Amtrak, Newfoundland, Home

On Aug 20 I resumed my trip by heading for Philadelphia and my bike via Amtrak. The first stage was to catch a bus to Union Station. This took about an hour and I learned that not everyone pays to get on the bus. Although I had to walk to the bus stop, the bust took me right to the station. Getting around was easy since I was traveling with only a knapsack, although a rather large one. I had a sleeper through Chicago and found that this entitled me to use the 1st class lounge upstairs. This was pretty nice and clean with free soft drinks, coffee, and cookies, as well as wifi. I had plenty of time so I left my knapsack in the waiting room and went across the street to check out Olvera Street. This was my first leisurey stroll there although I had live my whole life in Los Angeles.

We were escorted to the train so there was no problem getting on. My room was on lower level and there were plenty of bathrooms and even a shower with towels. Meals were included with European seating so I got to meet people in the dining car. The food wasn’t bad and I didn’t have any problems sleeping. I spent two nights on the train, taking the route through New Mexico instead of the one through Colorado, which people told me was quite scenic. There were passengers who go on train rides just to be traveling on trains.

It was luxury to lie in bed and watch the scenery go by, but that ended in Chicago when it was time to transfer to another train. There were displays in the station about the heyday of Chicago train stations. The remaining station was just a shadow of the former ones, with only the grand waiting room preserved to give an idea of what it was like to travel by train. I did peek outside of the station and it was on a “canal” where you could watch boats go by. There was a delay in our train, but we were finally formed up in the waiting room and then marched as a group to the platform, which was probably a good idea. This was a night train and you had to curl up in your seat and wait till Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh has a tiny station. It was in a part of town that I had not visited when I was there before. The former waiting room is now the entry hall for some very expensive apartments. You can peek through a glass door to see its restored glory, but it’s off limits to the public. You can also walk around to the famous rotunda which was used turn around carriages arriving at the station. The third and final train took us to Philadelphia. I took a light rail train to a meeting point to link up with my friend. Amtrak photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Amtrak2015/index.html

During my stay we visited the Barnes Foundation, which doesn’t allow photography but has a great cafe. The layout is similar to that of the Gardner Museum in Boston, but newer (they moved the museum recently) and better lit. Stayed longer than expected since I had a vertigo attack, but I recovered. Serviced my bike, changing the chain, oil and filter. The latter was a disaster since the K&N filter was defective and dumped a whole sump of expensive synthetic motorcycle on the floor of my friend’s garage. This was embarassing, but we cleaned it up with the help of a neighbor who gave us some oil absorber.

Mounted up again, getting out of the suburbs of Philadelphia heading north eventually meant negotiating a lot of traffic. I had to get creative with my iOS maps and the GPS to navigate through the mess. I eventually made it to the Motel 6 in Enfield, Connecticut, which is next to 2 large shopping malls on both sides of the street. There is no safe way to cross the street between then, no pedestrian cross walks or signals. I did manage to cross and get back in the morning, but it took some timing. The next day, Aug, 26, I decided to backtrack a little to the New England Air Museum. It had stormed the night before, right after I reached the motel, but it was now clear. this was a pretty good museum, with lots of engines, a China Clipper and a B-29, With supervision, you can sit in some of the planes and enter the helicopters.

Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/NewEnglandAirMuseum2015/index.html

From there I pushed on to Lowell MA to see Lowell National Historical Park. I got there about an hour before the museum closed. At that time I didn’t know that there was a free parking lot so I parked on the street. Dashed from the visitor center up to the main museum, the Boott Cotton Mills Museum, which includes a very noisy room full of looms to give you an idea of what the working conditions were like. Only a few are actually running, but it’s loud enough. It’s interesting to walk around Lowell even with the museums closed, but I needed to take off since I had made reservations at the Lewiston, Maine Motel 6. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Lowell2015/index.html

I ended up riding in the dark and rain, which wasn’t real smart. Should have planned on Portland, instead. By the time I checked in, it was just kind of misty, but it was late and I didn’t feel like looking for food. Think dinner was just snacks. The next day I crossed the border near Woodstock, and stopped at the same New Brunswick visitor center I had stopped at 5 years before on the way to PEI. This time the weather wasn’t nearly as bad, yet, and I was better equipped with rain gear. I got info on Fredericton where I stayed at the a small motor inn, the Norfolk Inn, which was comfy enough. The rain caught up with me there and started to come down, which limited my willingness to explore. Also, the bridge which connected back across the river to the main city was undergoing construction work so you couldn’t walk back into the city. I walked in the rain to the nearest gas station and got a pretty good TV dinner since my room had a microwave. It was a good thing I had chipped credit cards since that’s all they use in Canada. At that time, the chips weren’t being used int the US till I got back.

