been riding along nice and easy for days now, and we have not encountered any major problems. In deference to Azoica's limited driving experience and the capabilities of my little itty, bitty, teenie, weenie V-Star 250, we've been averaging 230 miles per day, 50 miles between each stop.


We've successfully tackled deserts, hills, mountains, wind, snow, hail, rain, dust, even the occasional tumbleweed. We've handled all this through 2,000 miles with no major incidents and I was starting to feel pretty cocky.


About 20 miles before we got to Flagstaff, AZ, my cockiness came back to haunt me. Big time. I had just hit 8,000 miles on my bike and was going to bring it for scheduled maintenance in Flagstaff. Just 20 more miles. That's it. Such a small distance, such a huge difference.


Before we began the trip, and through it, we've faithfully been checking the van's vital fluids and keeping a close eye on both bikes' brake fluid, my bike chain, and Dennis' bike belt. We also made sure we stopped every 50 miles or so for both our sakes' and the vehicles'.


Genius that I am, I forgot one minuscule yet EVER so crucial detail. I did not check, not once, the OIL in my motorcycle. Not that there was any to check. Not any more. My recently acquired, recently christened motorcycle met and untimely death Wednesday, on westbound I-40, mile marker 211, just shy of the Winona exit. A sudden high-pitched whine and I have thoroughly and utterly destroyed the engine on my "Roadrunner."


I called AAA and left Dennis with it to have it towed to the Flagstaff Yamaha shop while I continued in the minivan with the kids so that we could get to the Grand Canyon early enough to set up camp before dark. Plus, we had no campground reservations so, the sooner we got there, the better.


We were able to get a campsite, set up, then go to the market to pick up foodstuffs. Meanwhile, Dennis had to endure the incredulous oh-my-gosh-they-are-crazy looks because of my taking a tiny bike on such an ambitious trip. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. If I had been more careful, it would still be running. At least until we started up some real mountains....

Arizona + August = Snow

City Of Rocks

Yes, boys and girls. Believe it or not, we had another one of those temp extreme days. We started this Tuesday morning (ok, mid-morning) in the high 80°s and by mid afternoon pushing 100°, only to have it drop drastically in a matter of a few dozen miles.


We started off from City of Rocks geared up for hot weather. After all, we were still crossing arid, desert-like areas. And, yes, it was hot. and stayed hot. And

Sand and Rocks, Part 2

We left White Sands in mid afternoon and ended the day setting up camp at City of Rocks. 


Within 10 minutes of getting there, I had a close encounter with a rattlesnake. If you look at the video close enough, a bit below the "D", you might be able to see it. You can certainly hear it rattle!

And, you know that bit about snakes being more afraid of you than

Sand and Rocks, Part 1

We began this Monday morning with a visit to White Sands National Monument. It's a good thing we did not stay there last night because we

Camping foiled again

Ok, so this was supposed to be a motorcycle camping trip. This has not been the case, unless you consider Motel 6 camping. This has been through no fault of ours. Each night, we've been ready, willing, and able to set camp but the universe has conspired to keep us from it. Case in point, Sunday evening...


We arrived at White Sands National Monument at around 7pm ready to camp, only to be told that, due to nearby lightning, no camping was being allowed. I happened to agree with that decision - especially after having just avoided the storm that was producing the lightning up in Cloudcroft. 


The park ranger at White Sands NM was nice enough to direct us to another campsite, over 25 miles away. Nope! Motel 6 it is! Actually, this worked out fine, since Dennis was a bit reluctant to camp in a missile testing area. Not without a Geiger counter and some hazmat suits, at any rate.

Another night at another Motel 6 sees the six of us ready to tackle those white sand dunes. They are made of gypsum sand and are blindingly white. 

Desert-Forest-Desert

After spending a very pleasant Sunday morning visiting with the friends at the Carlsbad Kingdom Hall, we went back to the Motel 6, changed, then headed out towards White Sands.


The scenery for most of our trek was desert and more desert. Although it is dry and scrubby, the landscape has this sort of stark beauty one can really get into. I had to make a quick stop to put on my ear plugs, then had to catch up with the pit crew and Dennis. 


As I rode across this barren stretch, I was the only person for miles around. Probably. Once caught up, we took a break between Artersia and Alamogordo.

Too hot to roll!

Our plan was to leave Carlsbad right after visiting the cave. Well, that did not go according to plan. Oh, I can give plenty to reasons why we stayed in Carlsbad one more night. But the fact is, we stayed because it was hot. No, make that HOT!


As we made our way back down from Carlsbad Caverns, the heat

Carlsbad Caverns, Part 2

As uncomfortable as the heat was, it seems we all got some sleep (though sometimes interrupted by imagined creatures coming to get you, right YoManBob?). We rose fairly early Saturday - Dennis at daybreak, me at coffee break - and, after checking the local weather forecast (afternoon thunderstorms), decided it would be best to break camp and head straight to our next site after visiting Carlsbad Caverns (this time to enter the cave).

See how close Teams Alpha and Gamma's tents were?

