Star Days 2010

July 10th Hesperia, CA to Flagstaff, AZ A-B	Today we left the Chevron at 138/I-15 about 4:30AM. The weather was quite nice right up un til the sun came up and bam it got hot. The high temps today was just above 100 between Needles and Kingman. We stopped for gas in Ludlow, Needles and Seligman. Of course we stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Kingman, I think it's a 230 rule :-). The rest of the trip to Flagstaff was pretty uneventful until we got to the Days Inn to check in and was told we were at the wrong hotel lol. We finally got to our hotel around 1:00PM and started getting smart shortly there after. Total miles for the day was 485 miles. Tomorrow brings more adventures.
July 11th Flagstaff, AZ to Durango, CO B-C	We left Flagstaff around 7:00AM and headed up SR 89 on our way to Four Corners with gas stops in Tuba City, Az and Kayenta, Az. We encounterted a lot of bikes going to and from Four Corners. We arrived only to find that it's closed for renovation but it didn't stop us from enjoying some fresh fry bread. After a brief stop at Four Corners we continued to Cortez, Co for lunch and gas. After a tasty lunch, Scott and Marie recommended a side trip to Mesa Verde National Park where we took a tour of the Pueblo dwellings which also included climbing an 80ft vertical ladder and crawling through a 18" "doorway". Apparently, the Pueblo people were quite a bit smaller than our group :-). After that we continued onto Durango, Co where we stayed in some very cool cabins at the KOA campground.
July 12th Durango, CO to Frisco, CO C-D	We departed Durango, Co bright and early and rode up the Million Dollar Highway to Silverton, Co that included a ton of tight twisties with breaktaking views. In Silverton we had a great time exploring this quaint little town. If you have never experienced the Million dollar Highway, you're missing out on one of the most scenic rides I have ever taken!! We then continued to Ouray, Co where we enjoyed a nice lunch at a local bar and grill. Scott, Larry and myself tried the local favorite, elk burgers which I have to admit was pretty darn good!! After lunch we continued through the mountains to our final destination of the day, Frisco, Co.
July 13th Frisco, CO to Yuma, CO D-E	We awakened to a bit of bad luck, someone had hit Vicki's bike as they were leaving the hotel parking lot and knocked it over, shattering the windshield and damaging the front fender. A special thanks goes out to Keith and Stacy who coordinated getting a replacement windshield shipped to the hotel in Dodge City. We had breakfast in downtown Frisco and then it was off on another adventure. We rode through Rocky Mountain National Park which included going over the Continental Divide. Once again we spent a full day with gorgeous scenery. Once on top of the Continental Divide we had a picnic lunch alongside a beautiful lake, this was a great recommendation from Gail. This was our first day that we had to get into our rain gear due to inclement weather. We arrived in Yuma, Co around 8:30PM and called it a day.
July 14th Yuma, CO to Dodge City, KS E-F	We departed Yuma around 7:00AM and headed towards Nebraska and Kansas. We saw a lot of fields of grain and corn in the "heartland" on our way to the final destination of Dodge City, Ks. Once arriving at Dodge City to the flavor of 100 degree temperature and high humidity, it was a group concensus that we should spend a couple hours in the pool to cool off. Yes, it's a rough life but we're dealing with it :-). We enjoyed a great steak dinner that night at Montana Mike's which was located right next to historic Boot Hill. After dinner we walked through the same area as the outlaws did during the old west. The perfect ending to a perfect day of riding with great friends.
July 15th Dodge City, KS to Norman OK F-G	We awakended bright and early and all mounted our bikes after a group photo and announced to everyone we were "getting the hell outta Dodge" :-). We rode through more of the beautiful "heartland" and enjoyed another day of great scenery of rolling hills and farmland. Early in the afternoon, we arrived in Oklahoma City and stopped at the Oklahoma City memorial, if you've never been I highly recommend seeing it. At the memorial site, they have statues of chairs that signifies the victims of the bombing. Some of them were smaller than others, these were for the children that were killed that fateful day. After visiting the memorial site, we continued onto our final destination of Norman, Ok. After arriving, several of us had to visit the local Walmart to stock up on water, gatorade and snacks. The temperatures today reached the upper 90's most of the afternoon with extremely high humidity. We enjoyed a nice dinner that night and then bid each other goodnight to rest up for whatever tomorrow brings us.
