Seattle, Washington to Dawson Creek, British Columbia

You know the drill. Here’s the video if you please, otherwise, or also, read along.



The few days I spent in Seattle with Tracy I think I was the most relaxed in my entire life. Not worried about the bike or miles, and not having to think about work in any way made the stop like a vacation. But, even better than that, I got to hang with Tracy and her daughter Jackie! I got to see the place Tracy is staying while I am on my adventure, too. It’s a nice apartment with good views in Renton, just south of Seattle.



Not until the day before I had to leave did we three actually venture out, visiting the Chihuly Museum, which is stuffed full of this amazing man’s blown glass. It’s right beside the space needle, so of course I had to try and take picture with both.


We didn’t make it up the needle because the line was too long (we had been up it once before anyway), so instead we decided to try the Great Wheel, one of those ginormous ferris wheels near the aquarium. Lots of nervousness as that thing rocked back and forth at the top while those below were loading.



The following day I had to get going if I were to make it to Deadhorse and back to Seattle in early August, or about 6 weeks. I need to meet an impending date that Tracy and I have marked on the calendar to fly back to Florida to attend my brother’s retirement ceremony from the Navy, and then get all of our stuff out of storage in Virginia and back to Washington.

The road east out of Seattle runs right through National Forests of lush and green, which probably explains the rain and mist. After that Washington opens up into desert scrubland all the way to Spokane before you start to see trees again. I camped that night near Diamond Lake.



The next day, I had intended to stop short of Glacier National Park to camp, but got there early enough and decided to go ahead and ride the Going to the Sun Road through the park. Listen mates, please put this on your list to do in your lifetime. It is absolutely spectacular and majestic and hot apple pie with ice cream amazing, and despite the heavy 10mph traffic, I was having mind orgasms every 3 minutes. And, much of the ride you are on a sheer 2000-foot cliff. Yikes!







That night, after Glacier, I holed up in a very expensive hotel in Babb, Montana near the border with Alberta, and they didn’t even have wifi!!!



The next day I crossed the border back into Canada and followed a route suggested by a fellow Jupiter’s Traveller, Nevil Stow, who I was planning to stay with that night in Canmore, Alberta. So, if you’re ever in Babb, Montana, do this and take Nevil’s and my advice: take the Kananaskis Trail. Holy mother of all toads, frogs, and other living things. After Glacier, I didn’t think I could be impressed, but as I learned, as the US Rockies become the Canadian Rockies, it only gets better each and every mile. It was marked as a dirt road on my AAA map, but no dirt, my friends, nothing but smooth asphalt through some breathtaking mountains.





That weekend I hung out with Nevil and his beautiful wife, Michelle.





Nevil’s house is wonderfully situated near the continental divide and is considered by many the “Aspen of Canada.” The town of Canmore reminded me of some Bavarian paradise.



That weekend started with Canada Day, the day I arrived, and went all weekend. Folks, mostly local friends, were coming and going all weekend and I find out afterward that his home is also known as “Stowasis” in the adventure motorcycle community, famous at least partially for its “Garagaritas.” Haha. Well, I too had to sign the garage door, right? (by the way, there’s people you know who have written on that garage door…)



On Saturday, we did some admin in Canmore, where I picked up some supplies, including bear spray and bangers, and had some lunch. Then later, we did some bike maintenance in Nevil’s well-appointed garage.



Nevil is making a trip to Alaska in my heels and planning to make a movie for the 9MMFF, which he started, by the way…

Make sure to check it out:

9 Minute Moto Film Festival - The Home of Overland Short Films

They definitely took care of me and I really enjoyed my stay at the Stowasis! It’s the kind of place you’d want, and they’d insist, to stay for as long as you need to. Thanks Michelle and Nevil!

After leaving Nevil’s house, I first stopped at Lake Louise and Moraine Lake near Banff. Again, just another couple of money shots as this part of the work is just simply amazing.



Then, I headed up the Icefield Parkway toward Jasper. And yet again, the views are just too much for words. I had some weather, namely rain, and it got damned cold through some of the shoots between the mountains, but still I wouldn’t have traded that ride for anything.



That night, I had intended to “wing it” and find a place to camp near Jasper when all of sudden I got a note from Stefan, who you may remember from our trip in Newfoundland a few weeks ago, asking to meet up!! We had split up back then because of different paths, but now the streams were crossing! Of course, I said heck yeah!



Stefan and I met in Hinton just north of Jasper at a hotel he’d already booked for two nights, so we made plans to ride the roads local to Jasper the following day. First, we rode through Medicine Lake, which a year ago (to the day) a fire had ravaged the place. It gave off a nice set of hues as the trees began to recover.



Next was Meligne Lake further south. This lake is very popular with the tourists and there were dozens of tour buses packed with people around.



We’d planned to go to Miette Hot Springs, but ran into “Joe from Jasper” in Meligne who ran a local tour outfit and he convinced us that was a waste of time (the spring just fed into a swimming pool…). He suggested instead we head down into Jasper National Park and take in Edith Covell mountain and glacier. Glad we listened, because the ride up the mountain was awesome, with lots of twisties, and the road takes you right up against a glacier. Thanks Joe!!



The following morning, Stefan and I split up (again) as I headed north to Dawson Creek, British Columbia via the Bighorn Highway (Hwy 40). The Rockies quickly gave out and turned over to slow rolling green hills and straight highways.

Dawson Creek is cool because it is home of Milepost 0 of the Alaska Highway, where I planned to relax for a couple of days. It’s a neat little town that grew rapidly in the 30s when the railroad extended here. Now, many people come through on their way west and north to Alaska.

