What a great experience! I had the BEST time this past 8 days. It couldn't have worked out better. The bike handled everything perfectly. No problems, which seems to NEVER happens when going on a long ride. My girlfriend and I got along perfectly. We talked, we laughed and we saw some of the prettiest places. I wish I could show you all of my pictures that we took. Many of them taken by my girlfriend as we rode along the roads and highways. She was a TROOPER to be sure. If you've ever sat on the back of a Motorcycle, you're putting a lot of faith in the person up front. She did a really great job keeping track of road signs, taking pictures and just being a part of the journey. The only time she complained was after 6 or 7 hours on the bike, her ass was starting to hurt and she needed to rest. We only had 2 days like that but it wasn't a problem, I needed to rest too. My ass was hurting as well!
We started off heading to Klamath Falls for a gathering of friends. Spent two days in Klamath Falls, meeting new people, hanging out with old friends, dancing, laughing and just having a great time. Our room had a Jacuzzi in it.. no, not in the bathroom, I mean right next to the bed. Lots of fun in there as well! We left Klamath Falls and headed to Bend OR. Pretty little town... looked around Bend a bit and then headed to our next place to stay, Sisters OR. This town is beautiful! We stayed with some friends of my girlfriends. They have a beautiful 5 acre place, a little pond out back that they dug and lined and acts as a pond and pool for their two children. We had a great night visiting with them and hanging out with their children. The next morning we said our goodbyes and headed up to Spokane WA.
The ride to Spokane was an EVENT! As soon as we got clear of the trees and started crossing the open fields and desert areas the winds picked up. Not straight on winds, these came from the West and were hitting us broadside. 45 to 50 MPH winds! Talk about an experience! 6 hours of riding in crosswinds... the bike was being tossed around like a tumble weed. Strong winds and big trucks... don't go well together! We made it to the Columbia Gorge and we were resting at a truck stop when a couple of truckers came up to us and asked us how we liked riding in those winds! They said they could barely keep their trucks on the road. All along the way, there were fires and dust storms. Amazing stuff, if you were watching it from a TV... but to be in it was a little scary!
We pulled into Spokane and found a place to stay. Most of the hotels we stayed in were not your 5 star hotels, we just needed a place that was quiet, safe and where we could sleep for a few hours. We didn't do any swimming at the hotels... not this trip! Anyway, my son is going to Gonzaga as a Freshman this fall so I wanted to go up and see where he was going to be staying. Just in case I needed to go up and get him one day... Pretty little town Spokane, reminded me of Chico except with Bigger trees! We toured the school and took pictures. Nice Place!! I'm sure he's going to fit in just fine up there.
We gathered our gear and headed out to our next location. Coeur D' Alena, Idaho. Talk about a gorgeous place! We enjoyed a leisure ride East to Coeur D' Alena, only about a half hour ride from Spokane but we couldn't pass it up since we were so close. Reminded me of Lake Tahoe except prettier, newer looking and without the Casinos. I think if I was going to live up that way, Sisters, Bend or Coeur D' Alena would be my choices.
The ride from Idaho to Seattle was a long one! Not a lot to see between those two places. Lots of high desert rest areas... We got into Seattle about 10:00 that night, we were staying at my sisters house in Tacoma so we just headed to Tacoma and slept. The next morning, we headed back up to Seattle to see the city. The weather was great! Sunny, warm and without wind. Something we really enjoyed! My sister drives a double decker bus in Seattle around the tourist areas so we hitched a ride with her to see most of the downtown areas. It was the first time I'd gone up to see her in 25 years so we were able to talk and visit with her between stop and at her house at night. We rode the bike all over Seattle, the water front, the college areas, the older parts of Seattle as well as the newer areas. Seattle's a pretty city, I had no idea it was as nice as it was. I'm really glad I was able to make the journey up there!
We left Seattle and headed down HW 5. We rode up to the viewing site of Mt. St. Helens! That was worth the ride! Amazing view of the crater. No clouds Sunny, warm and the mountain looked SO BIG being so close to it. I'd seen everything in pictures and on TV but to see it up close and personal, really gives you a different perspective of how massive it really is! Amazing!
The last couple of days we spent traveling back down to CA. We took our time returning, just stopping along the way to look at sites and take pictures. We ended up traveling 2600 miles on this journey. That's a long way in a car... but on a bike it seems like 5000 miles!
This was one of the most adventurist trips I've been on and my GF was nothing short of being GREAT so I'm looking forward to taking her on the next journey... this time I think we'll fly down to Costa Rica and spend some time sitting on a beach... soaking up the rays and relaxing... she deserves a well earned relaxing trip... I'm already working on it!
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