Philadelphia to Carlsbad

The Myrtle Beach Red Roof was a pretty good deal, and the one in Newport News wasn’t too bad, either. For dinner I tried a Sports Bar across the street. They had Fat Tire beer on tap and I found that on tap it’s not much better than in bottles. Food was okay, though.

From Newport News I took the GPS ordained route to Philadelphia, unlike the ride up from Myrtle Beach where I tried to force it to take me on the more scenic coastal route. After encountering a bridge that was out, I had decided to follow the GPS advice.

Back to the route to Philly, I decided to stop at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. I finally figured out that I had been there before, but the last time must have been one of my one hour stops right before closing, since I didn’t remember much from my previous stop two years ago. Being able to spend a couple of hours there made it much more enjoyable. I also had a pleasant lunch in their cafe, which opens onto a pond with an art installation. Starting Charleston the weather had turned nice and it was very pleasant in Richmond.

After I got back on the road after getting my fill of art, I found that the route from Richmond to Washington DC was just as bad as the 405 back home, and it was a Sunday. The GPS also decided that it would be fastest to dump me off i surface streets right next to the Mall!. This could have been tragic, but it was late and the traffic wasn’t too bad. The route did take me through some nice cafe neighborhoods which I had never dreamed could exist in DC. I’d already switched to my backup GPS unit since the large screen I’d bought for the trip was starting to become intermittent, usually going out at critical moments.

The next nasty surprise was that the toll structure in Maryland and Delaware had really shot up. Before it had been pocket money, now it was costing as much as a meal at McDonalds. Just gong through the Baltimore harbor tunnel north is $6 (half price heading south I found out). Anyway, I finally got to my friend’s place in the Philly suburbs around 8PM, which wasn’t too bad. I had reached the farthest north and east point of my trip. After this I would be turning around.

I had made it just in time since the next day it rained, much to the surprise of my friend. I guess it pays to watch the weather channel, pretty much the only thing I watched in my motel rooms. In spite of the rain we went to the Morris Gardens of the University of Pennsylvania. I would have liked to have visited the Barnes Foundation, but you need reservations and they were booked up for a week.

The Morris Gardens were fun, albeit wet. For the kids they had an elevated walkway with a giant next equipped with giant eggs. There was a little Japanese garden that seemed to have been semi-forgotten. The Japanese viewing garden was in better shape. After that we went to brewpub which gave me a little headache. Garden photos: http://ikemi.info/graphics4/MorrisGardens2012/index.html

The next day was pretty laid back. We visited a bike shop and go to see one of the new automatic Honda 700s They actually look pretty sharp in real life. My friend bought for me an electric jacket and gloves as thanks for helping him mount all the DL accessories. For lunch we’d gone to the Iron abbey which had a very good selection of beers, including Belgian ones.

That afternoon I adjusted the chain on my bike. I’d found that I’d overtightened the axle nut back home and I couldn’t loosen the rear axle nut with the wrench I’d brought with me. Fortunately an adjustable wrench my friend had worked. Up to this point the chain had hardly stretched, but that would soon be changing. I also helped my friend install most of the DL-650 accessories I’d sent him: SW-Motech center stand, Madsten adjustable windshield brackets, and the rear wheel hugger. He decided to wait on the belly pan. That went pretty well except for the center stand. We found that Suzuki hadn’t done a good job of tapping the center stand bolt holes and we had to re-tap them. After that it went together pretty well. I also installed the taps for the electric jacket and gloves

For dinner went to a great place called MOMS in Doylestown for appetizers and more beer.

The next next day it was time to get back on the road and head home. An early start was a bad idea since it was in the 30s. Even with the electric jacket and gloves after about 4 miles I checked into a McDonalds to warm back up with some coffee. Back on the road after it warmed up a little I retraced my steps back to Richmond since along the way I had arranged to make a quick visit with my cousin and her husband near Pasadena for lunch. Along the way I found that my Kaoko throttle control had fallen off. I knew that it was getting lose and I had forgotten it tighten it at one of the stops on the turnpike coming down. My cousin knew of a motorcycle shop nearby and they had Crampbusters. I was dubious but decided to try one. This serious for me since my hands are arthritic and I can’t hold a throttle open for very long. I had been thinking of going due west from Baltimore to hit Shenandoah, but I heard of more bad weather in that direction, so I headed back south, retracing my tracks.

