Moto Trip Part 3 and Final

Cafe Detroit Lake

Detroit Lake

Space and Aviation Museum

Space and Aviation Museum

So after another great day of riding we got back to Portland where Dusty took care of us once again. I was craving ice cream for some crazy reason so we took off to find a parlor. Nothing doing. After searching way too long we resorted to the grocery store and bought some Tillamook Ice cream. Still good though. I had no energy to go out and neither did Eric so Dusty went out and we just crashed. We had a long haul ahead of us...

We woke up early and headed to Mcminnville where there was an awesome Space and Aviation Museum. At first i didn't really want to make the slight detour but im glad we went. It was really cool. After that we just plugged away at the miles cruising past some scenic farmland and then into another amazing canyon with fun turns. We stopped in the town of Detroit Lake and stumbled onto a Fishing tournament Festival. The town was cool, like 300 full time inhabitants. There were cool little cafes and just a nice little resort town. We did see a bit of rain coming through the canyon too. Not much but enough to get wet then dry off with the wind. Of course Eric had rain gear but i just kept going so he never stopped...sorry man.

Beside missing a turn in Bend the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful...oh wait what am i saying?...there was a crazy transvestite. Ill give credit where credit is due and make a solo post for him...uh...her...uh whatever it was.

We got to Boise not too long after dark and Eric's wife Nichole had enchiladas waiting for us...WOW...thanks so much for feeding me Nichole.

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

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.

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.

Trail vs Road

With more and more of my friends and family members having knee problems ive really tried to make an effort to run more off road. Today I ran up City Creek Canyon again but this time avoiding pavement as much as possible. I got onto a well maintained trail for a short bit on the way up but must have taken the wrong route at a fork in the road cause before i knew it i was right on the creeks edge and the trail was washed out every few meters as well as having many obstacles(trees etc) it was great fun. Then i met up with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail that just rocked me. It was pretty intense and involved a bit more hiking than id like to admit. I went up for about 40 minutes or so util the switchbacks got the best of me then turned around for the descent. Going down was great. Not too steep and still full of fun rollers. Definitely a route i will follow in the future. Next time ill push on a bit farther and see where the trail goes. Oh yeah there are a lot of old ruins an monuments that i really enjoyed as well.

Bagging The IronHorse

So Ive been registered to do a bicycle race in Durango over Memorial day. Its basically a 50 mile race straight up. But as it so happens after putting some money into my bike to make it worthy of this race it actually is worse. I cant for th elife of me get the front derailer to shift into its climbing gear while on a ride. Eery time i work on it or friends or a shop it works fine. On a stand it works, and in the parking lot it works. While climbing a steep grade is does NOT FREEKIN work...and with eh race a month away and no intentions of putting any more money into this bike i give...im not going to do it. With all the time lost not being able to train properly it would have been miserable anyways.

My back up plan is to do a little motorcycle trip to Durango instead (still gotta get that jersey i aid for). Ill stay in Moab a night and do some off road stuff then press on to Durango. Then on the way back go through Silverton and other back roads and enjoy the scenery. I guess well see what happens.

Regresando a Colombia

So for a long time Ive been planning this motorcycle trip to the east coast and back. Its all i would think about. I have vacation in August and that was it. Im going to Buffalo to visit my sister and hit everyone else of the way.

At least that was the plan until a few weeks ago. Ive been toying with the idea of returning to Colombia where I served my mission for a long time as well, but it never went further than an idea. While sitting in the Conference Center listening to The Priesthood General Conference I just felt like now was the time to return. So to days later after clicking confirm with the mouse I am going to Colombia for the first time since 2001. I leave August 19 and return Aug 26. Not a lot of time and I wont be able to see all I would like but if not now I dont think it would ever happen. Ill be staying part of teh time with a guy and his family who I baptized and who is also now a Bishop. Im extremely excited to see them.

So thats that...