Tiffany Ambling through America

Crater may be open now, but it was closed in April due to snow. I was disappointed.

FWIW, I am in Flagstaff, AZ now and the weather is PERFECT!!!!!

Last year Crater Lake was closed until the end of June but there was a lot more snow last year.
I had plans to go to Yellowstone last June also but when I called they told me that my camp spot was under 2 feet of snow and there was 8 feet piled around it.

I hear ya! I was near Glacier a couple of years ago and the Going to the Sun Highway was closed. It was July! being a product of Texas I just don't understand all this snow business!

On that same trip I got to ride Beartooth Pass the first weekend it was open in July. There were ten foot walls of snow on either side. Fascinating ride!!

YO Kurt, check out Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mt Nat park, the road just opened, walls of snow close to 20 feet, that would be a neat pic of you and the bike.

gale

Crater Lake is always open from the West entrance off Hwy 230. Or the Southern route out of Chiloquin, Rt 62. The FS keeps the road clear up to the lodge on the rim. You may have to park a 1/4 to 1/2 mile away and peek through a tunnel to see the Lake.

Crater Lake is simply amazing. I always am amazed by it's scale. I usually see it at least twice a year.

Tiffany , where is your next stop ? Your only a few hundred miles away now .

TheReaper!

I must admit the RR is still catching up with my progress across your big country.
I've left Chicago and I am looking forward to the Overland Expo this coming weekend at Mormon Lake near Flagstaff. I'm giving several talks, presentations and classes. It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
If you're in Michigan, then you're nowhere near (even I know that!)

+1

Tiffany,
will you be giving a presentation at Tynda? If you don't have one planned you should. ***** Sorry I just saw your schedule and see that you are. That's outstanding, I'm looking forward to it.

Mike

Hey mike
I think I'm giving a talk!!!
maybe I should be checking with Gail and Eric.

I had a couple of invitations while I was in Chicago, one of them was to a meeting of Chi Vin, a group of vintage motorcycle enthusiasts. I'm not sure if Thelma was supposed to be along as well (I think she may be a bit offended to be called vintage!), and maybe it was just as well I'd left her at the dealership because the other bikeswould have shown her up as they were very well maintained and shiny, they've obviously never battled through sandstorms in the Gobi, the Atacama and the Sahara Desert or been dropped in multiple rivers.


There was a Vincent amongst the many bikes in this garage.


I'd been given a lift to the meeting by Kevin, riding shotgun in his battered but classic Dodge van. In fact it was a bit of a shotgun ride as we accelerated along Chicago's freeways, with last minute turns and swerves...or maybe everyone in Chicago drives that way? To add more authenticity to the ride, Kevin even has a couple of bullet holes in his bonnet (hood) as you can see. He assured me thathe was not the intended target.


Rocket Chics- a Chicago female motorcycle group, were holding one of their regular meet ups at Countryside while I was there and I joined in. They ride a wide range of bikes and it was great to hear about their experiences of riding in and around Chicago. We had a hands-on session with Ken, one of the mechanics, who was extremely patient with all our questions and had an encyclopaedic knowledge about all the bikes we asked about.


I'd like to say thanks to Tommy, Shy, Lynn, Barb and Jasmine for the warm welcome to their group. And hopefully I'll be able to make it to one of their Wednesday meet-ups at the fantastically named Cheeseburger Paradise.
They were interested in seeing Thelma and we had a look at her- she was in the very capable hands of Walter, here he is wondering just which bit to inspect next!


here I am ready to leave, being seen off the premises by Carey, the Events Manager



I've still got that parcel on the back seat, I'd been carrying it since Phoenix hoping to send it, but failing spectacularly to find an open Post Office anywhere in my 2000 mile ride across the country.

I said all my goodbyes, but then as I was about to leave, Thelma's starter motor died, she obviously didn't want to leave. What weird but fortuitous timing that it happened at a dealership. I had to wheel her back into the workshop and unload my luggage.I was supposed to be visiting friends in Minneapolis the next day so I started to look up train and bus times for the journey to Minnesota when Countryside BMW stepped in and saved the day, they offered me an alternative vehicle to take for the journey.

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It felt like old times as I sat on the yellow 1200GS and stretched down to reach the ground with my feet. Not one to to look a gift horse in the mouth, I rapidly transferred my luggage and with a cheery wave set off down the street and onto the infamous toll highways across Chicago.<o></o>
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Looks like you're having a total blast!! Glad you're enjoying our not-always-so-humble little country, lots to see that's for sure!!!

