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Friday, June 28, 2013
USA4CT Summary
USA4CT - Ride Day 24 - June 21, 2013 - Fri
Start Time: 0900 EDT
Stop Time: 1530 EDT
Start Location: Clarksburg, WV
Stop Location: Richmond, VA
Lodging: Home
Dinner: Home
Miles Traveled Today: 293
Weather: 70-90, Sunny
Today was an easy riding day. Beautiful ride through the mountains of West Virginia over US 33. Here is a break stop we made at Seneca Rocks.
We decided to make one last stop just outside of Richmond and have a final cold beverage (fitting that we both had a Land Shark!) together like we had done every day of the trip (just didn't need the ice in Bill's cooler this time!).
This is where Bill and I split and headed to our homes in Richmond. We were both very anxious to now get home (and maybe rest for a few days from riding our hogs!! hehe).
GREAT trip!! One for sure that neither of us will every forget!!
BACK HOME!!!!!!
I will do a Trip Summary post next to finalize the trip. Hopefully have some good data from all the tracks stored in the Zumo.
Stop Time: 1530 EDT
Start Location: Clarksburg, WV
Stop Location: Richmond, VA
Lodging: Home
Dinner: Home
Miles Traveled Today: 293
Weather: 70-90, Sunny
Today was an easy riding day. Beautiful ride through the mountains of West Virginia over US 33. Here is a break stop we made at Seneca Rocks.
This is where Bill and I split and headed to our homes in Richmond. We were both very anxious to now get home (and maybe rest for a few days from riding our hogs!! hehe).
GREAT trip!! One for sure that neither of us will every forget!!
BACK HOME!!!!!!
I will do a Trip Summary post next to finalize the trip. Hopefully have some good data from all the tracks stored in the Zumo.
USA4CT - Ride Day 23 - June 20, 2013 - Thu
Start Time: 0700 EDT
Stop Time: 1800 EDT
Start Location: Gaylord, MI
Stop Location: Clarksburg, WV
Lodging: Wingate Inn
Dinner: Oliverio's
Miles Traveled Today: 623
Weather: 46-85, Sunny
Not much to report today until we got to Clarksburg, WV. Another beautiful sunny, mild day. Perfect for motorcycle riding! It was also our 7th and last over 600 mile day!!
Bill & I had our USA4CT "Last Supper" at Oliverio's in Bridgeport. It was excellent. The cuisine at Oliverio's is Italian and we had not had Italian since the evening in Tallahassee, FL of Tropical Storm Andrea and that was a pizza delivered Pizza Hut!! Ha! Oliverio's was a lot better than that, for sure!
We just had to have dessert to celebrate too, so we had the bread pudding. Had not had bread pudding for dessert either since Florida City, FL. This was excellent. Don't know which one was better. They were both great in their own ways. If you like bread pudding, they you know what I mean (almost every bread pudding is different anyway).
We returned to the hotel (had to ride our bikes to Oliverio's) and parked for the night. We then finished (only one drink left anyway) the bottle of Scotch and had a cigar outside the hotel to finalize the last evening of our USA4CT!
Stop Time: 1800 EDT
Start Location: Gaylord, MI
Stop Location: Clarksburg, WV
Lodging: Wingate Inn
Dinner: Oliverio's
Miles Traveled Today: 623
Weather: 46-85, Sunny
Not much to report today until we got to Clarksburg, WV. Another beautiful sunny, mild day. Perfect for motorcycle riding! It was also our 7th and last over 600 mile day!!
Bill & I had our USA4CT "Last Supper" at Oliverio's in Bridgeport. It was excellent. The cuisine at Oliverio's is Italian and we had not had Italian since the evening in Tallahassee, FL of Tropical Storm Andrea and that was a pizza delivered Pizza Hut!! Ha! Oliverio's was a lot better than that, for sure!
We just had to have dessert to celebrate too, so we had the bread pudding. Had not had bread pudding for dessert either since Florida City, FL. This was excellent. Don't know which one was better. They were both great in their own ways. If you like bread pudding, they you know what I mean (almost every bread pudding is different anyway).
