Days #11 and 12 - Making it Home

Day #11 - Sullivan, MO to Amarillo, TX

Knowing that I was headed into hotter weather I wanted to leave around 4:00 AM so that I could make it to the hotel by 1:30 PM. I have been having problems with a cracked screen on my iPhone so it turns out the I don't hear when the alarm goes off. That's my excuse and I am sticking with it.

I ended up leaving at 6:00 instead and continued down I-44 for OKC and beyond. My previous day's drive plan was to drive to Tulsa, but the heat caused me to decide stop earlier in the day. My "cool vest" gear does not work well when the humidity is high like it is in St. Louis. I switched out of the cool weather gear and put the "cool vest" on about 5-hours into the trip which was just before arriving in Tulsa. By then it was in the mid-90's and sunny. I pressed on and when I was only 2 miles away from my hotel in Amarillo, I hit a traffic backup due to a dual lane closure for construction. I pulled off onto the frontage road and checked into the hotel at 4:00. Only a few hours later than planned.

Around sunset, I walked to a nearby restaurant and swore I would not get a late start tomorrow. I went to bed around 9:00 PM and left a 3:15 wake up call with the front desk.

Today, I covered 712 miles.

Day #12 - Amarillo, TX to Winslow, AZ to HOME

I got the wake up call and started loading the bike just before 4:00 AM and hit the road. My GPS planning tool told me that it would be an 8-hour drive so I figured with some breaks I should get to the hotel around 1:00 PM. I failed to do the "MATH" and account for the two time changes (MDT and MST) that were between these two locations.

The temperature was 68 degrees, so I put on the sweatshirt, neck band and light gloves to start out. The first hour or so was a little cool but bearable. However, when I crossed into New Mexico you start climbing into the higher elevations. I pulled off into a closed rest area and took off the sweater and put the leather jacket on and continued on. I was freezing when I arrived in Santa Rosa so when I stopped for breakfast and gas, I put the sweatshirt on underneath the leather jacket and added the heavy gloves. I was pretty comfortable by that time. It was about sunrise when I left.

As I was coming into the Albuquerque area, I started to become drowsy. I tried fighting it off before realizing this is a sign that I am too warm. I took off the gloves and opened up the jacket and was more comfortable to continue.

One of the objectives for a trip like this is to stop as few times as possible and only stop when you have to. I try to stop only when I am 20-30 miles from an empty tank. So you have to make adjustments while riding. I stopped in Grant, NM and shed all of the gear as I gassed up. It was 9-9:30 so I continued on. Earlier in the morning's journey, I realized the two hour time change and that I would be arriving at my planned destination at 10:30 AM. Thinking of alternative targets, I came up with Flagstaff, Williams or Kingman, AZ. 

I stopped for lunch in Holbrook, AZ and looked at my options. I decided to press on since I had not made a reservation at the hotel. I broke out the "cool vest" and decided to press onto Flagstaff. As I pulled into Flagstaff the elevation was 7,000' and was comfortable, so I headed to Williams, still cool. I finally pulled off for gas at Seligman, AZ for gas and soaked the vest for the next segment. By this time we are into the 100's and not a cloud in the sky.

By the time I am to Kingman, I am too close to home not to press on. I stop and soak the vest again and it only works for about an hour. I also refilled my thermal mug with ice water and drove off. I stopped at one of the desert gas stations about a hour further on to re-soak the vest again. The gas station is officially called "Mile Marker 47 Gas" but it's actual name is "Uranus Gas". There is a firing range there where a year or so ago a young girl was firing an automatic machine gun and accidentally killed the business owner who was supervising her.

I pressed on for home and after stopping to fill my gas tank just before getting to the house I called home to have my wife open the garage door because I didn't feel like digging to find my door opener.

I walked into the door just a few minutes after 5:00 pm.

In a period of 15 hours, I crossed the remainder of the Texas Panhandle, the states of New Mexico and Arizona. The total distance covered was 882 miles. Since I a a glutton for punishment, I took a quick shower and then went with Trish to a Financial Seminar and a bite to eat before heading home and to bed for the night.

