Caladin's 2009 trip.

[smokenu]

just Awesome! thanks for sharing

 

[Caladin]

I went to the 9th ward in New Orleans. It was a real eye opening experience. The next few pictures were all in the 9th ward. They are just off a main road that was full of traffic. On that road there were still intersections without functioning lights. I passed several large strip malls that were still empty, left in the state of when the water receded. Even a Walmart super center still sat empty. The only large rebuilt store was Home Depot (for obvious reasons).

It's really strange to ride through this area. The "grass" is super tall in many places so you cannot see what is on a cross street. Several streets had cardboard signs for street names. Most homes were abandoned. Some had minor work done but then look to have been left. And yet every so often there would be a nice rebuilt home in perfect shape with a new car sitting in the driveway.

You can still see the spray paint on the doors from search and rescue checking homes. Many homes still had faded notes of threats to looters.

The roads were in horrible shape with potholes and large bumps.

The house just to the right was all nicely redone. Not the nicest neighborhood to live in.

I went to the French Quarter and Garden District in downtown New Orleans. I don't really have any pictures worth sharing as I couldn't find anything that really grabbed me.

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. 38.42km (23.87mi) long!

You can see the bridge running across the water.

Near this point, a semi truck decided he wanted my lane. I was slowly passing him behind an SUV. As the SUV cleared the front of the semi, he flipped on his turn signal and proceeded to move right into me. I could see his face clear as day in his wide angle mirror. But apparently my motorcycle with all its lights and myself in the yellow jacket was a little difficult to spot. A quick twist of the wrist and a few blasts of the air horn had him back in his lane and me clear of his cab.

 

[Caladin]

It poured later on this evening before I stopped.

Day 12: 857km / 533mi - Alexandria LA to Whichita Falls TX

Well that yellow splat on my face shield used to be something that looked like a butterfly.

Welcome to Arkansas. I took a bit of a detour to cross into this state.

Welcome to Texas.

No pictures of Dallas. It would have been suicide to take a hand off the bars in their traffic. They take the title as the most aggressive drivers EVER. Drivers there seem to think as long as they drive fast, they can thread their car through traffic at double the speed limit. I spent a few hours in Dallas visiting a friend.


Day 13: 855km / 531mi - Whichita Falls TX to Albuquerque NM

I really was surprised how green Texas was!

 

[Caladin]

Short detour to visit Oklahoma.

New Mexico!

Day 14: 894km / 556mi - Albuquerque NM to Moab UT

Woo-hoo 80,000 km.

A visit to Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico.

 

[Caladin]

The reconstructed “Great Kiva".

Inside the Great Kiva.

I don't fit to well through their doors!

 

[Caladin]

Welcome to Arizona.

It was starting to get rather windy here. I could see a haze like smoke in the distance from all the sand/dust in the air.

Four Corners - Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

Into the dust.

For the first hour of riding, I thought "Wow, this is really cool riding in a dust storm". Then it started to blow so hard it was moving me around several feet in my lane. I was worried of larger vehicles getting blown from their lane into me as they passed.

Sometimes the sand would be so thick in the air that the vehicle in front of me would disappear. It was like being in a heavy fog.

Mmmmm dusty windscreen!

 

[Caladin]

Dust really sticks to your face shield. I also kept getting sand in my eyes. It was really annoying!

Monument Valley. On the border of Arizona and Utah. The view was not really what I hoped for because of the dust.

Welcome to Utah.

 

[Caladin]

I took my helmet off here. When I went to put it back on I found that the inside was COVERED in red sand.

Mexican Hat rock.

Going up!

 

[Caladin]

Nice road.... don't slip!

And the view from the top! Best of all there was no blowing sand!

I made it to Bridges National Monument just after sundown. I had enough time for a quick tour. But the light really didn't allow for me to quickly take pictures.

 

[Caladin]

One of many cattle that were on the road.

I don't know why but the moon seemed so much brighter then I had ever seen before.

Day 15: 613km / 381mi - Moab UT to Bicknell UT

Dust from the previous day.

Dust in everything. This is my GPS bracket. I was glad I had sealed the connections up with grease before I left.

Some backtracking from Moab to Canyonlands National Park.

 

[Caladin]

 

[Caladin]

Arches National Park - My second time here. Just a brief visit this time. I'm sure I will be back again.

Going up into Arches. The town in the distance is Moab.

North Window Arch.

View through the arch.

 

[Caladin]

Balanced Rock.

From this point here.....

To this point here was about 13 minutes at 130kph.

 

[Caladin]

Snapped this shot while on the highway.

Entering Capital Reef National Park.

 

[Caladin]

There is only one road in and out here.

Strange rock.

 

[Caladin]

Getting a little dark.

It got cold very fast. I rode for a while 'til I found some place to stay.

Day 16: 973km / 605mi - Bicknell UT to Tonopah NV

The cold ride the night before and the dust I breathed over the last 2 days really didn't do me any good. I could feel I was starting to get sick.

A cool morning.

Yep.... it's cold out!

 

[Caladin]

Heading into Red Canyon.

And into Bryce Canyon. My second time here. So it was a bit of a speedy tour.

 

[Caladin]

 

[Caladin]

Back through Red Canyon after leaving Bryce.

Welcome to Zion National Park!

 

[Caladin]

The window in the rock is from a tunnel that runs along the inside.

The Great Arch.

By this point I was feeling very sick. I was having a lot of muscle soreness, no stamina, and fatigue from just short walking. I stopped at the Welcome center and didn't really look at anything. I said to myself I just wanted to get home. I had been wearing all my cold weather riding gear all day. I was always feeling cold.

I left the park and was happy to be heading home.