Wildguzzi.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Daniel Kalal on April 26, 2015, 09:57:54 PM
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(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/map.jpg)
US-191 runs from Mexico to Canada (with a gap at Yellowstone). I've never been on the southern most part even though that portion through the eastern Arizona mountains is considered one of the best motorcycle roads in the country. That's what I'm aiming for.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/US191.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/images/stateTX.png) Texas
Dalhart, Texas. It's time for lunch at the Loose Caboose cafe. Today's special? Chicken fried steak (no real surprise).
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo001.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo002.JPG)
US-54 follows the Union Pacific tracks along a long sweeping arc towards Tucumcari.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo004.JPG)
This was a very long train pulling containers that aren't there anymore. I waved at the engineer and got a couple of quick toots in return (every bit as fun today as when I was eight years old).
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo006.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/images/stateNM.png) New Mexico
Tucumcari, New Mexico. This town has three historic main streets through town (not counting the freeway, which bypasses the town completely). There's the original, next to the railroad. Then, there's the street that's called Main Street that is the old business district. And then there's this, which was route-66. Today, the old hotels and restaurants are still here, but only a few are open for business.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo008.JPG)
The Blue Swallow Motel is a classic '66' motel with rooms and garages built around a central courtyard. To its credit, it's still in business; the owners have embraced whatever people want route-66 to mean for them.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo007.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo010.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo014.JPG)
Every room has it's own adjacent enclosed garage (likely much too small for your SUV), and every garage now has a full mural devoted to some aspect of '66'.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo011.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo012.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo013.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo015.JPG)
Newkirk, New Mexico (population 7) is typical of many small towns spaced along route-66 that are virtually extinct, today. Tires didn't often survive the journey, so there's a handy tire changing machine mounted to the pavement.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo016.JPG)
Pastura, New Mexico existed for the steam engines and their need for water. Of course, that need is long gone, so Pastura is not an active place.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo017.JPG)
US-54 heading towards the crossroads at Vaughn.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo020.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo019.JPG)
The town of Carrizozo is near those hills.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo021.JPG)
Crossing the Jornada del Muerto (route of the dead man). Large lava fields would make this an especially difficult valley to cross (and that name wouldn't give you much hope of success).
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo023.JPG)
Crossing over the Oscura Mountains.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo025.JPG)
Trinity Site isn't too far to the south of here.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo027.JPG)
Bear Mountains in the distance.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo028.JPG)
Magdalena, New Mexico parked at the Magdalena Cafe.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo031.JPG)
It's a standard breakfast. That biscuit was freshly made and was perfect.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo029.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo030.JPG)
Not far west of Magdalena is the VLA (Very Large Array) radio telescope. There are quite a few dishes arranged along three arms each 120 degrees from the next. They can be moved inward and outward depending on the sort of information they're after. When I was through here last year, all the dishes were quite close together (perfect for a photograph), but today, they're spread out to their maximum.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo034.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo036.JPG)
Mangas Mountains.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo037.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo039.JPG)
Aragon, New Mexico is just on the western side of the continental divide.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo040.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo043.JPG)
San Francisco Mountains.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo044.JPG)
Luna, New Mexico, the last town before Arizona.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo046.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/images/stateAZ.png) Arizona
Alpine, Arizona. I had a choice of the sunny cafe across the street with all the cars in their lot or the more rustic cafe next to where I'm parked.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo048.JPG)
Next time I'll probably eat at the place across the street. This is today's special: “the cowboy burger.”
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo049.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo050.JPG)
Alpine sits on US-191. I'll be turning south to climb into the White Mountains. Initially, the road is really smooth with good curves clear shoulders. Eventually, though, it becomes much rougher.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo051.JPG)
The old road would have been quite a challenge. This is only a small stretch of that original road that leads to a scenic overlook.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo054.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo053.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo057.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo059.JPG)
You have to wonder why this road is even here. There are no towns. I think access to mines is the original answer.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo065.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo067.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo071.JPG)
I hate it when the cattle-crossing is on a curve and you're on a motorcycle, but on a straight section (such as this), they're hardly worth a notice.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo073.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo074.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo081.JPG)
Wow; they're removing the whole mountain! This is the Morenci copper mine, which is now owned by Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FMCG).
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo086.JPG)
Clifton, Arizona. This would have been the busiest street in Clifton many years back--not now.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo087.JPG)
Out of the mountains, but still following US-191. That's Mount Graham on the horizon (10,720 feet).
