cakirk2

[cakirk2]

What an incredible cross country ride. I feel so lucky and grateful to have had the opportunity to do such a trip. The support, encouragement and love from so many family and friends all along the way is invigorating. Thank you for opening your hearts and homes to me. I will never forget these past 60-days. :)

Thank you for following along here as well. Was fun to journal, shoot pictures and then write it all up. Thank you Debby for talking me into it! While I'm at it, how did I get so lucky to marry such an incredibly generous, big hearted woman? Thank you Debby - your love and support mean the world to me. So good to be home with you.

I visited with 28 family members & 26 friends across 18 states, 8,853 miles in 56 days. Slept 34 nights in the tent, 10 nights with family or friends, 6 hotels, 5 Airbnbs. Met, chit chatted, talked bikes, shared a glass of beer/wine, watched a ball game or two, waved to, waved back, smiled at, smiled back, nodded & thumbs upped hundreds, if not thousands of different folks all along the way. Each one meant something to me.

Spent $5,500 total, about $100 per day. This includes a set of tires, $400, and a nice gift for Debby. Six hotels cost almost as much as 34 campsites. Gas was $650, Restaurants $675, snacks/drinks $500, MRE's $425. I figure I would have spent/cost at least $2,500 if I was home for those 56 days, so actually, the real trip cost was $3,000 or less. Not bad for a 2-month vacation! :)

I'll leave you with one of my all time favorite quotes. One that has graced my desk for the past 20 + years or so. Hugh Laurie (House).

"It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any."

[cakirk2]

Day 56. Eight weeks. Saturday, October 23. 378 miles. Cachuma Lake Rec Area to Gilroy, well, nope, HOME!

Up and on the road by 9 again. Got about a 225 mile day. Highway 154 out to 101 didn't disappoint. Got the dam photo :). Had to see my beloved Pacific Ocean so I took a side trip thru Morro Bay. That's the Big Rock at Morro Bay, the town & the ocean. Then the great ride Highway 41 East to Atascadero to get back on track toward Dave's.

Was a little after 11, I was hungry (last night's Red Beans and Rice wasn't holding me), passed a local hot spot, AJ's, pulled a youie, got a most excellent Huevos Rancheros on the back patio. Could be the best I've ever had. Right when I was done eating, Dave called.

"Have you been paying attention to the weather up here? It's supposed to get really ugly tonight, tomorrow and well into Monday. 5-8 inches of rain, high wind warnings, etc. I wanna see you and all, but unless you want to hole up here for three days, I think you should gitty up home today." I said I'd thought about it and would think about it some more on the way to his house.

A sprint for home would put me there between 5-6 p.m., flirting with dark, in the rain, after 350+ miles on the road. Hmm. Not sounding good, though, if I don't sprint home, I will most likely be at Dave's well into Monday, possibly Tuesday. Hmm.

Got to Gilroy, felt good. Gassed up, ate a snack bar, drank bunch of water. Feeling even better. 150 miles or so to home. Went for it.

Mostly dry thru San Francisco. Got the obligatory Vista Point pics of the GG Bridge and SF skyline. Off and on sprinkles next 30 miles, full on steady rain final 30 miles. Minimal wind :). Worked out well - rain washed my bike, jacket, pants, boots, gloves. :)

Felt good to pull in the driveway, sneak thru the side garage door, peak inside and see my girl Debby. She gives the best hugs!!

Hey! I found some Fall Colors! :)

Final/final re-cap with facts and figures, general thoughts, and a few other tid bits post still to come. :)

[cakirk2]

Day 55. Friday, Oct. 22. 248 miles. Joshua Tree NP to Hollywood Los Angeles to Cachuma Lake Recreation Area (NW of Santa Barbara)

Up early, on the road before 9. Got about 135 Freeway miles to Mary, then another 110 or so to campground - about 1/2 Freeway. I should be a bit early for Mary lunch, so I'm gonna try and see a few sites along the way.

No sites, just too dang much traffic/navigation going on for me to be trying to find stuff and stay alive at the same time. Found Mary's place ok - up a steep windy road in Hollywood. Unique neighborhood, very cool home, backyard is super awesome. Mary got us a small pizza and salad delivered - yummy. Was great to see her and catch each other up with our lives. Thank you Mary - let's do it again before 4 years sneaks up on us again. :)

Took off around two for Cachuma Lake CG - 110 miles or so. Traffic was pretty brutal - Friday folks trying to get home early or out of town for the weekend. Lots of stop and gos. Made it - highway 154 was a nice ride. Great family campground with a lot of groups camping together. Lots and lots of kids. Big camp sites so I wasn't too close to anyone really. Was a bit worried about late night parties - didn't happen :)

On to David P's house in Gilroy tomorrow for my last night on the road. Excited to see David, been quite a while, though, I'm tired, can smell the barn. Trying to resist the gallop home. Big, big storm supposed to be coming in with lots of rain & very high winds late tomorrow, early Sunday at home. Hmmm.

