USA 4 Corners Tour

[OldCrow]

Exhausted..We did it, the 4th Corner today. Key West was a sweltering mad house. More updates when back to civilization.

 

[wilcoy02]

:clapping: :clapping: A trip that you will always remember. :thanks: for sharing. :clapping: :clapping:

 

[julimike54]

Very cool!

 

[OldCrow]

Hello Everyone,
Well my wife and I officially finished in Key West and my wife's ride is done today in Annapolis MD where my mother-in-law was caring for our Maltese "Tiki". I now get a solo ride back to Maine to pick up the car and come back to retrieve them.

My only concern is today about 100 miles out of Annapolis I noticed a distinct whine when in 5th and on the gas. It seemed to come on after hitting one of the numerous bad road to bridge joints in VA. It never got worse during the 100 miles.

I just put the bike in my Mother-in-laws garage and it is weeping from the rear final to drive shaft tube joint, but not dripping and certainly not enough to cause a low level.

I'm puzzled due to the abrupt nature and only 5th and on the gas.

Any thoughts of what may be happening? I'm hoping to ride it home by Friday if the rains clear out. I only have some basic had tools so not much chance of a repair while here and my car&trailer are 630miles away.

 

[mcgovern61]

Not sure. Can you determine where the whine is originating?

 

[OldCrow]

Can't localize, it's just under me.
I took the bike out to get gas and ran it up to speed this time without earplugs and about 160lbs lighter, i.e. no wife or luggage. This time I can hear it in 4th at about 2700rpm and nothing in 5th.

My thought is this is a transmission whine and possibly one of my earplugs wasn't in correctly and that can cause some strange reverberations Do 4th and 5th share a shaft? Are the gears straight cut? Maybe this has been there for some time and I just didn't notice since I nearly always wear earplugs, my hearing is bad enough already.

I suppose for now I'll just go for it and hope for no catastrophic problems in the next 650miles.

Thanks

 

[OldCrow]

dan filipi » 2019-09-27- 8:50[/url]":3iom1zyk]
Wow what a great trip, and with the one you love to boot. (Wife I mean)

L.A rush traffic is 5-10 am mostly, then 2-6 pm. Avoid those times if you can. Would love to have coffee with you both but I'll be working, unless you're around the San Fernando valley after 2 or so.

Hi Dan,
We would have loved to have coffee, but I was not keeping up on the site while we were traveling.

The LA basin actually was a breeze, we came in on I-15 from Las Vegas and hit the mountain above San Bernardino about 9:30am then took the I-215 south to San Diego/Ysidro.

I made the mistake of going up the 405 one morning about 35 years ago and holy cow, never again! I lived in Alameda at the time and thought SF traffic was bad, I learned my lesson

 

[OldCrow]

brianinpa » 2019-09-30- 20:41[/url]":3uhhu784]
If you find yourself in the Hershey, PA area on the way back to Down East, let me know.

Don't plan on that route. From Annapolis I stick closer to the coast, but avoid NYC by crossing the Tappenzee. Also I usually leave MD about 1am to beat the traffic.
If you make it up to Maine coffee is on me! Take care.

 

[julimike54]

The whine you hear maybe a rear wheel bearing?

 

[OldCrow]

julimike54 » 4 minutes ago[/url]":fgt4kuso]
The whine you hear maybe a rear wheel bearing?

Thought about that, I put it on the center stand rotated the tire and listened closely. No rumble or other "bearing like" sound. I do hear the rubber shocks around the drive coupling suds creak a slight bit, but then it's been about 10K miles since they were lubricated and we did have several hundred miles of rainy weather on this trip. But better rain then the snow they are getting up on US 2 these days :shock:

 

[OldCrow]

USA 4 Corners Tour :REWIND
These are the notes I made during the trip and a few pictures. We were on a mission and our only planned "tourist" stops were the Glacier Going to the Sun road and Las Vegas. So here goes...

Tuesday, September 17 2019. Day One. KnoxME to Madawaska to Repentigny Quebec
262 miles Knox to Madawaska then 333 miles to Repentigny.

We depart Knox a little past 6am. It was still twilight but the Sun soon came up. Starting temperature was about 47-48defF.
Drove to Medway, right about 100miles from home and gassed up.
Second gas stop was Presque Isle. Rain had been threatening since Holton so in Presque Isle Donna put on rain pants to block the wind and I put on my rain over gloves. Cold and cloudy day. Sprinkled before Presque Isle but then not much else.

Going up US1 There have been placed models of the solar system planets spaced along the road at the scaled distance scaled to the planet models. We only were able to pick out Neptune and Saturn.

In Madawaska drove past the USPS and straight to 4 corners park. Joe, the creator of the park, followed us into the park and came to give us a tour. Took photos. Lunch at McDonalds and gas at nearby Shell.
Crossed the border into Canada with no problem.

In Canada heavy traffic near Quebec City. Arrived at Hotel at 6:30 pm Tired and not too hungry so dinner was power bars. Around 595 miles.

