DC to San Diego, leaving 4/20...Routes, places to see west of the Mississippi.

Discussion in 'Trips & Events' started by vfrf2, Apr 13, 2010.

  1. vfrf2

    vfrf2 New Member

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    A friend and I are taking the bikes out to San Diego, leaving here on 4/20. We are going to hit the Barber Museum in Birmingham, then Nashville. After Nashville we are planning to take Rt. 40, maybe parallel it for most of the trip out there. We are both east coasters and have pretty much seen everything east of the Mississippi.

    What kind of weather could we expect to see going across the continental divide? It looks like we'll be staying south through TX, NM, AZ. Once across the Mississippi, the only places we want hit are Vegas and the Grand Canyon. My friend likes Vegas, so...I might venture out on my own for a day or 2 and see the 4 Corners area while he's gambling away his trip money. :)

    Any input on local routes, roads, sights? What kind of weather could we run into going west of the Rockies this time of year?

    Thanks!
     
  2. crustyrider

    crustyrider New Member

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    well for one, the canyon and four corners are off the beaten path. so unless you are gonna just catch him in vegas you might rethink splitting up. that area is northern AZ it does get cold... the cross winds on I 40 suck be careful
     
  3. crustyrider

    crustyrider New Member

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  4. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    How much time for your trip? 40 sounds ugly.
     
  5. drewl

    drewl Insider

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    Take every opportunity to check the weather along the way. Spring in the mountains is an evil mistress. It can be 60 one day and 30 and snowing the next.
    Have a great trip. Take lots of pictures.
     
  6. vfrf2

    vfrf2 New Member

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    @bonusvfr. We're looking seriously at taking rt. 10 or 20...maybe not super slabbing it much, just roads that parallel them, just a tad. I have a friend stationed at Ft. Huachuca‎ in AZ. We were thinking about making our way north from there onto Vegas, Grand Canyon, Utah from there. Then pop down to SD. We may even wind up doing a loop, not really concerned about the most efficient way to do the trip, all about taking it easy and enjoying it.

    @drewl. Thanks for the tips in the Rockies. We will have a laptop with an air card, a cell phones with web access. The only problem I could see is not getting a signal in remote area. We know people along the way who will watch weather for us and give us a heads up.
     
  7. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    I just was at FT Huachuca in late Feb. FYI, they are sticklers for military decals on MCs (check the rules).

    Do Tombstone for sure if you are so close in Sierra Vista. Routes 12 &24 are my favorites in Utah. If you do those you could do Grand Canyon North or South Rim easily then Zion. Monument Valley is a trip tooooooooo. You could then drop down to Flagstaff and do the Red Rocks in Sedona, Prescott, previously mentioned Jerome and then cut down thru Quartzsite to I8 and west to San Diego.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2010
  8. crustyrider

    crustyrider New Member

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    you can get visitor passes on the base as long as you friend is with you...All you need is registration and proof of insurance.....

    going the southern way hitting tuscon then running north up to the canyon and over to vegas..thats a nice jaunt
     
  9. BWeiss

    BWeiss Johnny Partseed

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    If you really want some sights and don't mind a HUGE detour, while in New Mexico, go visit the Carlsbad Caverns. Its about 5-6 hours south of 40 in south east NM. I understand if you dont want to detour that far, but I was there as a kid and have been dying to make a trip back there, I think it'd be a worthy trip.

    Google Maps
     
  10. RedMenace

    RedMenace New Member

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    Crossing NM and other areas, there are many "Elk Crossing" signs. They are not just over-signage or exaggeration of the situation. If you see the signs, slow to at least the limit and keep your sharp eye on the shoulder. They move along roads at night for some reason. It doesn't sound as if you are camping, but there is a Wolf sanctuary in NM that is just ok, unless you camp there at night. The wolves howling is super cool around a campfire. The Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial is easy to get to and worth a 30 minute stop. Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX is boring and
    hard to get pix of. Good luck!
     
  11. drewl

    drewl Insider

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    +1 to the Elk. In northern Arizona too. They are freaking HUGE.
     
  12. Rollin_Again

    Rollin_Again Member

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    Sounds like a great trip! The Barber Museum is awesome and will be one of the highlights of your journey. Don't forget that you'll be covering some major mileage so you'll most definately want to plan a couple of oil changes and a tire change along the way. Start looking for fellow VFRW members along the way who are willing to let you stop at thier house to drink all their cold beer and do your bike maintanance. I've even done long distance trips before and had tires shipped directly to my friends house along the way so that they would be waiting for me when I arrived. Planning is key!!

    Good luck and please try to post pics along the way!!

    Rollin
     
  13. derstuka

    derstuka Lord of the Wankers Staff Member

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    Hells....I have a million suggestions....Zion NP Utah, Bryce Canyon NP Utah, Grand Canyon NP (if you were on a mission, you would loop around the GC over thru Utah and hit Zion and Bryce, then back to Vegas, and if you want to head south from GC, head thru Flagstaff then over thru slide rock park and sedona)...then either slab it on the 8, or take the backroads to SD county.

    Death Valley NP (very cool ride, be sure to see Scotty's Castle as well).....Joshua Tree NP, 243 up in the san jacinto mtns, or head to Borrego Springs and hit up the backroads to SD. I know all of the roads in SD back country very well, so if you have specific questions, drop me a PM.

    I would suggest lots more, but you are coming early, and there is still lots O snow on dem der roads in da hills. Drew had the best suggestion....check the weather as frequently as you can.....especially in the mtns.

    :jason:
     
  14. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    Unfortunately not my recent experience with this base! They would not let a retired E-9 on the base who had insurance, registration and military ID card....maybe it was his Goldwing :mad:

    I was ok on my bike (sticker) but they would not let my buddy on the base even though we had reservations with base lodging.
     
  15. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    Agree here ...except the very COOL ride in Death Valley. Great ride indeed but more like HOT! :cool::cool:
     
  16. woody77

    woody77 New Member

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    this is about the best time to hit DV. Too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer. Of couse my camping trips there have all been dead of winter, or height of summer, as we like the extremes in a place like that.
     
  17. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    It was nice in Mar when I last went. Ok maybe?

    Don't forget Dantes View
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Closer to the floor
    [​IMG]
     
  18. crustyrider

    crustyrider New Member

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    thats jacked up...My other hobby, uses the base quite often, and all we needed was the afformentioned documentation....is that jsut for bikes or vehicles in general? I guess the best thing to do is just register it at the closest installation and get the DOD sticker then you are good anywhere....
     
  19. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    Yea a PITA .... just bikes. Maybe the base commander has a HO for bikes. Regular DOD decal will get you on but forget it if you don't have it.
     
  20. vfrf2

    vfrf2 New Member

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    I go away from here for a day or so and wow, responses out the yingyang! Cool by me. My friend doesn't live on base, he's in civilian quarters. I'm getting new tires installed on the FZ1 today. I'd like to take my VFR, but...she's getting up in years and aside from that, I've got something right next to her that will be much more comfortable to ride out there. The DR wasn't looking good after I did a 250 mile day on it this past weekend. :)
     
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