Tales of a Magpie

Day 45: San Dimas, California

Hello Everyone!

Day 45 brings me back to the beginning, back home in San Dimas!  It's hard to believe the trip is over and it's really hard to believe I have been gone 45 days.  What a time, what a time!

I started out this morning from a cool and foggy Santa Cruz.  I left very early, around 6:15.  It was light but the fog made the morning seem dark; almost eerie and still.

It was cold.  I do believe the coldest place in the United States is Northern California.  Asbjorn had told me that it was hot in San Dimas and would be around 100 degrees today.  I kept thinking of that as I was chilled to the bone by the fog, wiping the cold mist from my visor as I rode along through Salinas to connect to the 101.  I finally got warm in Fillmore, where I had to pull over to peel the extra layers off.  It stayed hot until I got home and I have to say it feels fine. 

And here I am just after I arrived:

When I left the odometer read 1285 miles.  I should have taken a photo but I didn't think of it.  Anyway, here is what the odometer reads now.

Poor Bruce is so dirty!  I have plans to give him a bath tomorrow so he will be all shiny and proud!

I have so many impressions from this grand adventure that I am sure I will be sorting through them in my mind for weeks.  But I do know this:  In this great and beautiful country where I live, I saw people going about their business, some were working and others were playing; I saw people that were happy and some that were sad, I observed people in love and people out of love and having observed all this from a vantage point of an outsider, I would say that people are all pretty much the same everywhere, regardless of location.    This is a wonderful country full of very fine people!  Now get out there and explore!

With three clicks of the heels of my Doc Martens, I have to say:

There's no place like home.

There's no place like home.

There's no place like home.   

Day 44: Santa Cruz, California

Well, a little bit closer to home today!  It was a little cool when I started out this morning, but quite a bit warmer than yesterday.  There was a little fog, but I quickly moved out of it as 101 took me inland.  It got fairly warm and I had to stop from time to time to change gloves and pull off a layer.  Around noon, I got a bit hungry and decided to stop. 

Now, why exactly I stopped here, I wasn't quite sure but it looked like a good place to pull over and the outdoor seating appealed to me.  I was getting a bit bleary eyed so it was just time to stop.  It wasn't just a few minutes until another motorcycle pulled in beside mine and it happened to be a woman.  She was meeting some friends but from the conversation I overheard, I realized she was a long distance traveler.  I only spoke to her for a few minutes but she had shipped her bike from England to Los Angeles and had started on one of her long journeys.

Meet Tiffany Coates:

She is quite the adventurer!  And it was really nice to meet another woman on a bike that liked to ride long distance and for her I really mean long distance.  She takes it to a whole new level.  If you google her name you will find some very interesting and amazing stories on her bike travels!  Best of luck to her for a wonderful adventure and safe travels!

And so I rode on, south on 101 and I rode across the Golden Gate Bridge!  That is a really beautiful bridge to cross but you might know by now that I really like bridges.  It's too bad there is simply no room to photograph on a bridge.  They really are designed to move you along.  

They weather went from cool to really hot (very welcome, I can tell you) to cold again in San Francisco.  I took route 1 after the Golden Gate Bridge and rode along the coast; the temperature was a little more mild after a while.  I saw a lighthouse (sorry but I didn't get the name of it):

I had ridden by the best shot of this but just didn't want to turn around.  I haven't seen a lot of lighthouses on this trip.  There was a bit of fog here and there, but I finally seemed to ride out of it and the temperatures were very pleasant.

I continued on and at one point, I saw these in the air and stopped: 

It was some sort of surf board parasailing, not exactly sure what but the sails were dancing in the sky and it was fun to watch.

I settled in Santa Cruz for the evening.  I got out the dastardly duo (as a good friend named them):

Mr Bill and Alien had been in the tank bag since their close call with Larry the Lobster (whom I promptly ate).  They enjoyed a glass of wine and now they are all tucked in so they will be ready for the trek home tomorrow.  

Yes, that is right.  I am heading home tomorrow.  

It seems strange that this adventure is coming to a close.  I mentioned to Tiffany how much I enjoyed trekking a long distance.

"It really is quite addictive."  She said.

I believe that to be the case.

