American Walkabout

Sweet Home Georgia

2008-11-22T21:15:00.005-05:00

I know I need to update the in between dates from my post on Oct 31 but for now I've made it home, just in time for Thanksgiving. After nearly 6 months and just about 12,000 miles I've done a complete circle of the US, missing only a few states and enjoying the entire trip immensely. When I left the trees were green and it was 85F. Tonight when I got in from Nashville it was 35F and no leaves left.

The truck, motorcycle and I all got home relatively unscathed and in better mental and physical condition than when I left. My motorcycle carrying rack didn't fare so well, although it did get home, albeit with broken bolts and bent metal, caused by the road from Natural Bridges to Canyonlands National Park - not as much a road as a steep 4x4 trail.

Thanks to everyone I met and everyone who helped me along the way. I'm already planning the next adventure, just not sure to where yet.....Any suggestions will be considered, especially ones that come with a warm bed and/or funding.

Namaste, Drew.

The Ophir Pass - Colorado's Best

2008-11-01T12:37:00.000-04:00

Having spent a most enjoyable night with Allen by the Lake, Saturday morning was the drive to Durango. The Olmstead's, who I was to meet and stay with in Durango had advised strongly against driving the Ophir Pass at all, and DEFINITELY not at night. Clearly they didn't know me yet.

Heading off around 9am it was cold but sunny. The drive began normally enough with decent signage. Shortly into the trip the road turned to dirt, normal enough, and then a very small sign stated, "Ophir Pass Closed". I didn't want to believe it as a detour would add several hours to the journey to Durango, pretty much directly on the other side of the 13,000ft mountains I was trying to traverse. What the hell - it hadn't been snowing recently and it couldn't be any worse than the other roads I'd driven recently.

Well, I made it but it was challenging to say the least. Heading over 10,000ft the road became icy, snowy and VERY bumpy. A 4x4 trail for sure. As I turned a sharp left corner nearing the slightly over 11,000 ft pass, my right hand wheels hit thick ice and I started sliding backwards, towards the edge of a very deadly precipice. Had it not been for the rear differential lock in the Tacoma I wouldn't be writing this now. Hitting that button stopped the wheels spinning and allowed the left wheels to pull me up. Needless to say my heart was pumping. Of course the views were phenomenal.

The next little piece of excitement happened just on the other side of the pass when a full size Chevy (with a woman in hunting orange driving alone) and I came face to face. The pass is barely wide enough for a single vehicle so passing each other was going to be tough. We both thought about it for a while. I reversed a few feet very close to the edge and she drove two wheels up the side of the mountain. As she passed I warned of the ice below that her Chevy would have no chance at. She was just going to see the view from the top - could've told me that before I nearly backed over the edge.

Believe it or not the Pass is only 13 miles from one side to the other and well worth the drive, not only as a great time saver from Telluride to Durango but for the exhilaration, although probably safer in summer. Apparently the sign saying closed didn't mean it because there appeared to be no way to actually close the road. I guess it was just a suggestion :-)

Telluride - What a Ride

2008-10-31T23:11:00.003-04:00

Unplanned stops - they're always the best. On the suggestion of my host in Moab, I took the less travelled route toward Mesa Verde (one that was in the opposite direction). A beautiful mountain drive got me to Telluride, CO in about 3 hours. Angelo, my preplanned couch host suggested I meet him at a friend's place as he was providing some last minute assistance for Halloween costumes. Apparently he's a jack of all trades - a restaurant waiter by night, a tailor by day. The results were quite spectacular. A sexy Little Red Riding Hood / Wench Bodice for one, a cute princessy looking getup for a little girl, a glamorous gloved outfit for another. I don't know if he was getting paid but he certainly did a professional job. I joined him at the restaurant for a few hours, enjoying tapas and wine during happy hour. I then adjourned to the pad - a lovely 3 bed townhouse a few miles from town. My bed for the night was the loft above his bed. Lovely and warm being near the roof. Unfortunately, he neglected to inform one of his roommates I was visiting and that provided some friction this morning.

After a great motorcycle ride up a very rough road to the old Tomboy Mine 3500' above Telluride where it was snowing gently, I headed back to town and decided to leave. My next stop along the way to Durango was Trout Lake to visit Alan, an octogenarian I met at the restaurant last night. He lost his wife 3 years ago and seemed like he would like some company. He lives in an amazing home, at the 10500' foot of some 13500' mountains, overlooking Trout Lake, a town so small it doesn't actually appear on any maps, making it just a little difficult to find - but eventually I did. Apparently he's been house sitting for a couple of Brain Surgeons in California for the last 10 years. I have a private bed and bath with a spectacular mountain view (pictures may be forthcoming). We had a great chat about anything and everything. What better way to spend Halloween. I think I'll invite him to Georgia for Christmas.

Saturday morning will be an early crossing of the Ophir Pass (13000') which will take me just south of Chattanooga (CO, not TN) and into Durango to apparently assist with moving a fridge. The things I do for a bed......

Moab - Truly a mecca for trails

2008-10-30T13:16:00.002-04:00

Arriving in Moab was a relief. Little did I know it was Jeep Jamboree weekend. Town was packed with people. Thankfully my arrival Saturday evening meant most of the crowd would be heading home Sunday sometime. Darrin, my couch host had another friend over so we all went on a 4x4 tour of the area Sunday morning, finishing with a visit to Dead Horse Point State Park, a great location overlooking the LaSal Mountains and the Colorado River.

Monday was time to go and play on the slickrock. Grateful for the new rear tire, the world famous Slickrock Bike Trail was a good introduction. Not technically difficult but ledges, cracks and long drops into canyons all take some getting used to. About 10 miles of some great scenery and wild up and down hills.

Tuesday was the real challenge for the bike and its rider. Poison Spider Mesa, Golden Spike and Gold Bar Rim, all trails connected to each other totalling about 16 miles of some of the most hard core riding I've ever experienced. These trails take a toll on your stamina and I couldn't imagine doing them in the middle of summer. This is definately a better time of year, afternoon temp around 75F. These trails include such known obstacles as Launch Pad and Golden Crack, a giant slice across the earth that will swallow a vehicle. It required either a 4' jump across the ravine or a delicate step up over some knarly boulders. Given it was toward the end of the day and I was already drained of energy, the step up seemed safer. Missing the jump would have just meant too much damage to the bike and probably me. At the end of it all was another 15 miles of dirt up to Gemini Bridges. All in all a great day that left me wanting nothing more than to sleep. As it turns out it was 15c wing day at the local pub so they dragged me down there for a few hours. Needless to say I slept well, with only mild lingering pains.

Wednesday was supposed to be departure day but after deciding to take the rack off the truck for some repairs it seemed a pity to not test it on the Hells Revenge Trail. Many ledges, steep ascents and descents plus other exciting and tough spots but there's one particular obstacle called the Dragon's Tail for which you're supposed to have a spotter. You're on a large slickrock plateau and drive toward the edge of this giant cliff, wondering when you get to turn away. At the very edge there's a small ridge (called a fin), near vertical, that goes down the side, barely wide enough for your tires. I was thinking a spotter would be nice but alas travelling alone has its occasional drawbacks. All's well that ends well and 5 hours later I was back on pavement. A challenge to be sure. Skid plates scratched but no damage and some great photos, very thankful for the tough stock equipment on my Tacoma.

With repairs made to my carrier, anti-freeze flushed and replenished in the bike and dust generally removed from the truck I was ready to go early Thursday afternoon. After a brief false start, realising I still had maps belonging to my hosts, I was on my way to Telluride, via the beautiful mountain towns of Paradox and Naturita. Many thanks to Darrin, Eric and Kate - my roommates for a few days in Moab.

The Road to Canyonlands !!!

2008-10-25T21:33:00.001-04:00

It's about 5pm Friday and I've made camp just outside Canyonlands National Park, having experienced a great hike in Natural Bridges from Sipapu to Kachina and a chat with a Kiwi couple who have been driving around in an RV for the last 5 weeks.

So far I've come about 40 miles of the 70 I will have to do on dirt roads to get to the Canyonlands Visitor's Center. The truck is already incredibly dusty inside and out.

With the exception of the occasional fly, the cooling metal of the truck and a gentle breeze on my face, it is ABSOLUTELY silent. A small bird just flying by sounds loud. It's so silent it seems as though I've gone temporarily deaf. I've descended about 3000' in the last hour coming over the mountain range but my ears have already adjusted. It's amazing and truly rare in the wilderness to hear nothing. I sit intensely still for a few minutes just feeling nature until the distinctive souind of dirt bikes breaks the peace. They go by, up the hill, and once again silence. Maybe it's something about the shape of this particular mesa because the sound of those dirt bikes disappeared very quickly. I feel the warmth of the sun on my back and a chill on my sandalled feet as the 58F weather dictates. It will be much colder as soon as the sun goes down, in about an hour. I'll eat before then and rug up in the back to read until bedtime.

It's pretty much a dawn to dusk lifestyle, repleat with all the experiences that provides - gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, much activity during the day and long sleeps as winter encroaches on the sun. I'm running out of time before snow season arrives in this part of the country. After New Mexico, it'll probably be a quicker trip home, although I'm still hopeful for that ski bunny who wants to take me in the for the winter :-)

The time here has flown by. Michigan back in June seems like eons ago and Kentucky with Frank & Deanna my first night seems dreamlike. Today has been full of spleandor, not the least of which was the drive from Natural Bridges to here, through Bear Ears and Gooseneck - great names. Thank God I have the ability to make this trip and appreciate the beauty and serenity it has offered.

Wow, Saturday has been a long day. Expecting the last 30 miles to the Visitors Center to be relatively quick, per my map program, I was somewhat surprised to find the road getting progressively worse as I arrived at Canyonlands South entrance. No ranger station, no gate, just a sign saying, "High Clearance 4x4 Only - Drive at own risk". Normally that would signal some fun but right now I have a motorcycle and carrier that makes the back of my truck 400lbs heavier and 3' longer than normal - not a good combination for hard core offroading. The road which I came to discover is rated as one of the most difficult in the Moab area, is know as Elephant Hill. It is incredibly steep, narrow, rocky and has multiple switchbacks that require 4 or 5 point turns. Needless to say I dragged my carrier many times, to the point where I snapped one ratchet strap, bent another badly and mangled or broke many of the bolts holding the carrier together. I also discovered later that somewhere along the trail I squished my exhaust pipe flat at the end. All that was just going UP the hill, I still had to come down.

Not prepared to destroy anything more, the small plateau at the top of Elephant Hill provided the opportunity to remove the bike and carrier and with some concerted effort get the 80lb carrier and all the cans - water and 2 fuel - into the back of the truck. The drive down the other side then became uneventful. A short hike back to the top to get the bike and it also made it down the hill without issue. Another hour or so and it was all back together at the bottom, ready to head on into Moab, still 100 miles away. Thankfully I had a couch host, Darrin, already lined up in Moab and the rest of the evening was comparatively simple.

The moral of the story - don't believe your GPS when it tells you the quickest way from A to B is via a dirt road.

Navajo Nation

2008-10-23T20:41:00.002-04:00

After my chores at the previous campsite, it was late in the day and Page, AZ arrived at just the right time. After restocking with groceries, ice and gas it was time to find another campsite. The timezones around here get screwed up pretty well, with Utah, Arizona and the Navajo Nation all different and right next to each other. After a quick visit to the Lake Powell visitors center I was told there was no camping except in designated sites, which meant an area called Lone Rock, a few miles down the road. My attention was drawn to a dirt road off to the left before I got there. 2 miles later I was perched on a mesa overlooking the entire area, Lake Powell, The Navajo Nation and GSENM, apparently there was other camping. That night it was cold enough to keep some ice I left out frozen all night long. I was in bed by dark - which as time zones go was somewhere between 6pm and 9pm, I'll never know.

Up before dawn this lovely Thursday morning, I got some great shots of sunrise over the surrounding valley. White fellas are not actually allowed to stay in Navajo Nation without permission so I want to get an early start to see all the sights in this area and out the other side before about 5pm. On my way by 7am it's off to the Navajo National Monument - Betatakin cliff dwellings and then Monument Valley.

The Navajo Monument was amazing. Two separate cliff areas, occupied from 1270 to around 1300. Because the cliff is so protective they're still in excellent shape - see photos. These Ancestral Puebloens (as I'm told is the politically correct term) lived for centuries in this area, mostly on the mesa tops. I'll see more at Mesa Verde in Colorado. From there, the drive through Monument Valley is surprising. There are Native American homes all around the monoliths, some right next to these giants. Unfortunately most of them these days are trailers, likely without running water. The plight of these peoples has not been a positive one since the arrival of white man.

Last place in the Valley was Moki Dugway. Imagine all those movies where they're driving incredibly close to a 1000' drop along a dirt road. It was just like that but even more incredible. The road twists and turns for about 10 miles straight up the side of a cliff face, turning out at the top of the giant plateau. I found a place to camp right on top, at the edge of the cliff, facing out over Monument Valley, just like all those car commercials.

It's about 7500', incredibly windy and so cold my pen doesn't want to write the notes for this blog. I'm in bed by 6.30pm and warmly rugged up inside my sleeping bag. My new LED headlamp works so well I'll read for a while. Tomorrow I head toward Natural Bridges and Canyonlands National Park.

Getting Used to Sand

2008-10-22T13:08:00.001-04:00

Having been to this area earlier in the year, I figured I'd head toward the Southern part of GSENM rather than up to Bryce and Escalante. Heading through Kanab (originally given this is Utah I thought the town may be a shortening of Kane and Able, however I found out it's an Indian name, meaning Land of Willows) I played on a few trails looking for more hiking but came across nothing of interest. A little further down the road I found a 4x4 trail that was supposed to lead me to Middle Canyon, a spectacular narrows area. It gave me a great completely primitive camping spot but after 3 days of searching I never did find that particular hiking trail. I did find a bunch of other very cool locations, including Cottonwood Canyon and RT430 and 431.

