OUR 2008 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE ODYSSEY

Just awesome! That's the only way to describe our ride through the west coast of USA and Canada in 2008. After 70 days on the road, John and I found it very difficult to drop the bikes at the shipping agents and get on a plane back to reality.

The bikes snug in their cradles ready for shipping.

FIJI AND HAWAII

We had a few days to spare before picking up the bikes so we decided to stop over in Fiji and Hawaii on our way over. In Fiji we stayed on the southern side of the big island at Gheko’s Resort, Mango Bay which was a quiet little resort near the village of rugby player Loti Tequeri.

We had our own car so spent some time exploring. One of the nicest places we visited was the Gardens of the Sleeping Giant which were established by Raymond Burr, star of the famous Perry Mason TV series.

Our first stop in Hawaii was Honolulu where we spent 4^th July on the beach at Waikiki. We stayed at Keauhou Beach and visited Duke’s Bar, a popular place right on the beach. Aussie sailors seem to like it too. The highlight here was definitely the Arizona Memorial which was both an enlightening and moving experience.

Would you believe this is a cop car?

The Arizona lies out in the harbour below the white building you can just see under the left wing of the rocket in the foreground.

This is all of the Arizona that can be seen above the water.
There is still oil floating around the wreck!

From Honolulu we flew to the big island, Hawaii where we stayed on the east coast. Again we took advantage of our hire car to explore the western side of the island where we hoped to drive up the coast to the spot where the lava from Mt Kilauea flows into the sea. Unfortunately, the roof on our convertible got stuck half way there and we had to cut the trip short. 

We decided to take a flight over the volcano instead and we were lucky enough to strike it in a very active phase. The sights over the volcanic area were incredible and Waipi’o Valley and canyons on the south coast were amazing. This is where some of the original Jurassic Park was filmed. You could also clearly see the grid patterns from early farmers. Apparently over 600,000 native Hawaiians lived here at their peak. We also visited the bay where Captain Cook was killed and had a snorkel in the bay near our hotel. It wasn’t too special compared to what we were used to in New Guinea and WA though.

On July 11 we flew into Vancouver, Canada where we spent a couple of days exploring. We really enjoyed the Aquarium and especially the beluga whale and her calf. 

A visit to Gastown for dinner was interesting. It was outside Granville station that we had one of the best hot dogs we had on our trip. We caught the skyrail back to our hotel and it was a lot quicker than the bus. Next morning we caught the bus across the border to Seattle then got on the train to Portland where our motorcycle journey began on July 14.

WASHINGTON STATE, OREGON & NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

We had been advised by friends in the US to do the northern loop of our trip first, as the weather can be unbearably hot down south in the height of summer, while up north in Canada and Alaska, the snow could start as early as September. It took about 30 minutes to reconnect batteries and check the bikes over at the shipping depot with Dave Milligan of Get Routed making sure everything was OK. After a detour to the local bike shop (which we discovered was a waste of time as bike shops in the US are usually closed on Mondays), we were off north to the eastern side of Mt St Helens in Washington State. This would be our first sight of the mighty Colombia River. There is just nothing like it in Australia. 

We also saw the Lewis & Clark Trail signs for the first of many times during our trip. Those guys certainly got around and must have been blown away by what they discovered. It would have been good to have done some research on their travels before we left as their names cropped up everywhere.

The Mount St Helens area is a must. There are some great little places like Cougar on Yale Lake in the south and Randle further north, with reasonable motel accommodation. Unfortunately, one of our must do roads up to Windy Ridge and Spirit Lake was closed due to snow and would still be that way when we returned to the area 10 days later. 

While the eastern side is more picturesque, with an abundance of great twisties, the western area where the eruption took place is truly awe inspiring as we discovered later in our trip. It is well worth the ride up to the Johnston Observatory which was named after the geologist who was on duty and died during the eruption. The video and ranger talk here give you a great insight into the events of the eruption and help you make sense of what you see on the way up and back.

After St Helens we continued east toward the wheat belt through Goldendale and on to Pendleton. The roads are great but the weather was really hot. We followed the Colombia River along the northern side, crossing south at Umatilla and it was certainly tempting to pull up for a dip. Now we were back in eastern Oregon travelling through Elgin. 

If you ever pass through Lostine, be sure to drop in at Crow’s store. What an amazing place. It has been in the Crow family for 101 years and nothing much has changed. A stroll around the shelves is better than a history lesson. 

The township of Joseph was named after Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe and has a real indian influence, with bronze statues in the streets and an indian population who are passionate about their culture. After a sidetrack to Wallowa Lake we headed to Hell's Canyon, the deepest gorge in the USA and the roads here are fantastic if you want to have some serious fun.

Hell's Canyon

From here we met Highway 86 and continued on to Baker City and over a brilliant piece of range road to Hereford - but watch for pea gravel on the corners. Then it was on through Austin and some beautiful, seemingly never-ending sweepers into Sumpter, a typical old gold mining town with lots of character. It was here that we noticed how almost every building is made of timber, which is not surprising, as God knows there is no shortage of the stuff over there. Unfortunately this also meant that it was not unusual in these towns for most of the buildings to be burnt to the ground at some stage, as was the case in Sumpter. Riding through this area, you really start to get a feel for the history of the "wild west". Tiny towns are dotted everywhere amidst the mountains and they all look like they are well past their heyday.

An early start from Sumpter next morning gave us our first lessons about looking out for wildlife. The deer are the equivalent to our roos and you just can't be too wary of them early in the morning or at sunset. That's not to say you won't see them at any time of the day. Anyway, we were pretty stoked to see deer, a bear and several skunks (although the latter were all dead, which might be a good thing as we could still smell them). The road from Sumpter to Ukiah is very picturesque but the countryside becomes dry again as you head to a very pretty town called Heppner and another spectacular canyon.  

Shaniko is supposedly a genuine restored old west town but unfortunately the very ornate hotel was closed down when we were there and the place was a bit of a let- down. However, our day's riding was well worthwhile as we turned north again toward the area called The Dalles and the mighty Colombia River. 

From here Highway 30 to Mosier is spectacular, but the strong winds blowing up the Hood River were a bit of an issue. 

With Mt Hood looming in the distance, we took an interesting little sidetrack through Parkdale to Coopers Spur then back on to 30 for the run into Government Camp - a deceptive name for a very yuppie little ski resort with very big prices. This led to us pushing on to Rhododendron and a motel more suitable to our budget.

We were especially keen to get going to Sisters the next morning as we were meeting our mate Steve, who took us through Willamette National Forest to his home turf in Eugene. The highlight of our stay here was the baseball game where we discovered that Aussies don’t have exclusive claim to the yobbo tag. But then it does add to the atmosphere as did the foot-long “Slugger” dogs. 

Eugene itself is a very different little place – very eco-friendly and cosmopolitan. The local markets are truly entertaining and let’s not forget the local vineyards. They do make some very tasty reds in Oregon. The weather up until now had been quite nippy but very pleasant for riding. 

However, we were about to experience the west coast. Steve was keen to show us his favourite roads, heading down into northern California. 

We travelled through Drain to Winchester Bay and turned south. It was freezing. The wind blew straight off the ocean and the constant sea mist somewhat spoilt the otherwise spectacular views of the coast and the beautiful ride through redwood forests which are truly majestic. It was in this area that we saw our first elk and they were big! 

Our lunch of clam chowder at the Crazy Norwegian’s was a welcome relief from the cold and well worth the stop. Then it was on to Fortuna and a hot shower before beer and steak in a great little boutique brewery across the road.

