Pete's Trip

completed route-profile

2006-09-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

completed route

2006-09-27T13:29:00.000-05:00

post trip update and pictures

2006-09-22T16:29:00.000-05:00

updated pictures - http://picasaweb.google.com/petestrippix

40 days
10,425 miles
45 to 51 mpg
18 states (illinois, wisconsin, minnesota, south dakota, wyoming, montana, idaho, washington, oregon, california, nevada, utah, arizona, new mexico, colorado, nebraska, kansas, missouri)
14 national parks (badlands, bryce canyon, crater lake, glacier, grand canyon, grand teton, great basin, great sand dunes, mount rushmore, muir woods, saguaro, white sands, yellowstone, yosemite)
1 new set of tires
0 tickets
a lifetime of memories

day 40

2006-09-21T14:22:00.000-05:00

i'm home!

it was a long and cold ride from the west side of kansas city, but it was worth it to get home. i hit rush hour traffic in both kansas city and chicago. i was still able to beat aLex home, though. we hung out at piece to celebrate us all being together again.

in a couple of days i will have ALL of my photos online, along with some final comments.

thanks for your support and for following me on this journey.

day 39

2006-09-19T19:12:00.000-05:00

for 38 days i have ridden over 9000 miles alone. today, for the first time, i rode with someone else.

there were two guys, dave and ari, staying at the same campground as me. i talked to them briefly the night before but didn't plan anything for today. in the morning we discovered that we were both going the same way, so we decided to ride together. since i knew the way to the first destination, which i will get to in a minute, i lead. after that they led the rest of the way. when we stopped for lunch i found out that they were both california highway patrol (chp) officers. they are not currently motorcycle cops, but they used to be. after i found that out and was riding behind them for a while, i was amazed at how close they rode together. they would ride side by side, their mirrors only about a foot apart, even in the curves. they said that they were so used to riding that way that they didn't even think about it. it was just natural for them.

now for the destination. no road trip across the united states would be complete without a visit to the worlds largest ball of twine. it is located in cawker city, ks. there were a few shops and inn's in town, all having twine in their name.

cawker city, ks - 09/19/2006

cawker city, ks - 09/19/2006

cawker city, ks - 09/19/2006

the rest of the ride was relatively uneventful. it was not nearly as windy as yesterday and a bit warmer. from what i hear, though, it is a bit colder in chicago. i won't mind the cold as long as i am home.

day 38

2006-09-18T22:31:00.000-05:00

after spending the night in boulder, co, i had thought about going to the rocky mountain national park, but the forecast for more wind and low temperatures in boulder (meaning even more wind and colder temperatures in the park), caused me to choose otherwise. i think it ended up being the right decision.

although it started out sunny, it became overcast as soon as i left boulder. temperatures in the upper fifties and no sun meant a pretty cold ride. the sun eventually came out in the afternoon, but it also brought the wind, almost as strong and gusty as on saturday. as i zig zagged across the back roads of colorado, nebraska, and kansas, i would be hit by the wind on one side while heading east and on the other side while heading south. the roads were straight, but the rolling terrain caused gusts of wind to be more strong in certain spots than in others. by the end of the day, i was getting proficient in predicting where the gusts would be, bracing myself for them.

this isn't the most exciting part of my ride around the country, but as carl said this morning, "it is still part of the country". there are no particular sights that i am planning to see or roads that i want to ride on, but i am still enjoying this journey. as much as i want to be home with aLex and honey (and as much as they want me to be home with them), i am glad that i am doing this (but also glad that i am almost home).

day 37

2006-09-17T22:56:00.000-05:00

i hung out at dan and yvette's place for a while before heading to boulder. it was a very nice ride until i got to denver. as i was staying off of the interstate, it was mainly major roads through the city. i eventually got fed up with the weekend traffic and stop lights, so i jumped on the interstate, only to get caught up in the bronco's traffic. i eventually made it to boulder where i met up with carl, my brother jon's friend. he should me around boulder, and all the places where he and jon used to hang out. we grabbed some dinner and beers at a local brew pub i and i just hung out for the rest of the night, something i haven't done in a while. i know that may sound selfish given everything alex is going through (work, class, honey, errands, etc.), but i know that will be changing soon.

day 36

2006-09-17T09:17:00.000-05:00

it was a cold and windy night in alamosa, co. i woke to temperatures in the low 50's and my tent fluttering in the wind. before i hit the road i checked the weather forcast online. they were predicting high winds all day with gusts up to 50 miles per hour. i knew it would be a tough day riding.

of course with such strong winds, i just happened to be going to one of sandiest places in the area with the tallest sand dunes in north america - great sand dunes national park. as i was approaching the park i was wondering if it would even be open due to the winds. luckily it was. as i got closer i could finally see the dunes. they looked huge compared to the flat san luis valley, but seemed insignificant in front of the 13,000 foot mountain peaks.

great sand dunes np, colorado - 09/16/2006

at first i was concerned that the wind and blowing sand would prevent me from getting any good pictures, but it almost made the whole experience more interesting. similar to the way the snow blows over a cornice, the sand would be blowing over the tops of the dunes. you could see it swirling up, down, and between the dunes, reshaping the landscape before my eyes. as i walked my footsteps would be covered over in just a few minutes.

great sand dunes np, colorado - 09/16/2006

great sand dunes np, colorado - 09/16/2006

great sand dunes np, colorado - 09/16/2006

great sand dunes np, colorado - 09/16/2006

heading north towards colorado springs, the winds seemed to be worse. on one of the highways there were signs saying "gusty winds may exist" and "gusty winds likely". they were both correct. luckily i got off of the highway and on to some back roads through the mountains and forests. that is where i stumbled upon the bishop castle (2, 3, 4, 5). it was quite an amazing thing to see in the middle of nowhere.

bishop mansion, beulah, co - 09/16/2006

bishop mansion, beulah, co - 09/16/2006

through most of this section of colorado, the aspens were already beginning to change color.

highway 165, colorado - 09/16/2006

i didn't initially plan on going to garden of the gods, but dan, with whom i am staying tonight, suggested it. it was quite impressive to see the different formations, especially since it was so close to colorado springs.

garden of the gods, colorado springs, co - 09/16/2006

i then had a quick visit with katie, a good friend of aLex. she had just gotten out of an all day masters class, after working all week while trying to fix up a house. most people would be pretty stressed out, but not katie. it was good to see her after so long.

by the time i left colorado springs for dan and yvette's place in palmer lake, the temperature must have dropped about 15 degrees. luckily it was a short ride. i had no problem finding their beautiful home, almost completely surrounded by mountains. after getting the kids to bed, we had a nice dinner and caught up on each others lives. we all fought over who missed springfield more.

day 35

2006-09-15T21:54:00.000-05:00

i knew today was going to be a long day. i had about 400 miles to go and there would be many things that i wanted to see and do that i couldn't. after riding through ruidoso and seeing all of the motorcycles for the local rally, i rode through the towns of carrizozo, corona, and encino. it was pretty cool all day, mostly because i was over 6000 feet. the scenery was not as dramatic as other areas of the country, but it was still very nice.