YoManBob had his camp packed in 5 minutes. The advantages of

SPECIAL CHARACTERS

degrees = °

Carlsbad Caverns, Part 1

Friday afternoon. Carlsbad, New Mexico. Home of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Which is home to thousands of bats.

This was our first official day of camping (can you believe hotels don't count?!). We arrived in the area around 4pm and headed straight to Brantley Lake State Park, about 22 miles north of Carlsbad. We were really trying to hurry and, for our first set up, we did very well, getting set up in well under 2 hours. Not bad for 3 tents plus kitchen set up. By the end of this trip, we'll have it down to less than 45 minutes. 

Both Team Alpha's (parents), and Team Gamma's (girls) were set up next to each other. YoManBob's (Team Me!) however.... Let's just say that he

Second "oops!"

Our first stamps for Iron Butt badges!

First off, my apologies for the site being down for about 15 hours. Long story short, it's fixed.


Yesterday, we went to Mission Concepcion, one of the missions in San Antonio. We did not go to the River Walk because we've all been there before and, most importantly, it was HOT. Not a little hot. An oh-my-god-i'm-gonna-melt-in-my-tracks hot. We skipped the Alamo for the same reasons.


All things considered, it was a very enjoyable day. So, where's the second "oops!"? I got rear-ended. Yes, me. Yes, on my bike. How? Well, from the

Hi Texas! From CASA of SoLA

Remember the Alamo?

Actually, that's all we can do right now. Remember our last visit, that is. We haven't gone there yet.


Yesterday's ride was a rough one. It wasn't a matter of distance or traffic. The problem was that we slept poorly (anticipation nerves) and had much to do before we actually got on the road. A perfect recipe for being

And we're OFF!

Did you notice? I bet you didn't! Look left. See the countdown clock? No, it is no longer a count-down, but a count-up! This clock will be keeping track of our time on the road. Our target time is 35 days.


Another change is that I may not be posting as regularly as I have so far. Or, more accurately, I may have more photos than words - a relief to many -[- and the blog itself may not be as neatly set up, i.e., there may be typos, offset photos, etc. This is because wifi access will be sporadic, at best, so I will have to post mainly from my iPhone or iPad. If you notice a glaring error, please let me know. If it's a minor one, keep it a secret.

Indi-Mac Here...

After a long day of shopping for trip supplies, we are now ready for actually packing the van. That's what we are doing right now. I am very excited and tired... but mostly excited. Today, while shopping for other things, we got my boots. Very happy about that!! But not as happy as I was to get my pocket knife. My knife is silver, has a good weight to it, and has about a 3 and a half inch blade. Its pretty big for my first knife, but I am content with it. The first day I got it I wanted to practice opening and closing it. I did that so many times that now I have a callus formed on my thumb. And now it doesn't hurt my thumb. My boots fit well. Mr. D also gave me a sheath for it!! And us three girls get survival knives. So.. I will go. There is much more to be done and I'd like to be part of the packing and what not. So BYE!!!!!

My blog hates me...

In an effort to make finding my blog easier, I decided to upgrade the blogspot service. Well, little did I know that it may take up to THREE DAYS for the transition to be made. So, if you are having trouble seeing some of the links, don't give up on us! 


You won't miss much the first 3 days we are on the road, since it will be boring stuff. At least, I hope it stays boring. The beginning of any trip is when you find out what you forgot, what you should have done, what that funny noise you ignored meant, etc.


If you can't see the blog at all, you can't read this anyway. Sit tight and I'll beam this post to you using energy-efficient mind power. Just concentrate. Harder. Harder! Now, hold your breath.....

1 day and a wake-up!

We're finally there! The last few hours before we leave. Which means we actually started packing our gear. And bathed the dog. We also fixed up a t-shirt for him in order to mitigate some of his shedding. Yes, I'm a hopeless optimist.


We were originally going to head north, making our first camp at the base in Shreveport. However, in order for YoManBob to

First "oops"

Since there's only about 60 hours left till departure time, Dennis and I decided it was time to finalize our route planning. Mind you, this is something we seldom, if ever, do. Our modus operandi is to just head towards a cardinal point (north, south, east, west) and stop when we reach ocean or border... unless

NOT in San Diego!

Please ignore today's "Where Are We Now" map. Google Latitude seems to be glitchy. It will find me in Louisiana then teleport me to California. If it's not fixed by the time we set off on Tuesday, I will use a different tracking system.

PS. No, I have not been hacked. I did test some things and changed passwords, just to be on the safe side.

Tick, tock

I guess all of us have experienced this. When I first considered this trip, I thought "oh, well, a whole month to plan and pack should be more than enough." And, frankly, if it was just a regular road trip, psh! Noooo problem! We've hit the road with less than 2 hours worth of planning, if the term "ready" even applies to throwing a duffle bag in the trunk and gassing up. This, however, is a beast of a different breed.


Today, I glanced at the countdown clock. Less than 4 days to go (stupid clock!). No sense asking where the time went. I know where. It's hanging out with the missing scissors and left socks. The closer d-day gets, the more

A purpose!

