On Saturday I took off solo exploring around Cedar City. The highways were of course amazing, but I really enjoyed the trail system up around Duck Creek Village.
EMO Members, the new proposed bylaws are posted at http://emolasvegas.org/initiative/proposed_bylaws. We are required to post them at least 30 days prior to voting on them. If you have questions, please see Jack.
At breakfast this morning, we were joined by Pedro and his son Daniel with their KLR650s. They left Colombia last summer on a round-the-world adventure and will be heading out for Nogales tomorrow morning to continue their last leg home. They have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ColombiaRTW as well as a web page at http://www.colombiartw.com/.
I would like to thank all the folks who DID NOT show up to win breakfast. I won after all these names were drawn...
Eric M.
Steve H.
Rick H.
Richard V.
An Unreadable Name
Crazy Ed & Bill...
I'm about a third of the way through reading Ted Simon's "Jupiter's Travels." Such a wonderful book about riding a motorcycle around the world during the mid-1970s. He rode through Egypt during the Yom Kippur War. What an adventure!
Nice ride to Yosemite. Monday was clear and Tuesday was very smokey. The weather was cooler than expected, which was great.
There was no water on the falls and the river was down so much it looked like a tiny little creek.
We left sort of late (for us) at about 9:30 on Sunday, August 23 because we only had to get to a Walmart to re-supply and drive about 70 miles to Mount Rainier. It was a really easy morning. The closer we got to Rainier, the smokier it got. We noted that the weather folks are calling for a reverse of the winds back to the west to east flow that was dominate a few days ago. The change happened when we were at the Beacon Rock State Park. That’s what brought the smoke to the west. We are hopeful that by Monday, the smoke will have cleared Mount Rainier. But for the rest of Sunday afternoon, we just took it easy.
It was a great night! We went to the ranger program, and the smoke was clearing of noticeably. The evening was warm and our morning was a late one! We got up around 8:00 Monday, August 24 to bright sunshine. Once out on the road to Paradise, we could see that the smoke was mostly gone and the mountain was out! We fooled around Paradise for a while and drove the park road to Reflection Lakes to get a good view of Mount Rainier with its reflection in the lake. The view was good but with the slight breeze, there wasn’t much of a reflection. We took the time to go out of the park to Ashford to fill up on some of that $3.98 a gallon gas (they gouge you since it is either the last gas before the park or first gas out of the park (from Longmire that is). Good thing we’re pulling down mileage in the high 40’s (without the trailer).We spent the afternoon regrouping and planning our next steps. We decided to pull the plug for the summer since we really couldn’t make up our minds to go anywhere else (that wasn’t too smoky). We decided to head back east a little ways on WA 12 and pick up I-82 south to I-84 south into Oregon. Not sure the plan after that but probably continue south on some route we haven’t been on right into Nevada.
Tuesday August 25 started out cold but as in the west, things warm up pretty quickly. We planned to just head home via I-82 & I-84 and look for a hotel sometime late in the day. We started off going along the southern part of Mount Rainier passing Paradise and hooking up with US 12 via WA 136. The drive all the way from the campground to Yakima was really pretty! Not only that, the road is smooth and you can buzz along at 65, no problem. We stopped in Yakima for some coffee and then jumped on the superslab (I-82) and set the cruise on 70. By the time we got to Pendleton, OR, the smoke re-appeared and didn’t leave the rest of the day. We made a brief gas stop on the other side of Deadman Pass (another nice area despite its name). We pulled in at Ontario, OR, the same town we turned off at to pursue the John Day fossil beds. Yup, it was still pretty smoky. It was a pretty big day clocking over 400 miles. We’re hoping tomorrow will bring a reprieve as we continue southeast and onto US 93 into Nevada.