there were clouds to the west of me most of the afternoon, and as i approached santa fe, they were getting darker. i quickly went through santa fe and then through the winding roads passing through nambe, chimayo, and truchas. as i climbed through the mountains, the rain started coming down heavily.

i had already planned on stopping by eske's in taos to have the green chile beer as recommended by rob (stayed with him in eugene, or). as i sat at the bar talking to the bartender, one of the brewers overheard me say i was from chicago. he is actually moving to chicago in a few weeks and we knew some of the same people. he later gave me a tour of brewing facility and gave me a few samples to take home.

it was a pretty cold ride the rest of the way to alamosa, and i made it just before dark. tomorrow i am going to back track a bit to see the great sand dunes national park, which i passed on my way.

day 34

2006-09-14T22:43:00.000-05:00

happy birthday to my brother jon and aunt bonnie. i hope you both had a good day.

it was a short ride from las cruces, nm to ruidoso where is was staying with some extened family (wife's brother's wife's parents). the one thing i did want to see on the way was white sands national park. i was a bit dissappointed when the road through the park was only open about half way due to the heavy rain they had the day before and overnight.

white sands national park, nm - 09/14/2006

so i ended up walking about a mile each way to get to the area where there are no plants and just white and sky.

white sands national park, nm - 09/14/2006

the rain from the day before and overnight was not only evident on the road but on the dunes as well. normally the sand is soft and blowing. with so much rain even the tops of the dunes were wet and hard. i wonder if aLex can tell whose footprints these are?

white sands national park, nm - 09/14/2006

continuing on it was a nice ride to ruidoso. it is at a relatively high elevation, so it cooled off significantly on the way there. after arriving i took a walk around the property. normally this stream is dry, but with all of the rain it was flowing quite quickly.

ruidoso, nm - 09/14/2006

while unpacking the motorcycle, i noticed this small snake in the wheel well of a van. we are pretty sure it is a rattle snake, but it is so young that it didn't have a rattle.

rattlesnake, ruidoso, nm - 09/14/2006

it was very nice to meet and get to know these relatives. they were very helpful and provided a great deal of knowledge and information about new mexico, its history and culture, and places for my to ride through and visit.

day 33

2006-09-14T00:49:00.000-05:00

leaving tucson, i thought i would go to some of the same places that aLex and i rode through when we were here a few years ago. i decided to ride through tombstone and bisbee, as i liked those areas and remembered the scenery and towns being very nice. it was a very good day for riding, not too hot and none of the rain i had seen the last few days.

i guess i had a different impression of these towns from the last time i was here. we must have ridden through them originally on a weekend as both towns were almost empty and many of the shops didn't even appear to be open. after some time of continuously comparing everything to when i was here with aLex, i just wanted to be somewhere else so that i didn't ruin any memories of our previous time here.

road to bisbee, az - 09/13/2006

copper mine in bisbee, az - 09/13/2006

after heading east from bisbee, i was riding within a mile of the mexican border. i saw border patrol vehicles every few miles. heading north again, i couldn't believe how green everything was. i knew they had a lot of rain here, but it didn't even feel like i was in arizona. the only things that reminded me where i was were the occasional catus or desert plants almost hidden by all of the green.

arizona highway - 09/13/2006

arizona - 09/13/2006

making my way to las cruces, nm, i had planned on taking some non-interstate highways, but i was low on gas and didn't want to risk being stuck in the middle of nowhere, again. as i was approaching las cruces, i could see some large clouds above the horizon, and i was headed directly for them. at first they seemed too far off for me to ever reach them. but as i got closer and closer to my destination, the clouds got larger and darker. within about 10 miles of las cruces, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees in less than a minute. at first there was just water on the road, but then i noticed what looked like snow. i quickly realized that it was actually hail. there was standing water everywhere along the side of the road. as i rode toward the campground, there were city crews out "plowing" dirt and debris off of the roads. i found out that they had just gotten about two inches of rain in an hour, including hail. there was so much hail that after about an hour, there was still some piled up on the edge of the sidewalks.

hail in las cruces, nm - 09/13/2006

it started raining again a few hours later and it probably will for the rest of the night. i have already seen more mosquitos tonight than i have this whole trip. hopefully this won't cause any road closures along my route tomorrow.

day 32 (updated - 09/13/2006)

2006-09-12T21:40:00.000-05:00

i got a very early start today so my hosts could get to work. as i headed east towards globe, i wanted to stop several times for photos, but i was near the front a mile long line of cars. at the front was a truck hauling a giant catepillar bulldozer being escorted by several arizona highway patrol cars. it could only go about 10 mph up some of the mountain roads. if i stopped, i had no idea how long it would take to get through. as i passed through globe, i remembered a lot of the same roads and scenery that alex and i rode through three years ago.

heading south towards tucson, i was just barely ahead some dark clouds moving in quickly. i almost made it before getting wet, but not quite. i then rode through the saguaro national park, taking a break from the heat in a picnic area with some covered tables. before i knew it there was another storm moving in. i will post pictures later.

i continued on to tucson where i met bridget, a "sister-in-law". she took me out for an authentic mexican dinner and some local beers.

updated - 09/13/2006

here are some photos of the ride to tucson and at the saguaro national park.

road to tucson, az - 09/12/2006

road to tucson, az - 09/12/2006

saguaro national park - 09/12/2006

saguaro national park - 09/12/2006

saguaro national park - 09/12/2006

saguaro national park - 09/12/2006

saguaro national park - 09/12/2006

saguaro national park - 09/12/2006

day 31 (updated - 09/13/2006)

2006-09-11T23:04:00.000-05:00

it was a surprisingly nice ride to phoenix via sedona, at least until i hit the 110 degree heat on the highways around phoenix. i am staying with my college roomate brett. i only have limited internet access so i will update this later.

updated - 09/12/2006

per brett's recommendation, i headed down to phoenix via sedona. i had never heard of that area before, but i found several references on-line saying it was a nice place to visit. it started out with some very twisty roads down through oak creek canyon and into slide rock state park. at first i thought all of the signs for slide rock were warnings about rock slides, but then i realized that was the name of the park. it turns out that there were signs for both. all of the recent rain in the area had caused many rock slides in the park and along the main road. i got a few pictures (will post later) but not as many as i would have liked as all of the turn offs from the road were closed due to the rock slides. you could see where the rock, gravel, and sand had covered the road just days before, leaving debris well onto the other side of the road. it started raining as i entered the town of sedona, but i was able to find shelter is the dozens of t-shirt and trinket stores before getting soaked.

it was already getting pretty hot and i knew it would only be getting hotter as i approached phoenix. i stopped for some water and pie (jack daniels pecan - very good) at the rock springs cafe before braving the heat. as the signs ticked off the elevation, 5000, 4000, 3000, i could feel the heat building. by the time i got to the freeway around phoenix, the keychain thermometer i keep on my tank bag was reading about 110. normally when it is hot i crack open the visor on my helmet, but he hot dry air combined with all of the added heat and exhaust from the cars only made it worse. at least keeping the visor closed kept in some of the moisture, but at times it felt like my eyeballs were being poached. generally the rest of my body was ok, as long as traffic was moving, which normally it wasn't.

