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So many things tried to derail this trip. A major project at work kept me insanely busy for the last three months and prevented leisurely planning for the trip, boots proved to not be water proof, gloves were not warm enough at less than 30 °, electrical gremlins hit my new trailer, software problems at work kept me up until midnight last night, Laurie had a toenail ripped of by her doctor for testing that proved to be nothing, my WiFi internet router died at home, etc, etc, etc.
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My Mom spoiled me with some good home cooking. I had a great visit with the folks and got on the road about 7:00AM.
I was riding through Menifee County when a sign caught my attention. I had all day to get to Dickson TN so I made a U turn and went back to check it out. While taking some photos a fellow parked across the road and approached me. I yelled "Howdy" and struck up a conversation.
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The goal today was to simply get to Conway without getting drenched. The forecast was for strong winds and a 100% chance of rain by the afternoon. I left this morning at 6:30AM to beat the weather. I even got off I-40 in Memphis and rode US64 so I could travel slower and avoid the traffic when the rain hit.
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The photo above sums up this day. Extremely windy, very cold and just a crappy day in general. 41 to 43 ° does not sound very cold but without my heated gear, I don't think I could have handled the weather today. And I have a bad cold.
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I'm still not feeling well and I did not get any killer photos. Last year I skipped out on the dinner at Pablo Doro Canyon and I was determined to go this year. I goofed and about the time I got to the canyon my fuel light came on. Uh oh! I figured I would be fine. Once in the canyon I caught up with another group and I assumed they knew where they were going. I was wrong.
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Slow day today. One segment of Old Route 66 I had planned to ride had a "Dead End" sign. And my drone did not cooperate to get footage of the gravel road out of Glenrio. But I hit some favorite spots. I always stop at Adrian, TX at the Route 66 Midpoint.
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Wow! What a day. I checked my weather app during the day and the wind gusts were in excess of 50 MPH and they were a cross wind. I had dust storms and fire smoke. Signs on I-40 warned of 0 visibility and advised drivers to now stop in the travel lanes. I had a tumble weed hit the windshield. So I am a little tired tonight.
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Today I picked up Laurie from the airport in Phoenix and I did not want to go to the motel in northern Phoenix first so I had plenty of time to kill. I needed a new front tire so I stopped at BTM in Show Low. They treated me right and had a great price for parts and service for 40 to Phoenix riders. I know George Bageant got a drive shaft there and they had the part in stock. Will definitely stop here again if I am in the area and need Gold Wing parts or service.
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A week before Laurie was to fly out to meet me in Phoenix she went to her doctor for a normal checkup. She had a dark spot on her big toe that looked like she had stumped her toe but it never went away or grew out. Her doctor took one look and said the toe nail had to come off. Laurie protested that she was traveling soon and wanted to wait. But her doctor said it had to come off that day and she would be good to travel in a week.
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We left Jerome AZ and traveled to Sedona and the canyon north of town. We were here with my brother and his wife in 2016. This is a beautiful area.
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Today was an easy day. After leaving the cabin at Monument Valley we headed north east toward Cortez, CO. We got some more photos of Monument Valley from the east side and of course we had to stop at Forrest Gump Point, the place where Forrest stops running in the movie Forrest Gump.
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We traveled from Cortez to Gunnison via CO 145 with a stop in Telluride for lunch. This was a beautiful ride with lots of snow on the mountain peaks. Our heated gear made for a very comfortable ride.
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We had a motel reservation near the Denver airport because we planned for Laurie to fly home from there. Those plans seemed doubtful at one point during the day.
The weather forecast called for snow and rain in Denver in the morning and a 50% chance of rain for an hour or so during our ride to Denver. The forecast for the previous day was similar and we had a great day so we were not too concerned. We should have been concerned.
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This year I completed my 2nd 40 to Phoenix ride. I was miserable for half the trip with a cold but it was still better than being at work. Even though we started this trip a couple of weeks later than last year the weather was colder for most of the trip. Also the winds across the plains states were worse than last year
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