[cakirk2]

Day 54. Thursday, October 20. Off day, sort of. 75 mile ride thru and around Joshua Tree National Park.

Campground came to life last night. Got four new neighbors just before I went to bed (Friday night).

Young couple next to me are toying with each other, giggling, etc. while putting up their tent. Hmm, could this be a ditto of the young couple at Johnson Shut-Ins SP in Missouri? Hope so, I mean, not! :)

Kitty cornered to me arrived a nice Dodge home built full size Van. A solo gal in her high twenties. Another tent next to her with another 20 something solo gal. Then a solo young man with a hair bun, and a body built like I've never been, rolls in with a very nice jeep and a roof top tent.

I talked with Jesse for about an hour or so this morning. He's an IT guy traveling around the West with no real planned destination. He does project work on short contracts for company's all over the west coast. The projects typically last a month or two, then he's back on the road. He was on consecutive night 32 on this trip.

I like seeing people out and about just doing things, living life - inspires & humbles me. I have passed several bicycle travelers all along this ride. Those folks are the real adventurers.

Someone gently played the guitar up the hill from me after I turned in. Knew how to play, soothing.

Joshua Tree NP is very beautiful - if you like the desert, pretty weird looking trees, HUGE boulders growing out of the ground piled on top of each other, and sand. Um, I'm much more partial to greenery, forests, water (creeks, streams, ponds, lakes, oceans) than I am to the desert. Just not a desert guy I guess.

Very happy I came here for two nights though. Have wanted to explore this Park for a long time.

Connected with another long time work friend - Mary. She lives in Hollywood (LA). We're doing lunch tomorrow - Friday- on my way thru. Excited to see her! Been dang near four years. We worked & traveled the country together while working at the Horizon Big Table for 15-20 years. Mary's one of my faves - fun, 'normal', grounded & very good at what she does.

[cakirk2]

Day 53, Wednesday, October 20. 187 miles. Salome, AZ to Black Rock Canyon Campground in the Joshua Tree National Park.

Back in California! Two laners all day! Loved it. Spent a full day riding thru the Mojave Desert. Looking for a home for your old shoes? Got an old street sign you don't need or wanna make one? Pretty country, though, it is a desert. Like a HUGE desert. Nice ride.

Tried my Apple ear buds in my helmet again today. Loved the tunes across the desert, but the buds are pretty sketch in my ears. Not the best, but they get the job done. I'll look into it when I get home.

Got to the campground mid/late afternoon. It's desert with Joshua Trees instead of the Sahuaro's in AZ. Mountains are very rocky. Pretty country. I set up, took a short walk around. Glass of wine or two, cooked up some Gumbo, night night.

[cakirk2]

Day 52, Tuesday, October 19. 307 miles. Green Valley, thru Box Canyon & Hwy 83, thru Casa Grande, to Salome, AZ KOA.

Passed the 8,000 mile mark today.

Long day, but a great day. Steve fired up his Quad in the morning and we rode off together toward his favorite off-road playground, Box Canyon. We took the honorary pic, said our good-byes and off-road I went for 6-8 miles or so thru Box Canyon. Very scenic, fun ride! Highway 83 was a nice paved sweeper road.

I had hooked up with Kirby and Anita for lunch in Casa Grande, so I had to really sweep the sweepers to get there in time. I worked at Horizon with them both for just shy of 20 years. Anita was always so gracious to make me look good, or not let me look bad. Not a small task mind you. I learned a lot from her husband Kirby. They're great people, happy we were able to re-connect. Thanks for an awesome lunch!!

Onward to my first campground in over a week. Running low on time, I hit the freeway up and thru Phoenix, yuck, to a rule breaking KOA at that. But again, why would anyone want to camp in Salome, AZ? It's the KOA or ride on. Place was clean, one night and a full moon.

I needed the break from campgrounds, though felt good to set up camp tonight. AND, my Austintacious Tortilla Soup is back to being Austintacious :).

[cakirk2]

Day 51, Monday, October 18, 150 miles. Mesa to Green Valley, AZ.

