Raid Usa 2010

After 24 hours we land in San Francisco, the following day we roam around Little Italy and the Chinese district till the end of the town from where we catch the sight of the Golden Gate and the Alcatraz prison.
We are going to meet Giulio, my schoolmate, we are in his restaurant “Umbria” and, by sheer chance, we also find Piero and his family, he too a genuine “folignate” (born in Foligno), it is as if we agreed to meet without knowing each other, reminiscences come and go, its one o'clock, of the night, its time for bye-byes.
We pick up our motorbike, Michael, very kind and very Yankee, gives us the 990, we now head for Yosemite Park, we need to change rapidly our mentality, streets with 3-4 lanes, speed limits hovering like a bugbear.
We pitch our tent next to the Yosemite Lake, it's a bit expensive but we do not have other chances : those inside the park are sold out.

With the motorbike you can move freely so, for Giulio's happiness, we see a bear and wonderful falls, set in the forest. In two days we visit it far and wide.
After the Yosemite Park we plan to go towards the Death Valley, we are aware it will be terribly hot, and when we arrive in Stovepipe temperature is at 44°, it is mentally hard to think we still have to drive for 30 miles to arrive in Furnace Creek, so we decide to stop, Giulio appreciates very much this decision, the swimming pool is blessed…till late in the night.
We wake up early to avoid the hot, we get over Furnace Creek towards Badwater one of the lowest point in the world, - 86 metres , no tourists around just two Italians. Giulio wants to enter in the salted lake, it is not allowed but I think that maximum we could be fined. We stop and, as usual, we take pictures, the temperature is high, around 44°, we get out from this infernal basin and drive towards Zabriskie Point. From there the landscape encloses all the surrounding lands, there are rocks that look like waves, I remember a scene from an Italian movie, one of those that pass during Christmas, shot here, it was a match between Juventus and Roma football clubs' supporters.
We go on to Dante's View from where one can see the highest mountain of the valley ( 1.500 metres ) and the lowest one, that of Badwater. Temperature is now at 34°, in few kilometres from hell to heaven, that's the only reason we need Dante !
We drive back to our motel, burned by the sun, and luckily we have the swimming pool and air conditioning.
The following day we flee from the Death Valley to reach Las Vegas, where everything seems unreal, people spend all the day around the hotels' swimming pools because of the hot, during the evening a rubble pours into Las Vegas Blvd, sparkling neon with the strangest colours, people behaving like famous actors and singers, you can meet as well people preaching against opulence and disorderly life, almost a paradox considering where we are, but these are the States !

We leave Las Vegas towards the Grand Canyon, quick transfer in Arizona, we pitch our tent at the park entrance and the following day we are bewitched by this nature masterpiece.

