Easy Rider Locations

Day 13 – Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – New Orleans Louisiana.

6 Comments / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 24, 2013

I woke up and felt like George Hanson in a jail cell. When I looked in the mirror, I saw Keith Richards was staring at me. It’d been a long trip. Burbon Street is an interesting place.

I was to meet Graham in the lobby, but I was 10 minutes late. The plan was to go over to St. Louis Cemetery and see some scenes from the movie. Graham must have seen Keith Richards in the mirror too, he didn’t show so I figured i’d spy it out myself. I’m always up for coming back.

They filmed the acid trip scenes here. In fact, this was the first parts of the movie that they filmed, in 16mm film, instead of 35mm. If you watch the movie, you can tell the quality isn’t as good. They came down with 30 grand, no plan and Dennis Hoppers ego and the movie nearly ended before it began.

They even missed Mardi Gras by a month. If you notice in the movie, you don’t see the main Actors in the parade. They rounded up as many people as they could, and tried to re-create it.

Easy Rider Acid Drop St Louis Cemetary No1 — St Louis Cemetery #1 was where they dropped the Acid the Hippy Gave them. They Quartered it. You’re running out of time.

IMAG1250 — Same Spot, 2013. I’m hip about time.

Toni Basil St Louis Cematary no1 Easy Rider — Acid in the 60’s musta been like the Tequila of the 2000’s. Huh, who’d have thought.

IMAG1236 — St Louis Cemetery #1, in 2013

Peter Fondal St Louis Cematary no1 Easy Rider — There’s a story here.

Peter Fonda’s mother committed suicide when he was 10 years old. He didn’t know the full story or the reasons why for years. Dennis had convinced Peter to get up on that statue and talk to his mother in this scene. He didn’t want to do it. It was just way too personal, and and to this day he is both embarrassed and proud of that scene in Easy Rider. He laid it right out there.

When you watch the movie again, you can hear Peter say “shut up! Shut up!”. Dennis was a madman on the set back in those days, they’d just started filming and he’d started an argument while Peter was up there, laying his guts out on camera. He was trying to get through this, and he intermittently kept telling Dennis to shut the hell up. Tells you a lot about Peter Fonda, and his commitment to this film.

When they finished making the movie, they worked on getting a soundtrack for it. In Krotz springs, I told the story about how they’d gotten Bob Dylan to do a song for the film, and his reluctance to do it. Peter told Bob about the filming of this scene, and his own reluctance to say what he’d said. That point, was what finally convinced Bob Dylan to put a song on this film, after a few hours of debate. He scribbled down the words to “the Ballad of Easy Rider” on a piece of paper, and gave it to Peter. He told them to have Roger McGuinn of the Byrds put music to it. It was the final song of the movie. That was in 1969.

The Easy Rider graveyard/Acid trip isn’t my favorite part of this film, but I can appreciate the significance of it. It holds a lot of weight to the movie, and it’s a big part of what makes it such a classic period piece of film. It happened.

I didn’t want to get another cab. It was early, and figured I’d walk the few miles back to the hotel. I was in Nawlins, and I wanted to get a better feel for the city.

Hey, on a lighter note: This was Peter Fonda’s Escort in the movie of Easy Rider: Toni Basil. She was Hawt.

Toni Basil in 1981. Still fine, and holding it together. You know you like this song. I’m not gonna lie, I do.

I walked back to the Hotel.

IMAG1261 — New Orleans is old. Lots of history here methinks.

We were to meet at 3 so we could ride the bikes into EagleRider and turn em in. I got some lunch, took a nap, and took in more of the day. We all met in the parking garage of the Hampton Inn French Quarter, told some stories from the night before, and rolled out in the rain for the final time. It was cool, but knowing it was over pretty much sucked.

EagleRider, New Orleans. Turning the bikes in.

IMAG1265 — 3181 miles minus the 11 I had when I pulled her out of Los Angeles is 3170 miles in 2 good weeks.

We took a trolley car back to the Hotel, after we’d turned the bikes in. Brandon had headed out that morning with Captain America in tow, on to another tour. Steve originally had had to leave us, but in the end he was able to stay and turned us onto a good restaurant in the french quarter. After a couple of hours, we walked down the french quarter, to the Court of Two Sisters. This was a really nice place.