Back roads all day - didn't put a mile on the freeway. :) Nice ride. Went thru Oro Valley - beautiful, lunched there. Stopped at Rancho Resort in Sahuarita, mom and Tom's community, to take a pic of their old house and to try and grab a short visit with my mom's best friend at Rancho Resort, Gloria. Gloria helped out a lot when both my mom and Tom passed away. She was home and had some time for a visit, so we did, and it was good for us both!

On to bro Steve's house just down the road in Green Valley. Got there mid afternoon, chatted it up a bit, then hit Coaches Sports Bar to watch a little MNF and baseball playoffs. Good time, great football game. Home and bedtime.

Nice to see Steve. He's doing well, has a nice home, enough friends, a great PT job he enjoys, and a couple great toys to keep him sane. Happy for him.

[cakirk2]

Day 50, Sunday, October 17. Off day, um, kinda. 108 miles

Why all the Airbnb's Scott. Mostly it's too cold at night for me to camp. Why not just grab a hotel?

Bnb's are 25-50% cheaper than hotels. I like the personal nature of them over the sterile hotel experience. I like the xtra amenities - privacy (no other people around, usually), kitchen or resemblance to one, real coffee, cookies, danish, Smart TV's etc. Mostly though, I like the sense of adventure - they're kinda like a box of chocolates, you're never quite sure what you're gonna get. Huh! I just made that up! Loved my Mesa Bnb - neighborhood a little sub par, but the place was awesome.

Lazy morning, blog, read, shower. Took off for Susan's around 11. She and Brett bought a second home in North Scottsdale. They were there hanging out (they left day then after I left them in Highlands Ranch). Beautiful home in a great neighborhood - happy for them. Thanks for the visit, again! You guys officially win the coveted Double Dipper Visit award! Keep your eye on the delivery truck, your prize is on the way! Off I went to see my friend Marlin and his family in Gilbert.

Marlin and I worked together for almost 20 years. He and his family are just plain fun to be around. So polite, respectful, engaging and well, just plain fun! They made me an incredible going away plaque when I changed jobs there. Christina cooked up some excellent Burgers and I almost beat dark home. Thanks for the hospitality Posvar fam!

[cakirk2]

More from the Highway 60 ride. Incredible. Just realized I didn't get a pic of Matt! What was I thinking, or not thinking. My apologies Matt - I owe you one.

[cakirk2]

SDay 49, seven weeks. Saturday, October 16. 205 miles. Saint Johns, AZ to Mesa, AZ

It's 7 a.m. and 28 degrees outside. Gonna be in the mid-nineties in Mesa this afternoon - 65 degree swing :).

Took off headed for the tree filled thru Payson route instead of the Highway 60 canyons route. Got to the small town of Concho, where the two routes meet, slowly rode around a bend and this very cool little Catholic Church appeared. Photo Op! I take a few pics while on the bike, start to ride off and I hear someone yelling Hey!, Hey!, look over and here comes a man in a brisk walk coming my way.

He tells me the church is open if I'd like to come in. So I did. Very cool little church. He asked me if I was Catholic, I said no, he said, 'that's ok. come on in'.

Joe Trujillo is the caretaker of the San Rafael Church, a Farrier & Blacksmith, a well versed local historian. He and his wife live off the grid atop a knoll just outside of town. Nicest, kindest, gentlest man you could ever meet. 45 minutes later I took his advice and changed my route to go down thru the Highway 60 canyons instead of the tree lined Payson route.

I'd hooked up dinner plans with my friends Shawn and Jackie near Mesa that evening so I needed to gitty up. Shawn and I sat at the Horizon big table together for dang near 20 years. We've been through a lot professionally and personally together.

The 75 + mile ride from Show Low to Globe was one of the best roads and scenery I've ridden. Just outstanding in both regards. Loved the ride. Breathtaking landscape. Was thanking Joe in my helmet thru each canyon.

Shawn, Jackie happened to be in Mesa late afternoon, so they graciously picked me up at my Airbnb, which is very nice. Their son Matt met us at their house. Beautiful home by the way - pool, outdoor kitchen, side yard bar, dang near a full on apartment basement, very homey.

Shawn perfectly grilled up incredible Wagyu filets for us all. We caught up, told stories, watched ASU lose to Utah :( - had a fun evening together. Was great to see them. I left with a gifted bottle of wine, a small flask of one of Shawn's favorite whiskeys, and a warm smile. Matt dropped me off on his way home. Thank you for your awesome hospitality Shawn, Jackie and Matt! Such generous souls.

