Love is so hard to define......
I could say it it's the softly spoken phrase, "hey, should we go for a ride today?"
Or ......the words, "let's ride Highway 33 to Rock Creek".......even though there was obviously a storm brewing on the horizon.
But love, true love,.......is a look of grim determination and the words , hell no, let's continue on.....even though the temperature dropped to less than 10 degrees at the summit and the cold pouring rain was more reminiscent of November than late August. So, after changing from mesh gear to rainproof over pants, and zipping shut any open vents, we completed a 250 klm/five-hour ride from Summerland, through to Beaverdell and Rock Creek, and back to Summerland.
Or.......... I could say true love, real lasting love, is that most magical of phrases....those quiet words spoken only in the darkest hour - never at five in the afternoon in stark daylight (but hey, we were freezing!) - with a twinkle in the eye and a glass of red wine in hand......"hey, want to join me in the hot tub?"......
Hmmmmmm.....maybe love isn't so hard to define afterall.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
A final thought "Distance is an Illusion"
I can't take credit for saying it because it was part of the presentation from the guy that rode around the world....."distance is just an illusion." When he said it I don't think I fully understood what he was trying to say and even if I did, what it means to him might different for the next person. For me, it all came together this afternoon somewhere between the Oregon border and here. A beautiful stretch of road where the mind can wander and the world somehow comes into perspective.
For me it means understanding here and there, and then and now.
Far too many of us believe "there" is somewhere in the distance. It's the place we want to visit but can't or won't, or some far off land only talked about in the news or around the water cooler. And like the story of sour grapes, very soon "there" must be different. It's not like "here" so it can't be as good. Sometime becomes maybe and often morphs into never. Why would we want to leave "here" when "there" represents the unknown: something different? Something to be feared and avoided?
But whether it's five feet down the road, five blocks across town or the other side of the world, wherever you stop is 'here" and whenever you stop is "now" There is no there, only here and only now. A linear path where each point on the line is yours.
Your path, your place and your time.
And once you embrace this - truly understand it - then the world is yours. You belong. This is my planet, my place, my time. Cultures may be different but we’re all pretty much the same. We want a roof over our head, three squares a day and what’s best for our children. We’re all citizens of the same world.
But with understanding comes responsibility. Things don’t just happen “there” anymore - they happen “here” even if it’s a here that you haven’t yet visited. Whether it’s factory farming in the US or the privatization of water in Bolivia - this is your place and you matter.
Travelers know: distance is an illusion - and like the best slight of hand, it’s only a trick. My challenge to you; pull back the curtain and expose the truth. Experience your own here and now - because "there" should be just a little less frightening.
Cheers!
For me it means understanding here and there, and then and now.
Far too many of us believe "there" is somewhere in the distance. It's the place we want to visit but can't or won't, or some far off land only talked about in the news or around the water cooler. And like the story of sour grapes, very soon "there" must be different. It's not like "here" so it can't be as good. Sometime becomes maybe and often morphs into never. Why would we want to leave "here" when "there" represents the unknown: something different? Something to be feared and avoided?
But whether it's five feet down the road, five blocks across town or the other side of the world, wherever you stop is 'here" and whenever you stop is "now" There is no there, only here and only now. A linear path where each point on the line is yours.
Your path, your place and your time.
And once you embrace this - truly understand it - then the world is yours. You belong. This is my planet, my place, my time. Cultures may be different but we’re all pretty much the same. We want a roof over our head, three squares a day and what’s best for our children. We’re all citizens of the same world.
But with understanding comes responsibility. Things don’t just happen “there” anymore - they happen “here” even if it’s a here that you haven’t yet visited. Whether it’s factory farming in the US or the privatization of water in Bolivia - this is your place and you matter.
Travelers know: distance is an illusion - and like the best slight of hand, it’s only a trick. My challenge to you; pull back the curtain and expose the truth. Experience your own here and now - because "there" should be just a little less frightening.
Cheers!
Day 10, 11 & 12 - Homeward bound.
I’m afraid all good things must come to an end. We got up at the crack of a cold wet dawn yesterday and hit the road for home. And unfortunately living on Vancouver Island once again managed to influence our plans. I know it all too well because I was once there myself. You don’t want to but you can’t help factoring in the Ferry schedule into your plans.
We originally planned on a much more leisurely three-day ride back with short days and afternoons around the pool. The idea was we’d ride together yesterday and today and then part company in the morning (tomorrow) and each make our final push for home. I’m afraid work and family commitments put too pressure on Brad and Kevan though, and they decided to push for home a day early. Brad, to have a much deserved day off before going back to work and Kevan’s been gone almost two weeks when Nakusp is factored in, and he wanted to get home as early as possible. So we rode from Petrolia to Cottage Grove yesterday. It was only 535 klm but after 7 days on the road and too many nights sleeping on the ground that’s all I could accomplish. I was whipped. I actually wanted to quit an hour earlier because I was starting to “zone out” a bit but they wanted to carry on and I didn’t want to be left behind quite that soon so we carried on for another hour. It worked out well. They compromised by stopping earlier than they wanted and we eventually called it a day in Cottage Grove where we enjoyed a soak in the hot tub and swim in the pool. Then the three of us had dinner, swapped pictures on our laptops and we were all in bed and asleep by 9:30.