Tim made a pretty damn funny comment about the Blues Brothers.

I stared across the table at the people I’d ridden with for the last two weeks. I really liked these people. I’ll be honest, I’m a prick. I don’t like many. But Ana, Steve, John, Peter, Linda, Pete, Graham, Phil, Helio, Howard, June, Martine, Big D, Timmy, Bruno, Shawn, Bob, Brandon. You all made this ride fun. It was nice to share what I knew, and even better to learn what you knew.

We paid the bill, worked our way out, and said our goodbyes.

IMAG1267 — Corner of Bourbon and Toulouse. Madame Tinkertoys house of Blue LIghts, New Orleans Louisiana. Where George Hanson Never Went, we did. Easy Rider Inaugural Tour 2013.

We all went our separate ways. Tim and I walked Bourbon Street, had a few beers and shot the bull. We rounded back to the bar near the hotel and talked a bit. Pete & Linda, and Paul and Martine showed up for a few.

Then it was over. I went back to the Hotel. I’d fly out in the morning.

I want to ride with these people again.

Day 13 – Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – New Orleans Louisiana. Read More »

Day 12: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – Lake Charles LA to New Orleans LA

2 Comments / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 23, 2013

The Last Morning Hotel Ritual. Lake Charles Louisiana

We woke up, had a little of that continental breakfast and got ready to head out. Today was different, and I’ll be honest it had a bit of weight to it for me. It’d be our last day riding.

Tonight, we’d be in New Orleans. The 2 places on the Easy Rider Route that I’d never seen we’d see today, but I’ve gone over them a million times in my head. I was excited to see those places, but I knew I was going to miss these people I’d spent the last 2 weeks riding with. I felt pretty determined to enjoy the day, like I’d enjoyed the last 12. I did.

Easy Rider Louisiana — Paul and Martine on the Captain this morning. Paul is as cool as a cucumber. That Martine? I think she’s trouble. She’s just got that look in her eye. Yep. Trouble.

We loaded up, and headed out.

Louisiana has a completely different feel than Texas. After 3 days in the Lone Star State, I was still getting a bit adjusted mentally to this place. I really liked Texas. I wanted to like Louisiana. This is the deep south, a little Lynard Skynard was in order for this adjustment I felt. Maybe a little more southernish rock would do the trick. It certainly didn’t hurt.

The road ahead was funny. We got into a funeral procession. Cars were randomly pulled off to the side of the road, and the speeds were erratic. When you take up 1/4 mile of road, you don’t always know whats going on head. Some old boy in a 1979 Toyota Courrier veered into our lane when we tried to pass. I wasn’t sure if it was because we were tourists, or because Paul and Martine had a yankee flag on their bike. It was time to get my shit together. I’m not one to let my imagination get away with me.

About an hour later, we pulled into Eunice Louisiana and got fuel.

Eunice Louisiana. Big D wanted another turn at the Captain

We fueled up and watered up. The weather for the first time this trip was fairly ominous. It was looking like rain, but 60 miles in we still hadn’t hit it. Maybe we’d luck out. At this point, I didn’t really care. The weather this whole trip had been perfect. If it rained, it rained. There were things to see, and places to go.

I still couldn’t quite shake this “last day” thing. Krotz Springs (the final shots of the movie) were in 40 miles. I’d maybe tell the last of what I knew about Easy rider there. Graham and I both talked about it when were getting gas.

Big D was dying for another turn at riding Captain America. He spent the next 40 miles into Krotz Springs, being as obnoxiously happy riding as anyone I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t help but openly smile about it. He revved it up at intersections, cracked it wide open and was just thrilled to be there. It was pretty awesome. John had his helmet cam on and tried to catch him on the long runs. Big D was pulling away at 100 mph. Big D is awesome.

We hit Krotz springs. Missed the turnoff, and that was cool. I wanted to cross that bridge anyway. We looped back, and up the couple of miles, north of Krotz Springs. This is where Easy Rider ended.

We were there. In that exact place. It hasn’t changed much since 1969.

krotz springs easy rider Louisiana 1 — The question: “Want me to blow your brains out?”

krotz springs easy rider Louisiana 2 — The Answer.

