Monday, September 29, 2008

09/18/08 - Day16

Very delayed. Sorry. I will be posting more with more frequency, but the last week was quite hectic. On the plus side, I'm adding about 200 photos to the photobucket for you all.

Today was the final push to Canada and a much needed rest. I will be spending a couple weeks here visiting a friend and touring the area.

I decided to cross the border using one of the ferries, instead of taking the highways. Here's my first view of Ontario from the Marine City, Michigan docks.

I was somewhat surprised to see a very nice cathedral in Marine City. Its a fairly small town, after all. These next few are of the crossing. I waited till the middle of the river, then got one looking back, one looking downriver, and one looking ahead.
After crossing, I started north in order to hook up with the 402 towards Toronto. About half way there, in the middle of No and Where, I ran into a traffic jam. Cars were moving at a snails pace for about 2 miles. Upon reaching the cause, I saw three police cars blocking off an intersection for no apparent reason. No accident on the road; There were no businesses around for a crime scene. I can only surmise that they were looking for Hog Goblins, but I evaded them and went on my merry way.



Oh yeah, For the first time ever, I was grilled mercilessly by the authorities at the border. usually they snag the little old ladies for the searches and such and let me go with barely a glance. I knew the scruffiness would catch up to me sooner or later.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Toronto Area Interim

Sorry I haven't posted here in a few days. I have been having a fun time visiting a friend here in Toronto, Ontario, who has kept me quite busy. On the plus side for you, that means that when I do get some time to post pictures and such here, you will have quite a lot to enjoy.

A tidbit of fun information. We were at the Toronto Zoo and stopped for some lunch. As I was sitting there eating, a bee flew up and landed on my cup and started drinking all the droplets of root beer around the rim. He was so cute, sticking his tiny little head into the droplet and then slurping it all up. I sat there and watched him for a bit, since I was done with the root beer. I almost felt sorry to throw the cup away when we had to leave. I'd have got a pic, but my camera that day wasn't the one with the macro function, so you'll just have to suffer with the written description.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

9/17/08 - Day15

I only took on photo today, of the Indiana sunset.
Though Illinois and Indiana are quite beautiful, I'm gettung a bit worn down by the daily ride. Good thing I'll be stopping for a while after tomorrow's ride, eh.
The day started out with an interesting twist. Because I did not have internet last night, I was unable to map my cousre for the day. The hotel, which is on the Illinois border, did not have a map. neither did any of the convenience stores I stopped at after entering Illinois. I did know that I wanted to go east and north. got a bit lost till I was 50 miles in and found a store with a map.
Then I reached Indianapolis at 5pm. It took me an hour to go the 20 miles to get through it. Poor planning on my part, I guess.
Anyway, I'm now in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Tomorrow, I push on to Toronto, Ontario.

09/16/08 - Day 14

Sorry this one's late; No internet yesterday. I took a lot of pictures today, so I'm actually suggesting you take a gander at the Photobucket page.

While riding, I have a lot of time for introspection. Today, as I left Nebraska, I decided to stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa for this photo.

The funny thing is, I grew up my whole life hearing stories about how my ancestors crossed the great plains. Now, intellectually, I knew the great plains were quite lush, but the stories always conjured images in my mind of pioneers crossing vast wastelands. The reality is, they crossed some of the most prime real estate in the country in order to settle in a valley who's primary feature is a large body of extremely salty water. Apparently, they got to the vast wasteland and said, "Oh! don't want to cross that. Let's stop here." :)

Moving on...I stopped today in Burlington, Iowa and put my stuff into my hotel room. I then ran out to my bike and took off for Nauvoo, Illinois. I raced the sunset the entire 38 miles, though I did stop to get a shot of my first view of the Mississippi.
As you can see, I beat the sunset by a few minutes... And here is why I was so all fired up to get there before sunset. This is a shot of the Nauvoo Temple as the sun is setting. It's quite spectacular I think. I wish I could have stayed a couple hours more in order to get a shot of the full moon rising behind it. For those of you who do not know, this is a temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is built in an historic city for our religion. The following pictures are part of why it is so historic. The first is a statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, depicting their last ride out of Nauvoo before they were slain. The picture below actually explains it better, though it might be too small to read here, so I direct linked it to the photobucket pic.
After the temple, I went down into the old Nauvoo streets and took some more photos. Everything was closed for the evening, but that was okay, since I am not one to go in for all the touristy stuff, but prefer to look around on my own.

heading back to Burlington, I stopped to get another shot of the Mississippi; this time with the moon rising over the bridge. I cannot fully describe how excited I am to be here. For some reason, the Mississippi River just makes me giddy. Maybe it's all the Mark Twain I've read over the years...or maybe its just a big, freakin' river. Either way, I'm loving it.
...and, of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to get a shot of me in the Mississippi. Yeah, I know. Its only an inch deep here, but you should see the eddies and currents in this river. No way I'm going deeper.