While intending to take a picture of the sign, I ran into a fellow rider and realized it was Alex, who I had met in Bracebridge, Ontario several weeks ago! So we took the picture together.



So, that’s it for now. I am continuing on northwest to Alaska now, taking the Alaska Highway to Whitehorse, and then the Klondike Loop, including the Top of the World Highway. More posts later!

Lessons Learned:

1) Gas stations and roads in northern Alberta. The stretch from Jasper to Dawson Creek is about 325 miles, but there was no problem getting gas in Grand Cache (about 90 miles in) and then again in Grand Prairie (another 115 miles), but between these small towns there is literally nothing but trees and wildlife. There also was a lot of construction between Grand Cache and Grand Prairie that required waiting for about 20 minutes and then following a guide truck for 5 miles over recently chunked up road. I understand from locals that little maintenance is done in the Winter, so in the Summer, there is a LOT of road construction!

2) Nevil (a prior trail guide) recommended some things to me I took on without question: i. bear spray with a glow in the dark cap (so you can quickly find it in the tent), ii. Bear poppers (like flares, but they go bang), iii. a fixed knife to cut your own way out of a tent if a bear gets too close, and iv. a solar powered inflatable light (seriously, Google this, these things are great!). For the bear spray and poppers, you cannot (or are not supposed to) bring them across the border, but you can find them in many stores once in Canada, like Canadian Tire. They’ll want your personal information and make you sign a government document before getting them.

Yest another great episode, I really enjoy your videos. Simple, humble, and to the point. Thank you for the work you put into making them, and for sharing your adventure with us!

David C.
@motopoet

G'day again Brent,
Really enjoying your updates and videos, keep it coming.

Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Deadhorse, Alaska

And here again… the video first, or last, or whatever you like. Then again, this is a bit of a long one.. I covered a few miles here and experienced a lot of things.



I left Dawson Creek early in the morning and I find that when I do that, leave early, I often have the roads all to myself for miles and miles. It’s sometimes scary considering the remoteness, it’s also sometimes rather lonely, but more often than not, I relish the solace. This day was like the latter. I started enjoying the aloneness of it all in between start and stop points. Any-hoo, I was making my way north with a plan to get to Fort Nelson where I could hole up for a night in a non-descript cheap hotel. But I did get to park under an awning!



The next day, I made my way through some construction that had the roads pretty torn up. It was in northern BC that I started experiencing more and more waits for pilot cars to lead folks over long stretches of roads under constuction.



But, the scenery was great, that is when I could see it through the fog and rain.



I camped that night in Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park, and the first thing I had to do was dry out my sleeping bag, which got wet from the rain leaking into my panniers!!



The Liard Hot Springs are fed continuously from an underwater spring with the feed end about 120 degrees and the other end about 100 degrees. I stayed in the relatively cooler end.





While at the park, one of the rangers told the story of a very recent black bear attack on two folks walking down the very boardwalk I had walked earlier – without my bear spray!!



There is nothing at Liard beyond the peace of the campground, hot springs, and an awesome burger truck. Here, I had lunch with Mark (left) and Lenin (right), on their own trip into the Yukon and Alaska and back.



I also met Liane, originally from Spain, who travelled to and fell in love with the Canadian wilderness, so decided to stay and work in the park. She scored me some free firewood after I told her I was heading south and was practicing Spanish. We chatted several times over the hours, she trying to help me with my Spanish.



The next day, continuing along the Alaska Highway, I made it into the Yukon and over to Watson Lake, where I stopped by the Signpost Forest. You kinda have to, right? Plus, it’s right on the Alaska Highway in Watson Lake.





That night, I had planned to stay in Watson Lake, but it was still early when I arrived, so I pushed onto Whitehorse for the night and grabbed a hotel.

The next day, I left the Alaska Highway and instead headed up the Klondike Highway toward Dawson. Dawson is a fun little town on the Yukon River that got its start as a mining town, and still is in many ways, with boardwalks and dirt streets. Seems many people are fascinated by the place as it is quite touristy.





I stayed at the Bunkhouse and relaxed in town for two days. If you ever make it there, make sure to catch the show at Diamond Tooth Gerties and check out the Pit, a rather eclectic bar.



I also ran into Jason Spafford, who with Lisa Morris, just finished a two and half year Argentina to Deadhorse run. Make sure to look up Jason’s photos – best ever.



I was excited about the next day – the Top of the World Highway. After leaving Dawson via ferry, I was soon on my longest dirt road to date, about 100 miles (including the Taylor Highway).





The Taylor Highway, once you cross into the U.S., was horrible all the way to Chicken, full of washboard and potholes. I mean it was so bad I didn’t even stop to take a picture. But, Chicken on the other hand was a nice respite from the morning’s ride. I grabbed some lunch there and then headed on toward Tok, Alaska where again I hoteled it because I just didn’t feel like setting my tent up…

Left Tok and headed toward Fairbanks, where I booked a night in the Eielson Air Force Base lodging. Here is where I met Brian, someone I have been communicating with for about six months to meet in almost this very spot. Brian is also on a long journey about the world on his motorcycle solo, but in his case indefinitely! Make sure to check out his blog as he makes much more frequent updates than I do, haha!!

Home - Iron Roamer

Our plan was to buddy up to tackle the Dalton Highway up to Deadhorse and back. The next day we left early aiming for Wiseman, a small, well you can’t really call it a town, let’s just say place, about halfway between Fairbanks and Deadhorse or about 185 miles up the Dalton Highway. Before we got there, we stopped in at the Arctic Circle for yet another mandatory phot op. That night, we stayed at the Boreal Lodge.