Our next two days were spent riding some brilliant forestry roads through small towns like Mad River and Platina. At Red Bluff we doubled back as the countryside here is a lot drier and hotter. We turned north again near Peanut and spent the night in Weaverville, a small timber town where it is not unusual to meet deer walking down the main street. Here we saw huge stockpiles of timber logs which are watered constantly to prevent fires. This seemed like a very good idea as there were forest fires raging all through the area. The smoke from these fires was getting worse as we made our way back west from Red Bluff. There are any number of brilliant forestry roads in this area but we were warned by the local deputy (tongue in cheek) to watch for the cowpats on the roads and more particularly, the truckload of firefighters from Kansas, as they aren’t used to mountains and didn’t watch the road too well. A stop at the ranger station in Fort Jones was both useful and informative. By the time we got to Happy Camp the smoke was unbearable so we decided to change our route and head north through Waldo and Cave Junction and hook up with the I 5 for a fast run back to Eugene. 

The Interstaters are certainly a brilliant way to get from A to B in a hurry. Speed doesn’t seem to be an issue but make sure you show some respect to the truckies. They are no slouches in the speed department themselves.

Our next rendezvous was at Menlo, for the annual Washington State BMW rally, and our ride up there took us through some truly magnificent countryside. From Eugene we headed north again through familiar territory on the eastern side of Mt St Helens and on through Packwood to Mt Rainier National Park. 

This lovely cottage in Randell really caught our attention.

Our first sighting of snow as we approach Mt Rainier.

At the park ranger station we purchased our annual parks pass for $80. This was a worthwhile investment which we could use to gain entry for both of us at any National Park. It’s a great saving, as a day pass averaged around $20.

The Mount Rainier area is truly beautiful. As you weave your way up the smooth, winding mountain road, it is difficult to concentrate on riding. At every turn you are met with scenes of glaciers and serene, snow-skirted lakes. You just have to stop and play in the snow and there is a brilliant photo opportunity around every corner. The road through the park leads up to Paradise, a ski resort where you will discover the impressive Paradise Lodge which has hardly changed since it was built over half a century ago. Walking into the main hall with its huge logs, raw-sawn timbers and impressive big fireplace, it is easy to think you have stepped back into an era of genteel upper-class elegance where only the rich and famous escaped for a winter ski holiday.

Paradise Lodge

From Mt Rainier, we continued on to Elbe, then south to Morton where we jumped on the 508. Just beyond the I 5 we picked up some minor country roads and eventually found our way onto Highway 6 which took us through to Menlo. Here we were greeted with the warm hospitality which we continued to experience in almost all of the small country towns we visited on our trip. Apart from great company, the rally will be remembered for our trip up the western side of Mt St Helens. The road is fast and the scenery remarkable. Just keep an eye out for wildlife. One of our group came to grief on the way up, after a deer ran straight out in from of him. He ended up in a ditch with his bike and that was the end of his trip.

The eastern side of Mt St Helens showing where the caldera blew out.

The damage from the blast can still be clearly seen.

While at the rally, we discovered how much the Americans love their gadgets. Some of the bikes had so many extras hanging off them it was hard to recognize the original model. Most people we met were amazed that we were travelling without a GPS but we explained that we could read maps and unless there was an absence of road signs or they were not accurate we seemed to be doing just fine. The other noticeable difference between this rally and our good old Aussie rallies was that the Yanks seem much more conservative than us – very little drinking, skylarking etc. But then again this was just one rally and perhaps they were the more sedate riders in the area.

Our new mates Donna Sue and Steve - Washington State residents.

After some phoning around, John did a quick run into Centralia the next day for a new tyre while I kicked back and enjoyed the company. We were on the road by 9 am the following morning, headed north again on the first leg of our run up to Alaska. The west coast weather was true to form, with rain adding to the discomfort of the cold. This was no surprise as we’d heard that the Olympic Peninsula was renowned for wet conditions. The countryside along Highway 101 is very scenic and the coastline is quite rugged and spectacular. There are lots of lovely little forest areas that are well worth stopping at. Our destination, Port Angeles, is very much like Tasmania’s coastal fishing towns with some great little restaurants.

Leaving Port Angeles.

VANCOUVER ISLAND, ALASKA & CANADA

Next morning, it was up and away bright and early to catch the ferry across to Victoria on Vancouver Island and our first close-up glimpse of the vast area of fiords and snow-capped mountains that we saw as we flew in from Hawaii to Vancouver. We rode straight through Victoria, which appeared to be a beautiful, flower-filled city and turned north on Highway 1 toward Gold River where we planned to spend a couple of days. After a quick detour into Chemainus, a little town famous for its murals, we were excited at the prospect of riding Highway 28 from Campbell River to Gold River since it had received rave reviews in the research literature John had read. Unfortunately, a combination of drizzly rain and poor road repairs spoilt to trip somewhat. The scenery once again was picturesque though, especially the ride along Campbell Lake. 

One of the impressive murals in Chemainus

Our two-night stopover at Gold River was well timed as it rained all day and was still drizzling when we left next morning for Port Hardy. 

The rain had cleared by the time we reached Telegraph Cove. Here we discovered what appeared to be a little fishing village which had been taken over by holiday makers. The narrow sheltered little bay was dominated by holiday units built on stilts out over the water and it was rather crowded.

We were lucky to catch our ferry the next morning, as we were supposed to arrive two hours before sailing time. But we managed to get the bikes on and tied down ready for the run up the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert. While the sights along this waterway are unique and impressive – we saw orcas, whales, dolphins, quaint little tugs pushing and pulling huge flotillas of logs and countless impressive waterfalls – we were more than ready to get back on the bikes by the time we reached port. Our 11.30 pm arrival made finding our motel quite a challenge in the cold misty night and we were grateful for a hot shower and a warm bed.

It would be fair to say that we were pretty excited the next morning as we set out for Heyder at the bottom of Alaska. We had read about the spectacular scenery as you travel through Terrace on Highway 16, then north at Kitwanga to Stewart. A thick fog greeted us as we left Prince Rupert and it was very cold. 

Again we noticed the influence of the local indian population, with totems conspicuous in many of the tiny settlements we passed. We were just outside Terrace when John discovered for the first time that the local constabulary do not approve of motorcycles passing them on double lines, even if they are in an unmarked car. But what grabs your attention as you approach Stewart are the many glaciers that are clearly visible from the road. While stopped at Bear Glacier, we were greeted by the familiar “G’day” and had a chat with some fellow Queenslanders who were on their second visit to Heyder and gave us some useful information about the area. 

Our stay in Heyder gave us some of our most memorable sights. The ride up to Salmon Glacier is well worth the effort despite the dirt road. Where else can you ride for miles along the side of one of the biggest glaciers in the world? And the view at the top is inspiring. 

Our cosy little cabin in Heyder.
With bears wandering down the streets we opted not to tent it.

Salmon Glacier

A stop at Fish Creek on the way up and back is a must. If you are patient, you will almost certainly see black, brown or grizzly bears come down into the creek to catch a salmon for dinner. They are truly magnificent creatures. 

Heyder itself is just a tiny town with a population of about 50, if you don’t count the bears who wander down the main street – all the streets are dirt by the way. If you plan to tent it though, be sure to carry lots of insect repellent because you ain’t seen mossies ‘til you’ve been camping up there. But the people are friendly and lunch at the seafood bus was great value.

After two nights in Heyder we backtracked to Highway 16 and headed east to the Canadian Rockies. It was a real buzz to see a black bear chomping on berries right beside the road and when we pulled up at a lovely little park for lunch in Moricetown, we were amazed to see the local indians fishing in the rapids. They had planks set up from rock to rock and had themselves tied around the waist with rope. Then they stood on the planks with a large scoop net, catching the salmon as they tried to jump upstream. We sat for ages watching them catch fish after fish. Apparently each family has their own little patch of the rapids and only they can fish there.

Vanderhoof was a pleasant stopover and next day the ride was a bit ho-hum until we reached Mt Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Once again we were taken aback by the beauty and grandeur of the place. It isn’t easy trying to ride twisty mountain passes while your eyes are constantly being drawn up to rugged snow-capped peaks all around you.