after finally meeting up with brett and lynn, we went to four peaks in tempe near the asu campus. they had very good beer and the sandwiches made with beer bread were delicious. brett and i had a chance to catch up, reminisce about our time at nd, and discuss our current lives.

updated - 09/12/2006

here are some pictures from the days ride.

oak creek canyon, az - 09/11/2006

oak creek canyon, az - 09/11/2006

slide rock state park, az - 09/11/2006

sedona, az - 09/11/2006

day 30

2006-09-10T23:10:00.000-05:00

this is the third time that i have had to say good bye to aLex. it seems to get harder every time. at least it is the last time.

i basically took the same route that i took on friday, except this time i stopped for a little longer at the hoover dam. as i saw a history channel show at the hotel on friday while waiting for aLex about the whole history of the dam, i didn't go into the tourist center or anything like that.

lake mead, nv - 09/10/2006

hoover dam - 09/10/2006

hoover dam - 09/10/2006

hoover dam - 09/10/2006

instead of taking the interstate as i did on friday, i took route 66 from kingman to ash fork. it was a nice change. there were lots of route 66 branded hotels, gas stations, stores, etc. i ate at the roadkill cafe in seligman.

day 29

2006-09-10T09:46:00.000-05:00

as usual, our body clocks were two hours ahead of local time, so we got up early. we decided to walk around the strip and some of the casinos before it got too hot and crowded. we walked through bellagio, caesar's, and the venetian. we had wanted to go to the guggenheim hermitage museum in the ventian, but it was closed to set up a new exhibit. i had just checked their web site a few days prior, and it didn't say anything about the museum being closed. we ended up hanging out by the pool for a while before i had to pick up my bike from the dealer.

one thing we found very annoying was the scent that was pumped into the air in some of the casinos. in one (i think caesar's) it was so bad we could even taste it. another annoying thing was the offers for free stuff - free hotel stays, fee shows, free meals. it was only free if you bought something else and the people were typically very pushy.

we had tickets for the 10:30 pm show of cirque du soleil's "o" at the bellagio. we didn't want to do too fancy of a dinner, so we went to pink taco at the hard rock. we had drinks there before eating at nobu the night before and it looked really good. the food was very good and the service was better than the night before.

we then made our way through the casinos, past the sunglass wearing poker players and giant tv screens of every sporting event going on at the moment, to "o". we had seen two cirque du soleil shows in chicago, varekai and corteo, and enjoyed them both very much. "o" was just as good.

day 28

2006-09-09T19:38:00.000-05:00

all that was on my mind today was getting to vegas and seeing aLex. it was a relatively quick trip and i didn't really plan on seeing much between williams, az and las vegas, nv. it was a pleasure to see the hoover dam. i didn't stop to do the tourist thing, but i got a few pictures. as there are not many routes out of vegas, i will probably have to cross over it again. maybe i will stop then.

hoover dam - 09/08/2006

hoover dam - 09/08/2006

aLex already had everything arranged. we were staying at the paris hotel, which wasn't too hard to find on the strip with the eiffel tower out front. since i had to take my bike to the local dealer, bmw of las vegas, for its 12,000 mile maintenance, i had to check in and unload everything before the valet drivers got mad at me for parking in the entry way. it wouldn't have been bad except that it was already about 95 degrees and there were tons of people to weave through with bags, helmet, etc.

after a brief delay at the airport, aLex finally made it. we already had reservations at nobu in the hard rock hotel. the dinner was great, but the service was just satifactory.

day 27

2006-09-07T21:45:00.000-05:00

after the rain yesterday and it looking like rain again today, i decided to skip zion national park and instead see grand canyon national park (i would have wanted to do some of the trails at zion, and i didn't know how they would be in the rain).

after leaving utah with no more wives than when i entered, i headed down the u.s. 89-alt which runs by the entrance to the north rim of the grand canyon. i had already decided to only see the south rim, as i didn't have time for both. i then passed by the vermillion cliffs which were visible from bryce canyon national park the previous day.

while taking the first picture below of the vermillion cliffs, an older gentleman walked up to me and warned me of some gravel on the road in the valley below (where i took the second picture while stopped). i thanked him but was curious why he was warning me, as he was driving a jeep with a trailer. he then told me that he had a bike like mine, clarifying that it was a bmw r100e (e for imported from europe). i asked him how he liked it, and he told me that he had about 480,000 miles on it, which i took as him liking it very much. he said that he had the jeep and trailer so that he could take his dogs (four small ones, don't remember breed). i asked if he considered a sidecar, to which he replied yes, but some of his dogs would run if they could so he didn't try it.

vermillion cliffs, az - 09/07/2006

i got this picture while stopped for the road construction.

vermillion cliffs, az - 09/07/2006

further on down the road i came across cliff dwellers. the first picture looks as if it were from a different planet. the "house" in the second picture is actually built around one of the giant boulders.

cliff dwellers, az - 09/07/2006

cliff dwellers, az - 09/07/2006

below is the colorado river before it enters grand canyon national park. notice the boat in the river near the center of the picture.

colorado river near marble canyon, az - 09/07/2006

all day it had either been threatening to rain or just barely spinkling. finally on the the last stretch to grand canyon np, the skys opened up. it was so bad that i had to pull over. luckily there was an old abandoned roadside stand that was used by the navajos to sell their arts and crafts. luckily the rain didn't finish it off while i was under it.

rain delay - 09/07/2006

i didn't know what to expect when i got to the park. i have seen many impressive things already on my trip, but the grand canyon was impressive based on its sheer size. although the rain and clouds prevented a clear view of the entire canyon, i think they provided a good contrast of the landscape.

grand canyon, az - 09/07/2006

grand canyon, az - 09/07/2006

day 26 (updated)

2006-09-06T20:43:00.000-05:00

i had planned on seeing three things today, kodachrome basin state park, bryce canyon national park, and zion national park. of course i thought i could do more than i actually could. i only made it to the first two. i will see zion tomorrow before meeting alex in las vegas on friday.

i don't have much of an internet connection here at the camp site. i think it is dial up and costs $2 for 15 minutes. i can't even use my own computer. i will have to cut this short and give more details and pictures tomorrow tomorrow.

update - 09/07/2006

on the road to kodachrome basin state park i passed through red canyon, which was just warm up for what i was to see today.

red canyon, az - 09/06/2006

red canyon, az - 09/06/2006

kodachrome basin state park, az - 09/06/2006

kodachrome basin state park, az - 09/06/2006

by the time i got to bryce canyon nation park, it was already threatening to rain. luckily i started at the far end of the park where the rain would hit first and then worked my way back to the beginning. i only got sprinkled on a few times. it's pretty easy to see the rain when it it coming.

view from bryce canyon np, az - 09/06/2006

one of the interesting trees at the park is the bristlecone pine. this one is over 1500 years old and is actually still alive, even though it doesn't look like it.

