Marisa and I set up camp just outside the south rim about a mile off the main road. It was the perfect plot of land where deer meandered through the field surrounding us. Yet again, we were the only ones wild camping anywhere around. We figured we would make it home base for a couple days, and explore into the park a couple times.
The surrounding area had so many back roads to explore we knew it was a good location to call home.

Above is Marisa, the bike (Peg "short for Pegasus") and our tent set up.
I really haven't introduced Marisa and myself properly... There is a lot to the back ground story, but the long of the short is we saved up for 5 years with the hope that we could roam the world for 3 years on a budget. If anyone has any questions about our gear, or the financing of the trip so far, please just ask and I would love to share as much as I can.

Marisa had already traveled the world extensively in her collage years. Traveling across Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Her stories of the world, and my lack of satisfaction in my 9-5 job; working to live, living to work life inspired us both to start planning a world tour on a motorcycle. The whole story is documented in Maiden Voyage - The Prequel to an Adventure of a Lifetime.. it is not (only) a shameless Amazon book plug, but it does fully explain the who, what, and why that led to the trip we are currently on that I can't fully get into here. The good news is (spoiler alert): We did it!! We quit our jobs, sold all of our possessions, and hit the road for an undetermined amount of time with no return plan, no retirement plan, but most importantly: no regrets!

Above is "Pegasus". Our trusty steed for the journey, a 2014 KTM 1190 Adventure (S). It has served us well over the course of our journey, things have needed maintenance, and some major components have been replaced further along our way south... but overall, I could not be happier with our choice of machinery.

And I of course am Tim Notier. And now as a team, a powerful unit of 2, we are set on exploring the world as far as we can with the amount of money we have.

As we explored Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado, the available amount of gravel back roads began to present themselves frequently. We kept upping the challenges from kind of crappy, to mostly crappy, to full on "I don't know if we'll make it back" roads. I enjoy these challenges, and I like to accept each and every one we could find. Marisa on the other hand enjoys them, but the constant bump and grind without notice (as she can really only see the back of my helmet) takes away some of the charm for her.
She does realize that some of the most beautiful locations are not at the end of a nicely paved road, so she marches on, standing up with me like a proud soldier when we are in tricky off road conditions.
Up to this point, we had been challenged, but the true off roading began in California. We had seen amazing sights already, and we had high expectations for California. The bar was set high, but California did not disappoint.

Up Next: California

Author of 'Maiden Voyage: The Prequel to The Adventure of a Lifetime' motorcycle adventure book