And then as you continue on through Yellowhead Pass, the traffic just gets heavier. Of course the fact that we were here right in the middle of their summer break didn’t help matters and you wouldn’t believe the size of some of the RVs we saw. Jasper is a terrific little place if you like great shops and great food. Despite the influx of tourists it has managed to maintain a certain charm which you can’t help but enjoy.

A great ride to do while in Jasper is out to Medicine and Maligne Lakes. You are sure to see some wildlife. 

Riding south from Jasper, we decided to take the old 93A road. While it was a bit rough in places, it was worth it just to get away from the ever-increasing traffic and it also led us to Athabasca Falls – a nice little stop before rejoining 93 proper. 

The mountains along this route are jagged, snow-capped and spectacular, as is the countryside. It is quite an experience to follow the Sunwapta River and ride through the Columbia Icefield. There is just nothing like it in Australia. Again here are glaciers and Lake Bow would have to be the bluest lake I’ve ever seen.

As we entered Banfe National Park, the traffic just seemed to get worse and worse, and we began to experience the American habit of just stopping in the middle of the road if something interesting appeared. You really do have to have your wits about you. We decided to escape the traffic by turning west at Lake Louise and heading for Golden and Glacier National Park. Unfortunately, there was no accommodation at Glacier and we decided it was too cold for us green frogs to camp. We pushed on to Revelstoke, where we discovered that despite being a pretty ordinary little town, the motels thought they were still in the yuppie belt. This was one of the few places where we felt we paid more than we should have for accommodation. But the days riding had been terrific. We had seen several more bears beside the road and the first of many tunnels which are an added novelty on lots of roads over here.

By now we were leaving the Rockies and entering another beautiful area – the Kootenays – where there just seem to be endless lakes and lots more lovely roads to ride. This is where we discovered that roads just finish at a lake and if you wait long enough, a ferry will arrive to take you across to the other side free of charge. Toad Rock, near Balfour, is a motorcycle-only camp ground and a great place to spend a night or two. The atmosphere is very laid-back and of course you are bound to meet other people who love riding bikes and can tell you where there are more great roads to ride. 

The lakes in this area are truly beautiful but unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore them properly, as we were about to cross the border back into the States and the next part of our adventure.

MONTANA, IDAHO & WYOMING

We crossed back into the ‘states via Idaho through Bonners Ferry to Yaak. The road through Yaak is a favourite with bike riders and we saw some classics when we stopped for a break. 

Before heading north-east to Eureka we took a short detour south to Ross Creek where we checked out some very old cedar trees. They were hidden in a small patch of damp wet forest. We didn’t mind taking the detour as the roads were great.

Eureka in Montana is a typical border town. Canadians obviously take the trip across the border regularly as there are lots of stores selling cigarettes etc. Many items are a lot cheaper in the States. We found accommodation in a fairly new motel on a large acreage. The owners were very religious and very nice. Just down the road was a large complex where rodeos were held regularly. It included a great bar and bistro and the owner was very friendly and informative. He gave us the rundown of the local religious groups including the Amish and the Hooterites as well as where we might be able to meet some of them. We took a detour next day to try and find them but although we saw many going about their daily business we didn’t get to meet any. Apparently the Hooterites are allowed to drive while the Amish aren’t so they co-operate. Each is recognizable by their clothing. The Hooterite men wear straw boater hats and the Amish women have the long blue skirts and white bonnets. We couldn’t find the farm where you can go and help out in return for lunch though.

From Eureka we travelled south via Highway 37 to Libby and on to Highway 2. We stopped at a small lakeside resort called McGregor Lake for lunch and liked it so much we decided to stay the night. It was a Saturday and we discovered that the local Moose Lodge was holding a get together, including a very large pig on a spit. We watched from the terrace bar for a couple of hours while they set it up. It was going to cook overnight in preparation for the big event next day. That night there was a hillbilly band playing and they were great. The audience was invited to join in with the kids playing the washboards, spoons etc. It was a really enjoyable evening.

Next morning we headed east again through Kalispell to Glacier National Park, the first of several Rocky Mountain National Parks we would visit. We stopped at the West Glacier store on the way in where we came across a very unique motorcycle – two Honda motors linked up to make a unique trike. 

That night we stayed at Sprague Camp beside lovely Lake McDonald. In the morning we decided to go two-up on John’s bike and ride a clock-wise circle up over Logan Pass to St Mary where we had a lovely lunch before heading back around the southern end of the park to our camp. The road was under repairs on top of the pass and there was quite a bit of traffic. However, the scenery was spectacular.

On the 10^th we rode west again to Evergreen where we turned left and rode south down the eastern side of Flathead Lake. This area must be the biggest cherry growing district in the west. It was while riding down here that we also saw the family farm which belonged to the unfortunately named Kunt family – if you were Aussies you would surely be forgiven to changing your name.

We were headed for Missoula where we had booked the bikes in for a service in a couple of days but on the way we took another sidetrack to visit the National Bison Range. Unfortunately we were not allowed to ride the bikes through the actual range but the visitors centre was interesting and the pile of elk antlers in the carpark was impressive. We also enjoyed our chat with some locals at the café just outside the gates. We continued on through Missoula to Lolo and then turned west up over Lolo Pass. This road was one of the most enjoyable we rode as it followed along the Lochsa River for miles – 140 kph comfortably and beautiful scenery. We spent the night in a lovely little cabin at Three Rivers in Idaho and then returned to Missoula to have the bikes serviced.

Lochsa River

We quite enjoyed our stay in Missoula, walking from our motel to an exotic little Indian restaurant where we were treated to an extremely hot dinner. It was tasty but far hotter than the waiter claimed. Next day we set off south after lunch on Highway 93 and headed up over Chief Joseph Pass. We spotted another bike turning off into Big Hole National Battlefield and decided to take a look. It was well worthwhile. The museum is dedicated to the last battle of the Nez Perce Indians and was extremely moving. We were really glad we stopped here and found it much more moving than Little Big Horn. Not far from Big Hole was Jackson Hot Springs where we spent a lovely night in a delightful lodge, complete with a walled outdoor hot spring pool.

Big Hole National Battlefield

On August 13 we continued east through Dillon to Twin Bridges then south-east to Alder. Here we again went east through Virginia City and Nevada City, real old west towns with some really interesting buildings, and on to Ennis. 

The ride south through the Madison Valley was beautiful. It followed the Madison River and the valley is flanked by mountains on both sides. We continued south on Highway 20 into Idaho through Ashton and Victor, before crossing into Wyoming. At Jackson Hole we got to see how the elite live as it is one of the more exclusive ski resorts in the States, similar to Aspen. Steve had recommended that we visit Grand Teton National Park as well as Yellowstone, and since it sits right below Yellowstone we had decided to approach the area from the south. Grand Tetons is a truly beautiful park. At Colter Bay we set up camp and really needed our fire the following morning as it was only 5⁰. This was our first hint that maybe we would need something more than our one shared sleeping bag.

YELLOWSTONE

It was with some excitement that we set off next morning north through Grand Teton National Park and into the famous Yellowstone. We had heard so much about it and I must say it didn’t disappoint. 

We made our base at Bridge Bay Camp which is right in the centre of the park. It was surprising to us to discover that the Park is host to several lovely big hotels as well as plenty of restaurants, stores etc. Once again we were also surprised to see that people were allowed to have their dogs with them in the camping grounds as long as they were on a lead at all times. The camp ground had toilets but no showers but you could go up the road and pay $2 for a shower at a purpose built facility.

After setting up camp we took a rode a circle around the northern end of the park. First stop was at one of the many thermal areas in the park where we saw bubbling mud pools and steaming circular ponds of clear aqua water.

