Inglewood to Durango

I was able to keep to my plan pretty well: leave Inglewood around 2:30 and head towards the Motel 6 in Blythe. I stopped at a AAA to pick up maps and a supermarket to get flowers and offerings for the grave of my folks. It was on the way and I would be out of town for a while, so it made sense to stop off at Rose Hills. That worked out okay but traffic was pretty bad by the time I got to Riverside. The best thing to do seemed to be to check out Inland Empire brewing. I ordered a tasting flight and killed some time. The beer was okay; worth a stop if you’re in the area, but not a destination. It did perk me up from my exhausted state and the rest of the ride wasn’t too bad. My strategy was working and I didn’t see temperatures that were too bad.

The next day after breakfast at Subway, where I’d also had dinner (open 24 hours and closest place to th Motel 6) I got out around 7AM and the going wasn’t too bad until I got near Phoenix. Between there and Tucson the temperature got up around 104 according to my onboard thermometer. With a little bit of effort I finally found the Franklin Car Museum off a dirt road:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/FranklinMuseum2015/index.html

I stopped at El Barrio in Tucson to cool off and get some food and another tasting flight. Pretty good stuff, and one of the best Hefeweizens I’d had in a while. Finally the last leg was to Wilcox where you could see the weather changing. Dinner at Carl’s since I’d had a real meal for lunch. Rained that night but it was okay when I took off in the morning for Discover Park in Safford. After an orientation lecture, we were loaded into two vans for the long ride up the mountain. They were smart and tried to let us acclimate a little by starting with lunch near the ranger station. After getting sorted out, we loaded up again for the last stage up to the three observatories on Mt. Graham. The first was the smallest, the Vatican telescope, which is of course run the Jesuits. Francis doesn’t seem to have any near term plans to pay a visit. Next was the sub-millimeter radio telescope. This one has to be treated and protected almost like an optical telescope since it collects really short wavelength radiation. Finally, we visited the Large Binocular Telescope, which is much bigger than it appears at first. Photos:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/MtGraham2015/index.html

The LBT was very impressive and looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Looked like they didn’t take any shortcuts building it.

Didn’t have really plans after the excursion and ended up in the Rode Inn in Clifton. A little expensive for my budget, but there weren’t many other choices. Tried looking for the RV park, but gave up, especially since it’d been raining. The closest restaurant was closed by the time I got settled in so I had to settle for a sandwich from the convenience store.

The next daw was the scenic ride up Route 191. This started by driving past a vast open pit mine. During my Trinity trip I’d come this way in the opposite direction and even rescued an engineer from the mine who had flatted out while bicycling up that road. Only about the first 10 miles of the road past the mine are really twisty-turns. After that the road straightens out a little, but continues to be scenic on the way up to Alpine. North of Alpine saw some heavy rain storms and even ran into one. Also forded a road flooded during a storm, but by the time I go to that point the water level had dropped enough to be safe to cross, as I found experimentally. Stopped at the Gallup, NM Motel 6.

Drove through the actual town of Gallup the next day on the way to Salmon Ruins, first making a Fedex shipment in Farmington, NM of loot and excess gear, stopping at Three Rivers Brewing for lunch. Salmon Ruins in Boomfield, NM is a complement to the nearby Aztec Ruins I’d visited in 2012. Salmon Ruins is in worse shape, but gives you a better idea of what ruins looked like when first found, or so I think. Both are supposed to be outliers of the Chaco Culture.

Salmon Ruins:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Salmon2015/index.html

From Salmon Ruins it was on to the Durango KOA, about 6 miles out of town. From my last trip I knew that Durango is very expensive so I had planned accordingly, although KOAs are not cheap by campground standards. I went into town for dinner at Carvers which was pretty good. I’d already made train trip reservations for the ride to Silverton, so I dropped by the ticket office to pick up my tickets. The next day on the train the weather changed and it was drizzling by the time we got to Silverton. I’d brought my umbrella which was a good thing. Had lunch in Silverton, which was good but turned out to be a bad idea since I didn’t have time to enter the local museum. I was able to walk up to it, but not to enter. A train ride on a real coal burning locomotive pulled drain will convince you that burning coal is not a good idea. The train ride, overall, though, is pretty enjoyable, especially the return trip was more pleasant since the weather cleared up and the train was a lot more empty. There’s a small but interesting train station near the depot but I got there near closing time so I had to dash through it.

