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NomadGal's Year on the Road (and then some!)
Time and again folks have been telling me to post my RR on Horizons Unlimited. I just never got around to it…. doh
Let me introduce myself, my name is Esther AKA NomadGal on ADV and KLRWorld. I own a KLR650 (now a 685) and have traveled around the USA and Canada by myself camping pretty much anywhere. At the end of my journey I ended up in Alaska broke and in need of bike repairs, yet again. So I've spent the winter in Fairbanks and basically just worked my behind off so I could leave again in June, this time heading to Nova Scotia on as many quiet and deserted roads I can find. My calendar is mutilated with pink crosses marking the days I have left until I'm a free woman again!! Just to give you an idea as to how much I still have left to do http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps147fb300.jpg And yes, I do my own bike repair! I'm also handy with a sewing machine and have fabricated myself a snazzy tank bag with side bags that will fit my 6.6 gallon IMS tank http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps30cc9c69.jpg Still got some work left to do on that as well. I guess I should have read the instructions first as I am not sure what the tags or trackbacks are, but I'll put a link to my RR in the trackback and see if it works. I'll keep posting stuff as I get nearer to leaving :mchappy: |
Excellent, fascinating riding and homemade gear. If I weren't married I'd be proposing (but don't let that put you off posting more).
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Hey, its sound rather adventurous and lots of fun. Please share, please post :clap::thumbup1:
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???? Now how did that scooter gal link show up on my post?
How do I put my own link to ADV there? |
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This is my enormous ride report, I would post it here but that would take me forever. Here are some pics from the last 18 moths I spent on the road. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...r/brycetoo.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ider/Bryce.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...estrialhwy.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...Rider/Zion.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...r/SANY1435.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...r/SANY1755.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...r/SANY1878.jpg As my internet is horribly slow today, I'll stop here, off to work now |
It has been a harrowing week or so, and I have to admit that I am starting to feel my age! :eek3:
Only three more weeks of work, and boy how does that saying go, The last mile is the longest?? Feel like I am running out of gas most of the time! I told my manager that I was leaving……….. I'm sure they didn't like that. Already 5 other employees gave notice and I know 2 more will do so within the next week! Some found better paying jobs, and some are moving to the mainland. That place is going to be run by noobs pretty soon! Yesterday and today was my first weekend off in a long time! I was too tired to do much yesterday, but I did manage to sew a window into my tent shed, and I painted a second coat on my fenders and fairing, and a third coat on other parts. I'm going to have a very trippy looking bike, you'll now be able to see me coming from a mile away, there will be no doubt that it's me! :mchappy: Today I faired a little better as far as energy went. I took the tire off in no time!! Scary how well I can do this now….. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps05757215.jpg cleaned the rim somewhat, still have more to do, and I got some steel wool to tackle the brake disk. I had ordered new bearings and silly me, had no idea that those things didn't just pop out! So, as I don't have a bearing extractor gadget, nor a heating gun, I'm going to see if Darrin or Dave have either one. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5bca6abc.jpg removed the oil pump and found out unfortunately that the "new" oil pump I had been carrying with me for so long, might be in worse shape that my old one! I'll take it apart soon and see. I was a little proud of myself today though………. I figured out how to remove the seal and the needle bearing from the case where the clutch thingy goes in. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psce557fd0.jpg The seal was kinda hard, and I ended up utterly mutilating it, but the bearing came out smooth after I found a bolt with the perfect size head. I slipped it in and with the use of washers, a nut and a wrench I was able to pull it out of the socket. Yipeee!!!! :wave: :thumbup: I did a few other things and then went to do laundry and grocery shopping. Yeah, not that much accomplished today, but once the oil pump is back on and the engine closed, I will feel a lot better. Then comes the task of taking the top off and checking the valve clearance, yea, not my favorite thing to do either!! :wacko: Finally got around to make an appointment at the dentist. I sure hope it won't cost me all I've saved!! Having dental now will help, but I've got no idea what the Fairbanks rates are for dental services!! The optometrist rates were staggering! Got my glasses but have to send them back, they installed one of the lenses backward!! :scared: Makes me wonder!!!!! |
Nomad Girl - I've followed you off and on on ADV rider. You are inspiring!
To HU folks - don't let her meager posts here fool you - NG is the real deal - she can ride, and ride, and ride :scooter: |
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I've been pretty busy, hence no posts.
Just a quick recap: Both my jobs are over and done with!!!!! I am now officially a free woman again! :clap: My bike Spirit is getting very close to being done, I can't wait. Finished putting the bearings in, and the tire on the rear wheel, put the swing arm back on and the chain with new drive sprocket, the rear fender with lights and racks is on as well, as are my handlebars. So today I made my new tool tube and 2 water bottle holders, I installed my rear brake and bled it, and my forks are put back together (not yet filled) thanks to Darrin (a fellow rider herein Fairbanks). I drove by his place and he used his air impact drill to tighten the two bolts. I also cleaned my carb and put some other parts back on the bike. While working I noticed how the flowers are coming back, so of course I had to stop and get my camera http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1be822a0.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf385483a.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa2a528ba.jpg Hopefully I will have most of Spirit put back together tomorrow!!! |
Spirit is Done!
I spend all morning and a few hours in the afternoon trouble shooting the electrical wiring for the grip heaters and the 12 volt plug. As it turned out, the 12 volt plug worked, but somehow my GPS cord bit the dust! I had just used it a day ago in the car, but now it failed on me. The heated grips still don't work :frown: I even bought a new relay. All the wiring is correct, so I think that the little heat troll box under the tank bit the dust. Oh well, I think one day I'll see if I can get a new one. It's summer right now, so hopefully my hands won't get too cold. The only thing I wished I would have had time for is repainting the pelicans, they look shabby compared to the rest. The thought of taping all theses stickers up, well, I'm guessing that will take a lot of time. Still, if I get the urge to do so in the next three days I just might!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscfeb21dd.jpg The color on the can was darker, it matched the tank bag, but after painting a few coats, I realized it will never be darker. Maybe the tank bag color will fade :biggrin3: The paint job from far looks good, haha, just don't look up close! I painted the bike with a small 3/4 inch paint brush! On another note…… I sure hope with all the weight on it the seat will be a tad lower! As it is, I can barely reach the ground!! I have the pelicans somewhat packed, but I guess I still have a bit more to put on there, especially my big dry-bag filled with my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, clothes and inside tent. |
Tomorrow is the day!!!
Tomorrow is the day!! Yippee!!
Even though I loved spending the winter in Fairbanks, just hopping back on the bike to ride is really what it's all about. I have to admit though, baring my soul here, that for just a few seconds here and there, I almost didn't want to go. I was nervous as hell getting on my trial ride today. Would I still remember how to ride?? I know that sounds silly, it's only been 5 1/2 months, but still……:huh The fact that I rode for nearly 18 months seemed to have no bearing on how apprehensive I was. But I did it, and Spirit ran great!!! The new tank bags work great and other than a few minor little corrections, i.e. mirrors and rear brake angle, I'm set to go. The yard-sale went great!! I sold everything of value and made some money. Then last night after having cleaned up (made multiple runs to the dump/free stuff site), I decided that it was now or never, I had no more time left to wait. I tackled the job of tie-dyeing my two white long sleeve shirts. Well the youtube video made it seem easy……….:evil:eek1 I think my shirts were too thick so I just muddled on. One shirt I rinsed out too early (I also didn't tie it but squirted it :D ), the other one, I have to admit, came out pretty great!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8cad8f15.jpg Hmmm, my peace sign looks like the open road :lol3 But here is the rather weird thing!!!!! this photo is of the back, which I kept separate from the front and just tied it up haphazardly adding color here and there. The result is just amazing!!! What do you see?????? (nope I'm not a psychiatrist :D ) http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse93f42a7.jpg I was blown away! I'll tell you later what I see!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7c005036.jpg I had also made a tool bag real quick before selling my sewing machine at the yard sale. Today I rode to Darrin to bring him back his burner (which I left at home!!!! :huh ) and hung out for a bit talking bikes with him and Jennifer. He was also gracious enough to keep a box for me (filled with Christmas postcards and such) and will send it to me whenI get back to Kauai. So tomorrow I am riding to Tok, and kicking back at Eagle's Claw until Mark and the others arrive. Still have some cleaning up to do and fixing the little things on Spirit. Hmmm, remind me again how to put my previous ride report on the bottom……... |
Dust to Dawson????
What was I thinking? LOL! Thursday I was very proud of myself if I may say so, but let me not get ahead of myself. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps42981ffe.jpg Remember what the place looked like when I moved in? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps73cffa4d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps28aa2b3b.jpg This is how it is now. I finally left Fairbanks on Tuesday morning, happy yet apprehensive to be on the road again. It seemed just like 2 years ago when I left Port Townsend to go on my ride-about, and like that day, I had trouble parking my bike. I couldn’t figure out why, I had a new shock spring a new tire and no more weight than last time. I figured that the fact that I ended up with a 130/80/17 tire instead of my usual 14/90/17 might have has something to do with it. The tire is so much smaller! I must have lost at least 1½ inches in height. It’s only while I was riding that I realized why; I had never adjusted the shock thingy, it was still on 1! I figured I’d change that as soon as I park somewhere. Part of me was rather disgusted by the huge drybag on the back of my bike. I really had wanted to have a smaller pack on the back. But then I saw these guys parked in front of the North Pole MacD http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps33e5feb5.jpg I didn’t feel too bad now! The road to Tok started out warm, some clouds in the sky http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse07c8477.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps737fde2c.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse79274af.jpg But as soon as I got closer to Tok, it got colder and colder. Boy was I missing my heated grips!!! I stopped at a park to have a Lara bar for lunch http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps992b6660.jpg Spirit looked good!! I adjusted the shock and went on to Tok. Halfway there I started shivering, I should have worn my sweater under my jacket! My new drybag had one more con (other than being huge) namely inaccessibility! My straps kept it secure, but the only way to get into the bag is to unstrap and unroll it. My other drybag opened from the side, so I could stuff a sweater on the end in case I needed it The one good thing about being cold is not getting sleepy :D Finally I arrived at Tok, and after a hot cup of coffee and thawing out at Fast Eddies, I headed to Eagle’s Claw. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psefa28ea6.jpg It was pouring and I decided to take cover under the umbrella and wait for Vanessa to show me where to pitch my tent. When I stopped raining I walked around for a while taking pictures of her campground. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf252d6f2.jpg She converted an old ambulance into a place to sleep I’m sure the folks in here were nice and dry http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps53900d90.jpg A toilet with a stone heart in it http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse3a8ec6f.jpg Her kitchen is simple but functional, it even comes with a stove to warm up the cold well water she supplies in huge blue jugs http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaf477b77.jpg This is definitely the cutest sponge holder I’ve ever seen http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8b43058d.jpg This is the inside of one of the cabins A young girl from Idaho on a trip by herself in her car stopped by a little while later and we got to talking about being on the road. It was the first time she was out by herself, and even though she loved it she was happy to be heading home again. Vanessa arrived a little while later and showed me where I could camp and she started the sauna before leaving again to go to a meeting. As it was still drizzling I decided to test out my new tarp http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9df8bd85.jpg Definitely big enough for my tent and Spirit I took a nice long rest in the sauna and really got toasty warm again, it was awesome! A few more people showed up at the camping, among them a couple from Germany who had work visas for the winter in Canada, and had worked at a ski resort. They were also heading to the D2D. I had a rough night that night, not only did it pour all night, but ffI was freezing my butt off, again! My $175 “insulated” Nemo sleeping pad sucked all the heat out of me during the night. I couldn’t believe it. Now I was really regretting getting rid of my nice warm comfy, albeit huge, Mountain Alps sleeping pad. I pretty much tossed and turned all night, trying to stay warm. The next morning I decided to go into town and find something to put between me and the pad. The insulating blanket from Walmart was no help either. Before I left a sweet couple on a GS showed up, and I called Vanessa to see if there was room at the overflow for them, as the other sites all had reserved signs on them. She said they could, so I had some nice neighbors. I decided to walk to town as Spirit was so nicely tucked under the tarp. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2d67afbc.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps61b67a78.jpg Purple flowers were everywhere I went to a few stores looking for something, and I almost ended up with 2 foam insulated kitchen rugs before I struck gold at a health food store. They had one foam sleeping pad!! Only $12.95! Yippee!! I walked back to the campground and put it on top of the other pad. Yep, very warm and comfy now! After relaxing and reading a while people started pouring into the campground, all riders heading to the D2D. Within hours there was not an empty spot in sight. The area I was camped at was the overflow group area, and a whole bunch of beer and liquor drinking rowdy guys took over my nice and quiet spot. Oh well, I knew that would happen. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3b185331.jpg Only once did I have to ask for one of the guys to please fire up the BBQ pit away from my tent. I told him I did not want to be bear bait, seeing as the smell of meat burning would probably stick to my tent. He kinda grumbled but then complied and put it on the other end of the clearing. Phew!! I don’t think he would have done it if I had said that I was vegetarian and just couldn’t stand the smell of burning flesh. I finally met Mark (AKDuc) that night, I am guessing the two of us were the only vegetarians there :D, and he introduced me to Emily, a girl from Anchorage. The two of us decided to ride to Dawson together. Cubdriver was there as well, so it was nice to know at least 2 people in the bunch. Vanessa showed up to collect the camping fee from everyone and as I handed her my $10 for both nights she told me it had been taken care of already. Turned out that Mark had paid for my camping. I tired to pay him back but he wouldn’t take it. :raabia I hopped around just a bit talking to Marl and Dick, and some other people, and retired into the sauna for a bit, before heading off to bed. One memorable thing was that Dick was saying that one of the guys there didn’t look to good, and that he might be having heart troubles. He was right and before long an ambulance showed up and took him to the hospital. I slept soooo much better that night. It was still cold and I tossed some heating pouches (hand warmers) into my sleeping bag, but I was no longer loosing body heat through the pad. It also stayed dry that night! Awesome! The next morning the whole camp was up and packing, and as usual I was one of the last ones do ne. I really had to get back into the swing of packing. Emily had gone for breakfast at fast Eddies and I told her I’d meet her there. Right before heading out I thought I’d check my oil, it seemed just a tad low, so I put a bit more in. I got my gear on and started the engine. What the heck????!!!!!! A loud roaring sound hit my ears. Then I remembered hearing it before. I looked down and saw……….. no oil cap! Ahhhh, this is the second time I’ve done this, putting the cap on lightly until I closed the oil bottle (just so nothing would fall into the engine), and then forgetting to tighten it. The last time was in Pasadena at my in-laws. Luckily I had not even left and the cap was right there on the ground, still, what a mess those few seconds made! Finally I left, Mark was still there and we said till later. I did have to stop by Napa to get a clip for my little jack. I had misplaced my other one. Emily thank goodness was still at Fast Eddies and the both of us left for Dawson. There were quite a few bikers sharing the road with us, but once in a while we had an open view. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd02a69a2.jpg After a little while I realized that it was not as warm as it had seemed, and I was getting chilly again. But seeing as the weather forecast was warm and sunny I thought I’d just hold on a while. So much for weather forecasts!!! It started pouring on us the closer to Chicken we got. I pulled over as it felt like my water-proof riding pants were not exactly waterproof. As I put on my raingear (boy was I ever happy I had kept it), Emily walked up to me and said that she felt that she was just not ready mentally to go to Dawson. She said that skill wise she could probably do the dirt road but that she was just lacking the will and energy that morning. Part of me had taken comfort in knowing that if one or the other dropped her bike at least we’d have each other to get it up. Now it seemed I was on the road by myself. I told her it was all right, that she should always listen to her gut. So she turned around and went back home and I set off in the rain. Not too much later the pavement ended and mud started……….. I have to admit that I was scared as hell!! I don’t do well in mud. Occasionally I felt the bike slipping and my heat would stop at those moments. Then I saw the sign to old Chicken which Mark told me was a must see, but the sign also said 2.5 miles. There was no way I was willing to ride 5 miles in mud just to see an old town. I rode into the gas station at the intersection and had a cup of warm coffee, while listening to my internal debate. Part of me wanted to forget going to Dawson and just turn around and hit the safe pavement. The other part of me figured that I needed to learn how to ride mud, and that there would be more people on this road, even though I had left last. As I was standing under the awning watching it rain and drinking my nice warm coffee, a few guys showed up on their bikes. I asked one of them what the trick of mud riding was, I told them my partner had just bailed and I wasn’t used to riding mud. Then one guy asked if I wanted to ride with them, and I happily agreed! After the first guy rode off, the other guy told me to go next. I stayed about 15 feet behind the first guy and literally went where he went. Before he had told me, “Just plan where you go and just rev through it!” Well it would be the planning that would get me in trouble!!!! The first half hour was the most nerve wrecking, after that I started feeling just a bit more confident. Still, there were moments that I almost lost control of Spirit, one was when we came up to a group that was really going slow, and I learned that going slow in mud is not a good idea. I just barely held it together and as soon as we could (after a huge RV passed) we hit the throttle and passed the whole group. Phew!! Yep, soooo much easier. Another time was when I saw the guy in front of me all of a sudden hit really thick mud and his rear end was just swinging left and right. A split second later Spirit started to do the same thing. All I could think of was keep going don’t fall, keep going don’t fall…….. I made it! By the time we hit the border I was spent!!! Mentally and physically. We had been plowing past everyone we met on the road, going 50 mph in areas that I would have never dreamed of being able to go 50. The border guard asked the guys a bunch of question, how long will you be here, do you have a job, how much money? I was hoping he wouldn’t ask me all those questions as well. As he came to me the riders we passes showed up, and he just said going to the same place as those guys? And I could truthfully say Yes!! I didn’t have to say how long I was planning on staying in Canada :D He then told me to move so there would be room for others, which I gladly did. I was in Canada! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa08f276e.jpg I look like a chipmunk! My cheek-pads are a tad snug http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse7a97f54.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2ec62e34.jpg I took some pictures of the top of the world and rode of toward Dawson. I was happy the worst was over………… Hmmmm, I was told that the road after the border was in great shape………. I think my heart just about fell in my boots, more mud???? After riding a while longer I noticed that Spirit was overheating. Yikes, what now? Then I started thinking that maybe she couldn’t cool off because of all the mud and maybe the radiator was muddy too. I pulled over as soon as I could http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b82cf64.jpg Sniff, so much for my nice clean and new looking Spirit http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5e268717.jpg Yep, the radiator was covered in mud, about ½ an inch thick!! It took me a while to get it off by poking sticks through the grid jabbing the clay-like substance loose. Then I used my water bottles to splash water on the now better-looking radiator. That helped and she no longer heated up. I stayed close to the guys while riding to Dawson, and before I knew it we hit pavement!! I guess maybe one of these days I will like riding the dirt as much as I like riding the pavement, but that day is not yet! |
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http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbfc42e79.jpg Finally there!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdbb778df.jpg Dawson City in the distance http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps367efd42.jpg I was the last one aboard the ferry! As I rode into Dawson I realized that I had not a clue as where to go, so I just followed the person in front of me. Which was luckily the right thing to do as he rode straight up to the Tripple J? Hotel I had heard one of the guys at Vanessa’s place mention that they had a hose there, and the only thing I could think of then was getting the mud of Spirit. There was a line, but I happily joined them, and before too long I got to put the hose on her. I can’t say that it helped much, but at least the huge clumps of mud fell off and I figured I could do the rest later. It had started raining again and I had to go find a place to camp. There was a place near the airport I heard, but then someone local told me that past the bridge on the right were two campgrounds that might still have space available. I really didn’t want to pay for a campground, but I was too wet, hungry and tired to care. The first one was filled up, but the second one next door still had space available. It was called the Bonanza. I had to laugh and remembered that I always loved that show growing up. I found myself humming that little TV melody. I got a spot right next to Walter who owns the ceramic coating business. The Campground also had showers and a Laundromat. It also had a pressure hose for washing Spirit, perfect!! It wasn’t too expensive either, only $14, so I couldn’t complain, but I knew that I couldn’t afford to do this every night. I would never make it to Labrador that way. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps538e3072.jpg I pitched my tent and strung a line to hang up my muddy raingear. Then off to the shower I went. I had been able to pay with American dollars, and she had given me $6 Canadian back. The one dollar coin is called a loony!! Anyway, it’s a loony for a shower so I jumped in and put the coin in the slot. Nice hot water was pouring down on me, heaven!!! After shampooing my hair I put in conditioner, and got myself all soaped up when clunck……. The water stopped……. Here I was soaking wet and no water to rinse off. I could have sworn she told me the slower was 10 minutes!!! Turns out you only get three minutes for a loony, and I was out of loonies. My little towel was not big enough to wrap around me, so I quickly dried off the soap, and put my clean clothes on. The laundry was next door, and the machine that changed bills to coins as well. I got myself another 5 loonies. As I was there I saw a sign saying the cutoff time for starting a new load was 8:30. Looking at the clock I saw it was 8:32. Sh…t!!! So I ran in the shower stall, got my dirty clothes and put them in the washer. I looked around me for the soap machine, no soap. There was a guy doing laundry and he told me the soap was in the office, but she was closed now. He was very sweet and handed me one of those soap balls to put in the machine. After the laundry got started I got back in the shower and got the conditioner out of my hair and the soap of my body. Then I had to figure out where to get more Canadian money as I had not enough left to dry my clothes. There was a lady in front of the Laundromat who traded me a Canadian fiver for a US one. It was 10 by the time I was done and back in my tent. After heating up some dinner and eating it, I crawled into my sleeping bag and crashed, or at least tried to. Looked like I would need my earplugs one more time, as there was an RV or something across the road making a bunch of noise. Then I did sleep. I pretty much spend all Friday morning cleaning Spirit at the carwash site, and cleaning the bags in the bathroom. Afterward I rode to town to find a bank. I changed my $316 into Canadian and ended up with $335. That was kinda cool. I also found the library and tried for half an hour to cancel my car insurance at Geico. Those suckers have set it up in such a way that you have to call them!! Crap, I didn’t have phone that worked in Canada, and my Canadian cell phone it turns out, no longer has a working sim card. I guess until I get one I’ll just have to keep paying for a car I no longer have. I also tired to upload my photos to photobucket, but the internet in Dawson was just too slow. I found Mark’s campsite but no Mark, and as I didn’t really know anyone, nor knew what some of the ADVers that had gone to Dawson looked like, I went back to the campsite to relax and have dinner. It had been a nice and sunny day, and all my washed gear was dry! I had not purchased a banquet dinner as I found $20 a bit much for a potato and some salad, but around 8 I went back to town to see where the meeting was. A tourist gave me directions to where everyone was, as I had no idea where the banquet would be held. I took a few pics on the way http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8d5bc9b6.jpg Masonic temple http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps89535553.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9e383b77.jpg The road was lined with bikes http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd242d450.jpg Spirit right in front As I got there I found Mark, and also saw Dave S again whom I had met in Spokane at the start of my year on the road. He didn’t have a place to stay yet, so I told hime about my camp site, and that he was more than welcome to share it. I sat next to Mark while the prize drawing went on, but I felt really out of touch and disconnected from all the happenings around me. I did enquire about a road I wanted to ride, but no one knew about it or had ridden it. After the banquet was done the games started in front of the Motel. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf9e44797.jpg I think I was on of the few in riding gear as most stayed in town and walked there One race was called the slow race, and the slowest person would win http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps50944c44.jpg Mark was number 8 and he had to show everyone what to do before the “race” started http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa63612b3.jpg Off they went! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5ed1d40f.jpg in another race you were blinded with a hood, and had to go straight toward a plate on the ground listening to the audience tell you when to stop. The goal was to stop as close as possible to the plate After that were slaloms, and then guys had to partner up with a gal on the back. She had the job of biting into a hanging hot dog. Yeah, rather gross as they didn’t change the dog at each attempt. I wondered if they had vegie dogs. The games ended right at midnight when people stood in line to get their D2D sticker. I couldn’t believe I had made it that late, as I was falling asleep around 9. Luckily the sweet couple from Vanessa’s camp ground was there to talk to, and also on guy from Whitehorse who talked about obesity, diet, cancer, sunblock and all the ways to get sick from food etc. Very interesting fellow, but I hope he goes back on the diet he was so enthusiastic about, because he was getting a tad heavy too. I couldn’t find Dave S to say goodbye, so I followed Mark to his campsite, he gave me one of the blue D2D stickers. We said goodbye, and I rode back to the campground. I was so eager to get my sticker on my fender, that I didn’t even bother to look at what it said. As a result I have two of the same lines stuck underneath each other. Awwww, why hadn’t I waited till the morning when I was a tad more awake? I slept very well that night. It rained during the night, but it stopped early in the morning. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscd720ce7.jpg Looks like it was finally summer! The Fireweed is starting to bloom I took my sweet time packing up, and headed to town to get paper towels and fill up the gas tank. One really good thing about Canada, they have dark chocolate Bounty!!! Yippee!! Finally it was time to head south, and boy, this time I did not take the chance to get cold, so I wore my really nice thick woolen sweater which made me overheat while in town, but which turned out to be awesome while riding! As I no longer had heated grips, I ended up putting my woolen handmade mittens inside my too large leather mittens form last year. The result was some nice toasty hands!! The only drawback was that I couldn’t take any photos while riding this way, so my right hand ended up wearing the leather glove I had bought in Fairbanks at the BMW dealer not as warm, but ok. The road toward Carmack was very quiet, only a few cars heading the opposite way, and a handful of bikers. I took a break at a rest stop on the side of the road. While eating my Bounty I noticed lots of “wild life” http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9c9708d4.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psab796925.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8c3aff2d.jpg This shot turned out better than I had hoped!! The road got even quieter afterward, and after I took another break in a small town I realized that I wouldn’t make it to Carmack, I was just too tired. I then realized that I really hadn’t been able to take a day off in a really long time. First work, then fixing Spirit on time, then cleaning the garage and having a yardsale, and finally the fun but tiring trek to Tok and Dawson. I was due for some R&R!! I kept riding for a little while longer when I noticed a small dirt road veering off the left, a minute later that same road popped up again, a loop!! I slowed down and spun my bike around to go back and check it out. It was a short easy dirt road, but no place to camp, until I was almost back to the main road. There it was, the perfect spot!! Close enough to the road in case I ran into trouble, but hidden enough for some solitude. The place felt perfect! I pitched my tent up and charged my solar battery as the sun was shining bright http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf9a06635.jpg I was a happy camper!!! Only once in a while a car would pass, but other than that it was really quiet. As I lied in my tent relaxing listening to the birds chipper away, I realized that this was it, riding and enjoying doing nothing, total bliss!! I am trying now to live each day to the fullest, not caring if or when I run out of money or what to do when that happens, I will face it then, right now, I am happy and content. And while lying there, being content, I realized something else! I was not worried about whether or not I was allowed to camp here, I had finally gotten to a point of I don’t care, and no longer felt guilty or imagined someone coming up to me and tell me to pack it and leave. I have no words to describe the lightness that comes with being this way. The next day I decided to stay there, it was Sunday after all, and the chance of Telus being closed on Sunday was to big for me to ride to White Horse. I spent the day reading, knitting and……….. I actually drew something! I had been carrying this little faux leather bound sketchbook with me for months, planning on drawing a lot. Now I want to see if I can make myself sketch something little once a day. Today’s sketch took me way too long, shows you how out of touch I am. But all in all it didn’t come out half bad. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa1da5fc7.jpg I also typed up my RR up to now and ate heartily all day :D I really did not want to go to White Horse to begin with, but I think my dad will appreciate being able to call me once in a while. I also wanted to get another canister of gas for my stove. The bummer is that when I’m done I have to go North again to Carmack, as I really wanted to ride the road to Ross and then Watson Lake I got up at 8 this morning, having slept great!! I took a while eating breakfast and packing, and was out of there by 11. The road to White Horse was quiet and beautiful! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse907bd92.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps93c9ab14.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8e57986f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbaeb8b4a.jpg I did have one exciting moment!!!! I saw a grizzly bear right on the road !! As I road toward it it just stood there and looked at me, did not move at all, so I slowed down just a tad, I didn’t want to hit him/her. I veered left, the bear did the same, I veered right and he followed my move. Meanwhile I was like 20 feet away, punching my brakes as I really did not wan to crash into a grizzly. At about 10 feet the bear turned and ran down the slope!! I past him/her within feet!! Absolutely gorgeous animal, shiny brown coat and what movements, I could see the muscles ripple under the fur. No time to take a picture though, had to keep my hands on the handlebars for that one!! I am in White Horse now, it too me hours to set up my new sim card, the internet is so slow, and I kept running into trouble. It’s almost 8 now and the camping store is closed. I am going to have to camp nearby and come back in the morning, as I am low on fuel for my stove. Bummer!! |
Lovely, :thumbup1: Drive savely
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Nice report riding Nomad. Have to coax you into Central and South America.
Another Nomad |
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Great reading NomadGal... sat here at work in the the UK wishing I was on the bike crunching the miles to never never land... Ride safe and have fun...
Steve (Bones) |
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After my last post at Starbucks I headed back to my tent (hoping it was still there).