Today, Brad and Kevan are making a push for the Black Ball Ferry at Port Angeles. It’s only 575n klm so it’s very feasible and should put them into Port Angeles in the early afternoon. Quite likely as I’m typing this they’re both already home. I’m afraid I couldn’t do the same however. It’s 967 klm for me. I arrived in Wenatchee at 3:30, which was nine hours and 672 klm. I seriously debated taking a short power nap in a park and pressing on. It’s only another 300 klm /four hours but if I took off again at four that would mean pulling in at 8:00 and 14 hour day is just silly.- plus it’s not safe. I could have done it on day one or two but not day 11.
So discretion played the better part of valour and I called it a day here in Wenatchee. I’ll get a good nights sleep and hit the road early in the morning and should be home by the time Rosi is home from work at 11:00.
For those so inclined if you check back in a couple days and I’ll post a few pictures when I have a better internet connection.
And finally - a few statistics
Days on the road - 12days/11 nights
Total Mileage - 5,142 klm
Nights in a hotel - 4
Nights camping - 7
Close encounters with a deer - 1 (it was Kevan and it was VERY close!)
We originally planned on a much more leisurely three-day ride back with short days and afternoons around the pool. The idea was we’d ride together yesterday and today and then part company in the morning (tomorrow) and each make our final push for home. I’m afraid work and family commitments put too pressure on Brad and Kevan though, and they decided to push for home a day early. Brad, to have a much deserved day off before going back to work and Kevan’s been gone almost two weeks when Nakusp is factored in, and he wanted to get home as early as possible. So we rode from Petrolia to Cottage Grove yesterday. It was only 535 klm but after 7 days on the road and too many nights sleeping on the ground that’s all I could accomplish. I was whipped. I actually wanted to quit an hour earlier because I was starting to “zone out” a bit but they wanted to carry on and I didn’t want to be left behind quite that soon so we carried on for another hour. It worked out well. They compromised by stopping earlier than they wanted and we eventually called it a day in Cottage Grove where we enjoyed a soak in the hot tub and swim in the pool. Then the three of us had dinner, swapped pictures on our laptops and we were all in bed and asleep by 9:30.
Today, Brad and Kevan are making a push for the Black Ball Ferry at Port Angeles. It’s only 575n klm so it’s very feasible and should put them into Port Angeles in the early afternoon. Quite likely as I’m typing this they’re both already home. I’m afraid I couldn’t do the same however. It’s 967 klm for me. I arrived in Wenatchee at 3:30, which was nine hours and 672 klm. I seriously debated taking a short power nap in a park and pressing on. It’s only another 300 klm /four hours but if I took off again at four that would mean pulling in at 8:00 and 14 hour day is just silly.- plus it’s not safe. I could have done it on day one or two but not day 11.
So discretion played the better part of valour and I called it a day here in Wenatchee. I’ll get a good nights sleep and hit the road early in the morning and should be home by the time Rosi is home from work at 11:00.
For those so inclined if you check back in a couple days and I’ll post a few pictures when I have a better internet connection.
And finally - a few statistics
Days on the road - 12days/11 nights
Total Mileage - 5,142 klm
Nights in a hotel - 4
Nights camping - 7
Close encounters with a deer - 1 (it was Kevan and it was VERY close!)
Day 7, 8 & 9 Eureka CA and Petrolia CA
Redding to Eureka to Petrolia
Day 7
The ride to Eureka was great. We left Redding around 7:00 because we needed to get an early start so I could stop at 8:30 to call in to a conference call for a project I’m working on. It was decidedly brisk in the morning - around 10 - and became even cooler as we rode through the mountains on the way to the coast. There was light fog in places but as the morning wore on the fog burned off and it was another fantastic California morning. Great roads, thick forests, and sweeping vistas of valleys and mountains - I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record but it was pretty amazing. We arrived into Eureka around 12:00, found a nice hotel and met Kevan at the motorcycle shop around 1:00.
Eureka is a small city/large town on the coast and is definitely down on its luck. There was an undercurrent of despair in the air and lots of boarded up businesses - with the prevailing business venture leaning toward the pawn shop variety. Kind of a cross between Vancouver's downtown east side and Parksville on Vancouver Island. It was good to have a full afternoon off the bikes though. We had a great swim in the hotel pool, caught up on some laundry, drank a few cervesa's and had a wild night on the town - that is until we all turned in 10:30, lest we turn into pumpkins.
Day 8
We picked up my bike at the shop as soon as it opened and then rode the 1 ½ hours into Petrolia and it was VERY cold at first. When we left at 9:00 there was thick fog, light misty rain and it was somewhere around 10 degrees - What the heck?! It was more like Victoria or Nanaimo in February than what we thought we’d find in California but any ride is a good ride so it was all good. It was foggy for the first hour but then things got REALLY interesting. At first the highway hugged the ocean but it then it ran inland for a bit before turning off at Fernwood for Petrolia. At that point it gets pretty amazing (sorry - I know, amazing again) for a while. After the turnoff the road climbs sharply and we spent 40 minutes on one of the craziest, most scenic drives I’ve been on in a very long while. And don’t take my word for it - ask Kevan and Brad. We climbed steep - very steep and very sharp - switchbacks through mountains that ranged from thick wet rain forests to open grassland hills similar to Rock Creek but just with much steeper terrain, and alternated though thick cold blowing fog and bright sunshine. We eventually made our way to the other side and dropped down another very steep and sharp series of switchbacks that dropped us to a wide shoreline of rangeland, small dunes and rocky, craggy shoreline - and a working cattle ranch complete with range cows. It was surreal. Imaging breaking over the dunes at Tofino and being faced with a large herd of cattle - I don’t know why but it felt a little weird. We climbed back up the other side and did the whole thing over again until eventually being spit out in the small (AKA one general store and the Grange Hall) town of Petrolia. Think Cheesaw except with thicker, lusher forest and you’ll have the right idea.
