Riding, Geocaching and Exploring . . . .

Day 5 Wednesday 7-19-17

We camped at Atlantic City Campground. Terrific campground.

Time to ride.






Breakfast stop for some.




The "post office"




The local gas station. $5 a gallon and is poured into the bike with a funnel and gallon jug. Reminds me of Baja.




It's also a bed and breakfast plus they have cabins.


Just in case you have a little money and would like to live in Atlantic City.


Just outside of Atlantic City.











Fun pavement taking through scenic terrain.




Bright pink? It really was that bright.


We didn't eat in Atlantic City. We ate here and it was yummy.








Cooling down in a bit of shade.








More of Day 5 coming . . . .

Day 5 continuing . . .


So Many color changes in a short distance.










Airport




It was hot here but so pretty. I want to return.






Going through this reminded me of Titus Canyon near Death Valley but much shorter.






More color.


















Short stop




Not long after the construction we got to Ten Sleep, WY and Ten Broek RV park. They have a nice grassy area for tent camping and we did a good job of filling it.


Ten Sleep Brewing Co. was looking forward to our arrival in Ten Sleep and had dinner ready for us. Not only that, so we could have a beer or three, Justin (can't remember his ADV name) came to the campground with an ice chest of cold water and ice tea for arriving riders. It was great to be greeted by him offering me a cold drink. Riders piled in the back of his pickup and were shuttled to the brewery. I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of the shuttle service.

http://tensleepbrewingco.com/




The Indian Tacos were so yummy. I was hungry and didn't get pictures of the food so I had to go get a picture of the set up.




Ten Sleep Brewing is such a great place and provided a terrific memory.


Back at camp I see some of the riders were experiencing a bit of luxury living. I would have stopped for a visit but they were still out at the brewery.

Day 6 Thursday 7-20-17

Time to pack up and get riding again. I'm enjoying each day's new beginning and thinking about the adventure ahead.




Before heading out I rode around some of the side streets of Ten Sleep.






I left town from a different route than what was on the GPS tracks. It was only a few miles and I joined the route but I enjoyed the way I went. That's part of the fun of this ride no one expects riders to stay exactly with the group, you create your own adventure.

Nowood River










Hyattville, WY




So many of the places I went through on this ride I will return to and spend a little more time.









Stopped to read the signs and have some trail mix for breakfast.








Adventure Girl and Hells Alien stopped for a few minutes too.


And off they go.


















Up at a 9500' elevation again and I'm amazed at how the flowers flourish.




























Greybull, WY


Looks like some of the rider stopped for lunch.


The sky was clouding up.






I was riding right into the storm.




In Cody I stopped at a McDonalds to hopefully wait out the storm. I thought it would pass quickly but it stayed longer than I though. After about 30 minutes of thunder and lightening I decided to grab a room rather than camping. After getting the bike unpacked, showering and relaxing for a bit I went out to find the storm did blow over. I could have camped comfortably after all. There were a couple decisions I made that I later wished I had decided on something different. Oh well, it's all part of the adventure.

Thank you. If you are ever in this are the 1st part of June consider attending the Wallowa Valley Adventure Jamboree. I hope it every year.

These small towns always have something interesting to see when you look around a bit.

Day 7 Fri 7-21-17



Orange signs look ominous.


Luckily the wait wasn't long.




Stopped to check out what was under the bridge but I couldn't get a good picture.






Stopped at another bridge to check out a waterfall and got a shot of Olivia.






There is a geocache out here. All I had to do is follow the trail to find it.




Taking time to enjoy the flowers along the way.


Trail back to the bike.


Fletch1234 spotted my bike and decided to find out what I was checking out.


Top of the World Store. Good place to buy stickers, a soda, sandwich or whatever. There is also rooms for rent and campsites.


















Top of Beartooth Pass.






Back in Montana.














My pictures just don't do Beartooth justice. It's some where you just have to ride to be able to understand the feeling of being there. I have a picture of my F650 here from the year before so I wanted one of the Superbug here too.








The water is so clear












Camp for the night.






This one looks like it needs a caption


Trying real hard to look like tough, grumpy bikers.


Fun at camp - RIP Ron/Wansfel (standing up in the blue shirt)




AdventureGirl and HellsAlien






AdventureGirl counted bikes, once it appeared no more were rolling in. There were 37 bikes here.

Day 8 Saturday 7-22-17





There is a gate that has an auto opener if you want to leave camp before the designated open time - I think it was 8:00 am. Some riders had already left with no problem but as other riders got to the gate it didn't open. People looked for a switch to open it, there was movement back and forth that should have triggered the gate but nope. Then another rider came up, passed the bikes and the gate opened like magic. We all hurried through it before it closed again.












Time for breakfast in Livingston, MT




There were flowers greeting me.






Yummy


When I went back out I found this little guy/girl keeping an eye on the Superbug . It sure was a happy pup and didn't say a thing when I got on the bike. Not a very good watch dog but then again it may have been a different story if some got to close to it's truck.


Headed out of town.





As I was head north on 89 my bike died twice in a construction area. After stopping completely it would start again and run fine. It had done it a couple times before this and I thought it might be something in the gas. After the second time it died in the construction area I decided it was time to turn back to town and try to figure out the problem. The bike started again and got me a ways but then died again. That was it. I didn't want to keep going and have it die in a real bad spot so I checked my phone and I had service so I called for a tow truck. There was a wider spot up ahead by the bridge so I pushed it up there to wait.


It wasn't too bad hanging out next to the Yellowstone river.


My ride arrived.


The party is over


Got to a motel and called a friend to come get me.


Just a little bit more left to this ride. . .

