Gypsy Tour 2000

For most of my life I've wanted to ride a motorcycle across this great country of ours but, until now, have never had the time or resources to actually do it. Between July 7th and Aug 6th, 2000 I was able to explore a large part of the U.S. aboard my Honda ST1100. The trip totaled almost 11,000 miles and took me through 20 states and one Canadian province. There were no major incidents and it can only be described as a great (maybe a once in a lifetime) experience.

Even after several years, this page is still a work in progress. It is a compilation of the photos I shot along the way and the emails I sent back to friends and family. As I have time, I'll enhance the story with impressions and observations (text in blue) I made during my wanderings.

First photo stop - We have mountains in Tennessee too! Those guys sitting so nonchalantly on the platform are looking off a 1000 foot drop.

A nice little park in Arkansas where I took a cool break

Date: 7/8/00
Subject: Days 1 and 2

Hi folks, It's Sat, a little after 2pm here in eastern Arkansas. The temp is well over 95 and I'm stopped in a nice little shady picnic area that sort of reminds me of Borden park in Kingsport. I've had my nap on the picnic table and I sitting here in the shade with my boots off enjoying a nice breeze. This seemed like a good time to update you on my progress. Except for being a tad hot, both yesterday & today have been nearly perfect motorcycle days. I left Kingsport around 8:15 yesterday and meandered down 11W and US27 to meet Nancy for Lunch on the UT Chattanooga campus. She was there with Jamie for parent / student orientation and Fall semester registration. I talked with them last night and trip was successful. Jamie got registered for the Fall semester but still doesn't know her dorm assignment. We had a very nice 'last' lunch together and after a somewhat misty-eyed goodbye I hit the road for B'ham. I took the Lookout Mtn Pkwy from Chattanooga to Gadsden which makes for a nice change of pace from I59 IF you're not in a hurry. Arrived at my cousin Steve's house around 4:30. It was hot, DAMN hot, on I459 bypass with the Birmingham Friday afternoon rush hour traffic but Lane and Steve fixed me up with a great dinner and a sound night's sleep. I also got to visit with the whole family which was very nice. THANKS GUYS! I left B'ham about 8am this morning and I'm currently on my way to Heber Springs, Arkansas where I'll overnight with riding buddy, Chuck. Tomorrow Chuck and I will set out together for points west. Well, this has been a nice interlude but I should probably get back on the road if I am to arrive at Chuck's at a decent hour. I'm having a great time so far! Jim

 Chuck at our campsite beside a state fishing lake in eastern Kansas

Getting my flat fixed at a small independent MC shop just east of Dodge City, KS. These folks could have required me to remove the wheel outside in the heat but instead they really bent their insurance restrictions by allowing me to use their air conditioned shop and tools. Great people.

High plains drifter?

 Our first view of the Rockies after two very hot days in Kansas and eastern Colorado. We were really glad to finally see those mountains in the distance!

Observation: Our route across Kansas and eastern Colorado was mostly US 50 - sometimes referred to as the "loneliest road in America". It was flat, straight, dusty, hot and mostly boring. This is cattle country of course, and from time to time we encountered stock yards which added smelly to the list of adjectives. The big rigs run this two-lane road at high speed and the less aerodynamic ones push a formidable air front which slams into the motorcycle rider like a transparent wall when you meet them at speed. We both expected this part of the trip to be less than 'exciting' and it has fully met expectations. About the only thing of interest was Dodge City, Kansas where we paid a small fee to visit Boot Hill and a reconstruction of a small part of the city during its heyday in the mid-1800s. At one point Dodge City was the closest access point to the railroad and consequently many of the cattle drives from Texas and Oklahoma ended here. That meant that a lot of rough-hewn characters ended up getting paid here after weeks or months on the trail with nothing but other drovers and lots of cows for company. They were a thirsty, horny, rowdy bunch and Dodge City provided plenty of saloons with rot-gut whiskey, easy women and games of chance to separate them from their hard-earned money. Dodge City was a wild, lawless place until the legendary Wyatt Earp was hired for the princely sum of $100/month to clean it up. The Earp and Masterson brothers, "Doc" Holiday and their ilk were not exactly model citizens themselves and their brand of law enforcement may have violated just a few civil rights along the way. But, it seems their sometimes questionable methods were quite effective in that they required only about three years to turn the place around. It was definitely the wild, wild west until then and apparently burials of indigents at boot hill were almost a daily event!

Our first high altitude campsite on Lake Deweiss close to Silvercliff, CO

Date: 7/11/00
Subject: Days 3 and 4

What can say? Awesome is the only word which comes close. Chuck and I are enjoying a cup of coffee while we watch the sun come up over the Rockies. We camped last night beside Lake Deweiss (close to Silvercliff, CO - about 50 miles west of Pueblo. We're at about 7,500 feet and the temp is a brisk 45 or so. Outstanding! Yesterday we stopped for a beer in the fabled Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas and toured a somewhat disappointing Boot Hill. It was a nice even 100 degs there. Camped night before last beside a little fishing lake in eastern Kansas.

Things in general have gone really well. I picked up a small screw in my front tire somewhere in Arkansas, used the emergency plug kit to repair it and then got it fixed properly at a little shop in KS yesterday. Well, coffee's gone, time to break camp and hit the road.

Later, Jim

Observation: While we enjoyed our BIG breakfast in Silvercliff, three apparently "real" westerners strolled in for coffee. Based on their familiarity with the restaurant staff we guessed that they lived there. They were wearing western garb (jeans, hats, western but not "fancy" boots) and notably sidearms (.38 or .357 revolvers - no 9mm semis these guys!) but no badges. Although we weren't familiar with Colorado's handgun laws, we gathered that these three were plain, ordinary citizens who chose to carry. The guns might have shocked more "civilized" folk but Chuck and I are both rednecks at heart and we found the casualness of it all very refreshing. Also, our waitress, a young women of 18 or so, told us that she was planning to ride her horse competitively in a local rodeo (barrel racing) for the first time on the coming weekend - she was obviously very excited about her new endeavor. Are we in the west or what?

Monarch Pass (~11.5K feet)

We just picked this road off the map CO 92 - didn't expect such a spectacular view

Our campsite close to Loveland Pass (~9K feet) - this was our first night in bear country. Chuck is re-assembling the front end of his Honda Pacific Coast after emergency fork seal repairs (we hope!)

