Lots of planning and many hours were spent in front of a computer putting this trip together. Earlier in the year I did a major rebuild to my 2006 Road King Custom getting everything ready.

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Finally on  June 5, 2016  the journey began. Any road trip from south Texas involves the long hard ride of getting to another state. Either 2 days or 1 very long day regardless of which way you go. Original plan was to run thru New Braunfels then up to Marble Falls and west but the heavy rains changed that. 

I took 37 to 140 then ran to Uvalde, from there it was 90 west to Sanderson then 285 North to Fort Stockton. Not much to report on the first day other than crossing the Pecos river.

 Day 2 was boring to start but after the excruciating ride from Fort Stockton to Roswell, NM I stopped at the Roswell Harley shop and visited the alien. Then continued west to Ruidoso and the riding started becoming the real deal.

 

Day Three was a very good one, started out from Ruidoso, NM on to Angus, NM then into 380 West

380 to IH 25 then north to Socorro, NM. West on 60 to the town of Datil, NM then west on 12 to Reserve, NM

From Reserve, NM west to 180 North to Alpine, AZ.

Once in Alpine, AZ all the way north on 191 until it intersected with 160, then 160 East to Cortez, CO. 655 miles for the day.

Day 4 was pretty simple. Stayed in Cortez, Colorado. Cleaned the bike, did a couple of adjustments, and planned the trip to Telluride, Ouray, and Silverton.  I did manage to get a little riding in and rode out to Mesa Verde National Park. Definitely worth the visit if you are in the area. Very good riding and great scenery. 

Day 5 was absolutely incredible. I took over 700 pictures and was unable to get the number lower than 100.Cortez, to Telluride, To Placerville, to Ridgway, to Ouray, to Silverton, then on to Durango. Bikers in Colorado are spoiled.

Day 6 was also incredible, would be hard to top yesterday but still awesome. Left Durango around 9, stopped at the Harley shop then headed West on 160 to Mancos, then to Dolores until finally getting on 491 to Monticello. Had a small delay in Mancos as a female biker had problems with her brand new Triumph. Obvious battery problems so myself and 4 other bikers combined tools and knowledge to try and help her. It is a 3 man job to get the damn seat off one of them things. Convinced me I don’t want one lol. Anyway we figured out she needs a battery, a couple local construction workers jump started her bike and I departed. 491 to Monticello was a brutal ride, terrible drivers, lots of traffic and way too many brake lights in front of me. Once in Monticello I topped off with fuel and headed south to Blanding, Utah where it intersects with UT 95. This is a cool ride, stopped and Natural Bridges National Park, passed thru Fry Canyon, past Lake Powell which is almost dry. If you ever take this route there are very few gas stations. Fuel on the corner of 191/95 and stop in Hite because these are the only ones until you reach Hanksville. Also a lot of pics today, I deleted a bunch of good ones to get the count down to 50.  

 Day 7 started by deciding to lay low in Hanksville, UT. Very windy and cloudy with 50% chance of rain. By lunch the clouds were gone but the wind was still pretty brisk. Nonetheless I had to do something so Capitol Reef National Park was only 35 miles away. Another great ride of about 100 miles there and back including the tour of the park. Again was able to get the photo count down to 42 but had to delete a lot of good ones to do so. Beautiful country for riding a Harley.

Day 8 was a great ride. Utah Highway 12 is a must, high altitudes then great scenery. passed Capitol Reef National Park again and mage a pass through Bryce Canton before finally settling in Kanab, UT.

Day 9 departed Kanab, UT and another trek through Zion National Park. After leaving the park there were several dark clouds tot he north so I wound up in Las Vegas for the night.

Spent 2 nights in Vegas and visited Counts Kustoms, Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, The Harley Davidson Cafe, and the infamous Hogs and Heifers bar.

Day 11 was North from Vegas to the Reno area. A pretty ride through all of the old mining towns.

Spent a few days visiting relatives in the Reno area but did take one ride to Virginia City one day.

I am gonna call this day 1 of the second leg of my trip to erase the 6 nights I spent at my mother's house. Today was an awesome ride, Left Reno and headed North on 395, crossed into California then took CA 70 AKA Feather River Canyon road. An awesome ride to Wicks Corner then you get a taste of medium California Traffic to Red Bluff. There 99 runs into 36 which is one incredible ride. Outside of Dinsmore there is about 20 miles with no road signs and no center stripe. This road is 200 miles long and has probably 3000 curves in it. I didn't get a lot of great shots in the hairpins because the lighting was blocked by the trees.

Part 2, Day 2 was a great ride, north from Fortuna, CA to the Oregon coast and up 101 to Newport, Oregon.

