SLIM CROWD BUT NICE RIDE AND ANOTHER GELO TRIP UPDATE

With the rain clearing out of Waukon, seven of us departed Casey's at 5:30 on a mission to Protivin.  With Bob R in the lead on his Wing, we had David on his Harley, Wayne M on his Kawasaki, Wayne & Sandy Fish on the GW trike, and Dale and Larry bringing up the rear in the "support vehicle".  

THE GROUP GATHERS........

WITH TWO NEW GUYS??

Heading west on HWY 9 to Decorah where we waited at a construction site on HWY 52 before turning west on Madison Road.  We followed Madison to the outskirts of Ridgeway and picked up HWY 9 again.  9 took us on into Cresco where we turned south on CR V58 and on into Protivin and a break at the Fast Mart.

SANDY DECIDES IT'S TIME TO "MOON" PROTIVIN

FIRST TIME OUT OF TOWN FOR THE KAWASAKI

DRINKS AT THE FAST MART

Bob checked his radar and it looked like some rain was gathering in the east, so we doubled back south on V58 and then took CR A46 east into Ridgeway.  At Ridgeway, we jumped back on HWY 9 and followed this newly paved strip back into Decorah.  In Decorah we turned south again on HWY 52 and followed it through Calmar and then on into Ossian.  We picked up CR W42 heading south again and then onto W46 heading east.  W46 took us over to Centennial Road and traveling south to HWY 9 again.  We worked our way east on 9 to W60 and headed south for only a few miles where we picked up A52 east and on into Gus & Tony's.  Bugsy and Bob Z stopped by to visit for a while.  I had 125 miles on the Wing.

NO RAIN--NICE RIDE!!

DON'T FORGET THE I-RIDE ON SATURDAY LEAVING FROM GOOD SAM!!

GELO TRIP UPDATE
Jim sent me another update from their adventure out west.  Last time they were in Washington and contemplating the return trip back.  Here's what they did.

"Hi Bob,

Day...?  the next day;)

Hope everyone had a good ride last night.

Left Dayton WA and headed east on 12.  I would recommend this road to anyone that gets a chance to take it.  At Clarkston we pick up the Clearwater River which 12 then follows until we go over the pass.  Lots of nice sweeper corners, beautiful scenery, and perfect weather.  About 75 degrees.  Stopped at Lowell ID at a diner with motorcycles out front which is always a good sign.  Also it was the only place in town.  Look close at the sign and notice the population.  Maybe a bear?  Also had an interesting set of instructions for flushing the toilet.  Followed 12 to Lolo through Lolo pass which is about last 30 miles of 12.  Headed north and jumped on 90 to Butte, MT, for the night.  I saw a special when I stopped to gas up.  I'm not sure it's a deal.  Bob, we are at a Motel 6 again.  They left one light on for us which is good because the others don't seem to work."

GELO TRIP UPDATE 5--ALSO BOB NEEDS TO KNOW

The last time we heard from Jim & Cathy, they were in a leaky motel room in Florence, Oregon.  The trip update now continues from that point.  Just read the previous posts if you need to catch up.

"Hi Bob,

Day 9

 The waste basket was filling up with water so we put on the rain gear and headed north on hwy 101.  The Sea Lion Cave wasn't too far up the road.  Pretty interesting place.  You can take an elevator down a little over 200 ft. to the inside of a big cave open to the ocean.  We saw quite a few Sea Lions on the rocks there.  They had a nice walkway up above the outside overlooking the rocky shore when we went back up and we saw many more Sea Lions.  Interesting to watch them ride the big waves to get back on the rocks.  Have to admit I would have loved to see a whale come in for one.
Next stop was another seafood diner then to Cape Perpetua State Park to walk on the rocky shore and see Thor's Well.  I will attach a video I hope works.
Drove north to Newport and took hwy 20 east to 99W up to Portland.  We saw lots of pear trees, wheat, chestnut trees, vineyards, blueberries, and some things we had no idea what it was.  Got a room in Portland and contacted Cathy's uncle Dave Heimer who lives there.

