The Nomads

Wednesday Aug.19--- Home Sweet Home

2009-08-20T10:51:00.001-07:00

South area Campground
Forillon National Park
Gaspé PQ
Raining and foggy

We packed a wet tent and doubled up on rain gear, then headed for the town of Gaspé for our morning coffee.
The road constructions were treacherous messes with all the rain and we had more narrow escapes than I care to remember.
The town itself is quite pretty, set on a nice harbour and looking very touristy (à la St. Andrews NB) but nevertheless attractive and interesting (would have been more so but for the rain).
On the south coastline of Gaspé the land mass is much flatter with many strands and beaches along the way. The towns of Percé, Bonaventure, and Carleton stand out above the rest for us.
Unfortunately, by the time we were to Percé we were both soaked, dripping wet right through the double rain gear, leathers and all! Needless to say we were not much in a mood to tour around the towns.
We started to see clearing somewhere around Nouvelle and by the time we got to Campbellton we were actually starting to dry out.
A quick stop for a coffee and then a “bee-line” for home!
We pulled into the yard around ten thirty, tired but glad to be home and headed for a real bed!

Tuesday 18 Aug.

2009-08-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

Sainte Luce sur Mer PQ
Fog with sun struggling through

It rained off and on all night but was clear when we woke.
We had a leisurely breakfast while waiting for the tent to dry.
Sue managed to find a wireless connection (wandering around, laptop in hand) and got some bad news from George Burgyan, the young rider from Cleveland who was trying to get to Goose Bay with his moto. We parted ways at Red Bay, Labrador…. Good thing we decided to turn around…
George totalled his bike and destroyed his new digital SLR. He salvaged what he could off of it and had to buy a $2000 plane ticket home.
Our hearts go out to you George. We know how you feel after experiencing the same sort of thing last summer on our way back from the Panama Canal.
We were anticipating rain for the day so we suited up for it and covered the gear on the bike and headed for Gaspé and Forillon National Park. No sooner on the road and we were into cold temps with very heavy fog as wet as rain and by noon we were alternating between fog and rain or showers. I had on double rain gear and Sue had on five layers of warm and dry….
We had a short respite from the elements an hour into the ride and stopped into a “Fromagerie” to load up on real cheese curds and great cheddar! You know you’ve got the “real” curds if they squeak while you chew them! As far as I’m concerned, anything else is just “cheese”…..
The northern coastline of the Gaspé is quite scenic and rises to impressive heights! It has it “all over” the Cabot Trail! Many picturesque little villages that you first see from a distance, looking down as you crest a headland. They typically are clustered along the curve of bights and coves like mussels on a rocky shore.
Cresting one high climb we came across a “castle in the mist”…well, in the fog, yeah, and okay, not a real castle but whimsical and amusing none the less!
Another interesting stop was a shore side art gallery and restaurant that is a testament to the old adage that art is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. A lot of elbow grease was involved in the construction of the buildings and displays!
Unfortunately the weather was horrible by the time we got to Forillon National Park. We were not in the least inclined to explore it to the extent we should have. Add to the mix the fact that the roads were almost all under construction and we did many, many kilometres in mud and loose gravel in the pouring rain with again more fog than enough!
We set up the tent in pouring rain and went to sleep without supper.

Monday 17 Aug.

2009-08-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

La Rivière des Roches, PQ
Raining

We had heavy rain all night and hurriedly packed up very wet gear and headed for Sept Isles to find a hot coffee, gas up and head out for the ferry to Rimouski from Forestville. We drove through the rain all the way to Forestville and arrived twenty minutes before the last scheduled departure that day; and fortunately the rain let up so we didn’t get wet waiting….bonus! And we were the first on the boat!
The crossing was fairly calm but fast as the ferry was a catamaran that fairly flew across (55mins.).
Once on the Gaspé shore we went east from Pointe au Père to Sainte Flavie to camp for the night. We had no sooner gotten into the tent and the rain started. Lucky us!

Sunday 16 Aug.

2009-08-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

Natashquan, PQ
Sunny

Disembarked the Nordik Express around ten after stops at the out-ports of La Romaine and Kegaska, the latter being the larger of the two with beautiful views from the high point near the port.
From Natashquan, a small but unremarkable town/village we headed west towards Sept Isles. There were some very nice views along the north shore of the Gulf of St L awrence notably around the Mingan Archipelago but for the most part the road is well inland , of no great interest except that as we progressed westward the vegetation became more mixed forest than bog or black spruce forest.
The rain started just as we finished putting up the tent at La Rivière des Roches Campground.
So, cold supper and early in to the tent to read and sleep.

Sat. 15 Aug

2009-08-18T04:05:00.000-07:00

Aboard Nordik Express
Gulf of St Lawrence

The barking and howling of pets in the on deck kennels had us awake around six in the cabin.
Today we have docked at La Tabatière and Tête à Baleine , and Harrington Harbour so far and are continuing up the coast of the gulf.
We had a chance to go ashore on Tête à Baleine and wandered on the rock and tundra for an hour or so and tasting the partridge berries and bake-apple berries. There was a desolate sort of beauty to the place.
At Harrington Harbour we walked around the village on roads made of timber and rock, no cars here, just boats and ATVs to get around on the land or water. Like most places up here the houses are built right on the bedrock.
Back on the boat there isn’t much to do besides read and sleep which makes a nice break from always being on the go.

Friday 14 August

2009-08-18T03:43:00.000-07:00

Gravel pit
Anse au Clair

BLACK FLIES, BLACK FLIES, BLACK FLIES!!!!! Gawd, what a time trying to pack everything up and get it on the bike this morning! Had to fight with a black fly trying to drag my granola bar away! Swarms of the little demons….every time I took a breath I inhaled three generations of “the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl the face of this earth” (apologies to Mr. Swift).
Off to the local restaurant to splurge all the money we saved on accommodations for a delicious breakfast then off to Red Bay and hopefully Battle Harbour. The road up the coast was good, to bad. to worst. to better. To ?????!
Forteau Bay, Anse L’Amour, L’Anse au Loup, West St Modeste, Pinware, and finally Red Bay.
Battle Harbour was definitely a no-go! Hard packed red dirt covered in loose stones the size of marbles……
Red Bay used to be a big whaling stop back in the day. Lovely little town….
We left there just as the rain was starting and by the time we were to West St Modest we had to be in full rain gear!
Suzie scuttled the trip down to Old Fort because “I don’t want to ride 79 kilometer down there through the wood in the pouring rain just to turn around and come back again!” Made good sense when I think of it,,,,,
Back to the terminal in Blanc Sablon. to verify our reservations for the boat to Natashquan and a long wait on a rainy day for the midnight sailing!
Okay, tickets are in hand and we’re good to go!

Thursday Aug 13

2009-08-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

Triple Falls Campground
Near St Anthony Nfld
Sunny and clear!

Funny how things turn out sometimes; if we knew what was coming at us around the corner, we wouldn’t get out of bed some mornings!
Today’s plan was a morning in St Anthony and the afternoon in Anse aux Meadows.
We got to St Anthony around ten and toured the town, then went on out to the end of town to Fish Point, a 550 foot promontory overlooking the town and harbour as well as Great Brehat, Little Brehat and St Anthony’s Bight. It was quite a climb but well worth the effort, the 3600 view was amazing if you could stand upright in the wind! We had a hard time getting pics because the wind was gusty and pushy, a lot of shots were out of focus even if taken propped on the ground or on a post or rock…..!
Imagine our surprise when we got back to the bottom and the wind was still blowing us around. The drive towards Anse aux Meadows was interesting. We just nicely got turned of the 430 and headed to Anse aux Meadows(this was to be a highlight of our trip) and we ran into road construction! Large truckloads of new chip-seal gravel being levelled for the next 17 kms! I wasn’t giving up that easy. I know touring tires won’t handle that kind of thing, at least not without a fight and a tumble or two, but I’d come a long way to see that place and I was determined to go until I got there or bogged down trying. That point took about 10 kilometres to get to! We wobbled and struggled and weaved and came really close to toppling at least twenty or thirty times, mostly when trying to avoid the large trucks going back and forth with the crushed rock but we finally came to a spot where the crush was loose and about four/five inches deep and the tires sank and dug in! We still had another ten or so kilometres to go but couldn’t move ahead a foot. It was with a lot of pushing and pulling and shoving that Suzie and I finally managed to turn the beast around and with a heavy heart headed back towards Ste Barbe. I wanted to park the bike and hitchhike there and back but Suzie wouldn’t hear of it. Well, looks like another trip’s in our future……..
The ride back was no gift either. We were being hammered with headwinds and crosswinds and the bike at times was heeled over like we were in a hard turn but we were going straight, or at least a close facsimile of straight!
On the way up we had passed an intriguing sign ( Nameless Cove – now there’s a newfie oxymoron for ya!) and as we returned I was determined to take a photo of it and maybe get a little background story.
Oh the wonders of the Newfoundland “chip van”!!
Real good fish and fries and stories to keep you entertained as well. We pulled into the local “chip van” in Flowers Cove adjacent to that other one which remains nameless(sic) and ordered up cod nuggets and chips(yum). While we were waiting for the food we headed off to the nearby shore to view the supposedly only occurrence of Thrombolites this side of the atlantic north of the equator…..? Interesting microbialites!

Back we went to the van for the food and a long chat with the cook. I asked her how Nameless cove got its name. Turns out she was from Nameless cove which used to be called Flowers Cove while the presently named “Flower’s Cove” used to be French Harbour. The government of Newfoundland in their special way of eliminating out-ports and small communities had decided to amalgamate the two communities into one thereby doubling the tax base because only French Harbour had government services and utilities. At the amalgamation meeting with the people of the two communities, the people of 9old) flowers cove inquired what government programs or services would be extended them for the new taxes they were going to pay and were informed that, sorry, nothing new to be added. So they showed the government officials their backsides and bid them good day! Unfortunately the incorporated name of “flower’s Cove” was now already officially attached to French Harbour, so they decided, now being nameless; they might as well make it official! This is a true story!
Turns out the chip cook (part time) was also the full time Bear Cove lighthouse keeper who worked for 17 years in the coast guard rescue and needed a quieter stint to finish out her pension. She spent her childhood on French Harbour Island as the youngest child by five years of three children of the lighthouse keeper of the island. She claims that is the reason for her choice of occupation and the reason why she does so well in her own company!
All the way back to Ste. Barbe we fought with the wind to stay on the road. First stop was the ferry terminal to confirm our reservations. Imagine our surprise when they told us we weren’t on the list. Out comes our confirmation number …..”see, we have a reservation confirmation but we haven’t been able to get any further info on our tickets and time of boarding” ….
Check on the number reveals that we were booked for our crossing on the seventh instead of the fourteenth and missed our crossing, so sorry, and it’s non-refundable regardless of the fact that it was their mistake not ours!
But, as luck would have it there was a vacancy on the current sailing, we could have tickets but the severe wind had the boat held up in port waiting for a drop in the wind. So we bought a second set of tickets and waited, finally got the call at eight thirty that night and we were off on a very rough crossing to Blanc Sablon, Labrador!
While waiting to board we saw a rider on a BMW that we had crossed on occasion in Newfoundland and went over to meet him. George is up here from Cleveland on a three week hurricane tour of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia. Newfoundland and Labrador.
Guillaume, who we first met in Rochy Harbour, was there to board the boat too. The winds that blew us all over the raod had actually been an advantage to him. The wind had pushed him and his bicycle all the way here! He will travel with us all the way to Natashquan.
I spent the entire crossing trying hard to ignore the barf bag I had hidden in the back pocket of my jeans. Suzie, with her iron stomach, did not have any troubles!
We arrive in Labrador about ten thirty in the pitch black, headed to the nearest village, Anse au Clair looking for a campground. No luck, so…. Set up the tent in a large gravel lot which is soon to be an RV park.( they let us stay for free!)
BLACK FLIES, BLACK FLIES, BLACK FLIES!!!

