Last updated 10/22/09

I arrived at the SLC airport on Wednesday, 4/1/09 and Glenn, (the seller of the TDM), met me there and took me back to his house. Glenn and his wife were nice enough to let me stay with them that night while I waited for my gear to arrive via FedEx the next day. They have a wonderful place set in the mountains just west of SLC.


Glenn standing in his garage next to 'my' new TDM850.


Me finishing up some last minute packing prior to taking off on my journey. Glenn lent me the use of his garage and tools to hook up my various electronic doo-dads and pack my gear for the trip. You meet the nicest people on ADVrider!

A picture of the bike at the local gas station with the mountains in the background.

It was still fairly cold in SLC in April. I went for a little ride the day before leaving and took this picture at the end of a dead-end road in Glenn's neighborhood.


Finally packed, geared up, and ready to strike out on my journey. Glenn snaps this picture as I'm about to snick the TDM into 1st and motor out of the driveway on Thursday, 4/2/09. I think it was about 38 degrees outside that morning.


I worked my way west through Tooele, (home of the WSB at Miller Motorsports Park), and south on Hwy 36, picking up Hwy 28 in Nephi. Then I picked up Hwy 28 in Gunnison and took that down to Hwy 24 in Salina. The scenery changed from flat grasslands to mountains, and as the elevation rose, the temperature went down. I stayed on Hwy 24 until I got to Torrey where I had a decision to make, keep on 24 through Capitol Reef NP, or head south on Hwy 12 through Escalante, the road they call the Golden Staircase. I decided to head south and found a great place to camp on BLM land down a dirt road right off Hwy 12, just east of Escalante.

Here's the little dirt road.


And here's my campsite for the night.

That fire sure felt good!

I woke the next morning to temps in the 20's, and found this little guy laying on the ground outside next to my bike. He hopped a ride on my windshield until the breeze got too stiff and he jumped ship.

Day 2, Escalante, Utah to Tuba City, Arizona

Day 3, Tuba City, Arizona to Show Low, Arizona

Day 4, Show Low, Arizona to Silver City, New Mexico

Day 5, Silver City, New Mexico to Guadalupe NP, Texas

Day 6, Guadalupe NP, Texas to Big Bend NP, Texas

Day 7, Big Bend NP, Texas to Rock Springs, Texas

Day 8, Rock Springs, Texas to Martin Dies Jr SP, Texas

Day 9, Martin Dies Jr SP, Texas to Desoto NF, Mississippi

Days 10 & 11, Desoto NF, Ms to St. George Island, Fl to Christmas, FL

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