Day 9
We arrived yesterday afternoon to blinding sunshine and a beautiful mountain setting. We got signed in, set up our tents and basically hung out until the presentations started in the evening. For those of you that don’t know, Horizons Unlimited is a website and loose affiliation of adventure motorcycle travelers from around the world and they hold a doz or so rallies each year in different countries. I won’t go into to it too much here but if you’re interested check it out at www.horizonsunlimited.com. The emphasis is on travel, not the means and it’s pretty humbling to sit through a slide show presentation of a couples round-the-world trip on a motorcycle when the average age of the traveler is well into their fifties or sixties and often beyond. There were ~ 50 or so attendees from all walks of life and all ages but the demographic definitely leaned to the “grey power” side of things
Saturday was a full day of presentations and tech clinics with the only draw back being that the day started cold and wet - thank you California sea air! - and stayed cool well into the late afternoon. The highlight had to be the hour and half roadside repair tech clinic put on by Kevan. He did an incredible job and the crowd really appreciated it. KUDOS BUFF!
The evenings presenters included a guy from silicon valley that packed it in early to travel the world, a women who rode her motorcycle through China - twice! - and another women traveling the world in a surplus police van with her two dogs. The final keynote speaker (keynote implies something fancy though, so please bear in mind we were all in jeans and the meeting was held in the Grange Hall ) was a guy from Turkey that took a six month leave and traveled the word on his Suzuki Vstrom. All pretty heady stuff for a closet adventurer like myself.
All in all a great day and a great event - well worth the price of admission :-)
Day 7
The ride to Eureka was great. We left Redding around 7:00 because we needed to get an early start so I could stop at 8:30 to call in to a conference call for a project I’m working on. It was decidedly brisk in the morning - around 10 - and became even cooler as we rode through the mountains on the way to the coast. There was light fog in places but as the morning wore on the fog burned off and it was another fantastic California morning. Great roads, thick forests, and sweeping vistas of valleys and mountains - I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record but it was pretty amazing. We arrived into Eureka around 12:00, found a nice hotel and met Kevan at the motorcycle shop around 1:00.
Eureka is a small city/large town on the coast and is definitely down on its luck. There was an undercurrent of despair in the air and lots of boarded up businesses - with the prevailing business venture leaning toward the pawn shop variety. Kind of a cross between Vancouver's downtown east side and Parksville on Vancouver Island. It was good to have a full afternoon off the bikes though. We had a great swim in the hotel pool, caught up on some laundry, drank a few cervesa's and had a wild night on the town - that is until we all turned in 10:30, lest we turn into pumpkins.
Day 8
We picked up my bike at the shop as soon as it opened and then rode the 1 ½ hours into Petrolia and it was VERY cold at first. When we left at 9:00 there was thick fog, light misty rain and it was somewhere around 10 degrees - What the heck?! It was more like Victoria or Nanaimo in February than what we thought we’d find in California but any ride is a good ride so it was all good. It was foggy for the first hour but then things got REALLY interesting. At first the highway hugged the ocean but it then it ran inland for a bit before turning off at Fernwood for Petrolia. At that point it gets pretty amazing (sorry - I know, amazing again) for a while. After the turnoff the road climbs sharply and we spent 40 minutes on one of the craziest, most scenic drives I’ve been on in a very long while. And don’t take my word for it - ask Kevan and Brad. We climbed steep - very steep and very sharp - switchbacks through mountains that ranged from thick wet rain forests to open grassland hills similar to Rock Creek but just with much steeper terrain, and alternated though thick cold blowing fog and bright sunshine. We eventually made our way to the other side and dropped down another very steep and sharp series of switchbacks that dropped us to a wide shoreline of rangeland, small dunes and rocky, craggy shoreline - and a working cattle ranch complete with range cows. It was surreal. Imaging breaking over the dunes at Tofino and being faced with a large herd of cattle - I don’t know why but it felt a little weird. We climbed back up the other side and did the whole thing over again until eventually being spit out in the small (AKA one general store and the Grange Hall) town of Petrolia. Think Cheesaw except with thicker, lusher forest and you’ll have the right idea.
