Road Trip 2008

I thought I would use our blog while I am on my motorcycle road trip to Washington. I want to share it with anyone who cares to read about it and I wanted to write it down for myself to reflect on later on.
Today is day one of my five day road trip on my Honda VTX 1800c motorcycle. At the moment I am sitting in my hotel room in Pendelton Oregon posting this. I got the crazy notion to do this road trip when we were down at Lake Powell this summer. I thought, why not? I tried to interest others to come but it just did not work out so I am solo. I have been some what worried about how far I could go on a bike in a day. I have been going on a few test runs the last several weeks and I am glad that I did. It helped me learn what to expect on this trip and already it has paid off. This trip will take me to Anacortes Washington to see a cabinet job we did for one of our customers. We shipped the cabinets there and they had someone else install them. I figured that I needed to so see them and check everything out....of course, by doing so, the expenses of the trip are a write off, right???? I knew there was a good reason for this trip! From Anacortes I will go over to Bellingham Washington and see Wade and Janice Draper, my nephew and his wife. They were more than happy to offer me a place to spend the night when I am there. From there I will go down the Washington and Oregon coast line then cut over through Nevada and back home again. Total mileage will be around 2500 miles. Am I crazy or what??

Today is July 23, 2008. I left home this morning at 7am. The picture of me are just scary! My sweet wife came outside in her jammies to take some photos. As you can see by the photo, I am ready for this, Helmet, riding gloves and jacket, leather chaps and boots. Dressing properly makes a huge difference when you are going long distances.


It couldn't have been a more perfect day for riding. No clouds and it was not blistering hot. The ride from Utah to Washington will be a pretty quick one. It will be freeway all the way. On the way home I will be on highways and more scenic routes. Still, it amazes me to see the world from the perspective of a motorcycle. It truly is a beautiful country we live in. Today I rode 550 miles to Pendelton. I have to stop every 110-120 miles for gas so that breaks it up a lot. The time really went quick and when I arrived I was no more tired then if I had been in a car. I was on the bike 7-1/2 hours total.

You meet all types of people when you do stuff like this. My first gas stop I pushed the envelope a bit. I am famous for that. As I got off the freeway and headed to the gas station in Caldwell, Idaho, my bike started to sputter. Yep, I'm out of gas. It sputtered enough to roll me into the gas station. Sweet, I made it. Next to me at the pump was a guy on a Harley. I pull in and he comes up to me and says, "Just so you know, they are out of gas here!" He said, "I was able to get just enough to get me down the road a bit. Maybe you can too, just go talk to the lady." Ok, let me give you a visual. All of you know the character "Krammer" on the sitcom Seinfield right? Well, this was his twin. I swear. It was hilarious. I look over at his bike. It is an old Harley that has obviously been laid over on both sides, wires hanging out blinker dangling off to one side. Yep, it was sweet. Anyway, I get the pump going and am able to get enough gas to fill my huge 4 gallon tank!! In the mean time, "Krammer" is not done with me. He comes over to me and says, "So, you gotta a windshield." I look at my windshield and then look at him and say, "Yep, I gotta windshield." He says to me, "Well, I use to think windshields were for pussys, but not any more! When I go home I'm gonna buy one. I'm gettin' to old for this....AND, (his eyes widen like he just remembers something and in a raised tone in his voice) I'm driving down the freeway and all of the sudden.... (He clenches up his fist and smacks it to the side of his helmet as hard as he can!!) BAM! I HIT A BIRD ON THE SIDE OF MY HEAD!" I almost started laughing, honestly I didn't know what to say. His head was still shaking and he's kinda walking in circles. If only I had a video of the whole thing. It truly was hilarious. He told me he was from Seattle and on his way home. I kept my mouth shut and did not tell him where I was going. He left before I did and I soon passed him on the freeway as he was going about 55 with his shop safety glasses on and his lips flapping in the breeze. I waved as I passed! A choice memory that was.
Did you know that in Oregon it is state law that you can't pump your own gas??? Neither did I. What's up with that? Any 4th grader can pump gas. The things you learn on a road trip.

This is looking down at the Pendelton Oregon valley. The elevation in the valley is 1700 feet. It really was a beautiful drive today! Tomorrow will be fun.

DAY NUMBER 2

Today was wonderful. I drove from Pendelton to Bellingham, about 400 miles. This Honda VTX 1800 is am amazing bike. It is so comfortable and when you ride it you feel like you are part of the machine. It has so much power it just wants to go fast. When you ride this bike hills don't even exist. I really am happy with its performance.

When ever I travel through the states it amazes me what a beautiful country we live in. How blessed we are to have the freedom to cross our country we evey we like. Every state has something to offer. It really was fabulous driving through Oregon and Washington. I loved going over the passes in Washington and being in the deep green forests. It is easy to see why we get so much lumber from the North West. Thick forests abound and then in the valleys of Washington fruit orchards all over. It was another perfect day for driving. I passed many huge timber mills which interested me and I wish that I had more time to go see some up close. There are many logging trucks. I went to Anacortes to see the home where our cabinets were. It was a very beautiful home looking over the bay. I was really pleased how the cabinets looked. I left there and headed for Wade's house. I took the senic road along the coast line. It was so beautiful. Its called Chuckanut Road. I loved the drive. I arrived at Wade's home about 5:30. They have a beautiful home and two wonderful children, Natalie and Andrew. It was really nice to see them. We went out to dinner and they took me around town. It was wonderful. I am tired tonight. I think I will sleep well.