The next day was nice and I decided to stay on the north side of the river instead of crossing back to the freeway. That was a pretty peasant and scenic ride. I arrived in Pictou early and stayed at the Braeside Country Inn, not too far from the Customs House Inn where I had stayed before. The Braeside was on the side of hill which gave you a pretty good view of the water. I walked around exploring the town, as I had done before, and this time found a really nice cafe with good food and craft beer (Uncle Leo’s) called Stone Soup. The next day I had some time so I explored the local, very small fishing museum, and a museum dedicated to a replica of the Hector, a ship which brought a number of Scottish immigrants over. The ship was closed but the museum has exhibits which explain why the Scots came to Novas Scotia and what they endured during the passage. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Pictou2015/index.html

Somewhere along the way I stopped at a fast food place (Dairy Queen?, but not like American ones) where I got to try the Nova Scotia (and Canadian)in general)signature dish Poutine. This consist of gravy over cheese curds and french fries. This is the kind of dish that will keep you fueled for a full day of logging or fishing on the high seas. Once was enough for me. On the way to the ferry port in North Sydney I stopped at the Highland Museum. This continued the narrative I had started in Pictou since it told the story of what happened to the Scots after they reached Nova Scotia. This was another case of getting to a museum an hour before it closed, but I got to see most of it, although I would have liked to lingered longer. The museum consists of chronological stops, starting at a dwelling where a docent in period garb explains the context of the time period. The first stop was a hovel in Scotland where the economic situation was explained that motivated so many to emigrate. Succeeding stopes describe how the fortunes of the Scots in Nova Scotia developed. One house was closed for maintenance. One stop was a functioning blacksmith shop where I received a nail that was made for me while I watched. Pretty neat. The museum is located in an incredibly beautiful location. I took some pretty questionable roads to get there, but it was worth it. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/HighlandVillage2015/index.html

Got to North Sydney after getting a little lost in Sydney. Had time to get some dinner at a pizza place and wander over to the park where I could get a good look at a ferry, but not the one I would be traveling on. Boarding was a little earlier than they said, but I was ready and it wasn’t too bad getting my bike settled. I brought some of my own tie downs but the ferry also provided plenty, so the bike was tied down at four points. My big mistake was not taking my sleeping bag with me. Although you’re not supposed to sleep on the floor, it gets pretty good in the sitting area and a comforter would have been nice. The crossing was pretty smooth and in the morning when we landed I was ready to disembark at the Port aux Basque Ferry Terminal.

The visitor center a little down the road was closed so I rolled through the town to see what there was was. Not much really. There are the hotels for the ferry travelers, a few fast food places, a train museum closed for the season, dwellings, and that’s about it. I’d figured I would be dead by the time I got off the ferry, so I’d made plans to stay in town at the aptly named Port aux Basque Hotel. Since there weren’t a lot of other choices, I stopped there for breakfast, verified my room at the desk, and asked for a recommendation for what to do. The young lady at the desk recommended the Rose Blanche Lighthouse, so I took off for it in my sleep deprived state. It’s a little ways south and there are plenty of signs near the end. Eventually you get to a dirt road, and since I don’t trust my bike, or myself, off asphalt these days, I parked the bike at what looked like an abandoned bar and walked to the lighthouse, which was actually a pleasant choice since the weather wasn’t too bad. There’s a little shop and museum at the head of the trail to the restored lighthouse, and a video about the restoration of the lighthouse. It’s a scenic walk and the lighthouse is in a lovely location. The lighthouse is furnished to give you an idea of what life in it was like. I didn’t bother climbing the ladder to the top. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/RoseBlanche2015/index.html

