Staying in Redmond, Oregon - Day 7

Total Miles = 45

Now, the business part of my trip begins. Today, at the BMW MOA rally in Redmond, Oregon, I will be selling VaVaVroom through the Bob's BMW booth. We spent the better part of the day setting all of this up. The best part of the day was receiving a new, free windscreen for my motorcycle - a ZTechnik brand - much needed. Since my bike was used as the demo bike at the vendor booth, I get to keep it! That is awesome because I was going to buy one anyway! In the evening, I joined Bob Henig of Bob's BMW and Sam Henig (his son) and Fred Oppido (my fellow booth workers) for the BMW MOA Ambassador's dinner. Here is a picture of Sam and Fred.

I also ran into my old friends, Walt Fulton and Nancy Foote, of Streetmasters Motorcycle Workshops (pictured here in their Streetmasters red!).

After the dinner, Bob, Fred, Sam and I took a really quick ride to Smith Rock. We stopped to see "the rock" over looking a beautiful stream with hikers below and rock climbers above.

This trip has been full of beautiful and inspiring geography.

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 6

Total Miles = 320

Days like today make days like yesterday all worth it.

The highlight of the day was riding Hwy 26 in Oregon through a mountainous, cavernous, gorgeous (gorges!) landscape. Roads just technical enough to engage us but not tiring. I highly recommend this route to any riders or travelers. On our first gas stop, we encountered some fellow BMW travelers (see our helmets all lined up together?) and the inside of the gas station had a bison head hanging as well as other local game.

It also had funny signs up all over - reminding customers not to pee on the seat in the washroom, etc. We arrived in Redmond around 5:00 pm at the BMW MOA International Rally site. We found a place next to some Canadians that quickly become friends. Mike from Trenton, Ontario and Jerry and Sharon from Niagara Falls. They are a ton of fun and we enjoyed dinner with them at Coyote Ranch. A good time was had by all, ay.

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 5

Total Miles = 442

We had a lovely brunch at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. Sandra and I parted ways with Jonny at this point. Jonny was riding north to participate in an Iron Butt. Sandra and I were heading west to towards Oregon.



As we left Yellowstone Park, we saw more bison and beautiful sites. As you mayhave heard, there is a lot of construction going on in Yellowstone. We waited for 30 minutes at one point due to a lane closure. We met two very nice couples from North Dakota on Harleys. It takes a while to get out of Yellowstone. Yes, there is traffic and construction, but I found the stay there completely worth it. I only got to see a small portion of what the park has to offer but the sights I did get the chance to see were truly amazing.

Our plan was to continue on Hwy 20. This took us through Montana briefly and then into Idaho. We missed an exit for Hwy 20 and had to re-route northwest for a bit. On this road and when we returned to Hwy 20, we encountered very high winds. At least 50-60 mph. It was scary and I was so tense!

I'm pointing to the place on the map where we rode through 50-60 mph winds.

Because we were riding through desert, there was nowhere to stop. We tried stopping once, but just got blown around more. So we carried on until we reached the town of Unity. After resting and getting our nerves under control, we carried on.

There were winds but they felt like baby's breath compared to what we had just been through. The rest of the ride was quite nice. We rode through the Idaho National Forest, by the Magic Reservoir and saw lava rocks along the way. I didn't know what they were then and I was puzzled by the sight of them. Our stay for the night was in a Comfort Inn in Boise. Ron, the manager, gave us a good rate. Thanks, Ron! We met some other fellow BMW riders, who were on their way to the rally as well.

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 4

Total Miles = 108

After breakfast in the Canyon Lodge cafeteria, we headed for Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park. Along the way, we encountered hordes of bison. We stopped to take pictures and came very close to some of them. Too close for my liking! I couldn't believe how many people walked really close to these bison to take pictures. Bison weigh up to 2,000 pounds and can travel at 40 mph. Every year, park visitors are injured by bison.

We also took pictures by Yellowstone Lake in many spots. We stopped at one of the many sulfur springs, which was cool, but the highlight was seeing a bear down below from a small cliff. It was fun to take a picture at the Continental Divide, but watching the famous Old Faithful erupt was even more fun. Our final destination for the evening was the Mammoth Hot Springs, which are in the northwest corner of the park. The Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel was built in the 30s and quite nice. After dinner, there was the most vivid rainbow I have ever seen.