Train ride to Silverton:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Silverton2015/index.html

I had dinner at the creatively named Brewhouse across the street from the McDonalds and near the train station. The KOA campground was pretty enjoyable and I had the pancake breakfast before I left. I took the route out that was a combination of my 2010 and 2012 trips. Went up Wolf Pass and through Pagosa Spings. I regret that I bypassed Chimney Rock. I’ll have to go back someday. I decided to stop in Pueblo Colorado after stopping at a Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Plaza to get a new tank bag. My old one was starting to fall apart and the repairs I’d made to it at home weren’t hacking it. Also picked up some hardware to finally remove the last remains of my Rammmount on the brake lever mounting clamp. Dinner was corned beef at an Irish pub brewhouse, Shamrock Brewing, which was down by the River. Pueblo is supposed to have a nice river walk, and I should go back someday to explore it.

In Colorado Springs I made reservations to go on a tour of the National museum of World War II Aviation. Not many planes on display, but you do get to go through a restoration workshop, and the ride was very knowledgable, an ex-Air Force pilot. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/WW2Aviation2015/index.html

There’s also an aviation museum on the Air Force base and I need to check it out someday.

Finally made it to Denver after enduring a little traffic. Stayed at a Motel 6 that turned out to have a pretty good location for once. It was within walking distance of Rocky Mountain Park which has a nice pond to walk around. It’s also near a taproom which was pretty good, Goldspot. Dinner was off a small catering truck at the taproom, which included fancy toast cheese sandwiches. The next day I went downtown and started with the Natural History Museum, and then the Denver Art Museum. Both were pretty impressive and worth the visit. The art museum has a good Asian collection. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/DenverMuseums2015/index.html

Next door to the Denver art museum is the Clyfford Still Museum which is dedicated to only the art of Mr. Still.

On the way out of town I visited the Denver Botanic Gardens:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/DenverBotanic2015/index.html

Also stopped at the very impressive Denver REI which is inside an old brick industrial building. Bought a bigger tent there since I had realized in Durango that my one man tent although efficient, wasn’t going to work on this trip.

From Denver I headed east through Nebraska and ended up camping in Ogalala at the Sleepy Sunflower RV Park. Motels were booked out or too expensive for me. Nice campground and a good thing I pulled in when I did since a big storm had been following me. The camp proprietor came and told us to get out of our tents and into the shelter building,which was well equipped and very comfortable. Before I left my tent I tied it to a picnic table which was a really good idea. It poured and blew and peaked with marble sized hail. When we went back to our tents, I was glad I had the bigger one since I was able to put everything inside of it. The next day was fine.

On the way to Omaha I stopped at the Lincoln sunken gardens, which was a good break, and I took a walk around the area. There is also a Rotary rose garden and a Children’s Zoo nearby.
Lincoln Gardens:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/LincolnGardens2015/index.html

In Omaha I visited the Lauritzen Gardens which have a magnificent greenhouse and a tram ride that takes you to the various gardens. I also walked to some of them to see more. At the top of a hill are two large train locomotives, one diesel and one steam.

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/LauritzenGardens2015/index.html

After the gardens I visited the Durham Museum in the converted and restored former train station. This is in effect the Omaha and Nebraska historical museum and is worth a visit. It’s quite candid about the past and had more trains and exhibits on life in Nebraska. There is a restored and functioning soda fountain where I ordered a root beed float. The root beer floats were a bad habit I had started on this trip at Carvers in Durango. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/DurhamMuseum2015/index.html

From the Durham I proceeded on to Iowa. A woman had warned me that Iowa would be very hot and humid, but it turned out to be pleasant when I went through. The Motel 6 was near the airport and otherwise was in a kind of quiet area. The next day I visited the small but nice Des Moines Botanic Gardens. My L A Arboretum membership got me in for free! Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/DesMoinesBotanical2015/index.html

There was also a Chinese park along the river that I stopped at and walked around. Lunch was at a brewpub downtown in a refurbished industrial location. From there I went looking for the Iowa Historical Building. I got lost a couple of times since the building wasn’t where I was expecting, and it was much bigger than I thought it would be. Like the Durham, a fairly thorough state history museum. They still remember The Music Man in Iowa and there was a whole display on RAGBRAI. Photos at:
http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/IowaHistoricalBuilding/index.html

The next stop was the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. This was one of my destinations since they had acquired the Price collection of Japanese art that had been in Hanford. Unfortunately, the Japanese section was still undergoing work to receive the collection. I did get to see the DaVinci Leicester Codex. I thought it was funny that Bill Gates wanted my money. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/MinneapolisArts2015/index.html

