Short on Blog entries this time around.

Well as you can see I haven't put much in my blog. I am back home and will now post a little about the trip and the few photos I took.

A few photos of my travel through Texas as I headed for Padre Island on the gulf coast. There was one other photo I should have taken but didn't. I saw something dart in front of my bike but didn't feel anything hit but then I kept smelling a burnt hair smell that kept getting stronger and stronger, I finally stopped to have a look and there was a bird wrapped around my exhaust pipe. I saw many more of these birds that would run across the road rather than fly, I thought they were road runners but not sure as they seemed to small.

Padre Island Texas, which is near Corpus Christi. This is a national park and only cost $8 a night plus the 5 entry fee that covers you for 7 days at any national park. You can camp right on the beach or just up from it where I am.

The water was amazing here, so warm and clear. It made me giggle every time I went in, to think the water anywhere could be this nice.

Lots of wind the whole time I was there so it never felt hot but the wind did get a little tiresome after a couple of days as it was constant and strong with no way to escape it when living in a tent.

I met a young couple from Germany that were spending 6 months traveling the U.S. and also a nice couple from Minnesota, out for there maiden voyage in there new Airstream trailer. he was eyeing my bike and dreaming of having one of his own, although probably a different brand.

I next rode to Galveston Island, spent the night and then caught a ferry heading towards Louisiana and New Orleans. The water all along Galveston and Louisiana was very muddy looking and unappealing for anything like swimming, no idea why it was so different.

Moss cover trees in the New Orleans city park

The levees that keep the ocean from the houses

Poor looking Palm trees

They have a really nice park in the middle of New Orleans which I road through hoping to see people playing some music but all was quiet. A little hard going into a city like that without someone directing you to places of interest. I went to the shoreline to have a look,, it's amazing how close the water is to the level of the land. There is a section before the levies that you can see from the sea shells and mud in the photos has recently been flooded, not sure if that is a common occurrence or not. Also the palm trees looked in really rough shape with hardly and leaves left on them.

On to Florida and the beautiful beaches with white sugar sand. I stop first at Henderson state park, spend 3 hour on the beach, got a little burnt, forgot photos and then rode to St. Joseph peninsula state park to camp for the night, Above photos.

Rode up to Georgia next and camped at Pine Mountain State park. At this point and after checking out the weather on the east coast and also on the route home, I decided to head for home as there was a window that I could make it in if I hurried. Riding through Tennessee the scenery was nice and I had some nice twisty roads. I had the bike suspension set up for comfort not for handling twisty roads and I had a bit of an oh crap moment as bike started sliding on the engine guard and I'm not sure but if felt like one of the tires wasn't in contact with the ground for a few seconds. I've got to replace the pins on the bottom of the foot pegs as they are all worn down, they normally give a bit of warning before any non movable parts touch

Between me not coping well with the humidity and the weather not looking good on the east coast it seemed to make not sense to carry on. No use trying to do 49 states just to prove something if it's not enjoyable. Maybe one day I can head down the east coast in the fall when the leaves are changing. Considering the predominance of deciduous trees back there I am sure the fall colors would be amazing.

I had managed to just miss a lot of bad weather and have had very little rain, but have seen evidence of lots of rain shortly before I passed through a lot of locations. When passing through South Dakota I noticed piles of fresh looking snow on the side of the roads, which seemed strange as it was 23 degrees. Turns out they had 13" of snow a few days earlier. the last day was a little cold coming home but I did make it before the rain started, which would have made it very cold. Broke all previous records for mileage on my bike it one day. When I decide to head for home, there's not much that will slow me down.

Well it wasn't the 2 month trip I had planned on but it was a good thing for me to do regardless. I feel renewed, and ready for new and exciting adventures. I realize that when it's hot and humid, traveling on a bike and living in a tent isn't a very comfortable combination for me. I still love those Gulf of Mexico beaches with the beautiful white sugar sand and warm clear water, but I will have to rethink how to enjoy them. Maybe it's better just to fly to Mexico, although I do have a hard time staying in one place for long. As far as bike trips it would be nice to find someone to travel, I think that would help to slow me down a bit as by myself I get bored so tend to keep riding.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer now. Next is a get together in North Van with friends from long ago that I have re connected with through Face Book, some I haven't seen in maybe 35 years, it should be good!. While on the coast I am also hoping to visit my sister and anyone else that I can as well as heading over to the sunshine coast to see good friends, then maybe over to the Island as well, depending on who all indicates they want a visit. I will make sure I am back in Raymond for July 1st as it's a big celebration here in our small town with the population swelling by about 4 times it seems as families come home for the holiday. I also want to spend some time with Mark and family before they head out for holidays.

