“It’s not about the Destination, It’s about the Journey Getting There!”
6,303 MILE ROAD TRIP 3 guys • 16 States • 20 days
JULY 24 - AUGUST 12 RANDY, JIMMY, & RONNIE
July 24th Home to Union Missouri 328 MI. Stay at super 8 by Wyndham July 25th Union, Missouri to Fall City Nebraska 337, MI stay at Vision Inn motel July 26th falls City, Nebraska to Halsey Nebraska 333, MI stay at Redwood Inn July 27th Halsey, Nebraska to Douglas, Wyoming 310 mi stay at First Interstate Inn July 28th Douglas Wyoming Pinedale Wyoming 323 mi stay at Jackalope Motor Lodge July 29th Pinedale Wyoming to Jerome Idaho 331 MI stay at Sleep Inn Suites July 30th Jerome, Idaho to Hines, Oregon 302 mi stay at the Rory and Ryan Inn July 31st Hines Oregon to St. Helens Oregon 308 mi stay at Oak Meadows Inn August 1st St. Helens, Oregon to Coos Bay Oregon 299 mi stay at Motel 6 August 2nd Coos Bay, Oregon to Redway, California 282 mi stay at Northern Inn Motel August 3rd Redway California to Ben Lomond, California 324 mi stay at Quality Inns Suites
August 4th Ben Lomond California to Bixy Bridge to Bakersfield, California 339, mi stay at Days Inn August 5th Bakersfield, California to Boulder City, Nevada 313, mi stay at Hoover Dam Lodge August 6th Boulder City, Nevada to Page Arizona 302 mi stay at Motel 6 August 7th Page Arizona to four corner monument to Moab, Utah 321, mi stay at Apache Motel August 8th Moab Utah to Durango Colorado 220, mi stay at Econo Lodge Inn Suites August 9th Durango, Colorado to Los Animas, Colorado 315 mi stay at Santa Fe Inn August 10th Las Animas, Co. to Hutchinson, Ks. 312 mi stay at Comfort Inn & Suites August 11th Hutchinson Kansas to Springfield, Missouri 301, mi stay at at Greenstay Hotel and Suites August 12th Springfield Missouri to? Home is 403 mi
6,303 miles / 16 States / 20 DAYS! This trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Randy 78 Jimmy 74 and Ronnie 68 don’t want no Rocking Chairs.We want to sit over a V Twin Motor feeling the wind in our face and hearing the roar of the engine and seeing places we never dreamed of when we were growing up in the hills of Cheatham County. - Jimmy
Crossed the Mississippi River at Cape Giradeau, MO and suppered at the White Rose Cafe in Union, MO. MO State Capital & Old
State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, MO.
Serving the city of Union, Missouri for almost 90 years, the White Rose Cafe is a smoke-free, family-friendly diner. We pride ourselves in home-cooked food, with a different special every day. Breakfast served all day long!
Missouri
Missouri State Capital
Crossing the Mighty Mississippi into Missouri
The Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) in Jefferson City was the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi River, opening in 1836 and closing in 2004. Now decommissioned, it offers history and paranormal tours through its historic buildings, including housing units and the gas chamber. The MSP was known for harsh conditions, including forced labor, overcrowded cells, and a period when Time magazine called it the “bloodiest 47 acres in America”
Nebraska
Richardson County Courthouse in Falls City, Nebraska. The significance of the Richardson County Courthouse is that it serves as the center of local government for Richardson County, Nebraska, and the city of Falls City, which is located in the county. The county itself was named after William A. Richardson, a prominent figure in Nebraska’s territorial history who supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Falls City was founded in 1857, a few years after the territory was opened for settlement, and became an important route for free-state emigrants heading into Kansas during the turbulent Bleeding Kansas era
Wyoming
The first antler arch was constructed in 1953 through the efforts and fundraising of the Jackson Hole Rotary Club. The National Elk Refuge, a protected haven where hundreds of elk come to take shelter during the winter months, sits just outside of the town of Jackson. Each spring the herd of elk naturally shed their antlers allowing locals and visitors alike to harvest the pieces for art and auction. Using a steel frame as a base and thousands of antlers from the annual spring shed, the rotary club methodically stacked the antlers to form the resulting arch. By the late 1960’s the other three antler arches came into existence and completed the project. The four arches stood proudly for the sixty years that followed. But as antlers are in fact made up of bone, they eventually began to decompose causing the structures to lose their rigidity and foundational structure. In 2006 the Rotary Club began fundraising efforts to replace the structures altogether with newly formed arches. Using donations and the funds received from auctioning off the original arches, some 14,000 pounds of antlers per arch, the club was able to replace them entirely with new frames and new antlers. By 2015 the final arch reconstruction was completed and the new adornments are expected to last at least another 50 years. The antler arches have become something of a Jackson Hole icon and a legacy to be passed onto future generations.