Greetings also from Texas the least humblest of the states..

Enjoying the RR

It was time to head north. I’d seen a flyer and been invited to this event which was sort of on my way, though I have to say with my kind of route planning, just about anywhere is “on the way”.





I was a bit late getting to the small town of Pecatonica, and struggled to find the main entrance to the showground, I asked around and a lad in pick-up truck offered to lead me to it. Further conversation ensued and I realised belatedly that he was taking me to the wrong event at the ground- a full-on motocross race was taking plac, and he seemed tyo think I was there to compete on the big 1200GS! I pointed out it was a different event altogether, and as soon as I saw the large pile of BMW cables I knew I was in the right place





Things were settling down for the night, so I quickly put my tent up and joined in with the socialising. I met plenty of nice people and luckily had brought my own food as this was the food option that evening





That's Sergei, originally from Russia, in charge of the BBQ. We had quite a good conversation about the lack of vegetarianism in Siberia!

The night was very cold, apparently down to freezing, although I was warm enough





a lovely sunny start to the day.

I headed indoors in search of breakast and bargains





I got one of those small plastic covers for the swinging arm thing.


and then looked at the menu





hmm, not that many choices for me, intrigued, I asked about the Biscuits and Gravy, only to be told that there is ground meat in the gravy. They pointed me in the direction of the sweet rolls, and I've got to say, they looked great. I chose the one that looked the most healthy





I said my goodbyes and headed up along the banks of the Mississppi, briefly accosted at a garage while I was getting petrol by this bloke



He was VERY proud of his car, he'd had it since new and insisted I admire the engine



I'm not too good about car engines, but even I could read the 350 Horse Power and commented on it as well as complimenting him on what a clean engine it was! No doubt someone will be able to tell me what sort of car it was.

Just heard from Jeremy at Alt Rider that they will be hosting one of my talks and presentations.
So look out Seattle, I'll be there on Wednesday 27th June talking about Tibet and the lands beyond the Atlantic. I hope to see some of you there.

Thanks and hello to all the ADV Riders I met this past weekend at the Overland Expo. It was a fantastic experience and I can't wait to go again, I had a very sociable time meeting lots of people who have followed my RRs and my website.
I'll be getting this RR caught up as soon as I can.

In the meantime, feel free to post up your pictures.

In Minneapolis, I was taken out for a boat trip on a lake, luckily I had all my bike gear as it was a bit chilly, I'm the one who looks like Ten Ton Tessie, but you know what?? I was the only one who was feeling warm.



Moving on swiftly, I made them the national dish of Cornwall



Pasties (except that I've noticed Americans pronounce it a bit different)




on the way back to Chicago to return the 1200, I stopped off in La Crosse, Wisconsin to meet my ADV Secret Santa- Aberdeen, the recipient of some random stuff I sent out in December.
He also rides a 1200GS, a red one, it looked like I'd deliberately turned up with a matching bike.



We had a great meal at a Cajun place called Buzzard Billy's, or something like that. I was fascinated by the fact that they were serving aligator meat. Don't worry folks, I stuck to the veggies.
Also meeting up with us was Ernie Bell - the guy who makes the great stainless steel tent pegs. I'd met Ernie the previous weekend at the BMW meet. He rides an airhead as well.

Great to meet you Tiffany! Really enjoyed your presentation and had a great weekend. Looking forward to continuing following your travels! If you make it to the central coast of California we would love to host you!

Sandy

Awesome ride report! It's always neat to see this country from another perspective a I'm glad you got to see Des Moines, my favorite city in my home state. A fun ride is from the old capital bilding in Iowa City, to the new capital on highway 6. Northeast Iowa is the best riding in the state though but it doesn't even come close to being as cool as Oregon.

That black car you were lucky to have seen is a Chevrolet Camaro. Probably a '68. My favorite car and the inspiration for my band, The Camaro Twins.

There are some great rides in Oregon that you will love and plenty of good events so when you're closer to the area I'll try to let you know what events are going on. There's too much to see out here but Astoria is quite nice to visit if you want to see a nice town on the coast.

Hi Tiff,
Keeping track of your travels. I'm in Croatia/heading west in a few days toward the UK. I'll be in san francisco for a bit in late june/one of these days. Hope to see Miriam on the way past.