90th Anniversary Ride Map &Daily Status

19 July 2006. We left Truckee via Rte 80 and visited Donner memorial state park. It is the home of the famous Donner party tragedy of 1846. The party of 87 people attempted a crossing of the Sierra Nevada Mountainsand got stranded in 22 feet of snow. Only half the party survived. We are now in Roseville, CA and headed to San Franciscotomorrow to complete the 90^th anniversary ride. We had a great dinner with our work friends; Gina, Stav, Mike and Paul. Thanks for celebrating with us.

18 July 2006. We drove through an infestation of Mormom Crickets which are a pretty ugly and large bug (3-4 inches) which cover the road in the Austin, Nevadaarea. The problem is they create a skid hazard since they squash on the road and leave a large oily film. The folks of Austin sometimes plow the roads to clear them. It was hairy going over Austin pass at 7,000 feet or so with crickets all over the road on the steep downside. Ah, but we arrived at Lake Tahoe around 3 pm and Truckee at 5pm. It's beautiful here, now to relax after a hot 340 miles.

17 July 2006. We left the little town of Delta this morning at 7am. Weran through a series of open flats and small mountain passes (7,000 ft or so) which kept the temperature down. It is so vast out here. We are now inEureka, a beautiful little town on RT 50. So far, RT 50 has been some of the best riding yet. It's called the world's loneliest highway since you rarely see anyone on it. While on RT 50 we have seen jackrabbits in the flats and an occasional elk in the mountains.

16 July 2006. We traveled from Moab, Utah to a small town in western Utah called Delta. Our 231 mile ride took us through some awesome terrain. A highlight was Capitol Reef, featuring gorgeous canyon views and ancient rock formations. The heat has been blistering. We started off pretty early but the temperature quickly rose to -- and stayed above -- the 100 degree mark. Fortunately the air has been dry. It is now mid-afternoon in Delta, and it is 100 degrees in the shade. Tomorrow we are off to Eureka, Nevada. You know, when you travel this way you appreciate how really, really BIG this country is.

15 July 2006. We left Grand Junction, Colorado today at 7:30 to beat the heat. It was 66 degrees when we got up. We arrived in Moab at around 9AM. We went right to Arches National Park, which is like another planet (Mars most likely) and incredibly
beautiful. By noon it was pushing 100 degrees; now (mid-late afternoon) it's a mild 105. Tomorrow we push as far west as possible through Utah.

14 July 2006. Another intense ride through beautiful Glenwood Canyon, CO, with views of snow capped mountains and rafters running down the Colorado River. We arrived in Grand Junction and got an oil change for the Harley at the local HD shop which was very accommodating. Don't think we will have the same experience the sisters did in Grand Junction...they were stuck for 3 days in heavy rain. Today, it's 95 degrees, sunny, and clear.

13 July 2006. Larry and Alice belong to the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) and their prayers sent us off to Breckenridge safe and sound. We went north to Denver and then west to I-70 which turned out to be an awesome road. It was much higher, steeper, and curvy than we expected with incredible mountains all around. We stayed in Frisco, next to Breckenridge, where a Honda Valkyrie ride was in progress. Tomorrow we will try to reach Grand Junction.

12 July 2006. Our new friends notified the local newspaper, the Colorado Springs Gazette that we were in town. We were interviewed by Tara, and photographed by David, at Seven Falls, in the same spot the sisters were 90 years ago.

After our morning adventure, we met up with Jerry and Barbara who graciously took us for a tour of beautiful Colorado Springs including; Garden of the Gods, Manitou Falls and the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum.

We then ended the day with a nice dinner with Larry, Alice, Barbara and Jerry. Thanks to all those in Colorado Springs who made our visit a memorable one!!

11 July 2006. We had the pleasure of seeing the North Platte Statue of Liberty (mini version). We also had the good fortune to meet Rebecca, Teresa, and Beth from the North Platte Telegraph. They were all very interested in the Van Buren Sister's story and the Intrepid Fund.

Beth, the Telegraph photographer, took our picture at the 20th Century War Memorial. Teresa is interested in following up with an article in the paper-thanks to all of you at the Telegraph in North Platte for you support!

We then rode 320 miles through intense heat, almost ran out of gas on a very long and deserted road, and then ran into two massive thunderstorms. However, we managed to arrive safely in Colorado Springs (phew!!).

We dropped our bike and ourselves in a drainage ditch after arriving in Colorado Springs. The good news is that we were rescued by two bikers Larry and Alice-THANK YOU!! They introduced us to Barbara and Jerry. Jerry is the Curator of the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum and Barbara is a very famous woman rider who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. She was virtually the first woman trail rider.

10 July 2006. Rhonda and I woke up to a rainy day in Omaha. We hopped on the bike and rode 300 miles through the downpour. We are currently in North Platte, NE. We will be off to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains first thing tomorrow.

9 July 2006. Yesterday we arrived in Davenport, IA. The temperature is steadily getting warmer and warmer, and luckily we have avoided the rain. Today we have traveled another 300 miles to Omaha, NE through beautiful rolling hills of corn.

7 July 2006. We are with the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame in South Bend, IN. It is clear weather, 80 degrees and sunny. We are headed towards Chicago.

6 July 2006. We have arrived in Fremont, OH where we are staying with Mary Lynn’s Mother, Janet, who has graciously welcomed us into her home. The Fremont Law Director along with the mayor allowed us to address the City Council on behalf of the Van Buren sisters and the Intrepid Fallen Hero’s Fund.

5 July 2006. On July 4^th we left the intrepid at noon as planned. We rode 310 miles west through rain and humidity to DuBois, PA. The following day, we had clear weather and rode another 200 miles to Akron, OH.

We are spending the night at the former Quaker Oatmeal storage silos that have been converted into a hotel. Each room is circular, and it’s called Quaker Plaza.