As for the rest of the summer it is still open, maybe the BMW national rally later in July in Billings Montana, another smaller one in Naksup B.C.  in Aug. that I usually go to but I will see if anything or anyone else exciting comes into the picture by then! I am also still dreaming of a trip to Ecuador for a motorcycle tour, and there's also the thought of a trip to Alaska, if anyone out there is interested?

Heading south!

Mileage when I left.

Well the weather looked good for the next week so I am heading south. I used Furkot to plan the trip down to Corpus Christi and so far it seems good, stays away from the interstates which is fine with me. Found a nice clean free campsite for the first night. Note to self, do not camp near rail way tracks!, no wonder it was free. They were also blasting somewhere nearby all night with blasts big enough to make the ground shake each time.

Where not to camp, trains close by.

Had some nice roads on the second day but to get to Texas without going a lot further it will mean going through a lit of prairie. Weather still nice on the second day and had a peaceful sleep in a nice spot in Wyoming. Wind River. Note, they charge non residents much more for campsites in Wyoming. 

Some of the nicer spots in Wyoming. Bottom one is where I camped. It can go from nice spots like this to very barren .

Well day 3 and it getting way to flat, I think I will just go south 

via the shortest route. Cold but sunny most of the day and then when it got hot it was threatening to rain so  left all my waterproof gear on and got rather hot.

Managed to just get the edge of this nasty storm and dodged rain for the rest of the day. In the middle of no where so had trouble finding a town with campsite or motel, finally got a Dumpy motel just as it was getting dark.

Day 4, the weather looks a little suspect and especially by the time I get to the Texas coast. Well better head off and find some food as my supplies are just about gone.

Time again for some riding!

Well I spent a week with Steven, Rebekah and Esmond, that boy is a hoot. He doesn't talk yet, well nothing that is distinguishable, but is chattering something almost constantly. He really works the crowd, constantly trying to do something funny to get people to laugh, he loves the attention. It was a good week and a nice visit as I helped a little with the move and getting things a bit organized. And of course there was the bonding with my youngest son while installing a new toilet in there place, what more could I ask. Love fixing stuff!.

Yummy Breakfast made by Steven

So off I go Wed. morning all packed up and ready to ride with one short stop to help a long time close friend with there computer, unfortunately without success. The weather was great as I headed towards Port Renfrew, enjoying the familiar smell of that ocean breeze. The road was much better than the last time I road it some 5 years ago and I enjoyed all those corners at a somewhat exhilarating pace but without getting carried away. Was following a Yamaha R6 for awhile and pulled in at a view point to have a little visit with him. He seemed somewhat surprise that I was keeping up with him on my fully loaded touring bike. I didn't let him know that I just riding a mostly leisurely pace, although he was 74 so he was doing pretty good and I hope I can still be riding at the age too.

The road from Port Renfrew to Cowichan lake is now paved so I went that way and enjoyed lots more curves and nice warm sunny weather. I was aiming for long beach on the west coast of the island so headed up to Parksville and then on to Port Alberni and the west coast of the Island. It was another nice curvy road with only few occasional problem slow vehicles so was quite enjoyable. It was cooler as usual on the west coast but really not to bad. Very little wind which was nice as far as not getting to cold but there was very little wave action as a result, but it was still enjoyable walking barefoot in the sand, which I love.Went to the beach in the evening and again in the morning and then headed back to Parksville on the lovely curvy road once again.

I got all set up at Rathtraver Park and then went to visit my Dad again in the hopes he would be having a better day and recognize me. It was a good visit. As soon as he saw me he focused on me with the look that he was happy to see me and he appeared to know I was someone close to him. He was saying somewhat more complete sentences although not enough to really understanding his thoughts. When the nurse came in he said something to the effect that she was his number one son and gave her a hug, so I knew the thought was in his head somehow that his son was there.

Tomorrow I will be heading of to see long time friends of mine in Sechelt.

Well it's been way to long since I have written anything here. I am reserving this blog for when I am away alone on my bike.

The winter/cold spring has been way to long but it is finally time to forget others in my life and take care of myself, and what better way than to get away by myself on my bike. I used to hate being alone but now it seems to be the best thing for me.

Left home kind of late Mon. morning, but it's sure nice not having to meet a schedule like I always had to when living where the ferries have control of the times you travel. I was feeling still feeling pretty sick this morning but am on my way regardless. It's sure good to be on another journey by myself, go at my pace stop where I want and do whatever I feel like doing. The weather is not as warm as I would like it but not to bad either. Quite a few rain events but they were all short.

I am on my way to visit my son Steven in Nanaimo and my Dad in Parksville. My Dad is in a home and may not be around much longer, just hoping he can recognize me as his memory is fading fast.

I am riding the #3 to the coast and the scenery beautiful as usual. On the ride from Osooyoos to Keremeos the air was filled with  sent of  sage, it felt so refreshing, I love this kind of climate. The road from Princeton to Hope is always a favorite of mine as I love all those curves, although it's a sad thing that they are working on straightening the road. I landed for the night at a forestry campsite on the other side of Stemwinder Provincial Park. It was a little cool at 3 degrees by morning but I still had one of the best sleeps I have had in months. It's time for a new sleeping bag as this one has many, many miles on it but I just can't seem to find one that is similar to the one I have.

Tue. morning and thankfully this will be  a shorter day than yesterday as my body is pretty beat up and in lots of pain. It scares me to think that I may have to stop riding, but hopefully I will heal and the trip will get easier. Stopped more often today to try alleviate some of the pain. Arrived at the ferry about noon and visited with several other bikers, a couple I could relate to, but as for the Harley riders and there loud pipes, I'm afraid I just don't get it. It was good to arrive at Steven and Rebekah's, I haven't seen them in a year and it will be good to get to know my grandson Esmond. They are expecting my 9th grandchild in 3 weeks, sure is exiting to have so many grandchildren already, with lots more to come! Wed. morning and I just had an even better sleep than last night. Hopefully sleeping better will help the body heal a bit.

A few pictures of Esmond. Took him to the park so Mom could pack in peace. This was on Wed, In the  afternoon I went to visit my Dad who is in a home in Parksville, he is in pretty rough shape and had no idea who I was, and doesn't even seem to know Marnie these days so it was pretty sad to see him like that, hopefully he won't have to live much longer and will soon be released from this mortal life to be reunited with my Mom who passed away this time last year.

Today is moving day for Steven and Rebekah, things should go well as there isn't to much to move. I'll be off to Victoria with them tonight so will get a little time on the bike. Next week I hope to do some riding over to the west coast of the Island to port Renfrew and up to Duncan, and hopefully before I leave the Island I can get over to Tofino.

I'm Back!

It's been a  hard month since I last posted, as the ones that are following this blog know I had to cut my trip short after hearing of Mother passing away. As I was about as far away as I could get in the U.S. from where my parents live I had a long journey home of about 5000 kms. which I managed to do in 4.5 days. Ya I am a little obsessive and when I decide I am heading home not much stops me. I must say though I hope I never do that again, I do not like the interstates to begin with as they tend to be very boring plus the many sleepy moments and the pain I was in was a bit too much. After I got home I rested for a few days and then off to Vancouver Island in Beth's Van to my Mother's Funeral. I must say I do a lot better pain wise on my bike than in the Van but glad we took it as the weather was nasty and I brought a lot home from my parents home as my Dad is also in a home I now have a lot of his tools. It's nice to keep things in the family but also hard to see my Parents things.

I have a few days of my trip that I didn't write on so I will try to remember a few things here and post some nice pictures I got.

Off to the Everglades. The weather is warming up now. Apparently I am at the end of the tourist season so they have closed a lot of the campsites in the Everglades as the rainy season will be starting anytime so I am lucky to miss the rain. On my last trip I didn't get to see Alligators so that is a high priority for me this time. Apparently they have panthers also in the Everglades but they are seldom seen.

I camped in a campsite that surrounded a small lake hoping to find Alligators but couldn't see any. There was one other person camping there so I talked to them and they said there was there were lots of gators in the canal along the road, so off I went to get my pictures. I see why they live there, the amount and size of the fish in the canals were amazing, lots of food there for sure.

It was very warm over night so I left the fly off, by morning everything was soaked due to the humidity. So here I am at my pick nick table having some breakfast and I look up and there is an Alligator not more than 30 ft. from me crossing from the bush behind my tent over to the pond, he was so quiet I almost missed him, but I did get some awesome pictures after hurriedly scrambling to find my camera.

    

The other sunny side of the lake was his destination, apparently after they eat they lay in the sun to warm up as it helps digestion.

On to the Florida Keys.

Well I thought $36 was expensive for a campsite, here it $43.

These crabs live in holes on dry land, not sure what they eat or if they even go into the water.

The weather was finally getting nice and hot and I am starting to relax and enjoy the warmth after riding far to many miles in less than warm weather. The Keys are not known for and abundance of sandy beaches, although I did find one and was just heading there as I got the call from my sister about my Mom passing away.

A  few pics from my trip to Vancouver Island at the end of May.

The weather was a little extreme for the end of may, it might have been a little difficult on my bike.

The home where I grew up as a child. For sale - only 1.28 Million!

Well as far as continuing my trip to complete the U.S. states on my bike, I'm not sure at this point as it is getting a little late now, I have a father and son camp out next week with my son and grandson and then that would only leave me a month before the BMW national rally in Salem Oregon which I wanted to be at. I may try head out in Sept., go across Canada and then down the east coast and across the south into Arizona for awhile, just not sure how I would get back home with my bike in Nov.