Possible Western U.S.A. trip.

August is a bad month for BH with all the vacationing and the rally. September is ideal.

I can make all the arrangements if there's interest. I have a good contact there now.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

Day 1

Well let's put this trip in order! After a late start, a theme for the whole trip, it seemed, I stopped just outside of Town to put on my Rainsuit. Ended up raining on and off til past Calgary. Would be the only rain I'd see, til I was coming home, just outside of Calgary! Pushed through Alberta, across the International Border to St.Mary's. Tried to see about an unheated Lean To at the K.O.A., but they were all filled up. Turns out it would've cost me $99.00 plus tax, to stay in one! I tried at a local Motel and got that for $79.00 tax in! Cash is King! Unloaded my bike and went for a ride to see if Going to the Sun Road was open. Was all closed down and never saw any signs. Would have to wait for the morning. Took a few shots on the video recorder and went to the Store.

 

Day 2

From St. Mary's I went on Going to the Sun Road. Was only the second day of being open this year! Was a LOT of snow this winter! As per usual, was busy, but is an incredible viewing experience. One of the nicest things for me to do on a holiday, or anytime, is to be able to find a natural source of water. So, in Glacier Park, in 2016, it's still possible to put my bottle under a stream of water and drink it. No chemical treatments required! Dam good too! Hopefully, people in 100 years will be able to do the same?!?
After passing through West Glacier, where I had lunch, it was on to Hwy. 93 South, for a short while, until I got to Elmo and Hwy. 28 West. Took that to Plains and Hwy. 200. On a tip received from a local at a Gas Station, she said to "go through Thompson Falls, connect just out of town after the bridge , turn left, can't miss it!" Turned out to be a good tip, as that road from just past Thompson Falls on Sec. Hwy. 471, that turns into NF-9 was extra ordinary, both in pavement quality, scenery and twistiness. Came out onto I-90 near Cataldo, where I went up the road a short way and connected onto Hwy 3 South. Rode down that road til St. Maries, where I spent the night.I'd love to go back to the Thompson Falls area, as that road was or could be,a "County" or maybe even a "State" Favorite.

 

Day 3

Today's ride took me from St. Maries to a camp site in Wallowa-Whitman Park. After riding down to Lewiston , which was a really good ride, on the roads I took, I did a quick video at the top of "Old Spiral Hwy.". Can't say enough about the spectacular route laid out for me. What a gift! One nice thing about it being very hot was that there were no speed traps at the bottom of Spiral Hwy., or anywhere else, that snared me! The road into and then through Wallowa-Whitman was another "Favorite(s)!" Didn't prepare to camp that night though, so I had a bit of water and a half of a Twix bar to eat. Thought it'd be close in the morning to get somewhere for breakfast. Ha! Was worth it, though, as I'd like to go visit that park in more detail one day. Very secluded, uncrowded, unspoiled, and beautiful. Glad I went that way! Was a very nice night to camp as well. The first camp site had lots of mosquitoes, but second one had none. The Canyons I went through were pretty cool as well.

 

Day 4

What I did all that in 3 days?!? I went ,on day 4, from Wallowa-Whitman to Bend, Oregon. Wow! More super good roads. Very very hot. Went to the Hell's Canyon Overlook, then for a late breakfast in Baker City. I don't remember this day especially. Do remember parts, of course, but it wasn't as dramatic as the W/W Park. I went over a lot of really nice roads, though, and at some point I believe there were some old crates from the "Acme" Company on the hill tops. Never saw Willy E. Coyote, though. Sure he saw me though!

 

Day 5

Woke in Bend, Oregon. Would make it to Redding, CALIFORNIA(!) ! Wasn't a great ride, mainly fast highways. Missed Crater Lake, as I thought my progress was too slow.
The roads I took, up to that point, were not Interstates and were a lot slower going. Well worth it though.
When I got a roomand checked out the Weather Channel, it was HOT and would be getting HOTTER! That's when I knew that I HAD to get a lighter jacket to wear.

 

The West Is The Best
- Jim Morrison

 

There are so many great rides in the PNW.
Lolo Pass is wonderful from Missoula into Idaho.
Rattlesnake Grade is beautiful.
Hiway 395 from John Day to Burns, OR
Klamath River Hiway in NorCal.
Hiway 75/21 from Challis to Boise, ID.
Lots of riders like the coast. It's beautiful, but the traffic kills the buzz for me (YMMV)

Avoid the cities!

 

I think you are on to something! Saw a couple of those roads on the map, long squiggly lines!

 

And those are just the obvious roads! There is much buried treasure in the PNW, Matey.

 

One summer I think I made it to Montana three times. Was on a TL1000s, that year! Tons of good roads there. Or one year I rode to the coast, across from Glacier Park, remember passing through a really neat little town that was like a village in the Swiss alps. Pretty unique.