DAY NUMBER 3 350 miles today. Total miles on trip so far 1250

Oh the great North Western United States. It truly is a beautiful place. I feel like my road trip really began today. I had no schedual to keep, I didn't have to see anybody. I only had to drive on freeways for a short distance so I was able to slow down and enjoy the back roads and the real beauty of this trip. I left Wade's house about 7:30 this morning and drove down to Edmonds to catch the ferry across Puget Sound. Wow, what a huge ferry. I bet it can hold 100 vehicles. It was pretty cool, they let the motorcycles go to the front. I bet there were about 30-40 bikes total. It was like a bikers convention. I pulled right behind a guy that has a twin to my bike. Same color and everything. It was fun to talk to him. All of these biker guys I met are really nice guys. Everyone looked around and the different bikes. It was fun. Leaving the ferry you can only immagine what it looked like. For quite a distance we formed a group and it was quite a site to see. Then as time moved on we all went our separate ways.

All the lakes and rivers I have seen here are so clean and clear. It is probably a good thing I didn't bring my fishing pole or I would need a few more days in this trip. I stopped at alot of places today. Just to look and take in the sights along the way. The roads have been really good so far. Just two lane highways but they move pretty quick because they are in good shape. I have had very little construction to deal with.

For all of you that are "blog challenged" you can click on the photos and they will enlarge.

The Draper Gang... Wade, Janice, Andrew and Natalie. Of course the dog....aaa, I think his name is Shaggy or Scruffy..hmmm, Now I'm in trouble.

Wade and Janice's home in Bellingham. Fabulous setting and area.

DAY NUMBER 4

400 MILES TODAY. TOTAL TRIP MILES SO FAR 1653

Well today was a whole different experience. I woke up this morning to a drizzley rain. The weather man said a 30% chance today. Hmmm. Anyway, I didn't let that stop me. I put in the full rain gear and got ready to go. I did delay my start time a bit to let it blow over a little bit. I slowed so I took off. It was wet and drizzley but it really was not cold. It was about 56* when I took off. I must say, the Oregon coast line drive (Hwy 101) is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever been on. Lush green forests and vista views that compair to anywhere I have ever been, including New Zealand. Today ended up being a 12 hour day for me. But I am not hammered. I am fine. I stopped alot and took photos. Sometimes I would see something that I wanted to take a photo of and I will turn around and go get the photo. That is what I love about this trip. I stopped and several fishing harbors and looked around. I would love to bring my wife back here some day and do this highway with her. It is a slow road along the coast. There are tons of small towns and fishing villages along the way. Lots of tourest traps as well. Today, being saturday made it even more busy on the road. I was in full rain gear until about 2pm. Then the clouds lifted and it became a fabulous sun shine and blue sky day. My rain gear worked great and I did not get wet at all except my hands, but like I said, It was not cold.

I am going to post a bunch of photos here now. Words can't really tell you what it was like.

Lake Powell 2008

This years adventure to Lake Powell was a bit different than before. We were missing Matt and Monique and Vaughn and Helina. We really missed them being there. This years group consisted of Lynn and I, Lindsay and Annie, Paul and his friend Sarah, Newlyweds Emily and Mike, Alison and Deidra Ruth. The weather was perfect. Not too hot but very warm and jumping into the lake was a very refreshing treat. With all the snow fall this past winter there was plenty of run off. In fact in the week we were there the lake rose about 5 feet. That is an amazing amount of water coming into the lake. Gas this year was $5.30 a gallon on the lake. That makes me think of the time, as kids, we were at Powell and we took a boat ride to Dangling Rope Marina. We pulled up to fuel the boat and gas was just over $1.00 a gallon. Dad about snapped! He could not believe that gas was a buck a gallon, that was just unheard of! My how times have changed.
We camped up Annies Canyon which is about 10 miles south of Halls Crossing. We found a wonderful place. We had shade until 10:30am and then again at 4:30pm. It was at the end of the canyon which opened up in a huge cathedral like setting and we did not have too much boat activity driving by all the time.

Alison and Deidra just relaxing.

We found a lot of places to explore. With the water rising so much this year we were able to get into places that have not been accessible for several years.

We actually did very well in fishing this year. Emily, Michael and I got up early each morning and would go out to the bay and fish. It was a lot of fun. We would watch for the Stripers to "boil" at the surface when they were feeding and then run over to them and cast into the fury. We had a lot of success and it was a lot of fun. One evening we had a fish fry and that was great too.

With the water rising 8" to 10" per day it was not as clear as we are use too. Still it was very refreshing to get into to.

Playing with my baby daughter!!

Paul and Sarah

The Lake Powell trip just wouldn't be right with out a game of Mormon Bridge!!

Powell wouldn't be Powell without live entertainment!! Yea Alison, you go girl!!

Good times, great memories, That's what is it all about!!

My Three Grand Sons

Mason, Maxwell and Bennett. Three of the joys in my life. Here I am getting lots of help in cutting the lawn!

Ah, Ya gotta love modern technology!!

Well, let's give this blogging thing a shot and see how we like it! I am sure it will take a while to get used to it. Rules of this blog are simple.... no making fun of the author and his spelling or grammar. I know when Lynn makes posts on here, it will be much better than what I can write. So, JUST DEAL WITH IT! It will be fun to communicate with our family and friends and see what is going on in every one's lives.