After completing my “East Coast 2009” journey in late June (photos and Journey Reports: HERE), I left the motorcycle I was riding (2005 Suzuki V-Strom DL1000) in my hometown of Nashville, TN and flew back to my primary dwelling in Phoenix, AZ.  As a bi-coastal resident, who the past few years has spent as much time on the road than at any one residence, I usually join the max exodus with other snowbirds from Phoenix and roll out in the spring before the triple digits ensue and then return in late fall when forecasts of “you-gotta-be-kidding-me-heat” are no longer.  I try to avoid riding in the blazing inferno of the desert Southwest since intense heat plus two wheels don’t equal fun times for me, so I leave the bike I was riding in the spring in Nashville and fly back to another bike in Phoenix so I can reload and head out on another adventure.  I usually fly back in late fall to get the bike in Tennessee but this year I had another idea: see if my friend (and webmaster for this site!) Scott wanted to ride one of my bikes with me back to Phoenix.  It was an easy idea to come up with since he owns a bike like one of mine (V-Strom), is someone I’m comfortable with in my rear view mirror, and he happens to have been afflicted with National Park “Stampitis” like me.  (For the unknowing, click: THIS).  I think it took Scott about 0.38 seconds to think about my proposal. When Scott and I rolled out of Nashville this morning we did so under clear skies, upper 60s temps, and no threat of precipitation – perfect conditions for starting a multi-day adventure!   The plan was for him to meet me at my Dad’s house this morning, but the construction and endless detours in Belle Meade found him in a nearby parking lot to call me and change meeting locations.  Trust me, I’ll not let him forget that we began this journey with a detour!  Woo-hoo! In fact, I asked someone nearby to take our photo to remember not only the detour, but the official start of our journey West!: (Yes, it is quite weird to be standing beside 2 of my motorcycles and not be in the garage!): When two Southern natives are traveling via interstate it's a no brainer where to stop for breakfast!: While we waited for our food to be served I checked the weather forecast on my Blackberry for the places we will be arriving over the next week.  Since we will be going through high country in parts of CO, UT, and AZ, weather is a serious concern.  Mountain weather is unpredictable and early October is no time to take the four letter “S” word lightly.  I’ve warned Scott this could be an issue and told him we'll most likely encounter sub-freezing temperatures even if the conditions are indeed dry.  Here’s what my Blackberry said was the current condition of the city plan to pass through next Wednesday (Cedar City, UT)... yikes!!!  Good thing we're both carrying heated gear, huh?:  Given it was a weekday and conditions were clear, we made excellent time rolling down I-40 West from Nashville to Memphis.  During my cross-country travels I have stopped a zillion times at the Tennessee Welcome Center in West Memphis, which is located just off I-40 and across the Arkansas state line.  As we approached the area, I decided to stop since I thought Scott might not only enjoy a break but a few of the sights around and inside the large Welcome Center… The Pyramid Arena as seen from the front parking lot of the Welcome Center: All Welcome Center visitors are greeted when they enter the front door by Memphis' most recogizable citizen:  (RW, this photo is for you!) A banner on a nearby building also reminds visitors whose hometown this is!: From the back of the Welcome Center are views of the Mississippi River Bridge, which separates Arkansas and Tennessee: US Coast Guard running up the mighty Mississippi River:  It’s going to take some adjustment to seeing both my bikes out on the road!!  While walking back from “Elvis” I almost got on the V-Strom (the bike pictured below on the left, the one Scott is riding) out of sheer habit!  Scott threatened to replace the “A GIRL” tag on my V-Strom with the license plate off his V-Strom, saying “I have no doubt a cop would completely understand why any man would replace an “A GIRL” license plate on a bike he was riding”!   Since my famous Alaskan moose passenger "Mo" is riding with me on the back of my FJR and I am leading the charge towards Arizona, Mo said he'd be watching Scott very, very closely for any funny business he might try to pull.   The most anticipated stop of the day was bagging a National Park Passport Stamp at Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.  I’ve already added this particular stamp to my collection, but Scott had not.  This stamp gives him a “new” state (Arkansas) to add to his growing list (I have every state except Hawaii and friggin’ Kansas):  While inside the Visitor Center stamping our Passport Books, we got into a discussion with the Interpretive Ranger on duty.  She told us about a special Passport Stamp program involving selected Arkansas State Parks and selected US National Parks located within the state.  (Specifc details of the program can be found at this link: HERE).  She showed us the special stamping book associated with the program: I have to say that Arkansas gets a big thumb's up from me for this program!  I frequently wonder why other states or even private companies haven’t started a similar “stamping” program of some kind.  I mean, for goodness sakes people will drive, ride, hike, going to great lengths to obtain a goofy little round blot of ink!  The cost of producing a dated stamp is irrelevant when compared to the “business” that is generated… geez, what park (or company) isn’t looking for visitors/customers??  After the Ranger explain the Arkansas stamping program, she said she noticed us getting off the motorcycles and, I assume because of the amount of luggage and gear we have, inquired as to how far we were traveling.  As I wandered around looking at the displays, I heard Scott giving her the rundown of our itinerary, including the US Park Service units we planned to visit.  A few minutes later he joined me and we continued to explore the Visitor Center.  As we were heading for the door to go back out to the bikes, an older very soft-spoken female Ranger approached us and said “Are ya’ll really riding across the country? Oh my goodness I wouldn’t have the guts to do that!”.  I encounter people like this ALL the time while out on the road, but I’m sure it took Scott by surprise.  I don’t recall exactly what I said but it was something along the lines of “far” being relative and that any journey is really just 1 step (or mile) after the other.  As I pulled out of the parking lot I thought about the subject of “Fear” and how fascinated I am by how people perceive and manage fear in their lives... and how the building across the street (the high school that was once segregated) at one time had some very courageous people who put one foot in front of the other and went to school in the face of fear.  Little Rock Central High School: Photos I took while wandering around the Visitor Center: Amen! Let's roll on towards Arizona!: Scott and I pulled into Little Rock under a dark sky with very impressive rain clouds abound.  The forecast was for scattered thunderstorms late afternoon and evening and we both felt quite fortunate and relieved arriving our Day 1 destination dry.  We’re staying the night with my friends (and fellow FJR owners!) Reggie and Teresa.  Reggie showed Scott and I around the "Man Hole" (his garage), including some of his hunting prizes in the freezer like this, um, headless goose...: ...and the various gear used for such adventures (dude is an avid hunter!): My FJR motorcycle and Reggie's: After de-gearing and getting the bikes situated, they took us on a cool driving and walking tour around Little Rock, including the revitalized downtown area.  Thankfully the rain held off and we were able to see things such as a very large pig...: …as well as a stop at the Flying Saucer restaurant, a place with hundreds of beers on tap and a décor of plates walls to ceiling:  Many of the plates reflected names of patrons who had proudly consumed every beer on tap the joint offers:   Since it was Scott's birthday, we all agreed he should pick the place for dinner. So, pizza it was!:   End of day GPS: A map of today's route for the geographically challenged:    Something tells me Scott is going to have no trouble sleeping tonight!  Typically people have so much anticipation leading up to the departure of a big ride that the first day can be overly exhausting.  It's one of the reasons I voted for the first day to be rather short and fairly easy.  That'll change tomorrow though! AGirl Copyright © 2006-2009, All Rights Reserved.