Butterfly Trail vs mini camera

Well, Sunday;s paper described a beautiful high altitude hike in the Catalina mountains.
It is called the Butterfly trail and it leads you from the visitors center on Catalina Hwy past the peak of Mt Bigelow to the eastern flank of the Catalinas. Philip had done this hike before and I used his description and advice to plan a 4 hr hike and try out my"new"mini camera that was sent to me after the failure of the last one failed about 1 hr into my Alaska trip.
In the Valley it was in the 90's but at 7800 feet a comfortable 78 F. Fortified with food and lots of drink I set off camera in hand, and yes you might have guessed it it just did not work right and of course without glasses ( in the truck) I could not figure out how to fix what was wrong. I lost this one!
So I went on down the trail which leads you through some badly fire damaged areas with great views of the San Pedro valley and the Galiuro Mountains to the east. I went from 8000 feet elevation down to about 7200 and reached my destination for the day a little stream and a trail to an a crashed F86 super saber jet that crashed in the late 50s. The engine, some canopy parts and a bit of fuselage is all that is left from what in its day turned the air battles over Korea in favor of the US and its allied forces.
As I stopped for lunch at the creek I pondered just sitting here peacefully and a multi-ton object crashing near by. An unsettling thought to say the least.
Well it was time to turn around and since I had my I pod with me I listening to some of the songs I have recorded. This made the climb back up to 8000 feet that much easier but a thought occurred to me.
Imagine you walking along a quiet mountain trail and all of a sudden you see and hear an Old Geezer schlepping his tired butt up the mountain singing the Marseillaise at full volume! Because that was what I was doing. Realizing what was happening I toned it down so other hiker would not be put off ( all 7 of them that I saw that day)
Reaching the saddle below the peak and the way down to the parking lot a sign beckoned to go to the top of Mt Bigelow. So off I went for the extracurricular activity and was rewarder by a beautiful 360 view of the area.
One question remained as I got back into "Opa's truck"
Why is this trail called the Butterfly trail? I saw about 5 butterflies but at least 100 lizzards.
So I vote to have the trail renamed Lizzard trail! A nice if a bit strenuous hike. but next time I will bring 2 cameras my glasses and instructions for my little camera with me!

Fathers Day 2009

What a day it was indeed. Celebrating with a wonderful dinner at "Sur Real" a new south American restaurant close by, then on Sunday all of us Tucsonians taking a hike at the nature conservancy at Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca mountains lead by the Great Maxini and his dad. Follow this with a fun luncheon at Sonoita and Max's antics on the ride home you have a good day.
The evening ended with a dinner for my Bea and me at "Carrabas" Italian Grill and a nice phone call from Hawaii and all I can say:
THIS FATHER IS PROUD AND HAPPY TO HAVE YOU AS MY FAMILY AND I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH!
THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME FEEL SPECIAL NOT ONLY YESTERDAY BUT EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!

The Ride The Epigolue

Well it's over now, memories or a dream doesn't matter but a wonderful experience altogether.
My biggest regret is that I could not share the awesome beauty of nature and its creatures with all of you at the time it happened. No matter how hard I try I cannot verbalize well enough the feelings that I had on this trip.
Whether it was an animal by road that I had only seen at the zoo before, the sun rising over a glacier or setting over the ocean it was simply overwhelming at times.
I thought of all of you and I am thankful for your wishes and prayers that saw me safely back home.
Just a few Facts about the trip:
Total Mileage on Bike: 7112 miles or 547 miles per riding day!
Fuel used: 178 gallons
Boat rides (ferries) 16.5 hours
Animals seen: Grizzly & Black bears, Caribou (wild reindeer)bison,moose,
wolf,eagles,elk, deer, humpback whales & porpoises!
The land creatures are best seen early or around sunset!
What I Learned about a long motorcycle trip:
Study all the guide books, talk to folks who have been there
done that!
Never start in the morning with less than a full tank of gas!
Never pass a gas station if you are below half in your tank!
Take whatever gas they have. Bikes run on all types even 87 oct.
Ask people for advice along the route, they are glad to help!
Rooms, even in a hostel will cost you between 60 to 120 dollars!
Electronic/gear can and will break over time so don't count on
them too much.
Provincial Campgrounds are the best to stay at. Private grounds
are more geared to RV guests!
Take clothes for all weather conditions! Saw temperatures from
27F to 89F! Rain sun fog but thankfully no snow!
Take 2 cameras one might fail as it did in my case!
What was my favorite moment:
Aside from coming home and seeing my Bea and Heidi down by the
mailbox it would have been a black bear sitting up on his
haunches, wave as I rode past!
What was most impressive:
Bear and Matanuska Glaciers BC & Alaska
What would i do different:
Reverse the route as Vancouver Island Hwy 16 and 37 through
BC deserve more time than I was giving!

So that is about it, I am home, happy for having done it safely and looking forward to more adventures on the bike!

