DK's Definitive Ride Report - Some of the Best Scenic Roads Out West - Tons of Photo'

[DK Custom Products]

When Mary and I started planning our Big Trip for 2018 we decided we wanted to ride as many spectacular roads and visit as many scenic locations as we could.

We have around 43 days, and a bunch of family, and a few friends to visit. They are all west of the Mississippi river.

So we began our list….

Bearthooth Pass

Yellowstone

Northern California Coast

High Sierra’s

Ozarks

Mountain Passes in Colorado

Redwoods

Million Dollar Highway

Highway 12 in Idaho

National Parks in Utah

We began working with the calendar, the list above, plus the visits to friends and family, hammering out an itinerary.

Turns out there is a Trike Talk Get Together in Eureka Springs (Ozarks) that matches up with our calendar for a great start to this trip.

We’ll be posting photo’s as we go. Upon our return, there will be a few videos.

Couple of photo's of what we're looking forward to...

Beartooth Pass in June, and...



...time on the Open Road.



It looks like it will be around an 8k-9k mile trip. Not a lot of miles, but certainly some of the best riding roads and most scenic views west of the Mississippi.

The TG is ready, new tires, brakes, fluids, and a thorough going over.

Avon front tire-



Time for a wash...



...annual wax on....



...wax coming off.



Paint looks great in bright light...wish it always looked like this.



Packing everything we need for riding in 100+ degree temps and below freezing temps is always a challenge. We’ll be doing a test pack later today.

Just 1 more days at the shop before we take off!

Kevin

[Jack Klarich]

Have a GREAT and safe ride

[DK Custom Products]

Have a GREAT and safe ride

Thanks man!

Kevin

[ol' school]

Yes, you all have a safe, enjoyable trip. Looking forward to seeing Mary's awesome pics and videos of the wonderful scenery as you travel!

[DK Custom Products]

Mary and I have ants in our pants to get out on the road! lol

We just finished test packing....it's been two years since we've been on a long trip, so I wanted to make sure we were good.

Oh, here's a photo of the new Comfortred rear tires we're running. Got about 600 miles on them and they feel good, been in some light rain, we're sure to hit some heavy rain on this trip, maybe some snow, so we'll see how they do.



So, here is most of the stuff we are taking...a few small odds and ends not in the pile.



It all fits, with quite a bit of room left over...



...only thing on the rack is the cooler.



Short day at the shop tomorrow, then Wednesday morning we hit the road til the first week of July!

​​​​​​​Plenty of pics coming.

Kevin

[FuzzyWuzHe]

No fuel tank?

[DK Custom Products]

No fuel tank?

We discussed it...up until we leave Idaho we should not need one. I just have to exercise a little self-discipline and not wait til the last minute to fill up. lol

In Idaho we'll pick up a 2 gallon "can". There are some part of Oregon where the fuel stops are few and far between...and there are a few other places between there and home where some extra fuel may be nice.

Kevin

[Dave59]

Looking forward to the pics Kevin, have a safe trip!

[FuzzyWuzHe]

We discussed it...up until we leave Idaho we should not need one. I just have to exercise a little self-discipline and not wait til the last minute to fill up. lol

In Idaho we'll pick up a 2 gallon "can". There are some part of Oregon where the fuel stops are few and far between...and there are a few other places between there and home where some extra fuel may be nice.

Kevin

Figured you had a plan ... looking forward to giving you guys a hug and catching up ... LOL

Oh yea ... the trike is looking good and from your posts about what you did to it, probably runs and rides like or better than new.

[DK Custom Products]

Looking forward to the pics Kevin, have a safe trip!

Thank you! Hope you enjoy!

Figured you had a plan ... looking forward to giving you guys a hug and catching up ... LOL

Oh yea ... the trike is looking good and from your posts about what you did to it, probably runs and rides like or better than new.

Yeah, we'll see how it works out. I hate stopping for gas.

No doubt it rides infinitely better than new, runs better too. Looks...well it is a bit beat up, not horrible, but not new.

See ya soon!