Jackson Hole, WY
Pinedale, WY
Idaho
Zoom in! See a guy parasailing in Idaho!
Craters of the Moon National Park Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. national monument and national preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho. It is along US 20, between the small towns of Arco and Carey, at an average elevation of 5,900 feet above sea level. The Monument was established on May 2, 1924. A Violent Past, Calm Present, and Uncertain Future... Craters of the Moon is a vast ocean of lava flows with scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush. We invite you to explore this “weird and scenic landscape” where yesterday’s volcanic events are likely to continue tomorrow.
Oregon
Vale’s Outdoor Art Gallery has 25 murals depicting Vale’s history on the Oregon Trail on the walls of various buildings throughout the town and on four metal murals placed outside the city limits welcoming visitors. Founded in November of 1992 by individuals who were interested in revitalizing Vale’s economy and possibly providing economic growth through tourism, the Mural Society paints new murals each year. VALE MURALS
VALE
VALE, Oregon
PRINEVILLE
Prineville, Oregon, founded as an agricultural and ranching settlement and named for its first merchant, Barney Prine, was officially incorporated in 1880 and became the county seat in 1882. The town’s history includes being at the center of the 1890s Sheep and Cattle Wars, the first successful irrigation of the Ochoco Creek in 1921, and the establishment of the Crooked River Roundup rodeo in 1945.
MT HOOD
Mount Hood is located in the state of Oregon, in the United States, forming the highest point in Oregon and a prominent landmark of the Cascade Range. It is an active stratovolcano situated approximately 50 miles (70 km) east-southeast of Portland.
Randy ask the waitress, “What is the Cobbler of the day?” She said, “Berries.” Randy asked, “What kind?” She said, “ Lab Grown.” He ordered and it was Blackberry. She had no clue as to what we were laughing about.
Lunch at Cannon Beach, Oregon, A scenic city on the northern Oregon coast known for its namesake Haystack Rock, and popular destination for its art galleries, fine dining, and access to outdoor activities like tide pooling and hiking in Ecola State Park. The city is a picturesque coastal town with a laid-back yet upscale atmosphere
This is one of Randy’s CB Friends, Log Trucker. He lives in Washington State and he met us in St. Helen, Oregon for breakfast.
They have never met before!
Tennessee “3” Riding Pacific Coast
View of the Golden Gate Bridge
Making friends with Switzerland Bikers
riding the northern
Pacific Coast
Redway California
Oil Fields in Southern California
We stayed in this California Town Ben Lomond.
The town of Ben Lomond, California, was officially named in 1887 when residents chose the name for their new U.S. Post Office. Original name: The community was initially called Pacific Mills, named after a local sawmill operation. A new identity: In 1887, the residents decided to adopt the name of the nearby Ben Lomond Mountain, which had been named by a Scottish settler in 1851 after the mountain in Scotland. The new name was chosen after the U.S. government expressed concern that the name “Pacific Mills” was too common.
Southern california beach where I got a bottle of water to bring home!
Four Corners One of the most popular sites in Canyon Country is Four Corners Monument. This unique location marks the point at which the borders of four different U.S. states meet: Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. It’s the only place in the United States where you can be in 4 states at the same time! The original marker was erected in 1912 which was a simple cement pad, but since then has been redone with granite and brass.
RONNIE - UTAH RANDY - COLORADO JIMMY- NEW MEXICO
Arizona Page, Arizona is known for its dramatic desert landscapes
Utah
APACHE MOTEL The Apache Motel is an historic motel in Moab, Utah, United States,
that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The motel is located at 166 South 400 East and was built in 1954. The origin of the name, Apache Motel, is disputed. Despite the name, none of the Apache tribes ever occupied the region surrounding Moab. It has been occupied by Navajo, Ute, and Paiute groups. The name may have it origins with one of two movies filmed a few years earlier or from a uranium mining company. The NRHP listing included Modern Movement style, in some or all of its two contributing buildings, one contributing structure and one contributing object. The motel was constructed during an important era of dramatic change for Moab and was one of the first motels erected in the city. The first movie (Rio Grande) was filmed there in 1949 and uranium was discovered in the area in 1952. The motel’s website asserts that John Wayne stayed there “for months at a time”. The family run motel was listed on the NRHP February 19, 2008.
