To my faithful blog readers.  I have been having trouble with the Weebly site.  I have am not able to post pictures.  I have tried everything and I can't seem to find a place where I can email the web host for Weebly.  
This will push me to  create a new website/blog, which I have been planning to do anyways.  I am sorry about this. I will let you know when the new site is up.  If you want to be a guest on my new blog email me at    [email protected].

A sincere 
 
This is the way I feel today.
 
The Redwood Forest takes my breath away every time I ride through it.  I have to stop and touch the trees and lean up against the massive trunks  to remember how small I am in the scheme of things.  
Bsides...I needed a rest.  :-)  At the end of each day the winding roads took a toll on my right shoulder which I injured last year. But it was worth every minute of it. 
We camped beside the road with some other travellers.  We had forgotten to get water and there was no store.  A friendly fellow gave us a gallon of water.  We had to buy some fire wood, Campfires always add nuance to a campsite, especially beside the ocean where it can get cool at night. I was thankful for my MEC woolies.  We had firewood left over so we gave it to the kind man who had given us some water.  That's the way it works.  All along the road we traded the comforts of life with neighbouring campers.  Although we had our own little primus stove and coffee, we were often offered morning coffee and had many nice visits with folks from all over the continent.   
 
The #1 highway is well posted with danger signs. Warnings of tight corners, falling rocks and risk of being swallowed by a Tsunami.  After all, it is along the San Andres Fault.  There are so many terrifying documentaries of impending doom.  Not only the dread of a big wave but perhaps a quarter of the earth will blow outward sending volcanic ash as far as the east coast. 
Screw the fear mongers, we must enjoy what there is while we still have it. 
Let NOTHING stop you from exulting in the moment no matter where you are or what you are doing.....and then..... 
Eat some chocolate to make that moment perfect.  (Right Bro?)
 
First there was the sandwich.....
Not just an ordinary sandwich....
And then there were the birds.
....there was the intense hypnotic glare.
Then there was the big black monster bird...
And suddenly......there was.....
No more monster sandwich.
 
This is the third winter in a row that I have travelled the coastal highway from Victoria to Yuma on a motorcycle.   It is Mike's second time on this road but the first on his Heritage Classic, a much more comfortable ride than the BMW he used last year. We were both at home on our motorcycles and the weather was perfect for camping. 
My friend Polly, who lives in White Horse, had given me some packaged salmon from the Yukon which was delicious! Along with some Tillimook squeaky cheese and home dried apples we had the perfect roadside lunch.  
How could a day become any sweeter?
Need I say anymore?
 
A stranger walked into our camp last night and took the liberty to check out my bike.  Mike's bike has a cover on it so he was lucky.  There was mud all over my tank, seat, saddle bags and even hand prints on the windshield.  We heard a noise and spotted him in our headlamps but he was too quick and escaped before I could grab my camera.  He did try to steal something however and challenged Mike when he tried to take it back.  
It is a good thing that he decided that racoons can't ride motorcycles.   I can just see him standing on my tank with one hand on my windshield, the other on the throttle dreaming...
We found a nice little spot south of Florence.  Our camping neighbours were rock climbers, mountain bikers, skiers and X Harley riders.  We had a great visit around the fire. 
The sky was sunny with a few fog banks we rode through.  This is a highway one could never  tire of.  Around every bend there is something to get excited about and it just makes us both feel like we are dancing on the edge of life........ 
With Cheese.....
 
It's time to ride south!  The weather is cooling, but we have a window of sunny weather so this morning we packed up our bikes and left beautiful Vancouver Island. This will be the third time I have ridden my motorcycle down the west coast to Yuma Arizona and beyond.
We caught the Coho with the Black Ball Ferries and began our journey south.  
We munched our lunch while watching some kids fish off the dock at Lake Leland. Then we hit the road and by the time the sun was painting the sky a brilliant pink, we were settled for night in Astoria, Oregon.  We couldn't have had a better day.
 
She sits very still with puddles on her back
shoulders bent in the weather attack
Her rumbling voice so sweet to my ears
Has ceased to speak while the autumn tears
Fall down from the skies in waves of wet
Trapping us all in a soft grey net.
She waits for the sun and the rumbling roar 
Of the pearl white lady who is hard to ignore
Who comes from the north with the wind on her tail
And rides by her side on the west coast trail
She waits with a tank full of octane fuel
She's as strong as an ox and sturdy as a mule
Ready for the ride that will take me south
Where the road is  my home and a tent is my house.

 
Picture
This root rocks!  I wanted to take it home with me but I couldn't lift it. Besides I was a kilometre from the car park.  

And there are rules on the island about removing objects from the beaches.  No no no, you must not collect drift wood.  It's difficult for me to obey this rule.  However because of it the beaches are strewn with logs and pieces of wood which creates a very picturesque sight.
Picture
They come in all shapes and sizes. You end up playing the cloud shape game with yourself.  This one looks like a beached shark.

There is history behind this rusted bolt.
Beauty rests in every piece of oddly shaped,  sea sanded chunk of tree.  If I could take them home my yard would be full of them.
I would horde them and they would clutter up my property.  They would take up all the available space until there would be room for nothing else. 
Just like on my camera card.