Wednesday Aug. 12

2009-08-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Rocky Harbour
Gros Morne Nat. Park
Nfld

Surprise! The sun was up when we woke in the tent this morning. Such a treat!
We had a leisurely breakfast as the sky looked clear and we anticipated a great day for the motorbike ride. A good one for Guillaume from Quebec as well. We met him at the camp-ground, He is doing pretty much the same trip we are but on mountain bike towing a trailer…ballsy! By the time he had done quebec, New Brunswick and three quarters of the coast of Nova Scotia he had seen only THREE DAYS OF SUN!!!!
No worries today about wet and rain gear and bad visibility….gawd, it was so gorgeous today we felt like kids on Christmas morning waiting to see what was waiting under the tree……
And the day didn’t disappoint…. Moose, black bear, coyote, mare’s tails in an azure sky, beautiful little villages of Cow’s Head, Parson’s Pond, Port aux Choix………….stopped in at The Arches (where we ran into a bouldering couple from Calgary; actually, he was originally from Saskatchewan, she was from here) and St Anthony’s, unfortunately too late for the iceberg season.
The coastal road runs parallel to the dying end of the Long Range Mountains with an impressive revisit of the type of geology you experience at western Brook Pond for over a hundred kilometres(tail end of the Appalachian chain).
By the time you get much past Ste Barbe you’re pretty much down to tuckamore and barrens.
We pulled into Triple falls Park, ten Kms from St Anthony and about twenty five Kms from Anse aux Meadows, to tent for the night

Tuesday Aug 11

2009-08-11T18:31:00.001-07:00

Rocky Harbour
Gros Morne Nfld

Our original plan today was to pack up early and get on the Western Brook Pond boat at one PM, then head up to Port aux Choix. Unfortunately we were too late for the early boat and had to take the four PM tour, so, back to the campground and set up again to spend another night after the boat tour. It definitely was worth the wait. Massive towering granitic gneiss all around …..Very impressive!
On the way to the boat we encountered a bull moose four feet from the highway, stopped and nervously took pictures, he was soooo close! But he started feeding and completely ignored us most of the time.
I have to say I am in awe of Chris and Marcelle successfully completing that long range trail, especially when I see the remoteness of the area…..A daunting prospect from where I stood and kudos to you two for completing it with rainy smiles in the bargain.
Today was the first day that we had sun from start to finish!!!!
By the time we got back to the campground it was very cool and we settled into a hot supper and books . So nice to have a tent already set up for the night!

Monday Aug 10

2009-08-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

Flatwater Pond Campground
Near Ming’s Bight, Nfld.

Today was a long run from the Baie Vertr peninsula all the way to Trout River in Gros Morne, and then on to Rocky Harbour.
Again, we were pelted with biting rain and high winds but had a few clear moments off and on; the weather seems to be on permanent “rain, cloud, sun, rain” cycle! What we’ve seen so far of Gros Morne Park is impressive to say the least! Lots of moose, no caribou so far….
But a first for this trip….snow on the high ground!!
If you look carefully at one of the pictures of Trout River you will see up in the upper right that there is a snow field laying in what is called “The Tablelands” way up beyond the town!

I suspect there is very little to sustain the folks of Trout River; Not exactly what I would call a tourist destination, picturesque, but poor, for sure!
The road in and out is sure to thrill any motorcyclist!

Sunday Aug 9

2009-08-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Gander
Rain

We were off early from the hotel to try and make it to La Scie, an old Basque fishing village tucked away at the very tip of the Baie Verte peninsula(an area known between 1500 and 1900 as the French shore, Le Petit Nord). The name of the town is french for “saw” because the hills around the harbour look like saw teeth.
We drove all day in rain and mist to get there and the last fifteen miles of road were a nightmare but the trip was worth it for the view from the top of Island Cove.
It would have been nice to drop in to Nipper Harbour but I really wasn’t up to seventeen kilometres of dirt road on a rainy day.
We pulled up for the night in Flatwater Pond where we shared our campfire with a local young couple, Joel from Ming’s Bight and Meagan from Nipper harbour on the opposite side of the peninsula. How did they ever hook up? Well they ‘was to a “cabin party” where we first seen each other.’
Joel had just returned from nine weeks off Greenland, his first time away working on a Turbot boat and Meagan was some happy to have him back!

Saturday, Aug 8

2009-08-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

Clarenville
Rainy

Slept in and sinfully lazy and slow all morning! Sue used the opportunity to post to the blog and Facebook.
We were anticipating 60% rain so this time I “double bagged it”!
Two sets of rain pants and I was reasonable sure that I would be pulling in to wherever tonight with dry skivvies! (Worked like a charm, but oh so hot when hiking around!)
The trip up Trinity Bay was a return engagement with bad road surface and alternating rain, fog, and sun on about a ten minute cycle. The coast really only started to show above Lethbridge. Very nice coastline, and the village of Trinity East was well worth the sidetrack.
Stopped in to the Corner Pub and Grill in Bonavista for some “fish and brewis”, a concoction of fried “hard-bread”, onions, and fish bits….interesting, but definitely won’t be my next meal…. Great desserts though, and the coffee was good.
Made the acquaintance of Harko and Amanda, displaced Aussies from “Onterrible” who have committed themselves to a three month moto tour of all of the Atlantic Provinces.
The town of Bonavista itself was less than spectacular, but the view from Bonavista Cape was pretty; and the puffins beyond the lighthouse were a treat! (thanks for the tip Harko and Amanda)
The lighthouse is a stone’s throw from where John Cabot, sailing The Matthew, first made landfall back on June 24 1497. Desolate spot for sure, must have been really hard up to get to solid ground……!

We came back towards Gander on the west coast of the Bonavista peninsula by way of Summerville and King’s Cove, through Port Blandford and on up towards Terra Nova Park. Our intention was to camp but by the time we got to the park we were in a driving rain which increased in intensity as we approached Gander so we decided to hotel it for the night in Gander.

Friday Aug 7

2009-08-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

Pippy’s Park Campground
Near St John’s

It poured all night; we had a slight break around eight just long enough to pack a wet tent and head up around Conception bay. The most memorable stop on the way was Burgis. What an amazing, neat little town tucked into the nooks and crannies of Conception bay! And just as we were leaving Burgis we came across four young folk musicians who had sat to busk in front of the local convenience store. Nice jam until the banjo player broke a string. I dug out my pliers and patched his string back together, he had no spare, listened to them for a while and headed on up the road.
The rain and fog came back at us for some of the trip north and ALL of the trip south from Heart’s Content and west to clarenville. The rain at times was so heavy I couldn’t see twenty feet in front of me, and with absolutely nothing by way of human presence for over a hundred kilometers, we were committed to press on!
No tenting in store for us tonight; it’ll take all night in the Clarenville Inn just to dry our gear!
The forecast is for more rain and high winds tomorrow….???!!!

Thursday Aug 6

2009-08-08T05:29:00.002-07:00

Pippy’s Park Campground
Near St John’s

Today was a laundry and email day and while sue attended to those necessities I went to work cleaning and waxing the green Hornet. By one thirty, Sue being fed up with the questionable quality of their “free wireless service” and myself fed up with skinnin’ my knuckles, we decided the rainy day they had promised us wasn’t going to materialize and jumped on the moto and headed out to circle the Avalon Peninsula.
No Rain….. but from Chance Cove clear down to Trepassey and on up all the way on the Irish Loop to TCH we had about 250 kms of heavy “pea soup” fog so thick and wet we’d have much preferred rain! To top it all off, that was the worst stretch of narrow, beaten up and potholed poor excuse for a road as we have yet to encounter in Newfoundland! What a white-knuckled adventure!
Just as we made it out to the TCH we ran into three Dieppe boys we met on the Port aux Basques ferry, Mike, Remi and Matt. Mike was in rough shape and his sport bike in even worse condition. He got cut off by an old blue haired gal and wracked himself and his bike up pretty good!
The ol’ girl drove off home and left him without offering help. By the time Remi and Matt followed her into her yard she was such a wreck that she had to hold on to Remi’s bike to stop from shaking apart! She was scared to death, very apologetic, and had absolutely no idea what to do…..
Duct tape’s got nuthin’ on J B Weld but Mike’s ribs, left shoulder and arm won’t be the same again for a long time!

Wednesday Aug 5

2009-08-08T05:29:00.001-07:00

Jonathan’s Pond Campground
Near Gander

We headed out to tour the Burin Peninsula, got part way to Mary’s Town, hit rain and a black sky throughout the peninsula so we about turned and headed for St John’s. We came to roost in Pippy Park campground, set up camp, then headed into the city to check out Signal Hill and the old town. We partied down on George St until the wee hours and still managed to find our way back to the tent!
George St is like a poor man’s version of Bourbon St in New Orleans. We were quite disappointed with the music scene but did luck into a good acoustic bluesman at the “Fatcat Blues Club”! …..and a couple of draft beer plus the tip will run you three fins!!!! Ouch!
I had been led to believe that the Celtic music scene was strong and well represented here but all I heard was a hackneyed version of the ol’ chestnut “Black Velvet Band”.
Oh well, all the musical talent at Memorial’s Much vaunted Fine Arts faculty must have bigger fish to fry………..

Tuesday Aug 4

2009-08-08T05:28:00.002-07:00

Notre Dame Prov. Campground
Near Grand Falls/ Windsor
Raining 200 C

There was a boil order warning on the water at the campground so we boiled and made coffee and breakfast while waiting for the tent to dry some.
Then off on the “Road to the Isles” out past chapel Island, New World Island, Fogo Island, moreton’s Harbour, Twillingate and out to Crow’s Head. By the time we had gotten to New World Island the sky had cleared and the sun was beaming down hard.
The view from the causeway between Chapel and New World Island was spectacular to say the least; either side with huge bays populated with numerous small islands and coves as far as the eye can see! And the trip all the way to Crow’s Head didn’t disappoint either! There is an amazing vista from the viewing station on a high promontory at the end of the island overlooking `Iceberg Alley`! Unfortunately we were three weeks too late to see a large tabulated iceberg fetch up at the mouth of Back Harbour!
Next, two Possibilities: camp in Dildo Run or push on out towards Gander via Victoria Cove. to camp in Terra Nova National Park.

Monday Aug 3

2009-08-08T05:28:00.001-07:00

We had all the best of intentions to be on the road early, were up and packed by 7:30 but an older couple from Québec invited us over for coffee and we spent the next three hours discussing the places worth seeing or going to. This was their fourth or fifth trip over and they very much like to check all the nooks and crannies off the beaten path.
Left Corner Brook in rain and showers which persisted all day. We were determined to get off the TCH and headed up towards Roberts Arm and Triton.
We stopped in to Triton for lunch, chickened out on the cod cheeks and cod tongues as well as the speciality of the place…. Squid Rings…..”the best, the way we does ‘em here, my dear, you’se gots to try ‘em! We cooks ‘em real tender, ‘kay? Youse’ll love ‘em my darlin’s“

We had an awful feed of fish and scallops and chips instead. I know, not very exciting…..
Then off towards Bishops Falls and the provincial campground just beyond; passing a long stretch of marsh and water on the way there we spied a Cow moose with two calves swimming and feeding.
That section of highway has seen 660 collisions with moose last year! Moose burgers anyone?

We got the tent pitched about three minutes before the storm clouds really opened up so we climbed into the tent with our books and read till we passed out. I think it poured steady all night!

Sunday Aug 2

2009-08-08T05:27:00.001-07:00

Barachois Pond Prov. Park
Newfoundland
200 C

Oh man! Did we pass out! We were in the tent by ten and the next thing we knew it was almost nine in the morning, with a sunny one to boot!
Woot!
Off again too the Port aux Port Peninsula, this time with blue skies and no wind. What a gorgeous ride! The road follows the coastline like a rollercoaster for better than 200 kilometers, providing vistas and geography like we’ve never seen before….. Definitely worth doubling back to do!
Next stop, Corner Brook., nothing remarkable about the city but it’s nestled in some interesting hills and valleys, quite pretty.
By the time we left Corner Brook we were ready to pull into Deer Lake for the night; actually the campground was in Nicholsville, adjacent to the town.
I don’t think we’ll be as lucky tomorrow. They’re calling for rain!

Sat. Aug 1

2009-08-08T05:19:00.000-07:00

Port Aux Basques
Newfoundland
15 0 C

Boarded the ferry at 5AM just minutes before a cloudburst downpour!
A rough morning of trying to catch a little sleep in reclining chairs, a long tiring nine hour crossing, and we were finally disembarking at five Pm under sunny skies!
First impressions were “now I know why they call it ‘the rock’!”
Our intention was to circle the Port aux Port Peninsula but by the time we got to Stephenville we were being hammered by a strong crosswind, the sky was black and a heavy squall was hitting the peninsula hard, so we about turned and headed to Barachois Pond Provincial Campground about thirty kilometres away to spend the night.