I had trouble sleeping that night worrying about the rest of the Dalton up to Deadhorse, the “harder” part I supposed. South of Wiseman was not really challenging at all as all the stars aligned, I guess – the weather was good, construction was at a minimum, the road was in great shape. But the rest of the way, we had heard, had lots of construction going on with one guy saying there were sections of “apple-sized” gravel. Ugh…



So, we took off on another wonderful weather day and made it within 30 miles of Deadhorse before my hopes of smooth sailing were crushed. Those last 30 miles turned out to be everything we’d heard, pure pain– stretches of monster gravel, deep medium sized gravel, fresh noncompacted dirt. I was too busy trying to avoiding toppling over to catch a picture (I do have plenty on the return trip – next episode). I avoided at least a dozen falls.

We booked into the Aurora Hotel, one of those pre-fab deals built block by block above ground. Although it didn’t look like much from the outside, the inside was very nice with rooms akin to a cruise ship. For the price, $150/night, it’s all inclusive, meaning you can eat all you want, even during non-meal hours. Internet and laundry are also free and TV had all the movie channels. This type of hotel caters to oil production crews who rotate in and out, so it has everything they need. We stayed for two nights so that we could relax a bit.





The next day, we hopped on a bus to tour the oil production facilities and visit the Arctic Ocean. It was kinda cool standing in the Arctic Ocean knowing my trip will take me to the other end of the Pan-American Highway next year.





The rest of the afternoon in Deadhorse, we heard no less than 10 stories about motorcycles coming up to Deadhorse, and all the stories had unhappy endings – broken ribs, life flights, bike shipped back to Fairbanks.

I’ve read many accounts of people coming to Deadhorse on motorcycles and I never heard it was easy. My particular trip up, however, was not bad at all except for the hell of the last 30 miles. As I said, I think I was lucky everything just worked out. If the weather were bad during, or if there’d been a lot of rain in the preceding days, I am pretty sure my ride would have been very different.

That’s it for now. Next, I’ll be headed south.

Lessons Learned:

1) The further north you go, the more expensive everything is – everything is WAY more expensive, gas, food, and especially lodging. At the Boreal, we shared a small room with two twin beds barely big enough for two people and the bathrooms were shared with everyone.

2) If you’re heading to Deadhorse, the last stop to buy ‘take-away’ is Fairbanks. You can ‘get’ a or more in Coldfoot, but you have to drink it there. You can’t walk in and buy a six pack to go. And, Deadhorse is a dry town.

Deadhorse, Alaska to Seattle, Washington

As is my M.O, here’s a video of the whole post.



As I mentioned in the last episode, almost the entire trip north on the Dalton to Deadhorse was, well… easy. The weather had been perfect, hot even, and the roads were dry and hard.

It was an entirely different and a very miserable story heading south, though. It was bad. So bad, it made the trip south suck. The roads were complete shit. I may have even cried in my helmet once or twice it was so bad (no, not really, but it would not have been hard…)



The construction area just outside of Deadhorse was the worst. Fresh, unpacked dirt had turned into deep, muddy ruts with the blowing rain. This is Brian after his off (the video is pretty scary – he went down pretty hard).



And then I came off about 2 minutes later.



I mean seriously, how can anyone ride on a road with gravel like this! Some of it is the size of a large apple!!



This was one of the better sections – deep gravel!!



And then more mud… deep-ass mud near the Yukon Crossing.



The weather did clear a bit after the Atigun Pass, thankfully.



After that, the road to Coldfoot was a mixed bag of misery over soupy roads and I was slipping and sliding all the whole way. It took 8.5 hours to cover the 240 miles to Coldfoot.









We booked into Coldfoot Camp for the night and I sat and drank s to stave off all the anxiety and desperation I’d felt during the ride down. That was damn good . That night I slept a solid 11 hours.

It continued to rain in Coldfoot that night and again the next day for southern half of the Dalton. It was so muddy that eventually the radiators on my R1200GS became completely clogged with mud and I began to overheat, having to stop every few miles to let the bike cool down.



Eventually, the rain came on hard and my savior was riding through it, cooling the bike and clearing one radiator. I finally made it into Fairbanks and made a beeline for the first carwash place to give the bike a good rinse, including cleaning out those radiators.

In Fairbanks, I stayed on the University of Alaska campus in one of their dorm rooms. You really should check these places out. Cheap, secure, and with good wifi (all the students are home for the summer). I did some bit of admin over three days, replacing my GoPro case, and getting extra batteries.

The next day, we headed down to Anchorage. The ride out of Fairbanks is pretty boring to start but then the mountain rise above you and before you know it you’re in Denali National Park.



I went through another construction area much like the ones that scared me coming north through BC and the Yukon and realized this, and those, were actually fantastic roads compared to what I experienced on the Dalton.

The next three nights, we stayed on the University of Alaska campus in Anchorage. Excellent rooms!!!! We holed up here to let some bad weather pass through. The folks in Anchorage were happy about the rain because of a large wildfire just south of the city that was threatening.

The we headed over to Tok on the Glenn Highway, where a large glacier dominated the view for a while.



In Tok, I stayed in the same hotel I stayed in when going north. And this is where Brian and I parted ways, me going south and he covering my tracks east through Chicken and Dawson. I really enjoyed riding with Brian (here’s a shot of him at Denali).



The next day, I make my way to Haines Junction and stay at a very nice hostel and met some cool people, including Sarath, a fellow ADVer making his way up and back to Alaska from San Francisco.