Date: 7/12/00
Subject: Day 5

Today was absolutely outstanding. We started out at Silvercliff with a beautiful Rocky Mtn sunrise. First thing we went to the Laundromat which also had showers for campers. We dried our clothes while eating breakfast and were rolling by 9:30. We've meandered back and forth across the ranges and crossed two 11K ft passes. We only rode 320 miles today which seemed light after 2 back-to-back 500 mile days across the prairies. The air today was incredibly clear as it can only be in the Rockies and looking up the sky was so blue it was almost black. It was fantastic, The only problem we encountered was a weeping fork seal on Chuck's bike (that could have been related to the 3 miles of dirt road we had to ride because the CO hiway department didn't bother to warn us that the road was under construction!). We're sipping a Coors now while Chuck finishes up 'field' repairs. It looks as though he's fixed it! Tonight we're camping just below Independence Pass (just east of Aspen). The altitude here is close to 10K feet so I expect the sleeping bag will feel REAL good tonight. Well, it's getting dark so I'll stop for now. It'll be some time on Wed before I get to connect to send this.

Later,

Jim & Chuck

Observation: On the way here we came through Aspen. I've been to Aspen before but it's been a very long time and the last time (about 20 years ago) I recall the experience being relatively pleasant although in retrospect even then we received a snooty comment from a waiter along the lines of, "this restaurant serves only fine French cuisine, we don't have french fries". What a contrast now from the more normal laid-back Colorado culture. Aspen appears to be overrun with affluent, elitist, yuppie types. Ironically the middle-aged (but pierced, blond and pony-tailed) clerk at the convenience store where I bought gas ($2.14/gal - by far the most I paid anywhere) didn't seem to want lower himself to deal with the kind of people who buy things in convenience stores. Oh well, they can have it; I don't plan to go back. There were motorcycles in Aspen - mostly "posers" on expensive new Harleys and interestingly Chuck and I were the only motorcyclists I saw wearing helmets but EVERY bicyclist was wearing one. It would appear that style is much more important than function here. It's not stylish to wear a motorcycle helmet (guess doesn't fit the bad-boy image) but it is stylish to have the best and most expensive bicycle gear. People are funny, huh?

 Independence Pass (~12K feet) before breakfast. Fortunately the sun was shining - it was about 40 degs

Chuck at the Alpine Meadows in Rocky Mountain National Park. Yes, that's snow and no, it didn't feel like July.

Observation: The evening just above Aspen was my first night camping in bear country. By the end of the trip the thought of large mammals capable of eating me roaming around my tent at night was much less disturbing but it certainly gave me cause for concern the first time. There were no bear incidents that night but we did take the advice of the campground custodian and kept no food or sweet-smelling personal products in our tents. Although I had bought gas the evening before in Aspen (when I made the trip in for beer), Chuck had not filled up. His tank holds 4.2 gallons according to the owner's manual and that's usually good for about 200 miles. By the time we finally came to a place to buy gas in Twin Lakes, Chuck had 220 miles on his trip gauge and it took 4.3 gallons to top off his tank. I don't think he could have gone much further. We had breakfast at an old inn there that had been a tavern and bordello during the glory days of gold and silver mining in the area. The hallways were adorned with a number of framed profiles describing the "ladies" of the establishment. It was quite entertaining and a good breakfast besides.

My campsite the first night on my own along side the Poudre River in northern Colorado

 Had a little visitor during the night - notice the paw print, a raccoon I think.
 

So many canyons!

Date: 7/13/00
Subject: Day 6

Tuesday night we camped a few miles below Independence pass. The road cuts up through a narrow canyon rising several thousand feet on each side. We watched the sun set on the Eastern wall and the almost full moon rise on the western one. The night like the day which preceded it was crystal clear and the moon was so bright we could read by it. There have been bear visits the two preceding nights and the campground host warned us not to keep food or sweet smelling personal items (like toothpaste) in our tents. Apparently there were no bears last night. We crossed over Independence pass before breakfast - there is still snow in places and the temperature at the top (12,000 ft) was about 40 deg. Later in the day we visited Rocky Mtn Nat Park entering from the western side. At first it was only impressive but when we finally arrived at the Alpine meadows ~13K ft, it was breathtaking. I mean that both literally and figuratively. The meadows are far above the tree line and many of the tiny wildflowers were in full bloom. Unfortunately, there was too much traffic but it was still worth the hassle. Even more unfortunately, after a nice early dinner in Estes Park, my riding buddy Chuck split off to head back to Arkansas and I am continuing the tour alone. Chuck was having some mechanical problems and felt the safe thing for was to return home. As I type this I am sitting in a campground alongside the Poudre River in northern CO. Getting too dark to type now so I'll finish tomorrow... Sunrise, about 6:15am. Another great night on the road even though it was my first one 'on my on'. My tent is no more than 30 feet from the river's edge which is white water. The roar of the water completely masks sounds from the hiway. Unfortunately this is a rustic campground - no showers. Guess I'll have to find one tonight. I'll be in Wyoming in a couple of hours - time to pack up and find some breakfast!

 Later, Jim

Observation: Today, I took the advice of a friend who is a National Park "veteran" and bought a National Park Pass at Rocky Mountain NP. The cost for the pass was $50 for the vehicle (doesn't matter how many passengers) and it is, of course, usable at all the National Parks. Since I visited several more during this trip, it more than paid for itself. Plus, the park personnel are extremely nice to you when you flash your National Park pass. If you ever get a chance to do something like this, do invest in a National Park Pass.

 Riding friend Ed who proved to be a great guide for Wyoming and Yellowstone

Date: 7/15/00
Subject: Thurs/Fri

Thursday morning I met up with another rider going in the same direction. Ed is a real estate manager for the US Postal service. He lives south of Denver and was heading up to Missoula, MT to visit with family. Turns out we have a lot in common (wives who teach elementary, kids of about the same age, years of riding experience). We rode together all day then shared a campsite just outside Jackson, WY. Friday morning we rode about half of Yellowstone - saw Old Faithful, moose, buffalo, and all manner of smaller critters. It would be easy to spend a week here and even then you probably would feel there was more to see. The traffic was light until around 11AM and we enjoyed the park. We spent the PM crossing WY. It was hot and dry, desert-like in places. When we got to Butte around 5PM, we could see rain to the west. I decided that after five nights of sleeping on the ground it was time for a bed, a nice shower and some motorcycle maintenance. Soooo, I slept last night at Eddy's Motel. It's one of those old fashion motor court places where you park right outside your door. This morning I'm refreshed and ready for more. The bed was nice but the shower was fantastic! I'm a little more than 3K miles into the trip but not yet half way. So far, so good. Jim

