Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

[DK Custom Products]

I've ferried out of Horseshoe bay so many times. What a beautiful spot you are in!!! We lived in Victoria (on Vancouver Island) for three years when I was a child, and my husband and I stayed on Bowen Island (not far off the mainland where you are now) for about 6 months early in our marriage. Your pictures and stories bring back so many memories!

[DK Custom Products]

I am going to have withdraws when you all are done.

I agree, one of the reasons I get on here .

Me also, maybe you could just give us a daily update around Mississippi pepper

Still have about 10 days of reports left...then at some point, not sure when, I hope Mary will edit some of the many hours of video into some youtubes.

[DK Custom Products]

Today we go on the Ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island and back. This is one of the things Mary had on her list to do from the beginning!

Not sure what it is, but she really, REALLY, likes riding on ferries.

There was already a long line of cars waiting to get on the ferry...



But all the motorcycles got their own lane to board first.



Here we go.



Loading up...leaving dry ground.



We ride all the way to the "back", which we be the front when we ride off.



The two wheelers need to strap down in case it is rough water to prevent tipping over. We leave the TG in gear and chock the wheels.



Panoramic shot as we leave Horseshoe Bay.



A shot off the front of the ferry, on the same level that the vehicles are loaded.



Up top, this ferry is BIG!



Can you tell? Mary is pretty happy to be here!



More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

It's a 1 hour 40 minute ride...30 nautical miles. We did not take many pic on the way over...looked around the ferry a lot, and just enjoyed the ride. (coming up we have lots of pics of the ride back)

Here we are approaching Nanaimo on the Island.



Coming into the bay, we are at the very front on the top deck.



After offloading we turn north.



Stopped to get some fuel, this tricked out bug was in the parking lot.



We are heading north, toward Campbell River, on the coastal scenic route.



Mary caught a pic of this deer about 75 yards off the road, thru some trees.



The tide is way out!



WAY, Way out! Walked out, talked to some locals, they confirmed that all this is underwater when the tide comes in...right now it is over a kilometer from where I am standing to the water.



We ride the coastal route all the way to Campbell River. It was nice.

Of course, there is much more to Vancouver Island than this little 200 mile round trip. But we gotta head back to the ferry to get back to Horsehoe Bay.

We took the expressway back. Saw a sign for Cumberland...sounded like it might be some mountains, so we took that offramp and wandered inland.

Found this lake.



Lots of locals there, swimming, kayaking, skiing. We hung out for a bit.



More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

Back on the expressway. Of all the riding we have done on the mainland of Canada, the fastest speed limit we saw was 100 km per hour (62 mph). Here on the island expressway it was 110 km per hour.



We had passed Qualicum Bay on the way up...on the way back we stopped off and looked around a bit.



Back on the expressway. Nicely restored old Chevy p/u. All thru Canada we have seen many older cars restored or hot-rodded.



Back at Nanaimo for another ferry ride back. I don't think Mary really cared where the ferry took us...just the ride over and back is what she wanted to do.



All the bikes took cuts again with their own lane...loading up.



This ferry is MUCH LARGER than the one we rode over on.

To the right of the picture below you can see the smaller one we rode over on. This one is longer and has two more levels.



A panoramic of us leaving out of the bay.



This pic just shows part of one of the four food courts on this monster ferry. Food was good too!



After dinner stroll on the deck.



Back inside.




More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

This is the Vancouver skyline. I believe that is Mt. Baker behind it. It was a stunning view, but no matter how many pics we took with the phone camera and the Fuji, we could not get a pic of it that came close to what it looked like in person.





Mary got some great pics of the sun going down behind some mainland mountains.







Phone camera pic I got of Mary taking pics and thoroughly enjoying the ride.



Approaching Horseshoe Bay.



Looking back while making the turn into Horseshoe Bay.



Looking back from inside the bay.



Back on the mainland!



Blurry pic taken in Horseshoe Bay, near the motel, looking at the ferry we just rode off of.



Next report will be crossing back in the the US.

[slick rick]

,,,,Thanks Keven ,,I got my morning fix ,,,

[DK Custom Products]

We are back home now...still about 10 days behind on the daily reports. Will still be posting one every day or so. Might be Sunday or Monday before the next one.

Thanks for following along...and there are still some great riding days left.

[slick rick]

,,,,, ,, glad you guys made it home okay was getting a little concerned yesterday when I didn't see anything .

[DK Custom Products]

The ride from Horseshoe Bay to Portland, Oregon was a bit of a shock.

We have been in open country, with very little traffic for well over a month.

Headed thru Vancouver.




It was an easy ride to the US border, and good to be back on the road after a couple day lay-off in Horseshoe Bay.




This is the closest we got to downtown Vancouver.

We were supposed to be back home, and to work, days ago. We still have over 3,000 miles of riding, a couple of family visits, and some fantastic roads before getting home, so we just are not able to see everything we want.




Amazing how they hold these huge bridges up!



It was a half hour wait at the US border. This is our last international border crossing this trip.

When we got there, we showed our passports, answered a couple of routine questions, then he pointed at my vest and asked what patches are those, what motorcycle club are you in? Made me turn around so he could see them all. He was not being curious, I don't remember exactly what else he asked...I was a bit shocked at the interrogation type attitude he had.

What possible difference did it make? He had already checked our passports in the computer, we are US citizens, if I was in a MC, is there a list, and if I was on it was he going to deny a US Citizen entry in the US?

I did not verbalize any of those questions, and after he looked over my vest he waved us on thru. Weird.




Traveling in the US now, toward Seattle, some beautiful land!