I had marked how many miles exactly it was from the intersection so I would find it again. Glad I did cause I would have rode right past it :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps54d3213f.jpg Yep having a green tent comes in handy http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps85f6417c.jpg I cooked dinner while enjoying the fact that I actually had a houseplant for a while I packed as much as I could (which really wasn’t much as I was tired) and went to bed hoping it would not rain during the night. I slept like a rock and in the morning was woken by a shining sun. It looked like it was going to be a very nice day. I took my sweet time cooking breakfast and breaking camp, but was sure I’d be out of there by 10. Why is it every time I am sure of something, something else happens? Anyway, it was nothing major, or at least I hope it won’t be, but upon checking my tire pressure I noticed that the front was just a tad low, but the back didn’t show any pressure at all! I looked at the tire, but it looked fine, not flat or anything. I decided to get my green slime air compressor and look at the pressure that way as I figured my tire gauge bit the dust. Same thing, 5psi. I had a flat and didn’t even know about it. I had felt that Spirit seemed to pull a tad more, but I thought it was because of all the weight. I plugged the green slime in my 12 volt and blew up my tire. I thought I’d better keep an eye on it and keep checking the pressure every so often. This is the first time I had a 130/80/17, as I had mentioned before, and I guess pne of the pros on this tire is that you can ride it without any air in it!! I also notice that the passenger footrest mount was missing a bolt. Must have rattled loose at some point. Luckily I had a whole bin of odds and ends, including a bolt that fit. I finally took off at 10:30 and headed to Carmacks. Boy did Spirit ever ride a lot better!!! What a difference a full tire makes LOL! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2b2d5c65.jpg I got to Carmacks at around 12:30 and was able to finally talk to my Dad. It made all the hassle of going out of my way to go to White Horse worth it. The fact that I now had 2 full cans of gas for my stove helped too, even though I didn’t find much of any kind of food for the road, as the only health food store was now gone. A big part of me was nervous about setting out to do a 425 Km dirt road, but I had heard it was a gorgeous road, so I felt I just had to ride it, nerves or not. My only hope was that the nice weather would dry out any mud there might have been. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps93b16f9e.jpg The road started out very promising and I enjoyed having the next miles paved http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps952400fc.jpg Everywhere along the route were burnt areas, and if I had not worked for a long time, I would have stopped and made camp among all the other Morell pickers, and made some money. As it was I just couldn’t do it, I had just finished with work and the thought of doing it again just didn’t sit well with me, I wanted to be free for a while, money or not. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaf88c16d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psccb9af4e.jpg I pulled over for a little rest and a quick snack, and couldn’t help but take a pic ot the mountain in between the shrubs I also found some insulated winter gloves at the side of the road. It looked like they had been there a while, but the inside looked immaculate, never worn, as if they fell off someone’s snow mobile in the winter. They fit me, so I decided to keep them and see how warm they were after they dried. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps413a1bf1.jpg Seeing as the day was sunny, charging my GoalZero Sherpa 50 battery seemed like a good idea http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb2e8fdc3.jpg This road just seemed like heaven to me, it was gorgeous beyond words, pictured don’t do it justice! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps056e2588.jpg Before I knew it I had arrived at the town of Faro, the end of the paved road! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3e21ce4.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb555a4ac.jpg So far the road was just slightly damp, but very well packed with an occasional wet area. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psabd88d90.jpg It was a gorgeous road though! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0b4c9bef.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps015422e8.jpg Crossed over a bridge with a spectacular view, so I made a U-ey and parked the bike. It was a pretty deep gorge!! The one thing that was both annoying and a blessing were the heavy trucks barreling a tremendous speed down the road. I’m sure they helped to pack the mud down nice and tight, but the drivers could care less about other traffic I think…. I got to the turn off for Ross River, the last place to get gas. I kept riding and ended up at the river where a ferry was waiting. Wait a second??? Did I miss the gas station? I knew that the ferry took you to the road heading into the North West Territories. I turned around and asked a lady pushing a stroller down the road whre the gas station was. I had gone right past it! In my defense it wasn’t an ordinary gas station though. There was a fence with two huge metal tanks like on the back of a truck but stationary, with a wall that had the pumps mounted on them. There was a note saying please fill up first and then go into the grocery store to pay for your gas. How nice!!! I have to admit that I find the gas prices here in Canada staggering!! $1.50 or more per liter, which is about $6 a gallon. I did notice though that ever since I filled up Spirit’s tire I had way better mileage, about 50 to 53 Mpg, not bad for a 685 cc After enjoying Ross River, a cute little town with very nice people who kept asking me questions, Once back on the road, I had a choice, back track 10 miles and hit Hwy 4 then make a left, another 10 to 15 miles, or go down the short cut, only about 7 miles. Hmmm, the entrance of the short cut was scary!! Deep ruts with mud, but it had some dry groves too, so I thought I’d chance it. I’m glad I did, as that was the worst part of the whole road! The short cut was beautiful!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psac01b109.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps45978fdb.jpg After no time at all I hit the main dirt road (untreated secondary Hwy) http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps06e5673a.jpg I rode for a while enjoying the really well packed gravel road, looking for a place to make camp. Occasionally I saw a spot that could have worked, but I held out for something better, a place with a view! After abut half an hour I barreled past a pullout. Screechhhhhhhhh, well, as much as I dare to brake on gravel. I came to a full stop and turned around, that spot would be awesome if there was room for a tent! I rode Spirit up the little hill to the lookout, and saw that it was just the most prefect place!! In one word, Awesome!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6dc4e9fb.jpg I parked Spirit and pitched my tent, the only con about the place was the amount of bugs, gnats really, no mosquitos thankfully! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps06229e99.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7d18df4e.jpg I was in heaven, a perfect place, nice and quiet, and maybe one car every few hours. I ate and went to bed, blissfully at peace. The night had been cold and windy but other than waking up a 4 having to use the bathroom, I slept like a baby. The next day turned out to be hot and sunny. Did I mention hot??? I can’t remember the last time I was this warm. Sitting in the tent in my bikini enjoying each little breeze that blows through. There is no shade in this spot, but I didn’t care. I finally had a chance to take a baby-wipe bath without freezing my butt off! I hung my shirts out in the wind to freshen up a little, and worked on Spirit. Looks like I need to re-bleed the brakes, they still feel sluggish like they have an airpocket in them. I did change the Moose handguards, I had them on wrong so they didn’t break the wind at all. Hopefully they will now. The rest of the day I filled with reading, taking pictures of flowers, typing my RR, and knitting. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps95691736.jpg Wow! Look! It’s as if the flower has a rib cage http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse47202f9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6d2dc06d.jpg I love my little roomy vestibule! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9044b120.jpg Freshening up my shirts http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdf7bf770.jpg There are blue ones http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps43e6fba9.jpg and pink ones http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfc6050c8.jpg some gorgeous wild roses http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscc707040.jpg even very orange trippy moss on rocks |
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I can’t get enough of my view!! After a good meal I decided to crash early I woke up around 7, made a cup of instant coffee, and oatmeal, and packed up. I was out of there by 9:30 http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psef930420.jpg As I was packing up my tent though, I noticed a few of these right under my tent wall. What the heck is this? I saw lots of these spit looking things on Vancouver island as well. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3fb705a.jpg I am starting to really like my tent. I can pack everything while the outer shell is still up, which will keep me dry in the rain, and bug free. Then I quickly break down the rest and leave. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8e2707d3.jpg One last look…… I rode for a few hours and mostly the road looked like this: http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psde9806b8.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps73b69a10.jpg Once in a while a break would come with a bit better view, but all in all it was very smooth and relaxing http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b6c62cb.jpg I stopped at an outlook, and saw a bird in the tree, as I was taking a picture it flew straight toward me!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps53343ff3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps34d920f6.jpg The he landed on the trash can observing me I gave him a few sesame seeds, and hopped back on Spirit. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2988d84e.jpg What a cool little log cabin this had been! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps127aacfc.jpg sometimes the road took my breath away http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscff352c7.jpg For those of you who are X-men fans!! Unfortunately after this sign the road went down hill!! I have discovered that you can actually shimmy your bike’s butt when going over wash board to fast!! I did not like this part, it felt as if my teeth were gonna fall out, but around 70 km it wasn’t too bad. At one point a sign came up that said road construction. I ended up following this truck, glad he didn’t dump any more water than he did. After I passed him I wondered if that was all as far as the construction went, boy, did I ever wish that had been the case…………. Have you ever found yourself crying without knowing it???? I had to stop at the stop sign that a young girl was holding. She asked me just you?? I answered” Yep!” The I asked her how the road ahead was, she said it’s nice and soft, ??????? I figured I’d misheard her. She let me go after radioing that a woman on a motorcycle by herself was coming. The second I hit the dirt I about shit my pants, it was soft!!!! And how! I hit the throttle telling myself you can do this!! One of those heavy rollers past me and I swerved to the left figuring that the road must be a tad more solid after that thing rolled over the dirt. Yeah, not really, but I was doing fine, until…. The dirt turned into upturned mud, with tire-tracks going left and right and up and down, with piles of mud here and there. Before I knew it I was about 6 inches deep in mud. Spirit’s rear end was sliding left and right and left and right for what seemed like forever. I was terrified and in my mind already saw myself flying over the handlebars while Spirit slid sideways. A construction worker heading toward me in a truck saw what was going on, and he pulled way over to the side to give me room to get out of the mud. I kept hitting the throttle tears streaming down my face, but unwilling to give in to my fear or ease off on the throttle, that would have ended disastrously! After a while the road got better and I hit some regular soft dirt before hitting gravel again. I don’t know if I breathed that whole time, I was so shaken up but kept on going. After a while it looked like the construction area was over and done with, and I was on a regular gravel road again. I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t wipe, I made it!!! You know, things do happen for a reason. I had been bummed that my ride over the top of the world had been one through mud and rain, but thinking backwards, if I hadn’t gone through that, there was no way in hell I would have made it through this! I am sending lots of thank yous to the guys that invited me to ride with them on that muddy road to Dawson City. I owe you more than you know!! Before long the views turned nice again, and I took some more pictures (I had stopped shaking by then) http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3db5fc79.jpg I made it to Watson Lake, and of course the first thing I saw where the famous signs http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa694aa5d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps07af0b40.jpg I stopped at the visitor center and asked for directions to primitive campsites. Well, the most primitive one was at Watson Lake, so I headed that way. I also found out where I could take a shower :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3506b13.jpg Flowers outside the visitor center I found the camp site and pitched my tent between the mosquitos, and then grabbed some clean clothes and went back to town. After a wonderful shower at the recreation center, I sat down to use their free internet. Yeah, it was free for half an hour! So I decided to find another place with wifi, and ended up at Andrea’s restaurant. I decided to splurge for once, and ordered a Greek salad and potato skins. It was wonderful! I figured once in a while I shouldn’t worry about money and spending it, and that turned out to be rather serendipitous! While eating I checked my Paypal Acount and saw that I had received a wonderful donation from katoom916! Thank you soo much!!! This salad was on you!! I’m about to head back to the campsite, number 39 is my spot, and hopefully will sleep soundly. Tomorrow I’ll be heading to Fort Nelson and then North into the North West Territories for just a little while. There is a road (number 7 that turns in to 1 and then 35) that loops around and I end up in Alberta. From then it shouldn’t take me too long to get to JustJeff in LacLaBiche. |
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Fantastic report, good luck on your continuing trip, I look forward to following along.
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Plain chocolate bounty??
Inspiring words and pictures, keep up the good work:-))
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Why do I even stay in campgrounds?
After paying $12 to spend the night in mosquito zone, I also ended up having to sleep with my earplugs in as some of the neighbors thought it was okay to play rock & Roll music till 1 in the morning. Needless to say after a tiring day (mud and all) I ended up with hardly any sleep. The next morning I was disoriented and sluggish and got out of there pretty late. Still I figured, it stays light long, so I can just take my time and ride longer. I swung by Watson Lake tourist info again to fill up my warted bottles and met 2 guys on motorbikes heading to Dawson City. They asked me how far it was as they thought they could do it in one day. I guessed about 500 or more miles (it was 605) and told them it was a bit much for one day. I suggested the route I had just taken, warning them about the short construction nightmare. It would save miles, but I don't think they were interested. They took some pictures and a lady took one with all of us. I gave them my ADV name and hope they'll remember it so they can post the pic. I talked to my Dad for a while and headed out. About 5 miles later it popped into my head that I hadn't tied down the stainless steel water bottle on my passenger foot peg, I looked down, and sure enough, nothing there! Sh…..t! I turned around with the hopes that it was lying in the parking lot of the info center. Right as I got there I saw something shiny and utterly flat un the highway surrounded by a puddle of water. :cry :cry :cry I really loved that bottle, it held a lot of water! So here I went trying to find another bottle that would hold water. Neither the grocery store nor the sport/tourist store had any nalgene bottles. I did find another stainless steel one for $10, not as big but close. Got it filled up with water and finally was able to leave Watson Lake. Once I started riding I got over my sad and frustrated mood of forgetting to tie up my bottle and having to buy a new one. I think the reason why it frustrates me so much is that I am on a tight budget, and having to spend cash on something I really didn't need if I had had it together just frustrates me. I know people say that money doesn't buy happiness, but I do think having it puts you at ease. Still, I have to continually tell myself not to worry and that everything will be just fine. To be in the now and to quit worrying about what might or might not be. Some days that actually sinks in, other days not as much. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa4cc0f99.jpg My first photo opportunity put a smile on my face http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3e511dd1.jpg Yay!! Finally in Bison country! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse911fed8.jpg Took a quick break to eat a Lara bar it the river, but there were too many bugs around to relax http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3c347d92.jpg Another bear!! I finally got my share of bears http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6706448f.jpg Now this little bugger was determined to find out what was in the truck, it wouldn't budge. I rode up and he just looked at me, not going a foot away from the truck. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psffe53f24.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfc63e948.jpg Just beautiful! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7345514a.jpg Aww, lots of baby ones too http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps75d7adcf.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps687506d0.jpg I'm letting the pictures do the talking, I was just riding http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3213dce1.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c771a0f.jpg I'm guessing it was loosing it's winter coat, either that or they always look so shabby http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa02523ac.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse2d74897.jpg I was getting tired even though it was still early. I really am a person that needs a goof night rest! I was riding through Muncho lake provincial park now, and everywhere it said campsite full. Tuesday will be Canada day, so it's a really long weekend with lots of folks camping. Even Liard Hotsprings was filled up, so I didn't even bother stopping for a soak. Not my idea of fun to jump into a hot spring with tons of others in it. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0bf36de9.jpg The views were just amazing! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7c367090.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1bcd975f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps034ab52b.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9be9d420.jpg It's a pretty cool feeling riding that class to a lake, I don't know why, but I find it soothing and exciting at the same time. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps56512b17.jpg After a little while I had to admit that I was beat, I needed a place to crash. I kept my eyes open for a little dirt road veering off, but there was nothing, until I saw a grown in road making a sharp turn to the right. It was going up pretty steep but I had ridden harder stuff so I went for it not knowing were it would end. Haha, I didn't have to go too far to find out. The road stopped all of a sudden, like it was never meant to go anywhere, or had utterly gotten overgrown. It was perfect! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd5829803.jpg I was high above the traffic and had another great view. It was perfect timing too, as no sooner had I pitched my tent and gotten my junk inside when it started to rain! I was very happy that I could finally relax and go to sleep. There were some interesting flowers in my tent, but one was of a dried up yellow flower that now had something like and Avatar, hair end thingy http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb5bf2ea0.jpg Wonder if these gave James Cameron the idea for the Avator way of connecting ??? :lol3 I warmed up a carton of of soup and crashed!! Slept like a log and woke up around 5 am just to turn around and leap a few more hours. It had rained for a while that night but not when I woke up. I relaxed and read for a while thinking I'd break camp in a little when it started raining again No biggy, I was more than happy to stay put for a day. Around noon the sun came out and made the inside of the tent into a sauna!! All that heat and moisture contained in a tent was a tad more then I bargained for and I started packing my stuff. It felt good to be rested I was out of there a little past 1 and happy to be riding again toward Fort Nelson. Not too long after I had left I saw my first male moose close up!!! I was ecstatic!! Finally a moose!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3d3f5c1c.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7b8fb267.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1d7ea30e.jpg I think he got a little annoyed with me, as I was creeping closer and closer, so he turned around and walked away. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5ebb26b6.jpg Saw a couple on a bike, with an MSR tent like mine (or close) tied on the back (I recognized the green bag) The license plate was foreign, maybe German?? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa660c077.jpg I gassed up in Toad River and bought a sticker saying Alaskan Hwy and it had a drawing of a huge mosquito on it, LOL. The gas price there was staggering, not to mention that Spirit started stuttering not too long after. Diluted gas??? I hope not. Almost exactly 100 miles after Toad River I saw the turn off to Yellow Knife and Fort Liard. I needed to go to Fort Nelson first though to get a map and to fuel up. The visitor information center was right as I got into Fort Nelson. What an awesome place!!! You can hand out and use their wifi for free, have a cup of coffee on the house and just relax!! That is exactly what I am doing now :cool4: In a few I will go and find a gas station, and then turn around to head toward Hwy 77 into the North West Territories. The weather forecast is rain for tomorrow, so Maybe I'll just camp for a day until the sun comes out. The forecast for Yellow knife is lots of sun. Afterward I'll head to LacLaBiche in the hopes that my brothers fancy shock will be there. |
Last night was I night I'll never forget!! My first real encounter with a bear!!
But…… let me backtrack just a little Left Fort Nelson pretty late, but as I had a late start i didn't mind. Got back to the turnoff to Fort Liard in no time http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa4244c67.jpg The first part of it was paved, so the riding was smooth. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd26ec308.jpg pretty awesome bridge http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9d01e193.jpg I kept riding for a while, but realized that I was getting tired. I kept looking for a little niche to park my tent, but nothing felt right One spot really appealed to me, on a little ledge near the river, the trouble was I would have to ride though a muddy dip that might be more than a dip in the morning if it rained, so I exed that idea. A few more areas looked promising but were too sandy or wet. Then I saw a nice flat area that looked perfect. there were a few more places like it down the road as if more people could camp there. I pitched my tent and made dinner, it felt like a good spot. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6a3fbd81.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9e04e984.jpg The amount of bugs was surreal though!! I checked to see if by any chance I had reception, and sure enough, that cell tower that I passed saying something about peace and for your use, must have been put there for travelers. Awesome! A little while later I went outside to brush my teeth and in the corner of my eye I saw movement. Hiding behind the bushes staring at me with a curious look on his face was a big black bear. Well, of course that first thing was I froze… could not believe my eyes. A bear, here??? Ahhhh, what do I do? oh yeah, noise, they don't like noise. So here I was hollering you bear, go, shoo, go!! He looked at me as if I was crazy and walked hesitantly toward me. My foghorn! Where did I put it? In the tent! so I ducked into the tent to grab it. While I had done that he had come to me even closer and was now a mere 15 feet or so away. I pushed the bottom on the foghorn to scare him away, nothing happened!!! Not a peep. What the?????? I then ducked back in the tent and got the bike keys, started Spirit up and revved the engine while hinting the horn. Yeah, he didn't like that at all and veered away from me. I revved a little harder and honked a tad longer and he bolted across the road into the bushes. I left the engine running a tad longer, just to make sure he didn't come back. Phew!!! A little nerve wrecking. Later everyone tells me a black bear? ah, no worries they are really shy and scare easy. Well, he didn't look shy to me! I got to wondering if he was looking for food, and if he could smell through the Pelicans. So I got out the brake fluid and dabbed some on the pelicans here and there (away front he stickers!) hoping to disguise the food smell. The I tied a knot in the tank hose in case the bear came back and thumped over the bike, I didn't want the gas to spill! I also put the little jack on the other side so Spirit would be harder to push over, and went to bed. I heard a few noises, but nothing major. I did smell some stinky stuff though, but was too tired to care and fell asleep. Nothing happened at night and I woke up after a good nights rest. It had rained just a little during the night, so the tent was wet. Wondering if the bear might be back at some pint, I decided to break camp and head to Fort Simpson. I had Pm'd MitchG to see if I could pitch my tent up at his place. I packed up pretty fast and dried my tent with my REI towel, took a picture of where I saw the bear, and left http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps59562dd8.jpg he was standing just to the left of the hedge http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc4c9063c.jpg Glad to be heading North. The scenery was not very exciting though. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps410a0e81.jpg I made to to NWT!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps27badd35.jpg The road turned into dirt once I was in NWT, and for the next few hundred kilometers I rode on hard packed and squarely gravel. I stopped in Fort Liard to gas up. It's a small town and I met an older couple on a gold wing heading to Alaska. They didn't have much on them, but he said the only way he was able to get the wife to go was if they would stay in motels. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbfb50ae7.jpg I finally started seeing some hills again! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psafcd162e.jpg Around three I was starving, no idea why all of a sudden I was so hungry, so I stopped and got out the stove and heated up some Tasty Bite Indian food. Now I only have one left, sniff! I felt rejuvenated and hopped back on the bike. An hour later I hit the intersection to Fort Simpson. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse5221a94.jpg Pavement again, yippee!! I think I rattled enough for one day. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps186e5feb.jpg Half an hour later I got to the Ferry into Fort Simpson http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8dfe329f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps857ecb10.jpg Fort Simpson in the distance. Mitch met me at the visitors center and drove me around the island for a while. He also noticed that my rear brake disk was history!! some huge groves were carved into the outside of the disk. The inside was still smooth. What the??? how was that possible? Turns out that putting used disc pads from another bike might not have been the best of ideas. I still have my old brake pads, so I'll put them on for the time being. Looks like now I have to order a new brake disc and have it shipped to Jeff I am so glad for the donations I have received in the last few days. It's like you all knew something was gonna happen!!! Well, here I am now, and it's almost midnight. I am going to crash!! |
Was I ever tired yesterday, hanging in there by a thread!
Now that I've had a good nights sleep (bug free) I feel so much better. I went outside to take a look at my disc (rotor) and pads and saw that one of the pads was totally worn down to metal! No wonder it scored the rotor!! How is that possible? When Jim shipped me a new brake caliper it had still tons of pad on the brake. Could it have just dislodged itself from the metal? I wonder if a ton of mud got stuck in between from the "top of the world ride"? Needless to say now I know why the scoring. Looked online and boy those things are pricey!! $230! JettnJim offered to send me one of his. :eek3: but I start feeling that there not enough time in my life to make it up to him!!! :laugh: Mitch is a cool guy who has the good fortune of having a job that he really loves. We were talking about that yesterday and it is so true that if you do something you love then your job is not just a job but something that is part of who you are. It's like living like you're retired, even though you're not, he was saying. Most people once they retire start doing gardening or whatever, and finally enjoying their time. If they had done gardening as their job in life, they would have enjoyed their work more. I can see in reality that that could be true, but I've just never found something that I enjoy doing more than a few times and then not get tired of it. LOL, must be my restless nature…… But that's what my journey is all about, finding the thing I love doing most, other than riding camping and knitting I'm going to put my other brake ad on it today, and hope it will last till I get to Jeff's place. |
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If that plate is bent, one brake pad will be self-energizing -- the pad will wedge toward the disk. When you release the brake pedal that pad won't return as quickly or as well. Or it could be dirty pins or a missing spacer. But you may want to look at the pins to make sure they're parallel to each other, not notched or worn excessively, and square to the 2 bolt holes. Look at the plate to see if it's flat (although it is formed into 2 parallel planes IIRC). Look into the pin holes of the caliper itself to see if the holes there are worn -- they're a softer alloy than the pins. |
Bugs, Bears and brakes
Ref ur comment....<The amount of bugs was surreal though!!>
Not sure wots worse the bugs in ur tent or the bears outside :)... at least the bears leave you alone!!.... Hope u get the brake sorted soon. Worth doing the checks Grinnin mentioned before bolting on on new disk. Keep the pics and journal coming..... |
..brake probs...
.......just get the caliper looked at and get a decent used disc, (rotor to you stateside) for 40 bucks and bolt it on.........! I never understand anyone that pays full shocking rip-off price for dealer parts when perfectly useable bits are lying around and you can spend the substantial savings on food, fuel and doing things on the road........!!??
2002 Kawasaki KLR650 KLR 650 Rear Brake Rotor/Disk in Spec | eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kawasaki-K...item1c21594849 ...for ex. here are two, one on each side of the pond..... |
Subscribed.
I followed your ADVrider report. Love it! |
Saw Spirit at the D2D gathering but didn't see you to say hi. Wanted to wish you the best of luck and safe travels. Will eagerly watch your posts and travels. Your RR is great.:thumbup1:
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I'm back in Fort Simpson after riding to Edmonton with my host to pick up a couple of Jet skis (I offered to take turns driving)
I can tell you that not sleeping for two nights in a row is not something that I can do!!!:eek3: http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0160cb38.jpg Little way cabin for the stranded motorist in the winter, a place to get out of the cold. It had a barrel stove to burn wood in and some funky wood benches to keep you off the floor. Mitch and I took turns driving and even the first night I had some problems keeping my eyes open, but we stopped a lot and drank coffee so I made it till daylight. Then because we arrived a tad early we parked at a rest stop for an hour or so for some shuteye. I could't sleep, bummer! We ran around Edmonton pretty much all day, picking up stuff, including new brake pads and chain lube, picked up the jet skies and trailer, and stopped by Costco for a box of Lara bars. I was bummed to find out that the Canadian Costco does not carry Tasty Bite :frown: Finally by around 5 we headed back to Fort Simpson. Barely an hour out of Edmonton we got hit by a heavy storm. Hail the size of golfballs (luckily not rock hard but sludgy) was smashing down on the car and the window. I thought for sure the window was going to crack, and the roof totally dent. Afterward it turned into a torrential downpour, where you I barely see in front of me! I'm glad that I'd lived on Kauai for so many years, and had gotten used to rainstorms like that. The rain lasted a while and for short periods it only drizzled or stopped, but after a while it picked back up again and it basically kept raining non stop. We kept drinking coffee and taking stops, stretching out legs (Mitch smoking) and me running to the bathroom thanks to the coffee, but by three AM I didn't dare climbing behind the wheel again, I was done for. It might have worked if I had put toothpicks between my eyelids :biggrin3: but seeing as that seemed rather painful I opted out of that solution. Mitch got a room at a Quality Inn in High Level (amazing place by the way with an awesome shower and heavenly beds) and we both conked out. Well, I know I conked out the second my head hit my pillow, Mitch checked the news for a while. I slept like a log, trying to make up for lost sleep I suppose, but 6 hours later the alarm went off and we had to hit the road again (after I insisted that I needed to try the nice looking shower :cool4:) I travel, without a shower, so every opportunity I get to actually take one, I got to grab. It was still a bit drizzly and we stopped at he Esso to gas up. The Esso has this amazing salad in the cooler! It's Kale and cranberries, sunflower seeds, shredded broccoli and other things topped with a poppyseed dressing. Just GOOOOOOODDDD!! Once we got back on the dirt my heart sank a bit!!! It looked just like the Top of the World Hwy!!! Slick and slippery! I would have to ride that tomorrow?? 200 km of it?? Ahhhh. I kept hoping the rain would stop or at least have not hit the part near Fort Simpson, but nope, it was muddy everywhere, and it kept raining. We stopped at one point to see if we could find Morels, but the only ones we found were old and utterly soggy! I think the rain ruined what was left of them. We did stop at a waterfall. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfb574677.jpg What an amazing amount of water!!! The mud creating variegated colors. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps276b5055.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5bfeff8d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps06915b70.jpg Yeah, the van wasn't exactly the cleanest place after heaps of coffee and candies! We hopped back on the ferry and got home around 8 PM I cooked dinner real fast as I was hungry and am now fighting to keep my eyes open long enough to post my RR |
I'm in Yellowknife!!
Let me go back a few days…. Saturday afternoon Mitch took the two jet skis to the river http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb10e09ce.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbffab4c4.jpg He backed the van up to the water, and I held the rope so it wouldn't float away (strong current!) After he parked the van, he walked in the river (Brrrr, water cold!!) and started it. Within seconds I hollered at him to stop, something sounded awfully wrong!! Sure enough, the jet ski has this reverse start so what happened was that the ski was too close to the edge of the river, and it sucked gravel water through and damaged some plastic thingy )forgot what it was called). So bummer, no jet fun that day. He had pre-ordered a stainless steel one, as every said that this would happen. I basically relaxed the rest of the day and got a bit further on catching up on my blog (still not done though :( ) Packed most of my stuff that night, so I might leave early. I left Mitch's place in Fort Simpson around noon on Sunday basically cause I couldn't fall asleep (which I finally did) and ended up sleeping late. That was fine with me as I was hoping the mud to be drier the later it was. As it turned out the road was perfect!!! The mud was solid dirt and the gravel punched in pretty good. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfaa1fe05.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4a23072e.jpg Sambaa Deh falls, didn't hike down as I couldn't tell whether it would stay dry or not http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2208ebf3.jpg The air was pretty hazy and smokey http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse44a1618.jpg Bridge before Fort Providence I made it to Fort Providence in no time. As I was tired I decided to find a place to pitch the tent early. I wanted to relax and go to bed early. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0abb564c.jpg Found a secluded dirt road, near a gravel pitch. Within seconds of stopping I was inundated wit bugs. I frantically pitched my tent hoping to escape them http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7ec2e513.jpg No such luck!!! Got the inner tent in and hid out in there until I could face them again. The noise was horrendous, Ten Buffalo could have surrounded me (or bears) and I would not have heard a thing!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7474bd5f.jpg There were wild strawberries everywhere, and very sweet!! I wanted to pick a bunch but the bugs were just too much. I thought I'd wait till it got colder and then pick some, but as I went to sleep at around 11, it was still warm, and now the mosquitos where there as well. I decided to go to sleep instead. Slept long and late!! It got too hot in the tent, basically forcing me to move and pack up. Put my bug jacket on, even though it makes me hot, and blurs my vision, and got to work packing Spirit. I was done in no time, and even skipped breakfast as my vestibule was riddled with bugs. I stopped along the road to get rid of the trash when I found I had a hurt passenger http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc85fb9c7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2a3c806d.jpg His tail had gotten stuck in my umbrella :( I let him go and rode off toward Yellowknife. Well…….. the road there was rather boring only as I was nearing Yellowknife did the scenery change. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9fdfc19c.jpg Sand on the side of the road, like there were dunes! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7408a5ec.jpg Yeahhh, can't see the lake in the photo, it was very hazy http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc6843ab9.jpg For a second it looked like New Mexico, Utah or Arizona http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps409949c2.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b17247e.jpg Stopped at the visitor center to find out where the health food store was…….. there isn't one!!! :cry So Here I am at McD for internet. I did find a Chinese store that had some That vegetarian curry. And nearby is a grocery store that I've been told carries a few health food things. I'm not sure if I want to try a paid campsite for tonight, or if I'll head back ways and find somewhere along the road. It depends on the camp ground and if I can get away from the RVs |
Love the frontal shot of the ailing dragonfly :thumbup1:
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Well!!! I make a lousy tourist!
I did find the yarn shop and bought a couple of skeins of green (JettnJim's request) and I did find some very tasty Indian snacks at "your independent grocery," but other than that I just didn't feel like hanging around Yellowknife. Then I thought. "Let's just stay at the campground here and explore Yellowknife tomorrow when I'm not so hot and tired. Somehow I missed the sign to the campground and then decided I'd just find a spot to camp not too far out. A few miles later I slowed down as I neared yet another milestone. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps974c722f.jpg It's official, I've done 40,000 miles since I left Washington! Cool! Twenty mile outside of Yellowknife I saw a dirt road veer off to the left. I followed it and it dead-ended at 2 gates, none of which looked like they had been opened in years. After parking Spirit I was getting ready for the barrage of bugs, but wow! Wonder over wonder, none came!! You have no idea how weird that was. Weird but wonderful. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscbea5833.jpg I pitched my tent to the side just in case someone drove up to go through the gate. The sun was a red smokey blob in the sky, as the forrest fires still were going on. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps35e60e2e.jpg Amazing how strong ants are! This little fellow was pulling a dead fly across the rocky ground Went to bed exhausted and woke up in the middle of the night by the sound of pouring rain. Ahhhh, I love the sound of rain on my tent. I turned around and fell promptly back asleep The next morning it was still raining and I decided to just wait and see what happened. Other than raining not much! So, "R&R day" it was! I even dozed at some point, and that says something, I normally can't nap. Went to bed around 10 and woke up at 5 AM. I smelled smoke, and how. Of course the first thing I thought, hmmm I wonder if there is a forest fire nearby and the road is closed, so no one knows I'm here. I listened for traffic, but it was eerily quiet. I figured that no one is normally on the road at 5 AM. I tried to go back to sleep, but is was way too smokey, so I packed up (yep my wet tent too). It was 7 AM by then. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps590c0179.jpg The rising sun was red again, too bd it didn't really show very well in the photo Luckily I did hear a truck here and there pass on the road so I knew the road wasn't closed. Because it was so smokey I had no desire to go back to Yellowknife and opted to just head to High Level. I had PMed Agplant at tent space, if I could pitch my tent in his yard on my was through High Level, and got lucky in that he actually checked his messages a day later :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps73851558.jpg smokey horizon http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psda72d539.jpg The bridge at Edzo river http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0f296577.jpg Too bad it came out fuzzy http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9eddc169.jpg Lots of buffalo on the road that morning! I kept riding and found myself yawning a lot. I am no early riser, that's for sure!! I made it to Fort Providence and gassed up. That place is expensive!! They did have free wifi so I checked my messages to see if Al replied, he had. Yippee, I would have a place to pitch my tent without having to look for it. And no worries about bears D I was filling my tires with air at the pump when I heard this guy holler, excuse me ma'am!! He was holding my water bag that I had left in the diner! Wow, he had run all the way across the muddy parking lot to bring it to me. I told him he just saved my life!! IN a sense he did, as my Spot dangles from my camel pack. I got back on the road , and before I knew it I got to the bridge. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc8d06ee8.jpg I didn't get that view coming from the other side, so I stopped and took a pic. As I hit the turnoff to High Level there was a huge sign saying, "Road may be closed due to forest fires" Ah, great! I hoped that this wouldn't be the case http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps90eff99b.jpg Got lucky, the road was open but it was smokey and it looked like they just got the fire contained http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5d7770bb.jpg As I got to the NWT/Alberta border I stopped at the tourist info, and had a cup of coffee. As I was sitting there it started pouring like there was no tomorrow. Later on it started hailing as well!! Boy what strange weather for July! I think I spend more than an hour there, staying dry. Afterward it cleared up pretty good, but still I put on my rain gear and hit the road again. This time I had a Canada map that the owner of the info place got out of his truck and gave to me. He was very impressed that I did this ride all by myself :D I got to High Level at 6, and went straight to the Esso for another one of those delicious salads! I texted Al, and he came shortly after to show me where he and his family lived. More later, my eyes are falling shut! |
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That was a fun picture to take, had no idea how it would come out either. |
http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1ba0f3be.jpg
I just had to take a pic of these pretty clouds http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psef006b22.jpg Following Al to his house in High Level I had a great but short stay at Al's (Agplant). While his wife Melanie was in town we talked bike and travel stuff, but once she was back and I noticed that she crocheted, the talk switched to creative stuff :biggrin3: So I sat and knitted while Melanie crocheted, and we talked about family and other things. I had pitched the tent in their yard, and it was very comfy!! They have a really nice and quiet yard. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9b412a59.jpg complete with strawberry patch behind me. Al had to go to work early and Melanie shortly after, but they let me use the kitchen to fix my oatmeal and finish packing. I left fairly late that morning, as the tent was still wet. Once I got packed I hit the road, it was drizzling unfortunately, but I was hopeful it would dry up fairly soon. The beginning of Hwy 88 to Red Earth and then Slave Lake was a tad dull. I did see these things in the fields, but have no clue as to what they are. I'm hoping someone can enlighten me http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps69e7617a.jpg They are about 6 to 7 foot high http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps831312f9.jpg After Red Earth however the scenery turned way nice, rolling hills and a few curves does much to improve one's riding! Once the rain let up I parked Spirit on the side of the road. sat down and had a snack. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psedf3ea83.jpg These yellow shrubs where all along the road, making the scenery very sunny and lively, and putting me in a way more cheerful mood http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4fce2c72.jpg Mixed in was some clover While sitting there eating my snacks and looking at the flowers I realized that I was positively getting addicted to these!: http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb9c518bb.jpg They are made with just corn flower, oil and salt, no cheese or anything, yet they taste totally cheesy! Of course, one of the things that happens when riding down a not too challenging road, is that one looks at the speedometer more often, to see how far one got. As I looked down I was a few miles away from this http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdd8f6e3c.jpg I just had to slow down and then stop right as I hit this number I hopped back on the road after a while until these amazing flowers caught my eye (more like the color caught my eye) http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps66bd6514.jpg Side view http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6e70affd.jpg top view http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb506117b.jpg I just love clover! After a while I found myself getting tired again and automatically started looking out for a good spot to camp. Then I decided on a whim that maybe it might be nice to stay at a camp ground for a change, and grab a shower. Looking at the map I saw one near Slave Lake. I found it easily. It was a fancy road, and even saw a deer in the bushes. Once I actually got to the entrance the place looks just too fancy! RVs everywhere, kids running about and huge building for showers. Yikes! Something tells me this is not a $12 camp ground! LOL, it wasn't but truthfully it was not as much as I would have guessed, namely $24. Still I wasn't willing to spend that much for a small piece of dirt to pitch my tent, and probably not even get much sleep with all them folks about! I turned around and spent the next hour trying to find a place to crash. Some of the roads I got on were just too muddy and I found Spirit doing the old tail swinging again. I really am not comfortable with that feeling! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps693b00ee.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps589a4b69.jpg Lesser Slave Lake, there was an awesome day park, and I was very tempted to sneak Spirit into one of the little hiking trails and hide there. The gate closed at 11. Yeah, I really didn't fancy getting caught and having to break camp up again, so I left Finally I rode through Slave Lake and headed toward Lac La Biche. About half an hour later (after a few wrong roads) I saw a steep dirt road veer off to the right. I drove past it not wanting to deal with steep mud, but then I turned around, maybe there would be a spot right on the top with a view. I walked up the hill first to see how thick the mud was, not too bad! And yes!! a gorgeous spot on the top. So even though I was tired and didn't need the challenge I decided to go for it and rode up the steep hill. Spirit made it easy!!! The only thing wrong with the location was the amount of garbage people left lying around! Why do folks do this??? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa69df597.jpg I pitched the tent in no time and crawled in. It was bear country but I decided to just be aware but not to worry too much. It was a very cold night!! I woke early, 7 actually, and the tent was covered in dew and condensation. I turned around and went back to sleep for an hour. Yeah, in no time at all my tent turned into a sauna!! It was time to pack up! The ride toward Lac La Biche was pleasant and quick http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc9d57e77.jpg lots of yellow fields, which Jeff says is probably Canola http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps32fcb86f.jpg Stopped at the visitor Bureau in LLB and according to my GPS I was parked in the water! Sorry, blurry! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps98a49c53.jpg I sat outside for a while enjoying the scenery and the fresh air http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps70f2c86e.jpg And the birds http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdb65606f.jpg And some more of those amazingly beautiful blue dragonflies Tomorrow Jeff and I are going to Edmonton (wasn't I just there with Mitch???) to get a new rear tire for Spirit. The 130/80 is just too small. I have a hard time parking and believe it or not, but that tire is almost worn out!!! I've only done 2,500 miles since Fairbanks. I've never had a tire go bald on me that fast before. I wonder if it spins a lot more because it is so much smaller…… |
I had fun today! Went ATVing :cool4: More later.