There are a lot of ghosts here. I tried to explain a few of them:

I remember Graham in death Valley, 2 weeks earlier. Seeing Captain America round those hills and corners with us in tow, and feeling a sense of pride that we were doing the inaugural tour. I gotta think that Captain America hadn’t been here, on the full ride since 1969. I knew this day was coming. It was in Death Valley that I figured I wanted to ride Captain America out of Krotz Springs. The movie ended here, but the tour wasn’t ending for us. I just wanted to ride that bike out, where Captain America Didn’t. I got that chance.

Easy Rider - Krotz Spring Louisiana - MrZip66 — You don’t get many, but for me this was a perfect moment.

We doubled back through Krotz Springs, along the levee road that contained the Atchafalaya river. The road became a gravel road, and we slowed right down. The captain America bike has a helluva long rake. I had a few times where the front wheel kept one track, and the back tire kept another. A little squirrely, for a bike I’d spent all of 10 minutes on. At one point I was going to be the guy that took her down, but she held steady. Steve was nervous for taking us on this road. I was just happy to be there to be honest. I knew noone was going to take this bike on this road again for EagleRider, so it was all good.

IMAG1196 — Another good reason big D was MVP of this ride. I’m sure he ate some gravel.

After about 3 or 4 miles, We finally hit some pavement.

Easy Rider tour 1 — And headed a bit east on Interstate 10.

IMAG1197 — and hit up a car wash in Breaux Bridge Louisiana.

It started raining with the sun out. The captain doesn’t have front fender, and without it, all that water goes right up into your face. Like, right into your glasses. I could barely care. I was on the Captain on a Louisiana backroad. Try and wipe that smile off my face….What else would I rather be doing?

We rolled into St Martinville, and ate at a cool little restaurant in an old house. I had frog legs and Alligator, for the first time. We talked and Laughed. This was to be a good day.

IMAG1201 — The ladies, St Martinville Louisiana.

I must have coasted the Captain in on fumes. She wouldn’t start. Brandon had my back. He put a gallon of gas into her, and we headed out. The rain had stopped by now.

A little AC/DC fueled the way.

There was a dinner for us in New Orleans, and we had a deadline.

My only regret of the entire trip is that we didn’t get to explore Franklin more. I had things to show there, but we were rushed to get to the hotel for the farewell dinner. I wanted to see more of it, and my thought was I’d ride back to it the next day and take some pictures. I never did that.

John rode the Captain out of Franklin. He got some great footage of it.

What it looked like in 1969. This footage was from Coyote New Mexico, to Franklin Louisiana.

107 miles to New Orleans. Took in the scenery, twisted the throttle and tried to take in as much as I could. Listened to a little Zeppelin along the way. It hit the spot.

Dr Phil was on the captain, it rained a little, then stopped. We rounded into our Hotel at New Orleans.

IMAG1208 — Graham: here’s to the first of the day Gentlemen….

IMAG1209 — We all took a turn. Nic Nic….

We’d seen a lot this day. It was almost 7 PM, and we had a half an hour to get cleaned up, and be in the lobby for the limo to go and eat. We all rallied, and made it on time.

IMAG1212 — Mulates, some Cajun Music, and some Cajun Cooking.

IMAG1213 — Tim dancing with another man. Tim is not gay, not that there is anything wrong with being gay.

IMAG1214 — Singing Danny Boy with the neighboring table

I had a blast. The band even sang me happy Birthday, along with everyone else. Some Cajun music and food, then we retired to the back of the restaurant where it was a little more quiet. Is this the way to Amarillo?

The last day of Riding on the Easy Rider Inaugural Tour. Best 2 weeks ever. Big D got MVP (well deserved), and we all got patches.

2013-06-23 18.16.00 — EagleRider Inaugural Easy Rider Movie Tour May 2013

We left Mulates, and walked down to Burbon Street. Graham and I had some fun, and saw the sights.

I couldn’t believe it was almost over.

Day 12 – Easy Rider Movie Locations Tour – 299 Miles

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Day 9: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – Amarillo to Abilene

2 Comments / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 18, 2013

We woke up and had breakfast. Eaglerider says that the Ambassador Hotel is one of their favorite hotels, and I can see why. Very nice place. I’ll admit it, I was a tad hung over from the night before. A little wind therapy would fix that.

Eagle Rider Amarillo Texas — The morning ritual. We were used to it by now. Getting ready to head out.