Observation: Yellowstone is gigantic. It would be easy to spend a lot of time there and not experience the whole thing. Our "short tour" consisted of riding around about 1/2 the perimeter; with more time I would have explored the geothermal stuff more thoroughly. The geysers, sulfur wells and steam pots are fascinating - the geology of this place must be something else. Today in Yellowstone I experienced the only real "mishap" of the trip; fortunately it wasn't serious. I "dropped" the ST while stopped on an steeply inclined gravel shoulder. I should have known the shoulder was too steep and the footing too loose for a 700lb, heavily loaded, motorcycle but all those years of dirt-biking overcame logic I suppose. No serious damage but it did take three of us (Ed, a motorcycling stranger on another ST1100 and me) to get the beaST upright again because of the poor footing and the fact that it was laying downhill. I had to replace the damaged mirror (in San Francisco) and will need to get good buddy Chuck to paint the scratches on my right saddle bag. Since this was the worst thing that happened on the entire 11,000 mile journey I feel quite fortunate.

 Glacier National Park

An avalanche chute - wouldn't want to be standing here at the wrong time!

 One of the things that makes Glacier so stunning is that it is "up close and personal"

Date: 7/16/00
Subject: Sat

Today I toured Glacier Nat Park. I'm not quite sure why, but for me, this was the most spectacular so far. The altitude of the peaks aren't quite as high as some of the southerly passes I've already crossed, but like Tetons back in Wyoming, these mountains look as if the world was just broken off leaving nothing but a jagged edge. But, different from the Tetons, here the rider is able to experience these peaks and amazing vistas up close and personal. Pretty soon after leaving Missoula the terrain began to look like the "great north woods" with lots of tall evergreens and few hardwoods. In many places the road felt like a narrow canyon between the tall green trees. Today was cool and clear. So cool that I kept my jacket on all day. Tonight I'm camping in the Rising Sun campground on the eastern side of the Park. It's not yet dark and already there is a nip in the air. I expect my polorguard sleeping bag will feel real good tonight! Also, and this is really good news, this campground has hot showers. Hooray! Tomorrow I start heading south through Idaho and Washington. I guess you could say I've turned the northern-most corner of the trip. I'm only about 20 miles from Canada here and my original itinerary included a little loop up there but there just isn't enough time for that. Well, the park ranger just came by and informed me that there is a big campfire at the "circle" with history about this park and a bear-awareness discussion. Guess I'll mosey over that way. Until next time, Jim

Observation: I ate dinner on Saturday night at neat little restaurant just outside of Glacier on the eastern side. The interesting thing to me about this restaurant was that it was being successfully managed and operated by a group of relatively young people. The oldest person in the place was probably 25 but they did a great job of serving an excellent fare to their large group of customers. Two of the wait people were only there for the summer and actually go to school the other 9 months of the year in Tennessee (University of the South at Sewanee). It's great to see young people with initiative and brains experiencing success.

While in the Glacier campground two riders rode in to camp for the night on eye-catching "rigs". The two were riding Gold Wings, one new, one old, and the interesting thing about them was that they had packed/loaded their bikes with no apparent plan whatsoever. It looked as though they had tied, strapped or bungeed everything they could possibly think of on the two bikes. It reminded me of the opening scene from the old TV series, "The Beverly Hillbillies" with all that junk tied on the Clappett's truck. Their passenger seats were stacked with "stuff" as high as the tops of their heads and they even had an "extension" behind the normal Gold Wing top box which carried a full sized Coleman cooler. There were coffee cups dangling by strings from the bottom of the coolers on both bikes. If I could have done so without embarrassment, I'd have made a picture. The dynamics of riding those bikes must have been something with all that weight high and behind the rear axle. These riders were from western NC and were on their way to Alaska. I guess they'd already made it about half way and their "system" apparently worked for them so who am I to criticize?

Sunrise in Glacier

Another good reason to wear a helmet

This where I ate lunch (an ice cream cone) in Canada (Yahk, British Columbia)

This beautiful lake was on the top of an 8K foot pass on the Canadian side of the border. Shortly before this I had to come to a complete stop to allow a moose to cross the road.

Date: 7/17/00
Subject: Sunday

Had a great night at Glacier on Sat. Glacier at sunrise is just as spectacular as the night before. Since I have all week to get to San Francisco, I decided to take a little side tour up into Canada. Guess what? I had to stop to wait for a moose to cross the road. The next time someone uses the phrase "big as a moose", it'll have more meaning for me. I spent last night in a beautiful state-operated campground at Republic, Washington. This morning I'm sitting at my site by a small lake. I will be heading down the Columbia river valley today and probably get as far as Mt St Helens. Well, time to hit the road. Later, Jim

Observation: "My" moose was a cow. She stood about 6 feet tall at the shoulders and I spotted her standing in a field about 50 feet off the road on the right. At first I thought she was a mule but when she started to move her gait gave her away as something else. She just stood and waited for the longest time then started to trot towards the highway. I had plenty of time to stop but she never looked right or left; she just trotted head down with her awkward gait across the road and into the woods on the other side.

The little pass up into Canada was entertaining in that the road reminded me a lot of some of our mountain roads in eastern Tennessee. Both the terrain and the highway was more like "home" than the typical US Rocky mountain highway and there were lots of motorcyclists enjoying the nice day and twisty road. The only thing I purchased in Canada was an ice cream cone and the clerk allowed me to pay in US currency so I didn't have to convert any money to Canadian. Going into Canada, the border station attendant was interested in the reason for my visit and if I had firearms in my possession. Returning to the US, the attendant was interested in how long I had been in Canada, and if I was bringing in fresh fruit/vegetables, alcohol or tobacco products purchased on the Canadian side. Although I had my passport with me, the US Customs agent did not ask for an ID or proof of citizenship but did have me open my topbox and saddlebags for a cursory inspection.

The typical absolute nothingness of our Indian reservations - this one is close to Grand Coulee Dam

Observation: With rare exceptions one of the things that repeatedly struck me during this trip was the barrenness of the western land we "gave" our Native Americans when they were rounded up and placed on reservations during the late 19th century. Most reservation land is arid, empty and even desert with little agricultural value unless extensively (and expensively) irrigated. Some of this land has proved to have significant value for its mineral rights (oil, gas, precious metals) but I rather doubt that the Indians who live there have been able to realize the full potential of the wealth resulting from these finds. Of course, with the help of the big Casinos, in many places the Indians have "played their ace" (pun intended) by taking advantage of their exception to state anti-gambling statutes to realize significant economic gain. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion of course; but, of all the ethnic groups who have been "shafted" by the white man, I believe our Native Americans have the most cause for complaint.