The ride day 15

Anyone ever hear of Williams California? Well I had not until last night when I stayed there at the luxurious Motel6!
It's a little town 450+ miles from Dana Point and is the Olive capital of California.
So if olives are your thing go there. After a quick dinner at the local eatery and a chat with my Bea, I fell in bed and was sound asleep when all too early I was awakened by a neighbors alarm clock.
So Pack up and ROLL!
The goal is HOME and my BEA! My speed is around 80+ miles as I head south until LA and there of all places I run into a rain shower but by the time I reach the Orange County line it clears up and I ride on home. 2:13 PM I ride up the drive and Bea and Heidi greet me "El Scruffo" at the mail boxes. 7112 miles of ride plus about 300 miles on 2 ferries!
One more picture, unload and shower throw everything in the laundry and it is over.
Seems like a dream now, a good one for sure but the preparation, the adventure of the ride they are but a memory.

The Ride Day 14

What a day! Started as always early i9n the morning and enjoyed the ride on HWY 101 all the way to Olympia Washington. It was fun as the views were great along the water to the east and the Olympia mountains to the west. Mt Olympus still had its snow cap on!
After about 120 miles of serene riding all of a sudden there it was I-5... the road to Dana Point.
At Roseburg Oregon I got caught in a bad thunderstorm with winds strong enough to topple over a mobile home on the freeway. Got soaked and since it never really got cold and dried out within 30 minutes.
So on I went through Washington Oregon and guess what all of a sudden there was a sign:
WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA. That came with a view of snow covered and cloudy Mt Shasta.
Along the way I hit a bad thunderstorm. Thankfully it never got very cold and I dried out within 30 minutes or so. As the day wore on so did my desire to get closer to home!
I rode until 7:30PM called mom had a lite Italian dinner and soon I will be asleep as tomorrow I want to get started early again to avoid the morning rush in Sacramento and the weekend rush in LA.
Only about 500 more miles to go and what started out as a fancy dream will have be a memory that will stay with me forever.
Over the week end I will try to put together a meaningful epilogue and hope fully I will be able to put into words those things that were and are the most important to me!

A bitter sweet day

Well today was a day that I will remember for many a thing. A very cold morning ride followed by a scorching hot day ending with a cool breeze off the ocean in Port Angeles WA.
The ride down Vancouver Island was beautiful but overshadowed by an ominous light flashing on my dash telling me my rear brake has failed. So all I have left is my front brake and actually I have been riding this way for almost 1200 miles. But now I call the dealer in Victoria and he promised help if he could. When I get there and the mechanic shows me the damage along with pointing out that I had a nail in my rear tire as well I started to feel sick. This was going to be tough, the parts needed had to be imported from Germany! (6 to 10 days)
Well I used what little persuasive powers I had and they agreed to take the necessary parts off a brand new bike on the show floor and install them on my bike. By 6PM the machine was tested and ready to roll again but I had to pay the price and steep it was.
Anyway I decided to cut my visit a day short and went on Port Angeles in Washington!
The ferry ride was great but Victoria is a spot that bears revisiting. My dream is for mom and I to have HIGH Tea at the Empress Hotel there!

The Day 12 the Inside passage

Well Prince Rupert was indeed a quaint little town and after exploring on foot for a while I went to a local hotel for a Seafood salad and a very refreshing beer! Then strolled home to my Hostel and saw a huge bald eagle sitting in a spruce tree right in the center of town. A common sight here but one that I had not seen before.
After a short but good nights rest it was up and checking in at the docks at 5:30AM.
The ferry was brand new (made in Germany) and not crowded so you could have seats and reclining chairs all over.
The passage reminded me a bit on the fjords of Norway but the mountains are not quite as steep and the further south you go the wider the channel gets.
Even though this is the rain coast, we had great weather , warm and a cloudless sky which caused many of us to sit on the sundeck for a while and watch the scenery pass by. Green forests, waterfalls and snow capped mountains. Add to that a couple of whales and pods of porpoises and it was an entertaining smooth ride all the way to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island.
One last surprise was a beautiful sunset just before we landed 15 hours after we left the Canadian Mainland. Actually this was my last day on the Canadian Mainland as I will be on Vancouver Island all day today. Tomorrow Icross over to the US and then It will be HWY 101 to Olympia and a leisurely drive on I 5 until I reach the Dana Point exit!

The Ride day 11

After 2 massive riding days today was just a little jaunt from Stewart to Prince Rupert on the coast. I might want to call it "from the Glaciers to the Sea.
Left with brilliant sunshine headed east back to the Cassiar HWY after a good night's sleep. I actually slept until 6:15 which has been unheard of on this trip.
The mountain with their snowy peaks were gleaming and my little friends the Black Bears bid me farewell at the side of the road.
What followed was a ride to remember. Wave upon wave of mountains swept past me, their Glaciers looking like frozen waterfalls, and waterfalls feeding the copper and Skeena River. As I rode west all of a sudden you turned the corner and there I was in Prince Rupert.
This is a quaint little town at the End of the TransCanada railway as well as a major port for the BC and Alaska Ferries.
I am staying at a very nice hostel here and tomorrow very early I will check out and ride the ferry for 13 hours to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island.
The adventure continues and I will try to keep you all posted