Our first encounter with bison was truly invigorating if not a bit of a heart-stopper. Traffic had been brought to a standstill as the bison were actually sitting on the road. We decided to leave my bike in a pull-out and go two-up past the bison so I could get some good photos. This plan worked well until we turned around to go back. The car in front of us decided to stop right beside two young bulls that were fighting on the other side of the road. Of course we felt quite vulnerable on the bike as they were pushing and shoving each other and there was a 5 foot drop on both sides of the road. We just managed to squeeze past the guy on the side away from the bison. He didn’t seem to care that we might have been in danger and was probably thinking “Danged idiots on bikes!” As you can imagine we were a bit tentative as we rode past the bison again to continue our ride on to Old Faithful. We managed to get to the carpark just as the geyser went up so we only got to see it from a distance. After a look through the visitors centre we continued back to Bridge Bay.

Next morning we rode back around past the western entrance and north following the beautiful Madison river again and encountering more amazing volcanic areas and of course more bison. This time they were sitting on the road and were not going to move. We saw one guy get his front bumper bar ripped off when he tried to get them to move. With some trepidation we managed to get past them but is was a bit too close to them for my liking.

From Yellowstone, we headed east then picked up Highway 212 and rode up over Beartooth Pass which is almost at the 11 000 ft. mark. The temperature dropped to 2⁰ as we travelled over here and John’s black ice alarm actually went off. All was fine though and the scenery was spectacular. It was up at the top that we saw our first mountain goats, with their long white hair and short horns. We stopped at the small store at the top of the pass. It is only open in the summer as they get over 40 feet of snow in the winter and road over the pass, like most in the States, is closed. 

We spent the night at an interesting little motel in Red Lodge. As there are so many bikers visiting the town in summer, the owner puts on a free keg of beer every night. John did his best to help drink it while I luxuriated in a lovey hot spa tub in our room. The pizza we ordered for dinner was so big we could only manage two pieces each after filling up at the salad bar so it was pizza for breakfast. We didn’t mind. It was delicious.

Next morning we rode back over Beartooth and then on to the wonderful old wild west town of Cody. The people here have really embraced the wild west heritage. Every afternoon at 5 there is a re-enactment of the shooting of Buffalo Bill Cody outside the Irma Hotel, which Bill had bought and named after his niece, Irma. 

That night we caught the bus from our motel out to the rodeo which is also held every night. It included bull rides, calf roping, barrel racing etc and some of the competitors were as young as 5. It is clear that cattle ranching is what drives the economy here but tourism is obviously a big deal in the summer. Before we left next morning we also visited the local museum precinct. Here you will find the Buffalo Bill Museum, an American Indian Museum and the Firearms Museum which features the original Gatling Gun. 

We could have spent hours here but had to get on the road in time to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana. While Little Bighorn was very interesting and the guides really informative, we didn’t find it as moving as Big Hole Battlefield. On the way we crossed the Little Bighorn River and met an Egyptian couple travelling on a Harley. 

We also encountered our first male moose, which John managed to get quite close to for photos. We were later informed that they can be dangerous and will charge. He survived though and got some nice shots.

We spent that night in Sheridan, Wyoming where we saw one of the biggest "trailers" we'dd ever seen.

Next morning it was off into the heart of the American wild west. It is almost impossible not to notice the many historic markers and recognize the place names from the old movies. Lewis and Clarke feature everywhere. They were the first to forge a route from the east to the west coast and they sure did cover some country. Our route took us east on Highway 14 through Clearmont to Gillette. Just past Carlile we turned north onto Highway 24 to cross into South Dakota just south of Belle Fourche. It was just luck that this route took us past Devil’s Tower National Monument, a giant striated monolith the likes of which we have never seen. Even more amazing was the fact that people were actually climbing up the side of the thing. It was here that we also encountered the fattest little prairie dogs you could wish to meet. Obviously people don’t take any notice of the signs requested that they don’t feed them.

SOUTH DAKOTA & WYOMING

Deadwood, where we spent the next few days is not far south-east of Spearfish and proved to be an excellent choice for a short stay. It is very close to Sturges where the big Harley meeting had been on the week before we arrived. We deliberately planned not to be in Sturges during Harley week as accommodation is almost impossible to find and costs a fortune. After settling into a nice motel in Deadwood, we rode into Sturges next morning and first up found a carwash and spent an hour or so cleaning the bikes for the first time since we had left Portland. We discovered also that there are lots of bargains available at the post Harley week sales and I scored a beautiful beaded leather jacket for half the original price. We also grabbed some souvenirs left over from the big event. On the road from Deadwood to Sturges we also noticed a kangaroo farm. It must be a real novelty over here.

It was nice to kick back for a while in Deadwood. The bars and saloons ooze the old west and again there was the nightly re-enactment of a shooting – this time it was Wyatt Earp – at Saloon 21. The buildings all look very authentic with sawdust on the floors of the bars and most built from timber. Fire must have been a real issue in the old days as the original Saloon 21 was down the street and burnt down. Deadwood is also famous for “Boot Hill”, graveyard of many famous cowboys etc. and it is still there today. We also found a little casino which had the best breakfast buffet for $5 each. Of course we ate there every morning.

On August 20 we rode south through Hill City before taking a detour through Custer State Park where we saw large herds of pronghorn on grassy plains and some amazing rock formations. We decided to do an anti-clockwise circuit as a guy had advised us to enter the Mt Rushmore Monument from the south. We didn’t know why at the time but as we approached we rode through a cutting in a rocky outcrop which perfectly framed the monument. 

Mount Rushmore is as impressive as you would imagine but it has become very expensive to get close to. It is not covered by a National Parks Pass and they wanted $20 each just for us to park our bikes and have a close look. We declined but had to ride through the precinct to get out so John decided to stop and take some pics. Before we knew it there was a golf cart hurtling toward us shouting that we weren’t supposed to stop. Fortunately we managed to get out of there still in possession of our camera and with some nice shots as well. We found it all rather amusing.

Back at Hill City we turned south again to the Crazy Horse Monument just north of Custer. I personally found this place much more interesting and awe-inspiring. The sculpture of Crazy Horse on which the mountain carving is based is truly beautiful and there is a lot of information etc. here about the American Indian heritage of the area. 

Unfortunately, a rather black sky forced us to cut short our visit here as we made tracks in a hurry to Lusk, a quaint little town back in Wyoming. Fortunately the threatening storm didn’t eventuate but the resulting sunset was beautiful. It was in the local bar here we that had the best steak we had had in the States. The cook was pretty chuffed when we told her so.

The storm we managed to dodge outside Lusk.

The next day was a big ride through Wyoming on our way to Colorado to meet Steve, Bill and John, three guys John had met on his ride with Moto Charlie in Europe. We had turned south onto Highway 270 sixteen miles west of Lusk but there were really strong south-easterly winds blowing us all over the place. By the time we got to Laramie we had had enough of the wind so we turned west to make riding a bit easier. We travelled west on Highway 230 to Baggs then headed south again through the gucci ski resort of Steamboat Springs to a lovely little motel in Oak Creed, Colorado. Here we had our first ever game of horseshoes and John even managed to spot the beaver in the little creek at the back of the property.

COLORADO

We were both more than a little excited next morning as we headed east through Granby on Highway 40. At just over 14 000 ft., Mt Evans is the highest paved road in North America and we were looking forward to riding it. Even though it is quite narrow as it nears the top, there was a lot of traffic and some of the hairpin corners were a bit daunting. Once you get above the snow line where the permafrost starts the road becomes very uneven as well. However, we managed it quite easily and although we noticed the bikes were a bit sluggish we didn’t suffer from any lightheadedness which we were told could happen so high up. We really enjoyed the sights on the way up including some more mountain goats and were also surprised to see an Amish girl on a pushbike at a roadside stop at the snowline. 

We stopped at a little café at the bottom of the hill for coffee on the way back and discovered some beautiful gnarly old trees complete with a friendly little chipmunk. It was lovely to see so many of the native animals on our trip as they are so different to our animals at home but also familiar from all the American TV we watch.

