MOTORCYCLE TOURING JOURNALS
One way we fulfill my love of the outdoors and visiting America's treasures in our National Park System is on a motorcycle. Touring the open road on a motorcycle instills a visceral connection to the environment and the scenery that you simply cannot experience while driving a cage...I mean car, even with the windows open. We have an incredible collection of beautifully engineered scenic byways across the country, many of which are badged by the America's Scenic Byway Program. These journals chronicle a number of the trips I've taken to visit national and state park and other locations across the country.
THE COLORADO PLATEAU
Several trips across the Colorado Plateau of Western Colorado and Utah with it's beautiful canyons, arches and weird geology explored the numerous national park sites in the region. The Colorado Plateau was a two week trek across western Colorado and eastern Utah. Colorado Plateau Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. The Arches & Canyons Tour explores Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah with some incredible scenic byways along the way.
ROCKY MOUNTAINS
The Rocky Mountains offers challenging motorcycle rides with incredible mountain vistas and an opportunity to experience all four seasons, even in the middle of the summer. The mountains across Colorado have an incredible diversity of twisty roads, high mountain passes and historic mining towns to explore. Rocky Mountain High explores the high rugged peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park across the northern part of Colorado through the high mountain passes to Steamboat Springs and then circling around to tackle the highest paved road in North America to the summit of Mount Evans. The Heart of the Rockies wanders through the central part of Colorado in mining country surrounded by the extraordinarily beautiful San Juan Mountains and some of the most twisty and challenging mountain riding in the region.
NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Enchantment is a weeklong excursion across northern New Mexico and the Taos Mountains exploring the rich history of the Native American peoples who originally inhabited this beautiful area.
NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS
The Notches, which is the eastern term for mountain pass, explores the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire which provides an idyllic setting for autumn colors with quaint historic towns that harken back to the olden days. Upstate New York is Lakes & Wine Country in the Finger Lakes region, also known for being the second largest wine producing area in the country. Rolling countryside with vast fields of grapes, fruit orchards, corn and other farm fields surrounded by the Adirondack Mountains.
BLUE RIDGE COUNTRY
The Peaks and Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge Mountains explores the long ridge of this iconic mountain range as it stretches through Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. The Smoky Mountains has some of the most challenging and beautifully engineered mountain roads in the country, including the famed Tail of the Dragon with 318 curves in 11 miles. Shenandoah takes you on a ride through Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, the first scenic road which started the auto touring craze in the 1930s. Explore the Hallowed Ground of the numerous Civil War sites across the mid-Atlantic where this tragic conflict saw most of its most horrific battles. While much of the area is a pastoral scene today, the many National Park Service sites serve as a grim reminder of the darkest days of our country.
9/11 TRIBUTE reflections on the anniversary of this terrible act of terrorism.