First day of this Trip !! -July 31, 2009

2009-07-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

Day 1

Sat morning 1 AM

N Sydney Cape Breton

Suzie and I are on the road again. This time we’re headed for Newfoundland, Labrador, then through Québec and around the Gaspé to home.

We had a wonderful sunny ride through NB and NS to Sydney, encountering hundreds of motorbikes (and two families of ducks and ducklings scootin` across the road). Coincidently, there is a huge bike rally (Thunder in the Highlands) in Sydney!

We’re currently sitting in line at the ferry terminal with three ferry loads of postponed passengers and vehicles piled up ahead of us.

When we went to confirm our Saturday morning 8:30 departure we were told we had been rescheduled for a Saturday night departure at 11:30 PM…..not happy campers, I tried everything I could to wheedle and cajole boarding passes from the reservations officer to no avail….

Suzie sent me off to get some fresh air while she worked her magic and managed to get us booked on the Saturday 5 am boarding. Incredible!

So here we sit waiting to go, yakking with the other bikers in the line-up and just generally filling in time.

Tomorrow should see us on the rock with a rainy day but no time constraints for two weeks…….touring and camping.

Just a little last minute packing...

Ready for FUN !

Canso Causeway
Sunset....

It's a dog's life! What a way to travel!!

Day120 Thursday August 7 -LAST DAY OF THIS TRIP

2008-08-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

Left Magog, Québec

Temps: 10C

Raining and cold

We left Denis’ place for the last leg of the journey at quarter after nine NB time.

Our last day of the trip and it had to be in wind and cold, heavy, pouring rain so thick that I had to squint to see ten yards in front of the bike. We were in four lanes of heavy traffic and doing eighty to ninety miles an hour to keep up and every time a truck went by I couldn’t see anything for the next fifty feet. It was the worst driving conditions we had yet encountered and within two hours my rain suit was useless and I was soaked through, for the first time, from helmet to bootstraps!

The first part of the ride through the townships toward Sherbrooke was quite scenic. This area is surrounded by ski country: Sutton, Mount Orford, Owl’s Head, and further south, Jay Peak.

Can’t say much about the ride once we hit the Sherbrooke Expressway or the 20 because I couldn’t see much past the highway until we got to dégélis!

By the time we got to NB the sky was cloudy and threatening but we didn’t get any rain.

We stopped in to Sue’s folks on the way but there was no-one home, back on the road and home in Fredericton not much after nine, cold, wet and tired but glad to be back!

We got out of the wet gear, had a leisurely late supper and celebrated with a cold bottle of our favourite Moselle, had a hot shower, and , well you don’t need to know the rest….!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 892 km TRIP TOTAL: 31,212

Gas: $73
Lodging: Be it ever so humble, HOME SWEET HOME!

THE END............for this year

Day119 Wednesday August 6

2008-08-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Left Aspey Park & Campground, Espanola, Ont.

Temps: 15C

Sunny and cool

It rained all night and, again, we had to pack a very wet tent.

By nine we were on our way, hoping to make it from Espanola past Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, and Sudbury, in through Ottawa in the rush hour traffic of suppertime.

Dianne, We watched for you in the Ottawa traffic, but we didn't see you...

On through Montreal, where we hit the Metropolitan just after their rush hour, then down past Sherbrooke to the eastern townships and Denis’ place in Magog through a cold, heavy downpour from the south shore of Montreal on. We arrived after dark around nine thirty, tired and very wet, and after a quick supper of soft cheeses, pâtés, and baguette we hit the sack and were out like a light until eight thirty the next morning.

Denis bought a small camp/cottage with five acres for $3600 back in his “hippy” days(1983) and has transformed it into a large, amazing showcase home with some of the nicest woodwork and construction I’ve seen, and he did it all himself. Quite an accomplished finish carpenter now, he built most of it with wood he had custom sawn from a selection of special large trees he accumulated, pine, ash, yellow birch, oak...... The twenty foot beams are fourteen by eight and all one piece. The detail work is beautiful! This is a home he could easily sell for a hundred times what he paid initially. Very Impressive work!

OUR LONGEST DAY ON THIS TRIP!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 933 km total: 30,321

Gas: $74

Lodging: Chez Denis Massicotte, Magog, Québec

Day118 Tuesday August 5

2008-08-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

Left Stillwater tent & trailer park, Nipigon Bay, Ont.

Temps: 12C

Sunny and cool

After a cold night (10 C) we again packed damp to hit the road. It was actually sunny for the first fifteen minutes but once we were along the shores of Lake Superior we were enshrouded in very heavy mist and fog. It might as well have been raining, we wouldn’t have got wetter!

The first view of Lake Superior was breathtakingly spectacular. Our vantage point was very high and we could see well out into the lake with surrounding high precipitous headlands and a large blocky mountainous island in view…not sure of the name of it.

From there almost all the way to Thunder Bay the view was mostly obscured with fog or trees, then, got progressively better as we went along. We came across some beautiful beaches and small lakes regularly.

We saw two more black bears along the way.

We also saw eight police cars with speed guns but never got stopped, lucky us!

We had a few small showers but the sky was looking pretty black by the time we wanted to stop. We pulled into the Aspey Park and Campground and got their very last site ten feet from the edge of a beautiful lake. While we were setting up the sky opened and dumped such a heavy rain on us that the ground was covered in two inches of running water. The lightning flashed, the thunder roared, and after half an hour the sun came out and we had a gorgeous rainbow and a very wet tent!

We had gone a long way and were so tired that we were all asleep by nine thirty!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 874 km total: 29,388

Gas: $62

Lodging: Aspey Park & Campground, Espanola, Ont.

Day117 Monday August 4

2008-08-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

Left Blue Lake Prov. Park, Vermillion Bay, Ont.

Temps: 15C

Cloudy and cool

It was another wet night and the gear was put away damp.

We stopped so late last night that there were no campsites left but at a reduced rate they provided us with a flat grassy place for our tent. So, in the morning we had no picnic table and the ground was too wet to sit on and make coffee and breakfast so we headed out without and planned to stop somewhere on the way. We found a tourist info center with picnic tables about an hour later and stopped for coffee and oatmeal then headed out again. The weather was cold and damp so we didn’t stop until several hours later when we pulled in to a Tim Horton’s for a warm up.

While there I got to talking in French with some bikers from Quebec who were doing the same thing. There we met a couple, Eric and Jocelyn from Répentigny with each their own bike, and Denis from L’Éstrie, well actually, Magog in the eastern townships to be exact. The couple were headed to Whistler but Denis was headed the same direction as us so we decided to travel together. Denis doesn’t spare the horses so it was a fast ride with him as a radar decoy, which he had agreed to. He was on his way back from Alaska, couldn’t speak a word of English to save his soul, and was extremely happy to have company he could communicate with as well as an interpreter for the rest of his trip home. He had encountered some problems with his bike on the trip and had had great difficulty trying to resolve them with no English.

Denis was camping as well and we pulled up for the night in the Stillwater tent and trailer park on the outskirts of Nipigon, northwest of Lake Superior just before dark.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 540 km total: 28,514

Gas: $48

Lodging: Stillwater tent & trailer park, Nipigon Bay, ON

Day116 Sunday August 3

2008-08-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

Left Fieldstone campground, Moosomin, Saskatchewan

Temps: 25C

Cloudy and Warm

We got a late start because of the wet tent, it rained in the night. The weather had let up a bit but threatened rain all day.

The drive across Manitoba was like the last few days in Saskatchewan except that there were more trees. It was still flat and in some places a bit like rolling grass covered sand dunes.

Of course, after some of the impressive landscapes we’ve been through, it would seem rather drab and unimpressive but I’m sure that the locals quite think they have nice countryside.

We avoided Winnipeg as the weather was looking stormy for as far as we could see and we wanted to get to our next provincial park the other side of the Ontario border and set up the tent before the rain hit.

Once in Ontario the landscape became much more interesting with a wealth of lakes from large to small in the north. Very Pretty…!

A quarter of an hour before stopping we came upon a large black bear digging and rooting in the dirt atop a large rock outcrop beside the road. I thought of him while we were having supper and packed the food high in the trees, well away from the campsite.

We saw several deer in Ontario that day as well.

Now that we’re so close to the Maritimes, I’m almost sorry that the trip is almost over.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 720 km total: 27,974

Gas: $64

Lodging: Blue Lake Prov. Park, Vermillion Bay, Ont.

Day115 Saturday August 2

2008-08-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

Left Eagle Valley Park Campground, Maple Creek Saskatchewan

Temps: 25C

Sunny and Warm

We were on the road around eleven after I went through a panic attack and near meltdown upon discovering I had lost or misplaced my passport along with my credit card, and $200 US in American express checks.

I rushed to put a hold on the card but couldn’t do anything about the checks until I had the series numbers. ….tomorrow!

Same ol’ same old as far as scenery goes; it didn’t change from yesterday, except get a bit more tedious…and the same gusty horrible crosswind right through until late afternoon.

We gave up around six thirty and set up in the Fieldstone Campground in Moosomin Sask. Right near the border with Manitoba for the night.

Bugs, bugs, bugs….!!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 634 km total: 27,254

Gas: $58.40

Lodging: Fieldstone campground, Moosomin, Saskatchewan

Day114 Friday August 1

2008-08-02T21:10:00.001-07:00

Happy New Brunswick Day!

Left Sylvan Lake, Alberta
Temps: 25C
Sunny and Warm

We had a leisurely morning drinking coffee and chatting with Matt and Brandi before leaving. We hit the road around noon as they prepared to do the same to return to their work in Firebag, north of Fort McMurray.

I thought the gusty windy ride from Red Deer to Calgary was bad but it got even worse through southern Alberta and didn’t let up even in Saskatchewan! We were buffeted and hammered all day long and at times we were getting choked by our helmet chin straps as the gusts tried to tear our helmets off. Way too many times the bike was pushed sideways clear across the median into the other lane and I had to be constantly vigilant not to get near the middle of my lane if there was any vehicle in sight in the other lane so as not to get blown over at an inopportune moment! I had to maintain a ten degree lean to track a straight line and when the gust would unexpectantly let up I would shoot across to the rumble strip!

The scenery went from quasi interesting low softly rolling hills to flat and drab in as much time as it takes to say it.

Without the gusty conditions as a constant unrelenting threat we might have passed out from boredom.

We called it quits at around seven and pulled into the Eagle Valley Campground in Maple Creek Saskatchewan. They had no sites left but made us a deal for a flat grassy spot big enough for our tent!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 574 km total: 26,620

Gas: $42.75

Lodging: Eagle Valley ParkMaple Creek Saskatchewan campground,

Day113 Thursday July 31

2008-08-01T09:10:00.002-07:00

No Travel Day

Sylvan Lake, Alberta
Temps: 30C
Sunny and Warm

First thing this morning , an amazing breakfast thanks to Brandi and Matt, with Matt's special 'maple' bacon ! YUMMY

Then off to the local Kawi dealer for the first warranty check and workup.

The weather was a far cry from what we had yesterday and we spent a very pleasant day visiting.
Susie and Brandi left for Sylvan Lake on a shopping spree. It's a really nice town filled with quaint little shops.
The beach/park in the middle of town is just right for an afternoon picnic.

Richard, Brandi & Matt leaving to go pick-up supper

Tomorrow we’re off again towards Calgary and then points east.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 84 km total: 26,046
Gas: $0
Lodging: Matt and Brandi’s Place

Day112 Wednesday July 30

2008-07-31T09:53:00.000-07:00

Left Protector Mtn. Provincial Park, Alberta

Temps: 10C

Cold and Raining

We were up early, packed during a short break in the rain, and on the road by eight after a cold rainy night.

The Parkway runs through some imposing and beautiful country and the early morning views of Castle Mountain with its top wreathed in misty cloud, and the jagged peaks of the Sawback Range were quite impressive.

We quite enjoyed the the Vermillion Lakes in the early morning light on the way, and the sight of “Hole in The Wall” mountain brought back great memories… my very first mountain climb, back in ’68! No rope or gear, cowboy boots and hat, and jeans and smelling strong of horse….