And so I am done for the evening and hope to get a very early start tomorrow (not the usual time).

   

 

Day 43: Arcata, California

California!  A big Woo Hoo!  Now, I feel like I am on the tail end of this fine journey and getting closer to home.  

It was a cold ride today.  The temperature seemed to constantly change as I moved towards or away from the coast, up in altitude or closer to sea level.  Near the end of the day, fog was rolling in from the ocean; the wind blew it like smoke over the hills and roadway.  And it was cold.  I ended up stopping in Arcata instead of riding the 9 extra miles to Eureka where I had planned to stop for the day.  When I finally decided that I couldn't take the cold any longer, I stopped at the first hotel I saw. 

Here is a map of today's route:

 

But I have to say it was a beautiful ride.  The coast was beautiful and I apologize for not having any photos; I just didn't seem to be able to stop at the right spot.

I went through a redwood forest today!  The redwoods are magnificent.  I did manage to pull over and get a shot, although it probably isn't a very good one.  It's not like you can get a whole redwood tree in a photograph (unless you are very very far away and then what's the point). 

I guess I should have posed Bruce by the tree so you could get an idea of just how big it is.  They are huge.  That was a very special part of my ride to go through this area.   The whole ride was really beautiful. 

And that's about it for today.  I am tired and will tuck in early tonight.

I'm not entirely sure what town I will head for tomorrow.  I may have to head inland a bit to get out of the cold. 

I will be home in a few days!  This has been such an incredible adventure; it's hard to believe that it's almost over.

Well, I hope the middle of the week has been fine for everyone!

Day 42: Eugene, Oregon

Well, it is very nice to see Eugene again!  Several years ago, we came here to visit with friends that used to live here and I have some very good memories of this place.  I rolled in around 3:30 and I have to say todays ride was much, much better than yesterday's!  It was cool this morning so I hung around until around 10 o'clock.  The ride was so pretty!  I rode through some groves and vineyards and Mt Hood rose up like a sentinel:

The road took me closer and closer until finally it was right in front of me and looked like a painting:

I took route 126 towards Eugene.  The road cut a swath through trees so tall that it felt like going through a tunnel:

Further on, I took a little detour to see this:

This is Sahalie Falls and I believe it might be one of the greenest places I have ever seen.

Not sure you can really tell from the photo, but the water has a sort of bluish look to it.  Everything is covered in moss.  This is a very beautiful place.  So green!

After I got to Eugene and checked into a motel (I found one right downtown!) I made a beeline for Cafe Zenon.  Since I hadn't stopped for lunch, I was a might peckish.  They still have the wonderful selection of cakes that I remember.  I was too full from lunch to have dessert, so I may go back and have dessert for dinner.  Why not?

And guess what I did after that?  I found a bead shop!  I knew Harlequin Beads was downtown as I had been here before. I looked it up and headed over to it.  It was different from what I remembered; it seemed a lot bigger and when I talked to the owner, sure enough, they had moved across the street to a much bigger spot.  It is a really nice shop:

They have a lot of seed beads as you can see.  And a nice sale on them too!  Wish I had more room in the bags.  They carry a huge selection of Swarovski crystal.  But they seem to have a good selection of everything.  They also have classes.

The owner told me the space used to be a jewelry store and they bought the cases.  The beads look really beautiful displayed in them.  Here is a photo of some African trade beads:

  

So that has been my day so far.  It was a beautiful ride and it's so nice to be back in Eugene again.  Too bad I will miss Saturday Market, but I will enjoy my short time here.

And as you might have guessed, I don't know yet where I am going tomorrow.  A lot of evenings, Asbjorn and I map cipher together so that is probably what we will do tonight.  After I eat some cake.  

I hope everyone is having a great week!      

Day 41: Hood River, Oregon

Oooh, today was a hard day; I think maybe the most difficult so far.  The wind was tremendous to say the least.  It didn't take long when I left Coeur d'Alene for the wind to pick up.  I rode through some forest and the road climbed and descended in altitude.  I went through a town called Moscow and stopped for gas.  I asked the young man working if the wind was always like this and he gave me a big smile and told me that yes, it always was.  Great.