Day 9
We arrived yesterday afternoon to blinding sunshine and a beautiful mountain setting. We got signed in, set up our tents and basically hung out until the presentations started in the evening. For those of you that don’t know, Horizons Unlimited is a website and loose affiliation of adventure motorcycle travelers from around the world and they hold a doz or so rallies each year in different countries. I won’t go into to it too much here but if you’re interested check it out at www.horizonsunlimited.com. The emphasis is on travel, not the means and it’s pretty humbling to sit through a slide show presentation of a couples round-the-world trip on a motorcycle when the average age of the traveler is well into their fifties or sixties and often beyond. There were ~ 50 or so attendees from all walks of life and all ages but the demographic definitely leaned to the “grey power” side of things
Saturday was a full day of presentations and tech clinics with the only draw back being that the day started cold and wet - thank you California sea air! - and stayed cool well into the late afternoon. The highlight had to be the hour and half roadside repair tech clinic put on by Kevan. He did an incredible job and the crowd really appreciated it. KUDOS BUFF!
The evenings presenters included a guy from silicon valley that packed it in early to travel the world, a women who rode her motorcycle through China - twice! - and another women traveling the world in a surplus police van with her two dogs. The final keynote speaker (keynote implies something fancy though, so please bear in mind we were all in jeans and the meeting was held in the Grange Hall ) was a guy from Turkey that took a six month leave and traveled the word on his Suzuki Vstrom. All pretty heady stuff for a closet adventurer like myself.
All in all a great day and a great event - well worth the price of admission :-)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Day 6 - California
Greetings from Redding California!
I won’t get all cheesy and say it was nirvana again but it was a really, really good day of riding! We spent the night in a very nice river-front park in Homedale Idaho and took advantage of the amenities to have a leisurly coffee and shower etc before hitting the road around 8:00 Central time. Within the first hour we crossed into Oregon and the next few hours were great. Very nice scenery, low hills, sweeping curves and little traffic. It was also like Idaho for a while, in that there was lots of agriculture with farms and huge ground crops. Eventually though, we hit the part of Oregon that more resembles Nevada than anything else. Pretty much miles and miles of miles and miles. Straight stretches of 15 klm or more, desert landscape and that disconcerting feeling that if one were to break down all they would find is your dried up bones somewhere along the side of the road.
Bike don’t fail me now!
The amazing thing about a trip like this though is how much ground you can cover and how much you can see along the way. By mid afternoon we crossed into California and started to see evergreen forests and Mt Shasta in the distance.
We also put on more miles than we planned. It’s all well and good to say you’re going to call it an early day but if the magic number of klm turns out to be the middle of nowhere you might as well keep going…..and so on and so on…..until eventually you hit 800 klm and 11 hours - like today - but it’s all part of the game!
Tomorrow we’re detouring to Eureka California because I have to install a new chain. I didn’t think I’d need to until I finished the trip but it’s stretching quite a bit and I can’t take up any more slack by adjusting the tension. It doesn’t owe me anything though. The average for a chain is 25,000 - 40,000 and I’m now at 32,000 and I push my bike hard. Just because the bike is capable of what I ask of it doesn’t mean it’s designed for it. I’m afraid Mr Suzuki didn’t think anyone would be crazy enough to ride for 800 klm at a stretch - at an average of 140 kph- for days on end!
I won’t get all cheesy and say it was nirvana again but it was a really, really good day of riding! We spent the night in a very nice river-front park in Homedale Idaho and took advantage of the amenities to have a leisurly coffee and shower etc before hitting the road around 8:00 Central time. Within the first hour we crossed into Oregon and the next few hours were great. Very nice scenery, low hills, sweeping curves and little traffic. It was also like Idaho for a while, in that there was lots of agriculture with farms and huge ground crops. Eventually though, we hit the part of Oregon that more resembles Nevada than anything else. Pretty much miles and miles of miles and miles. Straight stretches of 15 klm or more, desert landscape and that disconcerting feeling that if one were to break down all they would find is your dried up bones somewhere along the side of the road.
Bike don’t fail me now!
The amazing thing about a trip like this though is how much ground you can cover and how much you can see along the way. By mid afternoon we crossed into California and started to see evergreen forests and Mt Shasta in the distance.
We also put on more miles than we planned. It’s all well and good to say you’re going to call it an early day but if the magic number of klm turns out to be the middle of nowhere you might as well keep going…..and so on and so on…..until eventually you hit 800 klm and 11 hours - like today - but it’s all part of the game!
Tomorrow we’re detouring to Eureka California because I have to install a new chain. I didn’t think I’d need to until I finished the trip but it’s stretching quite a bit and I can’t take up any more slack by adjusting the tension. It doesn’t owe me anything though. The average for a chain is 25,000 - 40,000 and I’m now at 32,000 and I push my bike hard. Just because the bike is capable of what I ask of it doesn’t mean it’s designed for it. I’m afraid Mr Suzuki didn’t think anyone would be crazy enough to ride for 800 klm at a stretch - at an average of 140 kph- for days on end!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Day Five - Idaho
Day Five - Idaho
Today was just one of those good days. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing untoward - just a good day of riding. It was a little chilly when we left around 7:45 but by
10:OO it was warm enough to peel off most of our wind breaker layers and by 11:00 it was good and hot. We stopped for an hour along the way to tour the Craters of the Moon National Monument, which was VERY cool (I’m sorry, but the Americans do this kind of thing really well) and then we continued on one of Idaho’s secondary highways to Boise. There was very little traffic and we were able to make some good time. AKA VERY spirited riding! There was only one short bit of excitement when we decided we didn’t need gas when we should have filled up and then didn’t see a gas station for WAY longer than we thought. We were both on fumes when we finally pulled into a station. Our bikes have 22 litre tanks and we both took just over 21 litres so we didn’t have much left.
