Arizona! 2016
Thursday, March 10
We’ve been counting down for weeks to the day we’re leaving on our
next great adventure…trailering the bikes out to Arizona, camping and
exploring. This is a new approach for
us. We usually ride the bikes to our destination because getting there is a big
part of the adventure, right? However,
when you live in Michigan with its cold winters and short summer riding season,
sometimes you buy a trailer to help you escape and get some extra riding time.
When first talking about this trip, we envisioned a January or February
departure. Didn’t happen then, so here
we are leaving mid-March; although the snow is gone, Michigan is still a bit
chilly for riding and Arizona, while it has been having great riding weather,
should also be more accommodating to camping.
First off, we’re staying with the GR grandkids to allow their parents
a weekend away, then we’re off to the land of warm and sunshine!
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The plan is to hit the freeways because our goal is getting there
quickly to make the most of our allotted time (4 weeks). However, I’m not about to pass up the little
things that pop up along the way…like the World’s Largest Wooden Nickel…or the
Pondering Rabbit…or the Giant Garden Trowel.
And what about Bare Butt Rock Climber Sculpture? Things like that need to be seen…and I’m just
the person to see them, dragging Kim along for the adventure.
Sunday, March 13
Left Shanna and Bill’s house about 5 p.m…..headed to my brother’s
house (Hudsonville) to pick up the trailer and then we hit the road for
real!
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Stopped for gas in Fennville, MI….where Kim went to check on the bikes
and locked the truck keys in the trailer.
Gas station didn’t have anything that was helpful and Kim didn’t have
any luck picking the lock, so we called the Fennville Police Department, who in
turn called the fire department. A
couple of volunteer firemen responded.
Due to proximity of gas pumps, the bolt cutters were chosen over the
electric saw. It took one good try and
voila! the lock was off….Kim retrieved the keys. And before we continued on our merry way, we
made a donation to the volunteer fireman’s fund.
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After driving into and then out of some nasty rain, we stopped for the
night in Morris, Illinois.
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Went to bed at 11 pm Saturday night…Daylight Saving time made that
midnight. Sunday afternoon we started our cross country journey. Losing an hour by crossing into the Central
Time Zone (Illinois) in the same day that we had already sprung ahead an hour because of
Daylight Savings put us right back where we were when we left home on Friday.
Monday, March 14
Set the alarm for 6 a.m. last night...we wanted to get an early start,
since there are some miles between where we are and where we want to be. Heard the alarm go off….turned it off and
fell back asleep until 7:30. Oops! We were out of the hotel by 8 a.m., so it
wasn’t a total mess up.
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Left Illinois, crossed into Iowa over the Mississippi River….state
sign was a couple of miles down the road.
I tried for a drive by picture, but wasn’t successful. Don’t have Indiana or Illinois state signs,
either, because of traffic and rain last night.
However, I did have success with the Nebraska sign. It was midpoint on the bridge over the
Missouri River, so I held my breath and hit the shutter. I think I got a good one!
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What should have been a ½ mile detour off the highway became a 6 mile
wander through the country. We were
looking for the World’s Largest Wooden Nickel (Iowa City)….it’s a 16 ft. tall
wooden nickel alongside the road…how could we miss something like that? When we backtracked and eventually found it, I
realized what I’d done….I was continuously looking to the left and it was off
to the right. Lesson learned…next time
my eyes will be on the move. But Kim
didn’t see it either. J Main thing is we found it, took the necessary
pictures and got back on the highway.
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Anyone who thinks that Iowa is flat and boring has never towed a
trailer across the state. Listening to
the truck engine whine as it climbs hills puts that notion to rest in a
hurry. And boring?...well, that’s simply
a matter of perspective. Iowa
cornfields along I-80 are still waiting to be prepped for planting, so the
color is kind of drab right now. But the
fields are terraced to aid in preventing soil and possibly seed erosion. So with the hills and field terraces, there
is diversity to the landscape.
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Our plan to eat local instead of at chain restaurants was sidetracked
today in the little town of Grinnell, Iowa. Found a local diner we wanted to try, but all
street parking was angled and the back lots were single rows, so there wasn’t a
place to park our truck/trailer. Bah! We were hungry, so we opted for the KFC at
the edge of town. Still couldn’t park
our rig properly, but since it was past lunchtime, there was only one other car
in the parking lot. We left room for the
other guy to get out.
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Today started out on the chilly side….cloudy and 40s. As we rolled along, the sun came out and the
truck cab warmed up. My jacket and socks
came off and my jeans were rolled up to capri length. Saw 77o as a temperature….felt
every bit of that and more with the sun streaming through the windshield onto
my black shirt. I was a bit
uncomfortable but the air conditioning helped matters immensely. Tomorrow I may start out in shorts.
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Roadside America is the
site to find all things odd and curious across the country. It was how I found out about the Wooden
Nickel and the next fun thing on my list:
The Tree in the Middle of the Road” (Brayton, Iowa). Here’s what the site had to say about this tree:
“So big now that if a tractor trailer hit it, the
tree would win.” It also gives the history: A 100-foot tall cottonwood tree grows in the middle of an intersection
in Audubon County, Iowa. In 1850 a surveyor cut a cottonwood sprout to use as a
walking stick, later planting it in the ground to mark a section corner. It
grew into the massive tree that still stands there today.
Turns out it was not as easy to find as it looked on
the map. First, we passed the road we
needed; then I got us going in the wrong direction. Kim kept a very cool head as he backed the
truck and trailer up and turned around, not once but twice in our search for
the tree. And then because of a missing
street sign, we had to turn around a third time, but the intersection was very
accommodating to making a wide U-turn. We eventually found the tree and yes, it is
massive and it is in the middle of the road.
