Last Post for a week... leaving Seattle

Friday was a continuation of the day before. Debbie started the day with laundry while I relaxed over coffee... doesn't seem right somehow. We decided to stay in the neighborhood for lunch rather than try to navigate downtown again.

Later though, Debbie ventured out, on foot, to find a shopping district we had passed coming into town while I went for the service on the bike. Neither of us were successful, as the dealership I found downtown was not the one I had called for service, and the Macey's and other stores that seemed just a few blocks away somehow disappeared overnight. Not to leave the state empty handed, we both got on the bike, headed back to the Harley shop where Debbie ran in for a souvenir while I sat parked in a loading zone, hoping I would not have to defend my position to the local authorities.

Seattle is a beautiful and interesting city with a rich history and an affection for the arts. We learned this and more when we took the Duck Tour of the town. This, if you are not aware, is a fun land and water tour aboard open air WWII amphibious landing vehicles called Duck Boats. We were driven about by our Captain, Chuck Wagon, who pointed out various historic points of town like the 605 foot tall Space Needle, built for the 1962 Worlds Fair... and there was West Seattle across Puget Sound, and the 416 Starbucks stores, the first opening in 1972 in Pikes Market. Oh, and we found the Macey's that had disappeared earlier. We crossed the 172 foot high Aurora Bridge with great views of the city, and into an area of Seattle called Fremont where the motto is “Delibertus Quirkus” – Freedom to be Peculiar. ... or something close to that.

At Union Lake we saw things from a different perspective as our Duck went from land to water and we floated across and back for more skyline views. We shared the water with yachts and kayakers, and saw the house from Sleepless in Seattle ( they told me it was a movie, that is all I know about that). There were house boats, floating homes and several parks along the banks. We have seen more bicyclists here than anywhere else. Our driver told us Seattle was proclaimed the most fit city in the nation, although he admittedly did nothing to help attain this honor. Much of what he told us was quickly forgotten, but the tour was worth the time and the weather was perfect for this adventure... at least for this 90 minutes we had no worry of getting lost or having some motorcycle related incident.

Tomorrow we leave for the 8 day round trip cruise to Alaska, taking time out from riding and writing. We are 1/2 way home now... as far as we will go before hanging a right turn and heading next for Montana and Yellowstone by way of interstate 90 East. So if you have followed to this point you also deserve a break... know that we continue to be safe... check back in August for an update.

Thursday... Arrive in Seattle

We finally made it to Seattle. We took a day to attend to various maintenance issues that have gone unchecked for the 3 weeks we have been on the road. We took time for pizza for lunch after which I left Debbie at the nail salon while I searched for a barber shop on my cell phone. I passed up several expensive sounding salons for Rudy's barber shop 8 blocks away. Even this was more upscale than what I am accustomed to, and I felt much like the 'High Plains Drifter' as he rode into the town of Lago in search of a bathhouse for a badly needed haircut and shave. As I waited for one of the 6 chairs to open, I picked up a local paper... it was touting various alternative lifestyles, I tried another... same stuff. As I looked around I got one of those feelings I may be in the wrong place and began studying each stylist wondering which one would would call my name, hoping all the while that it would not be the one closest to the window with two tone mohawk and a piercing that must have been painful to receive. It was much like that feeling you might get after selecting your seat on a plane, wondering which two people walking down the isle might be the ones to sit on either side taking up their space and 1/2 of yours as well.

The rest of my afternoon was spent trying to locate the dealership and make an appointment an oil change, and finding the parking garage where I would leave the bike for 8 days. Mapping software and my phone gave me strange advice and left me riding in circles in this maze of one way streets. Calls to the dealership took me into voice mail hell and though I did get an appointment for Friday I am not convinced I will make it. The parking garage is only a mile from the hotel but I only found it with the help of a valet attendant nearby who gave me what I hope is good advice regarding where to park and how to get to the ship, what to do with bags etc.

For dinner we walked to the waterfront about a mile away, then walked almost another mile checking out different menus along the way.  We finally decided on a spot that had outdoor dining and although it was a bit cool, it was actually a pleasant day by Seattle standards and the view was great.  We debated about catching a cab back to the hotel as much of the return trip was uphill, but we decided to walk off the sourdough bread we had with dinner and made it back with no problem.     