Days #9 & #10 - Heading Home & Stopping to see Family

Leaving Connecticut

I headed out of the hotel promptly at 6:00 and the temperature was around 60 degrees so I had the leather jacket, neck wrap and heavy gloves. The first 20-30 miles were rough roads which is not very comfortable when you have a bad back to start with. I crossed into New York state around 7:30 and into Pennsylvania around 8:30. It was cool and cloudy most of the day until I hit the Ohio where the sun came out and the temperature jumped into the 90's. I stashed all of the cold weather gear.

All day during the ride I was thinking about the statement I made during the decision process to head for home about the importance of family. I kept thinking about how close I was going to be near our son and decided to call to see if I could stop and see them. I changed the itinerary and headed for their new house in Cincinnati. As I pulled into the neighborhood, they were out talking a walk. I spent a moment talking with them and then drove the rest of the way to their house.

They have been in this house for about a month now and they are in the midst of a live-in remodeling project. They just finished having the kitchen cabinets and appliances installed which look great. The house will be gorgeous when they are finished. I had a nice visit with the family and especially my two granddaughters Abby and Maddie. Abby broke her are a few weeks ago and she is going in to be have the cast replaced on Monday.

Maddie and Abby

I slept in for a change since I failed to set the alarm. I got dressed and came out and ate breakfast with the family. The girls were surprised that I mixed my orange juice with apple juice. The girls tried it and liked it. I may have made a pair of new converts. 

Continuing On

I left at 10:00, and this was the first day in over two weeks where I didn't have any extra gear on. The day continued to get hotter as the day progressed. At the second gas stop, I soaked one of the "cool rags" and put it on but it didn't work because the humidity was so high in the St. Louis area.

I originally planned on heading to Tulsa, OK but stopped about an hour past St. Louis and got a room for the night. I have decided the change the remainder of the trip home by riding 8-10 hours but starting at 4:00 AM each morning get to my destination in early afternoon before the temperatures get too high. So I will not return home until Wednesday morning.

I have to admit - I've been beaten

Day #8 - Heading Home

Because of the problems that the remnants of Hurricane Florence remain in my path to completing the trip. I decided that waiting 1-2 more days would push me beyond the hard and fast completion date where I need to return home.

After a great deal of thought, I have decided to head for home instead and cross Pennsylvania and Ohio before the storm progresses to that area as well. It is dangerous enough riding a motorcycle cross-country. But in inclement weather it can be fatal. I have a wife, children, grandchildren and two great-grandchildren to think about. A simple award is not worth the risk.

Therefore, I am leaving the Hartford, CT area in a few minutes to take the shortest path home which will get me there in 4 days. Today I am heading for Richmond, IN, followed by Tulsa, OK and Albuquerque, NM before the final stretch to home on Tuesday.

I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement. Please remember those effected by Hurricane Florence in your prayers.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

Reached the Second Corner in Madawaska, Maine

Day #6 - The push to the Second Corner

Today I left Kingston, OT at 6:00 AM instead of the planned 3:00 AM. I decided to hit Montreal after rush hour instead of before. It was an uneventful trip, although, my back and bottom were sore and uncomfortable. When I looked at my gas mileage from previous days was 150-180 miles per tank. Today was 195-225 which means that I was on the bike much longer between stops.

I stopped at the Service Plaza just as you enter Quebec and the change hits you like a ton of bricks. Everything is in French. I have been having problems with my MasterCard in Canada because the pumps read the chip but require a PIN number. Since my cell phone doesn't work outside the US, I cannot call and get one assigned. So I had to go inside and prepay. I lost my Visa somewhere in Montana or Wyoming so I am down to our backup card. Visa does not require the PIN.

I got to the Customs checkpoint in Madawaska and the Agent asked if I was lost since I was so far

away from home. I explained what I was doing and we spoke for a minute or so.

I Hit the checkpoint at 3:00 PM and gathered the required documentation to prove that I was there and completed according to the rules. Each rider that registers receives a towel with the Logo and a Serial Number that is unique to me.

The town of Madawaska has built a park to honor is unique location as one of the Corners of the Continental US. It was built with donations from people from all over the country by buying a concrete brick with an inscription on it. The couple that was instrumental in building it are on vacation this week, so I didn't get to meet them. I spent about 45 minutes sitting in the shade after I took this picture.

I covered 3,437 miles in a total of 127 hours with 55 hours of actual riding. getting from the first corner to the second.