Lunch was at the Mary Brown fast food chicken place. Dinner was back at the hotel, which wasn’t bad and very reasonably priced; competitive with fast food. I spent the rest of the day resting and researching the weather. It’s about 400 miles along the west coast of Newfoundland up to L’anse aux Meadows. There was rain coming, but I decided that I’d have a weather window the next day so I took off with Deer Park as my destination, with reservations at a B&B. Plenty of hotels in that area, but none are really cheap. On the way is Corner Brook which is a complete modern city with a population of 20,000, the biggest city on this side of the island. Deer Park has all the resources for travelers, such as fast food and gas. The B&B was a little north of town in Reidville on a dirt road that was in good shape so I didn’t have any problems. The Old Rocky Brook Road B&B was fantastic and the nicest place I stayed during my entire trip. It would have been nice to hang out there for a few days, but I was running out of time. Tourist services in Newfoundland shut down around mid-September. I did get there early and after a damp day in some places it was nice in Deer Park so I backtracked a little to the Insectarium (http://nlinsectarium.com) which was worthwhile. Some really weird insects there as well as butterflies. Apparently some of the collections were started by a gentleman who was a colleague of Charles Darwin. I also took advantage of the short trails around the museum. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/DeerLake2015/index.html

The next day (Sept 1) I headed towards nearby Gros Morne on the Viking Trail. I had made reservations for the highly recommended boat ride on the land locked fjord inappropriately name Western Brook Pond. Gros Morne National Park is supposed to be beautiful but I didn’t see much of it since the weather was turning so bad. I encountered nasty rain and high winds coming in from the sea. By the time I go to the trailhead for Western Brook Pond (you have to hike in 2 miles to get to the boat) I learned from staff exiting on a golf cart that all boat rides had been canceled due to the weather. Somewhere along the way I stopped at a golf course (I thought it was just a gas station at first) where I had another open faced sandwich and gravy on fries. This really filled me up. So much for that idea. I headed off for Port aux Choix, which is a few miles (7?) to the west of the TCH (Trans Canadian Highway) The weather had improved by the time I got to the Sea Echo Hotel. It was still light so I went over to the Port aux Choix National Historic Site visitor center by foot to get some exercise. I got there just before closing but in time to rush through the exhibits. I really didn’t know anything about the place before I got there, but I was glad that I’d discovered it. Port aux Choix had been an important location for archaic indians and paleoeskimos. There’s a 2 mile hike across the peninsula that takes you back into town via some archeological sites. The earlier gravy on fries kept me going on this cold and windy little hike. A very rewarding and scenic experience. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/PortAuChoix2015/index.html

Also staying at the hotel was a large group of French Canadian adventure motorcyclists. They’d crossed over by ferry from Labrador where they’d taken the infamous Trans Labrador Highway. Back at Port aux Basque I’d met a couple from New England who’d driven the TLH in their Subaru who’d destroyed a wheel bearing.

The next day was the last leg to L’anse aux Meadows. The weather was good and it was smooth sailing all the way up. Roads were good all the way to the visitor center. I went on the tours guided by the rangers and also on the hike around the area. The site includes a recreation of some of the viking camp shelters with staff in historical dress. Separate but nearby is Norsted, a recreation of a viking village with more costumed staff. The main reason for visiting Norsted is to see their replica viking ship, a transport of the type that would have used to sail to Newfoundland. Finally, I had a late lunch at the restaurant recommended by the French Canadians I had met at Port aux Choix, aptly named the Norseman, at the end of the road (not the one you see back in town). It was expensive but good. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/LanseAuxMeadows2015/index.html

Mission accomplished, I headed back south to the Plum Point Hotel in Plum Point. I made my reservations late and so ended up in a cabin that could easily have handled four guests, complete with kitchen. Smelled a little mildewy, but otherwise pretty decent. The hotel had a good restaurant. The waitress was very happy when I told her that I had grown up on bologna. Bologna is to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia what Spam is to Hawaii. You can buy bologna cook books in the gift shops. Bologna and eggs are on the breakfast menus.

In this part of Newfoundland at this time of the year, you’re grateful for a warm roof over your head and there aren’t that many options. However, there seem to be hotels strategically placed along the Viking Trail, sort of like the Alcan highway.

The next day I decided to make a straight dash back to Port aux Basque since my weather window was still holding, although there was some wet weather. Gros Morne was fogged in till I got to the southern side of the park, so I still didn’t get to see much of it. In Deer Lake instead of the KFC I’d hit on the way up, I stopped at one of the Canada unique Mary Brown chicken fast food restaurants. An interesting difference between Canadian and American KFCs is that the Canadian ones have no vegetable side orders. Also, Pizza Huts serve only pizza. We are lucky in America.

