Update from the great Northwest
Last you heard from me was in Lander, Wyoming. Since then I have covered over 1,000 miles and am now in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. After I logged of in Lander I went back to the park and set up my camp. I have gotten in the habit of unhiching the trailer and dragging it to my campsite instead of making several trips back and forth. This also let me hop on the bike and head to the "famous" Lander Bar. As I've found with transient outdoorsy towns, the people were really friendly and everyone has an interesting story to tell. Also, a gentleman camping in the park used to be a guide at Yellowstone and gave me some advice for the next part of my trip.
I got to Yellowstone later than planned due to a lot of construction. More dirt and gravel and mud roads. With all of my off-roading experience I am thinking of entering in the Dakar or Baja rally on my Harley. I camped at Lewis (Louis?) Lake and was planning on having a relaxing afternoon and visiting the sites the next morning on my way to Butte, Montana. It turns out, however, that the Obamas were coming in the nxt morning so I figured I should make hay while the sun was shining so I left the trailer at camp and tore around Yellowstone. I got back to camp with enough light to gather some firewood, make my first camp fire of the trip and make some dinner.
The next morning was fridgid and I left in my full get-up, inluding my cold-weather gloves. A buffalo (American Bison?) crossed the street about 100 yards in front of me, and looking up I saw Marine Corps One and two blackhawk escorts descending on the park to deliver the first family. I would have liked to explore more, but apparently between the presidential visit and the fact that it was a free admittance weekend I decided to push on. Up to that point, Colorado and Western Wyoming and Montana had been some of the best riding of the trip. Really grand vistas and winding roads. It started raining on my way to Butte, and I'm pretty sure there was some hail in there too. I also got in the face with what felt like a rock, but was probably a big beatle or someting.
I rolled into Butte and stopped at a sporting goods store to inquire about cheap lodging. I had decided I really wanted a shower and a bed. Turns out Butte is expensive and lame according to the guy I talked to and he suggested I push on to Missoula. It was early yet, so off to Missoula. I found a room for about $50 and took a much needed shower and uploaded some photos and charged some electronics. I had every intention of getting some sleep, but ended up exploring the nightlife instead. My last stop was a little "punk rock" bar with some local band playing. It was so quiet that one could carry on a conversation over the music. Fail. A friendly bartender, and $1.50 PBRs led me to have more than I planned and ended going back to the hotel and going to bed without blogging shame on me!
I woke up a little annoyed that I had spent all that money on the hotel room and hadn't really capitalized on all it had to offer. Additionally it was cold and grey so I was in a bit of a funk. I was supposed to go to Idaho, but with my extra miles the day before I figured maybe Spokane, WA was a better place to make my assault on Canada from. Hitting Spokane relatively early in the day I was feeling energized and figured I would just push on until I felt like stopping. I also realized that I may have bit off more than I could chew by doing this trip alone. I miss being around people I know, and being around people in general. For whatever reason, though, I feel completely at ease on the bike. I guess because there is no way to talk to anyone anyway. So as I tore through Northeast Washington State running for the border I was completely electrified and almost felt like I was fleeing from something and that maybe I would find the answer in Canada, or that at least if I stayed on the bike I would avoid some of the loneliness I've felt in some of these towns. I rode and rode and rode. Turns out I did about 450 miles, and made it all the way to Kelowna, BC a day early. The 200 miles in BC were wild, though. Harley doesn't put metric speed increments on their American market bikes, so I was constantly doing math to figure out how fast I could go. The road was windy, and one turn had a 30 KMPH speed limit, which is about 18 MPH. The whole ride felt like curvy highway exit ramps, one after the other. It was a lot of fun until it got dark. Between the late start from Missoula, the thorough search o fmy bike and trailer at customs, and the slow going in BC I got to Kelowna around 9PM. I asked about cheap lodging at the gas station (buying liters of gas in Canadian dollars is very hard to fiure out when you are road weary. I have no idea how much gas I bought, or how much it cost.) and got directed to a hostel downtown. I ended up meeting some Aussies that were in Kelowna on a bus tour and we went out to the pub. I want to feed off the energy from yesterday and hit the road again, but I have an appointment for my 30,000 mile (48,000 KM) service tomorrow at the dealership. It's a 9AM appointment, so they sohuld be done around noon. If that is the case then I will hit the road as soon as I sign the credit card receipt.
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