Peter fonda had said in 1969, the stories of hippies getting shaved with rusty razor blades in the south was all too real for them. They didn’t film anything in Texas, and the bikes never came out of the Van.

This was the first tour, and for shooting from the hip, Steve kept us off the Interstate and we road good roads. Farm fields, silos and tractors. Wide open spaces where you couldn’t see the edge of anything. This road was all new to me. All I’ve ever heard from people who ride the Texas panhandle is how brutally flat it is, so I was expecting that. Texas had a few surprises. I gotta admit, I really like this state. I could live here. Texans are proud to live in Texas.

I settled in, and rode in the back of the pack most of the time. A little space to enjoy the scenery, and take a new road in.

Led Zeppelin seemed to hit the spot today.

DCIM101GOPRO — John busted out his helmet cam. Took some great pictures and video. Riding the Texas 207, heading toward Lake Mackenzie.

83 miles in, we hit Silverton Texas and took a break.

IMAG1176 — Silverton Texas, Briscoe County. First taste of a small Texas Town.

Silverton Texas Briscoe County Jail — John, Myself and our impromptu tour guide. He had lots of stories.

IMAG1177 — Graham – Testing out the bars.

Thats one of the things I like most about riding. Pulling into a town you’ve never been, and figuring out the town. In this case, learning a thing. If we’d have had more time, I’d have liked to explore every little small town in Texas we hit up. There’s always a story somewhere, or a ghost to chase from the past.

We continued down the 207, to Post Texas and had lunch at George’s Restaurant. Very Groovy, George.

George’s Restaurant, Post, Texas. Truckers Welcome.

We fueled up across the street, and made miles. Through Snyder and Sweetwater, and into Abilene. We cracked a beer in the parking lot and as always, toasted to the day. I called the wife and kids, and went back to my room to do some work.

I was glad to be out riding. It was nice to see a different part of the country, and run through small towns I’d never seen.

Day 9 – Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – 298 Miles

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Day 8: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – Taos New Mexico to Amarillo Texas

2 Comments / Easy Rider, Rides, Route 66 / mrzip66 / June 16, 2013

I’d fallen asleep early, and woke up early. Rather than sit with my thumb up my ass, I jumped on the bike. It had been a while since I’d been here, and never like this. I ran up to where Easy Rider began.

La Contenta Bar Easy Rider Taos New Mexico — From Easy Rider, 1969, La Contenta Bar, Opening Scene.

For the movie, Peter fonda wanted to buy junk, in a junkyard. This place was sold like it was in Mexico, but it was really in Taos. In the original story of the movie, Billy and Wyatt were carnival stunt men on motorcycles. Thats why they showed up on dirt bikes for this scene. It wasn’t until you got to Ballarat in the movie, that they rode Harleys. In the movie, when they got jailed for parading without a permit (we’d see this location today too) where Billy shouts through the jail cell:

“Parading without a permit? Do you know who this is, man? This is Captain America. l’m Billy. We’re headliners, baby. We played every fair in this part of the country. For top dollar too! Weirdo hicks, man. A bunch of weirdo hicks. “

Quote from the Movie, Easy Rider (1969)

Most of that part of the story got cut on the editing floor. I headed back to the Hotel, had some coffee at the restaurant with the crew, and took some pictures. This was a 100 year old place, just celebrating its anniversary. Taos is pretty cool.

IMAG1135 — waking up, drinking coffee, getting my morning bearings and taking some pictures. Historic Taos Inn. Its been here for 100 years now.

We had a lot to see today. Lots of Easy Rider. To the first stop for today: IMG_0469 Translation: “Pura Vida Hermano!” means “Pure Life, my Friend” in English. The guy in that scene was a local musician in Taos, back in the day. I bet that dude could belt out a good Mariachi song. I’d pay good money to see it.

EagleRider Inaugural Easy Rider Tour Crew, La Contenta Bar from Easy Rider

I told what I knew:

There is lots of Easy Rider in Taos. This was the first stop, the opening scene. We’d ride to more. We rode down to the Taos Pueblo, but we didn’t go in. . I’d like to do it again. There is lots of history there. The scene I wanted to show was this, right by the river. I’ve been here before, but got the feeling we didn’t have time. Looking back, I’d have pushed for more time here.

