From Sea to Shining Sea

Wednesday 6/23 - We did not stop to sight-see in Idaho, but rolled on into and across Oregon on Hiway 20 out of Boise. Getting a little anxious to see the Pacific Ocean again I think. A very nice sunny cruise across the high desert of Eastern Oregon into Bend, then on to the KOA in Sisters, in the shadow of the Cascade Mountains. Jay and I agreed that this was the most well-appointed and beautiful KOA that we have encountered on our journey. I will stay here again.

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Thursday 6/24 - Its amazing to us that after all the weeks on the road that we can still get excited in anticipation of a great day of riding these motorcycles. Both of us have ridden in this part of Oregon before, and we know that today will be a stunning ride through the Three Sisters Wilderness area and down the MacKenzie River drainage to the Central Valley of Oregon. The day broke absolutely clear and brilliant, further adding to our anticipation. We are on hallowed motorcycle ground and we can't wait to get rolling. We were not disappointed as we traveled through the forest we were flanked by magnificent views of the craggy snow-covered mountains known as the Three Sisters. Pulling off at Salahie Falls overlook, we walked down into the forest on moss-covered trails and enjoyed the various views of the cataract. Impossible to describe how mysterious these woods are. Due to the constant light mist from the falls the darkened trails take you into a moss-draped rain-forest with air as rare as anything you have ever encountered. Not dank like the rain-drenched woods of the east, but cool, fresh and exhilarating. If you could bottle this air . . . .

After much picture-taking we continued on down the river to the valley near Eugene. A brief run south on the interstate, then we diverted west again on SR 38 for the last segment of coastal mountains before we reach the Oregon Coast at Reedsport. We are anxious to see the ocean again, and agree that we will need to find someone to take a photo us with the Pacific in the background to complete the documentation of our coast-to-coast journey.

We stopped to add layers as we encountered the marine air near Reedsport, and Jay remarked that we had not enjoyed the bracing scent of sea air since we left Rhode Island over two weeks ago.

OK - there it is - the fabled Highway 101. We know this road.. both of us have driven and ridden it end-to-end through city, redwood forest, coastal plain and craggy seashore. It is the lifeline arterial that we grew up with, and has continued to thread through our lives all these years. We rode our first motorcycles on good old 101 and will likely ride our last here as well. Can't go further west from here without a boat... we head south towards California.

We bed down at Humbug Mountain State Park in Oregon, one of Jay's favorite places. A beautiful fern-gladed campsite shields us from the north winds that are whipping up foam on the leading edges of the waves. Our last night out, we splurge and buy some firewood. With the campfire crackling nicely, we kick back and commence to reminisce about the experiences and our impressions of our adventure.

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Friday 6/25 - Jay's home is in Arcata, which is less than 200 miles from this last camp in Oregon. No need to hurry this morning. The weather gods continued to smile upon us... the Oregon coast is not where you would typically expect a bright sunny morning, but that is what we encountered as we stepped out of the tents. No fog, no drippy dew.

After a leisurely breakfast, we packed up for the last time and headed south on 101 towards California. In Crescent City, we stopped for a cup of coffee at McDonald's, and as we were preparing to get back on the bikes, we saw a group of riders pass by. We know these folks, they are part of the UMCI group in Eureka, and we knew they were heading to Grants Pass Oregon for a weekend campout. I raised Dean on the CB and respectfully declined his suggestion that we accompany them back to Oregon and join the fun. We are nearly home and we have had enough of camping for a while.

Arriving at Jay's place in Arcata, all looks in order despite his 6 weeks of absence. We go inside and exchange picture files then I roll on south, heading for Hydesville, where my brother Frank lives. I will visit with Frank, Jinny and Ellie for a day, then hop over the hills to home via highway 36 on Sunday.

Catching Up

Friday 6/18 Continued - We concluded out visit to Mt. Rushmore and headed to Crazy Horse Mountain. If you have not heard of this, click HERE for more info. Jay said the carving on the mountain had not changed noticeably since he was there in 1991. If it is ever completed, it will be a collossus. We enjoyed the extensive native american collection of artifacts - the facilities and the museums are wonderful.

