Well there was no rush this AM to beat the rain....it succeeded in arriving with a vengence at 5 AM.(or possibly before). Ralf slept in while we packed up and headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and the futile hope for sunshine. My carfeful routing went south when I discovered a sign stating detour for bridge on 141. Bypassed the exit and on to the conventional route to Gatlinburg. This entailed going thru Pidgeon Forge AND Gatlinburg...a traffic experience in the rain that would make a colonoscopy seem pleasant. On down 141thru Newfoundland Gap in either fog or clouds or both accompied by rain. Finally arrived in Asheville at Eurosport BMW and were number 1 and 2 to register and get passes. Then on to the Biltmore where we discovered no camping till Wednesday. Also found ... read more

We will be leaving June 17th for Salem, Oregon with stops in Asheville, NC, Glacier National Park, Bellingham, WA, and San Simenon, CA. Ralf wore out 3 road maps getting the shortcut down from Jonesboro to Salem but I think he finally got it. New tires on bikes, oil changed and new K&N air filters on both,and new Clearwater lights mounted on Marlena along with a led conversion for MotoLites. Since we will be in the US the entire trip, the need for some of the extra tools and parts should not be as great as it was for the Alaska trips.... read more