Thank you, I was not hurt at all, Andi was tired and angry trying to pick up my bike 14 times...

I did enjoy the trip more than he did.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Monument Valley

What a gem, this was recommended by many and so well worth while, different scenery to Moab which still takes first place for coolness.

Upon leaving Moab we sent our POV camera back for repairs as the main unit would not acknowledge the camera head, pretty disappointing really as the camera has had very little use but VIO POV have said they will take care of it ... lets hope.

As soon as we had finished at the post shop mum nature dealt to us with a pretty good rain storm, the temperature wasn’t to bad tho which made it ok and the bike got a good wash from red Moab dust and any remnants of Salt from Bonneville (we had thoroughly rinsed the bikes down after the flats!!)

With Monument Valley in our sites we set to, hunkered down and got their as dust was looking like beating us, the campground was in our GPS so we were set ... or so we thought!

On arriving at the “camp” ground we found a fence and scrub, further up the road was some tables etc which turned out to be a camp ground, $25.00 plus tax they wanted ... no dunny, wet sand, no shelter, no way.

The guy in the park booth said the camp ground just up from us was under repair thus closed, ouwh man, dusk is beating us.

We turned around and headed back into town and went to an RV park and camp ground .... full ... again!!!! .. but the nice lady said if you don’t mind being up by the road then put the tent us there .. .saweet.

Hot showers, swimming pool r e a l l y slow Wifi and neat neighbours, we were good to go.

Sleeping temperature was great as it cooled of with the wet weather only spoiled by a dog that was practicing singing all night!!, dawn broke with semi clear skys with ominous clouds daunting the backdrops of Monument Valley, this didn’t detour Two Soggy Kiwis so off we set, they recommended we did not take our bikes .. I think cos they wanted to sell us a tour.

We made it round no problem even with a few lakes thrown in for good measure on the road with now way round, dirty water and ruts made for interesting riding.

Here are a few photos, we won't bore you to tears so if you want to see more go here Monument Valley pictures by Twomotokiwis - Photobucket

Yay we were there!! :clap







Coupla fossils in front of the Monuments



a-Klim-tised to the wetter weather.....



Ominous clouds building :eek1



We were chased out of the valley by rain but luckily it did not last too long.

On completion of the Valley we continued on to the Gand Canyon North Rim .. that comes in the next installment of Two Dodgy Kiwis.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

You could have not have asked for better light for photography ,simple Beautiful!!!!

Ooops, forgot about this one and thundered on posting later stuff so this is a Dr.Who time machine step back in time.

Our day started out with an invitation to go to breakfast with a Chinese man, Xiao Pong, very nice guy we had met at camp the previous evening, a little unusual to see Chinese camping thus he caught Ellens interest.



We were there



Over breakfast we discussed the Arches park, Zion etc so he was a wealth of information, we trade info on where we had been too, on conclusion of breakfast we all headed on our travels all a little wiser and a little more prepared, something you can not buy off your GPS or map.

Only just north of Moab the Arches Park was well worth the ride and walk, we loved the place.

Only a small report with a few photos as the place is not big and the main event is The Delicate Arch which pretty much everyone knows about.



There are the twin arches and the windows too, all providing fascination to viewers including Ellen and I.







The rock formations and colours are seriously cool and nothing like we have in New Zealand, we were lucky enough to be there firstly when it was fine and got some groovy pics, secondly a thunderstorm came across and soaked the place in matter of minutes.

Due to the heavy rock base the water has nowhere to go accept along the ground thus only a few mm of rain and the place was running like a river and it totally transformed the colours into different place.

With nowhere to hide we got a bit wet from our shorts down, we had seen the ominous looking clouds from a distance so took our wet jackets with us, it wasn’t until we were at the end of the walk at the Arch that the rain fall was imminent, somewhat of a treat in the desert.

Upon returning to the carpark some Harley riders had been caught in the rain, seems as though the fingerless gloves and waterproof bandanna’s were not quite as waterproof as they though, they all looked a bit cold.:rofl

Back to camp and pack up to head on to Monument Valley which you have already read about, on the way we went through a town called Mexican Hat .. not sure why??

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

I feel like Max Headroom here talk..talk..talking to myself.!!!!



<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZEPq0FvFm3g?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ok back on the time machines we fast forward to Zion National Park.

On arriving at Zion it was clear the rock formations were very different to the others.

They consist of large waves of smooth rock, all the faces on various angles giving it quite an unusual moonscape. :eek1

Soon we disappeared into the 1 mile long tunnel only to pop out into a completely different world.

As we were running a little late in the day we decided to go to the camp ground first and set up, too late, FULL!!