http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf2d0ff46.jpg Saw a fox walking in the yard Yesterday, Saturday, Jeff and I drove to Edmonton to pick up the Shinko that he found at Alberta Cycle. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2fee8667.jpg Stopped to take some pictures of these tiger lilies When we got there we looked around to see if maybe…….. they had a 130/90/17. The one he put on hold was a 140/80/17. Lo and behold!! They did, Jeff found it. I was happy, the 90 is taller and so much easier to slide your hand in when pushing the tube valve through the rim hole. We walked around the store for a while looking at bikes and goodies. Then because Jeff paid for my Shinko, I told him I'd take him out for lunch at Guru, and indian restaurant. LOL, he had never had Indian food. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3dfefbc6.jpg I think it hit the spot!! The food was awesome, and we almost finished the whole order. (Ended up with a tiny doggie bag) We stopped at a few other places, including on the highway to take a photo of this mosque, http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps668221f3.jpg and got back to Lac La Biche around 8 Jeff asked if I was interested in going for an ATV ride on Sunday, I said sure, sounds like fun. When I got up this morning he was at his neighbor's picking up an ATV for me to use. I took a quick cruise around the yard to try it out. Then Jeff took me on a trip around the property, which I later found out was so that he could gauge how well I could ride the ATV. :biggrin: It was good to have a few obstacles to run over before we set out, because the road (Hmmmm, don't think I can call it that) was quite a challenge here and there! :lol2: I'm just going to post a bunch of pics: http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps65be4b92.jpg Following Jeff http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdac81155.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps64d05fe3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2a35c90c.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps98df7bec.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9bfb2b85.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0024c36d.jpg Lots of those little blue dragon flies http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf5c447b8.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps88c58f0d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps84d03024.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps802b6d15.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc093c3c6.jpg It's amazing how a beaver can fell a huge tree! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc9095046.jpg Stopped at a beaver dam http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps50040491.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb22247fb.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps123c3111.jpg dragonfly in flight http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd629b15d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0aa9d0bb.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdae3dfd9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5d96bb82.jpg A little too much light, but Jeff is in really deep water there!! He had to back up as the ATV started floating! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfd9e8a85.jpg Tomorrow I'm going to replace the tire, change the oil, clean the air filter and maybe figure out why my heated grips don't work. The Shock is not here yet, my brother sent if off the day I got to Lac La Biche……. According to DHL it just left Cincinnati. Yeah, we'll see when it gets here….. |
Great pics :thumbup1: thanks
|
I've got pain in muscles I didn't know existed!! Yep, ATVing is good for arm development! :biggrin3:
Changed the oil today, and again had some metal slivers in it, not too much like at the beginning of my trip a few years ago, but still some. Mostly aluminum, but a couple of tiny slivers looked like either bearing or stainless steel (bolt?) There were only a couple and about 2mm in size. I'm just hoping that these were wedged somewhere that I didn't get to when cleaning the engine after cracking it open and replacing the worn out bearings. I never did remove the electric copper coils (stator?) so maybe they were wedged in there. Still, she sounds and runs good so I'm not going to worry. Afterhaving changed the oil, I loosened up the rotor bolts and the axle before lifting her up and putting a frying pot :lol2: underneath her. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse7c0a452.jpg Who would have thought such a pot could have a double use?? I removed the rear wheel and one of the bolts attached to the links. Took out the shock bolts and then took the shock out. As I looked at the shock I thought "What the???????" http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5dd4c7e8.jpg I was baffled at first until a small piece broke off………. I had never seen dirt accumulate like that before. I'm guessing the red stuff is shock oil, which really shouldn't be leaking out like that though…. As I had to take the plastic covers off to get to the shock I figured that my air filter would probably like a cleaning as I'd been riding through a lot of dirt and dust. I took the screw out and removed the cover, then noticed a small strip of plastic that had slid down and wedged against the frame. Whoa! isn't that supposed to be attached to the air box cover? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8f7795fa.jpg Never thought I'd see that! Well, nothing some plastic glue or duct tape can't fix! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1a8adf0d.jpg Yeah, she looks like this again :eek3: So much for my silent hope that I would not have to work on her for a few months. I had put the new tire in the sun for a few hours, and started to remove the little 80 off the rim. I am very thankful that I didn't have a real flat tire along the way, i.e. a nail or so. This little bugger was hell to get off!! Had to use Jeff's C-clamp to squeeze the bead down. Even then it took me quite a while to get it off. Putting the 90 on was a piece of cake!!! So much more room to work with. Had the valve in the rim hole is just seconds. I think it took me half an hour last time to get it in while I had the 80 on it, and ended up with bruised knuckles and fingers to boot. Yep, I am so happy to have been able to find a 90!!! :clap: :taz: |
The now Ohlins shock arrived today!!!!
It is awesome! :clap: Other than a few minor glitches the shock fits beautifully, and as far as I can tell, without having had a chance to ride it yet, works great too. I haven't even messed with the settings yet! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps293d6342.jpg The old and the new just so you can compare the difference. The dampener is the little black ring on the bottom, and the spring preload adjuster is the one on the top, kept in place with a similar ring that needs to be loosened first when adjusting. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7cfaf0bd.jpg close-up of the dampener and the difference in the bottom mount. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdcff78f5.jpg The top is different too! I removed the spacers and foam bumpers so you can see the heim-end (like a ball bearing) http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2189f846.jpg That is sooo cool! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps24724b99.jpg It was really a shame to put such a nice and shiny shock in a dirty bike, but after hours of trying to get the clay off everything, she still looks absolutely dirty!! The only thing that was missing in the box was the Ohlins sticker that I was to stick on my bike! haha, I guess my brother forgot to put it in. Thanks Stan, I love it!!! :thumbup: |
I am in Big River after having slept about 12 hrs straight! (Well sort of)
I loved my stay with Just Jeff, I could have easily stayed longer! LOL :Beach: Jeff is a really sweet guy who surprised me after coming home from work, with veggie cheese and my favorite Veginaise mayo. I cooked dinner a few nights and he got a taste of meatless life. The Ohlins shock was awesome, but unfortunately I had to leave it with Jeff, as unfortunately the main R&D guy that put the shock together forgot to put the 7.4 KG spring on it. Jeff and I were baffled for a while, trying to figure out what was going on. Well good to know that even the guys in Taiwan are human and can make a mistake :) So Stan my brother is sending Jeff the correct spring, and Jeff will mail it to me once I figure out where I will be. Jeff had designed a spacer to go under the spring on his KLR, and he put it on mine. Basically what it does is that the spring has a way higher compression now. Amazing!!! i"m way high up and done bottom out. back to tiptoeing though! Even with a full load! So I decided to leave Thursday even though I could have hung out till Monday for the now spring to arrive. But I figured if I wanted to make it to Quebec in about a month time (to maybe meet up with Jettn Jim) I would have to mosey on… Jeff told me about Meadow Lake provincial park, and suggested taking Hwy 950. I was on the road by 9 http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps48ef649d.jpg This picture is for Jeff who did not quite believe me that my RPM is only 4200 at 65 miles an hour (98kmp) I rode into Saskatchewan and decided to take a picture of Alberta too, as I had missed the sign entering from NWT http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ac54299.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7c345dd1.jpg Yep, now I am in Saskatchewan http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2f4d2c98.jpg Route 950 I easily found the turnoff to go to Meadow Lake provincial park. Right as I got onto the gravel I realized that my tire pressure was just way to high! I was going all over the place. I stopped and lowered it to 25 psi to see if it made a difference. In those few minutes I had 2 trucks stop and ask if I needed help, how sweet :D I hopped back on and continued. 15 half an hour later, Spirit really started squirreling, what the?????? I hopped back off and immediately saw what was going on. I was standing ankle deep in gravely sand! Yikes. Just by looking at it you can't tell. Someone had just grated this road!! Wonder if it was that huge weird tractor looking thing I saw? I lowered the pressure down to 15 and decided to keep going on (I kinda debated turning around I have to admit) While I was lowering the pressure another truck stopped and a guy came out offering to help. I told him what I was doing, and of course there came the usual questions, where was I from and where was I going. He kept on saying I don't believe it, by yourself? This whole way? He kept shaking his head, but was really sweet and gave me a map of the park and told me how much more of this sand I had to endure. He said even his little truck was going all over the place. He said bye and drove off, me I hopped back on hoping the ride would be easier now. It helped just a little but not much. I basically kept riding on parts of the road that looked the hardest, and occasionally hit really soft groves. It was no fun! On top of that I saw a bear at the side of the road, now would be a really wrong time to crash! Luckily it took one look at Spirit and ran. There were maybe 4 or 5 times that I almost dropped her but didn't. Phew! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps24b1bf60.jpg I finally hit this, oil treated, yippee!! For my brake I stopped at a day park at a lake (can't remember the name) and had a bite to eat http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3930b0e4.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse2260381.jpg I decided to forego my idea of going all the way north on this road, and took the turn off to Goodsoil. I was already getting tired and figured I'd set up camp early http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa7d93e81.jpg Lots of farms on the road, which I thought might make it a bit of a challenge to find a spot to pitch my tent After a little while I saw a sign dead end road…. Bingo, that might work. I rode down there a bit, but it was getting very hairy! Deep sand ruts, yikes, nope, not my cup of tea…. I managed to turn around in the sand and rode back to the road. Right before I got there I saw a meadow on the left with an old run down shed. Perfect! Away from the eye, unless you came down the road, and close enough to the road that even if it rained I could easily make it. I did have to ride through a ditch of sort, but it was dry. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdb27aef4.jpg I love the high grass, it keeps the mosquitos out! It was mosquito heaven there, so I quickly pitched the tent, tossed my junk in there and crawled in myself. I lit some incense to keep the bug aways and got ready for the night. As soon as I had gotten myself settled, it started raining. Talk about perfect timing! It rained all night, sometimes heavy sometimes light. I fell asleep at 8 but woke up at midnight with one thought on my mind, I rode through a ditch to get where I was! Of course then I started worrying about how to get back on the road if the ditch filled up with water. I finally convinced myself that worrying did no good and that I would just have to find out in the morning. I slept till 9! I did dream about someone walking around my tent though, but I couldn't talk or move, it was weird. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb83c3030.jpg Cute little fellow! There was no rain in the morning and as I peeked outside it looked like it might be a nice sunny day. The weather forecast for Beauval and Flin Flon was rain rain rain. Crap! I decided to ride to Green Lake and find out if they knew what the road was like up in Beauval. Luckily I bumped into a Harley guy who called his friend in Beauval to see what the road was like. It had been raining up there too. I decided then and there that I was going to head toward Prince Albert and take the road through Prince Albert National Park to avoid going through the city, and then head North to Flin Flon. Don't ask me why I want to go there, I don't know myself! Still if the forecast keeps being tons of rain in Flin Flon I might just chance my mind, and stay where the sun is :Beach: I made it to Big River and am drinking some decaf while typing up my report at the Esso gas station which has a cute little diner http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2bfa1e5b.jpg They have lots of good stuff to eat if you're a meat eater, I did see a Greek salad on the menu too though :) Well, it's 4 PM and I am off again, spent too much time typing up my report!!! |
This ride report is proof of how diligent I am in keeping up with it! I actually have to pay here at the library in The Pass to use the internet. $1 per half hour!
But as I am a firm patron of the library system I figured I’d help. Where did I leave off?? Oh yeah, I left Big River heading to Meadow Lake Provincial Park. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb3161005.jpg Big River, it reminded me of one of my nicest costumes I’d made, that required 14 yards of fabric. It was one of those “Scarlet O’Hara” dresses The weather was nice and I was glad not to be riding in rain again, kinda had enough of rain for a while. Pretty soon I got to the shortcut to the park, which turned into a dirt road, Hmmm, the Harley guy said it was paved. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps50c162e8.jpg It looked pretty dry so l kept riding. Yeahhhhhhh, I had to stop and lower the tire pressure. It wasn’t all that dry in places, and in other places it was super dry and sandy. I don’t like sand, have I mentioned that before?? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8a7ddada.jpg After a while it turned pretty good and before I knew it I hit pavement again. The pay booth was not too much further. The lady at the booth asked if I planned to stay, and I said no, just passing through on my way to Flin Flon. She let me pass without paying a fee. The road itself was nice, but not spectacular though. I pulled over at a campground to inflate the tires again. I so love my green slime inflator!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8d1eae21.jpg Gorgeous view before the end of the road After about 40 minutes of easy riding I came to Meadow Lake Town. What a shock! After being in nature all of a sudden I was in touristville!!! There were little shops and restaurants, cafes with chairs and tables outside, very cozy! This was really a high-end resort! Kinda got lost cause my GPS didn’t see any of this, so I asked for direction back to the Hwy. I was curious about camping prices so at the little exit booth I asked how much the overflow was to pitch a tent for the night. Not as bad as I had thought, but with the entrance fee it would have cost me $25, so I opted not to. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps21acbdbf.jpg I parked right in front of this deer, and it just looked at me! Pretty soon I hit Hwy 2 (I think) and headed North to Weywatkin, the last place to gas up the Harley guy told me, before I got to La Ronge. By now it was pretty late and I was tiring http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps204e5bf1.jpg The sun was fast on its way down, and I really don’t like riding at night, not only that, I discovered to my dismay that only one setting of my headlight works. Seeing as I painted over the little drawing I don’t know if I now have my regular or my brights on. I have the top part of the button pressed down. I kept turning in little side roads and one after the other turned too muddy or sandy, and almost all of them had bear poop on the tracks. Hmmm, nope, so not going to stay here! I was hoping to find a spot with trees, so I could have some shade, and put up my tarp in case it rained Then I saw a little tent sign with the letter 2 Km underneath. I kept my fingers crossed that this place wouldn’t charge an arm and a leg. Two Km later I saw the turn off………… ????? This is a campground? I rode Spirit around the little loop and saw 2 open spaces between the trees, and 2 toilets. No sign anywhere about having to pay!! Yippee!! One of the open spaces had a teepee frame on it, so I picked that one. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps60dd0f33.jpg My tent fit right inside of it, and I fixed my tarp over it just in case. Pretty soon a car showed up with a canoe on the top, and the guy picked the other empty spot. My did would be happy I had a fellow camper and was not all alone. After I finished setting up it was dark, and I cooked my dinner quickly as I was hungry to the max! Then I checked my cell phone. I had reception!!! Awesome! Around midnight I crashed, and I slept like a log. I vaguely heard the canoe guy leave early in the morning, but I fell right back asleep again. As I had such a nice spot I decided to stay for a day. It rained on and off, and I spend the day knitting (again) and reading. Started on Brain Sanderson’s Way of Kings, pretty awesome book so far! I now the sequel is out, but probably not yet on e-format at the library. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3e16a0de.jpg I walked around when the rain stopped and saw why there were sooooo many mosquitos at the campground http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9019ac67.jpg Interesting little (actually pretty big) bug in the tent I packed up everything I didn’t need and put it in my cases. According to the weather forecast it was gong to be sunny the next day. I woke early and packed up the rest. I wouldn’t say it was sunny, but it was dry. When I got to Weywatkin I found the gas station, but it turned out that the pump was no longer in use. Shucks! I would have to go to La Ronge now to gas up. Luckily it was only 20 miles further than the turnoff to Hwy 165 that headed to Flin Flon. I got to La Ronge a couple of hours later and filled up my gas tank. It took me a while to get out of there as people kept coming up to talk to me and ask me where I was going and where I was from. Finally I said my goodbyes and rode away. They had a huge grocery story in town I was told so I headed there in search of some almond milk. It was closed on Sunday! Bummer. I turned around and headed back to the gas station to get some paper towels and fill up my water canteens. As I headed to Hwy 165 I was both nervous and happy. At least I didn’t totally ex out the route I wanted to take. I hoped that the road would be dry. As I turned off unto 165 I was happy to see that the road was in really good shape. l kept my fingers crossed. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb966b676.jpg I just had to take a pic of Spirit and the open road! The speed limit was 80 Km an hour and I kept it at 70 pretty much, until the road got tricky. Again I stopped to let the air out of the tires, down to 20 Psi I thanked my lucky starts that it had been dry for a little while, cause I saw what this road would have looked like when wet! There had been some heavy cars that left their tracks and I pretty much kept Spirit riding over their tire tracks, which were about a foot wide. Left and right of the nicely flattened area the dirt was sometimes a foot high, but mostly about half a foot of mud, gravel or sand, depending on how wet it was. Occasionally I had to fight to keep Spirit upright as the tracks crisscrossed, but other than that it was really easy. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa7072318.jpg Hit another easy stretch After about 100 Km (really short road) I hit pavement again. Stopped again to put air in. I kept on noticing oil on my bottle and the frame, and I couldn’t figure out where it came from. I figured as I had spilled some on my engine guard that it must be flying off it and unto the frame. I really should not have assumed and looked, but I’ll tell you later why I was leaking oil. I did check the oil level and it was good. The weather was really nice, even though my android weather told me rain, rain, rain in Flin Flon and surrounding areas. I am so not going to look at that thing again!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps44be43c8.jpg The road to Fin Flon reminded my of a patchwork quilt! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3040bc5e.jpg The closer I got there the more rocks I saw. This was exactly like going to Yellowknife! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0deb879f.jpg It was very pretty driving by all that water. I was in Flin Flon before I knew it, and nowhere did I see a sign saying Welcome to Manitoba! Sniff I did find the tourist info center and got a map of Manitoba. The kid didn’t know anything about camping or which routes where the nicest, so I left to crass the road and go into Walmart for some almond milk. They had just closed!! Oh well, I still had one little 8 ounce carton. They also had camping in Flin Flon, but camping right in town just doesn’t do it for me, even though I would have like a shower. I headed South toward The Pass, looking for a place to camp. Another campground was also $25, nope! After a while I noticed a sign saying picnic area, and I turned off into the dirt road. I was really a short road and ended up at the lake. There were no tables or anything, so it didn’t look like a picnic area, but boy did it look like the perfect camping spot! I decided to just pitch my tent and if I got booted out, so be it! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc0fc3c02.jpg It was the perfect spot, and even better was the fact that there were hardly any bugs!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2c741fad.jpg View from my tent door I was really comfy and happy there, the sound of the water lapping was very soothing and not having to swat away mosquitos in my tent was just awesome! After cooking dinner and eating I walked around a bit. There was a hill behind my tent and I walked up it http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4eff661d.jpg The sun was setting and I got a pretty nice shot of the sunset I slept like a rock and woke around 8, but really 9 Manitoba time. I took it easy and made pancakes, but before too long it got too hot. There was not a cloud in the sky!! Amazing! I did my morning check for Spirit, checked the oil, still good but a little lower….. so I added a little. Check the tire pressure, both good, and waxed the chain. Then I looked at the oily frame and water bottle again. I had just wiped those yesterday! Then I saw why!! “#*^%oghlfjb32)!lgrrrhidssht*&%!!!” My stupidity is going to kill Spirit one of these days, if it hasn’t done so already! I could have cried!!! Dimwit I told myself! I had totally forgotten to reconnect the fat hose that goes from the engine to the airbox, and oil had been leaking out of there. I took it of and checked the inside. The part that had been hanging out was dirty with oil and sand, but the inside near the engine was just oily, and I could not detect any griddy stuff. Maybe the pressure coming out of it stopped dirt from going into my engine. I sure was hoping so, but what worried me was the fact that it had rained with that hose out. I can only hope that because it was kind of under the seat somewhat, that no water got into it. I cleaned up the inside of the hose with paper towel, and put it back on. Maybe just to make sure I’ll change the oil in The Pass if they have a Walmart or Canadian Tire that sells Rotella-T I left around 11 Manitoba time, and headed for the pass. The road was pretty boring, but still nice. The pass is a nice size town but I still had no reception. Then a lady told me, yep, Telus has no service here. Shucks!! I found this library and figured I’d type up my report first and the pay for the internet to upload the pics and my report. An hour later, paid for internet and I couldn’t upload the pictures. The guy at the library was a jerk, didn’t even offer to return the dollar. Went back to McD and uploaded everything there. No Walmart or Canadian tire here, not sure if I can find Rotella-T here. I’m gonna head south and see if I can bypass Winnipeg. |
Really enjoying your RR and your travels. You might check on ADV riders and the Winnipeg group for routes south of the Peg.
They might also help with suggestions for campsites that are reasonably priced. As you get into Ontario campsite prices go up considerably. I just paid $38 plus tax in Tobermoray,(a tourist trap) for one night so it might be worthwhile to check on ADV tentspace sign up thread to help keep the budget. Hope all your travels are wonderful, Keep up the great RR. |
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I just spend two blissful days at a beautiful and free campground half hour north of Mafeking on the lake.
It was just gorgeous and peaceful! My ride from The Pas was uneventful, and I rode for quite a while. Funny how thoughts pop up in your head if there is nothing to do other than riding, especially if the scenery is really not that captivating. I've even had total strangers talking to me, and suggesting I write a book about my travels. To me it would just seem like a boring book, but it seems many disagree. Maybe I should take a go at it and see if I can even write anything logical :biggrin3: It was getting late as I had spent way too much time in The Pas, and again I started going down little roads, but nothing felt right to me. I almost pitched my tent in an acceptable spot, but the mosquitos were bad. I had to pee, and my butt looks horrendous now! I envy guys!! :biggrin: Somehow I felt that I needed to keep going, that I shouldn't settle for something less than I found so far. The road all of a sudden got really bad, they were redoing the tar, and had made the sand wet. It was now thick almost hard mud with lots of groves. No fun! Glad it was only a short while. On the map there was a small icon of a tent way north of Mafeking, and I thought I'd just pay for a campsite and take a shower. When I finally got there I was stunned. It was awesome!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd4805ff7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps542727f1.jpg Not a soul in sight http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb3548037.jpg No idea what flowers these will become http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaa5bcc02.jpg Had a dragonfly land on my sleeve and stayed there for a long time, until I accidentally dropped my camera on him, oops! Was trying to take a really close shot and it slipped out of my hands. I spend the day dong nothings, like knitting, Finished Spanky's hat, drawing, reading, eating and relaxing. Even though I love riding and seeing beautiful things and surroundings, I love pitching my tent and doing nothing the most. LOL, probably not something a lot of people do when traveling. Everybody seems to be on the go all the time, it sounds exhausting! I was debating staying another day at the campground when the crew came to clean the bathroom and mow the yard. I decided that maybe I should just mosey on. One of the crewmen was also a rider, and he gave me some info on routes to take. He shared his cherries with me, which was really sweet. He said he was jeoulous and would love to find himself a girlfriend just like me. I didn't quite know what to say to that! :eek1 I told him that he would one day, seemed to be the only thing appropriate. I took my sweet time and must have gotten another 20 or so mosquito bites. I look like I have contracted the chickenpox!! Trying not to scratch is quite a challenge! After having packed up and saying but to the crew i headed for Swan River. Along the road were tents, http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps729b4f55.jpg I am guessing these are the beehive tents too, even though they look way different than the other ones in Alberta. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9cda5112.jpg The only bummer right now is the there is no Telus service here in Manitoba!! I looked for one of those cheap go phones at a gas station or supermarket, but I guess it's not as common as in the US. Looks like I wil be able to have reception once I am north of Winnipeg. Well, this is all for today folks, till later, I am heading to Duck Mountain…. |
I'm in Gimli now, and no, I did not just get eaten by the dwarf! :biggrin3: (I think only Lord of the Rings fans will get this joke!)
Anyways, after posting my last RR, I walked back outside to find the heat just blasting me! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd94cb8c1.jpg Just to show how warm it was, the asphalt was melting! I headed to Duck Mountain, and hit the dirt fairly soon http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8e1a3981.jpg It was real easy riding though, nice and solid with not much gravel. All in all I found the road not too impressive, I had hoped to see more hills and such, but other than a slow incline at times I did not realize I was on a mountain. The area definitely draws a lot of locals in the summer. There was a huge campground with swimming area in the lake, a playground and such, even a boat ramp. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8285d38a.jpg I didn't stay long as I just wasn't feeling it. The road through Duck Mountain PP was rather short, and before I knew it I had gone through it. The last 10 miles or so were freshly grated! I discovered that a certain speed lets you go through that stuff without too much wobble, so I kept plowing on. I've got to get better at riding it!! One of these days I'd like to ride the Himalayas, and that's really gnarly roads, so I'd better toughen up!! I stopped at a small gas station on my way east (I think it was in Dauphin) where I got some gas and batteries. I got a shock to find out that in Manitoba the tax is 13% The owner of the gas station, and Indian feller, felt sorry for me, and gave me the batteries for free! Awwwww. We had been talking for a while about my trip and where I was going, and he figured I had to be low on funds. I kept riding for a while but it was getting darker. All of a sudden in the corner of my eye, I saw a little gravel road going up and disappearing. I made a quick U-ey and rode up it. It was a gravel pit, or should I say gravel mountain! I kept riding on the grass around the mountain of gravel and behind it was the perfect camping spot!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2cc38010.jpg There was a little broken down storage shed or so behind it, with some odds and ends furniture strewn all over the place. Left and right of the grassy field where barbed wire fences with cows behind them. I felt really safe there so I pitched my tent in the high grass, which is quite a feat really! I loved my little spot! I fell asleep in no time and slept really well. The nice thing about having no time frame is that I can do whatever I want to do, and I didn't want to pack up and move again, so I stayed. Not having shade is a bit of a drag, but that day was really windy, so I sat outside most of the day (and got sunburned) and relaxed. As I am rather trigger-happy as far as the camera is concerned and decided to snoop around and see what I could find that might be picture worthy. It's amazing the wealth of beauty one can find in a wild grassy field! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps130e3bc7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8aec4d53.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa0840ef5.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaaea9dc7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7336e6e5.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf4dacfcd.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb99789f8.jpg It's funny how I am so used to seeing things at large, but really looking into the little things in life, the things not seen unless really looking, those things are just as amazing as the highest mountain tops and the biggest lakes. There is so much beauty in the small things, not only that, but every little thing, be it a bug or a small flower, it feels as if I've discovered something never seen by anyone else. Which is both true and silly. Of course people have seen a grasshopper or a nettle flower, but it is also true that nobody will have seen that particular one! So I really enjoy looking at the world up close, as well as from far away. I spend a really blissful day there and was ready for another day on the road the next morning when I woke up. It was drizzling a little so I took my time packing. After a little while the tent dried (there was lots of wind) and the sun came out. Once back on the road I headed East again. I needed a shower (baby wipes help, but not where your hair is concerned). http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps156c4ced.jpg As I was riding through Manitoba Narrows, I saw a touristy spot with a store and a huge camping area. I stopped in the store and asked the guy there if there was a laundromat, and the owner of the store let me use the one in the camp ground. The washing machine was only a loony and a half!!! Awesome, but best of all, there was a shower in the ladies bathroom!! And not a coin one, just a normal shower. Yippee!!! I tossed my dirty clothes in the machine and took a nice leisurely shower!! Once clean I scrubbed my jacket, as it was no longer high vis yellow!!! I spent a long time there, as the dryer did not work too del, and required more coins than the washing machine did. Still at around 5 my jacket, mu clothes and I were clean! I had also purchased a bunch of snacks at the store while waiting, so that way I felt I gave them at least some of my money :cool4: I hit the road again and was aiming for lake Winnepeg. As I got to the lake I realized that this might not have been a bright idea. This was a very touristy and populated area! I went on some dirt roads leading to the lake, but there were no camping signs everywhere! At one spot I stopped to take a picture, it was beautiful there http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps831f94d6.jpg I walked through the grass to take another shot, and got assaulted by bugs!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfcc4418d.jpg I closed my helmet really quickly as I didn't want them in my face. You can imagine how fast I got out of there!! I stopped at one camp ground, but it was expensive and too crowded. I didn't realize that it was Friday….. As I kept going south on 222 toward Gimli I noticed another sign saying Camp Morton Provincial park. Turns out that the office was back 2 km, and already closed as it was late. I stopped to ask someone how much the camp ground was, and was told $17. I decided to just stay there. But now I faced the question where to stay, as the list of sites still available was from the day before. I got really lucky then, as campsites 9-12 were already taken by a big family gathering, but 9 was still empty as those friends never made it. I was offered to take their spot! That was so sweet. Kate made a run to Sobeys and asked if anyone needed something. I asked if she could pick me up some tofu, and handed her some money. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdbd7563b.jpg I pitched my tent and made some dinner. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7f3d25c0.jpg Fran is the gal who offered the spot to me (in orange shirt), and Kate is the young girl to the left. Later on we all played a dominoes game (involving trains) It was cool, and I won the second game (beginners luck I guess). http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3f31ecd.jpg Thousands of dragon flies hovering in the night sky http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9a189d73.jpg close up of a bug, the same kind that were on my helmet earlier. Fran told me they only live 24 hrs and don't have a mouth! Now what would the purpose of their lives be? To live and not eat? Are they only some other bugs food? Very odd! I went to bed around 11 but had a tough time ring to sleep as a girl started screaming at the top of her lungs, and her dad was cussing at her telling her to stop. Then he hopped in the truck and left!!!! She screamed even louder for about half an hour. I felt like calling the cops, but had no cell phone reception. She fell asleep after a while, and the dad returned. I think she was mentally challenged, as her sounds were high pitched and didn't sound like a language at all, as if she couldn't talk. Still, what a way for a dad to react to a situation like that! (I am guessing it was a dad, if it was a nurse or so, or camp leader, well, I'd have his ass fired!!!) After she quieted down (it was midnight by then, some campers showed up and pitched their tent next to mine, making a lot of noise and then decided to make a fire and drink. :confused1: I put some earplugs in and went to sleep! Today I decided to go into town and find some internet. I headed to Gimli (which is really a touristy place) and took a bunch of pictures. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps40ce0421.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb8b8f31b.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd4a5d931.jpg This one was definitely my favorite! There was a little tent site with booths selling all kinds of stuff This one made me laugh!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb3e7dece.jpg Hopefully tonight will be quieter, and tomorrow I'm heading to Sellkirk, as I have been told it has a health food store. Afterward Ontario!! Yep I am getting closer to Labrador!! |
I didn't get very far today :cool4:
Fran and Rick invited me to stay at their place for a night and get a shower etc. I figured as I still have a ways before it's mid August (trying to meet up with Jettn Jim in Quebec at some point) I would be able to just take my time. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse999d3aa.jpg There was a little trail to the beach from the campground http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdb884808.jpg The beach itself was very pretty and the sand soft. In Hawaii the beach is more grainy because of all the small coral pieces. The gang was having fun while cooking dinner, one of the things was making little animals http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaed7f0e7.jpg I made the giraffe!! It's like lego's, but the legs and neck are little plastic strips you fold into a triangle lengthways The clouds turned very dark, and before I knew it rain came down hard!!! We all huddled under the motorhome awning, but that didn't do much good. I crawled back into my tent as soon as it eased off a bit and grabbed my Nook to read. It was a stormy night, and the lake sounded like a rough ocean with the waves crashing on the shore. I have to admit that I missed that sound!!! It was so soothing to hear, but the wind on top of that was pretty deafening. I slept like a log!! (always do when it's stormy) and woke up fairly early. Was packed up and out of there by 10 The ride to their house was short but it was a nice ride along the coast line http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1f81e1df.jpg I got myself situated in the camper, which is awesome ( a little home to myself) and went to the local market with Fran. There were little craft, and produce booths. It wasn't a large market and we didn't spend much time there, but it was neat meeting some local folks. When we got back to the house Fran took me for a walk around the yard http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps55887765.jpg I can't help it, I just love Lilies!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psad20add4.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3dbc2be3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd40c6974.jpg Doesn't that look like a little bitty cauliflower in the center?? Then Fran and I went for a short ATV ride around the property. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc6382e44.jpg A genetically correct tin man hanging from a tree, I think his name was Wilson?? LOL http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3c9f8596.jpg I loved this old stove. I bet cooking on this thing was pretty easy, but I'm guessing your legs would get pretty hot while standing there stirring away. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfb234614.jpg You can't tell by the photo, but the little pansy is not bigger than your thumbnail!! I can take my time tomorrow, as I will be visiting an Earth house at noon. Rick and I got to talking about houses and I told him I really wanted a Hobbit home. He then mentioned there being one only a few miles away, where he did the Electrical wiring. The home is off the grid, and only has solar for electric and windows for heating in the winter. Can't wait to see it!! After that I'm heading toward Sellkirk, where there is a health food store. Running low on Tasty Bites again! I can't believe how close I am getting to Quebec and Labrador!! Still, Ontario and Quebec are pretty huge!! |
I'm in Kenora Ontario right now after an eventful yesterday :biggrin3:
Slept in as I had some trouble with mosquitos during the night, LOL, pesky little buggers! Fran had made some fried green tomatoes in the morning, I had to think of that movie. She cooks outside in the summer so the house doesn't heat up so much. Quite clever! It tasted really good! Around noon we left to go see the earth house. It was really close by, which makes it double so funny that I had even mentioned what my future house would look like. As we turned into their driveway other than their sheds, you could only see a big grassy hill, and an antenna :biggrin3: http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4da9b20a.jpg As we walked around the other side the front of the building came into view http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7f9f550e.jpg As you can see, it is still a work in progress as they are doing everything their selves (other than the electric) That's Rick in the foreground The dogs heard us coming and we hoped that we hadn't woken up the baby. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5c8b9009.jpg Once you walked into the covered "porch" area, you could feel how hot is was in there. In the winter that would be wonderful! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd9721a27.jpg If it got too hot, there were vents in the ceiling you could open up http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8b6c890c.jpg A very huge Hibiscus I didn't take too many pics as I felt it was a little too intrusive. The house was very nice, but there were things I would not do in my place, like a concrete floor. I'm sticking with my dome plan so far, and other than the dome being built out of three layers of brick with tar in between the layers, and the 4 support walls out of brick, everything else in the house will be out of wood. It's good to dream right??? :biggrin3: I said goodbye to the young woman who showed us the place, to Fran and Rick, and rode toward Selkirk. As I arrived I happened to see a Safeway there, I decided to stop (gut feeling) and see if by any chance they sold Tasty Bites. The health food store Grandma Carol's didn't. They didn't have Tasty Bite, but they did have lots of other similar meals http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7705a202.jpg I was in heaven!! They also had a RedBox, and after a quick google, Yep I had reception again, I found out that Kenora also had a RedBox. I got two movies, one of them "Winter's Tale" and looked forward to a nice movie night in my tent I bumped into Fran and Rick again, and told them I had found what I had been looking for. Finally I hit the road again. The scenery changed, and no longer was I only on straight roads, there were actually some curves here and there!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4bac0363.jpg I found an awesome spot at the lake and I had just finished pitching my tent, when an official looking truck appeared…… Crap! I walked up to the rangers and said, it's okay to camp here right?? Both their heads shook no. LOL We got to talking and asked them where a good legal spot would be. Of course they mentioned the obnoxiously loud and full campground in town, but I told them that there was no way I would ever be able to fall asleep there, and that I was looking for some wilderness camping. The guy told me that for a "more personalized experience" I could continue for another 14 kilometers and be out of the park, where there were dirt roads that I could go on and camp. LOL, I had to laugh about his phrasing. I told them I'd be finished in half an hour and they said okay. It took me indeed half an hour to pack back up, and I was soaked through by that time as it was really hot, in the nineties! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc40a1759.jpg Once back on the road it was only a few kilometers to get into Ontario!! 14 km??? The guy was a tad off. I kept riding for a while until a dirt road beckoned me. I swung on it and in no time got to a nice cozy spot http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdb7428d6.jpg There was a sandy track that looked like some ATVs had been riding on. I had my tent up in a jiffy, eager to try out my new meals and kicking back watching a movie. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps96b44e11.jpg Looked like I had parked myself smack-dab in the middle of a huge blueberry field!! Hmmmm, bears might definitely be around!! The new food was very spicy!! Had to add a few raisins in the meal and eat some chocolate afterward to quench the burning!! LOL I packed up all my food, and crawled in the tent to watch my movies. It was heavenly!! I slept great and woke up around 8. It's weird, years ago I was a bit of a Keanu Reeves fan, and for some odd reason the last week or so he's been in my dreams. Then it dawned on me this morning that he grew in Ontario. LOL, what the subconscious mind doesn't drag up in ones dreams!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1c7e66ba.jpg A shot from the other side I was out of there by 10 and headed to Kenora to return the movies to RedBox. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps23dcda19.jpg I was really enjoying the few curves here and there http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa40d7d1b.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb296f983.jpg As I rode into Kenora I noticed a huge white tent in the distance, not sure what it was. I found the tourist info and got myself a map of Ontario. Ha, Dryden was like a stone's throw away. Oh well, I guess I won't be meeting DrydenRider54, as he is out of town till Thursday, unless I find some awesome spot to hang out for a couple of days. :biggrin3: I found Safeway and returned the DVDs. I also found aMcD and used their internet. Too bad hardly any of them have electric plugs, so I hope it will be sunny so I can charge my laptop again. It's almost three and I'm going to hit the road again, but not before saying Thank you sooooo much Geoffrey for putting quite a few full tanks into my Paypal account!! I'm pretty sure that now I'll actually make it to Newfoundland!! I'm so glad for everyone's help, you are all making my dream come true! |
WOW what a fantastic read and journey. I have great respect and admiration.