The town of Grand Coulee was quite interesting because it was such a stark contrast to the surrounding area. It is lush and verdant with tree-lined streets and homes with shrubbery and gardens. Irrigation is everywhere and on the day I passed through essentially every home was running their sprinkler systems. Most of the city lies below the reservoir water level and I'd guess that the life-giving water is supplied at low or no-cost from gravity fed lines. However it's done, the community looks nothing like the surrounding barren desert (which is Indian reservation).

Date: 7/19/00
Subject: Mon/Tues

Today is Tues. I have to remind myself everyday since each day is so similar. Time flies when you're having fun! As I write this it's about 9:30am and I taking a break in a NFS campground about 25 miles from Mt Rainier. There's a high pass ahead so I've only caught a few glimpses of Rainier to this point. I spent all day yesterday in Washington. This is beautiful place. I think the author of 'America' must have spent some time here. I've seen for myself the beautiful spacious skies, the amber waves of grain as far as the eye can see, the purple mountains majesty and the abundantly fruited plain - all in one day! I understand from the locals that winters are pretty rough, but summer here is outstanding. I motel'd it last night. I was exhausted and slept from around 8pm to 6am this morning. In retrospect I think I let myself get dehydrated yesterday. I visited the Grand Coulee dam which is essentially an oasis surrounded by desert and Indian reservation. Between the heat and low humidity I must have lost a lot of water. Today I am really working on my Camelback even though I'm at higher elevation and the temps are much cooler. I'll get down into Oregon later today and after Crater Lake, I'll head for the coast. Epilog: Since I didn't get a chance to send today, I thought I'd just journal the rest of it. Rainier was (I think I may be overusing this adjective) spectacular. It was also cold. On the way up I was riding in fog (actually clouds - what's the difference anyway?) But, I FINALLY broke through the clouds to a crystal clear sky and the 14K foot dome of Rainier. I didn't realize that Rainier is considered a live volcano. They estimate the last eruption occurred around 1K years ago but basically the thing could let loose at any time (like St Helens). As Nancy would predict, I spent about an hour reading all the displays in the visitors center. Hey, it's my kind of thing, what can I say? After the 5 hour diversion to Rainier, I pressed on to Oregon. I had planned to visit Crater Lake tomorrow but about 40 miles from the border Mt Hood appeared on the horizon. Soooo, the gypsy changed plans... that's where I am now, in a campground at the base of Mt Hood. Tomorrow another volcano! 

Until next time, Jim

Observation: Washington is a beautiful state this time of year. As my email notes the variety of terrain across the state is astounding. I understand that the central part is pretty dry compared to the rainy coast and in most places where there is agriculture there is also extensive irrigation (from the Columbia I assume). It's also a very friendly area and every time I stopped someone would come up and strike up a conversation. This is pretty common when you travel by motorcycle but it was more prevalent than normal in central Washington. I didn't realize until today that the area of the Columbia River around Hood, Oregon is such a mecca for wind surfers. Apparently the strong wind blowing up the river is a fairly constant thing and it draws serious wind surfers from all over the world. Today the wind was blowing steadily at 25 - 35 miles per hour and there were hundreds (if not thousands) of wind surfers traversing the river. They reach AMAZING speeds across the 1/2 mile wide river and apparently there are people who just hang here during the season to ride their boards (wind surfer "bums"?). There's a steel grate toll bridge across the Columbia at Hood. Motorcyclists will appreciate the combination of steel grate surface and strong side wind. It was a hairy ride across the wide, 200 foot high bridge. If the surface were also wet, it would be all but impassible to motorcycles. I've stayed in a number of campgrounds now and in most I've had neighbors - sometimes very close neighbors. Last night at Mt Hood, I was essentially alone. I went out for an evening exploratory hike and eventually encountered other campers but there were none I could see or hear from my site. This isn't bear country so I wasn't particularly concerned but I was definitely alone.

Whoops, ran out of continent somewhere around the middle of the Oregon coast. Which way now? 

Date: 7/20/00
Subject: Wed

I had a great but long (450 miles) day yesterday as I needed to catch up to my itinerary to some degree. One of few 'fixed' points in this trip is that I meet my daughter Jamie at SFO Friday evening at around 11PM so I needed to get a little closer to San Francisco yesterday. I rode some really nice Oregon backroads and even visited the city of Sisters which reminded me a great deal of our own Gatlinburg. At approximately 4PM however, I abruptly ran out of continent at Fountain, Oregon. Soooo, I turned left. Last night I camped at Humbug Mt St Park just south of Port Orford which, BTW, claims to be the most westerly city in the lower 48. Port Orford, as is just about all this part of Oregon, is a logging town. I'm talking the classic float 'em down the river logging technique. This is not a very affluent place - there's essentially nothing here but logging and tourism neither of which pay particularly good wages. But the campground was one the better ones I've seen and was nicely sheltered from the ever present wind. Last night I watched the sun set from a black sand beach with all those huge rocks you always see in the photos of the southern Oregon seacoast. I'm about 80 miles from Crescent City, CA and US 101. It was chilly this morning. I could see my breath! Also, I wore my jacket all day yesterday and even added a flannel shirt yesterday PM as I got close to the coast. The clerk in a convenience store confirmed that this is fairly normal weather. At 5PM yesterday it was 67 degs with a 25 knot wind off the ocean. It's beautiful, but I wouldn't want to live here. 

On to California! Jim

Observation: The central Oregon coast has some incredibly beautiful vistas. Almost everyone has seen photos of the huge rocks which project up through the surf all along the coastline. These are impressive indeed and one can't help but wonder what geological forces caused them to stand so majestically and be weathered to such a smooth and rounded shape. Unfortunately along with the striking beauty comes what I consider to be very uncomfortable weather. The almost constant damp wind blowing off the cold Pacific would be untenable to Southerner like me. Just a couple of miles inland and it's summer again but out there at the edge it was pretty bitter even in late July. I suppose the saving grace is that the ocean wind has the same tempering affect year round and unlike the east coast, the winters on the coast here aren't all that much colder than summer.

I had some difficulty finding a decent places to eat along the central Oregon coastline. Although there were restaurants, it seemed that many of them had closed down. The economy here seems very dependent on the logging industry and doesn't display the prosperity so evident in many other parts of the country.