The next night I was in Johnson’s Crossing (there aren’t many places to stay up here!), a small shanty type place, but they had wifi, a good restaurant, and !





I also ran into a couple from the UK, who was up here riding in a large group. Good people. I bumped into them several times heading south to Kitwanga, the end of the Cassiar.



On my way south, I got an email from my old friend Stefan (third meeting now) who was heading north. We met up for coffee somewhere on the Alaska Highway. I’ll be seeing him again as we head south into Mexico together.



I was hearing reports about more construction on the Cassiar near Dease Lake, and just as my luck would have it, it was raining… But, thankfully, this was the last of the construction I would see. Thank goodness because, frankly, I was tired of it!



At Dease Lake, I hung out in the parking lot drinking with these fellow adventurers… (Hi Joanie!)



I spent the next day in Stewart, which is a short 35 miles or so off the Cassiar highway and well worth the ride. Here, I saw Bear Glacier right on the side of the road.

The towns of Stewart, in British Colombia, and neighboring Hyder, in Alaska, are cool little places it the world surrounded by mountains.





In Hyder, I visited Fish Creek in Tongass National Forest where the U. S. National Forest Service had built an observation platform for feeding bears. I saw none that day (they had been averaging one-two a day, and at random times).



The next few days were merely transit days – Smithers, Prince George, and then Cache Creek – I was looking forward to getting “home” to Seattle again.

After Cache Creek, I chose Route 99 to Vancouver, known as the Sea to Sky Highway. It goes through Lillooet and Whistler and is probably the most amazingly scenic, twisty, and fast road I have ever been on, and carves right through the Rockies.



I know this is a bold statement, but I am from North Carolina and spent a lot of time in Virginia, riding through the Smoky Mountains. I believe if you took the very best of the motorcycle roads in NC and VA – and I am talking about the Dragon, the Rattlesnake, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Cherohala Skyway, roads like that – if you took only the best pieces of each of those roads and summed them, they’d still come up short of the Sea to Sky Highway. Simply breathtaking!

Later that day, I made it into Seattle, tired from a full days riding and thankful to have this sometimes arduous, yet beautiful trip, come to a close. It was nice to be back in civilization again.

Lesson Learned:

1) British Columbia: I spent nearly five weeks in British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska and in my opinion, British Columbia is the most beautiful place I have ever visited - in my life. It is an outdoor lover’s paradise with a beautiful, raw, seemingly untouched, but well cared for diversity. From mountains to rivers to glaciers to animals, I was stunned everyday riding through this Province. I can also tell Canadians are very proud of this Province.

2) Aloneness. The flip side to riding in these truly faraway and amazing lands is that I was by myself by what felt like hundreds of miles sometimes. I really struggled to get over a couple of humps of exasperation caused by my isolation. Each time that happened, however, I gave in to the beauty of the world around me. Just giving in I think is the key to truly remarkable travel, being vulnerable to whatever happens and simply going along for the ride. I felt so much better about myself, life, and the world when I resolved to these inclinations.

3) Dalton. As I said in the last episode, my northbound trip on the Dalton was, well, easy. It was hot, dry, and dusty, and the hard pack dirt roads were very hard. Coming back south, I encountered a totally different road, wetted by days of raining, and raining during the trek, that made the journey an expedition. I learned so many things about riding in sloppy stuff those two days. No, that’s not quite right. I had learned these lessons at the BMW Off-road School, I had just never applied them practically. These tips worked for me, so I recommend trying these when things are sloppy (all of which are equally important and go together):

a) Always look up and ahead!! As soon as you look at the muddy rut beside you, that is where you are going. I got in the habit of the gluing my eyes on the “T” on the Pilot Vehicle in really bad stuff in construction zones. If you are not following a pilot vehicle, pick a tree off in the distance. Huge difference!

b) Loose hands! When a heavy bike goes squirrely under you, with the handle bars going all over the place from deep gravel or mud, the natural inclination is to control it, forcibly, and even slow down. No!! It’s like wrestling a bear and you will tire quickly and will likely come off eventually. Alternatively, I found when I was in something a bit slippery or unpredictable, I “let go” and thought “loose hands.” When I did this, the bike would straighten right up without hardly a push from me.

c) When in doubt… throttle out. So, I never understood this lesson until I did it 1000 times on the Dalton in soupy mud. I always thought it meant keeping your speed up through messy stuff. Nope, not to me. What I found it to mean is instead of a “hard throttle” through the soup, it is rather to “blip” the throttle when you feel the front tire digging in. “Blipping” the throttle would decompress the weight on the front suspension, making the steering very light (as opposed to digging into the muck and wobbling the steering all over the place), and when done with “loose hands” and “looking ahead,” the bike would always - ALWAYS - right itself.

I have been following your ride around the Americas. Interesting report.

I see you made it over to Stewart and Hyde Alaska.

Did you get a chance to ride up to Salmon Glacier? Many miss out on visiting this site.

Salmon Glacier is 16 miles north of Hyder along a gravel road. The Salmon Glacier is one of the largest glaciers in Canada, although with global warming it may have shrunken down to the size of an ice cube since I was last there.

As you ride up from Hyder to Salmon Glacier, you pass a number of storied gold/copper mining sites, now since long abandoned. Premier Mines, Grandeur Mines. There is a lot of mining history in these parts.

Ride4Adventure

I did not.

I have reason to go back now, don't I?

~brent

Hi Brent, excellent job, i really enjoy reading and watching your posts! I was going to try and chronical my trip south.... but ive just been telling everyone i know to fallow yours and pretend its me!! Thanks for all your efforts, safe travels!