Day 10

Dave wanted to pick us up and show us around.  He said he didn't get going real early in the morning.  My phone rang a little after 6 AM to let us know he was on the way over.  Cathy and I had walked to a Thai restaurant the night before for spicy noodles.  That call seemed pretty early!
Dave took us along the Columbia River to hike.  There are a lot of waterfalls coming off the mountains and many hiking trails in to see them.  Also took us to Multnomah Falls.  A very tall waterfall.  It was at about a quarter of flow that it has earlier in the year and was still impressive.
Chuck, I did find something for you in Portland.  Check out this donut shop website and look under donuts they make.  Check out the second one.

http://voodoodoughnut.com/voodoo-doughtnut-doughtnuts.php

We headed north out of Portland around 3 PM and made it to the Castle Rock K O A in Washington.  Went ahead and set up camp then headed out to Mt. St. Helens.  Turned out to be about 45 miles in and out so it was pretty late when we got back to our tent.  They have lots of deer and elk so had to be alert.  I'm glad we decided to go see that.  Even though it has been quite a few years, it is still very scorched and barren.  You can see a lot of logs all laying away from the eruption quite a distance away.  The lava flow is still very evident.  When you see how much the top of the mountain is gone, it is hard to believe.  We did camp by a couple out of Yuma, AZ.  He rides the bike and she follows with the pickup and enclosed trailer which he converted to a camper complete with solar on the top and a fold up boat with a 2 hp motor.  They go on the road for 6 months at a time.  You meet some interesting folks.  One thing we found interesting is they don't have mosquitoes at all.  Dave said they never have any and we still haven't found one.  Don't miss them!

Day 10

Headed north out of Castle Rock on 5 to 12, turning east! 12 follows the Lewis and Clark trail.  We started to see nice little towns, lots of blueberries being grown and then headed through the mountains.  Caught a glimpse of Mt. Ranier through the clouds.  After we were through the mountains, we saw a lot of apple orchards.  12 and interstate 82 merge for a ways.  This is Washington wine country.  You can't imagine how many vineyards there are.  I believe more than CA.  The vineyards start to fade into a mix of fields of greenbeans, potatoes, cherry trees, corn, and wheat.  Eventually the wheat wins out and they plant it everywhere they can.  They farm some pretty steep areas.  Tonight we are in Dayton, Washington.  The hotel leaves a little to be desired, but it is clean and the air works!  Hopefully the bike is still there in the morning.
Tomorrow I am planning on going through Lolo Pass, not sure after that if we will try to come down around Beartooth Pass or just stay on 90.
I did find a different bike today.  I may have to trade."

Hey, Jim-- Great report, but I think you'd better keep the Gold Wing.  Even though you'd get better gas mileage with that big bike, I think you would probably get "monkey butt" from that hard seat, and I don't think Cathy would like riding on that back fender!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The guys' trip to Memphis (Aug. 1-6) is only about two weeks away.  I'm going to need to know who's planning on going, so I can firm up motel reservations.  LET ME KNOW ASAP IF YOU PLAN TO GO!!

GELO TRIP UPDATE 4

This is the 4th installment of Jim & Cathy's trip out west to ride the Pacific Coast Highway.  The first three updates can be read in the previous posts.  It looks like we have quite a following on these reports, so I hope Jim & Cathy keep them coming!

"Hi Bob,

Day 6

We headed out for Yosemite National Park.  Worked our way down through Nevada into California.  Took all two lane roads and had some very nice scenery and roads.  I did notice California roads are rougher.  Went to Lee Vining and took 120 all the way through the park.  The mountains are always impressive.  The waterfall picture was in the park.  The national parks seem to be very crowded this time of year but it was worth seeing.  Coming out of the park on 128 we had some very winding roads and it was dry.  As we got closer to Napa Valley you started to see lots of green.  A lot of corn, garlic, sod, potatoes, and orange groves.  Made it to Lodi, CA for the night.  Sorry, Bob, this one was Microtel.