 

[OldCrow]

Wednesday, September 18. Repentigny-Sudbury ON, 441miles
Up at 5am. Small breakfast at hotel at 6 am. Then packed up to leave. On the road no later than 6:30. Cool morning to start. Got gas before highway. Montreal traffic extremely heavy. Detoured past city towards airport. Lots of heavy traffic inbound.
In Ottawa mid morning from the north…. Again heavy traffic plus we went thru the city which miserable. Lots of construction and the lights were not synched.

Had lunch in Mattawa. Burgers and fries, diet coke

Edward dropped bike in parking lot. We got her back up but I almost forgot to put the kickstand down..
Then on to Sudbury. Lots of construction, in Sudbury centre.. roads were a mess. Hotel is on northwest side of Sudbury actually in the town of Azilda, the Valley Inn
Warmed up nice today.

No rain today. Clear skies.

NOTE:
I have a small video of the tip over but it's too big for this site

 

[OldCrow]

Thursday 19 Sept 2019 Sudbury ON to Ironwood MI 501miles

Awake at 5am, on the road about 5:45am, dark sunrise wasn’t until 7am. Bad roads around Sudbury. Seems to be a big mining area. The road we bypassed Sudbury was called “Big Nickel Mine Rd” also saw an open pit mine. Saw some views of Lake Huron went through several Canadian town of good size. Suppose since most of Canadian population is near the southern boarder. Crossed back in to the USA at Sault Ste Marie and had to pay $4 bridge toll. Fill the bike with “cheap” $2.75 gas compared to every gas stop in Canada over $3 and as high as $3.70.

Was pretty chilly high 40s start to the day, added clothing at first gas stop. Day warmed up to the 80s by the time we got to Ironwood MI and had been deleting clothing.

Flock of Sandhill Cranes in a field maybe 50 of them.
Spoke to a guy riding a 2010 GL1800 from Fresno CA. He was on his way to Marquette MI to visit, he was born there.

 

[OldCrow]

Friday 9/20/19 Ironwood MI to Minot ND 584 miles
Woke up about 4am, bodies still on east cost time. Crossed into Central late yesterday.
Foggy out, quick gas up and out on the road by about 4:30am. Slow going until a car passed and lead the way. Used cars to blaze a trail and by about 7am the fog was pretty much gone.
Crossed Wisconsin and into Minnesota at Duluth. Gained some elevation then through a very undeveloped woodlands and lakes area.
Once into North Dakota US 2 became a 4 lane divided highway with 70mph speed limit. Also big southerly winds as a cold front was moving through. About 60 miles out of Minot ND we saw very nasty storm cells moving around. We were very fortunate that US2 kept stair stepping south of the storms and we arrived in Minot without a drop of rain on us. Minot was a busy place at 4:30pm and I missed the exit and had to do a U-turn. Oil Fracking has really changed this town.

Dinner at Applebees with a takeout salad.
Heavy rains over night as the cold front passed, reports of baseball size hail!

 

[OldCrow]

Saturday 9/21/19 Minot ND to Cut Bank MT 556 miles
We woke up again about 4am local. Still raining hard and some lightning. Had breakfast at 6:30am then prepared the bike and rode out about 7am. The rain had stopped.
Heading west on US2 the sky initially looked to be clearing but was we approached Williston ND(near the MT boarder) we thought about rain gear but didn’t. Between Minot and Williston we saw at least a hundred oil wells and many of them flaring off the natural gas. Must be a sight at night.
When US2 entered Montana it got seriously worse than North Dakota. Two lanes only and we hit a 2-3 mile section of road that was down to gravel and dirt which was kinda muddy since the rain had come though earlier. Then we hit the rain, not too heavy and not really a problem until we got to Poplar MT where just before entering there was a sign “Motorcycles advised to use alternate Route”. Well hell by then there was not alternate route except maybe back to North Dakota. They had again taken off all hard top down to gravel and mud with potholes with unknown depth since they were filled with rain water. Very slippery pulled into a Conoco Gas and asked a local for alternate. Rode the back streets which were not much better, then a final couple blocks on US2 under destruction. Rain ended before the next town Wolf Point.
Beautiful ride across high plains we now understand the “Big Sky Country” slogan. Dinner at a diner in Shelby MT about 22miles short of Cut Bank MT. Staying at the Super 8 in Cut Bank MT.

 

[OldCrow]

Sunday 9/22/19 Cut Bank MT To Wenatchee WA 544 miles
Woke up again early but didn’t get up until 5am mountain time. Had oatmeal and juice in the Super 8 breakfast which opened at 6am. Bike loaded and we were on the road by 6:30am. Our coldest start so far, low 40s.
We found out last night there had been an avalanche that has closed the “Going to the Sun” road, the main reason for this far north route. So we just stayed on US2.
We stopped in East Glacier to fill up the bike before what we though was a mountainous climb of US2 through Glacier, NOT. Highest elevation was about 5200 then it was a 3000ft ride along the river valley nice but no spectacular sights. The road was smooth and a good ride. The west side of Glacier was heavily populated compared to the Montana side.

