Dave Bennett
Adventurist
Dude! :Wow1:
... Awesome trip! :bike_rider:
... Awesome trip! :bike_rider:
Alaska (Finally!)
- Thread starter HMR
- Start date
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
July 3rd:
Got an early start with the goal of getting as far North of the border as possible. Didn't take many pics because I was covering familiar territory. Holiday traffic was terrible. I spent a lot of time with both feet on the ground along I5. I decided to cross the border at Sumas, WA. Started to see some dirty, heavily loaded bikes on their way home from Canada and Alaska. Lots of Harleys and BMWs with a few KLRs in the mix. Lots of smiles on the rider's faces too. :bike_rider: HWY 97 (Cariboo HWY) is gorgeous!
Camped for the night in Clinton, BC:
Day 3 Travel Totals: 12+ hours, 505 miles.
Got an early start with the goal of getting as far North of the border as possible. Didn't take many pics because I was covering familiar territory. Holiday traffic was terrible. I spent a lot of time with both feet on the ground along I5. I decided to cross the border at Sumas, WA. Started to see some dirty, heavily loaded bikes on their way home from Canada and Alaska. Lots of Harleys and BMWs with a few KLRs in the mix. Lots of smiles on the rider's faces too. :bike_rider: HWY 97 (Cariboo HWY) is gorgeous!
Camped for the night in Clinton, BC:
Day 3 Travel Totals: 12+ hours, 505 miles.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
July 4th:
It was important for me to be back in The States for the 4th of July so I made it my goal to get to Hyder, AK in time for the fireworks. I woke up early and headed North on the Cariboo HWY towards Prince George. I've wanted to visit 100 Mile House, BC for a few years now so I stopped there for breakfast:
What's so special about 100 Mile House?
It's the very first city listed in the alphabetical index on Garmin GPS's. I just thought it would be cool to go there sometime. :coffeedrink:
The ride up the Cariboo continued to be beautiful. Quaint small town after small town. Cool people at every stop. My headlight had burned out on the way to Portland so I stopped at the Harley dealer in Prince George to get a replacement:
I tried to buy one at Portland Motorcycles but they were out of stock. Their price was $20. The people at the Harley shop were great but the exact same bulb cost me $42.
No problem, I packed it next to my Caviar and Brie and headed West on HWY 16 towards Hyder.
Just FYI- when traveling on HWY 16, you will pass a rest-stop-with-amazing-lake-view like this one approx. 100 times:
Almost makes you wish you had to use the restroom (er, "washroom" in Canada) more often.
Somewhere around Houston, BC I encountered my first rain storm. I pulled over and swapped my hot weather gear for my waterproof gear. Shortly thereafter it went from a drizzle to thunder and lightening with rain so hard the visibility dropped to 1/4 mile or less. I travel to every corner of the country for my job and get to see lots of weather. This was an Oklahoma style T-Storm downpour. I wear full armor when I ride and the raindrops were stinging through my gear like I was being hit with paintballs. Good times!
I made it to Kitwanga (site of the famous "North to Alaska" sign in my first post) and headed North on HWY37 (Cassiar HWY). Within minutes the skies cleared. This stretch of the Cassiar is gorgeous:
Within a mile or two of the above picture, I spotted my first bear. It walked across the road in front of me. Very cool moment. The stretch of road from Kitwanga to Meziadan Junction is a lonely 95 miles. I don't think I saw more than 5 vehicles. The road is excellent, I could've ridden my skateboard the whole way. I turned left at Meziadan Junction and headed West on 37A to Hyder.
Meziadan Junction:
HWY37A was one of the highlights of the trip. Nice big sweeping turns down a canyon with more beautiful waterfalls than I could count. This pic was taken on 37A around 10pm:
I rolled into Hyder around 10:30pm and decided to get a room at the Sea Laska Inn. The Sea Laska is classic. The front desk is the bar attached to the hotel. It looked like the bar scene from Star Wars when I walked in. I handed my money to the bartender and she gave me my room key. The place is a total dump but makes up for it with character:
I peeled off the "seasoned" bedspread and just slept in my sleeping bag on top of the bed. The restaurant was closed so I made dinner in my room with my JetBoil and fell asleep. I totally forgot the fireworks show but, not to worry, I was awakened by the sound of firecrackers and gunshots(!) outside my window around 1am when it finally got "dark" enough for the festivities. :sombrero:
Day 4 Travel Totals: 15 hours, 684 miles
It was important for me to be back in The States for the 4th of July so I made it my goal to get to Hyder, AK in time for the fireworks. I woke up early and headed North on the Cariboo HWY towards Prince George. I've wanted to visit 100 Mile House, BC for a few years now so I stopped there for breakfast:
What's so special about 100 Mile House?
