UTAH TRIP - Day 9 Home
I awoke this morning to the sound of thunder.
How far off I laid and wondered.
I started humming this song like it was 1982.
Ain't it funny how the time flew...
OK, so this morning I woke up at 5:40 and it was raining outside. I turned on the weather channel and in accordance with them, it wasn't suppose to be raining anywhere around me. When the weather on the 8's showed the local radar, there, right over Colby Kansas was a rain cloud.
The rain stopped about 6:30. I loaded up the bike, ate the free breakfast provided by the motel and started down the road by 7:30 toward Kearny Nebraska. As I drove northeast out of the city, I saw a beautiful sunrise in between the rain showers. God and I had a great talk as I headed down the road. I asked Him for safe travels and for him to keep me out of the rain. As the rain moved into my path, the road turned in another direction. Just like I did the other day, I danced with rain clouds.
Dance, dance, where ever you may be.
I am the Lord of the dance said He.
And I will lead you all, where ever you may be.
I will lead you all in the dance, said He.
The route to Kearney was Hwy, 24, 83, 383, 183 in case you want to follow on a map. If not, its enough to know that this is over 100 miles of a lovely two lane route in Kansas (If there is any). That darn rain cloud was still chasing me up to Nebraska.
I jumped onto Interstate 80 at Kearney and headed toward Omaha with the full intention of making some great time. In the short stretch until Grand Island, I learned that Interstate 80 is one of the most highly traveled routes by 18 wheel trucks. The turbulence that all the trucks were making was really horrendous. There was no way that I would be about to take 8-10 hours of that. At Grand Island I jumped off the Interstate and stated to run along the rails. The rain cloud was still chasing me and growing bigger each time I turned around.
The Union Pacific railroad runs parallel to HWY 30. I road along side of the rails from Grand Island, Nebraska to Ames, Iowa. I have always liked trains. The sound of a distant trains horn for most is a lonely sound. For me, its a lovely one. One of the earliest memories that I have is that of riding in the cab of an trains engine. A bucket list item for me is to take a long train ride someplace. Several times I saw trains that were only minutes apart that were going in the same direction. Here is a question: You know those trains that have to sit on the siding, have you ever wondered where the engineer goes or what he does while waiting?
I drove passed Jefferson, IA the home town of my friend Paul. There I saw evidence of the flooding from the heavy rain storms in that area. I hope Paul's family is doing well.
At Ames I jumped onto Interstate 35 and took this home. It was either the time of day or just the fact that this route went to Minnesota, but there weren't as many semi trucks so this stretch of road was a breeze. But that rain cloud somehow jumped ahead of me and was waiting in Minnesota.
I stopped for gas in Owatona, MN. There was a cute little old man with a retired Marine Corps ball cap on. We started chatting. He told me he had no qualms with the navy. I thanked him for his service. He asked me if my bike was a comfortable ride. I told him that it isn't after 650 miles. He said, "must be like sitting on a cinder block'. I only nodded.
Leaving Owatona, the rain started to fall at a good rate. I raised up the wind screen and tucked myself in for a wet ride. As I settled in, the rain stopped and at that time a hole in the rain cloud opened enough to show the sun. Yep, a round circle opened up and the sun shone through it, and then it closed again in just a matter of seconds. It was almost like God winked at me. God winked at me, with a knowing gleam in his eye that he did control the rain as I asked.
I pulled into the house tonight after 12 hours, 40 minutes of highway travel covering a distance of 750 miles. I traveled a total distance of 3840 miles in 9 days. My bike has now traveled over 50,000 miles in 8 years. I traveled across 8 different states. I slept in a great condo and 3 motels. I drove over more than 15 mountain passes, Monarch was the tallest. I danced with rain clouds. And then, at the end I got the greatest greeting from LoriAnn and Megan when I returned home.
What a great trip this has been. Thanks for traveling with me.
I got word that Steve is in San Diego and is having a grand time. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers because he has a long trip ahead of him.
How far off I laid and wondered.
I started humming this song like it was 1982.
Ain't it funny how the time flew...
