The ride Days 4.5,6

Hey you know what you get when you cross a BMW bike with a great trip and an old dude riding it:
Answer: A callused butt!
Anyway I am writing this 3045 Miles from home in the Yukon Provincial Territorial " White Horse". As capitals go this is by far the smallest I have ever seen but civilization is encroaching the old way of living here. There is a Walmart Superstore and MacDonalds. The folks up here are friendly and helpful but it is pretty pricey especially when it comes to rooms.
Camped out the last 2 nights and had fun doing it but today I needed a bed and more than that I needed a place to do laundry as I smelled as bad as some of the buffalo I saw on the road today.
It's all done now and after a shower I feel much better and the clean clothes help as well.
As to the ride ist has been nothing short of awe inspiring, towering mountains wide valleys long stretches of road where you are actually looking forward to a road sign as at times you feel like you are the only person out here.
After Leaving my great campsite this morning at 6AM I rode for 168 miles and I saw more Caribou, Buffalo and bears than cars!
As to camping, my gear is great and even though the temperatures at night fall below freezinf I stay toasty warm in my slepping bag. Maybe listening to brother IZ on my Ipod helped too!
Highlight: Liard Hot Springs park where I camped last night is very aptly named.
There are 2 pools there at about 105F that are swimable. I sat in one for 45 minutes and boy did that feel good.
The animals I saw so far 2 adult bears (1 brown 1 black) a mama bear (black) and 2 fur ball cubs!
Buffalo at the side of the road Caribou running with me and Mountain sheep! I hhave many a picture which I know you are all dying to see when I am done with this trip.
Speaking of animals, this morning at 4:15 (it was already daylight) I was awakened by snorting and the shuffling of feet outside my tent. Got my attention but there was no way I was going to check out who this early morning visitor was.
Tomorrow will see me finally cross into Alaska my goal on this trip and I am excited for this new part of the trip.
Hope you recognise the Scruff!

Day 3 of the Ride

What a marvelous day for a ride. A cloudless sky temperatures in the high 60s great roads and very little traffic.
Started out early and crossed into Canada about 6:45 in the morning. In spite of the warnings nobody here follows the speed limits so I rode casually but speedy singing "How Great Thou Art" through areas of glacial beauty to raging rivers past places called Hells Gate ( rapids on the Fraser River) a mountain called Jackass Mountain , Clinton, Lac La Hache and finally Prince George where I ended up this afternoon.
At times it felt like Bavaria, other times like riding along the Mogollon Rim and then it switched to wooded rolling hills with forests' flowers, lakes and rivers everywhere.
Lunch was at Lac la Hache at the Edelweiss Cafe. Owned by an Austrian couple they served me a great Gulash soup and a mini Schnitzel.(Kinderteller) All that was missing was a beer but that does not go with riding a bike.
The only thing that saddened me was to see the millions of trees dying from the Pine bark beetle attack. Whole sections of the forest were dead or dying but there is nothing that can be done short of setting everything on fire to destroy this horrible bug.
As Philip said when we witnessed last weeks earthquake, nature has a way of showing us just how little we can do in so many instances.
Today's ride was the shortest about 395 miles and tomorrow will be the beginning of the Alaska highway at Dawson Creek.
Again wish me luck I love you all very much!

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.