We returned to the hotel (had to ride our bikes to Oliverio's) and parked for the night. We then finished (only one drink left anyway) the bottle of Scotch and had a cigar outside the hotel to finalize the last evening of our USA4CT!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
USA4CT - Ride Day 22 - June 19, 2013 - Wed
Start Time: 0700 CDT
Stop Time: 1830 EDT
Start Location: Superior, WI
Stop Location: Gaylord, MI
Lodging: Quality Inn
Dinner: Wild West Sports Bar
Miles Traveled Today: 501
Weather: 48-75, Sunny
Well the highlight of today was the crossing of the Mackinac Bridge. This is quite a bridge. It is the longest suspension bridge in the Western hemisphere and the third longest in the world (It was the longest from the time it was built in 1957 to 1998!). The bridge is 5 miles long and 552 feet above the water (and you can see the water through the steel grating as you are crossing!!!). A real thrill ride, for sure! Fortunately there was not much wind in the straits today, since the bridge will sway back and forth up to 35 feet in the wind!!
One lane was closed for maintenance while we were crossing. Traffic was very light so there was no delay.
Interesting that one lane is paved and one lane is steel grate. We had to ride on the steel grate for awhile since the paved side was closed for maintenance on a portion of the bridge.
We were surprised at the few hotels at exits going south on I75 from the bridge. We stopped at Gaylord. The Hampton Inn was already sold out and we ended up at a Quality Inn for the night.
We plan to get to Clarksburg, WV for our last night on the road!
Stop Time: 1830 EDT
Start Location: Superior, WI
Stop Location: Gaylord, MI
Lodging: Quality Inn
Dinner: Wild West Sports Bar
Miles Traveled Today: 501
Weather: 48-75, Sunny
Well the highlight of today was the crossing of the Mackinac Bridge. This is quite a bridge. It is the longest suspension bridge in the Western hemisphere and the third longest in the world (It was the longest from the time it was built in 1957 to 1998!). The bridge is 5 miles long and 552 feet above the water (and you can see the water through the steel grating as you are crossing!!!). A real thrill ride, for sure! Fortunately there was not much wind in the straits today, since the bridge will sway back and forth up to 35 feet in the wind!!
Interesting that one lane is paved and one lane is steel grate. We had to ride on the steel grate for awhile since the paved side was closed for maintenance on a portion of the bridge.
We were surprised at the few hotels at exits going south on I75 from the bridge. We stopped at Gaylord. The Hampton Inn was already sold out and we ended up at a Quality Inn for the night.
We plan to get to Clarksburg, WV for our last night on the road!
USA4CT - Ride Day 21 - June 18, 2013 - Tue
Start Time: 0630 CDT
Stop Time: 1800 CDT
Start Location: Williston, ND
Stop Location: Superior, WI
Lodging: Best Western
Dinner: The Shack
Miles Traveled Today: 617
Weather: 52-80-57, Sunny
We were kinda glad to get up early and head out of Williston, ND. I guess this must have been what the California Gold Rush was like back in the 1800's. We stopped to get gas in eastern Montana and a local told us to watch our and be careful the closer we got to Williston. Really did not expect what we did encounter there!! I would have to say I am glad I came through the area and personally witnessed all the business activity going on there, but we were so glad to get out of the area and head on east. Sure don't plan to go back to Williston anytime soon. If you need a job, looks like that is the place to be!!
Here was one of the many oil wells going into production. Most of them were venting and burning off the gas as in this one.
This was a typical picture of all the highways/streets in Williston. Even had temporary stop lights installed on wooden poles at many intersections due to the truck traffic. We made the mistake this morning of not stopping on the right side of the road for gas and had to cross over to the left side to a gas station. Didn't think we would ever get pulled back out on the highway going east!!
Lots of construction of temporary housing, i.e. "mancamps" everywhere. They even had temporary "mobile motels".
EVERYTHING was expensive too. The highest price we paid for premium gas was in Williston, ND. Even higher than California!! ($4.59 a gallon). Kinda ironic that gas/oil was so expensive there with the oil/gas boom going on!!
No doubt it is an economic boom to the town and state and I am sure there are a lot of mixed feelings with the locals there with the huge disruption in their lifestyle.
Lot's of infrastructure going in. Water, sewer, electric lines, roads, etc.!!
Anyway, good to see it, but was really glad to leave this morning!!
