Greetings from Idaho

Yesterday I spent my time going from Livingstion, MT to East Glacier Park, MT via US-90. It was a pretty good albeit windy ride. I had planned on camping at Glacier National Park but by the time I got to East Glacier Park (that's the city's name not the actual park) night was already falling. Glacier National Park was another 50 miles away and I just didn't want to risk windy wilderness roads that I didn't know without the benefit of daylight. There was a park called Two Medicine National Park, but all of their campsites were full and the staff wasn't very helpful in assisting me with finding alternative accommodations. I returned to East Glacier Park and went to a gas station to see if they could point me in the right direction. They said that there was an RV park called the Y Lazy R that provided tent camping as well and gave me directions. Fortunately they had space for me and I was able to stay there. All I really needed was a patch of grass and a bathroom and that fit the bill perfectly. I got my camp set up, made dinner and went to bed. It was pretty chilly so I was in fully mummy mode in my sleeping bag.

I woke up in the morning with every intention of just hopping on US-2 west and making my way into Washington. When I got up my camping neighbor (also a motorcylist) told me about the Road to the Sun and Logan's Pass in Glacier National Park. He said it was a must ride and that it'd be a shame for me to be so close and to miss it. With such a hearty recommendation, how could I pass it up? I packed up my bike and headed north to the park. It was an amazing ride up the mountain. I've never experienced views as good as that. It's a really tight windy 50 mile ride from the east end of the park to the west end. It is a very popular thing to do and there was a lot of traffic. Honestly, I was happy for the traffic because it kept the speeds really low which meant less of a chance for me to get into trouble.

After riding through Glacier I hopped on US-2 West and headed into Idaho. I stopped to camp 55 miles from Spokane Washington. It wasn't a very productive 327 miles today, but it was fun.

National Treasures

I've seen a lot of great things since I last had a chance to blog. When I last wrote I was on my way to Mt. Rushmore. I made it there successfully and it was just as awe inspiring as I had hoped it would be, there just wasn't a whole lot to do there besides look at the monument. After visiting Rushmore, I found a KOA to stay at for the evening. It was crammed with people and RVs and screaming kids. My campsite was across the street from the playground which was kind of terrible. The campsite itself was a whopping two car spaces big with a picnic table. My neighbors were cool though and I had an opportunity to take a hot shower and do my laundry both of which were much needed. On the plus side, the weather was perfect for sleeping and I actually ended up getting a really good night's rest.

Monday morning 7/25, I got the bike packed up and got on the road. The Black Hills of South Dakota are amazing. It was absolutely the best motorcycle riding I've ever had. Lots of elevation changes, sweeping curves, and hairpin turns. I rode the Needles highway, Spearfish Canyon, and even passed through Deadwood, SD. Once out of Spearfish Canyon, I connected with I-90 West in order to get to the Wyoming welcome center. I picked up a state map and campground guide there. After that I proceeded to the Devil's Tower National Monument.

Pictures can't convey what an awesome spectacle the Devil's Tower is. It was just massive. I walked some of the 1.5 mile trail that surrounds the base of the tower and it was quite tranquil. Lot's of pine trees and woodland creatures scurrying about. As I was getting ready to leave, storm clouds were rolling in. Since I was headed in the opposite direction, I didn't think that I needed to rain gear up. 20 minutes later I was pulled over on the side of the road doing just that because it started raining. I really got dumped on when I got to Moorcroft, SD to stop for gas and grocieries, but as quickly as the driving rains came, they stopped. I kept going and rode through Buffalo, SD and by this time the sun was starting to set, the ride was getting cold, and I needed to find a place to stop. The Bighorn National Forest has lots of little off of the road campgrounds to stay at and I found one called Lake Side about 45 minutes outside of Buffalo. The campsites are exactly as the name states and are on the side of a lake. It was a really gorgeous setting. I found the site that I wanted to stay at and went to go pay for it at the camp entrance. As I was pulling out of the site, Pikachu decided to buck me off. I was going downhill, in the sand, and hit a pothole that I didn't see. The next thing I knew, the bike was on the ground and I was thrown from it. I'm glad I had my helmet on, because I bounced my nugget right on the ground. I hopped up and quickly determined that I wasn't injured. My next thought was to get the bike picked up as quickly as possible. I had just filled up my tank and didn't want it spilling all over the ground (or on my gear). That bike is heavy when it's all loaded up and I had trouble getting a foot hold in the sand to be able to leverage the bike back up. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts I finally stood it back up. There was no noticeable damage so I rode it up, paid for my campsite, and got a bundle of firewood so my camp would have some light because the sun had just about set and I still needed to set my stuff up. I had another great night of sleeping weather.

