Day 27 - Washington - Home again

Today I left Coeur D'Alene right around 7. A few miles down the road I entered Washington. The sign was on the left, not the right. There are a lot of things on the left in this state.

I got onto Hwy 2 and stayed there most of the day. When I got to this sign I thought about going toward Grand Coulee. I have been wanting to see it for a long time. One day I will make it there (dammit).

Hwy 2 took me right around the southern tip of Banks Lake. Looks like a great place to catch fish.

I could see the Cascades from East Wenatchee. It would be the last mountains I would cross on this trip.

I got to Leavenworth just before noon. I wanted to go a couple hundred miles before breakfast but it turned into lunch instead.

I stopped at the Tumwater Inn. I stopped at that particular place mostly because that is where I found some parking. It is still tourist season over there. Lots of people poking around the shops and eateries.

I had something called a "schnitchel sandwich" and a dark beer. It was pretty darn good.

I left the restaurant after being there nearly an hour. I got back on Hwy 2 and headed for Stevens Pass. Just on the west side of the pass, I ran into rain. Typical Western Washington weather. I took this shot through the windshield. This is how bikers see in the rain. We don't have windshield wipers.... Spray from car wheels really makes it hard to see. (give us a brake, will'ya?).

I got onto Hwy 522 then I-405. The rain stopped about then. I made my way to the docks in Seattle and hopped a ferry to Bremmerton.

I called home from the ferry to let the bride know I was about an hour away.

After 27 days, 8326.9 miles, 54 tanks of fuel and 492 pictures (not all of them made the blog) I arrived home.

I had been in 24 different States and also Washington DC, crossed numerous mountain ranges, been in rain, hail, thunderstorms, wind, tornado warning areas, sunshine, fog, heat, cold and inbetween.

I travelled on Interstate Freeways, US and State Highways, toll roads, turnpikes, county roads, gravel roads and muddy construction zones.

I got to see some real great scenery, visit some important historical places, landmarks, monuments and museums. I met a lot of people, some nice some not so nice. I contacted lots of friends, relatives, and people I care about all over the place.

If I missed anything along the way, I have no idea what it might be. Before I left on my adventyure, I touched bases with several guys I know who came from various parts of the U.S. I asked them if they knew of good places to see and visit. Because of those guys I altered my path a few times and took in things I otherwise would have passed right by some of them. Those things enriched my adventure a whole lot:
The Eisenhower Tunnel, Blueridge Parkway, Williamsburg, Jamestown Colony, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and Jackson Hole, WY are some of those places.

Would I do this again? You bet! There is nothing better than touring the U.S. on a bike. It's hard to put into words, exactly. If you have never been on a bike, then I doubt I could sum this all up for to to make any kind of sense at all. Those of you who know about bikes and what they do to your soul, then I need say no more.

Once again, I feel fortunate to have been able to go on this magnificent adventure. It's something I will have with me the rest of my life.

Some folks have kept up with this blog (they tell me). I hope you enjoyed reading about my follies.

Tomorrow, I polish the bike (again).

Day 26 - Glacier National Park

Today the weather was great. I rode most of the day in just my tee shirt.

I took I-15 to Hwy 2 then Hwy 89 to the park. I had to stop for these guys along the way.


They got out somehow. Most likely jumped that short fence. They were fun to watch. I also passed a group of Antelope this morning but I didn't get a chance to get the camera in time. Those things can move!

I was in the park after about 1 1/2 hours on the road.

This is a shot of Lake St Mary. It's right inside the east entrance. This is just for starters. If I remember right we (my dad's family) camped here and took a boat tour on this lake. It was a fun time - and about 45 years ago.


This is Goat Lake. The island is Wild Goose Island.

Here is a video of it (if this works)

This is a shot along the way up to Logan Pass. Coming from the east, there is a short rise to the pass, then most of the Going to the Sun Highway is downhill.



There were lots of mountains and a view that wouldn't quit.

This is the Visitor Center at the top of Logan Pass. I didn't go in. Traffic was backed up due to construction in places and I wanted to get past about 40 motor homes driven by guys that had died last year sometime.

Here is a view of the mountains starting down from Logan Pass. Pretty as a picture, aint it?

If that wasn't enough, here is another one.

One lane- one way travel with about a 10 minute wait between each (just in places). There was bare gravel and they had watered it down so there is mud all over my bike. It's a real joy.