No other pictures today. We crossed both North Dakota and Minnesota on US 2 and landed in Superior, Wisconsin for the night. Good day of riding and another 600 mile day! Temperature was a little cool both in the morning and when we arrived in Duluth/Superior. I guess Lake Superior keeps the air temperature cool/cold for awhile in the summer!
Stop Time: 1800 CDT
Start Location: Williston, ND
Stop Location: Superior, WI
Lodging: Best Western
Dinner: The Shack
Miles Traveled Today: 617
Weather: 52-80-57, Sunny
We were kinda glad to get up early and head out of Williston, ND. I guess this must have been what the California Gold Rush was like back in the 1800's. We stopped to get gas in eastern Montana and a local told us to watch our and be careful the closer we got to Williston. Really did not expect what we did encounter there!! I would have to say I am glad I came through the area and personally witnessed all the business activity going on there, but we were so glad to get out of the area and head on east. Sure don't plan to go back to Williston anytime soon. If you need a job, looks like that is the place to be!!
Here was one of the many oil wells going into production. Most of them were venting and burning off the gas as in this one.
This was a typical picture of all the highways/streets in Williston. Even had temporary stop lights installed on wooden poles at many intersections due to the truck traffic. We made the mistake this morning of not stopping on the right side of the road for gas and had to cross over to the left side to a gas station. Didn't think we would ever get pulled back out on the highway going east!!
Lots of construction of temporary housing, i.e. "mancamps" everywhere. They even had temporary "mobile motels".
EVERYTHING was expensive too. The highest price we paid for premium gas was in Williston, ND. Even higher than California!! ($4.59 a gallon). Kinda ironic that gas/oil was so expensive there with the oil/gas boom going on!!
No doubt it is an economic boom to the town and state and I am sure there are a lot of mixed feelings with the locals there with the huge disruption in their lifestyle.
Lot's of infrastructure going in. Water, sewer, electric lines, roads, etc.!!
Anyway, good to see it, but was really glad to leave this morning!!
No other pictures today. We crossed both North Dakota and Minnesota on US 2 and landed in Superior, Wisconsin for the night. Good day of riding and another 600 mile day! Temperature was a little cool both in the morning and when we arrived in Duluth/Superior. I guess Lake Superior keeps the air temperature cool/cold for awhile in the summer!
USA4CT - Ride Day 20 - June 17, 2013 - Mon
Start Time: 0700 MDT
Stop Time: 1830 CDT
Start Location: Kalispell, MT
Stop Location: Williston, ND
Lodging: Best Western
Dinner: Big Willy's Restaurant
Miles Traveled Today: 581
Weather: 55-75, Sunny
Today was a ride across Montana, Big Sky Country. I knew that on our way, in the neat little town of Hungry Horse, MT was The Huckleberry Patch!! The place has been in business for 20 years and the people that own it have been dealing with Huckleberries for over 60 years. They do know Huckleberries! This was my THIRD time stopping by and having a piece of Huckleberry pie. I stopped here in 2007, 2010 and now 2013 (hmmm, every 3 years, will be interesting if I am back again in 2016, maybe so!!!!). I had asked Bill if he liked Huckleberries and he said "oh yes". I told him I knew the place we were going to stop by for Huckleberries in that case (of course, I was going to stop whether he liked them or not!!)
We had our normal continental breakfast at the Hampton Inn before we left at 7 am. We had decided that we would get coffee and a piece of Huckleberry Pie at the Patch instead of another full breakfast!! I thought The Huckleberry Patch opened at 7 too. When we arrived the door was locked with a sign that they didn't open until 8 am!! I thought OH NO, that is a loooong time to wait for a piece of Huckleberry Pie. About that time a lady walked by the door and I knocked. She opened the door and I explained that we were on a motorcycle trip from Richmond, VA and we just wanted a piece of pie. She said, "In that case, come on it. We won't have breakfast ready until 8 am but the Huckleberry Pie and coffee are always ready". She let us in, so we had the place all to ourselves while we enjoyed our pie!
WOW, it doesn't get any better than this!!! Huckleberry coffee and Huckleberry pie!! We also loaded up on some of their Huckleberry preserves and pie filling to bring home. Nothing more valuable could occupy the limited space on our motorcycles!!! hehe!