Morning on the Oregon coastline - I would soon be riding in that cold fog

This picture is a requirement for anyone visiting Oregon - ever seen this on a calendar?

A "small" redwood in northern California 

Shot "inside" the Avenue of the Giants. The photos don't do either justice, the redwood trees are MOST impressive.

Date: 7/21/00
Subject: Thur/Fri

After camping at Humbug State Park in Oregon my day started well enough. I stopped at some of the normal overlooks and took some of the expected photos of the Oregon coastline. Hiway 101 was a fine ride, lots of little towns but that's part of the experience too. One part you MUST see if you're ever driving through northern CA is the alternate scenic route called Avenue of the Giants. As you might expect this is a road through one huge grove of redwoods after another. The trees crowd the road on both sides and tower hundreds of feet overhead and it's so dark beneath the canopy that the cars turn on their headlights. Wow! It was sunny and warm on 101 but unfortunately by the time I got out to Hiway 1 (the PCH) it had clouded over and the wind was blowing at a steady 20-30 mph. I kept putting on more layers but it was raw. Originally I had planned to camp on the coast and some people were doing so but I decided it was just too brutal for me there. I rode a great twisty road (CA 20) about 25 miles inland to Willet where it was still sunny and warm. Stayed in a very nice KOA campground. Since the forecast for the coast was the same for today (cold, damp and windy), I elected to ride through the much more pleasant Sonoma / Napa valley wine country. When I arrived in San Francisco this PM (from the eastern side) the clouds where evident over the coast. Sure enough, it's cold, damp and windy. Today is July 21st and people are walking around here bundled up like January. Brrrrr. Right now I'm in the hotel waiting for Jamie's plane. Isn't it odd, I felt a lot safer all by myself in the Oregon backwoods than I do here. The four-legged critters don't pose nearly so much danger as the two-legged ones. 

Jim

Observation: I can't say enough about the Redwoods. Having spent my entire life "back east", I had never seen anything quite like these majestic stands of giants. They're just, well, incredible. If you've never seen them first hand you owe yourself this experience on any trip to the Pacific northwest.

The wine country was interesting. I would like to spend more time there some day. Because I was on the bike, I didn't attempt to visit any of the wineries (I don't drink when riding a motorcycle - there are enough risks already without adding that!) but I can see how a leisurely day or two exploring the wineries by car could be very entertaining. I had really wanted to arrive is San Francisco via the Golden Gate bridge but because I was so far inland that would have taken a significant "jag" to the west. Instead I came in from the east with the full intention of visiting the landmark bridge with Jamie on Saturday. After picking up Jamie at SFO around midnight, we rode back to the hotel in incredibly gusty winds. The short hop up the freeway found us blowing all over the lane - we were glad to finally get off the elevated freeway onto the more sheltered surface streets. We got back to the hotel around 2:30am and I was pretty uneasy about leaving my bike in the dark parking lot. The Hampton Inn here near the airport is a high rise in a built up area and I was more than a little worried that I'd get up Saturday morning to find it was MIA. Maybe my uneasiness was unjustified but after days of relative isolation in quiet campgrounds and state parks, I found urban San Francisco to be more than a little intimidating. Fortunately the ST was right where I left it but it was cold and windy on Saturday like the day before. Jamie and I went downtown to see some of the tourist sites but because it was so windy we elected not to go to the Golden Gate. By the time we walked and rode around a bit, visited the SF Museum of Modern Art and had lunch it was time for us to start down the coast to our campground at Big Sur.

 Mark Twain wrote something to the effect, "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." Welcome to sunny California Jamie - We thought we would freeze!

The "rotunda" at the SF Museum of Modern Art. Some of it was interesting; some of it was crap - What is art anyway?

 Yep, that's Jim alright in downtown SF

Some Pacific Coast Hiway shots

Observation: It should be no surprise that the ride down the Pacific Coast Hiway out of San Francisco was beautiful. This was Jamie's first glimpse of the Pacific and needless to say she was impressed. However, the hilite of our day (and maybe even the entire trip) was just before sundown as we were approaching Big Sur. Combining the orange and red beauty of the sun setting into the Pacific on our right, the striking, rugged beauty of the green California coastline and Big Sur ahead of us and the full sensual impact provided by experiencing it all on the motorcycle, we were struck literally speechless. We'd been conversing fairly regularly on the helmet intercoms all afternoon but we both fell silent as we absorbed the experience. Later in the campground we both commented on how neither of us wanted to speak during those few minutes just before sunset - it seemed as if talking would somehow detract from the moment. It is a moment that sticks in my memory with such vividness, it's almost like being there again each time I recall it.

Our campsite at Big Sur - yes, those are redwoods all around
 

The motorcycle was really loaded - there wasn't much room for anything else

Observation: The campsite at Big Sur was packed with campers but even so a beautiful place. Nestled in a redwood grove, our tent was surrounded by a canopy of 200 foot trees in a 25 - 30 foot circle and the ground was covered with dropped redwood "needles". In the next campsite was a group of young adults (4 or 5 couples with lots of beer) who had come to party and party they did. I can still hear someone named Beth singing "Won't You Marry Me Bill?" until the wee hours of the morning. Actually, we both went to sleep without any problem but I did wake up a couple of times during the night to the slightly off key rift of that old Fifth Dimension song. Needless to say our neighbors were a little slow to arise the next morning. We were long gone before there was any sign of life at their campsite.

Close to San Simeon on the PCH

Breaking camp at Shaver Lake

Bridalveil Falls (Yosemite)

Date: 7/25/00
Subject: Sat thru Mon

Jamie and I have been so busy for the last three days I haven't had time to journal. Her flight was about an hour late arriving Fri (around midnight PDT) and by the time we got something to eat and got back to the hotel it was approaching 2:30 local time and 5:30AM by her body clock. Needless to say we were both exhausted. Sat AM was cold and windy but went downtown anyhow. Enjoyed checking out the Nob hill, Chinatown area and visited the Museum of Modern Art. At around 3PM we started our trip down the Pacific Coast Hiway. Even though it was still cool we enjoyed this ride a great deal. Our campground for the night was at Big Sur and as we approached this area just before sunset we were both at a loss for words to describe the beauty of the harsh coastline. We camped under a canopy of 200 foot redwoods at Big Sur. On Sun we continued down the PCH all the way to Cambria. More stunning vistas of course, but notably we also saw a couple of herds of sea lions sunning themselves and were, like everyone else, amazed by the opulence of the Hearst castle. In the afternoon we nosed inland towards the Sierra National Forest. In order to get there we had to cross the San Joaquin valley. Miles and miles of irrigated fields - can you spell H - O - T? It was worth it though when we finally arrived at our heavily wooded campsite at 5000 foot high Shaver Lake. Monday was a relatively short mileage day since we only traveled to Yosemite. Got some great photos at Bridalveil falls and had a fun 2.5 hours floating down the frigid Merced River on a rented raft. Yosemite is a bit crowded for my tastes and by the time we got something to eat, showered, did a load of laundry and drove to our campsite it was about 11. Our neighbors turned out to be from Richmond, VA and we visited with them for an hour or so before turning in. In the dark this campsite felt almost completely isolated. Now, in daylight, I see we are pretty much surrounded by other campers. Well, I've let Jamie sleep in for a while as I write this but we probably need to get going. It's back to San Francisco today (hopefully the Golden Gate won't be fogged in this time). We've had a great time and seen some really neat stuff. Hopefully Joe and I can do something like this too. 