Taos Pueblo - 1969 from Easy Rider — Taos Pueblo – 1969

Taos Pueblo, Easy Rider Location Tour 2013

Next, was Dennis Hoppers House, where he lived for 15 years after Easy Rider. DH Lawrence lived here too, and now its called the Mable Dodge Luhan House. It was one of Dennis Hoppers first purchases after the Easy Rider checks starting coming in.

Easy Rider swim Scene — The swim Scenes from Easy Rider were in Taos as well, at Manby Hot Springs, 15 miles north. (screenshot from Easy Rider, 1969)

Taos has always been interesting to me, and it’s always been connected to Dennis Hopper in my mind. It’s an artists community, like no other I’ve been to. I gotta think about why. Maybe another ride, and another blog post for another day. If I can throw this one out:

Double Standard Dennis Hopper — “Double Standard” – Dennis Hopper photograph from 1961 (click on photo to enlarge)

Dennis Hopper took this photograph in 1961. To me, it tells volumes about the guy. First, he was an artist at heart. A random, but brilliant thinker. A contemporary, till the day he died, and I think his work showed that. He was also raised a Kansas farm boy. “double standard” , I have to think was his mindset at the time. It certainly was years later. He directed Easy Rider, was equal parts insane and brilliant, and had an eye to move people. Dennis Hopper was a hard guy to sum up. But, whatever. Something to chew on when you’re out on a bike and your mojo is rolling and there is 100 miles ahead of you. Maybe at least for me. It was memorial Day Weekend, and that’s appropriate to honor the dead. We rolled up to Dennis Hopper’s grave. The last time I was in Taos, he was still alive. This was a first for me.

Easy Rider Tour - Dennis Hopper — Dennis Hoppers grave, Taos New Mexico

The whole city of Taos, smells of Dennis Hopper and Easy Rider. We were on our way, to Las Vegas New Mexico. We headed out of Taos, on New Mexico 518. The weather was awesome, and I couldn’t help but feeling we’d lucked out this trip, weather wise. It was starting to cloud up, but nothing threatening, at least this day. 75 miles more, and then more Easy Rider.

We hit Las Vegas New Mexico, where in Easy Rider they paraded without a permit.

Easy Rider Parade Scene Las Vegas New Mexico 1 — Parading without a permit – Easy Rider in 1969

Easy Rider Parade Scene Las Vegas New Mexico 2 — Wyatt and Captain America, Las Vegas New Mexico 1969

Easy Rider Parade Scene Las Vegas New Mexic — The Historic Plaza Hotel, 1969

Parading without a permit in 2013 from the movie location Easy Rider — Historic Plaza Hotel in 2013

In the movie, the paraded without a license and got thrown in Jail. In the tour, we walked down to the corner and saw another scene from the movie. Watch this. It’s classic Easy Rider.

Easy Rider Las Vegas Nevada - Jack Nicholson Drinking Scene — Aaaaaand, here it is.

Easy Rider Locations - Drinking scene Easy Rider — Graham, Myself and Dr Phil. Nic Nic Nic!

and some of the story behind it: After this, Easy Rider became pretty funny. On to Madame Tinkertoys House of Blue Lights, Corner of Burbon and Tolouse. In Real Life, Jack Nicholson was ready to quit acting. After this, all that would change. We still had 230 miles to go. From here, we headed into Amarillo. Day 8, Easy Rider Movie Location tour – 314 Miles View Larger Map

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Day 7: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – Farmington to Taos New Mexico

1 Comment / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 15, 2013

After breakfast we headed north east to Durango Colorado.

When they made the movie, they just bolted to Taos, with a piece of toast in their mouth while they drove, probably. Who cares. Peter and Dennis were hanging out in an RV, and the bikes were were in a panel Van, making miles. We took the scenic route, up to Durango.

Durango Colorado - Easy Rider Location Tour — Cool little town. We took some time and walked round

We spent our time, then headed east. Found us a cool waterfall.

Up wolf creek pass - Easy Rider inaugural tour — Beautiful.

IMAG1132 — Group shot of the Easy Rider Inaugural Tour Crew

Up through Wolf Creek Pass

Tunnel at Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado — Wolf Creek Pass. 10, 890 feet. My bike was sucking air, but she wanted to see all this bad as I did. A great ride on a Harley-Davidson methinks.

