Terry and Sooz's Travels

Monday, July 6, 2026

July 6, 2026 - Gainesville, FL

We're home in Gainesville. The GS is tucked safely in our garage and the Uhaul truck has been returned. Our drive from Taos to Gainesville was fairly uneventful, which was nice. Temperatures were consistently in the mid-90s with heat index over 100. The worst weather we had was about 45 minutes north of Gainesville when a large Florida summer thunderstorm unloaded. It was really nice being in the truck with air conditioning.

The trip really consisted of several pieces:

Me riding solo from Gainesville to Sioux Falls, SD to meet Sooz
Sooz and me riding through South Dakota and Montana to Glacier to meet T&S
The four of us riding from Glacier into Canada parks of Waterton, Yoho, Banff and Jasper ending up in Calgary
Sooz and me riding the GS from Calgary to Yellowstone NP and south to Taos, NM
Sooz and me driving the Uhaul from Taos to Gainesville

The trip included a little over 6,000 miles on the GS and 1,600 miles in the Uhaul.

This is the route from Gainesville to Glacier where we met Ted and Sheila.

This is our route after meeting T&S through Canada and then all the way back to Gainesville.

This is typical of the heat we saw driving the Uhaul. The a/c in the truck felt very good.

It took a few adjustments to get the GS securely tied down in the truck.

This is the trip conputer from the GS showing the entire distance of 6,009.7 miles traveled on the GS since I left on May 19, 2026

Saturday, June 27, 2026

June 27, 2026 - Decatur, Texas

It's been a busy 3 or 4 days since I last posted. We rode the bike through Colorado and spent 2 nights in Taos, NM. It was some of the most remote areas we have ever riden through, including Morroco. No kidding. At one point on Highway 19 heading south through Colorado I thought we had entered The Twilight Zone. The road just kept extending to the horizon in a completely straight line through perfectly flat terrain. Bizarre.

By the time we got to Taos, we decided we could not continue riding the bike and rented a Uhaul truck, loaded the GS and headed east. I know we made the right decision, but it was still tough. After the last 2 days of high 90s temps, full sun and strong cross winds, it felt good to be in the truck with A/C.

We both really enjoyed Taos, and may head back another time. It felt comfortable with tons of art and friendly people.

We need to turn in the truck by July 1 which should not be a problem.

Leaving the rolling hills, heading into the Twilight Zone road

Miles, and miles, and miles of this road, it seemed it would never end

The front door of our room at The Pueblo Lodge in Taos.

Our room in Taos. It was a great place.

One of the many shops and galleries in Taos. This shop had tons of Mexican merchandise

The inside of the Mexican shop

Susie and her new friend Sara who worked at the shop and was a blast. We both had a good time there.

Me trying to figure out which end of the tiedown to hook into the wratchet. Not my finest hour.

The GS all strapped in and ready to head east

For my planning friends. Taos, like most of the US, suffers from unaffordable housing and they are trying to deal with it.

Another shot of the Pueblo Lodge in Taos

You can see my legs sticking out of the Uhaul while I chat with my new friend and his dog.

Me wearing my color blind corrective sun glasses that Sam and Max got me while I drive through the extremely rough roads of eastern New Mexico.

Just pure openness on a 2-lane road from the cab of the truck

We had lunch at this place located right on Route 66, which just happens to be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year - Route 66, not the restaurant

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

June 23, 2026 - Salida, Colorado

The last couple of days have included riding through some beautiful and remote parts of Wyoming and Colorado. We rode secondary rural roads meaning we went through some small towns but mostly wide open spaces. The weather has been great.

Tomorrow we will land in Taos, NM for two nights and take an inventory of how we are doing and what will be the best way to get back to Florida. We are both pretty tired and worn out. Plus, the temperatures in the south, including Florida, are very high. Neither one of us are in the mood to punish ourselves and get heat exhaustion (again), so we may rent a truck and haul the GS home. We'll see.

Sunday, June 21, 2026

June 21, 2026 - Lander, Wyoming

It's been three days since I last posted. That's because we spent two nights in Yellowstone National Park and they had no wifi or cell service. We stayed at the Canyon Lodge and Cabins. The room was nice with no TV. Susie had read ahead of time that the rooms had no coffee or breakfast food near the lodge so we went to a grocery store ahead of time and brought some basics with us including instant coffee that worked fine.

We rode the Beartooth Highway into the Park and it kind of blew us away. The views were spectacular and the weather was great. We reached just under 11,000 feet above sea level with temps in the low 40s. We stopped several times and took some pictures.

We had a full two days in Yellowstone visiting the Upper Falls, Calcite cliff views of the Yellowstone River, and some of the bubbling mud flats with sulfer gas in the air. We also saw Old Faithful blow her steam.

Today we drove from Yellowstone, through Teton National Park and into some beautiful rolling hills of Wyoming on the way to Lander. It's been quite the three days.

Tomorrow we continue south towards Taos, New Mexico where we have two nights reserved. Not sure where we will stay the next two night before Taos, we'll play it by ear. Enjoy the pics below.

Old Faithful