Day 2

Jerry and Frank arrived today. So we are catching up on our stories and enjoying the cool mountain air and scenery. 

In Ouray at the beginning of yet another trip

It was a great day for the ride to Ouray. A chilly 35 going through Flagstaff but then 60-80 and sunny skies all the rest of the way. Steve got here before me and had the cabin all signed in.

I stopped at the Four Corners monument

Lots of Indian crafts for sale

I wonder how many times I've taken this shot over the years?

Lizard head mountain

Beautiful lake and mountains

Our cabin at the Ouray KOA

Chowing down some supper

Friday

The weather was dry and partly sunny with the temps at 66-80 as the day went along. Kevin routed us on some nice winding roads through hill country for a fun last day of riding together. 

We stopped for a late lunch of BBQ and are now settled into Greg's condo in southern Indiana. 

In the morning we will all take different routes home. 

The rain put a damper on the riding this week but we still enjoyed each other's company.

I for one am looking forward to the next trip which will be out West with better long distance views. 

Thursday

We had threatening skies but no rain until the last 30 miles and then we got back into the rain cell. It will rain all night but is suppose to be semi clear for tomorrow's ride.

Spending the night in Hurricane, WV. The roads today were nice for motorcycling. We started out riding North on 311 and stopped at a nice restaurant in Paint Bank for a short breakfast. Later we got on highway 60. North of Rainelle were we passed, going the other way, the motorcycle group called "Riding to the Wall" pretty impressive number of bikes. I didn't think about taking a picture until right at the end.

We're spending the night at a Red Roof Inn nice and dry. One more day of riding to Greg's condo in Indiana and the we split up.

Wednesday

We woke up this morning to more rain and FOG. It just keeps getting better. We rode mostly on the Blue Ridge Parkway which had no traffic so that was a blessing while traveling through heavy fog. We took a vote and scrapped our nights lodging at a KOA cabin in Lynchburg, VA. With Janet's help we snagged 2 suites at a Sleep Inn in Roanoke, VA. for $71 each. 😘 Liquor store and restaurants next door. 😊. Now to plan tomorrow's ride.

Tuesday

We left the motel in the rain and rode all day in the rain. Tomorrow's forecast looks the same. We were all soaked to  the skin so we spent a couple hours in the laundromat washing and drying clothes and riding gear. 

Monday

Rode in and out of heavy rain today for 300 or so miles. Spending the night in a motel in Murphy, NC. I've seen more than my yearly quota of green grass and trees. Steve and I went to a BBQ place for a hearty meal. It will probably rain again tomorrow yeh. 

Sunday

Sprinkles today on the ride. We stopped at the Jack Daniels distilary. They were pretty booked for the tours and we didn't want to wait for the next available tour so we walked around the free museum and then headed down the road ending the day at a KOA near Trenton, Georgia. 

FerryStoc

We spent the weekend near Buchanan, TN at the motorcycle camp out nick named FerryStoc (there are car ferries to take you across open water). It rained off and on all weekend but we got in a nice ride on Saturday and then played cards under a canopy while it rained. Lots of riders from all over to meet for the first time plus the ones we hadn't seen for years.

Tomorrow Steve, Kevin, Greg and I will start out on our week long adventure.

Back in the saddle

It's May 17, 2017 and our road trips for the season are starting. Steve, Kevin, Greg and I are meeting at an ST Owners event at Paris Landing Camp ground in the land between the lakes area of Tennessee this weekend. Over the next week we will travel East to the Blue Ridge Parkway and then swing back West finishing up on the 27th. I'll try to post some pictures along the way.

In June we will be riding in Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. July will take us to Salt Lake City and the annual International BMW MOA rally. We are all anxious to put some miles under us.

Monday

We all gathered for breakfast at a Denny's in Grand Junction. Afterward we took I-70 West getting off onto Hwy. 128 in Utah that took us along the Colorado River and into Moab. Clay and I split off from the group and rode home down through Monument Valley again. The rest did more excursions around Moab and then worked their way back to Grand Junction ready for more riding tomorrow.

I put 1,557 miles on my bike during the past 4 days and had a great time meeting and chatting with everyone. Darby and Alice were great hosts and Darby's skills with his smoker cooking ribs and brisket was excellent. 

Clay and I waiting for the rest to catch up after we did a spirited ride along the Colorado River.

Monument Valley looking South

Sunday's ride

We met at Darby's in the morning and rode to Delta for breakfast. Afterward we went to the Blue Mesa Reservoir and went North on Hwy. 92 which took us to an overlook of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We then continued on to Paonia and took Hwy 133 East over McClure Pass and on to Glenwood Springs where we had lunch. We caught I-70 and headed West getting off onto Hwy 65 that took us over the Grand Mesa and back to Delta. We then gathered back at Darby's for some visiting and finally we all headed back to our respective motels.

Ready to eat

Left over cinnamon rolls

A lake in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison 

The crew

                       Kim, Darby, Bill, Roland, Clay, Jim, Chris, Steven, Gaylen

The bikes

Coke ovens on Hwy 133 near Carbondale

Lunch in Glenwood Springs

Saturday BBQ day

We rode up from Cortez via the Gateway Canyon which is always fun to ride through.

There ended up being 11 K1600 riders that showed up for the BBQ. We had smoked brisket and ribs mmmmm.

Gateway Canyon

Some of the guys

The rest of the group minus one late comer

The smoker

Darby slicing ribs

Chowing down

All done mmmmm

1/2 the bikes

The rest