Cold and wet, we pulled into Banff for coffee and a tour of the town and the Banff Springs Hotel where I worked in 1968. It’s unbelievable how the area has changed in those forty years.

Then we were off towards Calgary and praying all the way for Chinooks; man, that was a cold wet ride!

We turned of the TCH towards Cochrane and headed north to Sylvan Lake the other side of Red Deer where Sue’s son Matt and his girl Brandi live.

Had a really nice visit and got the bike’s first warranty service done at the Kawi in Red Deer while we were visiting.

Richard playing Wii with Brandi

Kilometres - Daytrip: ? km total: 25,

Gas: $43

Lodging: Chancellor Park Campground $17.60

Day111 Tuesday July 29

2008-07-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

Left Chancellor Park, Yoho Nat. Park, BC

Temps: 20C

Sunny and Clear

We were up late after a cold night and had to wait for the condensation to dry off the inside of the tent fly before packing it up. Unfortunately the water was not working anywhere in the campground this morning and we couldn’t even have a coffee while we waited.

Once we were packed and on the road we headed into Field, a whistle-stop one horse town about fifteen minutes from the campground on the highway towards Banff. After a leisurely coffee and a re-charge for Susie’s camera battery we were off to see Takakkaw Falls, one of the highest falls in Canada. The falls, at the top, is a raging river of ice and snow melt from the Daly Glacier, but by the time it reaches the bottom, it is nothing but a heavy mist. Amazing!

I had visited this falls in 1968 and exactly forty years later it still takes my breath away!

While we were there we saw three rock climbers climbing the left side of the cliff face next to the falls….has to be at least a ten pitch climb and definitely not a cakewalk!

The next stops were also a rerun for me but another first for Susie…Lake Louise and Moraine Lake in the “Valley of the Ten Peaks”. This valley is the one that was printed on the back of twenty dollar bills through the seventies and eighties. It is a spot of breathtaking grandeur and beauty, and the colour of the lake water is the definitively the embodiment of “aquamarine”! It is a place where two glaciers met, pushing their lateral moraines together to form a medial moraine as they moved on. Once the ice melted, a high spine of slag and large rock was left piled up and surrounded by water. There are ten majestic high peaks surrounding the lake, hence the valley name.

We headed out of Lake Louise towards Banff on the Bow Valley Parkway to the provincial campground at Protector Mountain with a day-old loaf of honey-corn bread, a FIVE DOLLAR can of Campbell’s chunky soup and two packs of Ramen Noodles for supper. Lake Louise was outrageously pricey!

Off to Banff tomorrow!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 151 km total: 25,592

Gas: $0 Park Pass: $0

Lodging: Protector Mtn. Prov. Campground $17.60

Day110 Monday July 28

2008-07-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

Left Herald Prov. Park, Shuswap, BC

Temps: 20C

Sunny and Clear

Off to a late start after a cold, rainy night, we stopped in Revelstoke looking for an internet connection and coffee. Revelstoke is a very nice if somewhat touristy little town with a cobblestone main street of upscale little shops….Four dollars for two coffees, no working internet. We crossed the street and managed to poach a connection from the uppity juice shop opposite. Just a quick check on the weather, a quick note to Mikie, a note to the realtor, an unsuccessful attempt to contact Sue’s cousin Mark in Cranbrook, and off we went towards golden. Once in Golden, we stopped into the Safeway for coffee cream, hotdog buns and wieners; we tried to contact Mark again and suspecting the family was away we headed east toward Yoho National Park instead of south.

By now we were being overwhelmed by the majesty of the Rockies and the scenery went from wow to …??? Words cannot describe!

We pulled into Chancellor Park Campground in Yoho. This campground is situated on a small island in the middle of the Kicking Horse River and is surrounded by forested mountainsides with rocky peaks in every direction.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 333 km total: 25,441

Gas: $35.33 Park Pass: $18.90

Lodging: Chancellor Park Campground $17.60

Day109 Sunday July 27

2008-07-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

Left Livingstone Campground, Langley, BC

Temps: 18C

Raining

We were up really early trying to take advantage of the break in the weather; it had rained incessantly all night. Luckily, the break had been long enough to allow the tent to dry and rushing as fast as we could we pretty much got it packed up before the rain poured down again.

We hit the road headed for Kamloops without the benefit of coffee or breakfast and drove out of the rain in about a half hour.

An interesting thing happened on the highway. I was riding along at about 130 KPH when a pack of seven Hell’s Angels roared past and pulled into formation right in front of me and immediately slowed down to about 90(speed limit ) and began tapping the top of their helmets with the palm of their hands.

I was forced to slow down so as not to run into them; had no idea what was happening and was beginning to imagine all kinds of dire eventualities when immediately we came unto a pack of RCMP standing on the side of the highway with speed guns set up on tripods.

I was by now in formation with the pack and we continued that way at the speed limit for about five minutes until we were out of range and out of sight. Then the pack roared off never to be seen again!

Thank you very much boys! Very good of you! Saved my a?? , you did!

I have discovered that the universal motorcycle sign for radar or RCMP is that “distinctive tap” on the top of the helmet!

Throughout the day we constantly saw large groups of Hell’s Angels pass us and were wondering what was going on. It turns out that there was a large 25^th Anniversary Party for the local chapter in Langley that weekend and, being Monday, the out-of-towners were hitting the road.

We stopped in to the small town of Hope, a pretty town in a rural sort of way, to have a coffee at the “Blue Moose”, the local hotspot for the “Iced Latté frappéchinno” crowd because they advertised free wireless internet, which didn’t work, so no email or blog update, no way to wish Mikie a “Happy Birthday”; picked up a quick lunch and spare relish and ketchup packets at the local MacRonnie’s, stopped by the Safeway for beans and wieners to cook for supper, and hit the road again. We pulled into Herald Provincial Park on Shuswap Lake halfway between Kamloops and Revelstoke to camp for the night. It is a beautiful place, nestled in the mountains on the shore of a pristine lake.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 449.6km total: 25,108

Gas: $38 Ferry: 0

Lodging: Herald Prov. Park Campground $17.90

Day108 Saturday July 26

2008-07-27T00:37:00.001-07:00

Left Granite Rock RV Park, BC

Temps: 24C

We had constant rain throughout the night but were quite comfortable in the tent. Luckily the weather had cleared enough by morning to allow us to have a breakfast of coffee, cheese, and herb foccacia and honey at the picnic table and we got all the gear packed and were away on the bike with hardly a drop of rain.

The sky by then had become overcast and was threatening more rain but all we got was a light mist for hardly more than a minute.

We miscalculated the ferry times and got to Saltery Bay two hours before the departure time, so we turned around and headed back to visit the Saltery Bay Provincial Park where we stopped and made coffee and caught up on some reading.

This park’s campsites were a big step up from where we had spent the night. It is a gorgeous park in a redwood forest right on the coast and has trails that go down to the water. The site we stopped at had a pretty little babbling brook that crossed down the back of it. Music to read by….

So relaxing there, and not another person in sight, it was like my Susie and I were the only ones on the planet!

The ferry ride was a visual treat and a nice break from the bike, and the road from Earls Cove to the Gibson’s Landing ferry to Horseshoe Bay was a winding steep-sided road reminding me of the fun rides we had in the mountains of Mexico.

“Slow down , you’re starting to scare me!” Susie was hollering from behind as I wound the bike out in consecutive layovers through the steep turns! Yahoo! What a rush!

We got to the second ferry over an hour early so we sat on a divider in the parking and broke out the books again.

This ferry crossing over to Horseshoe Bay was as delightful as the earlier crossing and had me imagining all kinds of potential kayak adventures for sometime in the future!

Once off the ferry at Horseshoe Bay the road was pretty much a full on multi lane expressway into Vancouver with not a lot of visual appeal.

We went into Vancouver looking for an MEC store and ended up at what appeared to be an MEC warehouse in North Van which was locked up tighter than Fort Knox! We thought we were headed to a retail store…..DUH!

By then it was getting dark and looking like rain so we were anxious to get to a campground to set up for the night. After two or three wild goose chases and false leads(why would anyone put up signs to campgrounds that don’t exist) we did succeed to find a campground in Langley but they were full up so they gave us directions to two other campgrounds within a half hour’s drive. We took a chance on the right one and got the last site in Livingstone Campgrounds just as it got dark.

We met a lot of bikers today at the ferry terminals, on the boat and at the campgrounds. BC is rife with motorcyclists; they’re as common as fleas on a stray!

I think I must have seen at least a hundred just today!

The weather held out and we managed to get the tent set up, do a wash, have showers, and poach a wireless connection without a drop of rain, although I think it will be as wet a night as last night. At least it’s warm…

Kilometres - Daytrip: 146km total: 24,658

Gas: $20 Ferry: $41.60

Lodging: Livingstone Campground $ 22

Day107 Friday July 25

2008-07-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

Left Goldstream Provincial Park, BC
Temps: 22C
Sunny

We headed out of the park by late morning and started up towards Nanaimo with intentions to go to the ferry to Powell River out of Courtenay. The drive at times had some breathtaking views from the heights of the islands and straits between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

We made it to the ferry with about ten minutes to spare. What fun you can have on a ferry!

An hour and twenty five minutes later we were driving through Powell River looking for a park that still had available campsites. It being Friday night the weekend campers had almost everything sewed up. We found the last tent site for twenty miles around in Malaspina half way to SlatteryBay and set up the tent and sleep gear, then off back to Powell River for a slide show and a bookreading/signing by author Wayne Lutz. Wayne lives on a floating cabin complete with a floating garden on Powell Lake, a fresh water glacier lake not far from the town of Powell River.

0ur campsite view....

Kilometres - Daytrip: 218km total: 24,512
Gas: $20 Ferry: $41.60
Lodging: Granite Rock RV Park $ 18

We are back in CANADA, Baby!

2008-07-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Port Angeles...

Day106 Thursday July 24

Left Port Angeles, Washington
Temps: 20C
Sunny

We were up early hoping for the best and, finally, after breakfast around nine the shop called and said everything was in and they would install them first thing so we rushed over and they had everything done by 11. Then, off to the hotel to throw all the gear on the bike and rush over to the US customs. After an anxious twenty minutes we were cleared on that side with our stamped papers to go to the Victoria ferry which happened to be right next door. I had already placed the bike in the wait line hoping for the best and so we were good to go just in time!

We had a nice smooth crossing and disembarked right in downtown Victoria. Right off the boat we were into the Canada customs to declare the bike and get the paperwork over with. Surprisingly we had managed to arrange all the proper documentation that was required for them and we were out of there in about fifteen minutes!

Victoria….What a lovely city! It was clean and pretty and had a nostalgic old time small town feel about it that charmed me from the “get-go”.

Sue had already put in a special side trip request so the first stop was, you guessed it, MEC! One pair of rain pants and a wind-stopper shirt later we were headed to Goldstream Provincial Park to camp for the night.

Showing amazing fortitude and restraint under duress, I managed to get out of there having spent under eight dollars! A first in my life! Sooo proud of me…!

Actually the fact that the new bike kind of maxed out my line of credit probably had more to do with it than any sterling qualities that I may lay claim to. (not that I don’t have many, well…. maybe a few…)

Last night was the first time Susie was comfortable (that means “I was sweating profusely”) in a tent since Mexico!

Hello Victoria !!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 131 km total: 24,294

Gas: $29 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Goldstream Provincial Park $ 24

Day105 Wednesday July 23

2008-07-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

What a strange evergreen tree....

No Travel Day

Port Angeles, Washington
Temps: 20C
Sunny

I decided to call the dealership this morning to see if the parts had arrived before chancing the drive out there for no reason. I was beginning to suspect that the parts might not be there and with the transit permit expired I didn’t want to risk a large fine driving out there for nothing.

Sure enough, it would have been a useless trip out!

Turns out the crash bars and the lowers were in but there was no sign of the back rack, the most important part we needed. We can’t travel with no way to attach the large back-rack bag, especially since we now only have the small non-locking leather saddlebags with no hard rails on them to pile stuff on. We have already pared down to the bare minimum and have sent home almost sixty pounds of gear.

So it turns out that the required parts that were thrown in at dealer cost to sweeten the deal (otherwise I wouldn’t have gone for it) are now costing much more than the MSRP if I factor in the extra cost of the delays. We ordered on last Friday morning and now have to wait until tomorrow accumulating motel, travel and meal expenses for twelve days.