It's the very first city listed in the alphabetical index on Garmin GPS's. I just thought it would be cool to go there sometime. :coffeedrink:
The ride up the Cariboo continued to be beautiful. Quaint small town after small town. Cool people at every stop. My headlight had burned out on the way to Portland so I stopped at the Harley dealer in Prince George to get a replacement:
I tried to buy one at Portland Motorcycles but they were out of stock. Their price was $20. The people at the Harley shop were great but the exact same bulb cost me $42.
No problem, I packed it next to my Caviar and Brie and headed West on HWY 16 towards Hyder.Just FYI- when traveling on HWY 16, you will pass a rest-stop-with-amazing-lake-view like this one approx. 100 times:
Almost makes you wish you had to use the restroom (er, "washroom" in Canada) more often.
Somewhere around Houston, BC I encountered my first rain storm. I pulled over and swapped my hot weather gear for my waterproof gear. Shortly thereafter it went from a drizzle to thunder and lightening with rain so hard the visibility dropped to 1/4 mile or less. I travel to every corner of the country for my job and get to see lots of weather. This was an Oklahoma style T-Storm downpour. I wear full armor when I ride and the raindrops were stinging through my gear like I was being hit with paintballs. Good times!
I made it to Kitwanga (site of the famous "North to Alaska" sign in my first post) and headed North on HWY37 (Cassiar HWY). Within minutes the skies cleared. This stretch of the Cassiar is gorgeous:
Within a mile or two of the above picture, I spotted my first bear. It walked across the road in front of me. Very cool moment. The stretch of road from Kitwanga to Meziadan Junction is a lonely 95 miles. I don't think I saw more than 5 vehicles. The road is excellent, I could've ridden my skateboard the whole way. I turned left at Meziadan Junction and headed West on 37A to Hyder.
Meziadan Junction:
HWY37A was one of the highlights of the trip. Nice big sweeping turns down a canyon with more beautiful waterfalls than I could count. This pic was taken on 37A around 10pm:
I rolled into Hyder around 10:30pm and decided to get a room at the Sea Laska Inn. The Sea Laska is classic. The front desk is the bar attached to the hotel. It looked like the bar scene from Star Wars when I walked in. I handed my money to the bartender and she gave me my room key. The place is a total dump but makes up for it with character:
I peeled off the "seasoned" bedspread and just slept in my sleeping bag on top of the bed. The restaurant was closed so I made dinner in my room with my JetBoil and fell asleep. I totally forgot the fireworks show but, not to worry, I was awakened by the sound of firecrackers and gunshots(!) outside my window around 1am when it finally got "dark" enough for the festivities. :sombrero:
Day 4 Travel Totals: 15 hours, 684 miles
Outback
Explorer
Last year my planned trip to Akaska were "delayed". Now I am being told to get ready again for Aug or Sept run. I am glad you were able to do it this year! Keep the pics coming! Heres one for you from a friend of a friend up in Alaska. I call it Monster Moose.
:Wow1:
:Wow1:
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FourByLand
Expedition Leader
Okay, I'm hooked!
Great stuff so far.
Great stuff so far.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
July 5th:
Woke up early to a BEAUTIFUL day.
Sunshine on the Sea Laska Inn:
While I was packing my stuff I met another hotel guest who was on his way back to Colorado. He'd spent the past 6 weeks riding his V-Strom to Prudhoe Bay. He asked if I was going to ride to "The Glacier". I thought he meant the famous Bear Glacier off of HWY37A and told him I'd already seen it on the way in.
