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9-20-2009 odometer 84697 total trip 9,622.

Wow I didn't think it was that far around the USA. As a bird flies it's about half that I think. Anyway, after I left Toas I headed down to Santa Fe BMW to get a new rear tire for Bemmer. I took the "high road" through the mountains and experienced near freezing weather in the early morning. So I bundled up drove through some pretty mountains and ugly towns and was out of Santa Fe by noon. Thanks to the Guys at Santa Fe BMW for dropping what they were doing and getting Bemmer up and rolling so quickly.

I made it to Flagstaff AZ that night and found a KOA camp ground right about dark that wanted to charge me over $40.00 for a camp sight. I had bypassed KOA's that were about $30.00 and was still holding out. Most camp grounds are about $15.00 for a tent sight. So I rolled down the street and foung a room for $50.00, a much better deal. I'm glad I got the room due to it being a very damp night. I met a young couple riding 2 BMW GS 650s back to CA from a trip to Colorado, we chatted about adventures over our "free breakfast" then I left heading west down I 40.

It was only a couple hundred miles to Laughlin NV so I took part of the day to go see the Grand Canyon Caverns out along the longest remaining stretch of rout 66 that is left. The caverns were unremarkable due to them being "dry" but it was interesting to note that it was stocked with food and water for 2000 people for a week as a fall out shelter. Unfortunately it was all over 40 years old and the government agency that put it there forget any lighting,(no flashlights, not ever a match). I hope the electricity doesn't go out in our next nuclear war!

I made it to Lauphlin by dinner, played some Poker, (paid for dinner and the room) yea, and slept well as the Colorado river moved by the window of my room.

My last day on the road was a grind. It was over 115 degrees for most of the CA desert and a head wind. My muffler that was damaged when I dropped Bemmer in Melindas gravel driveway.It decided to explode and become straight pipes for my final 300 miles. Good thing I had the custom earplugs mad in Sturgus. I tried to rap the exhaust with some repair tape I found at a auto parts store in Barstow CA, but it didn't last very long. It was to big of a hole by the time i tried. So I blasted my way home at about 85 DB's and made it safely home before dark.

Side note: This trip for me was about stepping away from the life I have created and looking at it from the outside. I found that I have a beautiful life and family. I feel that I have realized for my self that "the destinations" are not as important as "the journey" and I hope to enjoy more of every moment from now on.

Thanks to all who have followed this journey with me.

Lars

New Mexico

Aug, 24 2009. odometer 83693. 8,619 trip miles

After having lunch with My high school girl friend Melinda, in Denton Texas I was going to head off to Southern New Mexico to check out some hot springs I had read about around Gila National Forest. She mentioned that she and her husband Ben had a house is Toas, and I could stay there while in NM. SO I gladly took her up on it. I have had 4 days to rest, do bike maintenance, soak in some hot springs and I even ran into my old boss from the Four Seasions Biltmore days (8 years ago). What was really weired was I thought I saw him at the hot springs the day before, but it was just someone who looked like him, then bango, the next day I actually ran into him at the grocery store, how bazaar!

It's been raining on and off here for the last 2 days. I hope it stops tomarrow I nead to go to Sante Fe and get a new back shoe for Beemer.

crossing the Mississippi today

Aug 18 2009 odometer 82485 Vicksburg Mississippi

Well I finely got a hotel room with WiFi that actually works. So let's ketch up a bit.

This past week has ben a bit of a blur. Since my last post I stayed in The gay capital of the east coast, Province town Mass., New York city with David and Francine in their beautiful flat in the Soho area, transversed the blue ridge and smokey mountains (700 + miles of twisting maintain roads, thanks to Davids suggestion) and wound up down here in Vicksburg Mississippi. That's it in a nut shell. I'm not really in the mood to write at the moment so I'm off to Louisiana and then Texas for a new back tire and possibly lunch with my high school sweet heart.

Chow for now.

the east coast

Aug, 7th and 8th 2009

Odometor 80373, day 15, 5298 miles to date.

I transversed upper New York, Vermont, New
Hampshire and the bottom end of Maine. The weather was beautiful and I made the Atlantic about mid day. I went down toward Boston looking for a motel with wifi so I could update this blog and didn't find anything till a little town named Beverly. I pull in about 10pm and ask if they had a room available, he said "no, but he did have a 3 room 2 bath apartment, but it is quite expensive". I was about ready to leave then asked out of curiosity, how much, he said $110.00.
I smiled and said I'll take it. I totally thought he was gonna say $500.00 or so. It's kind of funky but I'm showered, rested and ready for Florida.

Niagara Falls at night

I made it to Niagara by night fall and was rewarded with the above sight. it was truly beautiful. I met a 65 year old New Yorker named Rupert, he showed me around a little and talked alot. He took off after about 20 minutes of conversation and site seeing, and about 5 minutes later he comes back hands me a 50 dollar bill, said "I'm good people" then walked away. I almost told him I truly didn't need it, but I humbled my ego and just said thank you, because it really looked like it mad him feel good to give it to me. That was a first!

I found a nice KOA about 11pm, moon a blazing, took a nice warm shower and slept well, wondering what I should do with the fifty bucks. Thanks again Rupert!

8-5-2009

I rode across Michigan and tried to go through Canada to New York but the lines were so long I decided to go around through Ohio. I camped on lake Erie close to Sandusky under a full moon.

culture shock

Aug 4 2009

I rode in to Chicago after being in the country so long I almost forgot what a skyscraper look like. O yea this is were they keep all the black people too. I have not seen any thing but Whitey and a Chinese family (at a Chinese restaurant) in weeks. Whats up with that?