 I drove another 50 miles to get to Caribou, Maine to call it an evening. This was a full-service hotel so Hartford, CT which is where I plan to hunker down an d wait out Hurricane Florence. I plan on arriving after rush hour instead of before.

Day #5 - Heading to the Second Corner

Please keep me in your prayers on my annual motorcycle trek around the US. Wednesday, I will reach the 2nd Corner in Madawaska, Maine and will start heading south towards Key West after that. Right now I have planned to hold up in Connecticut for a few days to see if I can wait out Hurricane Florence. My original plan was to travel inland so I should miss the worst of it but the massive rains that are predicted will most likely be in my path.

Today's Journey

I left Lansing, Michigan at 7:45 which was just slightly ahead of schedule for a change. I had planned to hit the Canadian Border around 9:30 and I cleared it on time in about 20 minutes. My GPS unit is great because I change change the Units-of-Measure from Miles to Kilometers. It also has a display which shows my actual speed separate from the speedometer.

What I have consistently found is that the speed limit in Canada is 100 KPH (62 MPH), but nobody follows it. Most of the day I ran at 115-125 KPH (70-80 MPH) and had no problems keeping up with traffic.

Stolen Picture of Bridge at Port Huron, MI Border Crossing

 The temperature was 50 degrees when I left Lansing, so I had my winter gear on. I kept the same gear on for most of the day. For the first time this trip I was fighting fatigue. This was a major problem during last year's trip and was a constant battle. I discovered that this is usually because I get too warm and I start to fight drowsiness. I forgot that lesson in the early afternoon and found a picnic area at one of the Canadian Rest Plaza (food court, gas, etc.) and stretched out for a nap in the shade.

I thought that this was because I didn't sleep well the night before. My CPAP machine has been waking me up so I will try something different tomorrow night. When I took off the heavy gloves that seemed to help the problem significantly. The temperatures stayed in the 60's all day, so it was an adjustment when I was riding in sunny weather or cloudy weather.

I hit a small patch of light rain about 5 miles from the hotel so I pressed ahead without stopping and arrived shortly after 5:00. I had some pizza delivered to the room and will call it an early evening. 

I had originally planned for a very early start (3:00 AM) to get around Montreal before rush hour. I have decided to leave three hours later to arrive in Montreal after rush hour. I plan on hitting the Second Corner in Madawaska, Maine at around 4:00 PM and get to the hotel around 7:00.

Day #4 - Getting the Bike Serviced and Moving On!!!

Today started off at 8:00 AM as I left our daughter Kristie's house and headed to the Harley Davidson shop in Madison. It was foggy and I had to take a side rode since the bridge on US-14 got washed out during last month's flood.

Traffic flowed pretty good and I arrived around 10 minutes early. They were able to get the paperwork done and the bike up on the lift by 9:00 AM. They had it finished around 12:30 and everything checked out on the 70,000 maintenance. I took off headed for Chicago but changed my plans due to the late start. My original plan was to go through downtown but because I would be hitting it at rush hour eliminated that.

The drive from Rockford to O'Hare was one that I drove hundreds of times in the late 70's for work. There are several new exits on the tollway and plenty of new buildings to see where corn fields once existed. When I got into the Rolling Meadows area as I was looking for the Sears Headquarters was that I worked at in 1997-98. I noticed that there was a Duluth Trading Company store. I love their gear and wear much of it while I am riding. One of the things they sell are safety glasses that have built-in reader lenses built in. Last year when I collided with the deer, my clear lens fell out of that pair of glasses.  I have been popping it in on several occasions, and three or four times yesterday. I pulled off and stopped in the store to buy a new pair. Since I brought the broken pair in they gave me a new pair in exchange. What an awesome company!!!

I stopped to see my brother Bill but didn't spend much time since it was late. I arrived at 4:30 and left around 30 minutes later. I was out of town and back on the road. Unfortunately, I was unable to see my brother David because of timing.

I stopped near Benton Harbor, MI to grab a bite to eat and let the sun set. I changed into my cool weather gear since I figured it was going to get into the 60's when darkness sets in. I arrived in Lansing, MI and got checked into the motel at 10:00 PM.