Bear Glacier:
He said he meant "The BIG glacier" 20 miles up the dirt road that ran in front of the hotel. Huh? Somehow, in all my research, I had completely missed that there was another glacier to see near Hyder. I had planned to go up that road 3 miles to the bear viewing area but figured that was as far as it went. Most importantly, he said the scenery rivaled anything he'd seen in the past 6 weeks. I now had a big decision to make: the weather forecast showed a huge storm system moving over my route in the next 48 hours. If I did the 40 mile round trip to the glacier, I'd be way behind schedule to make my next campsite at Watson Lake, YT. This wouldn't be a problem except the storm was supposed to drench the area from Watson Lake all the way to Banff. Kinda hard to enjoy the scenery in the pounding rain. If I left immediately I might be able to beat the storm but, at the same time, I had 2 different locals tell me today's weather in Hyder was "as good as it gets". I got on the computer, checked the forecast, again, then asked another local if it was really "as good as it gets"? His answer was "Yes". That settled it- I decided to scrap my plans and spend the day in Hyder. I'm so glad I did!
First thing I needed was fuel. There's no gas in Hyder so you have to cross the border back into Stewart, BC to get gas. I heard there was only one station in town so I pulled in here:
I walked around for 10 minutes knocking on doors and looking for the attendant while people rode by on the street giving me funny looks. I finally caught a glimpse of the nice Texaco station a few hundred feet down the street. I guess this place has been closed awhile.
I gassed up, grabbed a good breakfast at a nearby coffee shop and rode back across the border into Hyder.
On the way back to the border:
Lots of cool homemade RV's in the area:
The border:
Greek Orthodox Church in Hyder:
Typical Hyder storefront:
Woke up early to a BEAUTIFUL day.
Sunshine on the Sea Laska Inn:
While I was packing my stuff I met another hotel guest who was on his way back to Colorado. He'd spent the past 6 weeks riding his V-Strom to Prudhoe Bay. He asked if I was going to ride to "The Glacier". I thought he meant the famous Bear Glacier off of HWY37A and told him I'd already seen it on the way in.
Bear Glacier:
He said he meant "The BIG glacier" 20 miles up the dirt road that ran in front of the hotel. Huh? Somehow, in all my research, I had completely missed that there was another glacier to see near Hyder. I had planned to go up that road 3 miles to the bear viewing area but figured that was as far as it went. Most importantly, he said the scenery rivaled anything he'd seen in the past 6 weeks. I now had a big decision to make: the weather forecast showed a huge storm system moving over my route in the next 48 hours. If I did the 40 mile round trip to the glacier, I'd be way behind schedule to make my next campsite at Watson Lake, YT. This wouldn't be a problem except the storm was supposed to drench the area from Watson Lake all the way to Banff. Kinda hard to enjoy the scenery in the pounding rain. If I left immediately I might be able to beat the storm but, at the same time, I had 2 different locals tell me today's weather in Hyder was "as good as it gets". I got on the computer, checked the forecast, again, then asked another local if it was really "as good as it gets"? His answer was "Yes". That settled it- I decided to scrap my plans and spend the day in Hyder. I'm so glad I did!
First thing I needed was fuel. There's no gas in Hyder so you have to cross the border back into Stewart, BC to get gas. I heard there was only one station in town so I pulled in here:
I walked around for 10 minutes knocking on doors and looking for the attendant while people rode by on the street giving me funny looks. I finally caught a glimpse of the nice Texaco station a few hundred feet down the street. I guess this place has been closed awhile.
I gassed up, grabbed a good breakfast at a nearby coffee shop and rode back across the border into Hyder.
On the way back to the border:
Lots of cool homemade RV's in the area:
The border:
Greek Orthodox Church in Hyder:
Typical Hyder storefront:
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
This is the main street through town that runs in front of the hotel.
Looking SW towards the ocean:
NE towards the General Store, Post Office, the bear viewing area and the glacier:
I rode to the General Store and bought a crab claw pen and some other goodies for my wife and friends. Great group of German tourists inside telling the white-bearded store owner, "You look like the famous American singer known as Kenny Rogers. Do you know him?"
Stopped at the Post Office to mail some postcards:
Mail arrives twice a week, weather permitting, aboard a sea plane.
Next stop was the bear viewing area. Very cool setup on a beautiful creek:
This cracked me up. I could just imagine people scrambling for this exit if a grizzly jumped over the barrier:
No bears today but some nice sized Salmon swimming up stream:
I think this is called "Moose Meadow":
As you continue up hill, the road crosses a couple beautiful rivers:
Amazing amount of water coming off the mountain peaks. Waterfalls like this are everywhere:
It's hard to tell from the pic but the waterfall above is huge. It would be a tourist attraction anywhere else in the States. Here it's just one of countless similar views.
