Getting to San Antonio

On our way from Big Bend to San Antonio, we had the coolest ride. Between Marathon and Fort Stockton, we saw plenty of deer and cattle but the most interesting critters of the day were a colony of prairie dogs right by the side of the road. Those little suckers can move fast as fast! I saw one do a perfect swan dive into its borrow, too. Very cool.


We also went through some more Border Patrol checkpoints. By this time,

Indi-Mac's view

(This post is from one of the teens.)

I would like to thank the following people:

Joann- My Mom

Alfred- My Dad

Irene- One of our fearless leaders

Dennis- Also one of our fearless leaders

Thank you all. Also, I would like to say ALOHA!!! to ALL of our viewers!! I know I barely posted... and I ought to be ashamed of myself... but I'm not!! I was too busy having fun and almost dying!! :D I almost died climbing... Almost died hiking the Grand Canyon... Almost died sharing a tent with Azoica and Peekaloo....*shivers* Let's just leave it at OMG I couldn't get to sleep because of their snoring. O.0 Yes girls. I blame both of you for my lack of sleep. Probably didn't help that I was up playing PokeMon... but it's mostly their fault. :3 This trip has been an amazing experience. I got to see gorgeous landscape changes. I got to ride in the mountains... IN THE SNOW!! But YoManBob and Peekaloo and Azoica didn't take pictures. The bums. But it was crazy awesome because first we were in the wilderness with mountains in the background looking all awesome! And then we were in the lush green scenery of the mountains and we drove a bit more and drove through snow. It was like TRANSITION!! That is a Toby Turner quote. If you don't get it... The terrorist win. That was a Ray William Johnson quote.  Check them out too if you're as insane as I am. :3

Oh, I forgot! - #2

This series of posts will include noteworthy things that happened on the trip but I forgot to write about at the time. I will post each incident as I remember, so they will not be in chronological order.


While we were looking for Cochise Motorsports in Sierra Mesa, AZ, we had to make a u-turn. Picture me on lead, Azoica and crew in the minivan, and Dennis riding sweep (back). As I completed my u-turn, I kept an eye on Azoica through my side mirror. And I'm glad I did.


As Azoica made the turn, she performed her favorite maneuver - a curb check. Usually, this only leads to some teasing from the rest of us but, this

Shout outs! - #2

As I remember others who contributed to the fun, I will post more. 

Some may see the blog, others may not. But they were all appreciated!

In no particular order, I give you:

Teresa and Kara, who opened their home to us at the beginning and end of the trip, giving us our jumping off and landing points, if you will. You made us feel at home. Thanks!!!


YoManBob. Dude, we really would have had a bear of a time without you the first two weeks. Thanks for the driving, the wit, and the buffer between your sisters! We really missed you after you flew home. Next time, you're in for the long haul, right? RIGHT?!!!


Mark Lassiter. Thanks for all the encouragement. My very own cheering section! Dust off your bike for when we head your way, dude.


Shannon and Brian at Houston Motorsports. Not only did Shannon get my bike in immediately for some much needed maintenance but he didn't laugh (much) when I told him about my oil-less 250 mishap. Brian - such a cool guy! - spent some time with us discussing the finer points of summer riding around NM and AZ and I wish him everything except Hope! [inside joke] Make sure you send us a line if you decide to head to Louisiana. Oh, and a quick thanks to the young lady that helped us with highway pegs. She was very nice and I'm sorry I didn't get her name. Nice shop, honest people, go visit them!


Cynthia S. Thanks for meeting me along the road. Great time chatting with you face to face - finally! - and I'm looking forward to riding with you soon. By the way, the Taster's Choice tip was just the ticket. I'll look for the cooling stuff as soon as I get home.

Ok, I admit...

When I first came up with this idea of a moto-camping trip, I was all psyched up. I just knew it would be awesome. Well, time for a reality check.


The beginning of the trip was plagued by the usual getting-into-the-groove clashes and mishaps. Nothing particularly exciting. Just 5 people, 3 vehicles, and a dog learning to be in close quarters and finding our pace. Granted, there were things we knew were going to be problematic, such as

Shout outs! - #1

There were a lot of people involved in this trip, not just the ones actually on the road. They ranged from the people back home who were involved from the beginning in one way or another, to the strangers we met on the road who shared a laugh, help, or advice. 