Greetings from the Grand Canyon – G & G

Grand Canyon extends for about 400 km , its north side offering landscapes that we have seen thousands of time in many western movies, but before moving north we drive towards Flagstaff, we want to visit Meteor Crater, one of the biggest craters in the world, with a circumference of 4 km and 1.800 metres deep. There is room for 20 football fields and could host up to 2 millions spectators. From above you do not have this feeling but once you take the telescope and see the astronaut at its natural height in the central point, you realize how huge this hole is, but as Giulio says “ which is the link between the astronaut and this crater?”
Its conformity, like that of a lunar soil, was used for the training and landing of Apollo 11 mission, at the entrance of the crater there is a wall with the names of all the astronauts and a space capsule, immediately after there is an interactive room where one can simulate asteroid and its effects on the planets , a child's play that excites grown ups as well, in fact we spent too much time there and it was late when we left for Page, the small town north of the Grand Canyon built on the dam from which originated lake Powell.
The landscape is similar to that of the Monument Valley which is further north, we are in the land of the Indians now called “ Native Americans”, I'm not sure if this is a kind of praise against those who have been robbed of their lands or a way to cancel once and forever the epithet of INDIANS, in any case these populations live on the fridge of the American society, in run-down houses with rusted plate roofs, in parched lands, the idea is of a minor role.
Lake Powell attracts a multitude of tourists with disproportionate boats, like their campers and caravans that often, among other things, have on the tow a car, in short something very Yankee! Real houseboats, everything here has to be multiplied, less the cost of life including that of gasoline, that goes from 60 to 70 €/cents. Useless any comment, not to talk of the streets without holes and toll free, and this fact intrigued Giulio as well who made me notice this typical Italian contradiction.
We decamp and load our motorbike and leave direction Monument Valley, under a spring sun we go down the valley after, obviously, the payment of the ticket, we are the only motorcyclists to travel among the pinnacles and the geological oddities of this place, suddenly the sky becomes dark, it rains and hails and we must wear suitable clothes, after the storm the calm and Giulio has his merits, in fact notwithstanding the quantity of water coming down he started dancing following the legends that arrived just on time about Indians, I could only comply with him even if I felt a bit fool, its hard for me to follow his nature.
We leave Utah behind us and enter in Colorado the landscape changes radically, we can see now green grasslands with flocks in the wild state, we go up at a higher altitude and the look is alpine, with ski resorts closes, this is normal being summertime.
We spend the night in Durango another legendary town of the Far West, early in the morning we leave for Denver and the motorbike has 362 miles on the clock. I'm surprised by Giulio he never says no, only when his stomach is empty he becomes insistent and we have to stop to eat something.
It's the 4th July, The Independence Day, few people on the streets, everybody celebrate so I drive faster even if the rain forces us to slow down, it's cold but notwithstanding this we arrive in Rapid City, we are now in South Dakota, this is the longest stage of the trip, 457 miles , we really did a lot of kilometres we passed through three States, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota, we are in the Black Hills, there is nothing black but a particular pine that makes the landscape dark, we have a lot of trouble to find a motel at reasonable prices, but after that we can finally have a bath in the swimming pool under never ending fireworks.
Wonderful day, we drive towards Rushmore mount, the symbol of American patriotism, along the road to arrive are gathered the flags of all the States of the Union, on the background the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, the presidents who marked a turning point, carved on a black granite wall coming from Black Hill, 18 metres high, it took 14 years to be realized with many people involved, few kilometres after there is another monument that can even belittle the Rushmore, the Crazy Horse dedicated to the legendary Sioux chief, when it will be finished, it will be the greatest monument in the world, 172 metres high, Giulio made me a lot of questions, to understand the meaning of the two monuments and for the curiosity they arouse.

From Rapid City G & G

We were in front of the Crazy Horse, the sculpture representing “Crazy Horse” riding and looking far towards the Black Hills that, however, do not end here. We spend the two following days visiting Custer Park where the most attractive events are the herds of bison, they are so used to the human presence and you can get closer to them and take pictures as if they were Hollywood stars ! Then caverns that keep secrets like magic and, suddenly, a tunnel where the wind blows violently underground , at 200 kilometres and this is not all, we drive towards Hot Spring where there is a museum dedicated to mammoths. It was built around their same remains that have not been moved, these animals became extinct 26.000 years ago, Giulio is besides himself with joy! So many things in few days and, at the end of the day, almost burnt, he falls asleep.

The day after, 30 minutes ahead of schedule, I go to the KTM dealer in Rapid City, I have to replace the rear tyre, ordered two days before, the meeting is at 10 am, I seize the chance and take down the wheel, after that, following a perfect English style, the tyre is replaced.

We leave direction Sturgi a city where at the beginning of August there is a legendary convention that attracts over 500.000 people, motorcyclists, onlookers and residents, we cannot avoid to visit the local museum that is as important as Saint Peter's cathedral for Christians. Here we can see motorbikes that made the history of “Made in USA” motorcycling, and not only, there are English motorbikes and a Guzzi Eldorado, California in Italy.