Hopefully tomorrow will go better and maybe we’ll be blessed with an easy transition through US and Canadian Customs……?

Kilometres - Daytrip: 0 km total: 24,330

Gas: $0 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Flagstone Motel $54

Day104 Tuesday July 22

2008-07-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

View from our Hotel room....

No Travel Day

Port Angeles, Washington
Temps: 24C
Sunny

Went to the dealership early to have the parts we ordered installed and an oil change done before heading for the Ferry. We were told they would have us away in time for the noon ferry to Victoria.

When we got there, there was no work order set up for us and the salesman who was going to look after getting us away was off for the day, the mechanic who was supposed to have set up the rear shock was to install the battery charger lead and throttle lock was off sick for the day as well and the work wasn’t scheduled.

It also turns out that the back rack and crash bars were not in , had been shipped “ground” instead of “overnight” and weren’t expected to arrive until the end of the week!

When I bought the new bike it was with the express agreement that the parts would be ordered in time to install them and get us away the first thing when the shop opened after the weekend. It meant waiting an extra day because the shop is closed Mondays, but Tuesday noon was supposed to be a sure thing……not!

Now the cost of the bike is inflating by at least $100 a day while we wait and wait….

I insisted that they reorder by “overnight courier” which they did and had them check to see if the “sick” mechanic had set up the rear shock as requested. No, that wasn’t done so another mechanic was sent to do this and I asked that he do the oil change, install the battery charger lead and throttle lock while he was at it to save time Wednesday morning when the rack and bars were supposed to be installed.

Got that done and headed back to the hotel frustrated, and with a now expired transit permit (they’re only good for three days) to wait for tomorrow…..

Kilometres - Daytrip: 6 km total: 24,330

Gas: $0 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Flagstone Motel $54

Day103 Monday July 21

2008-07-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

No Travel Day

Port Angeles, Washington

Temps: 22C

Sunny, Clouds

Slept in late then went to check at US Customs to see if they had processed my paperwork yet. All’s good on that end.

We went on a short ride and did some more last minute errands to prepare to leave tomorrow.

I spent the better part of the afternoon and early evening cleaning, waxing and polishing the bike and treating the leather saddlebags.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 8 km total: 24,324

Gas: $0 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Flagstone Motel $54

Day102 Sunday July 20

2008-07-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

No Travel Day

Port Angeles, Washington
Temps: 20 c
Sunny, Clouds

Spent the day reorganizing our gear and sorting out things we could absolutely do without. We have already shipped home 38 pounds of gear and today we packed another 25lbs to ship tomorrow.

Space is limited due to the lack of large locking tour bags on the new bike, unlike the ones on the nomad, so from now on “minimalist” takes on a new meaning: basic camping gear, rain gear, one change of clothes, bath essentials, one book each, laptop and cameras.

I had to modify the leather back-rack bag and do some sewing with my glover’s needles to make things fit. It took us two or three attempts at bike packing before we had things pretty much properly sorted and arranged.

Then a couple of hours were spent trying to find information on how to obtain a travel plate or permit for the trip home through Canada until we can register it in NB. The Service NB website has no info on how to register and/or obtain a NB plate from out of province to drive an imported bike across Canada.

I don’t yet know if this is doable and no-one I’ve contacted seems to know either.

Tomorrow should be a busy, frustrating red tape run-around.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 0 km total: 24,261

Gas: $0 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Flagstone Motel

Day101 Saturday July 19

2008-07-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

No Travel Day

Port Angeles, Washington

Temps: 26C

Sunny, Clouds

Spent the morning doing errands and then off to the lavender festival in Sequim.

I was amazed at the fact that there were over eighty varieties of lavender represented! I was wondering how many uses there were for lavender other than aromatic essences for cosmetic products and was surprised to find it included in culinary use as well. There were many, many recipes for infusions, cold drinks, jellies, potions, cakes and other desserts, seasonings, sachets and bouquets…..

Live music and many food stalls added a carnival atmosphere to the street fair, and the weatherman did his best to help out.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 50 km total: 24,261

Gas: $0 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Flagstone Motel

Day 96 - 100 Monday - Friday July 13 - 18

2008-07-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

No Travel Days

Port Angeles, Washington

Temps: 21 C average daytime high
9 C average night-time

Sunny, Clouds, Cool

Not much happening in Port Angeles. We were waiting to get the bike in on Tuesday when the shop opened and got the bad news on Wednesday that the engine and tranny would cost more than the bike was worth to repair. We spent the next two days agonizing over options and the difficult final decision to buy a new one at quite a good price so that we could finish our trip.

It turns out that the fuel pump on the 98and 99 models had plastic gears which were known to fail around 60-70 thousand but there was a retrofit pump that should have been installed unbeknownst to me. I’m surprised the dealer back home didn’t mention it or do anything about it when I took it in for a full servicing the week before leaving on the trip. For want of a new pump replacement costing a few hundred, I had to write off a bike worth over eight thousand!

The stumbling blocks were new insurance, customs red tape over importation rules, three day hold for VIN registration at border, temp trip permit for bike in transit, taxation and duties, OEM Recall Clearance papers, financing…...more issues sure to pop up before we’re away clear, I’m certain.

We were traveling by bus back and forth and pretty much spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at the dealership, trying to work out the details.

Thursday evening we went down to the wharf where there is a park similar to Officer’s Square. There was a bandstand set up and the locals were gathered to listen to an outdoor concert by a rock and folk group; tunes from the sixties and seventies. Once the music wound down we went for a long walk along the shoreline (Juan de Fueca Strait) then back to the motel for the evening.

Friday saw us back at the dealer’s to clean out the bags and finish getting our gear off the bike, arrange the last minute details and pick up the new bike for the weekend while waiting for the crash bars and back-rack to come in Tuesday. It broke my heart to see the bike all tore down and abandoned there.

We went on a cruise up to Sequim(pronounced “Squim”) in the early evening. I really liked the balance of the new bike! Of course it was practically naked and will have a very different COG and feel once it is loaded for the road, but there should be no shortage of power. It has the biggest touring motor for metrics on the road today!

We are now mobile on the new bike but only in the US because the customs paperwork will take three days to process before we can get into Canada with it.

Tomorrow the plan is to head back to Sequim for the Lavender festival.

http://www.lavenderfestival.com/

Kilometres - Daytrip: 0 km total: 24,163

Gas: $0 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Flagstone Motel

Day 95 Sunday July 13

2008-07-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Left Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon

Temp: 14 degrees C

Sunny, Cold

I was sick all night so we had a late start. By the time we hit the road after we had breakfast and had the camp gear packed it was 10:30.

We were hoping to make it to Canada today and decided on going the longer coastal route to Port Angeles for the ferry to Victoria BC.

It was a scenic and pleasant, if somewhat cold, ride and we were almost there when the motor started to sound “funny”. The oil light came on so I stopped to investigate. I had checked the oil level earlier that morning and it still was showing full. Lots of oil, so I figured we might be able to ease it in to the dealership thirty-some miles down the road at Port Angeles if I kept an eye on the heat gauge and limped in at 50 or 60 kmph.

Wrong!

About five miles later there was an expensive bang in the engine and I immediately coasted to a stop.

We were in the middle of the Crescent Lake State park area and down for the count!

As luck would have it there happened to be a couple, Chris and Chrissie, out swimming with their lab not a hundred yards from us. They heard the bang and offered to drive us to the Ranger information center five miles further on where there was a pay phone.

We arranged for a pickup and a ride into the dealer from AAA and reserved a room at a motel for the night. We had an hour and a half wait fighting mosquitoes and then we were off to Port

Angeles.

The dealership which is closed Sundays and Mondays is several miles the other side of town from the Motel but Clifford the driver was kind enough to take us in to the motel after dropping the bike off.

I think this stop is going to be a very expensive one which may require, if not a new motor, at least a very pricey major repair and overhaul. And there are no cheap accommodations in the vicinity. Even the most basic motel room is more than the average hotel rate we were paying at Econo Lodge or Day’s Inn or Holiday Inn and we might be here for a good long time!

The good news is at least it wasn’t raining!

And thank heavens for the kindness of strangers.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 388 km total: 24,163

Gas: $14.80 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Flagstone Motel $ 87

Day 94 Saturday July 12

2008-07-12T21:03:00.001-07:00

No Travel Day

Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon

Temp: 14 degrees C

Sunny, Cold and windy

Nice not to have to pack up gear today. We had a leisurly coffee and decided to check out the Lewis and Clark Heritage parks and sites and if possible find a Laundromat for a wash.

The Fort Clatsop historical replica where they spent the winter was marginally interesting, the Astoria Column was impressive but the spiral staircase inside to the top and a supposedly super view was unfortunately closed temporarily for repairs. Darn!

Still, it was an impressive panoramic view from the headland out over the mouth of the Columbia River.

Next we were off to Cape Disappointment, the high promontory from which Lewis and Clark first sighted the Pacific.

Well we can’t say we weren’t duly warned (hence the appellation). This was the most aptly named tourist destination we’ve been to!

The bridge between Oregon and Washington state wich we had to cross to get there was quite a piece of work though! Three miles long across an immense body of water, the Columbia at this point resembling a large bay. And all the sturgeon rod-fishing along the breakwater was a first as well, on the way back we saw two sturgeon being landed. Claims of twelve foot fish were made but the ones we saw were more like four feet….still impressive, and a heck of a fish to reel in!

After an early supper of fish and chips and a coffee and internet posting at a Starbucks along the way we went back to the campsite for a quiet fireside “debrief”. Fun, relaxed day……

Kilometres - Daytrip: 101 km total: 23,775

Gas: $8 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Fort Stevens State Park $ 22

Day 93 Friday July 11

2008-07-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Left Rock Creek National Forest Park, Oregon 12:15

Temp: 14 degrees C

Sunny, Cold and windy

We had a nice long chat with Bill and Dorie, the neighbours, this morning about everything and anything and were happy to find that no matter where you go there are always people you can find a lot in common with. Bill spent three years in the Armoured Division and has a Goldwing. He also has a lot of great stories…

…so we had a late start…

Driving through Oregon there are signs proclaiming that this or that town/village/whistle stop has the “best” or the “Biggest” or the “smallest” of this or that…

One place claimed they had the best clam chowder in the world, another had the smallest harbour in the world, and one little one horse town nothing exceptional to speak of claimed their village/town??? was the best kept secret in the world! There you go! Everyone is special in some little way, and the world goes round and round!

We planned to stop in to the Fort Stevens State Park (recommended by Bill and Dorie) for the night, set up the tent and hightailed it in to Astoria for groceries.

Sue had her heart set on roasting wieners on a stick so as we were driving back to the park we stopped in at a roadside firewood seller. We only wanted a small armload that we could manage on the bike with the groceries. Sue offered to pay but the seller was so pleased that we stopped in(he has a Harley soft-tail) that he insisted that we have the wood for free, claiming we were the first ever to pull up for firewood on a motorbike, and he was tickled pink about it!

Back for the weenie roast!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 294 km total: 23,674

Gas: $20.41 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Fort Stevens State Park $ 22

Day 92 Thursday July 10

2008-07-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

Left Humbug Mtn. State Park, Oregon 10:3o

Temp: 14 degrees C

Sunny, Cold and very windy

We started bout heading for the nearest hot coffeepot (at Brewed Awakenings) and an internet connection to check with my realtor. While there I had a nice long chat with a young cyclist from Vancouver headed for San Diego. He is camping in a Hennessey Hammock along the way and averages about eighty miles a day, no mean feat when you consider the huge mountain climbs on the PCH! If you’re not pumping your guts out going up, you’re pumping adrenaline going down; can’t remember a long flat stretch for the last two states….!

The ride was sunny but the winds were very strong and super gusty. It was throwing the bike around to the point of getting very worrisome. And it was so very cold that Susie had on every layer she could muster including my raincoat and was still shivering so we pulled into a sporting goods store and she bought herself some Irish wool/merino underwear and wore it out of the store, Still cold!

Aside from the incessantly winding hills, the one thing that will stay with me about California and Oregon is the ever present smell of cedar or eucalyptus, the breathtaking headlands high above the surf, and the sight of the narrow, twisty, winding road through those giant redwoods and sequoia.