That afternoon was the first time we had some difficulty finding accommodation. We finally scored a small cabin at Deckers. We were told here that the National Democratic Convention was on in Denver that weekend (2008 was election year in the States) so all the accommodation anywhere near Denver was booked out. We were lucky as the cabin we got had been booked but the people didn’t show. It would not have worried us to camp out but the weather was threatening heavy rain and it was already very cold. Anyway all finished well and we had a short ride next day to Meulle State Park near CrippleCreek where we would meet the guys. The State Parks generally speaking have better facilities then the National Parks as most have both toilets and showers. We were grateful for the showers here as it rained that afternoon and we appreciated a hot shower to warm us up. Again the one sleeping bag failed to keep us both warm. I spent most of the night shivering despite sleeping in three layers of clothes including long johns. Anyway Steve arrived mid- afternoon and Bill and John soon after and it was a great reunion for all the guys. 

Of course John and I were really excited to be seeing Colorado with someone who knew the area well. Bill has a block of land over here and plans to live there when he leaves Missouri. John’s mum lives in Fort Collins as well so both were really familiar with the best bike roads.

We were up bright and early next morning and off to Pike’s Peak, another must do bike road but this time it was dirt. In saying that however, I have to also say that is was an excellent dirt road and again there was quite a bit of traffic. Pike’s Peak is famous for the truck races that are held there each year. Again the views from the top are fantastic as well.

From Pike’s Peak we headed north-west again. Just past Lake George we left highway 24 and took a dirt road through Pike National Forest to Jefferson then continued on through Breckenridge to Silverthorne. 

Here we turned due north to Kremmling headed east again through Granby again to Grand Lake just on the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park. We set up camp beside the lake then found a lovely little lakeside restaurant where we had a hearty dinner with lots of laughs.

The riding next day was spectacular as usual. We first rode up through Rocky Mountain National Park to the visitors’ centre and then headed into Fort Collins to visit John’s mum. 

While we were here I also took the opportunity to call into the local department store for an extra blanket and I was really glad of it. It’s amazing how warm a $3 little fleece blankie can be. We travelled north-west from Fort Collins to a lovely little campsite beside the Poudre River.

Like many of the little campsites in the States, there is a camp host who keeps everything clean, collects the very reasonable camping fees and even provides firewood for sale. Most of the smaller camps have toilets but no showers so a dip in the stream was the only way to freshen up. I most definitely did not take the plunge but had a bit of a pommy bath instead. The guys got in though. 

Just down the road at Mishawaka we discovered a delightful riverside hotel with a great deck out the back. We enjoyed dinner overlooking the river where several trout fishermen were fly fishing. We were also joined by another Aussie, a little corella, who was not backward in sharing our meals with us.

By now John and I had become adept at packing up camp and with the use of a handy picnic table, managed to get everything away without it getting it grubby. 

Following the river we continued west on Highway 14 past lots of lovely little riverside camps, and stopped at Walden where we had a huge breakfast at a quaint little inn made of huge logs. Of course there were lots of game heads mounted on the walls. 

Just before Steamboat Springs we turned south again through Oak Creek, Edwards and Leadville then up over Independence Pass, where John finally saw an Easy Rider style chopper. 

As we approached Aspen I was taken by the aspen trees which lined the road. They really are a lovely tree. We were not impressed though by the exorbitant price of fuel in Aspen although I suppose we should have expected it in a place with a reputation as a haunt for the rich and famous. $5.25 a gallon was a bit much though. I was expecting the toilets to be gold plated. To make things worse we arrived just on peak hour so we were all pretty happy to leave the place behind.

From Aspen we continued north-west to Carbondale then turned south to Bogan Flats where we set up camp before riding into Redstone for dinner. Redstone is a lovely little village where several artists have taken up residence. There was some lovely sculpture and artwork around and we also saw some old brick ovens so clay is obviously plentiful in the area as well as marble. We got quite a heavy shower of rain that night and of course when it woke me up I just had to go to the toilet. I ended up a bit wet but managed to get back to sleep.

On August 27 we continued south to Hotchkiss then took Highway 92 to meet up Highway 50 which we followed toward Gunneson. After a quick dip in the reservoir on the Gunneson River we continued on to Highway 149. This is a really spectacular road to ride with several high passes and lots of forests. 

We rode through Creede to South Fork then joined Highway 160 to Durango as this was a larger town and John needed a new tyre. That night we stayed in a hotel for the first time in ages and had a great dinner at the Carver Brewing Co.

Steve headed back home next morning and Bill, the two Johns and I continued west to Dolores. Again the roads were great and the scenery spectacular. With all three guys keen on taking photos, there was the usual glut of piccie stops. We turned north at Dolores and set up camp at another lovely little campsite called Stoner Creek, a name we would not forget with our Aussie boy Casey Stoner just starting to making his mark in Moto GP. It was actually warm enough for me to brave the creek for a dip and that night, after the usual bike trip into the little village of Stoner for dinner, Bill and John C broke out the giant cigars.

We were all feeling a little sad as we left Stoner Valley next morning. Our route took us in a circle through the beautiful little town of Ouray and back to Durango. 

Ouray is situated in the bottom of a deep canyon, flanked by rugged high cliffs. 

It is one of many places which we would loved to have spent more time in but after a lovely lunch in an outdoor restaurant, we continued on through Durango to the small town of Antonito just north of the New Mexico border. Here we said our goodbyes and Bill and John C headed east into very heavy rain while John and I rode south into New Mexico and the last leg of our wonderful trip.

NEW MEXICO

The great Rio Grande River lived up to expectations. We stopped for photos from the impressive bridge. The canyon really is very deep. 

It is quite surprising how quickly the countryside changes as you enter New Mexico. Suddenly there is desert and sagebrush and approaching the town of Taos we saw our first adobe houses. 

Taos is just what you might imagine a Mexican town to look like. The buildings are all built in the Mexican style, there are chillies hanging everywhere and the food and drinks are typical Mexican fare. One thing that really caught our attention was the explosion of colour that we saw as we passed the local cemetery. There were artificial flowers absolutely everywhere as well as American and New Mexico flags and all sorts of commemorative memorabilia. You certainly wouldn’t miss it if you were looking for the local “dead” centre. We found a nice motel in Taos and met some other travelers who we spent the afternoon chatting to. The people all love to hear Australians talk and it is often difficult to get away.

You would expect that being in New Mexico it was going to be somewhat warmer than in Colorado but we were caught by surprise next day. We rode north from Taos to Questa, planning to take a circular route which would pass a large volcanic crater. However, not long after we left Red River, one of many ski resorts in the area, it started to pour with rain. It got so heavy we decided to backtrack through Taos. We took minor roads and managed to dodge the rain. At Nambe, just north of Santa Fe, we discovered a roadside corn seller. It is not just ordinary corn though. They cook it in the husk on a rotisserie over an open gas fire. Then it is served with butter and chilli. It was delicious. 

Not much further west we arrived at the very interesting area around Los Alamos. This is where the atomic bomb was developed and after setting up camp in Bandolier we rode into White Rock for dinner. White Rock was the town built to house the scientists working on the bomb and pictures of those scientists covered the walls of the restaurant where we had dinner. It seemed to us that most of the other diners looked like the next generation of boffins. After dinner we watched a young lad outside the local supermarket roasting chillies on another gas fired invention. The chillies are put into a cage which rotates over the flame, roasting the chillies as they are tossed around in the cage. When they were done they were put into containers and taken into the supermarket for sale. They obviously love their chillies down in New Mexico.

We had a light shower of rain early the next morning and again were grateful to be able to at least put on dry clothes. The camping gear had to be packed damp. We would dry it out later. Bandolier is quite an amazing place to visit. The Puye Indians once lived there and their houses were carved into the cliffs above the canyon floor. They also constructed other buildings, gardens, wells etc on the floor of the canyon and the outline of some of these can be seen as you climb up to the cliff dwellings. There are ladders in place, some of which you can climb to actually enter the houses. The visitors’ centre has lots of information about the place as well. 