Monday, September 15, 2008

09/15/08 - Day 13

Welcome to Nebraska...The Good Life. Don't ask me; It was on the brochure. Personally, I would have gone with something like, Nebraska...They ain't called the great plains fer nothin'. I do believe I actually went over a hill at some point on my trip today, but I may have hallucinated it.

Also, to any of you wishing to test the limits of your speedometer, this is the state for you.* The highways are very straight, and when they do turn, its a long, gradual turn.

Anyway, I stopped at the border to pick up a map, and the lady there said I just had to stop in Kearney(pronounced Carney) to see the historic arch there. I saw the historic arch. I drove under it at 75mph. It looked to me like an arch built over the highway so that people could be told to stop in Kearney to see their historic arch.

A bit further down the road was something I actually did find quite interesting. I pulled off the highway in Gothenburg to wipe the bugs off my faceshield, and found this old Sod Hut.

They also had one of the original Pony Express waystations there, though they had moved it a few miles in order to make it fit in their park and such. Gothenburg was a very nice looking town, with old, interesting looking homes. I quite liked it there.


So I am now in Lincoln, NE and am further east than I have ever been by land.

Photobucket

*Midnight Son does not support or condone the breaking of state or local traffic laws. Furthermore, he will not be held liable for any issues, both legal or monetary, that may arise due to the decidedly dim view the Nebraska State Troopers will likely take of your explanation as to why you were doing such.








Sunday, September 14, 2008

09/14/08 - Day 12

I got very high today. I crossed the continental divide at about 7000 feet. Most of the trip today was at a high elevation. I'm glad it was sunny, cause it was cold and probably would have snowed in places otherwise.

I left Salt Lake City, heading east into Wyoming. There is a reservoir about half way to the border that I always enjoy. It looks like a great place to go boating. Almost half way through my trip todayI came to the aptly named Green River. I thought the area was quite pretty. Looking in the opposite direction from the previous photo, there are some very interesting formations. Rock climbing anyone? I took this next one about 65 miles later when I stopped to rest my poor aching backside. Needless to say, I'm quite happy that i stopped at this unapproved rest stop instead of the one I came accross a few miles down the road from here. I believe that is an Elk. there was a whole herd of them, but only two came out to investigate.

Photobucket

Saturday, September 13, 2008

09/13/08 - Days 10-11

So I wasn't able to get on last night. As a result, you are getting both of the days for my trip back to Salt Lake City in one go.


Day 10:
I took the central route through Oregon today. As you can see, the route goes through some pristine wilderness.I stopped in the quaint little town of Sisters for lunch. I could see myself living in a place like this. Small town; not too far from things. I could certainly set up shop and see what happens. After Sisters, the road took me up onto the high plains. It’s full of Scrub Pine and Sagebrush. There’s also some excellent mountains in the background.Then, coming off the plains, I followed this river into Ontario OR, which is right on the border of Idaho. The river was very pretty and I wish I could have found a good place to pull over and get you all a pic of the sun setting on the buttes. It was quite spectacular. Of lesser, but more annoying spectacle, the last hundred miles into Ontario are a haven for bugs, most of which committed suicide on my person.

Day 11
Today was just a reverse of day one, but I did manage to stop at an excellent place to get you all a pic of the Snake River. Despite the name, I failed to see any snakes. :(
Tomorrow, I shall be heading east again toward Cheyenne, WY.

The (now mandatory) link to photobucket, where there are a few more pics.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

09/11/08 - Day 9

Today was quite an exciting day. We decided to take an excursion on the sand dunes. For this cause, we embarked on a grueling journey to 4 miles south of town to the Sand Dunes Frontier.
Now, if you know me at all, you know that I was quite excitied to rent one and go blasting through the dunes. Alas, it was not to be. It seems that the rental areas around here look quite harshly on the possibility of their equipment being damaged. In order to rent one for yourself, there is quite a deposit to be made, and they charge more in the eventuality of things like it getting wet, rolling over, or being sat on crooked(I imagine).

Anyway, we purchased an hour tour in one of their 4 man dunebugs. Kinda looks like I'm driving. How I wish it were so.
The Crew of the dread bug Dunechaser.

