Going home from Redmond, Oregon - Day 14

Total Miles = 532

I crossed in North Dakota fairly quickly into my ride. In doing so, the landscape changed quickly - going from a combination of rocky and open plains to "lumpy" hills and more green. A nice treat was viewing what I think were the Painted Canyon or North Dakotan Badlands in Theodore Roosevelt Park. Really beautiful. It looked like the Badlands in South Dakota only smaller and greener. Very cool. As I contemplated the sights, I got to thinking how grateful I am to live in a country that has such varied and breathtaking landscapes. Even some states have multiple climates and looks. Traveling by motorcycle allows me to see this first hand. After I crossed into Minnesota, the landscape changed again - more green, more farmland - less ranching, more growing - more trees - as you would expect Minnesota to look like. It was a fairly uneventful day on I-94. No rain, no weirdos (well, not too bad). Met some nice bikers from all over the country. I'm still loving my new windscreen. Stops for has were in Bismarck, ND, Jamestown, ND, Fargo, ND, Fergus Falls, MN and staying in St. Cloud, MN at the Quality Inn. I like Quality Inns. I've found that they are a good value and pretty nice. As a bonus, I arrived early enough to enjoy a beer and some dinner at the attached Old Chicago restaurant.

On the way home from Redmond, Oregon - Day 13

Total Miles = 477

Driving out of Butte, MT on I-90 E this morning was beautiful with more curves, rock formations and green trees. But quickly, the landscape turned to the typical look of Montana.

Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful, but it looked basically the same for 400 miles! Stops were made in Bozeman, Columbus, Custer, Miles City, Glendive, and finally I stayed in Wibaux at the Beaver Creek Inn.

Today consisted of interstate driving and was kind of boring. I spent my stops re-adjusting my new Airhawk seat cover (I had too much air in it) and the windshield. I had to keep raising it. My new ZTechnik windscreen really makes a difference at highway speeds. A nice UPS man in Custer helped me re-attach the windscreen. I realized as I headed down the road that I didn't extend the brackets on the windscreen, so I stopped at the next exit in Bighorn. I watched the UPS guy pass by and then lost a piece of the bracket for 20 minutes! When I arrived in Glendive to rent a hotel room, the hotels were all full. Thankfully, Jonny had called ahead to Wibaux and reserved a room for me there. And good thing too, because I was getting tired!

On the way home from Redmond, Oregon - Day 12

Total Miles = 446 miles

Today, I woke up refreshed and well-rested and was on the road by 8:30. The landscape as I left Walla Walla was breathtaking. Amber waves of grain as far as the eye could see. And when the landscape was green, it was very green. The contrast between different crops was so vivid. I thought it couldn't get any better and then I reached the Idaho border and rode US Rte. 12 across Idaho... 200 miles of winding, curvy roads through national forest. I didn't encounter one stoplight or one stop sign for the entire 200 miles. The road winds along the Lochsa River. The beauty was truly awesome. My pictures do not do them justice, but here they are.

Walla Walla wheat fields with contrasting green fields.

The next town beyond Walla Walla - Yes, that's a camel!

The view along the Lochsa River in Lowell, ID.

Resting by the Lochsa River.

They really do sell cows! - Drummond, MT.

Once into Montana, the speed limit increased and in Missoula, I found 90 E where I buzzed along to Butte, MT. My new windscreen did wonders and I didn't mind the highway speed at all.

Leaving Redmond, Oregon - Day 11

Total Miles = 258

I had planned to sleep in today, but nature called and I needed to use the facilities. I guess I'm up at 5:30 am again today. Turned out to be a good thing because it took me six hours to get out of there between a shower, breaking down camp, packing, Jerry putting my new grips on my bike, losing my keys, saying goodbye to the Bob's BMW crew, saying goodbye to Nancy Foote and Walt Fulton of Streetmasters Motorcycle Workshop, saying goodbye to Scott and the Canadians, running to Walgreen's for Jonny, and lastly, getting gas. Whew! I finally got out of there around 11:30. I wasn't feeling all that well, so I took it easy through the windy roads of Oregon. My route was 97 N, 293 E, 218 E, 19 N, 84 E, 730 E, 12 E to Walla Walla, Washington.

It really was beautiful throughout. 293 and 218 were especially fun with some twists and turns. 84 is scenic along the Hood River. On 730, I crossed in to Washington and began to follow the Columbia River. Walla Walla is a nice tourist town with many wineries. The best hotel rate was at La Quinta. A nice place with all of the necessary amenities.