Ute Indians
Arches National Park
Arches National Park lies north of Moab in the state of Utah. Bordered by the Colorado River in the southeast, it’s known as the site of more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, such as the massive, red-hued Delicate Arch in the east. Long, thin Landscape Arch stands in Devils Garden to the north. Other geological formations include Balanced Rock, towering over the desert landscape in the middle of the park
A most unique home, carved out of a huge rock in Utah’s Canyonlands Country. This historic 5,000 square foot home which began taking shape almost a century ago by the Christensen family. What began as a small alcove for the young Christensen boys to sleep in at night grew into a man-made engineering marvel 20years in the making. A fireplace with a 65 foot chimney, 14 rooms arranged around huge pillars and a deep bathtub built into the rock delight visitors who visit this most unusual home in the dessert. Original furnishings, Albert’s paintings, Gladys’s doll collection and many of the tools used to create this home remind you of the past.
In a 12 year period Albert excavated 50,000 cubic feet of sandstone from the rock. During this time he completed his famous painting Sermon on the Mount and his sculpture of Franklin D. Roosevelt on the face of the rock above his home. When Albert died in 1957, the home was not complete. Gladys’s in keeping with his wishes & lifelong dreams continued to develop the property, opening a gift shop and giving tours of her home until she passed away in 1974. Gladys is laid to rest next to Albert in a small cove within the rock near the home.
Million Dollar Highway
Colorado
The Million Dollar Highway is called that for a few reasons, most of which refer to its stunning, “million-dollar” views of the San Juan Mountains. Other theories include a million-dollar cost per mile for construction in the 1920s, the potential riches of the surrounding gold and silver mines, or simply the high cost of traveling such a dangerous and vertigo-inducing road
Theories for the Name: Million-Dollar Views: The primary theory is that the
nickname comes from the absolutely breathtaking, picturesque, and dramatic mountain scenery visible from the highway. Million-Dollar Construction Cost: Some sources suggest that the road was so difficult and costly to build in the 1920s that it was estimated to cost a million dollars per mile. Wealth of the Mines: Another theory is that the name refers to the rich gold and silver mines located near the highway in the Uray and Silverton areas, which were the reason the road was built. Vertigo and Danger: One tale suggests that an early traveler, overwhelmed by the steep drops and winding turns without guardrails, claimed he wouldn’t travel it again even if paid a million dollars.
Did you know that the Million Dollar Highway is approximately 25 miles long
World’s highest Harley Davidson Store 9,318 ft - Silverton, Colorado
Kansas Dodge City
Dodge City, Kansas, was founded in 1872 as a supply point for buffalo hunters and became a gateway for the cattle drives from Texas, earning its “Cowboy Capital” and “Queen of the Cowtowns” nickname. It was known for its wild and lawless frontier atmosphere, immortalized in Western lore, where lawmen like Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson worked to control the chaos of its saloons, gambling halls, and gunfights. After the decline of the buffalo and cattle industries, Dodge City transitioned into a farming and ranching center, which later developed a tourism industry focused on its historic Wild West past.
Feed Lot in Dodge City “Queen of the Cowtowns”
VALE, OREGON
MEL’S DINER VALE, OREGON & PADUCAH, KY Mel’s Diner’s history involves a split into two chains: The Original Mel’s, founded by David “Mel” Weiss, and Mel’s Drive-In, revived by his son, Steven Weiss. The first Mel’s Drive-In opened in 1947 in San Francisco by Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs, quickly becoming a popular drive-in chain. After the original chain’s decline, the 1985 revival led to the split, with Steven retaining the Mel’s Drive-In name and expanding with a strong Hollywood presence after being featured in the film American Graffiti. The chain is known for its retro-diner style and iconic status as a symbol of 1950s American car culture There is no historical connection between the famous “Mel’s Diner” chain and Paducah, KY. The Original Mels Diners began as Mel’s Drive-Ins in San Francisco in 1947 and has a history rooted in the American West, not Kentucky. Paducah’s own history is marked by its development as a port city with a strong river and rail industrial economy, starting with Native American tribes and later incorporating factories and foundries in the 19th century
PADUCAH, KY
Journal
Journal
Journal
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