Looking for America - A Listening Tour

US 30 W, US 101, US 26 A two hour ride to the BMW dealer outside of Portland, OR.  There are two ways from Astoria to Portland: US 30 to I-5 S along the scenic Columbia River.  I decided on US 30 to US 26 E through Clatsop and Tillamook State Forests; an amazing ride - my last mountain drive on this trip.  My last hurrah. The plan was to take my bike to the dealer to have shipped to Florida.  I was then going to sit in PDX for 9 hours for my red-eye flight to Ft. Lauderdale.  At 2 pm I beckoned for an UBER to the airport.  Lisa, the driver, picked me up and we immediately engaged in conversation.  I told her of my feat and how I was about to sit for 9 hours at PDX.  I asked if she was hungry, since it was lunch time.  She took me to the food trucks in downtown Portland where I bought my UBER driver lunch,. She then offered to show me the sights around Portland.  She was retired so she had time and no schedule.  Lisa took m...

Ferry from Seattle, WA to Bremerton, WA.  Hwy 3 W and US 101 S to Astoria, OR where I will spend the night before taking my motorcycle to the BMW dealer in Portland - a short jaunt from Astoria.  I made arrangements for a shipper to pick up my bike and deliver it to the dealer in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  I purchased an airline ticket from Portland, OR to Ft. Lauderdale, FL - the red-eye  leaving tomorrow night (Tuesday) and arriving on Wednesday morning. Crossing the Columbia River, a 4+ mile bridge from Washington State, I landed in Astoria, OR. View of 4.2 Mile Bridge From Washington State to Oregon I am now seated at a table at the Urban Cafe on the main drag - drinking tons of coffee.  Sitting on the ferry, I thought about all my experiences I have had on this trip: all the people I met, the riding challenges, the places I stayed, the different spirits of place I experienced, the general attitude of the people, the conversations, the natural beauty, th...

I-90 from Spokane to Seattle Between Spokane and the Cascade Mountains lie high rolling plains, lakes, and vast farms growing potatoes, wheat, and rapeseed.  Bright yellow blossoms cover acres contrasting to a bright blue sky.  Off in the distance white capped mountains can be seen - a promise of things yet to come.  As I neared the mountains, a strong cross-wind was blowing me around quite a bit.  Ascending the cascades, the hills were cutting off the ferosity of  the winds.  Overcast and cooler now, the traffic increased as I approached Snoqualmie Pass - that would descend into Seattle.  My motorcycle challenge almost at an end - victory was only about 20 miles away. It was Saturday so I had hoped for less traffic.  The stress of  coming into Seattle, through tunnels and highway configurations that did everything it could to make sure that I missed the correct exit.  Once off the freeway, I had to contend with steep hills and troll...

US 93 S to US 2 W to Hwy 56 S to US 200 W back to US 2 W Leaving Whitefish in heavy fog, had breakfast and headed toward US 2.  I refused to put on rain gear in spite of the dreary nature of the sky.  Only a t-shirt and my protective jacket, within 2 miles the sky was clear.  Wow - I know what Moses must have felt at the parting of the Red Sea (err: Reed Sea - look it up).  It was now warm and I was dressed appropriately. I stopped in Libby, MT for gas.  I looked across the street and there was this nice little coffee/gift shop.  There I met the 78 year old owners: Bill and Carol Cady.  Bill is a retired Highway Patrol officer who informed me to take Hwy 56 down to US 200 for the views.  "But watch out for the deer.  Don't drive over 55 just in case you hit one."  Encouraging, right!  Carol plays the mandolin with a small music group.  So, I whipped out my album on iTunes - Bill wants me to send him the songs since they are...

This bonus blog will cover what, to me, are important people that escaped previous mention, as well as write about the attraction of riding motorcycles.  Most people really just look at motorcycles as dangerous and they just cannot understand the attraction.  I have gone about 4300 miles on my journey, so I think I can speak to that issue. You remember Stephanie (Scott Culp's daughter who lives in Whitefish).  She has a ranch where she owns quarter horses, and takes pleasure at her three dogs running in the tall grass.  Stephanie also works as a realtor in the area.  She told me that the horses stay outside all year long; if it gets super cold, they blanket them.  The hair on the horses become thick and long, only to shed in the spring and summer.  Over dinner at Stillwater Fish House, we discussed animal psychology.  While each individual animal is different, there are some constants: horses can tell what a particular human feels about th...

Three nights, not two, in Whitefish - a perfect mountain town to take it easy, do laundry, clean the bike, and get to know people in town. Slept for 12 hours last night.  I crashed after my long mountain ride in Glacier, and my two drinks and dinner at Tupelo Grille.  I woke up in my clothes and hotel room blinds open at about 11 pm, then got under the covers and slept all night.  From 7:00 pm to 7 am. Took my bike to Buffalo Cafe for breakfast.  I sat next to Giles and Wynoma, people in their late 70s about their life.  They had lived here in Whitefish, but have since moved to the area from which they came: near St. Louis.  Giles had been a ski and mountain climbing instructor.  Very nice people. I then went back to the hotel and sorted out what I no longer need on the trip (and items I should have never brought), and took them to the US Post Office to ship home.  Rule No.1 on a long trip: only take that what you absolutely need.  I wa...

I spent the day riding around in Glacier National Park.  Unfortunately, the Go to the Sun Road was closed due to about 80 feet of snow fall - the rain storms that I encountered a few days ago had dumped tons of snow on the pass.  I went up the west side entrance as far as I could, past Lake McDonald, to where the road was blocked off.  I met Patrick and Reg from BC, Canada.  They were biking around Glacier - we compared notes and their trip from BC. I the went around the southern end of the park looking for the east side entrance - a little over 50 miles of an amazing ride.  Entered East Glacier when the ranger informed me that it was another 50 miles to go to St. Mary and the Go to the Sun Road (which was blocked).  It was 2 pm - and was a long ride back to Whitefish - so went down to Two Medicine Lake and Campground.   The ranger said be careful, there were bear everywhere.  I went on the 7 mile journey to Two Medicine from East Glacier....