My campsite overlooked the Grand Staircase of GSENM and was right in the middle of a giant sand field. No issue in the truck but quite a challenge on the bike. I got the hang of it after a day or two of realising you actually have to go faster to make it easier.

Today, Wednesday the 22nd, became chores day. I did some much needed maintenance on the bike after riding in sand for 3 days, cleaned up my camp and dusted the truck, also very much needed after the red Australian bull-dust like dirt roads. It's about 1pm and I'm just leaving the area. I'll head toward Page, AZ and Lake Powell.

Kicked out of Zion

2008-10-19T11:44:00.002-04:00

Friday night, my first night in the Zion National Park area I learned from my last trip here back in April and I camped in a small sandy spot about 5 miles from the entrrance. The National Park is right next to a town that gets very busy with tourists so I was just the right distance away.

Suprising for this time of year, but not so considering the gorgeous weather and a 3 day weekend for Utah schools, the Park was VERY busy. So much so I had to park in the overflow lot. You can't drive to any of the hiking trails in Zion. You have to park and catch a shuttle bus. A great idea to minimise the traffic and pollution. Catching the bus to "The Grotto" to hike Angel's Landing trail was fun, like one of those Japanese trains where they have to push people in. It was standing room only. I chatted to a nice young couple - McKenzie and Harrison - who were taking the weekend away from Brigham Young University (BYU, not likely to be confused with BYO in that particular location) in Provo to come hiking with some of their friends. We had some great discussions after the hike too.

Hiking those trails on a busy weekend involves quite a lot of waiting at the bottle neck places. Angel's Landing is steep but fairly simple until the last 1/2 mile which goes straight up a vertical ridge, only about 6' wide at times and a 1500' drop off both sides. It's quite the scramble (there are of course chains for the non-climbing types) especially when there's a line of 30 people coming down and just as many queued up to go up. An older guy (Bob from Salt Lake) in front of me was clearly not so comfortable with the heights so I offered to stay with him and talk him up and down. His young granddaughter of about 7 or 8 was having far less trouble and I enjoyed all their company for the duration.

After the hike I decided to cook dinner at a picnic table just beside the parking lot because it's tough doing it on the ground with my grill and no tables at the campsite I'd had the previous night. By the time I was done it was dark. Normally I'd go back to my previous place but I was planning on coming back to the Park the next morning. Unfortunately the campground was already full. The overflow lot for the campground had a few cars in it so I figured I'd just crawl into the back of my truck and nobody would know I was in there - WRONG ! Around 11:30pm I saw bright headlights and figured it was the Ranger checking the cars. I stayed quite still but I guess the officious little Nazi saw me in the back. He banged on the side and made me get up. He would listen to no amount of reasoning and wrote me a warning ticket and told me to leave the park until the morning. Being that late, I drove just outside the gates and parked on the side of the road with no more disturbances the rest of the night.

Saturday morning I went and parked in the same spot to have breakfast with a plan to hike the narrows, a cool slot canyon where you walk through waist deep water. However, the wind and general chilly weather dissuaded me and I headed off toward Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Vegas Nights

2008-10-17T10:36:00.001-04:00

Arriving in Las Vegas early Thursday afternoon, I took an exit to find my bearings and ran straight into a Toyota dealership - convenient because I need an oil change badly. Being mostly without cell service, mum posted some Couch Surfing requests for me. Only one replied by the time it got dark and he thought I wasn't arriving for a week or so. I eventually got hold of him on the phone only to find out he'd just had a house full of Australians and didn't really want somebody again so soon. I spent that first night on a bluff in Kyle Canyon, eating cold tuna burritos and listening to a local radio show about how dismal the LV economy is right now, actually quite interesting.

Friday morning, having not had a shower in some days, my goal was to find one, plus a tire for my bike and a place to stay. None of those things worked out terribly quickly and by 2pm I was in a library using their wi-fi and thought I'd make a call to Jennifer's Hawaii sister Sheree, who we'd stayed with when here for a Suzuki conference a few years back.

Having discovered no tires available until Monday I ordered one through our own dealership supplier and asked for it to be drop-shipped to Sheree's place - having still not actually talked to her to confirm if I could stay. Always the optimist, I figured I could always just hang outside her place until UPS turned up if I couldn't stay with her.

As funny things go, I later found out she no longer lived there, but she was happy for me to stay with her. Luckily, she still owned the house and called her tenant and filled them in. Also good timing, Sheree had a 20th High School Reunion that night and invited me along. It was Homecoming and we went to a HS Football game followed by drinks at a local pub - all with about 50 complete strangers. They didn't stay strangers long. It was a great first night.

The plan was to stay with Sheree until Monday morning when my tire would arrive. As usual, plans change. After a great weekend of Sushi (yes, Monika, I went to Yama sushi again) and dog parks Monday arrived and the tire didn't. No problem - Sheree has a large new house and was fine with me hanging around. The tire eventually arrived Tuesday afternoon and then as luck would have it she had to go out of town to LA for business. Drew to the rescue - impromptu dog sitting added a few more days. I enjoyed my time with them - two fun and boisterous Weimaraners. We played fetch all day long and wrestled occasionally too. They were great but I still miss my cats. Did some needed maintenance on the bike, got ready for the next desert stint and all of a sudden I've been here a week. It's been a great fun time. Some good hiking and good exploring. Didn't visit a casino or the strip even once.

Friday morning and I'm heading out of town toward the Southern Utah National Parks.

Death Valley

2008-10-08T22:22:00.001-04:00

After leaving Mt Whitney I enjoyed the always stunning scenery on the drive into Death Valley. At Panamint Springs the decision was made to camp at Mahogany Flats as I had last year. It’s about 8200’ and always cooler than the usual 100F in the Valley. It was a good choice. I met two groups of great people that night: Judy & Stow Chapman from Kentucky and 'The Crowd' at the top camp. Stow gave me some great ideas on places to visit in Utah and we all shared some great conversation and a taste of old port. Hopefully we can meet up again on our own coast someday. Then there was 'The Crowd'. A raucous bunch of retirees, celebrating Steve’s 66th birthday. He loves the area and told me some less common places to visit. I stayed with them until about 9pm and had breakfast with them in the morning. They were fun.

After breakfast I headed out for some remote exploring on the bike. It required some treks off map, cross-country. I made it back alive – just. After stopping at the ghost town of Ballarat and chatting with the old timer (you have to call them that here) running what resembled a store, he told me my choice of cross country treks would end at a 400’ drop into a ravine, not something I really wanted to do. My goal was to cross from the East side to the West side of Death Valley, using only old mining roads. It’s about 40 miles across and there are literally hundreds of little trails crossing the area from the Gold Rush days in the 1800’s. Of course most of them haven’t been used since then either and therefore are not readily recognizable. He suggested following Pleasant Canyon road (even though my map showed it stopped) and told me “if you knew where to go you could find your way across”. Of course I didn’t know where to go but I thought I’d try anyway. Well, I got through 2 mountain ranges and could see the road I was aiming for. Unfortunately it was about 10 miles west and 5000 feet down. I just didn’t have enough water or time before dark to continue exploring. It will have to wait for another trip. I made a nice meal and have plenty of ice to spend some more days here thanks to my friends from last night.

Today, Tuesday, I woke up with the sun, around 6.45am. I'll finish the sightseeing I planned, mostly on pavement so I'll actually get to see everything. Death Valley distances are much larger than they seem on most maps. I'll head to Titus Canyon through Stovepipe Wells and onto the town of Beatty, just outside the National Park, to fuel up. Well, having completed the Titus Canyon trip now I must say there was a bit of excitement. Having used more fuel than I expected yesterday messing around in the canyons, I got past Stovepipe Wells and was heading up toward Beatty for refueling when I hit reserve. With only 20 miles to go for Beatty I thought no problem. I was wrong. I ran out of gas about 4 miles later - in Death Valley, about noon, with the temp around 95F. At that point it was about 16 miles to Beatty and about 20 miles back to Stovepipe Wells, neither good pushing odds in that heat. I had passed an un-manned ticket station a few miles back and thankfully it was downhill. From there I would consider my options in the relative shade of the covered station. Long story short, I discovered the right hand side of the gas tank holds an amount that doesn't get picked up by the fuel tap. Removing the gas tank and tipping the fuel to the correct side helped somewhat, but I still wasn't sure if it'd be enough to get me the 16 miles back to the gas station. A few minutes later some people arrived to buy a ticket. As the Universe would have it, they were visiting from Brisbane, Australia. After some advice to them on locations to see, I asked if they would mind following me back to the gas station (they were heading that way anyway) just in case I ran out. I coasted about 7 miles downhill and then rode the last 9 through the hottest part of the Valley without issue. All was well but certainly taught me to top up my gas at every opportunity when in the Desert. If I'd run out on one of those back roads 20 miles from anywhere it could have been a much worse situation. I'm here now, back at camp, 6pm, dinner cooked and eaten, a Screwdriver happily behind me (the type with Orange Juice), windproof jacket, beanie and camo neck gator (Doug, remember me buying the hideous thing on our Blue Ridge Parkway ride last fall - it's been very useful) keeping me insulated from the wind and chill at 8200'. It'll be dark in about 30 minutes. I'll either read or just go to sleep. Decisions are simpler in Death Valley - mostly life, death or just irrelevant. I heard today the stock market had crashed again sometime in the last few days and it really makes no difference out here. The birds still chirp, the trees grow and my iPod still plays. Not sure if I want to rejoin the "real" world.

Wednesday morning now and the plan is to head to Las Vegas to get a new tire for the motorcycles on my way to Southern Utah. Choice is highway or a 4x4 trail that will take 4 hours longer. I'll let you know.....

As it turns out I didn't leave at all. While heading for the quicker highway route a small detour to Chloride Cliffs as suggested by Steve provided such amazing scenery I decided to stay another night. At the very cliff edge, about 5300' I camped at possibly the only place you can overlook BOTH the lowest and highest points in the Lower 48 - Badwater Basin at around -250' and Mt Whitney at 14,495'. This is Harley's place, the wind never stopped blowing.

The Sierra Nevada's

2008-10-05T11:11:00.002-04:00

After a brief explore and some consternation on direction, I decided to head up the Tioga Pass and into the East entrance of Yosemite. The weather is turning with a heavy snowstorm expected. The ranger at the gate said likely 6-8” tonight and if so they’d be closing the entrance – nobody in or out. I went in as far as Cathedral Peak, looked around for a little while and then came out to Junction Campground, a couple of mile outside. I figured if the storm doesn’t hit then I’ll go back in tomorrow. Junction is still at 9700’ so we’ll see. It’s getting very cold as I go to sleep. I expect it will snow.

Snow it did, Saturday morning about 6” covers the bike and car. I heard the snow plows around 4am and knew they’d be closing the Tioga Pass. Got some good photos going down the pass. When I got to the bottom I saw the road was closed, they were letting people out from the campgrounds but none back in. Lucky I didn’t stay in Yosemite.

I Met a guy at camp last night, Victor, a teacher from Fresno. He mentioned Mt. Whitney (highest peak in mainland USA at 14,495’) wasn’t far and only a 5 mile hike to the peak, although very strenuous. I thought I’d give it a shot. Arriving at the ranger station at Lone Pine, they told me it was actually a 22 mile hike Round trip, 16 hours minimum with a likelihood on snow in places plus a permit was required. I got a permit for the next day and figured I’d check it out. There’s a base-camp at around 8000’ so I’d stay there for the night. Arriving at Whitney Portal, I realize I’m not prepared for this type of ascent. People here have all sorts of weather equipment and I find out the trail I had wanted to take had 6 feet of snow on it. The bears in this area necessitate anything with a scent be placed in the bear box. It takes me the better part of an hour to remove all those things from my home on wheels and to have to do that again in the morning and leave my truck unattended for so many hours with so many lingering smells just doesn’t sit well with me.

I’ll head to Death Valley tomorrow and do some hiking there. It’s only about 120 miles. I’ll return here another time for this hike. As for tonight, hopefully the bears won’t care about the long life milk stored in the bowels of my truck.

I awake Sunday morning at 5am to people making noise, readying themselves for an early ascent. I stayed in bed until about 7. Weather is warmish and checkout not until 1pm so I’ll enjoy the beautiful views, read a little and sit in the sun.

Toiyabe National Forest - Talking Trees

2008-10-03T14:04:00.000-04:00

Left Rubicon according to plan around 2pm. It took a lot longer than I expected to get to Highway 50. It’s a long and twisty road through the mountains. I started looking for a place to stay around 4.30. I have been feeling a little off so I forced myself to drink more water. The batch I have right now doesn’t taste so good which makes it tough. I asked the Universe for a place by 5pm. As I pulled off the road to let a faster car pass, I saw a little dirt road off to the left. It turned out to be a great area just about 2 miles up, part of the Toiyabe National Forest. There's one other vehicle parked nearby bt it's on the other side of a hill. This is truly primitive camping, just the ground and me. After making dinner I feel better. It’s getting cold anyway so I’ll turn in early and explore in the morning.

Had an amazing night. The tree I camped beside “spoke” to me. I felt an energy transfer like never before. Trees have so much inside of them we rarely perceive. It was an experience I hope to duplicate. After a brief explore and some consternation on direction, I decided to head toward the Tioga Pass and into the East entrance of Yosemite.

The Rubicon Trail

2008-10-02T11:30:00.000-04:00

After a couple of hours being unsure if I was in the right place I eventually found the famed Rubicon Trail on Tuesday morning. All variety of websites didn’t describe it enough for me to actually find it easily. Although it seemed like I was on the right path, the signage is non-existent. Part of the challenge probably comes from the time of year. There is simply nobody around here after Labor Day, and of course it’s also a weekday. Not a soul on the trail or in the campground. A quick trip onto the trail to see what it was like got me 2 miles (out of a total of about 12) before the KTM disapproved of the slow speeds by spitting radiator fluid on the ground. The trail is tougher than I anticipated. Copious numbers of basketball sized and larger boulders make it very slow work and exceptionally bumpy and tiring. The trick is to maintain speed but when there is rare relief in the way of a clear path that’s tough to do. Average speed is about 8 mph. My well-worn street tires on the bike don’t help much – I’ll definitely need a new rear before Moab. It’s been another beautiful day. I haven’t seen any rain for over a week. Camped overlooking Loon Lake. At 6450’ it will likely get chilly. It’s 5.30pm now and already I feel a breeze. I’ll get dinner going before sundown and probably be in bed by 8pm.