Ride safe NG. |
Excellent read & pics once again NG :thumbup1:
Happy trails to you |
It's Saturday morning almost 8, and I am actually awake, and sitting in a real bed at Finndian's girlfriend's house in Wawa.
I had a great few days since I last posted, so here it goes. After leaving Kenora I discovered that Dryden is not exactly a stone's throw from Kenora http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5cc8ca5a.jpg The road was getting more interesting and had some twists and turns and ups and downs. I did miss that! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbabcd404.jpg I eventually got to Dryden, after having gotten poured on, and took a picture of the downtown sign, just so I could show Dryden-Rider-54 that I'd been there. I parked at a little rest stop just at the edge of Dryden to lube my chain and to check my tire pressure, there were beautiful flowers planted there, still wet from the rain. I couldn't help but take some pics of them. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psce73b22e.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps159c34aa.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps481ce68f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4e818152.jpg After leaving Dryden I was just cruising along when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a street sign http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb09fec32.jpg I had to make a U-ey and take a pic. My son's name is Travis, and I'd been missing him.so seeing a street with his name on it was kinda cool. I figured he'd get a kick out of it. I kept riding for a while and decided at one pint that I'd had enough and wanted to crash. Of course when you are looking for a place to stealth camp, it might take a while at times. I kept turning in here and there, but nothing looked right. I even checked out a few rest stops with tables and such, but all specifically said no camping. The at the last rest stop road work was going on and they had detoured the entrance. Once I got there I rode up the hill and saw a wonderful little spot. It was late and a few other folks had the same idea as me and had made camp there as well. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps671e6fea.jpg I pitched my tent near a table right next to the river and after a quick dinner fell right asleep. The next morning (I did not get thrown out!) I discovered why the river was that loud!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbf4a4fb8.jpg just a few yards from where I was camped! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfa0ae4e9.jpg There was even a second one, but hard to see through all the bushes and trees. Because I had plenty of time before meeting Jettn Jim, I decided to hand there for a day and relax. There were a lot of folks stopping by that day to see the little waterfall. Towards the end of the day the thought of maybe spending my night in my hammock and hide between the trees, entered my mind. So I broke camp and set up my hammock so I wouldn't be visible, and also hid Spirit in between the trees. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7f585e0d.jpg Not sure if that had been a smart idea!! There were so many mosquitos there that they made me miserable, and I had just lost my repellent. The night turned out to be really cold, high forties and I was really cold in my hammock, as it doesn't have one of those down blankets suspended underneath. I even had my little foam pad in the hammock. It took a while but I finally fell asleep, woke up in the middle of the night cold, and fell asleep again later. Yep, hammocks just aren't comfortable for me. I think they are great when it is warm, and when I absolutely can't pitch my tent. I crawled out fairly early and broke camp in the middle of a sunny patch so I wouldn't get bitten too much. It took me still more than an hour to get ready, basically because I dragged everything in the sun before packing up. I was glad to be on the road again, away from those pesky little buggers. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6d0e6f76.jpg Crossed yet another time zone!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps459436ad.jpg I was nearing Thunder Bay, and rode the scenic route past Kakabeka Falls. I had been there with my kids years ago when they were little, (touring for three weeks in an SUV camping all the way). http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9fb42ed4.jpg I spent a while in Thunder bay buying more food for the road and mosquito repellent, even found Off botanicals, a lotion with Eucalyptus oil and no Deet! I also had to get a phone top up card, as my bank had put a hold on my account because I'd forgotten to mention that I was going to Canada. Thunder Bay was a tad too crowded for me, so I hurried on out of there. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8cefd238.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps652d88e0.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse32a3058.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse681ec23.jpg I found another little rest stop, and cooked dinner there. I was really hungry and figured that this way I could just pitch my tent somewhere and crash without having to haul my cooking gear out. I was tempted to stay there as it was quiet and remote, but I had wanted to put a few more miles on, so I could meet up with Finndian in Wawa at a decent time the next day. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps69eb9051.jpg It was getting darker, and my camera takes odd pixels pics when it gets darker. I ran into another rest stop at the lake, and noticed another camper there as well. There were no signs there that I couldn't camp, so I pitched my tent in a remote corner next to the water. It had gotten dark by now and as soon as I was done, it started raining as well. Boy, talk about perfect timing!! I slept like a baby with the sound of the rain and the lapping of small waves agains the shore. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6646fde1.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6bd70c5c.jpg The morning sun looked awesome on the lake http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps48356a9f.jpg Tent view from the lake http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ac45ded.jpg The sun was right in my lens, so it looks a little weird but still cool I left fairly early, but had to pack a wet tent as the dew and the rain make both sides wet! I figured I'd put it up at Finndian's place. The road toward Wawa was awesome! I even saw a sign to some falls and even though it said boardwalk closed due to painting I went there anyways. There was no painter there and the ropes had been removed, so I went down the boardwalk anyway. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps383bb037.jpg It was worth the little hike and ignoring the signs :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps53fc4d8f.jpg I stopped at a rest stop to eat some chips I had bought earlier and rest a bit. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9f035631.jpg Amazing to see Fireweed all the way here as well. If you look closely you'll see I even got a bee in the pic http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaa4a896c.jpg I'm guessing there are beavers in the area! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps88880df3.jpg I made it to Wawa and found Finndian's work place (after my GPS sent me somewhere else), he had given me the address. Turns out his shop has ATV, skidoos, and a couple of used bikes. Awesome! I asked if I could borrow an oil pan so I could change moil, and he gave me one. Changed my oil in no time and to my delight discovered an absolutely clean oil filter!!! not a sliver or grain of dirt in it!! I don't think I've ever had the filter this clean when changing my oil! I was so happy to see that!! Gord (Finndian) closed his shop at five and we went over to his girlfriend Mary-Ann. She rides as well, and it is always great to meet another woman who rides!! His mom came over later with his youngest daughter and we had a very nice dinner together. His mom is quite a traveler herself, so here we were, a bunch of nomads sitting at the table. Mary-Ann and I spend a while talking about riding and life, it's funny how many things we had in common. She is a do-it-herselfer too. I took a nice bath and crashed in her son's bed who wasn't there. I slept great but woke u early (forgot to lose curtains) I'm glad though, cause now i could do my ride report before I leave. Gord and Mary-Ann are leaving today with the kids to go camping in Michigan, so I am glad I had the chance to meet them before they left. Now I'm slowly heading toward a place where I'm to meet Jim. It's the start of a dirt road heading toward a small lake that I had picked out to meet at. Gord told me about a nice side road that avoids Sault Saint Marie, and that has some nice camping. So I am heading there today. |
Great pictures and RR. Hope you enjoyed your ride on the north shore of Superior (other than the mossies). Say safe.
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I'm in Val-d'Or!! Yippeeeeee!!
Funny how your mind makes up the worse scenarios and boy am I glad I just ignored it and chose to go the dirt way from Belleterre to Val-d'Or. Anyways, let me go back to the time that I was leaving Mary-Ann's home. Gord (FINNDIAN) Mary-Ann and the kids were leaving at noon to go to Michigan for the long weekend. Gord came by early and helped me replace the headlight bulb which had burnt out. I thought I had to remove the fairing, but luckily Gord showed me how to pull out the rubber cap and then the spring. The rest was easy. Afterward I packed up the Spirit and quickly got a few things taken care of, i.e. loaded up my prepaid phone, talked to my dad, and got a hold of Jim to finalize out meeting place. Time speeds up on me occasionally, and I'm afraid that I was making Mary-Ann nervous by not having left yet :biggrin3:, sorry Mary-ann!! We were all out of there at noon. Gord had given me some roads to ride and that's where I was heading. I had forgotten to put in my ear plugs so I stopped on the side of the road to put them in, beep beep, there passed Gord and family! :biggrin3: I enjoyed the road along the lake, gorgeous!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psce259bc3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdbe05109.jpg I found the turn off to a road around a little peninsula to the right, and I thought I could ride around the coast. Unfortunately there were a gazillion homes there, and the gravel road dead-ended. I had missed a turn. I rode back and found the turn I missed, but that road turned into a very dark tree covered mud road that I decided I did not want to take. So I turned around and got back on the Highway. :mchappy: Gord had told me about Hwy 556 that bypasses Sault Set. Marie, and goes through Ranger Lake. It's mostly dirt and ends up on Hwy 129 where I would be able to find a camping spot along the river. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4ac2e8fa.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psec8749b1.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaab32093.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf02cce6c.jpg After a few miles or really hard, teeth chattering washboard (which my XOG really didn't like), the road turned easy to ride and quite relaxing. Before I knew it I hit 129 and went South. I kept looking for the spot between two sharp turns, and I found it. Unfortunately, or should I say fortunately, it was utterly crowded!! Yep, so not my style…..:biggrin3: I kept going al the while looking for a little side road to the river. I was getting closer and closer to Iron Bridge, when I noticed a very dark and narrow dirt road I made a quick turn as I had already passed it, and rode through the sandy ditch onto the little road. Luckily it wasn't very long, and I had to duck occasionally as it looked like nobody had been here for a while. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ceac10c.jpg I ended up at a wonderful little spot at the river http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps970dce27.jpg Looking back where I had come from. Perfect!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps59e07d59.jpg I pitched my tent, where by the looks of it, some folks used to camp and had left a couple of chairs It was wonderfully peaceful, the birds were twittering and the sound of the river, albeit pretty loud, was soothing. The mosquitos weren't bad, and the mosquito lotion I had found at Walmart, Off botanicals, was working great! There were plenty of flowers around the tent and the river and I couldn't help but put them in my camera's lens :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscb8594e3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps33cb5b34.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9db852b0.jpg I also discovered that the previous "tenants" had made a "bathroom"!!! A tarped in square with a roof that had collapsed, but the pit and the really beautiful toilet with seat, was still there. I cleaned it up a bit, and enjoyed going to the bathroom in style!! :biggrin3: I slept great, again, and once I woke up decided that I wanted to hang for a day. As it was getting too hot in the tent, I opted to hang my hammock between the trees for some shade. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc9c03e61.jpg Heaven!!! I spent my day hanging around (literally) reading and crocheting, and closing my eyes while listening o the river and the birds. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps72097e3f.jpg View from within the hammock As I woke the next morning, i had a very unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach, I couldn't explain why. I kept looking at the trees and the river, but I felt like I was being watched. I kept my bear spray handy, and my ears open to the sound of snapping branches, but heard nor saw anything. I fired my tent off so the sun wouldn't have to work too much, and packed up quickly. By now my mind was literally screaming get out, I still had no idea why. As soon as I was packed up I rode out of there, and once I hit the road the feeling subsided. What the …..????? :confused1: Oh well, hard to tell what is in my mind and what is really there sometimes. Still, I have learned to listen to my gut feeling. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps177d421e.jpg I rode toward Greater Sudburry and decided to make a little detour into Espanola to buy some food for on the road. I had a hard time finding what I was looking for, no Tasty Bites or anything similar. Bummer. Afterward I continued and took 144 North toward Timmins. Halfway there was the turn off to Shining Tree and Gowganda. I figured that I should have no trouble finding a place to pitch my tent. Of course while I was riding I glanced at my speedometer, yikes, already that many miles?? I thought I'd gas up at Cartier, but there was no gas station. Well hopefully there will be one at Shinging Tree or Gowganda. Luckily, right at the intersection of 144 and 560 was a gas station! Phew!!! I've got to do a better job at keeping my tank full! There was a rest stop too, with some huge bushes with some lovely flowers. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps59ba9134.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6f9baf9f.jpg Couldn't decide which to post, so I posted them both :lol3 As it was getting toward sunset I stumbled upon a rest stop but it had a no camping sign. However, right across from it was a small gravel road. Hmmmm, I was thinking of how nice it would be not to have to offer my butt cheeks for breakfast to a bunch of hungry mosquitos, so and I walked down it a bit to see if I would be able to pitch my tent alongside of it. Sure enough, there was a spot big enough for my tent! I walked back to Spirit, hopped on and rode on the little gravel road. I put my tent up in record time as the mosquitos were horrifying!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7bccb7b7.jpg Made myself a late dinner and immediately crashed, I was tired!! The next day I rode to Englehart and New Liskeard to see if I would have better luck finding some vegetarian meals, but only found some packages of rice noodles. I did find a bulk food store where I stacked up on a bunch of goodies to make my oatmeal out of. Seeing as my 12 volt adapter was also biting the dust I looked around for a new one, hoping that maybe that was the reason why my GPS would not turn on, or if it did would stop it from turning off immediately. I felt rather lost without my GPS. Back to reading maps I guess. I got into Quebec at 5:30 and stopped by the tourist info. They were closed!!??? Hmm, on the internet it said they were open till 6! Guess the page is old…. I stopped at a gas station to see if they had a map, but they didn't. Finally at a little town before Laverlochere, I found a small local map, but it had the dirt road on it that I wanted to take, or at least had one of them on it. Turns out that the other dirt road washed away so the only one I could go on was toward Val-d'Or. I was nervous as heck, what was I getting myself into?? My French is not too good and even though I had asked some locals, nobody seemed to have taken that road. I got to Belleterre in no time, and from there took the road to Laforce. As I was almost there (my XOG miraculously started up again) I saw a sign saying Cascades (waterfalls). I just love waterfalls, and even though the narrow little road looked iffy, I decided to go and take a look. Hmmm, I almost wiped out at the end as I hit a patch of sand, but I plowed through it and made it to the top. After parking Spirit at a little table I waked off to find the fall. Yep, not easy to get to, and I was in no mood to keep hiking between the shrubs in my hot jacket which I didn't wan tho take off as there were plenty of bloodsuckers about. I took a pic from afar. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7dbde218.jpg It was getting late as I got back to the bike, and I looked around….. "This is really a nice spot", I said to myself. So I decided to stay and hoped nobody would throw me out. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psea14a95c.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1aeb81e2.jpg pitched my tent under a tree and parked Spirit close the the tent. The moon was already up. Of course the big plus that came with my little camping spot, was an outhouse!! Once dark the mosquitos left, and within no time the temperature dropped considerably!! No idea how cold it was, but the inside of my tent got wet quick!! I checked my cell, but had no reception, bummer! I did however sleep wonderfully!! |
Continued
I woke up rather early, a bit before 7, and was at odds with myself. Should I leave or should I stay??? I loved the spot, but had no idea what the road to Val-d'Or would be like, or how long it would take me.
I did want to get to Ste.-Anne-du-Lac a day before Jim got there, so I could relax and be rested. In the end I opted to leave and packed up between rain bouts (the tent dried luckily). The ride going down hill toward the main dirt road went smooth, the rain had tightened up the sand a bit. Did I mention I was a bit of a nervous wreck starting this dirt road?? On the map were so many turns and turn-offs that I was afraid to get lost, as my sad GPS no longer turned on. Still, I figured how bad can it be. Before long I actually saw a sign that said Winneway, perfect!! Little did I know that even though it was a dirt road, there were signs everywhere, and the road was not nearly as long or confusing as the map made it look. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd1d7acfd.jpg The gravel road itself was indeed gnarly at times having been freshly grated (why oh why do they do that???) but there were lots of solid hard packed stretches too. At one point I saw an animal smack dab in the middle of the road, it did not move, not even when I stopped next to it to grab my camera. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps821166a1.jpg Hmmm, what are you?? He was not scared at all, actually he was rainy his hackles at me!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscefade9c.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfb4b83c7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8419eed9.jpg Stopped to take a pee when I noticed a while bunch of these, yum!! Before long I got to Rapide Sept, and then to Val-d'Or. Al that fear and worry for no reason.!! I gassed up and put the air bcd into my tires and found a Burger King. I got lucky!! They had an electric plug!! So here I am, having eaten a huge batch of fries (they were out of medium baggies) and a huge cup of iced coffee (the kid had forgotten that I had paid for a small). My lucky day today! So here I am, close to Ste.-Anne-du-lac and it is only Wednesday. LOL. I'm gonna find a place to kick back a couple of days and ride into Saint Anne on Friday to get the lay of the land so I can tell Jim where exactly to meet me. |
Hanging in a conference room with Jim!
We met up last night and had dinner till midnight at a pretty cool restaurant pub that made it's own beer (15 flavors to choose from). Not that I drink beer, but Jim sure was loving the Jalapeño beer. Okay, I guess I am not allowed to use the word BeEr Then because it was so late Jim opted for spending the night at a motel. Turns out that all the motels/hotels in town were full!! He talked the owner into letting us stay in the conference room. At first we thought just to put our pads on the floor, but they brought in a couple of fold out beds, short but comfy! Anyways, let me backtrack real quick. I left Val D'or fairly late, but couldn't help notice that it really was a quaint little place. I loved the lamp posts!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5acadfd7.jpg All of them had flower baskets hanging down from them! As I was riding South in search of a camp spot a huge double rainbow appeared!! Awesome!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5e559717.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps68661027.jpg I didn't have my camera in panorama mode, so you're just gonna have to visualize the whole thing :biggrin: I found a free little campsite with outhouse right off the road. There were other people camped nearby so I felt pretty good about the location. Pitched the tent and crashed there for a couple of days, relaxing and waiting for Jim to head out. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7257c6b9.jpg The road toward Mount Laurier was picturesque, but mostly trees and lakes the whole way down. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps83f24558.jpg Once I got to Mont-Laurier I had the hardest time finding a laundromat. My cell kept on giving me the wrong location. Boy was I ever missing my XOG!! When I finally found one of them it was closed. I went in search of the second one, and had to cross this bridge. Too bad the fencing was in front of the view. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse6361d02.jpg The other one was still open, but it had gotten late. I opted to come back the next day to do my laundry then. The ride toward the Parent turn-off was fairly short and went on the dirt road for a ways until I found a spot to pitch my tent. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps03ad586c.jpg A fallen down tree! Perfect! Not many people would be driving past here. I pitched my tent while being swarmed by mosquitos and bugs, but once inside the tent it was peaceful and bug free. I cooked myself a nice diner as I had bought fresh mushrooms, veggies and tofu! I slept like a baby and took my sweet time the next morning to get packed up. The laundromat was quiet, but luckily for me there was a guy there who happened to have change for a $20 as the coin machine was broken. Serendipity!! The bathroom was a mess!!! someone had crapped and then tossed a plastic cup into the toilet with a rag in it!! People????? As I really had to go I figured to just go and grab one of my vinyl gloves and yank the crappy (literally) cup out of the bowl and flush. Gross!! Afterward I figured I was entitled to use the bathroom to "shower" and wash my hair. It was 4 when I was all done with everything and hung out at McD waiting for Jim who showed up a little after 8. It's still early but the both of us are doing out RR and having a cup of coffee. Pretty soon I'm going to put my new chain and sprockets on that Jim brought with him. and maybe do the valves. It depends on the weather and location of where we can do this. Otherwise somewhere on the dirt road under some trees with a tarp over our heads might work better!! |
Thanks
Hello NomadGal (Ester???). I've been following your adventure for the past year or so here and on ADV. I must say you are one hardy gal and handy with a needle. I admire the fact you will pitch a tent in a bear infested remote area without a concern and sleep through the night. Myself, I would be quivering like a poodle facing a wolf. The fact that you do your own work on a scoot is admirable as well.
As you and the other riders fulfill your dreams and hit the road for extended periods of time, me and my desk bound brethren say thank you for entertaining us and stay safe. |
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After leaving the motel in Mont-Laurier, Jim and I headed North toward Ste.-Anne-du-Lac.
We stopped at Mont Michael, bought some snacks at a little convenience store, and ate them across the street at one of those rest stops. This one however was right in town with nice "gazebo" structures with benches beneath them. I took off before Jim as I am slower on the dirt, and we agreed to meet up in Parent. Once I hit the dirt I lowered my tire pressure, looking back all the tie expecting Jim to come barreling by. No jim….. Oh well, he must have started talking to some pretty girl walking by I figured. The road was squirrelly and it took me a while to get my dirt groove :mchappy: http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ca3fd69.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscc4932c3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0d27634e.jpg I got to Parent around 5 and all the while no Jim. Now I started getting worried that maybe he just went to fast somewhere and crashed!! I decided to buy some juice and sit on a bench reading right at the entrance of the Town so I could see Ji coming. Luckily there was only one road coming into Parent. I sat there till after 7 while watching the road and hoping the black clouds did not decide to empty their load of water on me! Finally I heard a bike (after hearing several ATV's fro a distance thinking it was Jim) and yes, it was him. Phew!!!! What had happened was that Jim did not pass me while riding, so he thought I had taken another route. He turned around and took another dirt road just to me sure I hadn't crashed somewhere. Awwwww…. that was so sweet of him! :raabia I guess I had been riding a lot faster than he thought I would be so that threw hi off. I was glad he was finally there, but by then I was pretty tired, and so was he (I think he added another 100 miles of dirt by backtracking). We set out toward Hibou, and were looking for a place to pitch the tent. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbfa0daf2.jpg Following Jim into the sunset, I felt like Tonto! After a little while Jim turned left on a little driveway where a house was. What the??? Turns out that the house was deserted, but even better, there was a deserted Indian cabin below the house near the lake. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c46f958.jpg Jim unpacking. We made the cabin our home for the night. Somehow the picture I took of the cabin didn't take. I'm sure Jim has a bunch The moon rose not too much later and reflected on the lake. It was beautiful! We put my tarp on the floor, and how tent foot print and piled our pads and sleeping bags on it. As I lied down to go to sleep I could feel my body still vibrating from riding on dirt. Boy that sucks the energy right out of me!!! The next morning I woke up and went blueberry hunting. There were millions all around the cabin and it took no time at all to fill up my bowl. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7ec2c88c.jpg Made Jim and I some scrumptious apple/banana/raisins pancakes topped with Agave syrup and Blueberries http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psab785e5e.jpg After having packed up this Moth? Butterfly? landed on my bandana http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0a3cd46b.jpg One last photo of the beautiful lake We made it to Hibou not too much later as it was not that far from where we had camped. In case you are wondering why no pictures……….. I was holding on to my handlebars for dear life!!! Once we made it to camp Hibou, the folks that ran the place, Daniel and a woman whose name I forgot, told us that the cabins were all booked…. They kind of frowned upon us wanting to pitch our tent, and didn't know how much to charge us for that, so they told us that they would let us know the next day after having talked to the owner. We walked around camp with Daniel who showed us where we could maybe pitch out tents. We found a spot between the trees with a view of the lake away from everyone else. After pitching or tents I strung the tarp above them and parked Spirit partially under it too. They even had showers!!! Awesome. Jim said that now would be a good time to do the valves, as there was no wind and we had the tarp over our heads. It didn't take too long luckily and we ended up changing two shims. Still, working on the bike again, albeit regular maintenance, got to me. I was glad Jim did the shims, I took care of taking her apart and putting her back together again. At one point Jim jokingly asked if I carried some sort of mosquito vestibule as those pesky buggers were everywhere. Should have seen the look on his face when I told him I did!. I set up the little bug "tent" and sat underneath ready to make some dinner. Before I got started Jim got to talking to a couple of guys, Mark and Michel, who were bringing us some food!! Stir-fried vegetable rice, no meat or egg!! JIm got fried Walleye on top of his rice. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5483d8e1.jpg Yup, JIm's in heaven!! I took a lovely shower that night, not realizing that the window cover did not work once the light was on……… Luckily there were shrubs in front of the window, and even if there weren't I"m not exactly built like Marilyn Monroe, LOL. The next morning the weather had changed, the wind had come up and Jim was wondering how big the waves would be on the big lake. He had planned on taking me on the lake in a motorized canoe that he was going to rent. Turned out that renting the canoe was a heck of a lot more than we thought it would be!! $130 plus gas!! Yikes. We decided to break camp and head to Obijiwan and then back unto solid road toward Alma. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4a92e637.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps724497cb.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps75ffbfc2.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbaaf8d71.jpg The road to Obijawan started out real loose and gravelly, but got better after a while. Still, even though I've gotten better at riding dirt, I was happy once we hit pavement!! On my map of Quebec it showed a campsite on our way toward Saint Felicien, not sure if I spelled that right! We almost missed it, but I am glad we didn't as it was a wonderful, albeit neglected and no longer maintained, camp ground. We found a spot between the trees, right across the lake, and again put the tarp above us. We had just finished eating when the rain started. I slept wonderful as the sound of rain just knocks me out!!! We spent the next day in our tents reading, eating and relaxing. I do have to mention one really funny episode, that made me crack up!! At our deserted forest camp ground at the lake, Jim took it in his head to go take a bath!! So here is is while it's raining, running butt-naked (nope I was in my tent and didn't watch) through the campground into the lake. Like I said, even though I didn't watch, just hearing him make me laugh so hard! He is seriously funny at times!!! Hope you don't mind I wrote that on my RR Jim!! On the third day I felt the urge to pack up and go, even though it was still raining. I wanted to see how easily I could pack up in my new tent with the tarp above, and i I could stay dry. Well, the pack up went pretty smooth, but I sure didn't stay dry! LOL. I think I shocked Jim by packing up as he was all cozy in his tent ready to relax another day. We had run out of toilet paper, and I had run out of books to read, so the thought of not having anything to read for a whole day did not sit well. JIm packed up as well, but I could sense he wasn't too happy about packing up in the rain. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps45d098ce.jpg We rode to Alma and Chicoutemi/Saguenay where Jim got a Motel. We were both soaking wet!! The rest will be on my next RR |
Now where did I leave off??
