Wild Wild West 2

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by Bluecomet

Freefallen........it's easy to look back and see what we should have done in hindsight. It's also easy to "Monday morning quarterback" from the comfort of our homes.

I'm thankful that everything worked out for you with no real damage other than to your pride and pocketbook. We all learn from sharing experiences and I appreciate your willingness to let us "ride along".

Well said. I’m ok with pride! While being stranded in Death Valley, I was thinking about plan B where I wanted get out of here and even was willing to abandon my bike if it had mechanical problems.
But despite of all the drops, in the water or on the rocks, the bike was starting instantaneously.

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by SteveO

In my humble opinion, for my safety, safety of others I may be traveling with, I think this little gadget is worth it's weight in gold. Being able to text my wife and let her know I'm A-OK is a big relief to her.

As well, if I get into a situation where I need help, I can text her to get ahold of the right people, and the text message has my GPS location attached to the text as well.

There are other options as well...
http://findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=110

Thank you, Steve! Great info

[slide]

This thread has been informative to me or should I say, it has made me think. My 'adventure' occurred while I was single but today I'm married. I still head out into areas which are barely if ever traveled deep in hard desert.

My thought is how uncomfortable I'd make my wife if I just didn't come back one day. There'd be this great uncertainty which really is unfair to her. She asks me my direction & I am open about my general area of travel but it's not possible to be specific enough to find me if I were to crash and be disabled.

I'm strongly thinking of a SPOT due to that. I don't like the idea of being tracked but I don't like the idea of making my wife unhappy more.

[houndawgg]

Originally Posted by freefallen

Ideally I would have 2 or even 3 bikes. But because I live in NJ, pretty much flatland, I don’t see much use of a dirt bike. Even if I would buy a street legal dirt bike, I wouldn’t ride cross the country on it. So my bike is kind of compromise, it’s 50/50 and very often I do go semi off-road.

I got rid of my KLR for my VStrom to make my cross country trip. I was going to do the trip on the KLR, but after reading posts about both bikes, the V was the obvious choice for me. My two Harleys have done a lot of sitting this year, since I picked up my Wee.
I'd like to hook up for lunch when you get home and hear the loooong version of your trip. Shoot me a PM if you'd be up for that.

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by slide

This thread has been informative to me or should I say, it has made me think. My 'adventure' occurred while I was single but today I'm married. I still head out into areas which are barely if ever traveled deep in hard desert.

Thank you!
Sure, our priorities and responsibilities are changing throughout life. Next time when I go off the beaten path, I will have something similar.

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by houndawgg

I got rid of my KLR for my VStrom to make my cross country trip. I was going to do the trip on the KLR, but after reading posts about both bikes, the V was the obvious choice for me. My two Harleys have done a lot of sitting this year, since I picked up my Wee.
I'd like to hook up for lunch when you get home and hear the loooong version of your trip. Shoot me a PM if you'd be up for that.

Good choice. I love my wee. I can ride it indefinitely until start falling asleep. Very comfortable upright position (I have 1" risers) and excellent handling. And she doesn't mind gravel and some off roads.
Sure, we can meet in a week or two, give me some time. I'll contact you later.

[freefallen]

I left 960 miles for the last day. I'm not sure if I can finish them tomorrow.
My fatigue had been building up and I really felt it during the last few days. Not in just my butt or back but my entire body and my reactions started slowing down. I'll see how it goes, if it doesn't look like I'll make it, I will stop somewhere in PA.

[freefallen]

I made it home on time and safe. I had to slightly divert from my main story due to unforeseen circumstances in Death Valley but now they are a part of my journey.

Now I'm back to the location I stopped, in Canada. There is still much more to come.

[freefallen]

Yesterday we rode 500 miles from Jasper to Vancouver. Today was fairly calm and we have a short 320 mile ride down to Portland. Because of this, we weren’t rushing to get ready and even had half a day to do touristy things.

By 10am we arrived at the "Hanging Gardens of Babylon":



The description of the bridge states that it can hold up to the weight of 96 elephants, so it's not possible to fit the amount of people needed to break it. The amount of people here today reminded me of a bazaar and on the way back the bridge was practically filled. The bridge was rocking like a boat and you can see people felt butterflies in their stomach, especially at that height. You can make a pretty good base jump from here.