I couldn’t help but have this song in my head. Like, the whole time. My gift to humanity is useless trivia, and random thought. I present CW McCall, Wolf Creek pass. white person trucker rap, from 1975. Give you an Idea of the road, anyway:

We rolled down from Wolf Creek Pass, and had lunch in a place I’m not sure the name of. We turned south, somewhere. We were hungry, and ate a gourmet meal at a greasy roadside shop. I think I had a buffalo burger with jalapeno’s on the side. And fries.

On our way into Taos, we stopped at a bridge crossing the Rio Grande river. The weather was hot, and some of us had some Ice coffee at a hippy truck while it held out. The rest of us had some some ice water and cokes. My ass was sore, and needed a break. Vendors and lots of bikes is all I remember. This was memorial day weekend, and everyone was taking advantage of it.

Aussie John gave me a lot of pictures for this blog. About 100 miles back, he also reminded me of good touring music. I listened to this, as we rolled into Taos. The desert was wide, the weather was good, and we were rolling 8 miles a minute, most of the time. I knew that somewhere, I had deadlines and commitments. I just didn’t have them now. It was on the hotter side, but still…. a perfect day of riding.

We pulled into Taos, and I saw 2 spots from the movie on the way in, that we’d see tomorrow. I felt thrashed, but happier than hell. What else would I rather be doing? It was a hot day, and a long day and I fell asleep about as fast as I sat down. This was the first of a string of 300 mile days.

Day 7 – Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – 280 Miles

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Day 5: Easy Rider Tour – Flagstaff to Kayenta

Leave a Comment / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 13, 2013

We left Flagstaff, Fueled up and headed north on highway 89, toward The Sacred Mountain Gas Station from Easy Rider. This was the first Movie Location from Easy Rider I’d ever found, and I’d ridden by this a dozen times. I was on my way home, on a Sunday, and blew off the next 2 days chasing down Easy Easy Rider in Arizona. Riding is fun enough. Chasing down a mystery makes it even more fun.

Easy Rider Route Tour Sacred Mountain Gas Station — Sacred Mountain Gas Station in 1969

sacred mountain from Easy Rider — Sacred Mountain Gas Station from Easy Rider Today

We pulled in, took some pictures and doubled back. Not far up the road.

Sunset Crater to Wupatki is one of my favorite roads on the planet. This trip, it became maybe my favorite. We were pulling in to pay the park fees, and Steve had asked me to go ahead to the turn off and wait for everyone. Bruno, an Italian Photographer and all around good guy was my passenger for the day.

No lie, right as I started out, I wasn’t born to Follow by the Byrds came up on my Ipod. Another good omen.

It was perfect. The morning still had shadows and the sun was coming through the trees. I was wanting to stop to get a picture where they picked the hippy up in the Movie, but I got pretty lost in the moment . Sunset crater road and scenery haven’t changed since Easy Rider was filmed. For a couple of minutes, I was in 1969. For me, that was the best moment of riding the whole trip. If you go down there to see this, I highly suggest taking that song with you. Beautiful. I also had plans to have a buddy of mine meet us there, dressed up like a hippy, so we could pick him up for for the full effect. It ended up not working out. Next time. Some cool visuals from the movie, on that stretch of road (by the way, click on any image to enlarge):

We rode all of it. I rode up the 30 miles up to Waputki, and Bruno and I waited at the turn off. Bruno is an interesting guy. For living in Italy, he’s seen more of America than I have. He has the artists eye, and was good company. Wupatki is where they stopped for the night after they picked up the Hippy.

Wupatki Easy Rider Camping Scene in 1969

Wupatki, Camp Out Scene Easy Rider — We were there. You could be a trifle, polite.

Waputki - Easy Rider — A small thing to ask. They’re buried right under ya.

Waputki, doing my shpiel — Talking about Easy Rider, Hippies, and Camping on Government Grounds.