Today was an easy 395 miles, however, I hit heavy traffic on the bypass around Chicago, Compared to other rush hour encounters, this was not horrible. Tomorrow is 475 miles as I cross the border back into Canada and head through Toronto and end the day in Kingston. Kingston is where Lake Ontario ends and the St Lawrence River begins. This should take 9-10 hours.

The First Three Days are in the Books!!!

I adjusted the schedule a bit and started the FOUR CORNERS trip one day early.

Day #1 - First Corner

After spending Thursday in the Seattle area getting laundry done and making sure everything is ready to go. I had chosen to stay in that area in order to have the bike serviced before starting the trip. I usually like to have the maintenance done before going on the "clock" once I start the run. The local H-D Dealer could not get me in so I looked at the schedule to see what I could do. Since the maintenance wasn't mandatory until later in the trip.

On September 7th, I left the hotel at 5:00 AM and headed to Blaine, WA which is the first corner on

this trip. I left early so as to miss any rush hour traffic. I arrived in Blaine and got the mandatory picture at the Post Office and gas receipt at 7:00 AM. The temperatures in the morning were chilly, so I wore my winter gear. I stopped for breakfast about halfway back to Seattle and took a long break. I was trying to miss the tail end of rush hour. I successfully avoided the stop-and-go traffic and got through town in short order.

The remainder of the day was retracing my path I covered the day before. The last 175 miles was on fresh roads for this trip. I rode to Missoula, MT and had dinner before checking into the motel. The motel reminded me of a scene in the movie "My Cousin Vinny" where the train keeps waking them up. This motel was next to the railroad switching yard. Fortunately I was so tired that I slept through most of it.

The total mileage for the day was 695 miles over a 12 hour period.

Day #2 - The Rush to Sturgis, SD

I failed to set my alarm so I left about two hours late. It felt like I got a good nights rest despite the trains. I left around 8:00 AM and continued east. I stopped for breakfast in Butte, MT and passed the closest return point (I-15) but kept going. There is no quitting on an endurance trip like this. The temperatures were moderate until late afternoon. I put a cool rag on my head for the late afternoon run which did a fine job of keeping my body temperature under control. As the sun was setting, the temperatures dropped. I passed through several areas in Eastern Wyoming on I-90 that it had recently rained. Fortunately, I did not encounter any rain myself. 

Because of the late start, I didn't stop at Sturgis since Bike Week was a month ago and it was getting cold and dark. Before arriving at the motel, I had dinner at a Golden Corral in Rapid City. I got checked into the hotel but the WiFi was flaky so that is why I got so behind on this blog.

The total distance covered was 715 miles and took 13 hours of riding to complete.

Day #3 - Heading to Wisconsin 

This was the longest day so far of this trip with 756 miles covered in 12 hours. The temperatures were comfortable. It was in the upper 40's when I left Rapid City. I changed out of the winter gear at the first gas stop but wore the leather jacket all day since it never got out of the 60's and low 70's. I had to battle high cross-winds which I was also heading into. Gas mileage was poor (25 mpg versus 35 mpg) so I had to stop a few extra times to gas up. After three days and nearly 2,600 miles covered, I have to say that my backside hurt. I stopped near the Wisconsin Dells and put on the winter gear since the sun was setting and it was getting colder.

Our daughter Kristie lives outside of Madison in a small town called Black Earth. This was in the center of the major flooding that occurred after 11" of rain fell in one day. The bridges that cross over the Creek on the main highway were washed out. I had to backtrack to make a detour that my GPS helped with. I finally arrived around 8:30 PM in time for halftime in the Packer's game against the Bear's.

I visited with my son-in-law Mike as we watched the third quarter of the game and ate some pizza. I called home and caught up with what was going on there. I went to bed early and fell asleep quickly. 

What's Next?

I am heading out to the Harley-Davidson dealer in Madison to have my 70,000 mile service completed. This will take around 3 hours and the best part is they will wash off the 50 pounds of bugs on the front of my motorcycle. This has allowed me time to catch up on this blog. 

Monday's plan is to stop and see my brother Bill before heading to Lansing, Michigan for the night.

I am glad that 

Getting into Position for FOUR CORNERS RUN

The Three Flags Banquet

This was an entertaining evening. Of the 213 motorcycles that started, 200 completed the run. This year those who didn't make it were for mechanical problems. This was the first time to make it. As most of you know, last year I hit a deer on the final day and limped home with a sense of gratitude that I was not injured.