I also visited Fort Snelling state historical park. I had an interest since it was the last location of the Japanese language school in Minnesota. My uncle may have trained there since he was in one of the last groups to go overseas. The barracks that house the language school are slated to undergo restoration. The restored fort had a complement of period costumed docents and numerous display on what life would have been like at the fort. There was even a canon firing. A pretty good deal. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/FortSnelling2015/index.html

The Motel 6 in Minneapolis turned out to be near the Mall of the Americas, if you don’t mind a 3 mile round trip walk. That was a cultural experience.

My next destination was the Chazen Art Museum in Madison, Wisconsin. It is part of the University and those kids have a really great setting for their campus. Parking was difficult to find but I finally found the one parking garage that allow motorcycles to enter. Navigating Madison is a pain and it was hotter than heck. The museum turned out to be worth the trouble. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/ChazenArt2015/index.html

Before I left Madison I stopped at Olbrich Gardens. I got there too late to enter the green house, but I was able to tour the gardens. The big surprise was a magnificent golden Thai temple. Got buzzed by nesting birds. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/OlbrichGardens2015/index.html

When I was visiting Mt. Graham, a gentleman from England suggested I visit the Yerkes Observatory. This was the largest refractor ever used. There was a bigger one, but it never made it into use. My GPS took me on a lot of strange back roads, but I finally made it to the Observatory. This telescope really looks like something from another age, as it is, the Gilded Age. It was financed by one of the most notorious robber barons of the era. Supporting science was not enough to redeem his reputation. There’s a small museum there, but I got kicked out since it’s apparently not part of the tour. The decorations on the buildings are as interesting as the telescope itself. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Yerkes2015/index.html

Went by a lot of shorefront resort type areas as I headed for the Chicago Botanic Gardens, which are fortunately not actually in Chicago. I guess since I was on a motorcycle, I got ito park for free. This is a very big garden and facility and you can do a lot of walking. There are numerous bridges to cross and there is a research building you can visit with educational videos to watch. One island has a carilion and another has a very extensive Japanese garden. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/ChicagoBotanicGarden2015/index.html

After staying at a Motel 6 in the same general area, I took on Chicago. Decades ago I visited downtown Chicago and I don’t remember it being this challenging. I found underground parking near the Field Museum and didn’t really care about the price-just happy to find a place to park. The Field Museum was big and about on a par with the Denver natural history museum, But some of the special exhibits I wondered about. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/FieldMuseum2015/index.html

I decided to walk over to the Chicago Inst. of the Arts. It was hot and humid, but an interesting walk. Chicago was expensive to visit. Museum admission fees and parking were all expensive. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/ArtInstChicago2015/index.html

I stayed in a suburb of Chicago in Indiana. My next destination was the Ann Arbor Mathei Gardens. On the way I got caught in a huge traffic jam caused by an interaction between a motorhome and a semi. It was hot and humid and I was near death by the time I could get off onto side roads. A stop at a McDonalds, my preferred refuge, gave me a chance to recover. These gardens belong to the University but they’re in an out of the way location. These are small but nice gardens. There are trails around them that would have been interesting to explore if I’d had the time.
http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/MattheiGardens2015/index.html

I stayed two nights in Dearborn to visit The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village for the third time. I ended up getting the museum membership since that was the cheapest way to go for more than one day. On the first day I went on the Rouge River plant tour. This was a little disappointing since you don’t get to see any engine or driveline installation. You just see processes such as headliner and moon roof installations. Some of the production line equipment is interesting, and you get to go up to the observation deck which gives you a good view of the Ford plant. The educational stations did mention the riots and massacre at the Rouge plant and the eventual removal of Henry Ford from running the company.