Wednesday, August 26 started out good with an early start down I-84. We pretty much kept to about 10 under the 80 mph limit because I don’t like to drive that fast pulling a trailer (though some folks do!). We made really good time and by late morning, we were exiting I-84 onto US 93 in Idaho Falls, ID. That’s when the LONG slog began. US 93 (once in Nevada) pretty much looks the same all the way to (almost) Las Vegas. That’s about 400 miles. The break in the scenery is the White River Narrows but other than that, if you happened to fall asleep for a while and woke to look around, you’d swear you didn’t go anywhere! We set the cruise at 70 and just watched northern Nevada pass by. There was hardly any traffic to distract us. The only interesting thing in that department was a car coming north that, just as we approached, blew something that caused a great big blue smoke cloud and from what I could see, flames coming from under the engine! It happened so fast, we didn’t have a chance to stop but when I spied the car that had been following us, they stopped. THAT would be a REAL bummer- toasting your car on US 93! No cell signal, almost no traffic, gee, if it got any lonelier, you might end up with buzzards circling overhead! We got pretty close to Ely by the time some clouds gathered to rain a bit on us but we pulled into the Hotel Nevada in time to look back north to see a really black sky from whence we came. We really got lucky but I do wonder why after so many days (probably 45 or so) that it decided to rain on us in Nevada (of all places!). We bunked in for the night after another over 400 mile run and watched the rain from the comfort of the hotel.
Our last day on the road, Thursday August 27 was melancholy on that our summer trip was drawing to a close. We left Ely rather early hoping to be in Las Vegas before it got too hot. The drive down NV 318 was lonely and it went quick, quicker than we liked it too, hoping the vacation wouldn’t end. But alas, it did. We pulled in to home without incident around noon in the 100+ degree heat. It is, in a strange way, nice to be home.
The wrap-up of August and our trip went like this- We drove 5,785 miles in August bringing our total for the year to 26,366 or 17,578 since we left Las Vegas on May 12. We’ve racked up 35 parks for the month totaling 178 for our 2015 National Parks Tour. Our state count grew by 8 for a total of 34. Our bike now has well over 72,000 miles and it really feels broken in now and almost a part of us (meaning it fits us better than it ever has)! That’s the cool thing about BMW’s, they take a while to really break-in but once there, they are with you for a LONG time if you so desire! The K1600GTL performed flawlessly this summer producing an average of 42.1 mpg over the whole trip. We got to visit some pretty great places, see lots of interesting stuff and most important of all, visit with our friends and family along the way. They all helped make our trip that much better! Our submission to the Iron Butt Association will be (hopefully) a brand new certified ride. We did a back-to-back National Parks Tour Silver without visiting (counting) a park from last year this year. Maybe we’ll get just that- the first Back-To-Back National Parks Tour Silver! We’ll see!
Some other highlights were:
1. The best camping experience was all of the campsites (besides #2)! But really, we had some so-so spots and some really great ones. ALL have a quality or two that make them memorable to us.
2. The worst camping experience had to be Cliff of the Neuse in North Carolina, hands down. No fault of the park, it was just SO humid and hot that you couldn’t take off enough clothes to bear it! Then it stormed all night which made it hotter and more humid while the bike’s stand sank into the sand and it fell, albeit slowly, onto its side (no damage though). The mosquitoes were Jurassic as were the biting flies. It was a bummer there…but memorable!
3. The best park is always a hard call. We really like Mount Rainier National Park but we must say that the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls was first rate as was Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida. The historical parks and sites in New York City and Boston were equally cool in their own way and both are on our list for re-visiting. The most informative (meaning we had little or no knowledge beforehand) was the George Rogers Clark National Historical Site. He is truly an unsung hero of the Revolution.
4. The best experience (outside of the whole trip) was the bi-plane ride. What a hoot!
5. We had no close calls with any cars or trucks or native creatures (like deer).
Well, that’s the end of our 2015 summer odyssey. It was a fantastic summer! We’re not done yet though! After our 18k service at BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas, we are planning to get to the Trinity Site in New Mexico (anyone interested in going?) the first Saturday in October. See the EMO site for details. There may be a few parks around we could still squeeze in too. So, look for a Chapter 19 to wrap up the year. Once again, we hope you enjoyed reading of our adventure and that it in some way it has sparked a fire in you to get out and explore the wonderful parks that are in our United States (it seems to have worked on a few folks from last year!). You never know what cool thing you might find in them and in some cases, what you might find inside yourself. Till next year! Greg & Cynthia
P.S. Anyone interested in retracing the Corp of Discovery’s route next summer (or something else)? Give us a call, we’re up for another adventure! We’re ready NOW!
