First day of the MOA Rally and we had a good day. Spent some time at the RAMS Rally tent getting things in place (ice in coolers, cleaning up tables, etc).
Vendors were open today and we did a little shopping and got our door prize tickets turned in. Had lunch at the rally and checked back at the tent where my sister and brother in law showed up. Visited with them for a while and then were off to sidecar seminar (they went to a packing seminar and then had a dinner for contributors to the MOA magazine).
After the seminar, we went back and visited with the newly arrived RAMS and then the whole group went to dinner together at Kadhe's where the food was great. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and the RAMS went back to the campsite to prepare for another great day tomorrow.

Left West Plains this morning and made it to Sedalia today. Temperatures were unbelievable a d the humidity matched. Had some problems with Matilda getting too hot and boiling her gas. Just let her rest for a while and she got back on the road. Finally got her a bag of ice for her tank and she seemed OK after that.
Got into Sedalia and decided to get a room as the temp was still brutal. Checked
In
To the Best Western and then visited with Hank and Tom, who were here too. Took the camper out to the rally and set it up so as to be ready for tomorrow. Went to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner and then back to the hotel. Hope temp breaks tomorrow!

Super 8 Motel at 9:02pm CDT in West Plains, MO.

Last leg today was a bit of a bother between the road construction, light rain, and trucks behind schedule due to the afore mentioned construction.
We are in West Plains and the critters are bedded down for an early start in the morning. Tomorrow we make Sedalia and the fun really begins with the set up crew.

....,and not with Willie!;-)

Left Denver this morning with reasonable temps and light winds, nice riding.
This changed when we got out of the mountains and into the plains. We were soon dealing with 25-30 mph winds first from the southwest, and then from due south. The temp also began to climb and we were soon I'm 100 plus temps which lasted all the way to the campsite. It was like riding in a blast furnace.
When running down the interstate the winds caused the KLR to weave and wobble all over the place and made it hard to maintain any kind of pace. At one point we arrived at an accident scene where an 18 wheelers trailer had blown over and the truck wound up in the median almost on the other side. Very impressive!
We left the interstate and took to back roads but did no better. While running south into a headwind, I managed to run the KLR out of gas. Luckily Rick had bought an auxiliary gas can at the rally and had filled
It with gas, so he was able to rescue me and we finally found some fuel in Kingman KS were able to continue on to the campground.
We had a very full day covering about 550 miles and enjoying some of it more than other parts.

Today we rode from Perry Utah to Denver and had a full day of wind, heat, traffic, and altitude.
The KLR does not like 20 to 30 mph headwinds and does not pull as well as you would like over 6000 feet, so it was working pretty hard all day as we did at least four 7000 feet plus passes and a couple at 10000. Also did the Eisenhower tunnel at 11200.
It got through it, but did not like it and showed its distain with really poor gas mileage
At Jennifer's in Denver tonight and will leave for home tomorrow via Kansas.
We did manage to bag a Utah BBQ for our grand tour while passing through Salt Lake City, which
Gives us one in every state we have been through, Yea!!

Perry, UT at 8:19pm MDT.

Got Bill off to Tacoma and then went to "Goldy's" in downtown Boise for breakfast. It was great. Had a salmon omelette.
Went by Happy Trails to say adios and then we packed up and headed east. Left Boise about 1130 and got Perry, UT at about 520 after fighting some rough cross winds in the flat areas. Bikes did good and we did good, so it was a pretty good day.
Heard from Bill while we were at dinner and he is home safe.

Spent some time today at Happy Trails getting a tire for Bill's bike. Finally got it on in time to have lunch before going for a ride.
Got a group together, led by Rick, and did the " Lowman Loop" which consisted of beautiful paved roads running through beautiful scenery. The road followed a river for much of the ride (about 170 miles) and went through Idaho City, which is a neat little town that was founded in 1862 during a gold rush in this area.
Finished the day with a BBQ dinner at Happy Trails and a program on touring the world on KLRs. Good Q from Famous Daves and a good program.

Meridian, ID at 10:05pm MDT.

Arrived in Boise last night. Campground we had booked turned out to be totally inadequate. Moved to Country Inn hotel-much nicer.
Went to rally at Happy Trails today and had a good day with the Doo-hicky clinic and an engine clinic after dinner. Lunch at the rally was provided by a hot dog vendor on site (see Bill's picture). Dinner was provided by Happy Trails and was an excellent Italian meal of salad, lasagna, and pizza. Weather has been warm and clear with some wind blowing in the evenings.
Tomorrow we plan to do a little local riding and see a little of the local country.

Country Inn & Suites Boise West at 9:48pm MDT in Meridian, ID.

Great ride today from Denver to Lyman, WY via Dinosaur National Monument. Cold in Denver this AM and cold in the mountains, where we spent most of the day. US 40 across Colorado was great, with good roads and good elevation changes. Worked the KLR pretty good on some of the passes at 9500 plus feet.
Had forgotten how good Hiway 191 North out of Vernal, UT is. Any time you can get three sections of your road on one GPS screen, you know you are on a good road.
Stopped got night at KOA in Lyman. On to Boise tomorrow.

Lyman, WY at 9:58pm MDT.

Jennifer's house at 6:20pm MDT in Denver, CO.

At Jennifer's house in Denver for a couple of days of resting the bikes (and us) before heading out to Boise for the KLR Rally. Nice to be down from the high country as you can actually walk in Denver without panting!
Dave left us yesterday and headed for southwest Colorado for an IMBC Rally this week.
Bikes are doing well, if somewhat dirty. Will use today for a good check out and look over to be sure nothing needs greater attention for the next leg of the trip.
Boise weather is supposed to be very much like Denver this next week, and not at all like Copper Mountain!