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Archive for August, 2006
27
Aug
06
Hello world!
We Rode down the hill towards Flathead Lake, then continued north, along the west side of the lake, through several small towns. We stopped several times to take photos, it was just so beautiful!
There were a lot of nice houses, I noticed one in particular that was perched on top of a mountain, visible from several miles away, and seemingly not a very good view of the lake. However, when we got up closer, I realized that there was a cove that came into wards the moutain, giving it (I’m assuming) a fantastic view.
Click here for a Panoramic view of the lake.
We continued on, enjoying the views of the lake, until we reached Kalispell, where we stopped for a late lunch at the Wheat Montana bakery and deli, and enjoyed fresh veggie sandwiches and soup. MMmm…Tasty!
We finished up, fueled up the bike, then continued on, hoping we would make it to Glacier National park in time to still get a decent campsite at the Fish Creek Campground. Here we are at the entrance to the park.
We got to the Fish Creek Campground, rode through the first loop of campsites right near the toll gate, and found a campsite that ended up being really quite close to the stairs leading down to the lake. After quickly setting up the tent and getting our gear in the tent, we changed into shorts and went down to the lake. We waded into Lake McDonald, and submerged ourselves in the water, and just enjoyed the refreshing feeling of swimming around after a long day on the bike. After finishing up at the lake, we went up ate a small little bit before heading off to bed.
We woke up to another beautiful day, and although it was only around 9am, by the time we left around 10am, it was in the upper 80’s and quite humid. Here’s our campsite, and the next photo is what I looked like “evidently,” before I woke up.
We packed up camp, got some water and hit the road. The low fuel light had been on for a while, but I didn’t feel like going the 5+miles back to town, so we merged onto I-90, and headed east. I was hoping that we would soon find a exit with a gas station, and though it was farther than i had hoped, we reached Kingston, ID and fueled up.
Our original goal for today was to go from Coeur ‘d Alene, to Glacier National Park via Bonner’s Ferry, ID. However, after looking at the AAA travel info for the campgrounds around there (graciously provided by Moo:)), the night before we had made the decision to go to the campground east of C ‘d A. After fueling up in Kingston, we once again, buzzed east, crossing into Montana at Lolo Pass.
We took hwy 135 out of St. Regis, north towards Glacier. We stopped for a rest, and a stretch at a turnoff above the river running along the highway. It was hot, and beautiful.
We continued up towards Flathead lake, went east on highway 200, then north on highway 28 through the Flathead Indian reservation. We rode through open farm land that reminded me a lot of Eastern Washington. Finally we made it to a point, right before Elmo, MT, with a great first view of Flathead Lake.
For a panoramic photo of Flathead lake click here.
04
Aug
06
Day 01.1
Getting up in the morning has almost always been hard for me, but it was pretty easy getting up, knowing that all we had to do was to put on our gear, attach the luggage to the bike, eat breakfast, and kick the cat before leaving. Here I am kicking the cat:):
We ate some eggs, and rice from the Chile Rellano the night before, and some fresh fruit. We said goodbye, and hopped on the bike. First thought, “this seems comfortable.” Second, “this is heavy!” 
The bike, though heavy, moved quickly, surprisingly powerful even under the full load. The suspension was not quite as well manered. If not over, it was right there, as far as gvwr of the bike. I told myself that I would have to constantly remind myself that I should be careful, and always remember it wasn’t going to handle or stop as quick as normal. After a little bit though, I settled into the handling characteristics and we hummed along. We had the communication system turned on, and it seemed to be working fairly well, though my helmet seemed really loud. We headed out State highway 12 east, stopping for a couple minutes in Packwood at the Shell station, to fuel up for the journey over the pass, and to get something to drink. Though it wasn’t that hot out, we were quite warm, and already thankful for our mesh gear. We hoped that we would be just as happy throughout the trip.
We chatted with an off-duty Pierce County Deputy returning from Yakima, learning that there was some construction ahead, and that it was hot on the other side of White Pass. After chatting with another couple from the Tri-Cities on a Hyabusa about the new Givi bags, we headed off again.
04
Aug
06
We’re Back…
Hey anyone who is looking, we’re back. We’ve actually been back a week, but we’ve been pretty busy, Stacey getting stuff ready for her program. Me still looking for a job. All the pictures have been uploaded from the trip so far, I’ll have some posted soon…
