Detroit

Before you start - not much motorcycle talk in this one, sorry ya'll.

  For my readers that are not close friends, I have been working a lot in the Motor City this year. Since February, I have spent seven weeks or so in Detroit. This is partly one of the reasons that I have not posted in so long, but there are other, more personal reasons that I may or may not share one day.

  To get to it, last week, while I waited for a nurse to administer my random drug test (A Homeland Security requirement for my job). I browsed social media and was horrified to see this picture posted:

  

   My goal in writing this is not to embarrass the friend who posted this, nor to debate the politics of the picture, but to describe everyday Detroit as I have experienced it. Looking at that picture, I realized a large portion of the population probably haven’t been exposed to how well Detroit is doing. There just hasn’t been a lot of national news coverage since the bankruptcy. And that was 4 years ago.

This is what
Detroit looks like

not this

A lot has changed. I know, because I have eyeballs and haven't seen piles of debris like that. 

  I left the clinic around 1830 or so and headed for downtown proper. (Yes, Dad, alone.)  As soon as I parked, I regretted not making the solo trip downtown on a previous trip. There was music playing in the square across the street. Good, dancing, music...but I was thirsty. So, after a quick internet search, I settled on Wright & Co, restaurant and bar. 

An example of the
murals I refer too.

  What I remember most from my walk to and from the bar is the street art. There are murals everywhere. Not just graffiti, but really awesome murals (Oh, yeah, don’t let me forget to tell you about Diego Rivera’s murals later).  An abandoned apartment buildings window’s had been painted with signs of love. It made my heart swell and my mind wander around the idea that so many of us are worn down and broken or straight up busted... but still so full of love to share. The residents here really love their city.

Abandoned 'love'
building

I stopped in a shop across from the abandoned building and picked up this awesome shirt by Law of Attraction (a clothing line for bad ass women). 

learning how to be
a Redwings fan :)

  Earlier this year a coworker was nice enough to take me and a few others out to a Redskins game (my first hockey game ever!). I asked him to take the scenic route. (Ya’ll know I love exploring and learning shit.) 

 As we drove around, he explained that a few short years ago downtown was a dead zone. And very dangerous. He said that there we no open restaurants, no shopping, and most of the high rises were unoccupied. You didn’t see anyone walking around after work. And when he went to a game (the Tiger’s, Lion’s, and Redwing’s stadiums are all in downtown, how cool is that?), it was straight to the stadium, and straight home afterwards. In my experience, most people still perceive Detroit this way. I get a lot of winces and comments on how "brave" I am to work up here.

  Yes, Detroit is still a dangerous place. But all major cities are dangerous. Hell, all cities and non cities are dangerous... its an effing jungle out here in the world. Just use common sense, and keep an eye out for predators. Okay, I better get back to the point, before I rant.

Wright & Co

  So, beer. Wright’s reminded me of Highwire Lounge (a bar in my hometown of Athens, GA). The (exclusively male) sharply dressed bartenders served an extensive variety of specialty cocktails, beers, and wines in their hipster haircuts. Their crisp white sleeves rolled up just enough to expose a tattoo or two, proving that they were cool, AND well dressed. Yeah, I’m poking a little for fun, but my bartender was great. I told him what I liked, and he produced a delicious stout that was exactly what I was craving. I ordered the goat cheese dates (which were ah-mazing). So good. 

a little up river

  I made friends with the couple sitting on my right. They lived downriver (which apparently means a little south, and a little west), and where up for the game. The husband was the ‘foodie’, and they shared a LONG list of restaurants and breweries that I am excited to check out on my upcoming trips. When they left, I read my book for about half an hour before heading out. (For you beginner/intermediate riders out there who want to study riding technique, check out this book I'm reading: Total Control, High Performance Street Riding Techniques.)

  Walking back to the car, I marveled at the amount of road construction. It's everywhere. I know the city was (is?) broke, but I thought the state paid to repair roads?? My one genuine compliant about Detroit is the condition of the roads. Braking ridges, pot holes, and just AWFUL roads up here. Originally, I thought I might ride Welly up here for one of my trips, but the hazards in the roads changed (even) my mind. I normally have a devil may care attitude, but damn. 

music in the square

  I knew the basic direction I needed to travel to find the rental car, and just after I got my phone out for directions I heard the music again. That sweet, soulful kind of music that automatically sets your toes to tapping. I quite literally boogied my way back to the little shaded square, claimed a spot on the low stone wall, and enjoyed the show for a little while. They covered an old Bob Marley song, Turn Your Lights Down Low. 

Here is a Lauryn Hill version that sounds like the one the street artists performed:

  On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at Kroger and picked up a container of dates. There is a huge middle eastern population here (I hear highest per capita in the US), which I put in the “pros” column because it means cheap and awesome vegetarian food whenever I want it and a huge selection of foods that I don't have readily available at home. I can't wait to make bacon covered goat cheese dates for someone I love. (Yep, I just used bacon and vegetarian in the same paragraph.)

Diego Rivera's mural

That famous thinkin'
man at the DIA

  Oh! Before I close, on previous trips I've hit up the Detroit Institute of Art and The Henry Ford Museum. I recommend both. But if you have to chose, visit the DIA. I was lucky enough to get to see the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo exhibit. Rivera’s mural is a permanent fixture in the courtyard, and is awe-inspiring. Part political message, and part historical lesson Rivera spent over a year working on it. He and Frida lived in Detroit while Kahlo produced some of her most famous pieces. (I didn’t really know what an awesome chick she was until I walked through this exhibit.) I spent the whole day there. Other exhibits I particularly: the Africa to Asia and in between, and the photographs of local Detroitians (what do ya’ll call yourselves?).