July 16th Norman, OK to Ozark, MO G-H	We left Norman early to avoid the hot humid mid-day temperatures and traveled across the Talihina Scenic Parkway. The last few days we had seen various wildlife during out travels and this day was to be no different as we were traveling through the canyons a large black bear ran across the road in front of me about 20 yards and stopped in the edge of the woods and watched as we all rode by. We continued across the mountains and stopped for a quick photo shoot before continuing down the mountain side to our final destination of Ozark, Ar.
July 17th Ozark, MO to Doniphan, MO H-I	We left Ozark early again, it seemed to be our usual mode of operation. Today was to be our Ozark Mountain ride. We traveled up the famous Pig Trail which travels through the Ozark chicken farming area and man oh man was the scent living large :-). Our first stop was at the Turner Bend Resort on the Mulberry River for gas and some great chit chat with the local fly fishermen. We continued up the road to Eureka Springs where we stopped for some site seeing and then onto the Pig Trail Harley Davidson for some t-shirt shopping and lunch next door at the "Rockin' Pig" for some delicious southern BBQ. At this point was where Keith started experiencing clutch problems with his bike. We rode on down the road to what we thought would be our final destination of the day, Doniphan, Mo. We arrived at the hotel only to find that they had lost our reservations and there was no vacancies anywhere else in town so we had to ride an additional 30 miles to Poplar Bluff, Mo for the night. We arrived around 7:00PM after a long but enjoyable day and enjoyed a great dinner that evening in the hotel.
July 18th Doniphan, MO to Nashville, TN I-J	We left Poplar Bluff a little later than usual, we stopped at the local grocery store to stock up on water, gatorade and snacks. We then rode to Sikeston, Mo for lunch at the world famous Lambert's restaurant which is known for "throwing the rolls". We all enjoyed a great southern meal, I persoanally dined on the southern delicasy of fried frog legs. Several members tried dishes that they had never experienced prior to this lunch i.e. fried okra, black eyed peas, turnip greens, etc. Everyone had a great time at Lamberts and then it was on down the road. As we entered Illinois the sky turned a frightful black with howling winds so we had to modify our route on the fly. 270 degress of the sky was black so we chose the part that looked acceptable. During this change we crossed the Mississippi River two different times and finally arrived at the Hickman Ferry on the Kentucky/Missouri state line (Mississippi River). It was the first time several of us had ridden a ferry with our bikes. After debarking off the ferry we continued to Nashville, Tn for a great night of "hony tonkin" in Music City.
July 19th Nashville, TN to Chattanooga, TN J-K	We left Nashville around 10:00AM enroute to Chattanooga, Tn. We started down back roads but as we started up and down the hills it became apparent that Keith's clutch couldn't take the stress on it so once again we modified the route back to I-24 and on into Chattanooga. We had to take it easy to be able to get Keith there safely, on several of the hills his maximum speed was around 35 MPH however, we arrived safe and sound in Chattanooga around 2:00PM. After arriving and enjoying some could refreshments in the hotel lobby some old friends arrived, Tommy Monaco, Jerry and Patty Geherls and Ron and Janine Reeves. It was great to see them once again. After several hugs and catching up we all adjourned to our rooms for some much needed showers and rest. After arriving Keith arranged an appointment to have his clutch replaced and luckily the dealer was friendly and worked with Keith and got his bike repaired the next day. Needless to say, it was a huge relief for Keith and Stacy to once again have a fully functioning bike.
July 20th STAR DAYS	The first full day in Chattanooga was to be a "maintenance" day which included laundry, getting Keith's bike repaired and some shopping with the venders at Star Days. That night we dined at "The Station House" which was a very unique experience, all the waiters and waitresses were also the local entertaintainment and were extremely good singers.
July 21st STAR DAYS Ruby Falls	We woke up to hot humid conditions and we rode to Ruby Falls and enjoyed a great day of fun which included a tour of the falls along with an added attraction which was advertised as an zipline ride. In reality, it turned out to be more like an aerial acrobatics training camp as you were suspended 25 feet above the ground. For those of us that have a fear of heights, namely me it was one scary experience. Everyone with the exception of the chapter president had a great time :-). We returned to the hotel in time to pack our bikes and trailers in preparation for departure early the next morning. That night was the Star Days banquet/auction where we enjoyed great comraderie with members from all over the world, along with a tasty dinner. It was announced that next year Star Days will be held in Templeton, Wi.