Columbia River Gorge

Thanks to the lack of rain (most days) we have plenty of time to get to Seattle... 2 days to travel less than 300 miles, so on this day we take a side trip through the Columbia River Gorge along 'historic' highway 30 in Northern Oregon. The day started cloudy and cool and ended up sunny and windy. We had views of white caps on the river and took time for short hikes up for a closer look at Multnoma Falls as we rode along the Oregon side of the river.

We crossed paths with what appeared to be the Griswold family from National Lampoon's Family Vacation (minus aunt Edna), Clarke took our picture as he continued to espouse to the family with great authority all the details of the area, and reminded Rusty, 'you only have 27 pictures on that camera so use them wisely'.

From the map I knew there was a place to cross the river into Washington after about 40 miles. The map did not warn us, however, about the metal bridge perched a couple hundred feet above the water, much less that it, like so much of our route was, undergoing repairs requiring a mid-crossing stop for traffic. Actually it is probably better we were not forewarned else we may have thought twice and missed this part of the ride. But we made it with no problems, Debbie's attention focused on the viewfinder of the digital camera, which apparently allows her to disassociate herself from our surroundings. Once on the Washington side, the winds picked up and kept our attention until we reached the town of Kelso where we parked for the night.

Mount Shasta

After yesterday's crisscross ride through wine country, we opted to stay on interstate 5... sometimes riding on the interstate is not all bad.

In the last week or two we noticed a different smell as we rode through the desert, it was familiar like thanksgiving dinner, but it took a while to figure it out it was sage growing wild along the road. The first thing today we noticed the smell of eucalyptus from trees planted in neat rows in the valley between the coastal mountains to the west and the Cascades to the east.  California is huge, we entered about midway up on Saturday, and finally made it  out today.

Soon the snowy peak of Mt Shasta began to show itself and then disappear as we snaked our way into the Cascades. The view became more impressive over the span of an hour as we got closer, and we watched it in the rear view mirror for just as long, well after we passed into Oregon.

This portion of interstate 5 is nothing like most as it is a series of steep climbs with signs warning of slow moving trucks, and then sharp declines with the familiar signs for 6% grades and runaway truck ramps.  As always, the road is well traveled by truckers, (including lots of logging trucks and semis with triple trailers), and we spent the day passing them on the climb positioning ourselves well ahead before they began their way back down. We were passed easily on one climb by a rider with feet perched squarely on his handlebars... If he noticed us as he passed, our style must have seemed quite boring to him.

Back to peanut butter at a rest area for lunch today. A guy sitting near our parking spot held a sign asking for gas or food money. I walked by him several times and he never approached me or anyone else. Before leaving I offered, and he accepted a sandwich. When asked, he told me he was out of work and trying to get to Portland where he hoped to get his CDL and become a long haul trucker. If he makes it hopefully he will lookout for motorcycles.

I think we have seen the last of triple digit temperatures for a while.  Today we began the day in leather and actually were able to keep it on all day with the ride through the green mountains of Oregon until we made it to our final destination of Eugene.

Getting lost in wine country...

We decided to adjust our plans and leave the interstate on Monday taking a ride trough wine country in Napa Valley. Our GPS came in handy in getting us started in the right direction as there were few signs directing us from highway 128 to highway 29 and to the town of Napa. We stumbled onto the visitor center, got a limited bit of information from one of the workers there who suggested we abandon our current route in favor of The Silverton Trail which runs through the middle of wine country and is lined with wineries for miles as you travel north through the region. What we failed to obtain was information on fuel for both the bike and ourselves, so despite her best efforts we were only slightly more informed when we left than when we arrived. Several wrong turns and checks of the maps and we were back on the original route in search of lunch which we found at a deli in the town of Yountville. From there we followed the signs to Silverton Trail which was just as she had promised, but I spent much of my time trying to figure how much farther we could go before running completely out of gas.

We must have looked helpless as we sat at a crossroad trying to decide (left or right?) because a local stopped to check on us and directed us to the nearest station, following us and even stopping as we gassed up to give further directions to our next stop. Unfortunately, his guidance was lost on us as we somehow missed the next turn, sending us an hour or more out of our way. A stop at a winery for further instructions helped to finally get us back on track. It was not a total loss as our failures allowed us to see a good variety of sights on this day. Another rest stop in the town of Hanna to review the map and comfort one another that we were indeed on the right track... we still had to cross back over some mountains which took us along the north shore of one of the largest lakes we have ever seen. The heat and lack of certainty of our location most of the day meant we were mentally exhausted by the time we found our hotel in Willows California, but now we have only 3 EASY days to get to Seattle on Thursday..