As I remember others who contributed to the fun, I will post more. 

Some may see the blog, others may not. But they were all appreciated!

In no particular order, I give you:

My Mom, who has been worried sick the whole time and whom I know has been driving Jehovah God crazy with all her prayers for our safety. He heard you. You can stop now. lol


Seth at Lafayette Power Sports in LA. An awesome mechanic, he had our bikes ready for the road and our Vulcan awaiting our return. He also advised us when we called from Flagstaff, as we figured out what to do about my dead bike.


Justin at Cycle Gear in Lafayette, LA. He helped us get geared up for the trip and gave us excellent advise, even when I called from Flagstaff boo-hooing about my dead bike. And congratulations on the new baby!!!


Pernell at Norhtland Motorsports in Flagstaff. He helped me pick a new bike. No mean feat, since I was sure they did not want to fix my bike just so I would shell out money for a new one. He also offered to hold my dead bike at the shop until I'm able to retrieve it. Lastly, he helped me track down Yamaha shops along our route so that I could get maintenance done through the break-in period. I hope you work on commission!


The airman (?) I met at McDonald's in Benson, AZ, who also rides (I think your last name started with a D). Don't worry, your wife will eventually want to ride. Just start her on something small. Interested in a Yamaha 250 with no engine? Thanks for checking out my blog and drop me a line if you ever head to Louisiana.

Big Bend - See ya!

Daybreak!!! I can't remember being this excited about it. Well, maybe the time we camped at Furnace Creek campground... in Death Valley... in September. We set a new camp-tear down record that day.

I must mention that, sometime during the night, a vehicle showed up at the campground. At this point, I'm not sure if other humans nearby are a good thing or a bad thing. I waited to see if they were going to set up camp but

Big Bend, finally!

Big Bend National Park. This park is so out-of-the-way that we almost skipped it. I'm still undecided as to the wisdom and worthiness of visiting it. Why? Well,....

Oh, I forgot! - #1

This series of posts will include noteworthy things that happened on the trip but I forgot to write about at the time. I will post each incident as I remember, so they will not be in chronological order.


The drive from Willcox, AZ to the Chiricahua Mountains is pretty much a long, mostly deserted 35 miles of nothing but sweeping turns, pretty views, rolling hills, and cattle. There's quite a few places that have signs warning of water on the road but, according to the locals, there had been no rain for over a week. 


We were almost at the turn for the campground when I see the 437th sign

On to Big Bend... still

As we continued on... and on... and on... on Texas' highways, we were almost positive we would run out of gas before reaching the next town big enough to support a gas station. The scenery along these roads to Big Bend are gorgeous but the lack of fuel was becoming a source of concern. Then we reached Fort Davis.

On to Big Bend!

Of course, though our destination is Big Bend National Park, there's 600 miles of cool stuff to see on the way. One of the things we found was this school. As we exited I-10, we came across this building, or what's left of it. It has a sign that reads "Kent Public School" and I thought it would be a nice backdrop to a CASA photo. I don't know how long it's been there but I was fun to stop and check it out. 

Clarification

Although posts in this blog seem to be made in real time, the fact is that most have been posted almost a week after the fact. For example, at this moment, I am writing from San Antonio on Wednesday (9/14) and I expect to be home in 2 days (Friday 9/16). However, today's regular post is about Coronado, were we were last Wednesday. 


This irregularity came about because a lot of the areas we were traveling in/through had no cell or wifi coverage (Grand Canyon, Arches, Chiricahuas, etc) so I decided to write about things on the day they happened but schedule them to post a few days later. In this way, a new post would show up on the blog each day automatically, even when we had no internet service.


So, though I will be home Friday, regular posts will continue until the story is done and you are caught up. Or maybe even after. Who knows?

Coronado

We backtracked a bit and headed back from Willcox (near the Chiricahuas) to Benson because I found a Yamaha shop that could take care of my bike's maintenance. Believe me, after my last mechanical "oops!", I'm not taking any chances.

We got a motel room in Benson, then drove south to Sierra Mesa, where the shop was located. The mechanics at Cochise Motorsports were awesome! Very friendly and, knowing we were there for a limited time, they were able to squeeze my bike into their schedule. Good rates, too!

Why do I ride?

That's easy... coffee!


Yes, coffee. I've been asked that question often and I feel coffee is a perfectly acceptable reason. Hmm... I sense your skepticism oozing unto the intertubes. Before they get clogged with disbelief, let me begin my explanation with some facts.


My brothers' preferences notwithstanding, for true puertorricans, coffee is a necessity. In fact, many of us were literally weaned on coffee. It's true! Ask my mom! And, contrary to Cajun delusions,

Chiricahua fun

We camped at the Chiricahua mountains for 3 nights, enjoying the people watching and some hiking to see whatever formations we could actually climb to. With our bad joints, only 3 of us made it just enough into it to enjoy some interesting views.


Before we went hiking, we were treated to some Harley riders showing off their rides through the campground. This one was particularly sweet.


The Chiricahua's formations are particularly interesting. A few years back, we were able to hike the upper trails. This time, even if our joints were up to it, we had a good excuse not to hike them: there was a wildfire this past June.

Happy Anniversary!

As of September 4th, Dennis and I have been married for 18 years! And how did we spend our anniversary? Camping out in the Chiricahua mountains, south of Willcox, AZ, with 3 teenage girls, a dog, and a marauding bear.


We also spent some time after meeting (Kingdom Hall) getting to know the local congregation. And doing laundry. Yes, we tend to be unconventional. Oh, you want to know more about the bear, huh?

Before the storm

Due to all the excitement of the storm, I forgot a side excursion we made before reaching Tucson.


Between Phoenix and Tucson we saw a sign for Casa Grande Ruins. Good enough reason to leave the interstate and look! 

Viewer discretion advised

After I posted about the hatchet versus thumb incident, some readers have requested pictures (morbid people!). I don't have pictures of when it actually happened but I do have some pictures of when I removed the piece of thumb that did not reattach.


If you are squeamish, PLEASE DO NOT go past this point. You have been warned!

Changes and scares

Because of the delay in the Grand Canyon (thanks to my bonehead mistake), we decided it is too late in the season to head further north. We already ran into snow and are really not looking forward to it again. Not with me on a bike I'm not familiar with.


Instead of heading to Yellowstone, we decided to head directly south. We need to break in the engine on the new bike gently during the first 1,000 miles and the drive from Flagstaff to Tucson fit the bill.

Back on the grid!

Ok, so we have been off the grid for a couple of days. You'll get details on a later post. For now, let's just say the withdrawal symptoms were horrific.

My Arches souvenir

When last I posted, we were scampering around the Arches National Park. Make that trudging under the blazing sun. The only one fit enough to scamper was YoManBob. We huffed and puffed to our minivan and drove straight back to our home-for-now-home at the Grand Canyon.

We are not very patient...

Instead of waiting - and wasting time - at the Grand Canyon for a week, we decided to head to our next two National Parks: Mesa Verde near Cortez, Colorado, and Arches in Moab, UT.


On our way to Mesa Verde, we went through Four Corners - the only place in the United States were the boundaries of four states meet: Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. The area is owned mainly by the Navajo

Decisions, decisions

After spending the day discussing options with the semi-local bike shop in Flagstaff (a 2 hour drive each way), we came to a hard decision. We are leaving the little "Roadrunner" at the shop here for safekeeping until we get a chance to come back and trailer it to Louisiana, where we hope to get it repaired. Hope springs eternal.... We also made other, parallel

While we waited...

After numerous phone calls, both to my regular bike shop in LA and the local Yamaha dealer, we came to the conclusion that repairs at this point would, in effect, cancel the rest of our trip. After much consideration, we've decided to make other arrangements. I will leave it up to you to figure out what we did. Suffice it to say that the trip is still on, although an abbreviated version.

Originally, we were planning on spending just 3 nights in the Grand Canyon. After the Roadrunner died, I registered us for a week, hoping