We headed out of Waputki. Only a few miles to the main road again, and back to making miles. This is where the best song of Easy Rider was filmed. When they were filming, Dennis pushed for them to film in monument Valley at dusk. When you look at the cinematography, he wasn’t wrong. Its a big part of why this movie sticks with those who ride. At this point, we were well into our trip. I’ll be honest, I was starting to forget what day of the week it even was. On vacation, thats a good thing. I’d seen all these places, but never consecutively and not like this. It was always bolt to a spot, figure it out, and bolt home. Seeing it as one long ride was pretty special to me. My bike was purring, the weather was great, and the road wasn’t ending anytime soon. Found a new scene on the way there. We left highway 89, and headed toward Kayenta. I’ve ridden this before, but when I did I was always heading the other way.

The Weight, Easy Rider — “Hey Mister can you tell me…

Easy Rider, the Band - the weight — Where a man might find a bed”.

The road into Kayenta was windy. The road into Kayenta is always windy. No complaints, we Knuckled down, and enjoyed the ride. We got into Kayenta early. I think it was like 3 PM or so. The plan was to ride into Monument valley, do a tour and eat Navajo Tacos. Looking at Monument Valley when we came in, it was a dust bowl. Steve postponed the original plan, and we’d do it tomorrow. A few guys went in, but the rest of us took a nap and hung out and relaxed for a while. I forgot to pack a swim suit, and some pool time would have been nice methinks, but a nap was almost nicer. After a couple of hours, Graham got restless, and we decided it was time to watch Easy Rider. We set out.

Kayenta Arizona, Easy Rider Monument Valley — Kayenta Arizona Accommodations.

We found a Motel nearby, that in exchange for bringing in hungry people to eat, they’d furnish a television and a VCR. Graham talked them into it. We watched Easy Rider.

watching easy rider — Watching Easy Rider, and Having dinner.

It was pretty cool to see on video the places we’d rode on the previous days. We headed back, and slept for a night. A good meal, and a nice break. Another good day was going to happen tomorrow. Day Five – 184 Miles View Larger Map

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Day 4: Easy Rider Tour – Needles to Flagstaff

Leave a Comment / Easy Rider, Rides, Route 66 / mrzip66 / June 12, 2013

I woke up early, got some coffee and decided to jump on the bike and scout the perimeter. In a couple more hours, we’d head out. I crossed the Colorado, took some pictures and enjoyed the morning sun. Made me think of one of the times i’d been here, in 1991, with Missus Zip.

Route 66 California Side — Route 66, California. This sign has been here forever.

Colorado River - Easy Rider — Colorado River morning. Behind me is the bridge from the Grapes of Wrath.

Random thought about bridges. As I sat there that morning and drank my coffee, I realized that 2 bridges connected 2 Fondas, crossing the same river. Peter, from Easy Rider, and his father, Henry from the Grapes of Wrath. They were both about the same age, and their respective movies made both of them famous. Both bridges are a stones throw from each other. I don’t know that any of this means anything, but to me it was interesting.

Grapes of Wrath Movie (1940) — Grapes of Wrath Bridge, Route 66, circa 1940

Time to head back. Finished my coffee, and back to the fold. Kickstands up in 20 minutes.

We headed out. On to Oatman, one of my favorite places.

Park Moabi — We rode this, on our way out.

Easy Rider Tour colorado river — And this. One of my favorite bridges. Exactly like the movie. The Red Rock bridge (to the left) was torn down in 1977.

Easy Rider Colorado RIver — I can almost hear the Chorus…..

Then through Topock, and on our way to Oatman Arizona. The road started bending more, and the ride was good. I don’t know how many times I’ve ridden this road, but its always good. The first time I found it, this road was gravel almost all the way to Oatman. Then route 66 hit a revival, and it got paved. We rolled into Oatman and bummed around for about 45 minutes.

We headed out of Oatman before noon.

Short break in Cool Springs, Arizona. Behind us, Arizona’s nipple.

Out of Oatman, to Kingman, where we had lunch at some 50’s diner. We headed on toward Flagstaff, wound through Seligman, Williams, and on to Bellemont. More Easy Rider there. We pulled in, late in the day just like in Easy Rider. It felt pretty cool to show these places in person to other people.

Easy Rider Pine Breeze Inn — The owner wasn’t there, so he wasn’t able to deny us a room. Wouldn’t have mattered, we had reservations in Flagstaff. Either way, you have to ride off and shout “you asshole!” Just like in the movie. I’m sure the owner would understand.

IMAG1105 — Our Crew, long day. Good Picture.