Jim and Jamie

Observation: We had an enjoyable campfire at our campsite in Big Sur - had to buy a bundle of wood of course but it was worth it. The wood was some kind of cedar. It smelled great and all the popping and cracking was nice. Jamie and I shared a couple of beers before turning in for the night. We were both pretty tired. When we set out the next morning the weather was typically cool Pacific coast fare but wasn't long before the day began to heat up. Enroute to our second campsite at Shaver Lake in the Sierra National Forest we had to cross the farming country of the San Joaquin valley. It's miles and miles of low altitude irrigated crop land of course and not only was it hot, there was very little wind and the humidity was oppressive. Sometime during the early afternoon we came upon a MacDonald's restaurant. It was AIR CONDITIONED and we hung around like vagrants for at least an hour just absorbing the AC. By the time we left the "heat of the day" as my dad would have called it had passed. We started the climb up to Shaver lake after dinner, probably around 6 or 7pm, and as the altitude increased the temperature dropped precipitously. At one point we pulled off at an observation point to stretch and donned more clothing. By the time we got to our campsite around dusk, we looked like we were dressed for winter riding. At Shaver lake we scavenged for firewood in the forest and enjoyed another evening campfire. This Jamie's first night in bear country so we had to leave our toothpaste, hair stuff and so forth in the "bear box" provided by the campground. Once again we slept like the dead. I kinda like this outdoor stuff.

Yosemite was interesting. It was a little more crowded than I prefer but still fun. The trip down the Merced by raft was beautiful and we passed waders (homo sapien variety), deer, elk and all manner of small critters on the river banks. The water in the Merced snow/glacier melt and as such is pretty brisk. Jamie actually went in at one point but didn't stay very long. It was too cold for me. After our raft trip we stopped at bathhouse/laundromat to wash ourselves and our clothes. By the time we grabbed a bite to eat and left for our campsite it was getting dark and by the time we got there it was pitch dark. Along the way we saw a lot of yellow eyes in the woods - not sure what those were but I'm glad they stayed put.

Date: 7/25/00
Subject: Tues The trip back to San Francisco was relatively uneventful. It wasn't nearly so hot as our trip across the San Joaquin valley a couple of days before and did I comment earlier about how wonderful the fresh fruit is in CA? Most days since I've been here I've stopped sometime during the day to buy tree-ripened nectarines or peaches - YUM! We did see one unusual thing today. Somewhere around Livermore we topped a hill to see what seemed like a thousand windmills churning away. The landscape was totally devoid of man-made objects except for the windmills which were everywhere. Jamie commented that it looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie. By the time we got to SF, ate, got a motel room and we each enjoyed a long, badly needed shower we both realized we were exhausted. We had talked about doing a little more sightseeing but instead we crashed for a few hours prior to her 11pm flight time. To make a long story short, Jamie got home tired but otherwise fine and I got a good night's sleep before continuing my journey. 

Jim

Observation: About the same time we came across the windmill "farm" at Livermore, I spotted another rider in my rear view. When I first saw him he was probably 1/2 mile back and was noticeable because he was lane-splitting. It didn't take long for him to catch us and he turned out to be a "chippie" running down the center line at about 90mph. The other drivers seemed to accept this "dangerous" behavior as normal. Back east he would have gotten lots of attention splitting the lanes with only a foot or two on either side at that speed.

The Pacific coastline around Big Sur

Date: 7/26/00
Subject: Wed

I slept in, what can I say other than I needed it. When I finally did get started, I retraced some of the PCH we had ridden 3 days prior. This time however I wasn't racing against sunset and I stopped to take some pictures. It was nearly perfect for motoring with clear skies, sunshine and a temperature of around 68 degs. Since traffic was sparse I made very good time and decided around midday to go all the way into Long Beach. This made the day a bit on the long side at 450 miles but it was worth it to visit with relatives there and sleep in a comfortable bed for two consecutive nights. You just gotta love those LA freeways. I rode more multilane road during the final 90 minutes of the day than I have in the 7K miles since I left home. Jim 

Date: 7/28/00
Subject: Thurs Today was recovery and maintenance day. Slept late, washed the bike (first real wash since I left), changed the oil (last done in a motel parking lot in Butte, Montana. Afterwards Carl and I took the bikes (he rides an Harley Davidson ElectraGlide) down the coast. Joe and Jamie would have loved Huntington and Newport beaches with the thousands of young people sunning, surfing, skating and biking. There was a large skate park at Huntington I've seen on MTV (well yeah, sometimes I watch MTV when no one is looking). On the return trip I got to be a real CA biker lane-splitting on the nearly stopped 405 Expressway. Actually, that's real tense - I'm kind of glad it's not legal back home and I'm real glad I left the saddlebags off the ST this morning. Since tomorrow will be hot I plan to leave at 6am and ride to Las Vegas. Probably get there before noon but even so it'll probably be over 100degs - guess I'll try to stay wet! 

