Rudi & Jesse, On The Way Back From Deadhorse/Prudho Bay: One Of the Great Moments Of A Great Trip
People ask, “What was the best moment?”, or, “What was the scariest moment?”, etc., and the honest answer for Rudi is, “We had to live in all the moments, good, bad, scary, funny, etc.” Jesse may feel differently, but as level-headed as he is, there were only the predictable ups and downs of a multi-week trip with the old man, the motorcycle, and mother nature. Whew!
Meeting Celeste & Angel in Alaska Eclipsed the Arctic Part of the Adventure as a Highlight
Macho types we are not. Meeting our life partners was easily the best part of the trip for us. Not only did they smell good, they were genuinely happy to see us too! By then we had showered, of course, several times to be exact, and “Dalton Highway Dust” was a thing of the past.
But Rudi digresses again.
The 49th and 50th days of the trip were in the 100+degree heat and high humidity of the Southeast United States. Rudi left Cameron, Missouri, at 6:30 a.m. under overcast skies and threatening storms … a welcome weather change. Bertha leaped forward at 75-80 mph on the lightly traveled Highway 36 heading east to Hannibal, Missouri, of Mark Twain fame. Rudi skirted a strong thunderstorm for almost three hours, getting hit with occasional rain and wind gusts, but taking advantage of the cooler temperatures to make time. It was to be his final 600+ mile ride of the trip.
The goal at 9 a.m. had changed from Paducah, Kentucky, to Nashville, Tennessee, since Rudi now had 200 miles in his pocket courtesy of the early cool start to the day. This meant he could spend the night with Chuck & Sheila, great friends of long standing, and then have a short 270 mile jaunt into Atlanta and home the following day.
Sheila & Chuck Playing Host to Rudi in Nashville: Nice Hat, Sheila!
Chuck is now on a four day motorcycle trip in California with HIS father and he told me about the great food smells he encountered in small towns north of San Francisco. It’s true. Motorcycle riders get to experience both profound temperature changes and olfactory (scent) changes as they ride. It’s quite sensual at times, overwhelming even. The sense of smell is a great memory trigger … the smell of high mountain creeks in Canada hurls Rudi back into his childhood, while the smell of the oil rigs in North Dakota helped him remember his father’s saying, as they crossed West Texas in an un-air conditioned station wagon over 50 years ago, “That’s the smell of money”.
Up north, the smell of evergreens dominated, until you hit the unmistakable odor of the dead caribou or deer in the ditch a few yards ahead, or the pulp mill around the corner. The smell of horse manure in eastern Montana morphed into crisp-mown hay, then sharper wheat under the combine blade (causing sneezing in the helmet), and finally into the pungent smell of “money” or oil, around the drilling rigs. Near the Arctic Ocean, you could smell salt and feel the cooler air, same as when you rode by a glacier or raging mountain stream.
Temperature changes show up near every creek you cross or piece of shade on the highway. When skirting the thunderstorm this morning, Rudi’s left side was wet and chilly in the wind, while his right side was warm and comfortable. The wind tossed him around to help equalize the experience, but there was no mistaking mother nature’s intent to impress. That’s why Rudi loves to ride, folks. It is a sensual experience, with that dollop of danger that can’t be found in an automobile.
The final 100 miles approached and Rudi did not want to have his final memories of this great trip be that of hot, aggressive driving on Interstate 75 north of Atlanta,a miserable road in the best of times. So off he went on a flier into his beloved North Georgia mountains for the familiar narrow twists and turns into Ellijay and Dawsonville.
This video ends the travel portion of the trip. There will be other posts, but for those curious to see if Rudi made it back alive, this is it! It won’t show up on your RSS feed through your email, so go to the main site to view it at: https://rudisadventures.wordpress.com to see it.
Thanks for traveling with Rudi and Jesse. Godspeed you and yours on your own life journey.
Home Again With My Lovely Daughters, Kat & Bee
Adios, and thanks for sharing the journey: Bob, Jesse, and Rudi.
- Environmental Fund Raising Site for Rudi G & Jesse
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This trip, and this blog, are raising money for our favorite environmental non-profit, Georgia River Network. GRN advocates for, and protects, all rivers in Georgia. We produce videos for them to help raise awareness and money for their projects. If you are enjoying our trip blog, please join us in giving whatever tax deductible amount you can by going to our fund raising site at:
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Thank you.
Rudi G & Jesse
Rudi G & Jesse's Ride to Alaska 
Dave
August 16, 2010
Well done, Rudi and Jesse! A great accomplishment… Y’all should be proud.
Can’t wait to ride up to the mountains with you this fall, and hear more tall tales of the road to Prudhoe bay!!
Dave
Rudi G
August 16, 2010
Thanks Dave. I’ll trade our tales for your’s from Italy.
Peter
August 16, 2010
Welcome home Bob ( . . . er Rudi ). Thanks for sharing so much along the way. I like the idea of a sensual experience while traveling. Perhaps I’ll open the windows next time I go to the store . . . but four wheels ( and a spare ) are still very appealing.
Rudi G
August 16, 2010
Thanks for the book on the Arctic, Peter. It’s comforting to know that the caribou herds, which have the world’s longest migration route each year, have individual members who kind of wander around in circles and make several false starts before getting it right. There’s hope for Rudi yet!
Bill Williams
August 16, 2010
Enjoyed your adventures so much. I especially liked the final scenes. Congratulations, and welcome home!
Rudi G
August 16, 2010
Thanks, Bill. It was a wonderful experience for many reasons, but staying in touch with old friends was an unexpected benefit. Wonders of the internet.
kp
August 16, 2010
Yaaaayy! SO happy for you (and for Celeste). Great fun following you all. You-da-man!
Jane
August 18, 2010
I loved making the trip with you (even if it was from my living room.) Your sense of adventure and your free spirit makes us all envious. You’d better stop by next time you’re up here in the N. GA mountains, we ALWAYS have grog!
Jane
Rudi G
August 23, 2010
Hi Jane:
The trip was great, but the recovery is lengthy. I’m still not back to full strength yet after two weeks, but some of that is Atlanta in August. I’ll probably not be riding up there until it cools off a bit but i still have those directions from last year.
Hope Granite is doing well by you.
Bob
Thomas G. Davis
August 19, 2010
I really enjoyed the adventure you and Jesse shared with all of us. I felt like I was there (almost). Tales to remember and share! Oh! What a time… Love goes out to our new family and I know we will be meeting soon. Again thanks Rudi!!!!!
Rudi G
August 23, 2010
Hi Tom. glad you liked the motorcycle fun and games with Rudi and Jesse. Celeste and I look forward to meeting all our new relations next summer in Montana!
David Goldberg
August 23, 2010
What a wonderful trip, wonderful memories and you were gracious enough to share it with everyone. A vacation for all without having to leave home. Thanks for sharing! And definitely glad you are home safe.
Rudi G
August 23, 2010
The trip was wonderful, but exhausting for the senior member who is still in recovery mode at the moment. Celeste and I have been following John’s progress all summer and keep all of yo in our thoughts and prayers.