It was clear when I got to the ferry port, where I arrived earlier than I expected. That was good since I had messed up my reservation, but they were able to fix it for me. I was early, but I’d rather err on the conservative side in Newfoundland since the travel conditions are not that predictable on a motorcycle and I didn’t want to miss the ferry. Unlike the mainland side, there is really nowhere to go from the ferry port, so I had a hearty dinner at the cafeteria. It was very generous open-faced sandwich with fries. Didn’t want to eat on the ferry because of my sea sickness problems. There were a lot of bikes this time since there was some sort of rally in Nova Scotia. This time I was smarter and stowed my riding gear on the bike and took my sleeping bag with me to use as a comforter (didn’t have to sleep on the floor). This crossing was a lot rougher, but the Bonine worked and I didn’t have any problems except needing a shower.

Once again, arrived early in the morning but this time I was better rested and had planned what to do. It would have been nice to spend more time in Nova Scotia, but I needed to start making some time. I did stop in at the Nova Scotia Museum of Industry in Stellarton. This gave me a better of ideas of what life was like in Nova Scotia and how important and dangerous mining once was to the economy. One thing that is sad is that the rail lines are mostly gone, now, especially back up in Newfoundland. Photos at:

I decided to get on the Sunrise Trail near Pictou. This is a very scenic route that I highly recommend. I stopped in Tatmagouche at the Balmoral Motel. The proprietors left instructions for me to find the key to my room. Location is very nice and you can walk back into town where the microbrewery gives out free samples. You can walk down to the water where there is a a little park and a bike trail that follows the coast. Nice place to hang out. Not very ambitious so I had dinner in a sort of Chinese restaurant. The next day I continued on and proceeded through the famous town of Pugwash. I made it back to the same border crossing through which I had entered, making my farewell to the land of Loonier and Twonies (the $1 and $2 coins), Bologna, and very nice people. I stayed at the same Motel 6 in Bangor that I had stayed at in 2010. I didn’t feel like moving the bike after I parked it and the gas station across the street had a good selection of packaged food.

Back in the USA, I returned to the Motel 6 in Bangor that I had stayed in 2010. Knew Bangor well enough (actually stayed twice in 2010) so I just crossed the street (busy wide street) to the gas station to grab some food from their almost cafe. Morning it was a little to the Dunkin Donut for breakfast. Decided to celebrate my return to the USA by visiting the Cole Land Transportation museum in Bangor. Gave me an idea of what life in Maine is like. Lots of snow plows on exibit. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/ColeTransportMuseum2015/index.html

Still had some time so down the road in August I visited Old Fort Western, where the Puritans made a lot of money trading. The main building is still standing-constructed from squared off logs. One of the four blockhouses has been reconstructed and equipped with a few canons to give one an idea of how the defenses worked. Access is by guided tour with the guide and other staff in costume. I found it to be pretty interesting. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/OldFortWestern2015/index.html

Spent the night once again at the Lewiston Motel 6. Got in earlier this time and started to make some plans to go to a decent restaurant, but realized I was tired and so I only made it as far as the close by Taco Bell. This put me in position to hit Lowell again on Labor Day. This time I figures out where the free National Park parking was located behind the visitor center. Unfortunately, I had to choose between two tours that were taking place at the same time. I went for the boat tour which first took you on the trolley to one of the locks where you boarded a boat for the tour of the canals. The whole city was actually one big machine with the canals providing water power for the mills. To keep the flow constant, runners were sent out to the gate houses to regulate the water. The other tour took you to some still existing penstocks that delivered water to the hydro turbines that drove the mills. The tour took us to the huge storm gate that was used in case of floods. At the end of the return ride we got to experience being lowered in a lock run by volunteers. Great experience. After the tour I still had time to visit the exhibit on how the mill girls lived in a boarding house. At least they were well fed. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Lowell2015/index.html

Next it was off to the Framingham Motel 6, one of the cheapest ones in the area, and I wanted to also be in position to visit the Worcester Museum, which never worked out. It was a schlep to get back into Boston, and the traffic jam was pretty nasty, but I made it. The next challenge was figuring out where to park. The Harvard website was terribly confusing regarding visitor parking, and self-contradictory. Parking at the rail stations was equally bad so I also gave up on that idea. I finally found a place to briefly park my bike and look at the website again. I called the number. They took my credit card number over the phone and sent me to a parking lot. When I got there, I found that it didn’t accept motorcycles, but I was allowed to park in convenient campus parking for students and faculty, so it worked out. The Harvard science and art museums are worth all the hassle, and photos are at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/HarvardNaturalHistoryMuseums2015/index.html

The combined art museums were a little walk away and I had enough time there to satisfy myself. I had dinner at the John Harvard brewpub which I thought was acceptable. It was definitely conveniently located. Then it was back into traffic hell and a return to the Motel 6.

