Well I had to make another motorcycle trip so I could add Texas and New Mexico to the list of states I have been to on my motorcycle. Now I just need South Carolina, Florida, and Hawaii.
I left about 7 AM on Thursday and since Hermine was causing some rain I decided to head west on I-70 in hopes of riding out of it. It wasn't raining hard but enough to keep the pavement wet and spray on the road. It was in the upper 60's when I left Topeka. I went west of Salina then took 156 hwy south. Some where before I got to Great Bend the rain stopped for the most part. I went southwest on 56 hwy to Dodge City then headed south on 283 hwy to 54 hwy. At Meade I stopped for lunch and it was still cool out. I decided to head south out of Meade on 23 hwy rather than go to Liberal. There is lots of truck traffic on 54 and going through Liberal is very time consuming.
It was a wise choice as the roads in Kansas and Oklahoma are 65 mph. Texas is 70. I have a new GPS, Lola 2, which is just like my last one. I found this used one on Amazon for $65 and a new one is around $700 because they are waterproof. This one works great. So I had the address of Kevin Jones in Amarillo programed in and I kept heading south and west on different highways. It really worked out nice. The first picture I took was in Beaver, OK. They have pretty white sand dunes there and many people go there with their 4 wheelers. There is a little sand showing in this picture.
I filled up with gas there and it was starting to warm up so I took my rain gear off and used my vented gear. Another wise choice because the sun came out and it warmed up in a hurry. Some pictures in southern Oklahoma.
And then I came to Texas.
Then it really got hot and windy. The temperature went up in the mid 90's. I rode 520 miles and arrived at Kevin's around 4:30. Here is the Spot tracker log for two days.
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0p1iDfMKLECtBhOFskU0rNOCNVxddsIHE
Kevin and Julie Jones and their four wonderful children made me feel right at home. I took a shower and then Kevin handed me a Bud Light. Julie had some cheese and crackers for us and then some rather hot peppers stuffed with a cream cheese with bacon on top. I ate 3 halves a one in particular made my eyes water. The Kevin grilled some of the best steaks I have ever eaten. Must be the Texas beef! We had a great dinner, some great wine and conversation then every one had to tell their high and low for the day and when they we finished they chose the next person. Looking back on it I would have to say my high for the day was the great dinner and hospitality while visiting the Jones. And since that was such a high I forgot what the low was. Thanks Kevin, Julie, Crystal, Carrie, Christie and Trent for the great time.
This is Christie. What a cutie she is! Later she put on her apron and had her order pad to take my after dinner entrees.
This is Trent and he is taking after his golfing dad. He already has tales to tell!
Kevin looked my bike over too.
Carrie made me a duct tape sticker that read, "I love the Jones pub, grill and lodge."
Trent and Julie.
Crystal showing me her duct tape billfolds and Carrie with her Friendship Rug which I signed.
Their many rolls of duct tape. I thought it only came in gray!
All good things must end and so after coffee, breakfast and goodbye's I headed west to New Mexico. Texas has wind energy.
And across the road lots of smelly gas!
I made it to New Mexico.
I went west to Tucumcari and got on Route 66 for a ways and then headed northwest. Some of the same Indian fighters in Kansas also came to New Mexico.
You can see for a long ways.
I couldn't see any water but there may be some in the tank the pickup is pulling.
There was even a Christmas tree.
And when I got to this cattle guard
the guard was missing and here is why according to Phyllis Scherich.
We no longer have cattle guards - Obama fired them! I know because I
saw it on the internet!
A few months ago, President Obama received a report that there were over
100,000 cattle guards in Kansas. Because Kansas ranchers had
protested his proposed changes in grazing policies, he ordered the
Secretary of the Interior to fire half of the guards immediately. Before
the Interior Secretary could respond and presumably straighten him out,
Vice-President, Joe Biden, intervened with a request that before any
guards were fired, they should be given six months of retraining.
The weather today was just great. There was not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were cool. I came through one area and there was a BMW motorcycle rally at Sipapu, NM, located 25 miles SE of Taos, NM on state highway 518. I stopped and visited for a while and the guy was from Olathe, KS. I parked beside a BMW with Jackson County tags which is just north of Topeka. I met many, many BMW's on the road.
I am in Walsenburg, CO tonight so will probably be home tomorrow night. I rode 430 miles today for a total of 950 miles now.
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