Grant K. found this in Canada at a rally. First year of the GS. Bike is from Idaho
Tuesday, August 18 with the fires burning in so many places and the smoke just about everywhere (or so it seemed), we decided to do what any good Iron Butt rider would do and that is to plan our ride and ride our plan. Anytime you keep changing up the plan, things go haywire! We wanted to experience US 93 south into Idaho and the Sawtooth National Recreational Area. So, off down US 93 we went. It is a beautiful road. We wish the smoke wasn’t present because the views would have been that much more spectacular! Passing through Salmon, ID (birthplace of Sacagawea) we were pretty close to the Lemhi Pass National Historical Landmark where Lewis and Clark traversed the Bitterroot Mountains on their way back to St Louis. It is too bad the road is dirt to get to the pass but possibly next year we’ll conquer that. By the time we got to Challis, ID we cut off onto ID 75 to skirt the Sawtooth Mountains. This is a beautiful road that follows the North Fork of the Salmon River. And we thought following the Salmon River was pretty…! This whole area is a must see. We bailed out in a National Forest campground at the Upper O’Brien Campground within the Sawtooth NRA. We had a spot overlooking the river and a series of rapids (although they were small) and it was lovely! We got our chairs out and spent the rest of the afternoon watching the inflatable rafts float folks down past our camp. In a little while, out of the corner of our eyes we spotted about 20 baby ducks in a pool of calm water just upstream. Well, what a show they put on! One by one, off they went down the rapids with their little heads bowed downstream, they rode the waves with reckless abandon. And then they gathered at another pool just down from us and regrouped for the mad dash again in the rapids, then out of sight. It was a wonderful show that neither of us have ever seen anything close to. What a day!
Wednesday, August 19 started out pretty cold with the temperature at the campsite a chilly 45. We did our usual thing and were on the road by 8:30. We continued on ID 75 to ID 21 another great road that follows a river as temps fell to 40. These are all great motorcycle roads and just think the experience of them is only about two days from Las Vegas straight up US 93! Our plan was to get into Oregon a bit with plans to see the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument on Thursday. We had a great drive in the morning as we wound our way along ID 21 to Lowman. Of all the places we’ve seen, Stanley, ID has got to have one of the best views going! In the river valley, at the junction of 75 and 21, the Sawtooth Mountains dominate the view and it is just wonderful! It reminded us of the Grand Tetons but the valley here not nearly as expansive. We must say that the central parts of Idaho are definitely on our list for further exploration! By the time we got to Banks, we were pretty much out of the mountains and headed towards Oregon. We crossed at Ontario, OR and that’s when things got smoky again. All the way up US 26 we could see fire damage in the grasslands on both sides of the road. I was starting to worry that our intended state park, Unity, would be closed. When we reached Unity, OR, we saw where the firefighters had their camp set up (with about 50 tents or so). This was looking bad. When we reached the cut-off to the state park, they had the road blocked off and closed. What to do? Keep going! We drove a few more miles and stumbled on a really nice National Forest campground named Wetmore. We were the only people there when we arrived and for some reason, the smoke wasn’t very noticeable. This was our home for the night! Later, a rider on a Honda ST1300 came in and we had a good chat before he set up camp and joined us for the evening.