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/HarvardArtMuseums2015/index.html

The next day it was a return to Boston for the Museum of Fine Arts. I had checked out using the light rail system, but apparently parking at the stations is terrible. I decided to go early and I was able to get into a Museum parking lot (tiny) before most anyone else. I had also managed to go on the day with extended hours. Again, the weather was extremely hot and it was deadly walking outside, as I found out later. I got there before the museum proper opened, but the Japanese garden was open so I started my visit there. This museum was incredible and extended hours were a must. Didn’t remember much from my first trip years ago. At noon I took a break and walked over to the Boston REI to exchange the daypack I was using on this leg of the trip since its top wouldn’t stay on in the right place, and to get a replacement pair of sandals. I’d left half my pair in Deer Park, Newfoundland. On the way back I had lunch at a sports bar brewpub, Boston Beer Works near Fenway Park. On the way back I stopped at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Although the MFA was staying open late, I’d forgotten that other museums weren’t and I didn’t have enough time to see everything, It also took me a while to figure out the layout of the museum. It is constructed like a Venetian palace and nothing is labeled. Instead, there are cards that you pick up that are keys to the artworks. Before I got to this museum while walking through the Backbay Fens, I stumbled in the heat and took a fall and skinned myself up. At the Gardner they were nice enough to give me some band-aids to patch myself up. Finally, it was back to the MFA and then more traffic. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/BostonMFA2015/index.html

After this I tried to make time to get back to my friend’s place in Philadelphia via the Southington (Hartford) Motel 6. Lot’s of toll roads again. Glad my new tank bag had a nice pocket supposedly for a GPS but perfect for storing toll fares, which were quite expensive after a while. No special stops, but here are some miscellaneous pictures from my trip up to Boston, and also pictures of the exterior of the Gardner. No photography is allowed inside the galleries. Hit rain after Boston.

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/OnTheRoad2015/index.html

My stay in Philadelphia was longer than I expected since I had one of my vertigo attacks that knocked me out for a while. After recovering, I serviced my bike, changing the drive train, oil, and filter. The latter was a disaster since the K&N filter was defective and didn’t seat properly, All my expensive synthetic oil spilled embarrassingly onto my friend’s garage floor.

After getting outfitted for the return trip, and sending a big Fedex shipment home, I set out on the homeward leg, with my first stop being Washington DC to visit Dumbarton Oaks. As usual, I parked at Arlington National Cemetery after missing the turn-off a couple of times. From there I took the Metro to the Foggy Bottom station and walked a couple of miles to the museum and gardens. It was pretty hot, but the walk is safe and goes through some interesting neighborhoods. I darted from shadow to shade like a vampire since it was again pretty warm. Navigated by iPhone. I went for the small but impressive Byzantine collection. There is also a pre-Columbian collection, but there is no context since all the pieces were purchased from art dealers. After that i toured the gardens. On the way back I was looking forward to buying something cool to drink at a 7-11 I had spied near the station, but it was closed for renovations. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/DumbartonOaksLibrary2015/index.html

Made it to the very nice Old Town Inn in Manasas. The only place still open for dinner that i liked was a Thai restaurant next to the Motel. Breakfast was at a very good coffee shop on the other side of the Motel. This location set me up for another visit to the Udvar-Hazy to see the new shuttle exhibit. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/UdvarHazy2015/index.html

From there I headed for Harpers Ferry. It was farther than I had realized and I got there kind of late, but the visitor center was still open. From there you catch a free shuttle bus, which is a good idea since parking in town was limited I did have time to hit the main exhibit building and go parkway over the railway bridge. On my bicycle ride across the country I had stayed at a youth hostel downriver a little bit. I doubt if it’s still there. The current one doesn’t look familiar from the website. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/HarpersFerryNationalHistoricalPark2015/index.html

Stayed that night at the Harrisonburg, VA Motel 6 and dinner was fast food. Breakfast was at a pretty good bagel place in the shopping center. The next day was a pure travel day to the Athens, TN Motel 6. This put me in position to visit the Chickamauga National Battlefield. Unfortunately the audio tour was on CD, so I couldn’t make use of it, but there plenty of signage on the auto route and I’d read up on Wikipedia. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Chickamauga2015/index.html

From there it was on to Chattanooga. A surprise is that there is no Chattanooga National Battlefield Historical Park. There is on one for Lookout Mountain:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/LookoutMountain2015/index.html

Missionary Ridge is now mostly private property although there are some isolated reservations. Missionary Ridge is one of the low points for the Confederacy, unlike Chickamauga, so maybe it’s understandable that there is no park there. On Lookout Mountain I was lucky enough to find a parking spot in the small visitor center, which is easy to miss. The park itself has monuments, incredible views, and a small museum. You can get a good view of Missionary Ridge.