 

Day 6

Asked Forum Members for some help in locating a good place to try and find a jacket. Worked out well, as I decided to check out a "Cycle Gear" store in Redding, CA. Lousy exchange rate, right now, but still good value, none the less. Probably would've paid double at that point! Ended up getting another excellent tip on a road to take. Rode down to Red Bluff, took a hard right turn onto Hwy. 36. What an awe inspiring road. Good pavement quality, light traffic, twisty twisty twisty! Another wicked road! Was a very happy boy, when I came out on the 101 and saw the Ocean for the first time. Stopped and took in the sights, sounds and smells. Was a perfect day. Ended up riding too long, into the darkness, after stopping a lot, to take pics, video, and absorb it in. Rode into Fort Bragg, where I secured a motel for the night. That would be the nicest Motel I'd stay at on this trip.

 

I know that ride on 36 very well. Highway 3 north through Peanut and Hayfork is great. And 299 west from Weaverville to Arcata is pretty great too.


.

 

Wow!!!! Great stuff, GT!

What's the next big trip??

 

AND then there are the little-known twisty roads. Like http://roadsnw.com/rnw/674

 

Day 7

Would be one of my more emotional days. Not a person given to being overwhelmed by emotion, none the less, I was, just a little, overwhelmed seeing the mileage signs countdown coming into San Francisco! Then I came to the Golden gate Bridge. Had to pull over and inspect! A very popular place for tourists, for good reason, as the sights are world class. Took some pics, and videos. Looked over at another bridge to the East, I believe and the downtown area. Throughout my life I have seen movies, t.v. shows and documentaries from California, and here I was. Was a good day to say the least. Also had a place to go to! derstuka kindly invited me to stay with him and his girlfriend. I know that it is stressful both inviting someone over and being invited. Am I going to want to leave? Is it safe? Are they going to want to kick me out? Are they really a team of young Cheerleaders wanting to kidnap me? (Sadly, no!) Then they probably wondered what they had gotten themselves into. It ended up working out very well. The directions given to me were spot on, and the place was easy to find. Got to put my bike in the Garage, all 800 pounds of it. Unpacked, and ended up going for a ride around that part of town and over to the Bay, where we saw the Bridge again. Went on a cool road by the beach, where sand was almost a foot deep in spots from the wind blowing! Went to eat and talk. Planned out some activities for the next day or so. Also changed a compact flash card in my Garmin made, Honda OEM GPS system. I have two cards covering North America, they both work throughout N. America, but the detail suffers greatly. Ended up changing it and was then able to find addresses again, and road details were more accurate.

 

Day 8

I was on my own today, Friday, as derstuka had to go to work, though between the Mrs. & him practically runs the place. I guess he wants to show the surfs in the Office that yes, he indeed comes into work! Though he did allow himself the weekend off! I decided to go to Alice's Restaurant. Took Hwy. 1 to Half Moon Bay. Was a nice ride to Alice's, but even better on the way back. Took Hwy. 92/San Mateo Road to Hwy.35/Skyline Blvd. which led me right to Alice's. Had a nice lunch, except for the weird way they cook their burgers, "Medium Rare"!!! No, really ! Us Canadians wouldn't stand for that outrage! We like our burgers like 1/2 burnt! Recently, in Canada, we're told to never eat ground beef at anything less than well done. Ecoli, Mad Cow/BSE, that kinda stuff. The Waitress actually warned me, but it went over my head, until it arrived. I just shut up and ate it! Had a late breakfast, as well, so after that, I was stuffed. Like I said the ride back down the mountain was better, as I took Hwy 84/La Honda Road, back down to Hwy. 1. Stopped at a couple of beaches after cruising down Hwy 1 a bit further. La Honda is a very entertaining road! Practiced up on the lane splitting tactics, on Hwy. 1, as traffic was stopped on occasion. Made it back to derstuka's place. He had received a new GPS which was giving him a couple of issues. Made some plans for the next day and decided just to go into the City of San Fran. on the Subway.

 

Day 9

Woke up and decided to go downtown to see the sites of San Francisco. With all those "Rice-a-Roni" commercials I had seen as a kid, I had to go and visit the street cars. I was surprised to see that it was such a long wait to get onto the Cable Cars, though I did know that ahead of time. We decided not to wait. Is a really neat idea they had to get people around. Wee walked down, or up(?) to China Town. Huge part of the city. Also went to the waterfront and saw a market, etc. Was able to see the Bay Bridge as well. People were fishing off of the walkway. Was another perfect day. No rain at all in the forecast. I bought a few tiny souvenirs and took some video footage. We then took the subway back to derstuka's place.
In the afternoon we rode out together, past Alice's, again, on La Honda Road. With a name like that, its gotta be good. We rode all the way down to Hwy. 280, where we said our goodbyes and derstuka headed North, while I headed South. "A.d.A." or Against derstuka's Advice, I headed for the big bad City of Angels! Was funny, everyone I told I was going to L.A. said the same thing- "Oh, the traffic is real bad down there". Wasn't too bad. I was on holidays, so I was not pressed for time, and my stress level was low. Also told myself to keep calm, or I may get shot! The ride that day was fast and hot. Ended up in Santa Maria, CA that night. I think. A little bit foggy. Remember going through Solvang, and remembering that there was a museum there. Wish I would've stopped as it'd be closed on my way back. Did not know this on my way by. Was very blessed, didn't see hardly any Police, none with radar, either. People were routinely going over the 70 mph speed limit, could do 80 or 85 m.p.h. w/out looking out of place. Was very happy that I got that mesh jacket as well.