WOW, that is quite a smile on Bill's face!! Wonder why?????
I don't think I had a picture of myself for the "record book" in front of The Huckleberry Patch" so I had Bill take one for me. Now I have it officially recorded.
I also wanted to ride the "Going to the Sun" Highway through Glacier National Park. I had ridden the road back in 2007. Here are a copy of pics from that ride in 2007 and a video my riding friend made of me coming down the west side from Logan Pass:
The "line" mid way down the mountain in the picture is the "highway"!!
I always like to take a few pics of my bike with the snow covered mountains in the background. I like the red in contrast with the gray and white!!
Here is Bill
More of my bike!!
About that time, I needed to take a "nature" break so I headed up the hill into the woods. (BTW, for all my East coast friends, I made sure I took my "nature" break on the Pacific side of the Continental Divide - sorry West coast friends!! hehe!!)
Remember the snake "incident" in the National Park in Maryland a couple of weeks ago. Well, as I was standing in the wooded area I looked over to my right and saw this. Now the picture doesn't do it justice, as what I thought I saw at the edge of the woods was a GRIZZLY BEAR!! But as you can see it was a brown limb of an evergreen tree (if you get back from the picture it does look like a bear face). It was enough to startle me a little!! hehe, again!!
On east we rode. The true meaning of "Big Sky Country" was realized as we headed east of Browning, MT. WOW!!
Reminds me of the song I like by The Highwaymen, "The Road Goes On Forever and The Party Never Ends"!! (One of my "theme songs" for this trip!)
The last sight of the Rocky Mountains of western Montana behind us. BTW, that is Bill behind me as I took this picture with the camera backwards. Lucky shot traveling around 70 mph!!
We made it to Williston, ND for the night. We had called several places the night before trying to find a hotel room. If you don't know it there is a oil boom going on in western North Dakota and Williston is right in the middle of it. I will post more pics tomorrow of the area and talk more about it. Here was our dinner for the evening. We found a really neat restaurant within walking distance of the hotel we did find with a room!
Stop Time: 1830 CDT
Start Location: Kalispell, MT
Stop Location: Williston, ND
Lodging: Best Western
Dinner: Big Willy's Restaurant
Miles Traveled Today: 581
Weather: 55-75, Sunny
Today was a ride across Montana, Big Sky Country. I knew that on our way, in the neat little town of Hungry Horse, MT was The Huckleberry Patch!! The place has been in business for 20 years and the people that own it have been dealing with Huckleberries for over 60 years. They do know Huckleberries! This was my THIRD time stopping by and having a piece of Huckleberry pie. I stopped here in 2007, 2010 and now 2013 (hmmm, every 3 years, will be interesting if I am back again in 2016, maybe so!!!!). I had asked Bill if he liked Huckleberries and he said "oh yes". I told him I knew the place we were going to stop by for Huckleberries in that case (of course, I was going to stop whether he liked them or not!!)
We had our normal continental breakfast at the Hampton Inn before we left at 7 am. We had decided that we would get coffee and a piece of Huckleberry Pie at the Patch instead of another full breakfast!! I thought The Huckleberry Patch opened at 7 too. When we arrived the door was locked with a sign that they didn't open until 8 am!! I thought OH NO, that is a loooong time to wait for a piece of Huckleberry Pie. About that time a lady walked by the door and I knocked. She opened the door and I explained that we were on a motorcycle trip from Richmond, VA and we just wanted a piece of pie. She said, "In that case, come on it. We won't have breakfast ready until 8 am but the Huckleberry Pie and coffee are always ready". She let us in, so we had the place all to ourselves while we enjoyed our pie!
WOW, it doesn't get any better than this!!! Huckleberry coffee and Huckleberry pie!! We also loaded up on some of their Huckleberry preserves and pie filling to bring home. Nothing more valuable could occupy the limited space on our motorcycles!!! hehe!
WOW, that is quite a smile on Bill's face!! Wonder why?????
The "line" mid way down the mountain in the picture is the "highway"!!
Keith, in 2007, was the "videographer" of me in this short video:
Unfortunately, the Going To The Sun Highway was STILL not open due to snow today!! No big deal, we would just continue on US-2. Neither of us had ever ridden US-2 around the south end of Glacier NP, so all is good!