Jim

 Sunset at my campsite near St George, Utah 

Date: 7/28/00
Subject: Yes, but it's a dry heat

As planned I escaped LA before the morning rush. I left Carl's & Judy's house in Long Beach (4 miles from the Pacific) at 6am and arrived in that Mecca of good taste and culture called Las Vegas a little after 11. It was as pleasant 66 degs in Long Beach but after I crossed the San Bernardino Mtns it warmed up fast. I don't know how hot it actually got today but I'm sure it was well over 100. Actually, I surprised myself at how well I handled the heat. I wore a long sleeve shirt and kept a wet bandana tied around my neck. I also used my Camelback all day. I drank at least 3 liters of water in addition to a couple of other drinks. Despite the heat I cruised the entire Las Vegas strip. I guess there's a different crowd at night but I'm positive the bunch that was milling about at noon today is the same group of people I see every time Nancy makes me go to Pigeon Forge. Man, they sure get around. I'm not a gambler and not really a Wayne Newton fan either so it didn't take me long to get my fill of the place. Since it was still early, I decided to press on. Right now I'm in a campground close to St George, Utah. Tomorrow I plan to get a daybreak start on Zion National Park and then the Grand Canyon. I'm on my way back home now of and, in fact, crossed back into the Mountain time zone this afternoon. I've been 7,800 miles since I left home three weeks ago today and I've definitely had an adventure by any standard. However by the time I get home next weekend I think I'll be good and ready! 

Jim

Observation: You know it's HOT when you're cooler with your helmet visor closed than open. The air was so hot today in the desert (one thermometer indicated 114 degrees!) that riding with my visor opened or even cracked was unbearable. It felt as is someone was pointing a hair dryer at my face. Even though I was sweating with the visor closed, at least it didn't feel like a convection oven. I totally saturated my clothing with water several times but would be almost completely dry within about 10 or 15 minutes.

  

7/31/00 Subject: Saturday, July 29
Had a really nice day today in Zion and Grand Canyon Parks. I left St George a little later than planned so it was a bit warm in Zion but the higher altitude of the Colorado plateau (it's about 9K feet where I'm camping tonight) made the afternoon very nice. Zion is pretty but the Grand Canyon is, well, GRAND. It would be impossible to describe this in words. I listened raptly to about an hour of Park Ranger explanation about how the canyon was and continues to be formed - very interesting, also very beautiful. There seem to be lots of Europeans here. I guess it must be holiday in many of the European countries. Camped next to me (I'm just outside the park) is a group from The Netherlands. One of them is touring by motorcycle - he came over with 75 others who have scattered to the four winds. He's here because he met his girlfriend at this place (she and the rest of the group are traveling by car). There are two couples who plan to be married in Las Vegas tomorrow - won't that be an interesting story to tell their kids! Tomorrow I'll probably ride the rest of the way into Durango. You may recall that one of the few fixed points on my itinerary was WESTOC 2000 on 7/31 - 8/3. WESTOC stands for Western ST1100 Owners Club. I belong to STOC which entitles me to attend this rally. When I last checked the STOC internet site there where almost 100 ST owners registered for this event. Some riding actually occurs at these things but it's also a time for a large group of people with similar interest to gather and shoot the bull. Should be fun. 

Jim

280 foot high Glen Canyon Dam (Colorado River) - those tiny little dots are cars and trucks on the span over the top
 

At Glen Canyon Dam, a sign warned about abrupt drop offs - I'd say so since there's nothing past the edge you see here except air. That white speck waaaayyyyy down below is a ski boat

Color country - Mounument Valley

Date: 7/31/00
Subject: Sunday

Sunday was a beautiful (at least most of it). While leaving Grand Canyon Park I saw deer (6 or 7 does and a 10 point buck), turkey, coyote, the famous white-tailed Grand Canyon squirrel and numerous ground critters. Interesting place. I spent most of the day in Navaho country including Monument Valley - yet another collection of strange geological formations. This whole area is just one weird rock formation after another. This is definitely Wiley Coyote country with mesas and bluffs scattered all about and an occasional large rock perched precariously on top of small spire of stone. I also visited Four Corners today (NM, AZ, CO, UT). I knew there wasn't much to it but, hey, it was only 10 miles out of my way and now I can say I've been there. Hit real rain today for the first time at Cortez, Co. Right after the worst of the storm I spotted another ST1100 rider in a motel parking lot so I stopped and spent the night in that motel too. Turns out Bob and his wife, Maureen are from Charlotte, NC so we're neighbors (on a relative scale). Well, time for chow then on to WESTOC! 

Jim

 Riding friends, John, Richard and Barry in Ourey, CO 

Date: 7/31/00
Subject: WESTOC Day 1

Today was pretty laid back compared to the recent pace. I rode over to Durango this morning but couldn't check into the motel until 1pm so I joined up with 3 other riders and we took a easy ride up to Silverton and Ourey. What neat little mountain towns. They've tried hard to maintain their mining town character and have largely succeeded. Even to the extent that a few years ago when the Silverton town hall burned down, they rebuilt it from the original 1905 blueprints including the custom woodworking inside. There's also a Silverton to Durango narrow gauge railroad. The locomotives are authentic turn of the century, coal-fired, hand-stoked steam engines belching steam, smoke and ashes. It's like stepping back in time to stand beside one of the soot covered machines listening to the hiss of escaping steam and feeling the immense heat from the boiler. I've seen lots of steam locomotives in museums before but they seem cold and lifeless in that setting. With a roaring fire in firebox and a full head of steam in the boiler these seem to have a life of their own - I guess you would have had to be there... At any rate this is a cool pace. CO 550 is a great road with an 11,000 foot pass. I guess it's obvious that I like it here! Oh BTW, there are about 130 ST1100 riders here so it's not hard to find a riding buddy and my roommate, Tommy (arranged via the internet) turns out to be a really nice guy. 

Later, Jim

Date: 8/2/00
Subject: WESTOC Day 2

Yesterday Tommy, my Arizona roommate, and I made a very nice 380 mile loop today including Pagosa Springs and Wolf Creek Pass made famous(?) by the old C W McCall country song. One can't help but imagine how the native Americans and early pioneers (mostly miners) must seen this area. I'm sure the winters are rugged, but even as hot as the southwest is now, it's pretty comfortable up here. On our way back to Durango around 6PM, we saw a huge thunderhead to the south so Tommy and I stopped in Silverton to eat dinner and wait out the storm. Some of the others in our group went on and had to contend with lightning, wind, hard rain and hail. Meanwhile we had a great dinner at Handlebars :-) Today I'm going to take it easy in preparation for a long day tomorrow. I probably go out and take a few pictures but not ride very far. The WESTOC Rally is over tonight after the "banquet" and I plan to hit the road early tomorrow to get as much mileage toward home as possible before it gets too hot. I hope to make Oklahoma or at least the Texas panhandle by tomorrow night. 

Later, Jim

WESTOC roommate, Tommy 

 I really liked the antique narrow gauge locomotives which run between Silverton and Durango. These engines are nearly 100 years old but work every day. They're all covered with coal soot and constantly belch smoke, steam, water and oil. Cool! 

