I'm in Bend, Oregon this morning. A bright, sunny, clear blue day in the high desert. McKenzie Pass was still closed from winter; had to come via Sisters.

I was attending the Tynda gathering on the weekend. Fun and entertaining; lots of experienced travelers there, although lacking from foreign attendees. Did the 'big tree' ride out of Westfir yesterday, with a couple hour soak at the Cougar Lake hots springs. Left me wobbly the rest of the afternoon.

So I'm on my way to Seattle, where I started over 4 years ago. I'll be spending the summer in the pacific northwest - riding mostly. And camping (best place to be in the U.S. - dry, with few bugs! - with trees and clear water and glaciers and mountains and...). So yeah, Murph, I'll be in the area (well, if western Montana can be considered in the neighborhood - just depends on when you come by. Keep in touch.

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

There's lots of public campgrounds that offer the facilities, as well as the security. You need to think like an American going on vacation though; think beaches, lakes, forests, mountains. Away from most metro areas, the places you go to get away from your 50 week a year life. So your route will have a lot to do with what's possible.

My route has been the Appalachian Mountains on the east coast, and the national forests in that area, through Tennessee to Arkansas (where I consider there to be better possibilities for camping then along the gulf coast). From the Ozark national forest area, I booked across Oklahoma to get to New Mexico as soon as I could, to get into more mountains (with forests around them). Then I've been passing through National Parks (Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon) as well as traveling the Sierra Nevada route up through eastern California (instead of the more popular coast route - Hwy 1). Just lots more camping possibilities, IMHO.

BTW, every time I 'free camp' I could have chosen a half dozen other campsites in campgrounds with other people. Except, I was surprised how empty the campgrounds were in northern California and Oregon earlier this June. Now, good (dry, clear, warm) weather has finally arrived and they are active, maybe even full on weekends.

Nope - don't use 'em. I look for national forest lands on state maps in road atlases. That's where you'll find public lands with cheap to free campsites. Cheap means with toilets, picnic table, fire ring - maybe drinking water. Free is usually no toilet, no drinking water, no picnic table. If you do fires, well, you're in luck, if you can scrounge wood and fire starter.

So if you are looking on advice on where to find such campgrounds - look for them around national forests. (In the west, you'll also find lots of BLM lands near the national forests as well, but these are the more 'cattle grazing', more desert like places, maybe around reservoirs and the like (experience helps in knowing where to find these places).

You'll find 'private' campgrounds in the same areas you'll find national forest campgrounds.

If you can find a motel for under $50 (location is very key) you are in a cheapish place (and lucky to have found a place that cheap). You can pay more, and still be in a cheapish place, but again, depends on where you're at.

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

quastdog,Kudos on the World Beer Tour site,good stuff !!.
I may be deciding to do the same this trip.
I expect to hit Steamboat around the 6/7 July,stay a night with friends and then do a few days in Yellowstone,since I`ve never been.i`ll be looking to camp cheap or free.
If i`m gonna be in the area(meaning 200-400mls) i`ll pm you my cell.
Lemme know.Love to share a camp and tell some lies !!!.

Murph

I'm in Seattle - on July 1. I told myself not to arrive until AFTER the 4th. It's like being in Germany today; cold and wet. Local weather forecast through the weekend; cold and wet.

I just couldn't wait.

But heck, I had an offer of a place to stay for a few days! I'm doing some menial labor today for my friend - gardening stuff. First manual labor for me since Finca Rita days with John and Annette!

So while my friend is out with his girl this weekend, I have use of a house, and all the cool stuff: a stove to cook on; a refrigerator (24x7 cold , that's a novelty); a hot shower to stand in; internet in my underwear; audio/video entertainment system. There's way more cool stuff, too much to mention, but you get the picture.

I've been on the road too long. Over 2 months on the road now, some 12,000 miles to Seattle, where it all began some 4 years earlier. And nearly all of it camping; in the woods, in the dark, all by myself, and not carrying!

Anyway, I'll be hanging out in this area for the rest of the summer. I'll be attending the BMW MOA in Redmond, Oregon in 2 weeks, and maybe an ADVrider event over by Salmon, Idaho the next weekend.

Some good motorcycling yet to do this summer.

I'm still looking for other travelers to meet up with.

