Oh Canada! Day 1 - Aug 4 - Walla Walla to Clarkston

On the road at 12:10 pm after having gone into the office to take care of some last minute items. This ride will be a test of a new packing system using a Cabelas Boundary Waters Dry Bag. It's large enough to hold my sleeping bag, pad, pillow and miscellaneous clothing items, as well as my Asus Netbook that I'm composing this on. The bike was packed by noon and I said my goodbyes to Lynne and Erika and was off by 12:10.

Wheat harvest is late this year by at least two weeks. It was an incredibly wet and cool spring. What this meant for me is lots of wheat trucks, some tandem, on the road between Walla Walla and east of Dayton. Nothing major to contend with, and luckily I didn't get stuck behind any along the way.

Took a quick stop in Dayton to check my packing job - still secure - and to take a photo of the beautiful Columbia County Courthouse. Then on to Pomeroy, where I took another short break for a photo op in front of the Garfield County Courthouse. Then on to Dave Denham's place in Clarkston. We had dinner at the Searle's and then to bed early. We plan to be on the road by 8:00 am, with an ultimate destination somewhere along the east shore of Kootenay Lake.




Day One Route:

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Oh Canada! Pre-Trip - Packed and Ready to Go

Today saw the final arrangements fall into place. I left work at 3:45 to run the Li'l Red to Thunder Alley for a carburetor rebuild while I'm gone. Lynne followed me so I didn't have to walk the 50 miles home. The evening was spent getting last minute items together and strapped on the bike, newly named "The Gold Standard.". It'll be off to the office for a few hours, then I'll hit the road for the short 100 mile run to Clarkston to spend the night at Dave Denham's house (with ribs for dinner at the Pup's and Renee's house in Lewiston. Pushing off in the morning on Friday headed for B.C. By way of Chewelah, Usk, Metaline Falls and Creston. We expect to spend the night somewhere on the east side of Kootenay Lake.

12th Annual Wenatchee Roundup

In Roslyn, July 23, 2011

Oh Canada! Ride to the Rockies

Thursday, August 4, 2011, will see me off to Clarkston, Washington, to spend the night at my friend Dave Denham's house. The next day Dave, Alan "The Pup" Searle and I will take off on a motorcycle adventure to the Canadian Rockies, including stops in Canada's Glacier NP, Yoho NP, Banff NP and Jasper NP before finally dropping back into the States on the east side of Glacier NP. We'll ride the Going to the Sun Highway and hen head home from there. Follow the trip here and on SPOT. I'll be posting a few photos here, but the majority will go onto my SmugMug Account HERE

I will embed the SPOT link on this page, but the trip can also be tracked by clicking on this SPOT Link

Our expected route the first two days:


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A Redirection of Purpose

What was I thinking? My last post here was almost a year ago - June 4, 2010. I've neglected this blog too long. So, as the weather warms and riding motorcycles becomes possible again, I've decide to redirect the purpose of this blog. At least for the time being, this will be a place to chronicle travels and adventures, the first of which will be t he upcoming Memorial Day weekend. We are taking the Palouse Caboose and heading to Index, on US-2, to spend the weekend camped along the Skykomish with Neeka, Carolyn, their respective husbands and Erika and her friend Emma. So, let the fun begin.

And herewith, a view of the mountains and river from where we will be staying:

Obama Countdown Widget

Obama Likes Booty

So does Sarkozy.

The Secret Service might want to put a new threat on its watch list: the mad-as-hell mama of the 17-year-old Brazilian beauty ogled by President Obama and French leader Nicolas Sarkozy at the G8 summit last week.

"If I were there, I would have boxed their ears," said Lucia Rodrigues, 37. "They should be ashamed of themselves."

Patriarch Eduardo Tavares, after finally getting around to seeing the famous photo of his daughter from behind, quickly changed his tune from proud papa to furious father.

"My daughter is not a model and she is not a sex symbol," he told The Post. "That photograph has ruined my whole family."

At the Italy summit last week, daughter Mayara Rodrigues Tavares, her long locks flowing over her curvaceous frame, became the momentary focus of the leering leaders as she took her place for an official group photo.