Rubicon Day 2
Practice has helped. Started around 11am, got the first 4 miles done in about 30 minutes. That’s when the bike overheated again. It has a radiator but no fan. I got as far as a huge pile of rocks called Little Sluice and decided it just wasn’t worth destroying the bike. It’s amazing how you get used to bouncing over rocks, just letting the bike find its path. After waiting about 30 mins for the bike to cool down I headed back. Arriving at camp around 2pm, the warm sun with a cool lake breeze, the only choice was to take a nap. An hour or so later I headed off to find some more ice. I’ll play on the trail back toward Wentworth Springs later. Maybe it won’t be so rocky. Back now from getting ice. What should have been a 20 minute drive turned into a 47 mile ordeal due to lack of signage and stores being closed for the season. I ended up stopping at a place that said closed and going in anyway. Lucky they were there and still had ice. There’s still nobody else around so enjoying the mountain quiet.

Rubicon Day 3
Went out early to try and avoid the heat. Heavily overcast it seemed perfect. Did about 7 miles on less rocky trails but never did find the campground that's supposed to be on the trail. Had fun exploring though. Couldn’t resist taking the truck a little way up the Rubicon. I went until the first time I had to use the diff lock and boulders threatened more damage than just ripping off one of my mudguards. Funnily enough, it happened as I was trying to make a U-Turn to leave. I got all of about 1/10th of a mile. It seemed further than that. It’s about noon now and I’ve had a leisurely breakfast. It’s getting much colder now and windy so I’ll head down the mountain and toward the east side of California, past Yosemite and along the Sierra Nevada’s toward Death Valley.

California Dreaming

2008-09-29T21:51:00.002-04:00

What a tumultuous day in the world and what a peaceful day for me. Once upon a time I would have been incredibly bothered by the largest ever point drop in the Dow Jones. Now I’m just enjoying the drive through the California countryside and noticing how much warmer it is since leaving Oregon. I will admit to tuning into CNBC every now and then, but really only out of curiosity. It is definitely hotter now, over 90* most of the day, compared to highs in the 60’s and 70’s in WA and OR. Tonight I’m camped in the Eureka NF, just outside Georgetown, on my way to the Rubicon Trail. It seems awfully remote to be world-renowned but I guess 4x4 enthusiasts will travel a long way for “fun”. I’ll take the bike up there tomorrow. My Tacoma, although theoretically capable, is far too loaded down with gear to make it through unscathed. For the bike though, it will be less difficult on the machine, more so on me I’m sure.

Hawaii in Oregon

2008-09-26T20:55:00.003-04:00

After departing Tacoma for the last time I felt a need to get away further than the usual 30 or 40 miles. A few calls to existing surfing contacts landed me a place to stay in Lake Oswego, OR., a swanky neighborhood just outside Portland. Maya, Harold and their son Lucas provided a family atmosphere for a few days, allowing me the time to regenerate, update my blog and see some of the local sights. Some nice walks and a fun atmosphere were very enjoyable, even if I didn't win the game of monopoly.

Tomorrow, Saturday it is off to California and Mount Shasta.

Detours from Tacoma - Anacortes & Aberdeen

2008-09-25T23:23:00.001-04:00

During the great Northwest pilgrimage to Tacoma, there were in fact two detours. The first, from Sept 6 thru 9 north to Anacortes and the San Juan Islands. The second, Sept 22 and 23 west to Aberdeen.

Anacortes for the weekend :

After a late night Friday, what was going to be an early morning drive up the coast ended up being a rather hurried drive up the Interstate after having spent way too much time sleeping on Saturday morning. I was due to meet up with Laura & Chris at their home for dinner. It all turned out fine as I arrived around 7pm and we settled in to preparing a grilled feast. That's also where the comedy began. You see, Laura is originally from France and of course she listens with a French accent (keep that in mind). As I was cutting vegetables for the meal, I turned to her smiling and said, by the way, I have appetizers. Now say that word with a french accent. The "a" in appetizers sounds like an "ha". She looked at me quizzically and said, "you 'ave what?" I repeated and as she looked slightly horrified I realized she thought I said, smiling of course, while cutting her food, "I have hepatitis". After eventually working out the error we spent the rest of the evening laughing about it. She never did let me finish cutting those vegetables....

Sunday morning Laura, Chris and I headed down to the nearby wharf to explore the cause of a very tall mast we could see from the house, reportedly a secret America's Cup entrant being crafted at the local hull builder. After much nosing around, we found a way down to the correct dock and low and behold, the BMWOracle racing yacht was moored right there, with a plethora of support craft and a couple of staff to protect it from prying eyes. They didn't seem too concerned about our presence. I guess the important spies already know the details. It is though a trimaran, which is not currently allowed under the rules, although catamaran's have been used recently. It was truly amazing to see the size and grandeur of it - all carbon fiber. Unfortunately no photo opp was available, although you can see the mast in one of the photos I took from Laura's deck. Sunday afternoon allowed me the time to head off to see local sights including Mt Erie. Although only 1200ft, it is by far the highest point in the area and provides a great view of many of the surrounding islands and the whole town. Anacortes is actually on Fidalgo Island, although doesn't feel that way due to its size. It's well worth the visit.

Monday morning I left the car at Laura's place and loaded up the KTM for the ferry ride to San Juan Island. Luckily I had pre-arranged a couch surfer on the island because it was hard enough to carry clothes for hiking and a sleeping bag on the bike, let alone a sleeping pad or even a tent. The line for the 8.30am ferry was already long when I arrived at 8am but thankfully motorcycles not only pay less, they get preferential treatment in the line - I was directed right to the front. The hour long ride was smooth and pleasant, cruising past a variety of other islands in the San Juan group, some large and inhabited, some very small and designated wilderness. Orcas is the largest of them all with a couple of towns. San Juan has only a single town, Friday Harbor. It happens to be the hub of activity and where the ferry docks. My first task was to find the restaurant where my host worked and say Hi. Geraldina was very friendly and funnily enough that was the only time I saw her. She had to work until late and I left early the next morning. Having received a key to her apartment, I headed off to dump my gear and go exploring. It's a smallish island, about 20 miles long and ten miles wide but has many beautiful sights, some whale watching, an old Revolutionary War encampment and a variety of wilderness areas. You could easily stay a week or more just exploring by road let alone hiking.

Many thanks to Laura, Chris and Laura's daughter Tanissa for hanging out with me in Anacortes, and to Geraldina and Henry on San Juan.

Detour 2 - Aberdeen, WA: What can I say. Another couch surfing bonanza. After a strange day spent mostly without water, I left the Tacoma area about 6pm on a Monday night with a plan to meet up with Steve from Aberdeen in Olympia. The plan was to go out for drinks and then follow him and his friends back home. We hung out in a couple of bars that were all but dead on a Monday, leaving by 10pm after a none too quick song from Steve at karaoke. An hour or so later we were chatting in his cheerily quaint apartment next door to the Aberdeen Catholic Church. A very interesting discussion that went on until about 3am. Luckily the only task for Tuesday was to look around the area so the 11am wake up was fine. A quick trip to a local lookout to see town followed by a drive out to Pacific Beach and Steve's work rounded out a fairly relaxed day. We also visited a very unusual little planned town called Seaside that reminded me of The Truman Show. I should have taken photos but suspect somebody would have jumped out from behind a bush and taken the camera. That people pay high six figures to live in a place like that is interesting. We had a nice dinner with Steve's mother at a local Italian restaurant and then headed home for some movies and chocolate to round out a great day. It was great to meet Steve, Alex and Joe and to experience some of their life in Aberdeen.

The One That Got Away

2008-09-24T21:34:00.001-04:00

It feels like I've lived an entire lifetime since my last post. It's been almost a month and it has been so action packed it's hard to cover everything, but as always I will try.

As it turns out, the next morning, Sat Aug 30th, at Mt Adams was beautiful again. I stayed through Sunday morning, riding and hiking and generally exploring the area. I took many photos and enjoyed myself thoroughly. After leaving the area, I headed toward Randle, my decision point for heading up to Seattle or west to Portland. Arriving in early afternoon, it was a hard call but never having been over the pass to Mt Rainier, the decision was made for Seattle. Sunday night was spent in Greenwater, WA - a very small town just on the other side of the Cayuse Pass, a roughly 6000ft pass next to the 14,410ft Mt Rainier. True to its name, it is on the rain-ier side of Washington and provided a great view of fog as the rain set in. Sunday afternoon in Greenwater is very quiet and given the rain I just didn't feel like cooking so found a small bar & grill. Hanging out with locals is always interesting and thankfully WA has a no smoking law for all public establishments. After a burger and a few drinks I headed off to find a place to camp and ended up staying just off the road in a pullout.

Sending off some Couch Surfing requests has become a habit when entering a city area with limited or no camping and after a week in the Mt Adams wilderness some people contact was going to be a plus. Sunday night I sent off 6 or so as Monday was Labor Day and many people wouldn't check their email. I got a few responses and decided to contact Mike & Amanda who lived in downtown Tacoma. Everybody I meet on this trip is sent to me for some reason and these people were no exception. With just a few minutes notice, I turned up on their doorstep and entered their lives. Mike & Amanda (see photo) have to be two of the most easy-going, helpful and friendly people I have yet to meet. Not only did they take me into their home and give me a comfortable bed (yes, an actual bed) but they rearranged their parking so I could park my sadly unlockable truck and motorcycle in their garage. They also introduced me to their many friends and generally treated me as a close friend. That's when my three week life as a Pacific North West resident began, in a downtown condo of a place once known as Smelly Aroma Tacoma.

The original plan (which of course I rarely have) was to spend a day or two and then head up to Seattle (the supposedly bigger, smarter, prettier brother of Tacoma - although completely unfounded). After a quick discussion with Amanda, I decided to attend Yoga with them the following night, no big deal, still on plan. During the morning, a neighbor came by and invited them (and me) to a Labor Day BBQ down the hall. All the condos in the renovated building (previously a hospital) have awesome decks overlooking downtown. This being downtown in a liberal city, many of the buildings' residents are gay, which always makes for a fun and boisterous event, and it was definitely that. What began at about 3pm ended late in the night after much revelry and an invitation to go sailing on Wednesday night with a newly engaged couple - Marty & Aubre. Plan out the window.

If I was staying thru Wed for sailing, I may as well stay for Yoga again on Thursday and of course the party Friday night at the locally owned "Mix" bar. Trying not to impose I cooked often and tried to help out as much as possible while Mike & Amanda were at work. During the days it gave me an opportunity to see the sights of Tacoma (of which there are many) and to catch up on my admin work. Saturday the 5th was definitely going to be my departure day and so I planned to head up to Anacortes and see the far northern reaches of Washington state. I had arranged a stay with Laura, another couch surfing host up there. We did however tentatively agree I would come back for Yoga either Tuesday or Thursday the following week on my way back south - Tacoma still had me in her grasp. As a thank you for all their kindness I suggested making a dinner Friday night. Nate, Mike's friend came over, and as usual, the guys at the end of the hall were having some people over too so we all joined together for a larger group. Around 8pm Nate got a call from his friend Stephani who was in the area and was going to drop by. That was the beginning of the end. By midnight we were at the Mix playing pool, having drinks and Stephani and I were hitting it off all too well. A whirlwind romance ensued upon my return from Anacortes (detailed post to follow) which kept me in the Tacoma area another two weeks. I was actually considering staying through the winter. Without going into details, we had a great two weeks that included many late nights, some great wine and a fun weekend of camping. Needless to say, it didn't work out and I am now in Portland, sad to have left, but knowing it was the right thing for both of us. I have maintained awareness and am at Peace.

The Oregon Trail to Mt. Adams, WA

2008-08-29T20:13:00.003-04:00

It's been too long since my last post father and these are my sins ......

Much has happened since Boise. Shawn and I decided to part ways and I headed north into Oregon while he headed south to Utah. My first night I stayed outside the Oregon Trail Interpretative Park mainly because it isn't open on Monday's and I wanted to see inside. Luckily there were some woods beside I-84, providing quiet and privacy. Fall weather has begun in this part of the country. There was actually ice on my windshield when I awoke. Needless to say, I stayed in bed for a few extra minutes before braving it. The trail center is very interesting. So many covered wagons came through this area in the 1830's and 40's that the ruts they created in the earth still show quite clearly. It's amazing how that plus the informational signs really let you inagine what it must have been like - very tough people.

As I headed away up I-84 toward Portland, I decided to give a call to the parents of an ex-girlfriend who lived in the area. They were so welcoming that I drove up to their place in Goldendale, WA and spent the night. They have a nice little mini-farm outside town. It was great to catch up and hear about their family. Summer is doing well with her new family as are her brothers and their various kids. Funny how both nothing changes and everything changes at the same time. The tough part about breaking up is the extraneous people you lose in the fallout.

After Goldendale, my plans changed somewhat. Rather than just heading into Portland, it seemed just too close to miss the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and Mt. Adams, a particular favorite from when I spent the summer in the area back in 2004. I also recall with great fondness the twisty roads in the area; they haven't changed. A great drive up to Middle Falls on the Lewis river, it was to be my home for the next 4 days. Perched right on the river, it was a great taking off point for hikes in all directions. The next morning I took off on the motorcycle to hit those twisty roads. Nearly 200 miles later the day was gone and it had become quite cold. The mountains here are tall and although down in the valley was hot, by the time I got back up to around 6000ft my hands were numb. Staying in my motorcycle gear for extra warmth, some hot chocolate and boiled fresh corn made a difference. In bed and under the covers by 7.30pm made it warmer still. Even though the camp spot was right on the road, there are very few cars in this area after dark, due mostly to it being very tight and bumpy. All the better for getting 12 hours sleep - it's a tough life, I know.

