Nice new BMW K-1200 LT and an itch to go somewhere. My Godson getting married in Palo Alto. The combination, plus nice September weather made me want to head west. Susie obligingly said "yes" to the trip.
I knew going out would be a little fast, as we had about 7 days to get there for the wedding. I could go straight out, but wanted to tour off the "slab" as much as possible.
So, we tried too many miles on the first day, reaching Limon, CO. Then through CO on Hwy 50 to Montrose. That really was a mistake as the road construction really slowed us up. We got to Montrose late in the day, so we couldn't go up into the southern mountains, past Lizard Peak and through the Paradox Valley on the way to Moab. We stayed in Grand Junction and then stayed on "slab" until Mesquite, NV. You can stay there for $30/night. Nice pool and buffet. We don't gamble so they lost money on us.
Our trip passed through Vegas and up to Death Valley. I hadn't been there for about 30 years. We came in through the south route and up to Badwater. We were out by early afternoon, so the temperature was only about 95 when left the valley.
It was a good ride then through the Owens Valley and an overnight in Bishop, CA. Then you climb as you go north. We went over the Sierras through Yosemite. The falls was dry, and the traffic heavy...couldn't get out of there fast enough. I guess if you have never been there...Californians don't seem to mind the crush of people.
Now the trek was to go up the coast to Oregon, stopping for the wedding and continuing on. The wedding was nice, as was the cursory stops at San Francisco. Northern CA is pretty, but the people a little strange...offspring of "Hippies" and flower children of the 60s, I think.
The coast of Oregon is rugged, and from south to north the population increases. Most of the people live toward Portland, so the ability to get a motel toughens in availability and cost as you go north. Also, the quaintness of the areas fades to "Yuppieville" as you approach the Columbia River.
Susie and I have a niece, Kelly, in Portland, so that was a must stop. Too busy for me there, and too liberal in thinking. The trip back was good along the Columbia River. After The Dalles the terrain is high desert and rather sparse. The Snake River valley is similar. I guess Boise is close to the outdoor action, the valley is essentially desert and not too appealing to me.
We detoured through Jackson, WY, and through Yellowstone, and the Big Horn Mountains by way of Rapid City, SD to get home.
A nice trip of about 5,500 miles in almost 3 weeks. We don't camp out, so we get to escape the elements and sleep at night. The weather was good, although it snowed on us fairly well at Monarch Pass, CO (over 11,000 feet). We rode on wet pavement, although a few inches of fresh snow was on the ground in the Big Horn Mountains. The temperature there bottomed out at 23 degrees as we topped out and went east down the mountains. But we never really had much rain, and the Gerbing electric heated clothes and Aerostitch suits served us well.
Below are some of the pictures and a link to the virtual directory. The pictures should all be under 500K. Slide your cursor over them for a caption.
Virtual Directory to CA-OR Motorcycle Trip of September, 2005
