Bob and Cheryl - Storm Chasers Trip West
#12
12-09-2013 | 11:41 AM
Road Captain
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 562
Likes: 21
From: Arlington, TX
Well Bob, you're messing up my day. I'm supposed to be working and not reading about motorcycle trips. But when I see you've posted something I haven't read, all else stops.
Here in Texas we had an unusual weekend. In the DFW area we had about 3-4 inches of ice/sleet on the ground and the temp hasn't been above freezing since last Thurs. night. So I'm looking forward to the remainder of this report. I had to re-read your west coast trip again the other day. I know you've been told, but I think yours are the best reports on any of the forums.
Keep it up.
Here in Texas we had an unusual weekend. In the DFW area we had about 3-4 inches of ice/sleet on the ground and the temp hasn't been above freezing since last Thurs. night. So I'm looking forward to the remainder of this report. I had to re-read your west coast trip again the other day. I know you've been told, but I think yours are the best reports on any of the forums.
Keep it up.
#15
12-09-2013 | 04:25 PM
Thread Starter
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 42,769
Likes: 26,296
From: PNW
Day 3 – Liberal Kansas to Santa Fe New Mexico
We started the morning a bit later than the day before. As always is the case, we fooled ourselves into thinking that a 375 mile ride is “just a few of hours” away. Stupid, I know, but that’s how we roll. So with “just a few hours” of riding ahead of us, we set out around 7AM. Still not too bad.
Here is our proposed route for the day (But stopping at Santa Fe)–
I say proposed because a few things changed along the way, which I’ll explain later.
We set out under sunny, warm skies. It was nice not to have to wear the heated gear. Yes, it’s a wonderful thing to have when you need it. But let’s face it, it’s so much nicer when you don’t. Leaving town we immediately noticed that Liberal is on the edge of nowhere.
We wondered if Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and parts of Texas have rivalries over who has less. So far Kansas is in the lead. But, Oklahoma is about 2 seconds from where we are, and Texas, about a minute after that (using the “few hours” scale from this morning).
Hooker OK. Based on that alone, Oklahoma has more than Kansas, so it’s out of the running –
Had I only known that the Hooker Inn was a few short miles past Liberal, I would certainly have layed over there. Next time.
A “few minutes” later –
Not a lot there, but still….there’s more than in Kansas. Looks like Kansas is winning the “nothing to see” battle. But wait! Shortly after Stratford we came across this –
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
When traveling, I always set my readout to miles remaining. It said 77. As we all now, there is an optimism to “miles remaining” on any given vehicle. And while it’s pretty close on the Ultra, that’s a little too close for my tastes. And besides, it’s Sunday, so who knows if the “services” are even open. Or even exist for that matter. So we turned around and went back into town to fuel up. I felt grateful to Texas for having the courtesy to let me know it has 75 miles of nothing, so Texas – you win the “nothing” contest because you actually go to the trouble of advertising that you have nothing. Well done. Clap clap clap…. But even “nothing” can be beautiful under the right conditions and for what it’s worth, we enjoyed our short ride through the Texas panhandle.
“Minutes” later we were to our destination state – (apologies for the blurry pic)
And while New Mexico had already lost to Texas in the “nothing” game, it’s “something” was somewhat unremarkable just as you cross the border.
Something in New Mexico –
I think I prefer Texas’s nothing to New Mexico’s something, at this point anyway. But, it did get better. And we knew that our final destination, Santa Fe was “just” ahead. Our route took us to Tucumcari New Mexico. I’ve heard of it, but now we’ll be able to say we’ve been there.
But, according to the abandoned-ness of Tucumcari, I would say a lot of people haven’t been there. The one gas station we saw certainly had great prices, but it looked like it had been shut down for years.
Which would explain the $2 savings per gallon of gas in Tucumcari. The rest of the town looked just as abandoned as the gas station. We went right through the main drag and not one person did we see. I guess they were all at church.
to be continued.....
We started the morning a bit later than the day before. As always is the case, we fooled ourselves into thinking that a 375 mile ride is “just a few of hours” away. Stupid, I know, but that’s how we roll. So with “just a few hours” of riding ahead of us, we set out around 7AM. Still not too bad.
Here is our proposed route for the day (But stopping at Santa Fe)–
I say proposed because a few things changed along the way, which I’ll explain later.
We set out under sunny, warm skies. It was nice not to have to wear the heated gear. Yes, it’s a wonderful thing to have when you need it. But let’s face it, it’s so much nicer when you don’t. Leaving town we immediately noticed that Liberal is on the edge of nowhere.
We wondered if Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and parts of Texas have rivalries over who has less. So far Kansas is in the lead. But, Oklahoma is about 2 seconds from where we are, and Texas, about a minute after that (using the “few hours” scale from this morning).
Hooker OK. Based on that alone, Oklahoma has more than Kansas, so it’s out of the running –
Had I only known that the Hooker Inn was a few short miles past Liberal, I would certainly have layed over there. Next time.
A “few minutes” later –
Not a lot there, but still….there’s more than in Kansas. Looks like Kansas is winning the “nothing to see” battle. But wait! Shortly after Stratford we came across this –
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
When traveling, I always set my readout to miles remaining. It said 77. As we all now, there is an optimism to “miles remaining” on any given vehicle. And while it’s pretty close on the Ultra, that’s a little too close for my tastes. And besides, it’s Sunday, so who knows if the “services” are even open. Or even exist for that matter. So we turned around and went back into town to fuel up. I felt grateful to Texas for having the courtesy to let me know it has 75 miles of nothing, so Texas – you win the “nothing” contest because you actually go to the trouble of advertising that you have nothing. Well done. Clap clap clap…. But even “nothing” can be beautiful under the right conditions and for what it’s worth, we enjoyed our short ride through the Texas panhandle.
“Minutes” later we were to our destination state – (apologies for the blurry pic)
And while New Mexico had already lost to Texas in the “nothing” game, it’s “something” was somewhat unremarkable just as you cross the border.
Something in New Mexico –
I think I prefer Texas’s nothing to New Mexico’s something, at this point anyway. But, it did get better. And we knew that our final destination, Santa Fe was “just” ahead. Our route took us to Tucumcari New Mexico. I’ve heard of it, but now we’ll be able to say we’ve been there.
But, according to the abandoned-ness of Tucumcari, I would say a lot of people haven’t been there. The one gas station we saw certainly had great prices, but it looked like it had been shut down for years.
Which would explain the $2 savings per gallon of gas in Tucumcari. The rest of the town looked just as abandoned as the gas station. We went right through the main drag and not one person did we see. I guess they were all at church.
to be continued.....
#17
12-09-2013 | 05:48 PM
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 42,769
Likes: 26,296
From: PNW
#20
12-09-2013 | 08:26 PM
Cruiser
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 162
Likes: 9