George Washington's
camp trunk and
bed roll.

  The Henry Ford Museum was really cool too. They have some HUGELY MASSIVELY BIG early steam engines in the Made in America exhibit that I thought were cool. Outside of motorcycles, I’m not much of a gear-head, but I enjoyed the car collection.  The Presidential Limo that Kennedy rode in when he was assassinated is part of the car collection... I ate lunch at Lamy’s café (Lamy is a favorite nickname for someone I love, so that made me homesick.) Ooooh, the airplane collection was kinda cool. AND, they have the bus that Rosa Parks was riding on when she made history. It was really cool, you can get on the bus and sit in the same seat she did.

Allegheny, the largest
locomotive ever built. It
could pull trains over
2 miles in length!

Yep. One of the
last originals :)

 Okay. This is getting to be really long... so I will close. I hope that sharing my perspective on Detroit has provided a a viewpoint that changes your perception of the Motor City. 

See ya'll on the road, 
~Amanda

Motochicks' Iron Butt Run- 24 hours to ride 1000 miles on our motorcycles

Midnight- Ten-X campground near Tusayan, AZ

The campground is silent now that our neighbors generator has shut off. I've been silently tapping away, editing and publishing a post. I have the tablet dimmed all the way so I can occasionally daze up at the stars as I write. Tomorrow morning we start our Iron Butt Run to my grandmother's home in Nebraska. The Iron Butt is challenge for motorcyclists to ride 1000 miles within 24 hours. I'm learning a lot about my limits on this trip, physical and mental.

The juniper and ponderosa pines form a black turtle shaped frame around the stars as I tilt my head back, trying to find the flow of words for you. The ride from the canyon rim was eventful. The clerk at the Texaco in Tusayan was unspeakably rude to Margie.  We picked up some beer at the Trading Post, and Margie found me a souvenir squirrel to tack to my bike, a personal reminder of traveling safely on two wheels. I made peace with some of my life decisions when we spooked two elk foraging along the road. The young bull spun on his haunches and headed into the forest, the brown cow following suit.

Gary, our witness at Grand Canyon 

It was so warm today... I can't believe how quickly it got cold. The desert continues to surprise and delight me as I learn about its nuances. I want to stay up and write about the sounds of the forest, and the cold that has very quickly settled into my fingers. I better spend some time looking at the back of my eyelids,  Margie mentioned starting at sunrise.  Which I'm sure will be stunning.

930am- Pipe Creek Vista on East Rim Dr, AZ

Yeah, that didn't happen.  The air was cool and crisp when we poked our noses out of our sleeping bags. We bundled up and slept in for a few hours. And as quickly as the cold slipped in last night, the temperature gauge climbed as we packed quickly and carefully. We pulled into Pipe Creek Vista and got our documentation for the Iron Butt witnessed by Gary from Tennessee :)

Margie turned on the SPOT so we'll have an exact GPS location (SPOT is a device that emails your loved ones with locations. But it can also notify emergency personnel if needed, even post to Google maps and Facebook). Time to get moving :)

hippy motochick working girl

10 am- Roadside Artists Market on Hwy 64 

Okay, so TWO stops before we need fuel... I know! So far we aren't making the best time. But I may not return to the Grand Canyon for a long time. The first stop is Desert View Watchtower on the South Rim. We didn't even made it out of the park, haha. The view was just too staggering to pass by. The golds and reds of the canyon face dance under the sun, teasing my imagination, making me daydream about cowboys and indians.

great big world

I found this butterfly in my boot in
Sequoia NP when I picked it 

I'm sitting at the base of a HUGE sequoia. The Giant Forest reminds me of Joyce Kilmer forest back closer to home. (I am getting more homesick every day.) The trees themselves have that silent strength that reminds me of my fragility. No matter how deep and strong my roots, these massive beasts will be here long after my roots return to the earth. And I love that :) Margie stayed at the entrance of the park to have lunch with a friend. I thought we were going to ride straight through and head to Yosemite, but it was an amazing ride in, and it's nice to sit in the forest and write alone.

Napa Vally scenery

 Yesterday morning we pointed our bikes to Yosemite National Park and waved bye to Dave and Posey, rested and fresh. We got to ride through the Eucalyptus Trees again (sigh :) Napa Valley was... oookay... The scenery was mostly golden grassy hills with occasional grape vines, low scrub trees, with the occasional eucalyptus tree. Traffic was congested. Hwy 12 moved slowly. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if I was in a different mood (maybe a wine drinking mood ;)

 But I wanted to be at Yosemite already ("Are we there yet?") and had more than one conversation with myself about patience and how I want to live to be an old-lady motochick. Margie's been teaching me a lot about how to be safe. I'm thinking about doing a post entirely composed of the things I've learned on this trip relating to motorcycle travel and safety. Maybe when I get home and get some sleep.

Enjoying the fresh air in Yosemite

We arrived at Yosemite late afternoon,  and I could have spent a month there. I don't even know how to describe it. The road into the valley floor twisted and turned like only National Park roads do (preserving as much of the natural landscape as possible, I assume). It took us through some fun tunnels too. I really enjoy the sound my bike makes in tunnels as it roars powerfully :)