After coming down I ended up in West Glacier. This is where I was last year when they closed the road. This year I did it backwards, so to speak. I ate lunch here today. That was about 1:30 or so.

I stayed on Hwy 2 all the way across Montana. I came to the Kootenai River Falls Park. According to the sign "Kootenai" was the name of the indian tribe that lived here.

A sign said there was a swinging bridge and a falls at the end of a trail. I figured it would be a nice break from the bike for awhile. The hike was about a mile (uphill both ways).

Here is the bridge:

I doubt I would ever get my wife on this thing....

But it did offer a good view of the river from the middle of it.

Down the path aways I came to the falls.

Here is another shot of it. It was kinda wide and in two pieces.

Take a look at the video. I would hate to be going along in a canoe or something and run into this by accident.

About 70 miles past the park, I hit the Idaho line again. Third time.

I went into Idaho just above Bonner's Ferry and dropped down through Sand Point and into Coeur D'Alene. Since it was nearly 8:00 PM I decided to stay the night here. I'm not far from home now.

Today was a full, fun day with great riding weather! I had to soak my eye balls after all of the scenery.

I have 7,959.6 miles on this trip now. About 400 more to go, give or take.

Day 25 - Back on the road again

Today I lounged around the motel room until about noon then it was time to get out. I called the Harley dealer to make sure my parts were in and my bike would be done today. They said it would be ready before closing. I went over to the dealer where I killed some time. The bike was up and running about 4:00.

For you gear heads out there who want to know that happened: The main parts that were replaced were the "clutch hub", "transmission compensating sprocket" and the "cam slider, chain" (that is the way it's listed on the parts sheet- I have no idea what it is). There were also some seals, bolts,gaskets and stuff like that. They also discovered one of my front wheel bearings was a bit rough so they fixed that too.

I jumped on the bugger and hit the launch button. The motor sounded strong and rattle free (it sounded like a Harley again). I am sure the motor appreciated the fresh oil.

I hadn't eaten all day so I headed over to the first place I saw:

It was finger lick'n good.

I found I-15, pointed my front fender north and twisted my right wrist. I passed the copper mine as I left the city.

Not far out on the road I ran into some road construction. Chip seal (oh goodie). Lose gravel and hot tar. Just what I wanted to ride through today.
I passed a bunch of places with more dead trees along the way. Glad my house isn't surrounded by dry tinder...

I started to get into more rocky stuff and i was climbing a bit. These pictures look washed out compared to the read deal. There is a lot of color in those rocks.

It was late in the day and I wanted to make headway, but I also wanted to get a room before they were all gone. So I stopped in Great Falls.

I saw this guy wearing camo as I rode into town. Guess he is getting ready for hunting season.

I checked into the Super 8 motel here and went looking for dinner. I found this place:

I got the steak and all you can eat shrimp deal. I didn't pig out (really) I just felt like a steak.

While I was travelling through Great Falls, I saw a road sign for the turn off to Haver, MT. It made me think of my cousin Pam. She lives there. "Hi Kid" (if you're reading this). This is as close as I will get to your house this trip.


Tomorrow (finally) I will hit the "Going to the sun Highway." I am about 3 1/2 hours away from it tonight. I plan to just follow hwy 2 through Idaho into Washington. That will take me across the central part of the state. I haven't taken the time to figure out where I will end up tomorrow. I am just going to enjoy the ride and stop when I get tired.

Day 24 - Stuck in Butte, MT

I started out late this morning due to my staying up too late working on the blog until midnight. That thing takes a lot of time.... I woke up at 6:45 - late for me.



Anyway I was on the road by 7:45 and headed North on I-15. I checked my oil this morning and found it just a tad low, and pretty dirty. I had about 11,000 miles on this batch of oil. The stuff I use (Amsoil synthetic) says it is good for 10. I decided to get it changed this morning at Butte, MT. I had ridden my bike hard for the last three weeks and I am a picky when it comes to changing oil. I have had enough motors apart over the years to know the difference.

This is a brand new dealership they told me. Or at lest a new building.

They said they had not erected their big outside sign yet. They just had this banner for a sign.