We also ran into some heavy traffic because at the last minute we decided to pop onto the Interstate which we thought would be quicker - not! There was an accident and it was rush hours o what should have been 45 minutes turned into three hours. Oh well, because of the spontaneity we ended up here in Homedale at a beautiful small campground on the shore of the Snake River. It’s one of the prettiest spots I’ve seen for camping in along time. Good thing too - it was 97 in the shade when we got here and we didn’t have a lot of energy to go much further.
Today’s mileage - 600 klm
A good day!
Cheers
Today was just one of those good days. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing untoward - just a good day of riding. It was a little chilly when we left around 7:45 but by
10:OO it was warm enough to peel off most of our wind breaker layers and by 11:00 it was good and hot. We stopped for an hour along the way to tour the Craters of the Moon National Monument, which was VERY cool (I’m sorry, but the Americans do this kind of thing really well) and then we continued on one of Idaho’s secondary highways to Boise. There was very little traffic and we were able to make some good time. AKA VERY spirited riding! There was only one short bit of excitement when we decided we didn’t need gas when we should have filled up and then didn’t see a gas station for WAY longer than we thought. We were both on fumes when we finally pulled into a station. Our bikes have 22 litre tanks and we both took just over 21 litres so we didn’t have much left.
We also ran into some heavy traffic because at the last minute we decided to pop onto the Interstate which we thought would be quicker - not! There was an accident and it was rush hours o what should have been 45 minutes turned into three hours. Oh well, because of the spontaneity we ended up here in Homedale at a beautiful small campground on the shore of the Snake River. It’s one of the prettiest spots I’ve seen for camping in along time. Good thing too - it was 97 in the shade when we got here and we didn’t have a lot of energy to go much further.
Today’s mileage - 600 klm
A good day!
Cheers
Day Four - Yellowstone
It’s been a VERY long day and I’m exhausted so this will be brief…but that’s NOT a reflection of the day we spent in Yellowstone. In a word - so often repeated, sorry - it was AMAZING.
First, Yellowstone is HUGE! We spent the whole day touring the park - an eleven hour day in total - and we covered approx 300 klm but we barely scratched the surface. We saw all the highlights, though: Old Faithful, LOTS of other geysers and various hot springs, some small and some the size of football fields, huge herds of Bison, a herd of Elk, and a moose. The Bison were the high point though. We saw a huge herd from a distance - easily in the thousands - but a smaller herd crossed the road right in front of us - literally five feet away. It was VERY cool but more than a little frightening since they easily outweighed our bikes two-to-one.
Yellowstone has pretty much every different type of topography you can imagine. High mountain passes (we crossed the continental divide three times, ranging from 8,200 - 8,700 feet.) mountains, huge valley’s, alpine meadow and more lush forest than you can shake a stick at. And the weather was all over the map!
Last night was cold, very cold! It was only two degrees this morning when we got up but during the day we hit temperatures in the 30’s and everything in between. And when we left the park this evening for our run to Idaho we hit a huge rain storm with lightening and hail!
There was only one down side to the whole experience. Yellowstone is one of America’s most popular parks - which is it’s Achilles Heel. It wasn’t too bad in the morning but by mid-afternoon it was bumper-to-bumper. I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like on a busy long week-end. And the crowds at some of the attractions were beyond belief. I hate crowds so I’m afraid it really took away from the experience at the end but such is life.
We left the park around 6:00 and made a short run into Idaho just to leave the crowds behind. It was that bad. By the time we left the park we didn’t even want to stay in West Yellowstone - just too much going on and WAY too touristy. So here we are in Ashton Idaho, population ~500. Because we rode through a short but really bad rain and hail storm to get here there’s no camping tonight!
Tomorrow the journey continues…..
First, Yellowstone is HUGE! We spent the whole day touring the park - an eleven hour day in total - and we covered approx 300 klm but we barely scratched the surface. We saw all the highlights, though: Old Faithful, LOTS of other geysers and various hot springs, some small and some the size of football fields, huge herds of Bison, a herd of Elk, and a moose. The Bison were the high point though. We saw a huge herd from a distance - easily in the thousands - but a smaller herd crossed the road right in front of us - literally five feet away. It was VERY cool but more than a little frightening since they easily outweighed our bikes two-to-one.
Yellowstone has pretty much every different type of topography you can imagine. High mountain passes (we crossed the continental divide three times, ranging from 8,200 - 8,700 feet.) mountains, huge valley’s, alpine meadow and more lush forest than you can shake a stick at. And the weather was all over the map!
Last night was cold, very cold! It was only two degrees this morning when we got up but during the day we hit temperatures in the 30’s and everything in between. And when we left the park this evening for our run to Idaho we hit a huge rain storm with lightening and hail!
There was only one down side to the whole experience. Yellowstone is one of America’s most popular parks - which is it’s Achilles Heel. It wasn’t too bad in the morning but by mid-afternoon it was bumper-to-bumper. I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like on a busy long week-end. And the crowds at some of the attractions were beyond belief. I hate crowds so I’m afraid it really took away from the experience at the end but such is life.