Levaing Crazy Horse Mt. we took another wonderful loop through the Black Hills and back to the Deadwood KOA.

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Saturday 6/19 - We pulled up stakes at Deadwood and headed back down to I-99 for an all-day trek across South Dakota. We had two waypoints in mind --- Badlands National Park and the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument. As we charged across South Dakota under fair skies, the wind began to gust up. By the time we got to the Badlands, the wind gusts were stronger than anything Jay and I had encountered on motorcycles. We were buffeted pretty badly and it took all our strength and skill to keep the rigs in-lane and moving. The traffic was light as it had been the entire time we had been on I-90. It does not seem to be a major truck transportation route. Leaving the freeway to enter Badlands, the ranger at the Kiosk informed us that the road throught the park was under constuction and was gravel for the next 16 miles or so. She recommended that we visit via the West entrance, about 15 miles further down I-90. So back on the freeeway we went, once again fighting the zephyrs until we got to the appropriate exit, and entered the park. You may notice that there are no picures attahced here of the Badland visit. When we arrived at the first viewpoint overlook, the wind was so stong that I was afraid to leave the bike on the sidestand for fear it would blow over. I reeled the rig around until it the wind was blasting the "high" side clamboring off and over to the railing that bounded the viewpoint. I literally had to hold on to the railing to keep from being pushed back by the gusts that were funneled up the canyon. Jay may have gotten a photo or too. but I gave up and headed back to the bike, a gust pushing me off the curb. A short visit, as we did not attempt to continue into the park, but retreated back down the mountain to the freeway.

As we rolled west, the wind slowly subsided, and by the time we arrived at the Little Big Horn Battlefield Memorial it had moderated considerably. The Park Service had done a wonderful job with the memorial. There are several battlefields actually, the most notious being of course the site of General Custer's Last Stand. Standing at the top of "Last Stand Hill", you gaze down to view markers where all of the soldiers fell to their deaths. Very moving.

We continued toward Bozeman, Montana but decided to spend the night in Hardin, about 185 miles short of Bozeman. The Battlefield took longer thqan expected, and we were pretty beat up from comabatting the wind most of the day.

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Sunday 6/20 - During the ride, Jay was informed by his mother that he has a distant cousin in Bozeman Montana, and she encouraged Jay to stop and meet him if we found ourselves in the area. Jay gave Bob Hawks a call and left a message that we would be in the town this afternoon and it would be great if we could get together for lunch. We lit out from Hardin and headed for Bozeman, planning to arrive there about noon. During a break Jay checked his messages and retrieved one from Bob confirming his availability and providing directions to the house.

Shortly after arriving and getting acquainted with (Senator) Bob and his lovely wife Jane, they treated us to lunch at a popular local eatery. The weather was great and we enjoyed outside seating. After lunch, Jay drove one of Bob's two Mini-Coopers over to the Museum of the Rockies and we spent several hours walking the exhibits, particularly the dinosaur fossil collection, which was very well done and exceedingly well interpreted.

After a light dinner and good conversation, Bob and Jane put us up for the night at their house (while it poured outside for hours), then fed us breakfast and wished us well with the rest of the adventure. Really great people.

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Monday 6/21 - Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons! I won't crowd the page with a plethora of superlatives. You have all heard about or experienced these places... yes, the jaw does drop. At one point we stopped and photographed a mother Grizzley with two cubs down on a hillside. We could/should have spent several days exploring the parks, but we have been on the road for well over a month now and that will have to wait for a return trip. Great weather too. We camped at the KOA about 10 miles south of Jackson.

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Tuesday 6/22 - We had a plan to get up early and backtrack about thirty miles to photograph the Tetons in morning light. It was a good plan, but weather moved in overnight and we thought better of lingering. The peaks were pretty much obscured, so we rolled out of the mountains with the rain on our tails, headed for Twin Falls Idaho. We blew on by Twin Falls and settled into a KOA in Mountain Home.