This morning, Fri 29th, everything was covered in dew, particularly the motorcycle. I've started doing a hike before breakfast. It does wonders for waking you up and some of the best photo shots are only available in the early morning. The Lewis river runs very swiftly and is very cold. The salmon spawn in the area. It's mostly created from run-off from Mount Adams, a glacial mountain, half of which is an Indian reservation. It's incredibly quiet and peaceful, particularly at 7am. Even though there are quite a few people camped around the area, there are none where I camp (no amenities dissuade tourists) and they rarely get up before 9am - bonus to me!

After breakfast, I came across some people on dirt bikes and asked where they were riding. They showed me the trails and to my suprise, in this incredible wilderness area there are ORV trails all over the place. That was enough for me, I was off to explore. Even though the tires on the KTM are mostly street they stick incredibly well on dirt and rough terrain. These trails go deep into the woods and are VERY challenging. They're steep, rutted, covered in large tree roots and often perched precariously onto the side of a mountain. After about 2 hours, I eventually found the top of what is known as Craggy Peak. I was quite nervous about coming back down as the ride up had involved long drops down deep valleys. As is usually the case, you get used to the most challenging terrain and by the time I got back to camp I was ready for more. On my way up the mountain I passed a group of people, one of whom was on a rather old 70's model Yamaha. I pulled off to allow them to pass and as I came to find out later, the girl on the Yamaha nearly hit me. She hadn't ridden since she was a kid and her father took her on this trail to reignite for fun of bikes. I think it made her never want to ride again but at least she got herself back to camp in one piece, and without taking out any unsuspecting Australians. After my ride I happened across the camp of that large group and they invited me by for a drink. A couple of families had come to spend the Labor Day long weekend. They had all variety of motorcycles, ATV's, bicycles, giant RV's, animals and small children. It was great to visit but not as quiet as I generally enjoy. Back at camp in the late afternoon, I enjoyed an easy meal of last night's left overs. When I bought ice from a small store they were predicting rain and colder weather (highs in the 50's) for the weekend. Cold I don't mind, rain is fine but not when you're camping and riding dirt bikes. If that happens I'll head toward Portland or Seattle.

Boise nights

2008-08-24T18:11:00.007-04:00

Friday morning Dennis was kind enough to show us around town. It's another great bicycling city with paths leading around and through most of it. After hitting his local coffee joint for a morning brew, we headed off downtown to see the sights concluding with a roof top view of the city from the Chamber of Commerce building and lunch at a Basque restaurant that served dishes looking an awful lot like Philadelphia fare.

In the afternoon we headed to another religious experience at a BBQ in the park held by "The Pursuit", a local rock band masquerading as a church. We met some fun people and then rode back toward the apartment, impressed that we'd spent the whole day exploring the city.

Late friday night was the most eventful, although unfortunately without our participation. Sometime during the night Shawn's and my bikes were stolen from outside Dennis' apartment in a well lit area, cutting through my "cut resistant" lock like butter. The police were, as expected, completely disinterested, not even visiting to take a report but calling and giving a report number over the phone. I suspect these thieves didn't give our inconvenience a second thought.

Although the incident put a damper on cycling events, it hasn't eliminated the enjoyable experiences in Boise. Saturday evening was spent at a local Hare Krishna Temple enjoying the festival of 10,000 flowers for the celebration of Krishna's birthday. A truly uplifting experience.

I'll be leaving Idaho in the morning heading into Oregon toward Portland.

34 miles and counting

2008-08-21T22:41:00.001-04:00

At first the campsite outside Ketchum was warm enough to use just my sleeping bag liner, then sneekily it got so cold I had to get into my sleeping bag and put on my beanie. Apparently the sun doesn't arrive in Sun Valley until later in the day because it was still 34 degrees at 8.30am when we were ready to leave for the days adventures.

Being a wealthy ski town, Sun Valley has great amenities, including bike paths that run through three towns for more than 34 miles. We rode most of them that day from Ketchum down to Bellevue and back again. A stop at the Bellevue Library, a small but friendly place, provided time to seek out a surfing host in Boise, ID. By the time we got back to camp we had a couple of OK's and a phone message. Returning Dennis' call, we were set for Boise for the next day. After Shawn's anguish over the cold of the previous night, we camped at a different location that wouldn't be shaded by the mountains and were rewarded by a warmish night but a cloudy and windy morning. One final hike to Proctor Mountain to see the world's first ski chairlift via the Hemmingway Memorial and we left for Boise, about a 3 hour drive.

After a quick call to Dennis to confirm our arrival, we got final directions to his home and headed into Boise. This evening we got comfortable with each other over a great pizza and some drinks while enjoying a good discussion covering many topics. We will be sure to enjoy our time in Boise with Dennis.

Moon Beams...

2008-08-19T21:47:00.001-04:00

Departing Logan was tough. Everyone there was so nice to us it always makes you want to stay and make a new home. But alas, I digress and the Pacific North West beckons. Next stop - middle of nowhere.

The aptly named and very unusual Craters of the Moon National Monument is about 200 miles from Logan, UT into Idaho, west of Blackfoot and past Atomic City, definitely qualifying for what you would call the middle of nowhere. It is a giant volcanic lava flow basin which ran for about 13,000 years, completing its creation about 2,000 years ago. Arriving around 3pm it reminded me of my hiking trip to Death Valley last year. Incredibly hot and dry the only shade provided by 12" tall shrubbery - great if you're a lizard but otherwise fairly limited. Arriving before Shawn, I decided to spend the hot hours in the visitors center watching the various movies and exploring the interactive displays. These places are always very informative.

The inhospitable nature of the terrain means the public portions of the monument are fairly limited, just a few hiking trails, a 7 miles roadway and three small lava tube created caves. We decided we could do them all in less than a day, beginning when the sun went behind the surrounding mountains that evening and finishing by around 2pm the next day. I'm not sure if being in Wyoming and Utah which have average elevations of over 7,000ft made me feel stronger here at about 4,000 or if I'm actually getting more fit but that 7 mile bicycle ride around the park up some fairly large hills felt incredibly easy. It's so much more fun when you get infinite mpg and don't feel wrecked after it. That took care of about 3 of the short hiking trails and the roadway. Off to a 10pm Ranger talk and then it was time for bed, although not before an amazing lightening storm and harvest moon. Tuesday morning we were hiking by 7am and had completed the rest of the available trails by about noon, leaving just the caves in the heat of the day. They were a welcome 62 degrees and we had some great fun exploring for an couple of hours. No photos due to the extreme blackness so you'll just have to take my word for it.

With Craters completed, it was off to Ketchum/Sun Valley to do some higher elevation hiking again. Arriving around 4pm we headed straight for the ranger station and got some great information, including the location of a Farmers' market that was happening right then. Three home grown tomatoes in hand, we wandered off toward the mountains in search of the campground the ranger had mentioned. Down a dirt trail toward the river, single track opened into wide open expanse of mountains and rocky ledges. It was fairly secluded yet close to town - perfect. Shawn made a great vegetarian dinner including the newly acquired tomatoes followed by some email trading with my brother Jay in Australia, then off to sleep by dark.

Logan, Utah

2008-08-17T23:05:00.000-04:00

Tuesday morning we got up early and headed further down Logan Canyon toward the town of Logan, UT. We found a camping space about 5 miles outside Logan right by the river just after hiking Wind Cave. Wind Cave is another amazing location about 2 miles straight up with a large cave that is aptly named. I recently acquired some hiking poles and can say unequivocally it is much better than hiking without them.

After the hike and setting up camp we headed into Logan to hit the library for wi-fi access, get the local paper and see what the rest of the week would have in store. First job was to send off a bunch of couchsurfing requests and then find somewhere to eat. Still no answers to our requests by the time dinner was over so back we went to our great little camping spot.

Wednesday morning was back to Logan to check out the Utah State University campus and see if we could find a shower and maybe access to their gym. After assuring the recreation center person that we wouldn't bomb the building she let us take a shower.

After the shower, success, Anthony had called to let us know he's be happy to host us for the next few days. We met up with Anthony at the Music Manor (aptly named due to the majority of residents being music students at USU) around 4pm. He and a seemingly infinite number of other people live in a VERY large home that was built in 1899, likely for a large Morman family. I actually got lost in the house trying to find the bathroom the first time. Anthony, Kaelee, Nate, Brandon, Tyler and Brown (the 6 we got to know) were all great and we had lots of fun for the 4 days we stayed with them. Activities included a party at Rocn Jbarr's place, various Guitar Hero contests, some great Indian food courtesy of the restaurant where Kaelee works and a variety of thoughtful discussions.

During the time at the Music Manor Shawn and I had a multitude of exciting experiences and adventures. A visit to the American West Heritage Center was the big event of Thursday. Shoshone Indian days were in full swing and we met some great people including especially Paula, a wonderful retired school teacher who has been spending her time helping the Shoshone children learn some of the songs of their past. She gave us her hiking guide for the area and then invited us to her Tai Chi class that evening to meet Kayo, her teacher. It was a great time resulting in an invitation from Kayo to join him on Sunday at his place for a home grown and home cooked meal. Friday's highlight was the party previously mentioned, followed by a Saturday Mormon BBQ for 31+ singles. Meeting Cheryl, Cami and Neil was a great experience, only to be improved upon by Cami going out of her way to find me a copy of the Book of Mormon for my personal study. All the people we meet are incredibly helpful and friendly. Sunday morning Shawn wanted to go to Church and had found a Lutheran congregation who was to meet at the Amphitheater of a canyon campground near where we had previously stayed. We biked over in the morning and enjoyed the service followed by lunch and great discussion. We ended up inviting Pastor Corinne to dinner at Kayo's house that evening. Not surprisingly, a lively discussion ensued on topics including theology, horticulture, hunting and sustainability. A positive experience had by all. Back to Anthony's for a final night cap of apricots in champagne and we will be off from Logan in the morning. All in all a very friendly locale with great hiking, biking and architecture.

So much done, so little blogging time

2008-08-11T22:31:00.000-04:00

Since leaving Jackson, WY on Aug 3rd, we headed back to the Tetons for most of that week. Camping at Jenny Lake is great for the number of hiking trailheads in the area, not to mention the great views of the Tetons. Getting a site means arriving before 7am and hanging around until people look like they're awake. It's first come, first served, tent only camping with about 50 spots. It's like the first day at a sale when they let people in to get a site. Given that we're on the "up at daylight - asleep by dark" schedule, it wasn't too hard. We stayed for 3 nights. After the second night and hiking most of the local Teton trails, I took a day to head back to Yellowstone to catch the parts I'd missed before meeting up with Shawn and Cal. I decided to take the KTM for the 200 mile round trip, for the fun roads and better gas mileage. The forecast was for afternoon rain so I took the waterproof jacket. It was well used later that afternoon, but thankfully only on the ride back to the Tetons. The amazing geysers and other thermal features were well worth the 200 mile ride.

Thursday morning after the rain we set our various equipment out to dry and started packing up for another day of travel. Heading off toward Bear Lake, UT the plan was to get there before the weekend so we could convince someone with a sailboat to let us crew for them. Thursday night was spent at a motel in Alpine, WY due mainly to Shawn's desire to avoid another night in the rain. For me, it makes little difference as the truck stays dry no matter what the weather does. That got us into Garden city, UT (one of the towns on Bear Lake) around 3pm on Friday afternoon, just in time to hit the marina and then go to the Raspberry Festival that was in town.

Arriving at the marina by bicycle was a great advantage. No only was the traffic through town congested due to the festival but aparently cars are charged an entrance fee that we easily avoided. Wandering down amongst the docks we found a single sailboat with activity. Owners Gary and Mary were quite friendly and told us there was going to be a regatta Saturday afternoon and if we came to the Skipper's meeting we could probably get a ride, maybe even with them if some of their crew didn't show. The rest of Friday evening was spent at the local festival, mostly like a fair.

Saturday morning we arrived early. I headed down to check in with Gary and Mary who immediately asked if I wanted to crew for them. I hooked Shawn up with the Bill in the boat next to Gary's and we were off - even the better to be on competing boats. These were very nice 35' sloops with racing sails and full spinnakers, best crewed with at least 6 people during a race. Although "Ricochet" the boat I was on was faster than the others, we only had 4 crew and also had a large handicap due to its equipment. The result was 3 hours of fun, sun and new friends. After the race Bill invited us to dinner with his family, which we gratefully and readily accepted. The rest of the evening was filled with great conversation, food and wine with Bill, his wife Megan and the kids Katie and Will.

Bill & Megan were kind enough to let us stay in their guest cabin so we were able to hang out with them all day Sunday as well. We played on all manner of water toys, the most frustrating of which was the sailboard. I learned that it is definitely not like riding a bike. When I lived in Adelaide back in 1995 it took me four days to work out how to avoid falling off my own sailboard. This time 4 hours didn't help with anything but sunburn. That night we headed back up to the summit of Garden City to camp. Monday morning I headed off into the dirt trails nearby for a few hours of motorcycle playing before meeting Shawn at WoodCamp Campground in Logan Canyon for hiking up to the Jardine Juniper - a 2000 yr old Juniper Tree. The summit had awesome long distance views.

Girls, Girls, Girls

2008-08-03T14:46:00.001-04:00

We hit the road by 10am as we've got a lot planned for Jackson. First there's the 5pm “Meditation for Peace”, followed by three Art Exhibitions and then Relay for Life in the evening. It’s going to be busy. We did all of them and feel great for the experience. I'm really enjoying the spiritual experiences out here.