We stopped for a break and a few pics at the top of Marias Pass and the Continental Divide.
Here is Bill
About that time, I needed to take a "nature" break so I headed up the hill into the woods. (BTW, for all my East coast friends, I made sure I took my "nature" break on the Pacific side of the Continental Divide - sorry West coast friends!! hehe!!)
Remember the snake "incident" in the National Park in Maryland a couple of weeks ago. Well, as I was standing in the wooded area I looked over to my right and saw this. Now the picture doesn't do it justice, as what I thought I saw at the edge of the woods was a GRIZZLY BEAR!! But as you can see it was a brown limb of an evergreen tree (if you get back from the picture it does look like a bear face). It was enough to startle me a little!! hehe, again!!
On east we rode. The true meaning of "Big Sky Country" was realized as we headed east of Browning, MT. WOW!!
Reminds me of the song I like by The Highwaymen, "The Road Goes On Forever and The Party Never Ends"!! (One of my "theme songs" for this trip!)
The last sight of the Rocky Mountains of western Montana behind us. BTW, that is Bill behind me as I took this picture with the camera backwards. Lucky shot traveling around 70 mph!!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
USA4CT - Ride Day 19 - June 16, 2013 - Sun
Start Time: 0800 PDT
Stop Time: 1800 MDT
Start Location: Winthrop, WA
Stop Location: Kalispell, MT
Lodging: Hampton Inn
Dinner: La Fiesta Mexican Family
Miles Traveled Today: 456
Weather: 60-85, Sunny
WOW, this is what we woke up to this morning. We had left the sliding door open last night. Had a really good night's sleep with the cool mountain air and sounds of rushing snow melt water of the Methow River right outside! Yesterday had been a really exciting day so it was nice to have a restful night.
We walked back downtown for a hearty breakfast this morning. Here is Bill waiting for his breakfast to be served at Three Finged Jack's Saloon.
This was a picture in the saloon! At first, I thought someone had taken my and Bill's picture the night before and had it mounted on the wall already!! Hard to remember all the celebrating we did last night for finishing the USA4CT!! hehe!!
Nope, this was more of the way we looked the night before in the saloon!! hehe, again!!
Look at the size of this plate of sausage gravy and biscuits!!
Look at the size of that pancake and all that bacon, just for Bill!!!!We definitely had a hearty breakfast!!
We headed on east on US 2. Planned to take US 2 all the way to the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. As you can see, it was another beautiful day on our tour! Very little traffic. One short stretch of US 2 was under construction and we had to ride on gravel for about a mile, but without any delay. We also had an elk run out in front of us nearing Idaho. The dang thing got in front of us and just ran down the road for about quarter of a mile. All we could do was slow down to a near stop and watch what it may do. It finally turned to the right and headed back into the woods.
Another beautiful SUNNY day of riding across Washington, Idaho and into Montana!!!
Stop Time: 1800 MDT
Start Location: Winthrop, WA
Stop Location: Kalispell, MT
Lodging: Hampton Inn
Dinner: La Fiesta Mexican Family
Miles Traveled Today: 456
Weather: 60-85, Sunny
WOW, this is what we woke up to this morning. We had left the sliding door open last night. Had a really good night's sleep with the cool mountain air and sounds of rushing snow melt water of the Methow River right outside! Yesterday had been a really exciting day so it was nice to have a restful night.
We walked back downtown for a hearty breakfast this morning. Here is Bill waiting for his breakfast to be served at Three Finged Jack's Saloon.
This was a picture in the saloon! At first, I thought someone had taken my and Bill's picture the night before and had it mounted on the wall already!! Hard to remember all the celebrating we did last night for finishing the USA4CT!! hehe!!
Look at the size of this plate of sausage gravy and biscuits!!
Look at the size of that pancake and all that bacon, just for Bill!!!!We definitely had a hearty breakfast!!
We headed on east on US 2. Planned to take US 2 all the way to the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. As you can see, it was another beautiful day on our tour! Very little traffic. One short stretch of US 2 was under construction and we had to ride on gravel for about a mile, but without any delay. We also had an elk run out in front of us nearing Idaho. The dang thing got in front of us and just ran down the road for about quarter of a mile. All we could do was slow down to a near stop and watch what it may do. It finally turned to the right and headed back into the woods.
