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Summer vacation
13 years ago
Well, it came to be that time of the year again: my week long summer vacation. Somehow I don't usually plan this, but always end up doing some sort of long distance week long vacation every year. This year I went to Bonneville SpeedWeek to help an old college friend of mine race his Suzuki GSXR1000.
It started off last Saturday with me departing Kansas in my trusty pickup truck at 7 am. Originally the plan was to make the trip in two days, but after hearing another Kansan made it there the day before in 17 hours, I was bound and determined to match that!
Overall the drive went pretty well. While fueling up in Laramie, WY, I managed to somehow pick up a 32 year old hitch hiker who abandoned a broken down Greyhound bus on his way from New York to Seattle. This is ironic in some retrospect as the last time I drove West back in 2005, I picked up a hitch hiker then as well.
Ultimately I initially enjoyed his company during what would otherwise be a lonely drive to Salt Lake City, but began wishing he'd stop talking as the last hour of his trip neared. What can I say? I can only talk about music, skate boarding, and speculation over motorcycle riding so many times in one day...
Before I began contemplating roadside murder I dropped him off at the Greyhound station in SLC (in time for him to catch the bus he was going to catch from there, beating the broken down bus), he paid me $40 to help with the gas, and we departed paths. Nice fellow, but I don't care to talk to him again. ;)
Anyway, I finally made it to the flats at about midnight, just in time to pitch my tent in the mud (my friends picked an "awesome" camping ground) and catch some sleep before the next day.
Come Sunday, I got to watch my friend make more qualifying passes for his competition licenses as he worked his way up towards the 200 mph mark. By Wednesday, the fastest he had managed was 189 mph (short of the 204 mph record), but I think we were all pleased that the bike never had a catastrophic failure and he made a good running for his first time attempting those sort of speeds. Other than that, the salt flats were hot, the days long, and the sleep poor. I don't plan on going back. ;)
By Wednesday afternoon I picked up my girlfriend from the SLC airport and we spent the night in an over-rated hotel in prep for our drive to Roswell, NM, that took place Thursday. However, this was not before I replaced a fuel selector valve in my truck Wednesday night and then the spark plugs Thursday morning. The good news was that the strut started and idled better thanks to the plugs, but the valve didn't fuel a vapor lock problem I kept having with the fuel system. I ended up living with the truck throwing fits after hot start-ups for the rest of the trip.
We didn't get into Roswell until midnight after snaking our way through New Mexico, but Friday was the real treat as we went down to Carlsbad to check out the Carlsbad Caverns. While I was disappointed that it wasn't a cavern I had to crawl through a use a flash light as my only source, I was still awe struck by the sheer size of the caverns. To give some perspective, it took a 1.5 mile hike to get down to the main cavern and some of the areas could swallow an entire city block, if not more.
If any of you ever wind up in that area, I implore you to check it out. I have photos on my Facebook page, send me a note if you'd like me to accept a friend request so you can see them. Be aware that I am only offering this to people I know well. Sorry.
The rest of the trip was pretty well unremarkable. We left Roswell Saturday morning and arrived back in Wichita by 7 PM to pick up my dog from the parents of my girlfriend and then made our short trek back to Newton. Needless to say, I did jack shit on Sunday. I earned it! ;)
All in all, I spent about 39 hours worth of driving and put nearly 3000 miles on the truck. I've yet to calculate how much I spent on fuel, but I imagine it'd pay for a couple plane tickets. >.>
It started off last Saturday with me departing Kansas in my trusty pickup truck at 7 am. Originally the plan was to make the trip in two days, but after hearing another Kansan made it there the day before in 17 hours, I was bound and determined to match that!
Overall the drive went pretty well. While fueling up in Laramie, WY, I managed to somehow pick up a 32 year old hitch hiker who abandoned a broken down Greyhound bus on his way from New York to Seattle. This is ironic in some retrospect as the last time I drove West back in 2005, I picked up a hitch hiker then as well.
Ultimately I initially enjoyed his company during what would otherwise be a lonely drive to Salt Lake City, but began wishing he'd stop talking as the last hour of his trip neared. What can I say? I can only talk about music, skate boarding, and speculation over motorcycle riding so many times in one day...
Before I began contemplating roadside murder I dropped him off at the Greyhound station in SLC (in time for him to catch the bus he was going to catch from there, beating the broken down bus), he paid me $40 to help with the gas, and we departed paths. Nice fellow, but I don't care to talk to him again. ;)
Anyway, I finally made it to the flats at about midnight, just in time to pitch my tent in the mud (my friends picked an "awesome" camping ground) and catch some sleep before the next day.
Come Sunday, I got to watch my friend make more qualifying passes for his competition licenses as he worked his way up towards the 200 mph mark. By Wednesday, the fastest he had managed was 189 mph (short of the 204 mph record), but I think we were all pleased that the bike never had a catastrophic failure and he made a good running for his first time attempting those sort of speeds. Other than that, the salt flats were hot, the days long, and the sleep poor. I don't plan on going back. ;)
By Wednesday afternoon I picked up my girlfriend from the SLC airport and we spent the night in an over-rated hotel in prep for our drive to Roswell, NM, that took place Thursday. However, this was not before I replaced a fuel selector valve in my truck Wednesday night and then the spark plugs Thursday morning. The good news was that the strut started and idled better thanks to the plugs, but the valve didn't fuel a vapor lock problem I kept having with the fuel system. I ended up living with the truck throwing fits after hot start-ups for the rest of the trip.
We didn't get into Roswell until midnight after snaking our way through New Mexico, but Friday was the real treat as we went down to Carlsbad to check out the Carlsbad Caverns. While I was disappointed that it wasn't a cavern I had to crawl through a use a flash light as my only source, I was still awe struck by the sheer size of the caverns. To give some perspective, it took a 1.5 mile hike to get down to the main cavern and some of the areas could swallow an entire city block, if not more.
If any of you ever wind up in that area, I implore you to check it out. I have photos on my Facebook page, send me a note if you'd like me to accept a friend request so you can see them. Be aware that I am only offering this to people I know well. Sorry.
The rest of the trip was pretty well unremarkable. We left Roswell Saturday morning and arrived back in Wichita by 7 PM to pick up my dog from the parents of my girlfriend and then made our short trek back to Newton. Needless to say, I did jack shit on Sunday. I earned it! ;)
All in all, I spent about 39 hours worth of driving and put nearly 3000 miles on the truck. I've yet to calculate how much I spent on fuel, but I imagine it'd pay for a couple plane tickets. >.>
did you see any UFO's in roswell? hehe