July 12 -- Home at Last!

July 11 --

July 10 --

July 9 --

July 8 -- Beartooth

Hail woke us at 6:00 AM. What a start. We rode in the rain for a couple of hours. The temperature was cold.

More later about the Beartooth Pass! It was beautiful but I am beat.

July 7 -- Hwy 12

Today we rode across Hwy 12 in Idaho. The road follows the Clearwater River for about 12o miles with scenery before, during and after every curve. Most of the curves are sweepers but there are a few that are tight. What an outstanding road.

The Clearwater River is clear. It is some what calm in some spots but runs at a brisk pace along most of it's path. Several people were fishing in the river. Paul and I was a bird of prey with a fish in it's talons. It was fishing also.

We spotted a moose at a road maintenance barn. The state or federal workers were watching the moose also. What a sight. Dick surmised that there was salt on the ground and the animals were helping to clean it up.

Montana was very different to Idaho. We realized we were at a higher altitude. It was cooler when we went over the passes. There were more spruce then pines. Also, there was the very large Big Hole Valley with green grass. Much of the valley was covered with cows.

Along the way I took more pictures of flowers. Enjoy!

July 6 -- Day Trippin'

What a day. We had a great ride. The trip took us through several small towns where we met several nice people, young and old. One of the towns we passed was Elgin. The old court house was now the Opra House. Around the back was the old jail and guess who was in it!

The weather was perfect for riding today. The air was warm at the bottom of the canyons and cool through the passes. We were behind the rain and there were beautiful sights before, during and after every curve along the way. We saw some of the largest dandee lions I have ever seen at one overlook. They were amazing.

We made it to Washington state and looked down the hill to see that we were almost circling back into Oregon. What a road! It was equal or above the roads we traveled yesterday.

We stopped at Orofino for the evening and purchased lodging at the Helgeson Place Hotel. What a great place. It is very affordable during the week with amenities. After a pizza dinner we walked to the Clear Water River for the sunset. What a great end to an outstanding day. Melanie, I wish you were here!

Tomorrow, Hwy 12! Yee hoo! Montana, here we come -- looking for Moose Drool.

July 5 -- Anne Departs

Another beautiful day. We are resting and discussing strategies for the return trip. A desire is to avoid the heat through the central plains. We will let you know what we come up with.

Anne started back to Eureka. She plans to make it a two day trip.

Anne treated us breakfast this morning at the old Geiser Hotel. What a place. It was the third building west of the Mississippi River to have an elevator. After years of dilapidation, it was restored. It is grand and the food was good as was the company.

July 4 -- Hells Canyon

We made it to our goal -- Hells Canyon! The road was everything we had hoped. It may have been the best murdercycle road I have ever traveled. The views were fantastic as were the smells and sounds.

We arrived at the Visitors Center below the dam at lunch. We pooled our resources and had a feast of almond butter sandwitches, cherrys, dates, tomatoes, nuts, grain bars, peanutbutter crackers and mustard flavored fish steaks. Yum!

The road was something to appreciate. At times it looked like you were going to go over the clift into the Snake River. Other times it looked like you would crash into a sheer wall. There were fallen rocks in the road but were visable and proved to be obsticles to dodge.

We drove from the canyon up to an overlook. The temperature was much cooler and what a view. We reflected about the videos about the first settlers of Hells Canyon that we had watched while at the Visitors Center. How did they do it? Why did they do it? We also reflected about other things.

There were many wild flowers at the overlook. Maybe you know the names of these flowers. I wish I did.

July 3 -- Cruising on!

Bear lake was an outstanding location to view. We stopped at a wayside to view and rest. There were many birds around. I noticed a nest left over from the spring.

The wild flowers in the region were beautiful. The bachelor buttons are just memories as are the blue, purple, and yellow flowers that I am not sure of their names.

There were plenty of prong horn and mule deer. All stayed away from the road.

We made it to Baker City at about 6:00 PM. Anne made it soon after. The city is a destination. I will have to take pictures.