I stopped again at Richmond to see the visitor center for the Richmond National Battlefield. On the way up I had skipped this site since there was a huge music festival that weekend and no parking near the visitor center. The visitor center is in the former Tredegar Iron Works, which was apparently the most important iron works of the Confederacy, and one of the best equipped in the nation before the Civil War. The Visitor Center is actually a starting point for visiting other sites in Richmond. There is an unaffiliated Civl War Museum next door that I didn’t visit. Photos: http://ikemi.info/graphics4/Tredegar2012/index.html

Back on the road I made it past Richmond to stop at the Red Roof in Greenville. I should have stopped in Charlotte since I hit a heavy downpour late at night in the dark. It was pretty heavy and miserable and I was glad to finally make it to Greenville. Fortunately the rain gear all worked and I didn’t even have to pull on my rubber overboots. The front I was trying to avoid had finally caught me. From Greenville the next day I made it to the Atlanta Botanical gardens where it is very expensive to park, enter, and eat. However, the gardens were very nice and just like Cheekwood the big deal seemed to be costumed scarecrows in preparation for Halloween. These gardens also had an elevated walkway, just like the Morris Gardens. Around here I finally had to admit that I had picked up a cold in Pennsylvania, and it was starting to slow me down. Maybe that’s why I lost my Visa card after paying for my parking on the way out. Garden photos: http://ikemi.info/graphics4/AtlantaBotanical2012/index.html

From Atlanta I made it to the Birmingham Motel 6. I had an easy morning the next day since I wanted to see sights in the city. The first was the Civil Rights Institute where photography is not allowed. Next was the Birmingham Museum of Art where apparently they were already celebrating Halloween for the kids. As part of that event I got to listen to a live band. This museum has a sizable Asian art collection. Photos at: http://ikemi.info/graphics4/BirminghamMuseumofArt2012/index.html. I stayed the nighty in Meridian to get me into position for visiting the Vicksburg Battlefield. I had missed Shiloh so I decided to spend some time here. The layout is sort of like Gettysburg where you can drive a route around the battlefield, which is literally covered with plaques and monuments. Some are quite impressive such as the Illinois one. You could probably spend the rest of your life trying to read all of the plaques and figuring out of the order of battle. A highlight is a semi-restored Union river ironclad that was sunk by a mine during the battle. It’s pretty impressive. Photos at: http://ikemi.info/graphics4/Vicksburg2012/index.html. After that I spent the night at the Bossier City Motel 6 to get ready for a traveling day. This was a Monday so a lot museums would be closed and the motorcycle dealer I tried to visit on the way out of town was also closed. By this point I realized that my front brake pads were going and I need a new set. Fortunately in Dallas I found a dealer who was open, had in stock EBC brake pads, and accepted American Express.

Between Dallas and Fort Worth I got caught in a small downpour, but I was able to get off the interstate on an offramp which led to a closed bank which had a covered drive through teller window. By the time I pulled on my rain gear the rain was ending. I had been downright hot in Dallas so I had shed my waterproof shell. From there I went to the Fort Worth Botanical Garden. Dallas also has a well-known garden, but it is more expensive and the Fort Worth garden is supposed to have a better collection of roses as well as a Japanese Garden. Also, the Fort Worth Garden has easy free parking and free admission to most of the garden. It costs $1 to enter the tropical greenhouse and $5 to enter the Japanese Garden, real bargains. I ate a Danish out of the vending machine for lunch, which turned out to be a good idea since the garden cafe is closed on Mondays. There is another elevated walkway (not very high) through a forest area which connects the two areas of the gardens together. The Japanese garden is huge and filled with all kinds of things you don’t normally see in Japanese Gardens. The designers obviously went crazy and decided to put in everything they could. However, it works and is fun to walk through. There is evan a mikoshi portable shrine on display. The rose garden is also large, being a WPA project. There is also a historical Texas rose garden as well. Overall, a great stop, especially considering the price and the fact that it didn’t rain on me. Photos: http://ikemi.info/graphics4/FortWorthBotanic2012/index.html