We rode in anyway looking for a fello rider to share a site with, the camp host came over and asked us what we were doing so we explained to him, he said follow me I will take you over to a motorcycle which he did, we wrote a note and left it on his bike, we were going to head out of camp and leave our bikes with the host.

No sooner we decided to do that the neighbours (Steve and Roye) turned up on the other side, I went over to them and told them we chased a Squirrel out of their chilli bin only to find out it wasn’t theirs anyway.

So we got chatting, we ended up sharing their site that night and taking it over the following day when they left.

In between times we bought some red wine for a treat and they served up some tortilla chips and had some pre dinner chat and nibbles, very nice indeed, thank you to Steve and Roye for your welcoming hearts and hospitality, it was very nice for us.



Given they had been to New Zealand and even in Wanaka in March this year they new of where we lived which was really neat.

That following morning it was a bubble and squeek cook up of leftovers and need to finishes, this set us up nicely for the big day ahead of us that we had planned of stomping up a the Narrow River Canyon on the Virgin River and visiting the pools etc.

The day was stinking hot, up in the late 90’s or about 38 degrees C in normal language so it was really nice to get back to camp already set up, we spent the day canyoning and climbing, beautiful place.







Under a waterfall



Rock faces reaching to the sky that really stuff around with the human gyroscope








Next morning we packed up to the next leg of our Journey to to Henderson which is part of Vegas.

Stinking hot so we decided to go for a swim in Lake Mead, the water temperature was 84 degrees F ... not far off steaming!!! yay that is how I like it.

Off into Henderson to make an assault on the big city, Starbucks was calling for a Frapaccino and some food for travels.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

I went to Las Vegas about 18 years ago so was interested to see it again, Ellen never having been there was in two minds, we decided to jump onto couchsurfing to see if we could get a host for the night as it would have been very uncomfortable with the temperature in a tent.

We contacted a couchsurfer, Chinese guy called Dave and sent a request to him.

He replied promptly to us and it was when we were sitting in McDees loading our photos so the timing was perfect, he agreed to host which was cool.

We arrived at his place, whoa ... we went for 3rd world tenters to 1st world Vegas stars.

Dave has a very nice home to say the least and very generously offered to take us into town so we could see the strip from the safety and comfort of a local driver and an air cond car, a 550 Merc nothing less, we said ... o u w h OK.

No need to go to town to lose all ya money tho..



The Merc was twin turbo thus was not lazy in any aspect, Dave drove us around in to town and down the strip, we stopped at one Casinos and parked the car to go and watch the water display which was amazing to say the least.

Casino ceiling.... similar to our tent :huh



Our host Dave, Ellen and I, actually I look like the odd one out



The water display in front of a casino .... o u t s t a n d i n g !!









While we were there two hot young lusties were getting their photos taken with all the guys, this is her, I had a little bit of trouble focusing on her face, something must be wrong with the camera but I don’t think I will get it fixed.:eek1



After the water display we went out for tea to a Chinese restaurant and the food was outstanding.



Mmmmm duck :clap



We returned back to Daves and sat with a wine that we had bought for another treat (two in a row) and had a chat about life for a while.

Dave was flying out the following morning so we all peeled off to bed not too late, Dave thanks for hosting us you made our stay in Vega very memorable, we will catch up again for sure.:clap

In the morning breaky was had, some photo instructions were given on how to use our camera and we were on our way to cheat Death Valley.

Death Valley was HOT, also the lowest point on our GPS read -264 ft, we stopped for lunch at -7 feet and 45 degrees C, the thermometer went to 50 degrees C then hit the stops ... Whoa, we were just dripping.



Hard to photograph sand and make it look cool .. at least with our gear





I should have stopped at -264 ft below see level but I failed :cry .. so -7 will have to do. :clap



Lunch was a little on the warm side, be fair to say we were Two Toasted Kiwis with a half side of roasted Chinese :eek1



Having made it through and cheated Death Valley we carried on towards Sequoia National Park taking a small back road to a cool camping spot 6000 feet above stress level.



Nice camping spot that we had to ourselves





A fire was had, tea was eaten then off to bed to recharge our batteries.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Every time i log on yours is the first i check,once again wonderful photo's and commentary.Noel

Bloody great. The colours of those rocks are amazing.

Cheers

Nigel in NZ

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The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with . -- 2200 BC Egyptian inscription

Great pics and writing! And no your not like max headroom talking to yourself. :-)

We might meet you somewhere on your way down, we will be heading up next year.

Merv and Sarah.

Upon leaving our camp at Kennedys Meadow Camp we climbed to 9200 ft through a pile of twisties fit for a motard race, Ellen and I smoothly and quietly carved up the road with virtually no one else to contend with while taking in the views supplied by mum nature.



