Woke up partially rested thanks to the group of 20 somethings that were camped next to us. Grrr. Yes, I know I was 20 once. I also know I’m no longer 20. We rode to the nearest gas station after packing up camp (quite noisily, actually, after all, the little darlings were still asleep at 7am) to test Bill’s theory that it was a bad intake manifold gasket. He bought a can of WD-40 and sprayed it on the intake with the bike running. It sucked in the fluid, and caused the idle speed to increase, indicating there was an air leak, which an intact seal would not let through. We sat on the curb with our coffees while I searched for a wireless signal on my iPod, hoping to find a list of Harley dealers, but no luck, even the Laundromat was out of reach.
It wasn’t long before another Harley pulled up, and Bill asked where the nearest dealer was. We were lucky to be not 7 or 8 miles from Timpanogo’s Harley Davidson, in Lindon, Utah, just north of Provo. They were still closed when we arrived, and we camped out in the parking lot until they opened. Very cool dealership, they even offer a small restaurant on one side, Marley’s Gourmet Sliders.
Once inside at their Parts desk, Bill had the
parts he needed, two intake manifold gaskets and a carburetor seal. Fluff, one of their Parts guys, was great, and their service department was also very helpful. Bill had the gaskets replaced in exactly an hour, we had lunch at Marley’s and two t-shirts later, we were back on the road. Thank you again, Timpanogo’s!!
It was now almost 11am, and our stop for the night was Kingman, Arizona, luckily we had reservations for a KOA Kamping Kabin. Today would be a long day. We rode down through Utah, a short stretch through Idaho and into Nevada. About halfway through the Nevada, the temperature seemed to jump about 50 degrees, though in reality it was probably only ten or fifteen. I had to stop to put on a long sleeve shirt and cover my face with my bandanna as my SPF 80 was no match for the desert sun. More absolutely incredible scenery as we rode through the desert mountain range. Perhaps about fifty miles later I had to stop again for water, at a gas station five miles off the highway.
We went in and one of the gas station clerks reacted, with “Oh my God, do you want to sit in the cooler for a while? Just don’t drink all the beer. The last lady in here was from Pennsylvania, and I thought she was going to pass out.”
“Yes,” I replied, I’m from Michigan and I’m an idiot. I knew it would be hot here but did not anticipate this.”
“Do you want to sit in the walk in freezer? Just don’t eat all the ice cream..”
“You are the bomb.”
And the next thing I knew, I was sitting on a box of frozen somethings in a walk in freezer in Nevada. I don’t know how long I was there, but Bill opened the glass door after a while and gently reminded me. Feeling a bit better, I downed a Gatorade and we were again on our way.
Just about dusk, we arrived in Las Vegas, and had enough daylight to take a few rides down Main St. and a few of the surrounding blocks. Traffic was heavy, and we were a bit nervous. I did manage to get a few shots of the city from red traffic lights, and we stopped briefly so Bill could mount the video camera to the camera mount on his handle bars. Cruising past the all the flashing lights, I realize that it’s been exactly thirty years since my last trip to Las Vegas, a family vacation when I was seven. We were in line for a buffet at the Stardust, and I’d found a nickel in one of the bowls of the slot machines that lined the wall. I popped it in, pulled the lever and voila! Seven dollars in nickels came plummeting out of the machine in a noisy shower. My Dad grabbed a plastic cup and promptly bounced me out of the way, scooping nickels, as it was obvious I was not yet supposed to have started my gambling career. It would have been cool to ride by the Stardust again, but it was demolished in March of 2007.
The sun was setting, and we continued east as we still had about one hundred miles to go before reaching Kingman for the night. From a gas station in Vegas, I called the campground to assure them we’d be arriving, but late. Lorraine at the Kingman KOA gave us excellent directions and would leave our cabin unlocked. Today’s delay put us too far behind schedule to see the Hoover Dam, unfortunately, and we rode the twists and turns leading up to the dam in the dark. This would be the last year the dam is open to traffic, and the new bridge that was being built loomed in the darkness beyond.
I could not believe how warm the temperature still was at 10pm. An hour later, we arrived at our cabin, happy to find it air conditioned! We had now ridden 3100 miles since last Saturday morning.
I popped in on day 8 cuz that’s what I saw on FACEBOOK… but you made me feel right there with you.. even in the freezer. Made me feel like that clerk said the freezer joke once or twice before. Awesome journey!