About 9.30pm we go for a walk to see the local area and come by a park full of people. It doesn’t get dark here until about 10pm. Shawn jokingly suggests we crash it and having had 2 or 3 complimentary Art Exhibition wines I wholeheartedly agree. We wander in and are immediately offered a burger by the cook. Come to discover we've crashed the local Latter Day Saints youth singles ward of 18-30 yr olds.

Shawn and I are both over 35 so chat to the somewhat older organizers for a while. They’re very welcoming and we openly ask about and discuss their faith. A nice couple from Salt Lake City (about 220 miles south) give us their info and tell us to drop by if we get to SLC. We head over to the younger group to play some “glow in the dark” frisbee. Eventually we sit down on a bench with 3 girls and chat for a while. By about 11.30pm it’s getting chilly (at least to us) and most people are gone. I unashamedly ask if they have an apartment where we can continue chatting. To our slight suprise they agree so we follow Tami and Shalese home. They happen to room together and live just near the Relay For Life site we were at earlier (already feels like we know the area).

The four of us plus the girls’ roommate Cate continue to talk (mostly about Latter Day Saints beliefs) until about 3.30am. Shawn and I are still surprised these clearly upstanding girls allowed us into their home. Maybe it’s obvious both of us are spiritual and truly only interested in hearing about their beliefs but I still suspect it’s against church rules to bring home 2 male complete strangers. Maybe we’d be considered Mission work. Neither Shawn nor I are used to being up this late so I propose if they let us stay tonight and Sat night we’d cook them a great dinner. After a brief huddle they agree. Coincidentally (the girls deny this but we all know there are no coincidences) 10 minutes later Cate’s brother Karl knocks on the door saying he’s out late and doesn’t want to ride his motorcycle home. He’s our chaperone on the living room floor – fine by us. After about 4 hours sleep Cate get up and leaves for work and we head off for a day of exploring, starting at the Farmers market. That evening we cook a great eggplant based vegetarian meal after which Shalese heads off to her room to do some work for Church. Tami and her friend Ronda hang around to play some UNO with Shawn and I for a few hours. When Cate gets home after her 14 hour day (on about 2 hours sleep – oh to be 24) we all get noisy for a while and then thankfully get to bed by 12.30am.

Shawn and I get up early to head off for a walk up the mountain behind the girls’ apartment and then after greatly enjoyed showers and breakfast we take a few goodbye photos and head off back to the Tetons. As wonderful as Jackson was, predominantly due to the people we met, the serenity and quiet of the Tetons is more relaxing. We will enjoy our traveling together and then I’m sure move on to other people and experiences when the time is right. For now, we’ll be heading to Jenny Lake about 7am Monday to try and get one of the first come, first served tent sites and do some more exploring there.

The Research Station

2008-07-31T22:34:00.002-04:00

Headed to Colter Bay Wednesday morning. Aided by Shawn’s Disabled Veteran Card we get $9/night camping in a great site with Mountain glimpses and a short walk to Jackson Lake. It's definitely more cost effective sharing expenses with 2 other people. The three of us hiked the 9 miles to Hermitage Point Wednesday afternoon. My new hiking shoes gave me an odd blister on my heal so I'll wear my sandles for a few days.

This morning Shawn and I bicycled to Jackson Lake Lodge and back to Leeks Marina - not more than 15 miles but fairly windy and uphill. I think I'm getting a little more fit but avoiding the scales can be deceptive. This evening we met Cal at the UW/NPS Research station for a seminar and BBQ. The topic was quite dry but the people were very friendly and the location right on a point facing the Tetons. It was previously a hunting lodge, bought by the NPS in the ‘70’s. Apparently the décor hasn’t been changed since.

It’s now becoming apparent that Shawn and I are more compatible than Cal. He likes to smoke and drinks more than us. He’s a great guy, just on a different path. Shawn and I will head to Jackson this weekend without Cal.

Friday morning we’ll go back to the Research Station as they let us leave Shawn’s car and my motorcycle there over the weekend so we can take just one car to Jackson.

Lazy Day

2008-07-29T14:28:00.000-04:00

After Monday night's fairly late sharing of meal and drinks a lazy day was in order. The views here are amazing. I still can’t believe they don’t charge for these sites. Tomorrow the three of us will head into the Park to Colter Bay and do some hiking and biking. Not sure how long we’ll stay together. Shawn is due to head South but Cal and I may go back to Yellowstone together. Only time will tell. It’s been hot here during the day (high 80’s) but with little humidity so feels far better than Georgia. Apparently the bugs here, and apparently everywhere that gets significant snow are the worst in years. The fly-screen tent is still greatly appreciated by all.

More New Friends

2008-07-28T22:16:00.001-04:00

Drove past Yellowstone Lake into the Tetons this morning. It's still as beautiful as in my 2004 trip. Arrived in Flagg Ranch, just outside the Tetons NP. After I suggested that camping next to an RV was not in my itinerary, the visitors center people told me about Grassy Lake Rd on Polecat creek.

The first of 8 campsites had 4 spaces right by the river, a vault toilet (nicer than it sounds), fire grates and picnic tables. Everything but potable water. Seeing as I carry about 10 gallons with me plus a water purifier that was no problem. Better still, on a dirt road so no noisy RV’s and more amazingly it was free. There must be some rule about not charging for sites without water. It was as nice as many for which I’ve paid up to $20 a night.

That’s where I met Shawn and Cal. They were standing in one of the sites chatting and waved. I said hi, pulled up in the next site and went over. We quickly decided to camp together for the next few days. Cal’s been on the road for 7 months and Shawn for the last month or so. He was in Desert Storm in the early 90’s, is now a disabled veteran and spends his summer’s traveling away from his Texas home. None of us has a tight schedule so exploring the area together is easy. We’re all very different but get along well so far. It’s easy without the stress of a city or job.

Shawn and I bicycled the 20 miles roundtrip to Grassy Lake then enjoyed a jointly prepared dinner inside my bug-free screened tent, unanimously agreed as the best purchase ever.

Bear Attack !

2008-07-27T21:57:00.003-04:00

I planned to spend the night at Yellowstone Friday and head to the Grand Tetons on Saturday morning. As is becoming the norm, I was guided another way. After the glorious Beartooth pass, it was around 8pm when I began arriving at the pre-Yellowstone campgrounds. They were all closed.

At the Yellowstone NE entrance they told me a recent bear attack had closed most of the nearby campgrounds and the only one inside the park still not full was 65 miles (about 3hrs drive) away. They suggested trying Fall Creek, about 15 miles east. I did. They wouldn’t allow me to sleep in a soft-sided vehicle (as is the case with my truck topper) so I could sleep in the very cramped cab for $23 or head back a few miles to Pilot’s Creek, a vacant space about 5 miles back where anybody can camp for free. If I was going to get eaten by a bear I may as well be doing it without paying so off I went.

Arriving at Pilot’s Creek it looked as if many people had been given this option. The only space left was next to a family setting up. I stopped and asked if they were OK with me camping beside them. They said sure. I noticed the tent just being put up so offered to help. The Sprayman's (Tyler, Dawn, Asher and Annalise) was very friendly as I came to discover. After helping them set up their tent, we spent the evening chatting, cooking hot chocolate for the kids and generally enjoying the evening.

Saturday morning I wanted to take the KTM back up to the Beartooth pass to enjoy the twisty roads I had experienced on the way in. The Sprayman’s told me they were heading into Yellowstone and had a reserved campsite. Asher (7) and Annalise (5) had taken somewhat of a liking to me and I enjoyed their good manners and behavior so with my usual assertiveness I suggested I’d be happy to share their site in Yellowstone the following night. Dawn and Tyler agreed so we met up after my ride around 3pm. Lucky me, I turned up just when the work was starting. After helping Tyler and Asher put up the tent I suggested cooking dinner for the 5 of us as a thankyou and to avoid my always melting food situation. We all enjoyed the meal and some frothy libations. I may have to detour to Missoula to see them again at their home. It’s great to meet new friends on this trip.

Took a great motorcycle ride around part of Yellowstone Canyon Country Sunday morning. Saw the Upper and Lower Falls, the Mud Volcano, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (photos will be uploaded asap). It’s amazing what 640,000 years can do for creating beauty from devastation. I’ll relax tonight, pack up and get ready for an early morning departure to the Grand Tetons Monday. I expect to return to Yellowstone in a week or so to see the rest of the attractions.

Couch surfing Billings

2008-07-25T15:28:00.005-04:00

On a Sunday afternoon with a broken bike a Couch surfing host was truly needed so I got online and found another person in Billings with a phone number listed.

After a brief explanation of my situation, success. John was willing to put me up, although I must admit he sounded like I woke him from a nap. He's a programmer living alone in a nice little downtown apartment. It was perfect. When he offered to cook I suggested adding some of the items I had in my continuously warming cooler. By the time we were done choosing ingredients there was going to be more food than we needed. Perfect opportunity for him to invite some friends from Kyrgyzstan who were here on a summer work program. Kyrgyzstan is a small country south of Kazakhstan and east of Uzbekistan which reclaimed independence after the collapse of the former USSR. John had lived in Kyrgyzstan with his family and then alone for a few years so speaks slightly rusty fluent Russian. He is a rare individual indeed and still only mid-twenties. We had a very pleasant evening and cultural exchange.

Monday morning John headed off to work and I headed off to find a fix for the KTM. After using the car jack to hoist the bike on the carry rack still attached to the back of the truck, I was able to remove the back wheel. Now to find some bearings. None of the open motorcycle dealers had a clue and the KTM dealer was closed on Mondays. After a quick Internet search to find the right parts, I headed to a local bearing manufacturer who had multiple sets handy. They directed me to a machine shop two streets away for installation. It all seemed too easy. After a few hours of exploring town I headed back to the shop. Great news - they hadn't touched my wheel. Apparently after trying a hammer and punch (silly of me to think a machine shop would have any type of bearing puller) they were afraid to damage it and stopped. I guess I'd have to wait until Tuesday. That would mean convincing John to let me stay. Luckily, he was very accommodating. Tuesday morning I headed to the dealer to suggest I borrow some tools and do the job myself. They declined and said they could do it - in the next 4 or 5 hours. Deciding to be a pushy customer I hung around and whined, achieving absolutely nothing. Eventually they started the job and with my watchful eye got it done without completely destroying (although they made a valiant effort) my wheel. All's well that ends well and my bike was back together that night.

Instead of ditching me the next day John suggested I stay for Shakespeare in the Park on Wednesday evening, followed by a trip to the Drive-in with some of his friends. That was fine with me. To add to the fun, we unexpectedly attended a BBQ with his work for lunch. So many new people, it was great. It was also a very busy day.

Thursday was another invite to watch John and his friend Bill go paragliding. It is an incredibly peaceful event never to be missed, improved upon only by participating yourself, which unfortunately I was not qualified to do. After all this, eventually I would have to leave for fear of John kicking me out so decided Friday would be the day.

This afternoon, with joy in my heart I head off to the Grand Tetons via the Beartooth Pass and Yellowstone. I say farewell to Billings with many thanks to John, Doug, Andy, Jacob and the plethora of others, knowing it will not be the last time I visit this wonderful place and its thoroughly enjoyable people.

Arriving in Billings, MT

2008-07-20T15:55:00.002-04:00

Arriving in Billings late Saturday afternoon, I had to satisfy my unsatiable need for ice. With two coolers and a multitude of warming groceries I stopped at a Wendy's, hoping to get a freebie from their ice machine. Apparently not all fast food places have a drink machine in the foyer with ice in the middle. This one had it behind the counter which just made the request too difficult. As I was heading out I spotted a "hut" in the parking lot next door - not so many of these in the South, they're a small 8 x 8 sized building with all variety of retail items - selling coffee and ice-creams. With nobody else around I pulled up and asked the girl (Sam was her name) if she would mind filling my ice bag. She obliged and also gave me some great information on places to stay and things to do. My plan was to spend a day in the area and continue on to the Tetons.

I found the Yellowstone River campground where Sam had told me and took their last tent space. Being a mostly RV park it didn't exactly grab me but I figured where else would I find a campground on a Saturday night in a city. Just as I was walking out of the office a girl came in dressed in bicycle garb and asked how much for a tent space. She was clearly suprised to hear the $30 which is sort of steep for a tent and even more so when they said there were none left. I told her I'd share the space happily and after extracting another $5 from us for the third person (her boyfriend Matt) th three of us headed off to find the space.

Meeting Anna and Matt has turned out to be one of the best experiences of this trip. Not only were they very interesting people, cycling from Portland to Maine, but they told me about a website called http://www.couchsurfing.com/. It provides exactly what I had been trying to achieve randomly. It's like a social networking site for travellers. People who host provide cultural and personal experiences about their town (plus of course a place to stay) and surfers can give back the same. It's a fantastic idea and it's all non-profit. It may help to make our world a smaller, more understanding place. I created a profile that night and decided to see if I could find somewhere in Billings to stay an extra night to see some of the interesting sites in the area.

Sunday morning as Matt and Anna were heading out a guy walked over and said he'd noticed my motorcycle. He told me about this amazing hill climb area just outside town. After accidentally riding down a hiking trail and asking a few hikers I found the area and WOW ! A very cool space with varied riding and much fun. A couple of hours of challenging myself and the bike and I felt the rear tire slipping, thinking I had a flat. It wasn't so I figured I was just getting tired and decided to head back to camp. Picking up a little speed on the dirt road it felt very unstable. Looking down I discovered the rear wheel had chewed up a bearing. Not so good for riding and of course it was Sunday. A couple of young guys I'd been riding with were kind enough to give me a ride back to camp to pick up my truck. Now would be the fun part, how to fix it ?