We left the park around 6:00 and made a short run into Idaho just to leave the crowds behind. It was that bad. By the time we left the park we didn’t even want to stay in West Yellowstone - just too much going on and WAY too touristy. So here we are in Ashton Idaho, population ~500. Because we rode through a short but really bad rain and hail storm to get here there’s no camping tonight!
Tomorrow the journey continues…..
Monday, August 16, 2010
Day 3
Note to anyone reading this, please be understanding. My laptop has taken a beating and a few of the keys aren’t working :- ) If I say I’m having a rate time, you’ll have to use your imagination. Luckily spell check catches it most of the time.
So here we are, greetings from West Yellowstone Montana - the gateway to Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming USA.
And you guessed it, I spoke to soon - the gods smiled, the stars aligned and if anything, the roads only became better. We left Lowell and followed the L&C Byway for another 100 klm or so. It was cold and foggy at first but VERY beautiful - stunning would be an understatement. The road hugged the shore of a quiet river on one side and towering mountains on the other, and twisted and turned it’s way to perfection. At the end of the river we climbed to > 7,200 and we crested the LoLo Pass, where we stopped for a hearty breakfast at a great fishing/hunting lodge in the heart of the forest.
From there we crossed into Montana which was VERY cool in it’s own right, if for no other reason than the speed limit increases to 75 mph - Buenos!
Montana is Big Sky Country and it comes by the slogan honestly. Without exaggerating, some of the scenery is spectacular! Beautiful mountain vistas and wide open spaces - but without the desolation of rural Nevada (but then, isn’t all of Nevada rural? ) The road was amazing! At one point we dropped out of a high mountain pass into a wide valley bottom with rolling hills and HUGE cattle ranches as far as the eye could see. Montana is lakes, rivers and ranches - and all of it’s simply amazing. Well worth the price of admission!
So here we are, a KOA campsite that’s so big it’s like a small town unto itself. Kids everywhere but clean showers, an on-site cafeteria and electricity at the tent sites. It’s not our regular thing but when you show up with no reservations at the main gate of the most popular park in America, you soon learn to compromise
:- )
Yesterday (Day Three) was 715 klm of great riding, great company and new experiences. It’s now 6:00am on Monday and as I type this there’s a god awful roar in the background - really loud and closer than I’d like! - that I assume is Moose or Elk and last night around 3:00 there were wolves howling in the distance. And all this on top of the dire warnings throughout the park about bears. There’s a women next to us that is sleeping in her car because a bear walked right up to her tent the night before. Hmmmmm maybe paying the extra 50 for a cabin wouldn’t be such a bad idea !
That’s it for now - today we’re off to Yellowstone!
Cheers
So here we are, greetings from West Yellowstone Montana - the gateway to Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming USA.
And you guessed it, I spoke to soon - the gods smiled, the stars aligned and if anything, the roads only became better. We left Lowell and followed the L&C Byway for another 100 klm or so. It was cold and foggy at first but VERY beautiful - stunning would be an understatement. The road hugged the shore of a quiet river on one side and towering mountains on the other, and twisted and turned it’s way to perfection. At the end of the river we climbed to > 7,200 and we crested the LoLo Pass, where we stopped for a hearty breakfast at a great fishing/hunting lodge in the heart of the forest.
From there we crossed into Montana which was VERY cool in it’s own right, if for no other reason than the speed limit increases to 75 mph - Buenos!
Montana is Big Sky Country and it comes by the slogan honestly. Without exaggerating, some of the scenery is spectacular! Beautiful mountain vistas and wide open spaces - but without the desolation of rural Nevada (but then, isn’t all of Nevada rural? ) The road was amazing! At one point we dropped out of a high mountain pass into a wide valley bottom with rolling hills and HUGE cattle ranches as far as the eye could see. Montana is lakes, rivers and ranches - and all of it’s simply amazing. Well worth the price of admission!
So here we are, a KOA campsite that’s so big it’s like a small town unto itself. Kids everywhere but clean showers, an on-site cafeteria and electricity at the tent sites. It’s not our regular thing but when you show up with no reservations at the main gate of the most popular park in America, you soon learn to compromise
:- )
Yesterday (Day Three) was 715 klm of great riding, great company and new experiences. It’s now 6:00am on Monday and as I type this there’s a god awful roar in the background - really loud and closer than I’d like! - that I assume is Moose or Elk and last night around 3:00 there were wolves howling in the distance. And all this on top of the dire warnings throughout the park about bears. There’s a women next to us that is sleeping in her car because a bear walked right up to her tent the night before. Hmmmmm maybe paying the extra 50 for a cabin wouldn’t be such a bad idea !
That’s it for now - today we’re off to Yellowstone!
Cheers
Day 1 & 2
Day One - Two
Summerland - Wenatchee - Three Rivers Campground, Lowell ID
Every time I go on a trip or an adventure I look for that one magic moment. That one time and place where everything comes together; the stars align and for one fleeting moment it’s perfection. A time and place to be locked away in your memory forever; to be later brought out of that closet you keep buried in the far recesses of your mind to remind you that it wasn’t a dream and yes, these things really happened.
But what if you find this place on day one of what’s still to be a twelve day adventure? Is it real? Is it true? Do you lock it away - and if you do, does that somehow take up space that should be used at a later date just in case you’re wrong?
