Pic Heavy Ride Report - MS to Bella Coola & Back 11,000 Miles Heat, Hail & Bears

[Gorilla]

Kevin what a ride. Thank you Mary for such great pictures.

 

[StorminNormin]

Kevin and Mary,
I cannot tell you how many times that I have been on that highway and now I am living in KS and it has been almost 20 years since the last time. Seeing your pictures and the water fall brought it back like it was yesterday. I used to ride that area at least 3 to 4 times a year when I lived in Flagstaff, AZ.

Wonderful pictures and great write up to go along with them.

Thanks ever so much.

Norm

 

[Trikindan]

Fantastic Trip!!! Thanks for taking us on the journey with you. With the GREAT Pics and narration I feel like I took a Trip and never left the Farm!!

WELL DONE
:clapping::clapping::Coffee::Coffee::clapping:

 

[DK Custom Products]

Man, I love this stuff.

It's gonna end soon.

Yeah, but there's a little more left...and come Jan/Feb we'll start thinking about the next trip.

i just want to say as a newbie to this site and a future triker, i really have enjoyed your travels. i started reading this last week before i even signed up to this site. i hope that i enjoy my trike as much as you seem to be.

thanks for the great words and even greater pictures.ThumbUp

Glad you're enjoying! We've been doing trips for a long time. The last 4 years on a Trike, gotta say it makes it even more enjoyable. Here's hoping you make tons of great memories!

DK, This has been more fun to read than any book I have read ina long time. This should be on DirecTV’sTravel Channel……. Thank you DJ<o></o>

Ditto for sure, an absolutely wonderful ride along journey, I can't say thank you enough Kevin & Mary

Kevin what a ride. Thank you Mary for such great pictures.

Glad to hear you're enjoying, and the words of encouragement. lol It's a lot easier, and more fun, to do the ride than do the ride report. :laugh:

Kevin and Mary,
I cannot tell you how many times that I have been on that highway and now I am living in KS and it has been almost 20 years since the last time. Seeing your pictures and the water fall brought it back like it was yesterday. I used to ride that area at least 3 to 4 times a year when I lived in Flagstaff, AZ.

Wonderful pictures and great write up to go along with them.

Thanks ever so much.

Norm

Man, Norm, you're a fortunate man! We've been on that road exactly once. Can't wait to do it again. I wanted to turn around this time and do it again, but time would not allow.

Fantastic Trip!!! Thanks for taking us on the journey with you. With the GREAT Pics and narration I feel like I took a Trip and never left the Farm!!

WELL DONE
:clapping::clapping::Coffee::Coffee::clapping:

Cool! Glad you're enjoying, and thank you!


Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango continued.


Well, there are just so many good pictures of this fantastic day of riding in Colorado! I am cutting out big chunks, but still have 20 more I am going to post tonight, and then another 20 in the next day or so, then we'll be done.



I love this road! The curves, the sights, the elevation changes!

Getting close to Silverton, there is a super fun section that gets really tight...

...we came around this one corner and there were two sights-

The mountain peak view

They drop-off on the left...asphalt and then nothing!

Another shot- what's that John Denver song?

A nice predicament, but a predicament, for me, all the same...the view or the road?

Solution-if ya like em curvy, this is a road to ride many times!

Coming into Silverton, we've climbed about 4000 ft today.

We've plenty of gas, so we pass by and start climbing even higher...

...looking back at Silverton, a few minutes after passing by.

Up ahead is Molas Pass, at 11,000 ft, and it's looking like some rain.

More in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango Continues.



If you like curve after curve, this is most definitely a FUN ROAD!!!

Looking back the sky is clear...

...not so much looking ahead, but it appears a ways off still...

...and the sights are captivating.

Scenic pull-out up ahead on the left.

We ended up spending about 45 minutes here. Just some of the high peaks that we got to see today.

Here are a couple of panoramic pics that Mary took corresponding to the pic above...if you click on them, they should show up even larger.