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo091.JPG)
Willcox, Arizona was built because of (and for) the railroad.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo094.JPG)
The Chiricahua Mountains. This is an impressive range surrounded by miles and miles of grassland. It's where I'm heading.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo095.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo097.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/images/LogoNationalParkService.png) Chiricahua National Monument was created in 1924.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo100.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo099.JPG)
These formations are the remains of an enormous eruption some 27 million years ago. It's a remarkable place, and one that I wasn't aware of.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo110.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo111.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo112.JPG)
A paved road takes you to a higher elevation so you can look over much of the mountain.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo116.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo117.JPG)
Hundreds, probably thousands, of balanced rocks.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo120.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo121.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo125.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo129.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo130.JPG)
Swedish immigrants (Neil and Emma Erickson) settled the Faraway Ranch in 1887. Their daughter, Lillian, would live here until 1977.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo131.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo134.JPG)
Douglas, Arizona is the southern end of US-191. Just a few blocks south and you'll be at the Mexico border.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo135.JPG)
Now following Arizona highway 80 through the Pedregosa Mountains.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo137.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo138.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo139.JPG)
Well, it happens.
I walked back to the parked bike after taking a photograph of the hills (above), and found a completely flat rear tire.
Sigh...
This is sergeant Tomas Romero of the Douglas Police Department. Tommy kept me company while I repaired the flat--in his left hand is the bottle of ArmorAll, which was just the lubricant I needed to get that repair-plug inserted.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo141.JPG)
The Geronimo surrender site (1886), which marks the end of the Indian Wars.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo142.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo143.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/images/stateNM.png) New Mexico
Animas, New Mexico for fuel. I'm still watching that rear tire, but it's holding air and all looks well.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo144.JPG)
I almost always order the special, and as often as not, the special in any New Mexico cafe is going to be Green Chili Cheeseburger. You cannot go wrong.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo145.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo147.JPG)
Hachita, New Mexico--another railroad town.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo148.JPG)
That large water tower, built for the steam engines that will never come again, will last for many more years.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo150.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo151.JPG)
Columbus, New Mexico.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo152.JPG)
In 1916, Pancho Villa's army (but not Pancho Villa himself) of 500 men attacked this town. Seven soldiers and ten civilians were killed in the raid. The U.S. response was to send 10,000 troops under General John Pershing into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa. They never did.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo158.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo157.JPG)
Very little of the army camp is left.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo159.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo160.JPG)
Deming, New Mexico.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo162.JPG)
Crossing over the Caballo Mountains with a view of the White Sands Missile Range.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo164.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/images/LogoNationalParkService.png) White Sands National Monument.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo165.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo166.JPG)
This isn't your ordinary sand. It's gypsum crystals (selenite) ground up to the consistency of talcum powder.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo168.JPG)
If you walk very gently, the surface supports you and your boots will not sink. Once the surface if broken, it's tough going. This isn't like any beach or conventional sand dune you've walked on.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo169.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo172.JPG)
Alamogordo, New Mexico.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo174.JPG)
The International Space Hall of Fame is also a space museum.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo178.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo179.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo180.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo181.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo183.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo184.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo185.JPG)
The display of inertial guidance equipment from various rockets was especially interesting. It's clear that simply building something with a lot of thrust was never the hard part; the hard part was making sure the rocket would go where it was supposed to go. That's the role of the guidance system. The first one (below) is from a German V2 rocket. The complexity of its connected gyroscopes is amazing.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo188.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo190.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo192.JPG)
Cloudcroft, New Mexico is high in the Sacramento Mountains. There have been devastating fires in this town, so it sometimes has the appearance of a low-budget western movie.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo195.JPG)
There's a road that connects US-82 with US-70 that I've wanted to take, now I finally have. There was snow on the ground, but the road was clear and dry (the riding temperature at the higher elevation was in the high forties).
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo197.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo198.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo199.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo200.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo203.JPG)
US-70 dropping into the plains. We're leaving the mountains behind.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo205.JPG)
Portales, New Mexico
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo207.JPG)
I ordered today's special, and--surprise!--it wasn't green chili cheeseburger. This is a bit more upscale place, so it's steak and enchilada.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo208.JPG) (http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo209.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/images/stateTX.png) Texas
Sunray, Texas.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo210.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo214.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/images/stateOK.png) Oklahoma
Goodwell, Oklahoma.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo215.JPG)
Guyman, Oklahoma.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo217.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/images/stateKS.png) Kansas
US-54, Kansas.
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo218.JPG)
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo220.JPG)
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Nicely illustrated and told...enjoyed the visual adventure on some familiar roads/locations!
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Deke , once again , amazing stuff . I love that part of the country , thanks ;-T
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Nice loop.