As I am writing this, not posting this, I am camped near a small cabin on route 500 toward Happy Valley. Jim Just packed up and headed toward Happy Valley after having spent the day in the tent while it was raining. He had had enough of reading and listening to music he said, and was in the mood for a pub and some human company (well, other than me, to spread to light to I’m trying to rack my brain as to where I left off with my ride report. It’s easy once I am online and can check. I think I left off that we got to motel The Parasol, in Chicoutemi. Jim treated me to dinner at the restaurant that was in the Motel. I had a wonderful salad while he had 2 appetizers, rather large, and a huge meal. The hostess and the waiter were really amazed that he could eat all that. In the motel room we had hung our soaking wet tent stuff to dry on the curtain rod (I am afraid that we made the floor a tad damp). The next morning we worked on Spirit after quickly packing up our stuff and getting out of the room by the required time. Jim put a new rear sprocket (front was still in excellent shape) and a new chain on her. I worked on putting the starter wiring, it had rattled loose on the way to Obijiwan, back in the frame. I had bypassed it quickly while on the road. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps849b68c7.jpg Jim with my rear wheel after having put on the new sprocket Jim had gotten me a bright halogen light bulb, but when I put it in the low beam didn’t work. I think the poor bulb bit the dust on the dirt roads. I put my new light back in, as I had just gotten it I Wawa. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps66685164.jpg New chain on a really dirty Spirit!! We were done in a couple of hours and went into town to find freeze-dried meals for Jim and Tasty Bite or something similar for me. We bumped into a health food store that sold awesome vegie wraps that were made with rice flour. I found an IGA extra and scored! Tons of Indian ready made dinners. At a sporting goods store we found freeze-dried meals for Jim. We also got to talking to some folks who said that the route we had wanted to take to Labrador City was not feasible, and that the end of it that connected to 389 was not there. We decided to go to Baie-Como http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6372769b.jpg crossing the bridge out of Chicoutemi, I really liked that little town! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf84b6b21.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1099e603.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4096985c.jpg We missed the turn that headed North back into Saguenay, so Jim looped us around a back road http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa8d7de73.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7328edac.jpg We didn’t ride too far that day as we had left pretty late. We noticed a pull off on the side of the road and I asked Jim to see if there was a place to camp down the steep dirt road. There was, sort off! It was a really great spot with a river or creek on reach side, and a roofed picnic table. We pitched our tents next to each other as that was the only way we could both sleep somewhat horizontally. For some reason I forgot to take a picture. The sound of the water was soothing and I slept great!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps60b627d6.jpg The point below our campsite http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1e6da95a.jpg The next morning a fisherman was standing in the river, and after him a few others showed up. One of them told Jim he had to have a fishing license and another permit, otherwise they would take his gear. A little while later the county guy showed up and said that we normally should have paid to camp there, but he would pretend that he hadn’t seen us. That was very sweet. Turns out that every camp area has a different town attached to it where you have to get the permit. That system works great for the locals I guess, but when you are travelling like us, not knowing where you’ll end up, it’s not too practical. We got on the road at a decent time I think, I kinds forgot The road to Baie-Comeau was gorgeous!!! In Forestville we stopped at a diner where Jim again ate a lot of food, and me a salad again but this time with potato skins as as well. There were some gorgeous flowers outside the diner and I just had to photograph them. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf1b0cd7e.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse2b2783e.jpg We set off again and the scenery got even more awesome! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbb846d2e.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps01200c7b.jpg When we crossed a bridge we saw an amazing river and parked our bikes in the parking spot. There was a small wooden viewing area and I took a couple of pics and decided to walk down the trail I saw in the bushes. It was a short wet hike, but the view below was amazing, and amazingly wet too! It was like standing near a waterfall!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7893c962.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb48d71e5.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0232072d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3700e499.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps540f5086.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd0600eff.jpg Managed to take a shot of Jim riding under the rainbow http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0b90d366.jpg We arrived at Baie-Comeau after 5 I think, as the tourist office was already closed. After filling up our gas tanks we headed North on 385 having decided not to take the iffy dirt road that started from Cartier. Immediately the road turned windy, like any other mountain road. Awesome. We hit rain of and on, and I was hoping that we’d have a little bit of dry time to pitch our tents. Jim spotted a dirt road to the right, and we hopped on it. After riding down it my GPS showed that it was looping us around to the main Hwy again, but right before we did, we saw another small loop off to the right. Perfect! The weather was helpful too, as it didn’t rain. We both found a spot to pitch our tents, albeit further apart than normal, LOL. We just ended up hollering back and forth. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3d9f2aa7.jpg The next morning Jim was up at 5 AM, and by the time I woke up he was ready to get out of there. I felt like relaxing a bit more as I was not even fully awake at the time. We would meet up at Manic Cinq. Part of me felt a bit deserted, but I realized that we are two different people even though we are also very similar in a lot of ways. And even though Jim wanted to travel with me I realized that my version of traveling with someone is different than his version of traveling with someone. I had to make myself realize that when friends travel together this is probably how things go. We each go out own way and meet up at some point in time. Part of me felt that this was not really traveling together, but then I really talked to myself and found that there are some nicer aspects of traveling this way. I could now relax and go at my own pace without feeling “forced” (by my own self) to go at Jim’s pace. I could enjoy doing what I liked doing, i.e. reading and taking pictures of flowers etc., and ride at my own speed while stopping when I felt like it. For me traveling with Jim was something new, and even though we are just friends, part of me wanted our traveling arrangement to be more like how couples travel, even though we are nothing of the sort. Jim’s kind of my little soul sibling for lack of a better description. (I am saying little as he is 5 years younger than I am so I can) I relaxed and read a while, made myself breakfast, and waited for the sun to come out and dry my tent. After a while it got lighter and the sun peeked out as well. Awesome! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf1ef2e3f.jpg I looked at the area Jim had camped (habit to see if he had forgotten anything) and noticed this gorgeous mushroom/berry still life. It was nice and warm by the time I hit the road, perfect for picture taking! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7a8bd06e.jpg small waterfall off the rocks on the side of the road http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscee9bcd8.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps45433f1b.jpg Enjoying the wide-open road! I was thoroughly enjoying the road not thinking much of anything just being one with the beautiful views when I noticed a biker heading my way. LOL, it was Jim! “Have you seen my toothbrush?”, Were the first words out of his mouth. I told him I hadn’t, and that I had even walked around his tent space. He had put it in his pocket, but found out after having spend the morning having breakfast and talking to the hostess, that it was no longer in there. So he rode back about half and hour’s worth to find it as it is his favorite traveling toothbrush he has had for years. As we were talking he checked his pockets again, and it wasn’t in there, then he miraculously found it in the pocket area of the back armor. It must have slid down in there somehow. He was happy to have ran into me cause it made him find his brush. We set of to Manic Cinq together, but before long he left me in the dust as I just didn’t want to make Spirit go fast. She really does well fast but I am just worried about taxing her heart. When I got to Manic Cinq Jim was in a diner eating, again! I told the hostess that I was fine, that it really was too hard for me to eat out. Riding with Jim puts me in an awkward position as he always wants to pay for my food. I treated to dinner once, but it puts me in a precarious position financially. Having him pay for dinner all the time does not feel right either. I am totally happy with eating my snack bar for lunch and warming up my Indian food for dinner. I decided not to gas up there, as I knew we would hit dirt soon. I had enough gas to make it to Gabriel. I told Jim see you soon, and set off again. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8ce73e89.jpg Manic Cinq has a huge dam http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1d52cd9d.jpg The size of it is staggering! |
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The road turned into dirt heading up the dam http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psafc5149a.jpg Once on top I stood on the fence so I could take a picture of the view. The gates were locked. I rode over a huge bridge that came right after the dam, and one side had a dried up view of a once big river, and the other side had the gorgeous view of two lakes http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1ef835fc.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2ec1ee7a.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps55527c24.jpg The rest of the road to Fermont and Labrador was supposedly gravel. So far it was easy riding, yippee! Some time later Jim passed me. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf79d741a.jpg Yep, this is going to be one heck of a long ride!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps19731023.jpg Long but gorgeous Before long I got to Gabriel, a small town with a gas station, the last one till Fermont. Jim was at the gas station having bought some snacks. He bought me some chips and juice as well. A couple stopped by and Jim got to talking with them. They were from Ontario I think but on their way to either Newfoundland or Nova Scotia. She was a student and he was still looking for work. I told Jim that I would go ahead as he rode a lot faster than me anyway, so I left, but not before taking a pic of the beautiful view at the back of the gas station http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf69ccc10.jpg The road had turned into asphalt right before the diner, and it looked like it was going to stay that way. I pulled over and filled up my tires again. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps96a854bc.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps793eddab.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbca96ff1.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps640ac760.jpg Whoa!! Really?? Guess they were saving money on the bridge. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9062dc8c.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1028745f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb11e1c18.jpg Yep you could look straight down and see the river http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps43c683a4.jpg It was getting later and I still hadn’t seen Jim yet. I had turned off a few dirt roads and looked for places to camp, so I figured he probably passed me by some time then. I knew that he really wanted to get to Labrador City, so I figured that I wouldn’t see him until then. I had just passed a lone cabin on the side of the road, and made a U-ey when I saw Jim heading toward me. I pointed at the cabin and turned on the gravel driveway. The cabin looked deserted and when I turned the knob it opened. Looking inside I saw that it had been used as some sort of way station for the weary traveler. Jim came inside too, and like the cabin. There was a French sign on the wall that translated roughly into keeping the place clean, and the name of the owner. But I couldn’t quite decipher the whole message. Jim had a friend (or family member) who had passed away a year ago tat day (or he thought, he couldn’t remember) so he really didn’t want to stay at the cabin but go to Labrador City so he could call his wife. I told him I really wanted to stay. He said that it was only an hour out, and that he might be back afterward as it was cheaper to spend the gas than to pay for a motel. I unpacked Spirit and got myself settled in the cabin. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbda852d4.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf744c8c3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse774e41f.jpg Made myself dinner and lit the candles that were on the table and put Teddy there for company (a much quieter companion I might say, just teasing Jim, I enjoy our conversations) and had a wonderful evening by myself. I put a candle in the widow to make it easier for Jim to see the cabin if he came back, but my gut told me he wouldn’t. I fell asleep as soon as I lied down; I was exhausted! The next morning was chilly so I started the woodstove. Everything was there, dry wood, birch bark, the perfect fire starter, and tons of paper. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf02905d2.jpg The cabin was toasty warm in no time, too toasty!! I quickly opened a window as it started getting uncomfortably hot. I had pancakes with blueberries for breakfast, and made myself a new bottle holder liner, as the bottom had broken out again. The wool liner I had made earlier that week had already chafed loose and broken. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfe71896d.jpg Mushroom between the blueberries. Then I packed up and headed for Labrador City. Was I ever in for a surprise!! The road turned into dirt again!!! I thought the rest was paved……! So here I went and got rid of some tire pressure. As it turned out the road was perfect. It did look like it might have rained the day or night before. If that were the case, then no wonder Jim didn’t make it back, it would have been a nightmare. Still it was a really nice stretch of road. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6e014290.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0161058d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa8d7b2c3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps29d53750.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa988aadf.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8e2a653e.jpg Another one of those half finished bridges http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psad0ce0c3.jpg Had to take a pic with Spirit on one. Good thing it was a quiet road!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps48435ccc.jpg There was mining going on further down the river, making the water fairly red!! Soon afterward I hit a huge construction area and paved road followed after that. I rode past the turn-off to Fermont and right into Labrador!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc25ca118.jpg Jim had holed up in a fancy hotel and because he had overslept ended up having to stay for another night. So lucky me, I got to room with him again, take a shower and wash clothes. The internet was horrifying so later on in the evening I went next door to McD and downloaded most of my pictures. Well, that’s it for now, as we are about to go on a 500km dirt road to Cartwright, and afterward to the ferry that will take us to Newfoundland. Still, that will be a few days from now. Also, a very warm and heartfelt thanks to Jo C. and Dusan S. for your wonderful donation. I really appreciate it!! |
I should really be writing every night after I pitch my tent, or in this case (and others) when I’m in a hotel or Bed & Breakfast room. I find that if I don’t write things down immediately that I tend to forget the little but important things.
Well, I’ll try to see if I do still remember my thoughts from a few days ago. I made it to Labrador City and met up with Jim at Wal-Mart (what did we do in the days without cellphones???). He had gotten to town late in the night having ridden that dirt road in the rain and the dark. Then after some drinks in the bar he overslept and had to pay for another night, so he figured I could stay there as well. We got the stuff for cleaning the airfilters, and He was going to change his oil. I only had 2000 miles on it, so I figured I’d change mine in Newfoundland as nobody sold quarts of Rotella-T. Jim dropped me off at the Hotel while he went to change his oil behind Canadian Tire. I took a wonderful shower :biggrin: Once Jim got back he got to cleaning the filters that we had taken out (they were filthy!!!!) in ziplock bags with mineral spirits. Since Jim lost his sense of smell, that was no big deal to him, but boy!! I could smell that stuff way down the hallway….. First order of business, open the window! Yep that long dirt road to Parent and Obijiwan sure did a number on them, plus I had a lot of other dirt roads that I had taken after leaving Just Jeff’s place in Lac La Biche. Afterward I spend the evening downloading my pictures and writing part of my last report. The internet was too slow, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to post anything from there. The next day we backtracked a tad so we could see the “wall” in Fermont that we had been told about. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps04df2118.jpg It wasn’t really a normal wall, but an apartment wall. It had been built this way to keep the wind out of the town in the winter, and lot of housed were built on the other side, really close to the “wall”. To me it seemed that everyone was practically living on top of each other, not a place that would sit well with me if I may be honest. Jim was riding on reserve and luckily there was a gas station nearby. We gassed up for the road (Jim kindly filled my gas tank too ) and headed for the open road toward Goose Bay. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps204658c3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps38d08f96.jpg We rode at our own pace and after a while I lost track of Jim. Turns out he had stopped somewhere to go fishing. There was a stop sign at a railroad and it’s a good thing I stopped http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc2f06a45.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psec14a26b.jpg I enjoyed my solitary ride down the road, and occasionally found a reason to stop and take a picture http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps72871b50.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf3b17078.jpg Some I took while riding. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb6076991.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8208be81.jpg Don’t we just love these steel grated bridges. This one wasn’t that bad, some others were. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2a26bd22.jpg After a while the road turned into dirt. I saw some road workers at their truck on the side of the road, and asked them how long this stretch of dirt was. I didn’t want to air down just to find out that it was only a few miles long. Turns out it was about 60 Km, about 40 miles. I started out just keeping the air in my tires, but some parts were just too squirelly, so I aired down. I have to admit that before I hit dirt, I actually started to nod off here and there. The road was not exactly captivating after a while, so having it change into dirt woke me up quite a bit. Then it started raining!! That really woke me up as the road got a tad muddy here and there. At one point I had to stop due to roadwork, and got to talking to the young native kid who stood there stopping traffic in the pouring rain. I told him they should have given him an umbrella. He fully agreed and we got to talking. He was so amazed that I was from Hawaii. I asked him if he had seen a guy on a bike like mine with cases, but black. He said he had about 2 hours ago. I figured that Jim had gone ahead to Goose Bay, but I knew that it was just too far for me to go there that day. I was exhausted. Finally I was allowed to go, and I said Aloha to the kid. He hollered slow down after I left, oops!! As soon as I hit pavement I looked for a place to pull over to air up my tires again. The perfect spot showed up in a jiffy!! As I was airing up I caught a bike riding up to me out of the corner of my eye. It was Jim???? Huh?? I guess it must have been someone else on a black dual sport bike. Jim never aired down, so he was good to go. After riding a little while longer we started finding cabins, but they were all locked. And some looked like the owners got there frequently. Finally we found another cabin, locked as well, but remote with an outhouse, that looked like no one had been there in a while. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps32f5cfc7.jpg We pitched out tents there, Jim in some nice soft moss, and me in sawdust (soft too). Of course there were tons of blueberries all over the place. Yum! We sure were not having the best of weather as it was raining again the next day. Not heavily, but enough to not want to break up camp. So we lounged in our tents and ate and read. I even made popcorn, which unfortunately burned, but it was still it was good. Then around 6 PM Jim decided he had enough of hanging around, and that he really wanted to find a pub and get something to drink. He said he was sure that he’d find a drinking buddy. Of course that same old twinge, he’s leaving me again?? LOL, what’s up with me?? I started thinking about how women are raised in society, and even though I am a strong and independent woman, who enjoys being by herself and camping out in the middle of nowhere without qualms, I still freaked out a tad at the thought of being by myself again. I thought it funny that once I team up with a guy, I have a tendency to loose my own voice. I wonder if there is something ingrained in women, (through society, not in upbringing in my case) that lets us have men take over and make the decisions and such, and we kick back and cruise. LOL, that is just so not me, but I caught myself doing exactly that. So traveling with Jim is quite an eye opener, and making me realize things about myself that I didn’t see before. Of course, the first thing I did once he left, was run to the bike and get out my bear spray and fog horn, LOL!! I spend the night reading and finishing my ride report that I had started at the hotel. The sky had cleared earlier, and I hoped that Jim had gotten to Goose Bay in one piece and dry. I packed up as much as I could, so I could leave on time in the morning. Somehow it took me a while to get to sleep, but when I finally did I slept great. I woke up to rain and realized that I would be packing a wet tent! Still, by the time I got ready to break down the tent it had stopped raining, and I was able to dry most of it off with my REI towel. I was out of there by 10 http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7a8f85e9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps66412cc4.jpg The road to Goose Bay was really nice, and no rain. I stopped at the visitor center in Goose Bay and got a good map and info. I checked my messages, and it turned out that Jim was across the street from where I was. Turns out that he indeed found a drinking buddy, and had barely had any sleep that night. LOL We didn’t linger in town that long, just enough for Jim to get some smoked Char, and brake fluid. We filled up our gas tanks, and ended up at Tim Horton’s (where I finally got to post my last ride report) to check our emails and such. Jim ordered me a new tire as the one I have now is getting low on thread again. Lac La Biche doesn’t even seem that long ago!!! Still, by the time I get to Newfoundland I’m sure I’ll have a bald tire! Jim ate a ton of doughnuts!! It was pretty late when we got out of there……. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psea16feaf.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7130e372.jpg I was very excited to be on this stretch of dirt. Even if I hadn’t met up with Jim, this is a road I would have done on my own. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa524d41a.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaf6099aa.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2e29da93.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6d199f84.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b278841.jpg This bridge was the worse one yet!! Our bike were weaving left and right, unbelievable!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4dc4f635.jpg Jim under another rainbow http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb0a46391.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps999ab217.jpg If you look closely you’ll see that the red road is turning into a black road http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5c4c23a9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps57f6a662.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd58571fe.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps56eeb9d7.jpg |
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Yep, Jim had to do a hair raising stunt and ride up a rock hill to get his picture taken! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps34585945.jpg You can see his tire track http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pseb9a27c3.jpg Now back down! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps84ace792.jpg Someone had put a large man-sized doll on a rock! Looked pretty darn real!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps334c901f.jpg As we were riding down the Labrador Coastal Hwy I started realizing that the road was all there was!! There were no rest stops, not side roads, no places to pitch a tent, nothing! Just the road. Hmmm, we were both getting tired, Jim due to lack of sleep, me cause I still don’t’ like to ride for more than 200 miles a day. We kept on looking at areas, and Jim even tried walking on some green “grass” on the side of the road, which ended up like walking on a trampoline with water squishing below his feet. Yep, swampy!! I got ahead of Jim a little, and loo and behold, a side road!! I waited for Jim to catch up and he was just as surprised as I was. He went ahead and I followed, All went smooth until out of the blue the road went up very steep. Not only that, but it was very rocky, with boulders jutting out here and there. I Yikes! I couldn’t brake so I did the only thing left, gunned it!! I couldn’t believe it but I actually made it up the hill! What I saw there was worth the pee in my pant scare, namely a wonderful area for us to pitch our tents!! It was a wide open gravel area, and we lucked out. No bugs and no rain!! By now the sun had set, but there was still enough time to pitch our tents. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdffe2aec.jpg It cooled down quite a lot that night, but I slept great!! I woke up at around 8 in the morning but Jim had been awake since 5 and had already eaten oatmeal twice, made coffee and was ready to go. This time I told him that I was worried about making it down that rocky incline, so he was kind enough to hang around a bit longer. Unfortunately it started to heavily mist, and our dry tents got wet. Darn!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps44059e5e.jpg In this desolate spot, a flower found a way to grow, just amazing!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps26c4188f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb381e63b.jpg As it turned out, I should not have worried because I effortlessly (well if you don’t count me biting on my lips to keep from screaming) made my way down the hill without crashing. We were off to Cartwright! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps34892950.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pseb166478.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps33f677f5.jpg We stopped at a river to fill our water bottles, and Jim took some time to go fishing! I kept on sending vibes….. fish, go away, only pain will come to you if you if you near. I kept this up for a while but decided to walk around for a while. As soon as I did Jim hollered, “Esther! I caught a fish!” Yep, I did so not want to see that!! Luckily he didn’t kill it and set it free. Still, to me that just seems inhumanly cruel to cause a fish that much pain and terror, even if he is being let go. Jim and I definitely do not see eye to eye on that subject, as he is an avid hunter and fisherman. It confounds me, because he talks about living through your heart, to love all beings, people and animals alike. I cannot conceive how loving someone or something would make it okay to hurt or kill them. Even though saying thank you for giving your life to an animal after you’ve killed it makes you somewhat sensitive to what you’ve done, still, not doing it in the first place……… But I guess as far as most of the world goes, that is just normal. The only people that would understand me are the people in India, as most of them are also vegetarian, and the Tibetans or Buddhists who practice the way of Ahimsa (Sanskrit word meaning not to injure). After I had filled all the water bottles, Jim was done fishing. He found more broken bottles and he hooked fish, and he packed then all on his bike!! He is very eco conscious, I have to admit to that. Not many people seem to care about a clean Earth. We hit the road again. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps291c7ebd.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps159f2a55.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps96683132.jpg We got to the split in the road where we took the left turn to go to Cartwright. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps94bfe851.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7c5702a3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7be99c3e.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps065fa7cc.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps134565ee.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psde3304be.jpg As soon as we got to Cartwright we filled up at a gas station. This little place was really one of a kind!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc9285806.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8386d369.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps04906c9a.jpg The owner carried a ton of different bearing in his shop There were wheel bearing for the KLR!! Well, Jim and Peter(owner of the gas store) hit it off! They spend an hour talking about fishing!! I really didn’t know what to do, LOL. There was no camp ground there, so I couldn’t go there and pitch my tent while those guys where shooting the breeze, not could I go to a motel and book a room. Part of me wanted to turn around a go back down the road where I saw a place I could have pitched my tent, but it was getting really cold, and the mist was rolling in. I got a bit grouchy cause I tired, but tried to stay cheerful and just focused on inner peace and just flowing with the time, all the while trying to stay patient and not get annoyed. I guess I got to learn just waiting around when traveling with Jim, cause he sure likes to talk!! I find that I don’t’ really ever have much to say when I meet people. The things I am interested in are not really your usual topics. Oh by the way, are you a lucid dreamer? Let me share some LDs with you, and you can tell me about yours. LOL Or, have you ever achieved astral travel? Any tips you can give me that work, cause I am having a hard time doing this. Yep, I cannot imagine those topics to go over too well!! I’ve got to face it, I am an oddball who has a hell of a time connecting to people at times. I can talk bikes at least!!!!! Peter told us where the inn was, as Jim really didn’t want to turn around in the fog, and we rode into town to find it. Turns out it was booked, but the motel owner Tilly called her sister who had a bed & breakfast. She had a room available!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdc282fd8.jpg The B&B The lady who ran it, Gladys, had just lost her husband, so Jim talked to her about a book he had just read about a lady who could see angels. While they were talking I took some of my stuff up to the room and breathed in the silence for a little while. Afterward I walked to the restaurant (Jim rode his bike). The air was cold but clear. I loved breathing that cold fresh air, it made my cheeks all rosy and gave me energy. There is something about cold clean air, I loved it in Fairbanks as well. The crispness gives me a total sense of well being, I can’t explain it, but the closest I can get, is that you can actually feel the air entering your lungs and rejuvenating you. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3cf2b399.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5d2ba878.jpg View from the table in the restaurant (felt like I was in prison, LOL) I had two small garden salads (it was all they had I could eat) and Jim had a ton of fried food. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps816ad4b4.jpg We left around 7 and headed back to the B&B. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps30dc47a1.jpg Desire is parked dangerously close to the edge!! Jim and Gladys talked some more, and I got to talking to her about crocheting a bit. Then I took a wonderful shower while Jim went back to the bar to meet Peter. It’s past midnight right now, and I haven’t even checked my email. Hopefully I can do that in the morning while the laundry is going. Afterward we’ll be going to Port Hope Simpson, and then Blanc Sablon to catch the ferry to Newfoundland!! |
A very special thank you to James S. for your donation!! I keep being surprised, but happily so!! Glad you are following along.:mchappy:
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As I am posting this I’m sitting at a little café called Frog Pond Café on Cape Breton, having just packed up from one of the most amazing camp spots yet!!
You’ll have to wait until later for that ride report, as it will be a while ere I have all that typed up. Our stay at Gladys’ was wonderful! She is such a wonderful and warm person, and we felt right at home. She let us do our laundry there as well. She and Jim got along fabulously, and he enjoyed talking to her about a couple of books he had read about angels. Her husband had passed away not too long ago, and he wanted to ease her pain by telling her about them. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps65146a5b.jpg After she had made Jim a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast, and me some maple oatmeal, we set out toward Red Bay, but not before I took some pictures of the flowers in her yard. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7b77ba67.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse1d206c1.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps10d29d38.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ac00a15.jpg The view from her house http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2306447b.jpg I told her that if I ever came back I’d paint her a new sign. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps143ed6b0.jpg Sandwich bay http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc9cd9012.jpg The helicopter was either delivering or picking up supplies for a camp somewhere. The day was nice and sunny, and a vast difference from the day before!! The views on the road were amazing, and even though the road was gravel, it was fairly easy going until we hit Fort Hope Simpson. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps15c0481f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f52fda3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps343854e6.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf30f9c76.jpg Yep, we had to add that silly half hour to our clock! What the??????? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa8707064.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa97d1e4d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb30feec3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7399e87b.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps27ef73e9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2ad84a0d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psad161b3b.jpg We both pretended to be in England for a few minutes. I wonder how many pictures Jim and I took that will look the same or similar. Guess I’m gonna have to wait till he gets back home. After we got to Fort Hope Simpson the road was going to get worse we were told. Some folks told us that it actually took them 5 hours to get fro Red bay till there because of all the waiting at construction sites. Jim and I had gassed up and sat down in some comfy seats outside enjoying the sunshine on our faces. After all that rain it was total bliss!! When we finally continued it was around five, and as it turned out, most of the road was clear and the longest we had to wait was about 30 seconds. The road itself was indeed very rutty!! Lots of potholes and after a while I figured I’d just go fast and fly over them, because there just wasn’t a way around them. That actually worked, and nothing rattled loose on the bike, which rally amazed me! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psebf7d8cd.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1c503e0f.jpg Nearing Red Bay http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0cd85ade.jpg Awesome hitting the other side of the continent!! You can see the trail of dust that Jim leaves behind! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1c96308b.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0c7d69d6.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4e74fe4d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps49e4ee5e.jpg We found a restaurant, and at the door was a map with pins in locations that their costumes were from. I looked and there already was a pin on Kauai. Hmmm, I wonder who made it there, and if I might know them….. Jim ate for three again, and I had a salad and a baked potato. It was really good!! They also had a drink with a “secret” non-alcoholic ingredient, and after drinking it I was pretty sure that it was ginger ale. When I told her what I thought it was I watched her face, and I think I hit it right on!! She of course couldn’t confirm it but she did say I was quite clever, which I guess means I was right. After dinner Jim went shopping there, and he bought a whole bunch of stuff, including some chocolate and a Labrador sticker for me. I bought a fleece scarf, as I must have left my balaclava at Red Bay somewhere. Jim liked it too, so I got him one as well. It made such a difference to keep my neck warm. That is one thing I really don’t like about my fly jacket. No collar!!! What were they thinking??? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc3b41db6.jpg Afterward we went outside to look at the bay. The sun was setting and it was very picturesque. Jim decided to keep riding to the ferry and grab a Motel there so he could catch the 8 AM ferry to Newfoundland. Another motel?? LOL, I have never stayed in that many motels in my life as I have since meeting up with Jim. I prefer sleeping in my tent, just cause I can breathe easier, and most of the time it’s just quieter too. Luckily we are comfortable around each other, and best of all he doesn’t snore!! He does talk in his sleep a lot, but somehow I manage to sleep through that (most of the time at least). The next morning Jim got up at a 5:30 and I had planned to take the next ferry as this was where we would go our separate ways for a while anyways. As it turns out, promptly at 3 some machine in the hallway started making a racket ! So much for turning around and sleeping in …. I figured I might as well leave too, and see if there was room on the ferry for one more bike, http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9ef4ddff.jpg Taking a shot from behind me http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps58f79f7f.jpg Our ferry When I got there I walked up to the counter and asked the lady if there was room for a bike, and she said sure honey :D I paid my cheap ticket and rode toward the ferry where Jim stood waiting in line. I’m not sure if he was surprised to see me, but I hope he didn’t mind be being on the ferry with him. We were last to board, and as I was edging my bike a tad further to line up with the anchors I somehow lost my balance, and felt myself teetering to the left. An older ferry guy was standing next to me, and even though he saw me falling, all he did was just stand there and watch me fall into him and knock him on the ground with me on top of him and Spirit on top of both of us!! The other guys quickly came to the rescue and got Spirit upright. The guy luckily ws all right and so was I (other than my pride, or what was left of it, ) The bummer was that the fall broke my mirror off, and also the part that hold the mirror on. Go figure, did some major dirt roads, mud, sand, gravel, ruts, and I didn’t drop her once. Then all of a sudden, doing something simple, I drop her!! Jim strapped Desire down and I strapped Spirit, got my laptop and book, and went upstairs. I was a tad grouchy now, not enough sleep, just dropped Spirit and I was hungry to boot. Then the only thing they had on the ferry that I could eat was a fruit cup with horribly sweetened fruit pieces. Yuck! So I had to focus to lighten my mood and make it positive again. I was lucky that the mirror was all I had broken, and I was sure I could fix it somehow. |
continuation
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Heading toward Newfoundland This was the last picture I took, as I had filled up my memory card! I spend most of the trip downloading all the pics on my laptop, and erasing my memory card so I could use it again. The ship was European and mostly had the big electric outlets that wont work with American plugs. There was one I could use, but it was in the hallway next to the door, which would have been pretty awkward to use. I skipped it as I still had a lot of juice on the laptop. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfd7bcaa8.jpg First picture of NL Once we landed in NL, I stopped at a gas station to fill up and see if I could fix my mirror. It was dry which was a blessing indeed. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfd7bcaa8.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps376aa353.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps49e5ff27.jpg Yep, I like the ball bearing mirror mount that Jim has. Very practical!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psca8b5989.jpg I removed the broken piece from the mirror, when Jim pointed out that there was lots of thread left on the remaining piece. We screwed the mirror back on, and I JB-welded the big gap closed. Then Jim fixed the part of the mirror that swiveled by popping the glass out and re-inserting the rod and ball to the inside of the mirror, I superglued it and wrapped electric tape around it to keep it in place. I worked great for quite a while, but when the buffeting winds appeared the mirror started sagging. I got to redo the tape! I said bye to Jim who headed toward Harvey place, and got a top up for my telus phone at the gas station. I left afterward and headed North to Nordstad the Viking village. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2b2ab118.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps26c31b66.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4143f608.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4620b49a.jpg Wow, surf!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4d7a111e.jpg Yep, another lone cottage by the sea. Somehow these just make me wish to move in! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps18516835.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdf4fe528.jpg Breath taking living locations for sure! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps28f95f1b.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps042e6ee7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa2de70a5.jpg I took a few breaks on my way and bypasses a few areas where it looked like I might be able to pitch my tent, but I figured I’d better keep going as the weather forecast for the next day was not as nice. I made it to Nordstad, and saw a couple of bikes and a few bikers in the parking lot http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc5c70798.jpg Yup, Spirit didn’t look anywhere near as packed up :D One of the riders was also an ADVer named Ktog?? I don’t think that’s how you spell it though, as I couldn’t find him in the inmates. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6815ae3e.jpg I went in the ticket booth building and paid my $10 to go check out the houses and ship. I kinds was wondering why they wanted admission to see some old houses http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b9eb11d.jpg Looks like a hill but was the back of the ship shed. Immediately I thought, Wow, hobbit homes!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0fc0a5cc.jpg side entrance http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa7feb549.jpg This is a reproduction of the Viking ship and it actually made it’s maiden voyage the way that the Vikings came to Newfoundland http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdd733c5c.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1a3825c7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps819bdeb2.jpg Inside one of the buildings. There where holes in the roof to let the light and air in, and smoke out, like a teepee. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2dceb276.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3da477b4.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6346aedc.jpg I loved the ceiling beams!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps61e2e600.jpg |
2nd continuation
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Chicken pen including chickens!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc289d833.jpg All the people there were in costume. I thought I had taken a photo of the weaving loom, but I guess I didn’t http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc4bfe159.jpg The rooftops were covered with wild flowers http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps61cee7d0.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps92098862.jpg This guy had his hair cut accordingly, and I loved his costume, the shoes especially! I left Nordland in search of a place to pitch my tent. I figured it wouldn’t be so hard in a remote land like this. In a way it wasn’t hard, but it did take me a while. Some spots were just too close to the road or ended up being someone’s driveway LOL! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5670da67.jpg I ended up in a small town called Saint Anthony Bight, and asked a local guy where a good place to pitch my tent would be. He told me about a little park off the loop right outside town on the lake. I remembered seeing the loop, so I went back there and hopped on the little road. Sure enough, I found the wooden arch. Shucks, yep, there was no way I would get Spirit all the way down there. But I got her there partially. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps651f1b0b.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse136b7d0.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7da6de3e.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps83d92edd.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4c53b838.jpg The sunset was awesome!! I took a lot more pics then I posted :D The sound of the waves hitting the beach was awesome, a little like the pebbles beach Jim had been describing. It started raining during the night, but I kept crossing my fingers that it would be dry in the morning. I just love sleeping in my tent when it rains, think I mentioned that before LOL. The morning was quiet other than the slight pitter-patter of the raindrops on my tent. It was so peaceful there that I decided to just hang for a day. Riding with Jim was awesome, but a lot faster paced than I am used to. It was definitely a lot more luxurious than I am used to as well, as he opted a lot for motel rooms. :D At least this part of the trip I actually showered on a regular basis!! I read and knitted, my favorite past times, walked the beach some when it only drizzled, and checked on Spirit to make she she wasn’t going to thump over. Occasionally someone would walk by my tent, and either comment or stay quiet about me being there. Everyone let me be though, so I relaxed. I packed up most of the stuff in the evening time, and went to bed early. The next morning the rain had let off and there was actually a fairly good breeze. By the time I had everything packed up, the breeze had dried the tent pretty darn good. I rode Spirit back up the trail and took of toward Gran Falls Windsor. Jim had given me the heads up on dropping by the cabin. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd5088dda.jpg I decided to go by Roddickton to gas up and see a bit of the North east coast. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf5f2ca43.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8c2274fa.jpg There were little fenced areas all along the road, like they used to be gardens but got overgrown. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4883f6f8.jpg Entering ?Roddickton Once I had filled up my tank I headed back toward Deer Lake and then toward Grand Falls Windsor http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2df02e30.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps102bebe8.jpg The coast line was gorgeous!! It wasn’t really sunny but just having clouds and no rain was just fine with me. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7694cbbe.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f33441b.jpg There was still fireweed along the road edge! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb6d5ba54.jpg Somehow Newfoundland reminded me of Kauai, and I felt a twinge of homesickness. I can see what makes this place special, it has almost the same energy as Kauai. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc8bd8ad4.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps665a0de9.jpg after hours of riding and taking breaks I realized that there was no way I’d make it to Grand Falls in one day. I looked around for places to camp, and on a whim looked at a campsite at Green Point, and saw it was only $15. I did not see a shower there, but the location was nice, and I was too tired to go and look for a deserted road. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps80fffb93.jpg The campground was pretty packed but I found a spot that gave me a little secludedness (hmm, don’t think that is a real word but I’ll use it anyways) The was a family with 4 kids camped next to me, and they had the time of their lives screaming at the top of their lungs. I remembered when my kids were that age, and what a difference it makes with what you can tolerate. Now it almost got to me, but I told myself they are having fun and it is still early. I get so used to the quiet that loud noise is something I have to mentally deal with and let go of. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps90608b4c.jpg Steps from the beach to the campground http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1eb32a07.jpg Still Fireweed here as well http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps62c5efc3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9035c704.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2ec26ec7.jpg it was a beautiful sunset |
Third continuation (only 30 pice per post :( )
I slept great until about 3 AM when the father of the family next door decided to start his truck and park it the other way around. What the???? It took me a while to fall asleep again, so I woke up a bit later and not so rested the next morning.