We head for Deadwood, a piece of the history of West, the village that represented, in the period of the race for gold, a preferred destination for those who were looking for wealth. We are talking of bandits and criminals like Wild Bill Hickok, an unscrupulous poker player who, for his way of doing, was shot dead while he had in his hands, a couple of aces and of eights. From this event fans say “the hand of the death” and the scene is revived every hour of the afternoon in Saloon 10, exactly as it was, with people dressed in the same way. We should say however that the history of Hickok is strictly linked to that of Calamity Jean, the first gun-woman of the Far West.

To confirm their liaison the mass grave where they were buried that is located here in Deadwood, a small village living mainly of controlled gambling, a little Las Vegas but with Old West characteristics. Every afternoon in Market Street are staged Old Style West shootings, with people dressed according to the style of the moment. Another curiosity : Kevin Costner owns , with his brother, a bar with pictures, dresses and some reports of his most important movies. The day will be a sunny one, we leave South Dakota for Wyoming or “The Far West” as it is well heighten in the road sign placed on the state line. Kilometres of grasslands at times desolated and uninhabited. I make some confusion between miles and kilometres so I realize that I am at limit with fuel.

I stop on the side of the road to make some calculations when Tom and his girlfriend on their Harleys come up beside me, they obviously do not wear crash helmet, this is one of those States where it is not obligatory. Although I am sure I will reach next service station without any problem they accompany me with deference, I have difficulty to thank them, Tom says “ it's my duty” and he reminds me about those prearranged signs to be used between motorcyclists, what could I say ? Giulio will later ask me if this would have happened in Italy! I think yes, I could not say something different.
It's night when we arrive in Cody, the town where Buffalo Bill was born, he is another legendary figure of Cow Boys epic, everything rotate around the legend of this man, rodeos played every day in dedicated stadiums, and it is quite usual to see people wearing hats and with trousers in the boots regularly accessorized with spurs. In short, if it was not for cars parked outside various bars rather than horses, it would be as if we were still living in the far and mythical West.
We pitch the tent here, the Yellowstone park is only 50 miles from here but campsites are all sold out as it is clearly indicated on a signal at the entrance of the town.
The ticket costs 20$ but spectacle is guaranteed! We can see some bison strolling about and others among the many geysers one can see in Yellowstone, not far from there, there is the lake and few metres ahead the magma boils releasing a bad sulphur smell. The park has a volcanic origin and one would not say this, considering the height and the snowy mountains in the distance.
The road is blocked, curiosity seizes us, we take a side-street to park, in the most typical Italian way of doing, and yes, it is Yogi, and I can finally associate the fantasy of cartoons of my adolescence with reality. Giulio runs behind him trying to take pictures, it is not easy for me to pull out the camera from him, after few kilometres we see a couple of deer, so we have seen what we wanted to see, but we have another day left and for sure we will have other surprises.
The following day we “load” the Kappona, we enter again in the park, the ticket has a validity of 7 days, we drive towards the Old Faithful, the most famous and most spectacular geyser, every hour and half it releases water jets that can reach an height of 60 metres . The wait is fatal, people deployed under a burning sun, a couple of fat Americans, about 120 kilos each, is sitting next to me, he confirms that the show will start at 14,28, Giulio is carefully checking his watch, two minutes pass, three and nothing is happening and right in the moment when I am thinking that my neighbour this time talked big, the water spurts out from the geyser, high water jets wrapped up by fumes, people applaud and we laugh!
We spend the night in Jackson situated in the mountains of that park that is named after Mount Teton, the highest, and that is actually contending prestige to Yellowstone.

Greetings from G&G

We leave Jackson and the sun over us has nothing to do with that of the previous day, when it was raining. We leave behind us mountains and plains and we enter in Idaho and again in Wyoming, boundless grasslands where main working sources are sheep-breeding and mines, it is hot in Salt lake City too, and this seems quite a paradox considering that here took place the Winter Olympics, but this is a not valid comparison with our realty.