Scott from Neenah, Wi and me - We met Scott last year at the MOA rally in Johnson City, TN.

Jerry putting on my Grab On grip covers. Grip covers extend the life of your expensive grips and reduce vibration. Jerry was proud of me for getting a bunch of free stuff - a new ZTechnik windscreen, ZTechnik headlight cover, ZTechnik GPS mount (I guess I better get a GPS now), microfiber cloth, the grip covers, a book by Mary Lou Dobbs (I will interview her on Side Stand Up); and a great deal on a new Airhawk seat cover and a PIAA headlamp. I also bought new cooling sleeves from LD Comfort. They are dual purpose - cover my wrists so I don't get sunburn due to my too short sleeves on my riding jackets and you can soak them in water and feel cool on your ride.

Mike with his 3rd place ribbon from the GS contest. Go Mikey!

Jerry and Sharon with the medal and 1st place ribbon from the GS contest. They got two extra points because Sharon was wearing a VaVaVroom shirt that matched the yellow bike!

Staying in Redmond, Oregon - Day 10

Total Miles = 0

No time to ride when you are working like a dog. Up by 6:00 a.m. to shower and ready to work the booth around 8:00. On my way to the showers, I snapped a pic of the mountain range.

The rally site is in a beautiful place. In keeping with tradition, The Chicago Region BMW MOA Owner's Association rented a tent for club members to gather during the rally.

It is nice to have a place to catch up and get out of the sun. Our last day in the booth was busy and VaVaVroom sales were the best of any of the days. In keeping with tradition, Fred cooked for all of the Bob's BMW booth staff. I swear they were the best tacos I've ever had!

Staying in Redmond, Oregon - Day 9

Total Miles = 0

So my good buddy, Fred, let me in on a little secret. In the RV park at the rally site, there are showers that are barely used because most of the RV's have their own. So, no wait for showers this morning! Yay! Even though the band played until midnight the night before and kept me up longer than I would have liked, I felt less tired today. Here's a picture to give an idea of our tent area.

My first stop of the morning was to visit the LD Comfort booth. I am a big fan of their products - long distance riding underwear. I have the shorts, tights, and long sleeve shirt. I decided on my ride out that I needed to buy the cooling sleeves - for two reasons. One, if you wet the cooling sleeves and put them on your ride they really will keep you cool! Two, because I have long arms, there is agap between my glove and jacket sleeve. The cooling sleeves covers that gaps and helps ward off dehydration and sunburn.

We had brisk sales again at the booth today. I did take a little break from selling in the afternoon to give a seminar on women's motorcycle apparel. It was well attended and I was pleased to hear that many participants found it helpful.

That evening, I had dinner with VaVaVroom's new sales rep in Arizona, Lisa Malachowsky. We chatted about strategy and plan to take Arizona by storm when we return home. I then went to visit my friend, Jonny. Jonny had torn a muscle a few days earlier at the rally and had been in the hospital. He was recovering well and won't need surgery, but in our discussions about riding home, he came to the correct conclusion that he should not ride home. It is just too risky. He will ship his bike back and fly home. Although we were very disappointed, I know it is the right thing to do. After that settled, I chatted with Sandra, Scott and the Canadians. They are a funny bunch!

Staying in Redmond, Oregon - Day 8

Total Miles = 0

While the BMW MOA rally is a ton of fun, it is also exhausting! I decided to get up at 6:00 am or earlier every day to ensure a timely shower. (The lack of showers this year at the rally is frustrating!). Today reminded me how being on your feet for ten hours straight can be wearing.

However, we had a lot of fun working the Bob's BMW vendor booth today and we sold a lot of stuff. And I do think the booth looks great!

For dinner, I was invited to the BMW ON Magazine contributors dinner. I invited a Chicago Region BMW MOA club member, Mike. It was interesting to hear a BMW Motorrad executive speak about the future of BMW (it looks bright!).

This is Vince Winkel, the editor of the magazine. Vince had tried to play a joke on me in front of everyone, but didn't have the right prop. The prop in question was a thong. Hmmm. I'm glad he couldn't find the prop.

After dinner, Mike and I hung out with the other Chicago club members in our gathering tent. It was nice to see our friend Scott from Neenah, Wisconsin. We met him last year and adopted him as an honorary Chicago member.