Yosemite

Sunday we rode north up 395 through the town of Mammoth Lakes where we added leather as temperatures fall with the rise in altitude. The picture above was our view much of the morning during which time the road was pretty straight and traffic thin. We passed another rider stopped along the side of the highway. Not knowing his situation we slowed to see if he was OK, but discovered he was adding layers of clothing as well. Near the town of Lee Vining, we headed west on 120 toward Yosemite. We found the views on this approach road, some of the best of the day... as good as anything we saw within the park itself.

Yosemite is a wilderness park, which simply means that most of it is left natural and only accessible to hikers and backpackers. Since we only had a day to experience the park, we opted to limit most of our travels to the main road that crosses east/west... but then added a side trip south to Yosemite Valley and the village there. We were passed, not long after entering the park, by 2 on sport bikes but caught them at a visitor center. Behind the full face helmets we found a couple, both with long gray hair who lived in the San Francisco area. ( where was my camera ) They talked about their ride that morning from Nevada, at times topping 130 mph on the long straight stretches... not my kind of riding, but they seem to enjoy it.

Sunday afternoon in July means lots of visitors (traffic) but we moved along pretty well, passing lakes and streams, rock walls, and grassy meadows and found 40 degree changes in temperature within the park itself.

Made our way to the town of Oakdale by 4:00 pm. Accommodations in this part of California can be hit or miss... last night was a miss, tonight seems to be better though both were part of the same hotel chain. Beginning Monday we will make slight changes from our original plan riding through Napa Valley instead of staying on the interstate.

yosemite - Jeffery - Picasa Web Albums

click here to view yosemite photos

Vegas to California

Three days rest in Vegas, sitting by the pool with an occasional beer and pina colada. Walking down the strip was an exhausting task due to the continued high temperatures this week. The days were as high as 111 and the nights only cooled to the upper 90's sometime after midnight. A trip to the Harley store to replace lost neck coolers and Target for a hydration system ( small backpack with rubber bladder ) which ended up being of no use due to extreme leaking.

We decided to leave early (6:00 am local time) Saturday to beat the heat as we continued our journey through the desert towards Yosemite National Park in Eastern California. The first half of this ride was simple enough, four lanes running down to two after 1/2 hour but flat and straight, calm breeze and little traffic. There were only two signs of life on this stretch... a gas station in a town called Indian Springs and one traffic light in downtown Beatty. Indian Springs may have been the inspiration for the fictional town of Radiator Springs in the animated movie Cars. There was little there to speak of today, but we did see some burned-out remnants of a life long ago, before the interstates redirected North/South traffic flow away from this area. Somewhere between these two towns was a sign announcing Death Valley to the left, however, at the advice of the attendant at the Nevada visitor center, we avoided this route due to temperatures in excess of 120 degrees.

Somewhere along the way we took a turn and began the ascent to over 6000 feet and back down through what appear to be the White Mountains heading toward the snow capped Sierra Nevada range. If you have read earlier posts or followed our trips in the past, you may recall that climbing mountains involves riding through switchbacks (successive left and right turns while climbing) which may be all well and good for the rider, but can have dramatic effects on the passenger.. increased heart rate, loss of color in the face and loss of feelings in hands and feet from gripping tightly. Then once you reach the summit, the process is repeated in reverse to get down to the other side. Left right left right ...Over the years Debbie has learned to cope with the process but always favors straight flat warm roads with not a curve in sight.

Our home tonight is the town of Bishop California surrounded by some of the most wonderful scenery including Kings Canyon National Park, the Sierra Nevada's, Mammoth Lake and Yosemite. Since we started early, we arrived before noon and had time to ride up another mountain road for more sightseeing in the afternoon, finding waterfalls and whitewater streams. I took some time for a badly needed bike wash and parked beside several bikes at Rusty's bar to cool down and research dinner options in town. I got 3 suggestions, but the favorite place of everyone was the bowling alley which happens to be across the street from where we are staying. Regardless of our experience there this is apparently the best place to eat in town so we must have made the right choice.