I woke up on Tuesday eager to get to Yellowstone. The road to Yellowstone went through Cody, Wyoming and once on the other side of Cody the wind really picked up and made riding difficult. I had to take a break just to collect my wits and be able to continue. The only things I wanted to do in Yellowstone were see Old Faithful and get a campsite. I was unprepared for how beautiful Yellowstone was and how massive. The park is huge. It was about 60 miles from the entrance where I entered and Old Faithful. At any rate, there were no campsites to be had so I figured I'd just go see Old Faithful erupt and then proceed to Gardiner, MT to get a hotel for the night (54 miles away through the park). By the time I got to the geyser it had just erupted and I needed to wait 90 minutes before I could see it. Old Faithful was cool, but the other big geyser nearby called the Beehive I believe, put on a much more spectacular show. I didn't end up leaving until 8:30 and the sun was setting fast. Before long it was gone and I was faced with the prospect of navigating my way down a mountain in pitch black. It was quite a harrowing journey and I don't think that I went faster than 25MPH getting out of there. If you are doing the math, yes it took me two hours to get to Gardiner and by that time all of Gardiner's hotels were booked and all of the private campgrounds offices were closed. My only prospect for getting a room was to drive north to Livingston, MT which was another 52 miles away at night. There is NOTHING between Gardiner and Livingston either except a bunch of signs warning of "Wildlife Crossing." I was able to get behind a tractor trailer and follow it to Livingston so I didn't feel completely alone. I finally got a room at the Parkway Budget Host hotel.

Over the last couple of days I've really been able to experience the vast array of natural beauty that the United States has to offer. Now that I've been able to see it in person, I have a much better appreciation for it.

I'm now 804 miles away from Seattle and have four days to get there where I'll meet Laela and Miranda. I can't wait!

Cross Country Update

Today was day four of my excursion out west.  So far I have travelled throught the Lowe and upper penninulas of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and I'm currently halfway through South Dakota.

I cant't believe I spent as much time in Michigan as I did. The UP is way longer than I anticipated. It might as well be another state all on it's own.  I ended up camping twice in Michigan, once in the LP and once in the UP.  I think one of my favorite parts of the trip so far was travelling along Lake Michigan after crossing the Mackinac bridge.  The sand dunes are huge and the highway runs right along side of it.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the water was really blue.

Yesterday I caught a little border fever in Minnesota and rode too long trying to get to North Dakota.  I went through Detroit Lakes, MN after dusk and was trying desperately to find a campsite.  Day light ran out and as I was getting further south there was an ominus lightning storm that I was headed into.  I decided that it would be in my best interest to return to Detroit Lakes and get a hotel for the night. It was a cheap hotel and they should've provided a mosquito net for the bed because there were more mosquitos in the room than there were the previous night camping.

When I awoke on Saturday it had stormed all night and everything was wet.  The sky was still really dark too and as I pulled out it started raining.  So with my raingear on, I made my way to North Dakota and was there quite briefly on my way to South Dakota.

South Dakota has been surprisingly large. I guess I just underestimate the actual size of the states because I thought I'd be much closer to Mount Rushmore by now.  When I entered SD, I stopped at the welcome center.  Janice was the kind old lady working the information booth and as soon as I walked up to her she handed me a brochure about motorcycling South Dakota.  She also gave me some invaluable information on camping too.  It's a good thing that she did too. The campground I wanted to stay at has been closed due to floooding.  So I located an alternative and made reservations at one of my frequent rest stops.  I am staying at the West Bend Recreatinal area tonight. I pulled in with about an hour of usable sunlight left.  I quickly got my gear set up and made myself a dinner of Ramen noodles.  I made it thought the day today spending less than $6 excluding gas. The primitive sites at West Bend are separated from the electric sites by about a half mile walk. Guess where the showers are. I wasn't even going to attempt sleeping tonight without a shower after being cooped up in my rain gear for ca long today, so after dinner I made the trek up to the electic site showers.  Words can not convey how gorgeous the starlit cloudless sky was. I know it's cliche' but with no light pollution it really looked like someone just put a collander over the globe and shined a light on top of it.  Millions of pinpricks of light flooded the night time sky.  It was worth the walk just for that.

One more quick note, there was a birdstrike on thw way to the campsite tonight. Crossing SD can be desolate at times and with that desolation comes an abundance of wildlife on the roads (especially birds).  Well, one finally hit me tonight. About a dozen of them scattered off of the road in front of me and unfortunately for one of them, it wasn't quick enough and right right into my left knuckle.  Poor guy. 

So if all goes well, I should make it to Mt. Rushmore tomorrow. It's about 250 miles from where I am now.

