Day 7: Hot Hot Hot

So its been a while...I guess I made it through death valley...it was hella hot...it was 122 degrees when I finally made it through the park...but that was just the begining...I can't describe how 180 miles through 100+ weather is like... well, to start, imagine you are in a sauna...you enjoy it, its fun, hot, nice...but then you want to leave and you have to solve the P vs. NP problem (classic mathmatical problem) before you can leave...you will never get to leave...well, I finally got out, and when I got out, I found a place to get ice tea and drank more than my fair share :-)

Ok, so I made it to LA...I hung out with a good friend of mine and got to see quite a bit of how So Cal gets to live...wow, they have a lot of, um...cash...its amazing...I now know why they are a bit stuck up! (well, just stuck up)...if you ever get to see it, you'll understand! Its so sunny there and as of now, I never need to see a ferrari ever again! (seen too many for one life time...its lost its mystique) My friend took me down to Pacific Beach and that was awesome! I got to sit on a beach and chill (finally)...it was amazing...after that, I went back up to the land of money, gathered my stuff and took off towards the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway...aka, hwy 1)

So that brings me to to todays's trip...wow, thats all I have to say...it was the most amazing thing I've ever done...and I mean that...I can't describe how amazing the curves, scenery, air, speed, heights, weather and colors where...hopefully my pictures will help describe how amazing it was! Most of the trip was pretty basic and just going in and out of the coast (in the heartland of California)...I now know where the "happy cows" come from and it wasn't like the ads describing...it was hot and very dry...but, as dumb as cows are, they seemed all happy :-)

I'm now in Monterey, California...I had a good night and about time to hit the sack...I'll write next time I have internet connectivity! (after San Francisco!)

Day 4-6: Just a tad bit nipply to Death style heat!

First off, sorry for not getting up these stories quicker...I was in a location where there wasn't high-speed internet and as you can see with the size of the images, it'd be painful to upload with a 56k modem. Wow, where do I begin....well, last think I wrote I was in Big Sky, Montana...Day 4 was supposed to be a larger than normal day (I was hoping to get 350 miles in)...I took off at 8:30am and just before I left, I checked the weather in Yellowstone, Jacksons Hole and Logan, Utah...all were surprising...Yellowstone was a balmy -1 degree Celsius, Jackson's Hole was 1 degree Celsius and Logan was 3...so, with the wind chill, just a little bit chilly!

The drive to Yellowstone was quick...once I made it to the park, I quickly filled up and headed in...the first 5 miles was great! It was virtually empty ...but then I came around a corner to absolutely stopped traffic...at first I thought it was a wreck (though hoping not)...eventually, about 15 minutes later I started moving (slowly though)...guess what it was? Two moose...thats it! After the moose stau, the park opened up and most of the RV's went the long loop and I took the short loop...it is really amazing to drive around and look across at the landscape to see it smoking...it makes me think about when the park was first discovered ...the guys who discovered it said that it was the devil's land...I can see why!

After I made it through the park, I continued south towards Jackson, Wyoming... this was my favorite part of the day...John D Rockefeller Parkway through Grand Tetons National Park is amazing! Most of the ride is in the valley...just to the right of me (west side) are rugged, sharp, tall, snow capped mountains known as the
Tetons. I stopped by a large lake where I took a short break...it was finally starting to get warmer.

After the stop, I was on to Jackson, Wyoming. This is a neat looking town, but 100% a tourist trap...it didn't really seem like a place I'd really want to stop, so I just filled up and took off...I was headed through the Mormon "bible belt".

This part of the ride was very beautiful and I was pretty much alone on the road the entire section of the ride. I did discover the bluest lake I've ever seen just south of Paris, Idaho. This made for a good 10 mile stretch (I was absolutely amazed on how blue it was)

Finally, about 5:30pm I showed up in Logan, Utah (my original target destination) but after getting there, the hotels seemed somewhat shady and I was still amp'd to keep going, so I headed on thinking I was going to stop in Ogden (about 30 miles southwest) ...that was good thinking, but bad planning...apparently there is a worldwide conference for the Rotary club in Salt Lake City...EVERY (and I mean every) hotel was booked from Ogden to South Salt Lake City...of course, I didn't know this and when I asked hotels if they had vacancy, they all simply said "no", not "why" they didn't...so I stopped in 14 different hotels...at this time I was very tired...riding since 8:30am, and had already put in approx 460 miles...I just wanted a bed and to goto sleep...so, I decided to keep riding and hopefully make Wendover, Nevada...this is where I was going to ride to on Day 5, so I just combined two days into one...There is one benefit though, I did get to see the sun set on the great salt lake...this has to be one of my top 5 most beautiful and humbling sights I've ever seen! I tried to get some pictures of it, but since my tripod is packed deeply in my bag, nothing turned out.

Well, the final mileage (after I got to Wendover) was 581 miles! The first place I stopped was also full, so I was begining to think I wasn't going to find anything, but I stopped at the next door casino and found a room...the only rooms they had left were their $70 rooms...I said "I don't care, can I just take it!"...Guess what it had? I had an actual hot tub in my room! (and a 46" HD Plasma TV) I felt like a high roller!!!