[cakirk2]

Day 48, Friday, October 15. 208 miles. Albuquerque, NM to Saint Johns, AZ

Feeling like the cold, windy weather really put a damper on my experience with New Mexico's beauty and what it has to offer. I didn't take many side trips to see additional sites, nor did I take enough pictures. Next time. :)

Woke to a cold, sunny, windy, dry sky & ready for the day's ride. Getting used to riding off in the in low 40 degree temps. Tired of it, but used to it. Had a 200 mile day - off highway routes weren't all that appealing on my Butler Map, so I chose to ride the first 75 miles on Interstate (40), then the final 125 on two lane highways.

Windy and cold - my attitude and frustration with this consistent pattern was becoming visible. I didn't eat breakfast, so I was hungry and cranky. 75 miles in I grab a sandwich in the little town of Grants. Food and the thought of hitting 2-laners the rest of the day helped my attitude issues. Wind was also letting up more and more as the day went on. Missed a couple three awesome photo ops along the Interstate. Bummer. Much of the NM high desert countryside reminds me of Baja, Mexico's desert countryside. A lot of poverty with homes in disrepair; homes piece-mealed together; homes half built; and abandoned mobile homes, cars, RV's litter the landscape.

Enjoyed riding thru the Ramah and Zuni Indian Reservations. Quite scenic, and both seem to be doing ok financially. The countryside is as described above, but the small towns appear to be doing ok.

Airbnb in Saint Johns, AZ is a 4 bedroom country home. It was me and three other guys that are working in the area for a short while. One of them was an apprentice lineman - works out of the IBEW hall in Tucson, AZ. It was fun for me to chat with him. Bobby has taught me enough about line work that we were able to talk about the trade.

They were slobs - young working guys trying to make a living. One night for me was fine - they were up and off to work well before I got up. Very quiet and peaceful morning.

[cakirk2]

Day 47, Thursday, October 14. 108 miles. Embudo to Albuquerque

Beautiful, sunny blue sky this morning. Bit chilly, but dry. Slept good, needed it. Felt out of sorts for the past 2-3 days. Brain fog, don't feel sharp. Elevation?

Ate healthy MRE breakfast out back along the Rio Grande River. Beautiful spot. On the road at 11 - supposed to be 45-60 all day, dry but windy. About 1/2 way to Albuquerque it hit me. Why am I riding on a 4-lane highway? Took next exit.

I didn't set Google Maps to avoid highways, nor did I check my New Mexico Butler Maps for best roads south. What? Been doing this for 47 days and you didn't do what? idk. Too late to re-route. Would of made for a very long ride day, it was still cold, windy and I just wasn't feeling it. Iron butted it to Albuquerque. Irritated at myself. Not much to look at on the ride down - high desert scrub with a few mountains on the east side of the road.

Got to Old Town Albu, and weather turned perfect! Mid 60's, sunny and NO WIND! Wow. Played tourist. Very cool with tons of history. Not many pics, I know, but tough to take decent pics of shops and cafes and art galleries. Found a great place to watch the big SF Giants/LA Dodger game tonight - Seasons. Great food and very nice bar area. Me and a 1/2 dozen Dodger fans. Tough loss for SF. Bummer.

Missing Debby.

My Airbnb is walking distance to Old Town, which is why I chose it. Pretty rough though - converted garage into studio with bath. So that's why it was so cheap. :)

[cakirk2]

Day 46, Wednesday, October 13. 208 miles, Salida to Embudo, NM

Listened to the wind howl all night long outside my Hostel room. I couldn't seem to relax - always felt like I couldn't catch my breath. Elevation? Anxiety? Probably a little of both. Not much sleep.

Checked weather very, very, closely, then checked it again and again. Clear, sunny, but cold (40's) and windy all along my route south. Decided best way to tackle the day was with a full belly, and waiting until temps rose enough that I was confident it would be mid/high 30's over my favorite Pass. Yummy big breakfast at Robin's of Salida, rolling down the road at noon.

Same lit sign at the base as yesterday - 'Be Prepared. Expect Winter Conditions'. 36 degrees at the top of Poncha Pass, dry road and sky, windy. Next 200 miles, more of the same, 'cept temps in the 40's. Winds came and went. The final 75 miles were pretty rough. Strong westerly wind blowing me around quite a bit.

Missed multiple photo ops along the way - hate that! Just too dang cold and windy to try and stop, plus my cold weather gloves don't work very well with my camera.