Unfortunately, I didn't win any of the drawings. But two people at my table did win. One was for the oldest motorcycle (2002) and the female who traveled the furthest to the starting point (London, Ontario). I spoke with another rider that lives on the other side of the city I live in. There was a total of 6 riders were from Nevada. There were almost as many Canadian riders as there were from the US.

After the event was over, I headed back to the room and began packing for the trip to get ready for the FOUR CORNERS RUN.

Change of Plans

I had originally planned heading from Calgary to Victoria, BC via Banff and Kanloops. When I arrived in Calgary, I had run into heavy rain and cold temperatures in the upper 30's. This made me realize that if I run into this in the mountains I could be in deep trouble with snow or ice. I hate riding on wet pavement so my fear is that slippery pavement could be fatal.

I spent Tuesday working on a secondary plan to take a more southern trip to Blaine, Washington. I found on that took me through Southwestern British Columbia an bringing me back into the top of the Idaho Panhandle. I eventually came through Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We were at Hayden with Lake about 10 miles north in early June with 14 adults and 4 children. We rented a Lake house and had a great time. So it was ironic to pass the turnoff to the Lake House.

I left about 10:30 in the morning after having a nice conversation with the President of the Southern California Motorcycle Association (SCMA) which is the sanctioning body for the THREE FLAGS and FOUR CORNERS rides as well as several other rides as well. He has asked me to consider helping the organization with the web site as they redesign it later this year. I told him that I would think about it and let him know in a week or so.

I got through customs in less than 5 minutes. It is good to be back into the US again. The road south had some slow traffic and a school bus dropping kids off. I arrived at the hotel in Spokane around 8:00 PM. I will be heading to Redmond, Washington to have the bike serviced. I will leave Spokane around 8:00 AM so that I miss rush hour in the Seattle area.

Day #4 and #5 - Made it to Calgary (09/02 & 09/03)

DAY #4 - From Riverton, Wyoming to Browning, Montana

Today the heat was not a problem which was a nice change of pace from last year's Three Flags Classic. I got a late start for a second day in a row. It felt comfortable as I was leaving the hotel, although I stopped after a few miles and put on the leather jacket. The temperatures climbed around Columbus, Montana to the low 80's. I knew that I was heading into some mountains so I left the heavy gear on. By the time I got to the check point in Great Falls, MT it was still around 80 but comfortable. This is the top of the temperature range for this gear but it payed off later in the evening as I got to higher altitudes and temperatures dropped significantly.

I had two close calls on Sunday. The first was self-induced. My GPS unit has a look-ahead feature for gas stations and places to eat. I looked at the estimated fuel range on my odometer and found a station that was just under 20 miles from empty. Then I hit some very strong headwinds which severely impacted my gas mileage. I was the gap gradually reducing and with 10 miles to go my estimated range was also 10 miles. This meant that I was in danger of running out of gas. Although I have spare gas containers, I was hoping not to need them. I slowed my speed to conserve fuel and coasted most of the last mile (all downhill fortunately) to reach the service station in Belt, Montana. I have a 5.5 gallon tank capacity and I pumped 5.477 into the tank. A little too close for comfort.

I arrived at the Big Sky Harley-Davidson in Great Falls, Montana which was Checkpoint #3. I arrived around 4:15 and there was a number of bikes checking in on a steady basis. I ate a couple of oranges, a small snack and some cold water, I looked at the GPS unit to see how much further I had to go for my hotel for the night. It was about 120 miles and less than 2 hours away. I took some time to put some painters tape on the top of my visor which acts like the sun visor on a car. I didn't do that the night before and I had some serious problems driving into the sunset.

I left after taking a 30 minute break and hit nearly every stoplight heading north from Great Falls. As I was just leaving town I encountered my second close call of the day. I was passing a car on a 4-lane divided highway. The car decided to come into my lane and I had to hit the brakes to avoid contact. There was no shoulder so I could not swerve and risked being trapped between a bridge abutment and the car. My reflex reaction was correct and kept this a "just a close call".

I grabbed a quick bit to eat at a fast food place a short distance from the hotel. They were playing some horrible rap music that I thought was offensive. I drove another mile to the hotel and realized that it was a full service hotel with an attached Casino. I got to the room around 7 PM. It was a very nice hotel not far from the southern entrance to Glacier National Park.