The park had a good layout and good design, horseshoe shaped walkways over the cliff and small bridges between the red woods, folk lore music played in the background and some restaurants. The entrance fee was on the high side and it's not a place you can spend the whole day.





They told stories of the animals they keep at this park:



Boys will be boys. Some people can't even handle getting close to one of these slimy banana slugs, these boys ran around showing it to everyone:



After that we rode to downtown Vancouver, what a charming city!



This building reminds me of the iron shaped building in NYC on 23rd Street:





While moms and dads drink refreshing drinks, the kids are cooling down in the fountains:



There was a marathon in the city today and the porta potties were everywhere:



City guard. Seems like he's of Mongolian decent:



And my personal reason for going here - Gastown:



There’s so much energy here, so much is going on!



I can imagine how great it would be here at night under the street lights. We went into one of the many cafes and got some ice cream and espresso. We sat down and rested before the upcoming ride.



Looks like any other car parked in front of this luxurious hotel. However this is a Tesla, an electric powered car. Instead of a gas tank it's powered by a wall outlet. The top speed is 125mph and 0-60 in 5.6 seconds:



Right in the middle of the city is a cruise ship port and something that looks like the Sydney Opera:



Sometime around 2-3 we returned to our bike, which can be stored in any spot, and set out for Portland.

[houndawgg]

I made it home on time and safe. I had to slightly divert from my main story due to unforeseen circumstances in Death Valley but now they are a part of my journey.

Now I'm back to the location I stopped, in Canada. There

Glad to hear from ya, was worried you hadn't posted for awhile. Welcome home

[slide]

Good to see you recovered your spirit a bit. I guess you took the ride home a bit easier than initially anticipated.

[freefallen]

The ride from Vancouver to the capitol of Oregon, Portland was easy and quite enjoyable, only 320 miles. Because the distance was so short we left Vancouver at 3 and arrived in Portland by nightfall. We stopped at a simple hotel but on the second floor where we had to lug all our stuff. But they did let us park the bike underneath a roof between two benches. I mention this to note how bike friendly the entire state is.

We went to a very pleasant restaurant. Before going anywhere, my son always does research to find restaurants with good ratings. The local beer was very good and I don’t remember what I ordered but it was some kind of seafood and it was delicious. Again, in the morning we weren’t rushing anywhere, we ate and left for the botanical gardens.

Coming in for landing:



The aroma of the rose gardens was intoxicating, they were in all shapes and colors.

Angels played for us, it was peaceful and calmed the soul:



Is there any better choice for such a special occasion? It’s like heaven on earth:

[freefallen]

And of course downtown. Portland left me with such a good impression. This state really stands out among the others, it’s one of the best for outdoor activities. The capitol is very pleasant and relaxing.



There’s something going on at each corner. Today is Saturday and there are lots of people around. There were street vendors everywhere, performances and all the bars/restaurants have an outdoor section.



He was doing contact juggling and it looked like the sphere was moved on it’s own:



Take note of the sign on the wall to the left. They did a good job at conveying the spirit of the city, in a good way:



But our goal on this street is the sign up top – Voodoo Doughnut. They seemed like simple doughnuts at first but there was more than meets the eye. Something this unique can only be found here. They are open 24/7 and the line never dies down. This place was referenced in the show Portlandia, that’s how my son heard about it:



Where there are a lot of people you can always find creativity. I just don’t understand how young healthy people could be begging:



The wall of the building was sprinkled with golden glitter. When people on line get to the wall they start touching it and taking pictures. Looks like they are digging for gold:



And this is our happy cashier. She did not mind having a picture taken of her:



And this what we waited on line for. And we didn’t regret it at all. This isn’t just good marketing, they really are original and delicious:



Mmmmm, yummy :)



What about me?



We sat around, made small talk with the people around us and it was time to keep moving.

Our next stop was Crater Lake and the most scenic route in America, route 1, which stretches the west coast along the Pacific Ocean.

The next day we saw one of the highlights of our stop in Oregon, Thor’s Well. Many people, I believe even the locals of Oregon, don’t realize the existence of an amazing nature place.

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by houndawgg

Glad to hear from ya, was worried you hadn't posted for awhile. Welcome home

Thank you, Bro. It's good to be home!

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by slide

Good to see you recovered your spirit a bit. I guess you took the ride home a bit easier than initially anticipated.

Yeah, I'm in very good spirit. Thanks!