Google Rio Grande Gorge - very cool. There's a bunch of architecturally strange homes 25 miles or so north of Taos on highway 64. They're very quirky and 1/2 underground - probably 50 or so homes. Worth a look if Google can find something on it.

Taos was a cold, windy road construction mess. No stop for me. Deb and I will come explore one day.

My Airbnb is a quirky little place out in the country south of Taos along very scenic Highway 68. I had it all to myself. It's a UnU Retreat Center. Google that. Reader's digest - "Un'U Center aims to facilitate a deepening experience into the mechanics of human's consciousness and the healing of the mind-body-soul complex." Huh?

Um, yea, I'm a new man. :)

[cakirk2]

Day 45, Tuesday, October 12. 30 miles. Salida to Salida.

Yea, no pictures today, just this family outside my Hostel room window.

Reservations = schedule, timeline, commitments, destinations. That's why I don't care for them - changes my focus.

What a difference 2,000' makes.

Huge cold front moving thru AZ, NM & CO arrived on my route thru CO yesterday, and will continue thru Friday - nice. Yesterday's ride was spent in the 40's. Knowing I wouldn't be camping in these temps, I did what I rarely ever do - made Airbnb lodging reservations thru Friday. Smart guy, right? Airbnb reservations are nonrefundable if canceled within 7 days of arrival - that's me.

I was heading south to Embudo, NM, just south of Taos today. About a 200 miler. Weather forecast was not pretty all along the way. 35-45 degrees, rain, and a high wind warning from the Nat'l Weather Svc. Great day for a ride. Biggest hurdle is getting thru 9,000' Poncha Pass - the first 15 miles or so of my day's journey. Salida is at 7,000'.

Forecast said the worst of it was due around noon, so being a smart guy, I figured I'd beat it thru the Pass, and deal with the cold, rain and wind at lower elevations along the way. After all, I got reservations to keep!

9 a.m., time to roll! Yep, very cold, wet and windy. Gassed up at the base of Poncha Pass. Huge lit up sign says 'Be Prepared! Expect Winter Conditions'. Yea well, whatever. It's seven miles to the top of the pass. Temp keeps dropping with each mile. Starts flashing on my display at 38 degrees. Freezing rain, snow flurries as I continue on. I'm thinking, all I gotta do is make it thru the Pass, then the road will descend, temps will rise, snow will turn to rain. I can do this.

At the top of the Pass, temp was flashing 32. BAM! Just like that, it was a full on friggin' snow storm blizzard. The road is not descending either. I gotta turn around, NOW! But how, where, I can barely see and I got a line of angry cars behind me.

A clearing in the oncoming lane allows the line to blow by me. As I continue on, I still can't see anywhere to turn around. I gotta do something. I can't make out any headlights in the oncoming lane, nor can I see any behind me anymore. FI - I'm pulling a youie right here in the middle of the highway. Right now!

I carefully but quickly slow to a crawl and just do it. Heavy sigh, success. Now to carefully but quickly get back up to 45 mph and navigate back thru the Pass and 2,000' down the mountain. Made it down same way I made it up.

Yea, top five on the dumbest things I've ever done list. OK, top three. Well, maybe...

Booked my Hostel room for another night, re-arranged upcoming reservations (bit costly, but Airbnb hosts worked with me), watched the SF Giants lose game 4. Rough day.

[cakirk2]

Day 44, Monday, October 11. 140 miles. Highlands Ranch to Salida, CO.

41 degrees as I rode out of the driveway to meet friend Dave at First Watch restaurant in Highlands Ranch. I haven't seen or talked to Dave in four years. We worked together for a dozen years and always enjoyed each other's company. Was like the time lapse didn't exist. Nice to catch up! What a great breakfast with a very unique menu. Thanks for breakfast Dave!

Colorado is beautiful - todays ride south to Salida confirmed it. Dave hooked me up with a few great roads, then onto 285 south, which was a nice ride as well. Spent a fair amount of time between 8-10,000', 42-52 degrees most of the way. I wasn't really cold - my cold weather gear did their job. Not sure if that will hold true much below 40 though. Hope I don't find out. :)

To the west of cool small town Buena Vista is a mountain range of 14,000 plus peaks. Mt Princeton is pictured as is Mt Ouray. Finally some tree color! Colorado is just beautiful - did I already say that.

Got to Salida around 3, couldn't check in till 4. Not sure how it happened but I found a very cool little brewery in town. Had a couple and chatted it up with several different folks there. Nice time. My hostel room is really a very nice boutique hotel room with a private bath. Great room, great day. Further south thru Taos, NM tomorrow!