After Fort Worth I stopped for the night early in Weatherford where there is an exceptionally nice Motel 6. It’s one of the ones with a real lobby and internal hallways. It also happened to be near a shopping center and restaurants instead of being in the middle of nowhere, so to speak, like a lot of Motel 6s. At the Lowe’s nearby I made use of a tool sale and stocked up. I got a breaker bar and socket to adjust my chain as well as a ratchet and hex drivers. My chain was stretching to the point where it needed daily adjustmens and I was getting tired of staring away with my little 10” adjustable wrenches. I also got a a couple of large screwdrivers for separating the calipers when I replaced the brake pad. The next day was a traveling one and I made it to Carlsbad in new Mexico. I had been afraid of making this stretch of freeway but it turned out not to be too bad, not nearly as barren as the stretch farther south that I had taken earlier this year to San Antonio. At the Carlsbad Motel 6 I finally replaced the brake pads, and was glad I did since one pad was almost down to the metal. Even though I had a spare chain I decided to stick with the original one and let it stretch. I would just plan on replacing the sprockets when I got home.

The next day I rode out to the Carlsbad Caverns which were a bout 27 miles south, after first stopping at the last cafe in town, which was actually pretty good. It’s logo was a happy face, which reminded me of the Forrest Gump movie. Carlsbad Caverns weren’t crowded with no lines but I decided to just do the self-guided walks. Years ago when I came here as a child with my family, the Rangers led you down from the entrance and then you took the elevator up. They’d even stop along the way, turn the lights off, and then light a match, which was pretty impressive. Nowadays, you have to take a guided tour to get that experience. I could have signed up for the guided tour of the King’s Palace, but decided that I’d better limit things since I still had my cold and my knees aren’t good. I found that I could take the elevator down and then walk out the natural entrance. Apparently this wasn’t always permitted since the audio guide said it wasn’t allowed. I wasn’t that hungry but I bought a sandwich down in the Big Room just as we had done when my family came here. The place was still pretty darn impressive, and maybe even more so. The walk up was worth and it’s a thrill to see sunlight as you finally get to the top. Photos: http://ikemi.info/graphics4/CarlsbadCaverns2012/index.html.

To Nashville 2012

I was planning on leaving for my trip across the country on Friday night and getting as far as maybe Blythe. This was the strategy I used two years ago when I set off for Nova Scotia.The idea was to avoid the heat, but I ended up delaying since I wanted to walk the dogs a couple more times and I didn’t have my stuff sorted out properly. I got going a a reasonable time on Saturday morning, although there still really wasn’t enough room for me on the bike after I loaded it. I guess the DL had more capacity.

I pretty much followed the same path I had taken two years ago, but instead of heading for Phoenix and Tucson my destination was Flagstaff via Prescott. As I feared, it was pretty darn hot (over 100F) until I started getting to the higher elevations near Prescott. I made numerous stops for electrolyte drinks on the way. Prescott was definitely a relief in terms of temperature and the Econolodge about a mile from downtown was a good deal. I walked back into town for dinner at Prescott Brewing Co. and a pint at the Granite Mountain Brewing tap room. Pretty busy there.

Leaving Prescott I had to descend into the desert again and hit the 100F temperatures again. I stumbled into Jerome and decided to check out the Jerome State Park which was the former home of the Douglas family (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_State_Historic_Park). Photos are at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/Jerome2012/index.html
Right outside the Park is the mine shaft that was used to haul ore up from one of the mines. Through a protective plate you can look down deeper than you really want to.

I descended from Jerome and headed for Tuzigoot National Monument. The ruins here aren’t like Chaco, but they help fill in the picture of the network of Native American settlements in the Southwest.

After that I I headed for Flagstaff, but realized I was near Montezumas Castle. This was an easy visit since it was near the freeway and you can only see the ruins from a distance. Entry is not allowed anymore due to the impact of visits. This is Mesa Verde style settlement where the buildings were built into a cliff. Near the base of cliff are unexcavated ruins that are supposed to have been even larger than the visible ones. Nearby is a stream that must have made the settlements in the area viable. Photos are at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/TuzigootNationalMonument2012/index.html

A short drive away, actually one off ramp farther, is the very impressive Montezuma Well, a 368’ diameter sinkhole with a pool of water in the bottom. Dwellings were built into the side of the sinkhole. This must have been a luxury site with a supply of water like this at your feet. You can climb down into the sinkhole and see where the outlet is, and you can also climb down on the outside and see where the water comes out and enters a system of channels. Overall, a very interesting site. I almost forgot to leave before the gate was locked.