We live out in the country in Mississippi. The closest town has one signal light. The next closest town down the road, where the shop is, has no signal lights, only a couple of stop signs.

So we are feeling at home in northern Washington farmland.




As we get closer to Seattle, the traffic begins. But we are in the express lane and able to pass miles and miles of bumper to bumper traffic on the right.




More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

Pretty soon it did not matter what lane we were in. It was bumper to bumper, stop and go for close to 3 hours getting thru Seattle/Tacoma area. This was a weekday, early afternoon. I don't even want to think about what it would be like during rush hour.




After getting to the other side, the ride between Seattle and Portland was nice!

Look ma! No hands!




That is one BIG mountain!




Mary in the mirror!



Eating up the miles to Oregon. Nice road & scenery, but we are ready to eat, shower and get some sleep.

We know tomorrow is going to be some fantastic roads and land we're traveling thru.



After taking well over a week just to ride thru British Columbia, we have been in 1 Province and 2 States today.



Portland! Let's find a motel!



Next report is Portland, OR to Meridian, ID.

[slick rick]

,,,,Great pics ,,,,Keven I was born in Tacoma Wash. dad was in the military but we left when I was young and I've never been back ,,,,,maybe one day . It was great just to see a few pics of it though .

[JimmyDee]

I have certainly enjoyed making this trip with you via your great chronicle. Just a couple of questions:
What type boots did you purchase along the way?
Have a great day!
Jim

[DK Custom Products]

Leaving out of Portland, headed to Meridian.

Meridian is right outside of Boise, Idaho. Marys' mom lives there. Gonna visit for a couple of days.

We had a interesting experience last night at this Roadway Inn. Electricity went out in the whole place for a little over 2 hours. The battery in the smoke alarm was beeping every 20 seconds or so the entire time.



On our way down the road...can't say I recommend this as a safe riding practice...I was hungry and Mary gave me a bear claw.



On our way...what a great riding day this was...84/30 the entire day.



AKA as the Columbia River Highway, before turning into the Old Oregon Trail.



Waterfall view from the highway.



I can tell, right off the bat....



This is going to be a FUN day of riding!



This was a pretty long tunnel...mountainside went right down to the river, so they made a hole in the mountain.



Lot's of curves and elevation changes...great way to start the day!



More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

There was a scenic turn-off that went a bit up the mountainside for a view of the Columbia River.



I took the camera for a shot.



Panoramic of the river...



We rode right along side of it for about 100 miles.



Perfect riding day, good road, good weather, stunning sights!



I'm posting just a few of the pics Mary got of the clouds...






We passed a couple of hydro-electric plants along the way.



Right around the last one, the terrain changes, and there are hundreds of wind generators.




More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

This is the first time we have been in northern Oregon. Quite different than we expected!



These wind generators are HUGE!



Mary likes cloud pics, and they were plenty of them today!



First gas stop...in Oregon it is the law that a gas attendant fill the vehicles...no self-serve. However, with motorcycles they just hand you the pump. This place only had two guys working 8 pumps. Everyone seemed like they were used to waiting 10 minutes to get gas. We did a little walking and stretching.



Big country!



Headed up the new Deadman Pass. Fun section of road!



Little traffic, winding road, nice grade, opened it up and had some fun!



We decided to take a look at the historic Deadman Pass.







More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

It was a bit further off the highway than we expected, but it was a nice road....most of the way.



Here's what we went to see.



This was the last 100 yards of about 1/2 mile of gravel. We had thought we were done with gravel, but here we are, on it again. lol




Then a few cattle guards....



and we are back on road the TG was made for!



Beautiful country.



We both feel more at home on the TG than almost anywhere else.



Just fantastic riding!




I should have stopped here for gas. Don't know why I didn't. Brain fart or just enjoying the road...???




More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

We have turned more south and it gets quite a bit warmer, different terrain, arid and not much of anything except some fun riding and lots of cloud pics for Mary.






We are making some good time, and thoroughly enjoying the ride!



Don't know why she was riding the wrong way on the shoulder, guess she lost something and was looking for it.

We slowed to help, but she waved us off.



This was another pass, with lots of curves and some nice steep climbs. I opened it up, still not concerned about fuel.




More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

A look back...somewhere along here I realized...I should have stopped for fuel in Baker...I kept thinking there has to be a town with gas...but, nothing. Just high desert.

(Our gas can is empty...and there really was no reason for needing it...IF I would stop for gas. lol)




The last 30 miles to Ontario I went into fuel conserving mode of riding. We are both happy to see a gas station!



Being as it is only a 6 gallon tank, I think we used pretty much everything that was in there. lol



From Ontario it is less than an hour to Marys' moms house.



Sun is setting as we hit the outskirt of Meridian.



Made it. No pushing, hitch-hiking or begging fuel. Just a fantastic day of riding in Oregon!





Next report is from Meridian to Missoula...the only day EVER, in 45 years of riding, that I got tired of curves and twistys before the road ran out of them.

[DK Custom Products]

,,,,Great pics ,,,,Keven I was born in Tacoma Wash. dad was in the military but we left when I was young and I've never been back ,,,,,maybe one day . It was great just to see a few pics of it though .

Cool!

I have certainly enjoyed making this trip with you via your great chronicle. Just a couple of questions:
What type boots did you purchase along the way?
Have a great day!
Jim

Thank you!

I really hesitated to spending $175 on a pair of boots, but they have kept my feet warm and dry. It was not planned, but nice that I bought them at the HD dealership in Montana where there is no sales tax!

They are called the HD Men's Black Lynx Motorcycle Boot.