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Ride Report: CA to OKC in 48hrs on a BMW
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<blockquote data-quote="Nanotech9" data-source="post: 822965" data-attributes="member: 676"><p>Stop for gas in Williams and head on up towards Tusayan and the Grand Canyon. Wanted to make it here by Sun-rise, but by Tusayan the sun had already been up for an hour or two. On the way in I stopped by the Air museum, but I believe they were closed. Noticed an airport on the south side of Tusayan and was impressed by the half dozen helicopters waiting to take people for scenic tours. I decided to get a couple of presents at the gift shop and some breakfast. I notice that almost all the workers in the area are Hispanic. No problem. I order breakfast in Spanish which is about a million times easier than ordering in English. The waitress is a short lady in her 40’s and super nice when she finds out I’m fluent and she doesn’t have to strain to take my order in English. Asks me where I’m from and wishes me well when I go on my way.</p><p></p><p>I change socks in the parking lot - new socks always feel so much better. I brought 3-pair along for the trip. Should have brought 4 or 5 pair.</p><p></p><p>Getting warmer. Long johns and long shirt come off. Hard luggage has been very handy to store clothes in. I set the bikes alarm off for the 3rd or 4th time already while packing my clothes away. Still not used to turning off an alarm on a bike. </p><p></p><p>Entrance to the Grand Canyon is $12 per person. Park employee at the gate chats with me for a bit about the bike. Says he wishes he could buy one and ride all over. I told him to check advrider.com and assured him he could find something in his price range if he looked long enough. I hope he gets himself one one day.</p><p></p><p>I see several other 1200GS riders in the area but don’t manage to catch up to them before they disappear. </p><p></p><p>I ride around the canyon for a while and finally stop to take pictures. Much deeper than I anticipated. My imagination didn’t go that far down. The canyon is impressive and you could stare at it for hours, but alas, I need to keep going. Trying to make it to Raton for the night.</p><p></p><p>The road leading away from the Canyon was very nice. Very tall trees lining either side with frequent glimpses of the canyon from the road.</p><p></p><p>Air Museum on the way to Tusayan.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>Grand Canyon... Deeper that it looks in photos.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>I believe thats the Colorado River down there somewhere...</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>I pushed the bike up on the main walking patch, snapped a few pics, and rolled it back down. A stunt like this in Oklahoma would surely have guaranteed me a ticket.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>Another point to view the Canyon from. Someone kindly offers to take my picture for me. I look better with the helmet on than off I promise.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>The road heading east away from the canyon is gorgeous!</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I’ve been up for about 28 hours at this point, and on the road for about 12hrs. I’m getting tired. The road leading east of the canyon is beautiful. I stop a few more times for pictures of the bike in front of the canyon from various angles.</p><p></p><p>Heading down Hwy 64 I notice these vendor stands every few miles. Seems to be native Indian vendors peddling their goods. I wonder if its made locally, of they import it from china now like the other souvenirs I bought earlier&#8230;.? I don’t stop and ask. Just click a few pictures on the way by. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Trees? what trees... I only see rocks...</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>Theres the last tell-tail sign of vegetation behind me...</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>Indian vendor stands... every few miles. Many of them empty.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Gas at the intersection of 64 and 89. Talk to a nice Mexican family traveling through. They live in Colorado somewhere and speak little or no English. Not a problem. The dad is impressed with the trip I’m making and asks me where I’ve just been. I tell him the Grand Canyon is les than an hour up the road. Hes never been and had no idea it was that close.</p><p></p><p>A group of Harley riders are at the gas station. I do the usual nod, and say hi and ask them where they’re headed. Grand Canyon. Good choice. I notice they don’t speak much English and have what I believe to be a German accent&#8230;. Not quite. They’re from the Czech Republic. WOW. And I thought my trip was long.</p><p></p><p>All the way from the Czech Republic to see the Grand Canyon. Notice Gas is a little higher out here, but not the highest on the trip.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>I think this was my first Full Throttle of the trip.... many more to come. Tried to down some water along with all the other bad drinks.