Zion

Click Here to See Zion pics.. hit the back button to return here

We took Tuesday off to take a walk along the Narrows in Zion Canyon, Debbie's favorite place to visit. Zion is located at the base of the Colorado Plateau, where the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert converge, and is home to over 800 species of plant life. I am not sure but assume that this is a significant number as they pointed it out on the shuttle ride to the trail head. There is a mile hike to the river after which you can walk up to 16 miles along the banks and in the river down the narrowing passage, lined with vertical walls several hundred feet high, before turning around. The water depth ranges from ankle to knee deep, but in a few spots the cold water came up to the waist. We again rented ugly water shoes and neoprene socks along with hiking sticks to help keep us and our camera from floating down stream. We didn't go 16 miles, but did make it more than 2 miles one direction which took about 4 hours round trip. Pictures (at least ours) hardly capture what you see and feel in this place.

This is a very popular hike in the park and is the only way to get to and see the views that we experienced so hundreds were in the river with us. We were neither the oldest, the youngest or the strangest walking this day. We saw some with more gray, babies in backpacks, and an Amish couple along the way. Europeans seem to outnumber Americans 3 to 1 in and around the parks (an unscientific estimate), a fact that I am sure is appreciated by owners of hotels and restaurants in these tough times.

The day off from riding was a nice break, especially since the next week shows no change in temperatures until we get to Yosemite... til then it will be 100 plus.

Grand Canyon to Zion...the ride

The GPS said that this was a 4 1/2 hour ride, but with 100 degree temps and a little slower pace it seemed to take significantly longer. We rode through or near a Navajo reservation, very depressed, with shacks and trailers scattered along the way. The only radio station was the Native (American) Public Broadcast station, which aired a 1/2 hour discussion on the evils of the white man and how the tribes may soon loose the right to sell tobacco tax free. From the calls that came in, if there is a new Native American revolt, this will surely be the cause.

The winds picked up and were the worst that we have seen this trip, just north of the Glenn Canyon Dam at Lake Powell in Northern Arizona. The scenery consisted largely of desert, buttes and rock formations left in the wake of winds blowing steadily through the area for centuries. Often it is difficult to imagine how winds alone can create such a landscape, however spend the day battling them on a bike and the idea becomes more plausable.

We stopped in Kanab UT escape the heat with a Wendy's Frosty and reload on water.

As we climbed in elevation and neared Zion things settled down, but the park is undergoing some road improvements, and apparently before you can improve a road it is necessary to completely destroy it, leaving nothing but potholes and gravel. This is what we found for several miles after exiting the mile long tunnel near the entrance to the park. We made it through much like two kids on a slip & slide in the back yard.

It is 9:00 pm as I write and the local temp is 91 degrees. We will park the bike for two days, use the free shuttle and take a brief break from our daily routine of packing and loading / unloading and unpacking.

Grand Canyon

Finally after a week on the road we leave the interstates behind for a while. Sunday's ride was just an hour and a half up highway 80 and 64 to the south entrance to the Grand Canyon. These two lane winding roads are why we came. The pace will slow and the scenery will only get better from here.

Our lodging here at the canyon is a simple one room cabin that sits no more than 50 feet from the south rim. After checking in we took time out for a burger at the Bright Angel dinning room checked out a few options for an afternoon hike. There are several options, but we decided to hike down into the canyon by way of the Bright Angel Trail. We took close to an hour to hike down little more than a mile, and another hour to get back out. Debbie attempted to make friends with a ground squirell as she snacked on peanut butter, but they were both startled as she reached out to make friends... all this despite the signs reminding everyone that it is "Illegal" to feed or approach wildlife. As we were hiking back out a rescue helecopter flew over, we later heard that a hiker had died the day before and what we saw was a recovery mission...can't verify that but it makes a good story.  The rest of the day included more sights along the rim, dinner again just feet from the rim and shuttle ride to Hopi point before colasping for the night.

Monday Monrning was in the 50's and we watched as a dozen visitors prepared to ride pack mules down into the canyon. They will take 6 hours to go down and spend the night at Phantom Ranch before returning on Tuesday. One guide seemed to be in charge and I listened for 1/2 hour to his orientation to the group which included a couple and their 4 children ranging in age from about 8 to maybe 12. The mules all had names including "Suicide" and "Ted Bundy"... the kids didn't react to Bundy but seemed to shy away from Suicide.

After Breakfast we will ride around the southern portion of the park and then turn North toward Utah on Highway 89.