There’s something mystical and grand about it and we feel blessed to have had the opportunity to experience it!

By suppertime we were ready to pull up for the night and try to get warm. Set up camp in the Rock Creek State Park, bought firewood and made a fire before doing anything else! Went to bed with all our layers on inside the sleeping bags and my leathers and Sue’s piled on top of her bag for extra warmth but it was a very cold night nonetheless!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 206 km total: 23,380

Gas: $16.75 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Rock Creek National Forest Park $ 20

Day 91 Wednesday July 9

2008-07-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

Left Patrick’s Point State Park, California 9:oo

Temp: 18 degrees C

Sunny and Cool \

An early start today in cool weather, we had all our layers and leathers on.

Denis has decided to “bee-line it” for home with concerns about medical benefit eligibility after being out of province for more than his “allotted time”; he has a place in Florida for the winters.

We are continuing up the #1 with the intent to camp as much as possible, which had been the original plan for most of the trip, but circumstances alter the best of plans…

And since Susie’s employer has recently let her know she will not honour the agreement they had to keep Sue on as a casual employee during her absence, there is no longer any compelling reason to rush home so our sense of time has suddenly become very elastic!

There were long stretches of road near the surf today that had very strong buffeting cross-winds that literally displaced the bike by two-three feet! I would just get the lean adjusted to counter the force when it would suddenly momentarily let up and my angle would launch me across the road into the near lane just as another gust would push me back over to where I had previously been without my doing any correction whatsoever. What a nerve wracking experience! Susie wasn’t saying anything in back but she was muckled on to me like there was no tomorrow! (and Susie not saying anything is…. Well, if you know Susie….!)

We pulled into another state park (Humbug Mountain) at supper time for the night, with an early picnic supper consisting of a loaf of crusty sourdough bread, a nice chunk of Jarlsberg, and a delicious California Gewürztraminer!

I have never been much of a fan of the California wines(the new kid on the block, don’tcha know), but this wine is wonderful, in a sweet, full bodied, aromatic sort of way that makes it a perfect wine for cheeses, spicy food, or just sipping cold.

If you get a chance to see it pick some up, you won’t regret it!...vintage 2006..Fetzer Vineyards…Valley Oaks Gewürztraminer…Wonderful! Easily as good as some of the best I’ve had from Europe.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 219 km total: 23,174

Gas: $19.23 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Humbug Mtn. State Park $ 14

Day 90 Tuesday July 8

2008-07-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

Left MacKerricher State Park, California 10:15

Temp: 20 degrees C

Sunny and Cool

Started out late headed for Eureka hoping to pick up bags there that I had ordered from Kawasaki in Santa Maria.

The highway was a rollercoaster the whole length of the coastline with some scary high cliff edge turns and strong cross winds but amazing scenery! One of the things that will always stay with us is a memory of the heavenly, ever-present aroma of the redwood cedars and the blue-gum eucalyptus that permeates the air and mixes with the salty sea fog and mist! It’s a heady perfume and a treat I will most definitely miss!

We stopped at the Redwood Forest Visitor center and had a nice long chat about travel and trees with the folks there, but I had to leave when they started to complain about how all the impoverished Mexican people were sneaking into the country and living off their tax dollars.

Another lasting impression I have of the California coast is looking around and seeing that all the hard, thankless, demeaning, dirty, miserable jobs were all being done by those same Mexicans everywhere we went!

On the same note:

What a shame that all along the coast we constantly saw logging semis rolling along with huge redwoods , barely able to get a whole tree on one trailer, every load another big hole in the historic old growth forest!

When we got to Eureka, there was no “Eureka!”.

The bags had been back ordered and the dealer didn’t bother to email us to notify us like he had agreed to do. We cancelled the order and moved on to the state park were we camped for the night.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 266 km total: 22,955

Gas: $18.34 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Patrick’s Point State Park $ 15

Day 89 Monday July 7

2008-07-10T12:21:00.001-07:00

Left OLema, Marin County, California 10:30

Temp: 20 degrees C

Sunny and Cool

This morning was a cool one. We packed up the camping gear without even working up a sweat, and we were wearing extra layers and all our leathers on the road. I would have put on gloves if they hadn’t been buried deep in the pack!

The drive was a magnificent rollercoaster of a road with some really challenging turns and some of the most spectacular scenery; a lot of fun!! …but slow going compared to a couple of days ago.

We stopped into a supermarket in Fort Bragg for supper groceries and went up the road about five miles to the MacKerricher State Park.

First, set up tent, second, supper, third, hike down to the beach to watch the sunset, fourth, back to the campsite to tuck in for the night.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 241 km total: 22,689

Gas: $25 Tolls: $0

Lodging: MacKerricher State Park $ 31

Day 88 Sunday July 6

2008-07-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Left Seaside, California 10:00

Temp: 20 degrees C

Sunny and Cool

We had a late coffee and headed back up the Pacific Coast Highway towards San Francisco. We were riding through areas that were burnt out with charred trees right down to the roadside in places and had to detour on to the 101 about 2 hours before Salinas because the PCH was closed due to the wildfires.

We got into San Francisco around two and headed straight to the zoo where we spent the next three hours. A fun time!

Once the zoo closed we were back on the PCH right through the city and up across the golden gate bridge towards Marin county. The crosswinds from the bridge clear through to Olema were really throwing us around!

Along the way we saw fox and quail and deer.

We pulled up for the night at the Olema Campground around seven.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 285 km total: 22,448

Gas: $14 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Olema Campground $ 33

Day 87 Saturday July 5

2008-07-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Left Buellton, California 10:45

Temp: 20 degrees C

Sunny and Cool /Heavy Crosswinds in the pm

We hit the local “Roasted Bean” for dark roast then headed back on the PCH towards Monterrey.

The folks in Buellton were in a fix with all the raging wildfires from Santa Barbara on down the coast, they were evacuating a good part of the homeowners.

We had hoped to go all the way up the coast on the #1 but whole sections of it were closed off from Santa Barbara up to the Monterrey Peninsula. The 101 is more of an interstate type of divided highway with much less interesting views. Oh well…

We stopped in at Thorsen Motorsports in Santa Maria hoping to find Vulcan Dayliner bags for my bike. Chris Thorson is the Kawi and Yamaha dealer there. Unfortunately he didn’t have them in stock and offered to courier them in but we couldn’t wait the couple days so he personally did his best to find and call the dealers on our way that might be able to order them in by the time we got there. In spite of the fact that he wasn’t making a dollar off us he really went out of his way to help us out. Great service , super great guy!! ….Your efforts were much appreciated Chris!

Today’s treat… rolling hills and vineyards, and a trip to the Monterrey Pier and Beach and Cannery Row for some great clam chowder!

Horrible crosswinds and COLD for two hours between Santa Maria and Salinas! Susie had both her fleece and her leathers on and was still shivering. Big change from the heat in Big Sur when we went through(wildfires everywhere) and the extreme heat we had in the Mojave desert four days ago.

We pulled into Seaside outside of Monterrey for the night at 7:30.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 356 km total: 22,163

Gas: $29.50 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Economy Inn $ 72

Day 86 Friday July 4

2008-07-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

Left Long Beach, California 9:30

Temp: 20 degrees C

Sunny

Crusing up the Pacific Coast Highway (#1) on a cool, clear morning through Long Beach, Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, Venice Beach, pulled into Santa Monica Pier for a break and a look-see. Nice Beach! Friday of a national holiday long weekend is a great time to breeze through cities!

A couple of hours later we were headed out again, up past Malibu Beach and Santa Barbara, the whole beach coastline up to Buellton where we finally found a place to stay after trying eight or ten times; a shabby, not so clean flophouse which gouged us for $72! All the other hotels and campgrounds were showing no vacancy.

Traffic bottlenecks at all the beaches on the PCH were horrible but the trick is to use the white line between lanes as the motorcycle lane…follow all the big Harleys right down the middle, three inches on each side for clearance…Yahoooo!

No rush today, no inter-states….just a nice relaxed ride through beautiful countryside in the land of the dedicated conspicuous consumer! Jaguar, Porsche, Saab, Lexus, BMW, Hummer, Mercedes dealers, and once, the “poor boys” on the block, Ford and Chev….Stretch Limos and stretch Hummers! ….private gated estates everywhere the size of some small countries!

No big Fourth of July celebration in Buellton tonight! It’s quiet as a morgue.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 262 km total: 21,807

Gas: $29.80 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Country Lane Motel $ 72

Day 85 Thursday July 3

2008-07-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

Left El Cajon

Temp: 20 degrees C

Sunny

We had intended to go to sea world today but when we were doing research on it we discovered that it was more of a ‘theme park’ so off we headed for Long Beach and ‘the Aquarium of the Pacific” instead.

The day was cool starting out, and foggy. Sue thought it was smog but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. An hour down the road we were adding layers. WOW, what a difference from yesterday when we drove through the middle of the Mojave Desert in a record breaking heat!

We were cruising along at 120km, cool wind blowing, coastal mountains of the Santa Ana Range on one side and the Pacific on the other, what a way to spend a morning.

We found the aquarium without too much trouble. We parked close to 3 other bikes that were not even locked, their helmets and riding gloves were just set on top of their bikes. Either those people are very trusting or this place is very safe.

Richard petting the fish.....

The aquarium is a ‘touristy’ place not to be missed. Well laid out, with lots of interactive programs, touch tanks, a very comprehensive collection of marine life hosting over 5000 species in accurate reproductions of their natural habitat!

We watched a 3D movie (a first for Susie) ‘Monsters of the Abyss”. What a planet we live on!

We stayed at the aquarium until they kicked us out and we started up the highway to find a place to crash. No trouble in that department. Lots of reasonably priced places here. (That’s something we did not expect)

Tomorrow we will travel through LA towards Santa Monica on the #1 coast highway.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 210 km total: 21,545

Gas: $9.43 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Seabreeze Motel $ 65

Day 84 Wednesday July 2

2008-07-03T08:58:00.001-07:00

Left Benson, Arizona

Temp: 30 degrees C

Sunny and hot, Crosswinds

We were on the road just before nine thirty with a cloudless, clear sky and a temperature already too hot for that time of day!

By about noon we were well into the south Arizona desert and the heat off the blacktop was more than oppressive. There were cars and trucks pulled up on the shoulder here and there with the hoods up and steam spewing from their overheated rads! AAA had a busy time on that highway today; the max temp was 46 Celsius.

I kept a good eye on the heat gauge of the bike fully expecting it to overheat all day. True, I kept the speed down to 120kmh but even at that the heat off the engine was almost unbearable!

Cooling off with a Prickly-Pear Catus milkshake.
Tasted sort of like cotton candy ice-cream.
-Very Sweet

ps. See how red and hot I look in this picture? I had just come out of the 'ladies' room where I had washed my hands and face. While I was in there, I turned on the hand blower and thought "gee, that thing is blowing cool air." I put my face down to cool off and the air was HOT! --- My hands and arms were so hot from the sun that the blower actually felt cool! Now that's hot !!
(added by Sue)

By supper we were into the mountains in California headed
for San Diego and the temperature started to moderate such that we pulled up in El Cajon, a twenty minute drive from downtown with a cool breeze around seven thirty.

It was a long day with longer stops every hour to prevent heat stroke and serious dehydration. Thank the lord for air conditioned restaurants!

Kilometres - Day trip: 720 km total: 21,335

Gas: $ 51.56 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Days Inn $ 86.79

Day 83 Tuesday July 1

2008-07-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

Dust devil in the distance...

Happy Canada Day to everyone at home!

Left Van Horn, Texas
Temp: 20 degrees C
Cloudy & Heavy Crosswinds

We left Van Horn with extra clothes on for the first time in over

two months and were quite comfortable for most of the day. We did manage to finish the day without getting really wet but the weather was very threatening for most of the afternoon. We just barely managed to escape heavy rainstorms which were putting down walls of water just a few hundred yards off the road from us on many occasions. We also had to outrun a severe dust storm and had to do 140 km/h for a half hour to stay ahead of it.

Susie saw her first real roadrunner today …awfully excited, I missed it, but I’m pretty sure it was a “dirtrunner”, it was well off the road!

Exciting day for me too….. got a new pair of Levi Jeans!! No more “spotty sunburns” through the holes in my pant-legs!