There is a reason we live out in the country, and when we do our trips, even though we are compelled to travel thru cities, almost all the pics are of the country side....well, and curvy roads. lol

Hey Mary! Don't get bit!

Conclusion of our ride to Durango coming soon.

Kevin

 

[Recall]

Kevin,

Great ride report as always. You just gave me another road to add to the bucket list. Beginning to look like I will have to retire early to get all the riding in. So many roads, so little time!

Awesome pictures accompanied by excellent narration. Thanks again for your time and efforts in posting.

 

[consitter]

Kevin,

Great ride report as always. You just gave me another road to add to the bucket list. Beginning to look like I will have to retire early to get all the riding in. So many roads, so little time!

Awesome pictures accompanied by excellent narration. Thanks again for your time and efforts in posting.

Ditto.

 

[StorminNormin]

Kevin,
Do you remember the lake when you come out somewhere near the top? I believe it is called Crystal Lake and it would have been ion the right hand side. You would be coming around and it just appears and usually is like a sheet of glass lying there.

Norm
Dang I miss that ride!
Thanks again for all that you give us with these posts.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Kevin,

Great ride report as always. You just gave me another road to add to the bucket list. Beginning to look like I will have to retire early to get all the riding in. So many roads, so little time!

Awesome pictures accompanied by excellent narration. Thanks again for your time and efforts in posting.

Ditto.

Thank you! Yes, so many great roads, so little time.

Kevin,
Do you remember the lake when you come out somewhere near the top? I believe it is called Crystal Lake and it would have been ion the right hand side. You would be coming around and it just appears and usually is like a sheet of glass lying there.

Norm
Dang I miss that ride!
Thanks again for all that you give us with these posts.

Hey Norm,

The pic below is near one of the tops, not sure if it is the lake you're referring to...but it's quite a view!

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango Concluded.

What a day! Looking forward to riding this way again...only taking a couple of days to do it instead of one.


Still at the scenic pull-out. Mary laughing at me as I try for the umpteenth time to take a selfie that has both of us in it. lol

Last pic at the pull-out....

...back on the road. Looks like the time we spent has the rain moving a bit past where we're heading.

Couple of deer crossing the road in front of us.

Miles of curvy road seen in this one pic!

A look back...and ahead.

Stunning scenery and a fun road...my thoughts from earlier today, that this is gonna be "one of those days", have been far surpassed!

In the zone!

More in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango-




Mary- "did you see that sign?" Kevin- "yeah, 45 mph, right?"

Still climbing to Coal Bank Pass.

10,640 ft. This is not the highest point on the Million Dollar Highway, we've been at 11,000 ft a couple of times.

Curve after curve...

A super fun road to ride!

We've ridden 120 miles or so on this half tank of gas. Climbing from 5,400 ft to 11,000 ft, and back down to 6,500 ft., with some pretty aggressive riding at times. 41 mpg.

We missed the heavy rain by a little bit...got a few sprinkles here and there....

....as we got closer to Durango.

Here we are!

If time would allow, we would turn around tomorrow and ride back to Ouray, and take our time, exploring along the way.

Alas, tomorrow we are headed toward Taos, NM.

Kevin

 

[consitter]

Alas, tomorrow we are headed toward Taos, NM.

Kevin

I totally understand...

I hate Taos, New Mexico too. :laugh:

 

[DK Custom Products]

I totally understand...

I hate Taos, New Mexico too. :laugh:

:laugh: Never been there before, but I sure do know that the Million Dollar Highway is a blast!






hahaha, none, was powering thru the curves.


Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 32 of travel- Headed toward Taos, NM-


Leaving out of the Spanish Trails Inn & Suites in Durango. We had our own little covered parking spot right outside our room door.

We took the route thru Pagosa Spring, Chromo, Chama, Los Ojos to Taos. We followed this local scooter all the way to PS. They were moving right along.

