Riding across the USA part 3

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mother

Race Dog
Joined
Aug 3, 2009
Messages
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Location
Cape Town
Bike
Harley Davidson (all models)
been a bit busy with work and stuff
but we did the States again for the third time....feel very blessed to have done it again
this time we Flew into Orlando from Atlanta and SA
got a beautiful red Harley couch this time
trip went from Orlando to Miami then Key West...highway one over the ocean was the coolest ride ever
loved Key West took a boat cruise
then from there up to Tampa got caught in a mother of a monsoon rain for about 50 miles going through the Everglades
stayed in a place called Inverness then on to Helen just north of Atlanta near the Tail of the Dragon.....what a ride.....beautiful mountain lakes trees tunnels over the roads...was beathtaking......311 turns in 11 miles......every biker should have this place on his bucket list
from there we did Nashville and high light being the Gran Ol Oprey
next day Memphis and visiting Graceland was just memorable like I cannot explain....think differently about Elvis since then in a good way
from there we headed to Kansas City and whilst there did the Harley Factory.....steel cap tour....what an experience.....if you love bikes and Harleys a must do......4 hours later we headed out direction Denver

Denver....Colorado is a beautiful place
we where a bit disappointed in Colorado Springs ......too much of a big town I expected a quaint place which it wasn't so we ended up in Manitau Springs more of a historical place reminded me of Clarens just bigger
the ride across the Rockies was one of the best rides of of my life
staying in CowBoy town of Uray  Riding the million dollar Highway......visiting Silverton....shaving my head in Durango.....all experiences of a lifetime and worthy of a bucket list trip
From Colorado we headed to the four corners monument....nothing much there but to say we done it was cool....bought a few trinkets from the Navajo Stalls and it was cool standing in all four states at one time....Arizona..New Mexico..Utah and Colorado
my Mate had arranged to spend a few days in Vegas and then hire a car or bike to come out and meet us we had agreed to meet in Monument Valley Utah.....the place of the Navajo and cowboy mountains as you might remember from the movies
we caught up with Gerhard and Anita in Mexican Hat....it was so cool to meet your mates in a strange land it makes it almost feel like home.....needless to say he went big and hired a Dodge Muscle car.......beautiful powerful thing I even took it for a spin
Monument valley was breathtakingly beautiful and well worth the visit
from there we went to the North Rim Grand Canyon park lucky for us we got the last bungalow they had......just to let you know we never booked our trip at all only the bike the flights in and out .......everything in between was random

grand canyon to vegas......the last time I did this trip was in 2010.....see earlier trip post......we did this section back at night in the full moon because we underestimated the distance from vegas to the grand canyon.....even then it was awesome
this time it was cool and we left early the next day the plan was to spend some relaxing time in vegas with our mates
if you recall in 2010 we got married on that trip in vegas so our plan this time was to go see places we had not been to previously
like the old vegas strip a few new places the beer hause etc and this time we also got to see Elton John at Caesars Palace that in itself an experience
its nice when you get to know your way around places you have toured we stayed at the Carriage house luxury apartments....this time sharing a two be with our friends and the rates where reasonable as the plan is to entice you to come to vegas to spend your money
we love the history channel......so went past the pawn shop......sorry forgot to tell you we also did the American pickers shop in Nashville that was cool too
did visit a mother of a Harley shop Red Rock Harley to see all the new 2014 models for Gerhard and get a bit of retail therapy
on our third rest day in vegas we said bye to our friends from Cape Town....their holiday over but not ours

from vegas......
now I always wanted to ride death valley the hottest place in the States...and this trip was it....
we headed out past the area 51 to death valley.....the wind was blowing like hell and it was as hot as hell...despite all this it was good to be back on the bike
death valley some part is 100feet below sea level its like a place from another planet....dry harsh and very very  hot I got a temp reading of 50 degree Celsius
even with the heat it was a beautiful place and worth the ride.....at one place we stopped for refreshments the crows stood around almost as if waiting for us to give in to the heat and harshness of the place
also the fuel was the most expensive here of the whole trip
after the break and the crows we headed on the plan was to get to Yosemite.....pronounced Yo sem iny by the yanks a park something similar to Yellowstone without the volcanic activity
anyway as we where travelling through the heat of death valley and where coming down the valley I noticed this wall of sand being blown through the valley and we were headed in the same direction.....sand storm
well let me tell you not a pleasant experience we could hardly see two meters and I was really worried some one was going to plow into us or us into them
this carried on for about ten miles then we got out of it much to my relief.....we where caked in dust and I could hardly see out of the screen so as soon as we got to a garage I had to do some cleaning....

we headed to a place called Lee Vinning just outside Yosemite Park
it couldn't have been more than 200 miles from the 50 degree temps and as we climbed out of the desert into the mountains it became really really cold and I measured minus 1.5 degrees by the time we got to Lee Vinning......how is that for a contrast all on the same day
Leonie defrosted and de sanded under a hot shower....and later we had a good meal and beer in the little town
the next morning it was piss cold and we dressed up with all we had as we had mostly prepared for warm weather when doing a trip across the states in Autumn or Fall as they call it
when we left the motel there where snow capped mountains all around and after checking the road was clear we headed off to Yosemite park
well breath-taking is too easy a word to describe the place
I felt truly in a zone....very ....extremely ....privileged to be biking through this wonderful place....absolutely a bucket list place and I was very grateful we had included it in our planned route
also very fortunate that we could ride it after recent forest fires had devastated large parts of the western side
from here we headed to our final destination San Francisco
we really love this place and all our trips have ended here
I always describe it to folks like Cape Town on Steroids
SF is a special place to me .....also we get to know it a bit more every time we spend a few rest days there
this trip was no exception and we spent the last three days of our holiday exploring the city and surrounds
our third trip to the USA
all of them have been special in their own way this to me was the most consistently beautiful  and scenic trip
but hey maybe im just getting older and my memory going
thanks that I could share
I will dig a few pics and load if you interested
certainly a bucket trip....pity the rand is going to hell at the moment
 
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