As I was checking in, I noticed the weather advisories for the Park which indicated the road from the Southern entry that heads to the Northern entrance was closed. So that eliminated a side-trip

Day #5 - Pressing for the FINISH

Today was a planned late departure since the final checkpoint was the Deerfoot Casino & Hotel in Calgary. I wanted to arrive around the check in time.

The temperature was in the mid-60's so I wore the leather jacket again. I crossed into Canada at 11:30 AM. It took around 5 minutes to clear the Canadian border check. I drove to the next city and stopped to get gas and have lunch.

While I was having lunch, a cold front came thru and the temperature dropped by 10 degrees. I broke out my winter gloves and balaclava head gear since it felt like it was now in the 50's. I stopped again around 45 minutes later because the weather was looking threatening. I put on the pants for my rain suit and a hooded sweatshirt under my leather jacket. While I was getting suited up, several pickup trucks also pulled over and moved their gear into the cab for safekeeping. The wind was so strong it almost blew the bike over.

A few miles down the road it started to rain so my timing was perfect. It was very windy but the rain was reasonable. The biggest problem was fogging up my glasses and the inside of the helmet visor. At the next city, I stopped and switched from sunglasses to my clear lenses which improved things dramatically. The rain lasted for about an hour and eventually cleared up the closer I got to Calgary. The side benefit was that it washed off the bugs so I can see through the windshield now.

I arrived at the Final Checkpoint at 3:00 PM. The welcome team was very efficient and directed us to an area where we could park our bike. Members of the local Gold Wing Rider's Group had luggage carts that we could load our gear onto. We were able to check in and warm up a bit before checking into the hotel. I got another luggage cart and transferred my bags from the holding area to my room. I then got out of my heavy gear and went down and moved my bike from the arrival area to a designated parking area for the bikes.

I took a short nap and had dinner around 7:00 PM in the hotel's restaurant. It was nice to have a good steak after four days on the road. I went to bed early and had a good nights sleep.

Tuesday is a quiet day which I will use to get ready for the next part of the trip which may be challenging since the weather could be a major factor since snow is possible as I cross the mountains heading to Vancouver, British Columbia. I expect this trip to have some cold temperatures. One of the highways that I will be travelling is featured on the Weather Channel's "Highway to Hell". This reality show depicts the perils of driving in the winter as a towing company removes wrecks from the Coquihalla Highway. On Wednesday, I will start heading through Banff and spending the night in Kamloops, BC.

I covered 2,175 miles (3,500 kilometers) in four days. It was a real challenge and many new lessons were learned. It was a great tune-up for my Four Corners trip. Fortunately, I have a day here and one in Vancouver (while the bike is being serviced) to make any corrections.

I think I am going back to bed and enjoy a day of rest. The banquet is this evening so that is enough excitement for today.

Day #3 - The Million Dollar Highway (Saturday, September 1st)

A late start

I spent time writing yesterday's Blog article and left the hotel 2 hours later than normal. I met two other bikers as I was loading up the bike to leave. They were heading to the Bike Rally in Durango, Colorado. Shortly after leaving, I realized that I needed to put the sweatshirt on since it was a little colder (65 degrees) than I thought. Yesterday, it was all fighting the heat, today it was the opposite.

It started to rain as I entered Durango and I was starting to get damp. I pulled into the Harley dealer to put in my rain gear. This is a 15 minute endevour and usually means that it will stop or minimize the rain. This was true again, however, the road ahead was going to be heading to higher elevations meant that I was glad I had it on. Temperatures dropped into the upper 40's. On a motorcycle, that is freezing.

Today was a 600 mile journey and at the end of the day I wished I had left on time. More about that later in this article.

Million Dollar Highway

One of the purposes of the Three Flags Run is to not just go from the Starting point to the Finish. It primary purpose is to cover challenging roads for the Motorcyclist. This was true today. Because of the difficulty of the road, I didn't stop and take pictures. I am including the description of this highway from Wikipedia:This is also one of the Nation's Most Dangerous Highways. If you run off the road, you might be found 500-1000 feet below.