I continued on, through this green area and then I broke through to new landscape like entering a new world; it changed so drastically that I was a bit startled by it.

This was one of the few reprieves I had from the wind.  For some reason I was sheltered in this decent down the hill and then again for a few miles in the town below.  I was so amazed at this sudden arid landscape.  

It really was a struggle today.  I have ridden in wind before but nothing like this.  At one point I was going through a curve and my bike was completely upright and the wind was pushing me through.  Very strange feeling I can tell you.  

I ended up getting on I84 (the road I had planned to ride on was closed) and I just wanted to get to my destination as quickly as possible.  I did see Mt. Hood and managed to pull over and take a photo (I didn't do much pulling over as the wind was so strong even stopping was difficult and opening the tank bag quite the trick, I didn't want to lose Mr. Bill or Alien).

Well, it's tilted and a bit blurry but it was the best I could do.

I had the intention to stop earlier than I did the but hotels were full due to a rodeo so I pressed on and finally found a place by the Columbia River.

It's really beautiful scenery but I hadn't really enjoyed it much until I stopped:

    

I asked a few people after that first man at the gas station in Moscow about the wind and they all replied that it is always like this around here.  I'm not sure I could stand this on a daily basis. 

I plan to head south tomorrow as I was told if I head south that I will get out the wind.  Wind actually seems too mild a word.  I am thinking just as the Eskimos are reputed to have 30 different names for the various types of snow that the people of this region have a name for all the various types of wind.  I could actually think of a few right now...

And now I am all done in the say the least.  It's amazing how sore my hands are and how tired my body is.  That day in the Upper Peninsula with the rain and fog seems like a sunny day in the park.

I'm not entirely sure of tomorrow's route as I have a few planned depending on...yes, the wind.

I hope everyone is having a great start to their week!    

Day 40: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

I arrived in Idaho this afternoon and my phone let me know that I am now in Pacific time, so to me that means closer to home.

What a beautiful ride today!  It was cool starting out and there were a few clouds but nothing to worry about.  Not that I would anyway.  I did manage to make a map of today's route, which I have not done for a very long time.  I have been extremely neglect in my map duties.

To say this is a beautiful ride is an understatement.  I wanted to ride as little freeway as possible today (can you tell I hate the freeway?).  I took route 12 out of Helena and then 141 to 200, which I was on for a while.  It looped north of the freeway, connected back with it for about 13 miles and then looped north again.  When I was in the Missoula area, I noticed some signs that had some odd writing on them.  They had the English words or name and then other words above it that I am assuming is another language.  I have no idea what or how to pronounce it:

There were several of these.  I find it very curious and if I should find out what this language is, I will let you know.  Does anyone out there know what this is?

Again today, I had the problem of photographing such a beautiful landscape.  There is so much and it stretches out before you on all sides.  How can a little viewfinder in a little tiny camera possibly capture it?  Well, it can't.  Some things just have to be experienced in person I think.

I got off route 200 to take 471.  Now this is a motorcyclists road with its twists and turns.  It was really a wonderful ride.  It ended at Coeur d'Alene River Road and just after I turned onto it, I crossed a bridge and pulled over so I could get a quick photo:

Several times on the route I had a stream along side the road or the road crossing over a stream or river.  This is the Coeur d'Alene river and there were several people enjoying it on this fine day.  On the other side of the bridge a man was fishing and then I saw several people pass on inner tubes (I don't know what else to call them).  Again, in a place where there is winter, people get out and enjoy every bit of nice weather that they can.  

So now I am in the town of Coeur d'Alene although I am not right in the city center.  Tomorrow, I plan to ride through the town and see what is around and hopefully get some nice photos.  I think I may be getting a late start tomorrow. 

And where am I going tomorrow?  Well, I really don't know.  I just haven't planned it out but will be doing some map ciphering after this post.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!    

Day 39: Helena, Montana

Hello Everyone!

It was a very nice ride today.  A few clouds had blown in this morning when I left Sheridan but it didn't look like much to worry about.  I got on I90 for about 140 miles and here and there I could see more dark clouds, shredded like cotton candy by the rain pouring from them.  It looked like I was moving away and then the road would turn, heading for it.  But the road would always curve away again and when I hit Billings, Montana, I had just missed a shower; the roads were still a little wet.  I took route 3 and that road took me completely away from any rain and it was blue skies the rest of the way.  Any clouds seen after that were just pretty as you can see here.

