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OK, I'm awake
Ready for another day, leaving Flagstaff and on to the Grand Canyon. So it's been a few days since we've blogged last but it's been busy and exhausting and we've seen a lot, so it's time to try and remember it all and get it on the blog for everyone to see. Based on weather forecasts in the northwest and for Glacier and Yellowstone, we will not be able to make it all the way up there, so we're going to stay south and head back east into Utah and Colorado before wrapping up the trip in Salt Lake City to ship the bikes home and fly back.
We started out on Saturday from Flagstaff and went to the Grand Canyon. It was a good thing we purchased our National Park American Eagle Pass. This allows 2 motorcycles to enter any National Park for an entire year. The cost of the pass is $80.00, which may seem like a lot but when you add the cost of enter into each park for both motorcycles ($25 each at the Grand Canyon, but $0 with the pass) it pays for itself in no time at all.
After we finished the Grand Canyon we headed out on Route 66 west through Arizona. As we
Look what I found...
Tumbleweed! This was stuck in the front fairing of Dad's bike. entered Seligman, AZ we stopped and walked along the main street and went into Angel & Vilma's gift shop. We met Angel who must be in his 80s and has been working at the store for quite some time, and we spoke to him about our trip and how I had traveled the same route with my father in the 60's. He was very impressed with the fact that I wanted to pass along some of the good times I had with my father. Angel does not run the store as a the barber shop or pool hall that it used to originally be any longer but has turned it into a souviner shop and tourist attraction and now has the help of his daughter.
We made a quick stop in Kingman, AZ where Jason bought a shirt at Mother Road Harley Davidson to add to his collection, and it turns out the Harley dealership is also a Honda dealership. Since I needed an oil change, we tried to get it done today. Unfortunately we were there 15 minutes before they closed. Had we gotten there 15 minutes earlier, it could have been done. It will have to be
further down the road.
We continued on our way and stopped in Oatman, AZ to see and feed the burros. These animals are the direct descendants of the burros that were used to work in the mines back in the 1800's. We continued and finally make it to Needles, CA after a long day.
On Sunday, we left Needles and continued on our way. We rode through the Mojave desert, which hit a high temperature of 108 as we rode through. It was brutal, so we stopped in Amboy, CA for a soda at an old diner and gas station. A short distance down the road we stopped at the Amboy Crater National Monument. The crater is actually the remains of an extinct volcano. The next thing we did was have lunch at In-N-Out Burger in Barstow, CA. This is a west coast burger chain that makes everything from scratch.
After lunch we continued on to the Angeles National Forest and a nice ride on a 60 mile long twisty road. Our final destination of the day was in Los Angeles where we met up with my son's girlfriend's parents. Before dinner, we had the opportunity to
We made it!
At the Grand Canyon. see the annular eclipse that was visible from the west coast. The last time there was a visible annular eclipse in the US was 1996, and there won't be another one for 11 more years, so it was great to be able to see it. We had purchased special eclipse viewers while we were at the Grand Canyon, which was a good thing because to the naked eye you couldn't even tell there was an eclipse, but it was impressive to see it. We went out for dinner at a local chinese restaurent named Chi's. It was an excellent meal with great company, and nice to meet Jason's girlfriend's parents.
Today, after a good night sleep we started the day riding Latigo Canyon Road south to Malibu, which is a great, twisty road through the mountains with Pacific views towards the end of the road. Then we spent the better part of the next 300 miles on the Pacific Coast Highway and finished the day in Monterey. Along the way we stopped in Santa Barbara for some clam chowder on the pier overlooking the ocean. We stopped in Morro Bay to see Morro Rock, which is an old volcanic
plug. From there we continued on past Hearst Castle to see some elephant seals on the beach. We stopped at a few vista points along the PCH to snap a few pictures, and then made it in to Monterey for the night. We had a great recommendation from Jason's girlfriend for dinner since she went to grad school here, and had some excellent seafood at Sea Harvest Fish Market. We started with BBQ Oysters and I had the combination platter with fried fish, shrimp and calimari, and Jason had local wild salmon with garlic and butter and sides.
With the change in plans, we're now going to head east to Yosemite, south to Sequoia, and then through Las Vegas to Utah and Colorado. There will be plenty more to come in the next few days, and we'll get pictures downloaded and posted tomorrow. For now, just text, and off to bed since it's late and we're tired.
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Mary and Jordan
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FOOD AND MORE FOOD!
Sounds like you're keeping up your strength with all that food. Seems like a very amazing trip and a once in a lifetime opportunity. Enjoy the rest of the open road and again stay safe.