Grand Canyon to California

Hey kids, Flat Stanley Here. The trip is finally coming to an end.

Here is a picture of me at the Grand Canyon. It is such a big canyon. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long and 6,000 feet deep. Nearly two billion years of the Earth's geological history have been exposed by the Colorado river. Remember those dinosaur bones and petrified wood were 225 million years old? That means that if you peeled back layers of the earth the dinosaurs would be found in the top 10% of the canyon depth. Pretty cool huh?

Next we took a ride through the Death Valley National Park. This was a really fun ride. The roads went up and down like a roller coaster and the curves in the roads were fun to roll through.





Some parts of death valley are at 5,000 feet of elevation and other parts are below sea level. At the top of the hills it was cold and at the bottom it was hot. What a fun ride.





One of the coolest things happened to us in death valley. Some Air Force Jets were flying around the desert practicing. One flew right towards us only 1,000 feet off the ground. The jet tipped it's wing to the right to get a look at us. We threw up our fist in approval and the aircraft turned completely sideways looking right at us before leveling out and speeding over the hill behind us. The force from the jet engine shook the motorcycle and we could feel it through our whole body. It was totally AWESOME!!!

Finally we arrived in our home town. Home Sweet home.







Here is a picture of me going down No Name Lane (right next to H. Clark Powers)






Here is a picture of the Harley all dirty from the long ride. It really needs a bath.







Here is a picture of all the bugs that were splattered along the way...Gross! My favorite splat was a giant bug in Tennessee. It has been a fun trip. I can't wait to see you guys in school.

We made it to Arizona!

Hey kids, Flat Stanley here. Last time I wrote to you we were in Texas riding on the famous Route 66. We have continued to ride this legendary highway and have made our way through New Mexico and half way through Arizona. The riding was beautiful today. White pillow clouds in the blue sky as far as the eye can see. The views are amazing with huge mesas and buttes all around separated by fast flat desert plains.

Here is a picture of us riding on the highway.







We stopped off at the Petrified Forest National Park which is located in the Painted Desert of Arizona. Petrified Forest National Park is known for its fossils, especially of fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic period of the Mesozoic era, about 225 million years ago. During this period, the region that is now the park was near the equator on the southwestern edge of the supercontinent Pangaea, and its climate was humid and sub-tropical. What later became northeastern Arizona was a low plain flanked by mountains to the south and southeast and a sea to the west. Streams flowing across the plain from the highlands deposited inorganic sediment and organic matter, including trees as well as other plants and animals that had entered or fallen into the water. Although most organic matter decays rapidly or is eaten by other organisms, some is buried so quickly that it remains intact and may become fossilized. (source Wikipedia)

Here is a picture of me in front of the painted desert.







Here is a picture of some of the trees that were petrified.

I bought a piece of petrified wood from the gift shop and have sent it to Makaden as a gift. Makaden, please share this piece of petrified wood with your class so they can see how very old trees can be changed into rocks. This piece of wood is over 225 million years old and was around with the dinosaurs! Enjoy. Tomorrow I am going to visit the Grand Canyon. I can't wait. See you all soon. --Flat Stanley

From Oklahoma to Texas on Route 66

Flat Stanley here kids. We have been riding on interstate 40 since Tennessee. We took a ride today on the historic Route 66 which runs from Chicago to California.



The route winds through all these small towns along the way and now I understand why the Pixar movie Cars was made. It all makes sense now. The towns are all almost abandoned. Some of them do show some small signs of revival. Here is an excerpt from the movie so you know what I am talking about.



We are in Amarillo Texas tonight and tomorrow we ride for Albuquerque New Mexico.

From Hershey Pennsylvania to Nashville Tennessee

Hey kids, Flat Stanley here. We have continued our motorcycle ride and have now traveled into West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. This country has so much to see and I am really enjoying my travels.


When we got to Tennessee we took a ride on highway 129 also called the Dragon's Tail. This is a famous place for motorcycle riders. There are 318 curves in 11 miles of highway and it draws motorcycle riders of all types.





This is where all the bikers meet. It is on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. It was a warm sunny day and there were lots of bikers taking this ride.






Here is a picture of me on the tank of our Harley Davidson. It also shows how many other bikers were at the Dragons Tail.






We talked to allot of people and we had a laugh at the tree of shame. This tree has motorcycle parts from all the people who have crashed their motorcycles and left parts of their bikes on the Dragons Tail.





Tennessee is known as the birthplace of country music. The most famous venue for country musicians is called the Grand Ole Opry. We took a tour of this music hall and the people there were very nice to me.





This is a picture of me and Jason in front of a giant Fender Telecaster Guitar.







They let me hang out in the dressing room prior to my big debut.







This is the famous microphone that so many great country singers have used over the years. They were so nice that they let me take my picture up on the stage.






