Thursday, May 27, 2010

Moto Trip Part 2










So we arrived to Portland late Friday night. We crossed a sweet bridge and arrived easy enough to Dusty's house. His place was cool and we were very pleased to rest our rumps for longer than a few minutes. No hesitation, we headed straight into town on foot with Dusty. We went to a bar called Kelly's Olympian which suited the theme of the trip very much since it was full of old motorcycles hanging on cables from the ceiling. Dusty got some food and we drank our sodas checking out the bikes and chattin. We headed back to his house and by then it was well after midnight and couldn't believe how many people were still out side. even a couple of old ladies walking their dogs. By the time we got back to Dusty's i was done. We went to bed pretty quick after.

Saturday May 15th

Wow what a day...where to start. So Dusty being the gracious host he is opted to show us around so we all three headed out on our bikes to see Portland in the daylight. First stop was to an awesome waterfall just outside of town called Multanoma Falls. It was so green and quite a sight. Next stop was to the Bonneville Dam which again was quite a place to see. we went in the visitor center and checked out the fish ladders were the fish can go around the dam to spawn. Also we visited a Fish hatchery and saw Sturgeon for the first time. They are huge and creepy looking, enough said. After all that we headed back to Dusty's and then walked into town for lunch. We went to Hot Lips Pizza where you buy by the slice. They make their own soda too, also the pesto garlic bread sticks are incredible.

After lunch we did some of the most intense and beautiful l riding Ive ever done. We went to Astoria and decided to take the alternate (twisty route). It was super technical at times with sharp hair pins with abrupt changes in elevation but great. SO we arrived in Astoria and what a cool town. We went up to the Column and saw all of the town out to the ocean. Ate fish and chips from The Bowpicker a fishing boat turned food stand. Also we crossed the Astoria bridge into Washington and saw an old ship wreck. The bridge was kind of intimidating to cross, it was more than a mile long and got relatively close to the water.

Next stop was Canon Beach and Ecola State Park where the Goonies was filmed. Too bad the restaurant was only a prop. It was really cool to see be on the coast watching the surfers and and the mossy trees were something else.

Sorry th epics are all out of order but i don't feel like trying to move them

End part 2

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Moto Trip Part 1

The off from Boise
BBQ joint in Zigzag
Mt Hood
Brogun. Lunch with the puppies.
Thursday May13th my Motorcycle adventure began with the not so adventurous trip from SLC to Boise Idaho. Probably the most unexciting stretch of land in the continental US...but 350 miles later i was there and ready for the real trip to begin.

In Boise lives an old highschool buddy now Dentist, Eric Ballou. So arrived at his house glad to get off the saddle but eager to see some of Oregon.

The Route: from Boise follow Hwy 26 all the way into Portland and stay with Dusty Wickham. Then explore Portland Day 2 and the Oregon coast then return to Portland. Day 3 head south from Portland and catch Hwy 20 through Bend back to Boise.

Eric and I spent Thursday night arranging our gear and 2 way radios and just being very eager for the off. We woke up not too early Friday morning and ate breakfast that Nichole Erics wife made for us then took off a little before 11. The riding was great " WE'RE REALLY DOING IT HARRY"! We stopped for lunch in the metropolis of Brogun Oregon and had lunch. It was perfect. The only gas station was also the only store which was also the only cafe. We made made it a rule that we were not aloud to eat anywhere mainstream or that we could eat in Idaho or Utah. SO we had $2 chili dogs and chilled outside with these mangy little puppies while a rooster strutted his stuff off to our side.

We made plenty of stops on the way giving our arses a break as well as checking out the scenery. Passing through the forests was just incredible and arriving to Mt Hood was well worth the cold. Mt Hood is actually a very strange mountain. I wonder if it ever fully loses its snow. We ate dinner at a sweet little BBQ joint in Zigzag just down the canyon from Mt Hood and it was great as well. Live music, good food, and some of the best riding id ever done.

Shortly after dinner we arrived to Portland and stayed with Dusty...TBC in part II.



Sunday, May 9, 2010

Quick Sunday Ride after my Sunday Nap

Isnt she pretty...Little Dell Res in background

Today with it being a nice 68 degrees i couldn't pass up the chance for a little ride so I went up Emigration Canyon(which I had never been up before) then came out on I 80 up Parleys canyon and back into SLC. A quick 30 minutes or so but it was nice. So i got my first glimpse of the Hogle Zoo, I think i say This is The Place Monument Park ( no idea where it was) and saw some great views while taken some sweet turns. So besides being a total geek about not knowing where things are (Ive never really lived in SLC to my defense) it was a nice ride.