We stopped at Springvale to get some food and fuel, a cyclist pulled up and we got to chatting , turns out he too had been to Wanaka which made it very easy for us to explain where we live.

Leaving Springvale we carried on up the hill, I missed my turn as Ellen had turned the sound off on my GPS, we took an excursion which took us up a steep zig zag only to have to come back....nice views tho

On returning we picked up the correct road and continued on our merry way stopping only at a local dairy to get a coldy before hitting Sequoia National Park.

We arrived at the park booth to be very nicely greeted by the Yogi Bear, a quick chat and park map we were on our way to the BIG trees, part way up we had a 15 minute stop for road works.

We arrived at camp slightly late after taking the wrong turn earlier, no stress plenty of light and great facilities so all was in order, we even had a wardrobe :evil



The following morning we set of to see Sherman and the BIG trees, now I am no gardener and I don't have green fingers but wow :eek1, pretty cool, a little hard to photograph with our gear but we had fun doing it.



The Sherman was certainly big and pretty glam, some of the large trees stand incredibly high.







One that had fallen was the edge of the carpark support, the root system was massive!!





Some have huge voids in them from forest fires



That evening we took a stroll to the head of the valley, stunning place and beautiful weather, life is good.





We met some people up there who wanted to go to New Zealand so we went back to their camp later and sat around the camp fire, drunk wine and chatted about travel etc.

While in the park we went up Moro rock ...so cool!





:eek1:eek1:eek1:eek1:eek1:eek1



Nice pic of Ellen :clap



Things got a bit rough later that afternoon when we went to the lodge, I got too close to a bear and was attacked ... very lucky to be alive.



The trees were so big it made the DR look small





Next morning we set of toward Fresno via Buck rock fire lookout, on leaving the forest we carried on to Fresno to meet up with our mates Shann and Tonya, we organised to be there for my birthday which Pierre pointed out and yes I am 20 with 26 years experience.

We were treated to a black bear in a tree ... about 50 -60 ft high in the tree :eek1



Spot him up in the tree!!!



Lastly before exiting we went up to the Buck Rock lookout



Steep stairs up





Pretty good view too



Ellen on the way out.



We were lucky enough to have tires and various bits and pieces sent to Shann and Tonyas home which made life very easy for us so we took the advantage to get everything done and dusted while having access to work space, tools, swimming pool etc.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

That will be great, you know how to find us...

Cheers
Andi and Ellen

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Excellent report / pictures. Thoroughly enjoyable

It has been over a week since we arrived in Fresno, Andi hasn't got time to put any photos on our RR co he is busy replacing parts, doing maintenance and enjoying himself ... who woulda thought eh!! :rofl, I have to take over and just do it.

Andi's birthday, first time in his life he is younger than his twin brother in NZ...

The day started from a beautiful sun rise



Followed by surprise gift from Geoff and Gus (It's Gus's birthday too) from Ozzie, you need look hard the left bottle to see the difference



a decent American BBQ



Ellen's famous Sushi



some Crayfish



and a nice new hair do



We did have a cheesecake



but Maestro (the cat ) wants to crash the party



with the real life Karaoke, we all sang "Happy Birthday" ... thank god (or the winemaker) for wine



in the end, we all retired to the couch, ARAI need a design change for piss drinking :eek1

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Thanks Dave, have to say we are having fun providing the ride report

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Friday 21st.

Well we had organised to catch up with Shann a good mate of mine and his good lady Tonya who we had not met as yet.

Coupled with it being my birthday on the 25th it was the ideal time to take a brake and do some much needed catchup work on the bikes as well as spend some quality time with a good mate on my birthday, life is good.

Our list for the bikes included, rear tires change, sprocket hub and wheel bearings, air filter clean, failed LED light replacement, wire in the POV power outlets, replace Ellens side cases, adjust the fuel intake pipe, oil and filter etc, apart from that we were up to date.

Greetings were had as we had organised to meet at Clawsons Suzuki, an easy point from Shanns work, we then followed Shann home.

We met the lady who managed to tie him down, Tonya, very nice lady and very welcoming.

Saturday 22nd.

We did nothing, had coffee, went to Costco etc and had a very lazy day.

Sunday 23rd.

In the morning we set off to Pismo beach, on the way we stopped at a winery .... WOH HOH 11’s, I felt like seafood for lunch so that seem to win with the crowd, we ate at The Splash which was very nice, following lunch we went for a stroll along the beach and poked our heads into the caves, very relaxing and nice to stick our feet into salt water and sand.







We headed out onto the pier, normally talking about Pelican we would be referring to the cases, these where just hard case.