Kevin

[Jack Klarich]

Kevin, are you going thru Spearfish Canyon? If you are, stop @ Cheyenne Crossing for a cold drink

http://www.cheyennecrossing.org/

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Kevin, are you going thru Spearfish Canyon? If you are, stop @ Cheyenne Crossing for a cold drink

http://www.cheyennecrossing.org/

The heck with the drink ... did you see that Indian Taco ... Yummy

[Jack Klarich]

The heck with the drink ... did you see that Indian Taco ... Yummy

Taco Tuesday I love to stop there when I am @ Sturgis event

[PosseRider]

Have been on all of those roads you mentioned. Great rides.

[paws]

AND... "they're on the road again!"

[DK Custom Products]

Kevin, are you going thru Spearfish Canyon? If you are, stop @ Cheyenne Crossing for a cold drink

http://www.cheyennecrossing.org/

The Black Hills is one of the great riding locales that we are not going to see on this trip.

Have been on all of those roads you mentioned. Great rides.

Yes! Great having dinner with you tonight!

AND... "they're on the road again!"

WHOOHOOO!!! It's been too long, and could not come soon enough!

Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

Our plans were to leave on our trip tomorrow morning. This plan has been in place for over 2 months.

BUT...this afternoon, around 4:30, we looked at each other and said....why not leave now?

So we did....we left out at 5:30 this afternoon...just to get out on the road.

Almost forgot to get a pic before leaving....Mary with her new WHITE helmet.



It had just finished raining at the house when we left. It's pretty warm, that is steam coming up off the road up ahead.



...we figured we could miss most of the rain between here and Jonesboro. Even if we did hit some, the forecast for tomorrow is also rain.

After taking about 30 miles of backroads, we ended up on the interstate and crossing into Tennessee.



We did not spend long in Tennessee before getting on the bridge to cross the Mississippi River into Arkansas.



We are finally on the road!!! Even though it takes 3-4 days before settling into road life...we got started, and it feels good knowing we're out traveling for the next 40+ days!

Rain to the left of us...lots of lightening, but it's a ways off.



Mary in the mirror....we are taking a slight detour here, to get around a pretty big storm we were headed straight into...



...rode thru a lot of Arkansas farmland on some back roads, they had seen some heavy rain right before we got there...



...we threaded the needle a few times, missing the heavy rain and....



...just riding thru a little light rain here and there.



Those of you that have read our previous Ride Reports know that Mary likes Cloud Pics....here's one as we get close to Jonesboro, Arkansas, around 7:30 pm.



More coming soon.

Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

Day-2

Leaving out of Jonesboro, heading to Eureka Springs for the Trike Talk Get Together.* Sunny, blue skies and more farmland!



We weren't on the road long until we happened upon an 18 wheeler that had left the road...the utility company was already there, working on the power lines the truck had taken out...and the wreckers were working on getting it back on the road to be towed away.* You can see the sheet metal at the front of the trailer had all been peeled away.* We sat there about 20 minutes until they started letting traffic pass through.



Back rolling....On the left a coupe pulling a trailer, on the right (right above the windshield) a crop duster at work.



Another pic of a crop-duster.* We saw quite a few today...some quite close coming over the road....sorta difficult to get a clear photo.



Starting to climb into the foothills before the Ozarks....lots of nice sweepers.



A cloud pic....when the clouds were still being nice.* lol



We stopped for gas in Mountain Home.* We saw there was some rain off in the direction we were headed...lightening too.* Looked at the weather app and it showed ONE LITTLE Spot of rain between us and Eureka Springs.

So we decided to put on our rain jackets, but that we would not need our rain pants....anything that got wet would dry out long before reaching Eureka Springs.

Well, that was a mistake.* lol* We spent over half the time in heavy rain...like so heavy that I was slowing down quite a bit and putting on my flashers.* Here's a photo of some of the not so heavy rain when Mary had the camera out.



Every now and then it would stop raining and we would see a little blue sky.



In the Ozarks now, and having a little fun on the roads going into Eureka Springs.



We're here!* This is just a few the the Trikes, will get more pics tomorrow.



Had a great time visiting with some fellow trikers, and looking forward to riding the Ozarks and visiting more over the next couple of days.

Kevin

[MDO]

Great pics Kevin, thanks for posting. You & Mary have a great time on the road, have fun & be safe.

[ultrafxr]

Have a great trip Kevin and Mary. Really enjoy your postings and photos. I'll have to up my game to stay in league with you guys! Ride safe. Looking forward to comparing notes of our trips when you get back home.