Brent
Great story & pics, brings back memories of our trip along the roughly same route, keep me amused while i should be working. What's the Scottish connection?

Gino & Fiona

Seattle, Washington to Farmington, New Mexico

And because it’s what I do, here my latest narrated video of this part of my trip if you prefer.



This episode covers nearly a month as I was quite busy recovering (and relaxing a bit) in Seattle from my excursion up to the Arctic Ocean and back, celebrating my Brother’s retirement from the Navy in Georgia, and moving household goods from Virginia back to Seattle.

So, after getting back into Seattle for a few days, Tracy and I flew cross-country to attend my Brother’s retirement ceremony from the U. S. Navy – 23 years!! The ceremony was held at the chapel at the submarine base in King’s Bay, Georgia. I was so proud of him and loved hanging with family and the other friends I knew from back home for a few days.





My Brother also humbled me by asking that I be his guest speaker. It was a real privilege as I had both been in the Navy and a submariner. Very humbling!





Afterward, Tracy and I drove from Georgia up to our old home in Chesapeake to load all our stuff that had been hiding in storage. I had some friends meet us at the storage unit to pack a U-Haul. And it was one damned hot day, too, with the heat index around 110! Whew! We had two large storage units and they quickly filled a 26-footer plus a trailer!

The next several days we averaged 450 miles a day crossing the country again back to Seattle.



Definitely not the same ride as my usual 2-wheeled mode of transport – it was like driving a whale! Crossing the country, however, no matter how I do it, cements in my mind that the U. S. really is a beautiful place, you just have to get out and see it! (But still not as nice when on the motorcycle!)

I was very happy to see real mountains again once we got into Montana heading west for the last few hundred miles.



Back in Seattle, we reversed the process and put almost everything back into storage with the help of some of Tracy’s sister, Wendy, and kids, and Tracy’s daughter Jacqui and her friends.

The next couple of days, I was preparing to get back on the road again. I had to get the bike serviced again, including replacing a bit of plastic that had cracked somewhere along the way. Other than that, I have had no problems with the bike.



It was hard saying goodbye this time as it will be some time before I see Tracy again.

The ride west from Seattle to the coast is beautiful, and it just keeps getting better as you enter Oregon. I think the Pacific Coast is one of the more beautiful places I’ve seen.



I spent one night in Lebanon, Oregon with Wendy’s family, another night in Montague, California with Tracy’s parents, and a third night in Reno, Nevada with Tracy’s brother, Kristian, all catching up with folks I’d not seen in a while. They were very pleasant visits and I love that Tracy is closer to her family now.

Montague is right up next to Mount Shasta, which provides stunning views 360 degrees.



And riding south through Northern California, I visited Lassen National Park. Wow!



Next, I was off to Yosemite National Park to camp. As ridiculous as it sounds, I had to make reservation to camp here five months ago, but I did score what I thought was the very best campsite in the park, just at the foot of Half Dome! The views in the valley are stunning, including El Capitan.









I spent several days there and one day took a ride up to Glacier Point, which provides an eye-popping view right down into the valley.



I headed east out of Yosemite over the Tioga Pass (9947 feet) and the geography really started to change east of the mountains, very dry, high desert like.



I spent a night in Tonopah, Nevada to get my bearings and plan out the days ahead. From Tonopah east, I felt briefly like I was back in the Yukon in terms of running into other living beings. I rode for a couple of hours before seeing another car or house.

The next night, I camped right up under Wheeler Peak (at 10000 feet) in Great Basin National Park.



It was very windy that night and so I didn’t sleep much, but the views were spectacular!



The Sierra Nevada mountains are interesting to me because they rise from desert scrubland and at altitude you have lots of Juniper’s and a thriving ecosystem.

My next goal was Moab, considered a center of the universe for adventuring, but I stopped short in Green River, Utah because it was the cheapest place I could find to stay the night. Moab, the next day, happened to be kicking off Labor Day weekend festivities and the place was packed – and expensive! But, I stayed two days so I could take in Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park and just get a sense of this culture.







In Arches, I rode some of the dirt roads to get better views.



The soft sand beds that underlie this area, along with a huge vertical shift, nearly a mile, started what was to become this beautiful area. With millions of years of water and wind erosion of the soft sandstone, cool buttes and arches formed. It was surreal!



I also ran into Greg and Melanie Turp, who I met first back in Virginia at the Horizons Unlimited Meeting. They’ve been on the road and “homeless” for many years. You can find them here: https://2wandrrs.com



After Moab, I made it over to Monument Valley just a few short hours south. The park is on tribal lands but run very much like a national park. I camped right in the valley up against three amazing monuments. I got lots of good pictures here.







My next aim point was Dixon, New Mexico to meet up with Ben Rainchild, co-owner and master craftsmanatf Green Chile Adventure Gear. I spent 3 nights there riding with Ben, hanging out, and just sucking in the adventure spirit.





I even let him take the Beemer for a spin.



Heading back west again, I stayed in Farmington, New Mexico. I’ve been developing some soreness in my right elbow, left shoulder, and now right knee that I wanted to give a rest, so I booked into a cheap hotel for three nights to take it easy.

The Southwest of the U. S. is far different than any place I’d been so far. It was dry, hot, windy, and dusty (during my trip), but the scenery is so unique and beautiful.

All in all, it’s been a very busy few weeks, but I still have so much more to see in the southwest U. S. before getting to Mexico in just three short weeks, including Natural Bridges, Escalante, Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon.