bristle cone pine, bryce canyon np, az - 09/06/2006

the rock formations were amazing. not only that they were created in the first place, but that there were so many of them in one place. from the second to last picture, you understand the line in the indian story "You can see their faces, with paint on them just as they were before they became rocks". if you haven't seen egough, i have about 50 more pictures.

bryce canyon np, az - 09/06/2006

bryce canyon np, az - 09/06/2006

bryce canyon np, az - 09/06/2006

bryce canyon np, az - 09/06/2006

bryce canyon np, az - 09/06/2006

bryce canyon np, az - 09/06/2006

bryce canyon np, az - 09/06/2006

day 25

2006-09-05T19:11:00.000-05:00

well, it was another day of valleys and basins, with brief climbs over mountains. from ely, nv i went to the great basin national park. it was a 4000 foot climb from the base of the park to the viewpoint of wheeler peak, mostly on roads with a grade of 8%. there were not any places to stop on the way up, but they were doing some construction on the road at one point and i got this picutre of the valley below.

on way to wheeler peak, great basin np, nv - 09/05/2006

once at the top, with an elevation of about 10,000 feet, there were great views of wheeler peak

wheeler peak, great basin np, nv - 09/05/2006

wheeler peak, great basin np, nv - 09/05/2006

wheeler peak, great basin np, nv - 09/05/2006

after leaving great basin np, i crossed over into utah. the terrain and roads were similar to nevada, with large flat valleys surrounded by mountains. i took highway 21 most of the way. at one point, i did not see a car coming in the opposite direction for about 30 minutes. in the picture below, you can see the road gradually going up into the mountains.

highway 21, ut - 09/05/2006

once i got to my campsite near panguitch, ut (just north of bryce canyon national park), this is the view i had from my tent.

view from my tent, panguitch, ut - 09/05/2006

day 24

2006-09-04T22:57:00.000-05:00

today was the first day in a while where i did not have any specific sites to see on my route. i just had a final destination, a campground outside ely, nv. luckily the route from bishop, ca to ely was a site in itself. it was u.s. route 6 the whole way. if i continued east to the end of route 6, i would end up in provincetown, ma. there was a sign outside of bishop, ca which gave the distance of over 3200 miles.

starting out of bishop, it was already in the 90's by the time i left. i grabbed some ice from the hotel ice machine and put several cubes in some of the pockets of my coat and pants. it's a trick alex saw someone do when we took a tour in arizona a few years ago. by the end of the first hour, the ice had melted and everything was dry. it did help quite a bit, though.

i was basically riding through huge valleys or basins the whole way, with mountains on either side. once in a while the road would wind up the mountains and over a pass but then right back down to the valley floor. i had no idea that nevada was the most mountainous state in the country.

u.s. 6 north of bishop, ca - 09/04/2006

the landscape on either side was always impressive. It needed to be as there wasn't much else to see. Even though u.s. route 6 isn't "the loneliest road", it was still quite desolate. at one point, there was a sign saying "next gas 90 miles". after the gas station at the 90 mile mark was another sign saying "next gas 67 miles". luckily i was getting about 50 miles per gallon and didn't run out again.

rear view landscape, u.s. 6, nevada - 09/04/2006

but it was often the weather that was more interesting. most of the valleys were very warm, approaching 100 degrees, but the mountains were much cooler. as the clouds developed during the day, they would stretch across both the mountains and the valleys, but it would only be raining above the mountains. i could even see the rain as it came out of the clouds from many miles way. often i could even smell it. it reminded me of a passage i had just read in ted simon's jupiters travels. he was describing the rain clouds in south africa, with the rain coming out of the clouds like octopus tentacles.

rain clouds, u.s. 6, nevada - 09/04/2006

rain clouds, u.s. 6, nevada - 09/04/2006

u.s. 6, nevada - 09/04/2006

when it was sunny, there were some great views.

u.s. 6, nevada - 09/04/2006

u.s. 6, nevada - 09/04/2006

once i made it to the campground i thought i was safe, but just as i was setting up my tent, it started to rain. i got the rainfly on and everything inside before anything go too wet. a few hours later, this double rainbow appeared. you can just barely make out the second rainbow above the brighter one.

ely, nv - 09/04/2006

updated route

2006-09-04T12:11:00.000-05:00

as requested by aLex, and to give you a better idea of where i have been and where i am going, i am providing an updated route. the yellow line is where i have been, and the purple line is where i plan on going. the planned route is pretty accurate through las vegas. after that, it is still a little up in the air, but generally accurate. if there is anything between las vegas and chicago that you think i should see or do, please let me know and i will try to work it in.

day 23

2006-09-04T01:53:00.000-05:00

twelve years ago today (09/03/1994) aLex and i got married. it was inevitable. i am sad that i could not share this day, what i saw, what i did, and how i felt with her. i was thinking about her all day, wishing she could be with me, not just today, but for this whole journey. i owe her so much for allowing me to do this. she has sacrificed so much while i am on this trip, time, sleep, help, my company, that i cannot possibly repay her for this. i know that there will be plenty of chicken enchilada dinners when i get back.

as we are highly competitve with each other (big hill in washington park, springfield, il), she now has her own blog. it was after reading hers that i figured out how to do web links instead of inserting the url into the text. i went back in my entries an fixed a few of the longer links. i look forward to reading it every day to see how she is doing.

it was a relatively quick ride to yosemite, and i already had my route planned out to see the major sites. once i got in the park, traffic was pretty bad, but the roads and, more importantly, the road surface were quite good, making the twists much more easy to ride through. below are some of the impressive sights.

el capitan, yosemite, ca - 09/03/2006

aLex is always so good at taking these type of self-portraits. i hope this one meets her approval.

pedro and el capitan, yosemite, ca - 09/03/2006

on the way to mariposa grove, there is a great view of yosemite valley, with el capitan on the left and half dome in the background.

yosemite valley, yosemite, ca - 09/03/2006

this fallen giant sequoia, called "fallen monarch" is estimated to have fallen over 300 years ago. in 1899, the u.s. cavalry took a picture on this tree.

fallen monarch, mariposa grove, yosemite, ca - 09/03/2006

this giant sequoia, known as the "grizzly giant", is estimated to be over 2700 years old. to get an idea of its size, notice the group of people standing at the base of the tree.

grizzly giant, mariposa grove, yosemite, ca - 09/03/2006

after visiting mariposa grove, i headed along the tioga pass road, which crosses the pass at an elevation of 9945 feet. the road winds through granite domes and open meadows. this picture is looking west west, with tenaya lake in the middle.

tioga pass, yosemite, ca - 09/03/2006

after leaving yosemite, it was a nice ride to bishop, ca. i rode through the inyo national forest and owens valley. this picture is looking southwest from just north of bishop, ca.

owens valley, north of bishop, ca - 09/03/2006

day 22

2006-09-02T15:11:00.000-05:00

today was pretty much a maintenance and rest day. i had most of the trip planned out up to this point, but the rest ws just some ideas of things i would like to see or do. no real plan on how i would do them all or in what order. i think i at least have through next weekend planned out.

