Ooops, forgot about this one and thundered on posting later stuff so this is a Dr.Who time machine step back in time.

Our day started out with an invitation to go to breakfast with a Chinese man, Xiao Pong, very nice guy we had met at camp the previous evening, a little unusual to see Chinese camping thus he caught Ellens interest.



We were there



Over breakfast we discussed the Arches park, Zion etc so he was a wealth of information, we trade info on where we had been too, on conclusion of breakfast we all headed on our travels all a little wiser and a little more prepared, something you can not buy off your GPS or map.

Only just north of Moab the Arches Park was well worth the ride and walk, we loved the place.

Only a small report with a few photos as the place is not big and the main event is The Delicate Arch which pretty much everyone knows about.



There are the twin arches and the windows too, all providing fascination to viewers including Ellen and I.







The rock formations and colours are seriously cool and nothing like we have in New Zealand, we were lucky enough to be there firstly when it was fine and got some groovy pics, secondly a thunderstorm came across and soaked the place in matter of minutes.

Due to the heavy rock base the water has nowhere to go accept along the ground thus only a few mm of rain and the place was running like a river and it totally transformed the colours into different place.

With nowhere to hide we got a bit wet from our shorts down, we had seen the ominous looking clouds from a distance so took our wet jackets with us, it wasn’t until we were at the end of the walk at the Arch that the rain fall was imminent, somewhat of a treat in the desert.

Upon returning to the carpark some Harley riders had been caught in the rain, seems as though the fingerless gloves and waterproof bandanna’s were not quite as waterproof as they though, they all looked a bit cold.:rofl

Back to camp and pack up to head on to Monument Valley which you have already read about, on the way we went through a town called Mexican Hat .. not sure why??

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

I feel like Max Headroom here talk..talk..talking to myself.!!!!



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Ok back on the time machines we fast forward to Zion National Park.

On arriving at Zion it was clear the rock formations were very different to the others.

They consist of large waves of smooth rock, all the faces on various angles giving it quite an unusual moonscape. :eek1

Soon we disappeared into the 1 mile long tunnel only to pop out into a completely different world.

As we were running a little late in the day we decided to go to the camp ground first and set up, too late, FULL!!

We rode in anyway looking for a fello rider to share a site with, the camp host came over and asked us what we were doing so we explained to him, he said follow me I will take you over to a motorcycle which he did, we wrote a note and left it on his bike, we were going to head out of camp and leave our bikes with the host.

No sooner we decided to do that the neighbours (Steve and Roye) turned up on the other side, I went over to them and told them we chased a Squirrel out of their chilli bin only to find out it wasn’t theirs anyway.

So we got chatting, we ended up sharing their site that night and taking it over the following day when they left.

In between times we bought some red wine for a treat and they served up some tortilla chips and had some pre dinner chat and nibbles, very nice indeed, thank you to Steve and Roye for your welcoming hearts and hospitality, it was very nice for us.



Given they had been to New Zealand and even in Wanaka in March this year they new of where we lived which was really neat.

That following morning it was a bubble and squeek cook up of leftovers and need to finishes, this set us up nicely for the big day ahead of us that we had planned of stomping up a the Narrow River Canyon on the Virgin River and visiting the pools etc.

The day was stinking hot, up in the late 90’s or about 38 degrees C in normal language so it was really nice to get back to camp already set up, we spent the day canyoning and climbing, beautiful place.







Under a waterfall



Rock faces reaching to the sky that really stuff around with the human gyroscope








Next morning we packed up to the next leg of our Journey to to Henderson which is part of Vegas.

Stinking hot so we decided to go for a swim in Lake Mead, the water temperature was 84 degrees F ... not far off steaming!!! yay that is how I like it.

Off into Henderson to make an assault on the big city, Starbucks was calling for a Frapaccino and some food for travels.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

I went to Las Vegas about 18 years ago so was interested to see it again, Ellen never having been there was in two minds, we decided to jump onto couchsurfing to see if we could get a host for the night as it would have been very uncomfortable with the temperature in a tent.