It was a MUCH warmer night and morning Thursday, August 20. We hit the road early knowing we had a fair amount of traveling to do. Our first stop was at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument just west of John Day, OR. This was another park you really have to want to go to. It is out in the middle of nowhere but the roads there and off to our next stop were tremendous! On the way we saw plenty of firefighters and their equipment. Fires were burning all around. We heard that a pretty big one broke out just south of John Day and we hoped they wouldn’t close US 26. They didn’t, but they did close US 395 south of John Day. The national monument is really three different areas: the Sheep Rock Unit; the Painted Hills Unit and; the Clarno Unit. Each of them have their own uniqueness. We spent most of our time at the Sheep Rock Unit. The area is absolutely FULL of fossils dating from about 45 million years ago. Therefore, almost all of the fossils are of mammals. The park film was very informative and the fossil displays first rate. Even though we had to wait an hour for them to open, we certainly would recommend a visit if you find yourself in the area. We left there and headed up OR 21. What a great ride! Little did we know though, when we turned off onto OR 207, it got WAY better! This is definitely a premier motorcycle road! The speed limit was 55 but with the road newly paved, the turns sharpened just right and, the view through the turns excellent, it was easy (and fun!) the push the envelope. Too bad we were pulling a trailer… Nonetheless, we carved up the road pretty good anyway! It’s a good 100 miles from John Day NM to the end of the ‘turns’ around Hermiston. Try it! Just keep an eye out for rocks on the road. We got to our second stop just outside Walla Walla, WA at the Whitman Mission National Historical Site. Built as a mission to bring Christianity to the Cayuse Indians, the mission only lasted 11 years even though it was right on the Oregon Trail. On our way there, we got a taste of travel along the Columbia River. We can hardly wait till tomorrow to travel WA 14 along the river all the way to Fort Vancouver. Last year, the ride along the Columbia on the Oregon side was pretty spectacular but this year, we’ll be doing the Washington State side (not an expressway).
Friday, August 21 started out good as we tried to find Hanford Reach National Monument with little initial success. Seems the government has the national monument on the top secret list like the nuclear processing facility by the same name. We had success after getting some help at the Hanford Reach Interruptive center in Pasco, WA. The national monument is administered by the McNary NWR not far from the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers. There we got a lot of information about the monument and the numerous national wildlife refuges (NWR) that abound in the general vicinity. After our stop there, we headed south on I-82 and picked up WA 14, headed for Vancouver, WA. The drive was really spectacular! It is MUCH better to ride the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge than the Oregon side. But was it WINDY! I bet I could have gotten 50+ mpg…if only we were going the other way! It really wears you out fighting a head wind with gusts from side to side. We managed to pull off 250 miles before we decided to bail at Beacon Rock State Park. This rock juts out into the river and was noted (and named) by Lewis and Clark in 1805. We had a really nice campsite at Beacon Rock, although it was quite expensive ($30). We settled in and even found a nice crop of blackberries growing in the campground for our oats in the morning!
Saturday, August 22 was a pretty warm morning and by the time we hit the road again, headed west towards Fort Vancouver, we could see (and feel) that the winds had changed and we were enjoying a little tail wind push but suffering poor visibility due to the ‘new’ smoke in the valley. It was too bad too because this portion of the gorge is really pretty. Nonetheless, we pressed on to Fort Vancouver. Located in Vancouver, WA, the fort was a major trading post built by the Hudson Bay Company in 1825. We stopped at the visitor center for a great film about the evolution of the fort. From then (1825) till just after WWII, the fort had a fascinating history that included fur trading (also the end of the Oregon Trail), then airplane manufacture (out of spruce, that is), ship building (for WWII) and is now a beautiful park/historic district. If you like history, definitely look up the history on Fort Vancouver. It is a really nice area, right on the Columbia River. We left the fort and headed northwest to visit a couple of Lewis and Clark sites we did not see last year. Once out to Astoria, OR, we crossed the Columbia and were in Washington going for Cape Disappointment and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. This was another really well done museum about the Corps of Discovery. Like the one in Great Falls, it covers the entire trip of the expedition. From there we visited Fort Columbia and Station Camp, the first camp of the Lewis and Clark expedition before they crossed the Columbia and set up Fort Clatsop for wintering quarters in 1804-05. The only place left we did not see in the area was Dismal Nitch, close to the Astoria Bridge (the world’s longest continuous truss bridge). We’re saving that for next year’s Lewis and Clark odyssey. A quick run up US 101 and we were in Olympia for the night.
We’re thinking that we will pull the plug on our trip sometime in the next two weeks but we aren’t sure. Basically, waiting till the temps in Las Vegas get down a bit is one objective balanced by the other, which is we want to see more! Stay tuned, we’re pretty sure more is to come! Greg & Cynthia.