Looking SW towards the ocean:
NE towards the General Store, Post Office, the bear viewing area and the glacier:
I rode to the General Store and bought a crab claw pen and some other goodies for my wife and friends. Great group of German tourists inside telling the white-bearded store owner, "You look like the famous American singer known as Kenny Rogers. Do you know him?"
Stopped at the Post Office to mail some postcards:
Mail arrives twice a week, weather permitting, aboard a sea plane.
Next stop was the bear viewing area. Very cool setup on a beautiful creek:
This cracked me up. I could just imagine people scrambling for this exit if a grizzly jumped over the barrier:
No bears today but some nice sized Salmon swimming up stream:
I think this is called "Moose Meadow":
As you continue up hill, the road crosses a couple beautiful rivers:
Amazing amount of water coming off the mountain peaks. Waterfalls like this are everywhere:
It's hard to tell from the pic but the waterfall above is huge. It would be a tourist attraction anywhere else in the States. Here it's just one of countless similar views.
ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
Alaska has been on my must visit list for a while. Thanks for posting the report thus far. :victory:
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
After I got back into town it was time for lunch at "The Bus".
I'd read that this place had some of the best fish and chips available on Earth.
It didn't disappoint:
The place is owned by a married couple. He catches the halibut in the morning and she cooks it all day.
Golden decliciousness:
I met great, interesting people throughout the trip but some of the best were found sitting out front of The Bus. A couple from Canada brought their Blue Heeler "Clint" and he kept me and a group of local teenagers entertained for an hour:
I left Hyder around 3:30pm, made another stop at Bear Glacier then enjoyed a "spirited" ride through the twisties back to HWY37. :bike_rider:
I paused at Meziadin Junction and rethought my decision to go South instead of North on the 37. I turned right and went South. About halfway to Kitwanga I started to see storm clouds coming over the mountains. The skies got darker and darker and it started to rain. Somewhere West of Smithers, BC I rode out of the rain and started to look for a campsite where I could set my tent up before the storm hit. One of the great things about Western Canada is the abundance of campgrounds- they're just about everywhere. I found a great spot at Tyhee Lake Provincial Park and set up camp:
The weather was hot and muggy. I decided to install my $42 headlight bulb since it would probably be raining for the next few days. I've changed the bulb once before and it's a 5-10 minute job. It took me an hour this time because of the swarm of mosquitoes that descended on my campsite. I was covered from head to toe in clothes, again, so that only my eyes and hands were exposed. You have to hold the bulb in place with one hand while the other closes the clip inside a tiny space below the instrument cluster. Everytime I would get the headlight in place, 4 or 5 mosquitoes would land on my exposed hands and I'd drop the clip. I was drenched in sweat and lost 1qt of blood by the time I finished but the light works great. Slept like a baby.
Day #5 Travel Totals: Approx. 8hrs riding, 255 miles (including glacier tour).
I'd read that this place had some of the best fish and chips available on Earth.
It didn't disappoint:
The place is owned by a married couple. He catches the halibut in the morning and she cooks it all day.
Golden decliciousness:
I met great, interesting people throughout the trip but some of the best were found sitting out front of The Bus. A couple from Canada brought their Blue Heeler "Clint" and he kept me and a group of local teenagers entertained for an hour:
I left Hyder around 3:30pm, made another stop at Bear Glacier then enjoyed a "spirited" ride through the twisties back to HWY37. :bike_rider:
I paused at Meziadin Junction and rethought my decision to go South instead of North on the 37. I turned right and went South. About halfway to Kitwanga I started to see storm clouds coming over the mountains. The skies got darker and darker and it started to rain. Somewhere West of Smithers, BC I rode out of the rain and started to look for a campsite where I could set my tent up before the storm hit. One of the great things about Western Canada is the abundance of campgrounds- they're just about everywhere. I found a great spot at Tyhee Lake Provincial Park and set up camp:
The weather was hot and muggy. I decided to install my $42 headlight bulb since it would probably be raining for the next few days. I've changed the bulb once before and it's a 5-10 minute job. It took me an hour this time because of the swarm of mosquitoes that descended on my campsite. I was covered from head to toe in clothes, again, so that only my eyes and hands were exposed. You have to hold the bulb in place with one hand while the other closes the clip inside a tiny space below the instrument cluster. Everytime I would get the headlight in place, 4 or 5 mosquitoes would land on my exposed hands and I'd drop the clip. I was drenched in sweat and lost 1qt of blood by the time I finished but the light works great. Slept like a baby.
