Go West Old Man (Day 11)

Friday - October 16, 2009 - Day 11

What a great day.  It started with a dark ride to Marfa for breakfast.  We ate in a little hole in the wall named Alice Cafe.  Boy did I change my old habits.  I had ham and eggs with tortillas.  They were great.  After breakfast we headed south on 67 to Presidio where we picked up 170 and rode the River Road to Terlingua.  The River Road was as green as I have ever seen it.  They must have had a bunch of rain recently.

We noticed a bunch of motorcycles, and we later learned that they are having some rally this weekend.  Something named Ride the Trails.

We drove through Big Bend National Park and headed up to Marathon.  In Marathon we stopped and ate at another hole in the wall restaurant named Johnny B's.  Doug and I both had the Mexican Hamburger and they were great.  After lunch we drove the short distance to Sanderson where we called it a night.  All in all it was a great day.

Here are some shots on Highway 67.





Here are some pictures from yesterday that I could not get to upload last night.







Tomorrow we head to Kerrville to meet up with some BMW friends.

Go West Old Man (Day 10)

Thursday - October 15, 2009 - Day 10

Were back in Texas.  We left Alamogordo around 7 in the morning after having a great breakfast at the Alamo Grill.  I did take a chance and had something different.  I knew it was risky, but it just had to be done.  I had ham and eggs with BISCUITS. 

It was a balmy 65 degrees when we left, but by the time we arrived in Cloudcroft it was 38 degrees.  We stopped for a short break at a road side park after we came out of the mountains, and then headed into Artesia, NM where we topped off the tanks and purchased a few items from the local grocery store.  We left Artesia dnd headed to Carlsbad where Doug and I somehow got seperated.  It took us a few minutes to find each other, and that was only after we talked on the cell phones.  He was on one highway and I was on anothers.

Once we found each other we headed south on 160 towards Guadalupe Mountain.  Just after the state line we turned east on 652 and cut back over to 285.  This was a very scenic road.  The only problem was it was very straight.  We stayed on 285 to Pecos where we picked up 17 into Fort Davis, TX.  We did stop for lunch at a restaurant in Orla, TX.  We had a great lunch of chopped beef steak, mashed potatos and corn.  It was topped off with a piece of white cake with cherry bits and cream cheese frosting.
We arrved in Fort Davis around 4:30 and checked into the motel. 

Tomorrow we head for Sanderson via the River Road and Big Bend National Park.

Sorry, no pictures this post because for some reason they will not upload.  I'll try to put them in tomorrow.

Go West Old Man (Day 9)

Wednesday - October 14, 2009 - Day 9

Today is mostly and transit day which has us heading back in the direction of Houston.  We headed south on 160 and stopped for breakfast in Alma, NM, at the (don't be surprised) Alma Cafe.  Yes Bryan, I mean Brian, I did change is up a bit today.  I had Ham and EGGS, but with green chili peppers in the hash browns.

We stopped in Silver City, NM for a break so Doug could tour the local Quilt Shop.  Don't ask.  What's embarrassing is I went in with him and looked around.

We took 152 out of Silver City, and then south on 27 and east on 26 to the interstate.  A quick 40 miles to Las Cruces, and then 70 over to Alamogordo.  We checked into a great motel.  By far the best one on the trip.

Tomorrow we head for Fort Davis, TX.

Here are a couple of pictures I took along the way.

Go West Old Man (Day 7 - 8)

Monday - October 12, 2009 - Day 7

Happy Birthday Mom.....

The day started out like every other day, except we decided to head down the road for  breakfast.  This is view we had as we pulled out.



We stopped for breakfast in Tuba City on the Navajo Reservation.  We decided to eat at a place called Kate's Cafe.  Guess what?  I had eggs and ham.

After breakfast we headed east across the Navajo Reservation on 264.  We turned south on 87 and then cut acrossed to 77 on Tribal Road 15.  We stopped and gassed up at a fancy truck stop near Holbrook, AZ.  This place even had a Chapel in it.  We then took 180 and stayed with it to Alpine.  Here are some views we saw along the way.



Think there is room to stretch your legs here?



Tuesday - October 13, 2009, Day 8

We are staying in Alpine, AZ for two nights.  Today we plan to do a loop down 180, across 78 to 191, and then up the Devils Highway back to Alpine.  Not a lot of pictures today, but the weather was great the and scenery perfect.



Here is the view from our motel room door.