Rode down on MT 93 passed Flathead Lake. It’s wild that MT has 70mph limits in these two lane roads. Flathead Lake looks like a great place to explore. The ride down to I90 on MT135 was following a river course and much fun. Heck even I90 in is very curvy in these mountains. But all the fun and games ended once we entered Washington and the Spokane traffic. Riding across the central valley was Boring. But once we turn north at Quincy to pick up US2 things got better. Following the Columbia River the surrounding cliffs are like nothing seen back east, rugged is the only word for it. In Wenatchee for the night.
One excitement was seeing a moose in the Spokane River near Coeur d”Alene ID.
Total miles traveled to date on this trip, 3244.6 miles according to Garmin.

 

[OldCrow]

Monday 9/23/19 Wenatchee Wa to Blaine WA to Yakima WA 454 miles

Woke up early 4:45. Hotel was slightly noisy at night. 6 am Breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, coffee and juice at the Super 8. Loaded up the bike and we were on the road by 6:30. Headed on Rt 2. Towards Everrett. Went through a German themed town called Leavenworth. Everything was Bavarian style. Really cute.
Weather started out good but quickly changed to foggy mist and light rain over the Cascades towards Everrett. Rain got heavy for a time going north but by the time we hit Blaine it was just a drizzle and we got out 2nd corner picture! Next stop was a Chevron just a block or two away to get gas but most important corner item, the business dated receipt which show the date, time and location.
Hopes were high heading south on I-5 that the rain had cleared out. No such luck even harder rain and now raining all the way down to Everrett and did not really stop until we crossed the Cascade mountains on I-90 East.
Most amazing was the amount of traffic on I -405 at 11-12am I can only imagine that rush hour must truly be hell on earth.

 

[mcgovern61]

What a great trip! I am really enjoying the read and pics! :thanks:

 

[OldCrow]

Tuesday 9/24/19 Union Gap WA to Jackpot NV 522miles
Cool morning ride, made one quick stop to bundle up better then onward.
High winds from the west made the ride tougher when heading in any southerly direction but a nice boost when due east.
In US 93 going south after leaving I-84 East there was some excitement when a sedan about a 1/2 mile ahead of us veered into the oncoming lane and went head to an 18 wheeler. The Big Rig looked like it was going to jackknife or flip trying to avoid crushing that sedan. The car made a hard correction and managed to say on the road alive. We hit the brakes hard and hit the flashers to warn the big rig behind us, fortunately he was well back and no real threat.

Checked in to the HorseShu (actual spelling, evidently there is another called Horse Shoe in Las Vegas) hotel about 4:30pm. Walked the Cactus Pete’s Casino, Donna played slots, I looked for a cool hat or shirt with both “Jackpot NV” & “Cactus Pete’s” on them but no luck just generic Cheap Chinese Crap.
Other story was that Cactus Pete ran slot machines in Idaho before 1953 when Idaho banned them, so he moved south and "Created" Jackpot NV and his Casino, the only big one. There was small one and a small convince store that would be envy a 7-11 store.

 

[OldCrow]

Wednesday 9/25/19 Jackpot NV to Las Vegas NV 452 miles
Very cool clear morning in Jackpot about 38 degF. We rode off with full daylight, latter start than normal since the Gold Coast Hotel checkin wasn’t until 4pm and the weather prediction was 95degF in Vegas so we really didn’t want to hang around being early. First gas was in Wells NV right as we left Wells in US 93 there was a big sign warning of NO GAS the next 138 miles, which happens to be Ely NV. We rode slower about 60mph to conserve. Jackpot was at over 5k feet and the valley we rode thru to Ely was near 6K ft.
Ely was a surprisingly large town since it was simply the crossroads of US93(North/South) and US50(East/West). After a fill up and back on US93 south where another sign warned of NO GAS next 80miles. After crossing into another high valley, over 6k ft we hit our highest pass at 7422ft. The bike is running great, but high speed, 70mph and 6k ft alt makes for sub 30mpg. Compared to down near sea level at 62mph is near 40mpg or greater. Loaded, two up and full luggage capacity with a bike cover on the rear rack.
There was a controlled burn area that looked concerning as we approached but turned into a none event. As US 93 descended the temperature really jumped and soon hit 90degF. Neither Google or Garmin showed any services where US90 connected to I-15 but thank God there was a Loves’s there which show up when zoomed in on Google Map. I suppose no one has told the internet gods of Google that Love’s sells Gasoline! We stopped to cool off Edward dumped half a water bottle on this head. It felt really good the evaporative cooling. Then the last 28 miles in to Vegas and the Gold Coast Hotel. By now 95degF was making it’s appearance.
Dinner at T.G.I.F in the hotel, shockingly expensive but then this is Las Vegas.

Thursday 9/26/19 Rest Day in Las Vegas 0 miles
Breakfast at Denny’s across Flamingo St. We stuck to the crosswalks and lights, even at 7am cars everywhere.
Donna had fun playing the slots. I went in search of Mobil 1 4T 10W40 motor oil for the Goldwing, after 4732miles since home the level is down about a Pint.