Day #5 Travel Totals: Approx. 8hrs riding, 255 miles (including glacier tour).
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
July 6:
Slept in until 7AM. The rain still hadn't arrived but you could just feel that it was getting close. I wanted to get as far Southwest as possible today to stay out of the weather. I left at 7:45am and was only on the road for a few miles before the temps dropped and the rain started to dump. I pulled over and put on my foul weather gear. It continued to get colder and rain harder but I was warm and dry. The only problem was the limited visibility and inches-deep water pooling on the road that made my knobbies a little slick in the turns. I stopped for lunch in Prince George then headed South on HWY97. The rain stopped and for the first time on the trip I started to feel groggy. I'm very careful to never ride, drive or fly when half-awake so I pulled over a few miles later and laid down on a roadside picnic table. I don't remember falling asleep but 40 minutes later I woke up and thought, "Why am I laying on this picnic table?". It was one of those amazing naps where I could hardly remember my name after I woke up. I was good as new. No sooner had I gotten back on the highway than it started to pour. The wind howled, the thunder boomed and the rain dumped for the rest of the afternoon. After ~9hrs of torrential rain, I started to finally get wet and cold inside my jacket. First time that's ever happened with this gear. Pants and boots were still warm and dry.
I made it to Cache Creek, BC and checked into this place:
Not quite sold out:
Turned out to be a great room and the innkeeper was a crackup.
Day 6 Travel Totals: 12hrs, 485 miles.
Slept in until 7AM. The rain still hadn't arrived but you could just feel that it was getting close. I wanted to get as far Southwest as possible today to stay out of the weather. I left at 7:45am and was only on the road for a few miles before the temps dropped and the rain started to dump. I pulled over and put on my foul weather gear. It continued to get colder and rain harder but I was warm and dry. The only problem was the limited visibility and inches-deep water pooling on the road that made my knobbies a little slick in the turns. I stopped for lunch in Prince George then headed South on HWY97. The rain stopped and for the first time on the trip I started to feel groggy. I'm very careful to never ride, drive or fly when half-awake so I pulled over a few miles later and laid down on a roadside picnic table. I don't remember falling asleep but 40 minutes later I woke up and thought, "Why am I laying on this picnic table?". It was one of those amazing naps where I could hardly remember my name after I woke up. I was good as new. No sooner had I gotten back on the highway than it started to pour. The wind howled, the thunder boomed and the rain dumped for the rest of the afternoon. After ~9hrs of torrential rain, I started to finally get wet and cold inside my jacket. First time that's ever happened with this gear. Pants and boots were still warm and dry.
I made it to Cache Creek, BC and checked into this place:
Not quite sold out:
Turned out to be a great room and the innkeeper was a crackup.
Day 6 Travel Totals: 12hrs, 485 miles.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
July 7th:
Slept in until 7. Walked down the road for breakfast and then got on the computer to check the satellite and radar images. My goal was to find a campsite somewhere in Idaho before sundown. I compared my road map to the weather images and chose a route over to Kelowna, BC that would keep me out of the worst of the rain. I hadn't ridden this particular route before but south of Kelowna it was mostly familiar territory and I was looking forward to the scenery.
Somewhere along the way (looks like some of my landings as a student pilot):
It rained off and on but cleared up by the time I came to the town of Merritt, BC. Between Merritt and Kelowna is a pass that rises to 5700'. I don't know how cold it got but my teeth were chattering by the time I reached the top. It was freezing. It quickly warmed up on the way down and I was nice and toasty when I turned right south of Kelowna. I rode along the shores of Lake Okanaga and Skaha Lake and it was even more beautiful than the last time I came through.