Unfortunately, drizzly rain prevented us from exploring as much as we would have liked but it was a really interesting place to visit. It was starting to rain more consistently when we left Bandolier and it just got heavier and heavier. We stopped at a small art gallery for coffee and again at the first town we came to. Unfortunately, the local motel was full so after changing into dry clothes we took off again, only to have the rain get even heavier. Rusty red water and small rocks were rushing across the road in places. We eventually got onto a better road where we could go a bit quicker but by the time we got to Cuba we had had enough. We pulled into the first motel we saw and luckily it had a room at a cheap price, with hot water and a dry bed. The rain stopped that afternoon so we were able to ride into town and find a great little restaurant for a very authentic Mexican dinner.

When we woke next morning there was a thick fog but it quickly burnt off with the sun as we headed north-west toward Bloomfield. Riding to Shiprock the scenery continued to amaze us and the formation known as Shiprock was quite unique even here approaching the Monument Valley region. At Shiprock we stopped to fuel up and as is customary, we had a local strike up a conversation. He was really interested in kangaroos and Australia and like most people we met, he said he always dreamed of visiting Oz.

Shiprock

Just west of Shiprock we crossed the border into Arizona and weren’t far from the only point in the States where four state borders meet, those of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. This is one area that I’d like to spend more time in as there are many ancient indian ruins etc. We did make a stop at Teec Nos Pos, right on the border however, where John lashed out on a lovely handmade Indian rug. We figured we were close enough to the end of our trip to start buying some souvenirs so I also bought a nice little pot decorated with horsehair in the glaze as well as the popular turquoise.

We continued west to Kayenta then turned north through Monument Valley and over Monument Pass into Utah. Monument Valley was as we expected it to be with awesome rock formations and mesas. John made many stops to take photos. The weather was decidedly warmer as we expected too. 

That night we stayed at an unusual little motel right on the San Juan River at Mexican Hat, which is named after an unusual rock formation nearby.

The 'Mexican Hat'

On September 2^nd we spent the morning riding up what appeared to be a sheer escarpment on a mainly dirt road called the Moki Dugway. As you approach, you wonder where the hell they could build the road but it winds its way up the escarpment onto Cedar Mesa and a spectacular view. 

Moki Dugway

The country here is very different to what we had experienced in Colorado and it was a real surprise to us as we continued through Utah, which one tends to associate with salt lakes and Mormons.

Riding west again on Highway 95, we made a detour into Natural Bridges National Monument. In the States, many of the spectacular natural landmarks are called National Monuments. As the name suggests, this one has lots of natural rock arches. 

Next we rode through White Canyon, Glen Canyon and the amazing Lake Powell on yet another spectacular road. We hadn’t realized that Lake Powell was so huge until we saw someone towing a ski-boat. This looked really weird in the middle of the desert but when we eventually saw the lake we realized how massive it is. Of course we were also getting our first glimpses of the mighty Colorado River which we would explore again as we approached the Grand Canyon. We spent the night at a nice motel in Torrey where we met a lovely group of people from Phoenix.

From Torrey we turned to the south into Capitol Reef National Park the first of quite a few that we visited in this area. Here we found really unusual “pipes” made of solidified minerals from ancient geysers. 

Continuing on through Escalante and Tropic we arrived at Bryce Canyon. The colours in the canyons around here are truly beautiful, mainly in shades of pink and orange and the rock formations are amazing. Much of the country is very arid with very few trees. 

As we approached Cedar City we got a spectacular view of the town through a beautiful valley. 

In Cedar City we first booked into a cabin in a caravan park but on discovering it had no linen, a vinyl covered foam mattress and not even a TV for $110 we got a refund and ended up in a comfy little motel on the other side of town for $45.

Chris needed a tyre which wasn’t available in Cedar City so we rode into St George for one  next morning before backtracking east to Virgin. Here we took a detour onto Kolole Reservoir Road into the western side of Zion National Park where the road weaves around the side of a cliff through a series of tunnels, reminiscent of many of the mountain roads in Europe.

In Kanab we stayed at Parry Lodge. This establishment’s claim to fame is that it was used to accommodate the movie stars who acted in the many western movies which were made in the area. That night we attended the old time western movie which was shown in a cinema in the centre of the motel. We stayed in the room which was allocated to Rita Hayworth, one of my favourite actresses when I was a kid. Unfortunately John was pretty crook with flu while we were here so we didn’t get to explore as much of the town as we would have liked.

ARIZONA

However, he was pretty good the next morning as we headed south into Arizona to explore the Grand Canyon. Approaching the north rim of the Grand Canyon we were surprised to find ourselves riding through extensive stands of pine trees. The north rim is obviously not visited as much as the south but the grand old lodge there is lovely and the views of the Canyon from there and Cape Royal are no less spectacular than we later saw from the south rim. 

As we continued on toward the south rim, via the Vermillion Cliffs and Marble Canyon, we took a detour to Lee’s Ferry on the Colorado River where we saw one of the many rafts which take tourists down through the Grand Canyon loading up for the trip. It was 38⁰ and the water looked really inviting. We thought we might strip off and take a dip until we put our feet in and felt how cold it was. You tend to forget that most of the rivers here are fed from snow melt but we were still surprised at how freezing it was. 

Further on we discovered that it was a public holiday weekend and all of the reasonable accommodation at the South Rim was fully booked. After speaking to some local Indians at their jewelry stall they invited us to camp anywhere we wanted to as we were on indian land. They actually told us we could camp down behind their stall if we liked. So, as they headed back into town for the night (we were several kilometres out of the nearest town), we settled in beside a deep gorge on the Little Colorado River with a shopping bag of ice containing two iced coffees for our breakfast. That night I could hear coyotes calling in the distance and thought for the first time that we were really out in the wilderness in the middle of the Painted Desert. 

Because of the long weekend the south rim was very busy but we enjoyed the views, took our pictures and then headed south to Williams on Highway 40.

Of course we wanted to do some of the old Route 66 and we managed to do a small stretch between Ash Fork and Kingman. As we left Ash Fork you could actually see the traffic on the new Highway 40 from Route 66 but it eventually veered north through some tired little towns which seem only to exist to cater to the many tourists who still come to travel this historic old road.

That night we stayed in a motel in Kingman, a town in the middle of nowhere and we wondered why it existed. We discovered that its main economic activity was linked to it’s being a major distribution centre for Walmart. Our plan next day was to ride north over Hoover Dam into Nevada then take the secondary roads and skirt around Las Vegas. We had no desire to navigate through the city traffic but we managed to miss a vital turnoff and ended up taking the freeway right through the middle of Vegas.

Hoover Dam

When we were there you actually drove across the dam wall but today the road you can see under construction in the background is complete to it's not as interesting.

NEVADA & CALIFORNIA

It took us a while to find our way through Vegas but eventually we reached Highway 160 heading to Pahrump then Death Valley, California. After stopping at Death Valley Junction to get some water, we continued on to Furnace Creek where we decided to take a break and cool off in the air-conditioned store. We then continued on to Stovepipe Wells and I watched the thermometer on my bike climb to 48⁰. The beer and cider at Stovepipe was really cold and went down well. As we climbed the Cottonwood Mountains the temperature dropped quickly. I never thought I would think 38⁰ would feel cool. Skirting the eastern side of the dry saltpan of Lake Owens, we were happy to arrive at Lone Pine. While fueling up a local commented that she had seen us riding in Death Valley and that she took her hat off to us for doing it. That afternoon we felt really happy to be relaxing in the pool at our motel, the first swim we’d had since leaving Colorado.

The scenery next day was a stark contrast to what we had experienced in the previous week. We rode south from Lone Pine on Highway 395 until we were almost at Pearsonville, where we turned West on J41. This narrow but picturesque road took us up over Sherman Pass to Fariview. 

