Last week at this time we were driving 2 moving vans, 3 cars, 1 motorcycle, 2 dogs, and 6 people two states away into a suburb town we’d never lived in, to and a house we’d checked out for 20 minutes.      I like it.  

My oldest Daughter and son in law followed us down, which is a huge bonus for us.   It wouldn’t be the same without them here.   Pretty cool.  

This place feels like home.   Any place you can ride around all day in a t-shirt in December has my vote.  

I still have another weekend to tie up loose ends, but after that I’m chomping at the bit to go explore.    I’ve been wanting to get down here for 5 years now.  

To me, there has always been something I’ve loved about the Desert.     I don’t know why.    The roads, the open skylines,  the heat… all of it.    The desert gets in your blood somehow, and only people who’ve lived there for a while could understand I think.  It’s rugged and unforgivable in a lot of ways.  It’s extremely beautiful and full of color.

Northern Utah is OK.   It snows up here, there’s some cool places, but none of it if I were honest ever really held any passion or interest to me.    I’ve ridden a lot less up here, and to be honest there’s not that much that I really want to see.   It’s not home.

I started this blog in the desert, met my soul mate in it, and rode the hell out of all the roads I could find there and found some of my most favorite places on the planet.      Arizona, in particular.   My favorite route 66 places are all there, and the best Easy Rider locations are there.    Places like Jerome, Seligman, Cave Creek, Peach Springs, Kingman, Show Low, Tucson, Oatman…   I have great and multiple memories of.    When I lived in Southern Utah, I’d ride all night to get to those places.     It was pretty damn cool once I got there.

The Zip family is moving to Phoenix next month.    Man, I can’t wait.   Fuel for the fire…

 

General Chuck Yeager.   The man had great big giant balls.    If you don’t know who he is, look him up.

 

 

 

sometimes you find that song out of nowere, that hits home on a thing.     This song has been in my head all week.    The Lyrics are better than the song.

All from punk rock.   Who Knew?

 

I listen to you for hours, I’ll listen all day
Just keep hitting me the right way
Sing your song in the shower
Cause you got a way
To say what I can never say right – right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong

I won’t say your name
But you know who you are
I’ll never be the same again now – no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play

You don’t get played on the radio
That’s not the game you play
Well I don’t care anyway
I glued your tape in the stereo
So I know every word, every note
And every chord is right – right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong feel like nothing’s wrong

I won’t say your name
You know who you are
I’ll never be the same again now – no way
I just want to say thank you for playing the
Way you play

Did you know you’re why I go
And waste my time
At a rock and roll show
You let me know I’m not alone
You make me feel strong, make me feel strong,
Feel like nothing’s wrong

I won’t say your name, you know who you are
I’ll never be the same again now – no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play

I still get all geeked up about flying.   It means going to another place, maybe seeing something I haven’t seen and learning a thing.

Nashville was awesome.    We landed in early in the afternoon, and had a chance to walk down Broadway to see a thing or two.   This place has a lot of history, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

 

 

I’m not into country music for the most part.   But I was in the birthplace of it all, and you have to  appreciate that.  The Ryman was the home of the Grand Ole Opry, where Elvis played to an under-enthusiastic crowd, and Johnny Cash first met June Carter here.    Even the story of Tom Ryman and how that whole place came to be is pretty cool.

My favorite spot I think, was this:

 

Worth every penny of the 18 bucks and T-shirt.   I was surprised how many really cool things they had.    If you’re a Johnny Cash fan, this place is a must.

 

 

 

Fairly awesome.    Lots of Johnny and June’s things, hand written letters and history of the man in black.

Just around the corner is the Earnest Tubb Record store.   It brought back a flood of Memories.    My father loved Earnest Tubb.   When I was a kid, the definition of torture was being stuck in the truck on a road trip while my father played Earnest Tubb.   He’d sing out loud and everything.    I had to check it out….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWmbFXJDHrM

I’d heard he had his old tour bus in his record store and I wanted to see it, but it wasn’t around anymore.   It sounds like they consolidated a little bit — I gotta think with the fact that no one knows who Earnest Tubb is anymore (or buys records), and the price of real estate the record store holds, this place might not be around too much longer.    I’m glad I got to see it.

The next day, we grabbed an Uber and went over to see Antique Archaeology, from one of my go-to shows American Pickers:

 

The best thing in the store was the one of a kind custom bike built my the famous pin striper Von Dutch:

Nashville was awesome.   I’d love to bring the wife here and dig a lot deeper.

 

For  all you got going on in your life….

Rock the Casbah.    Also, I have no idea what the Casbah is,but man….Rock it.

This Friday.   I’ve never been there:   The grand Ol’ Opry, the Johnny Cash Museum, and a store from one of my favorite shows – American Pickers.     I’m fairly pumped up about it.   I’m going there for work, but the nights are mine, if they need be.      A lot of history there, and I’m 3/4ths geeked up to see it.     I’ll take some pictures.

Nobody wanted this trip:   I did.    I don’t necessarily like country music, but Nashville is a place where an American form of music started.  Maybe this punk rock/Classic rock biker can learn a thing.   I can’t wait to get a feeling for for the town.

Great and catchy song:   The girl getting married in the video is Carlene Carter, daughter of June Carter Cash.      Turns out Rock and Roll came out of Country music, if you go back to the roots.

As far as modern culture, I’ve always been a little late to the party.      I barely care, and it’s always interesting to see what trends last.    I think 90% of it is pure shit, but a few of it seems to stick after a while…

I think I dig this song:

I gotta think I could twist a throttle to this and enjoy the hell out of it somewhere on a ride, somewhere.   It’s fairly jammin.   I think the voices in my head on a long ride end up saying these things anyway.    It’s why I dig riding on long rides:  it brings you back to center.