Lessons learned:

1/ Riding around like this is not all vacation. In some ways, it’s like physical work, and you have to take breaks every now and again. Packing, riding, and unpacking every day is strenuous and I’ve gotten to the point after four and a half months that it has begun to take its toll on me. I think I should do some sort of exercises to overcome the repetitive motion problems I think I’m having.

2/ I gave myself exactly one month to visit all the parks in the southwest and I think that’s about right. You can spend 2-3 days in places you need or want to, whereas many of the parks and sights can be drive-throughs.

During a ski holiday, don't catch a cold, catch a warm ski lodge instead.

The Italian slopes are also a great alternative if you enjoy skiing. And like a wise traveller, you must also book an accommodation in advance to better maximize your time in the Italian slopes.

Skiing Italy is almost certainly the option of those in search of winter vacations with sun and fashion but often unnoticed as a ski holiday location versus neighbouring France, Switzerland and Austria. Italy comes with fantastic ski areas, idyllic alpine communities and upmarket skiing. To put it accurately the Dolomites Superski spot offers probably the most runs of any sector anywhere in Europe. Ski housing in Italy is customary, comfortable and sometimes in conventional village residences or some great early hotel. Primarily, ski lodging in Italy is tremendous value. Discover what makes ski housing in Italy special.

Travel around

Airline flight times are a little longer contrary to other Alpine locations. Milan, Turin and Malpensa Livigno can be contacted within just two hours, Venice and Brescia take a little longer. Even so transfer mileage to most ski resorts to help you still get through to your ski accommodation in under 5 - 6 hours from the UK. Ski transfer companies are readily accessible at all air terminals. Most often (if you don't drive to Courmayeur), driving a car will be a less helpful option. Car route times is often as long as 14 - 16 hours based upon your ski vacation destination in Italy.

Ski Housing in Italy

Italy happens to be identified for great catered accommodation and fine foodstuff. In Italy there's a simple good mixture of hotels and ski chalets and several living spaces. You will discover minimal purpose-build blocks and discover mostly demand a small stroll or a ski bus to go to ski lift and ski slopes. Italy is also endowed with awesome historic hotels, many boasting substantial terraces that you can like your lunch or apres-ski under the sun. Many of the so-called Pensions (larger B&Bs) recently improved to hotel standard, adding fitness services along the way. Catered ski lodging in Italy quite often comes with impressive cooking. Italian cuisine and in particular the various pasta meals are the ultimate skiing diet.

Skiing

There are several well known ski areas in Italy and many very large interconnected ski areas like the Milky Way composed of Cesana, Claviere, Sansicario, Sauze d'Oulx and Sestriere and presenting 400km of piste. The Dolomites Super Ski Area comprising Selva Val Gardena, Val Di Fassa, Folgarida, Madonna di Campiglio, Alta Badia, Arraba, Alleghe and Cortina has more than 1200 kms of pistes, but not all interlinked. Regardless of whether you're a skiing newbie or a professional skier, you will in all probability acquire slopes to cater for your needs.

Ski Housing Expense

Ski accommodation in Italy is usually good value and mostly more cost effective than neighbouring France, Austria and Switzerland. Very cheap cost preference is frequently other possible traditional exclusive B&Bs and Pensions delivering half-board deals. Eating out is not high-priced and fine Italian food is easily available in many of the conventional eateries and mountain refuges. If you have dinner out at night you will need to budget £15 for dinner, £4 for a pint and £2 for a soft drink.

Find to find your ski lodging in Italy. You finalize on single, quick request form, Your requirement is contributed with all appropriate and signed up ski accommodation companies. Managers can send a quote and you may select the one which may match you. Even if it is not ski housing in Italy.

There are other ski destinations indeed, but to ski in Italy and to savour the food and ambiance of the country is more than enough to give the Italian slopes a try.

Hello sir, how are things? Hope all is well, we haven't heard from you in some time.

David C.

Ride, Smile, Blink Slow
www.motopoet.com | Instagram: @motopoet | Twitter: @themotopoet

Farmington, New Mexico to San Diego, California

Yes, as per usual, here’s a video if you prefer not to read my dribble.



After hanging out with Ben Rainchild of Green Chili Adventure Gear in Dixon, New Mexico, I headed back west and stayed in the same little town I stayed in going east. I really needed the rest because not only was my right elbow bothering me (which it had since Newfoundland), not my left shoulder and knee were giving me troubles, too.



The next day was a “positioning” day up to central Utah, but I did ride through Glen Canyon on the way there and it was spectacular. However, I did dodge some mean black clouds for awhile before losing the battle and catching myself in a hail storm. The entire southern part of Utah is canyons, buttes, arches, and monuments.





After stopping for the night in Hanksville, Utah, I veered southwest toward Capital Reef and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Wow!







I camped near Bryce Canyon and the next morning headed off to see even more stunning scenery. For Bryce Canyon, you’re up on top looking down, like from 10,000 feet. It was a cold but beautiful morning.





Afterwards, I headed to Zion National Park, but this time you’re actually riding through the canyon. Just awesome! (I didn’t take any photos, so the video above does better justice).



After a couple of days in St. George catching up on admin (like laundry), I made my way over to Boulder City in Nevada. I stayed at the Boulder Dam Hotel, which has lots and lots of history, including building of the nearby Boulder (now Hoover) Dam. When the airlines opened up here, many famous people stayed here, including Bette Davis, the Vanderbilts, and Will Rogers.





I visited the dam (see video) and then took off to the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. Just more spectacular scenery. My jaw was hanging pretty low taking it all in.