The Bear Wallow in Alpine, AZ is one of our favorite stops when in the area.
You did manage to find a way to take pics of Alamogordo and Deming that makes them look tiny. Alamo is quite large for a town out here and Deming isn't a one stoplight town.
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I dreamed of travelling the US like you did / do for the better part of my life. Never was able to do so. Now I ´m too old, I guess. But your pictures are a big "Ersatz" ! I really do enjoy.
Thank you very much, Daniel !
Hope for more to come.
:+1
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Engrossing
Will have to buy a Biiig map so I can find all those places ;D
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;-T ;-T You make places I would never think to go, seem obvious destinations. Terrific!
Nick
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Great ride review Daniel! Thanks for the memories: the Chiricahuas were my summer home for five years in the early 80's; beautiful mountain range with very unique flora and fauna.
I sure miss those NM green chili cheeseburgers; can't get them here in KY.
Jon
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Fantastic ride report! :+1
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Fantastic ride report! :+1
:+1
I love the South West....I want to live there someday.
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I always enjoy your reports. This one is great as I spent a number of years living in New Mexico and West Texas.
I also enjoyed the one about Nebraska and that area as I was raised in that area. :)
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enjoyed those, thank you.
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Now there you go - [Daniel Kalal] sets the standard for the kind of trip report I was hoping to do for my Arizona trip to see my brother. So I just did a rough estimate of photo and word count to get a comparison betwixt the model I'm aiming to imitate and what I actually produced.
Daniel's report ran about 140 pictures and 1,080 words.
So I go look at my report - 10 pictures and 3,660 words.
Hmmm...I might not be cut out to be one of Daniel's imitators.
Nice ride and very nice report Daniel - thank you for that.
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Kept wanting to click "like" on many of those. :bow
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This was a very long train pulling containers that aren't there anymore. I waved at the engineer and got a couple of quick toots in return (every bit as fun today as when I was eight years old).
(http://www.dankalal.net/2015trip12/photo006.JPG)
Did THIS train stop in Tucumcari?
Lannis
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Funny, I just posted this on the Jackal sidecar/dog thread. ;D This is one of the garages next to your room in the Blue Swallow..
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/elwood59/route66092_zps40b75fe0.jpg) (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/elwood59/media/route66092_zps40b75fe0.jpg.html)
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well DK, you made the devil's ride (rt 666) as you proposed at Cedar Vale. Congrats and thanks!
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Did THIS train stop in Tucumcari?Lannis
Good one Mortimer!
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Daniel, Absolutely wonderful pictorial. I love the occasional food stops you include. Makes me feel like I'm on the trip, as opposed to the reality of being stuck hundreds of miles away from my bike on business for the past two weeks.
Maybe it's just because it's so different from where I'm from, but I think the desert southwest is the most beautiful part of country. Thanks for letting us live vicariously through your excellent travelogues!
What was your average mileage per day out there? Also, if you recall, what were the range of temperatures you experienced this time of year?
Cheers,
Owen
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well DK, you made the devil's ride (rt 666) as you proposed at Cedar Vale. Congrats and thanks!
:+1
Yeah. I'd sure like to make this ride sometime.
:bike
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What was your average mileage per day out there? Also, if you recall, what were the range of temperatures you experienced this time of year?
This was a five-night trip.
Around 420 miles per day. I wore my electric vest everyday, although often it wasn't turned on. The low was mid-forties and the high was around eighty; really the temperature was mostly perfect for riding. Strong wind was annoying, particularly as it always seemed to shift to be right on my nose, regardless of which way I was riding. Headwinds leaving Kansas, and headwinds coming back.
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That's an incredible record of memories.
Rich A
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Great photo/tour post. Enjoyed it.
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:+1
Yeah. I'd sure like to make this ride sometime.
:bike
Trailer to Alpine and 3-4 days of riding.
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I really enjoy seeing a view of other people's geography through photography.
Are the blue dots on your map GPS readings or photo ops?
We certainly don't have the mix of town and road up here that you do. A few nice views and an occasional village...
I wonder if there'd be uptake for more of us to share our pieces of our planet in a similar format citing a common tag: bike, camera, defined range or region.
This forum has people posting from all parts of the world. I've never been to Australia; for example. ... or Georgia/Alabama
Pretty certain the vast majority of you have never been near the arctic circle.
To keep life reasonable one would want to limit the number of photos in an article.
I'm going to try my hand at it over this summer. Posting sometime in September. May not be one continuous trip but it will represent the region in which i ride.
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Are the blue dots on your map GPS readings or photo ops?