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Deadwood, South Dakota

Wednesday 6/16 - Left Ohio in the interstate dust as we continue to strive towards The West. Today was the first totally dry day we have had in weeks. We needed it badly as our spirits were getting as damp as our Kwik-Kamps. Nothing eventful or picture-worthy today... we just motored and watched the corn-laden countryside roll by. Overnighted in the Motel 6 in Mitchell, SD.. where the most interesting thing we could find was a plastic dinosaur (see pic).

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Thursday 6/17 - Ok - more sunshine. Now this is more like it. We cruised across SD today. As we approached the Badlands, the stiff winds we had been battling became very strong across the prarie. Very strong. Without doubt the worst cross winds and gusts I have ever had to deal with on a motorcycle. But no rain! We were bouyed as we left Rapid City and headed into the moutains to the KOA at Deadwood... the dry rarefied air laced wtih pine scent was uplifting.

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Friday 6/18 - Wow - what a perfect day! The morning broke clear and crisp here in Deadwood KOA. At about 5250 feet ASL, I thought it might get down to freezing overnight, but when I checked upon rising it was a pleasant 46. After consulting weather.com, we decided to avail ourselves of the wonderful conditions, and stay two nights here so we could ride the Black Hills today unfettered by trailers. Given that we had no reservation for the second night, we were obliged to move to a different site however. No problem since it was only about 20 feet away. We completed the move and were on our way by 9:30 - headed to Mt. Rushmore. What a thrill it was to be back in "God's Country". The Black Hills are absolutely wonderful - stunning vistas, streams and lakes under a cobalt blue cloudless sky. Having trekked and slogged our way across many flat states to get here, I think my senses were very keen - I have to say that the natural beauty and ambiance of this place literally brought tears to my eyes.

Leaving Keystone, we climbed up towards the monument. I was surprised to see the Presidents from some distance away. We stopped at the first opportunity to take photos of the bikes with the monument in the background, then proceeded on to spend several hours admiring the monument and the new facilities.

The second venue of the day was Crazy Horse Mountain. More on that in my next post.

Look... Blue Sky!

Monday 6/14 - We got an early start from the motel and ventured forth into another dreary and threatening day. After about 450 mind-numbing miles on the Interstate, we located a very nice campground near Van Wert Ohio, and popped the tents. And then the rain began in earnest, pouring down most of the night.

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Tuesday 6/15 - I awoke about 6 AM to the sound of Jay starting up his bike. Peering out the window of the tent, I saw that he had packed up his rig and pulled up off of the grass onto the pavement. As I rolled off of the bed and stepped down on the floor of the tent, I realized that it was floating on 3 or 4 inches of water. The grassy area around the bikes and the trailers was pretty much completely flooded. The incredibly humid morning air was oppressive, and with the water 4 to 6 inches deep around me, I could see that this morning was not going to be much fun. Unzipping the tent, I slogged out onto the grass and went about packing up my water-logged rig.. Thankfully, my boots were indeed waterproof as advertised.

Jay finished buttoning up his rig and drove up, stating that he was going down to the coffee shop on the corner and would wait for me there. It took me quite a while to get ready to roll, but I finally had the waterlogged trailer hooked up and ready. I changed into some dry clothes and headed down to meet up with Jay for coffee. Not finding Jay inside the place, I asked the waitress if there had been another motorcyclist in earlier, to which she replied in the negative. I then stepped outside and tried to raise him on the CB, then called his cell, leaving a message to the effect that I was going back to the RV park to wait for him there. Parking next to the office at the park, I got my laptop out and checked Jay's SPOT location. What the hell.... he is in the next town about 20 miles away. I called him again and left another message, and watched his SPOT moving on the map. After about 20 minutes of this I called again and Jay answered, stating that the coffee shop was closed when he arrived and that he had gone down the road in search of a McDonald's. He located one in Decatur but was not sure how to direct me there. Meet me in Peoria at McDonald's there says Jay. Punching it up on the Garmin, I see that Peoria is about three hundred miles from my current location. I pull into the McDonald's at about 3:00 and Jay is in the parking lot talking to a guy on a KLR. Considering that Peoria is a good-sized town and that we approached on different routes, its pretty amazing that we both stumbled upon the same McDonald's.