Thank goodness it wasn’t raining, even though it was very cloudy. I packed up my tent and was out of there by noon, right as it started drizzling. Perfect timing!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa2716d81.jpg Sometimes I think the rain adds a different dimension and feel to photos. This shot would have been beautiful in the sun, but now with the rain and cloudiness it just feels even more amazing. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0a695c77.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps88864406.jpg Just amazing!! I loved this stretch of road from Rocky Harbor to Deer Lake http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdea08dbf.jpg I’m guessing some sort of rockslide happened http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfe270679.jpg I made it to Deer Lake in no time and found a Burger King. I was longing for some fries, and wanted to download my camera pics and charge my laptop some. After ordering fires and a salad, I was told they were out of salad, and there was nothing else I could eat. Bummer. Then I realized they had smoothies so I ordered one of those. The girls there were so sweet, they gave me that on the house as they were out of salad. As I was sitting there the weather cleared Yippee!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd37acd83.jpg The ride to Harvey’s cabin was sunny and beautiful, but nothing like the Rocky Harbor/Deer Lake route http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps04e283be.jpg Found the turn off to Harvey’s cabin As I am writing this part I am on the ferry from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia so I’ll end it here as I really want to go upstairs and enjoy the sea breeze. |
I am in Moncton now, staying with Riverman, and finally get around to posting at least part of my RR.
More later tonight as I got to run into town to the thrift shop to find a suitcase. The dirt road to Harvey’s cabin was very potholey, and I was hoping my GPS would not lead me astray as it sometimes does when punching in GPS coordinates. This time it was dead on and I got to the cabin easily. Jim was working on the garage, putting the siding on, and Harvey was clearing out the area. I had meant to help them and put on shingling or whatever, seeing as I had done it before, but Harvey wouldn’t have it, he told me to relax. Yeah, I have to admit that I was wondering if he was just being a good host and wanting me to just relax and have a good time, or if he didn’t trust me with a hammer and nails……… I decided that he was just being a good host, even though I would love to have helped. So what does a girl do when at a beautiful little lake that has a canoe tied on the dock? She goes for a paddle! I asked Harvey if I could and he said sure, do whatever you want. I hopped in and grabbed the paddle. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps67c83b34.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps75e97866.jpg I asked someone what those stones meant, and it is called an Inukshuk (not sure if I spelled that right) it’s made in the image of man, and it has been used to guide/navigate the traveler. Nowadays it’s more of a welcome sign http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse51344da.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5502de38.jpg I had fun paddling, but at the end of the lake the wind was strong, and no matter how I tried I could not turn the nose of the canoe because the wind kept pushing it back. So in the end I said screw it, and crawled to the nose of the canoe and paddled dragging the butt along with me. As soon as it got less windy I crawled back and turned the canoe around. Yep, got to do things a little different when you can’t do something the normal way :D After I docked the canoe, I decided to cook up a vegie stew with all the vegies I had found at a convenience store before heading to the cabin. A huge bag of potatoes, carrots, turnips, and cabbage for only $10; it weighed a ton! The stew came out great, and I ate early as the men were working until dark. After they came in and ate Harvey pulled out a big bottle of rum, and that was a sign for me to hit the sack!!! As I don’t tolerate alcohol very well, I normally just don’t have any. Once in a while just to be more social I’ll have a quarter glass of wine or so. I slept in a bunk bed that night hoping I wouldn’t forget if I had to get up in the middle of the night and pee :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc5a8a4f5.jpg The next day we all went to Grand Falls Windsor, basically cause the food had run at the cabin. The ride there was uneventful. Once we got to Harvey’s house I met his wife Florence who had just gotten home for lunch. She is a wonderful person and I liked her at once. I also met their son Michael. I got my own room and Spirit and Desiré got a nice heated garage! Harvey took u into town to Canadian tire to get oil for the bikes and some other stuff. At first I had not wanted to start working on Spirit, I was getting tired of working on her I have to admit, even though it was just regular maintenance. Then I figured I should. I changed the oil, and found the filter once more relatively clean for having gone over 3000 miles with the same oil. Then my spring arrived and yes, it looked a lot thicker than the other spring! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps82eb1527.jpg Harvey Jim and I jumped into Harvey’s truck and went to town to get the spring installed on the shock. The first place we stopped at didn’t have the tools to do this, but the second place did. Jim had some errands to do too, and after we got back we had dinner. As I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do the next day I felt in limbo. I was tired, mentally and physically but really should get the shock on Spirit. The tire Jim had ordered for me hadn’t arrived, so here I was with a bald tire, and seeing as we had so much rain I didn’t feel comfortable riding around with it. I had wanted to go to St. Johns but the weather in that part of the island was worse. I decided to put the shock on anyway and maybe wait for the tire. Then Jim told me I could just use his knobby that still had a lot of thread on it. We were both silly, because neither of us remembered that he now sported an 18 inch wheel on the back. I had already taken the tire off when we realized that. Meanwhile the neighbors had come over to watch us work. The ladies were impressed with my mechanical skills and the neighbor lady said she wouldn’t ever do something like that. That’s what her husband was for. Haha, I had to laugh. She was honest about it and didn’t feel in the least that it was a negative thing. I guess I am a tad too independent at times, even though it is nice to have someone else do something for you. I left Spirit on the jacks cause there wasn’t much else I could do. I hoped that the tire would be in the next day, but Harvey and Jim had planned to get to the cabin early, and I wasn’t sure how he would feel about me staying there while he was gone and Florence at work. I slept well that night (Florence opened the window for me, as I have a hard time sleeping without a breeze) The next morning Jim offered to buy me a new tire and we went looking first at some guy’s place who had a trailer filled with tires, old and new. None that would fit Spirit, except for a really teensy one and an old stiff one that I felt would start cracking the minute I started riding. We did find one in a store, and it was a Kenda. I figured it would be interesting to see how those ride. Again Jim saved my neck, as he has done countless other times! I’ve got to make it up to him one way or another!! It was really sweet of Harvey to help me out like that, riding around all morning looking for a tire; I knew he wanted to get back to the cabin to finish the siding and all. Harvey had pulled me aside earlier and told me that it would be hard for me to stay at the cabin as Florence and Michael were there too. He said also when the family arrived it would be noisy, crowded and lots of people smoking. (I guess he had noticed me edging away from the neighbor yesterday cause he was smoking in the garage) He then offered to let me use the trailer in Badger. Wow, that would be awesome! He gave me directions before left for the cabin. He took off before Jim and I because it would be slower going for him with the trailer down the dirt road The tire was definitely a lot harder to put on than the Shinko, but mainly because it was an 80 instead of a 90. Jim helped me with the last bit. Then I packed up my stuff and loaded it on Spirit to see how the new shock was. Hmmmm, It needed to be adjusted for sure. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps68ce6edb.jpg Jim adjusting the rings The shock looked awesome, but adjusting it was a pain in the neck!! The wrench did not quite fit between the frame and the airbox, so it was impossible to get the notch to rotate enough to grab the next one. Both Jim and I realized that the wrench would have to be altered. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psda535593.jpg Jim went and grounded the handle of the wrench out so that we just had enough room to turn one notch. There are 12 notches to make on full rotation. And I had to adjust the bike I think 5 or 6 rotations. So yeah it took a while. I guess the shock is meant for those riders who set it once and leave it at that. It is not designed to adjusting it easily while on the road. Once it was set to the right height however I found that it was a wonderful shock. I could reach the ground, and I could use the kickstand normally. Even with the load off I could tiptoe and reach the ground. This would work! Jim left to go do some shopping and then to the cabin, and I finished up packing Spirit. When I left the house I ambled along the roads slowly watching my speedometer. I had remembered thankfully that I wanted to make a photo of the mileage and wanted to be somewhere quiet so I could stop when I wanted to. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psef3b9333.jpg Now how is that for a reading!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc01b065b.jpg I rode to Sobeys and did some shopping myself but unfortunately did not find much of any food I could eat for on the road, Seeing as I had a trailer to myself for a couple of days, I got some salad, avocado, cranberries, dressing and lots of other goodies that needed to be refrigerated. I found the cabin no problem, and made myself at home. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps705dbc29.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps173ae283.jpg View from inside the trailer Amazing how nice it feels to have a place to oneself! I am really turning into a hermit at my old age!! LOL. I got settled and relaxed for a bit before heading over to the cabin. I almost missed the turn off. Once there I spend the day helping Jim with the siding and relaxing at the cabin. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps367e550e.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7c4c2b8e.jpg Jim up in the rafters When it started getting darker I had to tell Florence not to cook for me. I was tired, craving some alone time, and the trailer was beckoning me. I wished everyone a good evening and hopped on Spirit. Once I got to the trailer I felt like I had gotten home. Amazing how a little place like that can make you relax and just be. I had been longing for the Salad and tofu I had bought, and whipped up an amazing salad with all the ingredients, yuuuummmmm, I can eat like this every night! I crawled in my sleeping bag afterward with the intention to read, but realized as soon as I lied down, that all I wanted to do was close my eyes. Even the loud noise outside of the sewage plant behind the trailer did not keep me awake. When I woke up in the morning I took my time. It was Saturday and Harvey’s family would arrive, and the place would be a zoo. I’m not comfortable around a lot of people, noise gets to me, and I haven’t quite figured out yet how to tune it out. Eckhart Tolle suggested in his book “The power of now” to just let it go through you, to pretend that you’re air and that it flows right through you without it bothering you. Hmmm, not getting it yet! So I got there around noon, but there was no one in sight other than Harvey and family. Turns out they were all at another cabin. Phew!! I helped Jim some more, this time with installing the garage door, and went to the party later. I rode Spirit down the trail, very bumpy trail, so I could ride back out in case it got too much for me. As it turned out only about 20 or so folks were there, including Harvey’s family, Jim and I. There was actually something I could eat, some mashed potatoes with apple, rice, and I had brought my own Indian food as well. Afterward I had snowballs, which were totally gluten free and vegetarian!! Wow, yummy. I forgot to ask Florence for the recipe!! Then while I was sitting with the ladies at the bonfire Jim and I were called to the deck in front of the house. They had a surprise for us!! We were to be skreetched in!! What the??? Harvey held a paddle that had some sort of dead slug thing on it, maybe a mussel? Anyways, he asked Jim, “Dyawannebeanufndlndr?” Say what? Haha, I did understand that though. Jim said Yes! Then he held the paddle before Jims face and Jim had to eat the slug….. Then, he asked me the same thing, and just out of curiosity to see what would happen if I said no, I answered no. He ignored that answer and held the paddle in front of my face. Luckily Florence went and put a candy on the paddle, and I grabbed it with my mouth and sis not quite eat it but held it long enough. Too sweet! The he made Jim and I repeat some other slang sentences that I had no idea what they meant. Jim drank skreetch (the rum left on the bottom of a barrel and supposedly tastes horrible, and I got some ultra sweet syruppy drink that did indeed taste horrible. Then they handed us a certificate, a pin and a Newfoundlander hat, and we were officially skreetched in http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb599a3b4.jpg Jim was just saying something when the picture was taken I ended up staying longer, and Harvey pulled out his guitar and started playing and singing, “Bye, bye miss American pie,” and everyone started singing around the campfire, including myself. Everyone was very drunk and having a great time. There was another guy there called Jim as well (I called him Jimbo) and he had walked up to me drunkenly, and told me life doesn’t get any better than this! I could see from the look on his face that he loved this moment and was as happy as a clam, but my heart filled with sadness when he said it because I realized that for me this wasn’t so. All I really wanted was to get back to the trailer and have some peace and quiet. I guess I am just not much of a social person. And my happiest moments are somewhere in nature with the wind blowing in the trees, the sound of the river or a brook and the birds singing. Then I realized that I also love spending time with my kids, because I love them. And I guess that is why he was so happy. He truly loved all the people around him and enjoyed their company. I was just a stranger in a strange land :D Around midnight I was ready to get out of there, but there was no way I felt comfortable enough to ride that rough road in the dark. I asked Florence for a ride back to the cabin (I could stay in the bunk bed again with Michael on the top and Jim in the other bed in the room. Turns out Michael had eaten was to much and was feeling really sick , so Florence drove of both to the cabin. I went to bed shortly after, but was woken not too much later by Jim and Florence having a lively drinking and talking session! LOL. I eventually fell asleep again. The next morning Michael gave me a ride on his mom’s ATV to the party cabin where Spirit was patiently waiting. I hoped on her and took off for Harvey’s cabin. Well I should rephrase that, tried to take off. The gravel in the curve was really deep, and I found myself not moving forward all of a sudden. Spirit’s rear wheel was spinning and not getting any traction and thump, there I went!. Luckily Michael and Pete (?) where right there and helped me up and pushed her out of the gravel hole the tire had dug. This time I actually made it to the dirt and to the cabin. Harvey, Florence, Michael and I went blueberry picking after breakfast; Jim wanted to stay and work on the garage. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdb59e68b.jpg Everyone was wearing rain gear, as it had started drizzling. Harvey had given me his old one-piece coverall, which had a hole in the crotch. It did not take too long before I had a wet seat, and had to stop to fill the hole with a plastic bag Jim had given me (which I forgot to return, oops) It stopped me from getting any wetter. We picked blueberries in the rain for over an hour, and decided to go back to the cabin instead of riding around the lake. It had just gotten too cold. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0d181892.jpg As I had not had enough sleep I was longing to go back to the trailer and rest for a while, so I said goodbye to everyone and headed back to Badger. Ahhh, bliss!! I made myself another salad, kicked back and had a wonderful evening. I swung by the cabin the next day just as Florence and Michael were leaving. They invited me to a BBQ that night at their house. I hung around a bit helped Jim and Harvey at one point, and relaxed. When Jim was done the both of us headed to Harvey’s home for dinner. It was a wonderful dinner and afterward the neighbor came by and us three girls started talking about our kids and such. I showed them pics of Travis and Tamara (my kids) and of the costumes I had made etc. Florence and I hooked up on Facebook too, she was going to send me the snowball recipe. We said out goodbyes and I took a photo of them. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3cab2b20.jpg Jim rode before me lighting the way. I think he was going too fast, as there were plenty of moose in the area, but we got to the turnoff to the trailer in one piece. There Jim met this guy who was starting a motorcycle store in Badger, also an ADVer who was glad to meet Jim, but didn’t even acknowledge me even though Jim introduced us. ?? that was a tad weird, but he was really into telling Jim all about his shop. After he left Jim and I hugged goodbye as well, as this was the last time we’d see each other in who knows how long. I rode to the trailer ready for another section of my journey. This time alone again. It had been a Joy riding with Jim, and sharing the beauty with the land. He is an amazing guy, and a lot more adaptable than me!! I get along with everyone and enjoy their company and getting to know them, but only for a certain amount of time, and then I need to retreat. Jim can spend hours among people and be totally at ease and talk a lot. I seem to run out of things to say after a while. He’s definitely more connected to the world than I am!! |
The next morning I got Spirit all packed up and chain greased and was really ready to hit the road again.
http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf7da0691.jpg Saying goodbye to my wonderful little retreat Heading back toward Deer Lake I made sure to stop and take a picture of this. I had seen it on my way to grand falls, but failed to stop then. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps49243b05.jpg Who would have thought!! A Hawaiian beach on Newfoundland!! The weather was great and I had planned to make it to Port aux Basque in one day. A long stretch for me! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8506e98c.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdd5ff577.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1b254903.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0bcab5c1.jpg Just had to take a pic of the amazing cloud formation Once I got to Deer Lake I stopped at the same Burger King again. The girls had remembered me from last time. Once rested I hopped back on Spirit and headed for Corner Brook; There I found the Dominion store that Florence had told me about. Wow!! What a variety of food, and they also had those Indian dinners I liked, and also Indian snacks and such. I stocked up for another 12 days. I was in heaven!! Feeling happy about not having to worry about where to buy food, I ambled toward Port aux Basque http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps015af188.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps74fef645.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps895a7bcb.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd752fd8b.jpg I loved this road!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1b61ed61.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c9d2b04.jpg I did take a little detour along the coast via Black Duck http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf62dcc01.jpg It wasn’t as pretty as I had hoped, but it was nice not having any traffic on the road with me. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse01b9e12.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5c7ede8f.jpg I must have aimed at something cause I was not taking a photo of this cloud on purpose. Still it’s quite a nice shot http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psadb0e8d6.jpg Looked like I was heading toward rain!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbd610434.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps28fd6acb.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaec01c41.jpg The mountains looked so Mystical!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps38753ce0.jpg When I got almost to Port aux Basque I was pretty darn tired, and didn’t feel like hunting for a spot to camp. There was a sign saying JT Cheeseman provincial park, and I turned unto the little dirt road. The camping was lovely and quiet, and only $15, so I went for it. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps951da705.jpg As it looked like rain, I decided to tarp up so I wouldn’t be stuck with a wet tent in the morning. There was a little wifi there, and a pay phone. On a whim I decided to make a reservation for the ferry. Good thing I did as I was supposed to be there 2 hours before. Luckily the camping was only 10 minutes from the ferry I got u at 7, having packed most everything in the evening, and was out of there by 9. It did rain in the night, and my tent was only slightly damp in areas close to the edge of the tarp. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse1959834.jpg It was a very misty ride to the Harbor As I got to the booth and gave them my name, the guy kept glancing behind me and waited. Finally he asked where the rest of the party was. When I told him I rode by myself he was really surprised. LOL, I get that a lot it seems. Lane 11 was all mine he said http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6e605329.jpg Yup no other riders. I went into the big building to see about a Nova Scotia map, and when I came back out found two other bikes parked near Spirit. Two guys, Alex and Ed were there, and they were heading back to I think Ontario, but also via Cape Breton. A guy and his wife in a motorhome were pulling a trailer with a bike in it. He told me the ferry fee for him was $500! Yikes!! He was really sweet and gave me a map of Nova Scotia and we talked about where to go for a while. He told us about a little ferry we should take to head to Cape Breton. He mentioned that he once bought a booklet with ferry tickets for cheap, $1.25 per ticket, that he still had. Now the ferry cost $5. I jokingly asked him why he told us that. He was pondering where he had them and disappeared. About 15 minutes later he was back, and handed each of us a little ferry coupon. Awwww. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1ceac4a5.jpg The ferry, no rain but really fine mist was in the air At around 10:45 they started boarding and we were first to go. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3ec7f476.jpg I loved the way we could anchor the bikes. We got 4 straps each and 4 anchor points. Spirit didn’t move a mm!! I grabbed my laptop, some snack bars, chips and camera and went upstairs. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3c95e12f.jpg One last look at Newfoundland, knowing I’d be back in the Spring http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfb475f81.jpg I walked all the way to the front and scored a table with outlets in front of the window looking out to the front of the boat. Yippee Ed and Alex showed up a bit later, but went to find another spot to sit; closer to the door as they smoked. I made myself at home and started downloading my photos from the camera to the laptop. Before I knew it the boat had started moving. There was definitely a lot of rocking motion, and I was hoping I wouldn’t get seasick. I basically told myself not to, mind over manner. I did get a tad queasy occasionally, but pushed it away More later, especially the rescue videos, as I still have a lot to type up |
Keep it coming NomadGal :scooter::clap:
I'm thoroughly enjoying your comprehensive reports :thumbup1: |
The ferry ride was fun. I also met Phil and his dad Ken, and they sat down at the table next to me. We talked about riding and bikes etc. Then Alex and Ed showed up too as the air in the other sitting area was getting stale.
I had cell reception most of the time and kept texting my dad, I also went outside a few times. It was amazing the amount of wind op on deck. I had to lean forward just to walk forward or I would be blown away!! LOL http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc5c1adee.jpg The helideck. I kept snacking a lot which kept the queasiness at bay, but at some point the snacks were gone and I was getting hungry. There was an announcement a little while before, but nobody could understand what was being said, exempt for the words delayed. Seeing as Jim had once again given me $200 to keep me going he said (he's kinda my guardian angel :D ), I figured I could actually afford to eat something in the restaurant. So I stopped and asked the waitress if they had salad. Nope they didn't. Only fish and chips for dinner, and the chips were fried in the oil with the fish. Hmmm, bummer. I told her I was a vegetarian so I couldn't eat that. I went back to the table and sat down, but after a minute she came to me and asked if I would like stir fried vegetables in a ginger sauce with rice! Heck yes!! That was so sweet of the cook to make me something special. Ti top it off it was very reasonable, $13. I went to the table where Ed sat eating his fish and chips and jinxed him for dinner. Later Alex showed up too and had fish and chips. I wished I had thought of taking a photo of them, but I didn't. When we were done and headed back to the table by the window (Phil kindly offered to watch my stuff) we noticed a lot of people there now looking outside. We asked what was going on. Turns out that the announcement had said that the captain had to detour to respond to an emergency beacon. A fishing boat had gone down and ours was the closest ship in the area. He had spend the last hour honing in on the emergency beacon, keeping his eyes open for the boat. We all intently stared out of the window to search for the ship or worse the survivors in case the ship had gone down. Then one of the ship employees outside on the front of the ship was pointing to the right. He had seen the sunken boat. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psedf09d01.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscccdfa3e.jpg zoomed in you can actually read Bradl I am guessing Bradley or something. Then another ship employee started pointing to the left, and she had seen the lifeboat in the distance. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd7cdf754.jpg The paper said the weather conditions were perfect, but boy, to me it seemed really misty and if it hadn't been for the smoke I might not have seen them at all. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1677dff5.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps80243ee0.jpg Search plane http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3c2005fa.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psef49b0b3.jpg Another fishing boat must have heard the distress signal too, and they showed on the scene. At least the ferry was big enough for them to find us :lol3 The captain had already ordered the life boat to be uncovered and the crew was ready to lower it, but now they could stop as it would be so much easier for the fishing boat to get to them, Boy what an excitement! I was glad the crew of the sunken ship was okay! The ferry changed course back to where we were originally going and continued on. We were still a good hour or so away from North Sydney. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps57695fce.jpg The sun was starting to set and it had also started raining, Yikes! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd550aa32.jpg When we finally got of the boat it was nearly dark. I had said goodbye to the guys, who were also going to look for a spot to camp for the night, and headed out of North Sydney. I was surprised not to see them in my rear view mirror even though they said they were heading the same way, but I figured they might have stopped for gas. Once outside town I found a road veering north into a more remote area, or so I thought. It turned out to not be so remote at all, lots of houses nestled in the trees, lots of farms, and the road itself was very bumpy and old. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a no exit sign….. Okay, that looked promising. I looped around and took it. It was a dirt road that all of a sudden seemed to steeply go down, but that had a nice flat area on the left right before it . I stopped Spirit right there and decided it was good enough. I used my little GoalZero light and hung it on the handlebars, so I could see what I was doing. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps143d32f4.jpg I was exhausted and as I had already eaten on the ship, I crawled straight in bed. A in the tree near me kept making this strange call, over and over again. I have no idea what bird it was, but I figured seeing as it was making a bunch of noise, it meant that no bears were nearby. Right before drifting off I heard a dog bark in the distance and some cows mooing. Yep a farm nearby. The night was dry and I had slept great. I kept lying in bed waiting for the sun to pop up and warm up the tent, which it did not too much later. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps973dc133.jpg Yep, I actually found a really nice, albeit a tad muddy, camping spot. I took my usual time and left for Cape Breton. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse0f06dc1.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps49e69a9a.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscfde5ce3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9933a177.jpg My trusty Spirit. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb05202a0.jpg I would be taking the little ferry there Sometimes you have a moment in your life that shows you that everything happens as it should. On my way to the little ferry I ended up missing the turn, and had to loop around. The error took maybe 5/6 seconds or so, ere I had quickly made a circle unto the right road. As I was heading down to the ferry I saw a road to the right in the distance, and a little red car was coming downhill. Now I know that there was a stop sign at the end of that street, but the little red car did not even slow down. it kept going right through unto the road I was on and kept going. The lady hadn't even looked to the left! Now if I had not missed the turn, I would have been right in that spot and gotten creamed, seeing as she would not have seen me. That gave me goosebumps!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c22630a.jpg The ferry. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd8a4ccf8.jpg Turns out that the little ferry ticket I got given was still valid! Awesome. The guy kinda smiled when he saw it. I asked him if two other bikers had come by already, but he said no. Hmmm, I wonder what happened to Ed and Alex? |
Continues….
I wash now on Cape Breton and from the brochures it promised to be a gorgeous ride. Jim had told me also how beautiful it was, and had told me about a tibetan monastery near Pleasant Bay.
http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb44713c9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps63a56844.jpg As I got to the Provincial Park I did have to pay an entrance fee, even if I only rode through. Luckily it was only $7.80. Strange amount! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse149642e.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psec0ed36d.jpg This reminded me so much of Kauai that it felt I was back there again. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps981f1bc3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3813fc8.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b5d6ca4.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa250c973.jpg Breath taking!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psba4486d7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9c632952.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps13659fb2.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1063234a.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfae5906b.jpg Once I got to Pleasant Bay I remembered I had to take the turnoff toward Red Bay. It turned to red dirt in no time. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps084296a0.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps587c262e.jpg what an awesome location! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps89557946.jpg Found it! As I was sitting in front of the entrance wondering if I could look around even though the sign said tours closed, a young happy monk in red robes appeared and walked up to me. He told me I was allowed to walk around and check things out, and I should also take a walk to the Stupa of enlightenment. Cool. I said thank you and parked spirit in the gravel parking lot. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps24bf3ab9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfca81850.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps137ebcea.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps74189875.jpg When I arrived at the stupa, what did I see?? Another biker! I walked up and said Hi. It was a young guy, mid twenties my guess, and he showed me his small ivory elephant that he included in most of his pictures. I had to laugh, I told him I had a friend who did the same thing, but with a little monkey. We talked a while about camping and such, and he mentioned that he saw an area that might be great for camping near an old abandoned house. We said bye and he left. I took my time and walked around to take pictures. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscae37918.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps257d6fe1.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1bf81d00.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps98514060.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0d83de43.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb1e2d901.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps087966dc.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf9b8fd79.jpg As I got back to Spirit the same guy was sitting in front of her on his bike. He told me that if I would like to camp with him tonight that he had found an awesome spot. It was still early, but I felt that it would be nice to put up camp nearby in such a wonderful location. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6eefe44a.jpg I followed him, |
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Wow!!! amazing!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps074e5bb3.jpg We pitched our tents near the edge, not as near as Grant had originally wanted to put his! He was about to pitch it about a foot from the edge when I asked him if he sleepwalked. LOL, "I don't' think so he said," but I see what you mean. It probably would have been fine, but as it turned out the wind picked up and being behind the trees helped buffer some of it. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps739ce138.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps03bba018.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa9e39493.jpg In case you find yourself on Cape Breton, and in Pleasant Bay wanting to find a cool camp spot, just head toward Red Bay and rich before you hit the monastery, you'll see this turn. This is where the spot is :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc555f435.jpg Grant was almost out of bass, so he went to fill up his tank about half an hour from where we were, and got back an hour or so later. Seeing as he had a fire in mind we spend the next half hour getting firewood. There were a lot of dead dry trees nearby that had been blown over it looked like, yard ago. Grant had a saw so he did all the heavy work, and me I bundled it up and carried it to the campsite. Earlier I had gotten some birch bark of a tree and it makes the best fire starter!! Later I introduced him to the Indian food, and cooked us a meal. He was going to have oatmeal for dinner, so I figured he could probably do with something a tad tastier. I told him I cook, you start a fire, sounded like a deal to him. We had dinner sitting on the edge of the cliff, by a fire, watching the sunset, it was just a perfect evening!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps72a8719d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9475bc7f.jpg I grabbed his pot for show, haha, could't believe the huge pans he was carrying, but it was great he had as I had dumped twee meals and a full pack of rice into it for dinner. My biggest little pan would not have held all that! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps88719ab5.jpg The sun was almost gone http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0747258b.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1071ee11.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscd6d26d9.jpg We talked about all sorts of stuff and had a really wonderful night. Grant had been saying that he's only been traveling for two weeks, but he had camped by himself the whole time, and that he missed company. It was really enjoyable spending the evening with him, and it struck me how well we got along even with our huge age difference. (my son I think is only 2 years or so younger). As the firewood was finally all done I wished him goodnight and crawled in the tent. The moon had already risen and Grant folded back the sides of his tent so he could see it while lying down. Yeah, that would be cool to have a sunroof on the tent!! (idea for tent manufactures??) I slept absolutely wonderful, something about the location, very good vibes!!! Grant had only 6 days to make it home and over 2000 miles to go. He was from Wisconsin and actually made cheese!! I never knew that "good" provolone had part of a cow's glands in it. Okay, that sounded to gross for me!! Glad I never really ate much cheese, other than some rennet free Jack or mozzarella. I was tempted to stay, but had the feeling I should go.We both broke up camp and were done almost at the same time. I would have liked to have ridden with him for a while, but knew he was in a time jam, so I thought he shouldn't wait for me. I said you aren't waiting for me are you? nay later I realized that he might have misconstrued my question to think I didn't want to ride along, as he said no, I'm about to leave. Language for me is sometimes a very difficult thing!! I have a tendency to phrase things wrong , grrr. I wished him safe travels, and we exchanged emails. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa1ec44dc.jpg Right before he left he noticed the rainbow behind us. I left a few minutes later heading for New Brunswick, as it turned out that I would not be able to make it to Halifax and back with the amount of money I had left. Instead I decided to go to PEI and spend the last few days of freedom there. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pse21f7d1f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps537fa102.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps59269794.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7bfafcd2.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps686c140d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps47f87384.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6e0914ea.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb30de74d.jpg When I got to Cheticamp I found a cure coffee/tea/cookies and cake house. The girl who ran it said she would be closing it soon, as most of the tourists were gone now. I was glad she was still open. I got a cup of tea and sat down inside to use the internet. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf1d9766f.jpg LOL I spend a couple of hours there and gave her a toony as she didn't have anything else there I could eat. It was around 5 when I left and I knew I had to find a place soon. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6b65e2b9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6a2e3da2.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4bc4e458.jpg I got to Cape George around 7-ish, and saw a really neat place to camp http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps586c7428.jpg yeah, lots of no camping signs around, bummer After having taken a break there and eaten a few snacks, I headed along the coastline in search of a good spot. I saw a small dirt road that veered toward the ocean, and took it. BAD IDEA!!!! I picked a wrong road and it became obvious almost instantly, but the road was slanted to the right and I couldn't park Spirit nor turn around as it was too narrow. A also couldn't push her up hill if I had tried to manually turn her around. The only course of action was to keep riding an hopefully there would be a spot wide or flat enough for me to turn her around. Well that was another bad decision, but the only one I could make. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps890d9941.jpg Hmmmmm :huh http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps89e5f993.jpg At one point I couldn't go forward anymore as a lot of branches were covering the road. At least I was able to park Spirit and get off, so I spend 15 minutes ceasing the debris and make a space large enough to turn her around, or so I thought. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8b2c8e90.jpg As it turned out I wasn't able to kept the handlebars locked to the right to make the turn, it was too bumpy and I didn't have the strength to keep her going without loosing my footing. I really did not want to drop her. Her turning radius is not that great either!! So Here I was, her front wheel as far as it could go, stopped at a huge tree stump, her butt still uphill so I couldn't push her back either. For a while I was pondering getting my straps and tying them to some trees and to keep tightening them until I had backed her up, but all I could see happening is the kickstand sinking in and thumping her over. Screw it I though and decided to see if I could find some help. As I made it back to the road I saw a car pass, and the guy behind the wheel waved. Aww shucks, I didn't even try and stop him, but I figured he was by himself and might not have had the strength to help either, so I sat down by the side of the road, enjoyed the remaining sunshine over the trees, and relaxed. Sotting there on a really quiet and rarely traveled road, reminded me of the guy who wrote a book about his travels (darn can't remember the title). He was in India and his bike had broken down, so he just sat under a tree relaxed and waiting to see what the future had in mind for him. He wasn't worried and knew that at some pint someone would be by to help. I decided to do the same and enjoyed the sun ad the sound of the birds. The trees were moving with the wind and it was very beautiful and peaceful. I felt totally happy and at easy even in this precarious situation I had gotten myself in. I think I sat there for about 15 minutes when I heard a truck heading my way. I got up and soon saw indeed a truck coming up. I waved my arms in the usual distress way and they immediately stepped on their brakes and pulled into the little road. I told them I had gotten myself in a bit of a pickle and needed their help. Turns out there were 6 guys in the truck! Amazing. They walked down with me where Spirit was still standing (Phew, was wondering if she still was) and helped me turn her around. Unfortunately the grass and mud where too slippery and after several tires I found myself only about 100 feet further. Spirit kept stalling and I almost dropped her several time. I finally got off and suggested maybe we all push her up the muddy hill. That went so much easier!! In no time we were at the truck and I parked her safe and sound. I was soaking wet and overheated but totally happy that I was back near the road. I thanked them all and took a picture, of them asking them if they would mind being on the internet. They didn't |
The rest of it :)
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I told them I had a lot of reader and tow guys gave me their cards and said well if you do and any of them come this way, maybe you could post these too to get us some business. I promised I would before I looked at their cards. LOL, now I am promoting the death of some fish, but a promise is a promise. I thanked them again, and some of the guys were saying I are their day, they were genuinely happy to have helped! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps987ac589.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5c8d05ec.jpg What made me go down there???? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1bcf32c7.jpg I hopped back on Spirit and kept riding, it was near sunset now and was debating wether or not to just pay for a provincial park when I noticed a long gravel road with a land for sale sign on it. I decided to give finding a free spot one more try. Wow!! I hit the jackpot this time! I parked Spirit and walked around a bit. It turned out that the hug hill I saw was accessible on the side and I could ride Spirit right up to the bluff overlooking the ocean. Piece of cake, I had found my spot for the night! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps22de9ad7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa5561969.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps82e8a74d.jpg Needless to say I conked out in no time!! It was wonderfully quiet all night, with the moon up and the wind in the trees. I could even hear the ocean, a sound I love so well… The next morning was sunny, and I decided to take a day of and kick back http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps22d70d70.jpg I spend a warm day relaxing, and got a bit sunburned. Once I hear a truck pull in, but I was behind the rocks so they couldn't see me. The next day I hit the road heading for PEI http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7052456c.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb5bd2f67.jpg At one of the gas stations. LOL In New Glasgow I found a Sobey's that had vegetarian sushi rolls, and salad. I also got some more almond milk and paper towels. Right before Tatamagouche I saw a little park with benches and stopped there to eat. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0a96c190.jpg It was delicious, but I have to say I was shocked at the strength of this particular wasabi!! Holy cow, it was so strong I could feel it all the way up my neck to the crown of my head, it actually physically hurt!!! I ended up scraping most of it off the sushi, but still, I could feel it every bite. Never had that happen before! Afterward I rode through Tatamagouche, I just love the sound of that name!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8a771aaf.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0e4e1d74.jpg Then if was off to Port Elgin http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9a404083.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4b56dd81.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9d5265eb.jpg I knew that once on this bridge there was no turning back. the fee to cross it was $18!! I was hoping it was worth it… http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd00eb3b8.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps657f93c1.jpg Nothing but water! ONce on the island I stopped at the visitor info, as I had no idea what PEI looked like. I was shocked when I saw the map! Road after road after road……. Not much free space anywhere. My heart sank in my shoes cause it didn't look like I would be able to find much of any stealth sports. Looking closer at the map I did notice a few dirt roads along the coast line, so I headed toward Seacow Head light house. When I got there a beautiful lighthouse caught my eye, and behind it a grassy field where an RV had parked for the night, A guy walked up to me and I asked him what the deal was with camping here. He said he didn't really know, but I could ask Tom the owner who lived near the silo in the distance, and walked off. Later he came back after I took some photos of the lighthouse and the coast, and said that I could most likely stay, and that Tom wouldn't mind. He himself had rented the little lighthouse cabin. Then he mentioned that I should go check out the spot behind the RV and walk down there. He said it was his wife's favorite spot. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps450f61a6.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbe45434f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps26126895.jpg I pitched my tent behind the bush so the RV could not see me nor me them. Then after I was all done I walked to the spot the guy told me about. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf1958128.jpg Awesome!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps30f30bc3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps98d188c9.jpg Both he and his wife showed up for sunset, and we got to talking. It turned out that he used to own the farm and the property years ago, and had sold it to Tom. The rest later as I haven't even loaded the photos up to photo bucket yet. I thought I had, but nope, hadn't…... |
I finally have a moment to post the almost last part of my RR.