Day 9 - Sun 7-23-17

Rainbow007 was coming to get me but she had a long drive. I was able to get a late check out but I told the clerk I would leave the room by noon. At noon Rainbow wasn't there yet so I moved my stuff out to the lawn. I had unloaded most of the stuff off the bike so it wouldn't be as heavy for pushing it up into a pickup.


There's my ride, Rainbow007 showed up.


One of the forest fires we saw around Missoula.


We went to the campground where all the riders were treated to a BBQ hoping some of them would still be there. Only two left and I was able to say good bye to them.


Went to Wanfel's house to see if anyone was there. I was able to say goodbye to Big Dog and Dingweed as they were getting ready to pull out. Finally I was able to pay Brad the debt I owed him since Atlantic City. He told me my share of the campsite was 15 cents and by golly I was going to get him paid.


This ride was the highlight of my summer!

This thread has sat dormant long enough. I thought about leaving it ended and doing single ride reports for rides I do going forward but changed my mind. Since it's winter and cabin fever has hit I decided to bring this thread back and get it current. I hope some of you still have this watched so it will pop up and let you know this thread has returned.

As things go things have changed and yet they have stayed the same to a certain degree. Things are good and I plan to do a lot of riding for 2020 but before I start doing that I have the rest of 2017 to now to catch up on.

The Superbug is up and running again. LC Garage got it running for me. He posted about it in his thread. If you are interested in what was done you can read about it here:
https://advrider.com/f/threads/last-chance-garage.1344788/page-4 Starts on post 72


9/7/17 Rattlers Run Vintage Motocross
Rattlers Run isn't far from my house and each year they host a Vintage Trials and Vintage Motocross. I try to attend each year but don't always make it.

I was able to be there for the 2017 event.


Rainbow007 giving LC Garage a pep talk or heckling him, I'm not sure which.


Ready to ride.


Lined up


The heat is over and he's looking good.


Security bike.


I'm sure I took more pictures than these but I misplaced them. This is a fun weekend with a lot of good looking vintage bikes.

In 2017 I started to plan ahead for retiring in 2021 and what I was going to want and need for retirement. The post will be about the first thing I acquired for my retirement plan.

9/19/17 Buying a new vehicle with four wheels.

It was a difficult decision to make but I decided to trade my Tacoma in for a van.
I went from this:




To this:




The pickup was nice but I had a difficult time loading a bike into the back of it so I had to use a trailer if I wanted to haul a bike. Since I was using a trailer anyway I decided if I got a van I could use it to camp in it. A mini cargo van suited me to a T.

Starting with a nice clean empty space.


First thing was to add carpeting. I started with gym type rubber padding. One package was perfect and I didn't have to cut it.


On to a carpet remnant store for carpeting.


Using a cot to sleep on I wanted a little more cush & more insulation so I bought a full-sized memory foam topper, folded it in half and put it on top of the thin cot cushion. I rapidly discovered the metal tubing the cot is made of transfer cold to me when I'm trying to sleep. I insulated it by slicing swim noodles lengthwise, fitting them over the metal tubing and zip tieing them on. Problems solved.


Little dresser added to put stuff in. I found some magnetic picture frames so I was able to decorated the walls. Nice and cozy.


View from the back doors. I'm still working on the perfect set up but this worked fine.

9-27-17 Shakedown drive.

With the new van set up I wanted to find out how it was to camp in it so I went for a drive.

Camped just outside of Rainier Nat'l Park the first night. I was the only one there and it was wonderful.


Went for a stroll













9/28/17 A drive through Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park.

Before I headed to the park I strolled around the campground a bit more. I liked it there.






This is Bumping River




A beautiful day for a park visit.












There she is Mt. Rainier


















Was Big Foot here?


After spending some time in Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park I headed for the ocean.


I wanted a picture of the van on the beach. I didn't know how it would do in the sand so I didn't mess around too much.






Things were pretty busy in the campground near Long Beach so I crossed over to Oregon and went to Fort Stevens State Park not far from Astoria, OR.



9/29/17 Being a tourist.

There is plenty to see at Fort Stevens State Park.


Remains of the Peter Iredale which ran aground in 1906.






A little more of the ship






Battery Russell
























































It was a nice weekend and I found the new van is all I want it to be. Camping in it is very comfortable. This will serve me well in retirement.

Throw some duct tape on the seat and bring it to the Beater Bike event. I promise you will have fun.

10/27/17 Goldendale, WA

Feeling restless and wanting something to do I scoured the internet and decide a visit to the Goldendale Observatory was in order. I had never been there since there isn't camping on site and I don't like to ride my motorcycle after dark. The majority of my travels are by motorcycle so I took the opportunity to take a road trip in my van and visit the Observatory.

My friend Loud Al met me at the Maryhill Campground and accompanied me to the Observatory. It was nice having the company.

A nice clear sky made star gazing perfect.


Mt. Hood was looking good.




Of course, there were a few interesting things to see inside.




This thing was fun to watch but taking a pic of it didn't work very well. Little streams of light were going all over the place.


The next three pics were taken by Loud Al. He is a much better photographer than me and also has better equipment.






The presentation was very interesting and educational. When it was complete we were able to look through the telescope. I was able to see a view of the moon I had never seen before. Time well spent.

Spotted some pretty leaves when I turned on my headlights.


My van parked next to Loud Al's made mine look even smaller than it is.


After a good night's sleep, I went to breakfast with Loud Al. The Columbia Gorge was pretty with the morning sun shining on the cliffs.




Mt Hood was out big and bright too. That's Loud Al in the van in front of me.


After breakfast, he headed off to go bicycling and I headed south toward Detroit Lake in Oregon.