2014 Western Trip

[leo3wheel]

Ten more days before our western trip. Was originally going to ride west with our trike solo, but hate to leave Jeannette behind that long. She cannot handle that grueling ride. So we fly to Denver in 10 days and rent a cage. Trike rentals are hard to find and are expensive. We then ride to motorcycle ride-in at Canon City, CO. We have a KOA cabin for our stay. After that we drive west visiting national parks, other places of interest, and family and friends. Of special interest, since we have been west several times already, are Arches NP, Antelope Canyon, Saguaro NP and Sequoia NP. We have family in Phoenix and LA areas. Online friend plans to show us around Tucson. Should be an exciting trip!

 

[FRR]

Been out there several times on bikes and sure wish I was going again this year. Some of the greatest sites in the world. Have a great time

 

[TwoBye]

I am envious.

 

[SMSgt]

I don't know how much of your plans are set in stone but if I were making that trip, which I have, when you get to Montrose head south on US 550 towards Durango. Once you are in Durango go west to Cortez then to Monticello, UT. Once in Monticello you are back on your trail going south to Blanding and UT 95 going west and north.
All you would do is cut out going to Moab. But Monticello to Moab is not too great a distance if you wanted to see it.
Sorry I have an affinity to not using Interstate freeways whenever possible.
You are going to have a great time. Wave when you pass just north of Cedar City, UT.

 

[leo3wheel]

Kent, Appreciate your input! Yes, trip is getting set in stone. Our room payment in Grand Junction, CO is non-refundable. We have driven US 550 a couple times and taken the Durango/Silverton Railroad. Taking the planned route to see new territory. Don't mind the interstates when we are in an air-conditioned car and many people and places to see. Thanks!

 

[tomg]

I'd go but some guy tried to sell my Stallion at the N/E event !! haha You guys better watch out for him as I think he is coming your way !! Too many events so close together this year to make it our west.

Tomg

 

[leo3wheel]

Try to sell Stallions because I heard they may be worth $100,000. :laugh:

 

[Pegasus1300]

Hey Leo I know you are in Colorado right now. What day are you leaving from Grand Junction? Try lunch at Ray's Tavern in Green River. Great burgers,chicken , steaks etc. Cheaper gas in town if you need to fuel.

 

[leo3wheel]

Hey Leo I know you are in Colorado right now. What day are you leaving from Grand Junction? Try lunch at Ray's Tavern in Green River. Great burgers,chicken , steaks etc. Cheaper gas in town if you need to fuel.

Paul, Okay let's plan for an early lunch on Sunday. Please PM me your cell number. Thanks!

 

[leo3wheel]

Had a great ride-in at Canon City, CO. Time to move on to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO today.

 

[leo3wheel]

Touring Utah. Was in the low 90's today.

 

[trikermary]

Beautiful pictures......looks like you are having a great time....thanks for sharing your trip with us...enjoy every moment you spend in that beautiful part of our great country...

 

[leo3wheel]

Thanks Mary! Agree that our great country is beautiful. Many national park visitors are from around the world. The word is out. We are overnighting at Kanab, UT. We had a big day.

 

[leo3wheel]

We thoroughly enjoyed our western vacation. Thought I would share a few more pics.

 

[87Trike1200]

WOW! Great pictures, great trip. ThumbUp Best regards to you both... :wave4:

 

[leo3wheel]

Thanks Warren!

 

[leo3wheel]

Glad you had a good vacation !

Doing a long trip like that....can I suggest you post your thoughts on how you planned/executed your trip and things you'd do differently. Good to learn from others and I'm sure others here would appreciate it.

Thanks!