Here we took a break at a lovely little riverside motel. We would have liked to stay here but it was only about 9 am so we kept riding south to Wofford Heights and Lake Isabella. Following some very narrow paved forest roads, we eventually found ourselves doing a loop through Sequoia National Forest over Portuguese Pass, through Sugarloaf and Posey and ending up back in Fairview. Along the way we got our first view of the famous sequoia trees and they are truly impressive. It is hard to show in photos just how big they are.

On September 9 we continued north through Johnsondale and Springville. At Springville we turned right at a big white barn and rode to Balch Park. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and missed Bear Mountain Road, our intended route, and did a circle instead, ending up back in Springville. The roads were quite tight and bumpy with lots of rocks but the scenery was beautiful with giant trees everywhere and some lovely little forest lakes. When we met Highway 198 we continued north through Lemon Cove (this is a big citrus growing area) and on through Three Rivers to some little cabins just outside Giant Sequoia National Park.

Next morning the weather was quite cool as we rode through Giant Sequoia NP where we stopped off at the General Sherman Tree, claimed to be the biggest tree, by volume, in the world. 

The roads weren’t the best around here but the scenery was as beautiful and as we rode down into Squaw Valley the road opened up into fast continuous sweepers until we got to Fresno. Here we spent a watchful night in a motel as Fresno is a big citrus growing area and the majority of the labour is supplied by latinos which probably explained why I had so much trouble reading the labels on the washing powder in the local store. They were all in Spanish. The town seems quite rough. On the way from the BMW shop where John got new brake pads and I needed a new low-beam lamp, we passed a cordoned-off crime scene. That night on the news we learned that a guy had committed suicide by cop in the street there. There were plenty of seedy characters driving through the motel grounds and for the first time on our trip we were quite nervous about the bikes and checked them every time we woke during the night.

Anyway we survived Fresno and took off next morning for Yosemite National Park. On the way we went through a lovely little locality called Bass Lake. The road skirts the lake and there are cottages all along the waterfront. It struck me as a particularly idyllic part of the country. We camped at Wawona, right at the southern end of Yosemite and that evening we went up to the beautiful Wawona Hotel. You really do get the idea here of what it was like in the early 19^th century when people came to stay, taking tea on the verandah while listening to the piano playing in the lounge. We enjoyed a coffee and listened to the modern-day pianist then went back and snuggled into our little tent.

Half-dome is probably the best-known landmark in Yosemite so we took a ride up into the mountains to get a view of it before descending back down into the valley and through the park. On each side of us were towering cliffs and in some places waterfalls plunged down hundreds of feet. Unfortunately, while negotiating a bit of a traffic jam, John was booked again for passing on double lines, this time by a park ranger, who took great pleasure in lecturing him about road safety.

Continuing north-east we left the park and headed to Bridgeport via Mono Lake. We stayed in a really historic old hotel here and while the fact that it had once been a brothel which had been moved from another town was interesting and the décor really suited the place’s history, the room itself was really musty and John had a really bad case of sneezes probably from the mould in the place. It needed a good airing.

Next morning we rode up over Sonora Pass and on to Twain Hart. We got a bit lost here until John met up with a group of riders with Pashnit, a Californian ride company whose web site John had used to research our trip. They were pretty stoked that he knew their site and also quite amused to find two Aussies riding around in their territory. 

Anyway they gave us directions and we continued on to Columbia where we stopped for drinks at the St Charles Saloon and a browse through the old shop opposite. 

It was a right turn here onto Highway 4 and up over Ebbetts Pass. This was a really picturesque area with a lovely mountain lake at the top. 

At the bottom of the pass we stopped for coffee at Markleeville where we came across a large group of riders on all kinds of bikes including some classic old vintage ones. It didn’t take us long to get to our destination for that night at South Lake Tahoe where we booked into yet another motel.

Lake Tahoe

One of the bucket list items we planned for this trip was to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge so we were pretty upbeat next morning as we set out. After a quick detour along the lake as far as Emerald Bay, we backtracked to Highway 88 and headed over Carson Pass and on through Jackson. We picked up Highway 580 this freeway all the way through to Oakland. The country here is very dry and we were really taken aback at the size of the windfarms all over the hills as far as the eye can see. At Oakland we crossed over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge which is impressive in itself. 

Somehow John managed to navigate us straight through the main centre of Frisco toward the Fisherman’s Wharf area where we took a left and continued on to the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. It was quite a feat for him to ride and take a photo of me in front of him on the bridge but we were lucky it was a Sunday and the traffic was fairly light. It just so happened too that if you travel from the south across to the northern side on a Sunday there is no toll so we lucked out there as well. On the northern side of the Bridge there is a large recreational area so we pulled into the carpark on the eastern side of the highway and took in the scenery of the harbour including Alcatraz and Angel Islands. Despite the smog, you could see all the way back to Oakland and the harbour was full of ships, sailboats etc. 

Alcatraz

Continuing north on Highway 101, we turned off the main road onto the old Highway 1 and basically followed the coast before turning inland to Healdsburg where we spent the night. This is a large grape-growing area and seems quite affluent. We had dinner at the Bear Republic Brewery.

It was pretty cold again next morning (10⁰) and a sea mist hung around until we got up to higher altitude around Sonora Lake where we took Stewart Point Road, which was a great ride, back to the coast. 

It was cold and misty as we followed the coast again. The road often runs along the top of the sea cliffs with straight drops down to the ocean. We followed the coast road through Mendocino and Fort Bragg and then just north of Westport it veers inland again. 

I think this stretch of road from the coast to Leggett was one of my favourite stretches in the whole trip. The sun broke through as soon as we left the coast and the road was smooth with perfect curves as follows a river through lovely shaded groves of redwoods. At Leggett we stopped off to ride through one of many drive-thru trees in Cal. Then we continued on to Garberville where we stopped for the night.

John was needing new tyres so we had a short ride next through the Valley of the Giants and heaps more huge redwood trees. 

We left the main highway near South Fork and took the Lost Coast Road west. It was quite rough but well worth it. The sea mist covered us again once we passed Honeydew. As we approached the coast huge sand dunes came right down to the ocean. When the road left the coast again we rode up one of the steepest hills I’ve been on and out into the sunshine again. Very spectacular. We passed several cyclists on this fairly rough road but it got better beyond Ferndale. There were no tyres to be had at Fortuna and as the mist came in again and the temperature again dropped to about 10⁰, we continued on to Eureka where we caught up on washing, got our tyres and really enjoyed the warmth of our hotel room. Couldn’t believe it next morning as we fueled up. There was a guy, obviously local, putting gas in his Harley in a singlet no less. Obviously no brain, no pain.

On the 17^th as we left Eureka the sea mist was so heavy it may as well have been raining. We rode east on Highway 36 and eventually cleared the mist and cold. At Hayfork we turned right onto Highway 3 and continued on through Weaverville, where we had previously spent the night with Steve. 

Tmber stockpiles at Weaverville

We rode along the western side of Lewiston and Clair Engel Lakes until we got to the turnoff for the Forks of Salmon Road. Steve had recommended this road to us and we were not disappointed. While the road itself is very narrow and somewhat washed out in places, it is very picturesque, following a narrow canyon along the Salmon River. 

At the end of this road we turned north again onto Highway 96 and intended to stay at Happy Camp. All the accommodation in town was full so we continued north and found a little motel called the KR Resort. While it looked very tired it was pleasant enough, situated right beside the Klamath River. Unfortunately our arrival was not so nice. John had braked suddenly at the road into the motel and a guy behind him must have got quite a fright because when I arrived he was abusing John something chronic and threatening to call the sheriff.