Stopped in Pagosa Spring for gas. We are still working on the tank that we got 202 miles ago in Naturita...averaged 41.6 mpg.

More beautiful country and great roads!

A different perspective-

We blinked and passed Chromo...another great day for riding....

...we've never been on any of these roads before, it's a totally new adventure as we cross into New Mexico!

If you look at the 64 on the map, past Amarilla, headed toward Taos...you can see....

...if you like the curves, elevation changes, and twistys, there's quite a bit of fun road!

This pic is a panoramic, about halfway up the hill.

More in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 32 continued-



Pic I took of Mary right after she took that panoramic shot. Check out the curve coming up when we leave this scenic pull out.

Up top of the hill!

Amazingly fun and scenic road...

...and we saw very little traffic! Mile after mile of deserted winding road!

Fantastic views, coupled with a fun road. Never have understood the saying that you can't have your cake and eat it too. This is a perfect example of the opposite!

Perfect day of riding, so far....

...after coming to this stop sign...

...things got a bit different. Not bad, but definitely different. Very straight, mostly flat, no trees, weird wind, and looks like serious rain up ahead...

...and very strange structures. Almost all of them were partly underground.

We reached the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and parked to take a look around.

More on the Rio Grande and Taos soon.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Taos continued.


The Rio Grande Gorge was stunning.

We parked and walked out on the bridge...

...Looking down....

...looking across...

...looking to the left...

...looking to the right...

and back down again...that is a LOOONG ways down!

We both really liked it there. Absolutely stunning views. We spent about an hour just walking around on the bridge, taking it all in.

More in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Taos continued.



Another shot across the bridge to the other side....it is a long way down, AND a long way across!

We were both enthralled by the land here...this panoramic might give a little taste of what it was like.

Rain has been threatening the whole time we were here...

As we left, for the last bit of riding before Taos, this is what we saw to the left...

...and this is what we saw to the right....

...but this is what it looked like straight ahead. We got just a few sprinkles between here and Taos.

TAOS!

After we rode thru town to get to Marys' favorite home away from home (Super 8), we unloaded and then went to the grocery store. Within 5 minutes of being back in the room, the wind kicked up, and it poured rain until early morning.

Our plan tomorrow is to take all secondary roads thru the rest of New Mexico and Texas, then on to Elk City, OK. Weather is looking iffy...tomorrow might be the first day we wear the rain suits!


More coming soon.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 33-

When we left our "home away from home" (Super 8) we headed down the road to the Taos Visitor Center. Looked for info about the Taos Hum, checked out the enchanted circle...

...headed out to the parking lot where I consulted the paper map (2014 Touring Handbook) to find the most twisty road/route toward Elk City, OK.

Route found, punched in the waypoints in the GPS (Cimarron, Raton, Capulin, Texline, Dalhart, Dumas, Borger, Wheeler) and we are on our way up 64.

This is definitely a fun road!

Curves galore!

How many good roads are there? This has been a trip packed with amazing riding!

If you like twisty, curvy, elevation changing road, the section of 64 between Taos and Eagles Nest is just fantastic.

We did not stop at the Vietnam Memorial in Angel Fire. We should have.

Here is Eagles Nest in our rear view.

More curvy road and a very unique looking rock wall!

Some fellow travelers.

More in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 33 continued.


Despite the heavy rain last night, and the weather forecast for today...it is beautiful weather (for now) as we travel across the Old Santa Fe Trail.

The Tri-Glide is running great! Got the cruise on 68 and we're getting 41.9 MPG on this tank so far.

We're pretty much out of the curvy mountain roads now....lots of relatively flat land between us and home.

Passed by the NRA Whittington Center. Should have stopped.

Leaving Raton, it looked like we were just going to get a few sprinkles...

...but a couple minutes after the above pic we got dumped on! Lots of rain AND hail. Camera was tucked away, and Mary was bunched up behind me. lol

It was a good chance to test the new front (rear) tire in deep water on the road for hydroplaning. It did much better than the stock tire.