The Circle Travellers Inn

2008-07-19T09:36:00.003-04:00

As a continuation of the Richey oddities, shortly after the weather cleared up I grabbed my pillow from the car to put it in the tent, only to discover that although the tarp and outside of the tent had stayed dry, the inside of the tent and my sleeping pad were quite wet. Very unusual. Pulling it out to dry and shaking the tent I decided to pull the car out from under the pavilion and sleep in the car in case the rain came back. Just at that point a cold chill ran down my back and a feeling I shouldn't stay there at all came over me. Having just had the prior experience I listened and quickly packed up the truck. Heading toward the next town on Hwy 200 I was getting tired and wondered where I would sleep. 30 miles later entering Circle, MT I saw a motel but didn't really want to stay. I drove past a small gas station with some women outside so stopped and asked them if there was a campground. They said the only place around was the motel so back I went.

Long story short, the motel was clean, cheap and even had free wi-fi that allowed me to catch up on blogging and a friendly cat that enjoyed a good head scratch. There was also a wonderful new laudromat just around the corner that allowed me to do 2 weeks washing in one load. All in all an excellent choice.

Travelling with a Guide

2008-07-18T19:32:00.000-04:00

After leaving Grand Forks early afternoon I didn't want to go too far before camping so drove about 100 miles toward Devil's Lake where I'd been told there was lots of camping. I think lots is an overstatement but I did find the Graham's Island State Park with great views and a nice spot.

Friday morning the 18th I left early so I could get in a good day. North Dakota is mostly level farmland without many attractions unless wheat or corn are of special interest. The plan was to make it into Montana that day. Following US Highway 2 west I drove about 300 miles before arriving in Culbertson, MT around 2pm local mountain time. That is when the curiosities began.

Crossing from ND to MT I was trying to decide whether to head northwest toward Glacier National Park or South West toward Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. As will become abundantly clear, I was being guided and thankfully listened.

The welcome center in Culbertson is clearly not a government one. It's a small brick building with very few markings and a small additional sign that says museum. A young man probably about 17, also unusual for welcome centers, greeted me. Come to find out this is mostly a local town initiative and they do it incredibly well. After a couple of hours of exploring one of the most comprehensive and impressive local history museums I left, together with information and maps covering all of Montana and Wyoming.

With the attendant's assistance (I never did get his name) I decided on heading south first, toward the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. I chose a small-unpaved road to begin the trip. 40 miles and a very dusty Tacoma later, I was looking longingly at the farms along the road for a repeat of the Grand Rapids experience. I came close to stopping at a few but they just didn't give me the right feeling. The gravel road ended at a town named Richey with nothing resembling a campground on the map for many miles.

Heading through town toward Hwy 200 where the next turn came, I saw a couple of guys talking by their trucks outside a bar. My friendly hello was greeted with one of those, "great, another lost tourist" blank stares. Upon asking if there was any camping in the area they both immediately pointed and said, "top of the hill, go left, there's a park". And that was that. I wondered what sort of park this might be. The town was certainly not the wealthiest looking. As I crested the hill, a sign pointed out Hwy 200, so at least I was heading in the right direction for leaving. Taking the left I spotted a small scruffy looking park just down on the right. The sign said, "Richey City Park, Restrooms Closed, Tourists Welcome". Slightly amused I turned in and stopped.

With nobody around and no obvious camping spots I headed toward a home across the street to ask questions. As luck would have it, nobody was home and I was wondering if I was allowed to camp overnight or if I'd be arrested in my sleep. It's about 6pm by this time and becoming very windy. A that time one of the guys from outside the bar drives up and says, "yes, this is the park and yes, you can stay overnight".

I begin to put up my tent as he drives off, wondering if he came to check on me or if he really had some reason to be heading up a deserted looking gravel road. 5 or 10 minutes later as I was still struggling with my tarp and tent in the wind the guy returned. He said I should pull up under the pavilion to block the wind and avoid the likely rain overnight. The sky had started looking ominous so I took the tent in that direction and pulled some tables out of the way to make space, pulling the truck up to the edge of the concrete to protect the tent from the wind. The rain started to sprinkle in large drops so I pulled the drivers' side up on the concrete out of the weather to access my gear without getting too wet. As is starts to spot heavier I decide to bring the whole truck up there with my tent so I can access both sides and the back too. Not 5 minutes after completing the table and pole avoidance game the lightening, torrential rain and then buckets of hail all came down around me. The vehicle, tent and I all remained safe, dry and dent free.
I sit here 30 minutes later writing this and the storm has passed, the birds are chirping, the trees rustling and I'm thankful for being more in touch with the universe than ever before. To those who say what a wonderful coincidence, I say believe what you please and I will continue to attract wonderful coincidences. Listen with your feelings and not your mind and it's amazing what can be experienced.

Grand, Grand Forks

2008-07-16T23:07:00.001-04:00

After the Chippewa National Forest there's not much left in Minnesota other than farmland so I headed for North Dakota. Arriving in Grand Forks (and right next to it East Grand Forks, Minnesota) early afternoon I headed for the visitor's center, always a good choice. Picking up a few brochures I learned of a downtown campground (that is actually in Minnesota) and thought I'd check it out.
In 1997 the Red River that runs through the cities flooded heavily and put most of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks under water. The Army Core of Engineers suggested a greenway around the river that would protect the residents and provide 2200 acres of parks that are now used for bike trails, camping, picnics and an assortment of other great outdoor activities. It was so nice I stayed for two days and explored the city and surrounds on foot and bicycle. A fairly quiet town when UND (University of North Dakota) is on break there are many historical homes that can be viewed by a walk around the downtown area. With low humidity and highs around 85 it was great to visit. I suspect winter is a whole different story with temps getting below zero regularly.

It was also a great opportunity to catch up on the blog as there was a nice little bakery with free wi-fi. I met some of the staff and hung out with them tonight at a local outdoor cafe named the Toasted Frog. Tomorrow morning I'll continue west toward Montana.

Much later that day...

2008-07-14T23:37:00.004-04:00

July 14th was very eventful. After leaving the baseball field, I checked my maps and headed for a park Paula had suggested just outside town. It was about 6.30pm and still very light. I stopped at the park but it was a little crowded so decided to keep heading west. Stopping again about 50 miles later at the Norway Beach campground within the Chippewa National Forest I looked around but just didn't feel like staying. I headed a few more miles down the road and spotted Pike Bay campground. Rather than driving 6 miles down the dirt road to the camp, I took a quick right down a little road I spotted heading toward the lake.

It was great. Single track, secluded and quiet. I got to park right in front of the water. Just what I felt like after the busy day I'd had. I figured out a way to climb into the back of the truck without removing the motorcycle and after a quick bite drifted off. I awoke in the morning to sounds like the land before time. Giant buzzing moths(thankfully not inside with me) and large pterodactyl like birds flying around. Enclosed in so much greenery it felt very strange and special. Another day in paradise on the road to the West. The adventure continues to North Dakota...

Later that day ....

2008-07-14T21:42:00.003-04:00

After leaving Dorrie and Harv's home, I headed toward the Forest History Center, an attraction they had suggested. Grand Rapids (and much of North Eastern Minnesota) started out as logging towns. The Forest History Center is an interactive recreated logging town set in Winter 1900. (that part takes a little imagination when it's 90* outside). After the tour finished and the woman with 6 children left, I chatted for a while with Brian our guide. He had been doing this for 5 years and was very knowledgeable about the center and the area in general. I headed off to the river for some more information. Realizing I hadn't eaten that day and it being about 3pm I decided to head off. Two of the interpreters as they are known were sitting in front of the cook house having a break when I walked by. Part of the program is that they cook traditional dishes (mostly so the cook house smells good) and I came to discover sometimes offer morsels to weary travellers such as myself. A cookie was gladly accepted and then venison and veggies. Fawn and Paula were great hosts. They're below in their costumes at the Histroy Center. By the end of our discussion Paula was calling her husband Bob to see if I could come home and spend some time with them. She thought her two kids would love to hear about Australia. Bob had to work night shift that night so it was agreed having a stranger in the house would be too much stress for him. I did however join them for a parents against kids little league game that evening. It was another new experience and something I enjoyed immensely. I even got to play. There's a photo of Paula and her family at the park on the left slideshow. If you're ever in Grand Rapids the Forest History Center is worth a stop, if only to chat with Paula, Fawn, Brian and the rest of the interpreting crew.

Random Meetings

2008-07-14T13:06:00.001-04:00

My first (of many I expect) self induced unusual experience of the trip. Having been at campgrounds in fairly remote areas for the last two weeks or so I decided if I was going to learn about the US and its towns I needed to meet the people. As I was entering Grand Rapids, MN I devised my plan. I would find somebody outside in their yard and tell them briefly about my trip and plans, hoping they would have the time and desire to tell me about their life and town. An additional desire was to find a place to stay and perhaps after chatting for a while they would find some space for me somewhere. I didn't have any expectations (or much of a plan) so when the main street of Grand Rapids was closed with a detour into a residential area I knew I was on the right path. It would have been easy to chicken out as you just don't know how people will react and I'm not the most extroverted person.

What would you know, the first person I came across was the retired Police Chief. In retrospect that was probably better as you would expect him to be a fairly good judge of character. I chatted with Harvey and his son Alan, himself visiting from Denver, for at least 3 hours. During that time, Harvey's daughter Beth dropped by with her daughter as did some other of his grandchildren. I came to discover he has 5 kids and 9 grandchildren, a good portion of whom I actually met. I had brought up the question of a place to stay when I first arrived and nothing more was said about it. As it began to get dark I wondered if he was going to say, "It's been nice chatting with you, bye now". Thankfully, when he said he had to go inside, he offered that I could camp in his yard. Normally that would have been fine but with the motorcycle on the back and only staying one night that's quite an effort to remove everything. I ended up laying on my air mattress in their garage. It's funny how after spending the last week at the mercy of the elements and insects, a warm, dry garage without bugs and with light for writing is as enjoyable as any of the variety of 5 star hotels I've stayed in around the world. Everything is relative and joy is what you choose.

In the morning I went to the door to thank them as I was leaving. Harvey's wife answered and the three of us chatted for a while. I had not yet met Dorrie and she mentioned she had been considering creating a blog too so we went to their office and I showed her how to do it. We ended up spending another couple of hours working on some PC issues she'd had. I was glad I could provide some service for their generosity and we all went away with what I believe was a very positive experience. I learned a lot about them and their town, exactly what I had planned to do.

It was bound to happen

2008-07-13T17:12:00.002-04:00

My first REALLY rainy period where I didn't have the comfort of somebody's home.

Spent most of the day Friday in the car, sitting out the rain. Arrived in Ely, talked to the forest Service people and got info about the Boundary Waters for some kayaking. Headed out to Fenske Lake, a Nat Forest campground that’s closest to town. That way Sat I could to town and talk to some outfitters about renting a kayak. Severe thunderstorms and hail were forecast. I missed the hail. I sat in the car and told the sky I wasn’t interested in hail. I fell asleep and woke up with the sky so dark it seemed like night but was only 2pm. Lots of wind and rain but no hail. It cleared up enough for me to put up my screen kitchen, cook some dinner and put everything away. Then it came down again, most of the night I guess. I headed into Ely Sat on the bike but it was too windy to leave the bike for fear of it toppling over (caught it once).

It's Sunday now and I've been in Ely, MN for a couple of days, trying to find a good time to go kayaking on the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness. It just doesn't look like it's going to happen unless I grow webbed feet. I guess somebody is telling me to move on.

It has still been fun here and I'd like to return sometime. I found a few good dual-sport trails and went for a hike around Lake Fenske where I'm camped. The definite benefit has been that the natives (insects) don't seem to care for this weather either - they've been noticeably absent.

Got a new sleeping pad last night from Steve at the Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitters - highly recommended. The bliss of sleep makes it all OK.

Pondering Minnesota

2008-07-10T22:58:00.003-04:00

As I sit here around 10pm after a heartily enjoyed meal of self prepared stir fried veggies and chicken, I ponder the serenity of the Minnesota backwoods at Pfeiffer Lake in the Superior National Forest. With the mosquitoes buzzing me like Kamikaze jet pilots, in my fly screen hat, feeling like a complete goober, I ponder it intently. All I can say is, thank God there aren’t any biting flies – blood sucking little bastards they are.

Having arrived today from Michigan, via a brief fuel stop in Wisconsin, I have discovered something I’m sure many a Northerner discovers as a child. Bugs swarm like hungry titans at the beginning of summer. I, of course, being a born-again Georgian, thinking I would be avoiding the heat, have been traveling right INTO bug season in every state I’ve visited thus far. I don’t just mean mosquitoes. I mean crazed, insane, biting flies, I mean all variety of flying insects that are so hungry for blood they don’t care that you’re wearing DEET 100% which I suspect means sure death for them. They just don’t care. The label says Woodsman Strength, UP TO 10hrs of protection from ALL the aforementioned insects. Obviously, UP TO in marketing speak means 30 seconds in what I’m guessing is hatching season and anybody who’s been here at this time knows I’m not exaggerating. Aside from that, it’s been bliss. Amazing scenery, good weather (I have avoided any kind of heat) and nice people when I’ve come across them during my stays at various State and National Parks.

Having had to leave my chair due to the noise of swarms, I find myself gratefully bug free in my tent, even if it only fits me. It’s been a quick 4 days since I left the relative comfort of Alpena. My goal, for no particular reason, is to spend no more than one night every 2 weeks in a hotel, mostly to do washing. I’ve discovered that all variety of campgrounds have showers and some even have clothes washing facilities. I’m enjoying the peace but do crave more human interaction. I think when I come to a place I really like the look of I will find a sublet or room to share and explore more thoroughly from there. For now, I will continue on my journey, hoping to avoid bad weather and anything large enough to eat me.

Just a side note – anybody who has ever contemplated do a trip like this should. It is joyous and peaceful but maybe that’s just my perspective.