We embarked upon our journey with our captain Justin, in search of the unholy usurpers on individual ATVs. On the way we stopped by the ocean for a scenic photo op.
Upon completion of this, we set out again, in search of the scallywags. What Ho, Cap! I see one on the horizon!We gave chase, not realizing that it was a trap. The foul wretch left a sand mine for us.
(I really hope this does not become a theme for my trip)
Stranded, with no food or water, we were forced to crawl toward our base. I was afraid I would not make it. But what is this? The noise of an engine coming over the dunes?
Huzzah! 'Tis our companion ship, the Red Devil, captained by none other than some guy we left behind with our broke down craft.
For those who wish, I also took a video of some of the trip through the dunes. I held the camera as steady as I could. most of the jumble is bouncing around.
The tour was quite fun, even with the flat. If any of you get the chance to visit the central Oregon Coast, I highly recommend it.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

09/09/08 - Day 7

As promised, here are some pics of my family. The first is my brother and my mom, relaxing at my brother's home. The cat, Scooter, is just a bonus.
Next we have my dad. This serious looking fellow is probably just enjoying watching my brother's kids playing in the living room.
What trip to the Oregon coast would be complete without a trip to the dunes. You got a picture from a distance in a previous installment. Here's a dune at close range, followed up by me sliding down it. I still want to get an ATV and go blasting through them. That's slated for Thursday hopefully.


Finally, I have a pic near the mouth of the Siuslaw River. The great thing about it is that its shape causes the waves to funnel in. Surf's up, Dudes!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

09/07/08 - day 5

Just visiting with family today. I'll have pics tomorrow I think.

Friday, September 5, 2008

09/05/08 - Day 3

Today was a rest from the biking as I spent the day with my parents(pics of them to come on a later date), looking at various things on the Oregon coast. Our first stop was overlooking this lighthouse. Ain't I just gorgeous?
Since this is a cross country trip, I figured I'd better have proof that I started out on one coast, so I rolled up the jeans and went for a wade. Rolling them up didn't save them, though, as the waves decided that they needed to get bigger as I was walking out.
Next up was an interesting place called Cook's Chasm. Apparently the famous Captain Cook decided that it belongs to him. I didn't hear him complaining about us taking a stroll down, so he must not be too possessive. At high tide(or in a storm surge) the waves flow into the chasm and cause the spout you see here. I'd be interested in seeing it at high tide in a storm surge.
On the way back, we stopped at this little lookout that overlooks the north end of the Oregon Sand Dunes. I have decided that, on a future ride, I'm going to have to run the entire Pacific Coast Highway

If you are interested, I do have some additional pics available on Photobucket.

09/04/08 - Day 2

Today was a very interesting day. It started out as a normal ride as I traversed the Eastern Oregon Mountains. Here's a shot looking down from them toward Pendleton, OR.
Then things got really interesting as I reached The Dalles, about 80 miles east of Portland. My Motorcycle started feeling a bit off, but not bad, so I didn't pay much heed at first. I stopped for Lunch at an excellent burger joint called Big Jim's.
The burger was delicious and I must say, the peppermint milkshake was just about the best I've ever had. Their service really shone, though as, when I walked out, I noticed that I had a flat rear tire. They called the local motorcycle place for me, and I got a tow over. The repairs delayed me about three hours, a fact that will come into play later.

My poor Beast!So, anyway, I moved on, riding along the Columbia River to Portland. The Columbia is the widest river I can recall seeing. I may have seen larger, as I was in Mexico as a very young kid, but do not recall if we crossed the Rio Grande. I do know I have crossed the Yukon in Alaska, but can't recall if it was this wide or not. Either way, my trip plans are going to fix this, as I plan to eventually cross the Mississippi at the widest point possible.

Traveling south from Portland, it started to get dark around Salem. I won't even start on Salem, except to say that whoever planned the city needs to be exhumed and then burned at the stake(I know bad reference to the wrong Salem).

Upon reaching my turning point in Eugene, it was full dark. The road from Eugene to the coast, where my parents live, is about 50 miles of the most twisty, winding road one is likely to ever see. Even in the light, this would be a bit of a challenge. Needless to say, I had the time of my life navigating it at full dark, in the middle of the night. What a blast! I even had the trip blessed by the local wildlife. About 10 miles out, a couple deer were crossing the road. I passed right between them with about 10 feet to spare on either side.

So, I have arrived safely in Florence. I will be here for a few days, but plan to post some of my activities here for your enjoyment.

The Columbia River, about 100 miles inland.