Woke up on Part 2 day 3 and heard the sound of tires on wet pavement. Looked outside and sure enough it was raining. Looked at the weather map and it showed the storm almost gone. OK decision time, the smart thing would be stay another day but already did that once on this trip and got burned, be a man, ride. I forgot to mention that it was also 55 degrees and raining. Those of you that have been there know it feels like 20 in the wind.
Was hoping that the rain would taper off as per Doppler Radar but no, it became intense. In an area full of 4 wheel drives and log trucks in winding mountain roads. I thought if I could just get the 50 miles to Corvallis I would stop. Wasn’t impressed so I kept rolling. Eventually the sun came out and I was starting to thaw out. Made it to Bend, Oregon and decided to spend the night

I saw many hotels and finally pulled into the Bend Value Inn, decent looking Motel with “Vacancy” sign lit up. I rolled into the reception area and a typical Middle Eastern, Curry Smelling Jack Off walked out to greet me just as I was getting off the bike. He asked “what’s up?” I asked if he had a room and he said he just rented the last one, all others were reserved. I inquired to the “Vacancy” sign? OK I kept on going, knowing this asshole was discriminating against bikers I rode 30 miles down the road and stopped to top off with gas. When I did I called this piece of shit and asked if he had any rooms available. The same curry smelling tick answered the phone and his reply was “yes we have several.” Please share this with any biker you know in Oregon. These Ragheads come to our country and pull this.

Anyway I finally kept rolling to Burns, Oregon. The weather finally became nice and I made a ride of about 350 miles with many cuss words at Rain and travel trailers. I did get a few nice pics but the best ones were in the rain and camera wasn’t mounted..

 

Part 2 Day 4, was rather cool in Burns, Oregon. Did a load of laundry and sent some items home and finally got underway at 10:15 AM. Was a bit chilly but I figured it would warn up. Made it 29 miles before I pulled over to put on my chaps.

Took 395 North from Burns to Pendleton. This was a nice ride, once in Pendleton took 11 North to Highway 12 Walla Wall, WA then continued east to the town of Dayton, WA. Found a cool little biker oriented bar and lounge which was the perfect place to wind up a day. Woodys Bar And Grill then settled in for the evening.

Part 2 day 5 was awesome, I left Dayton, WA and must say I have never met any friendlier people anywhere in the world. Woodys Bar and Grill is a must stop. I continued east on Highway 12. It is rather bland for about an hour and then shortly after crossing into Idaho it becomes alive.Saw several deer, a couple elk and one Moose but was unable to get a pic. I can say that the deer whistles on my bike froze the deer in their tracks.
Eventually wound up in Missoula, MT. Weather and schedule depend on tomorrow, Stay tuned.

Okay I have internet again, will post the pics from Sunday June 26, 2016. An absolute incredible ride. North from Missoula, MT around Flathead lake and then through Glacier National Park and south on MT 49 (a must do) into Essex, MT for the night. 

Part 3 of the mega trip started today. A couple pictures of the Snow Slip Inn in Essex, MT because the place has a lot of sentimental value to me. Then east to Browning, MT and south to Great Falls then Helena until finally stopping in Three Forks, MT.

Okay I am so lost on what day it is I am just gonna go with the date. Hopefully my computer knows what day it is. June 28, 2016, I left Three Forks, MT around 9 AM. A great place to stop by the way, Jumped on I 90 with the 80 MPH speed limit and burned wheels getting to Columbus, MT. There I jumped on MT 78 into Red Lodge, MT. South on 212 AKA Beartooth Pass then on WY 298 AKA Chief Joseph Highway.This is supposedly the number 1 ride in the country. I just did the Million Dollar Highway 2 weeks ago and cannot pick a winner. I will say that if you are not very proficient in you motorcycling skills don't even attempt this monster. 

OK today was unplanned, either an easy day easing towards Sturgis or a ride through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I will let you look at the pictures and decide which choice was made.

June 30 I departed Riverton, WY and rode through the Wind River Canyon to Buffalo, WY. A nice ride but it did rain some. From there on I-90 East to Whitewood, SD right outside of Strugis.

July 1 was spent looking around Sturgis and visiting the Motorcycle museum.

Okay today I rode the Black Hills. Awesome riding but unfortunately being Saturday on 4th of July weekend it was insanely crowded. The line to MT Rushmore was 2 miles long. I wanted to see it to give Abraham Lincoln the middle finger but after waiting an hour and still being a mile from the entrance I gave up. The Black Hills is a great place to ride with lots of tight curves but with the infestation of idiots most of my time was spent hanging on instead of taking pictures. I did get a few though.