Mendocino Bay state campground. Beautiful...creek flowing through it, huge trees, sites spread a nice distance apart.
We FINALLY were given some sunny weather and were able to peel off a few layers of clothes as we moved south.
The sandwich we bought was delicious for Breakfast.......
For lunch....
And for dinner...
I've noticed something about uninvited guests. They move pretty slow until someone takes out the food. You just have to turn your head once and then....
BAck off! Get your own sandwich!
This morning I am amazed at waking up to a clear sky. It is the first. I have been disappointed, not in the lack of beauty in spite of the rain, but the lack of opportunities to photograph our journey. It has been too wet to take out my camera and my GoPro is not keeping it's charge. I did get a little window of opportunity at the end of the day. Today will be different.
I cannot describe the beauty of the Oregon Coast. If I did, the words would fall like the millions of raindrops that silently disappear into the sand and are pulled into the ocean like they didn't even exist. I am struck dumb.
Sandwiched between low clouds and a wet road, stuffed into five layers of clothes, plugged into the bike battery for warmth, buckets of rain belting against our visors, we splashed down the winding coastal road, grinning all the way.
I was not able to take out my camera all day due to the heavy rainfall, however we stopped at Cannon Beach just at the right time.
It was a toss up between the Coquihala and the old Kamloops to Merrit highway. I did not get many photos simply because I was afraid to take my hand off the grip to press the shutter button. It was a virtual wind tunnel and at times felt like my bike would be swept out from under me. Wind can be as dangerous as snow.
Another thing I learned today was that if you are subletting your rental suite you must keep it a secret. I was asked to step into the interrogation room at the border today. I was asked a lot of questions I have never been asked before. Fortunately I was questioned by a nice young man who "let me go" in spite of the fact that I have no "home" left in Canada that would draw me back across the border in 6 months. Although the property managers are still withdrawing the monthly rent from my account and I have a contract with them, it made no difference. So take note travellers, if you are subletting, you may not be allowed to step into our friendly next door country. The fact that I have never had any difficult border crossings (except for the apple that might or might not have a sticker on it, last year) and all my family members live in Canada made no difference. I am homeless and without a job. Oh dear. I am not worried because I am on the south side of the border now, thanks to Shoemaker. Yes, he had a name tag.
We spent the day yesterday visiting family in Abbotsford. I got to visit my Dad who is 90 years old, as well as two of my siblings and most of their kids. It was good to meet Mike's niece who shared her excellent hospitality with us.
And now....on to the coast. I'm so excited. We turn off at Olympia and join the #1 highway at Aberdeen tomorrow.
We approached the mountains with aprehension. The weather network left gaps in our travel plans. Some of the highway webcams were not working.
So we had to create our own. We had dry roads but it was very cold yesterday. When we pulled into Valemont at the end of the day it was raining, and it rained all night.
We were so happy that we did not run into snow going through these mountains. It was like going to the dentist and finding out you have no cavities. :-)
Prepare, prepare, prepare. It seems like we have been preparing to leave for the south for months. WAit a minute..... it HAS been months.
The BMW is once again in one piece and is running like it should. And so we leave the beautiful sunsets of Alberta for the pacific coast.
I will miss the red skies at night. As for the icey winter winds..... I will not comment lest I lose my dignity. Instead I look forward to the warmth of the southern sun
OK, so we are not stupid. We knew that our window of good weather was closing rapidly but reality set in when we woke up this morning to -4. It is not my first ride in the cold, but this time I have wired clothes so I was able to stay more than luke warm....except for my finger tips and toes. We rode from St Paul, AB to Valemont BC. At the end of the day it was raining with snow veiling the mountains beside us.
I had planned to post some more photos I took with my GoPro but the internet here is very slow and my pictures have a way of disappearing when they are almost loaded, which does cause me to lose my dignity. I must close with a smile on my face and a prayer for good weather tomorrow. We have some higher elevation tomorrow that may give us bad road conditions. Yikes!
Because Rachel likes Shredded wheat as much as I do, I couldn't help but think of her when I took these pictures.
I have never been lucky enough to be in such an active path of migratory geese. I have not been able to capture the huge flocks of snow geese in a way that satisfies me. Seeing these birds flocking up for the journey south makes me anxious to point south as well. The sound of their call gets into my blood. They are saying, "Hurry up! Hurry up! It's getting late!"
Even the crab apples are letting go of their summer home. They are looking for the security of a glass jar and a shelf in a warm kitchen.
Late in my life I learned to pause during moments of pleasure and take a mental photo of my surroundings or the event that was happening. When I practice this I can create such vivid memories that I don't need an album to fully recall the pleasure. There are many moments in my life that I regret not doing this. Those are the moments I have only partial recall, vague pictures with no detail, the emotions of the moment all but gone as well.
I have driven past this mountain so many times and never stopped to take a picture for two reasons. There is not the perfect place to stop, and I am often on a mission, zooming past, thinking "next time".
As you know, I love rocks in their large and in their tiniest form. This rock may always be there, but I will not. Our children and grandchildren will not always be there....so I stop and take mental photos. I savour the moment. My celebral shutter is going "click...click" and the lighting is always right.
Because the face of a moment could fly away at any moment and you will be left with nothing....unless you press the shutter button.
Because I came here to meet up with the three people I was going to ride south with. Yup. As well, my home is occupied now. It turns out that for various good reasons two of the people who were going to ride south with me have opted out. Then there is die hard adventurous Mike, who is in the process of taking his bike apart. He has had no time until now to do that.
He has been told that his clutch will last another 100,000 mms but to make sure he is not stranded out of country he has decided to change it now. He is saving himself $2000 as it is a 10 hour job and mechanics are not cheap.
Because he has been working for a friend his own pre-winter jobs have not been done so those things are on our pre-exit-the-country list. And actually, the later we leave the country, the later we can stay in spring.
This does not even look like a BMW 1150. I am so glad that I am not responsible for putting it back together again. It might look like a transformer, or a can opener.
This is the part that took 5 hours to unveil. And then he found that they had sent him the wrong size so now we have to wait till after the weekend to purchase the right one.
In the meantime......
I am finding beauty in Alberta.
I love my new treads! It's a Hidenau, somewhere between a nobby dirt bike tire and a road tire.
Do you not think I can go anywhere with these? And I will. :-)
So once again Chris loaded up her bike and hit the ferry. What a sweet ride. With the waves gently rocking the boat and the sea breeze in her face she dreamed of the adventure before her. At the same time she tried to control the freaking fear that she may have left something important behind.
The fiery V-Strom stuck out like a Sorrel stallion leading the herd on a galloping escape across the ocean. Ok, I'm getting a little carried away here. He is actually a mare. Maybe a Boss Mare.....who is searching for a few more steeds to add to the herd.
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