July 22nd Chattanooga, TN to Savannah, GA K-L	We bid farewell to Scott, Marie, Ken, and Gail this morning as we were headed south and they were planning to head north to the outer banks and onto the New England area. We departed Chattanooga this morning at 5:30AM. When we awakened it was already hot and humid and we determined it was only going to get worse so we hit the road bright and early. We traveled through North Carolina along the beautiful Ocoee Lake in the Cherokee National forest. After exiting the national forest we turned southeast towards the eastern coast of Georgia and our final destination of Savannah, Ga where we arrived around 4:00PM after riding over 425 miles for the day.	Scott, Marie, Ken, and Gail are going a northern route home - and taking a little longer. Click here to view Scott's pictures, post-Star Days! Scott's Pictures are all in one album that he keeps adding to.....
July 23rd Savannah, GA to Daytona Beach, FL L-M	This morning we left Savannah around 8:00AM and hopped on I-95 headed south for Florida. The weather was pretty muggy with extremely high humidity but that seems to be the word for the day over here on the east coast. We traveled south on I-95 and of course we stopped at a Harley dealer just outside Brunswick, Ga for some shopping and a photo op. We exited off of the interstate just after we crossed the Florida state line and stopped in Fernandina Beach, Fl for some more photos to celebrate our coast to coast achievement. We then rode the St. John's ferry across the intracoastal waterway just outside Jacksonville, Fl. We rode south on A1A along the Atlantic ocean to the oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine, Fl. We stopped at the Castillo de San Marcos NationaL Monument which was very interesting. After a tasty lunch in St. Augustine we traveled down to Daytona Beach and arrived at our final destination of the day. That night myself, Vicki, Stacy and Keith went down to the beach for a great dinner and a walk on the beach. All in all, a fabulous day with lots of sights to take in. Tomorrow we're headed to Panama City, Fl. We'll see what adventures and fun the morning will bring!!	Cherokee NC We stayed in Cherokee, NC and went to see "Ont These Hills" an outdoor theater presentation put on by the Cherokee tribal Historical Society about the history of the Cherokee nation and the Trail of Tears. Very intersting, moving and sad. Then today we hiked to the Mindy Falls while Ken took a nap on the Goldwing. Ed has to try this! Heading to the Outer Banks tomorrow, a two day ride.
July 24th Daytona Beach, FL to Panama City FL M-N	We began this leg of our adventure riding in the rain from Daytona beach however, after about an hour we rode west out of the bad weather. During our trip we've had days of sight seeing and some days were just about the ride and today was a day designated just for riding. We rode west from Daytona through Ocala National forest and who would have ever thought that we'd see more wildlife in Florida than any other state. Today we saw three black bears (a sow and two cubs), deer and wild turkeys. Once again the bears ran across the road in front of me so we all got a good view of them. That was the highlight of our day today, well that and Keith and Stacy tasted boiled peanuts for the first time. We arrived in Panama City around 1:30PM and spent the afternoon resting up and preparing for the next day of our adventure.	We went to Bat Cave and Chimney Rock North Carolina. The heat is almost unbearable. Then went to Bunker Hill covered bridge. Check out the snake in the river.
July 25th Panama City, FL to New Orleans, LA N-O	We left Panama City this morning to overcast skies and EXTREMELY high humidity. The ride was pretty uneventful with the exception of the experience of riding through a tropical storm, the word for the day was RAIN!! Our first stop was at the USS Alabama Memorial Park. It was a first for most of the group however, both myself and Larry had served on a battleship but it was fun to go aboard again and talk about old memories. We were there for about an hour or so and we looked to the northeast skies and noticed an approaching storm and so we hot footed it out of there and finished our day's ride in New Orleans, La. While in the "Big Easy", we sampled the local food and mingled with the locals along Bourbon Street. It was a night we will all remember for years to come.
July 26th New Orleans, LA to Nacogdoches, TX O-P	We departed New Orleans bright and early as we had a long day's ride ahead of us. The morning's weather was clear and hot but that weather was short lived. We spent the majority of the day riding in rain, anywhere from light to extraordinarily heavy. We were drenched most of the day however, about 50 miles southeast of Nacogdoches, TX the black sky opened up and we experienced the heaviest rain of the day so the sight of the hotel was a welcomed one. It was in Nacogdoches that I started having issues with my bike. That evening we dined at one of my favorite hamburger restaurants in the Lone Star State, Whataburger. I'm not sure the rest of the group shared my opinion of the burgers :-).