I'd better backtrack to where I left off… http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps56e63fd8.jpg Woke up in the middle of the night and saw the moon setting over the sea. The following morning was sunny and I was utterly mellowed out by the sound of the waves. I wondered about a bit and took some flower pics http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psed596e87.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psca080053.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps55b12a15.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8b9a08d7.jpg Not exactly a flower but so adorable!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psabead228.jpg Left the camp spot around noon, as I figured PEI was small. Haha, was I ever wrong! I wasn't wrong about how crowded it would be. Everywhere I went there were houses or farms, no wilderness whatsoever. I wanted to ride through the little town of Alaska, so I went North-West. The coast line was pretty, but I was starting to feel that PEI just wasn't my cup of tea. I rode through the village of Alaska, but could not find a town sign anywhere! Bummer! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9031da9d.jpg I kept riding and hugging the shore line when the road turned to dirt. Then I noticed a small road veering off and saw the ocean in the distance. I went down it and saw to my delight a big grassy area to my left. A perfect camping spot!! I decided to go find a town to put some gas in my tank and get water. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psf15d20a1.jpg Red sand beaches are pretty amazing http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f81bf06.jpg Loads of wind mills I found the town of O'leary and put the last of my travel money (other than the 18 for the bridge fee) in the tank. They had a water faucet there and the gal behind the counter filled up my large Nalgene bag with water. That would last me a while!! Then I rode back to the spot I had found and pitched my tent. Occasionally a truck and trailer with boat would show up, and I would hear them head out to sea to go fishing. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2e5cf955.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb1cdd828.jpg It was a nice wide-open space and a solid breeze cooled of the otherwise hot afternoon. I was really happy that I ha found this little red beach, as it looked almost impossible to find some non suburban bit of land on PEI. I calculated that I had enough gas in my tank to make it to Moncton, which meant I would have to stay put for a day or so as Rory wasn’t expecting me til Friday. This place was so quiet that I felt peaceful and content. The night came up quite fast and with it an amazing sunset the I wasn’t quite able to see all the way. I was sitting in my tent cooking dinner when the sun finally made it behind the little hill, and the instant drop in temperature was shocking!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psc6182e53.jpg That night was so cold, I think down to 5 degrees Celcius, that I actually put my wool sweater on inside my sleeping bag. By morning heard dripping, it turned out to be the condensation inside the tent. I love my MSR, but that is a definite con about the tent. They should have made vent holes on the top, like the Eureka I had. The next day was hot as can be, and I started boiling in the tent early on, so I spend most of the day outside in the sun, or in the shade that Spirit made. There were trees behind me, and I was just about ready to grab the hammock and string it up when the clouds started moving in. It cooled down to a very comfy temp after that. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps545b0c5c.jpg Even put my sweater and woolen mittens on http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa821ff15.jpg The moon was on its way down early in the morning http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa7382bff.jpg I would have stayed there another day and just head straight to Rory’s on Friday, but the forecast for Friday was cloudy and chance of rain, and I figured I’d rather ride a short distance in the rain than a long one, so I packed up Thursday morning and rode back via Alaska to the bridge. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8cd0e5e3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps158bd9f2.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps06eaf596.jpg Looks like they were ready for Halloween and Thanksgiving! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaec67dd6.jpg My plan had been to stop at the visitor center and pick up a map of New Brunswick, as I had lost the east coast map somehow. Well, wouldn’t you know it, they were closed due to a power outage! No map! Rory had suggested a few areas to me where I might camp, and I found out too late that there was actually an ADVer living nearby. I rode to Shediac along the coast and it was just as hard to find a place, if not harder, then on PEI. In Shediac I found the library and used it to google some remote areas. There was a Shediac River road and it looked like I might be able to find some dirt roads on it and camp there. House after house graced the road, and I figured I’d be out of luck here, until I saw a for sale sign that looked like it had seen better days. The little gravel road looked like it hadn’t seen a car in months, so I turned on it. At the end of it was a nice small clearing bordered by a forest. Perfect!! I pitched my tent and stayed there for a couple of days, the first night extremely cold, and the second night a very rainy one but warmer. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b2a3e0e.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps980428d8.jpg This time the overgrown trail was ok. I didn’t think I’d run into another nightmare like on Nova Scotia :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psea43f16d.jpg The next day, to prevent overheating in my tent, I strung my hammock in the forest http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps767a4706.jpg Amazing how beautiful grasshoppers are!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps33347846.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps05e24c67.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps57697c57.jpg I almost didn’t take a picture of this flower, but I felt sorry for it that I didn’t, so I took a close up. And wouldn’t you know it, only upon looking closer do I see that it is a really beautiful flower, in it that it has a lot of little yellow flowers in the center of the sparse white petals. It rained Thursday night and it sounded wonderful. The sun was out on Friday, against all odds, and I hung around and waited for the tent to dry. I made it to Moncton around 1, but decided to hang at Starbucks for a while to download a gazillion pictures, and try and catch up on my RR. I had texted my ex (we are good friends) the night before and asked if I could borrow $20 for food on the plane or at the gate, and he put a hundred in my account, Awwwww. So I figured I could have a tea and snack at Starbucks. Afterward I stopped at the gluten free store at the back of the shopping center, and bought a gluten and dairy free pizza, as Rory had texted me that they were having pizza and had left a piece for me without meat. I had to tell him I couldn’t have any of it anyways, so bringing my own pizza sounded like fun. As I arrived Maria was just heading out of the door to go to a movie with a friend, and Rory and I had fun trying to get the oven to turn on!! LOL I slept great that night and spent the next day getting ready for my trip home. As it turns out, Kauai children's Theatre contacted me a while back and asked me if I could please come back to Kauai to build a 12 foot dragon for their fall production of Shrek. As I was getting rather broke I thought it would be a great idea to get back to Kauai for a while, work on the dragon, see my son and make some money for the trip. This is what I will be building, but 5 feet smaller as the ceiling in our theater is not that high! http://www.character-shop.com/pictur...shrekdrag1.jpg |
Great dialogue:
I dont know if you are still checking your blog since you are back in Kuai. But I just wasnted to echo what a number of other people have said about how they enjoyed your reports. It would be interesting to hear how things are going while you might be contemplating your next adventure. Take care and happy holidays. Im sure it will be different than your one in Alaska.http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...s/biggrin2.gif
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Gimli. Not only the dwarf, the Gimli Glider is a famous story about an airline flight that ran out of fuel and did a dead-stick landing on a drag strip at Gimli! Quite a story. Be sure and track it down. Rob |
snoring corection device???
Dont tell my wife about this snoring correction device. Her elbow in my ribs ia bas enough :). Keep the great pics and blog coming....:thumbup1:
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Hi
Will you ship your motorcycle to Europe? |
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I know I still haven't posted the end of my journey, or how my dragon turned out. I will try to do so as soon as I can, Meanwhile:
Mele Kalikimaka http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psae31d56f.jpg Aloha! Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas! Nothing Much changed here, I'm still on Kauai, :palm: still haven't found a place to live. and still staying with a friend (who is hoping I'll find something soon :D ) I will be checking out a place the day after Christmas, keeping my fingers crossed that this is a nice place with a nice person. Have to do the room mate scene as the rents here have sky rocketed due to lack of housing availability. I miss the snow, and Spirit, but do have some work, and will hopefully be able to save some for spring time. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa5dbbaf9.jpg Lots of rainbows on Kauai http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c434d91.jpg Hau'oli Makahiki Hou Means Happy New year Will continue this thread in the spring once i am back in New Brunswick |
I am among many who look forward with anticipation to the next round. Personally if I never see snow again I will be just fine. Thanks for a great story.
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On the road again
I'm in Moncton!!
Just a brief "ride" report today, more like a fly report :laugh: The day I left was rather crazy. Got up early as Mel decided to do a photo shoot of Mokan and Nokan, and a short film shoot early in the morning. Of course he had to have me there to help the guys into their costumes. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psu87fychy.jpg These are their heads, the mouth opens and closes and the eyes move left and right. (so far) Then the guys he hired to portal the characters had way too big a heads to wear the puppet heads, so I ended up being one of the characters. As you've probably guessed, this took longer than he anticipated. I finally put my foot down and told him I needed to get back home to take a shower and clean the bathroom ere I left. Got to the airport in time though. Then I found out that even though you may book certain seats during your reservation, it doesn't mean that you actually get them!! Turns out they erased my seats and put me slap dab in the middle between two rather obese persons!!! Needless to say I could not breathe without touching either of them. For someone like me, who doesn't even like being around more than a few folks, the situation was rather distressing. I looked around me to see if there might be another seat open somewhere, and noticed that the whole row behind me was empty. Hmmmmmm, then decided to ask the air hostess if I could sit there if none showed up. She said I could, but that they were waiting for those folks to show up. I decided to put my bag of home made cupcakes on the seat behind me, as a "I got first dibs" message. After five minutes of watching the isle and see if anyone else boarded, the door closed. Well, I don't think you've ever seen any one jumped up that fast! I climbed over the person sitting next to me, and grabbed the empty window seat.:clap: The air hostess saw me and walked up, shaking her head and laughing. She told me I must be a very lucky person (she doesn't know the half of it!!). I spend a blissful 4 1/2 hours flying to San Francisco. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psnrhrhiep.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psvpp0gy2i.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psgwbhrv8t.jpg The pilot got us there in record time, as it normally takes 5 1/2 to 6 to get to the mainland from Kauai. In San francisco I found a deli that had fresh dolmas in their deli section, as well as tabouli and other good vegan stuff. I got the dolmas and they were delicious!! The flight to Toronto was long, I did have a window seat, but crawling over two guys to go to the bathroom, is not much fun. I was glad I had my hidden object game on the laptop, and kept myself busy and awake. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdhlssz53.jpg The moon above the clouds http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pskuids1te.jpg A socket in the seat in front of me!!! Awesome! I charged my laptop during the flight. Air Canada also had some pretty good meals, and I opted for the spinach salad. My luck they still had one :). I gave her my debit card, and it turns out they only take credit cards, sniff. I handed her the salad back, but I guess she felt sorry for me as I had been so happy that there was a salad left, and told me to go ahead and just eat it. So I got a free dinner to boot!! Once in Toronto I went through customs no problem, and waited for my suitcase a while. I kept noticing a speaker message playing every few minutes and decided to listen. It said that passengers coming from Oahu or San Francisco didn't need to get their luggage from the baggage claim but could go straight to their connecting flight. I waited a little while longer to make sure my suitcase wasn't there, and walked to the other terminal. This time there was a little plane getting us to Moncton!! Cool http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psx3ofqevh.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8dhfz3gp.jpg Wow, tiny tires!! The flight was short, but the guy next to me was rather intrusive, he had his legs all relaxed and spread out taking up half of my foot space!! I know I should have said something, but decided to just squash myself against the wall and window and enjoy the flight. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbo6jqxsu.jpg In Moncton I stood at the carousel for a while, until it became obvious that my suitcase did not make it there. :eek3: :eek3: :eek3: :eek3: :eek3: Went to the baggage claim window and filed for a lost suitcase. Should I have waited longer, was the broadcasted message wrong? According to the guy there, yes, you always have to pick up the luggage when going through customs. Paul (Rory's friend and storer of Spirit) walked up, he had come to give me a ride to his house. Very sweet, and as it turned out very lucky for me, as I would have just stayed there for however long it took them to find my suitcase. I was exhausted and my brain just about shut down as I hadn't slept, but remembered to ask Paul if we could stop by Canadian Tire to get some Rotella-T. Paul and Marilyn live in an old but beautiful farm house, and gave me a room to myself. I tried to stay up but didn't manage, and took a two hour nap. We had a wonderful evening together with a good dinner and lots of stories, and by nine I was done for and crawled in bed. Slept 12 hours………... Today after a good steel cut oats breakfast, I started working on Spirit. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdirytw3h.jpg Changed her oil, cleaned the air filter (much needed) and put in her battery. Then around lunch time I got a call from Baggage claim, they found my suitcase! It was still in San Francisco!!! Whet the….????? It should be here tonight he said. So now I am about to put the air filter back in as it is dry, and hopefully she'll start right up!! |
Welcome Back
Have been anxiously waiting for your return to the road. Enjoyed all your pass commentary of your prior adventures on the road. Waiting to hear where your next destination takes you. Take care.:D
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Lets see….. what day is it?? :cool4:
It’s Tuesday, and I am currently in Camden Maine sitting on a comfy seat in a house that belongs to a friend of mine from Kauai, actually the same friend who gave me Spirit. The ride here was awesome, a great start of this next chapter of my journey. Let me go back a few days….. My suitcase arrived two days after I did, but at least it got there, yippee!! Everything was still in there, customs must have wondered about the camping stuff in there :biggrin3: That same day I went grocery shopping on Spirit (it was the day before leaving) and I felt a little wobbly while riding (should have known it wasn’t me!) I figured I’d been off her for almost nine months, so it was normal. It felt great riding again. I found a little health-food place far out of town, and I parked in the dirt parking lot (of course without checking the ground first), and when I went to put my feet down, I discovered to my dismay that they weren’t reaching the ground! By the time they finally did Spirit was leaning over too far for me to hold her, and I had to let her go down. Luckily a guy saw what happened and helped me get her up, I had just filled up the tank, which made her really top heavy (drawback of the 7 gallon tank) Well, no harm done, and now I had dropped her once, I figured I had gotten it out of my system and that would be it (little did I know). Found my way back no problem (Thanks again Jettn Jim!! That XOG is a lifesaver!!!) I packed up fairly early in the morning, a little nervous, but also excited, to be out on my own on the road again. I said goodbye to my wonderful hosts http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbxroa0le.jpg Paul and Marilyn in the garage http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0y5mpkc2.jpg Both of them working hard getting the nails out of the wood, so they can burn it in the winter to keep the garage warm. He stores a lot of motorcycles here in the winter for a variety of riders. Paul was worried for me, which I found really sweet, I felt we were two kindred spirits. Marilyn his wife reminded me so very much of my step mom Henny, who passed away a little over a year ago, that I had to stop once in a while and watch her. She didn’t look exactly the same, but similar, but her mannerism and voice were very much the same. I waved bye, as they were about to go spray the ground around the Christmas trees, bummer, but yeah… As I was bypassing Moncton I really felt like something was wrong with the front tire, and slowly it dawned on my that I had a Heidenau on the front, still he same one Doug had given me, and those always feel and look solid, but I hadn’t given her a real pressure test (what was I thinking, or not thinking?) Luckily there was a gas station shortly after my little eureka moment, and I checked it. 20 psi, no wonder!! Of course a tire would lose air sitting for such a long time. I filled her up and checked the back one, 35psi! This tire had not lost a single psi!! Go Shinko!!! I hopped back on Spirit, and wow, what a difference, we were good to go. :w00t: As usual, the first moments of riding are always accompanied by a variety of thoughts: Why am I doing this? Will I find a place to camp for the night? Is Spirit going to give me problems again? What will the weather be like? Are there bears around? Etc, etc. But luckily as this was the third time starting out after a prolonged break, I could draw from my experience and tell myself that everything was going to be great. I wasn’t going to worry about anything and just believe that a great camping spot would appear when it was time, that Spirit would be great, and that this time I would just enjoy the ride west where I would eventually find a place to settle down. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psli9jzi3q.jpg The peaceful feeling of a wide-open road, without traffic My plan was to head toward the St. Martin area via the coast, and find a spot to pitch my tent for a few days. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7mv4kh9m.jpg The Chocolate river, you can see why http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psgiqaudiu.jpg Lots of brown clay dirt http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscc0njphs.jpg Looks like there are a lot of covered bridges in New Brunswick http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psguopndki.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psqn2n2lth.jpg The beams under the bridge were seriously warped, but it looked like they were supported by metal cables now, so the bridge wouldn’t collapse. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psexqrod7p.jpg As soon as I entered into Fundy National Park I hit road work! Go figures. Parts of that road were really rough, with fist-sized rocks piled together. No problem for Spirit, but boy, I sure would have hated riding a Harley or Goldwing over that!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psxgohndvw.jpg Spring is in the air!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1x4xlft5.jpg I decided to take the little detour and check out St Martin, another covered bridge. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psmopgnx52.jpg Amazing rock formation I took the road up the hill, hoping to see some nice views, but after a while realized that it was just a suburban area, and went to turn around using someone’s driveway. Should have looked better as it turned out that most of it was rocks and sand. Needless to say I felt Spirit slip sideways in the curve, and again I didn’t have the strength to stop her from topping over. Ahhhh, twice in two days!! A young fella stopped his car and helped me get her up; it was a struggle as she kept sliding in the sand while we tried to lift her. I ended up taking the bag off the back, and that helped. He wanted to wait until I was off again, but I told him to just go ahead, that I would be fine, and I was. I got her turned around and headed down hill again http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psumzpor65.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps19jtfu0q.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psnozv1hzc.jpg Close-up of the cliffs, gorgeous!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8jbyez5c.jpg Spring came late here; the leaves on the tree look barely a week old There were more houses here than I had thought there would be, so finding a quiet camping spot around here turned out to be futile, I would have better luck past St. John, so I kept on riding. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psw4ijtvyc.jpg As I was going down hill I passed a little beach to my left, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a picnic table sitting in some grass. I decided to find a spot up the road to turn around and take a peek http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4jde8oul.jpg View from up the road http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6inxiika.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psft3d2qxk.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psi2wqirdj.jpg Now why on Earth did I ride up to the beach????? I did good though, I pushed her back manually, not sitting on the bike, and got to a spot where I had a big enough area to turn the her around facing forward. Then I started her up and walked alongside until I could park on somewhat solid and even ground. Yippee, made that hurdle!! I had to boost my self esteem after I had dropped her :laugh: I rode through St. John, and headed for Dipper harbor. On the left side of the road I suddenly noticed a nice smooth dirt road heading toward the bay, I turned around and took it. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psknc7tzoy.jpg Wow, what a nice road, and it looked very promising as for as finding a camping spot goes. I noticed one area to the left with a fire pit, but it looked messy. The road dead-ended near a factory with locked gates and blocked off with huge boulders. Didn’t look like this entrance was used anymore. So I turned around and happen to stumble upon and overgrown driveway to the left. I parked Spirit and walked up the little road. It was perfect, and by the looks of it no one had been driving on this road for a long time. Still, it was spring now, and maybe someone might show up and go to wherever the road went. I walked down it a bit but it kept on going, so I turned around. I decided to check out the spot with the fire pit, but when I got there it was worse then I had seen in that quick drive-by. It was littered with beer bottles, soda cans, trash bags, and other pieces of garbage. Absolutely disgusting! So I decided to take my chance on the overgrown driveway. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psla7ozsdt.jpg I pitched my tent and shortly after it began to rain. Just for a little and then the sky cleared, but along with it came the cold! Boy was I freezing! I cooked a little supper to warm up, and crawled in my sleeping bag early. I was glad I had decided to bring my fleece blanket with me again. I fell asleep shortly thereafter, but woke up about an hour later when car slowed down and stopped right at the entrance of the driveway……… crap!! But whoever it was, they took off again after a few minutes, phew!! That would have been a nightmare to pack up again in the dark. I fell asleep again and slept like a baby till morning. There is something so amazingly wonderful about waking up in the woods, with the sound of birds chirping around you and knowing that there is absolutely nothing that you have to do! I just lied there, being content and peaceful, enjoying the warmth of my sleeping bag and the comfort of my sleeping pad, just being, and not worrying or planning. I finally felt a bit more human. As my little spot was so peaceful I decided to just kick back a day, I needed it after months of working without weekends. I read and crocheted and watch a movie on my laptop. It rained that day, so I was enjoying the soothing sounds of the rain on my tent. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psuyyju7rr.jpg I just love the little shed that attaches to my tent, it really makes it into a home! I would have stayed another day if it hadn’t been for the fact that I wanted to meet up with my Boss/friend in Maine. On my previous trips I got up and tried to get out off wherever I camped, by 10 AM, not this time! I was way too relaxed, and just took it one minute at a time. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pskkabtwj9.jpg Little mountain of moss, had to take a pic I was all geared up by noon, and slowly meandered to Deer Island. |
Part two
I saw on the map that there was a town called Utopia, I just had to detour and swing by there. Unfortunately I did not see the town name anywhere, only a sign with Utopia road
http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psifpkujcm.jpg I headed to the ferry that would bring me to Deer Island. From there I would take the ferry to Campobello island and then the bridge to Lubeck Maine. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps68kqfv0p.jpg The ferry dock http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbr5hrvuk.jpg Awesome!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb4yeuan9.jpg Nice view from the dock side http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6yuznvaw.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscgkoj8vg.jpg On the ferry http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2g4bfhqb.jpg Spirit, and hanging on the dry-bag, my new green crocs, with magenta straps http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1yhi964f.jpg Not exactly trust inspiring During the ride, I inquired about the ferry to Campobello, and found out to my dismay, that the ferry hadn’t started up yet, and probably wouldn’t for another couple of weeks! Shucks!! So here I was going the wrong way. The ferry ride was free, so I decided to just tour the little island and then take another ferry back. They went every half hour, so the wait wouldn’t be too long either way. The ferry ride lasted about 20 minutes, and I was the last one to get off. Deer Island is a quaint little place, but very picturesque. I had fun just cruising down the roads, even ended up on a dead-end one. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psa8fkhszh.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pspldwzkq8.jpg I couldn’t decide which picture to post, so I posted both of them :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psrgxq2oof.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbtevadhd.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8vzhppu1.jpg I felt like moving right in http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psho2ropsi.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pshzk5zpf3.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pskwizw3hj.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psmq0qjtkb.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psalwbaesv.jpg After a whole hour I had been on almost every single road, so I grabbed the ferry back. The ride to Calais was uneventful, and fast (took the freeway) The border crossing was quiet and before I knew it I was in the US, yay, my cell phone worked at a normal rate again! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1cdxfzto.jpg I found the visitor center and stopped by to get a map of Maine. While there I inquired about forest campgrounds, and they gave me a map of public lands campsites. The closest one was Rocky lake, and as it was past 6 already I decided to head out there. I found the turn really easily (or so I thought) but after riding on dirt for about 5 miles, I realized that I was passing the rocky lake but saw no turn offs. A lady was driving up and I waved her down to ask, but she didn’t know about the campsite, but the guy behind her did. Turns out I had turned right too soon, and that I had to get back to the road and take the next dirt road to the right. I found the campsite no problem. It was on public lands, so it was free. Turns out though that while riding I lost the camera battery that I was charging. I had totally forgotten that I was doing so, because I would have disconnected to charger and packed it away. Jettn Jim had given me a great camera for Christmas years ago, and with it three batteries. I guess that he knew that eventually I was gong to lose one!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psqypoh3wc.jpg It was a gorgeous camp ground, with one big drawback…….. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psnjavinxg.jpg I couldn’t get Spirit past the boulders! Luckily I was the only one here, and Spirit only about 15 feet from the tent. This is as far as I’ll get tonight, I’ll post the rest of my report tomorrow |
Other than the mosquitos, nobody bugged me. I t was a nice and quiet night, with occasionally the sound of a faraway loon.
I didn’t want to miss my friend in Camden, so I was packed up by 11, and headed South. It was very overcast, and it threatened to rain, but it remained dry (for a while) http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psrqxj0cyz.jpg Cute little library http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps43e68437.jpg I took some coastal detours, which weren’t as spectacular as I had hoped. It was very suburban, and there were few stretches without any houses. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psyzmfto7d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb2l9utg8.jpg Right as I hit Hwy 1 again I saw this corny little blueberry place When I hit Elsworth I noticed a sporting good store and dropped in to get some fuel for my stove. Seems like only certain stores carry the dual fuel tanks like the MSR. When I got out of the store it was raining and I donned my raingear. I don’t mind riding in the rain, but it does limit the picture taking. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psoxbd10ia.jpg Another one of those spiffy bridges I got to Camden around 5 and discovered to my dismay that I had zero phone reception! Turns out that AT&T sucks in this area. Bummer. Luckily my cheap little emergency tracfone had reception and I called my friend Geoffrey. He answered!! In itself a miracle……. Turns out I was very close to where he was. I did have some chai and tomato basil soup before I headed out there at the local deli. I’ve been here a few days now, relaxing (well not really) and getting some things taken care of. My Hawaiian registration expired, and I went and registered here in Maine. So from now on I will have a Maine license plate just to throw everyone off. I think I’ll hang my Hawaiian on my bag, just as a conversation piece. Geoffrey, the neighbor across from him called Jorey, and I rode the bicycles to Stromsurfer’s house to go and say hi. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pshsdzuprz.jpg I really don’t like bicycling, too exhausting! So as I had hopped off to walk a hill, I noticed this gorgeous flower in someone’s yard. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psuvjhcq3i.jpg The guys, Geoffrey, Jorey and Mike Mike has a cool BMW with sidecar, I told him now he could get a dog to come along on his trips. We spend a little while there, and he promised to swing by the next day to come check out Spirit This morning Geof and I went up to Mnt. Battie to check out the view http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pspsuloxwx.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pshmwvveqs.jpg A tower with a view http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psd5yqdckl.jpg short little stairway t the top, but what a nice view up there http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6hrub6kb.jpg guy with yellow jacket down the hill is Geoffrey, enjoying the view http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psxtfg9sbp.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psjptgt7qj.jpg Mike came by around one to check out Spirit, and stayed for just a little while. I had to jump on the back before he left. :biggrin:Very nice bike!!! So here’s where I stop for today. I’m not sure if I’m heading out tomorrow or the day after. It’s supposed to be nice weather for the next few days, so that’s a relief. |
As I write this I am sitting in my tent, stealth camping in the Adirondack National Forest. The rain just eased off (it had been raining since last night, but I was dry and snug as a bug), and now the forest sounds reappear again. The calming rushing of the river, which is about one hundred feet from me, and sounds of the birds twittering in the trees, give me a contented and peaceful mood. An occasional car passing by make me aware that I am not too far away in to the woods.
