31 Days, 22 States, 8,450 miles, & the other sore butt, but still priceless.

[Hammer70]

Okay, after viewing Mike's thread, "14 days, 9 states, 4K miles, 1 sore butt, priceless", I decided to add the portion of my trip prior to hooking up with Mike in Gillette WY. I left my house at 0830 hours on 6-25-08, (ya, a little later than the Sleep Nazi, as he's affectionately known). So let me post this as a test,(my first post), and then I shall continue my side of the story.

[mikeli1303]

You go Claudio, as he is affectionately Known.. welcome to the Pashnit club lets see the post.

[Hammer70]

Okay, test post successful.... My first day was to be a high mileage day, from home through AZ, as far as I could go. As I entered into AZ, temperatures were at 118 degrees, then Murphy's Law struck. I was about 10 miles outside of Seligman AZ when my alternator belt broke. With no spare, I called for a tow, and was told it would be quite some time before help would arrive. So, while I waited, I attempted to flag down help. After 2 hours of watching inconsiderate people just drive by, the tow arrived and took me here. Needless to say, it was after 6:00 pm, so I had to wait until tomorrow morning to find the part. After sucessfully getting the part enroute, I had a couple of days to kill in wonderful Seligman AZ, but was done by noon the first day, Here's a taste of Seligman life.

[Hammer70]

Salvation came at 4o pm on day three in the form of UPS. I immediately went to work on my bike. I was up and running, packed and on the road within 90 minutes. As I felt I was a bit behind schedule I hammered the road through AZ, NM, TX, and LA until I arrived in NOLA for a couple of days of fun. WOW, what a place! Humidity was god awful, and I had nothing but rain almost the entire way here. But I enjoyed myself none the less. I will have to go back during Mardi Gras for sure! You up for it Mike? Well, my youngest son beckons, so I will continue later.

[Hammer70]

Originally Posted by mikeli1303

You go Claudio, as he is affectionately Known.. welcome to the Pashnit club lets see the post.

Ya lunger, Im here, and I have not yet begun to defile myself.

[Hammer70]

After three days of drunken debauchery, I left LA via the interstate into MS. From here I took several coutry roads through MS and AL, but none too spectacular to mention. From AL I headed into Tn via a short stint through GA. TN was a beautiful place, and filled with great roads running between TN and NC. I spent a couple days here, just riding various roads, back and forth between the states, including the infamous Tail Of The Dragon. Frankly, I wasn't all that impressed with the tail. There are several much better and less traveled roads that intersect or run near this one. And I didn't see the plethora of State Troopers on the other roads. I also spent some time exploring various dirt roads in the area as well. What fun!!! Why is dirt so much more enjoyable on a GS? Mike? The last pic was my base of operations for these fun rides, a motel on the Cherokee Nation Reservation in NC.

[Hammer70]

From here, I headed towards D.C., as I wanted to spend the Fourth of July there. I was also planning on meeting a friend whom I met in Alaska on a trip 2 years ago. I went through VA and arrived in D.C. It was very difficult to drive in D.C., as the Secret Service and Capitol Police had the major roads blocked off in anticipation of our countries birthday. This caused me to waste alot of time, so I had to forego meeting up with Matt, and checked into a hotel. I spent the evening near the Washington Monument watching the presidential fireworks display. It was quite a patriotic moment for me. My children must visit D.C. on July 4th someday, to understand the greatness of this country. From there, I headed up the eastern seaboard to NYC. Wanted to stop here as I had never been. I did enjoy my stay here, due to the history, but I was glad to leave. I was anxious to get into the 2nd half of the trip, where the adventure was to begin.

[Hammer70]

Pics didn't take in my last post, so I'll add them here. Headed north into Ontario Canada, stopped in Niagra falls prior. Wasn't as impressed with this side of Canada... Definitely not as nice as B.C. or the Yukon. So I headed back into the states forthwith, via MI.

[Hammer70]

I spent the next few days riding in thunderstorms through MI, IN, IL, WI, and MN before heading towards the Black Hills of SD. The lightning was unbelievable, and there was five inches of rain when I rode through WI. The threats of golf ball sized hail was reminiscent of my '06 Alaska trip, but even there, it was just marble sized.

[Hammer70]

I spent the next few days camping in and around the Black Hills. I was glad to have brought my mountaineering tent, as it was constantly raining. I don't use it in the snow anymore, but the seams are all sealed so it came in handy. I explored the area in and around the Badlands NP. Lots of great fire roads to ride on. Reminded me of riding my old XR 650 in Mojave, just on better dirt, and with nicer temps. After a couple of days of just riding around the Black Hills, I visited Deadwood SD. Interesting place, and full of MC riders of all types.