Friday, July 22 to Tuesday, July 26—Novato, CA to Shingletown, CA; to Bend, OR; to Baker City, OR; to Moscow, ID; to Christina Lake, BC
Let me digress before I start telling you about what is obviously another journey on my motorcycle, and bring you up to date on my goal of reDeploying. Continue reading
We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
T. S. Eliot Continue reading
Wednesday/Thursday, July 8/9—Mt Shasta to Shingletown, CA
Yesterday, just past Weed I noticed a truck lot on the left of the interstate full of brightly painted water trucks. I rode back this morning to exit 743 to take this photo. A gentleman posted some information about Truck Village about a year ago after talking with the owner. Apparently these are in-service water trucks for Cal Fire. Continue reading
Monday, July 6—Highway 101 Loop
Today I rode the highway 101-loop through Olympic National Park (see Wikipedia) counter clockwise from the south east point of the loop. In a way it seemed crazy to ride 440 miles and end up right where I started, especially since I’m getting very close to home. Yet I had a strong desire to explore Olympic, being reasonably certain that this might be my only chance to do so. Continue reading
Friday, July 3—Seattle Area
Tom had a project that needed to be finished. So we headed out to Tacoma to pick up a fire table for their patio that he had commissioned from a Craig’s List provider. The table was made to fit the sitting area, had all the features he wanted, and was a fraction of the “retail” cost of such a table. Continue reading
Wednesday, July 1—Libby, MT to Grand Coulee, WA
I met Gloria and Shauna in front of the motel this morning. They hail from Alberta and come to the US often to ride. It seems Alberta is much like our Midwest with lots of long, straight roads, which are not nearly as fun as long, curvy routes with elevation changes. Apparently the pavement here in the States is much better, too. (Clearly they haven’t ridden in Michigan.) Gloria’s boyfriend was just leaving as we met—headed back to Alberta to work. She and Shauna were headed to Washington, as was I. Ran across them once later in the morning. Continue reading
Tuesday, June 30—Browning, MT to Libby, MT
The wind was blowing early this morning as I set off for Glacier National Park (see also Wikipedia for park history, geology, etc.). This is the Montana I love with rolling foothills leading into the Rocky Mountains. (In this part of the state, the sub-ranges are the Lewis and Livingston Mountains.) I started off the morning listening to Bob Seger. After a photo stop, as the road climbed and wound to the left and right, my music system automatically played America by Simon and Garfunkel, America by L.C. Greenwood, and then American Pie by Don McLean. I knew it was going to be a great day! Continue reading
Sunday, June 28—Fargo, ND to Williston, ND
Fort Mandan
I left Fargo with a 12 mph northwest wind in my face. At times I had to lean into it to keep the bike from drifting into another lane. It wasn’t quite as bad as the 22-25 mph headwind when I left Liverpool, NY. That wind had some nasty gusts. One pushed me 4 feet to the left. Another, after I turned to the north, seemed to hit only my head. It was like a sucker punch from a large, invisible man, knocking my head sharply to the right. Both headwinds cut my gas mileage by about 25%. Continue reading
Friday, June 26—Ashland, WI to Fargo, ND
It was foggy and pretty cold in Ashland this morning. I rode west to Superior/Duluth, and then northeast, away from my final destination for the day, to ride the North Shore Scenic Drive on Lake Superior, know as Gitche Gumee from Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha. The Ojibwe named the lake Gichigami (pronounced as gitchi-gami), which means “big water”. Continue reading
Thursday, June 25—Cheboygan, MI to Ashland, WI
For just the second time since leaving California I began the day in full rain gear. There was light rainfall forecasted for most of the morning, so I left at my usual time and made the most of it. Continue reading
reDeploying! 