And, due to its location out on unpaved farm country roads, I don’t
think it’s in danger of being hit by a tractor trailer. J
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There is a geocache somewhere close by The Tree in
the Middle of the Road, but we didn’t find it.
I don’t like to admit defeat and walk away without finding a cache but
we didn’t want to spend too much time searching. We’re not opposed to having fun along the way
but there are still a lot miles to drive until we reach our destination.
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Mother Nature treated us to a spectacular lightning
show tonight when we got back on the road after supper. While the lightning seemed to be out in
front of us, we ran in and out of minor rain twice. The weather map showed the bulk of the storm
was north of us, so we were mostly in the clear. Oh, the fun of having access to all that you
need to know and more literally at your fingertips with a smart phone!
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Drove about 660 miles today….only about 1200 to go!!
Tuesday, March
15
Figuring out the time is getting to be a comedy. Saturday night, we adjusted our time tellers
(watches and truck) to reflect Daylight Saving Time. Then on Sunday, I changed my watch when we
entered Central Time….Kim did not, nor did we change the truck right away. We adjusted our thinking instead. Hotel room clocks hadn’t been ‘sprung ahead’
either and to top it off, my phone actually had two different times showing and
I was having a difficult time figuring out how to make them the same. This morning, my phone alarm went off an hour
earlier than we had anticipated. I
thought I turned the alarm off and made the necessary corrections but it went
off twice more in the next two hours…thinking it was 7:15 each time according
to the corrections I had made.
Aghhhh!! So we get in the truck
not really caring what time it was….took me about a ½ hour to change the truck
clock and figure out the issues with my phone.
My watch was reflecting Central Time and Kim’s was/is still on Michigan
time. We’re all good. I sit back and relish having all the time
issues fixed….and wouldn’t you know, we entered the Mountain Time Zone. J
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Anyone who thinks that Nebraska is flat and boring is
closer to the having it right. I-80
through Nebraska IS flat….bumpy and flat.
And as far as boring goes, that is again a matter of perspective. The farmland has contours, vegetation and
livestock. And the blue sky with white
fluffy clouds is taking up 2/3 of the view out the windshield.
Not boring to me.
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Crossed into Colorado, where the road starts the up
and down thing again. Kim wondered what
our elevation might be….doing a Google search was no help. But wait, there’s an app for that and it
takes a heartbeat to install. Weather,
roadside attractions, elevation information, maps….what did we used to do while
traveling before we had phones to give us all sorts of information immediately?
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Ate lunch at the Prairie Ranch House Restaurant in
Wiggins, Colorado….first BLT of the trip.
Actually a BLT Club, which meant it was triple decker. J Not usually a dessert person, but I was
intrigued by the offer of raisin pie. So
we shared a slice….just as advertised, it was full of raisins and very tasty.
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Somewhere in Colorado, between the Nebraska border
and Denver, there is a little town called Iliff. We both wondered the origin of the name, so I
flagged it for a Google search. According to Wikipedia, Iliff (pronounced EYE-liff) is a statutory
town located in Logan County, Colorado.
(Statutory towns have an elected mayor and a
board of trustees composed of the mayor and four or six additional members
elected at large. Colorado has 160 statutory
towns.) At the 2010 census, the population of Iliff was 266 and it
had a total area of 0.2 miles, all of it land.
The town was named for John Wesley Iliff, a cattleman who owned a ranch
near the town site. It has a town hall located in the preschool, a post office, a
restaurant named Cecilia’s which serves American and Mexican food and the Iliff
Computer Center, Inc., which specializes in computer and gaming equipment. Doesn’t matter how small it is, there
is a sign out on I-76 indicating the proper exit to take to get there.
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Had sunny skies all the way to Denver today. As we approached the mountains, we could see
some cloud cover…and about 20 miles west of Denver, we encountered snow. It was real light and not much was on the
ground, but snow is snow! By the time we
reached Silverthorne (elevation about 8,700 ft), the temperature had dropped to
15o, the snow had increased and I found myself holding my breath as
we made our way down a 6% grade on slushy roads in traffic. Definitely not in the plan!! Then as we approached Vail, we saw a sign
that said “Passenger Vehicle Traction Law” was in effect. HuH??
So, right then, I did a Google search. The Colorado Dept of Transportation (CDOT) site spells out the law and the fines:
So, right then, I did a Google search. The Colorado Dept of Transportation (CDOT) site spells out the law and the fines:
Traction Law: During an active Traction Law, also known as a Code 15, motorists will need to have either snow tires, tires with the mud/snow (M+S) designation, or a four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicle — all tires must have a minimum one-eighth inch tread. You can also install chains or an alternative traction device (like AutoSock) to be in compliance with the law if your tires aren't adequate.
Fines: Motorists driving with inadequate equipment during a Passenger Vehicle Traction or Chain Law could be fined more than $130. If a motorist blocks the roadway because they have inadequate equipment during a Passenger Vehicle Traction or Chain Law, they could be fined more than $650.
Fines: Motorists driving with inadequate equipment during a Passenger Vehicle Traction or Chain Law could be fined more than $130. If a motorist blocks the roadway because they have inadequate equipment during a Passenger Vehicle Traction or Chain Law, they could be fined more than $650.
We were in the clear as the truck has 4 wheel
drive. In the eastbound lane, there at least 40 semis pulled over putting chains on their trucks. This snow was serious business…
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Drove over 600 miles today and had a 3 state
day….Left Nebraska, drove across Colorado and made it about 60 miles into
Utah. Speed limit in Nebraska is 75 mph….in Utah
it’s 80 mph. Pulling a trailer up and
down hills and through mountains, Kim is keeping it in the slightly below 70
range.
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