Another beautiful SUNNY day of riding across Washington, Idaho and into Montana!!!
USA4CT - Ride Day 18 - Tour Day 15 - June 15, 2013 - Sat
Start Time: 0630 PDT
Stop Time: 1800 PDT
Start Location: Yakima, WA
Stop Location: Winthrop, WA
Lodging: Hotel Rio Vista
Dinner: Carlos 1800 Mexican Grill
Miles Traveled Today: 478
Weather: 65-85, Sunny
Well today would be the day to complete the USA4CT by visiting Blaine, Washington. I had read about the North Cascades Highway (WA-20) and about the town of Winthrop, WA. It looked like we could make it to Blaine and then head on east on WA-20 to Winthrop for the night.
I had also "met" another USA4CT rider, Charles, who lived near Seattle through the Southern California Motorcycling Association. He had completed the tour solo back in May of this year. We became Facebook friends and I had got several "tips" from him about the tour. I called Charles yesterday and told him we planned to be in Blaine today, so he said he would plan to meet us in Everett, WA and ride up to Blaine with us. Charles also has a very unique motorcycle that is truly his as you will see later!
We had a beautiful ride up to Everett. First thing this morning we took scenic route 821 along the Yakima River between Yakima and Ellensburg. I had ridden this route back in 2007 and knew it was good. It was a refreshing start to our ride today! We also crossed Steven's Pass on US-2. All of US-2 was a beautiful ride.
We met Charles at a rest stop on I-5. Spent some time talking about our trip and Charles' customized Road King. Charles is a retired US Army Miltary Policeman and current works as a police officer at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. His bike is "customized" for a military policeman!! Pretty cool as you can see in the pictures below.
Somewhat surprising he was only stopped on his USA4CT one time by the state police and that was in Illinois (someone had called 911 about a motorcycle going down the road with guns!!). After he showed the state police his bike and that he himself was a career police officer they all had a good laugh about it!
Charles is a great guy. We really enjoyed meeting him and having his company & direction along our way to Blaine. He was a real asset in leading us through the detour on I-5 near Mount Vernon where the interstate bridge had fallen into the river back in May. Took us only about 30 minutes of stop and go traffic to get through the detour.
BTW, Charles tells us his current base commander where he works will not allow his motorcycle on base!!
Well, here we are, at our final corner of the USA4CT!!! And in 15 days too, since we left Madawaska, ME! Bill and I both felt a great relief and a sense of achievement at the same time. I had been planning and thinking about this tour for several years and had it set in place for last year when I had my accident coming back from Daytona. This was a big ticket item on Bill's "bucket list"!! We both felt the achievement, since this official tour sponsored by the Southern California Motorcycling Association (SCMA) has been running for 29 years. It started in 1984. 1,300 people have completed the challenge over the 29 years. That is an average of only 45 people per year. As Blake Anderson, the chairman of the SCMA said, more people climb Mt. Everest every year than ride the USA Four Corners Tour!!! Now we just need to get our documentation sent out in the mail and get the official certification and plaque sent to us as well as our name on the SCMA US4CT web site!!! That does feel good!!!!
Had to get a pic of all three of us at Blaine too!!
After the documentation pictures and gas receipts we all headed back south on I-5. Bill and I headed east at Bellingham. WA-20 was pretty straight and flat for several miles until we hit the North Cascades National Park and the scenery and road really changed as you can see below!! Hardly any traffic so it was a fun, enjoyable motorcycle ride!
Note in this picture the railroad track well about the road. This was a pretty good grade. I was hoping to see a train coming and to see how many engines it would take to get up this grade. I am sure it was a lot. We didn't see a train.
We made it to Winthrop and our lodging for the night, Hotel Rio Vista. Lots of motorcycles there!!
The desk clerk gave Bill and I a prime parking location for our motorcycles!!
This is the river right outside our room balcony.
Here is where Bill and I had our now, traditional cigar and Scotch for finishing our fourth corner.
We were hungry so next on the agenda was dinner. We wore our USA4CT hats & pins with pride this evening too!!
I think we really celebrated with dinner too!!