Flagstaff Arizona

We found the sun and heat as we rode West on I 40 from Santa Rosa to Flagstaff today. I 40 parallels the original Route 66 which ran, I believe from Chicago to the West coast of the US.

Riding along at or near the posted limit of 75 mph on a motorcycle, the mind easily slips back in time to imagine what it was like to travel the original route, the remains of which still exists in places and is often only 100 feet from current highway. The landscape is desolate much of the way, particularly from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque, flat with tumble weed or sage brush covering the land for miles. Beyond that is a slow climb to and elevation of 6000 feet. The temperatures where in the 50's in the morning but by noon had climbed into the 90's, then as we climbed  and found rain clouds, dipped again in the afternoon.

We made a short stop for lunch at the Arizona line, where I ran into 2 more riders from Arkansas who had blown by us earlier in the day. Other than that it was gas and go only today, we have seen the Painted Desert and there is not much more to see along this leg. We spent the day trying to figure out the time changes out here ( Arizona does not recognize daylight savings time ) I had figured it would be 5:30 when we arrived, I was only 2 hours off as we arrived at 3:30... it was still 7 1/2 hours of riding, and we are looking forward to some time on back roads and a few days of rest in National Parks and Vegas next week.

After checking in we rode west of town to the 66 roadhouse where you cook your own steaks on their grill. As I type this it is 10:30 local time, I won't even try to calculate Florida time right now. I am sure we will have some pictures to post, and will try to get to that in the morning. We will be out of touch in the Grand Canyon Sunday before traveling to Southern Utah on Monday.

Santa Rosa New Mexico

Safe and dry in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Began today as yesterday ended, in the rain. Last night's hotel had no laundry facilities so there was no way to dry our wet clothes other than hang them in our room.  That worked fairly well with the exception of our leather which was still a bit damp this morning.  But since we were starting out in rain it made little difference.  Rode to Oklahoma City, stopping at the dealership for  souvenir and gas. The rain had subsided by this time but we stayed wrapped in rain gear, which seemed to act as a deterrent as the weather was more cooperative today although we were in and out of brief showers three or four times. 
We had planned to stop for our usual lunch at the Texas welcome center, but we found that indeed everything in Texas is bigger.  And that included the distance to the "welcome center" which was 100 miles away.  We couldn't wait so pulled over at a nearby exit and found a curb that worked just fine.  Made one more stop in Texas, looking for a cowboy to take a picture of for Jace, but there were none to be found.
Once we crossed into New Mexico the sun appeared, thankfully. So did the signs warning of severe crosswinds, but so far they have not been bad.  We checked into a hotel we have stayed at on both previous cross country trips.  This one has laundry facilities and while Debbie was washing clothes she met a very nice lady from Canada that is also on a bike trip with her husband.  I think they enjoyed their talk because it was a while before she reappeared....I thought she may have gotten lost!  But I think they ended up helping each other with their laundry and dealing with a dryer that wasn't working properly.  Not an uncommon issue in hotels.
Tomorrow we head to Flagstaff and then onto the Grand Canyon, Zion and then Vegas for a couple of days of rest.  Will probably hide our wallets while we're there to be sure we have enough money to get home.   

Oklahoma

Today is Thursday, we finally escaped the heat. An all day rain tends to cool things down. Things didn't look so bad as we left our hotel in North Little Rock this morning, but before we got out of Arkansas we stopped to put on leather to shield us from the rains. We didn't get much farther before stopping to wait out a harder rain. Ran across another rider from Florida and  2 more guys doing a 3 week trip also passing through Seattle.

Stopped for peanut butter at the Oklahoma visitor center where we waited out more rain sitting under one of the many "tee pee's" that are scattered along this rest area.

Somewhere along the way we stopped at McDonalds, watched the weather channel, added a layer of rain gear and cancelled our reservations in Oklahoma City as it looked as we would never make it that far. This stop was followed by a 7 mile stretch of lane closures (complete with signs urging motorcycles to use caution) forcing us to ride on what was intended to be the shoulder of west bound Interstate 40. As we were down to one lane there was no place to pull over, so thankfully for us, as well as the vehicles that were closely following us, the rain, although steady, was not preventing us from seeing or being seen at that point.    