Well, thats all for the long day! I stayed in Wendover for two nights and took off this morning taking the most lonely highway I've ever seen! It was crazy, there were no buildings, hardly any cars (maybe 14 total all day) and all I could see was the road ahead of me for as far as I could see...the roads are so incredibly straight! I can't describe how empty it is out there in the desert. There is absolutely nothing!!! Well, I made it through to a town right outside of Death Valley National Park...I'm going to bed early tonight so I can get up at 5:00am and make the trip through the park ...if I wait too long, the temperature will reach above 120 degrees, and I don't want to be in that!

Stay tuned for pics and stories from Death Valley (if I make it :-)

Mike!

Day 3: Rain, Hail and more

I didn't get a chance to write anything yesterday or take any pics...I put in 401 miles in one day from Idaho to Bozeman...Most of the day was great, but right about Butte, it started to rain, and not just a little, it was really coming down! Then, to top it off, it started to hail...at that point, I slowed down to about 50mph...I don't know how to describe how it feels, but imagine you're at a golf range picking up golf balls while Tiger Woods and Greg Norman are hitting balls at you with their largest driver...thats about how it feels! I could even feel the stones through my leathers!

Once I got to bozeman, I meet some friends from Germany and went to the Cannery (won't go into detail there)...all and all, had a great night, though I ended up canceling my credit card...somehow I lost it, or thought I had...well, I found it this morning...oh well, now I'll have to use a different card until I get home! I'm planning on leaving pretty early in the morning and will have quite a few pics from Yellowstone...so stay tuned!

Mike!

UPDATED: On day three, I made it up to Big Sky and took a tour around Moonlight Basin...It's very beautiful and remote, yet has some ammenities...its absolutely crazy how much houses and condos are going for up here...there are basic condos (they look very plain and something you'd see in a normal town...I would feel comfortable wearing a wifebeater around outside because its so "normal")...well, they are going for $1million!!! Some of the other properties around are going for much more than that...its insane! I honestly wonder where people get their money...looks like I need to start playing the lottery (the poor mathmatician's game, no pun intended)

Day 1: Fast Times in Washington State

When today started out, I was really afraid that I would have a horrible day. I wokeup and it was raining, and not typical mist-style rain (a.k.a. Seattle Rain), but rain that was really coming down. I looked at the weather map and saw a huge mass of green and yellow, and it was heading towards East Washington! I was afraid that I'd be riding in the cloud and be constantly wet...well, it didn't turn out that way...My ride was beautiful! I forgot how much the Cascades remind me of the Alps...Up on top of Snoqualmie pass, the clouds were out and capped the mountains giving a very surreal, magical feeling...This should be the last time that I am too worried about the temperature (it was 45 degrees at the summit...a bit chilly)

After the pass, I was onto central Washington..I love this area of Washington, it reminds me of NorthWest Colorado...except there aren't mountains! This stretch was pretty long, but really relaxing...I'm so glad I invested $8.95 in the throttle buddy...it is the second best investment I've made in...well, many years...I no longer have to tightly grip the throttle, I can use my wrist to control the throttle...that brings me to the #1 investment...my highway pegs! My bike is now as close as it'll ever be to a recliner with wheels!...along the way, I stopped and took some pictures of the beautiful area about 40 miles west of Spokane...while I was there, I decided that the evening, about an hour and a half before sunset is the most beautiful time of the day!

...I just noticed that I have to fix the floating on the images...I don't like hard breaks :-)

I'm now sitting in Coure d'Lane Idaho at a hotel...I had no idea how busy it would be...I was lucky and go the last room at a hotel that was less than $130 (I got the last room at the Motel 6)...well, thats all I have for now...tomorrow I'll be rollin' into Bozeman, MT!

Stay tuned,

Mike!

Initial Thoughts

Belive it or not, I'm taking a vacation! I origionally planned on riding down I-5 to Los Angeles, but thought about it and decided to take an extra two days off which also gives me the whole weekend too. So, my plan is to go from Seattle to Big Sky and see a good friend. After a few days, I'm then going to ride south thru Yellowstone. I plan on taking a loop thru the park and then heading south again. Next, I'll head thru Salt Lake City and stay somewhere in Nevada (I've already been to SLC, not too much else to see). My theory is that Nevada wants all the conservative Utahains to have a place to relax and have fun, so there'll be a cheap hotel to stay in! (so far, most of this time I'm going to be camping) Next (one of my favorite parts) I'm going to ride through Death Valley (ooohhh )...if I make it out of Death Valley, I'll then head on to Newport Beach (to visit another good friend)...I'm pretty excited to see the Hollywood sign (if the brown cloud isn't too thick)...maybe I'll get to see a star (if you know me, that was synical)...After a few days there, I'm then going to go up the Pacific Coast Highway!!! That will take me all the way back up to Seattle!

Take a look at the PDF files I've posted for my trip! (under "Media" on the right column)