We then enjoyed a challengingwalk to visit the many locations of hot springs in that area. Below Sandra contemplates the meaning of life watching over Cleopatra's Table.

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 3

Total Miles = 360

We left our lovely motel in Douglas, WY at 8:30 am in search of the World's Largest Jackalope and the world's even larger jackalope!









We were lucky to see them as they are quite rare : ).




We also got a quick look at the locomotive museum.



On one of our gas stops, someone walked off with my coat (which was sitting on my bike) and left it in the parking lot. Nothing was gone. Were they looking for a wallet? A nice lady found it and brought it inside. Luckily, I was walking by just as she was doing so. Note to self: Don't be so trusting in tourist areas! We had a beautiful ride on U.S. 20 by a lake into some elevation. Sweepers! My favorite. Alas, it started to rain and we had to be more cautious. By the time we got to Thermopolis, WY, the wind were blowing something fierce.



We ducked into the Fountain of Youth Diner to assess the situation. A quick internet search alerted us to a serious storm so we decided to wait it out. Yummy food there - tater tots, brisket. Mmmmm.

Bear spray? Let's hope a situation where that would be needed never arises. Just in case, tips on how to handle a bear attack, here.

When the stormed cleared, we made our way to Yellowstone! As we took winding roads through Yellowstone to our cabin at Canyon Lodge, we passed bison and saw spectacular views of Yellowstone Lake. Words cannot describe the beauty. The sun was going down, creating a beautiful blueish purple hue over the lake. We made it to our cabin just before dark!

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 2

Total Miles = 442

The motel in Osmond, Nebraska was very nice and new! The nearby mini-mart ladies were also very nice. We left Osmond around 10:00 am - too late in my book, but we were on our way. As we continued on U.S. 20 west, we went through many small towns, including Eli with a population of 2.

I've never seen the sky look so beautiful with the wide open spaces, big blue sky with fluffy clouds dotted across the landscape.





Our favorite stop of the day was in Merriman, where we stopped to rest and eat at the Sand Cafe. An old fashioned diner with pictures of customers on the wall, shakes and malts with fresh ingredients, and the best club sandwiches ever - fresh ham cut from the bone. It makes a difference!

When we went out to our bikes, Sandra and I discovered ants in our helmets! Lesson not to put your helmet on the ground!



This little guy hitched a ride on Sandra's bike.



After we crossed the border into Wyoming, we say many longhorn sheep and bison. We passed through a town called Lusk - known for the only legal cathouse in Wyoming at one time. They are no longer in service but there is a monument to prostitutes on the outskirts of town. We settled on Douglas as our resting place for the evening. There was a little league convention in town, so we were lucky to find a room at the Super 8!

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 1

The next several blogs will chronicle my trip from Chicago to the BMW MOA International Rally in Redmond, Oregon.

Total miles = 551

Sandra and I left Chicago at 5:30 a.m. We met Jonny in Galena for breakfast and then took off for our adventure around 10 am. We traveled west on U.S. 20 the entire day. Our goal was to reach Valentine, Nebraska. We did make it to Nebraska, but only to Osmond. Our ride was uneventful until Sandra got a flat tire in Waterloo, Iowa.



She handled it well and pulled over slowly and calmly. A nice man from the Iowa Department of Transportation pulled his truck behind us to protect us, while Jonny plugged Sandra's tire.



We had enough CO2 cannisters to get her to Weber's Cycle in Waterloo, where she had a new tire put on.





We rode to Sac City, Iowa next where we saw the largest popcorn ball in the world! For some more information on Sac City and the Largest Popcorn Ball, here. There was also a little fake town that had some interesting historic artifacts inside.

We were on our way again and stopped in Belden, Nebraska to find a hotel. We weren't having any luck on our own. Luckily, a nice couple stopped and told us about a new motel 20 miles up the road. Yay! We stayed at the Hill Street Inn in Osmond, NE. Quite nice! We made it just as darkness was setting in...