I don’t know the answer but I do know this - if there’s a better stretch of road still to come on this journey it’ll have to be something only the gods can design for a motorcyclist to be able compete with the Lewis and Clarke Scenic Byway of Northern Idaho.
I left Summerland yesterday and rode for approx 300 klm to join Brad in Wenatchee WA. It was a typical hot Okanagan summer day and uneventful - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing sometimes. It ranged from hot to absolutely stink’n hot by the time I arrived but nothing I couldn’t handle and nothing out of the ordinary. We tend to complain these days when it gets over 35 but we have to remind ourselves that it’s summer in the Okanagan and it’s supposed to be hot; suck it up butter cup!
The first half of today was more of the same. It was pleasant enough when we rolled out of the parking lot at 7:45 but by 10:00 the temperatures started to climb. At one point we went through a small town in south east Washington and a sidewalk sign said it was 94F. And speaking of which, what’s with the “Evergreen State”? I’m guessing the guy that thought up that motto didn’t ride through the part of Washington I was in today. It’s more like eastern Oregon: bare ass prairie, wheat fields, dust storms, LOT’s of wind and generally miles and miles of miles and miles.
But then something magical happens; you cross into Idaho. If it’s possible to draw a line in the ground that matches a line on a map this is it. The road climbs, the temperature drops and for over 100 klm the road hugs a beautiful river. Wheat fields give way to lush green pine forest, blinding sunshine changes to sun dappled shade and for those of us so inclined, the riding takes on a spirited nature. OK - spirited might also be read as WooHOO, we’re flying now! - but it was heaven!
So here we are, a nice family run campground on the shore of a meandering river. In the morning we climb to > 7,200 feet as we cross the LoLo pass and cross into Montana.
Day One - 300 klm
Day Two (today) - 542 klm (It felt like a lot more though because of the heat!)
Cheers
Day Three
Note to anyone reading this, please be understanding. My laptop has taken a beating and a few of the keys aren’t working :- ) If I say I’m having a rate time, you’ll have to use your imagination. Luckily spell check catches it most of the time.
So here we are, greetings from West Yellowstone Montana - the gateway to Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming USA.
And you guessed it, I spoke to soon - the gods smiled, the stars aligned and if anything, the roads only became better. We left Lowell and followed the L&C Byway for another 100 klm or so. It was cold and foggy at first but VERY beautiful - stunning would be an understatement. . The road hugged the shore of a quiet river on one side and towering mountains on the other, and twisted and turned it’s way to perfection. At the end of the river we climbed to > 7,200 and we crested the LoLo Pass, where we stopped for a hearty breakfast at a great fishing/hunting lodge in the heart of the forest.
From there we crossed into Montana which was VERY cool in it’s own right, if for no other reason than the speed limit increases to 75 mph - Buenos!
Montana is Big Sky Country and it comes by the slogan honestly. Without exaggerating, some of the scenery is spectacular! Beautiful mountain vistas and wide open spaces - but without the desolation of rural Nevada (but then, isn’t all of Nevada rural? ) The road was amazing! At one point we dropped out of a high mountain pass into a wide valley bottom with rolling hills and HUGE cattle ranches as far as the eye could see. Montana is lakes, rivers and ranches - and all of it’s simply amazing. Well worth the price of admission!
So here we are, a KOA campsite that’s so big it’s like a small town unto itself. Kids everywhere but clean showers, an on-site cafeteria and electricity at the tent sites. It’s not our regular thing but when you show up with no reservations at the main gate of the most popular park in America, you soon learn to compromise
:- )
Summerland - Wenatchee - Three Rivers Campground, Lowell ID
Every time I go on a trip or an adventure I look for that one magic moment. That one time and place where everything comes together; the stars align and for one fleeting moment it’s perfection. A time and place to be locked away in your memory forever; to be later brought out of that closet you keep buried in the far recesses of your mind to remind you that it wasn’t a dream and yes, these things really happened.
But what if you find this place on day one of what’s still to be a twelve day adventure? Is it real? Is it true? Do you lock it away - and if you do, does that somehow take up space that should be used at a later date just in case you’re wrong?
I don’t know the answer but I do know this - if there’s a better stretch of road still to come on this journey it’ll have to be something only the gods can design for a motorcyclist to be able compete with the Lewis and Clarke Scenic Byway of Northern Idaho.
I left Summerland yesterday and rode for approx 300 klm to join Brad in Wenatchee WA. It was a typical hot Okanagan summer day and uneventful - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing sometimes. It ranged from hot to absolutely stink’n hot by the time I arrived but nothing I couldn’t handle and nothing out of the ordinary. We tend to complain these days when it gets over 35 but we have to remind ourselves that it’s summer in the Okanagan and it’s supposed to be hot; suck it up butter cup!
The first half of today was more of the same. It was pleasant enough when we rolled out of the parking lot at 7:45 but by 10:00 the temperatures started to climb. At one point we went through a small town in south east Washington and a sidewalk sign said it was 94F. And speaking of which, what’s with the “Evergreen State”? I’m guessing the guy that thought up that motto didn’t ride through the part of Washington I was in today. It’s more like eastern Oregon: bare ass prairie, wheat fields, dust storms, LOT’s of wind and generally miles and miles of miles and miles.