The Thunder Bowl

2008-07-09T22:57:00.003-04:00

After dropping Monika on Sunday morning I leisurely headed up the West coast of MI. Spotting Fisherman's Island State Park I decided to camp. I unpacked my various toys and took the bike for a ride to see what the town had to offer. To my suprise, a very European looking village named Charlevoix appeared in my sights. Sidewalk cafes, yachts in the harbor, a band in the rotunda and people playing chess in the park. All that and a beautiful sunny day. I parked and explored a little before picking up some supplies from a store and heading back to camp. I set up my new screened porch for the first time and enjoyed a bug free meal looking out over Lake Michigan. With some dark clouds forming I took down the screenbefore bed and smiled to myself as I and the tent stayed dry in the back of the truck while it rained a little overnight.

Monday morning and time for the UP. Stopping at the National Forest Service just past Mackinaw I asked about the off-road trails I had seen on a map earlier. The very helpful woman gave me a County Forest Trail map and for the princely sum of $8 said I could have the entire camp to myself (if I could find it). A few hours and many turns later I eventually found Leg Lake. I had the entire lake to myself. I decided to cook up the meat I had into a wonderful Drew's special spaghetti resplendent with brocolli, mushrooms, onions and much tabasco and other spices. The night didn't fare well for my screen porch. It rained heavily and by morning it was a soggy mess. The day looked like it was trying to dry so I shook the porch out and put it in the open while I headed off to explore the trails on my motorcycle. After a few false starts I found the "Thunder Bowl" as the locals call it. Mostly for snowmobiles and ATV's it was a very large, very sandy bowl area with trails going off in all directions. Challenging for two wheels but helped by the previous nights' rain it was a blast. A few hours later I returned to more sun and a sufficiently dry screen to dust off the dried mud and pack it up. An enjoyable stay by all accounts.

Heading for Minnesota Tuesday morning I decided to stop off at Michigan's Porcupine Mountains State Park, my last view of Lake Superior and a must see for the coastline and lake of the clouds area. Arriving about 4pm after a fairly long drive the attendent said all the beach spots were taken. I suggested he just give me what he thought was a nice interior spot. As it turns out, Site 8 was probably the best, for although it wasn't directly on the water side, it had a higher, better view (see more pics left). I made a few friends of people walking into my area to see the view.
One couple suggested a few places in MN for my continuing trip. It was so nice I stayed two days so I could visit Lake of the Clouds, Ontonagon and the surrounding coasts. It was very relaxing and somewhat hard to leave as the weather was great and the people friendly but Grand Rapids beckoned so off I went.

Goodbye to Alpena

2008-07-06T16:39:00.002-04:00

Although I've waited to post about it until now, my friend Monika and I left Indy for her father's place in Alpena, MI June 21. After a brief repose at her brother's cabin on Hubbard Lake, we arrived Sunday mid afternoon to some showers but a great view. His home is right on Lake Huron with nothing but sand as backyard. It reminds me of the place I lived in Adelaide when I lived there back in '95. His home was to be our base for the two weeks Monika was accompanying me on the trip. The first week or so we spent hanging around his place catching up on some time consuming and time sensitive tax matters (thankfully he has wi-fi). At least when one has to work doing it from a place like that with a "built drink" in hand makes it a little more tolerable.

Of course, it wasn't all work. Monika's father owns a charter fishing business and so we ventured out onto the lake one wee-early morning at around 6am to see what was biting. The answer unfortunately was, only the mosquitoes. Although we had a multitude of very complex looking devices, both electronic and mechanical, it all comes down to whether there are fish out there. We did catch one but it was not of the legal size to keep so back it went. As you can see, I fish with great enthusiasm. The day was not wasted though as it was a great boat ride and I think I learned something about off-shore fishing. Osmosis you know !! Although other attempts were made to go out again the weather never co-operated and we were stuck with having to play pool, indoor shuffle-board and beach tennis. Not to mention the jet-ski's, bicycle trips and an occasional foray with my motorcycle, both on and off-road. The time we spent in Alpena was both very memorable and enjoyable. I met a great variety of Monika's family including her brothers Skip and Bill, their lovely wives Karen and Candace, not to mention her father Capt. Larry and his wife Barb. Without them and their generosity the entire trip through Alpena would have been not much more than a few traffic lights and a pretty harbor. See Michigan photos to the left for more on the area, including time in Alpena and the rest of MI.

After the trip to the Youper with Monika, we returned to Alpena for July 4 fun. Billy and Candace joined us for the weekend and we had a bunch of fun including launching their new boat, heading into town for the fireworks and of course hitting the local bar on the way home for late night drinks and hamburgers. Candace's driving only scared me when my eyes were open and the music was quiet so of course that wasn't a problem. We took off Sunday morning for Traverse City where I threw Monika out the door so she could grab a rental to head back to Indy while I head off to the wilderness and more adventure.

The Best Mother I've ever had

2008-07-01T09:51:00.001-04:00

She is Magnificent
She is Young at heart

She is Magnanimous
She is Open and kind
She is Truth personified
She is Happy by choice
She is Everything I have ever needed
She is Revered by all who meet her

She is the best mother I've ever had.

Hello mum. I wish I could be there to do fun things with you today but I know you'll enjoy the now without me. I love you lots and thank you for everything that has allowed me to be on this trip. Happy Birthday. Drew.

Tahquamenon - harder to say than it looks

2008-06-30T06:29:00.001-04:00

Another day, another $8mil in fuel. Drove a few hours north yesterday arriving in Paradise about 2pm. Nice enough but not up to that particular descriptor. Set up camp in the Tahquamenon State Park, riverside campground. Even camping prices are getting a bit out of hand right now. For 2 nights of tent camping the bill came to $61. To be fair that did include use of the hot showers in the fancy RV campsite nextdoor and a MI State Park pass that will cover my entrance fees in MI for the next 6mths - of course I'm leaving MI next week :-)
Decided to set up the Suzuki tent (pics soon) because we'll be here 2 days. I've been very impressed how well it stood up to the 30mph winds that set in around 4pm for about 7 hours. Thankfully I staked it down or there would have been blue & yellow UFO sightings in Nth Michigan. It's quite a lot cooler up here which suits me fine because it dissuades the man eating insects - mostly black flies & mosquitoes. Another 5.30am morning today. Not sure if it's the sunrise tapping on the truck windows, the birds squawking or just my new habit but it certainly adds to the ability to fit more activities into a day. Now that camp is set and the wind has mostly died down, today will be a mountain biking day. There's at least 3 good trails around here. I guess I'll take a shower, have breakfast and head for the trails. I wonder if Monika will be up before I get back. She only gets up at 5.30am for work. I'd rather do it for play. Carpe diem !!

Up North, and then some ...

2008-06-29T06:12:00.002-04:00

Woke up this morning at 5.30am to the sound of sea gulls fighting over some tasty tidbit. I've been in Northern Michigan for the past week and spent last night in the UP (Upper Peninsula for those unaquainted). It seems like I've spent all my time near the water since leaving Georgia, over 3 weeks ago now. It makes me miss Australia. I'm currently parked on a point about 30ft from Lake Huron. I was driving toward Sault Ste. Marie (MI's oldest city) from Alpena when I saw this little sign saying "rustic camping on lake". Never one to miss an adventure I headed down the dirt road and a few miles later it opens up to a fantastic bay. Not sure exactly where I am but I think a town named Charles may be the closest. Funniest part is I'm only about 5 miles from I-75, which also runs through the middle of Atlanta (the one in GA, not MI).
This was actually my first night camping in the truck as I've had friends with spare beds until now. It rained sometime in the middle of the night but no worries there - waterproofing was well tested before I left. The new self inflating mattress worked well. I'll have to work on gear locations to give myself more space but slept pretty well. Temps have been mild. Mossies are a bit rough but we all have to eat. I have a little cemetery with 15 of them lined up and a dozen or more still flying around. I'll just get up and at the day to avoid them.
Heading for Paradise today after breakfast - yes, that's really the name of the place.

The Daily New's

2008-06-20T23:01:00.001-04:00

Only a few photos to post from this most recent jaunt (uploading soon) but it has been very memorable. One new experience after another.

I've spent the last 2 weeks at my friend Monika's place in Indianapolis. Her generosity and hospitality have been enough to make me want to stay more permanantly but she's leaving with me for the next two weeks so that's not an option.
I've been to Indy before but not in the summer. What a wonderful experience.

Monika's friends Karen and Dave were great, sharing with us not only dinner and a play at the local theater but also the Indianapolis Indians Minor League Baseball the following week. Although I've been to my share of Major League games, I've never been to the smaller and more action packed AAA games. It was full of suprises right up until the end, not the least of which was the broken bat flying into the crowd just across the way. A great time was had by all.

The Nancy's (of which there were many) were all fun, particularly the one married to Ralph. We enjoyed a Sunday brunch at the White River Yacht Club followed by an afternoon on their boat which included many stops and a variety of local hitchhikers. By the end of the afternoon we had a crowd of at least 8. They were also our last friends to see, joining them for "the best sushi in Indy" this evening. It was good and better still there was no waiting,

From my very first dining night (previous post) to tonight, we have met up with so many fun and gracious people it's hard to keep count. From the theater to the baseball to riding the river, I have experienced mid-America in all it's glory and enjoyed every minute.

I can truly say that the last two weeks were unexpected and full of new and enjoyable times. Even Monika's dog Shylee grew on me after spending two weeks with her during the day.

We're heading up to Michigan tomorrow and that will be a blast too. The Great Lakes, the northern scenery, it's all to come...

Many thanks to Monika and the rest of her Indy crew for great times and good friends.

Experiencing St Elmo's Fire

2008-06-06T23:37:00.002-04:00

Friday was drive day. Thankfully, stopping in KY meant Indy was only a little over 4 hours but of course leaving Frank & Deanna's was difficult. An early departure, although planned didn't exactly happen. I thought I'd make a quick call to Monika to let her know my ETA when I got back into cell range. Lucky I did. She had made dinner plans with friends at a swanky downtown restaurant and I was expected about an hour before I was likely to arrive - always tough to do. A quick brainstorm and we decided I'd meet her downtown (she lives north of the city and I was driving thru downtown to get to her place anyway) where I could put my very unlockable collection of toys inside her work parking garage. I was assured that the shorts and t-shirt I was wearing would be acceptable, although I was suspicious.
Everything turned out well, the restaurant, St Elmo's - an Indy classic, was great and the "spicy" shrimp cocktail lives up to it's name incredibly well. I got away with what I was wearing but I did notice they seated us well away from the nicely dressed people :-) The small but fun group of Monika, her friends Susan and Jeff and myself made for a great first evening, although hard to top Deanna's scallops.
We even missed the rain in the city, although apparently I drove through a tornado and flood zone earlier without noticing. Looking forward to a great couple of weeks in the area.

On the Lake - Barren River, KY

2008-06-05T22:27:00.007-04:00

Waking up at the lake is quiet, serene and inviting. No clocks, no alarms - just the sun filtered through the blind on the door gently pulling me from slumber. My natural clock seems to be around 7am, at least for now.

After a leisurely breakfast we headed out on the boat for some skiing, exploring and general fun. Having never skied behind a pontoon boat before I wasn't sure if the outboard would do the job. After one false start I held my breath, put my head down and let it drag me a little longer before it grabbed and up I came. Barren River lake is a relatively quiet damned river that has created a 10,000 acre lake with great skiing fingers. After a quick ski I tried a knee board for the first time. It's a blast and less fatiguing than skiing. With Frank's advice I picked it up quickly and secured my first 360 spin on the second day - gotta see the video. Highly recommended.

After a quick bite of lunch we headed further up the river for some exploring. We came across a very unusual sight - something that looked like the mist off Niagra Falls. Getting close enough, we could see there was some type of water pipe spraying HUGE amounts of water from the shore, through the trees and into the lake. Deanna, ever curious, had us drop her on shore so she could scramble up and see it closer. A few minutes later she returned with information that the local water board was cleaning out a pipe that had earlier been under repair, at a rate of 300 gallons a minute. Seemed like the EPA wouldn't be too impressed but I guess mid Kentucky is fairly rural. On the way heading back to the house I took a nap laying out on the front deck - bad mistake. Even though I was slathered in 50+ sun block, apparently laying in direct sun was just too much for it. By the time we got upstairs, my stomach and fronts of my legs were lobster red. The next few days were spent covering myself in various sunburn remedies so my drive to Indy wouldn't be too painful. I live and learn - it will be long sleeve shirts from now on ...

Thursday was spent re-packing the truck, trying to minimise the amount I have to take. I left the majority of my tools with Frank to take back to GA on his next trip. Some more space for sleeping is always a good thing. I'll get a shot of the loaded expedition truck up shortly.

Up, Up and Away...

2008-06-03T23:10:00.001-04:00

It took a little longer than first planned but I am now on "The Big Trip". Departed GA around 3:40pm on Tuesday 6/3 with 5515 miles on the Tacoma. Let's see how many more I rack up this year. As I left it was thundering, threatening rain and about 82 degrees. The trees were green, everything I needed was on board, including the motorcycle and bicycle, and dinner would be waiting for me when I got to Kentucky.

Driving through Signal Mountain in TN was a great first experience. Even though it's not far away I'd never been there before and it is simply stunning. Not suprisingly, quite like the Nth GA mountains. I arrived in Scottsville at Frank & Deanna's around 8pm local time. They have a lovely home on the lake that's very peaceful and Deanna had prepared a wonderful meal of Pasta and Scallops to welcome me. The evening was easily spent with great food, great wine and great company - a hard beginning to beat for the trip.

Nearly Ready...

2008-05-25T20:43:00.003-04:00

I'm about a week before departure (for real this time). I've delayed a couple of times due to unforeseen complications. It's always hard to shut down a business, rent a house, pack everything and actually leave. I'll have everything done by Wed this week and anything that's not can wait or I'll arrange for somebody else to do it. My mother will stay in town to take care of final items and to care for the cats.

Looking forward to actually leaving, not so much to the packing but everything is an experience.

Beware the Flash Floods

2008-04-29T22:41:00.008-04:00

After a fairly full day at Bryce, I looked on a map and decided Grosvenor Arch was not too far and by the map, I could get to Escalante (my next day's destination) via an interesting looking 4x4 trail that appeared to be shorter than the highway.

Grosvenor Arch is very cool. After 14 miles down a dirt road, all of a sudden there's thing giant arch taking up the whole skyline. Because of the distance and type of terrain, not so many people head that way. At about 2pm I was on my own. I checked it out and decided I had enough time and so would give climbing it a go. I would only be limited by my lack of equipment which was sadly at home. Check out the video below for details...

After the Arch, I couldn't resist a sign that said road ends in 24 miles. My map didn't show an end - investigation was required. About 4 hours, 6 river crossings, 2 cattle gates and 24 miles later, the road appeared to continue. The light however had different ideas and this wasn't the type of road you travel down at night. In fact, it wasn't so much a road as much as a washed out river bed. Spending the night in a flash flood zone isn't my idea of a good time but with the alternative being driving back the 24 miles in the dark or continuing on a VERY rough trail I didn't know, it was the only sensible option. Next morning all was well and I got up early so I could head back in the direction from whence I came. Although forging ahead would have been fun, I had to start heading back to Vegas for my flight home the next day. Escalante will have to wait for the big trip...

Bryce is Nice

2008-04-28T01:01:00.000-04:00

OK, the title is corny but what else could I come up with at 1am.

Waking up at the OHV parking lot was courtesy of some giant horse trailer (and when I say giant I mean a semi with about 50 horses) that was apparently there to prep for a group of tourists that would arrive later. That was about 6am. Not normally an issue when on the trail, but when you've arrived in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, getting to sleep is not always easy. Not to mention getting up in the chilly desert night for a bathroom break. Luckily, they were noisy but not right next to me so although I could hear them I didn't see them for another 2 hours.

After a leisurely breakfast, it was off to find Bryce Canyon. Apparently my midnight parking instincts are good and I found the entrance the Bryce about 10 miles up the road. Once again, a great mini-movie gave an overview of the National Park. Not as commercial as Zion, probably because it's further into the boonies. As with many National Parks, although there are probably many thousands of people there at any one time, it was so large I really didn't come across more than a few people at a time.

The hoodoos, spires, slot canyons and general magnitude of Southern Utah's vistas make the place well worth the drive. The best part is that unlike Zion, you hike "down" instead of up. Of course at some point there's probably an up to get back to your car but it just doesn't seem as bad when you leave going down hill. After a couple of different hikes through the valleys I found a shower at the general store and relaxed for a quick bite of lunch.

Looking at the map, I wanted to take some backroads to Grand Staircase so decided to leave Bryce around 2pm to give myself enough time. Great ideas lead to interesting results, and on to Grosvenor Arch...

Vegas to Zion - Seems Biblical

2008-04-26T23:25:00.000-04:00

After the trip to San Francisco, Yosemite, and Kings Canyon, I was ready for some warmer weather, and that's just what LV and Utah had to offer.

The plan was to meet my friend Monika from Indy in Vegas for a few days and then when she went home to head out to Southern Utah and the triple Parks of Zion, Bryce and Grand Staircase. It was a blast including a variety of unplanned adventures.

Arriving in LV from Atlanta is always easy. The rental place, as usual, had limited SUV's (my usual for camping and off-roading) so offered an upgrade. First time around was luxe heaven but just too big. I took the Dodge behemoth around the block and promptly decided it might be great for cruising the strip but worthless in the backwoods where I planned to spend most of my time. I had ordered a jeep liberty, mostly because they all come with Low Range 4x4. Ended up with a Grand Cherokee, figuring sleeping in it would be more comfortable for my 6'4" and that I wouldn't take it anywhere I needed low range anyway. Met up with Monika without problem and then spent the rest of the day checking in, meeting up with her friends and playing some casino blackjack.

The next couple of days in Vegas are a bit of a blur, mostly because there was no photographic evidence to remind me and because it's always so busy. I enjoy it in small doses but admit I prefer the quiet and solitude of the woods better. Monika's blog has the details of that part of the trip.

After dropping Monika at the airport, I headed straight for Zion National Park. It was all I expected and more. Turning a corner you're entranced by the most amazing canyons. It's like driving into the Grand Canyon and touring the inside. Keeping in mind this was just a scouting tour for my longer trip in my own vehicle, I only had a day in each locale. I think Bryce had the most impact on me but they're all breathtaking. I'll be back in the fall or before !

Waking up just outside Zion meant I was in before the crowds. All these places seem to have a great movie that gives you an overview and an idea of the best things to see with limited time.

These days, the busier National Parks don't allow driving inside (I wish they'd all do that). They have great bus systems that are free and drop you to all the cool places. Taking the whole bus route plus some hiking meant a very full day but well worth it. I enjoyed the climbs and met up with a variety of interesting people. By about 6pm I was tired but still wanted to head toward Bryce Canyon, across what I discovered was a very long and winding road. Not the wisest thing to do at dusk but what the hell !! By 9.30pm and 2 wrong turns I was not exactly where I planned to be but still in Utah so probably not too far from Bryce. It was just a case of finding somewhere to park the car so I could sleep. After spotting a sign for an Off-road park I turned off the highway and followed a dirt road for a couple of miles. In the pitch black all I could see were the signs saying "no overnight camping". I figured the chances of running into a ranger were pretty slim on a Monday morning so I stayed anyway, concluding that I could always argue I was parking, not camping.

Kings Canyon National Park

2008-03-17T22:12:00.003-04:00

After leaving Yosemite fairly early in the morning I decided to drive on to Fresno and then check out Kings Canyon and the grove of Giant Sequoia. Fresno must be quite low because it was about 70 degrees there (beautiful day) when I left for KK.
Being the ignorant Southerner that I have become, I didn't realise KK was so far up into the mountains. As I headed up to the roughly 13,000 feet the weather of course got colder.

Approaching the KK entrance gate there was snow laying around but that was to be expected. What I didn't expect was just how cold it was. Even though I live in the South now, I have lived in Switzerland and Sweden where it often snows, so I'm used to it. The Rangers were stopping every car to make sure they had appropriate gear (snow tires, 4x4, warm clothing, etc). I came prepared and so was fine. The best part about going to a National Park in late winter is that they tend to be deserted. When I got to the camp ground not only was I the only one there but I had to make my own trails - the road hadn't been ploughed in a day or so.

The next 3 or 4 hours I spent huddled in the car, having a late lunch and getting my bedroom ready for the night ahead. Not to mention sheltering from the snow storm that decided to dump right then. The result was fresh powder and an amazing view from my window.

I discovered in the middle of the night that I could have been more prepared for 12* weather. My blow up mattress is great down to about 40*. Then the air inside turns VERY cold. I woke up about 2am with my back like ice. Luckily, the friendly people at Suzuki had deemed it necessary to put heated seats inside my rental. I climbed into the front, started the engine and thawed for the next 20 minutes or so, spending the rest of a fitful night in the drivers seat. I woke around 8am to a beautiful, if still ridiculously cold, morning. The Giant Sequoias were the reason I was here and what better time to see them. Words don't do them justice so I'll just post one of my videos.

All I can say is that it was a wonderful experience and I'd recommend it to anybody. I'll be going back as part of my big trip to see the area in the summer and experience a whole new set of wonders.

San Francisco to meet the cousin

2008-03-09T22:08:00.002-04:00

My cousin Katrina, who happens to fly for Qantas, emailed and said she'd be in San Francisco for a few days and would I like to join her. Always the opportunist, I switched a few items and booked a flight. Not only would I get to see her (we grew up one street apart and were very close, although she says I tortured her) but I could take some extra time and some camping gear and head off to see a couple of the California's National Parks, at a time when very few people would be around.

So after the exciting trip home from Florida, I learned, thankfully, that due to the snow in the South various flights had been delayed or cancelled. My mother had been kind enough to call them and Delta put me on a direct flight rather than through the snow-bound Cincinnati, and better yet, it was an hour and a half later - 8am is always better than 6.30am.

Arriving in SFO about an hour after my cousin Katrina meant she would already be at the hotel and I could go straight there, throw down my bags and have a quick nap. Of course, that didn't exactly happen. Due in no small part to the fact that I hadn't seen her in about 5 years, we decided to go out and find some lunch and wander the hills for a while. I think we got back to the hotel with sore feet about 5 hours later but it had been a wonderful warm day in comparison with what I had left behind in Atlanta.

The next day we would venture further a field to collect a rental car and head to Carmel.

The tripping begins - Florida in March

2008-03-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

Early March brought every conceivable type of weather to the South East and I rode through them all, but that's later this episode.

Fri Feb 29 (perhaps an omen) was the first of three planned mini trips before I head off for the real deal.

I left Atlanta on a sunny, warm Friday afternoon on my Suzuki V-Strom 1000, an adventure touring bike with heated grips and a plug-in for my heated vest (which I figured I wouldn't need in Florida) for those uninitiated, to visit with my Georgia neighbors Doug & Irene at their Florida home.

The plan was to hang out, go fishing, ride our bikes up to Daytona for the races and some bike week festivities and then head back to Atlanta Friday 7th so I could fly out to San Francisco to meet up with my cousin on Sunday. It worked out mostly like that - Read on !

A convenient detour along the way was Dublin, GA, an opportunity to join my extended family for my niece Brittany's 12th birthday. After getting only slightly lost trying to avoid a wonderful 'all lanes blocked' traffic jam in downtown Atlanta, I completed an uneventful ride and arrived in Dublin around 8pm. The V-Strom thankfully eats up the miles easily and with little stress on the body, not to mention getting around 50mpg.

Dublin meant time to relax with a few drinks and get re-acquanited. We chatted into the night and spent a very relaxing few days, setting plans for the next visit, sometime after I return from San Francisco.

Monday morning meant finishing the last 250 miles to Florida. Another beautiful day, I arrived early evening. A quick post ride inspection of the V-Strom showed desperate need of a new rear tire. I'd been hoping it would last until I got home where I can still buy wholesale. No such luck and a day or two and $160 later I was sporting a new Metzeler Tourance (awesome tire by the way).

The following days were lazily enjoyed playing in the warmish Florida water, driving around Melbourne, dining on Irene's fantastic cuisine, checking out the car lots (another story) and planning our trip up to Daytona. That's when the best laid plans started to go awry. Predictions of rain caused our Daytona day to be postponed to Thursday, which was OK because that coincided with the running of the Super Sport races and the Flat track events. We made it through an ominous looking day without so much as a spot of rain until the trip back to Doug's place (2hr's away) when it unceremoniously poured the whole way. Thankfully, after reading the weather report, we watched from the comfort of his new Tundra as many poor biker's got VERY wet .

This delay in going to Daytona lead to my staying longer than planned so we could visit with some friends for dinner Friday night - although this wasn't essential, there was the promised meeting of a very pretty and recently single young woman involved, so of course departure plans were readily changed. Keeping in mind that I was scheduled to fly out Sunday morning at 8am to San Francisco, so there was no longer any wiggle room so and I HAD to leave Saturday morning.

Of course, as we enjoyed a great Friday evening of wine and food with friends, mother nature was planning my retribution. Although the sky was mostly clear when I was preparing to leave (a bit of rain has never bothered me) heavy rain and gale force winds were forecast for Florida, followed by a major cold front with the likelihood of snow and ice in most of Georgia - LOVELY.

As I said in the beginning, March threw it all at me, although I'm pretty sure I missed out on heavy rain. The whole thing is somewhat of a scary blur now but I must say, at the time I truly wondered if I would make it home in one piece. Keeping in mind I've been riding for over 25 years and have experienced pretty much everything the road has to throw at you.

The wind I experienced out there (for about 8 hours) was the most mind numbing I've ever experienced on a motorcycle. Strong wind from one direction is challenging enough, but gusts of 45mph coming from both directions causing the bike to swerve across 3 lanes at highway speed is just not the type of excitement I enjoy, not to mention the 18-wheelers that were doing the same thing in front of and beside me. I stopped once or twice at rest stops to chat with other motorcyclists, discovering from 40 year Harley veterans that it wasn't just my type of bike getting a hammering.

I figured when I turned from I-95 to I-10 in Jacksonville it might get better as what was a side wind would become a head wind. It did somewhat until about Macon where the temperature started to drop, and drop, and drop.... By the time I got to Atlanta, it was 24 degrees, had snowed a couple of times and I had been on the bike for about 10 hours. Although I didn't have my true winter gear with me, I did have Doug's heated vest and Irene's neck fleece - two very welcome additions. All I can say is, it's amazing what you can get used to.

Thanks to Doug and Irene for putting me up and putting up with me.

In the Beginning ....

2008-02-10T15:13:00.000-05:00

Perhaps some history would be appropriate. Dec 23, 1995 (yes, back in the 20th century) I was offered a position in the US. Never one to spend too much time debating a good opportunity by Jan 10 I was in Augusta, GA. That was meant to be a 6 month project.

Three jobs and twelve years later, I'm still here. I will admit I've worked too much, at least up until about 2005. I guess that was the path that has lead me to this blog, far away from the corporate world that brought me to the USA. I departed the corporate life in 2002, opening my own motorcycle dealership in the mountains outside Atlanta - so much for all those years in law school.

The dealership brought many changes, including my mother over from Australia to help me run the place. Thankfully she's put up with me and has now moved into my place to care for the furry children while I'm off seeing the country. Two of the three pictured. Little Bear likes to play catch and Harley generally lays around, except when she's attacking the others. Suzuki, the third of them is out catching something so couldn't be photographed.

In 2006 the economy started declining and those in "consumer pleasurables" felt it first. With sales slowing, it was easier to close the dealership than to tough out a recession so although 2006 was actually a pretty good year, we began considering our options. After some tough decisions (due mostly to not wanting to let go of a great staff) we gave up our brands in Dec 2007 and have been going through the steps to close it down. It also gave me a great excuse to enjoy life for a year or two before deciding on the next big thing.

That leads me to 2008, a year of discovery, travels, friends and a new found happiness.