[cakirk2]

Day 43, Sunday, October 10. 50 miles. Strasburg to Cherry Cricket in Denver, to Highlands Ranch, CO

What a great lunch with nephew John and his gal Miranda! :) I hadn't met Miranda in person, only thru her and John's Facebook posts. They chose a very cool, yummy & unique to Denver restaurant for us to meet - the Cherry Cricket in the hip & happening Cherry Creek area in central Denver. They came straight from the airport to meet me - returning from a wedding in northern Minnesota (where Miranda is from). She was familiar with the places I'd been several weeks prior. We had a great time meeting & catching up. Thank you for making it happen John & Miranda! Look forward to seeing you again soon.

My sister Susan was away for the weekend at her annual girls get-away weekend in Steamboat and hadn't gotten home yet (Brett was out of town at a work event), so I walked down to the Starbucks, had a cup of coffee and people watched. A lot of folks of every age were very fashionably dressed out and about having a good time. I fit right in with my Klim motorbike pants, boots and long sleeve gray t-shirt.

Susan and I got to her beautiful home in Highlands Ranch at the same time. Was great to see her - had been four years. Senior in HS niece Lauren was home, as were their two dogs. The dogs are polar opposite's of each other - one large Doodle with more energy than a pack of 6 year-olds, and one small Doodle that just wants to cuddle. Bro-in-law Brett got home little later, and then niece Rachel and her fian'ce Bryce came over! Like Miranda, Bryce and I had never met outside of Facebook. Rachel and Bryce met at Butler University in Indiana. They're getting married in Denver mid December - Debby and I are going! Yay!

We had a great evening together sharing stories and pictures from our respective recent adventures. Their hospitality was a solid 10, complete with my own little apartment downstairs! Thank you Susan, Brett, Lauren, Rachel & Bryce! See ya in a couple months! :)

If you couldn't tell, boy did I need this day. For a variety of reasons, the previous three days had been the roughest of the trip.

I did some weather forecasting research and discovered that my ride from Denver south thru NM to Chandler, AZ was full of high elevation & below freezing nights at each stop. What?! I can handle it, but I'm worried about my tent :). So I booked a hostel in Salida, and Airbnb's in Taos, Albuquerque, and Saint Johns, AZ. The rest of the ride home will be warm enough to get back in the camping groove. :)

[cakirk2]

Day 42, six weeks, Saturday, October 9. 142 miles, Saint Francis to Strasburg, KS

Old abandoned house in the middle of an open field in the middle of no where. Hidden, buried stories there.

When I checked into my hotel room, gal said 'they serve an excellent breakfast across the street at the Majestic Truck Stop.' Truck Stop is a very generous description. It's an old gas station with a pot holed, gravel driveway, a convenience store with a 4-5 old tables and chairs set up inside. Anyway, after my night at the fine Homesteader, what do I have to lose.

Walked in, 6-8 local, older gentlemen in bibs or an old t-shirt at a table of their own, rest of tables seat four - an older couple, bit scary family, and an open table, where I sat. Soon thereafter a man with a black leather vest tattered with a couple dozen Harley Davidson memorabilia patches, including one with his name, Norm, asks to sit down with me.

We start talking, I'd already ordered an omelet. Norm is from Parker, a very nice rapidly growing family suburb of Denver. Norm has had it with Colorado, and Parker in particular. Can't say enough bad things about both - stupid politicians, too many people, inadequate infrastructure, expensive, yadda, yadda, yadda. Norm and his wife bought a house in Saint Francis a year ago with the intent to retire in Saint Francis. OMG. We ate, we talked, we left. Norm turned up his music and roared off helmetless to his future retirement home.

The ride to Strasburg was the same ride as yesterday - including the cold, strong north wind shoving me around all day. The western 3/4 of Kansas is rough. Highway 36 the whole way. Endless ag fields, straight roads, poverty riddled run down small town after small town. No campgrounds, cause, well, why would anyone want to camp there? Strasburg didn't disappoint.

I'll spare you my experience at the Saloon Restaurant Car & Truck repair building across the street from my KOA Cabin. KOA wanted $51 for a wide open tent camp spot in a 20 mph brisk wind, or $63 for a Cabin - no brainer. Would have been the most expensive campsite of the trip, by a long shot. I thought I'd grab a beer and watch a few college football games across the street... OK mom, I can't think of anything nice to say so I won't say anything at all.

Do you have anything good to say today Scott?!

Tomorrow, Denver. Yay! :)