But then something magical happens; you cross into Idaho. If it’s possible to draw a line in the ground that matches a line on a map this is it. The road climbs, the temperature drops and for over 100 klm the road hugs a beautiful river. Wheat fields give way to lush green pine forest, blinding sunshine changes to sun dappled shade and for those of us so inclined, the riding takes on a spirited nature. OK - spirited might also be read as WooHOO, we’re flying now! - but it was heaven!
So here we are, a nice family run campground on the shore of a meandering river. In the morning we climb to > 7,200 feet as we cross the LoLo pass and cross into Montana.
Day One - 300 klm
Day Two (today) - 542 klm (It felt like a lot more though because of the heat!)
Cheers
Day Three
Note to anyone reading this, please be understanding. My laptop has taken a beating and a few of the keys aren’t working :- ) If I say I’m having a rate time, you’ll have to use your imagination. Luckily spell check catches it most of the time.
So here we are, greetings from West Yellowstone Montana - the gateway to Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming USA.
And you guessed it, I spoke to soon - the gods smiled, the stars aligned and if anything, the roads only became better. We left Lowell and followed the L&C Byway for another 100 klm or so. It was cold and foggy at first but VERY beautiful - stunning would be an understatement. . The road hugged the shore of a quiet river on one side and towering mountains on the other, and twisted and turned it’s way to perfection. At the end of the river we climbed to > 7,200 and we crested the LoLo Pass, where we stopped for a hearty breakfast at a great fishing/hunting lodge in the heart of the forest.
From there we crossed into Montana which was VERY cool in it’s own right, if for no other reason than the speed limit increases to 75 mph - Buenos!
Montana is Big Sky Country and it comes by the slogan honestly. Without exaggerating, some of the scenery is spectacular! Beautiful mountain vistas and wide open spaces - but without the desolation of rural Nevada (but then, isn’t all of Nevada rural? ) The road was amazing! At one point we dropped out of a high mountain pass into a wide valley bottom with rolling hills and HUGE cattle ranches as far as the eye could see. Montana is lakes, rivers and ranches - and all of it’s simply amazing. Well worth the price of admission!
So here we are, a KOA campsite that’s so big it’s like a small town unto itself. Kids everywhere but clean showers, an on-site cafeteria and electricity at the tent sites. It’s not our regular thing but when you show up with no reservations at the main gate of the most popular park in America, you soon learn to compromise
:- )
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Same ol same ol
Not much new to report I'm afraid........
except of course, the freak'n AWESOME gift my wife gave me for my birthday!!
(I turned fifty four months ago but we were too busy for any kind of celebration at the time so instead, Rosi organized a party two weeks ago.) And my wife, bless her soul, saw something in a magazine almost five years ago that was advertised as the perfect "guy" gift; a half-day flight school experience at Fighter Combat International. http://www.fightercombat.com/air-combat/advanced-air-combat-mission/
It's a half-day experience that includes ground school, an hour in the air and a debriefing after - and the best part? I get to actually fly mock combat missions against other students! I get to fly! How cool is that!
But that's still a few months away. In the interim I'm working full-time on a project for a Toronto education company that will keep me busy through to September. It's not all work though: in less than two weeks I finally get to leave on the road trip I've been planning with Brad since we got back from Phoenix. On Friday, Aug 13th (yikes!) I'm meeting Brad in Wenatchee and from there we're heading out on a 12-day road trip that should take us in a big clock-wise circle through Yellowstone and then Utah, Nevada and Northern California. I'm giving a presentation at the Horizon's meeting in Petrollia California and then we're riding back home via the Oregon and Washington coasts on the Pacific Coast Highway.
I've got all my gear ready and most of the prep is done so not much to report from that perspective. I'll be taking my laptop so I can update the blog and download a few pictures along the way - plus Brad gave me a new helmet cam so I can add a few video clips as well.
That's it for now - more to follow once I hit the road in less than two weeks!
Cheers
except of course, the freak'n AWESOME gift my wife gave me for my birthday!!
(I turned fifty four months ago but we were too busy for any kind of celebration at the time so instead, Rosi organized a party two weeks ago.) And my wife, bless her soul, saw something in a magazine almost five years ago that was advertised as the perfect "guy" gift; a half-day flight school experience at Fighter Combat International. http://www.fightercombat.com/air-combat/advanced-air-combat-mission/
It's a half-day experience that includes ground school, an hour in the air and a debriefing after - and the best part? I get to actually fly mock combat missions against other students! I get to fly! How cool is that!
But that's still a few months away. In the interim I'm working full-time on a project for a Toronto education company that will keep me busy through to September. It's not all work though: in less than two weeks I finally get to leave on the road trip I've been planning with Brad since we got back from Phoenix. On Friday, Aug 13th (yikes!) I'm meeting Brad in Wenatchee and from there we're heading out on a 12-day road trip that should take us in a big clock-wise circle through Yellowstone and then Utah, Nevada and Northern California. I'm giving a presentation at the Horizon's meeting in Petrollia California and then we're riding back home via the Oregon and Washington coasts on the Pacific Coast Highway.
I've got all my gear ready and most of the prep is done so not much to report from that perspective. I'll be taking my laptop so I can update the blog and download a few pictures along the way - plus Brad gave me a new helmet cam so I can add a few video clips as well.
That's it for now - more to follow once I hit the road in less than two weeks!
Cheers
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