mmmmmmmm, good!


One last thought,

I'd rather die young having lived a full life than to grow old with regrets for never having tried. I think Kilo and Chuck felt the same way.

Y'all ride safe and I'll see you on the road next time.

At about this point in the trip I learned of the deaths of my friends Mark Irwin and Chuck Burt, two of the finest VROCers I've had the privilege of meeting. At that point I just wanted to get home and I didn't take any more pictures. I arrived at my in-law's house around 6 pm to the loving arms of my wife and a big home cooked meal prepared by my mother-in-law. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, summer squash, slaw, sliced tomatoes, cornbread, banana pudding, and iced tea. If I hadn't been so tired I'd have taken a picture of it for Sherm. The following picture is of a plate of my favorite oatmeal raisin cookies prepared as a welcome home present by my wife. I'd share but I ate them all in one day. Oatmeal is health food, y'know.

There isn't much scenery in Nebraska but I was able to get this great picture of the Nebraska State Forest.

I had never crossed Wyoming on I80. It is just miles and miles of miles and miles. I don't think I'll do it again if given a choice. At least the weather was good, upper 70's to low 80's to Cheyenne. After that it warmed up to a humid 96 with a vicious crosswind from the south.

The scenery gets briefly better after crossing into northeastern Utah.

Crossing the uninteresting part of Idaho southeast of Boise.

This and the following pictures were taken along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway just south of Bend, Or. It's a loop about 100 miles long that I rode while waiting for UteMike to arrive from the coast.

The Portland Oregon skyline. It was late evening and the sun was just setting.

This electric train runs right along the Interstate in Portland. We were runing 70mph and it was staying right along beside us.

Roadside on the way to Portland. As Fat Albert would say, "Hay, Hay, Hay". (:-)

Sherm taking Denise for a ride on the "halfabusa" just before we left for Portland.

This is the old port town of Bandon just south of Charleston. We ate lunch at the same spot two days in a row, it was that good.

This stuff makes Guiness stout look like pale ale. Actually I think it's watered down buffalo dung using very little water.

Denise and Melanie
Better keep these two on the leash. I think they could cause trouble if left unattended.

UteMike's gumbo

Denise and I found our retirement home. This is just north of Bandon, Or. Now to win the lottery.........

This stop was worth the trip for Denise. These are Black Leopard kittens, 8 weeks old and VERY playful.

We had lunch at this little place right on the water in Bandon. This is what fish and chips should be. Fresh locally caught codfish, hand battered and served hot out of the fryer.

Denise and Patience (Biglefti's grand daughter) trying out the Goldwing. Good thing the key was in my pocket.

If Denise wasn't already flying home on Sunday she'd probably try to buy this and ride it home.

I test rode Sherms bike to experience the new suspension and noticed the handlebars were much lower than mine. After a little investigation we discovered that the risers were installed backwards. 10 minutes and one lost screw later we had it fixed.

This is the result when a bird zigs when he should have zagged. It went into the cowl via the hole in front, and then partially exited by the engine guard. I've hit at least one bird on every trip out west.

Our "hotel" accommodations for the week. I am really impressed with the comfort of the Kwikamp trailer.

We tried to buy this for Jax but the owner said her daddy migrated here from Tennessee and it was a family heirloom and not for sale. He could probably make his own but outhouses don't have seats.

Casa del Sherm. I think Denise was a little wobbly from all the travel. (:-)

Some serious sand dunes

Interesting bridge going south on 101

The Pacific Ocean looking out over the Oregon sand dunes.

Central Oregon lava fields. The evidence of volcanic activity is everywhere.

McKenzie pass was closed AGAIN. This is the second time we've ridden out of the way to get here only to find it closed.

View of the Cascades from the east.

This fellow was out in the middle of nowhere resting on a fence post.

This large barn is owned by ODOT and is used to store gravel. These deer took advantage of the shade. It was full of deer, most laying up on top of the piles of rock.

we were up early and riding by 7 am local time. It was cool with temps in the low 50's but sunny. Central Oregon scenery isn't spectacular, but the road was good shape and VERY little traffic.

Tonight's supper. BBQ pork and beef ribs, beans, red potatoes, coleslaw and home made whole wheat bbread.

This is 129 which runs south out of Lewiston, Id. It's a dandy motorcycle road with little traffic.

This stream followed the road the entire way between Lolo Pass west of Missoula to Lewiston, Id.

One of the many lakes in Glacier. I think this one is St Mary's Lake.

This is big daddy billygoat. This guy did NOT want to be messed with or disturbed.