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Ian here. Well its Thursday evening and we have a chance to get caught up with the last two days events. I don't think there would be any doubt that it is me after the poor grammar and spelling mistakes.
Lets start with Wednesday morning. We decided to try to start the day a little earlier than Tuesday. So we tried, thats all we did. After an early run at 7 a,m, a casual breakfast at 8.30 a.m. and a hectic packing session that took for ever. We tried to leave the hotel at 10 a.m. My bike had a dead battery. So after boosting my bike off Helli's, I dropped my keys under my fairing. We hit the road at 11 from Hood River towards Walla Walla..
What a difference a day can make. The weather was great, sunny cool and reasonably calm. The traffic was light and we were travelling on a secondary highway. Highway 14 travels along the Washington state side of the Columbia river. After the chaos of the interstates on Tuesday this was an uplifting change. "We be cruisin" The idea for the day was to take it easy and see where we ended
up. This is certainly a learning experience. I have to say that I had a great time the first two days of this trip. Even when we were cold and wet and a little stressed with all the traffic , I found myself grinning from ear to ear under my helmet. We are living the dream. On Wednesday the dream just became a little more dreamy. By early in the afternoon we found ourselves sitting at a grassy picnic area on the side of the river. Just the two of us and our bikes. This is what it is supposed to be like.
The advantages of travelling with each of us having our own bikes is already paying dividends. The first was having a problem with my battery. the second was that we are having issues with the GPS on Helli's bike. It keeps losing the power connection always at a critical moment. Oh well, mine works. This is a perfect time to tell you a little about the bikes we are on. They are both 650 Suzuki V Stroms. Mine is a 2011 and Helli's is 2012. Not many differences except Helli's bike has digital displays for odometer
and fuel economy and my bike has a pencil and paper to calculate fuel milage. Even with all the extra weight on my bike. (that would be me) I am getting much better fuel economy. After 3 days I have used 53 cents less than Helen.
We pushed ourselves all the way to Lewiston Idaho, arriving around 7ish. It was a long day. There was a couple of times we thought that we should call it a day. After taking a brake to stretch our legs stay hydrated and give our butts a rest we would ride for another hour and rethink where we would end up. I now know why long distance motorcycle riders are called "Ironbutts"
Lewiston is located on the Snake river, this is where we had hoped to travel by boat the last time we brought "Mirror Image" to the Columbia. So still brings back special memories of past adventures. It had been avery enjoyable day. Great scenery, great weather and great company. As I said earlier though, this is a learning experience. We are having issues finding healthy food, decent lodging and time to take in the destinations. Maybe tomorrow.
This morning
we had success starting the day earlier. Up at six and on the road just after seven.
We made a decision to smell the roses today. We are heading towards Yellowstone Park. Once we decided where we were going it was how do we get there. There was the major highways and interstates that wold be a little quicker, but there was a smaller highway that just opened after the winter and runs through the mountains. The mountains it is.
I can not put into words what a great decision that turned out to be.
From the moment we left Lewiston we were traveling beside Snake River that later became the Clearwater river and that lasted the entire day. Idaho is a bikers dream. Winding roads very little traffic and scenery that takes your breath away
When you are riding there is plenty of time to think and reflect. Today was such an amazing day that the thoughts running through my mind turned to how we had come to plan the trip. I believe it is normal to see a new adventure as a perfect romantic experience. Picture the skies are always blue the water is
always clear, the beaches are white sand and the beer is always frosty cold. Well today surpassed any picture I had painted in my mind. The sun was shining, the waters were crystal clear the roads were all ours and we had our breath taken away with every turn. It was just simply perfect. The topper was that it was not planned or expected.
The road we were on was highway 12. It is just one of many that winds through Idaho. It follows the Snake and Clearwater rivers and joins Lewiston to the town of Lolo. Along the way it passes through several small towns where we could refuel the bikes as well as ourselves. We did not have to look hard for the small town diner with the cast of locals that would provide entertainment with our cup of weak coffee in a stained ceramic white mug. Small town USA. there were countless spots to pull off and overlook the whitewater rapids of the Clearwater river. We took advantage of one break to make our own coffee on the side of the road and break out a bag of freeze dried apple crumble that was better that
a lot of high end restaurants. Life is good!
As the weather heated up it was nice to ride in just a t shirt and jacket, rather than fleece heated jackets and heated grips. That is one downside of the bikes is they don't have doors so when it gets hot you can't roll down the windows.
Near the end of highway 12 it rises up to the summit of Lolo pass. Around 5500 feet, high enough for there to be quite a bit of snow still on the side of the road. Still warm enough for pictures in tee shirts.
The town of Missoula ,Montana is located about 10miles north of Lolo. That is where we decided to spend the night. By the time the day was done we had put another 425 kilometers behind us. This time in the right direction.
This one day will make the entire trip worth while. Wrong WayWillie signing off.
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Janet
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apple Betty
Your adventure continues and you are telling a story where I can almost smell the apples, feel the breezes and life as you put the letters together on the page. You are most definitely living the good life and I'm so happy for you.