This will be the only entry that I will make that is referring to the past. The reason for this is because it was the first ride I took after my father passed away. So hear I go.....
May father passed away May 18, 2005. At the time everything was happening really fast and I seemed to be in another
dimension. It was like I was watching what was going on rather than living it. My Dad had a wonderful service. he was
buried with full
Military honors. He served his Country for 31 years. He served in World War II, Korea and
Viet Nam.
After everything had settled down around here, reality started to set in. I realized that when I went to see my Mom, Dad was not going to come out to say hello or "BS" with me. He will never again ask me, "did you ride the bike over?" I even remember when he had his stroke and I went to see him in the hospital the first thing he said to me was, "did you ride the bike over?" Well any to say the very least reality hit me like a freight train at full speed.
I became very hard to live with. I took just about everything personal. I would loose my temper over the littlest things.
Alaina and I would go on rides and she was very uncomfortable riding with me. She said I was everywhere but on the motorcycle.
Trivial things would not go right and I would make them into major things. You know the old saying, making mountains out of molehills. Well I made a damn mountain range. I even remember going to PK and telling him " I was done " with church I mean. Thank GOD he is not one to white wash anything. He let me have it. The one thing he said to me was, " you need to get a thicker skin, take a break and rethink what you said" And that is how this ride began.
It
started in late September when I had already had a trip planned with my neighbor Joe to go to Street Vibrations in Reno and the Silver Run Virginia City. We stated out early morning and headed for Reno. We made a stop on the way for breaks and a beer. It was a great ride to
Ferds ranch on the outskirts of Reno. And
of course we had our yearly stop at the Nugget for our Bloody Mary and a bit of gambling. After that, off to
Ferds ranch.
Once we got settled in, it was off to Reno. I saw some of the most incredible bikes I have ever seen. We did Reno for two days and then it was off to Virginia City. Let me tell you, that place rocks. We spent a few hours there and then it was time to leave. From there I said my good byes to Joe and Bob. They headed north to home and I headed south to
Las Vegas.
The ride to Vegas was a beautiful ride. The ride down the center of Nevada is an incredible one. Walker lake was beautiful at sunset. When it got dark,
that's when it got spooky. I got around the Indian Springs area and I was the only one on the road. I would see an
occasional truck driver. That was kind of
interesting especially around Indian Springs. As most of you know, that is where Area 51 is. Let me tell you, a lit up truck looks like a UFO that late at night. Pretty
scary huh?
Well I rolled int
Las Vegas around 9:00pm. At night Vegas looks like you are riding into a giant pin ball machine. I really didn't like the place. Too busy for me. I searched for a hotel to stay in for the night but all of them were booked up because
NASCAR was there that weekend. I ended up in the middle of the "red light" district in a very
cheesy motel. I realized this when the clerk in the window was behind bullet proof glass and when I asked him if he had a room, he responded to me, "for how long?" I quickly responded "ALL NIGHT"!!!!
I didn't sleep too well that night!!! And YES I WAS ALONE!!!!!!
I headed out the next day t my sister's house in Hurricane, Utah. I was happy to get there and be with family. But I have to admit, being alone on the bike gave me a lot of time to think.
I didn't know how to get to my sister's house so I stopped to call her for direction. I felt a bit at home because the place I stopped at was Zion Harley Davidson. I got directions from my brother-in-law Greg and arrived there about noon.
My sister
Gail and I spent a lot of time together. She took me through Zion National Park. I think it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I think when God created that part of the world he really took his time. It is beautiful. She also took me to an outdoor theater called
Toucan. We had someone take our picture there. It is a great picture. We did quite a few other things too, but that is my two
favorite.
Gail,
Greg and I said our goodbyes a couple of days later. It was about 6:00am. I never told Gail but I was running a temp when I was leaving. I never told her because she would have never let me leave. My first gas stop in Cedar City, I bought some
DayQuil and went on my way.
I stopped in Ely Nevada for gas. I could not believe the sights. I saw some Elk hunters on the way. About five miles ahead of them I saw an Elk. Its horns were as long as my bike. As I got closer too him, the pipes on my bike scared it off. It was beautiful.
My ride went on and I was the only one on the road again. I saw mountains that I looked at for three hours and they got no closer. God can really cook. I found
myself hitting the sleeping bag with my elbow thinking I was hitting
Alaina's leg so I could make sure she saw what I saw. I really missed her and the boys.
I was supposed to make that trip home in a couple of days. I couldn't wait to get back home. I really missed home. Next thing I knew I was in Tahoe. Two hours later I was home. I drove 862 miles in one day.
I saw sights that I never saw before and got a lot of junk cleared out of my head. I had a combination of drugs. Well actually two, motorcycle and asphalt.
The healing power of the road.
Well I
promise my blogs to come will not be as long. I just really loved this trip
......BOOGER