Tomorrow we head to Alamogordo, NM

Go West Old Man (UPDATE)

For the last several nights our internet connection is crap. Sunday night we were in Marble Canyon, AZ. Tonight (Monday) we are in Alpine, AZ. We plan to spend two nights here. Hopefully we will have a better internet connection on Wednesday night so I can do some updates.

Sorry

Go West Old Man (Day 6)

Sunday - October 11, 2009 - Day 6

The day started out as usual.  We had breakfast at the restaurant attached to the motel, and it was the same old grind of ham and eggs.  We pulled out of the parking lot at daylight, and this was our view.



We stopped in Cedar City, UT and gassed up and then headed east on Highway 14 towards Cedar Breaks National Park.  Below are the views that we had
.




Resting our trusty steeds.



Cedar Breaks National Park near the visitor center.



We left Utah and went by the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, of course we didn't stop since we have seen it a number of times.  We stopped for the  night in Marble Canyon, AZ at the Marble Canyon Lodge.  We had an over priced hamburger steak for dinner, but the service was good.  The meal was actually good, just a bit, no I mean a lot over priced.

Tomorrow we head to Alpine, AZ.  Won't be an exciting day since we are driving through the Navajo Reservation.

Go West Old Man (Day 5)

Friday - October 10, 2009 - Day 5

Our day started the same as it has for the last four days. Up at 5:30, but this time there was a restaurant next door. I had the usual for breakfast, of course ham and eggs. We hit the road as the sun was coming up, and this is what greeted us.



We headed west on I-70. On the map this shows to be a scenic road, and I tell you what, it is. I think it is more scenic than I-70 in Colorado.

We turned north on Highway 10 and headed to Highway 31. What a road. The scenery was great, here is an example of what we saw.



We then took a road that Doug found on the map. Were not sure what the name is, but its a National Parks road that goes around MT. Nebo. What a great find. Here are some examples.





We ended up stopping for the night in Delta, UT. Not sure where we are going tomorrow, we are still discussing it.

Go West Old Man (Day 4)

October 9, 2009 - Friday - Day 4

Our day started early, dark and cold.  Not really early, we got up at the normal time of 5:30 AM.  It was still dark, but there was no place to eat in town, so we decided to head down the road to see what we could find.  The city of Bluff, Utah was about 20 miles down the road, and we came upon the Twin Rocks Cafe.  It was open, so we stopped.

The view from this restaurant was great.  The breakfast was not bad either, but they did have the tourist prices.  Below is a picture of the front of the cafe.



We headed toward Blanding, UT and the scenery was great, so were the deer.  They had hugh signs stating to watch out for the deer, and they were correct, there were a few out looking for Fred.

This was taken at a wide spot in the road.  Just an example of what we were seeing.


We arrived at Arches Nation Park around 10:30 AM.  It was still cool but sunny.  We stopped at the visitors center for a break, and found it did not really have much to offer.  We then headed into the park.


Below are examples of what we saw.


Balance Rock



General view of the area.



Some arch, but I don't remember its name.



After leaving the park we stopped for lunch at some hole in the wall at the intersection of I-70 and US 191.  We decided to eat at PAPA's Joes, home of the world famous chili cheese burger.




Of course we had the famous chili cheese burger.





It was all right, but not world famous.

We then headed into Green River, UT and checked in to the Knights Inn.

Tomorrow we head for Delta, UT

Go West Old Man (Day 3)

Thursday - October 8, 2009
We slept in today, we didn't get up until 5:30 AM.  After loading the bikes we headed for breakfast at the El Camino Family Restaurant.  Breakfast was pretty good.  I had the standard ham and eggs, while Doug tried the biscuits and gravy.

After breakfast we headed west on 60, and from the start the scenery was great.  Typical New Mexico terrain. We did make a short stop at the Radio Observatory.



We then meandered our way north and west.  I didn't keep up with all the roads, but we were generally heading to Gallup, NM.

We arrived in Gallup around lunch time, so we stopped at, you guessed it, Dairy Queen.  It was noon and we were the only ones in there.  We asked the clerk where the crowd was, and he told us it normally doesn't start until 2 PM.  Guess they eat late in Gallup.

We entered the Navajo Reservation and made a stop at the Hubbell Trading Post.



We found out the National Historical Site Hubbell Trading Post is nothing more than a store and a small visitor center.  Bottom line a tourist trap.

After leaving the trading post we headed to Mexican Hat, UT.  This is what we saw.