tomorrow i am going to yosemite and will try to hit zion, bryce canyon, and the grand canyon before meeting alex again in las vegas.

day 21

2006-09-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

instead of heading straight down 101 to muir woods, which would have taken about 30 minutes, i decided to head to the coast and take highway 1. it took over two hours to get to muir woods along this route due to the winding roads, rough pavement, and construction, but it was worth it. it was a challenging ride, but i saw things i never would have seen on 101. while going up and down the hills and mountains and moving closer and further from the ocean, the tempurature changed many times, varying by about 30 degrees.

the first picture below is from the route to highway 1, looking back at the road i just rode on with the hillsides in the background. i think those are hawks in the sky circling over something. once i got to highway 1, there were many small fishing towns along the way. this second photo is one of the old fishing boats in tomales bay. continuing down highway 1, i rode between the point reyes national seashore and the golden gate national recreation area. the third picture is the ocean fog rolling in over the hills of point reyes.

along marshall-petaluma rd, ca - 09/01/2006

tomales bay, ca - 09/01/2006

fog rolling in over point reyes, ca - 09/01/2006

the section of highway 1 just south of stinson beach to muir woods was extremely winding and treacherous. there were dozons of hairpin turns with posted speeds of 10 to 15 mph; there were usually steep cliffs off to the side with no guard rails; and the road surface was extremely uneven, often going down to one lane due to slide where part of the roadway fell toward the ocean.

once i got to muir woods (thanks mike), i knew i wasn't going to make it all the way through my original itinerary for the day, so i decided to spend some more time here and cut the route short. i was very glad i did.

i took the long trail and was amazed by not only the trees, but also the history of muir woods, john muir, and his importance regarding the national park service. near the end of the trail, i asked one of the park volunteers about some trees that i rode through on highway 1 north of the park. he told me that they were blue gum eucalyptus and went into a 20 minute explanation of their history, how they were introduced to california from australia in the 1800s, and the problems they have caused in california. the most interesting story he had was the role these trees played in the 1991 oakland hills fire and how the oils in the trees causes them to explode.

walking among giants, muir woods, ca - 09/01/2006

old and new, muir woods, ca - 09/01/2006

"small" grove, muir woods, ca - 09/01/2006

after spending a few hours at muir woods, i knew i had to make some progress on my route, even though i already knew i had to cut it short. after riding for almost three weeks on secondary roads with limited traffic, i was not too excited to ride around san francisco on major highways on the friday afternoon of labor day weekend. most of my concerns were met or exceeded.

it wasn't too bad while i was north of san francisco and oakland. i even got to go over the richmond-san rafael bridge. once i got to oakland, though, it got pretty bad. there were times when it was about 10 miles per hour for about 20 mintues. there were tons of motorcyles riding between the slowed to stopped cars, called lane splitting, which is legal in california. some were going only slightly faster than traffic, but others were really flying.

for quite a while i didn't even consider it, but after about an hour sitting in traffic, i gave it a try. i set a rule for myself that i would only do it if traffic was going less than 15 miles per hour. i also didn't allow myself to go to0 fast. it ended up being pretty easy and i really did feel safe doing it. if i was going too slow and there were other motorcycles behind me, i would move back into traffic and let them pass me. i think it ended up saving me about an hour of travel time over about two and one-half hours.

the long day, the traffic, and the over 90 degree heat caused me to stop even earlier than i had planned. i might take a break on saturday to catch up on laundry and reassess my itinerary for the next few days, taking into account the labor day weekend and warm weather in the southwest.

day 20

2006-09-01T00:18:00.000-05:00

i had some trouble getting started getting started this morning. i am having some trouble getting this posted tonight as well. i don't know if has anything to do with the fact that i almost half way through this trip and am not sure what, if anything, i should feel i have accomplished.

anyway, i started out down the coast and took the picture below. while taking the photo, a tourist with a camera in his hand walked up to me. at first i though he wanted me to take his picture. it turned out he was german and wanted to know if i was german, too, due to the red, yellow, and black luggage on my bike. he actually wanted to take a picture or me.

california coast south of crescent city - 08/31/2006

i then checked out the redwoods and had a nice ride through the enormous trees. to give you an idea of the size...

avenue of the giants - 08/31/2006

avenue of the giants - 08/31/2006

avenue of the giants - 08/31/2006

the rest of the day was mainly just a fun ride down the 101 to just north of san francisco. i totally spaced on the holiday weekend, so i am trying to find places to stay for the next few nights. most of the campgrounds are already booked.

day 19

2006-08-30T22:51:00.000-05:00

it started out as a good day. i had gotten a good nights rest at rob and jolene's place, got a quick bite and espresso at the hideaway bakery (http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/07/20/chow/bakeries.html), as recommended by rob and jolene, and the weather was perfect.

i guess my attempts to stay off the main roads was a little too ambitious, though, as i spent over three hours going less than 90 miles through logging roads on my way from eugene to crater lake. the roads were fun to ride through, but there were so many twists and turns that it just took forever to get through. the scenery at the top of one of the mountains made it worthwhile.

view from southeast of london, or - 08/30/2006

everything i went through seemed to make crater lake national park (http://www.nps.gov/crl) that much more impressive. the first picture below is of of the pumice desert, formed from remains of pyroclastic flows of previous eruptions. trees still have difficulty growing in many areas. i believe that is mt. thielsen in the background.

pumice desert near crater lake, or - 08/30/2006

the next four pictures are all of the lake. after looking at the first picture, you can use the second to try get an idea of the size (five miles across). there is a relatively large boat on the lake on the right side.

crater lake, or - 08/30/2006

crater lake, or - 08/30/2006

this shows one of the secondary volcanic formations in the lake, called the phantom ship. the larger one, wizard island, can be seen on the far left in the first picture.

crater lake, or - 08/30/2006

due to its geologic isolation, the water is extremely clear. it is hard to describe just how blue it is. i don't even know if a picture can do it justice, but i will try. it was a relatively sunny day, and i think the green of the trees helps to contrast the blue. the darker shades are from clouds.

crater lake, or - 08/30/2006

i am sure my dad would be proud of me for this picture. i only took two, though!

part way through the park i saw two bikes by the side of the road, and it looked like one was having mechanical problems. i thought they looked like old bmws, but with the large fairings on them i couldn't be sure. i circled back to see if they needed any help (not that i could help them mechanically, but i could at least make an offer of some sort. coffee anyone?). it turned out that they were both old bmws (1970's) and they had come down from alaska. one of the guys had over 200,000 miles on his bike. we chatted for a while, and he gave me some pointers on where to go and where not to go in southern california. basically, i should avoid the sand (death valley, etc.) i was amazed to see others doing so much more than i am doing on bikes bikes amost 25 years older than mine.

the rest of the ride, as it was already late in day, was just to get to a campground in crescent city, ca. i came down the redwood highway and partially through the redwook national park. i wish i could have paid more attention to it all, but it was late in the day and the light was getting low. i will be spending more time in the redwoods tomorrow. it is scary enough to think of hitting a tree. it is even more scary when the tree is over ten feed wide.