The Million Dollar Highway stretches for about 25 miles (40 km) in western Colorado and follows the route of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado. It is part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway. Between Durango and Silverton the Skyway loosely parallels the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

Though the entire stretch has been called the Million Dollar Highway, it is really the twelve miles (19 km) south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass which gains the highway its name. This stretch through the gorge is challenging and potentially hazardous to drive; it is characterized by steep cliffs, narrow lanes, and a lack of guardrails; the ascent of Red Mountain Pass is marked with a number of hairpin curves used to gain elevation, and again, narrow lanes for traffic—many cut directly into the sides of mountains. During this ascent, the remains of the Idarado Mine are visible. Travel north from Silverton to Ouray allows drivers to hug the inside of curves; travel south from Ouray to Silverton perches drivers on the vertiginous outside edge of the highway. Large RVs travel in both directions, which adds a degree of excitement (or danger) to people in cars.[6] The road is kept open year-round. Summer temperatures can range from 70–90 °F highs at the ends of the highway to 50–70 °F in the mountain passes. The snow season starts in October, and snow will often close the road in winter. Chains may be required to drive. 

North of Durango, the highway passes by Trimble Springs, hot springs that have been open for visitors since the late 19th century. The highway runs north along the Animas River, under the Hermosa Cliffs. It enters the San Juan National Forest and goes past Haviland Lake and Electra Lake. Drivers pass by Engineer Mountain and Twilight Peak before crossing Coal Bank Pass. Next is Molas Pass, which offers a panoramic view of Molas Lake, the Animas River Gorge, and Snowdon Peak. Northbound travelers then pass through the town of Silverton, elevation 9,320 feet (2841 m), surrounded by 13,000 foot (4000 m) peaks Sultan Mountain, Kendall Mountain, and Storm Peak.
The highway leaves Silverton and proceeds up Mineral Creek Valley before ascending to Red Mountain Pass. The ruins of the Longfellow Mine are visible along the way. The highway then goes through a series of steep grades and hairpin turns before reaching Lookout Point, which offers a view of the town of Ouray. 

Red Mountain Pass, Colorado

This section of the route passes over three mountain passes:

• Coal Bank Pass, elevation 10,640 ft (3,240 m).
• Molas Pass, elevation 10,970 ft (3,340 m).
• Red Mountain Pass, elevation 11,018 ft (3,358 m) 

The origin of the name Million Dollar Highway is disputed. There are several legends, though, including that it cost a million dollars a mile to build in the 1920s, and that its fill dirt contains a million dollars in gold ore.[3]
There are seventy named avalanche paths that intersect Highway 550 in the 23 miles between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado.

The warmest part of the day

After reaching the valley floor the temperatures returned to normal. I removed the rain gear while it was still in the upper 70's. It climbed to 90 degrees by the time I arrived in Grand Junction. It was a pleasant ride on I-70 from there to Rifle, CO. We turned north from there. There were some small showers that I just rode through.

I continued north passing by a small forest fire that must have just started. As I continued on to Rawlins, Wyoming. The Best Western Hotel was the check in point for today. During the last 50 miles, I saw large number of deer and antelope along the sides of the highway but outside the fence line.

I took a thirty minute break at the checkpoint to grab some snacks before heading out to Riverton, WY for today. Before I left town, I had to stop several times to allow deer to cross the road. For those of you that have been following my adventures, you will remember that last year's trip ended with a collision with a deer. I did not want that to happen again.

Watching for Deer!!!

The last several hours were spent heading into the sunset. My paranoia about hitting another deer was in full swing. Eventually, I had to stop because I was driving directly into the sunset and my visibility was miserable. I finally stopped when I couldn't block the sun with my hand. I pulled over to an abandoned gas station and waited for the sun to set. I put on the sweatshirt since the temperatures were dropping and switched my eye gear driving in the dark. I also made the decision to follow another vehicle so the if there was a deer in the road their reaction would be my indication of trouble ahead.

I grabbed a bite to eat before checking into the hotel at 9:00 PM that evening. I covered 600 miles in 13 hours. It was a long day but well worth it.

The Three Flags Trip Begins

Dash back to the US Border (Friday, August 31st)

After getting about 5 hours sleep I got up at 3:00 AM to get ready for the trip. I check out of the hotel where I was staying which was a mile or so from the starting Hotel. During last year's trip it took nearly an hour to cross the Canadian border back into the US. I was determined to be towards the front of the line.

