Day 2 the adventure contrinues

Another long day 603 miles when it was all done and now I am at my Motel 6 resting and reflecting on the day.
5:45 it's twilight and cold. 42F. So I leave with just my normal gear! Mistake, I got so cold I stopped at 8 for bf and changed into the full dress gear. Much better and the scenery was much better as well because I did not shiver as much.
So Far the 3 mountains I saw, Shasta, Hood and Mt St Helens were unbelievable standing there all by themselves dominating the landscape for miles and miles.
Another impressive picture of nature were the acres of wild Forsythia blooming along the hwy!
The bike ran great and the only not so good thing was that the heavy week end traffic caused me to lose 2hrs in stop and go in the Seattle area. So instead of arriving at Bellingham at 2:30 as planned it was 4:30 and I am a bit tired.
Tomorrow early morning I will cross over into Canada and start riding about 300 miles a day on roads with very little traffic and great scenery. I'll be able to stop and take pictures as the ones today were all taken at 70+ mph on the freeway!
Now I'll run across the street to buy a bath towel as camp grounds do not provide them and tomorrow a camping I will go unless it rains.
So fa the weather has been outstanding up here! Wish me continued luck on my adventure!

The Ride is on

Well the alarm worked and after a nice breakfast and a loving farewell from my Bea I set out on the big adventure.
Leaving at 5:45 Of course I hit LA traffic but made it fine. Rode all the way hard and fast to Yreka in Northern CA. Arrived at 4:30 and checked into my 4 Seasons i.e. The Motel 6. Cleaned my bike a bit and now am going out to dinner at the Buffalo Diner next doors for a light supper.

The ride was great, especially the last 100 miles past the majestic Mt Shasta, Shasta Lake various canyons without a name. It is quite Alpine here with pines and very peaceful so I should get a good night's rest before heading out around 5:30 tomorrow morning. My Goal tomorrow is Bellingham WA and the on to BC on Saturday.
Total Miles today 691.6 and my "derrier" says Thanks a lot!

Kailua Hawaii a place to enjoy

We just returned from 2 weeks at a place where people stop for pedestrians in the roadway, let tourists in and out of parking lots unscathed and where everything is taken a half step slower.
Even though the Island food is a melange of many cultures you will find many purely ethnic restaurants. I should know we visited many of them! Many a food I cannot pronounce but enjoyed anyway.
You all know my preoccupation with food but this trip was to be with Megan and her parents and enjoy all the surroundings.
We accomplished getting to know our little princess very well and she is a beautiful child in all aspects. She is easy to get along likes to laugh and play with her toys the animals and when available mom dad Oma and Opa. Of course we took full advantage of this and by the pictures we sent you all saw the great times we had with her, Eric and Melissa.
The water-adventures went great with great visibility and no waves and plenty of sea life, shopping was a success as well, as if Oahu's economy needed a boost!
The only draw back was the hot and humid conditions. Our little cabin had neither ceiling fans nor A/C. We perspired a lot and just maybe old Fatso here lost a pound in spite of all the food and drink.
All I can say Aloha is alive and well at 564 Palawiki, Kailua Hawaii and we are looking forward to returning this fall to welcome grand baby number 3.

a reflection on Edward Abbey, poet and naturalist

Recently I have been reading some Edward Abbey publications and while he is controversial to say the least his descriptions and thoughts of our vanishing wilderness areas are outstanding indeed.
In the last few weeks I had the opportunity to witness the might and power of the wilderness and though the venues were total opposites the thoughts that came into my mind where the same.
Number one was a trip to Bear Canyon so aptly described in Philip's blog while number 2 was an experience diving the North Shore of Oahu specifically the Shark's cove area.
Normally a very placid dive spot we had 7 ft surf sets crashing into the shore.
Finding a good entry we dove around coral heads seeing a multitude of sea life in beautiful but clear water. Then came the return swim and a dive being swept through a rough channel by a power not matched by human strength. We were at the mercy of the current and only our preparations kept us safe until we were swept up on a sandy shore emerging from the water exhilarated by the "Ride" but truly humbled and thankful for being safely on the beach.
Now you might ask what that had to do with the dark canyon walls ice cold black water and yes ice covered lagoons.
The canyon displaying the passive power of the wilderness not caring what we had to endure to navigate our way safely out of its confines......and then the Ocean with its active wave sets telling us too
" YOU THE HUMANS ARE INTRUDERS, YOU ARE AT OUR MERCY! YOU CAN COME PREPARED AND ENJOY OR YOU CAN JUST COME AND MAYBE EVEN PERISH.... WE THE OCEAN AND WILDERNESS DON'T CARE, WE WILL BE THERE LONG AFTER YOU HAVE GONE!"