We arrived in Mexican Hat around 4:30 local time.  This is the view from the door of our room.



For dinner we went to the Swing Steak Restaurant, which Doug and I have seen spotlighted on the Food Network.  Their signature steak is an 18 ounce Rib Eye cooked on a swing grill over cedar. 





It was a good steak, but I have had a lot better.

Tomorrow we head to Arches Nation Park, and then to Green River, UT for the night.

Go West Old Man

Wednesday - October 7, 2009 - Day 2

The day started early, which was around 6:20 AM. It was still dark, so we decided to find a service station to top off the tanks, and then find a breakfast place. We ended up at the TA Service Center which had a breakfast buffet. It was a pretty decent for the price.

We headed out as the sun was coming up, well, that's not really true, we headed out as it was getting light. It was very cool, overcast, with a threat of rain. We headed north on 87 to Lamesa and then turned west on 180 to Seminole. We stopped for a short break, and then continued on. There was not much to see, this area is all farm land or oil fields.

At Seminole we turned north on 214 to Plains, where we turned west on 380 to Roswell. We did stop in Tatum, NM for gas, but that was about it. In Roswell we visited the local Harley Davidson Dealership. Won't explain why, but we did.

Want to know what the area was like?



Exactly the same in all four directions.

We ended up on Highway 70 and arrived in Rudidoso, NM around lunch time. We planned on having a light lunch, so we would have room for the green chili cheeseburger tonight. Well this was our light lunch.




Needless to say our dinner plans were shot to hell.

After lunch we headed out on Highway 48 to Captaan (sp). We then headed west again on 380. The scenery really improved on this section of the highway.





The pictures were taken at a small picnic area.

We then headed in to Socorro, NM where we checked in to the Days Inn. Doug decided to skip dinner, but I walked down to the local grocery store and purchased a small sandwich. Couldn't eat the whole thing.

Tomorrow we head to Mexican Hat, UT.

Go West Old Man

Tuesday - 10/06/09 - Day One

The day started early, at least for me it did.  I woke up around 1:00 AM, so I decided to go ahead get ready.  I finished loading the bike, played on the computer, took a shower, and by that time it was time to go.  I mounted my trusted steed and away into the night I went.  I arrived at the Chevron Station, where I was to meet Doug, my partner in crime for this trip, at around 5:15 AM.  I gassed up and purchased a couple of drinks, and by that time Doug had arrived.  We departed the station around 5:25 AM.

We took Highway 36 to I-10, and then headed west on I-10 to Columbus, Texas.  We planned to stop in Columbus to have breakfast, and that is what we did.  We went to Beckey's Restaurant where we had an excellent breakfast.  I forgot to take a before picture, here is an after picture.



To fill you in, it started with two eggs, two sausage, two bacon, hash browns, and grits, with toast.  It was excellent for $6.78.

After breakfast it was getting light, so we headed west on Highway 71 towards Austin.  It was a bit warm, and extremely muggy.  We made it though Austin, and stopped for gas.  After taking a short break we continued on 71 and some where down the line we ended up on Highway 87.  No sure where we picked it up, and the GPS told us to go that way. 

We stopped for lunch, around noon, in Eden, Texas.  We decided to eat at a dive named Morocco Cafe.  Don't think its a dive?



What caught our attention was the sign outside that stated the lunch special was Hamburger Steak for $5.99.  Can't go wrong there.  This time I got the before picture, if you want an after picture scroll up.



Lunch was excellent, and the bill including drink was $6.74.

After lunch we went outside and to our surprise there was significant signs of rain ahead.  We headed out and found out the signs were correct.  Within five miles after leaving Eden, the temperature dropped 26 degrees.  Then it started raining.  We made it to San Angelo where we gassed up and waited out the rain for a bit.  We then continued on with plans to stop for the night in Sterling City.  Don't plan on stoppin the Sterling City because there are no motels.  What to do?  We did what must be done, we continued on. 

We made it to Big Springs where we checked into the Days Inn.  Happens it is located right next door to, you guessed it, a WalMart.  We unloaded the bikes, had a drink, and then you guessed it, we went to WalMart.  After our shopping trip we stopped at the Furrs Restaurant, also located right next to the motel.  We had an excellent buffet dinner for a whopping $10.91.  After dinner we crawled across the parking lot to our room.

Tomorrow we plan on making to to San Antonio, NM where we will partake by having a Green Chile Cheese Burger.