We contacted a couchsurfer, Chinese guy called Dave and sent a request to him.

He replied promptly to us and it was when we were sitting in McDees loading our photos so the timing was perfect, he agreed to host which was cool.

We arrived at his place, whoa ... we went for 3rd world tenters to 1st world Vegas stars.

Dave has a very nice home to say the least and very generously offered to take us into town so we could see the strip from the safety and comfort of a local driver and an air cond car, a 550 Merc nothing less, we said ... o u w h OK.

No need to go to town to lose all ya money tho..



The Merc was twin turbo thus was not lazy in any aspect, Dave drove us around in to town and down the strip, we stopped at one Casinos and parked the car to go and watch the water display which was amazing to say the least.

Casino ceiling.... similar to our tent :huh



Our host Dave, Ellen and I, actually I look like the odd one out



The water display in front of a casino .... o u t s t a n d i n g !!









While we were there two hot young lusties were getting their photos taken with all the guys, this is her, I had a little bit of trouble focusing on her face, something must be wrong with the camera but I don’t think I will get it fixed.:eek1



After the water display we went out for tea to a Chinese restaurant and the food was outstanding.



Mmmmm duck :clap



We returned back to Daves and sat with a wine that we had bought for another treat (two in a row) and had a chat about life for a while.

Dave was flying out the following morning so we all peeled off to bed not too late, Dave thanks for hosting us you made our stay in Vega very memorable, we will catch up again for sure.:clap

In the morning breaky was had, some photo instructions were given on how to use our camera and we were on our way to cheat Death Valley.

Death Valley was HOT, also the lowest point on our GPS read -264 ft, we stopped for lunch at -7 feet and 45 degrees C, the thermometer went to 50 degrees C then hit the stops ... Whoa, we were just dripping.



Hard to photograph sand and make it look cool .. at least with our gear





I should have stopped at -264 ft below see level but I failed :cry .. so -7 will have to do. :clap



Lunch was a little on the warm side, be fair to say we were Two Toasted Kiwis with a half side of roasted Chinese :eek1



Having made it through and cheated Death Valley we carried on towards Sequoia National Park taking a small back road to a cool camping spot 6000 feet above stress level.



Nice camping spot that we had to ourselves





A fire was had, tea was eaten then off to bed to recharge our batteries.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Every time i log on yours is the first i check,once again wonderful photo's and commentary.Noel

Bloody great. The colours of those rocks are amazing.

Cheers

Nigel in NZ

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The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with . -- 2200 BC Egyptian inscription

Upon leaving our camp at Kennedys Meadow Camp we climbed to 9200 ft through a pile of twisties fit for a motard race, Ellen and I smoothly and quietly carved up the road with virtually no one else to contend with while taking in the views supplied by mum nature.



We stopped at Springvale to get some food and fuel, a cyclist pulled up and we got to chatting , turns out he too had been to Wanaka which made it very easy for us to explain where we live.

Leaving Springvale we carried on up the hill, I missed my turn as Ellen had turned the sound off on my GPS, we took an excursion which took us up a steep zig zag only to have to come back....nice views tho

On returning we picked up the correct road and continued on our merry way stopping only at a local dairy to get a coldy before hitting Sequoia National Park.

We arrived at the park booth to be very nicely greeted by the Yogi Bear, a quick chat and park map we were on our way to the BIG trees, part way up we had a 15 minute stop for road works.

We arrived at camp slightly late after taking the wrong turn earlier, no stress plenty of light and great facilities so all was in order, we even had a wardrobe :evil



The following morning we set of to see Sherman and the BIG trees, now I am no gardener and I don't have green fingers but wow :eek1, pretty cool, a little hard to photograph with our gear but we had fun doing it.



The Sherman was certainly big and pretty glam, some of the large trees stand incredibly high.







One that had fallen was the edge of the carpark support, the root system was massive!!