The next two nights, I hung out in Sin City. One, just to take a break from riding, but also to rest my aching joints. Las Vegas is also a city that “never sleeps” and there is so much to see and do without ever seeing the inside of a casino.







https://photos.smugmug.com/Loving-Li...IMG_1573-M.jpg
From Vegas, I took the route recommended by the National Park Service to Death Valley. This was the Old Spanish Trail and then Badwater Road, which leads right through the valley to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the U. S. at 282 feet below sea level, and the point of the highest recorded temperature in the world – 134F!!





There I met Leor and Domer from Israel who had been touring the U. S. for the last month. Great guys.



The next two days were transit days and I stayed in Ridgecrest and then Visalia California. I was on my way back to Yosemite for the Horizons Unlimited meeting. I know I have mentioned this before, but if you want to immerse yourself in the culture of overlanding by motorcycle, this is the place to do it. Great people, great lectures and seminars, just great atmosphere.



Some new besties, Sarah and Ginamarie!



Lots and lots of motorcycles, everything from Urals to GSs.



From Yosemite, I headed west to the coast going through Monterey, where I attended the postgraduate school there back in the early 2000s. Not much had changed – Monterey was still as beautiful as ever.



That night, I stayed in Morro Bay. It’s a small fishing town with a huge rock in the middle of the bay called Morro Rock.



Next was a stopover with family in Redlands, California. Just a beautiful place with amazing sunsets.



And the next day I stopped in to see the folks at Riverside BMW for service. Best bunch of people ever! I chatted with Dan Schoo for a long while the bike was getting worked on.



These last couple of days I have been hanging out in San Diego finalizing all my preparations before entering Mexico. I cannot quite put my finger on it, but entering Mexico to me is different than hopping over to Canada. I am expecting a culture shift with great people, beautiful lands, and awesome food, but something about heading south makes me feel I really need to prepare for it.

So, yes, sure, there are some special preparations – like getting insurance (my U. S. policy doesn’t cover me there), getting Pesos (20 to 1 exchange at the moment), getting all my documentation in order for all the border crossing, letting my bank know I am heading south, and so on. I am sure it’ll work itself out just fine, but nonetheless I am putting a lot of thought into it.

So, that’s it for now. I am crossing the border tomorrow, September 30, 2016.

Lessons learned:

1. So, some bike issues have presented. I’m on my 3rd set of brake pads now and had to replace the rear rotor (I am at 50K miles now). Seemed excessive to me but have been told by three dealers now that it’s normal. I also blew out a seal on the steering damper. For heading south, I am taking spare pads and an oil filter. Overall, maintenance on the BMW has been the biggest part of my budget.

2. I mentioned this in the last post, but I have been doing exercises related to the repetitive motion problems I have been having with my elbow and shoulder. I suppose I can’t emphasize enough the importance of exercising, and perhaps more importantly, stretching, to keep the aches at bay. It really has helped me.

San Diego, California to Chetumal, Mexico

The video is presented first for those of you with that preference. I will tell you, though, for this episode the video is a bit different, and likely somewhat more substantial. In the video, there is less of a timeline perspective and more of a thematic outline.



I suppose I should preface this by saying I could never do Mexico justice in my writing or video. From the time I entered Mexico at Tecate until the time I left 22 days later, I was blown away every single day by a friendly and welcoming culture, beautiful scenery, and amazing food. But, I’ll give it a try.

After a couple of days in San Diego, I was ready and raring to get into Mexico, my third country after five months on the road. I had several “chores” to do before entering Mexico, such as buying some Mexico insurance online, hiding some cash about the bike, getting a fake wallet prepared, and ensuring my Open Street Maps were loaded and working on the Garmin.

I decided to cross at Tecate as I’d heard it was not very busy, and it wasn’t. I was also shocked to learn that there is no one waiting for you on the Mexico side, you could literally drive right through and into the country and I’m sure no one would stop you.



But, knowing I need to get myself and my bike stamped in, of course I stopped. This is where I saw my first of many types of topes, evil little methods for slowing down vehicles. These turned out to be my least favorite, the bike always hopped nervously between the bumps, although I could always see these coming, unlike most of the topes in Mexico (which I talk about later).



Stopping in at immigration and at the banjercito to get the bike permit, I quickly had to summon all the Spanish I’d learned, but they were friendly and helpful and patient and soon I made it through and was on my way.





My first stop for Mexico was Ensenada, a very touristy town a couple of hours south of Tijuana. The Spanish language, music, and taco truck smells filled the air and I knew I was finally in Mexico.



Ensenada had a cruise ship port visit feel to it with lots of small colorful shops selling a lot of useless stuff. I didn’t stay here long.



The next day, the goal was El Rosario, but I stopped off at La Bufadora just outside of Ensenada first. La Bufadora is a natural marine geyser, meaning that waves break into an increasingly smaller space and once a very high pressure is achieved, the water is blown up and out to 180 feet.



Ooops… couldn’t read the sign until I parked there…



On the way to El Rosario, I experienced my first military checkpoint. By the time I left Mexico three weeks and a day later, I think I went through at least 15 military or police checkpoints. They were always courteous, friendly, and curious about my trip.



El Rosario is a tiny town famous at least two reasons: it’s the first checkpoint on the Baja 1000 and is home to Mama Espinoza’s, an awesome restaurant and hotel full of sorts of Baja memorabilia (Mama passed away last year).



After El Rosario, it was time to cross back towards the Sea of Cortez for a stop at Bahia de Los Angeles. Along this route, I had my first taste of Baja Desert. This is also when the heat really started to climb and I was sweating bullets and drinking liters of water. Bahia de Los Angeles, as is all of the east coast of Baja, is beautiful, especially as you catch the sun rising.