Day 7

The prettiest day by far.  Took 12 out of Lodi to 128 through Napa Valley.  This area is beautiful to see.  All the vineyards, flowers, colorful trees, and the wineries.  Stopped at Castello di Amoroso winery.  That was impressive.  The towns are small and friendly.  Food is good there but they need to talk to Gunder on the burgers.  Mine was a big bun small burger.  Stopped to see a petrified forest.  Continued on 128 towards HWY 1.  Found ourselves riding through huge redwood forests.  Nothing like riding in a tunnel of redwoods.  Hard to capture on a picture.  Came to HWY 1, I guess we will have to stop going west, seems to be a big lake ahead of us.  We will head north and see if we can get around it:)  Lots of corners, makes the Dragon seem like a straight road.  Drove through the Chandelier tree at Leggett, CA.  Pulled into a state park to camp for the night.  Picked up a new air mattress in Lodi.  Much nicer sleeping on that than the ground.  I found a new vehicle for one of the support teams to follow the WNR with.

Day 8

Followed HWY 1 and 101 north.  The shoreline is beautiful and so rugged in places.  Stopped for a taste of fresh seafood at the Chart Room in Crescent City, CA.  Good food and reasonable for what we had.  Talked to some locals there that showed us where the tsunami that hit Japan so hard had wiped out a bunch of their harbor that had just been rebuilt.  Also saw some seals basking in the balmy 62 degree overcast day.  Headed out to Oregon and spent the night in a hotel in Florence, OR.  I am typing this in our room, it is raining outside and I have the wastebasket next to me catching the drip from the ceiling.  It just doesn't get any better than this!  We are planning on checking out some sea lion caves, and Thors Well just north of us and then I'm not sure.  I think I'm giving up on trying to get around this lake, it must be a big one!"

Jim, now you know that when Bob leads on the trips, he always has the disclaimer--Your tour guide is NOT responsible for rough roads, lousy weather, poor food, or dumpy motel rooms.

Sounds like a GREAT trip.....keep the reports coming!

ANOTHER GELO TRIP UPDATE

As many of you know by now Jim & Cathy are on their Gold Wing headed for the Pacific Coast Highway.  As much as possible I encouraged them to keep us WNR's updated on their adventure.  Here is the latest installment sent to me from Jim.  You can catch up on earlier reports by reading the previous posts.

"Hi Bob,

Day 3

Heading west from Colorado Springs.  Went through the Garden of the Gods and the Manitou cliff dwellings in the AM then jumped on 115 to US 50.  Made it to Montrose, CO.  Got our room then headed back to Black Canyon National Park just east of town.  Took a nice hike along the canyon.  Cathy got a new job as a park ranger.

Day 4

Headed out of Montrose and jumped on US 550 south.  This is known as the Million Dollar HWY.  It takes you into the mountains to Ouray, Silverton and Durango.  Got some ribs in Durango at a place called Serious Texas Bar-B-Q.  Good stuff!  Beautiful drive but not for the faint of heart.  Lots of switchbacks and the edge of the road is a vertical drop in many places.  Apparently a million dollars doesn't buy guard rails.  From Durango we worked our way to Moab, UT.  Pitched our tent in the Moab KOA.  Set out to explore Arches National Park.  Hiked back to the Delicate Arch.  Quite a long hike but well worth it.  It's beautiful around Moab.  Got back to our tent around 9, it was around 85 degrees yet, found our air mattress was flat.  Blew it back up and went to bed.  Woke up a short time later on the ground.  At least it was sand under our tent but it was still a long night.

Day 5

Headed north out of Moab to 70.  70 and US 50 join for a ways.  We exited back to US 50 at Salina and then stayed on that all the way to Fallon NV.  The stretch through NV is billed as the loneliest hwy.  I would have to say the NV stretch is far better scenery than the Utah section.  Many miles of desolate, hot, dry desert in UT.  Met an old fellow on a Gold Wing on that hwy riding home to California.  He was born in Iowa and had been on the road since May 15th.  I didn't ask his age but he had to be well into the 80's.  Made over 630 miles that day.  Cathy was in charge of the camera while we rode and she must have been bored because she was taking pictures of her reflection in my helmet.  Oh and Bob will be happy, we are at a Hotel 6, the light was on!

Today we head for Yosemite and the coast.  Will report when I can." 

CHUCKLES WANTS TO KNOW HOW THE DONUTS ARE OUT WEST AND WNR ARE LEAVING THE LIGHTS ON FOR YOU HERE TOO.  BE SAFE, AND KEEP THE REPORTS COMING!!