day 18

2006-08-30T01:43:00.000-05:00

after a cool and rainy night just west of astoria, i continued down 101 along the oregon coast. again traffic was horrible, but the scenery and twisty roads made up for it. there were plenty of small towns along the way. some were very touristy and others looked like real coastal fishing towns.

after about an hour or so, i jumped off 101 to check out cape meares (see picture below). there was a bit of fog, so i couldn't get too many good pictures. i then continued down the coast along the three arch rocks scenic byway before getting back on 101.

the rest of the scenery along the coast was pretty similar (rocky cliffs), until i got to heceta beach (see picture below). it was a pretty dramatic change.

i then took 126 from florence to eugene were i was staying with rob, the brother of mike with whom i play hockey. we had a nice dinner with his family, took the dog for a walk and then hit the town.

by popular demand, below are some pictures from today (last two) and some others from two days riding in washington.

this is a shot from the top of a canyon road on east side of the columbia river, just north of chelan falls. notice the twisty roads in the distance in the center of the picutre.

mcneil canyon road, wa - 08/23/2006

this picture is of the walls along coulee meadows, just south of highway 2. there was a similar wall on the other side. i think the rock making up the walls is basalt.

coulee meadows, wa - 08/23/2006

it was a tight squeeze, but luckily i was on a motorcyle and not in a car.

farmer, wa - 08/23/2006

luckily the clouds were not in the way for this picture of mt. rainier. you can see them creeping into the picture behind the tree to the left.

mt. rainier, wa - 08/24/2006

these two large rocks off of cape meares are homes to many birds.

cape meares, or - 08/29/2006

this is quite a change from the rocky cliffs just a mile up the road.

heceta beach, or - 08/29/2006

day 17

2006-08-29T00:36:00.000-05:00

i didn't want to leave today. it is not that i didn't want to continue on my journey, it is that i didn't want to leave alex. it was almost as hard to leave her today as it was two weeks ago.

a special thanks to mike and sue for enabling alex to meet me like this. i cannot thank you enough.

once i was able to get going, i was on my way to astoria, or in the northwest corner of the state. for the first time on the trip, i did not do some of the miles on the motorcycle. not that i really could, as i took the edmonds-kingston ferry in order to get to the olympic peninsula.

it was a pretty quick ride, but once back on the bike, the first fifty miles or so were hampered by traffic. dozens of semis and rvs ("thats recreational vehicle, clark") on single lane roads with lots of hills and stop lights through small towns. once the traffic thinned out, the road started going up and down from the coast line to the mountains. there was probably a twenty degree change in temperature between the two. along the coast, the fog was already pretty thick. at times i could see it flowing overhead as i rode through the tunnel of trees.

the one thing which i saw more than anything were the affects of logging. there were many areas that were essentially barren, bordered by thick stands of trees. almost all of these areas had signs listing different dates, such as when the area was first logged, when new trees were planted, and when they would again be available for logging.

i also learned that there is no self-serve gas in oregon (if you call being yelled at by a gas station attendant for trying to pump my own gas "learning"). i guess it isn't so bad when regular is under $3.00 per gallon!

day 16

2006-08-29T00:33:00.000-05:00

the day started off fairly leisurely. alex and i met our friend tim and some of his friends at his restaurant, smarty pants (www.smartypantsseattle.com), for brunch. everything was very good, and it was a nice way to hang out and relax on a sunday morning/afternoon.

later in the day, alex and i were getting ready for dinner. we had decided on pizza and had a few options. there was a place across from the hotel, a place near the space needle that one of the hotel workers recommended, and another in the queen anne neighborhood that another employee recommended. without going into the gory details (walking to the two furthest away only to end up across from the hotel), none of them were what we were really looking for. i guess chicago really does have the best pizza.

i guess the one good thing that came out of all of it is that alex and i got that much more time to spend together exploring another city, which we both love to do.

day 15

2006-08-29T00:24:00.000-05:00

in case some of you didn't know, i like to watch certain travel/food/cooking shows. not many, but a few in particular. about a week or two before i left, there was one about seattle. i recorded it but didn't have a chance to watch it before i left. thankfully alex watched it and got some great ideas for things for us to do.

we started out with coffee at cafe ladro just up the street from the hotel. it wasn't so much the coffee that i enjoyed as it was just hanging out with alex, each of us reading our books.

after that we headed to the agua verde cafe and paddle club (http://www.aguaverde.com/) near the university of washington. we started off with a one and one-half hour kayak trip around lake washington. there was a wait for two person kayaks, so we each got our own. we saw lots of ducks and some turtles and herons. even though alex used to row (crew) in college, i was still impressed with her kayaking skills, which she had never done before. after a good workout on the water, we had some really good fish tacos at the cafe.

we were still trying to find out a nice place for dinner to celebrate our twelve year wedding anniversary (next weekend, september 3rd). we were checking out lots of places, but they were either way too expensive or too touristy. luckily, one of the hotel employees recommended a place right around the corner, marjorie (http://www.trenchtownrocks.com/). it turned out to be an excellent dinner.

day 14

2006-08-29T00:19:00.000-05:00

after a surprisingly good nights sleep in tim's trailer, jason and i went to a local diner for breakfast. there wasn't much more to the day other than checking into the ace hotel (
(www.acehotel.com) and meeting alex.

i was so excited to see her. it had been almost two weeks, and after all that had happened (check previous comments), i thought for sure something would delay it. luckily nothing did.
we ended up walking around downtown seattle, winding up at bimbo's bitchin' burrito kitchen on capitol hill. it was so nice to get out and explore a new city with alex. we love to do that in every city we visit, and even chicago.

as alex has been doing double duty covering for me at home (thank you!), she was pretty tired. the time change didn't help much either. by 8:00 pm (10:00 pm chicago), i was more than happy to let her fall asleep on my shoulder.

day 13

2006-08-25T03:53:00.000-05:00

after a good meal the night before and a good rest on a sofa, i got an early start so doug and annie to get to work. i headed north to seattle, going through the hanford research area and by mt. ranier. it was the coldest day of riding so far on the trip, especially near mt. ranier. this was mainly due to the overcast conditions and the proximaty to the ocean. luckily i was able to see mt. rainier well before the clouds set in. on the descent from chinook pass, i rode through some of the tallest pine trees on the trip. most of the way down i even lost my gps reception due to the trees and mountains.

when i reached seattle, i hooked up with my friend tim at his restaurant smarty pants (http://www.smartypantsseattle.com/). he and his friend andy then helped me get some new tires for my bike. they had gotten significantly more worn from the trip, especially from the mountain riding. we then hung out for a while and i helped his brother jason with some renovations on their new house.

friday afternoon alex is arriving in seattle. i will be staying here until monday. i have almost 4000 miles logged on the trip so far, but won't be doing much more until monday, at which time i will start heading down the coast. i can't wait to ride down the 101 and through the redwoods.

day 12

2006-08-25T03:41:00.000-05:00

after spending the night near winthrop, wa, i was headed down to visit my cousing doug and his family, annie, barret, and bergen, in west richmond, wa.

as usual, i set my gps to take the backroads. i ended up going through a lot of nice roads (twists and turns) in the beginning and through farms and orchards near the end. i rode along the columbia river for a while before crossing over it and then up the other side of the valley onto some high plains. after riding through that for a while, i ended up in a small coulee valley, as opposed to the grand coulee, as in the dam. even though the road was a little sketchy due to construction (lot of gravel), riding through the high walls of the valley was very nice. i will post some pictures of this later.

i then ended up near the potholes state park which led to the columbia wildlife area. again, the roads and scenery were quite nice. i never would have seen some of this stuff if i stuck to the main highways.

closer to richmond, wa, i rode through mile after mile of orchards - apples, pears, grapes. i later found out that there are quite a few vinyards in this area of washington.

after reaching dougs place, i played with barret and bergen, helping them build some lincoln log buildings. it was nice to catch up with them.