Winthrop was a very authenic looking Western town. It was hard to walk down the board walkway without putting your thumbs in your pockets or walk bowlegged (that was pretty easy for us after now about 9,000 miles in the motorcycle saddle over the past 3 weeks!!)
This is the oldest "legal" saloon in the state of Washington
Hey, this was our kind of place!!!! hehe
Stop Time: 1800 PDT
Start Location: Yakima, WA
Stop Location: Winthrop, WA
Lodging: Hotel Rio Vista
Dinner: Carlos 1800 Mexican Grill
Miles Traveled Today: 478
Weather: 65-85, Sunny
Well today would be the day to complete the USA4CT by visiting Blaine, Washington. I had read about the North Cascades Highway (WA-20) and about the town of Winthrop, WA. It looked like we could make it to Blaine and then head on east on WA-20 to Winthrop for the night.
I had also "met" another USA4CT rider, Charles, who lived near Seattle through the Southern California Motorcycling Association. He had completed the tour solo back in May of this year. We became Facebook friends and I had got several "tips" from him about the tour. I called Charles yesterday and told him we planned to be in Blaine today, so he said he would plan to meet us in Everett, WA and ride up to Blaine with us. Charles also has a very unique motorcycle that is truly his as you will see later!
We had a beautiful ride up to Everett. First thing this morning we took scenic route 821 along the Yakima River between Yakima and Ellensburg. I had ridden this route back in 2007 and knew it was good. It was a refreshing start to our ride today! We also crossed Steven's Pass on US-2. All of US-2 was a beautiful ride.
We met Charles at a rest stop on I-5. Spent some time talking about our trip and Charles' customized Road King. Charles is a retired US Army Miltary Policeman and current works as a police officer at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. His bike is "customized" for a military policeman!! Pretty cool as you can see in the pictures below.
Somewhat surprising he was only stopped on his USA4CT one time by the state police and that was in Illinois (someone had called 911 about a motorcycle going down the road with guns!!). After he showed the state police his bike and that he himself was a career police officer they all had a good laugh about it!
Charles is a great guy. We really enjoyed meeting him and having his company & direction along our way to Blaine. He was a real asset in leading us through the detour on I-5 near Mount Vernon where the interstate bridge had fallen into the river back in May. Took us only about 30 minutes of stop and go traffic to get through the detour.
BTW, Charles tells us his current base commander where he works will not allow his motorcycle on base!!
Well, here we are, at our final corner of the USA4CT!!! And in 15 days too, since we left Madawaska, ME! Bill and I both felt a great relief and a sense of achievement at the same time. I had been planning and thinking about this tour for several years and had it set in place for last year when I had my accident coming back from Daytona. This was a big ticket item on Bill's "bucket list"!! We both felt the achievement, since this official tour sponsored by the Southern California Motorcycling Association (SCMA) has been running for 29 years. It started in 1984. 1,300 people have completed the challenge over the 29 years. That is an average of only 45 people per year. As Blake Anderson, the chairman of the SCMA said, more people climb Mt. Everest every year than ride the USA Four Corners Tour!!! Now we just need to get our documentation sent out in the mail and get the official certification and plaque sent to us as well as our name on the SCMA US4CT web site!!! That does feel good!!!!
Had to get a pic of all three of us at Blaine too!!
After the documentation pictures and gas receipts we all headed back south on I-5. Bill and I headed east at Bellingham. WA-20 was pretty straight and flat for several miles until we hit the North Cascades National Park and the scenery and road really changed as you can see below!! Hardly any traffic so it was a fun, enjoyable motorcycle ride!
Note in this picture the railroad track well about the road. This was a pretty good grade. I was hoping to see a train coming and to see how many engines it would take to get up this grade. I am sure it was a lot. We didn't see a train.
We made it to Winthrop and our lodging for the night, Hotel Rio Vista. Lots of motorcycles there!!
The desk clerk gave Bill and I a prime parking location for our motorcycles!!
Here is where Bill and I had our now, traditional cigar and Scotch for finishing our fourth corner.
We were hungry so next on the agenda was dinner. We wore our USA4CT hats & pins with pride this evening too!!
I think we really celebrated with dinner too!!
This is the oldest "legal" saloon in the state of Washington
Hey, this was our kind of place!!!! hehe
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