Back to Sin City aka Las Vegas

You might ask WHY are we who really are not LV fans spending our time there. Well here is the reason. Wynne's Encore sent us a letter that we were so special they would give us FREE ROOMS for up to 3 nights at this brand new Casino Resort.
So being ever the suspicious one I checked it out and guess what I got the room at the times we wanted. (REALLY FOR FREE!)
So off we went got the room and met with our friends Bob and Linda who are almost locals there and with them we had 2 marvelous dinners. One the best Thai food I have ever had in an area that is so dumpy that the uneducated tourists would never go to.To give you an idea how popular this place was, when we left at 9:30 people were sitting on the sidewalk still trying to get in!
The next day we saw some other former LBV friends in Henderson and after lunch it was off to the Valley of Fire a state park about 50 mile from Las Vegas. This adventure was followed by a dinner at Piero's a Restaurant of movie fame. The movie Casino with Joe Pesce and Sharon Stone was partly filmed there. Our friends have a special table there so we had another great dinner.(one of the best choco;ate desserts ever)
As far a winning was concerned though I tried, I lost my usual $$$ (45) but learned how to play KENO or at least lose my money that way. Every time mom and I went to our room to retire our friends would call and tell us about the 250 and 300 dollar Jackpot they won.
On the way home we stopped for lunch at Laughlin a "gambling Mecca" on the Colorado River. In retrospect the only Casino worth spending any time at would be Harrah's on the south end of town. They even have a nice beach for guests and the water is really clear.
Note it is illegal in that town to use underarm deodorant because it really smells BAAAADLY there!
The trip home went well and we are back goofing off at the coast with our friends.

Tucson, March 2009 happenings

Max likes to ride in style and indeed he did. Exploring a Stretch limo after dining at Luna Bella in Tucson.
The "great one"got to spend some time with Oma and Opa and we all had lots of fun! He is growing so fast and has transitioned from baby to little boy.














While in Tucson we also Babysat for Marisa and Guy's "Furry Ones"e off on a well deserved vacation in Costa Rica. We all survived in grans style and welcomed them back.... and their dogs and cats even acknowledged them.
As to special activities I had posted our Hike for the ages and Philip posted our Bike trip to Douglas and the Chiricahuas already so I'll just leave it at that.

A what the Heck I have added another picture of that trip as well. ( Just to make you suffer)

Mom and I had lots of fun eating out at some of our favorite places but we also had 2 new dining experiences:
#1 Los Portales: A very good Mexican Restaurant on S 6th Ave. Their 3 course lunch special is just that "una almuerza especial" **** recommendation
#2 Desert Muesum restaurant: After many tries we finally made it and it was delicious. Food for all tastes and all of it tasted great and the venue of course is great as well!
Opa got one short 3 hour hike in up Soldiers trail in the Catalinas. Beautiful vistas and flowers and for the most part a very interesting and fun trail. Only the first half mile is steep with loose gravel and therefore bad footing. All in all a really fun hike with running water cliffs and plenty of flowers.
As for last but not least by any means:
we got a call from Hawaii with the a great annoncement:

Eric and Melissa are expecting their second child around October 14!

Wow great news and congratulations to Eric and melissa and of course Princess Megan!

I am closing now as Miss heidi needs to get out for her morning constitutional and then we are off to do our thing....... and that would be?
Going out to lunch with friends! I bet you would have never guessed that!
Adios Aloha and Auf Wiedersehen

A hike to remember

Here it is Wednesday and finally I can truthfully say that all my soreness is gone. What a hike...the Superstition Ridge Trail!
It starts and ends with but .75 miles of easy trail through flowering meadows and then hits you with some serious hiking scrambling up and down over mountain tops along immense hoodoos but with vistas unrivaled by any hike done this year.
Our intrepid little group of 5 did well in finishing it in just about 10 hours with no major mishaps other than being tired. Elated to be able to say we have now hiked every mountain top of the western Superstition Mountains.
11 miles in 10 hours with but a few short breaks. The speed of 1.1 miles per hour? As one of group said to Philip before the start: "Are we crawling are walking this trail?"
As a matter of fact we did a good bit of both!

The vistas included Weavers Needle, the 4 peaks region, the Sierra Ancha mountains to the east and the greater PHX area to the west!
Personally the view to the east was my favorite!
A great hike, great company and an accomplishment to be proud of and all of it is there for anyone to enjoy!