 

I rode through two mountain regions, The Little Belt Mountains and The Big Belt Mountains.  That photo was taken after riding through the Big Belt Mountains.  It was really beautiful and though I would love to have more photos to show you, the landscape is just so large that I know a good photo would just be impossible.  You'll just have to take my word for it or come out to see for yourself!

I did get a bee in my bonnet today.  Literally.  Somehow a bee or wasp managed to get inside my helmet and was crawling on my right cheek.  I opened the visor to let it out but it went over to my left cheek and stung me!  Now this is a rather exciting (not a good exciting) thing to happen when you are going about 65 mph on a two lane road.  Fortunately, I am not allergic to bee stings and it is just a little sore and that is it.  Not sure how it got in there but I can tell you, there are no shortage of bugs in South Dakota, Wyoming or Montana!

Clouds have started to gather here in Helena and it looks like there may be a shower or two brewing.  A good night for reading, I think.  Hopefully, it will be gone by morning!

Tomorrow, I plan to go to Couer D' Alene, Idaho.  I have been in that area before and remember it being very beautiful.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

Day 38: Sheridan, Wyoming

What an absolutely gorgeous day and a perfect day for riding!  It was sunny blue skies and the temperature was just right.  I left Rapid City at the usual time this morning and rode through Deadwood, which is and probably always has been, a gambling town.  I entered Wyoming a while later and the road became a bit more desolate, not so many places to stop along the way as there had been since I wasn't traveling on the freeway.  At one point, I realized I should stop for gas at the next station I saw and I found this place:

They had two gas pumps.  At first I wasn't sure whether they were actually working pumps or some sort of antique display:

I couldn't help but notice the sign above the pumps:

Population fifteen!  I guess you would know everyone in town if you lived here.  This photo gave me a chance to get a picture of Bruce, too.  I have never used gas pumps like this.  It was a real treat.

There were all sorts of signs on the building but this one was my favorite:

 

Well, all right!

So I continued on and when it drew close to lunch, I found a little diner and pulled in.  There was a boy waiting the tables, about 10 or 11 years old.  I thought that he was probably saving money for something and before I left, I asked him if he was working for the summer.  He replied that he was saving his money because he was in FFA (Future Farmers of America for those of you that don't know what that means) and they had made it to the nationals and were going to Indianapolis!  I wished him well on his trip.  He did an amazing job of waiting all the tables, was very polite yet seemed to have a great time ribbing some of the locals.  How refreshing to meet a kid like this!

I got back on the road and came upon a pull off where in the distance I could just see Devils Tower:

The road wound around, the tower would disappear and then I would catch another glimpse of it, each time a little closer.  Finally, I came upon it:

It is a very strange thing to see.

Then the landscape changed a bit, flattening out somewhat with the road snaking through this quiet, desolate land:

I entered the hills in the distance and at one point I went around a curve and this was my view:

It was quite the spectacular ride.  I rode about 320 miles but it went by so fast it felt like I did much less.  Such beautiful scenery.  Amazing.

As for the rest of this evening, I plan on just some quiet, probably a bit of reading and tucking in early.  

And tomorrow?  I am heading for Montana.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their weekend!       

Day 37: Rapid City, South Dakota

What a fabulous day!!

I didn't ride too terribly far, about 270 miles.  But it has been an interesting day.  Again, I rode the freeway, planning to stop in Rapid City.  Along the way, I saw signs for the 1880 town.  I had sort of dismissed it, thinking it wouldn't be something I wanted to see, but then as I approached the exit and it was right off the freeway, I changed my mind.  It was near lunchtime, so I decided to check it out.  There was a very interesting diner there, made from train cars!

I really love trains so I was rather thrilled with this.  The train cars are the dining area:

Then there was the 1880 village to see after I had lunch.  I found this to be fun as well.  I haven't read a lot about it yet, but I think it may have been a movie set.  I really enjoyed this.

