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Taking the USA by Strom

Tydive

Tydive

Rides every day
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Location
On the road.
Moto(s)
'13 V-Strom 650
Name
Ty
People ask me, "where are you going?" and I say "Everywhere!".

I found myself unemployed and unencumbered for the first time in decades, so decided to get on the bike and see the country. For the past few weeks I have been visiting family and doing a little sightseeing in preparation for the big ride.

My plan is to see all the fun bits that seize my imagination and the found places that I never would have imagined.

Our adventure starts in Gilroy, heading to visit friends in Las Vegas.
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Obligatory ODO shot.
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I decided to head down 25, peachtree and indian valley to Parkfield. Where the Parkfield Cafe serves up an amazing burger.
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It was a pretty straight shot to Las Vegas.
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I spent several days in Las Vegas, relaxing and visiting.
 
Day two of actual riding was a fun trip to the Grand Canyon Skywalk and ended in Kingman at a KOA.
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The Skywalk side shot.
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It was a pretty spectacular view.
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Lots of flowers in the desert thanks to the rain.
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I ended up camping at a KOA, the hot tub was a real treat. Met some really nice people and ended up talking late into the night about the joys of the open road.
My cot set up is very comfortable. :thumbup
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Day 3 of riding was really beautiful.
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I had a very tasty lunch at the Roadkill Cafe.
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Then on to Grand Canyon NP.
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I decided to stay at a motel in Flagstaff mainly because of the low 30's temps and rain. At the motel I was not the only ADV bike. We could have a pretty good shoot out with this group (Tiger, GS, & Strom).
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Dinner was at a good Chinese/Japanese fusion place and there was a live band in the square. Quite a lovely way to wrap up the day.
 
Ty rocks.
 
For those of you who want even more pictures I am on Instagram as Tydiver.
https://instagram.com/tydiver/ For those of you wondering about the name, two of my hobbies are skydiving and scuba.

Day 4 of riding, was long and ended up in Gallup NM.
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First I headed down to Sedona, which I highly recommend. I will be back to visit some day.
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Cactus in bloom
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Meteor crater. What happens when a very large chunk of iron hits the earth at 26,000 mph. It was very windy, gusts over 50 mph. Talking with a Ranger, he told me they get hurricane force gusts out on this part of the desert. :wow
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Next, it was on to the Petrified Forest. Really cool to see the painted desert as well.
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Happy hanging out at PF NP.
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I spent the night in Gallup, not much going on.
 
Day 5 of riding was just a quick zip up to Santa Fe to spend time with my Aunt and Uncle.
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It's been a wonderful visit, seeing lots of little towns around the area. Dozens of Galleries and Museums, spectacular New Mexican cuisine. See Instagram for some pics of my Breaking Bad tour of Albuquerque and other such fun.

As always the adventure doesn't begin until something goes wrong. I had a coolant hose leak, which the local Suzuki dealer fixed for me.

Now, the big trip begins and I will start to explore new places. First on my list is to head down to Roswell NM to do the Alien thing. Then on to Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. I will probably spend a day or three hanging around then head down to Big Bend NP/SP.

I will post up here as I get WiFi access.
 
Wow great pictures gotta do this ride sometime
 
Nice! Clearly you have the perfect bike for this. :teeth
 
Wow awesome!!! Looking forward to following your adventure!
 
In!

Great ride so far.

I have the cot like yours and love it.

You went to the Crater! I was there years ago, what a neat place.

More please.
 
Thanks guys :thumbup

So I am hanging out in Roswell NM tonight, watching a storm roll in. Possible thunderstorms and tornado warnings for the area, so I'm in a hotel.

Here is a video from my ride into Sedona.
[youtube]1UwiRYR1dgM[/youtube]

And a zip through the painted desert at Petrified Forest NP.
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Craters of the moon at PF NP.
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Day 6 of riding (15 of the trip)
Not much riding at all, mostly hiking and taking pictures of flowers.
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I did take a very short scenic ride West of Carlsbad. It was silly how happy I was to find a road that didn't resemble a yardstick. :laughing

Really happy to relax after such a warm day. It was in the 90's most of the time. I'm camping out in Whites City and will be in the Carlsbad Caverns tomorrow and hike some longer trails at Guadalupe Mountain Sunday.

If you want to see lots of flower pics https://instagram.com/tydiver/
 
Tydive said:
I'm camping out in Whites City and will be in the Carlsbad Caverns tomorrow and hike some longer trails at Guadalupe Mountain Sunday.
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Hey Tydive,

Enjoying your ride report, thanks for posting! :ride

Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas ... cool views to the west from the top ... :party

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn
 
Thanks guys!

MikeGyver said:
Right on, I hope to do something like this some day!
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A lot of stuff had to go very wrong for this very right trip to occur. Odd how that works.

So, last night I got to experience a thunderstorm in my tent. Not too bad. :thumbup

Today was just hiking in the Caverns. Really cool but very hard to photograph. I've got a bunch of cave picks up at my smugmug site.
Here are a couple of my favorites.
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Skull cave!
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Tomorrow will be much the same. :party
 
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