Road Trip
This section describes the Road Trip articles from previous issues. If you would like to order the magazine in which an article appeared, please fill out the subscription form by checking the "Back Issue" box and indicating the appropriate month.
June 2008 Kanab, Utah
At one time, Kanab, Utah was one of the more inaccessible towns in the United States. Cut off from the east and south by the then-unchecked turmoil of the Colorado River, this small farming and ranching community could only be reached via arduous and multi-day travel over rudimentary dirt roads from the north and west. However, that situation did not last, and as soon as decent roads were laid into the area, Hollywood 'discovered' Kanab. From the mid-1920s up to the present, the town and its surroundings have served as the backdrop for dozens of films and television shows, and thereby earned Kanab the nickname of 'Utah's Little Hollywood.' Everything from The Lone Ranger to The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again to The Six Million Dollar Man and 2001's Planet of the Apes has been filmed around these parts, and some of the sets used over the years are still standing in various places around the area… Download the Tankbag Tearsheet!
April 2008 Joshua Tree, California
For a town that serves as a major gateway to a national park, Joshua Tree, California is remarkably rustic and relaxed. Unlike some towns of this description which spring immediately to mind (the Grand Canyon's Williams or Yosemite's Oakhurst), this little high-desert burg lacks that certain atmosphere of a tourism-driven economy. For example, its main street, SR62 (29 Palms Highway), is not lined with the familiar symbols of America's fast food outlets or with gift shops selling Joshua tree-shaped shot glasses and salt and pepper shaker sets. There are no golf courses, casinos, upscale resorts, or family eateries advertising "Kids Eat Free!" If it were not for the road signs pointing the way to the park, the oblivious traveler could sail right through town without realizing that there was an 800,000-acre national treasure just over those southern hills… Download the Tankbag Tearsheet!
March 2008 Atascadero, California
Many, many years ago and early in my touring career, I met a man at a gas station in that crossroads 'town' known as Kettleman City, California. His leathers were well-worn and his bike, a mid-eighties Honda Gold Wing, was obviously well-cared for and well-ridden. We got into the "where are you headed" talk, and his target was Yosemite and beyond. I was headed in the opposite direction, and planned to take SRs 41 and 46 due west to US 101, and from thence south to home. He said to me, "If you've never taken 41 south to Atascadero, you might try it. You pick it up in Shandon, and it is a lot more fun than 46—and certainly has a lot less traffic." While I thanked him for the tip and wished him good riding, I did not take his advice that day. Whether out of my famous mulishness or simply a desire to get home, I stuck with the monotony of the known road and flogged my little SV650 all the way west to Paso Robles… Download the Tankbag Tearsheet!
February 2008 Colville, Washington
In life, as with comedy, occasionally timing is everything. For example, after stumbling upon the website for Benny's Colville Inn (with a name like that it has to be good—wink, wink), I simply had to make the trek to Colville to check this place out. Besides, the inn was billed as being 'motorcyclist friendly' and well, any excuse for a ride, right? Unfortunately, I quickly learned that the inn's namesake, Benny Buchanan, had shuffled off this mortal coil only two weeks earlier, which was sad news indeed. Still, might as well go and pay tribute to an innkeeper that, despite not being a rider himself, enjoyed treating motorcyclists to his own brand of hospitality. Benny was the type of proprietor that would insist riders pull their bikes under the covered walkways if rain threatened, as well as reserve easy access ground floor rooms for his two-wheeling guests so they could keep an eye on their rides… Download the Tankbag Tearsheet!
January 2008 Crater Lake, Oregon
The Klamath Indians have a legend that speaks of a great battle between Llao, Chief of the Below World and Skell, Chief of the Above World. The war was fierce and during its explosions and fires, Chief Llao's home, Mt. Mazama, was destroyed and replaced with a crater. Over time, rain, snow melt, and natural springs filled the crater and created America's deepest fresh water lake. But the lake's history of conflict did not end there… Download the Tankbag Tearsheet!
November 2007 Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Every Colorado ski town has its own character, its own particular attitude or persona. Aspen is "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," ski-and-be-seen, and Hollywood moguls hitting the mogul-strewn slopes each holiday season. Telluride is lower key (if not lower tax bracket), and has more of a laid-back and independent spirit than its glitzier counterpart. Vail, thanks to the small size of the town relative to its huge area of ski-able terrain, has a more business-like—almost 'company town'—feel to it (if any resort town can be said to have such a thing.) While all of these locales have their own special energy or flavor, they are all driven mainly by one thing: they are, first and foremost, ski resort town… Download the Tankbag Tearsheet!
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