Hello from the woods of Idaho. Lori and I have embarked on yet another adventure, this time on our Goldwing. We are headed to Powell, Wyoming for a rally, but taking several side trips to get there. Here is how we have done so far:
Day 1:
Lori got off work and we were on thhe road by 3pm. Destination was Prosser, WA, about 200 miles. A very nice but cool ride over. I had spent the day readying the bike and didnot have time to get a 45degree adapter to make the sat radio work on the bike. It was a $2.00 part from radio shack and all we needed to do was stop and get it, plug it in and music to our ears. I had prgrammed Rosie (GPS) to take us to the wine country RV park in Prosser. Sounds easy enough. We got to town just after dak and after three u-turns, the rv park was nowhere to be found even though Rosi told us we were there. I looked it up and it had an address on the other end of town. Go figure. As we were setting up, now pushing 1030 at night, people were walking around and would stop and talk to us. I had to finally excuse ourselves so we could go to bed. The next day brought what must have been nearly half the park to our little spot to visit. It was incredible. We have always had a few come up, but this was weird. We later caught the shuttle to a wine and food festival. Not much there and very pricey for what you got. We were back after dinner with Goldwing friends and it seemed people were waiting to show others our tent trailer. Quite the deal.
Day 3:
We got up and made breakfast and later broke camp. Not a long day today, only headed for the Wildhorse casino out of Pendleton, OR. About 95 miles. We went back roads and dropped into Pendleton. Rosie found us a Radio Shack and once plugged in, we had great music, Got into camp and the crowds decended once again. Once most had seen it, they left, but the rv park manager kept comong over and talking. It was fun. Off to the casino and as I usually do here, left with more than I came with. I like this place. Back at camp, a couple glasses of wine and we were off to bed.
Day 3
Pendleton to Donnelly, ID about 285 miles. We worked country roads and zig zagged our way east through the lower Hells canyon gorge and across a dam into Idaho, We went up US 95 till it hooked in with ID 55 and into Donnelly. Temps were pretty good, upper 70,s most of the time. A great day and now I am getting caught up on our blog. Tommorrow across the mountains to Arco, ID.
Day 4
We rose to very cold weather this morning. We are in the mountains though and it was a bit chilly. We were off to Banks and then some forest service roads till we got above Sun Valley. I was a little nervous as we have never been this way and the term Forest Service road says gravel to me. I had been assured it was good road and we would like the ride.
We stopped at a small cafe right on the banks of the river. While watching rafters traverse the river, we ate a very mediocre breakfast. To be fair, they were very busy and only had one waitress. Our eggs were runny and cold. Only bad food since we left.
After breakfast, it was one of the best rides through beautiful scenery and roling hills. It seemed like the day went fast as we finally entered Arco, ID and finally found the KOA. It is new this year and there were no signs. A call to the campground and we were guided into a very nice KOA. The staff was very helpful and friendly and facilities top notch. Only downside was no pool, but he promised one by next year.
Day 5
Off across desert and looking for Hwy 33 just out of town. As we passed the intersection, Rosie was confused and there were no signs indicating this was the road. We stayed on 20 and ended up taking a very non scenic direct route into West Yellowstone. We really like this KOA as it has food and lots to do. We enjoy walking around checking out the different rigs.
As the sun was setting, several bikes came in and a lady came by asking about our trailer. We gladly showed it to her and her traveling friends. She became very jealous to learn we had a space heater to keep us cozy. We settled down to a cool evening and watched different shows on the computer via the television network websites. Most networks now have video archives of their popular shows and makes for great viewing when not watching a DVD.
Day 6
Through Yellowstone and to Old Faithfull. Not that many people and we drove the speed limit throughout with one exception. A great day and a awesome site as we neared Cody. A fire had burned the entire hillside. We could view fire operations as we continued down the hill. With the weather starting to get nasty, we decided to continue into Powell and the bike rally. We hit a short rain squall but that was all. Camp was set up and we spent the next couple days enjoying the company of old and new friends.