A gathering of Honda ST1100s at the Iron Horse Inn. This may be the largest single group of this relatively rare species ever assembled. There were 130 participants on 98 ST1100s 

Date: 8/03/2000
Subject: Wed / Thurs

Well shucks! I thought I had the award for the longest distance / time enroute to WESTOC sewn up. But no, my 24 days and 8,300 miles wasn't enough. Can you believe there was a guy from Canada who had been on the road FORTY days and about 10K miles. Any other time I would have won going away!

I rolled out of the parking lot in Durango this morning at 5:30. The temperature was a brisk 43 degs. Tonight I'm in Pampa, TX (in the "scenic" panhandle - nothing but oil wells and dirt!) where the temperature was around 102 a little earlier this afternoon. I'm about 60 miles from the OK border but the next town of consequence will be on I-40 and I figured a room (can you say "air-conditioning"?) would less expensive here. I hope to get into west TN tomorrow if the weather holds.

Later, Jim

Sunrise in the Texas panhandle - needless to say I had this all to myself

Conclusion - Since I had to be back at work on Monday morning, at this point I made a bee line for home - mostly Interstate 40 (gag!) - not much to photograph.

My rear tire was nearly new when I left home and given my previous experience with Bridgestone Excedras on this bike, I expected 12K - 14K miles from it. I think the road surface in many of the western states (gravel in tar) is more abrasive than the smoother asphalt I usually ride and simply ate the tire faster than I expected. I probably could have made it home on the worn tire but when I got to Oklahoma City the weather forecast was for some rain between there and home. Plus, I knew I'd be truckin' along at an 80+mph pace on the interstate so I felt the prudent thing to do was to replace the tire while and where I could. I ended up calling the local Honda dealer who had a Dunlop D103 in stock that would fit. This particular Dunlop is not my favorite tire but since it was the only choice he had in my size, beggars can't be choosers. They were willing to "work me in" and although I had to pay list price for the tire ($170 mounted and balanced) they were very nice folks and they got me back on the road again in a couple of hours.

As I mentioned earlier, it was very hot (~114 degrees) in Nevada but I think the low humidity there made the high temperature at least tolerable. I was hoping to get past Memphis before stopping on Friday but on Friday afternoon in eastern Arkansas (maybe 60 miles west of Memphis), I simply couldn't take it anymore. I was having to stop about every hour and clean the thick coating of little black flies off my windshield and visor and although the temperature was "only" in the high nineties, the humidity must have been very close to 100%. It was unbearable so I opted for an air conditioned room with the intent of getting an early start on Friday and making the final 600 miles or so home before sundown.

I was up by 6am and rolling by 7 and got home before dark. The last three 600 mile interstate days were the least entertaining of the whole trip and it was the only time during the entire 30 days that my butt got sore! I stand by my opinion that the only time one should ride Interstate on a motorcycle is when there just isn't time to get there some other way.

What is there left to say? It's not possible to summarize the trip adequately. I can only state that the adventure met ALL my expectations and that I'm ready to do it again at the first opportunity. If you've spent the time to read this story, you probably already know that traveling by motorcycle is completely different than traveling by car. The experience on a bike is much more involved and much richer and that's probably why, like me, you like it. If you EVER get a chance to do this, go! You'll remember the experience for the rest of your life.

 EQUIPMENT AND LOGISTICS CONSIDERATIONS

Planning - This a largely personal thing. Some people like to have a lot of structure about their trips others are more comfortable "playing it by ear". By design I did not want this trip to be highly structured. With the exception of couple of fixed events and dates, I wanted the ability to vary route, daily distance, nightly accommodations, etc as whim or necessity dictated. So for me, planning involved mostly evaluating prospective routes for interest and "do-able" distances. In the end, the plan consisted of a few maps with an tentative route that would allow me to be at Chuck's house that first Sunday, in San Francisco to meet Jamie's flight and see her off again, a reserved campsite at Big Sur and one in Yosemite (since these are normally not available on drive-up basis) and accommodations in Durango for WestSTOC. Other than that, there was no plan.

Equipment - Obviously the most important piece of equipment is the motorcycle itself. My Honda ST1100 performed absolutely flawlessly. Of course, I would expect nothing less of a Honda. They build AMAZING machines. The ST was designed for this kind of duty and it meets the requirements extremely well. I can't recommend the machine highly enough for this kind of trip. I do think it is important to make sure your machine is top-notch condition and perform all periodic maintenance (valve adjustments, etc) before the trip to minimize having to do this or have it done on the road. Also, although I didn't need it and don't actually know how well it would have worked, I subscribed to AMA's MOTOW service just in case. Probably more importantly, I packed my Honda Sport Touring Association membership book which lists members in every city willing to help other members with emergencies.

When I started planning the trip I thought I would be riding without a passenger the whole time and did not have the GIVI top box you see in the pictures. However, when my daughter decided to join me in California, I anticipated a storage problem. Thankfully I bought and installed the GIVI before setting out. Although large and IMO, not particularly attractive, I don't think we could have possibly packed all our personal, riding and camping gear without it. I don't leave it or the bracket mounted on the bike except when needed but I have to say it provides incredibly practical, handy, DRY storage. Had, it just been me, I think the stock ST1100 hard bags would have been adequate.

My camping gear is not particularly sophisticated. But since I was not overly concerned about a few pounds of extra weight, I didn't opt for the pricey extreme backpacking gear. In retrospect, had it been rainy I would probably have wished for a better tent. As it turned out I never had to camp in the rain so it wasn't an issue. I did appreciate a warm sleeping bag since even in the summer, it can be quite chilly at night in the Rockies

Maintenance - I had to change the oil twice on the road (4K mile interval). Once in a motel in Montana where I just went to the local AutoZone and bought the oil and found an empty 5-quart oil bottle in their dumpster. I cut a hole in the side of the empty oil bottle and drained into it. Then when I had put the new oil in the bike I poured the used oil into that container. I labeled it as used oil and left it by the motel dumpster (don't know if they recycle there or not). The second oil change was at the home of my relatives in Long Beach - no problem there as they had everything needed to do the job correctly. Also, as noted above I did have to replace a tire in Oklahoma City at considerably more expense than it would have cost at home. I look at this like fuel - it's one of the unavoidable costs for the trip and you have to pay local market price. You'll need to anticipate the need for tires and just plan on it. If possible, make arrangements ahead of time with a local vendor. Most cities have independent motorcycle shops that sell at more competitive prices than dealerships. If you can identify these sources (another use for the HSTA membership book), you can probably save yourself some money.