After this I finally made it to Flagstaff. Two years ago I hadn’t been able to make it due to the large fires in the are that cut off the road to the north, so I had decided to stay two nights at the very basic Motel 6. The first night I went to the Prescott Brewing Co. which was apparently named something else before. The internet seems to list 3 or 4 brewpubs for Flagstaff, but it’s really only 2 due to name changes and listings that haven’t been updated. Prescott Brewing was pretty basic. I stayed at the Motel 6 which was more basic than most, but livable.

The next day I visited Walnut Canyon, which is pretty darn Impressive. It’s a short drive east of Flagstaff and fairly accessible, although there is a steep walk 185’ down to the trail. This place is a sort of American version of Macchu Picchu in that there is central ”island” that rises out of the middle of the canyon.The trail goes around this island, but there is no access to the top which was also built up at one time. There is also a more leisurely rim trail which takes you to a reconstruction of a pit house. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/WalnutCanyon2012/index.html

In town I resupplied at Peace Surplus on Route 66 which I highly recommend for outdoor supplies such as stoves, water bottles, etc. Nearby the beer was excellent at Beaver Street Brewing.

For the afternoon I went to the nearby Lowell Observatory which has two interesting tours, one about Pluto and the other about Mars. The Mars Walk and Galaxy Walk give you an idea of the scale of space. The observatory has other sites away from Flagstaff that you currently can’t visit. I could have returned at night to use the telescopes, but my sinuses were still bothering me so I decided to rest up. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/Lowell2012/index.html

The next day I took off north to see Sunset Crater and Wupatki. At Sunset there is a trail that takes you to the base of the big cinder cone but you can no longer hike on it.

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/SunsetCrater2012/index.html

A side road takes you to Wupatki which is actually a series of sites besides the main one behind the visitor center. Unlike Walnut Canyon where the dwellings were built into the sides of the canyon (also true of Montezuma’s Castle and Well) these are pretty much free standing structures, although some are built around natural outcroppings. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/WupatkiNationalMonument2012/index.html

I was going to stay at Kayenta, but I found that everything there, and for miles around, was booked up. After asking around, I found that there were campgrounds up in Monument Valley, which I originally hadn’t planned on visiting. I ended up at Gould Campground which was pretty luxurious by campground standards and pitched my tent there. I got pretty cool at night and I was glad that I had my down bag. In the morning you get to see one of the “monuments” framed by the canyon walls. I rode through most of the valley and then returned to the interstate. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/MonumentValley2012/index.html

Right outside of Shiprock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiprock,_New_Mexico) my iPod Classic dropped out of my jacket pocket. I circled back, but no sign of it. My backup is my iPod Touch, which is too complicated for daily listening for me. Somehow I keep doing things like accidentally changing the playback speed or muting it, which is not supposed to be possible.

My next stop was Aztec Ruins, which was another free standing complex. This was excavated back in WPA/CCC days so there was a lot of reconstruction. The huge Kiva reconstruction is pretty impressive, if maybe not completely authentic. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/AztecRuins2012/index.html

From there I went up to Durango where I had dinner at Steamworks which was OK. I heard that I should have gone to Carvers. I stayed at the Super 8 which was more more expensive than my usual Motel 6 practice, but a nice change. I learned from their weather info sheet that a big cold front was coming down. I verified this on weather.com and the Weather Channel. Denver was going to get snow and even Colorado Springs was going to freeze, so I changed my plans. I went from Durango to Pagosa Springs and then south, which was a pretty nice ride. This took me to Santa Fe where I visited the REI for some equipment (most importantly a headlamp which I found was pretty useful when camping and later when lubing my chain in the dark). I’d already walked around the town during my last trip so I went to Museum Hill to visit the International Museum of Folk Art since it had an exhibit of the art produced by Japanese Americans while imprisoned in the camps during World War II. The other exhibits were also pretty interesting:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/SantaFe2012/index.html

Dinner was at Second Street Brewing which had good beer but some rip-off food prices.

The next day I headed for Amarillo Texas. The only “brewpub” is the Big Texan, so I headed there. The cultural experience and good service made up for the beer:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/BigTexan2012/content/IMG_2943_large.html

Around here the Motel 6s start improving in terms of what you get for your money.

