Moab to Mena

We've spent the last two weeks here in Mena, Arkansas (USA). Upon our arrival here at the head courters of CMA (USA) we've attended the long awaiting Changing of the Colours Rally, the International Conference and we are partaking in the Fast Lane Rally this weekend. Moab. . . . . . , we left Moab (Utah) the morning early and drove east into the state of Colorado. The Western side of Colorado is high in altitude and the chance of snowfall was increasing this time of the year, therefore we opt just to do a small part of Colorado. We drove through the small town of Ouray, deep into the Rocky Mountains. The road between Ouray and Durango goes over three mountain passes, each going higher than 3200m. Yes, and you've guessed it, it snowed up on these mountain tops. Luckily the snow melted as soon as it fell on the road, almost like dry-ice. I’m sure this is a different type of snow than what they get in mid winter. The snow that fell next to the road coloured the grass and bushes white and beautiful. The colours of the trees all over were awesome, yellow as far as the eye can see, with white mountain tops for the perfect back ground.  The scenery is the type that makes the perfect puzzle picture, beautiful to look at but tuff to build.

At Durango we had a quick lunch to warm us up and decided that we need to get down to lower altitude before we will even consider camping.  Camping in below freezing temperatures is not what we do for fun, especially as our sleeping bags and clothes are not meant to handle that cold temperatures. We crossed into the Northern part of New Mexico, and camped out for the night at Chama. The next morning we left Chama and drove direct East on Route 64 through some of the most stunning scenery we've seen in the Southern part of USA. The elevation was still high and the colours of the leaves were bright to golden yellow. Again, puzzle-like picture perfect scenery. When we came near the town of Toas, we noticed a lot of tarantulas (big spiders) crossing the road. In the town we ask the lady who served us coffee about these monstrous tarantulas (spiders) and she assured us it is normal and an everyday occurrence. So we've decided not to ever camp in Toas, despite of its beautiful setting and atmosphere. All the buildings in the town are earthy and "old style", almost Flintstones-like. After Toas we entered a rainy section and decided to look for a cheap motel in the town of Clayton. We came to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a cheap motel in America. The cheapest we could find was a wooden bungalow at a KOA campground. KOA is an American campsite franchise. We took some DVD's on loan from the camp site shop and settled in for an early night watching movies while the rain was pouring outside. About halfway into the first movie we got itchy, and realised that we have been bitten by something. Upon further investigation we found some bed bugs on the bed that has been chewing on us and is now nicely settled in our sleeping bags and sheets. We woke up the owners and told them about the situation, and they were friendly to us and allowed us to sleep in the Laundry/Office building. This meant that our early night was out the door, as we had to wash and dry all our clothes that were in the room, as well as our sleeping bags, in order to get rid of the bed bugs. It was way past midnight when we got to bed. Next morning we were up early and watched the weather, hoping the rain will stop, but instead we were heading right into the "eye" of the storm' according to the weather forecast. There was no way around it, so we decided to brave it and head directly into the storm and into Texas. The road sign that welcomed us into Texas proclaimed proudly that Texas is the home of President George W Bush. We did not enjoy our ride through Texas, as the rain was bucketing down on us. We decided to get on the big Interstate freeway, as my visibility was shortened due to the rain and fog in my visor, I reckon it would be safer on a wide road than a narrow one. At the town of Groom, next to the Freeway (I40) we came across a massive cross. Some rich guy decided to build this cross as an outreach and reminder of Christ Jesus to the passing motorists on the Interstate Highway. It stands 19 stories high and can be seen (on a clear day) from 20 miles away. We stopped and checked it out. At the foot of the cross there are a few life size sculptures that describe step by step the crucifixion of Jesus. It is extremely well done and they even have a souvenir shop where you can buy Christian literature.  After we spend about an hour there, we were back on the wet road and crossed into Oklahoma. The scenery was flat, but green; you can tell they get a lot of rain in this part of the country. We had a strong side wind to negotiate with too. At the town of Weatherford, 100km before Oklahoma City we pulled into a motel and called it a day. We've learned our lesson on "cheap" places, so did not bother to look for any cheaper ones this time. In Weatherford we discovered a wonderful old style road side diner. I guess this was our first real American restaurant, if there is such a thing. It is on the old historic Route 66, and they play only 60’s music, and served us great food too. The next day it rained so hard we decided to stay another day in hopes that the rain will stop. The rain did not stop, so we set out the next day and drove all the way to Mena, Arkansas, mostly in the rain, again.

The Changing of the Colours rally is CMA USA's biggest gathering of its members. It is a time to fellowship with one another and gets encouraged on the spiritual side of life. We had teachings twice a day and awesome Praise and Worship. Here we met a lot of new fiends in CMA and was encouraged by the unity we have in this ministry. Although we are from different parts of the world and from very different back grounds, we are like minded when it comes to our enthusiasm towards Christ and Motorcycles. It was wonderful to meet up with "old friends" we met during the CMA South Dakota and Sturgis rally earlier this year. The International Conference followed shortly after the rally, and here we met CMA leaders from all over the world, including Mexico and Argentina, whom we look forward to meet up with later on our journey.  The GS is also undergoing major maintenance as well as a scheduled service. I replaced the right hand side throttle body, as the shaft and bush has been worn out and the engine has been running very uneven on low rpm's because of that. The other big job has been the new rear wheel bearing modification. The new non stock bearing seems like it will be the final answer for our wheel bearing problems. Only time will tell, and we are about to take it to the ultimate test through Central and South America. I will (on a later stage) add a page to our website that describes in detail the modification and how to do it if you wish to do the same to your GS. For starters the bearing has been expensive and hard to find, but if it means no more break downs on the road, it is worth the investment