The ride organizer's gave every rider a poker chip with their unique rider number (mine is R28) that identifies them and simplify the first checkpoint process. There were about 50 people in the hotel lobby waiting for the 4:30 AM starting time. Everyone threw there chip into the box and headed to their motorcycles to start. Because I drove from the other hotel my bike was ready and parked in an area where I was not blocked in. I immediately walked to my bike and took off for the border. I could not believe that I was the first one to leave.

I have to say that the biker's in this group are courteous and show a great deal of pride in the ride. So it was not a race to the border, everyone lined up and rode as a group with me in the lead. When we arrived at the border there were a couple of cars in front of the line. We arrived around 10 minutes early and waited for the border to open at 7:00 AM. 

I was through is less than 5 minutes. One thing that I noticed was I was check at the border, again around 30 miles in from the border, and finally one more time again. I had to show my passport twice. There was a lot of Customs and Border Protection vehicles in that part of the country.

The weather was over 100 most of the day. As I mentioned in my earlier post, my new "Cool Vest" worked very well. When I soaked it, I didn't wring them out so I put it back on dripping wet.It seemed to work for 90 minutes or so.

I decided to not take the scenic route and headed directly to Phoenix before heading to Flagstaff and then the first checkpoint in Gallup, NM. I learned from last year drive an hour or two beyond the daily checkpoint before stopping for the day. I drove to Farmington, NM which was about 110 miles further. I got concerned because the entire drive from Gallup to Farmington had no gas stations. I got there with 35 miles left in the tank. The entire drive was through the Navajo Indian Nation. I have no idea where they get their gas at but it is not on any of the main roads.

I check into the hotel around 6:30 PM and ordered dinner from a restaurant and had it delivered.I ordered sushi but was disappointed in the dinner.

The Trip Begins (Again) ! ! ! !

Heading to Mexico (Thursday, August 30th)

This is my second attempt at the "Three Flags Classic". This is a motorcycle ride that occurs annually every Labor Day weekend. Last year we started in Abbottsville, British Columbia and traveled through Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona before finishing in Puerto Penesco, Mexico.

On the final day of the ride last year, I had spent the night in Kanab, Utah. Because I was traveling the entire length of Arizona with temperatures reaching 120. During my entire trip I had struggled with these high temperatures for three weeks. This left me exhausted and dehydrated. To minimize this, I chose to reach the Mexican Border by noon. In order to do this meant that I needed to leave very early. About one hour after leaving Kanab at 3:30 AM as I round a corner, I encountered a deer in the road as I rounded a curve. I had about two seconds to react. The deer started to run to my left, I swerved to the right and I hit the deer in the hind leg area. I don't know exactly because I must have closed my eyes fully expecting that I was going to be in serious trouble. I felt the impact, but the bike was still going and I had survived. What I didn't know was that the front fender had been collapsed and was cutting into the tire. Ultimately, the tire went flat a mile or so down the road. As I was slowing the bike down, I hit the front break which caused the bike to roll over on the right-side. The bike had $7,800 or repairs needed and I walked away with a scrapped knee and some bruises. I was truly fortunate and realize that God had spared me to live another day.

The lesson learned last year was to not drive in the woods in the middle of the night.

This year, I left the house to head to Mexico at 4:00 AM. What made this trip different was that I was crossing the desert instead. When I left the house it   close to 90 degrees, about 2 hours later, I had to stop and put on a sweatshirt because the temperatures had dropped. I pulled into Phoenix and stopped for gas and something to eat. I repacked the cold weather gear since the temps were back up. I then started to use a new piece of gear that I purchased after last years struggles with the heat.was a "Cool Vest" that you soak in water. It works for about 90 minutes. I reached the border at noon which was according to plan. The temperature was around 100. The final 60 miles was not too bad, however, when I got about a mile from the Hotel (Registration point) there was a train blocking the road. As I sat in the sun (no share anywhere) for over 30 minutes, I got overwhelmed by the heat because this is a coastal city the humidity was over 80%.

I got checked into the hotel, showered and took a short nap before heading to the Welcome Banquet. The food was good and I sat with three folks from Calgary which is this year's final destination. I took a second shower before going to bed totally exhausted.

More to come...