And while we’re on the subject of “new”, I bought Susie an early birthday present today…a new pair of photo-chromatic polarized sunglasses….”Wow! It’s a whole new world! ”…she was soooo happy!

So it was a great day, kinda like Christmas!

While we were gassing up in Benson, about forty miles from Tucson, a car driver who stopped in from Tucson told us we should hunker down where we were because just down the road the storm was so bad that even the SUVs were pulled up off the road.

So we decided to call it a day and checked into the local Super8 just as the rain hit us.

Yup! A good day!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 636 km total: 20,615

Gas: $ 51.74 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Super8 $ 60.69

Day 82 Monday June 30

2008-07-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

Left San Antonio, Texas

Temp: 20 degrees C

Cloudy, Heavy Rain & Heavy Crosswinds

We were on the road at 9:45 and heading towards El Paso. The going was good and the weather was cool and threatening. By about two thirty we were in heavy rain and strong winds.

The trip from San Antonio to El Paso is over 800KM long with about four stops along the highway for gas before Van Horn which is a little over 140 km from El Paso. There is a lot of nothing out there, hardly a building or shack in sight anywhere.

The problem with the bike is that it is only good for 200 kms before I’m on reserve. Unfortunately there was only one town, Van Horn, between us and El Paso once the storm hit and it was a couple hundred kilometres away. We just barely made it in to Van Horn on empty, Hungry, soaked to the bone, shivering and numb with cold.

We stopped at a little hotel called the desert Inn close to the highway at around five, passed out under the blankets immediately and didn’t wake until after eight.

The morning will hopefully bring clear skies and warmer weather.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 679 km total: 19,979

Gas: $ 47 Tolls: $0

Lodging: Desert Inn $ 43

We're back in the US, Baby!

2008-06-30T05:58:00.000-07:00

Day 81 Sunday June 29

Left Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza State, Mexico

Temp: 21 degrees C

Sun/cloud, cool and windy

On the road by nine and wishing we had put on our coats, we were quite chilled for the next two hours.

We ended up taking an hour to get through the maze of Monterrey to get to the cuota. We missed the ring road around the city because it was indicated as the Libre and we were looking for the cuota, and ended up in the middle of the city still following signs for N. Laredo! We were lucky to find a driver next to us headed that way who had us follow him to the right on-ramp. As it happens we ran into him again in Neuvo Laredo at the vehicle importation permit office! I thanked him again for saving our hides.

We made pretty good time on the cuota and were into the border by about 1:00, cleared our vehicle importation permits for exit in very short order and were in line for the international bridge and US Customs by 1:15 where we spent the next hour and a half in 116 degrees temp in the hot sun on a hot bike on the half kilometre long bridge crawling along at about a car length every whip-stitch. Yes, we were in the slow line!

The good news is that once we got to the customs officer, he pretty much waved us through after a cursory look at our passports and we were on our way to the first place where we could buy and drink anything, we were seriously dehydrated! Three cold bottles of Ruby Red Grapefruit later Susie had brain-freeze and I had belly-freeze! OW!

The ride to San Antonio was very boring and uneventful. I must say , though, that it was a real pleasure to be on a straight flat highway with no potholes or topes and a decent 75 mph speed limit!

We drove pretty much through the city so as to avoid the Monday morning traffic rush and were settled in around six thirty, having just gotten a few sprinkles as the local heavy rain had just ended. Lucky or what!!

Here’s a first for us…. the municipality of San Antonio demands an extra 16% tax over the Texas tax for each hotel room occupancy which adds up to a whopping 18.3%! How’s that for a money grab!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 575 km total: 19,300
Gas: $ 26.70 Tolls: $19.25
Lodging: Super8 $ 84

Day 80 Saturday June 28

2008-06-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Left Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro State, Mexico
Temp: 25 degrees C
Sunny, cool and windy

We were on the road just before ten and making good time north on the cuotas.

There were a lot of federalés out today and we were very lucky that they were busy ticketing others as we went by. It was the same for the military stops that check all your baggage for drugs and guns. Every time we came to a military checkpoint, they already had all their allotted space filled with tourists, unloading and checking everything they owned. This is a very lengthy process and getting waved through happily saved us a lot of time!

About middle of the day I was hit in the face by a big bee which managed to sting me above the lip before I could brush it away. I felt like I was punched in the nose! We had to pull over so that Sue could pull out the stinger and the attached venom sack which was still pumping venom!...two hours before my face started feeling half normal….

The sky was full of threatening black clouds and dust devils, with heavy rain squalls all around us. We were fortunate in avoiding or outrunning almost all the rain but the crosswinds were horrific for hours!

A long hard ride with only a twenty minute stop for late lunch saw us into Saltillo around five thirty.

First a hotel, then a trip to the local Mercado for supper and back to relax and check mail.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 659 km total: 18,725
Gas: $ 37.50 Tolls: $10
Lodging: Quinta Royal $ 47

Day 79 Friday June 27

2008-06-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Left Acapulco, Guerrera Province, Mexico
Temp: 35 degrees C
Sunny, Humid, then rain/Hail

We left early hoping to take the cuotas far and as fast as possible to make up for the long delay.

Because of the broken bolt flange on the underside of the engine we have developed an oil leak and the dealer pointed out the obvious, that one more bad hit on a tope and our trip is done! We have decided to cancel plans to finish the rest of the Mexican pacific as it is almost all tope country and are heading to Mexico and north via the cuotas (toll hwys.) instead.

It was very warm when we left but within two hours we were cold enough to stop and put on coats. From then on it was cloudy or foggy, or rainy, or hail and wind. Thank heavens the road was good.

And the new tires performed wonderfully. There were times when the water and hail on the road was more than deep enough to cause problems, and more than one vehicle was pulling over, but the bike kept tracking really well!

We made it to Mexico city by 1:30 and spent the next three and a half hours bumper to bumper in first and second gear on a straight line north through the city! I might have gotten into third gear once for a minute or two, but the bike didn’t see fourth or fifth gear until twenty after four! Avoid at all cost! Incredibly poor signage and insane drivers!

We finally called it quits after the hailstorm and the heavy wind and rain squalls around six thirty at the Holiday Inn (cheapest) in Santiago de Querétaro after checking prices at three other hotels.

We were exhausted and I think I was asleep by eight.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 585 km total: 18,066
Gas: $ 32.60
Tolls: $38 - and worth every penny!
Lodging: Holiday Inn $ 82 +tx?

Day 78 Thursday June 26

2008-06-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

No Travel Day

Acapulco, Guerrera Province, Mexico

Temp: 35 degrees C

Sunny, Humid

Finally found a decent cup of coffee, and free refills…..Sandborn’s Café!

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon at the internet, got back to the hotel by four to check on the bikes. Edouardo, the owner(?) has been really helpful and had good news for us. The bikes were ready! And all cleaned up too!

All the baggage we left piled in a corner of his shop was untouched. Thanks for the free safe storage Edouardo.

Good job boys!

The shop is at 182 Avenida Cuauhtémoc in downtown Acapulco if you need a decent Kawi shop!

Back to the hotel to pack up gear and be ready to head for Mexico City in the AM!

On a different note, we’ve been hearing strange sounds the last few days and Susie discovered this afternoon that there is an aviary up on the top floor of our hotel as well as a terrace restaurant and pool! Damn! Too bad we only found out the evening before leaving!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 0 km total: 17,468

Gas: $ 0

Lodging: Hotel Acapulco Diana $ 50

Day 77 Wednesday June 25

2008-06-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

This little girl found a cool shady spot on a Hot afternoon!

No Travel Day

Acapulco, Guerrera Province, Mexico
Temp: 35 degrees C
Sunny, Humid

Off to see if we could find a decent cup of coffee at around nine. Three restaurants and $14 US later we still hadn’t succeeded! Gawd! How hard is it to make a decent coffee next door to a country that produces some of the best coffee in the world!

We checked with the Kawi dealer and our tires haven’t come in yet, maybe tomorrow….looks like we’re here for a while.

We spent three hours at the internet, went up to the Crown Plaza, toured some of the shops….I decided against the Versace jeans…

We bought supper at the Bodega supermarket and settled in to the hotel for the evening while outside a thunder storm raged and the city was deluged!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 0 km total: 17,468
Gas: $ 0
Lodging: Hotel Acapulco Diana $ 50

Day 76 Tuesday June 24

2008-06-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

No Travel Day

Acapulco, Guerrera Province, Mexico

Temp: 35 degrees C

Sunny, Humid

We’re stuck here waiting for new tires to arrive and the bikes to get serviced. The new sneakers were supposed to come in at noon today or tomorrow….?

No luck there yet.

They can’t replace the worn brake pads either because it would take a week or two to order the parts, so we have to chance the next 2670 km with worn brakes and hope to have them replaced in Tucson Arizona! The dealer says we should just “not use them so much”!!! (Hmmm…The Sierra Madres all the way … and marginal brakes….)

We looked into some way to send stuff home to lighten the load but the cost was really prohibitive so we’re maybe going to try that once we get to the states.

Oh well…off to the beach!

this guy was selling fresh fruit on the beach

Then back to the hotel for a late afternoon nap, then off to the internet café, a late supper and a late walk down the front street. Still hot and humid at midnight…

Kilometres - Daytrip: 0 km total: 17,468

Gas: $ 0

Lodging: Hotel Acapulco Diana $ 50

Day 75 Monday June 23

2008-06-25T11:05:00.001-07:00

Left San Juan de llonos, Guerrera Province, Mexico

Temp: 30 degrees C

Sunny

We started the morning early trying to locate a motorbike dealer within reasonable reach and eventually found a Kawasaki dealer in Acapulco about 250 km up the coast. The Kawi dealer was the only bike dealer(there were Honda, Yamaha, Lika, and Suzuki) where there was someone who could speak and understand English. Lucky us!

The next hurdle was to find out if he could obtain tires that we could use and if he was able to install them…..Yes to both! However, he could not help us with the transportation of a “down” bike nor suggest any options. And the tires could not be ordered with my Visa over the phone; we would have to come in and pay up front for the tires prior to ordering.

Now the hurdle was to find some form of conveyance for the bike to go the 250 km to Acapulco over very bad roads.

Off we went on my bike and after some inquiries, we were about to give up when a tow-truck went by and Denis flagged him down while I was trying to turn around on the very narrow road. I explained to the driver that we needed to transport a bike the same size as mine to Acapulco and it turned out that he worked for a boss who had a flatbed with built in ramps and winch cable which would be ideal for the job but he was about 15 Km away in the mountain town of Ometepec. So of we went to Ometepec to see what we could arrange. After some bargaining we managed to get a agreement to truck the bike to the dealer in Acapulco for $275 US.

Turns out that the dealer is only about 6 blocks from the main drag which is the beachfront drive in downtown Acapulco and four blocks from the hotel where we are staying! Bonus!

It will take a couple of days to order in the tires(I’ve decided I might as well avail myself of the downtime to change mine as well rather than wait another two weeks and go through another three day delay). In the meantime we are having the brakes checked front and back and an oil and filter change done as well as having the shocks set up to the max.

I have discovered that all the hammerings from the outrageous topes have broken a bolt flange off of the bottom of the crankcase cover and I now have a steady oil leak at that point.

From here on out we are scraping the plan to go all the way up the coastal roads to Tijuana (another possible 500 topes) and have decided to go the “Cuota” (toll hwy.) routes all the way to Nogales!

No way we would make it otherwise as it’s impossible to avoid the topes. There are no shoulders on the roads, and another couple of hits would destroy the crankcase cover which is part of the engine casing and would definitely end the trip.

We are enjoying this unexpected stop over in Acapulco even though the prices are through the roof and we have yet to find any place where the food and coffee are anywhere near palatable!

Today we had the most disgusting breakfast and coffee of the entire trip. We could not even eat the breakfast or drink the coffee, got up and left!

And the price for breakfast was higher than home!

Ughh!! How hard is it to fry eggs and bacon and make coffee???!!! The bread was at least three or four days old, dry and hard enough to hammer nails with, the eggs were way over cooked and you could hardly cut through the rubber with a knife, the bacon was either rancid and/or bad as well as undercooked and tasted so bad I had to spit out the bite I took and walked out of the place with a bad taste in my mouth for the next half hour! The restaurant…. The Xcarete….stay well away!!!