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

I previously mentioned a bear encounter happened to me down in Yosemite. I had another encounter 2 weeks later.

A couple weeks ago I rode west through Chico, Calif., on my way from Sierraville to the coast. I spent the night in the Mendocino National Forest, up in the Mendocino Mountains (coastal range), in Mendocino county (northern cal.) just above 6000 feet. I found an unused horse camp - picnic table, artesian well water, fire ring, flat spot for the tent. I crawled into the bag early, before sunset, for lack a fire as the temps rapidly dropped.

I became awake with a tapping sound on my tent, near my head on the tent fabric. Something - an animal of some type - had to be trying to get in. I shouted loudly, but the tapping continued. I clapped hands - no halt. What the ???! At least no claw ripping through the fabric. And no stink, so far. WTF? Its freezing ass cold out, some damn animal is outside my tent.

I crawled out of the bag - right then I should have asked myself what was I doing?

I felt around for my headlamp - still something tapping. I unzipped the screen door, and began unzipping the 2nd fabric door, zipped partially closed for ventilation while providing a bit of extra warmth. I get the doors unzipped, hit my headlamp switch and stick my head out the door with light blazing. The snake, sitting on my duffle bag, (or the snake-like alien bio-life/mind probe thingy is another theory), instantly blinded, backed out and disappeared in a flash. Me - I cooly recoiled into the back corner of my tent and, unnerved a teeny bit, rapidly regained my composure and scrambled to zip the freaking hole in the tent closed and keep out the freaking serpent from hell.

Bloody bastard was looking to snuggle up to a warm body - or maybe an orifice in the case of that alien probe. I didn't like where that was going at the time, so I triple checked zip closures. Glad I had that pee bottle with me inside the tent; probing outside for it in the dark, where the snakes were, was a bit terrifying.

I had a bit of trouble sleeping, but in the end managed to get a full night's sleep. It was freezing cold in the a.m. - coldest night of the trip. In California, no less.

So travelers, along with the bears, think snake!

Sleep well.

Oh, and one other thing. Check out the slugs in Oregon. Huge suckers, covered in slime. What are those things?

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Jeebus,McKenzie Pass is STILL closed?.I guess it`s still only July 1.
So I
didn`t know about that ADVrider thing at Salmon.I wanted to try to make one of those without going too far east,that looks like it could be doable.Looks like it`s only about 550mls east of Redmond.I too wamt to go south after Redmond,waaay south.
Anyways,you sound all nice `n comfy up there with yer `n Hi-Fidelity tunes `n sheet !!
I`m pullin outa here(Ft.Lauderdale) Sat morn @ 5am headed for Albuequerque by Sun night.Thats the plan anyway,we`ll see.
If I don`t hear from ya Chuck i`ll see ya at Redmond.

Murf

Murph:
Have a good trip then. (I used to travel like that, when I had a job).

You can find me pretty easy at Redmond - I'll be the only one on a KLR most likely. Easier than me trying to spot your beemer.

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Yeah sure,even though it`s gonna be a bunch `o old Beemer snobs,you REALLY think yer gonna be the ONLY KLR !!!!!.
See ya up there Chuck,put the coffee on......

Murf

So I'm at the Beemer rally - they got an 'award' of some sort for the person who rode a bike the most distance to the rally starting in Canada or US. North American Grand Tour or something like that.

So I ask the folks at the Awards desk if it has to be a BMW. "Nope", the desk guy says, "but ask the committee co-chair"! Committee Co-chair says nope, nothing about it having to be a BMW. So I complete the application, submit the 14,300 and some miles I rode since leaving Michigan April 19, backed up with my GPS tracks and a slew of debit card gas purchases of between $8 and $14.

The award went to a BMW rider with just over 12,000 miles.

I won't be sending the MOA any renewal soon.

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

I'll be camping tonight at the Granjean Hot Springs in central Idaho, just across the Bitterroot Mtns from Stanley. Great scenery, spectacular rivers. (saw that fishing moving, didn't ya?)

I'm on my way to Darby, Montana for an ADV Rider meeting (West Fest or something like that).

The sky has been cloudless since July 5, like I thought. But the late snows, late spring, has made for a very late mosquito hatch. Worst mosquito season in recent memory. It'll dry out soon. August should be nice.

Got some riding to do.

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand