Sleepy in Seattle

5-6 August 2011

After an exhausting week of traveling I took a day off to relax. Friday evening Paul and Judy hosted a lovely dinner party where I enjoyed meeting lots of interesting folks.

On Saturday, Paul and Judy acted as tour guides and drove me around the varied neighborhoods of Seattle. The Fremont Troll was cool in funky Fremont. Other highlights were the locks where fresh and salt water meet, Gasworks Park, the Sculpture Park, awesome roast pork sandwiches at (???) and Shilshole Marina where Paul and Judy keep their beautiful yacht “Annie”.

We got home happy and tired, tried to watch a movie but couldn't stay awake.

Americana for the day: Hanging out with the Fremont Troll

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/SMYEd9GcWiCJVts78

A Goldilocks Kind of Day

4 August 2011

Got a good early start heading west on highway 20. It wasn't long before I hit the first major road works. Since they are featuring so prominently in my days lately I decided to include some photos in today's collection.

Riding through the beautiful Cascade mountains was a pleasure on this not too cold, not too hot but just right sunny day.

Got to the west coast about sixty miles north of Seattle and headed south on I-5 to Paul and Judy's lovely home overlooking Puget Sound.

Americana for the day: stuck in the infamous Seattle afternoon commuter traffic

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nNbw5kRX5SkhpaAr6

Routine Maintenance

3 August 2011

Was at the Spokane, Washington, BMW dealership bright and early this morning to get the bike serviced at it's normal service interval. I ended up being there for six hours. Fortunately, they had a good wifi connection and I used the time to get my blog up to date (scroll down to catch up).

I (and my budget) was keen to camp somewhere tonight on the way to Seattle but got caught in another major road works. I must be jinxed. I was twenty miles down a back road when it was announced that the next thirty six miles was fresh oil and loose gravel. Anyway, by the time I got past it, it was too late to look for campsites so i'm back in a motel in Colville.

Tomorrow, all going well, I will end up at my good friend Judy Nasmith's place in Seattle.

Americana for the day: not knowing how much I am going to pay for something until I actually pay for it (because the applicable taxes are not included in the marked price)

I just realized that I haven't taken a single photo today, the first time that's happened since I got here.

Rode to The Road

2 August 2011

Was on the road before 7AM, anticipating a 12 hour riding day. First off is the Road To The Sun that passes through Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. This is awesomely spectacular scenery, neither words nor photos can evoke the grandeur of it. The only imperfection for me was the numerous road works that delayed me be at least an hour, but at least it was cool and dry and the view was stunning. This normally wouldn't be that big a deal but today I still have a long way to go.

Once out of Glacier Park I headed south down the west coast of Flat Head Lake. It's yet another incredibly beautiful place here in Montana. I reckon a whole summer at this lake is in the cards.

Continued south to Missoula then picked up highway 12 and headed west out of Montana and across all of Idaho. Highway 12 is another of those “must do” roads for the motorcycle enthusiast. Most importantly, I got the photo of my bike at “the sign”. It is only slightly spoiled by the fact that on the Idaho portion of the road (most of it) the speed limit is 50MPH. It follows the Clearwater River for over one hundred miles as it winds downhill from Montana. At the end of highway 12 I was down in the lowlands after over a week in the highlands. The temperature was up to 99F and I was longing for the highlands.

Got stuck in road works in Orofino, Idaho, for another hour. This time it was hot and ugly and dirty and I was really glad to get past that. Crossed the border into Washington at Lewiston Idaho and headed north to Spokane, where the bike goes into the dealer first thing tomorrow morning for scheduled service. It ended up being a fourteen hours on the road kind of day.

Americana for the day: riding through the stench of skunk roadkill

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zwty5oD3Qm4nUF1o8

Big Sky Country

1 August 2011

After days of riding 45MPH or slower I was ready to move on. Packed up a wet tent again, and rode out the north entrance of Yellowstone in Gardiner Montana. On the way I saw bison, lots of elk and my first wild bald eagle.

At the entrance to Gardiner there is a big stone arch and a huge wild bull bison was strolling out of town through it as I rode through.

The default speed limit in Montana is 70MPH, even on the two lane back roads. I had some very enjoyable riding as the roads are in good shape and are designed for those speeds. It was especially nice through the Lewis & Clark National Forest.

I spent the night in a motel in Shelby, Montana, and, after two days of wet camping, gave both the bike and myself a much needed bath.

I met some local motorcycle enthusiasts and we chatted for some hours about bikes. It was nice to socialize again.

Americana for the day: being eye to eye with a wild magnificent bald eagle

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fPK9jrokV1G2pz5V9

Yellowstone For a Day

31 July 2011

Packed up a wet tent and explored Yellowstone. I had set aside this day to ride every road in the park and that is what I did. Lots of great scenery, not that much wildlife. A bit too much tame life (people). The park in general is a bit more commercial than I anticipated. I was glad to find that food was just slightly more expensive than outside the park. The speed limit inside the park is a maximum of 45MPH and is often less. Anytime anyone thinks they have seen some kind of wild animal, they stop in the road to look then traffic queues up in both directions since nobody wants to miss anything. Most of the time there is nothing there.

I camped in a Xantera managed area this time. It's not nearly as nice a setting as the park managed sites but you can reserve ahead of time and so relax about having a spot for the night. And it rained most of the afternoon and evening. I was hoping to have a more social time in the campgrounds but the rain put a damper on that.

Americana for the day: cheeky chipmunks stealing my snack AllVIIIIINNN!

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GPvcj1nCrz7hEoG27

Better in Jackson Hole

30 July 2011

On the road at 7AM riding from Cody, Wyoming, into Yellowstone National Park. The ride into the park was spectacular. The temperature kept dropping and bottomed out in the low 50'sF.

The official forecast for the next two days is “sunny and delightful” so I decide to try camping for the first time. Up until now, I have been in places where it was too hot to camp, I wouldn't have been able to sleep. It is hard to find lodging in the park or in Jackson for under $200 a night (my tent site cost me $6), plus I wanted to be in the park in the morning to get a jump on exploring the park. There are two options for campers in Yellowstone: reserved spots through Xantera or first come first served in the Park Service sites. My first night was in a Park Service site on the way to Jackson Hole. I got the tent set up then rode through more spectacular scenery in Grand Teton National Park and into Jackson. Spent an hour or two wandering around the cool art filled town of Jackson, had a good lunch and rode back through the Tetons to Yellowstone and my tent.

Of interest in the campsite is the bear temptation management. You can be fined for leaving any food unattended at any time and for having food in your tent overnight. There are latch-able steel boxes in each area for us to put food items in over night.

Of course the “delightful” weather turned into showers. There is no covered space in this campground so I was stuck in my little tent that is not quite big enough to sit up in. It was almost time for sleep anyway so I got some extra rest and got some reading done.

My favorite music album of 2009 was “Rattlin Bones” by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, one of the songs has a line that says “life's gonna be better in Jackson Hole”. It was stuck in my head all day.

Americana for the day: beware of bears

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/85EQKrbtRRTdSMC68