We spent the afternoon wandering the main drag and the beach and settled in at some beachside bar for a round of margaritas and daquiris, then a walk on the beach and back to the hotel.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 211km total: 17,468
Gas: $ 9
Lodging: Hotel Acapulco Diana $ 50

Day 74 Sunday June 22

2008-06-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Left Salina Cruz, Oaxaca Province, Mexico

Temp: 28 degrees C

Sunny

We were on the road at 8;45 without breakfast and headed for San Marcos, Guerrera Province, Mexico with a nice blue sky on the coastal road. This route has more ups and downs and twists and turns than an Alfred Hitchcock story! We had a very close call on one of the switch-back turns when it got too tight and the bike was two or three inches from the drop-off into the cement culvert on the outside of the turn. I was a hair’s breadth away from panic as I managed to keep the line and finish the turn still on the pavement. This was the absolute closest call we ever had so far on the trip and one second away from very serious injury or death, no exaggeration!

The pavement was in turns great and horrible and some of the worst topes were liberally scattered throughout! We were talking to some Texan surfers who had come that way and they claimed to have counted over seventy topes in a ten mile stretch. My bike bottomed out hard at walking pace at least a dozen times. There is no way around as the pavement drops off on each side ten to twelve inches to the loose sand or gravel shoulder (not an option with any bike).

And to top it all off, Denis has worn out his rear tire and is riding on the bias-ply canvas. We pulled up at a roadside hotel (desperation stop) so that if the tire blows getting to San Marcos or Acapulco it’ll be in the daytime. We desperately need to get to a place with internet to find a bike dealer who can order the tire for us and hopefully install it as well!

The plan is to leave really early in the am while the road is cold and make our way at 40-50 km per hour to San Marcos where we hope to find an internet café and make arrangements.

Tomorrow will be a tough day.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 477km total: 17,257

Gas: $ 21.24

Lodging: Hotel Venus $ 40

Day 73 Saturday June 21

2008-06-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

Left Tapachula, Mexico
Temp: 33 degrees C
Sunny

We were a little slow this morning and didn’t get on the road till about 8:30. My jeans were still wet from yesterdays deluge, the humidity was so high that not much was drying out.

The road out of tapachula was scary bad for the first hour and then thankfully improved considerably as we progressed; good thing as we ahd a long stretch to do if we were to find a decent hotel for the night.

The ride was punctuated with incredible vistas of deep valleys and high lush jungle peaks. We were almost always surrounded by huge irregular mountains that looked like a jaw-bone full of broken teeth.

There was a lot of new highway construction (Mexico is planning to improve 35,000 Km of highway and from what we’ve seen, they are well on their way!) but we still made good time and by about five pm we were checking into the Hotel Lena Real in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca Province, Mexico. This area is where the very first chocolate ever to get imported by the Spanish conquistadors to Europe came from!

Awesome pastry shops!!!

This little 'cutie' was out skipping up the sidewalk with her parents in tow.
With that sparkle in her eye, she reminded us of Patricks' Olivia.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 449km total: 16,780
Gas: $ 21.24
Lodging: Hotel Lena Real $ 49.50

We are back in Mexico, Baby !

2008-06-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

Border guard at the El Salvador - Guatemala border

Day 72 Friday June 20

Left Sonsonate, El Salvador
Temp: 28 degrees C
Sunny

Shortly after seven we were on the road without breakfast hoping to compensate for the two border crossings we had planned to do today.

The El Salvador to Guatemala crossing went without a hitch and we were clear of it in jig time!

We hadn’t gone far on the Pacific coastal roads of Guatemala before we found that the further we went the worst the roads got and the bikes took an awful beating. Then just as we got near the Mexican border some jerk with a beat-up half ton jammed us in an intersection and refused to move. He gouged my right rear hard-bag and twisted my front road-peg around! ……my first experience of “road rage”, I wanted to tear his head off and shove it up his ass! What really got to me was that it was intentional and malicious. I had done nothing whatsoever to provoke him. There are low-life polluting the gene pool no matter where you go!

The Guatemala countryside is beautiful....

People selling fresh fruit as the traffic slows for a topé.

The Guatemala/ Mexico crossing went very well also, with the exception of the “fumigation officer” who insisted that my bike had to be sprayed with industrial strength agricultural pesticides all over. WE had a bit of a set to when I refused to let him do it and insisted that he only do the wheels. We finally settled on me paying him the required fee without him having to do the job and getting the clearance certificate needed at the last check point before entry. Then we were through and heading up the west coast to Tapachoula on some of the roughest road in Mexico. To top things off the skies opened up and we were hammered by what can only be described as TORRENTIAL rain! By the time we pulled into Tapachoula the water in the roads was axle deep and we were making such a wake that the water was splashing over our knees and Denis flooded his spark plugs and was stuck out in the middle of the round-about in the water in the middle of the road with car drivers honking and getting growly. The heat of the engine finally dried the plugs enough to start again and he managed to limp the last hundred yards in to the hotel.

Kilometres - Daytrip: 405km total: 16,331
Gas: $ 22.27
Lodging: Hotel Lacantum $ 64

We are in El Salvador, Baby

2008-06-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

Richard changing money as we leave the Honduras border

Day 71 Thursday June 19

Left Nacaome, Honduras
Temp: 30 degrees C
Sunny, light cloud

Late start as I had another bout of Moctezuma’s Revenge all night and wasn’t able to leave until about ten. We made good time to the border crossing at El Amatillo but got held up for about three hours in a very hot humid wait. The computers on the El Salvador side where we had to get our vehicle importation license went off-line so we had an extra hour and a half or so sitting around in a puddle of our own sweat on the wooden bench outside their air conditioned office. And all the while I in agony and wondering where I’m going to find facilities because my problem hasn’t yet resolved!!!

I finally have to go in search of “banos” and what I find is enough to scare even the hardiest “third world traveller”….no water, no paper, no door, and hard to find the plumbing under the filth….Hard to clean enough to safely approach when you’re about to explode and all doubled over in severe cramps!

Thank god I thought to bring lots of paper “just in case”, cause there definitely was no turning back!

And, some local kid who presumably has some connection to this government public facility had the nerve to stop me as I was leaving and demand $1US for using “the conveniences”. I thought he was joking but he wasn’t… I got a good laugh out of it anyway and he got “diddly squat”!

Once cleared for entry we were off to San Salvador with the intent to possibly stop there for the night. When we got there we couldn’t find anything but a Sheraton and a Holiday Inn both of which demand the same prices as though they were in some capitol city in Canada! ($185 plus tax US!)

We decided to continue on and maybe find something reasonable further on but the towns got smaller and rougher and no sign of anything resembling “hotel” …we were beginning to panic as it was now getting dark and we were a long ways from any large town or city.

Taking the cattle to graze - view of volcano in El Salvador

After many desperate inquiries along the way we pulled into Sonsonate hoping to find something because a traveller at the last gas station assured me there were hotels there.

Several more inquiries in Sonsonate centro later we were headed to the Plaza Hotel. It was well on the way to “too late!” so we’re really happy to find this place! Oops…sorry, all full, no vacancy…is there another hotel nearby? “Yes, I’ll call them.., one moment, dials…. Oh. Sorry they are full too!” Panic…

“is there anything else near?”

“No, there is one place about a half hour’s drive away…in a small place called…let me see … what is it called…”

Susie by now is begging to be allowed to sleep in that big chair right there in the lobby!

We were three very dejected looking people as we headed back out to their wonderful secure gated parking to go off into the night in search of an inn! I could use a biblical reference here…

I had just started my bike and was backing it out of the parking space when someone from the hotel hollered something at Sue. Wait a minute… turns out there is a room that has just been vacated, not cleaned yet, but empty! Three single beds! Yahooo!!! Last place for miles! Happy! Happy! Joy!Joy!

Susie is refusing to sleep in her own bed! No rest tonight!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 309km total: 15,925
Gas: $ 22.75
Lodging: Plaza Hotel $ 45

We're Back in Honduras, Baby

2008-06-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

Day 70 Wednesday June 18

Left Managua, Nicaragua
Temp: 30 degrees C
Sunny, light cloud

Met the owner after a great breakfast and complimented him on the high quality of the lodging, food and service. For the price it was far and away the best we’ve had yet. It turns out the owner was an insurance broker on wall street for about thirty years until he was bought out by Prudential, at which point he returned home and converted his deceased mother’s home into the Hotel Casa Del Sol. (His mother was born in that house!) He lives in a lovely home right next door, and was headed out golfing! No regrets about retiring either!

The maps being woefully inadequate, we had to pull over and try to decipher some way out of the center of the city in the morning rush hour. Just as I had the way figured, a traffic policeman on a motorcycle pulled up with lights flashing. I thought “Oh, oh!” We were sort of obstructing part of the outside lane and I was getting ready for “una multa!” (fine)

“Hay una problema con su navigacion? A donde va?” he asked!

Si Senor…vamos a el Salvador…

So we end up with a police escort all the way to the Pan-American! Muchos gracias senor. Le estoy muy agradecido!

What a great way to leave Nicaragua!

We crossed the border at El espina inside of an hour with absolutely no problems and headed for the Honduran border town of El Amatillo but darkness caught up with us and we ended up stopping at a roadside hotel just the other side of Nacaome.

We probably would have made it but Denis got quite q ways behind in the crazy downhill switchbacks and lost sight of us. On the way to Choluteca, there was a sort of traffic circle where we had to go straight through, but there was no signage…. Denis got lost on the wrong road. We pulled over just before choluteca and waited for about a half hour, then decided to turn around and go back to find him. Fortunately we had only gone about ten Km when we saw him head at us. He doesn’t speak Spanish but managed to make himself understood when asking locals at the intersections and the round-about if they saw another “grande moto” go by and was eventually pointed in the right direction.

Everyone notices our bikes. It is often a problem because they crowd up next to us in traffic to stare and give us the “thumbs-up” or honk repeatedly or blow those “special central American car whistle-horns” that say “Bueno! Bonita! Guapissimo!” (they use the same approach to anything that impresses them!)

People crossing in traffic on the run stop right in the middle of the road and stare and grin, whistle , holler, or hoot and wave, and very often nearly get run over, either by us or the other traffic.

The upside is that we don’t often get cut off at intersections as without fail, the drivers from both sides who would normally dart out and cut off even their grandmothers without a second thought stay put and grin and honk or flash their lights at us as we go by! We’re a parade!!!

We made the Sunset Hotel by sunset. Sun and light cloud all the way and no rain!

Dinner was a sort of pizza, bananas, pineapple filled cookies, home made coconut and strawberry popsicles (pallettas) and a litre of real orange juice from the little local village for under $3 and more than enough to feed Susie and I!

Kilometres - Daytrip: 368km total: 15,616
Gas: $ 28.65
Lodging: Hotel Sunset $ 25

We're back in Nicaragua , Baby!

2008-06-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Scenes of early morning San José

Day 69 Tuesday June 17

Left San Jose, Costa rica
Temp: 25 degrees C
Sunny, light cloud

We were up and on the road before seven thirty. It paid off and we were through the city and on the Pan-American in about fifteen minutes. That may not sound too impressive but bear in mind that the traffic in San Jose has produced stories of epic proportions, and we were in the “going to work, rush hour traffic”.

The entire day was a glorious, sunny and cool ride,

G I distress had us making very regular stops of necessity and one of the stops was at the roadside stop “The Lazy Iguana” which had an amazing garden, fish pond and bird feeding station as well as a collection of iguanas.

This flower is called 'Granada" a member of the ginger family. It has a very waxy flower that grows to the size of a soccer ball. As the pedals open they hold water that hummingbirds love to feast on!

We enjoyed free Costa Rica coffee and coffee flavored toffee as we strolled around the garden…..What a lucky stop!

easily one of the best days we have had for a long time!

We were in Liberia by just past noon so we struck out for the border and beyond.

The border crossing was no big hassle but did take about an hour and a half, but we had made such good time that we decided to push on for Managua.

We got into Managua just as the sun was setting and lucked into the nice but slightly pricey Hotel Casa del Sol…..definitely worth it!

Showers, change of clothes, and dinner in the restaurant then back to the room for an unwind!

I highly recommend their “Chicken Archduke”.

Kilometers - Daytrip: 455km total: 15,268
Gas: $ 31.80
Lodging: Hotel Casa del Sol $ 110