Some have huge voids in them from forest fires



That evening we took a stroll to the head of the valley, stunning place and beautiful weather, life is good.





We met some people up there who wanted to go to New Zealand so we went back to their camp later and sat around the camp fire, drunk wine and chatted about travel etc.

While in the park we went up Moro rock ...so cool!





:eek1:eek1:eek1:eek1:eek1:eek1



Nice pic of Ellen :clap



Things got a bit rough later that afternoon when we went to the lodge, I got too close to a bear and was attacked ... very lucky to be alive.



The trees were so big it made the DR look small





Next morning we set of toward Fresno via Buck rock fire lookout, on leaving the forest we carried on to Fresno to meet up with our mates Shann and Tonya, we organised to be there for my birthday which Pierre pointed out and yes I am 20 with 26 years experience.

We were treated to a black bear in a tree ... about 50 -60 ft high in the tree :eek1



Spot him up in the tree!!!



Lastly before exiting we went up to the Buck Rock lookout



Steep stairs up





Pretty good view too



Ellen on the way out.



We were lucky enough to have tires and various bits and pieces sent to Shann and Tonyas home which made life very easy for us so we took the advantage to get everything done and dusted while having access to work space, tools, swimming pool etc.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Friday 21st.

Well we had organised to catch up with Shann a good mate of mine and his good lady Tonya who we had not met as yet.

Coupled with it being my birthday on the 25th it was the ideal time to take a brake and do some much needed catchup work on the bikes as well as spend some quality time with a good mate on my birthday, life is good.

Our list for the bikes included, rear tires change, sprocket hub and wheel bearings, air filter clean, failed LED light replacement, wire in the POV power outlets, replace Ellens side cases, adjust the fuel intake pipe, oil and filter etc, apart from that we were up to date.

Greetings were had as we had organised to meet at Clawsons Suzuki, an easy point from Shanns work, we then followed Shann home.

We met the lady who managed to tie him down, Tonya, very nice lady and very welcoming.

Saturday 22nd.

We did nothing, had coffee, went to Costco etc and had a very lazy day.

Sunday 23rd.

In the morning we set off to Pismo beach, on the way we stopped at a winery .... WOH HOH 11’s, I felt like seafood for lunch so that seem to win with the crowd, we ate at The Splash which was very nice, following lunch we went for a stroll along the beach and poked our heads into the caves, very relaxing and nice to stick our feet into salt water and sand.







We headed out onto the pier, normally talking about Pelican we would be referring to the cases, these where just hard case.



Imagine what you could do with a neck that twisted like this :evil



Who can out-steer who??



On conclusion of the walk we headed north to Hearst Castle and headed back home via a winery valley.



Nice sitting in the back and being driven



Shann has a cat/alien ..... it seemed kinda normal ... ish



As time went on we were staring to get suspicious as the antics were very robotic



Busted ...... confirmed this was in fact a battery powered alien cat cleverly acting as a prostitute as a disguise ... didn't fool us tho



Monday 24th.

Went to the Apple shop to get our trackpad sorted out as it was on a part time holiday, did some writing first, swimming and general mucking around.

Shann took us to In and Out, better than Mc Dees by a long shot and a first for us, really enjoyed that.

Towards the end of the day we went to the Dollar Tree where everything in the shop is 1 buck, could not believe the selection of goodies you can get.

Tuesday 25th September 2012, 46 but not Rossi.

My birthday, all about me and it was, I am an identical twin and Paul my twin bro is in NZ, for the first time in our life I am one day younger than him, we are 4 minutes apart at birth, bit of useless information.

So the funny thing was it is meant to be a relaxing do nothing day (which we had already done), Shann and I spent some quality bloke time working on the bikes and talking shit, tires changed, Oil changed, etc so great progress.