When this trip was first conceived, my intent was to spend some quality time with the family, traipsing across the U.S. and getting to know the country a little better. A worthy purpose, of course. Well, it seems that this trip has a mind of its own!


One of our blog readers suggested a "donations" button for the blog. I gave it some thought, discussed it with the crew, then I thought some more. Judging by the response, many are enjoying reading my blog and that's great, but I kept thinking that more could be done with it. Then, suddenly...

Inspection time!

First off, before I forget again, I must let all know that the background photo on this blog was taken by me with a GoPro camera while riding next to Dennis. Yes, that is him on the right, with Peekaloo riding pillion (passenger). The camera is waterproof, shock proof, has a 170° viewing angle, and can be attached to the bike, helmet, or chest mount and set to take photos or video automatically. It is used a lot in TV shows like "Wipe Out." Methinks that it will come in handy in the next few weeks.


Since we had not used the bulk of our camping equipment for about 3 years (our last hurricane run), we are going through the ever-so-exciting process of

Blog changes

Pssst.... pssst..... Hey YOU! Look to the left. No, the other left. Oh, my bad. You were right the first time. Anyway, did you notice something new? No? How unobservant! I have added --- drum roll, please --- a countdown clock! Don't smirk. It took me hours to figure out how to do it. Um, yeah. Copy/paste kicked my butt. If you already knew how to do it, why didn't you offer to help me?!


Well, you can make up for it by

Dumping...

NOT what you think! Well, maybe...


There's been a small hiatus in preparations, since my son arrived a few days ago for what will now be an extended visit. Yes, I nagged him into joining our trek and I am looking forward to having an extra driver for the minivan. Since we are taking a break from prep, I decided to meander down memory lane.


One of my less-than-favorite memories was somewhat of a teachable moment for me. For those of you who do not ride,

Ideas, ideas!

Although my intention for writing this blog was just to chronicle our family's upcoming trek for the edification of our extended family, respective psychiatrists and as precedent possible insanity pleas, I have received some extremely useful information from several riders that I feel I need to pass along. Otherwise, it may inadvertently displease the motorcycle gremlins and I'll end up with a dead bike before I even start the trip!

A super cool (literally!) tip I received was to use a

Communication

Being able to communicate effectively is a necessity. Lack of communication causes many problems, from marital strife to plane crashes (some may feel those are interchangeable!). On the road, a car that ran out of blinker fluid may be your pet peeve. Or maybe it's the one that leaves the blinker on for 30 or 40 miles. Obviously, making your intentions known accurately and in a timely fashion is an effective way of saving other drivers money on doctor's visits and blood pressure meds.


On a motorcycle, effective communication takes on even greater importance. Since motorcycles have this amazing ability of becoming invisible to car drivers, most motorcyclists drive as defensively as humanly possible, so I will not cover communication with car drivers other than to strongly suggest that,

Tents and Time

Soooo, yeah, mom (codename "Irene") wanted me to post something so I figure I'd tell you what part of trip preparation we're at right now. We are checking all the camping items to make sure they are usable. We have quite a few items to be checked, and have to clean an area to check them in, making sure NOTHING is there (in the clean area) to insure nothing gets lost while being checked. This step involves a bit of work, which wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't so boring. But the step is necessary. I personally don't want to be caught in a bad storm with a leaky tent (happened before, not fun).

We still have quite a bit of time between now and departure, which adds some difficulty. I'm accustomed to "were going to Missouri" and within a few hours were out the door, or "were going to New Jersey" and we leave in a few days. Not two weeks of waiting , at a moment's notice I could have a bag for the trip packed; heck, I even keep a night bag packed and by the door. But two weeks of twiddling my thumbs and waiting? It's necessary because of circumstances, but it's odd going on with daily life and yet preparing to leave. But there will be much to occupy my mind, I only hope making myself busy will make the days go quicker.

About the heat

Unless you're lucky enough to have been hiding in the Arctic tundra this summer, what's left of you that has not melted into an unsightly puddle is now sitting under the ceiling fan, by the air conditioner, wearing next to nothing, drinking some ice cream. Any normal person in the continental U.S. is doing his best to avoid the lovely outdoors during the hottest part of summer. But we have never been accused of normalcy. We intend to begin our trip smack-dab in the middle of the dog-days of summer: August 16th. Insanity? Consider this:

Suggestions, musings

As this blog has been taking shape, some readers have made some excellent suggestions, such as adding a map widget to follow our progress - look to the left, Noelito. (Spoiler alert: it will show Louisiana for another 2 weeks). Please, please, please keep sending suggestions, from website stuff to travel tips, even campfire cooking recipes. This trip is pretty much constantly on my mind so any trip talk is very welcome!


My obsession with this trip has brought up some interesting thoughts. When I first came up with the idea of an extended moto-camping trip, it was really just a "I need to get away for a while" spark of insanity. No real plan or objective. But every day, as we get closer to our departure day (aka our d-day), I find myself looking forward to it on a different level. I've always imagined every one of us (yes, you included) having that "epic adventure" they've always wanted to take, whether to