- Joined
- Oct 7, 2007
- Messages
- 2,379
- Reaction score
- 161
- Location
- Houston
- First Name
- Darrell
- Last Name
- Gerdes
This June/July Jay and I had our 3rd opportunity to load up and take off on an extended vacation, thanks to a work conference. Back in 2013 I had a conference in Lost Wages in October. We both always wanted to take off on the bikes and visit things along the way. I spent MONTHS planning the trip and visits to the National Parks along the way...well the politicians didn't want us to have as much fun as planned so they closed down the government and National Parks. We still managed to have a great ride.
In September 2016 I had 2 conferences in Lost Wages (back to back) so we planned a much more successful trip. No government shutdown.
With the practice of the first 2 trips we decided what the heck 3rd time has to be a charm. I had a conference in Lost Wages in late June so the planning began almost immediately after the October return.
Explanation as to the title of the report. My dad, the wonderful German blooded man he is, would plan family vacations to the nth degree back in the late 60's and early 70's on graph paper. He would spend hours pouring over Texaco, Enco, Gulf, and Mobil branded foldup maps. He would determine exact mileage, the picnic areas, the parks, and sights we would see. He would schedule which days were tuna and which were bologna lunches. Everything was meticulously planned even how much money we could spend on a motel with a kitchenette. Well since I got 1/2 of my dads genetic material the planning gene crossed over to me. When we go on vacations I create and Excel spreadsheet and pour over Google maps planning and replanning and replanning. Jay and our friends think I'm nuts....they say it's a vacation let things happen and relax. It drives me nuts to think about not having a plan.
I'm going to post this trip report in what I think is a weird format....I might put 1 day and I might put multiple days in a single post. So please bear with me because in this case there is no method to my madness.
Planning
I started planning the trip back in midOctober 2016 knowing that I had to have dates and places in place for camping reservations at National Parks. You've got to jump online at 10 AM the day 6 months out from when you want a camping spot. And since the trip was going to take place in June/July I knew it would be even more fun since vacations would be in full swing by that time.
I've attached the final planned spreadsheet so you can see how I go about oing things. This isn't what actually occured in the trip. More on that later.
From the spreadsheet you can see the plan was simple.....
Leave Houston on Father's Day and arrive in Lost Wages on Friday afternoon of that week. Then spend 6 days there and then venture back home via Zion etc. I had to be back in the office on July 10. So that would give us 3 weeks away from Houston.
Things got a bit interesting over the 3-4 months before the trip. Jay's dad had significant health issues and he was spending 3-4 days each week in Lafayette. His mom was also having issues. At one point we thought we might have to cancel, but thankfully the doctors found "cures" for both parents issues.
On top of the parental challenges, Jay got a new to him bike. He had taken the 2 previous trip on his 2008 Versys and never was fully happy with the experience. The bike was not a "road trip" bike in his eyes. Earlier in 2017 we happened to have the opportunity to purchase a 2012 Wee Strom (or Glee Strom, whatever they want to call it) that had been originally owned by MacDaddy on here. We modified the luggage by buying some Touratech Zega Pro panniers and top case. Perfect for a 3 week road trip.
Camping spots were secured as planned. Motels were secured as planned. 1/3 of my planning was done.
Next came the finalized route planning. That was completed in May 2017. The final route would be as follows. (This is the May plan, more later)
Day 1--Houston to Ft. Stockton
Day 2--Ft. Stockton to Silver City, NM
Day 3--Silver City to South Rim Grand Canyon
Day 4, 5, 6--Grand Canyon camping
Day 6--Ride to Las Vegas
Day 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12--Las Vegas hotel for conference
Day 12--Ride to Zion National Park
Day 13, 14, 15--Zion National Park camping
Day 15--Ride to Moab
Day 16, 17, 18--Moab hotel and explore Arches, Canyonlands, Moki Dugway
Day 18--Ride to Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Day 19--Ride to Alamosa CO and stay in hotel
Day 20--Great Sand Dunes National Park and ride to Santa Fe hotel
Day 21--Ride from Santa Fe to Abilene
Day 22--Ride from Abilene to Home
Yep, I know it's a very full schedule.
