September 2005

USA
Nevada, California,
Utha, Arizona

September news !

At the first day of the month I am in Reno.
At the Royal Enfield dealer I buy some more little parts and get some things done and changed.
Tait ( the star from the main dealer in Minnesota) flies for this weekend in.

There are lots of Enfields & Enfielder which are enjoying this meeting here a the local dealer.

With sunshine and in the best mood I ride in to the weekend.

My motorcycle Fusae sounds good and brings me save to Mono Lake.

A little turn off takes me to the ghost town Bodie.
Form 1880 on it didn’t grew only to a size of a real city – in its best days Bodie could count 10.000 residents.

Gold rush was the magic, but for the most of them is was a hard, rough and tough live.
The extreme temperatures & hard work, saloons and the ‘light’ ladies made one or the other ones live difficult.

Today there are only some houses left, but there exactly in the same way as they got bought in the 60’s from the state to preserve history.

The next day I move on. It’s a thought day for Fusae.

Via Tioga pass we (Motorcycle, Moses and myself) reach the beautiful Yosemite National Park in California.
Stunning views or even huge Rock formations, great hikes and much more is to do about here.
This weekend it is crowded, so many visitors that the rangers told me already that there is only a campsite if I have a reservation . . . . . of course, me and a camping reservation!?

I try my luck to find a spot.
But it is more than that. Shane ‘inspects’ my bike while I talked to the rangers and so I ask him if he wants to have this bike on his camp spot?!
DEAL!!

His friends Lisa & Denny also dont mind heaving me at their spot and we have a good time.
Shane and I stay some more days at the National Park before,….
Oh - I almost forgot to tell you about the bear.
Its not a story.
Those one of you which ever slept under the stars, know what it’s like – you hear every noise.
It happened around 3 or 4 am.
I wake up, Shane as well and when I lift up my head to have a look in the direction of the noise…. Wow a black bear, how cool.
He is checking the campground to fins some food.
I hope at this point ‘he’ is vegetarian and not interested in us – he is huge!

Back to you curiosity about my ‘camping companion’!
Shane is from New Zealand and travels as well, but he does it in a different style (left New Zealand with 80 Dollars in his pocket)
After this great week we set an appointment for later – to travel together.

I keep on moving towards Las Vegas.

On the way I have a look at the biggest tree in the world.

He grows in the pretty Sequoia National Park and should be around 2500 years old.

Soon I reach Death Valley.

- what a place.
From rocks on a race track to spots 85,5 meter under the sea level.

Everything to find in this lunar landscape.
The heat during the day is enormous and I have this weird feeling that Fusae doesn’t like it.
So I get up the next morning at 5 am to escape the heat.
What do I get back? – this awful sawing machine sound!

The 3rd time where she breaks down.
It sounds that it is the same problem again.
Were this 100 miles from the dealer in Oregon to that one in Reno too much – remember, there she ran to lean!?

With a towing pick up (this time paid by Royal Enfield USA) we get to Las Vegas.
At my friends place I can stay.

Shelley & Bob give me a warm welcome, a nice room and everything I need while Fusae gets her place at Findlay’s Motorcycles.

On Wednesday it is clear – once more the whole repair.

The main dealer wont take it back as a lemon, but pay the repair……
‘Shit’!
If there would be only me which is traveling,
I maybe wound wait for the repair, but there is this ‘WE’ and the plan is to go to Mexico.
I check the situation to buy a car.
In my budget there is no calculation for a new one, so I check the used scenery. With the bus it takes me 3 hours to get from one side of the city to the other one.
The Motorcycle shop where they fix my bike are nice people and lend me for a day a Triumph which looks even good at the strip.

The strip is that part of Las Vegas which every one knows – a huge toy box for adults.
Casinos in Pyramid and palace shapes.

From Roller coaster to Venice…. everything you can image is there.

On Monday 19.09.1005 I’m lucky.

Jimmy is my new transportation.
This 6cylinder GMC is hopefully as good as he looks.
Tuesday’s I get the number plate and insurance (once more all on my name - officially this is not possible). And I am ready to take off.
First I drive ½ way to San Francisco to meet Shane and shift luggage.
For the next week I’ll be gone to the National Parks east of Vegas.
Who knows when I’m ever back.

First I visit Zion National Park.

Great hiking possibilities and views all around.

In Bryce Canyon, I am impressed by the needle rocks and at Capitol Reef National Park the colors & formations of rocks are just breath taking.

The next National Park I visit on this roundtrip is the Arches.

Sandstone formations in different shapes give this National Park his name. Stones which balance other once are as impressive like all this spectacular sights.
On the way to the little and not that well known Antelope Canyon I drive through the famous Monument Valley.
One late afternoon I reach Page and take a rest.

This canyon should be best at lunch time – so I check it out the next day!

Live it is even better than on the photos…..

.

.

I have a look at Grand Canyon National Park and Hoover Dam before I return to Las Vegas.

My friends give me once more a warm welcome and talk to me to stay.
First I thought about maybe 2 days, but Jimmy (my car) doesn’t sound good at all.
At the garage they say it will take a week – a week ??!! - to fix it?!

OK, I am welcome to stay at my fiends place and as an exchange we find out that they love the austrian way of cooking.
I do the shopping at the organic store around the block and prepare every evening a meal for my friends – I’m allowed to ell it the whole world - I’m happy to have friends like them – thank you Shelley & Bob!

This way are the days flying by like nothing, so the September month and the USA part of this trip.
The next days I’ll drive to Mexico and there we’ll see – who is who?!

Then there it is a WE,

….We are traveling ….. Shane the New Zealander and I!