I keep track of where I’ve been by a series of lat/lon coordinates, which I can save in a spreadsheet and show as dots with most any mapping software. The coordinates are generated during the ride by a small Spot device, which I have strapped to the back rack.
It’s a handy way to remember where you’ve been, and is even easier than marking up a paper map of all the roads you’ve ridden (which is what I used to do).
(http://www.dankalal.net/summary/collection_roads/map_roads_OK.jpg)
We certainly don't have the mix of town and road up here that you do. A few nice views and an occasional village...
You’ve just described most of the world. I can’t imagine there’s any place in Alaska that isn’t at least as photogenic as most of Kansas.
one would want to limit the number of photos in an article.
Ouch… But, I agree with your other point; I’d sure like to see much more posting of photographs, too--but, avoid too much posting of unscaled images. All of mine have been cropped and scaled and are actually fairly small files (even if there are an awful lot of them).
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I'm very fond of pictures, seeing them, taking them - so I'm a bit biased and in your case, too many would be very hard to do. Especially considering that you take pains to make them user and browser friendly.
You also label your trip posts very well so if one needs to avoid them for what ever reason they are easily avoided (work blocked the photo server so I'd try to ignore your thread until I got home and view the thread properly, now that I'm retired it is no longer an issue - well, the issue is wanting to the same darn thing you are doing!).
:bow
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Awesome, awesome pictures. I was planning a trip that would loop through that part of New Mexico and now I definitely will want to incorporate more of those destinations.
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Daniel,
Don't change a thing! I enjoy all the photo's you can post.
Bill
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Great shots, I have had the good fortune to travel most of the roads in your pictures with the exception of Oklahoma, now I have a reason to stray further east.
Thanks
Jim
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one would want to limit the number of photos in an article.
Why?
Photos are one thing we never have enough of here at Wild Guzzi.
The more, the better...
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Why?
Photos are one thing we never have enough of here at Wild Guzzi.
The more, the better...
YES! more entertaining than much of what goes on here!
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a picture is worth a thousand words. seyz the snap shooter to his English Teacher wife. :wife:
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a picture is worth a thousand words. seyz the snap shooter to his English Teacher wife. :wife:
How do you type the sound of a rim-shot? Funny JL!
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Ouch… But, I agree with your other point; I’d sure like to see much more posting of photographs, too--but, avoid too much posting of unscaled images. All of mine have been cropped and scaled and are actually fairly small files (even if there are an awful lot of them).
[/quote]
I obviously said that poorly; no poke at your essay was intended.
The concern was a thousand image post or two hour gopro film of some guy's world tour would get tediouos.
~ wait til my September post... you'll see what I mean. ::)
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FWIW, here is a pick of the southern end of Alamogordo. Not a tiny town, but not huge by any means. Behind me are the newer hotels and restaurants in town (Fairfield, Hampton, Holiday Inn, Chili's, Applebees, etc, etc).
Sorry I could not post pics of where I was at White Sands today. You can look up HELSTF on the net (High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility).
(http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j384/portablevcb/FullSizeRender.jpg)
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Hi Daniel,
Great photos, as always!
Curious as to which mapping software you use. I've tried a few, but haven't been happy with the way they display or print.
Thanks,
Eric
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Curious as to which mapping software you use.
For my purpose, Microsoft Streets and Trips (for North America) and Microsoft AutoRoute (for Europe) work perfectly (the programs are identical; only the area covered differs). I can load directly from spreadsheets and have good control over how the points appear and it is really easy to add additional points. Unfortunately, neither of those programs is now available. You can find them new-in-box on eBay, but the prices are now crazy.
There's a free online routine (GPS Visualizer) that is coming along nicely, and might become my standard eventually. The author allows you to put your points on a choice of quite a few map types (Google, USGS, World Topo, etc.) It will also allow you to import from spreadsheets (or several other formats). http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input (http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input)
This map was made using GPS Visualizer (since neither MS product covers this area). I put the points on a National Geographic map (one of several that are offered).
(http://www.dankalal.net/summary/collection_roads/map_roads_all_australia_new_zealand.jpg)
The MS programs let you highlight whole states (or countries) and has flexibility that nothing else offers.
(http://www.dankalal.net/summary/collection_roads/map_roads_zSwitzerland.jpg)
When I eventually upgrade to a new computer and operating system, I'll need to decide what the best approach will be.
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As always I find your travels thoroughly captivating. It seems most people on two wheels to live for roads with one turn/corner after the other. Me on the other hand find the vast open area's you travel to be very inviting riding. Riding and seeing ahead such a distance is very different than most of the riding back here in the east.
Thanks for taking the time.