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I continue on through Tuba City and on over to Kayenta. At this point I’m getting fatigued and my mind is still set on making it to Raton for the night. I know I’m lying to myself and know I wont make it, but refuse to give up this early in the game. The number of miles I’ve put on the bike so far is rather disappointing. I decide in the sake of making time, I’m going to stay on Hwy 160 through Kayenta instead of heading north on 163. The entire time I’m riding on over to Cortez I’m on long straight boring superslab and can see the mountains that 163 runs through. I’m disappointed I gave up so easily on such great scenery and traded it for this flat dessert. I’m also disappointed that I’m going to miss entering the 7th state on my trip as the road I’ve now chosen keeps me from entering Utah. Oh well, no turning back. </p><p></p><p>Gas in Kayenta. Not much else here other than the McDonalds.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>Cool Rock formations</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I stay on Hwy 160 at Teec Nos Pos and I keep seeing signs about the four corners&#8230; And it dawns on me that the 7th state quest is not completely lost. Still cruising at an accelerated pace, I literally blow by the sign for the Four Corners monument, and for a split second almost keep going, but decide I can take 5 or 10min to check it out. Anyway, I’ve been looking for a good reason to give the brakes a good squeeze and see what they’ll really do. Turns out they work great. (no worries, I checked the rear view first &#8211; not like I had seen a car behind me in miles anyway, but I checked).</p><p></p><p>I whip a ***** on the highway (still amazed how well this bike maneuvers at slow speeds) and head back up the hill to the monument entrance. I decide the $3 to get in is worth the pictures, pay my dues and head on in. I’m getting at least 3 pictures though to make the cost per picture reasonable. (Yes, I had to rationalize this in my mind before entering). When I roll up, I must say the monument was a bit disappointing. Its FLAT. WHO builds a FLAT monument?!?!?!? In fact, I was so disappointed that I rode around it once, parked my bike, snagged the camera and took a picture. Another rider there with his wife offered to take my picture with the bike and I agreed. They took three pics, for a total of 4. We’re averaged down to $0.75 a picture and I made it to Utah, BARELY. I’m happy. (yes, I know, utterly ridiculous, but this is what was going through my head) At least the flags were blowing nicely. I never removed my gear, and never actually walked up on the monument. In a hurry, gotta go.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The bike in front of the 4 corners and all the flags. No idea why they're at half-mast.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>Me and the bike. This is the second of 2 pictures that were taken of me and the bike on the entire trip (other than self portraits while riding lol.)</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>I know theres mountains, but otherwise, its FLAT. Flatter than i've ever seen in Oklahoma. </p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>The clouds are cool. </p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>I think this plateau is horny....?</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p><p></p><p>On the "oil" (as referred to in someones TAT report) Cool Shadows.</p><p><strong>[Broken External Image]</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nanotech9, post: 822965, member: 676"] Stop for gas in Williams and head on up towards Tusayan and the Grand Canyon. Wanted to make it here by Sun-rise, but by Tusayan the sun had already been up for an hour or two. On the way in I stopped by the Air museum, but I believe they were closed. Noticed an airport on the south side of Tusayan and was impressed by the half dozen helicopters waiting to take people for scenic tours. I decided to get a couple of presents at the gift shop and some breakfast. I notice that almost all the workers in the area are Hispanic. No problem. I order breakfast in Spanish which is about a million times easier than ordering in English. The waitress is a short lady in her 40’s and super nice when she finds out I’m fluent and she doesn’t have to strain to take my order in English. Asks me where I’m from and wishes me well when I go on my way. I change socks in the parking lot - new socks always feel so much better. I brought 3-pair along for the trip. Should have brought 4 or 5 pair. Getting warmer. Long johns and long shirt come off. Hard luggage has been very handy to store clothes in. I set the bikes alarm off for the 3rd or 4th time already while packing my clothes away. Still not used to turning off an alarm on a bike. Entrance to the Grand Canyon is $12 per person. Park employee at the gate chats with me for a bit about the bike. Says he wishes he could buy one and ride all over. I told him to check advrider.com and assured him he could find something in his price range if he looked long enough. I hope he gets himself one one day. I see several other 1200GS riders in the area but don’t manage to catch up to them before they disappear. I ride around the canyon for a while and finally stop to take pictures. Much deeper than I anticipated. My imagination didn’t go that far down. The canyon is impressive and you could stare at it for hours, but alas, I need to keep going. Trying to make it to Raton for the night. The road leading away from the Canyon was very nice. Very tall trees lining either side with frequent glimpses of the canyon from the road. Air Museum on the way to Tusayan. [b][Broken External Image][/b] Grand Canyon... Deeper that it looks in photos. [b][Broken External Image][/b] I believe thats the Colorado River down there somewhere... [b][Broken External Image][/b] I pushed the bike up on the