by David Brown
Some things are so large the human brain cannot fathom their existence. The Grand Canyon is no exception. It is so massive, it looks fake. Almost as if you are looking at a painting against the earth. Some sort of optical illusion… No wonder when Clark Griswold arrived he immediately left again.
Very few things can make you feel so small yet so at peace.
We met a guy today from Germany, again mesmerized by our bikes. He is also a BMW rider in Europe. We chatted with him for a bit and he took our picture for his records.
Sometimes it pays to take the road less traveled. We looked at the map and decided to take the ‘long way’ out to our hotel. The views we saw by going over an hour out of our way were absolutely amazing. Miles and miles of Canyon viewing without a single tourist in sight. After riding that way I felt cheated for having paid money at the Grand Canyon National Park. I felt bad for all of the other travelers who didn’t know what they were missing. It is truly amazing to be awestruck by God’s creation.
by David Brown
Starting off the morning in Reno, we saw that one of the bikes parked next to ours had been tampered with. The ignition on the Victory machine had been stripped out as if somebody had attempted to ‘hot-wire’ it. We looked over our bikes and were relieved to not see any damage done to them. We set off across the desert for Las Vegas.
I feel incredibly sad for the people who fly into Las Vegas. The absolute most gorgeous riding in that area is through Death Valley. Despite such a menacing name, the temperatures weren’t all that bad. It hovered right around 80 degrees. Lake Walker and the surrounding desert were mesmerizing. Absolute motorcycle bliss.
Along the way, I struck up a conversation with a man at a gas station. He was riding a 2015 Road Glide. His name was Rick but in the motorcycle club he was in he went by ‘Ricochet’. Nice guy, from Nashville, belongs to a christian motorcycle club. They do a lot of fundraising for different charities and help others who are struggling with addiction and help them find God. We talked to Ricochet for about 45 minutes at the gas station. He asked if he could tag along with us for the day seeing as how we were all on our way to Vegas. Just like that, we became three.
As we rolled into Vegas, the scenery stopped, the heat set in and the expenses increased. I’ll never understand why people take their children to Las Vegas as part of a family vacation…. Especially with knowing what prostitution is (Human Trafficking) and that Las Vegas is the number one area for young boys and girls to be trafficked into the sex trade………
Rubber side down.
by David Brown
The best part about traveling to Reno was seeing Mount Shasta and riding through Lassen National Forest on the way. The forest was a great ride. Twisty roads, little traffic, friendly people.
We met a couple who were traveling in a ‘Slingshot’ (three wheeled vehicle). They were giving us tips and pointers about where to ride in the area. We found a small diner in the middle of the desert called J.J.’s. It looked like an old ghost town. Wooden walkways leading up to the place, dirt parking lot, nothing but desert all around it.
Great food, extremely busy place.
Rubber side down.
by David Brown
Today’s adventure was all on hot. 103.5 degrees was what my max temp said today. We left from Vancouver and the relentless summer heat wore us into oblivion over the course of the day. We traveled west to the Pacific Coast Highway and drove south from there. We stopped in little towns, ate some food and took some pictures of our bikes at the Pacific Ocean. It’s sad, knowing that now we will be making the return trip home.
On top of seeing some amazing views on the P.C.H. we saw a helicopter dumping water on a small wildfire. I’ve never seen that in real life before. It was amazing to watch. I hope they get that thing under control soon.
I feel like all of the miles have sort of helped me work out some things in my brain area. Probably in my heart too. I’m excited for another week on the road.
A very good friend of mine used to tell me over and over; “Life doesn’t turn out how you thought it would, but it turns out exactly how it is supposed to.” I found myself repeating her words over the past day or so to Dave and to myself. Bringing a sort of comfort to me. Sometimes when you’re alone in a motorcycle helmet you reflect and replay. Replay’s tend to be decisions that while looking back, you might have done things differently. It’s a scary slope, a replay can quickly turn into a regret. For those of you that truly know me, you would be hard pressed to find another person with the always positive outlook on life. I don’t regret anything in my life, admittedly I may have done a few things different, mainly how I reacted to certain stimuli imposed upon me by forces I cannot control. I am not where I envisioned myself in life but I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I am enjoying that moment.
Two Wheeled Therapy
Rubber side down.
by David Brown
Enjoy some of the pictures from our ‘westbound and down’ collection. These images were taken on the way out… Gallery number two will be posted in roughly one week.