This time when I visited Greenfield Village, I got the transportation pass which let me ride the train for a full loop around the village, get a ride on a Model T, and ride the Model T bus. Got to do a more thorough inspection of the houses in the Village. Rode the carousel and had a short ride on the horse drawn carts. It was extremely hot, just like the first tie I visited years ago. For dinner went to the Fort Brewing company. Day 1 photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Greenfield2015Day1/index.html

Greenfield Village, Day 2 was more of the same, but I also paid a visit to the Henry Ford Museum. I stopped at the working farmhouse and gave everyone I met the third degree on cooking and farming. I think they were glad to get rid of me. Day 2 photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Greenfield2015Day2/index.html

I didn’t pace myself correctly and I should have dedicated more time to the museum, or stayed even another day. There were some new exhibits (for me, at least) and the big machinery fascinated me this time such as the “gas team” power generator. I guess I’ll have to go back sometime. The Henry Ford photos are at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/TheHenryFord2015/index.html

After Dearborn my next destination was The Toledo Museum of Art. This was worth the a visit:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/ToledoMuseumArt2015/index.html

On the way out of Dayton I was dodging a storm and got caught in another traffic jam. I decided to wait out both by hiding in a McDonalds. Good thing I did since there was some kind of accident right after I got off the freeway. Used the Dark Sky app on my iPhone to figure out where the weather front was. Originally I headed towards Dayton to see the Serpend Mound and Fort Ancient, bur I was distracted by the Dayton Aviation Heritage Park. I’d seen the Wright Brothers workshop and home at Greenfield Village, but the Heritage Park includes the actual site plus one of the earlier bike shops, plus many displays.Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Dayton AviationHistory2015/index.html

A complement to the Heritage Park is Carillon Park, which is sort of a smaller and much cheaper version of Greenfield Village in Dayton. This includes a large visitor center which has many exhibits on past Dayton industries such as NCR, and the Enigma work that was done during World War II. There is yet another Wright Brothers workshop with a fully restored Wright Flyer III, the first one that could actually maneuver properly. This museum also had genuine Wright artifacts such as their camera. There are other transportation exhibits, a power plant, working print shop, and an exhibit on the great Dayton flood that saved the founder of IBM. Worth visiting again, and there is also a carillon There is a brewpub right outside of the entrance, but I didn’t have time to visit it. Photos:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/CarIllon2015/index.html

Another stop on the Aviation Heritage trail is Huffman Field at Wright Pattrson. There is a visitor center outside of the base and you can get to Huffman field without going through a security gate The course the Wright Brothers flew i marked by a series of white flags and there is a recreation of the shed they used and the catapult. There is also a wild flower trail. See:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/HuffmanField2015/index.html

Getting to Serpend Mound was now out of the question so I settled for Sunwatch Village inside of Dayton. This educational site is located around an excavated non-mound builder site. I got in for the last 30-40 minutes before it closed. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/SunwatchVillage2015/index.html

The Motel 6 in Dayton was being renovated so it wasn’t in the best of shape, but not as bad as the previous one where the first room I got had dysfunctional air conditioning. Anyway, my next target was the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. I would have liked to visit the Carnegie Museums, too, but I was running out of time since I needed to catch a plane back to LA. Got caught in another traffic jam on the way into the city. It’s in a river valley so navigation is kind of tough. The city wasn’t at all what I imagined. There are a lot of nice areas by the river and a lot of restaurants and park land. The Phipps is in a nice area and had free parking, at least for a motorcycle. Nice botanic gardens combining gilded age style green houses and ultra-modern green buildings.

I visited the Hofbrau Haus for dinner but got sick on the open face sandwich The beer was kind of mild. The Motel 6 was on the south side of the river, another converted hotel. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/PhippsGardens2015/index.html

My last stop before Philly was Harrisburg. I decided to visit the National Museum of the Cvil War which on the top of a hill in a park. Apparently this was the pet project of a past mayor of Harrisburg. It’s much more elaborate than what you’d expect for a city museum. A gentleman from Harrisburg later told me the museum is having funding problems. Anyway, they had a demonstration of musket firing while I was there and the museum was bigger than I expected. In face, I didn’t finish going through all the exhibits before it closed. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Harisburg2015/index.html

Dinner in Harrisburg was at the Smokehouse brewpub which was pretty big establishment. Beer was a little on the weak side but okay. Just to be sure, I crossed the street afterwards to get a coffee. The Motel 6 was okay there. From Harrisburg it was a rather uneventful trip on the turnpike into the suburbs of Philadelphia. I stored my bike at my friend’s place and caught a Delta jet back home. Actually a number of Delta jets since my cheap ticket meant visit nearly every airport in the continental US. Actually, I liked that since it meant I never had to sit down long in a plane and all of the connections went like clockwork.

I would have liked to have camped more but locating campgrounds ahead of time was problem until I got the Allstays app. Even then, the heat and humidity discouraged me. Air conditioning became a necessity at the end of the day. The campground I stayed at near Dearborn doesn’t seem to be around anymore.