Packing
2 motorcycles
2 Touratech Top Cases
4 Touratech panniers
2 sleeping bags
1 tent
4 hiking poles
2 tank bags
Thank goodness for multiple past trips and ROX straps.
More to come. Stay tuned.
In September 2016 I had 2 conferences in Lost Wages (back to back) so we planned a much more successful trip. No government shutdown.
With the practice of the first 2 trips we decided what the heck 3rd time has to be a charm. I had a conference in Lost Wages in late June so the planning began almost immediately after the October return.
Explanation as to the title of the report. My dad, the wonderful German blooded man he is, would plan family vacations to the nth degree back in the late 60's and early 70's on graph paper. He would spend hours pouring over Texaco, Enco, Gulf, and Mobil branded foldup maps. He would determine exact mileage, the picnic areas, the parks, and sights we would see. He would schedule which days were tuna and which were bologna lunches. Everything was meticulously planned even how much money we could spend on a motel with a kitchenette. Well since I got 1/2 of my dads genetic material the planning gene crossed over to me. When we go on vacations I create and Excel spreadsheet and pour over Google maps planning and replanning and replanning. Jay and our friends think I'm nuts....they say it's a vacation let things happen and relax. It drives me nuts to think about not having a plan.
I'm going to post this trip report in what I think is a weird format....I might put 1 day and I might put multiple days in a single post. So please bear with me because in this case there is no method to my madness.
Planning
I started planning the trip back in midOctober 2016 knowing that I had to have dates and places in place for camping reservations at National Parks. You've got to jump online at 10 AM the day 6 months out from when you want a camping spot. And since the trip was going to take place in June/July I knew it would be even more fun since vacations would be in full swing by that time.
I've attached the final planned spreadsheet so you can see how I go about oing things. This isn't what actually occured in the trip. More on that later.
From the spreadsheet you can see the plan was simple.....
Leave Houston on Father's Day and arrive in Lost Wages on Friday afternoon of that week. Then spend 6 days there and then venture back home via Zion etc. I had to be back in the office on July 10. So that would give us 3 weeks away from Houston.
Things got a bit interesting over the 3-4 months before the trip. Jay's dad had significant health issues and he was spending 3-4 days each week in Lafayette. His mom was also having issues. At one point we thought we might have to cancel, but thankfully the doctors found "cures" for both parents issues.
On top of the parental challenges, Jay got a new to him bike. He had taken the 2 previous trip on his 2008 Versys and never was fully happy with the experience. The bike was not a "road trip" bike in his eyes. Earlier in 2017 we happened to have the opportunity to purchase a 2012 Wee Strom (or Glee Strom, whatever they want to call it) that had been originally owned by MacDaddy on here. We modified the luggage by buying some Touratech Zega Pro panniers and top case. Perfect for a 3 week road trip.
Camping spots were secured as planned. Motels were secured as planned. 1/3 of my planning was done.
Next came the finalized route planning. That was completed in May 2017. The final route would be as follows. (This is the May plan, more later)
Day 1--Houston to Ft. Stockton
Day 2--Ft. Stockton to Silver City, NM
Day 3--Silver City to South Rim Grand Canyon
Day 4, 5, 6--Grand Canyon camping
Day 6--Ride to Las Vegas
Day 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12--Las Vegas hotel for conference
Day 12--Ride to Zion National Park
Day 13, 14, 15--Zion National Park camping
Day 15--Ride to Moab
Day 16, 17, 18--Moab hotel and explore Arches, Canyonlands, Moki Dugway
Day 18--Ride to Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Day 19--Ride to Alamosa CO and stay in hotel
Day 20--Great Sand Dunes National Park and ride to Santa Fe hotel
Day 21--Ride from Santa Fe to Abilene
Day 22--Ride from Abilene to Home
Yep, I know it's a very full schedule.
Packing
2 motorcycles
2 Touratech Top Cases
4 Touratech panniers
2 sleeping bags
1 tent
4 hiking poles
2 tank bags
Thank goodness for multiple past trips and ROX straps.
More to come. Stay tuned.