Sunday
We broke camp and had talked to some locals about ways to get to Red Bluff, MT. We were sent on a county road that went northwest from town and inbetween two sets of hills. It was a great ride and it brought us right to the road into Red Lodge. We love this town as you can walk and read the history of all the downtown buildings. We always eat breakfast here at I think the Timberline. Great food and service. Then it was on to Townsend. We had heard that this was a very nice area. We cme into Townsend and found a run down, unattractive and dirty area. It was up the lake to the KOA and a huge dissapointment. This KOA consists of gravel with power posts and an occassional tree. We could see maybe 10 or so other rigs in the park. We asked for a site with shade if possible near the restroom. We were told to take a particular site, but the people may still be there. If so take the one next to it. Ya, ok, both were being used. We decided to take another site nearby and Lori walked back to tell the clerk. She apparently was ok with our choice. We set up and tried to enjoy the nice view of the lake and surrounding dirt piles and gravel...As the sun decided to set, we were greated by some of the biggest and most aggressive mosquito's we have ever seen. I would try to spray repellent on and a couple would take the can and throw it at me and laugh. Within minutes, we were inside our trailer tending to our wounds and thinking of how much fun we were having. The wi fi would not work as the signal was so poor it could not lock in. We walked down to the cafe below the park and had a great dinner. Not a fish taco fan, but it sounded good and I waas treated to two great fish taco's. We walked to the lake (about .5 miles) and again the mosquitos ate us alive. We retreated to our trailer and stared at the park. It was now about 935 and we decided to go to bed as there was little else we could do. I pulled out the extension cord and went to hook up to the power only to find it only had a 30 amp receptacle. I didnot have a converter plug with me and as I walked to the store, only to see the lights go out inside. No one would come to the door. I need power for my sleep apnea machine. Great, now what. It just keeps getting better out here. I propped up with suitcases and slept almost two hours.
Monday
I awoke to a hot morning and a very grumpy mood. The clerk in the store refuses to adjust our costs and was unwilling to even talk about it. Mark that KOA off your travel plans.
We rode to Helena and after some food, hit the back roads. We were intending on Kalispel but were tired and decided to go to Missoula instead. A great KOA, great site and a nice pool. We went to the Montana Club for a great dinner and back for a somewhat smokey evening. There was a forest fire somewhere close and the hills to the west were smokey making for a great sunset. we settled in and had a great evening.
On Tuesday, we goofed off, went shopping and then settled in for a great cup of coffee at the local Starbucks. I am not hooked and could stop anytime I want to! As we sat outside enjoying the sites, a gust of wind hit, lifted the canopy from our table straight up and did an auntie em. Just flew off and landed in the parking lot. It was cool especially when it missed the cars and our bike. We got on the bike just as the weather alerts were going off warning of severe thunder storms. We headed back to the KOA and hunkered down. 40 to 50 mile per hour winds buffeted us and took branches down. We survived and soon were in the pool. We had heard from our sone that the weather in Spokane had been very bad the day beore. I checked the weather and saw a severe storm heading stright up fo Missoula towards Kalispel which just happened to be our route had we chosen to go north the day before. It stormed on and off all afternoon, but we missed 99% of it.
Wednesday we haded out and stopped in Superior for Breakfast. It started to sprinkle and turned into heavy and steady rain for the remainder of our travels today. We stopped to dry off and warm up in Cour Delane (sp) and as we hit Spokane, the sun peeked out and warmed us up. It was a motel room for the next two nights due to continued bad weather. We visited with my sister and our oldest son and had a great time. It went by fast and with one more night on the road, another vacation was wrapping up.
Friday
We wanted to stop half way and spend another night out. We decided to ride to Leavenworth and spend the evening there. As we drove in, we could see, we were not the only ones to pick this KOA tonight. We were able to get a spot and settled in. As we pulled in, there were several tents, a camper and a baby cib. We thought oh crap, no sleep tonight. On the other side was one of those VW van conversions with family of four. There was a strange 3x3x6 tent near the van and l;ater hwen the family came over to check out our trailer, I had to ask what it was. They told me their daughter is afaraid of bears and will not walk to the restroom by herself. (teenager) They had been camping in bear country and in order to get anysleep, they bought the portable latrine for her.
After a home grilled steak and all the fixins dinner at our site, we settled in for the night. Again watched tv on the internet which had become almost a habit in the evening. I was very impressed with the campers and the baby. They care for and made sure the baby was happy and quiet. We drifted off to sleep only to be awoken about 2 am. I could heare the van door slamming several times and then the zipper on the latrine going up and down over and over. Soon the zipping stopped only to hear the door slamming again. I couldnt believe how someone would need to do this so many times. The noise woke up the neighbors on the other side who started to hack and cough the rest of the morning. All we could think was who ever did this at the van was either OCD or wanted to make sure the bears were cared away! I thought I heard the bears running in Canada from all the noise. Some people...
Saturday
We took our time and rode home to two very upset cats. They missed us and let us know it was not a good idea to leave them alone so long. We had a great trip with a couple exceptions, but you need these moments for good stories dont you.