We weren't in it long, maybe 10 minutes, but a few times we were slowed to 15-20 mph.


After we were clear of it, here's a look back. Does not look like much, but it was a whole different (colder) world in that little storm cell.

It wasn't long before we saw this!

After what we just went thru a few miles ago...this time we stopped and got the rain suits on. Mary likes her new pink one.

It is very windy/gusting, temps have dropped 15+ degrees in a few minutes time, and this is what we are looking at, straight ahead of us...

...camera got tucked away, and we rode thru some sporadically heavy rain, as this cell moved south of us.

When Mary pulled the camera back out, this is the view behind us.

More in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 33 Continued...we only made it as far as Borger, Tx.



For about 100 miles we ran in and out of storm cells. Here is one we missed, off to the right of the road.

Looking ahead, it is relatively clear for awhile.

Then as we are crossing into Texas, it starts up again.

Fixing to get dumped on again.

Mary takes a pic, in-between cells.

We finally broke thru all the storm cells for the rest of the day...

...All the while, the TG is running great, handling everything well. Texas is nice, even the two lane country roads have a 75 mph speed limit.

Check out Marys' arm stretched out for the pic in the gas cap cover.

The rain storms provided some variation to the relatively long, flat, straight roads in Texas!

We did not make it to Elk City. During the heavy parts of all the cells we passed thru, we had to slow down quite a bit, due to visibility...well, actually the LACK of visibility. lol

Here we are dropping down in to Borger, TX, where we stopped for the night.

We got a motel right across from the grocery store. Walked over there for supplies.




The rest of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and then home, coming soon.

Kevin

 

[peteg59]

Your road trip is a real pleasure to view from far off here in NH!ThumbUp
Maybe someday I'll be able to take a real roadtrip myself, but in reality I know it will likely never happen for me. As a lot have already said, Thanks for posting your adventures here.

Back a page you refer to a "2014 Touring Handbook". Is that still an annual HOG publication?
I've been a lifer HOG member for 20+ years, but stopped receiving their annual roadmap, pin, etc years ago with no explanation from corporate...

 

[DK Custom Products]

Your road trip is a real pleasure to view from far off here in NH!ThumbUp
Maybe someday I'll be able to take a real roadtrip myself, but in reality I know it will likely never happen for me. As a lot have already said, Thanks for posting your adventures here.

Back a page you refer to a "2014 Touring Handbook". Is that still an annual HOG publication?
I've been a lifer HOG member for 20+ years, but stopped receiving their annual roadmap, pin, etc years ago with no explanation from corporate...

Glad you're enjoying the view! Ya never know on the road trips...we started out small many years ago, and they have grown.

Yes, when I got the TG in 14 they gave me a one year HOG membership, and that Touring Handbook came with it.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 34 to Van Buren, AR

We hoped to get closer to Little Rock today, but only made it as far as Van Buren. 420 mile day, 300 of it on I40.


At the motel in Borger, TX, punching in some waypoints on the GPS.

Rolling across about 100 miles on the 152 in Texas...

...There's very little variation in the road or scenery, one of the most interesting things we saw was some pasture land under water...

...the nice thing is, that even on this 2 lane road, the speed limit is 75 MPH.

About 14 years ago Mary and I sold our hay farm...not this big though, and we did square bales...always interesting to us to see hay farms. lol

Entering Oklahoma!

The 152 looks the same...maybe a little more hills, and a little more vegetation.

Soon after, we hit Elk City, where we were on Old Route 66 for a bit...

...before getting on I-40.

*600 miles on I-40 will take us within 50 miles of home. We could've powered thru and made it home sometime tonight, but decided to take it a bit easier. End of the trip blues are setting in for me. Mary is ready to get back to her nest, but does not want to ride 13 hours today. lol

More in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 34 continued.