Carbs lining up for surgery



Oil and Tires ready to go on and in



Bombs away on the oil



Ellens damaged case replacement underway



Shann getting ready to change his oil



My Cush drive bearing broke off the internal shoulder part of the cup, very weird, was going to replace them regardless but was surprised to find one part broken ??? :eek1 :huh



Heidenau K60 Scout taken off at 12200 miles, I could have easily squeezed another 400 - 500 miles out of it if I had too, we are very happy running these, we are running the 140/80-17 which fit in perfectly.



Nice to have access to a jack to make life easy :clap



LED marker light replacement under way with some quick soldering to be done



Geoff and Gus Geoff & Gus's Blog also did some dodgy dealings with Ellen and Shann and had organised to put their own trip sticker on some Ozzie red called Yellow Tail which was absolutely mint, onya dudes.



Wednesday 26th

Was a continuation of bike work, took time to get sorted properly and at the conclusion I was very happy in my mind that everything was done properly.

Thursday 27th

Can’t remember so it musta been good. :freaky :evil

Friday 28th

Kings Canyon, as Ellen and I had not been there we took a road trip in Shanns hack, bloody thing didn’t have a roof but that made it easy to take photos.



We did go to roads end and really enjoyed the ride which was swift at times but being able to look out the window without multitasking and having to watch out for terrible drivers made it a real treat.

Hair is our shiny hered driver :wink:



As usual the scenery was terrible but we made the most of it



Neat cottage from yesteryear



Hoods lookin tough



Shanns hack



Shann with his hack, we don't have wide angle lens to take in the whole corner so we used Ellen's sunnies, kiwi invention bro



Interesting tree



Superb riding road :clap



On our return to Fresno we picked up Bryce (Tonya's son) and went to Chipotles mexican food, YUM, very very nice indeed, no pics as we were starving and forgot to take photos.

Saturday 29th

Shann and I got to go for a bloke ride with just the two off us so something we had been planning for ten years, coupled with his local knowledge we went to local lakes and mountain roads, we had a blast, he let me ride his 900SS .... a quick trip down memory lane with handling, power, brakes etc ..... something we don’t have now. :rofl

Parked at the lake



Take him for a ride and he just flips me off :rofl



And again .... mum warned me about boys like him



Adv gear and sports bike .... don't think that combo will even take off



I was on the ride too



Over one of the passes it go so cold the arse fell out of the temperature.:eek1 it would have dropped to 25 deg C



...guess you could say I lost my cool :confused

Sunday 30th

Shann, Andi, Ellen and Greg (Shanns dad) go to Yosemite, I think we were escorted out of Fresno so we didn’t nic anything on the way out. :evil

Lunch spot was at Oakhurst and burgers were the order of the day, Greg had a generous moment and shouted us our lunch... we musta been polite or something , thanks dude!!!, upon finishing at the trough we carried on to Yosemite National Park and formed a game plan to head through to Tunnel view point where pictures would be taken and Shann and Greg would ride back to Fresno leaving us homeless. :eek1



Greggs bike looks like it has dipped into a chroming tank so photo ops for the twisted minded were in order, we utilized the shape of the tank which made some cool pics.. so enjoy a quick trip into my mind.

Ellens bike



Shanns bike



Being friendly



The whole bikie gang looking hard arse



Ellen and I then set camp and were given a lucky break in a FULL camp 4, some people had just gone so it was our lucky day given people had queued earlier for 3 - 4 hours.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

This post is more about the pics as I simply can't explain it so I will let the "picture is worth a thousands words" take over, enjoy.

After Shann and Greg left us homeless in a strange land we were lucky to score the camp site at Camp 4 the climbers camp, see the FULL signs!.



And the bear aware pics :eek1 :eek1



The first thing that caught my eye was the accessible parking sign which was over the OTHER side of the wall ...... WTF :eek1...are they meant to park on the cliff side??? ... they should change the sign to inaccessible.



We found ourself surrounded by young fellas and fellesses .... all the fellas had 6 packs!!!! ... bugga me I felt like a monster and from an old peoples home... perfect we love hanging with younger people.





After setting up we headed off to Glacier lookout, whoa ... top of the world views second to none, looking over the edge was spooky for me but I made the most of scaring myself which was plenty enough for my daily quota of scaring myself daily so I know I am alive.



Half dome was standing out with grandeur amongst his shorter counterparts and with the evening sun pasting the western faces it was a pretty cool sight to see.





Spot the people on the top



Yosemite Village below looked like a toy village and the cars like matchboxes, again looking out and down gave me the willies.







So we had some neighbours from England who were closer to our age and some young gun rock climbers, really neat taking to these guys from around the world, watched some vid of them falling of a cliff .....and larfing!!.:huh

We gained some local knowledge on a walking track to the top of Yosemite Falls, a 2800ft climb ... perfect for us oldie non 6 packers.

Two climbing kiwis set off on a mission to conquer the mighty Yosemite falls, it started off as a zigzagathon, 60 actually!! then leveling out for a while before the final assault up the gully part 2 zigzagathon.



The views were getting more and more stunning and breath taking (maybe the breathtaking bit was cos we are unfit), although the falls were not falling the abrupt rock faces and majestic surfaces of granite slowly changing colour as the day progressed added up to a walk that would make you stand there in silence and in awe.... so we did that.





Ya just can't help yaself from looking!







Nearly there



Upon reaching the top I was scared, overwhelmed, had vertigo BIG time and totally gob smacked .. so a normal day.



Chance to take off the smelly socks in the sun ..... so nice! :clap



Big views



Other way



Some strange trees







Really neat tree right near the face



What can I say but make the effort to go if you can, you will not be let down, it proved hard on my knobbly knees from previous injuries but worth every bit of discomfort.

Al Capitan was calling us so we climbed aboard the free shuttle bus to have a look at this incredible rock face, 5 climbers had just started an ascent earlier in the day so we we treated to a level of climbing we had only ever seen at the Wanaka Film Fest. :eek1:eek1:eek1

I am not sure how to explain my feelings seeing them hanging on a rope other than fear, thrill, excitement, awe, crazy, etc ..... be fare to say it is not my game.

See the tree, to the left is where they are.





See the zoom up







See the close up.







That night was quiet in the camp as the climbers returned very tired (and us) so sleeping was easy as no parties were on, the moon was out, again I will let the pics do the talking.







The following morning we packed up and headed out of the park to Lake Tahoe.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

With the ride to Tahoe being uneventful it was relaxing and pretty with some of the passes already sporting autumn colours that were sneaking in quietly but noticeably.

Truckee was our next destination which was a house swap we did in NZ two years back so a time to catch up on some writing, the photo precessing and learning how to use imovie etc, unfortunately the place we were staying at had a hot tub, garage, great views and a soft bed with sheets ... and cups .... bit of a bugga but we got by.



First day we walked around town, did some food shopping and got a thermometer to replace the previous escapee in Fresno, what started as a quick walk to the shops turned into about a 12 km walk, nice to get the legs moving again after Yosemite but on the flats.

Some stuff in the shops (note Ellen time)



Rest the old bones





Our reward was a dunk in the hot tub to soak the bones .... l u v e l y !!!



Second day was a catch up and fix it day (again), Ellens Touratech cradle had been playing up so it was the trouble shooting day with upgrades on software from Garmin eliminating the problem, turns out the Garmin power cradle was the problem.

Also my AME grips are playing up, they cleverly turned themselves on in Fresno to full heat when it was 99 F so very unwelcomed as I struggled to hold the bars, I had to pull the power again on them so I would not rate these grips very highly at all giving this is already the second set.

Third day we took a day trip to Incline Village and Sand Harbour, we spotted some money into the local economy buying food etc, in exchange we had bean spotted beautiful weather with a nice ride, win win.



X marks the spot!!!



That evening was one of luxury again in the hot tub, this was turning out to be a hell of a treat.