Chicken Little

So, I haven't written any blog updates with regard to my health lately.  Up until last week, there hasn't been much to write.  Last Tuesday we received the results from my latest CT scan.  In this case, bigger is not better.  The reults showed that all of the tumor areas are increasing in size and areas that were almost imperceptible on the last scan are now full blown growths.  What does this mean for me?  I am down to four treatment options:

1)  Do nothing and let nature run it's course.
2)  Go back to the previous therapy I was on
3)  Go to a third (and final) line of chemotherapy
4)  Take a "hail Mary" pill for which I tested negative for the protien that it inhibits. (Some doctors have reported success in administering this to patients who tested negative.

Needless to say, it was bad news.  I'd been doing so well for so long that I'd lulled myself into a false sense of security.  I feel almost the same as I did last year when I was initially diagnosed. I also feel a tad like chicken little because it feels like the sky is falling.  It felt like that l,ast year too, but I'm still here and am not feeling too bad.  Yes, I'm shorter of breath. Yes, I get fatigued more easily. Yes I'm coughing more, but other than those things I don't feel any different than I have over the past year.

I have chosen to do the third line therapy in hopes of a positive response but I'm not going to start it until Miranda starts school in the fall.  In the meantime, it feels a little more imperative that I get some things done that I want to do.  I think you know what that means...motorcycle trip!  I'm sitting in my tent writing this on my phone on the banks of Lake Huron.  I am riding my motorcycle to Washington (state), then down to San Francisco and back.  This is night number 1 of my month long journey.  I'll be joined on the west coast by my lovely bride and awesome daughter as we travel down Highway 101 (they'll be in a cage). I have 10 days to get there.

I'll round out my travels in October by hitting the southern states that I need to complete my motorcycle the contiguous 48 goal.

Day 6 - Rounding Third and Heading for Home

6/20/2011 - Up early in NYC. After a quick trip to Dunkin Donuts with Anthony, we were back to his place and I was on the road by 8:30. I was contacted by several of my friends who were in NYC at the time but since I was on a time crunch I wasn't able to get to see them. Sorry Donny and Howie. Getting out of the city isn't too tough on a Monday morning because most of the traffic is going into the city. I was through the Holland Tunnel and into New Jersey in no time.

In New Jersey there wasn't a Welcome Center to stop at so I just kept going for about an hour and stopped when I needed fuel. I had totally forgotten that you aren't allowed to pump your own gas in New Jersey; however, the pump operator at the service center was sympathetic to me being on a motorcycle and let me pump it myself albeit supervised. While pumping gas, I struck up a

conversation with a gentleman who regaled me with his tale of coast to coast travel on his Triumph in the 1970's. I love getting to talk to people who have done similar journeys because it's always interesting to compare notes. The end of my brief stop in Ashland New Jersey had me walking into the restaurant, getting some coffee, and having my picture taken with Chris Christie. He's the governor of the Garden State.

I hopped back on my motorcycle and before I knew it, I was in the state of Delaware. I almost missed the exit for their welcome center. That would have been a shame too because it was the cleanest and most modern of all the welcome centers that I visited. I was even greeted at the door by an orange barrel Transformer. The breaks and state lines were coming fast and furious. I really felt like I wasn't getting anywhere because they were so frequent that morning.

The final new state line that I would cross would be to Maryland. It happened and I didn't even know it. I couldn't have been in Delaware for more than 20 miles total. I really just clipped the corner. With that in mind, I made my last stop for a Welcome Center photograph. Here it is in all of it's splendid glory.

My GPS did give me a little gift though. In a mere 150 miles, I'd be off of the Interstate for a while and onto US-40. I-70 takes a crazy jog north in Maryland and to keep my route going back home as shortly as possible, it diverted me to I-68 and then dumped me on US-40. It was great. As soon as I got away from I-95 I started seeing a lot more trees and hills. Maryland was a REALLY nice state to ride through. It was very scenic. I stopped at around 5:00PM and had my lunch/dinner at a gas station in the mountains. Here is the view from my picnic table in Hancock, MD.Although it doesn't show up in the photo very well, it was really quite remarkable. After I ate and got cleaned up, I settled into the saddle for what would be the longest single ride I'd ever taken without getting out of the saddle. I rode from Hancock, MD to Cambridge, OH without getting off the bike. 213.9 miles. I finally had to pull over at 10:00PM because my fuel was getting low and I just needed a break. There's only so much time that good music and a positive attitude can get you through and I was starting to feel worn down. The one thing that was very invigorating was seeing the Welcome to Ohio sign. At that point, I knew I was only about two hours away from home and I could do two hours

standing on my head at this point. So I went in to the Sheetz convenience mart grabbed a coffee and a banana, sat down for 20 minutes or so then it was off for home. I finally pulled into my garage at 12:05am Tuesday morning (thereby breaking my promise of being home on Monday). This is the photo Laela took of me in the morning when she woke up.