Crossing the border back into Washington:
I love Northeastern WA:
Grand Coulee Dam:
The rolling farmland west of Spokane is some of my favorite riding in the country:
I made a huge miscalculation in my planning: I've ridden HWY95 through Lewiston, ID several times. In my mind, I could picture a whole series of campgrounds just outside of Lewiston along the Salmon River. I had planned on getting into Lewiston just before sundown and camping at one of those sites. I showed up at sundown but the campsites were nowhere to be found. I continued south along HWY95 in the dark and discovered there are NO campsites anywhere around that area. I saw a sign for a State Park a few miles off the road, followed it, and spent half an hour wandering through the entire park. Every spot was full. I got back on the highway for awhile and came to another sign for a campground near White Bird, ID. The signs led to a "T" intersection with no further directions. I rode for a couple miles in both directions and couldn't find anything in the dark. UGH! I felt great and it was a beautiful night but I was getting a little frustrated. Seems like there's at least one night like this on every long distance trip where it's late and you can't find a spot to camp. Oh well, all part of the adventure. I continued down along the 95 and followed another sign to a spot along the river. It was a "campground" but it looked like it had been abandoned long ago. It was right out of a Stephen King story and made my hair stand up. I got outta there quick, rode for a bit more and FINALLY found that string of campgrounds I had remembered. I was only off by 100 miles! Set up the tent at 12am and went to bed.
Day 7 Travel Totals: 14.5hrs, 605 miles.
Slept in until 7. Walked down the road for breakfast and then got on the computer to check the satellite and radar images. My goal was to find a campsite somewhere in Idaho before sundown. I compared my road map to the weather images and chose a route over to Kelowna, BC that would keep me out of the worst of the rain. I hadn't ridden this particular route before but south of Kelowna it was mostly familiar territory and I was looking forward to the scenery.
Somewhere along the way (looks like some of my landings as a student pilot):
It rained off and on but cleared up by the time I came to the town of Merritt, BC. Between Merritt and Kelowna is a pass that rises to 5700'. I don't know how cold it got but my teeth were chattering by the time I reached the top. It was freezing. It quickly warmed up on the way down and I was nice and toasty when I turned right south of Kelowna. I rode along the shores of Lake Okanaga and Skaha Lake and it was even more beautiful than the last time I came through.
Crossing the border back into Washington:
I love Northeastern WA:
Grand Coulee Dam:
The rolling farmland west of Spokane is some of my favorite riding in the country:
I made a huge miscalculation in my planning: I've ridden HWY95 through Lewiston, ID several times. In my mind, I could picture a whole series of campgrounds just outside of Lewiston along the Salmon River. I had planned on getting into Lewiston just before sundown and camping at one of those sites. I showed up at sundown but the campsites were nowhere to be found. I continued south along HWY95 in the dark and discovered there are NO campsites anywhere around that area. I saw a sign for a State Park a few miles off the road, followed it, and spent half an hour wandering through the entire park. Every spot was full. I got back on the highway for awhile and came to another sign for a campground near White Bird, ID. The signs led to a "T" intersection with no further directions. I rode for a couple miles in both directions and couldn't find anything in the dark. UGH! I felt great and it was a beautiful night but I was getting a little frustrated. Seems like there's at least one night like this on every long distance trip where it's late and you can't find a spot to camp. Oh well, all part of the adventure. I continued down along the 95 and followed another sign to a spot along the river. It was a "campground" but it looked like it had been abandoned long ago. It was right out of a Stephen King story and made my hair stand up. I got outta there quick, rode for a bit more and FINALLY found that string of campgrounds I had remembered. I was only off by 100 miles! Set up the tent at 12am and went to bed.
Day 7 Travel Totals: 14.5hrs, 605 miles.
HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
July 8th:
Woke up to the sound of rain on the tent. It was a small, passing thunderstorm and was gone within 20 minutes. No phone coverage so I sent my wife a SPoT message.
Finally got to see my campsite in the daylight (Salmon River on other side of path):
Need to start packing a fishing pole:
Easy, 65 mile ride on one of my favorite roads to McCall, ID. I was hoping to meet Kcowyo in town and buy him a meal but we both got delayed at other beautiful spots along the way and missed eachother (hope he shares some pics as he was at one of my all-time favorite campsites). I used to spend up to 6 months out of the year in McCall and it still feels like my home away from home. I was there to visit my old boss. He hired me for one of my first flying jobs. Since then he's become a mentor to me and one of my best friends.
