5,687 MILES - - - 130 HOURS & 15 MINS!

OK....We are still chugging along!

Not sure where to start. If you are ever in Winthrop, WA...stay at the Gardner Mt Inn! Great little town. Just eat before 9 PM. The town closes up.

Got up early and headed out. The deer were standing by the apple tree in the yard next door. The bikes didn't even phase them. That is scary!



Headed across the Northern Cascade Mountains of WA on Hwy 20. I know I sound like a broken record but, just unbelievable how gorgeous, and the roads were perfect.



(REMEMBER...CLICK ON ALL PICTURES TO MAKE BIGGER)


I need to regress for a minute. I am only going to say it once. I SCREWED UP! For two days all we heard was "it is burning up in ID and WA. Records are being set every day. I was like...OK, I guess I can send my chaps and jacket liner home to lighten up my load. WRONG MOVE! The average temp has been middle 50's! I think the good ole' boys from the NE was having some fun with the good ole' boys from the south. The temp varies +/- 30 degrees in seconds. I am not exaggerating. You get into some of the fog banks and it is darn cold! OK, that's my one major screw up of the trip. Like my brother said..."better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." I could have sent the beer cooler home..............................LOL...Right!

Back to the real matters at hand:

Hwy 20 was so much fun. The curves and scenery was unreal! I think if you own a bike it's a "must ride." A couple of glacial lakes as well.




Rode all day and met a fellow from Australia on the ferry ride north of Seattle. Told us of a place that had rooms. I called and from what little broken English I could understand I booked two rooms. Four of us showed up. What a goat rope as we use to say in the military. The woman keep saying she was "just the house keeper." Yet she lived at the hotel. I kind of think we were being taken.

It was a must do laundry day. When we asked about doing laundry that is when things went south. She said she didn't have a wash but, she could do it if we paid her. I asked "how much?" All I got was.."you tell me how much you pay!" I finally gave her a price. She said she would do it for $20! I about gagged. Then the icing was ...."you are rich you can afford it." I guess she thinks if you own an HD you can pay $20 bucks for one load of laundry. As we were negotiating the price..the Aussie came back in and the phone rang. That is when we found out the place had no A/C. Steve and I both have to have it at night.

We finally left and found another hotel.

The next day we made a new friend! The girl (Kat) who is the GM of the LaQuinta in Missoula sent an email telling us her boyfriend was not far from us. He is a rider too. Through a few emails and such, he showed up on Saturday morning to ride with us. Mind you, he got up at 440 AM to catch the ferry to make it to our hotel. Hell, I have friends that can't make it up by noon to ride on Sunday when I am home!

His name is Andreas. Great guy......EXCEPT:

He was in the Navy.....but, so was my Dad. So that is OK. He also talks with a strong German accent.....but, that is OK too. He was born in Texas. His Dad worked for Exxon. Moved the whole family over to Germany and he went to the local schools....so that is OK! BUT!!! He rides a BMW...............but, that is OK...He dates a hot chick! So, he is still a great guy! Unfortunately he had a blow out on the way home that afternoon after he dropped off from us. I am hoping he makes it to NC in the Fall. That is the plan. Both are great people and two new friends.



Finally made it to Florence, OR. I am not sure where this frigging recession is going on. It's not in any town we have stayed! I made a reservation and got the last two rooms. I thought! We show up and they only had the one room. Steve finally had to go to another hotel. I will just say between the "Bowling Tournament" and Crystal Gayle being at the local casino...rooms were at a premium. I am telling you..this NOT having reservations does NOT work for me!...BRENDA!

Got up this morning and heading south on Hwy 101. You know the song by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow put out..."Picture?"

Living my life in a slow hell
different girl every night at the hotel
I aint seen the sun shine in 3 damn days
been fuelin up on cocaine and whiskey
wish I had a good girl to miss me
but I wonder if I'll ever change my ways
I put your picture away
sat down and cried today
I cant look at you while I'm lying next to her
I put your picture away
sat down and cried today
I cant look at you while I'm lying next to her

OK, I am not doing a different girl, cocaine or whiskey. OK, maybe I did do some Jack the other night in ID.




But, I will just say this...whoever wrote that song...was on the coast of WA/OR. I AIN'T SEEN THE SUN SHINE FOR THEE DAMN DAYS! It finally popped out this afternoon.

We made south of Eureka, CA today. We should pull up just short of San Francisco tomorrow. We did see some incredible scenery!





Bumper Sticker of the day. I am using my "writer's freedom" on this one. Again, I have two and have to pick both:

The first was a tag of a car being towed by one of the big RV's. It was a little Subaru. The tag....TOWBARU!

Now this second thing....well, it made me laugh and scratch my head at the same time. We have all seen the guys who stand on the corners selling flags, velvet Elvis's and furry blankets with lions.

Well, we went past one of those guys in OR. One particular flag caught my eye. On one half had the picture of Obama that reminds me of Stalin and Chavez together. The one he used on most of his adds. On the second part of the flag was the Confederate Flag! I remind you..this was ONE flag!

I am not sure who the marketing guy is for that flag company...but, I have a feeling he did not do his research. I can safely say....I have not seen a lot of the Confederate Flags flying up on the northeast. It did make me chuckle.

5,687 MILES - - - 130 HOURS & 15 MINS!

That is how many miles we rode before we actually hit the Pacific Ocean. The time is how much actual riding time was spent in the saddle so far. My GPS tracks it.

Time to hit the sheets. This having fun is wearing me out!

I do have a serious subject to cover......




DOES THIS TREE MAKE MY BUTT LOOK BIG?

We took a detour today off of Hwy 101. If anyone has ever ridden on Hwy 119 in MI. Very similar....Only all the trees are on STEROIDS! Dan & Orville....you would have enjoyed it!

Happy Trails until we meet again!

Rick (MDD)