2006-08-24T19:13:00.000-05:00

sorry I havn't made a post for yesterday. spent the evening w/ my cousin & his family, then had to leave early. will try to do something tonight.

day 11

2006-08-22T23:19:00.000-05:00

ok, it's picture time. sorry this is late. it took me a while to get all of the pictures edited. if you want higher quality versions, please let me know and i will try to send them to you (it may not be until after the trip is over).

one thing i have noticed on this trip is that it has been dry just about everywhere i've been, from minnesota to washington. several of the campsites i stayed at didn't even allow campfires. so far, i have seen two active forest fires and ridden through the remains of two others (occurred this summer). the most recent one i rode through was between browning and st. mary, mt. i could still smell the burnt pine, even though the fire had been put out almost three weeks prior. in every town, there are posted signs showing the fire risk for the day (almost like a weather alert). just about every one i have seen has been "very high". below are pictures of two active and one extinguished fires.

casper, wy - 08/17/2006

glacier np - 08/21/2006

omak, wa - 08/22/2006

last night i stayed in couer d'alene, id. on the advice of mike, whom i just met the night before, i changed my plans from riding to boise, id to riding along highway 20 in washington state. i am very glad i changed my plans. not only was the weather a little more amenable, but the road was amazing. there were not many sights to see along the way, but the twists and turns were very nice.

i rode past the pend oreille river and couldn't believe how calm the water was.

pend oreille river, wa - 08/22/2006

further along highway 20, this old house caught my eye. when i first rode past it, i though it was fake, like from the set of a movie. i doubled back to get some pictures of it, along with a sign posted along the highway.

pflug mansion 1 - 08/22/2006

pflug mansion 2 - 08/22/2006

pflug mansion sign - 08/22/2006

this last photo is from glacier national park in montana the previous day.

glacier national park, mt - 08/21/2006

i have now travelled into my third time zone (currently pacific, previously mountain and central). the funny thing is that i have not changed any of my clocks (nor do i want to). i guess it is one of the few things i have of home.

day 10

2006-08-21T21:38:00.000-05:00

sorry this is going to be short. my access to the internet runs out in a few minutes.

i started out going through glacier national park. it was pretty cold in areas where the sun was blocked by the mountains, yet warm where the sun had been shining for a while. the glacier formed mountains were quite impressive. i took the "going to the sun" road up trough logan's pass.

after glacier national park, the rest of the ride to coeur d'alene was almost anti-climatic. not that the scenery and roads weren’t nice, but it just didn’t compare to what i rode through in the morning. that and the fact that it was in the mid 90’s by early afternoon, half way into the ride.

at the campsite i met mike. he rides a bmw as well, except his is the gs adventure version, made for going off-road. he is on his way north to take a 10 day tour down the continental divide trail. he is from phoenix and came north on some of the same roads on which i will be heading south. he gave me some tips on roads to take, places to stay, and things to do. i have not checked out his web site yet, but it is www.mikesworldtour.com.

tomorrow, instead of heading south to boise, i may head west through the cascades in washington. the following day i would visit doug and annie in west richland, then off to seattle to meet alex on friday.

day 9

2006-08-20T21:03:00.000-05:00

i got a late start today after working on some organizational things. i am getting much better at the packing/unpacking, but every time i always think of a line from ted simon's jupiters travels:

Now I saw, with awful clarity, that a large part of my life henceforth would be devoted to the daily grind of packing and unpacking this poor, dumb beast.

i guess for six weeks that it is better than some other daily grind i could be doing. i guess this daily grind is worth it when i have scenery like this to see when i wake up.

i left big timber, mt and headed up highway 89. i rode through varying terrain, from barren high plains to endless trees in the lewis and clark national forest. i was basically riding along the edge of the rocky mountain front, high peaks that seem to just rise out of the plains. as i got past browning, mt and closer to st. mary (near glacier national park), where i am staying, i rode through the remnants of a forest fire that happend less than a month ago. i could still smell the charred wood.

hopefully i can keep posting more photos in this manner. please let me know if they are too big, small, fuzzy, boring, etc. here is one that i am sure alex will enjoy.

day 8

2006-08-19T23:06:00.000-05:00

the new sleeping bag really helped. the temperature this morning was in the low 40's but i was warm all night. i got a decent nights sleep, and i definitely needed it. after being on the bike by 7:00 am, i didn't get to my final destination until 6:30 pm.

i went through teton national park and then into yellowstone. i have been skiing in jackson hole several times, but never saw the tetons from this angle. they are quite a sight in the early morning sun.

i never realized how big yellowstone is. it took almost the whole day to get through just one half of it. i caught the tail end of old faithful and then checked out some of the other glaciers and pools. there was a single bison resting near one of the pools. i then checked out mammoth falls. aside from the single bison, i saw a bull elk grazing near the side of the road and a few herds of bison on the road to the northeast entrance. the best part was the scenery. it seemed to go on forever. i felt lucky to be riding through this territory (and the rest of the country) on a motorcycle. it seems like you are closer to or a part of everything, as opposed to being in a car.

as if the day wasn't long enough already, i decided to ride along the beartooth highway. it takes you up over a pass that has an elevation of about 11,000 feet. it was pretty cold up there and road was very twisty, both up and down, but was worth it.

the last 50 miles to big timber, mo were tough. i was tired and had been riding almost 12 hours. while unloading the bike and setting up my tent for the night, a gentleman, john, started asking me about my bike and where i had been riding. after conversing for a while, he invited me over to his rv for some burgers, hot dogs, etc. he was at the campground with his friend, and their families. they were both from billings and came up here for the weekend. after unpacking i went over and joined them. they had a picnic table full of food and plenty of hospitality. their kids spent most of the time roasting marshmallows and then making s'mores.

i feel lucky to have meet john and his family and don from the other night in jackson. hopefully i will be so lucky the rest of the trip.

i want to post some pictures, but it is kind of hard to do on this site. hopefully i can figure out a way soon.

thanks again for all of your comments. forgive me if i don't respond to them directly. i do read them, though. it is often hard at the end of a day to go through everything in a coherent manner.

