Epilogue

Once again a great cross country trip has come to an end.  I'm grateful having had the opportunity to do this and like to thank my wife for giving me the freedom to pursue my dreams.  The next time we will be traveling together again, promise.  I’d also like to thank Michael, Ludwig, and Matthias for joining me for a little while and I hope you enjoyed the parts of BC and AB we traveled through together.  I would have wished for better weather to show you more of the great splendor this part of the country has to offer.  Perhaps a good reason to come back.  And last, I like to thank Mike, Kim, Janet, Bob, Arkansas, George, Christine, Erika, Brad, and all those other people whose names I can't remember anymore, but you know who you are, which I met along the way and who shared their stories about the land and their own life with me.  Without you I would only have pictures, but meeting you created stories.  

I have raked up many miles, 10,490 miles per my tachometer, and have traveled from the East to the West and back.  This country is huge and offers enough space for everyone here to live to his/her likings, in peace and harmony with others, enough space to be tolerant towards people with other opinions, religions, being of other race, or whatever they are.  But it also showed me that there is a great part of population in this country which has been forgotten, left behind in all those advancements our society has made, socially, economically, and otherwise.  Those people are in no way stupid or lazy, they just live in the wrong part of the country, deprived of opportunities, a section of the country so vital to our survival and economy, yet we look at this stretch and their people with petty.

I have in part followed the routes and steps the pioneers of this country have taken more than 200 years ago, the Santa Fe Trail, the Pony Express Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Lewis & Clark Trail with the comfort of a motorcycle.  Hard to imagine what the people in that time had to endure making those travels on horseback, plan wagons, or on foot.  Their tracks are full of history and stories, and I was happy to have become part of it even if it was only for a little while.  The parks and the regions I visited were just breathtaking, an endless landscape in all its beauty the forces of nature can create.  It is those visits which remind me, us, that we have to preserve those beautiful landscapes for our children, and their children, and the generation which follow for them to enjoy and awe at those wonders.

The wolve will continue to travel and I hope that you will join me then again.

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”  -  Heraclitus of Ephesus fl.c. 500 BCE, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosopher

Mile 10490

This morning I wake up to a cloudy sky and temperatures which would make you crawl back under the blanket again.  Nevertheless my plan is clear, written on a piece of paper no more trust in Mr. Garmin, Tom-Tom, or Google,  and it means raking up the miles, because I'm going home.  I leave Columbus, OH and go North toward Cleveland, OH on I-71, then turn onto I-76 East toward Akron, OH which leads ultimately into I-80 to Wilkes-Barre, PA and from there over I-84 and Scranton, PA back home.  A route very well known to me, could almost drive it blindly, but better not.  The sky remains still cloudy, an occasional sprinkle comes down, and temperatures are not much more than the lower 40th, feeling more like the lower 30th.  My grip heating is working overtime, and I start to see some sun only late afternoon well into Pensilvania and too short to really warm me up.  But what do I care, I'm going home, and all what matters is eating up those miles and to stay calm passing all those construction zones.  I finally arrive back home late evening, put the side stand down and switch of the engine.  A long day comes to an end, a great trip too.  In the next days I will reflect on all I have seen, all I experienced and will try to put it into words to close this trip.

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it."  - George A. Moore, Irish Novelist

Mile 9782

My mind is made up, I will here in Jefferson City,  MO abandon my plan to complete US-50 and will deviate for reason to avoid the major cities, and also not to get to far South and in the aftermath of hurricane Ian.  I think Jefferson City is the right place as it is the starting place of the Santa Fe Trail, as much as it was part of the Lewis & Clark expedition 1804 - 1806 to the West (originally started in St. Louis).  So to end my personal tracking of US-50 and the trails, I think I can live with that decision.