The ride the next day reminded me of motorcycling through the Yukon and Klondike four years ago. It was darn cold. I was really glad that I had invested in a new pair of Thinsulate insulated gloves at the very helpful motorcycle shop in Durango. Wish I had remembered that I had down sweater I had purchased at Costco right before the trip. The next day I remembered to put it on. The destination for the day was the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, known for its Dale Chihuly glass exhibit:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/OklahomaCity2012/index.html

Dinner was at Bricktown Brewery since it was nearby. Great service and prices, but kind of bland beer and food. Parking is also really bad in that area but I found something a little walk away since I’m too cheap to pay for a parking lot.

The next stop was Little Rock, Arkansas. I got to the Central High National Monument just as it was closing, but got some brochures and took a walk around the high school after checking out the restored Mobil Station. Dinner was at Vino’s Brewpub, which was kind of funky and had really good beer. The next day I returned to Central High visitors center to check out the displays:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/CentralHigh2012/index.html

After that I headed to Memphis for the National Civil Righs Museum:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/NationalCivilRightsMuseum2012/index.html

Dinner was at Boscos Squared which was a little more upscale than Vino’s, but also had good beer, as well as food. The next day I checked out the Memphis Botanical Garden on the way out, which had a fairly large Japanese Garden and lots of hungry koi:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/MemphisBotanicalGarden2012/index.html

I wanted to visit the Brooks Museum but it’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Graceland wasn’t on my itinerary so the next stop was Nashville. I managed to get there in time to check out Cheekwood for just one hour. This is the estate of the family that invented Maxwell House Coffee. I wasn’t able to see all of the gardens but they also have a Japanese Garden. This one is unique in that it’s designed to be viewed from only one vantage point and you don’t actually walk through it:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/Cheekwood2012/index.html

I got kind of lost going into town so I headed to the Parthenon to get my bearings ( i’d loaded its coordinates into my GPS ahead of time). It was closed. but I was able to photograph it in the setting sun. Dinner was at Blackstone Restaurant and Brewery, which looked kind of upscale but had a sports bar menu. In the morning I revisited the Parthenon to see the exhibits inside. The art collection on display isn’t that memorable, but the reproduction of the Athena Parthenos inside is pretty impressive. The building itself was built to be faithful to the original, except that is concrete instead of marble. They actually bought castings of the Elgin Marbles to help reproduce the sculptures. So, you can save on a trip to the British Museum and come to Nashville instead. They also tried to reproduce the curvature of the foundation, but it looks like it has sagged a little. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/Parthenon2012/index.html

On the way out of Nashville I stopped at the Hermitage, the plantation of Andrew Jackson. The site tries to deal honestly with Jackson and his strengths and shortcomings, and the slave quarters and life are part of the site. You can also take a trail to see the foundations of some of the more remote slave quarters.

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/Hermitage2012/index.html

I deeded to skip the Opry. I got as far as Cookeville for a dry night at a Motel 6.

The next day I didn’t go to Dollyland but I did head to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The road from the north side is one big traffic jam lined with every kind of amusement park exhibit you can imagine. It’s like a long series of discrete Disneyland attractions. The park itself is great and the two visitor centers I visited were pretty informative. I was lucky on the way up that the traffic wasn’t too bad, but I caught some on the way down. The parking lot at the gap on top was full and really busy so I sipped it. The mountain farm recreation on the south side was pretty interesting, complete with real hogs:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/GreatSmoky2012/index.html

From there I made it to Columbia. Unlike the Motel 6s in Memphis and Cookeville, I didn’t have any companionship from six legged vermin at this Motel 6. From there I headed to Charleston to see Fort Sumter. This time I was ready to use the parking structure, but found that motorcycles weren’t allowed in. I had to use metered parking on the street. Fortunately I had a pocket full of quarters and the Fort Sumter visitor center will make change for you. I got there in time to catch the noon ferry over to the fort. You get to spend one hour there, which turns out not to be enough since I didn’t finish going through all of the exhibits in the museum. The fort you see is not as it was during the Civl War, since Union forces shelled it to rubble.

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/FortSumter2012/index.html

After getting back I skipped the brewpub and headed over to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island. This site combines elements from Civil War era up to World War II fortifications. The visitor center also has exhibits on the slave trade since Sullivan’s Island was also the port of entry for most slave ships.

Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics4/FortMoultrie2012/index.html

That night was another dry one at the Myrtle Beach Red Roof. From there I went to Newport News to see the Mariners Museum. However, I found that on Sundays it doesn’t open till noon, so I decided to skip it since my schedule was getting tight. I’d also been there once before on a previous trip.