Found shelter at a shut down gas station where we used the GPS to find a new hotel in Shawnee 30 miles short of our original plan. The last 15 miles went quickly knowing that we had a place to take a hot shower and rest for the night. We will find a way to dry out some things, order a pizza and wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Watching the news, we see serious local flooding in OK City with cars being abandoned in the middle of the street so it seems we may be lucky to have not made it that far today.

Memphis

We have left the rolling green hills of Alabama behind, along with the pleasant ride that they provided. As we approached the Mississippi River things flattened out and traffic picked up as we got closer to Memphis. We took an extra hour to find the Harley shop in Mississippi, we knew it existed, just not sure where. ... this is our third ride through  this state, and we had yet to find a dealership open. We didn't need anything of importance, it was just a mission at this point.

In Memphis we stayed 2 blocks off Beale Street, ( if you are into 'Blues' you might say "cool" ) otherwise it is just a point of reference but they did have some decent entertainment and good food if you like your ribs Memphis style. Dinner was at the Blues Cafe, where we listened to some music for a while before wandering down the street, stopping at a couple more outdoor venues and heading back to the hotel.

Wednesday, back to Beale street for breakfast and then we stood with the faithful as well as the non believers to visit the home of the King. No not Michael Jackson, or Richard Petty but the King of Rock & Roll... that's right, we were at Graceland and got our fill (or more) of the life and times of Elvis Presley. We will see him again next week as I understand he now lives and works in Vegas.

After leaving Memphis we quickly remembered that the next few days will be ones of winds whipping across the plains as we got a little taste jockeying with 18 wheelers and a couple of rigs hauling manufactured homes. The comments on the CB are never complimentary of motorcycles... guess they are just mad they are having to work today. Rain seemed only a few miles ahead most of they day but we made it to North Little Rock with only a light sprinkle today.  Tomorrow we may not be so lucky as we continue on to Oklahoma City.

Had our first hotel snafu as we checked into our hotel, we became increasingly disgruntled with things... temperature, Internet, phone... and ended up leaving for a nearby Hampton, saving $20 in the process so we can afford to eat dinner. A few pictures should be posted soon.

Birmingham

We traveled a little over 400 miles and made to Birmingham yesterday, staying off the interstates most of the time it was an easy first day. Stopped for lunch in Knoxville Ga only to find the place closed and the German Shepard chained near the front door encouraged us to move on, so we ate on the front porch of a country store across the road.

As soon as you leave Florida the riding becomes more interesting. The pace of things does change, people talk a little slower, maybe softer here. I am reminded that some words that we think should be one syllable, sometimes sound better when stretched to two. The scenery changes to rolling hills, and those hills gradually become more pronounced with the highway cutting through them as we move north.

We stopped for dinner at Lloyd's Restaurant south of town, where I had eaten 30 years ago. At that time it was the only place for miles, but today is almost hidden among the shopping centers, hotels and office parks in the area.


To avoid Atlanta, we traveled out of our way, but will have to maneuver through Birmingham this morning before heading toward Memphis on highway 78.

Forward

In January we began making plans by booking a round trip Alaskan Cruise from Seattle. Our plan is to take two weeks to ride from Ormond to Seattle. One challenge will be to find a route that creates a balance between favorite places we have been, and new destinations along the way. Somewhere along the way, we hope to meet up with our friends Joe and Lynne, and travel together the rest of the way home.  We will spend countless hours mapping routes, looking at lodging options, trying to squeeze all we can from the six weeks on the road. And we will use this blog to keep track of where we travel mainly for our own reference and enjoyment, as times and places quickly become blurred along the way.


Fast forward to July 4th... we have spent the last few days making final preparations for the trip, which mainly means checking the packing list, and finding a use for every inch of space on the bike for clothes, leather, rain gear, tools, maps, phones, laptop etc... leaving enough room for a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. We have had farewell dinners with family and friends and today rode to Savannah to see Jace and Micah ( and their parents ) before taking off for 6 weeks. Everyone has good advice on how to stay safe and we make mental notes of each one as that is the primary goal... returning safely. Today was uneventful with the exception of some rain early on as we traveled north on I95 with race fans and car haulers leaving Daytona after the race on Saturday night. Micah is walking, does not care for the motorcycle. Jace is excited about recieving post cards from the road, wants a picture of a "cowboy from Texas".


We have already changed our route to avoid rain along the gulf, so instead of New Orleans we will now take the next two days to ride to Memphis instead. After that we are pretty well locked into our plan until we get to Seattle around July 22.