July 2-What lies around the corner?

The 4th of July is almost here and the Troopers of all description are out in force to protect us from ourselves. Is the system really working?

Paul left early to get in line and get his new tires. They took 2 hours to do a 1 hour job. Oh well, the task is done.

I left early to catch up with Grant. About fifteen minutes before I got the the meeting place he got an emergency call he had to go see about. He suggested another place to try to meet. When I got there and checked my messages, Grant said that the job would take the rest of the day as a motor had burned up and would have to be replaced. I continued up the road to Rangely and waited for Dick and Paul. While there I watched a weather front move in. Yes, we rode a while in the rain and the temperature dropped. When we got the the hotel it was 60 degrees and wet.

We went past Flaming Gorge. What a sight! I took a picture of Dick taking pictures of Flaming Gorge. In the back ground of the picture you can see the weather we would experience.

July 1 -- The Boys are Back

It was a good day at the conference. I interacted with a bunch of cool kids. I have believed that the kids who attend the TSA National Conference are the cream of the crop. Today's interactions perpetuate that belief.

While in Denver I rode the bus to and from the down town area. Those bus drivers are great. Each was different but exhibited kindness towards the passengers. It was cool.

I left Denver about 4:30 pm headed to Glenwood Springs. A stretch of road construction equaled 5 mph for 30 minutes.

When I got Glenwood Springs I had a challenge with my GPS and could not find the Cedar Lodge motel. A local lady gave me directions. I was about one mile short. So much for my steel trap memory after seven years.

Dinner was great! We eat at the same restaurant we frequented last time we were here. The ownership changed about three years ago and with the ownership, so did the name and the menu. Rather than Mexican it focuses on Latin Cuisine. Paul had Mango Chicken, Dick had Mahimahi, and I had Pupuses. I had never seen it on a menu before so I had to try it and I am glad I did. So, whenever you visit Glenwood Springs, CO, make sure you stop at Resto-Lounge and eat.

Tomorrow is to be a 500+ day. Paul is to get tires at 8:30. I did not catch up with Grant tonight but I left a message about breakfast tomorrow. I hope we can get together. I am proud of the young man and would like to see him in his realm of work.

The moon is beautiful tonight. Thought I would share the moment.

June 30 -- I've been on the mountain!

Dick suggested a route through Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park and by Grand Lake/Lake Granby. It was a beautiful trip. Plenty of people were out looking. The elk were up high in the tundra and a sheep was where it wanted to be.

I had dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory with several friends with NC ties. The meal was great and the company was better. I watched Matt play his murdercycle racing and transformer games while we waited to be served. After dinner we let Matt get in some riding practice.

June 28 -- "Breaking up is hard to do!"

Dick and Paul headed to somewhere while I headed to Denver. The ride was good with many obstacles in the road especially around and between Johnson Village, Antero Junction, Fairplay and Shawnee on into Denver.

The scenery was beautiful. I took pictures but the electricity was insufficient. Guess who forgot to recharge the camera. Imagine long valleys with mountains and roads through passes that lead to the next valley. Amazing!

June 27 --The Beach!

Did I mention that yesterday was hot! We decided to leave a little earlier to press through the heat and get to the mountains. It worked! Our high was only in the mid 80's.

The things you see on the road. We saw much agri-torture. We saw crops growing, cows being raised, and windmills spring up our of the ground around Vega, TX.

While you are in Vega you can see the Vega Sky Scraper and the historic Magnolia Station on Route 66. You will never want to leave Vega.

Paul need a rest so we stopped at the Capulin Volcano in New Mexico about 30 miles from Raton. There were also some cool flowers and cows at the stop.



We made it to the Great Sand Dune in Colorado. Paul did not want to camp on this trip but when we checked there was no room at the inn! We did get the last cabin that had two sets of bunk beds, a light, a receptacle and a space heater. It got cool that night and we could see thunderstorms in the distance. It was a good night.