Lewis & Clark Expedition Memorial - Signing the purchase of Louisiana (April 30, 1803)

State Capitol in Jefferson City, MO - Missouri River

So the plan is to take US-50 toward St. Louis, MO, run South around it on the Interstate bypass, and pick up US-50 again, continue till East of Cincinnati, OH, and then go North to pick up I-70 and run home.  That's the plan, basta.  I program my Navi, first check point, Salem, MO.  And so I start, follow US-50, get directed to US-63 South, no big deal I think as I want to go around St. Louis on the south side.  When I arrive in Rolla, MO and get directed to MO-72 South, I figure something is wrong.  I default to the old school printed map and find that there are two! Salem in Missouri, and the stupid (or was it me for not checking) Navi directed me to the one which was out of my way.  Now I have to change my plan as I lost one hour and half going in the wrong direction.  I change to I-44 and make my way back to St. Louis, and whilst on the Interstate I continue on I-70 and run up to Indianapolis, IN to continue to Columbus, OH.  Indianapolis is a nightmare because of all the construction on the Hwy going on, and the dark clouds above me don't make me more comfortable.  The road is slightly wet, it must have rained here before my arrival, also temperatures are dropping a lot, and it stays like this till Columbus, OH, but I never got wet.

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley."  -  Robert Burns, Scottish Poet

Mile 9174

I'm leaving Dodge City, KS this morning before Miss Kitty and her Can-Can girls are awake, before Wyatt Earp had his first coffee, and the gunslinger have brewed up their heists for the day.  I follow US-50 to Kinsley, KS which is equidistant from New York, NY and San Francisco, CA, 1,561 miles to either city.  

 my windshield from last evening ride (2 hrs only)

Here I leave the Arkansas River for awhile to cross it again in Hutchinson, KS, home to the world's largest grain/corn elevator.  This unit is 2,717 ft (828 mtr) long, and 100 ft (30.5 mtr) wide, and holds more than 17 million bushels (6 million hecto liter)  of grain. It is estimated that this is enough to supply the flour for all the bread consumed in the USA for six weeks.   The rest of my day is pretty much dominated by endless corn fields, and we all know how those look like.  Just for the statistic freaks, about 91.7 million acres are used for the production of corn feed, resulting in about 14 billion bushels of corn or 896 billion pounds of corn.  

Corn or grain silos are dominating the landscape around Hutchinson, KS and all along my way, sometimes asking myself if the town was built for the silos, or the silos made the town being built.  I follow US-50 and fight my way through Kansas City, and after a little detour because of my misreading of road signs I continue through Warrensburg, MO to Jefferson City, MO, the starting point of the Santa Fee Trail.  Once again do I meet here as well again Lewis and Clark, as part of their trail has crossed this territory as well.  And that's how the circle closes.

I'm still undecided how to continue as I enter now many metropolitan areas with high traffic which is not to my likings.  On the other hand I have to avoid dropping too much South not to come into the rain and bad weather pattern hurricane Ian is bringing upon the South of the US.  Figure if I stay North of the Appalachian Mountains I will be fine.  Alternatively I can always cross cut and pick up one of the Interstates and make my run home.  I will decide in the morning.

"You don't stop planting corn because weeds are going to grow beside it."  -  Matshona Dhliwayo - Zimbabwe born, Canadian based Philosopher