He and his wife have a 60 acre ranch outside of town:
I like to stay in the Treehouse (checkout the cows):
Swapped the GS for a 50cc Yamaha scooter and tooled around town for a bit.
I'm an aircraft fanatic so this was a nice treat to find at the airport:
Spent the rest of the day getting caught up with friends.
Day 8 Travel Totals: 1.5hrs, 65 miles + scooter time.
Woke up to the sound of rain on the tent. It was a small, passing thunderstorm and was gone within 20 minutes. No phone coverage so I sent my wife a SPoT message.
Finally got to see my campsite in the daylight (Salmon River on other side of path):
Need to start packing a fishing pole:
Easy, 65 mile ride on one of my favorite roads to McCall, ID. I was hoping to meet Kcowyo in town and buy him a meal but we both got delayed at other beautiful spots along the way and missed eachother (hope he shares some pics as he was at one of my all-time favorite campsites). I used to spend up to 6 months out of the year in McCall and it still feels like my home away from home. I was there to visit my old boss. He hired me for one of my first flying jobs. Since then he's become a mentor to me and one of my best friends.
He and his wife have a 60 acre ranch outside of town:
I like to stay in the Treehouse (checkout the cows):
Swapped the GS for a 50cc Yamaha scooter and tooled around town for a bit.
I'm an aircraft fanatic so this was a nice treat to find at the airport:
Spent the rest of the day getting caught up with friends.
Day 8 Travel Totals: 1.5hrs, 65 miles + scooter time.
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HMR
Rendezvous Conspiracy
July 9th:
Got on the road at 6:45am. Temps were in low 40's with occasional rain showers. I was REALLY missing my wife and contemplating just going for it and riding the ~1,050 miles home in a day. I did it once before on my V-Strom. That was a LONG day but I knew it wouldn't be as bad on the GS since it's a more comfortable bike and I had better weather for this trip. I called and discussed the idea with my wife. Turns out she had already changed her work schedule so she could spend more time with me the next day when I was supposed to get home. She truly is my "better half". :ylsmoke:
The ride down HWY95 through ID and OR is long and scenic.
You pass by identical, idyllic farms like this approx. 1000 times:
I've done this route many times and today was the nicest weather I've ever had. Light winds (very rare) and 87F temps. Perfect for riding. I slowly peeled off layers as the temps warmed up and had my hot weather armor on by the time I got to Winnemucca.
I figured I'd start looking for campsites when I got to Mono Lake:
The views were too good to stop as I approached Mono so I decided to keep riding until dusk and then stop at the first brown and white tent sign I saw along the road. Dusk came and the first sign I saw was for Convict Lake so I headed up the hill to the campground. It was packed and I was lucky to snag one of the last two sites. Not sure why it was available as it was a perfect spot? Anyway, I pitched my tent and had another great night's sleep.
Day 9 Travel Totals: 14hrs, 642 miles.
Got on the road at 6:45am. Temps were in low 40's with occasional rain showers. I was REALLY missing my wife and contemplating just going for it and riding the ~1,050 miles home in a day. I did it once before on my V-Strom. That was a LONG day but I knew it wouldn't be as bad on the GS since it's a more comfortable bike and I had better weather for this trip. I called and discussed the idea with my wife. Turns out she had already changed her work schedule so she could spend more time with me the next day when I was supposed to get home. She truly is my "better half". :ylsmoke:
The ride down HWY95 through ID and OR is long and scenic.
You pass by identical, idyllic farms like this approx. 1000 times:
I've done this route many times and today was the nicest weather I've ever had. Light winds (very rare) and 87F temps. Perfect for riding. I slowly peeled off layers as the temps warmed up and had my hot weather armor on by the time I got to Winnemucca.
I figured I'd start looking for campsites when I got to Mono Lake:
The views were too good to stop as I approached Mono so I decided to keep riding until dusk and then stop at the first brown and white tent sign I saw along the road. Dusk came and the first sign I saw was for Convict Lake so I headed up the hill to the campground. It was packed and I was lucky to snag one of the last two sites. Not sure why it was available as it was a perfect spot? Anyway, I pitched my tent and had another great night's sleep.
Day 9 Travel Totals: 14hrs, 642 miles.