After a quick sandwich, we head up I-74 towards I-80. We had left I-80 yesterday and looped south to Fort Wayne to avoid the Chicago area. That part of the mission being accomplished, we merged back onto I-80 well west of the metropolis. Oh yes, another day, another downpour on the interstate. We are making good use of the new raingear we purchased at Razee's in Rhode Island.

As we pulled in to Iowa City, the clouds kind of vanished. Blue Sky! First time we have seen that in a while. We motor down at the Motel 6. The tents are open and drying in the parking lot, and my clothes are washing as I type this. Jay says he's done camping and just wants to get home.

On Our Way West

Sunday 6/13 - We packed up wet tents and pulled out of Rhode Island this morning in the rain. We had a great visit with Jerry and the rest of the family and rain notwithstanding, got in a couple of rides with Jerry in the lead. Jay decided to hang out with us in North Kingstown for the week rather than cruise up to Maine, since the weather was so unsettled.

We are planning to take a direct route to Rapid City SD with a minimum of diversions, then look at the western weather and consider our options from there. Made it through Connecticut and New York today, mostly in light rain, and are ensconced in a Motel 6 in some little town in Pennsylvania off interstate 80. Pretty dreary day.

Here are some miscellaneous pix taken during the week....

A Visit With Gordon Razee

Monday Jerry rolled out his Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter "Thor". We motored down to the local motorcycle "shop", Razee's motorcycle store in North Kingstown and ogled all the bikes in stock. The store sells a lot of marquees including Honda, Kawa, KTM, BMW and Moto Guzzi and is currently run by Gordon Razee, son of founder Ralph. This excerpt from a recent article in the Providence Journal reports . . .

He (Gordon) was 2 years old in 1947 when his father opened a roadside shop in North Kingstown selling Indian motorcycles and British BSAs. He later moved to Broad Street in Providence (“where the highway is now”) before moving back to North Kingstown. The shop has been at its present location since 1963.

There is a Herman connection to this place and the Razee's. Jerry purchased his Vulcan there in 2001, and back in "the day" both my brothers Jerry and Frank hung out and rode with the elder Razee while they were in the Navy and stationed at nearby Davisville Naval Base. Frank purchased a new BSA Goldstar from Ralph around 1957, Jerry piloting a Matchless and an AJS. As we were roaming around the place, we were approached by Gordon. Jerry introduced Jay and I and we chatted for quite a while, moving from the sales floor into Gordon's office where Gordon narrated a brief history of the place, illustrated by reference to the many framed photographs of himself his father and the store in various incarnations. The affable Gordon then invited us for a private tour of his vintage motorcycle collection, which is located off-site in a warehouse which serves as the receiving, storage and set-up facility for the store.

It took us a couple of days to get back together, but yesterday we reconvened and followed Gordon over to the warehouse. Now let me say this as preamble to the report of the visit... awesome, thrilling, incredible. As Gordon rolled up the large overhead door to the warehouse we were expecting a nice little collection of old BSA's and Triumph's. What we encountered were literally HUNDREDS of wonderful motorcycles including the requisite Beezers, Trumpets and Hondas (collections organized by marguee) plus Ducati, Moto Guzzi, Morini, NSU, Matchless, Velocette, Vincent, Vespa, AJS, Puch, BMW, Ural, Norton, Dot, Ariel. Lots of them. Look at the pictures... the bikes are stacked three high against the wall, and more lined up on the floor! Most all of them are in ridable stock condition, a few in a state of arrested decay, several completely and beautifully restored and concours-ready. Gordon guided us through the collections, lovingly reciting the history, method of acqusition, and specific provenance of many of the more notable machines. Photos were a little difficult since the bikes were parked so close together it was difficult to separate one from the other.

As Jay, Jerry and I stared in open-mouthed awe, we each focused on machines that we have not seen in years, and which evoked pleasant moto-memories. I spied a BSA B40 350 Enduro Star just like the one that brother Frank used to have (and I rode in the woods when I was in high school), complete with high pipe and alloy tank. Jay stroked a wonderful Triumph TR6. Jerry gravitated to the old BMW's, gushing how he always wanted an R69S just like this. Reaching the rear wall of the warehouse, I was prepared to wander back through the collections and take more photos, when Gordon rolled up another overhead door and led us into an annex area. Surprise! More motorcycles! And shelves and shelves of discrete components... tanks, fenders, headlights, bars, wheels, fairings, motors, most paint-peeling and rusty, all incredibly collectible and restorable. Ever heard the term barn-find? There was an almost complete but dissembled motorcycle (NSU maybe?) completely rusted on a wooden pallet. The bike was threaded over, under and through with vines and covered with dirt. Priceless.