day 7

2006-08-18T20:09:00.000-05:00

today was a life maintenance day. after two nights of restless sleep due to the cold, i went out and bought a warmer sleeping bag. (yes, alex, you were right!) i also took some time to look around downtown jackson, have some lunch, and then do some laundry.

i have also been trying to get the packing/unpacking down to a manageable science. with the addition of another sleeping bag, this just got a little more tricky. i also did some more reading and route planning. i am at about 2000 miles for the trip. i probably won't be able to keep up that pace, but it is a good indication of about how many miles i will do per week.

i am doing yellowstone tomorrow, and may add in the beartooth highway, depending on how the day goes. i will end up somewhere near bozeman.

day 6

2006-08-17T21:35:00.000-05:00

what started out as a "mileage day" turned out to be more eventful. spending the night in custer, sd. meant that i was in mountain time, even though my body (and watch, gps, cell phone and motorcycle clock) was still on central time. this meant i was able to get an early start. the benefit of an early start is that you see more animals. the danger of an early start is that you see more animals. the first animal i saw this morning was an antelope scamping up the rocks about 20 feet from where i was riding. i ended up seeing about 10 other deer/antelope in the first 30 minutes of the ride. they are beautiful to see from a distance but not up close on a moving motorcycle.

i saw diverse scenery today, from the remnants of fire devastated forests in south dakota, to actual forest fires in casper, wyoming; from the high plains of eastern wyoming to the jagged peaks of the tetons. when you can see millions of years of history layered in the rock on the side of a mountain, it can make you think that you are the smallest, least important thing as you ride by them. when you see the farmers working their fields, baling hay for their cattle, you realize that everyone plays a part in something, in some way.

after reaching my camp site, i spent the evening hanging out with don. he holds dual citizenship in the us and canada; he used to play hockey; he used to ride motorcycles; he likes dark beer; he used work for a secret government agency. ok, so we had a couple of things in common. he has done a bit of travelling and gave me some tips on routes through montana, and alberta if i had time. in return for his hospitality, i got him the of the original dark beers, spaten optimator.

i will probably be spending another night here in jackson. it feels like i have been zipping through some things, but now i want to slow down a bit. i will ponder that for a while.

day 5

2006-08-16T19:01:00.000-05:00

While talking to another motorcycle rider that was heading back to Dowagiac, MI, I couldn't remember what day of the week it was. I guess that it is a good sign.

After a monotonous 100 miles through South Dakota, I made it to Wall Drug for breakfast. I couldn't believe how touristy it was. I then headed through the Badlands National Park. Every time I thought the scenery couldn't get any better, something more impressive was around the next turn.

I then headed up to Mt. Rushmore. It was impressive, but not as much as I had imagined. I finally went to the Crazy Horse monument. Given that it is a private endeavor, it and the future plans for the monument seemed more impressive than Mt. Rushmore.

Even though it is at least a week after the Sturgis motorcycle rally, there are still tons of Harley riders around.

Tonight I am camping out in Custer, SD. I am still trying to figure out how far to go tomorrow. I don't think there are a lot of sites between here and Jackson, so I may just try to make it a big mileage day.

I hope everyone is doing well.

day 4

2006-08-15T19:41:00.000-05:00

What started out to be a great day riding, sunny, cool and no wind, turned out to be more of an adventure (don't worry alex - nothing bad) as the day went on.

Sticking to my plan of not taking any major highways, I headed west out of Minnneapolis on county highways. After making good time and getting to where I initially planned on spending the night by about 2 pm, I decided to go a couple hours further to a campground closer to the Badlands in South Dakota. What I didn't realize was that I would have to go about 80 miles between gas stations. When my low fuel light went on about halfway to where I wanted to go, I checked my gps for the nearest gas station. It was the same distance back as it was forward, so I continued on. I think if it hadn't been for the strong head winds I would have made it.

With about 5 miles to go, I felt the engine starting to sputter. I pulled up to a house and started walking up the driveway. About half way up, two pit bulls came running out to meet me, not too happy that I was on their turf. The owner came out and I explained my situation. It turned out that she bred pit bulls and they were just being protective of a new litter. She was very kind and was able to give me enough gas to get me to the next gas station. I hope I have learned my lesson for the rest of the trip.

I am now camping out for the first night at the Kennebec, SD KOA off of 90. It is actually pretty nice - pool, internet access, laundry, convenience store, tv. I guess I could get use to this, at least for a few days/weeks. Tomorrow I will be off to see the Badlands and surrounding sites.

Thanks again for all of your comments and support.

day 3

2006-08-15T07:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry this is late. I have been a little more tired after riding than I expected. Monday was a beautiful day for riding, sunny and not too hot. I started off from Two Harbors and needed to stop in at Aerostich in Duluth for some more luggage (I have to learn not to pack so much). It was a nice ride to Minneapolis via Brainerd. The only hard part was the wind, which was either a cross wind or in my face, never at my back. A gentleman at a rest stop was admiring my bike and asking where I was headed. When I told him, he gave me some suggestions for going through South Dakota, so I may be adjusting my route slightly. Nothing major, just trying to avoid the interstates.

I had a very nice visit with Bonnie and Mary. Dan even showed up to visit after working a 12 hour day. Bonnie and Mary kept trying to figure out what they would do if they had six weeks off. I feel very lucky to have this opportunity and to visit some of you.

I think the easy part of the trip is over, as I will have to fend for myself. No more places to stay or home cooked meals to eat. I truly appreciate what everyone has done for me so far. I also appreciate your comments and support on this site. I look forward to reading what you have to say.

day 2

2006-08-13T21:24:00.000-05:00

Although it was a short mileage day, it was a busy day visiting family. I went to Kathy and David's for brunch with Karen and Dan, Ellen, Heidi and David, and Anna, Sonja, and Patrick. There was lots of catching up on everyone's activities. Ellen and I then went for a drive up the shore. Although the weather wasn't so good, we had a great time.

Tomorrow I am off to Minneapolis.

day 1

2006-08-13T06:38:00.000-05:00

As usual, I got a late start. Part of it was finishing packing and trying to get everything loaded on the bike for the first time. The other part was just not wanting to leave Alex.

I eventually got on the road and made my first stop at Comet in Milwauakee. I had a great breakfast with delicious food and wonderful company provided by Adam and Val. The breakfast bowl kept me warm and satisfied all the way to Duluth. In return for their hospitality, I promised to do some advertising along my trip by placing some Comet stickers on my bike.

It was a very nice day to be riding, but as I got further north, it got cooler and cooler. By the time I was riding along Lake Superior, I had already added two layers under my jacket and had turned on the heated grips.

After what ended up being closer to 560 miles, I made it to Karen and Dan's. I had a wonderful enchilada dinner and was able to catch up on a lot of family events.

On Sunday we will meet up with Ellen and Kathy and David in Two Harbors. Weather permitting I will ride there, though I may get a little wet.

day 0

2006-08-11T16:21:00.000-05:00

I will be off in less than 24 hours. Although I will miss Alex and Honey very much, I am getting excited. Hopefully I will be able to get some rest before the first day of riding. Of course I am starting off with an easy day of riding - 530 miles from Chicago to Duluth!