OK, so this morning I woke up at 5:40 and it was raining outside. I turned on the weather channel and in accordance with them, it wasn't suppose to be raining anywhere around me. When the weather on the 8's showed the local radar, there, right over Colby Kansas was a rain cloud.
The rain stopped about 6:30. I loaded up the bike, ate the free breakfast provided by the motel and started down the road by 7:30 toward Kearny Nebraska. As I drove northeast out of the city, I saw a beautiful sunrise in between the rain showers. God and I had a great talk as I headed down the road. I asked Him for safe travels and for him to keep me out of the rain. As the rain moved into my path, the road turned in another direction. Just like I did the other day, I danced with rain clouds.
Dance, dance, where ever you may be.
I am the Lord of the dance said He.
And I will lead you all, where ever you may be.
I will lead you all in the dance, said He.
The route to Kearney was Hwy, 24, 83, 383, 183 in case you want to follow on a map. If not, its enough to know that this is over 100 miles of a lovely two lane route in Kansas (If there is any). That darn rain cloud was still chasing me up to Nebraska.
I jumped onto Interstate 80 at Kearney and headed toward Omaha with the full intention of making some great time. In the short stretch until Grand Island, I learned that Interstate 80 is one of the most highly traveled routes by 18 wheel trucks. The turbulence that all the trucks were making was really horrendous. There was no way that I would be about to take 8-10 hours of that. At Grand Island I jumped off the Interstate and stated to run along the rails. The rain cloud was still chasing me and growing bigger each time I turned around.
The Union Pacific railroad runs parallel to HWY 30. I road along side of the rails from Grand Island, Nebraska to Ames, Iowa. I have always liked trains. The sound of a distant trains horn for most is a lonely sound. For me, its a lovely one. One of the earliest memories that I have is that of riding in the cab of an trains engine. A bucket list item for me is to take a long train ride someplace. Several times I saw trains that were only minutes apart that were going in the same direction. Here is a question: You know those trains that have to sit on the siding, have you ever wondered where the engineer goes or what he does while waiting?
I drove passed Jefferson, IA the home town of my friend Paul. There I saw evidence of the flooding from the heavy rain storms in that area. I hope Paul's family is doing well.
At Ames I jumped onto Interstate 35 and took this home. It was either the time of day or just the fact that this route went to Minnesota, but there weren't as many semi trucks so this stretch of road was a breeze. But that rain cloud somehow jumped ahead of me and was waiting in Minnesota.
I stopped for gas in Owatona, MN. There was a cute little old man with a retired Marine Corps ball cap on. We started chatting. He told me he had no qualms with the navy. I thanked him for his service. He asked me if my bike was a comfortable ride. I told him that it isn't after 650 miles. He said, "must be like sitting on a cinder block'. I only nodded.
Leaving Owatona, the rain started to fall at a good rate. I raised up the wind screen and tucked myself in for a wet ride. As I settled in, the rain stopped and at that time a hole in the rain cloud opened enough to show the sun. Yep, a round circle opened up and the sun shone through it, and then it closed again in just a matter of seconds. It was almost like God winked at me. God winked at me, with a knowing gleam in his eye that he did control the rain as I asked.
I pulled into the house tonight after 12 hours, 40 minutes of highway travel covering a distance of 750 miles. I traveled a total distance of 3840 miles in 9 days. My bike has now traveled over 50,000 miles in 8 years. I traveled across 8 different states. I slept in a great condo and 3 motels. I drove over more than 15 mountain passes, Monarch was the tallest. I danced with rain clouds. And then, at the end I got the greatest greeting from LoriAnn and Megan when I returned home.
What a great trip this has been. Thanks for traveling with me.
I got word that Steve is in San Diego and is having a grand time. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers because he has a long trip ahead of him.
Comments
Glad to hear you made it safely home. I knew you were smelling the barn!!
My plan is to head north to the area around Lake Tahoe and then play it all by ear from there. I hope to catch a glimps of Mt. Whitney along the way, as it's the highest place in california. and then to lake Tahoe.