All in all, it was a great trip. I got to see some friends, visit another country and see a bunch of states that I'd never been in before. My Suzuki V-Strom DL650 handled perfectly and was a joy to be on. I never once doubted it's ability or reliability. It's a really solid bike. I can't wait to get some new tires on it to see what it can really do. My only disappointment with the trip was my time constraints which required me to be home by Tuesday 6/21/2011. That made me choose between quantity of states or quality of ride. I spent WAY more time on the super slab than I wanted to but if I hadn't, I'd have never gotten to all of the states I needed to. I'll see what I can do about scheduling more time for my next trip but that's going to be contingent upon what the doctor tells me on 7/12/2011. Let's hope it's good news.

Day 5 - USA all Day

6/19/2011 - My first day entirely in the United States started off with me waking up to the rolling thunder of all of the Harley Davidson motorcycles in the parking lot of the Days Inn. I had expected to be woken up in this fashion based on all of the bikes that were in the parking lot. I made my way over to the breakfast room by the registration desk and made myself something to eat. They had these frozen "pucks" purportedly made out of eggs and some sausage discs that were roughly the same size. Toss each of them in the microwave for a minute, slap on a toasted english muffin with a slice of cheese and viola, instant Days McMuffINN. It was about what you would expect to buy in a gas station. I finished that and my coffee and I was off.

It was too bad I made a wrong turn to start the day off and ended up going 1/2 hour north of where I wanted to go. I got myself turned around and then headed east for the coast. The rest of the ride through New Hampshire was just as beautiful as it had started out the day before. It was nice to be on back roads for the morning, but they were kind of busy with lots of people headed toward the Atlantic to spend the day. I finally got my glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean but neglected to take a picture of it. Little did I know that this would be the only time I would see it on my journey. I promptly made my way towards I-95 and headed north into Maine.

I got off at the very first exit which ended up being my second mistake of the day. As I was getting off of the freeway I saw a sign for the Maine welcome center which was another exit or two up the highway. "No problem" I said to myself. I'll just hop back on the highway and go up to it. No such luck. The exit that I got off at had no way to re-enter the highway going north. So I looked around for a little bit to find a sign that said Maine and the best I could do was the photo at the left. If you look closely above the number 95, the Interstate sign says Maine. Slightly bummed, I hopped back on my motorcycle and headed south in anticipation of Massachusetts.

This would be my modus operandi for the remainder of my journey: Get on I-95 cross a state line, go to it's Welcome Center, snap a picture of yourself at the Welcome Center, wash, rinse, repeat. I was on a time deadline and this was the only way I was going to be able to "collect" all of the rest of the states on my list and still be home before Tuesday. So things continued as such for Massachusetts.

Unfortunately, the Welcome Center in Providence, RI closed at 2:00PM on Sunday afternoon. I made it there at 2:25PM. No place on the outside of the building did it say either Providence or Rhode Island. The only pic I have of myself in RI is this little gem I took in a McDonald's parking lot.

So, off I went to Connecticut. Nothing really that remarkable about riding through "the Constitution state" other than the fact that the southbound highway actually travels west. This made made traversing the state in the afternoon REALLY tough. The sun was in my eyes making me squint which in turn made me really tired. I started feeling like I was going to nod off.

I finally had to just pull off at a rest area and collect myself. I certainly wasn't going to make it through New Jersey today as I had planned. It was around 5:00 when I pulled over and started mulling my options. If traffic stayed consistent, it would put my in the vicinity of New York City at dusk which is when I would pull over for the night anyway. At this point I got the bright idea to call my good friend Anthony who lives in Manhattan to see if I might be able to surf on is couch for the evening. The answer was an emphatic yes, so I had my destination set; however, traffic would not cooperate with me. The closer I got to NYC, the worse the traffic got. It had slowed to a crawl which absolutely sucks on a motorcycle. All of the toll plazas I encountered didn't help either. I finally made it to my destination close to 10:00.

I parked on the street in front of Anthony's building. I would have until 8:00AM Monday to move it or risk getting another parking ticket like I did last year on the Bukkit Tour. We went out and grabbed a mouthwatering (and HUGE) slice of pizza at Artichoke's. Next we had a beer at a small bar across the street. Since both of us had ridiculously busy days, we decided to turn in early and were asleep by midnight. I was ever so grateful for the safe place to stay and got a REALLY good night's sleep. Little did I know how much I'd need it on day 6.