July 27th Nacogdoches, TX to Fort Worth, TX P-Q	We awakened to light rain and we mounted up to leave around 6:00AM. It took some effort to get my bike started but we finally did and off we went towards Ft. Worth. Given my bike problems I decided to keep it running till we arrived in Ft. Worth. The ride was a relatively short ride, approximately 200 miles so we arrived in Ft. Worth just after 10:00AM. Our first stlop was Harley Davidson of Ft. Worth where we dropped off my bike to be worked on and have the oil changed. After dropping off my bike we headed to Angelo's BBQ Restaurant (Vicki and myself's local favorite when we lived in Ft. Worth). After lunch we rode to the historic Ft. Worth Stockyards Hotel and checked in. The hotel was centrally located in the historical district so there was plenty of sight seeing and fun to be had by the group. Luckily the shop was able to repair my bike in short order so Vicki and I picked it up early and joined the group for some relaxing fun. That evening we dined on some delicious steak dinners. After dinner, we walked over to Billy Bob's Texas, the largest "honky tonk" in the world. With 127,000 square feet of space, which is nearly 3 acres inside and 20 acres of parking, for entertainment and events, Billy Bob's has 32 individual bar stations, country music's biggest stars, Live Pro Bull Riding and a Texas size dance floor for everyone to enjoy. Yes, it has an actual rodeo arena inside the club where they have live bull riding every Friday and Saturday nights.
July 28th Fort Worth, TX to Big Spring, TX Q-R	We left Ft. Worth aka Cowtown around 7:00AM headed west with a final destination of Big Spring, TX. Our route for the day took us through the area that I grew up in and shared numerous childhood stories with the group. I'm sure they were happy by the time the stories were over :-). It was a great ride for myself personally. Other than me enjoying my "old stompin' grounds", the ride was fairly uneventful and we arrived in Big Spring around 2:00PM so we got a chance to relax and rest up for tomorrow's adventure.
July 29th Big Spring, TX to Carlsbad, NM R-S	We had a relatively short ride today however, we wanted to get to Carlsbad, NM as early as possible to spend time at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We left Big Spring, TX around 6:00AM and enjoyed a nice ride to Carlsbad. We stopped at a gas station to fill our tanks before heading to the hotel and then onto the caverns and as luck would have it, it was a good thing we did. As Keith was getting gas we noticed his rear tire was low and with a closer look we found that he had picked up a nail sometime that morning. We rode to a tire dealer but they wouldn’t help us since we were on bikes but they told us of a place that might be able to repair or replace the tire. Once we arrived it was clear that they weren’t going to be able to help us either so we tried a couple options and finally decided to plug the tire ourselves, it worked like a charm! It was the first time any of us had attempted it but it turned out well so we all learned something new. After we got Keith back on the road we rode to the caverns for a great afternoon of touring the caverns and picture taking. We waited for the “Bat Flight” in the evening however, the weather turned bad and they asked everyone to leave the park so we rode back to the hotel for dinner and to rest up for the long ride the next day.
July 30th Carlsbad, NM to Phoenix, AZ S-T	This day started extra early, we left the hotel at 5:00AM. We started our day early because we had a 600+ mile day and we wanted to try and beat the afternoon rain and to avoid riding in the extreme heat all day long. The ride was somewhat surprising in the morning, we rode some back roads which took us through the mountains of southeastern New Mexico between Carlsbad and Alamogordo through the Lincoln National Forest and up to an elevation of 8200 feet. It turned out this would be the coolest temperatures we experienced the entire trip. At one point the temperatures dipped to around 38 degrees and of course none of us was dressed for the cool ride since it was almost 80 when we left Carlsbad. We saw several herds of deer that morning and once we reached Alamogordo the heat started rising and the rest of the ride to Phoenix was plenty warm and tiring. We arrived in Phoenix around 5:30 that evening , tired and ready to call it a day. Larry had the opportunity to meet up with friends and enjoy dinner with them. After dinner we all called it a day for some much needed rest for the final day’s ride of the trip.
July 31st Phoenix, AZ to HOME	We started our day at 6:00AM sharp as we were anticipating some very warm temperatures as we rode through Arizona and onto Orange county and we weren’t surprised at the heat levels that we experienced. We stopped in Blythe, Ca for breakfast which was our only meal stop of the day. We arrived back in Orange county around 1:30PM and to my surprise as we rode north on SR57 I head a familiar voice on the CB, it was Ed who had just returned from the August pre-ride. This was a somewhat bitter sweet day, we were all excited about being home but at the same time saddened that our adventure had come to an end. With my final recap for Star Days 2010, we completed 7150 miles, an unlimited amount of fun and laughs, seeing scenery that just cannot be truly captured with a camera and three weeks with great friends. To all who went on the ride, I want to extend my personal thanks for an adventure Vicki and I will never forget!!!!