And I liked the snake oil salesman's cart:

Then, there is this little tiny house that no one today could ever manage to live in:

It was such a beautiful day, perfect weather and perfect skies as you can see here.  

  

Real or not, this was a fun place to stop.  

Now some of you may wonder, did I see the Badlands?  Did I see Mount Rushmore?  Did I see Crazyhorse?  Well, no I didn't.  I have seen all those sights a few times and just didn't want to do it this time.  Since this is the high season, most of the hotels are full off the freeway so I managed to find something closer to downtown Rapid City.  I wanted to go into town where there was a shop I had very much enjoyed going to about 10 years ago when I was here last.

Now this place has some very interesting things:

And they do have an incredible selection of antique Italian glass beads.  When I was here before they had a lot of those old beads so I asked them about it and I was told that they had actually bought an entire factory.  So there are a lot of unique colors of these old beads.  They are pricey, but if you want an unusual antique seed bead that you can't get anywhere else, this is the place.   The bead shop attached to Prairie Edge is Souix Trading Post.  They also have a BEAD LIBRARY!!!!

If you look closely at those cases, they are lined with glass jars filled with seed beads.  Be still my magpie heart!  This is simply divine!

After I pulled myself away from all this, I went to another part of downtown where a street had been blocked off and a band was playing and people were dancing and celebrating the summer:

That was a fun time.  But then it ended and it was time to go back to the hotel.  The server at the restaurant where I had dinner suggested I walk down "Art Alley."  So on my way back I did.  It is an alley that the city dedicated to graffiti.  Anything in the alley can and will be painted.  I came across a band playing and stood with several others enjoying their music:

I really like the idea of someone playing a washboard.  This band was fun!  There were three guitar players, someone on bass (one of those huge ones you might see at a symphony), a woman playing the flute or the harmonica, a banjo player and the washboard player (or should I say warshboard?).  Very entertaining.  

So I veered off the beaten path for my sightseeing today and am very glad I did.

But now it is late, I am all done in and there is still a little map ciphering to do.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!         

Day 36: Mitchell, South Dakota

And here I am in South Dakota!

I had a wonderful time with Jason and Jenny last night and thank them for their generous spirits and wonderful hospitality.   I did end last nights post a little abruptly, didn't I?  Oh, well, those sorts of things happen when you try to visit and blog at the same time.  And then alcohol might have been involved.   I had a really fun time and it was so good to visit with friends.

This morning, I woke to sunny skies and warm, somewhat humid weather.  I got on the road around 8:30 and had decided to just hit the freeway to make it one of those get there quick days.  The freeway nearly bores me to tears but the weather caught my attention along the way.  The clouds quickly formed and as I traveled west, the clouds grew thicker and the skies got darker.  I was sure I would find myself in rain soon.  The landscape was mostly farms, with a lot of corn or soybeans but it did change a little here and there, with some slightly undulating hills.  And in this photo, it seems the skies tried to mock the landscape:

 

When I do ride the freeway, I usually try to find anything of interest and I pulled over and took a photo as soon as I could after reading the sign: De Smet:  Home of Laura Ingalls Wilder:

That couldn't have been an easy life back then.  I don't see it as an easy life now.  

The skies grew dark and brooding for some time and it was cool enough for me to put on an extra layer and my heavy gloves.  I entered the state of South Dakota with a welcome and a warning.  The sign had a typical welcome to the state followed by a warning to watch out for jackrabbits.  How big are jackrabbits, anyway?

After a while the skies seemed to grow lighter (for a while there is was like dusk) and I was starting to get hopeful that i would skirt the rain.  Well, this was a day where my hopes were answered.  I didn't get one drop of rain on me.  

I got to Mitchell mid-afternoon and went straight to this place:

Yes, this is the Corn Palace!  And according to the signs it is the only corn palace IN THE WORLD!!!  All the murals you see on the building are actually made of corn and they change every year in the fall.  There are photos inside of all the years of the corn palace murals.  But I didn't go inside since I have been to this wondrous site before and was weary from the road.  

Now, believe it or not, I actually have a plan for tomorrow!  Right now the plan is to go to Rapid City.  I haven't been there for a long time and look forward to some of the sites.  

I hope everyone is having a great week!