A salted sea accompanies us for kilometres then the signal is clear enough : Bonneville Speedway, in this place have been set world speed records on board of strange vehicles that look like wheeled rockets. We plunge into this salt-colour sea, Giulio pushes me to speed up, we reach the 85 miles than we slow down and stop, everything is new for him, there are many questions and curiosities.

I look around me and I realize that even if it is true that these places are all similar, I have to say this is a special one ! I shudder at the thought of Burt Munro, a New Zealander who dedicated his life to a healthy foolishness for a passion at the beginning of last century. This is a bizarre figure who bought his third motorbike in 1920, when he was 21 years old , a twin-cylinder 600cc.
Burt will modify it year after year till 950cc before arriving in the USA to realize his dream to set a record on this lake, it is 1962. Finally in 1967, at the “tender age” of 68 and with heart problems, also thank to the support of his numerous fans, he will set the record for a twin-cylinder under 1000cc, this record still stands today. The motion picture “ The World's Fastest Indian” starring Anthony Hopkins, is based on Burt Munro's exploit. There is a web site all around his fascinating, of the past, history, http://www.fedrotriple.it/burt_munro_indian.html. I invite to visit it and see the movie.

Next city is Reno, Nevada's capital city. We have a room in a hotel with a casino inside, slot machines working 18 hours on 24. At the reception they give us a leaflet with the list of services offered, one could live in the hotel and play but this is not our case, Pacific Ocean is waiting.

We get over Sacramento and in the distance we see the Golden Gate, we have to cross it ! It is the only toll we pay in these 25 days, 6$ and a great emotion, for sure the orange colour together with the Kappona under us exalt the crossing. After San Francisco we sleep in Santa Cruz where highway 1 arrives to Los Angeles. On perfect time, the day after, we drive along this road that now and then climbs up the mountain giving away incredible views. In the evening we draw the conclusions of this trip.

Giulio focuses on some aspects of this experience, obviously it has been special for me too and with some regret we return the ADV, our companion during this USA adventure. There are only two days left and we plan to spend them with Giulio, you will remember my schoolmate, he keeps on surprising us, he comes to the meeting with a FIAT 500 of the '70 plated “FOLIGNO-CA” where CA stands for California. A kind of affection towards the city where he spent his youth. I hope one day Foligno's institutions will reciprocate this gratitude, in fact on any menu next to the name of the restaurant, over the excellent list of foods, there is a drawing with a small village of our region.

The airplane takes off at dawn, from the window the Golden Gate looks like a miniature, Giulio looks at me, his eyes shining, goodbye USA.

OUR TRIP : NUMBERS AND CONSIDERATIONS

We crossed 8 States covering about 10.000 kilometres, Kappona is well known, overloaded and in two I am positively surprised by fuel consumption, steadily about 18 kilometres / litre , for sure speed limits improved the performance.

I have already said about gasoline prices, the very good conditions of the roads and the fact that there is no toll to pay, however what I really want to give you are my impressions on this country after many years from my last visit.

Every country has its contradictions, in my opinion the perfect system does not exist, but if we have to talk about respect of rules and public spirit I think we have something to learn or, at least, if we decide that there is something we want to import or to take as an example we should try to understand that rules are the same for everybody.

This was confirmed by a fact that I want to share with you. I was in front of a vegetables counter out of a house, one could buy anything simply leaving the money in a kind of moneybox and the owner, obviously, was not there ! Other things : the respect for people being on line and trash handling, one cannot leave it anywhere, the risk is to be fined ( heavy fines ! 1000$ in California and 2000$ in Nevada) and there is no way out for anybody even the President of the United States and this has been confirmed more than once.

My advise for motorbike's lovers : restaurant Eddie Rickenbackers : motorbikes everywhere, hanging also from the ceiling with only one thing out of place, the owner lives inside the restaurant with oxygen bottles that allow him to survive, for sure a contradiction considering the place.

Greetings form Giampiero & Giulio

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