Cloud pic on the I-40 in Oklahoma.

Coming up on OKC...that is interesting.

Lots of cars and lots of lanes...we're not in Canada anymore!

After getting past OKC, the 40 narrowed down, and the traffic thinned out to close to nothing.

Put it on cruise at 78 mph, turned on the MP3 for the first time in thousands of miles, and sat back and enjoyed the ride.

Crossing Snake Creek, it was about this time that it started turning humid. To us, while riding, the same temps in humid weather feels much cooler than dry weather. I know many say that dry heat is better than humid, but Mary and I much prefer the humid heat.

Rolling across that last bit of Oklahoma, we have the 40 all to ourselves.

Crossing into Arkansas, our 3rd State for today.

Shadow pic!

5 miles into Arkansas we decided to stop for the night. There's a Super 8 here, and that is Mary's favorite. According to the POI on the GPS it is another 2 hours riding to the next Super 8. So, Van Buren it is.

Today was a relatively easy day of 420 miles, tomorrow will be even easier, 350 miles to home.


Kevin

 

[Amputee55]

Awesome pictures !

What were the dates of your travel ? You should post a MAP that shows your entire route.

Ride to Durango Continued.

Climbing out of Ouray we see these signs...they were not kidding.

Soon after, we see this sign...it can only mean fun road ahead!

I like curves plenty, tunnels, not so much. But this is a short one.

Soon after we come to a scenic stop where there are a few waterfalls. Pic of an old Sporty and a dirty Trike.

This is a panoramic shot that Mary took of me taking a pic of a waterfall.

The pic I was taking of the waterfall while Mary was taking the panoramic.

After taking a bunch of pics of all the waterfalls, reading the amazing history of the Million Dollar Highway, & talking to an Amish guy about how he would not have taken his horses on the road...he figured they would get too spooked by the edges with the drop-offs and no rails....we sat in some shade and had our lunch.

Back on our way.

Yeah, the edge really looked like that. Sheer drop-off...notice that I am in the left part of my lane. lol

Looking behind us....I don't know how far she was leaning out to take this pic...but it looks scary to me!

Beautiful country....

...and super fun roads!

More coming soon.

 

[desertclassic]

Been trying to keep up with you and Mary. I have enjoyed the trip. I live in Las Cruces, NM and missed you as you were heading out. I have spent a lot of time in Taos. Northern NM is full of good riding. Be safe as you wind down the trip. Next time you are thru NM, we will do a link up. Jim

 

[DK Custom Products]

Been trying to keep up with you and Mary. I have enjoyed the trip. I live in Las Cruces, NM and missed you as you were heading out. I have spent a lot of time in Taos. Northern NM is full of good riding. Be safe as you wind down the trip. Next time you are thru NM, we will do a link up. Jim

Glad you are enjoying...yes, some great riding in NM. Definitely would like to meet up next time we are out that way.

Kevin

- - - Updated - - -

What were the dates of your travel ? You should post a MAP that shows your entire route.

Will try and get that together and post it up soon.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 35- heading home to Red Banks, MS



Setting up the video camera, at the Super 8 in Van Buren, before hitting the road.

Mary's stash...plus my breakfast.

Mary in the mirror as we're rolling down the 40.

For the first 150 miles or so we did not have much traffic, and the surface on the 40 in Arkansas is MUCH better that it has been in previous years.

As we get closer to Little Rock, traffic increases some...

...Arkansas used to be a great State to travel in. *They used to strictly enforce the 70 mph speed limit & they have/had a law, that was strictly enforced, that the left lane could only be used for passing...

...because these laws were enforced, most of the drivers on the road would follow it, and it was very rare to get jammed up going 55 or 60 in a 70 mph zone, or get tail-gated if you were doing the speed limit...

...not anymore. Don't know where the LEO's are, and why they are not enforcing them, but it is a free for all now and we got stuck behind folks more times than I can count.

That looks like a fun ride!

More in next post.