That was Yesterday...

The following pictures were taken between Ogden, UT., and Los Lunas, NM on the 14th of September.

Mood Music...

Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb:



I actually had a few pictures that turned out pretty well even though most were taken while the bike was in motion. Here's a link to my SmugMug South America photo gallery (http://martineasley.smugmug.com/Moto...35817666_jVGRX) where you can view the ones not deemed worthy of posting here. Keep in mind that I take even more and toss the really bad stuff!

Arno's bike was making a funny "clicking" noise so he stopped at the BMW dealer outside of Houston. Turned out to be a wire that was resting on the engine and had melted through the insulation. They also did a valve adjust since he was there. It knocked him out for a day, so it delays our rendezvous and trip into Mexico a day. So, I got a nice hotel room and the internet is excellent, so it gives me a chance to upload all these pics. Hope I get some good connections in SA, but I'm not holding my breath. So, I'm going to lounge in Marfa tomorrow waiting for Arno... I have a couple of economic pieces I want to write, so I'll get those up on the www.twistededge.blogspot.com site tomorrow - don't forget to Click for a "Klick!" Thanks to everyone who had and does, it's most helpful to both Arno and me... Mucho Gracias!

As I launched out of Ogden it was pitch black dark, so obviously no pics all the way through Salt Lake City. I rounded the corner well south of there onto hwy 6. It was gusty as all get out as the wind shot down the pass. At the throat of the pass was a great place for some windmills and the sun was just starting to come up...



As I started to climb the pass it got colder than I expected, so I stopped at this corner to put on another layer. The rock formations are beautiful because they are very stratified...





Too bad the sun wasn't up a little more to see the rock...

As I rounded another corner I saw this...





At first I thought it was a low cloud in the valley, but it turned out to be steam from a coal plant as there was a large coal mine there.

This shot was typical of the high plains area.



As I rode and rode the plains, I kept thinking of the Clint Eastwood movie, "High Plains Drifter."



Of course that was quite a bit farther north, a high plain nonetheless!

My bike had killed at least a trillion bugs! By the time I got to Marfa, TX. it was so filthy I had to spray it off at the local carwash - a real Felix moment I hear Arno saying already! Here's a view through the windshield, couldn't see much through the bug layer. That reminds me... do you know what the last thing to go through a bug's mind is right as they hit the windshield? LOL, that's an old one but I think of it every time I see a windshield like that! (I'm sure you know the punch line)



As I headed south I came upon more cliffs and more red soil:











As I approached the Moab area (very beautiful), I came upon the Arches National Park, so I decided to pull in and see if I could get some photos:



I got this just from the entrance where I was stopped:



There was a steady stream of campers, RV's, and autos going past the entrance, so I followed, Baaaa, in line all the way to the pay to enter spot - WARNING, economic rant to follow - so, the line is a mile long and when I get close enough to see the entry fee sign, it says, "$10 per vehicle PLUS $5 per person!"

Now, that may not sound like much, but it just flat out pisses me off to pay to enter a park I already own! Now, you may say, "Yes, but they need the money for maintenance."

To which I say, "BULL."

You and I now work through the month of June just to pay for all our taxes, some of which is supposed to be used to maintain our parks. So, what's happening is the old teenager ploy...

Ever have a teenager? It goes like this... they work and earn say $100 in a week. They use their money for fun stuff and come to you to pay for the stuff they "need," thinking you don't know the difference! Thus it's a pass-through of the money.

Our government takes in $2.5 TRILLION in tax money, gives it to the central bankers who sponsor their campaigns, and then they don't have enough money for parks... or for schools! Rant over, you are now returned to your regular programming...

Oh, I turned around and didn't go. Baaaa.

And that's okay, because I got to see a lot of good stuff otherwise and it was free to look at and I don't even think I own it...

Things like this phallic tower:





And the Wilson Arch which was FREE:



I had to pass through a line of thunderstorms:



It was looking perfect, just like using the wx radar in a plane to avoid the cells. I was cruising about 85 mph when all of the sudden in the middle of nowhere was a line of parked cars literally a mile long. I came to a stop right beside the reason why:





I sat there for a half hour while the lightning and rain got closer and closer. I put on my Klim jacket and it started to pour, fortunately only for a few minutes and it was gone.

It took a couple more hours to get to Los Lunas. It was a pretty ride, but started to get hot and I was putting that jacket off and on the rest of the afternoon and didn't take many more pictures.

But hey, that was yesterday, more coming from today...

Foreigner - That Was Yesterday:


Oh yeah, I'm taxing your bandwidth now!