Rench's Epic Ride Out West

[klaviator]

The photo above lends itself well to introductions.  Aside from me, each of the other men in the photo is a bona-fide 1%er.  That is, each has served in the U.S. Army as a Command Sergeant Major (E9).  Of all the soldiers that enlist in the Army, only 1% ever earn promotion to its highest enlisted rank.  Each of these men has successfully done so.  Starting from the left:

Shawn:  Currently an Army Sergeant Major who was able to take leave and join us for the trip.  He rode a 2004 Fat Boy.

Buddy:  Retired Army Command Sergeant Major, and veteran of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.  He rode a 2013 Harley Road Glide.

Yours truly:  Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, riding my trusty 2002 Road King.

Jake:  Retired Army Command Sergeant Major, and Veteran of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).  Jake was our trip planner, ride leader, lodging coordinator, butcher, baker and candlestick maker.  He led us aboard his 2013 Harley Street Glide.

So those 1%ers let you ride along with them.  How did you manage that?

BTW, thank you and your friends for your service!

[renchinrider]

Thanks, Klaviator, and thanks to you as well! 

I think the key to my inclusion is the fact that Jake's wife and mine are very good friends.  Otherwise, I can't imagine any reason three Sergeants Major would want an ol' Lieutenant Colonel crashing their party! :D

But, on that note:  I have to say it was fun to just listen to them banter back and forth each evening...I find myself constantly learning from those with extraordinary leadership skills, and these three guys have 'em!

[renchinrider]

After a couple of the guys took advantage of an unbelievable sale on H-D watches, we got back on the road, and headed north on I-49 until we reached US Highway 160 at Joplin, MO.  We turned west, and headed for Kansas.  It wasn't long before the vegetation began to thin from heavily forested land to more sparsely-treed plains.  One of our gas stops was near Moline, KS, enroute to I-35 in Wichita.



There's an interesting allure to Kansas...In the summertime :).  But in wintertime (and even in spring and fall), the winds can truly howl across the plains!  We all shared stories of riding our motorcycles practically sideways trying to counter crosswinds at one time or another!

[renchinrider]

We left the gas station and rode on into Wichita.  But traffic was heavy, and the heat was sweltering!  So we stopped at a Dairy Queen and took advantage of the ice cream and air conditioning until traffic calmed.  Then we went back out and rolled on to our Day 2 destination:  Hutchinson, KS. 

Hutchinson is perhaps best known for its stockyard/railroad history, but, being a huge Andy Griffith fan, I know Hutchinson best because it is the birthplace of Andy's on-screen girlfriend, Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut).

I can't find any pictures of Hutchinson in my flickr file, so I'll pause and backtrack for a moment:

At our first night's gathering in Arkansas, Buddy gave each of us a drinking glass embossed with the insignia of the 1st Infantry Division--the one unit in which all of us had served at one time or another.  After the glasses were charged, Jake gave each of us a trip memento--a bullion silver dollar!

[Frank Smith]

1ID. Custer Hill. What a place. Did my time there at Ft Riley, 79-81. I was thankful that I worked on Marshall Airfield. Glad to see You guys are having fun, reliving old times.

[renchinrider]

We all slept well in Hutchinson--the heat of the day riding from Arkansas had drained all of us.  The next morning, we had an early breakfast, and got an early start...Destination:  Trinidad, CO.

Our first stop along the way was at this memorial, located on the eastern outskirts of Dodge City, at the boundary of Fort Dodge.







Another interesting note about Dodge City is that, following the Lewis and Clark expedition, scientists had determined that the earth's 100th meridian, on which Dodge City lies, was the westernmost point in the U.S. at which there was sufficient rainfall to support agriculture.  Since then, much of western Kansas has been made arable through irrigation, but I can't help but wonder if the scientists of yore were onto something...Especially considering that the Arkansas River in Dodge City is only a dry riverbed (and 4-wheeler track) ???

[renchinrider]

1ID. Custer Hill. What a place. Did my time there at Ft Riley, 79-81. I was thankful that I worked on Marshall Airfield. Glad to see You guys are having fun, reliving old times.

Frank, later in this story I'll have a photo of Marshall Airfield!  And a few photos of Ft Riley, too.  I did some training at Camp Funston back in 1987.  Now Camp Funston is nothing but a memory, and has been replaced with a housing community, PX and Commissary!

Thanks for your service as well!

[renchinrider]

After Dodge City, we traveled west on U.S. Highway 50.  In Jamie Jensen's book, "Road Trip USA", U.S. Highway 50 is chronicled as "The Loneliest Road."  The stretch of U.S. 50 that we traveled follows the legendary Santa Fe Trail (Mountain Route), which ran from Kansas city to Santa Fe.  We made a gas stop in Kinsley.



It's relatively easy to navigate in central and western Kansas.  One need only scan the horizon for the next grain elevator! :D  Indeed, it is easy to spot these massive concrete structures miles in the distance, and then watch them grow larger and larger until you reach them.

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Other Kansas navigation aids include clumps of trees, which indicate the presence of a house (homeowners plant trees on the north sides of their yards to shield their homes from the winter winds), and large groves of trees, which indicate the existence of a town.

[Nice Goat]

Enjoying this report, man.  Good job!

[renchinrider]

It got sunny and hot as the day progressed and we crossed the more arid side of Kansas.  Finally, Jake saw a spot of "shade"  :Dand signaled for all of us to follow.



Necessity is truly the mother of invention!

[renchinrider]

We made one last gas stop and grabbed a quick lunch at the Kansas/Colorado border...



And then headed west.  There is almost no traffic at all on U.S. Highway 160 in eastern Colorado, so Jake took a moment to snap a pic of all of us as seen in his mirror.

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We continued on for another hour or so, until we reached Kim, Colorado and stopped to refuel.

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The owners/proprietors were super-nice people, and made all their guests feel like family.

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[renchinrider]

After several more hours trekking across semi-desert, we reached Trinidad, Colorado--our overnight stopping place.  Our hotel is situated right on the side of I-25, and provides a great view of the Rockies in the distance to the west.



That evening, Jake captured this really cool picture of our bikes' silhouettes in the sunset.

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Afterward, I had the pleasure of listening to these guys share warstories and observations on life...Always a treat!

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[renchinrider]

The next morning, we grabbed breakfast in Trinidad...



And then headed out.  The first part of our route was I-25 north toward Pueblo...

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...until we reached Walsenburg, where U.S. Highway 160 heads west again.  Walsenburg was quaint, and seemed to reflect an earlier time.

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We continued west, and soon began to climb toward higher elevations.

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Thank God for the jackets Jake had included on our packing lists!

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[renchinrider]

The trip across Colorado on U.S. Highway 160 was breathtaking.  There is so much to see in Colorado that one would have to make multiple passes on each road just to take it all in!

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We made a stop in Alamosa, Colorado.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/26ck8fU]Day 4 Alamosa CO 3

Until we arrived there, I had no idea that the Rio Grande river actually exists so far north! :o

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After refueling, we continued west, stopping at this rest stop along the highway.

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[renchinrider]

After taking these pics, we continued west, and entered the San Juan National Forest



At the time of our visit, Colorado had been fighting wildfires, and all of San Juan National Forest was completely closed because of the risk of fire.  Undeterred, we pressed on westward, until we reached the Great Divide!

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After taking pictures, we resumed travel--this time descending t.he mountains, and soon shedding our jackets