As time away from the shop was becoming an issue for Gordon, we wandered back to the front while Gordon closed doors and turned off lights. I took a last look at the immaculate BSA Rocket 3 that is near completion in the small restoration shop (drool), and we bid goodbye to Gordon with profuse thanks for his time and hospitality as he headed back to the store. What a guy.

(Incidentally, the pictures are clickable to zoom)

Last Leg of the First Half

Thursday 6-3 - Jay's new trailer tires came in about 9:30, but by the time we got the trailer over there and the tires mounted it was after noon. What with the late start we almost decided to stay another night at Bob's, but figured we had better get some forward momentum going before we got out of the riding "groove". So we headed up to catch the Parkway at the Peaks of Otter, and drove north to Shenandoah National Park where I had planned to spend the night. As always the Parkway was beautiful and serene. Been a long time since I cruised that road on a motorcycle... so nice to breath in the essence of the damp hardwood forest. The long views were somewhat obscured by the cirrus and thunderheads which skudded about, but still breathtaking vistas were enjoyed. We stopped for picnic lunch at the James River visitor center and then took a short trail jaunt up to one of my favorite overlooks on the James (Ronnie - remember where Sugar almost went over the cliff?). It was fun to share these places with Jay, and I babbled on to him with the history of the area as I know it. As glad as I was to leave after having lived in the area for 5 years, I will always have fond memories of Virginia. As Jay said so succinctly, "The whole state is like a park". We bivouaced at a very nice KOA near Charlottesville. What happened to camping at Shenandoah you ask?... well good old NOAA radio. A severe thunderstorm warning was broadcast and popped up on my Garmin about the time we arrived, so we decided to head into Charlottesville for a motel. So why are we at a KOA, one wonders? Because there is some kind of alumuni thing going on at UVA and the motels rates were as severe as the anticipated thunderstorms. It did rain overnight, but nothing too severe.

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Friday 6-4 - Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. After the overnight rain, we packed up wet tents and headed for Monticello. This was the reason for the diversion from our northward route. The tour was considerably more expensive than I recall from about 20 years ago when I last visited, at $22 bucks, but there are many improvements including a wonderful visitor center with After completing the tour and walk of the grounds, we headed back over the ridge to I-81 and headed north bidding farewell to Virginia and looking towards Pennsylvania.

P.S. - Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to Me!

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Saturday 6-5 - Getting a little weary now. We have been rolling for three weeks, and we are getting anxious to get to Rhode Island and take a longer break. We stayed on the dreaded Interstate all day in an effort to recover from our dalliance at monticello, And of course weathered the requisite thundershower, heat and humidity. I completed the audible book of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and started Gone with the Wind while gobbling up mindless freeway miles. Rolled through the remainder of Pennsylvania, and made it most of the way through New York before I succumbed to the lure of the road less traveled, and bailed off the super-slab onto secondary local routes. We meandered through many small communities in New York, ever mindful that we did not drift too far south and get sucked into the metropolis. We crossed the Hudson on Bear Mountain Bridge, continuing up the bluffs on historic route US 6. What a cool road. Ended the day at a motel in New Haven Connecticut... RV parks are virtually non-existent on this route according to both the Garmin and the local residents.

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Sunday 6-6 - Only 138 miles to go to get to brother Jerry's place in Rhode Island. No need to hurry today, we take a leisurely (and rare) restaurant breakfast, then head up US 1 along the coast of Connecticut, stopping at Stonington for pictures of the us and the bikes with the Atlantic ocean in background. Jay and I share a sense of fulfillment, having completed the coast to coast component of our tour. We pulled up to Jerry's house at about 1:30. Conversation, rest and barbecue consumes the remainder of the afternoon and evening.

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