Next we stopped at a Dukes of Hazard shop.









This is me on the famous car the General Lee. Just after we got back from the hotel, a tornado and thunderstorm hit. The power went out in our hotel and the wind was blowing trashcans down the street. One of the ladies that I am traveling with got stuck in an elevator. Tennessee is a great place to visit. Next we are going to Arkansas. The weather should be nice tomorrow. I am having lots of fun and am looking forward to getting back on the road.

Hershey Pennsylvania...The sweetest place on earth.

Hey kids, Flat Stanley here. After lots of planning, we finally hit the road on our Harley Davidson Motorcycle. We rode 400 miles through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York State and Pennsylvania. Click the map for a bigger picture. The ride was very cold and at one point it even started snowing in the Pocono Mountains. But, we made it safe and sound to our destination.

We stopped in Hershey Pennsylvania, home of Hershey Chocolates. The next day I went to Hershey Chocolate World and boy was it sweet! I learned how chocolate candy was made and I was even put to work as a Hershey Employee. They even took my picture and put it on the front of a Hershey Kiss box. I sent a box of my signature chocolates back to Loomis so all you kids can have a taste of Hershey Pennsylvania!

Flat Stanley at the Old North Bridge Concord MA

Took Flat Stanley to the Old North Bridge today. It was a very cold day for us to be riding. Standing still it felt like 14 degrees so you can imagine how it felt at 40 Miles Per Hour on the motorcycle.

The Old North Bridge is where the first battle of the revolutionary war took place. The park was closed but I was able to scramble over a hill and get a video of it. Unfortunately my camera has a wide angle lens so it looks a lot smaller in the video than it did to Flat Stanley and I.

Please read below for a little history on the Old North Bridge.

The residents of Concord erected a memorial obelisk on the east side of the river, the side closest to the town center. On Independence Day, July 4, 1837, the memorial was dedicated, an event for which Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote his "Concord Hymn". The first, and best known, of the four stanzas of this poem is:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.

It is this shot heard round the world that started the revolution. If you listen to the school house rock video again you will see that it is at this bridge that the revolutionaries turned the British soldiers back and fought them all the way back to Boston. What a fitting way to start off our motorcycle trip. Starting where our country was started.

(History provided by Wikipedia)

Makaden's Flat Stanley Project "Massachusetts"

Flat Stanley:

Hi children, Flat Stanley here. I just wanted to tell you how much I am learning about Massachusetts. This place is amazing! Click on the map to see a better picture of where I am right now.

Did you know that Massachusetts is known as "America's Hometown"? Plymouth rock (in Plymouth Massachusetts) is where the Mayflower landed. The Mayflower carried the first European settlers, called pilgrims, to America. Plymouth Massachusetts is also where the holiday Thanksgiving comes from. The early settlers did not have enough food to last the first cold winter. The Native American's provided food for the new settlers and the pilgrims were very thankful.

Not only is Massachusetts the landing site of the first European colonists, but it is also the birthplace of our country as we know it today. This is where the fight for independence first began. Please enjoy this school house rock video that tells the story of the shot heard round the world and the fight for independence.



I am currently at Hanscom Air Force Base which is actually between Lexington and Concord. These towns were in the video you just watched. There is something called the freedom trail that runs from Boston all the way to Concord. This is where the first shots where fired in the revolutionary war. The freedom trail runs right past Hanscom Air Force Base. Every year, there is a re-enactment of the famous march and battle. It starts very early in the morning and the troops march from Boston all the way to Concord and back. It is an amazing way to learn about our rich American History.

Here is to the birthplace of America! Massachusetts, I will never forget my time here. It is been great but it is a little too cold for my Californian blood. I am ready to ride south to warmer weather.

Just a funny video on the United States and British break up with a hip twist ;)

Riding gear for Flat Stanley.

Flat Stanley was getting a little bit tired of his business attire, so we decided to get him some proper motorcycle gear for the trip. Kristin made him some leather chaps, a leather vest, and a half helmet out of the finest materials around (construction paper). I also had him laminated so that he will not get weathered on the trip and fall apart on me. Now he is ready for the road. I can't wait for April.

Nephew Makaden's Flat Stanley Project

My nephew Makaden is doing a school project called Flat Stanley. The purpose of the project is to learn about geography through the use of a chain letter. Normally, you mail Flat Stanley around the country and people send post cards from where they live and describe the history of that geographic location. Instead, I have decided to take Stanley on my motorcycle trip across the country. What better way to learn about America then to motor west on the interstate. I will be blogging Stanley's journey, taking pictures of him in front of significant landmarks and road signs. I plan to deliver Stanley to his class in person after a long trip from Massachusetts to California. Be sure to watch out for Flat Stanley and see how this trip transforms him.