Imagine what you could do with a neck that twisted like this :evil



Who can out-steer who??



On conclusion of the walk we headed north to Hearst Castle and headed back home via a winery valley.



Nice sitting in the back and being driven



Shann has a cat/alien ..... it seemed kinda normal ... ish



As time went on we were staring to get suspicious as the antics were very robotic



Busted ...... confirmed this was in fact a battery powered alien cat cleverly acting as a prostitute as a disguise ... didn't fool us tho



Monday 24th.

Went to the Apple shop to get our trackpad sorted out as it was on a part time holiday, did some writing first, swimming and general mucking around.

Shann took us to In and Out, better than Mc Dees by a long shot and a first for us, really enjoyed that.

Towards the end of the day we went to the Dollar Tree where everything in the shop is 1 buck, could not believe the selection of goodies you can get.

Tuesday 25th September 2012, 46 but not Rossi.

My birthday, all about me and it was, I am an identical twin and Paul my twin bro is in NZ, for the first time in our life I am one day younger than him, we are 4 minutes apart at birth, bit of useless information.

So the funny thing was it is meant to be a relaxing do nothing day (which we had already done), Shann and I spent some quality bloke time working on the bikes and talking shit, tires changed, Oil changed, etc so great progress.

Carbs lining up for surgery



Oil and Tires ready to go on and in



Bombs away on the oil



Ellens damaged case replacement underway



Shann getting ready to change his oil



My Cush drive bearing broke off the internal shoulder part of the cup, very weird, was going to replace them regardless but was surprised to find one part broken ??? :eek1 :huh



Heidenau K60 Scout taken off at 12200 miles, I could have easily squeezed another 400 - 500 miles out of it if I had too, we are very happy running these, we are running the 140/80-17 which fit in perfectly.



Nice to have access to a jack to make life easy :clap



LED marker light replacement under way with some quick soldering to be done



Geoff and Gus Geoff & Gus's Blog also did some dodgy dealings with Ellen and Shann and had organised to put their own trip sticker on some Ozzie red called Yellow Tail which was absolutely mint, onya dudes.



Wednesday 26th

Was a continuation of bike work, took time to get sorted properly and at the conclusion I was very happy in my mind that everything was done properly.

Thursday 27th

Can’t remember so it musta been good. :freaky :evil

Friday 28th

Kings Canyon, as Ellen and I had not been there we took a road trip in Shanns hack, bloody thing didn’t have a roof but that made it easy to take photos.



We did go to roads end and really enjoyed the ride which was swift at times but being able to look out the window without multitasking and having to watch out for terrible drivers made it a real treat.

Hair is our shiny hered driver :wink:



As usual the scenery was terrible but we made the most of it



Neat cottage from yesteryear



Hoods lookin tough



Shanns hack



Shann with his hack, we don't have wide angle lens to take in the whole corner so we used Ellen's sunnies, kiwi invention bro



Interesting tree



Superb riding road :clap



On our return to Fresno we picked up Bryce (Tonya's son) and went to Chipotles mexican food, YUM, very very nice indeed, no pics as we were starving and forgot to take photos.

Saturday 29th

Shann and I got to go for a bloke ride with just the two off us so something we had been planning for ten years, coupled with his local knowledge we went to local lakes and mountain roads, we had a blast, he let me ride his 900SS .... a quick trip down memory lane with handling, power, brakes etc ..... something we don’t have now. :rofl

Parked at the lake



Take him for a ride and he just flips me off :rofl



And again .... mum warned me about boys like him



Adv gear and sports bike .... don't think that combo will even take off



I was on the ride too



Over one of the passes it go so cold the arse fell out of the temperature.:eek1 it would have dropped to 25 deg C



...guess you could say I lost my cool :confused

Sunday 30th

Shann, Andi, Ellen and Greg (Shanns dad) go to Yosemite, I think we were escorted out of Fresno so we didn’t nic anything on the way out. :evil

Lunch spot was at Oakhurst and burgers were the order of the day, Greg had a generous moment and shouted us our lunch... we musta been polite or something , thanks dude!!!, upon finishing at the trough we carried on to Yosemite National Park and formed a game plan to head through to Tunnel view point where pictures would be taken and Shann and Greg would ride back to Fresno leaving us homeless. :eek1



Greggs bike looks like it has dipped into a chroming tank so photo ops for the twisted minded were in order, we utilized the shape of the tank which made some cool pics.. so enjoy a quick trip into my mind.

Ellens bike



Shanns bike



Being friendly



The whole bikie gang looking hard arse



Ellen and I then set camp and were given a lucky break in a FULL camp 4, some people had just gone so it was our lucky day given people had queued earlier for 3 - 4 hours.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere