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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…

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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…

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Coming up to Scotts Bluff is a beautiful site. Longhorn cattle in the foreground.

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You can see where the pioneers would decide to go- through the low middle.

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Obligatory entrance sign pic…

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Into the visitor center to get a sticker/pin. Neat display!! I like topo maps and scale things…

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And then it’s time to drive to the top!!

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What a view!! That’s saddle rock in the background…

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Info board for your learning experience…

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Looking east…

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Looking south…

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Looking north…

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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.

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At one time (1933) that pipe was flush with the rock…

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And then it gets cute. Look at me!! HAHA!!

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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.)

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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.

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Down the road a little farther to the east- you get to Chimney Rock. See that pointy thing…. Yup, that’s it.

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Stopped by a train…

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Tiny towns have cute decorations. Lol.

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Farther along… and it starts to get real flat. Hay and straw bales for as far as the eye could see…

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Onto the interstate!! YAY! Does anybody turn and look at themselves in trailers like this? Or is it just me….

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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.

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And then I pass under this beautiful looking bridge building. For more info, visit: archway.org

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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!!!

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Taking time to snack and smile…

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And before I know it, I’m in Iowa!

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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…)

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And eventually it became dark, and I was left with headlights, and taillights, and the man on the moon to keep me company.

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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.

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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?

 
Watched your spot cruise past my house and wondered where you would "land" for the night. DSM is a good spot. The boring scenery of NE and western IA should give way to more trees, curves and hills in eastern IA.

Ride safe!

 
Great RR Julie. You have taken us all on your wonderful journey.

It was good meeting you in Loveland and wish we had more time to spend.

 
Day 14

Today was just a drive day. But it was still enjoyable! Headed out of Des Moines to the east. Eventually came across Iowa-80. The World’s Largest Truck Stop.

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Fuel for the bike. Lunch for me. And a quick browse of all the stuff inside. It’s pretty cool. Lol

Back on the road- I was hoping to get around/through Chicago before I hit any major traffic. Into Illinois means I am getting closer…

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Stopped at a rest area to refill my camelback. It still had ice in it- but was out of liquid water!!! I wanted to be full of water before I tackled the big city traffic.

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And this was the traffic. Tolerable- but still full of idiots.

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And then into Indiana…

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Toll road all the way to Toledo. And I could tell I was getting closer to home. It was feeling more and more comfortable. Maybe it’s the trees?

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And then Ohio! After 2 weeks… I am back.

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Not very often do you get to chase a cute and perfect shadow…

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And after a turn to the south, and a few more miles… I was home. The setting sun welcomed me off the interstate.

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615 miles today… and I was back in my driveway. Home sweet home…

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Let me get some sleep… and I’ll be back tomorrow with some more goodies to share. I’m not ready to end the report yet…

 
seems like you left yesterday lol. always good to be home after a great ride. inspired me to start working on my year end trip to SFO and beyond. glad your home safe

 
Conclusion-

First off- thank you so much to those who followed along and especially those who chimed in! It made it interesting to open the laptop at the end of the day and see what you guys and gals had said.

Because I knew I was doing the ride report- it made me stop and look around a bit more. “I have to take a good picture to share.” “The guys could find this interesting.” “I hope the camera picks up just how majestic everything looks to me right now.”

Because I knew you all were in cyber space watching me… it brought that feeling of sharing with someone a little closer. A solo trip can be downright awesome and just what is needed- but sometimes you want to be able to turn to someone and say “wow, did you see that?!?!” Having you guys out there- let me be able to do that, without having to worry about fuel and pee breaks for all of you. Lol!

What an amazing trip I had. I don’t think I could have asked for much better. Did I do everything I had planned? Not exactly. Am I bothered by that? Not really. So that’s a huge step in my control process. To be able to say “Well, I am not going to be able to get there today. Maybe another time.”

So here’s a quick summary.

14 days.

4,685 miles.

9 states.

Here’s the link. CLICK THIS. Go up to the title menu, hit adjustments. Then change the % to 100. Then zoom in and explore where I went. Orange dots are 5 min increment tracking. Green dots are food, fuel, or extended scenery break. Yellow flags are overnight stays.

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I was pretty happy with myself to get off the interstate in Kansas. Very unlike me, but so worth it!

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Colorado. Little bit of everything.

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Bridgestone T30 Evo GT tires (front and rear) did great! No complaints- and still plenty of rubber left on them.

Auxiliary tank from Joe did fabulous! Extremely happy with it!

Sena 10c performed flawlessly. Pictures and video at the push of a button. And music and phone bluetoothed right to my ears. Perfect.

Helmet was phenomenal! Great in rain (if used properly, lol, whoops) and great in the heat with the superb ventilation!

Aerostich suit, of course, did exceptional!

The bike ran well. Except for the clunking on the front end that showed up about Day 7. It was not the bare front brake pad, like I was hoping it was. Once at the SW-FOG hotel, Abraham and Wayne checked it out and agreed that it is the steering head. Didn’t affect the riding or handling. So I continued on the journey. Now that I am home, I will get it looked at. I’ve got about 6 weeks before I leave again on another long big trip. And 3 of those weeks my father/mechanic will be off on a cruise in Europe…

Oh, and today I went and got my cat from my parent’s house…

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I think she’s glad to be home… and to have her human back. I do miss her when I go away… but not enough to NOT travel… LOL!

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Highlights of the trip?

~Finally making it up Mt Evans!! And then not just once… but twice!!

~Visiting Tim and his wife.

~Hanging out with SW-FOG peeps.

~Terror-dactyl. Need I say more? lol

~Colorado. In it’s entirety. And every nitty gritty detail.

~Geo-center of 48 US in Kansas.

~Stickers. Lots of stickers…

Pikes Peak

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Terror-dactyl

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Million Dollar Highway – rt 550

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Grand Mesa

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Black Canyon / Gunnison Gorge

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Berthoud Pass

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Loveland Pass

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Riding with Tim and Lynnette

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Mt Evans

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Rocky Mountain National Park

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Julie,

I'm so happy that you had such a great trip and somewhat sad that it has come to an end. Someone mentioned earlier that they enjoyed getting a morning cup of coffee and reading your latest ride post. I felt the same way. Thanks so much for sharing. My better half enjoyed your posts as well. Says we need to go explore more of our home state, thanks to your ride reports.

Cheers,

Stitch

 
And here's the videos I have edited and posted for right now...

Skyline Drive, Canon City, Colorado



The Terror-dactyl swing ride at the Cave of the Winds Mountain Park, near Colorado Springs, Colorado



 
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Forum page is being silly about posting more videos. So the best I can say is head over to the youtube channel, and view the rest of them.

I really enjoy the video montage of riding with Tim and Lynnette... And also the video montage of conquering Mt Evans with Wayne. So there.

 
Thanks for taking us along Julie! Glad you are home safe.
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I'm also working on the same progression of, "Well, I am not going to be able to get there today. Maybe another time.” That takes a lot of pressure of yourself and allows you to enjoy the moment you are in a little better doesn't it? Anyway, luved the report and still amazed that you can manage to report at the end of each day. I do good just to explode my "stuff' in the room, get a shower and find a good place to eat and have a beer.

BTW - you inspired me to get a 10c. I found one on eBay last week, new in a sealed box for $255. Couldn't pass it up, especially with the quality of the videos and pictures you are getting with the ease of pushing the button. Looking forward to putting it to good use in a couple of weeks on my eclipse ride in the Smokies.

Just a little over two months now till you're headed down our way. Can't wait to see ya!
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Thanks for taking us along Julie! Glad you are home safe.
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I'm also working on the same progression of, "Well, I am not going to be able to get there today. Maybe another time.” That takes a lot of pressure off yourself and allows you to enjoy the moment you are in a little better doesn't it? Anyway, luved the report and still amazed that you can manage to report at the end of each day. I do good just to explode my "stuff' in the room, get a shower and find a good place to eat and have a beer.
Thank you!

It took a bit for me to realize that I shouldn't be stressing over something I didn't have time to see. I had to realize just how much I WAS seeing... and it helped to bring things back into focus.

And the motivation at the end of the day was fun!! I just KNEW someone was out there sitting in a 4x4 box just waiting to see what I had done that day...

oh, and I don't drink beer. So maybe that's it....
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BTW - you inspired me to get a 10c. I found one on eBay last week, new in a sealed box for $255. Couldn't pass it up, especially with the quality of the videos and pictures you are getting with the ease of pushing the button. Looking forward to putting it to good use in a couple of weeks on my eclipse ride in the Smokies.
That's awesome!!! It's a fun purchase!! Just be aware... you will end up with A LOT more pictures than you know what to do with. Lol.

If you need any assistance- just ask me. I've been through a lot with the camera, and have a pretty good understanding of it.
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Just a little over two months now till you're headed down our way. Can't wait to see ya!
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I'm so excited!!!!! I still need to figure out what I'm doing for sleeping arrangements. I might decide to slum it in a tent or hammock....

 

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