main walking patch, snapped a few pics, and rolled it back down. A stunt like this in Oklahoma would surely have guaranteed me a ticket. [b][Broken External Image][/b] Another point to view the Canyon from. Someone kindly offers to take my picture for me. I look better with the helmet on than off I promise. [b][Broken External Image][/b] The road heading east away from the canyon is gorgeous! [b][Broken External Image][/b] I’ve been up for about 28 hours at this point, and on the road for about 12hrs. I’m getting tired. The road leading east of the canyon is beautiful. I stop a few more times for pictures of the bike in front of the canyon from various angles. Heading down Hwy 64 I notice these vendor stands every few miles. Seems to be native Indian vendors peddling their goods. I wonder if its made locally, of they import it from china now like the other souvenirs I bought earlier….? I don’t stop and ask. Just click a few pictures on the way by. Trees? what trees... I only see rocks... [b][Broken External Image][/b] Theres the last tell-tail sign of vegetation behind me... [b][Broken External Image][/b] Indian vendor stands... every few miles. Many of them empty. [b][Broken External Image][/b] Gas at the intersection of 64 and 89. Talk to a nice Mexican family traveling through. They live in Colorado somewhere and speak little or no English. Not a problem. The dad is impressed with the trip I’m making and asks me where I’ve just been. I tell him the Grand Canyon is les than an hour up the road. Hes never been and had no idea it was that close. A group of Harley riders are at the gas station. I do the usual nod, and say hi and ask them where they’re headed. Grand Canyon. Good choice. I notice they don’t speak much English and have what I believe to be a German accent…. Not quite. They’re from the Czech Republic. WOW. And I thought my trip was long. All the way from the Czech Republic to see the Grand Canyon. Notice Gas is a little higher out here, but not the highest on the trip. [b][Broken External Image][/b] I think this was my first Full Throttle of the trip.... many more to come. Tried to down some water along with all the other bad drinks. [b][Broken External Image][/b] I continue on through Tuba City and on over to Kayenta. At this point I’m getting fatigued and my mind is still set on making it to Raton for the night. I know I’m lying to myself and know I wont make it, but refuse to give up this early in the game. The number of miles I’ve put on the bike so far is rather disappointing. I decide in the sake of making time, I’m going to stay on Hwy 160 through Kayenta instead of heading north on 163. The entire time I’m riding on over to Cortez I’m on long straight boring superslab and can see the mountains that 163 runs through. I’m disappointed I gave up so easily on such great scenery and traded it for this flat dessert. I’m also disappointed that I’m going to miss entering the 7th state on my trip as the road I’ve now chosen keeps me from entering Utah. Oh well, no turning back. Gas in Kayenta. Not much else here other than the McDonalds. [b][Broken External Image][/b] Cool Rock formations [b][Broken External Image][/b] [b][Broken External Image][/b] [b][Broken External Image][/b] [b][Broken External Image][/b] I stay on Hwy 160 at Teec Nos Pos and I keep seeing signs about the four corners… And it dawns on me that the 7th state quest is not completely lost. Still cruising at an accelerated pace, I literally blow by the sign for the Four Corners monument, and for a split second almost keep going, but decide I can take 5 or 10min to check it out. Anyway, I’ve been looking for a good reason to give the brakes a good squeeze and see what they’ll really do. Turns out they work great. (no worries, I checked the rear view first – not like I had seen a car behind me in miles anyway, but I checked). I whip a ***** on the highway (still amazed how well this bike maneuvers at slow speeds) and head back up the hill to the monument entrance. I decide the $3 to get in is worth the pictures, pay my dues and head on in. I’m getting at least 3 pictures though to make the cost per picture reasonable. (Yes, I had to rationalize this in my mind before entering). When I roll up, I must say the monument was a bit disappointing. Its FLAT. WHO builds a FLAT monument?!?!?!? In fact, I was so disappointed that I rode around it once, parked my bike, snagged the camera and took a picture. Another rider there with his wife offered to take my picture with the bike and I agreed. They took three pics, for a total of 4. We’re averaged down to $0.75 a picture and I made it to Utah, BARELY. I’m happy. (yes, I know, utterly ridiculous, but this is what was going through my head) At least the flags were blowing nicely. I never removed my gear, and never actually walked up on the monument. In a hurry, gotta go. The bike in front of the 4 corners and all the flags. No idea why they're at half-mast. [b][Broken External Image][/b] Me and the bike. This is the second of 2 pictures that were taken of me and the bike on the entire trip (other than self portraits while riding lol.) [b][Broken External Image][/b] I know theres mountains, but otherwise, its FLAT. Flatter than i've ever seen in Oklahoma. [b][Broken External Image][/b] The clouds are cool. [b][Broken External Image][/b] I think this plateau is horny....? [b][Broken External Image][/b] On the "oil" (as referred to in someones TAT report) Cool Shadows. [b][Broken External Image][/b] [/QUOTE]
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