Next it was on to Huntsville and the Red Roof Inn. Mainly fast food nearby.

The attraction is Huntsville was a second visit to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. When you first enter and walk around you get the impression that time has not been kind. Similar to the Kennedy space center, the big draw is the Saturn V exhibit and the bus tour, in this case to the Marshal Space Flight Center. The Saturn V has been refurbished and enclosed in its own museum building filled with displays. Unfortunately, the backup Skylab has not received similar treatment, although it is indoors and looks okay. The one you see outdoors is not the real thing. The bus tour takes you to labs and a historic old launch site. On site lunch actually wasn’t bad. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/Huntsville2015/index.html

From Huntsville it was on to the River Heights Motel in Crump, TN. If you go there, make sure you eat first in Savannah before you cross the river since there is not much in the town. I had to resort to gas station snacks since it was late and I didn’t feel like backtracking. The motel was comfortable enough. This put me in position to visit Shiloh, although I missed the museum in Savannah. Like Chickamauga, Shiloh is an incredible place to visit. There is a driving tour that takes about a half day. There is also a Native American site within the park. This battlefield site is complemented by the visitor center a little bit south in Corinth. Photos of Shiloh at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/ShilohBattlefield2015/index.html

South of Shiloh is the Corinth Interpretive Center where the fighting centered around various batteries. The Center is built near the site of one of the batteries, and part of its architecture mimics a battery. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/CorinthInterpretiveCenter2015/index.html

Starting to make time again, I stayed at the West Memphis Motel 6. Not much around there and another place where it’s best to catch dinner before you stop there. The next day was a travel day that took me to Henryetta, OK and the Green River Inn. Not a bad place but not much around it. On the road again I took a break at the Oklahoma Historical Center which is a fairly large complex with not very many visitors. It has some good exhibits on Native Americans and I could have spent more time there. I also visited the Oklahoma City Memorial which includes a visitor center with a recreation of what happened that day. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/OKHistoricalCenter2015/index.html

After that I got to Hereford, TX and the Best Western Red Carpet Inn right before the rain came in. Hereford is an industrial town that specializes, as you might guess, in cattle. The next day was rain off and on, but generally not too bad. It cleared up and warmed up by the time I got to Roswell, NM and the Roswell Museum & Art Center. On my previous visit I hadn’t realized that besides aliens the town honors Robert Goddard, our space pioneer. There is a recreation of the workshops inside the museum and a luncher outside. At first you might think it’s some kind of oil well monument, like the kinds you see in Oklahoma. Photos:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/RoswellMuseum2015/index.html

Loaded up with Goddard memorabilia at the gift shop and took off for Las Cruces and my usual Motel 6, probably the one I’ve visited the most. This time I realized that there was a Mexican restaurant conveniently located around the corner since I didn’t feel like visiting the two local brewpubs.

Definitely on the homeward leg I did make a stop at the Mission San Xavier del Bac:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/SanXavier2015/index.html

Stayed again at the Tucson Motel 6. I had to visit someone in Phoenix so there was no need for an early start and I checked out the Tucson Botanic Gardens which had some Leggo sculptures that were more interesting than they sound. Unfortunately, the Japanese garden next door was closed for the season. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2015/TucsonBotanical2015/index.html

By now things were getting hot. The leg home from Phoenix was pretty miserable and I stopped as often as I could to get revive myself with air conditioning and Gatoraid. Back in LA it turned out not to be much cooler, but I made it home with no problems.

Forgot to check out how many miles I put on, but it was a lot. According to Google search, the fastest route one way is 4.302 miles and I know I didn’t take the fastest route. Saw a lot, but there were many things I missed. Could have spent another day at the Ford Museum and I didn’t get to see or missed many Native American sites, as well as a number of museums. I may make up for this next year, but it will be by car since the arthritis in my hands precludes any more long motorcycle trips. For a final tour, this one wasn’t too bad. The GSX650F didn’t miss a beat through either freezing rain or desert heat. Michelin Pilot 4 tires lasted the whole trip with still some miles left on them. Got to work in a transcontinental train trip, although at times the arrangements seemed like a Bridge too Far.