Day four, we planned to do a biggish walk on the Pacific Crest trail however we got a little waylaid and ended up riding up Donner pass road from Donner Lake, again we were graced with great views, a groovy bridge and car that had a little damage, should buff out tho, I suspect not enough compression damping eh.







We rode around to the roads end and left Chiwi there, our feet took us for about a 4 mile walk around the lake, through the camp ground and back, we then returned to town to get some food.

Ellen decided to head off for a run into the forest and found a road that headed up to a lake and pass so that was on the agenda for the following day to look up there.

Did I mention the hot tub. rofl

Day 5, video mounts had been bugging me so it was time to do something about it, off to ACE hardware for a skunk around, found some sprung loaded brackets which are perfect so it was all on to get these mounted.



On completion of getting the mounts done we we both piled back onto Ellens bike and rode through the forest block to Watson Lake, Brockway summit and Watson point to look over Lake Tahoe, spectacular views to say the least and a neat cruse through the forestry.







Cool track to get up there



Not sure why this sign said this but I obeyed anyway



Day 6, so it was time to leave and head off up to Reno to meet Scott and Joanne.

We cleaned up, packed up and shot off up highway 89 to meet up with Scott at Sierraville, Scott then took us on a roundabout ride to lookout points and forestry roads which was mint as without local knowledge we would not have seen any of this.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Scott and I talking at an icecream stop on the way to their home ..... nice



Scotts weapon the KTM 950 Super Enduro loaded with the right fruit :clap



Arriving at Scott and Joannes around 5.45 pm just before dark we were greeted by Joanne and her sister Jan who had been on a marathon run ... sounds like fun!!! :huh

Ellen knocked up some tea (Dinner) which was a Chinese stirfry mix which turned out to be a crowd pleaser, coupled with a few wines a good time was had by all.

Scott had Monday off work so invited to take us out on a local ride, Ellen said the boyz can go for a hoon (ride), Scott then said well take the 990 Adventure so I didn’t have to peel the cases off the DR (and I stand a chance of almost keeping up given he was taking his KTM 950 Super Enduro)

What was a man to do but accept this invitation and walk straight past the DR!!! .... so off we set.

Ouwh yeah





A rideby past our official photographer





Scott and I headed off off like two kids heading into a sandpit with powerful tonka toys, given it was a loaner and I was on unfamiliar roads I took it easy and I didn’t want to buy 3/4 of a second hand smashed 990 Adventure.:eek1

We swapped bikes during the day, at one stage I was doing 110 mph on the 950 SE, the Devil on my left shoulder blew the Angel off my right shoulder so it was game on, been a long time since I had power, brakes, handling and sound all working at once on the gravel. :evil :rofl .... that thing is sic

Unfortunately I had to give it back but the 990 Adventure was certainly not the short straw either.

Following Scott on the road section





Me on the 990 Adv, I nearly split my helmet with the grin!!!



Just as well the ARAI is tough enough to hold my silly grin



A stop at an old burnt down house



Scott bein well mannered





We hightailed back averaging about 90 - 95 mph on the gravel roads, I felt like a Dakar racer and even once home and showered I was still fizzing at the most excellent hooligan days riding I have done since leaving home.

Thanks Scott you are a good bastid, great fun, a great rider, a great host and now a great mate, looking forward to catching you guys agin either here, NZ or on some dodgy trail.

That evening once life calmed down to normal we headed out for Tea (Dinner) and had the best steak that I have eaten again since we left home.

Root , steak, mash spud and beans .... I was a man content and from the KTM I was spent, be fair to say I might have enjoyed the day.

On the way home we stopped in at Freeze Yoghurt and had a dessert each, YUMMO ... musta been serious fattening cos it was beautiful.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Looks like once again you have come through with excallent photo's.Hey you know how us Aussie'/kiwi's call dinner/supper TEA.well my brother has a canadian girlffriend ,jeff (my brother)would say something like i im going to have TEA now ,or i have to get the dog it's TEA she sent a heap of different TEA'S from Canada ,she thought Aussie's must drink a lot of TEA even the bloody dog drink's it !!!Well it made me laugh.Carry on enjoying reading your travel's.Noel

Tuesday morning Scott and Joanne had to make sure the wheels of industry were turning while Ellen and I set off toward Crater Lake via some dodgy backroads Scott had directed us to, we started on part of the road from the day before so familiar territory then head up to Gerlach, then up via Vya then on towards Adel.

A stop along the way



A pond that was slightly green ... I am sure it was safe to drink :evil



So you think in the desert there is not much to take photos of....



You are right .. to a point anyway





We were not going to make Adel as Ellen was spent and dropped the pace considerably which I recognised straight away so we started looking for camp at 4.30 pm.

We explored a few avenues off the road which were cow trails, I saw a hut with an access road so had a look up that to find a locked gate so I returned back to the road, we continued with options running low as the pace is covered is Sage bush and the wind was picking up.



We came upon the Antelope Sanctuary so we turned off up to that, we saw what looked to be a lookout type building so headed for that ... well we arrived there to find a cabin made of stone with windows and fireplace and bunks.... we couldn’t believe our luck.





Wine was in order as we watched the sun go down, we set up had Tea (Dinner) then I set too and wrote this report while listening to the wind whistle around the building, this was a nice feeling.



We had the whole place to ourselves and an amazing sunset with outstanding desert colours









So it s is 8.03 pm now on Tuesday night, it is pitch black outside, Ellen is in bed and the last of my wine has evaporated so time for the human battery recharge and have the wind sing us to sleep.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Wednesday morning we woke to a slightly overcast sky, no sooner had started packing up and mum nature decided to turn it on for us, the lite cloud cleared away to a stunning clear sky with warmth as welcomed as a gravel road to an adventure rider.

The sky provided us with some neat colours again.





Interesting moss on a rock



The digs



Some unusual growths in front of the digs :eek1



Inside the digs ... check it out!!!



C o f f e e



We looked across the plato from chez Delis stone mansion and thanked the Adventure Motorcycling and camping gods for great digs and great riding and great place, I am not the religious type but someone/something needed to be thanked.

Upon packing up we headed north toward Adel, then left on highway 140 on black top through a twisty road to Lakeside, nearly lunchtime we decide to food up at Safeway and head across to Subway for lunch after.

Doing the tarseal cowboy bit



Lunch and food shopping done it was time to fill the machinery as well prior to making our way to Crater Lake, we past many small towns and within an uneventful ride we arrived at about 3.00pm at Crater Lake National Park, only one camp ground open now and it is $21.00 (with no BJ with that...fark).

No biggy given the last nights huge bonus so swings and roundabouts, the day was still stunning although cooling a lot quicker a lot earlier, the notice on Yogi Bears booth saying last night was 33 deg f (nearly zero for normal people).

Camp set up was in order and we decided to use the rest of the day with a short walk out of camp and loop back up, the creek at the bottom of the gully offered us beautiful spring colours which are filling our days more and more every day.

We found permanent frosting already on the track much to our surprise and a sure indication that winter is setting in fast.

Dodgy bridge



Stunning creek and colours



Most excellent autumn colours providing a surface that looked like a heavily decorated cake



A blue bird that neither of us can remember the name of ... it a bugga gettin old.



Tea (Dinner) was Macaroni cheese after cheese and crackers for the entree, Wallace and Grommitt woudla been at home here.

An earlier night with pitch black and low temperatures was had after our fire died down about 8.00pm.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Heya Noel

Classic mate ... that is our take on it too, we are still Kiwis so will talk Kiwi as that makes us Kiwi and keep us Kiwi and to that end a bit different from the rest of the crowd we are currently haunting

Really appreciate your comment on our photos, we are trying to do better with what we get each day, hope your ride is going well too mate.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Excellent RR, thanks for sharing, enjoy the US, I sure enjoyed NZ.