KOAst to KOAst- The beginning

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Our Journey began in Kingston WA during our 4th of July parade. We rode our motorcycles through town and down into the Edmonds ferry and headed out for Moses lake. That night we enjoyed fireworks from the hotel lake front. It was pretty special to be sharing this time with my dad and little sister. We took two motorcycles. My dad's royal venture followed by his trailer which held our necessities, and my black Kawasaki concours which my sister and I traded off on throughout or trip.
The first night in Moses Lake was a hard one as we stayed awake anxious for the start of our ride. I knew we had hundreds of miles of pavement yet to come and the heat of summer had just begun. Our first stop out of Moses Lake was Missoula Montana. It was hot, and we rode for endless hours. Finally after reaching Wallace Idaho we stopped for gas and cooled in the near by stream. Minutes after riding again we were already dry and beginning to sweat all over again. Once we pulled into Missoula all I could think was WATER- That night we set up camp and got cleaned up, it was then that Dad realized he had left his debit card at the gas station back in Idaho at a prepay station. We searched calling 411 and the all over the internet to track down the name and location of the gas station. They told us they had his card and would mail it to our location two days away so we could retrieve it. Whew, now all we had to do was get to that drop location and wait for the mail.
These next few days were rough. It was hot and humid, and we could never seem to stay cool enough. We had to keep covered so we didn't get sun burnt but the heat was almost unbearable. It was on this day on our way across montana to Miles City that dad's bike which was pulling the trailer ran out of gas. The first time it happened with a gas station in site so we were lucky. Dad hopped on my bike, flew down there to get a gas can and we were soon on the road again. The second time however happened at a small town that has gas pumps but they were dry, the gas had not been delivered yet. So after searching around town I found a nice man who gave us a few gallons which let us get over the next hill into the next town with gas. It was so hot waiting around until we found someone. Our skin was becoming tanned and leathered and our clothes dry and crusty. Once we reached Miles City Montana, the real fun began.
In Miles City there were bugs like you wouldn't believe. Little gnats that flew around your face- yet wouldn't bite you. The more we walked around trying to get cots set up the more active they became. Finally after getting settles in we jumped in our sleeping bags and weren't going to come out for anything! In the middle of the night we hear a group of bikers coming into camp, they were loud and rowdy getting set up for the night. Even later on we begin hearing a ruckus, Kristine and I wake to find dad missing and us unsure of what is going on. There are flash lights and people all over the place. Fire engines and ambulance finally arrive. It wasn't until dad returned that we hear the story of a guy on a quad running along the river and we assume he jumped the embankment and flew into one of the near by travel trailers crushing their entry with his quad and flinging himself a few hundred feet. The man was apparently unconscious but eventually came to before the paramedics arrived. Kristine and I fell back to sleep as we only had a few hours before we had to be on our way...

**More to be posted with photos soon**

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