But anyways, let me get back to where I left off. I wanted to go to Portland to go to the Whole Foods store there, and Geoffrey said he had to return some boots at LL Bean because they hurt, so he said that if I didn’t mind his company he’d drive. Mind? Heck no, I could just kick back, relax and let him deal with traffic :D. I was hoping to meet up with my friend Jen who lives there, but that unfortunately didn’t happen as we got stuck for hours right here http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pswchwhini.jpg I am guessing that what I am about to tell you will shock you!! You never guess what I bought……….. Well, I can only blame Legolas, Catniss, and Robin Hood for this crazy notion! Did you guess it yet? I went and bought a bow and arrows :D I’ve always admired the character Robin Hood, and then Legolas and Catniss for their accuracy with a bow. It had been a long time wish of mine to learn how to use a bow and arrow. To be one with the arrow as a Zen quote says. And no! I am not planning on shooting it at any living being, man or animal. Nor am I planning on using it as a weapon for defense. If my mind ever goes there, and stays there, I will ship it of to a friend and will use it once I live somewhere near a archery range. When we were in LL Bean we walked by the counter with the bows behind it, my eye caught a beautiful wooden one. The sales guy, sensing my interest , walked up to me and asked if I’d like to try one. Try one????? It was then that I saw the closed in shooting range behind him. Wow, me, try to shoot a bow?? Yes sir!! He took me inside, and I had to sign a piece of paper first, which I did, and then had me try one bow. Just pull on the string and see if you can pull it to your cheek. I did, but pulled it too far as I thought it harder. Nope not the bow for you he said. It was a 20lbs bow (not in weight but pull), so he gave me a 30 lbs one. This one I pulled to my cheek as well. It wasn’t hard, but not as easy either, and I felt it was the right size. He showed me how to hold it, how to load the arrow, and how to release. The target was only about 15 feet away I think, maybe twenty, and I hit the square but not the circle on my first try. I was too far to the right. He gave me 6 arrows to shoot, and by the end I had hit the outer edges of the circle three times; but still too far to the right. I had a hard time estimating how far to the left aim the arrow. But now I was hooked, I would be able to learn how to shoot accurately. We went outside and he showed me how to string the bow. Meanwhile Geoffrey had come back from returning his shoes, and wanted to order lunch. I ordered a salad and went back to the guy who was dissembling the bow. Then I got anal and asked him if I could look at a few other ones, as I really liked the different wood grains. Then as I was choosing he suddenly said, “Do me a favor and do this test for me.” I had a feeling something was nagging him, so I did, Basically you make a small circle with both hands, and center and object far from away into the circle you just made. Then you slowly bring your arms to your face, keeping the object in the center. Now when you do this, you will realize that your circled hands come to a stop either in front of your right eye or your left. Funny enough, mine stopped in front of my left eye. “Do it again”, he said with an object even further away, same thing. “Well”, he said, “You are a lefty!” Turns out that the reason I kept on shooting too far to the right, was because my left eye was doing the aiming. Back to the shooting room we went, and handed me a left-handed bow. Awkward! You’ll get used to it he told me. I aimed and shot…….dead center from the middle, horizontally speaking, a little too high, but in the center. Yep, you’re a lefty! I shot a few more arrows and all within an inch of each other. Now I just have to get the height right. My left arm isn’t as strong, so I tired easily. Then back to the counter. At first it looked as if they didn’t have a left-handed bow, but then he found one, the only one! I guess I didn’t have a choice as for as wood grains went :D. Still it was a beautiful bow. Part of me was still thinking I should go with the right, but then I figured if it really didn’t work out, I could always go and exchange it for a right-handed one. They have an easy return policy. I can’t believe I splurged and bought a bow. But then Geoffrey handed me his LL Bean card that had the money on it from his returned boots. He said he’d never use it and to go ahead and use it toward the bow. I bought an arm guard and three more arrows, as the arrows that came with it were junk, according to the sales guy. Meanwhile my salad had arrived and Geoffrey and I enjoyed our lunch. We spent another hour walking around the store, and I sat outside the store for a while in the sun, waiting for him to get his business on the phone done. I felt guilty having splurged so much money on it, but then I told myself I earned it. I worked my butt of these last nine months. Afterwards I went to whole foods and Geoffrey to Verizon. Got lots of Tasty Bite meals!!! Turns out we dawdled too long at LL Bean, and missed the window to visit my friend, who as it turned out had other plans for the afternoon. I didn’t know, but I figured I’d meet her again some day. Shopping is exhausting!! Went to bed early and started packing the next morning. Geoffrey said goodbye before I finished as he was driving north to Dover-Foxcroft to visit his friends. I was out of there around noon, but knew I didn’t have far to go. His sister has a condo at Sugarloaf, a skiing resort, and I could stay there a night. Route 17 was an easy going back route, some traffic for a Friday, but not too bad. The route wasn’t exactly picturesque, so I didn’t take any pictures for a while, but when I did, my camera froze on me. What the???? There was no pace to stop, and I really wasn’t in the mood to figure out what was going on. As the scenery was not exactly mind blowing I figured I’d fix it once I got to the condo. It only took a few hours, and the condo was easy to find. It was totally deserted!! The inside was really nice! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pskhun7yz9.jpg living room and dining table http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psei9i8uv7.jpg Kitchen http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pseriionfo.jpg Bedroom with queen and bunk-bed http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psenpc1fcw.jpg And a bathroom and washer and dryer room It was so comfy there, and peaceful. I fell asleep on the couch at 6 PM woke up once to crawl in my sleeping bag on the bed, and slept till 6 AM. I guess I was tired :huh In the morning I just had to assemble my bow, I hadn’t even had a chance to do that. It took me a while to figure out, as the string mounts backwards, I had forgotten. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbralwa6x.jpg Here it is!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psxtlt8onk.jpg Close-up of wood inlay I had a relaxed morning and figured out what was wrong with the camera; the scene dial was between settings. Duh, I twisted it to anti shake, and was good to go. I whatsapped Pam, Geoffrey’s sister to whom the cabin belongs, and asked her if she had the condo online. She does, it’s on Home Away. Sugarloaf, 1 bedroom on mountain condo... - HomeAway Carrabassett Valley I figured if anyone riding in this area needs a wonderful place to crash, you can reserve it online. I was packed and out of there by 11. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psvx5nnfij.jpg My new bow on top of my dry-bag. I rode around the lakes and through Eustis then around the Rangely lakes area. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psic3agkya.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps87lyfzcq.jpg Whoa! Look at that color! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psq2aclcgw.jpg A dam that generates electricity http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pspzyhouh1.jpg The other side of the bridge http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psyb50amim.jpg Just following the river http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psusikoa0f.jpg Another biker in front of me http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psnn8miuof.jpg Look at the big cloud on top, it follows the curves of the mountains almost exactly! I was so intend on sight seeing that I totally got ”lost”. Well, I found myself almost in Berlin, and could not find it on the map. Turns out I had crossed the border into New Hampshire without knowing it. I bought a map of New Hampshire and figured out where to go from here. Past Berlin was a Forest Ranger station, and I stopped by to get some maps with camping areas. Much to my dismay, NH does not have primitive free or cheap campgrounds. Most of them were in the $22 to $35 range. Yikes, that much to get stuck between two RVs? No way! I chose Hwy 16 South and turned unto 301 West. Just past a tiny town called Bartlet is a narrow road called Bear Notch road, which ends on the Kangamangus hwy. That little road was awesome (closed in the winter). http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psug9ho5fs.jpg Bear Notch Rd http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psten7maxv.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pszm9uxnof.jpg The Kangamagus Rd was nice too, but way too crowded. And I have to admit, I have been to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Kangamangus does not hold a candle to it. That’s the problem of having been to some really amazing places, after a while something that would have been awesome if you had never seen anything else, turns into something just so-so. Still, it was a nice ride. As NH was rather pricey, I decided to just head into Vermont, maybe it would be cheaper there? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psrxthc9c7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psudfuwds5.jpg I found a dirt road that headed into a campground (well at least on the map it did) Turns out, there was only some sort of lodging house that you had to reserve. I ended up backtracking and went North of Groton on a road that had quite a few campgrounds. I was tired, and did not see any dirt roads that weren’t driveways. For tonight I would just pay the fee. The First campground was too crowded, it was Saturday after all, but the second one, called “New Beginnings” was quiet in the horse area. I had been riding around the campground and got lost. Met Pete on a Kawasaki who decided to camp in a lean to, but ha not brought any camping gear. Turns out he knew the camp ground manager who later provided him with a mattress and blanket. No screen???? Yikes, I could not have done that. I think he got munched on during the night, as his face was rather red in the morning. Pete bought me a little Vermont State Park sticker, as I had only a $20 bill but no other cash. It was $20 for the night, but I had a whole field for myself. Across from me was a horse paddy with two horses in it, and the owners were in an RV that was attached to a horse trailer; very interesting contraption. They were nice folks. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psjplhzdwi.jpg I pitched the tent amidst the mosquitos, turns out today was the first sunny day they had had in month; it hard been raining for weeks. I sure was glad I camped there, and not in the tent area, as there was a group that was doing al sorts of stuff like karaoke, and dancing to YMCA till 10PM. I slept amazingly well. The next morning I let my tent dry in the sun, washed my mugs, and talked to Pete for a few before I left. I kept riding on Hwy 302 until Orange, where I took Hwy 110 south. This is a really nice little road, quiet and picturesque. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pst76yfqx6.jpg Following another river Then once I hit Bethel, I found a 10 mile road that lead to Hwy 73. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psoyjzo1qu.jpg This little road went over a pass, and it was a gorgeous road to ride on. The feeling I got from this road was, I want to live here!!I kept imagining my hobbit home overlooking the hills. There were a few houses on it, but most of them set back a bit. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psjwgk5d6w.jpg I had planned to ride to Brandon, where (I found on the internet) there was supposed to be an archery range. After an hour or so I pulled over to stretch my legs for a bit, and munch on a fruit bar, when I looked at Spirit. Oh crap!!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7wz1rlp4.jpg Now those of you that are utterly bored, take a look and see if you can find what is missing. This will be the quiz for the day :D I will let you know at the end of this RR what it is that I forgot. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psrv2p21xh.jpg A little past Brandon on my way to the archery range Turn out that the address for the Range was someone’s house! Darn, and nobody was home either. Oh well, so much for that idea. |
I hopped back on Spirit and kept on riding toward the New York State border
http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pslkqzhzlv.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psrv3ehe9n.jpg Across the river is NY state http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5ptjmkh8.jpg I didn’t realize that I had to take a ferry! I arrived just as the ferry pulled out, but the next one was only 15 minutes later, so I didn’t have to wait that long. Turns out they didn’t take debit or credit cards (sign on the wall) so here I was, no cash, so no ferry. I wondered if they would take my $10 Canadian bill I had forgotten I had. A car pulled up behind me, and I walked up to ask if by any chance they were Canadian. I figured if they were, maybe they could change the ten-dollar note for me. They weren’t, but when they found out why I asked they offered to pay my ride. They didn’t even want to take the Canadian money. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pskco5hrer.jpg Mike and Heidi saved the day! They were from Pennsylvania, and I told them I was heading there to visit a friend. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psqcbrzub6.jpg Nice sailboat, brings back memories :D The ride was short http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psqfzzrsez.jpg Ticonderoga landing http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psydexr9s1.jpg In New York State! Adirondacks, here I come!! I stopped at a little pizza place and had a salad; it was very good! Part of me wanted to stay and write my RR, which I still hadn’t written, but part of me wanted to go and find a nice place to camp for a few days, and then write. The latter part won, and I headed out. I took 74 west and then 9 North toward Keene. Then as I was riding I noticed a dirt road to the right, and a little while later another dirt road exiting. Hmmmmm, one of those half circles? I turned around and got on the dirt road. Looked promising. I parked spirit and walked down the road a ways, as there was a muddy spot that I would have to ride through. Turns out that the road went into the forest and there was just the most perfect place to pitch my tent! Excited I walked back to Spirit, hopped on, and was just going to gun it through the mud. Welllllllll………. That did not go as planned. Before I knew it I slid and ended up with Spirit’s front wheel in the grass to the right and the rear tire sideway in the mud with Spirit dropped at a 45 degree angle. I tried to lift her with everything on it, but couldn’t. However, I did move her a bit. So I took all the bags off, while keeping Spirit propped against my leg. I did not want her to drop down any further. Once she was lighter I lifted her straight up, it wasn’t too hard. Then while holding here I walked around the back to the left side of bike, and started her up again. It took a few tries, but I got her rear wheel out of the mud and into the grass. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psx6cepzvv.jpg I let her cool down a bit while I carried the bags across the mud. Then I hopped on again and rode her through the grass onto the dry part of the road. Easy peasy!! I decided to just quickly load the bags on as it would have taken me longer to carry all the stuff to the campsite. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psqtnprwyl.jpg According to the news it was going to rain, so I put up the tarp as well http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pssrts4bpz.jpg It even had a fire pit (with litter and all) As it was still dry I thought I’d shoot a few arrows at the ground. I almost lost the first one as it went under all the pine needles. But I had done a pretty good job at aiming!! I practiced for about half an hour, using the funky arrows, just to strengthen my arm. Yep the arrows are funky, they wobble in the air, the nice ones don’t! It started raining shortly after, and it rained all night. Well, here is where I started. I spend the day reading, knitting eating and writing my RR. I hope it’s sunny tomorrow so I can ride out of here into the Adirondacks. Well……. it not only rained all night, but all day too! I didn't mind, figured I needed the break. The rain eased off later in the day, and it was dry in the morning. I decided to pack up, it was drizzling slightly but started to clear up on the horizon, at least I thought so. By the time I had broken the tent down and packed, it started to POUR!! Buckets all at once. Grrrrrrrr!! I was glad I had left the tarp till last. I waited a whole under it, with the mosquitos buzzing around my ears. It didn't let up, and there was no way I wanted to ride out of here through that muddy patch in the rain. So I finally told myself to just bite the bullet and pitch the tent up again. I was shaking my head at myself. 4 hours of work for nothing, lol. But I was glad with my decision, as I found that I did have 3 packets of tissue paper on me, which I had forgotten. You see, I had run out of toilet paper, and only had a few baby wipes left. As for water, it rained so hard that I bout one of my canteens under the tarp where the rain gushed down. It filled up in no time! This time around I left Spirit in the rain and put a tarp over her. The way I had set up the tent, I could go out and stay dry for a couple of feet. I also was able to hang up my wet stuff under the tarp. So here I was wet and tired (with rain washed hair), but at least all of my stuff was dry. That dry-bag is amazing!! I laid down on my mattress and was happy I had stayed, maybe tomorrow would be sunny. I relaxed till about five when lo and behold……… was that sun hitting my tent?? http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psnoqrronk.jpg Yes, some sun!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfslqbql9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8a1wz1of.jpg It stayed dry for about two hours and then it rained again, :cry bummer By nightfall it cleared up, and the night was chilly. It was worth it!!! I woke up at 6 the net morning with the sun shining between the trees. It was gong to be an awesome day!! I was packed and sacked by 10 and made the muddy area without any problems (with my heart beating in my throat however!). The ride to Lake placid was gorgeous http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5ulkslyg.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psncncjem7.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psguerzjxx.jpg I gassed up in Keene, and made it to Lake Placid shortly after. I would have missed it if I hadn't been looking at the XOG. Turns out I must have missed the turnoff to the town, so I looped around. Found a sporting good store, and across from it two places to eat. I stopped by the diner first, but they didn't have much for me to eat, and the girl instead of asking me if I needed any help sat down on one of the tables, whipped out her cellphone and started texting. I tried waving her over, but she didn't see. So I got up and asked her if they would be able to make potatoes in a pan with vegetable oil instead of on the grill with the burgers. She looked at me as if I was crazy and bluntly told me no. So I said thank you there is not much for me to eat here then and left. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pslttgeyya.jpg The place next door looked more inviting I went inside and was warmly created by one of the girls, she told me to just sit down anywhere http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pslds5gkwn.jpg I picked the window seat Turns out they where willing to put some potatoes in the oven for me with onions and mushrooms. It was delicious!! What a vast difference between the two places. I must have ut out some good energy as the place became crowded after I sat there. Plus, they had wifi!!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psphwdbxga.jpg The girl to the right had some great positive energy, she was an awesome waitress!! So now I might go to ADVRich's place that isn't too far from here. It has a great place to pitch up my tent he says and a shower!!! Oh yeah, what I lost?? Or rather forgot?? My mugs!!! Sniff sniff, I really loved my green enamel mug. |
(Somehow when I posted this a while back it didn't take, I just noticed)
Well, things are going to change very shortly, as I am flying to Amsterdam on July 3rd. More later After my delicious brunch I did indeed end up at ADVRich’s place near Bloomingdale NY. He had not gotten there yet, so I cruised back to Saranac to get a new mug and some meals at a local Healthfood store called Nori’s. Awesome little place!! Found my favorite Tasty Bite meals and some other great stuff. My new mug is a double walled one, with lid and carabiner as handle that I can attach to my dry bag. When I got back I started to pitch my tent in the yard, it was rather overgrown, and within minutes Rich showed up. Turned out the place was like a vacation house, or trailer that was totally built in. I ended up just drying out the tent as I got one of the bedrooms to crash in. Rich rode up there on his bike, it was an older one but looked immaculate! Grrr, now I don’t remember what bike it was, but I’m gong to say also a Kawasaki……… He was heading to the HUBB meeting in Ontario the next day. We made spaghetti with gluten free noodles (he also doesn’t do the gluten thing) and pasta sauce with tofu. It was delicious! Afterward we talked about, biking, camping and other things. I got to take a much-needed shower, and slept great! Rich left around 9 the next morning after offering to let me stay there for as long as I wanted. The weather was nice though, and after a few days of rain I really wanted to enjoy the sun. I left around 10 and rode toward Corning where another biker friend of mine lives. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psarbjceeg.jpg Gorgeous view from Norman Ridge Road, near Rich’s house http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbm99vvxx.jpg At first I had wanted to do some back roads, and or dirt roads, but as it was supposed to rain later that day I decided not to. I rode around the long way, via Paul Smith and Tupper lake, then down to Long lake and Indian lake. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psrigqq8m1.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pshpa7iuyr.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbqmyshyx.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psmki56x9t.jpg I just love the long endless up and down roads http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pszzvqvkbd.jpg float plane on Lake Pleasant http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscopr5u9h.jpg And another one http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pszgsdjfdx.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psiwh78zeq.jpg As I was nearing the end of the Adirondack, the clouds started darkening the sky I hadn’t planned on riding the whole distance, but as I really didn’t see any spots to camp once I was out of the Adirondack, I decided to just go for it. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psfw4ctxjj.jpg I stopped at a little rest stop on route, and as I was mounting my bike I noticed this little bugger hiding under the rocks. It had gotten warmer again, and the rain clouds had disappeared http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pstcgmpkmb.jpg I got to Gunny’s around 7, after having been thoroughly drenched by a squall, and ended up having a really cute little trailer to myself for the night. It felt weird to go from one person to the next, as I normally like to just camp out. Gunny’s wife Viv, and son Robbie were really sweet, and their lively grandson Vinny was a sweet little guy, filled with questions and energy. I warmed up some Indian food and around 10 Gunny got back home. He had had a long day at work. Seeing as he was tired I wished him good night not too much later, and I crashed as well, I had gone a long ways that day! The next morning brought some bad new as far as weather goes. It was gong to rain, and the next day Saturday even more. Bummer! I had wanted to go for a ride with Gunny and Pete, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. My Dad had googled Corning and told me that there was a world famous glass museum there, so I decided to swing by there. Gunny and I talked for a while before he had to go to work, and I took my time packing. Jettn Jim lived not too far from Gunny, and I wanted to swing by his place to say hi and finally meet his wife. I also needed a new front tire, and hoped that Bloomburg was a big enough place with a motorcycle shop. After having packed up I said bye to Vivian and Vinny, and rode toward the Glass museum. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psougainq9.jpg Holy cow was it ever packed!! I got claustrophobic between all those people and almost decided to bail. But as glass blowing really fascinates me I hung on in there. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psocmzvxsi.jpg At the entrance, and about 10 to 12 feet tall http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psvkxmbxxf.jpg Close up http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psprghrjkr.jpg I almost bought it, until I turned it around and looked at the price $95! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaaio3p2r.jpg Tree of life inside the glass ball http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pso1vfydwy.jpg Made me think of Henny, my father’s wife, who recently past away (she loved owls) http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psnkfveulb.jpg Glass chair but with real fabric cushions http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pstbcvkeav.jpg Too much glare from the windows, but gorgeous beaded necklace http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pssbyl6czb.jpg I loved the colors, intriguing, but yeah, ahem, weird!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3qrfflj9.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscq6fx4fr.jpg Really old glass piece from Egypt http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psxxp5kobi.jpg Also old http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5ocxulwn.jpg Glass paperweight opening like a lotus flower http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psiiusuz6a.jpg I loved the under water scene http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psapixcffp.jpg Another paper weight, floating roses http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psylhceozy.jpg Just awesome!! I really want to learn how to do stained glass windows http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psnttoypsr.jpg I watched two glass blowing shows, amazing how it melts, but stays on the stick, how the glass grows when the guy blows in the tube. And all that at 2400 degrees fahrenheit!! Yikes, no room for error I’d say! |
continued
After a couple of hours I had had enough, and hopped back on Spirit.
http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psuznhdjvg.jpg Took the back routes http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaengbwbl.jpg Yeah, I thought I had taken a wrong turn, and tried to do a U-ey on a very steep road Bad idea! I was going too slow, and couldn’t put my foot down. Gas poured out of my tank, and I also noticed oil on the road. What the????? Grabbing the handle bar I rotated the bike on the Pelicans (tough cases!!!!) until the wheels were facing downward. As I had taken a back road, with not much chance of anyone showing up, I had to get her up myself. After tossing the drybag, tent and other bag off the bag, I was able to lift her fairly easily, and get her upright. Then I just gripped the clutch and let her cruise down hill a few feet, and to the edge of the road where I was able to get the kickstand out. The road was a mess now with spilled gasoline and oil, and I didn’t want anyone else to crash, so I gathered as many leaves off the side as I could, and covered the spill http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb6uicpg7.jpg I was hoping the dry leaves would soak up the oil. I packed the bags back on Spirit, and after a few coughs she started up again. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psolio6dq5.jpg [IMG]http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q528/SoulDreamRider/2015%20Trip%20across%20the%20USA/P6190188_zpstv4diuy8.jpg[/IMG It was a gorgeous route http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pslbbszzuh.jpg Before I knew it I was at the border of Pennsylvania, filled up the tank, and bought a map. I check the oil, but hadn’t really lost much. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psk3gcaa78.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psxxmn0wmi.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psze1fvc8d.jpg I got to Bloomsburg around seven-ish, and met Jim at a diner on Main street. Had a great dinner with him and two of his friends. Afterward I pitched my tent in his yard (I really like my privacy) and finally met his wife Sherry who is awesome! I’ve been here a few days now, having helped with putting new shocks and springs on the van, with figuring out what was wrong with the water pump not working in Sherry’s dad’s RV, and other things. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psgo4fsyva.jpg Had lunch with Jim Got a new front tire yesterday at the tractor place in Bloomsburg that also sells bikes, tires and accessories http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps55ge96h5.jpg Look what else they had there!! I just loved this bike!! Today I'll put on my new tire, and hopefully the weather will be good tomorrow, so maybe Jim and I can go for a ride. Afterward I'll set out for Toronto as my flight to Amsterdam leaves from there. It's unbelievable, but the same flight, leaving from New York City instead of Toronto cost $1000 more!!!! I don't mind riding back into Canada :D My folks are looking forwards to seeing me, and I am happy to see them again too, it's been 9 years since I was there last. |
I am in Amsterdam, hanging at my Dad’s! It was extremely hot yesterday, which came as a bit of a shock! Anyways, let me backtrack a bit.
http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psiyo7n9n4.jpg I was stoked that I had a new front tire, and happily put it on. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psyvd3f8x8.jpg That little jack is definitely the handiest gadget I have on me!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pszlp8gsmj.jpg Jim’s jacked up truck, pretty rad!! I took a hike to town to go to an internet café so I could upload my pictures to photobucket. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psniiacvei.jpg This tree will be warm come winter!! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5dfiks5l.jpg Beautiful fountain downtown. I found the Fog and Flame coffee shop that wonder above wonder sold some amazing gluten and dairy free cookies. Delicious!! Jim and I ate at a few places, one of them called the Wanderlust Cafee which had really good vegan food and smoothies, another place was called the bakers guild which had rolled brewed coffee and great cereal. The day before I left we took a long ride in the area. Even though he posted about our ride, I thought I’d post a few pics as well. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdyp0anrv.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psvxwfu6bm.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psmakt7do4.jpg following Jim into the woods http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psz85yusmu.jpg I still have a soft spot for mushrooms http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psamagtp6o.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psjoperxen.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psruxfx8af.jpg Jim perched precariously at the edge of the waterfall http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psutbahttx.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psvomevka6.jpg As Jim already wrote, we stopped by this old garage and looked into the windows when this old guy appears and asks us to help with hooking his trailer up. Afterwards he opens up the garage and lets us take a look. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pssaqm9efi.jpg Loved this old scooter http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb7thnxdc.jpg And my favorite! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pst5besue2.jpg Desiree and Spirit in front of the shop http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psw8kvvnhq.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psunne2u8f.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psn7wqjx28.jpg We got back late, and Sherri was home from work already sitting on the front porch with Grammy. Jim took off and got back as I was climbing into my tent, he had made me two bottoms for my water bottle holders. :D He’d put them in in the morning. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psrjaxnwgj.jpg Gammy made me a cup of coffee every morning and brought it to the tent The weather forecast was terrible, so I thought I’d hit the road in the morning as it was supposed to be dry then. Hopefully it would be sunnier up North. It took me a while to pack up, al the while Jim was painting and installing the little bottoms into my water holder tubes. I left rather late, but I didn’t mind, I wasn’t planning on going that far. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pskhbw0eyq.jpg Took a little break in a bench near the river I got tired fairly early and didn’t see any dirt roads or places to sneak into so opted to just pay for a site. I passed a camping and found out it was $30, and decided to go look for something else. The owner showed up and saw I was leaving and told me I could stay for $20 after I told him it was too pricey for me. I pitched my tent away from another camper who had a Harley camped near his/her tent. The owner and his wife came by later. He was a bit grumpy but she was nice. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pszcybxcsy.jpg I slept great and as I was breaking up camp the next morning noticed that my neighbors where about to leave. He tried to start the bike, but the only thing I heard was some coughing and then clicking. He kept on trying so finally I told him to stop trying as it sounded like his battery might be empty, or his starter not working. He was all agitated and frustrated, but was happy when I told him I carried tools and a charger. I took my charger to him and had to cut the clamps off the wires, as it didn’t have a pigtail connection. (still have to get it and connect it). I was able to just connect the bare wires to his pigtail and charge the battery. As I looked at the charger I noticed that according to it, the battery was full. I told him, so he tried starting the bike again, and it did. Well, we really didn’t know why it didn’t want to start at first, but he was happy that he had a running bike again. They took off shorty after, thanking me yet again. I was glad I had been able to help, so maybe the next time he won’t be dissing other bike owners other than a Harley owner. |
continued
I took my time packing up and was back on the road around 11.
http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psv0ysb2of.jpg Yep, getting up there http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pswg5pdldw.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbyrfvxuk.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psycbmuqqw.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psotpdlj6n.jpg Took this photo for my mom, showing that here too they had an Aldi :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psifxgljeh.jpg There were hundreds of windmills in this area, pretty awesome!! When I entered Oswego I saw a tourist bureau and decided to stop by to see if there were any public lands campsites around. The older couple that was there couldn’t find anything. I told them never mind, and sat on a bench outside for a little while eating a snack. After a few minutes the husband came out and handed me a booklet in which he had found a park called Singing Rivers. It was only a couple of hours from where I was, so I was happy to go that way. It took me a wile ere I found it, as the sign was very inconspicuous, and the park not visible from the road. Turns out I had to go over a wooden bridge into the park. I loved it!! Nobody was there, the sites had tables and fire pits, and mostly….. flushing toilets! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pszy9iktyp.jpg As I was expecting lots of rain I put the large tarp over my tent and the little one over Spirit http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5i4qonbd.jpg The river was pretty loud at night!! Well, during the day too :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdh3ql286.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2z1qntol.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psxjwspveu.jpg Jim’s little wooden bottoms http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psvbmzwlxy.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pss75zyu4o.jpg I had found coconut milk powder in the health food store in Bloomsburg, and it tastes amazing in coffee I hung in my tent the next two days, reading and doing beadwork. It rained off and on, but only heavily at night. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8nomfm4b.jpg Bead work http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psjwpwpfsn.jpg On Monday morning I packed up the tent under the tarp as it was drizzling. It makes such a difference to have a tarp. I was on the road around 10 heading toward Canada. I stopped in Ogdensburg at another Joann’s as some of the beads I had bought lost their color while beading. i.e. the metallic ones. Well, I guess that’s what I get for buying cheap beads! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psnakyn58c.jpg A castle looking like building. Gogeous! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psraavcqex.jpg Bridge into Canada http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pszyhux3qu.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psgtxwtwoa.jpg The border crossing went smoothly, I even declared my bow and arrow. She did ask if there was any chance of me leaving Spirit in Canada forever. Uhmmmm, nope! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pshohq8rjn.jpg That night I ended up heading to Frontenac Provincial park hoping to find a cheap or free forest site. Well I was sorely disappointed…. People were only allowed to canoe or hike into the campsites. Well, I was not planning on dragging my stuff in 10 miles and leaving Spirit in a parking lot, so I kept going and found a family camp ground. The tent site was at the end of the campground away from everyone else, so I decided to just pay for it. It wasn’t cheap either, but everywhere I went were houses, water and swamps. No dirt roads I could veer into. The ones I did see were people’s driveways. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps68kjtpfr.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pswdtmzvfz.jpg I covered the tent the next day before the rain came down http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2bgfkunl.jpg little boat ramp at the lake there I spent two days there as the next day predicted thunderstorms and rain. As it was, the rain was minimal so I could have easily left. Still, I didn’t want to get to Mark’s place too early. He said he had a room for me and that I was welcome. That last night in my tent at the camp ground, Mark texted me and told me he had to withdraw his hospitality as neither he nor his wife were gong to be home. He thought I’d be there in the weekend.???? I found that odd as I assumed that he knew when my flight was and that I had asked him if I could get there a day or so early as I had a few things I wanted to do in town. Of course, I immediately started worrying about what I was going to do now, and why he changed his mind etc. I figured he must have never read my RR in which I said I’d be flying out on Friday the third. It took me a while to find my peace with it, and I told myself all would be well. I had gotten new neighbors too that day, and the men were up yacking till about 1:30 in the morning! Needless to say I did not sleep much that night. The next day I PMed Maggot to ask if I could camp in his yard. I also went on the tent space and sent a message to Azia requesting tent space. Maggot got back to me and told me to head on over. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psyfuacfc3.jpg Saw these at a gas station! Thought I was in Amsterdam already LOL http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pswepvdpmf.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pszo9neiww.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psb7opbycy.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7oyef1sx.jpg |
last bit
I stopped in a small town called Lindsey and bumped into a guy on a bike who had about a million questions for me.
He treated me to lunch all the while grilling me with questions. I went to his place after to meat his wife and see all the bikes he owned. He also had a KLR, but all the bikes in his garage needed some TLC! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psch63ig3d.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pswhvi1bau.jpg I loved his overgrown house! I also saw his room with pictures from all over the world. He has been to a lot of places on his bike, like Africa and Australia. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psurh1zmqt.jpg Rick and his bike I got to Ken’s place around 6:30, (his neighbor pointed to his house for me) right in time for dinner All in all I am glad about the way things turned out, I loved meeting him and his family, wouldn’t have missed it for the world!! I heard back from Azia too, and hope that we can get together for coffee once I am back there. Hanging with Ken’s family was great, his wife is really sweet even though she has both her feet in a cast and is hobbling and “wheelchairing” around. His kids are awesome and really fun, and were asking if I’d come back after visiting Holland. The night before I flew out the temp was down to 4 degrees Celsius! I slept great though. Ken had a suitcase and a backpack I could borrow which saved me having to buy them. Because I wanted to take a beginners course in Archery in Amsterdam, I needed to take my bow and arrows with me. The arrows are 30 inches long and just barely fit into the large suitcase diagonally. His sun made me a bracelet, and his daughter a Canada leaf, also out of rubber bands. I was ready about an hour before the shuttle came to pick me up. His son then gave me a pie on a bracelet that had a slice missing. He himself had a ring with the slice hanging on it, so that when I came back we would be a whole pie again. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pscyedz6hs.jpg Awwwwwwww, that was so sweet! The shuttle was right on time, and I got to the airport at 1:30. Well, the fueling crew was on strike, and I ended up having to wait another hour before boarding. I was bummed that they did not honor my request for a window seat, and gave me an isle seat instead. The girl that checked me in however said to contact her once she was at the gate, and that maybe she could get me a window seat. I did, and ended up having the last seat on the plane, way in the back. The chair next to me was empty! Awesome! The flight was smooth, and over before I knew it. My poor dad had been waiting for an hour as he didn’t believe the plane was going to be an hour late. I got a very gorgeous smelling rose, and we took the train and the tram home. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psgsg0w2qu.jpg parked on a bridge So here I am relaxing, and hopefully I will be able to take the archery class on Tuesday. Will find out tomorrow. I will head to my Mom’s place this weekend. |
Yesterday was the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday and quite a few residents and non residents of Amsterdam went to the Dam to celebrate this event.
My dad heard about it and the both of of took the tram to the Dam to go check it out. http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psxqgylqmh.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psw8hxbr5k.jpg My dad took these shots http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psdx03cpys.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psbtluqr45.jpg My dad taking pictures, he used to be a photographer for the newspaper! http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psxnsocilv.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psewtwci4j.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psyodwefmd.jpg Even a rubber band that had fallen on the ground took the form of a heart :raabia http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psgi3ilbk4.jpg http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...psaqffsznx.jpg Afterwards we had a cup of coffee and took the little ferry across the river, That hippy gal is me :D http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/...pso8f1ustl.jpg One of the many canals in Amsterdam Tomorrow I am getting a one on one lesson in archery. The class was already booked full, and the next one not till September, so the guy told me to just come by on Wednesday and he'd show me the ropes. Awesome! |
Nomad in the city
Quote:
Guess your Dad knows the ropes & all the good places to go & see, shopping etc. :yinyang: Was the lesson at Archery club Concordia???? or by fairbow. I just gave up my membership of Concordia. Though I must admit I have never carried my bow on the bike when I travel :red_indian: Though may start doing that :thumbup1: see how far I get ...... Best way to see the city is by bicycle, a brilliant way to travel. Amsterdam is a beautiful city with a rich & colorful history, soak it up.... :D Anyways have fun, enjoy the city and if I can help let me know..... Stay cool .... Vince |
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