A LONG time since my last post which covered our time in Ventura, CA and the trip to the Sequoia National Forest. After Sequoia we had a one day stay in Santa Maria, CA before camping out in San Francisco for a couple of days. My sister Kathy was kind enough to play tour guide and drove us all through San Francisco, Marin County and the Sonoma/Napa Valley wine region.
Crossing the Border from Nevada into California
Approaching Sequoia National Park
Touring in Kathy’s Convertible
Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge
Marshall and Kathy with the Pesky Fog Covering the Bridge
Finally the Bridge Comes into View
Wine Tasting in Full Swing
Once we left San Francisco we headed up the Pacific Coast, from California to Oregon and finally Washington State. The coast was socked in for a good part of the ride.
California Coast on our departure from San Francisco
California Coast
Crossing into Oregon
Oregon Coast Starts out Foggy
and Foggy
But Finally Clears Up
Our final Pacific Coast destination is Seattle where after 6,000 miles on the road both of our motorcycles are due for service. After calling ahead BMW Motorcycles of Seattle agreed to take both of our bikes in for service. After we dropped them off on Friday morning we headed down to the Pike Place Market on the Seattle water front. The market was founded in 1907 and is one of the oldest and largest continuously operating public markets in the US. A few pictures below:
However our trip to the market was short lived. Within an hour of our arrival at the market Marshall received a call from the service department at the BMW dealer. His bike had serious engine damage which, at least initially, looked like it could have ended Marshall’s leg of the trip. So we rushed back to the dealer to discuss possible solutions. Given the gravity of the damage Marshall was extremely lucky on two counts. First, the dealer was able to locates the parts necessary to replace the damage and also, incredibly, agreed to work through the weekend to repair his bike. Additionally, Marshall had purchased an after market warranty on his bike which was still in force and it paid the majority of the repairs.
However, the shock of running into such a serious issue on the trip along with the mounting expenses of over a month on the road was taking its toll. At this point Marshall was thinking of planning an earlier exit (we were both feeling the money crunch) but we had different plans on an exit strategy. I still wanted to go a more northerly route through Idaho and Montana and eventually tour Canada as well. He wanted to bee-line to Mount Rushmore and head straight home from there. So, in the end we both made it to Spokane, Washington and went our separate ways the next morning, wishing each other a safe journey on and now individual paths.
So today, which is now day 32 I rode from Spokane through Idaho to Kalispell, Montana, home to Glacier National Park.
Entering Glacier National Park
The plan from here is to take a northerly route through Montana and North Dakota then track north and spend a few days in Winnipeg, Manitoba. From there I will trace an as yet undetermined route that will deliver me to Montreal, Quebec, Canada where I plan to meet up with my world-traveling stepson Jason. He and I spent few days in Toronto a few years back when I was on a project in Buffalo – we had a blast. We are both looking forward to this new adventure.
Onward …..
Adventures of an Old Man 