I told them I needed to have the engine oil changed and I would do the transmission and clutch myself in another 900 miles (the distance home from here). I asked them to ride the bike around the block and listen to the motor. I said I thought I heard something that wasn't just right, but had no idea what it was. Good thing I did that. Remember day 8: Annapolis? Same noise only worse now.


The service writer said he thought the noise was a lose "compensator rotor" - what ever that was. Turns out that wasn't all of it.... The rotor was lose, alright but the clutch hub splines and some other things were worn out... all stuff that had to be done at initial assembly they told me - he said this was not considered normal wear. It would take way too much technical explaining here, but the bottom line is, it needed fixing now. All of this is covered under my warranty... except the "next day" shipping part. I figured paying a little shipping would be cheaper than hanging around here for several days.


This is the first surgery my bike has ever had.

At any rate I was stuck here in Butte for a day or two waiting for the parts to arrive (there is nothing worse in Hell then being stuck in Butt(e) Montana). Installing the parts only takes an hour or two they said.

As long as I was stuck here, I had them look at my heated grips. They quit working (again- third time). I sure didn't need them in the hot mid-west but up in the mountains, it's a nice option to have. I wasn't going to fiddle with the grips or the front light that had come off (see day 15) until I got home. I didn't want to spend the time to get them fixed while on this trip. Oh, the best laid plans of mice and men....

While they were working on my bike, I had them take me someplace where I could get some breakfast.

The guy that washes the bikes (the lot boy) took me to "Club Montana," which is a casino and restaurant. I got a free news paper with my pancakes. I read all about Lew Piniella's last day and the grizzly bears
being hungry enough to eat people because of the lack of pine cones this year (watch out campers). It was fascinating. After I thought I had killed enough time, I caught a ride back to the dealer to see where they were with my bike.



After I got the unexpected bad news, that same guy (Jerry) took me to the Super 8 where I cooled my heels a bit.

Today turned into laundry day. I also walked down the block and found myself a hair cut. My cell phone doesn't work here (Sprint) so they will not be able to call me easily should they find more stuff to deal with. I guess all they have in Butt(e) is Verizon. Just my luck.

So.... I am stuck here in my room watching the TV.

I will post this entry now (3:45 PM). If anything exciting happens here I will update it (don't hold your breath).


I took a walk around Butt(e) today. I guess they have their share of dip shi** too.
I want to dinner at this place. Its the Grand Casino and its right across the street from my motel. I thought I would have a good dinner and a martini. The drink was filled with ice. Who ever heard of a martini with ice cubes? I told them the bartender had no idea how to make a martini. They charged me $8 anyway. "Put an X on that place" my dad would have said.

I went back to my room and watched more TV.

Day 23 - Part 1 Wyoming, Idaho, Montana

I left the motel this morning at 6:40 and headed out to Ranchester ( a very small town) and got onto Hwy 14. This road took me over Granite Pass. This was 10,162 ft high and is probably the most awesome scenery I have ever seen. I have no idea why I didn't take pictures of it. I guess I was to busy looking at it to grab the camera and stop. I WAS trying to make up time from my early stop last night. I wanted to get to Cody for breakfast. If you have never been on Why 14 between Ranchester and Grey Bull, put it on your bucket list.

After I came down the road flattened right out and I could see haze in front of me. I was hoping it wasn't a dust storm. It turned out to be ultra-violet haze from the sun. No worries.

I ate at The Irma Grill in Cody. They had a breakfast Buffet the likes of which I have never seen before. Put THAT on your list too. It was only $9.95.

After I stuffed myself, I went to the Buffalo Bill Museum. " Wow" about sums it up.
There are many parts to this place, but I wanted to see the guns. There are thousands of them.

The 8th rifle from the left was once owned by Jeremiah Johnson. There was a plaque on the wall telling about it but I have space limitations here and I cut that picture out (dammit).

There are lots of famous peoples guns here. This one was used in the Bonanza TV series. There were many like that from other shows too.

There were lots of "proper" rifles here too.

These are single shot Spencer Rifles. Custer's boys had those.


This is what Sitting Bull's guys had. Repeating Henry Rifles: "Load them on Sunday, shoot all week" they used to say. No problem figuring that one out....


This is an air rifle. It has a crank on it! I have never even heard of such a thing before.

How about one of the first "revolvers?" I had never heard of a revolving rifle before either.

This is the first half of day 23. You will have to go to another blog page to see the second part. (Too many pictures today)