MEX-1, which runs the length of Baja is a pretty good road. It zigzags across the peninsula, so each zigzag takes you up and over the mountains. In my opinion, the east coast of Baja is much more scenic.



The next few days took me through Santa Rosalía, Loreto, and finally La Paz, where I holed up waiting for the ferry. All of the towns in the Baja are unique and the vibes excellent.







No, this is not “the” Hotel California.



I will tell you, I was challenged on the some of the roads where construction was happening, particularly right outside of La Paz. There was a stretch of about 10 miles of this sandy, dusty crap.



Waiting for the ferry was bad planning on my part, really, as I’d wanted to take the ferry to Tolopobompo, which is supposed to run daily, but it was all booked up. The ferry to Mazatlán is longer, but only runs three times a week, and is a bit more expensive. So, I ended up staying in La Paz for four days (I didn’t want to leave after only one day in La Paz). It was a nice resort place, but only about $40 a night.





Next was the ferry over to Mazatlán, where I booked a cabin for about $50 for the overnight sailing. The total time onboard was about 16 hours, so it was well worth it to have a place to hang out.





The next several days were a blur as I visited Durango, Zacatecas, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, and then finally Pátzcuaro. These cities, all modern and most large, share several common attributes:

Lots of motorcycles, mainly 125cc,

a main square with at least one elegant church,



lots of people walking around, smiling, and having a good time,





great food (that’s Mole on the left, a chocolaty chili sauce),



and a really positive vibe that you can feel.



I absolutely loved visiting and hanging out in these cities. I just wish I’d more time.

In Pátzcuaro, I met up with an old shipmate at her house there. Pátzcuaro is an arts scene full of vibrant colors and open air markets.



I took a morning while staying in Pátzcuaro and visited nearby Tzintzuntzan, where I found another cool church and some ruins dating back to the 12th century.





The next few days, I went through Puebla, just east of Mexico City, Oaxaca, Tenuantepec, and then San Cristobal. Again, all of the cities were exceptionally beautiful, full of colonial architecture, and smiling, happy people.











In San Cristobal, I ran across a pair you might know… Ed and Rachel. We had dinner, some laughs, and then some chocolate that I think gave me an orgasm.

Ed checking out someone’s handiwork. Rachel guiding us to dinner…



Gorging on delicious chocolate…



Next, I made my way to Palenque, site of some decent ruins, where I walked around in the jungle heat for a couple of hours.





Finally, I arrived in Chetumal, a staging point for crossing into Belize. I spent 22 days in Mexico and I could honestly say I would live there in an instant. The people are amazingly friendly, the culture vibrates all around you, the food is excellent (although a bit fattening for me), and is as diverse in landscape as any place I’d ever been. Interestingly, much of Mexico (mainland) lies on a plateau rising between two and eight thousand feet, so in my trip across the country in October it was quite cool. It is hardly some hot, dry desert country.

Lessons learned (I talk about them in the video a bit more, too):

1/ Mexico is a wonderfully inviting place full of friendly people, beautiful scenery, and great food. Stay away from the tourist areas, like Cabo, Mazatlán, and Cancun, and Mexico is also very cheap to travel around in, about one-half to one-third the costs in the U.S.

2/ Driving in Mexico is an odyssey. They have several different customs, shall I say, that took some getting used to. 1) The speed limit signs are ignored for the most part as far as I could tell; 2) topes… they are everywhere and most are not marked. It’s the quickest way to bite your tongue off if you’re not paying attention that I know of; 3) You will encounter animals being tended alongside and in the road nearly everywhere you go; 4) Cuota (toll) roads are great and fast, but expensive; 5) people will indicate it is OK to pass them with a left-hand blinker – are they turning or telling you it’s safe… ? Usually context provides this answer; 5) in some places the lane to turn left through an intersection is actually in the far right lane – confusing as hell, just pay attention to the signs; 6) In towns near topes you’d often find people asking for donations or handing out pamphlets. This just slows things down a bit; 7) Stoplight entertainers and windshield cleaners are everywhere; 8) Yes, I think dogs might outnumber people in Mexico, and they all live beside or in the road…; 9) I encountered demonstrators blocking the road three times – once, I was rerouted through a town with burnt out buses, once, I managed to slip through the trucks that gave me just enough space, and once, I had to pay 50 pesos (about $2.50USD) to pass. In no cases did I feel in danger or threatened; 10) I skipped the state of Guerrero – too many warnings from the locals (and the US State Department). There were stories (from the locals) about severed heads in the streets of Acapulco now that the town is no longer on the gringo tourist trail. I could be all wrong about this, but I went (or didn’t go) where the locals suggested; and last, 11) Military/Police checkpoints are everywhere. I think I went through at least 15 crossing Mexico. They were always polite, even friendly, and sometime curious about my trip. No worries here – they are mostly young kids and trying to make Mexico safer.

3/ Learn the language!! I found in every case where I tried to speak Spanish, I would see the other person light up, take a pause, and in turn, get much more receptive to my communication, even helpful, even if my Spanish was horrible. I said frequently, “Yo creo que puedo entender si hablas mas despacio” and always got a smile. (I believe I can understand if you speak more slowly). I learned a great deal of Spanish before I left, but I still have more to learn. I learned a lot of slang terms in Mexico, too, like chela for , and ¿Qué ondo?, for what’s up. I got chuckles every time I used those, but they understood.

4/ Open Street Maps for Garmin. They worked great for me almost 100% of the time. And they are free!!