Mile 8658

This morning I wake pop to a chilly 44F at the foot of the Monarch Pass.  It takes a little while for the sun to rise above the San Isabel National Forest and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, but finally she makes her way.  I will follow this morning another important river in US history as well for some other reasons.  The canyons I travel along may not have the names and reputation as those along the Colorado Rver, but are nonetheless equally impressive.  It is the Arkansas River, once the border between the US and Mexico.  From Salida, CO I follow the river all the way to the Royal Gorge, to visit America's highest suspension bridge hanging 956 feet above the Arkansas River.  Many attractions were killed in the 2013 fire which ran up the gorge and destroyed some of the buildings, but did no harm to the bridge.  Built in 1929 for the sole purpose of tourism it is an engineering marble and any similarity with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA is due to then believed design by Joseph Strauss for large bridges which was applied by George E. Cole for this bridge.  From here I still follow this river to the East passing Pueblo, CO and continuing on the "Loneliest Road in America" to La Junta, CO with a little side tour to Bent's Old Fort.  This Fort was the last station at the west end of the Santa Fe trail, right at the border to Mexico, the last outpost of civilization.  It sole purpose was trade, as William and Charles Bent were fur traders.  Built in 1833 and run till 1848 when war with Mexico interrupted all trade and the increasing unrest amongst the Arapahoe, Apache, and Cheyenne people put an end to all business.  The Adobe building is beautifully restored and gives a good insight of what live was about in those times.  From here I continue on US-50 and enter the great plaines of corn, wheat, and dairy farming as I enter the state of Kansas.  I still continue following the Arkansas River, which in places is not anymore as impressive as it was this morning, and follow now not only a river, but also to a great deal the Santa Fe Trail which extended to Bent's Fort, KS but officially ended in Dodge City, KS and started in Franklin, MO.  As the sun is setting already in my rearview mirror, I call it the day in Dodge City, KS.  Dodge City has long lost its reputation of the outlaw frontier town, which lasted till about 1872.  And when cattle drives were banned in 1884, Dodge City very much vanished from the minds of the people.  Marshals like Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp only lived on in the stories told, and for tourists staged gunfights and medicine shows are held daily, and Miss Kitty and her Can-Can Girls perform every evening at the reconstructed Front Street.  I'm a little late for that, and may have to come back another time, or perhaps not.

Without much words, some impressions of the day.  Arkansas River and Royal Gorge:

Bent's Fort:

George Bent and his wife, Cheyenne woman Magpie

"A Nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground.  Then it is finished, no matter how brave its warriors or how strong its weapons."  -  Cheyenne Proverb 

PS.: Sorry sister, but I canceled my detour South as hurricane Ian is not cooperating with me.  I will stay North in hopes to avoid the storm and rain Ian is bringing inland.  Wish you to stay safe.

Mile 8260

I'm leaving Moab, UT this morning to explore one more canyon by picking up UT-128 outside of Moab to follow the Colorado river.  It is hard to believe that this river, this morning flowing gently and quiet towards lake Power can be the raging and powerful river having once formed this landscape and the Grand Canyon.  Anyway, I enjoy the ride along the river and the change in scenery after every turn of this gently twisting road.  Crossing the Colorado river I leave the canyons and immediately enter the wide, open plaines of Utah.  In Cisco, UT, which is the saddest "town" on a road map I have ever seen, I join I-70/Hwy US-50 for a short while before US-50, "The Loneliest Road in America" splits off in Grand Junction, CO.  Here I climb some passes again with the Uncompahgre National Forest and Plateau to my right, and the Grand Mesa  and San Isabel National Forest to my left.  From Delta, CO my way brings me to Montrose, CO and the Ute Indian Museum, entering the Blue Mesa Reservoir Area and riding along the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  Shortly later I come up to what is left of the Blue Mesa Reservoir at the Blue Mesa Dam and Lake Fork.  Water levels are critically low and once a reminder of ....., but I have been down this road.  I rather continue through Gunnison, CO and prepare myself for the last climb of today, the highest point on Hwy-50, the Continental Divide at the Summit of Monarch Pass at 11,312 ft (3448 meter).  This ride over the pass compensates for the 5 mile gravel patch of heavy road construction after Montrose, CO, which was perhaps the worst I have encountered on this trip.  Luckily the road was open for the weekend, during weekdays it is closed because of rock grinding and other works.  From Monarch Pass I go down to where the water flow now to the Atlantic and call it the day in Salida, CO and set up my camp site.

Along UT-128, along the Colorado River

:

Cisco, no words needed:

Curecanti National Recreation Area, Blue Mesa Reservoir, Continental Divide:

"Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, the last stream poisoned, will we realize we can not eat money."  -  Cree Indian Prophecy