The W.T.H.I.M "Where Am I' contest......

Since temperatures have been in the negative here in Steamboat for the last three or four days(-15 or so) which has already killed my battery,i`ve had to slow down a little until the new battery gets here to me.

I`ve been thinking about running a contest  for a bit and now seems as good a time as any to run the first of many "Where Am I" contests.
The rules are pretty simple.

1.The contest is only open to followers or members of  W.T.H.I.M blog.
If you`re not a follower,sign up.It only takes a minute.

2.If you`re a personal friend of mine with whom i`ve already discussed locations with,..........disqualified,(Sorry Tom).

Thats it for rules.Each contest will have it`s own set of criteria regarding the location specifics,some will call for an area,others will call for a specific Hwy or Intersection.

In this first contest there will be 5 questions over 5 days,some pertaining to a location,and a few questions that come from previous posts of where i`ve been.

The first 10 people to respond with the correct answers to all the questions will recieve a signed B&W or Color print of their choice from my travels.

The contest will start on Monday,November 29,2010 and end at midnight (MT) Friday,December 3rd 2010.
Pictures or questions will be posted by 8 am, Mountain Time each day for five days.
Please include your Follower name with your email.
Thats it,easy,right?.

Let the games begin........

Murph

I THINK I CAN TAKE THIS GUY............

So as i`m breaking down camp,I look up,and Heavens above if there isn`t two jets havin a dice in mid-air.I never thought there was jet envy,but I guess there is.

My thrusters are bigger than yours....or sumpthin like that?.

Anyway,after a mere minute or so,the little Lear fell behind(if it was a Lear)to the big dog.

I guess he didn`t have the throttles set on "Economy" mode.

Meanwhile the sight and sand of Death Valley are behind me and it`s onward to Steamboat.Having lived in F**rida  for the past 10 years or so,snow and it`s sidekick Ice are not something familiar to me,at least not since I left Ireland.We pretty much had all the seasons there too,but did you know that Guinness is a remarkable de-icing liquid?.

Yep,not alot of people do,but all thats behind me now.

I was considering a set of snow chains for the bike,but then I thought better of it.I`ll camp out and let it pass if it comes to that.Next year a 2WD Ural Hack is on the Wish List,those things are friggin awesome.My friend Josh posted this on his FB page,`n lemme tell ya,if ANYONE from Ural or any URAL distributor is by chance reading my blog,i`m ready to ditch the 2 wheel BM Dabbleyoo for a 3 wheel Ural.....RIGHT NOW....

...the possibilities are endless.You can ride those things in ANY type of road conditons,not to mention purposely take it into any type of nasty terrain.....and not worry about getting out.

FOR SALE:2004 BMW GS Adventure.

Lovingly cared for,babied even(!!).

Never been off-road(!!),...well `cept that one time,but only for a photo shoot...

So the ones who are paying attention have probably noticed that little "Dust" spot in the upper left,right?.I purposly left the little bugger in there to let you know how much that little fuc*er has plagued me for about two months now.Every time I think I got `im, BAM..,he`s in another shot.

I could`a Photoshopped him out,but where`s the fun in that.Besides,i`m getting to like the little guy....he`s kinda like my "Wilson".

So I headed up 89 North in AZ to 163 through Monument Valley and just didn`t have the time to stay `n play.I was trying to make it to Moab to camp for the night,but as soon as the sun went down,so did the mercury.Man was it cold.The only thing heated on the bike is the grips,no heated seat,vest,nuttin,so I ended up pullin off at the Devils Campground about 70 or so miles South of Moab.

I hereby name thee "Caveman `n Bison" rock......until the snow melts that is.

On the way up to Moab is a little town called "Mexican Hat",just a few miles over the Utah AZ line on 163.

And yes,it gets it`s name from this rock formation.

Nobody knows who Ginny Roberts was,I asked.

...how`s it goin Wilson.

Hey Wilson,wanna go to Arches National Park with me?.

So on the way down from "Windows" in Arches,I got treated to the most spectular sunset.Just stunning.

Be Well

Murph

DEATH VALLEY...........adieu

Death Valley is a really beautifull  place,but for some,they really never get a chance to see and feel what it`s all about.I guess I was lucky to be able to get to camp in remote and secluded places,far away from the monsterous motorhomes with their noisy generators that are starting to invade the park.Forget about the wall along the border,they need to put a Checkpoint Charlie at most of the National Parks here in the U.S. to keep out the city and suburb Mo Rans who turn places of quiet and serene beauty  like Death Valley into Walmart car parks.
Yea,me `n the missus went "campin" in Death Valley in our 30' Motorhome,but it really sucked `cos one of the three 40" flat screen tv`s we have broke.......right in the middle of the friggin Dolphin game.....Honey,call the repairman......
Next thing y`know they`ll have ice cream stands at Grotto Canyon,or maybe a Starfucks......Yea,that`ll blend it`s way  riiiight in to millions of years of rock formations nooo problem.They just gotta pick the right color scheme.....

Ok,rant over.

Here`s the rest,or at least most of the rest of the pics from my Death Valley adventure.
I would have loved to have stayed there longer(blown up a few motorhomes).....did I just say that out loud?...and gone on some four or five day hikes like the John Muir Trail,which starts in Yosemite,goes through the Ansel Adams Wilderness,Sequioa NP,Kings Canyon NP and ends where ze pitcher above was taken,Mt.Whitney,which at  14,990 ft is the tallest peak in CONUS,but I had to get to Steamboat CO. to mi amigos Pete `n Heather before I got snowed in somewhere in Utah or Colorado.
As it is,I just squeaked in by a couple of days,as today in Steamboat,the white stuff is a couple of feet deep.
My next trip is down to the local Walmart to buy 26 packs of Golf Shoe Studs.........

Be Well

Murph