IMAG1107 — One last goodbye. Keeping it Real.

we headed the 10 miles into Flagstaff, fairly spent.

I had some work to do that night, so I had a couple of drinks at the bar, back to the room to get them done. A great day. We had a lot more ahead of us. Tomorrow we’d hit a few locations for the movie, and head into Monument Valley. Day 4: 205 Miles. View Larger Map

Day 4: Easy Rider Tour – Needles to Flagstaff Read More »

Day 1: Eagle Rider -Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – LAX to Ballarat

1 Comment / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 9, 2013

Everyone had been checked out on their bikes, we had a welcome dinner the night before and were all ready to ride. left the Hotel after breakfast, mounted up, and headed out. First stop was LAX, a couple of miles away. This is where Billy and Wyatt sold the 2 batteries of whatever-that-white-powder-was before their ride to Mardi Gras.

Getting Ready to Head out for the Easy Rider Inaugural Tour — Getting locked and loaded, ready to start out. Finding Easy Rider.

Easy Rider LAX - MrZip66 — First Stop, LAX. Painting a picture of what happened here in Easy Rider in 1969. That punk Phil Spector was a no-show. Fokker.

From there, we made miles. Headed out of the city…. a long way from the city, because that’s where we wanted to be. Out of LA, to Death Valley. More Easy Rider there — The scenery started to open up, and the riding started to get nice.

First Gas Stop. I have no idea where this is. California, something.

You can tell a lot from a crew by the way they ride. This was a good crew. Everyone kept tight where they needed to be, and loose where they wanted. They’d done this before. Steve, Our tour guide got a flat in the California desert. Hazards of going first I guess. No matter, we had a spare bike and EagleRider had it handled. That spare bike came in handy. We hydrated at a rest stop for a short time, and that was the last bike incident of the trip. We headed north on the 395 towards Ballarat.

Rest stop, Swapping bikes — Rest stop in California, Swapping bikes. If there are road hazards, Steve will take a bullet for the team and run over them for you.

Easy Rider - North on the 395 — Open Road Ahead. I’ve missed the desert.

San Bernardino county is the largest county in the US, and it took us awhile to cross it. Stopped for lunch in Trona, California. Trona is a funny place. Pretty clearly a company mining town. I gotta say, They make a good burger. We were all fired up. Shawn and Bob busted out Captain America. This was the Easy Rider Tour, after all. It had to happen.

Graham from the UK is hardcore Easy Rider. He’s got a replica Captain America bike signed by Peter Fonda. He knows the movie by heart. A great guy. Amicable, and really pretty damn funny. We started throwing movie references at each other by now. He was the first to take the helm. It seemed right.

MrZip66 on Captain America — My turn on the Captain.

We headed out of Trona, and made the 20 miles into Ballarat, where the movie really began.

Shorty Harris's Home, Ballarat. — Shorty Harris’s Home, Ballarat.

Ballarat CA Easy Rider — Like Captain America Did

Shorty Harris House Now. It’s fallen in more since I saw it last.

Easy Rider Inagural Tour MrZip66 — The bike and I, Ballarat. A good moment.

It was here that one of the top 5 most embarrassing moments of my life happened. We were waiting for Graham, who was riding Captain America and missed the turn off to Ballarat. We were waiting for him, before I talked about what happened here in the movie. I took a drink of water (A man needs to hydrate), right when Bob said “Graham couldn’t make the turn, riding with an erection”. I lost it. It was then I spewed water all over the nicest lady you’ll ever meet, Martine from Beligium. She took it in stride, and I’m pretty sure I turned red.

Ballarat California Easy Rider — Recovering from spraying Martine with Water. Eggghhh..

I never set up a song for this trip. when we left, I shook the ipod and whatever played, played. Half way up the road, Born to Be wild started playing, just like it did in the film. Another good omen. It was perfect. We were starting the riding part of the movie, and I was eating it up.

From Ballarat, we headed the 80 miles to Furnace Creek for the night. Its an EagleRider tradition to crack a beer in the parking lot, and toast to the days ride. The first day was under our belt. Had dinner with Graham and the Aussies, then turned in for the night. Great first day. I slept like a baby, looking forward to another one.

Day one: 311 miles View Larger Map

Day 1: Eagle Rider -Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – LAX to Ballarat Read More »