OREGON

Next morning we got talking to two Canadians who had pulled into the motel after us and they decided to tag along with us for some of the day as we headed north back to Eugene. We followed a little backroad to Takilma then on to Cave Junction. After breakfast at a little diner in Waldo, it was on to Highway 199 to Selma where we turned east again onto the backroads through Williams and on to Central Point. From here we took the 62 to Shady Cove.

Our second last day on the road took us north to Union Creek where we stopped at a cosy little restaurant called Beckie’s for coffee before heading east for the last time to explore Crater Lake. The lake is similar to Lake Tahoe but without the crowds. 

We spent some time taking in the beautiful views then rode around the western side and continued north. Just outside Crater Lake National Park we turned right onto 138 to Diamond Lake Junction and headed north on the 97 as the highway to the west was closed due to smoke from the terrible forest fires that had made us sidetrack in northern California in July and were still burning. Eighteen kilometres further north we turned left onto Highway 58 and continued past Odell Lake and up over Willamette Pass to Westfir. We took a break here to get some photos of a particularly nice old timber bridge which John had read about. 

At around 3 pm we arrived back in Eugene and managed to find Steve and Lisa’s place without any problems. Next day we spent most of the morning cleaning the bikes ready for shipping back home. That night we went next door to Tiffany and John’s to look at the photos Steve had taken while we were in Colorado.

Steve had to fly to Seattle for work next day so John and I spent the weekend cleaning the bikes, doing washing, catching up on e-mails etc before heading off to Portland early Monday morning to deliver the bikes back to Get Routed. We were feeling really sad about our bike trip ending. I think both of us would have been happy to keep going for another three months, but you have to come back to reality eventually. We had dinner with the rest of the riders who had shipped their bikes over with Dave Milligan then next morning it was out to the airport for our flight to New York.

NEW YORK, WASHINGTON DC & LAS VEGAS

We had managed to book a reasonable hotel in New York while in Portland. Although it was on Long Island we discovered that it was quite handy to the subway so it was really easy to walk down to the station catch the train. After a lovely soak in the spa in our room – and making a bit of a mess on the floor – we headed into Times Square to do some exploring. 

It certainly is a busy place and we did enjoy seeing all the icons of New York. We took a stroll down Broadway and had dinner at Bubba Gump’s – although their shrimp has absolutely nothing on our Aussie prawns. 

It was probably inevitable that we would be roped into buying tickets for the Red Bus Tour the next day and it would have been OK it we had been given more information. For example, they didn’t tell us that we had to go and present our vouchers and get tickets before we could get on the harbour cruise which was included. So after standing in line for half an hour, thinking that we were near the front and would get good seats, we ended up missing out on that trip while we went back for tickets and having to wait around for another hour for the next one. The cruise was OK as it took us out to the Statue of Liberty and we got to get a look at the city from the harbour. 

However, we had lost a good part of the day waiting and by the time we decided to get back on the bus it was after 6 pm and we were unaware, as were several other ladies waiting with us that night buses didn’t pick up passengers along the way. After almost having to throw ourselves in front of one of the buses the driver relented and picked us up. Turned out we got to go on their bus trip through Brooklyn, Queens and to see the Waterfalls on the bridges so wasn’t too bad.

After two nights in New York it was if to Washington DC on the train, which we almost missed as it took us a good hour and a half to get to the station by cab. It would have been much quicker in the subway but too difficult with all our luggage. The trip to Washington was pleasant as we got to see at least a little of the east coast countryside. Philadelphia stood out as probably the saddest place we had seen. Everything looked run-down and deserted and there was graffiti everywhere. In contrast, the railway station in Washington was a truly beautiful building.

We really enjoyed our stay in Washington. We were lucky enough to find a really nice hotel suite in Georgetown which we were to discover was within walking distance from the White House and the museums etc on the National Mall. Being near the University also meant that there were plenty of restaurants handy and the subway was close by. It was lovely to wander through the streets to the restaurants at night as the sector was very busy with lots of students etc out in the evenings. We even took a stroll down to the Watergate Building but John couldn’t find anyone to do some photocopying for him. 

The highlight of the visit for John was probably the Aerospace Museum which was full of iconic flying machines such as that of the Wright Brothers and of course the space shuttle. 

My favourite was the Natural History Museum where we spent two separate sessions and still didn’t see everything. Seeing the real Hope Diamond was a bit of a buzz.

We also visited the National Art Gallery, walked up to the lake in front of the Capitol Building and the White House. 

There was also a huge book event on in the Mall with thousands of people lining up to get autographs from authors such as Salman Rushtie. John was having some back pain so he caught the subway home and I kept exploring. I walked to the other end of the Mall past the towering Washington Monument (the tall needle in the middle of the Mall) and then along the edge of the long pool which forms part of the War Memorial. 

At the very end is the Lincoln Memorial where a huge state of Abe Lincoln is housed in a building where the walls are covered with the words of the Constitution. I found this place quite awe-inspiring. 

It was when I looked at the street maps I discovered that it was shorter to walk back to the hotel than to the subway station. We ran out of time in Washington and missed out on seeing many other places such as the Holocaust Museum and the Museum of the American Indians. Another great thing about all these places is that entry is free to everyone. We would definitely like to visit Washington DC again. There is so much more to see such as Arlington Cemerary and the rest of the Smithsonian buildings.

It was a very early rise the next morning to catch the shuttle bus out to the airport and fly to the one and only Vegas, last stop on this our first American holiday. We arrived mid-morning and settled into our room at Circus Circus. It is one of the older casinos now and that’s probably why it is quite cheap. While it isn’t right in the middle of the newer places it is close enough to walk up the boulevard and explore all the other casinos. Vegas is a place of real contrasts. We noticed that amongst all the happy tourists swilling down their giant martinis from yard glasses there are a lot of people doing it tough, handing out fliers advertising strip clubs and hookers. Our first night was spent exploring the other casinos, just taking in the atmosphere and exploring places like Pharoahs and Paris as well as the Harley Davidson Cafe. 

The buildings are truly amazing as are the bright lights and the buzz of the place. On our first day we took the bus straight down the mall and out to the DFO stores near the airport. They were just like the ones we have in Australia but things were a lot cheaper. We scored some new jeans, runners and other bits and pieces. That night we went to see Mama Mia then wandered back down the boulevard to a quaint little karaoke bar. This was where we watched an old negro guy sing the song ‘Me and Mrs Jones’. He was amazing so John went over and offered to buy him a drink. He said he didn’t drink but as he was homeless he would appreciate some money to buy something for dinner. We though he would probably be off to spend the $5 we gave him on drugs or something but he arrived back later with burger and orange juice in hand. Just goes to show you shouldn’t judge people. We felt bad then and wished we had given him more. 

Later that night we wandered back to our hotel to get a $1 burger only to find that the place had closed. So it was Subway next door where we met a very disgruntled drunk who deadest wanted a $1 burger and was giving the Subway staff a hard time. Security guys arrived and asked us what his problem was. We quickly disassociated ourselves from the guy and took off to our room. About half an hour later I’m watching a live feed of the local cops on patrol and who should appear being thrown into the back of a police car than old matey from the hot dog shop. Thank goodness we didn’t claim him as our new best friend. Apparently he had been abusing Asians and telling them to go back where they came from.

Next day we took the bus to the BMW store then chilled out at our hotel and got ourselves organized for the flight home before heading uptown again in the evening for a drink at Warren Buffet’s Margaritaville while watching the amazing fountains at Bellagio. We walked across the road so we could hear the music and ended up staying there for about half an hour. 

A wander through Caesar’s Palace convinced us that the shops there were way out of our price-range with wallets at $500 minimum. John would have to wait a bit longer for a new one.

Next day it was up and off to the airport for our long flight home via Los Angeles. We were a little sad to be leaving although we definitely preferred having the freedom of our bikes to the touristy stuff we did at the end. And of course after three months away from family and friends and good old Oz we were looking forward to getting home. But we will always remember this trip as the best holiday/adventure we have ever had!