Yes, this was a long trip, 5,400 miles in three weeks. May not sound like a lot, but schedule included time for visiting kids and cousins, sightseeing and lots of photo stops. Any trip requires a vision. Originally, planned to ride our trike from NJ to West Coast to add states to my list of states visited. Knew Jeannette would not be able to ride that far. Two ride-in's were planned at Canon City, CO and Cedar City, UT. Made cabin reservation at Royal Gorge KOA in CO. Considered joining the CO ride-in on the way out and the UT ride-in on return trip, but dates made for a long trip. There were bikers who I could ride with in both directions. Had concerns about driving our trike so far, sometimes in very remote areas. Also troubled about leaving Jeannette behind, since I already rode solo to Texas in April. Researched renting a motorcycle out west, but rentals are expensive and trikes were not available. Fellow rider suggested renting a convertible car out of Las Vegas. Renting a car out of Vegas has drawbacks, since there are mileage penalties for driving outside region. Enterprise out of Denver offered unlimited mileage with no region penalties. Found some cheap airline tickets and talked Jeannette into joining me. We would fly from Newark to Denver and back after three weeks. Next thing to do was to plan trip route. Since we would not be adding to states visited with our motorcycle, then let's add to list of national parks visited. There were also places/sights I wanted to see. Wanted to see natural stone arches, Antelope Canyon, Meteor Crater, Saguaro cactus, Giant Sequoia, Death Valley,... Needed to fit in family visits, daughter off on weekends. Tried to find motels around 250 miles apart to allow time for sightseeing. Contingency plan was to not visit national parks already visited if time did not allow. Mapped our route, but did not book all motel reservations. Motel reservations were made at least seven days ahead with Choice Privileges to get reduced rates. Used points to get free nights. Making motel reservations ahead of time kept us on schedule. There were days when we drove into the evening, but we reached all our motels. Trip went without a hitch. Should have checked our rental car before we left Denver. Car needed a quart of oil, antifreeze reservoir was empty, windshield washer reservoir was filled with water and cover was off, tires had 31K miles and front tires were close to wear marks, and windows were filthy. Went to tire shop in Arizona and had tires checked. Tires were low but they said we were okay for then. Fortunately, we encountered no rain or snow. I took care of the fluid levels. When we returned to Denver, Enterprise more than compensated us for our trouble and sent car to service. Despite the issues, this Subaru Legacy provided excellent gas mileage and handled well in the mountain twisties. One thing that made for some longer days was the fact that many national parks have long entrance/exit drives. Since I only Googled from one motel to the next, some driving days were longer than others. Cheap flights were a bit of a pain with connections in Chicago and Dallas. Thunderstorms in Chicago forced us to spend a night at Detroit on the way out, at airline expense. On way home, we could not print our boarding passes ahead of time, and we ended up in the tail of the aircraft from Dallas to Newark. Main thing with a long trip like this is to work through the obstacles and stay on schedule. We started in Denver and had to return to Denver to make our scheduled return flight. Fortunately, we had no breakdowns! If I had known Jeannette was coming, I would have reserved a motel at Canon City. Cabin living was a little tough for Jeannette. It was a trip of a lifetime with so many wonderful memories. It was worth enduring the difficulties. Try it! You'll like it!

 

[leo3wheel]

Places visited on this trip:

Royal Gorge
Bishop Castle
Garden of the Gods
Pikes Peak
Black Canyon of Gunnison NP
Canyonlands NP
Arches NP
Capital Reef NP
Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park
Oak Creek Canyon
Sedona
Meteor Crater
Salt River Canyon
Saguaro NP
Joshua Tree NP
Sequoia NP
Kings Canyon NP
Yosemite NP
Death Valley NP
Valley of Fire SP
Zion NP
Rocky Mountain NP

 

[tomg]

Places visited on this trip:

Royal Gorge
Bishop Castle
Garden of the Gods
Pikes Peak
Black Canyon of Gunnison NP
Canyonlands NP
Arches NP
Capital Reef NP
Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park
Oak Creek Canyon
Sedona
Meteor Crater
Salt River Canyon
Saguaro NP
Joshua Tree NP
Sequoia NP
Kings Canyon NP
Yosemite NP
Death Valley NP
Valley of Fire SP
Zion NP
Rocky Mountain NP

One heck of a trip Leo, very nice photos and many wonderful sites !! Now come to Florida for our Snowbird Gathering to complete your trips !! And I still haven't had any calls on the Stallion--so much for your 4-Sale sign !! haha
Tomg

 

[leo3wheel]

Thanks Tomg! That's a nice Stallion you have. Happy riding!