Sherri Jo's "Because I Can!" World Tour

Haines Junction and Alaska Highway

2012-01-04T08:15:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T05:35:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of postings.. been having too much fun! Still that same dilemma, do I stay in a room at the computer or go out and enjoy life. I will at some point get a break and get back to work typing, but for now.. a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR and thanks so much for following!!

Sherri Jo ;-)

Alaska Part 2 - Anchorage to Haines

2011-12-13T19:18:00.001-08:00

While I was in Anchorage, my hosts and their friends convinced me I must take the boat from Whittier Alaska to Valdez. I'm obviously aware of the Valdez history and would be interested to see, however riding my motorcycle back the same way I came would be far cheaper than taking this boat. These well traveled people insist that this is one of the prettiest and most amazing boat trips I will ever see, and it would be a shame to miss it.

So I booked, even at the crazy high price.. and made my way (not that far) to Whittier Alaska.. far harder than it sounds! They didn't warn me about the road TO Whittier!

Not far out of Anchorage where the weather was good, I can see the change I'm about to face. Oh well, I've got my best in the world Rukka gear, so suck it up and head in.

The rain was pounding.. but as I moved in closer, the winds around the mountains picked up in a super big way.. I was having the time of my life trying to keep myself up right.. It was hard riding through the strong wind and rain, but if I stopped, I barely had the strength to hold the bike up.

The photo above is taken from this angle because I'm literally holding on to the back of my bike to keep it from going over.

I make it to the tunnel they told me about.. Here I pay a fee, as the tunnel has only one lane, we have to wait until the oncoming traffic is finished. The attendant told me to protect myself and my bike here at the toilet building.. as he will have me wait and put me at the end of the line of cars and trucks.

I ask why? He says the tunnel is really dangerous, particularly for motorbikes. Not only do vehicles use this tunnel, but so does the train. The road inside is wet, and I have to keep my bike in between the two metal tracks. He said if I sway enough to go into the metal part of the track I will certainly go down. Many bikes have, and this is why they put us at the end so not to disrupt the cars and trucks.. Okey dokey then.. what in the H_ _ _ have I got myself into this time!!!????

I made it through the tunnel, and I was so happy to be in there.. complete protection from the wind and rain for several minutes.. It was nowhere near as hard as they made it sound.. and maybe it is to some, but I again think that at this point in my journey, I've been through so much worse that this tunnel is fine!!!

So guess what!! I go to check in for this boat I have worked all morning suffering to get here on time and the dag gone thing is cancelled!!! The ferry people said they called me 30 minutes ago.. 30 minutes ago!!??? I was on the road trying to survive, I can't hear my phone ring and if the you can't sail in this weather, you would have known that more the 30 minutes ago..? (I was a bit grumpy by now and only thinking this. I didn't say this out loud.. the people at the ferry terminal where really super nice.. ) It is what it is..

The good news is that I get the money that I didn't really want to spend on a boat that doesn't take you very far.. back! ;-)

This is Whittier..

Now, knowing what I went through to get here, I dread the thought of riding back through it again to get out. This is some of the strongest wind I have encountered to date. But this is also part of motorcycle life.. deal with it Sherri Jo.

And I did.. ;-)))

Here I am waiting for the tunnel again. This time I didn't wait at the back of the line. I appreciate the attendants concern, but it's really not a problem. I would think the trucks and the campers would have more trouble than me, scraping those close walls for sure!

This is ALASKA!!!

I really thought this was interesting.. I don't remember hearing much about earthquakes in Alaska. And I know it's hard to read this sign through my camera lens that is covered in rain drops.. But it says "These trees were killed by saltwater when the ground sank 10 feet in the 1964 earthquake." Gee whiz, 10 feet...

Once I got back to Anchorage the weather was fine again.. It must just be that area, maybe due to the mountains, the sea, the glaciers, the changing season.. It is literally September 15, my cut off date as well as the cut off date for most businesses.

I have my late lunch in Anchorage, but I don't want to stay the night here, I still have things to accomplish, so I try to make my way back up the road to Tok, where I stayed on my way in.

This is 520 km (318 miles) and it's already 2 pm.. Ain't gonna happen, however, I still decide to go that direction and I'll get to wherever I get to.. I will camp tonight somewhere.

I got to Glenallen, the sort of halfway point and every single campground was closed - already! I'll camp in the bush if I have to, even with the bears.. I'm used to it now! But I decided I still had enough daylight to shoot for the next town..

I pass this Gakona Lodge on the left, and I know the prices are going to be crazy, so no point in asking, but I could at least use a meal and ask around with the locals where I might be able to stop up the road.

They were also closing this week, but the wonderful owners offered me a very great price for a very modest room, and I couldn't believe my luck. For two reasons, it is such a charming looking place, good food, and a warm and dry place to sleep. I quite often get amazed when I think it's going to be a bad night, that the best option shows up for me right in time - unexpected.

Turns out to be quite a historic road house. The sun went down quickly, but before it did, I got to read a bit about where I am.

In particular, there is a resident ghost in room number 5.. I'm in number 4.. darn! I would love to meet a ghost! I met the young guy who is staying in number 5 for a whole week.. they are the construction crew doing road works nearby. He says he was hoping to see the ghost too, but nothing yet.

But the second reason for good luck was this... my BIGGEST AND BEST SURPRISE!! (no, not a ghost).. I read here that my HERO.. the adventurer of all adventurers, the most amazing human being I have ever heard of on this planet.. stayed HERE!! I was beyond happy and excited.. this was really a big deal for me. I don't get the thrill out of meeting famous people, but if there is anybody I would have loved to meet, is SIR GEORGE HUBERT WILKINS!!! I was hoping all night long that I was staying in the same room as he did... ;-)

I know I've posted this before, but if you want to read a book that will blow your mind on the sheer amount of accomplishments one human being can achieve in one lifetime, please read Simon Nascht's "The Last Explorer".. the best book to this day I have ever read.. Ok, I'll calm down now, and move on.. ;-)

Views from the road..

It's just so pretty here.. I have to say this is and has been one of my favorite places on the planet. (I know I say that about nearly everywhere.. but it's true!)

Keep in mind that not only do the camping, hotels, and shops close up for the winter.. so do some of the fuel stations.. Not a nice surprise when a major fuel stop in the middle of nowhere (on the Alaska Highway) is c l o s e d !! I did make it to the next fuel town (Haines Junction) far too far down the track .. on fumes.

Next stop .. Haines Alaska (I thought I'd be there already in this post.. nearly there! ;-)

Alaska Part 1 - The land of hunting and fishing... and Zorro???

2011-12-05T07:04:00.001-08:00

The "Top of the World" Highway was great fun, absolutely gorgeous and remote. It's only 127 km (79 miles) long.. and is closed to vehicles from October to April (I am here in mid-September). Not much time to spare..

Along the route comes a most famous little town with a whopping population of 7, Chicken Alaska. This is a first for me.. I've lost my photos of this place! I've misplaced (misfiled) photos before, but have been able to find them again.. Somehow I've completely lost Chicken.

I'm not horribly upset though. As popular of an attraction it is to many travelers, it didn't do much for me. Far far far too gimicky and touristy, not my thing. It does have an interesting gold mining history and plenty of character.

I'll see if I can find a stock photo to fill in for shucks.. (I borrowed this photo from tripadvisor).. Mainly the town consists of heaps and heaps of chicken inspired "stuff".. and a very expensive cafe if you need to eat. I didn't, it was starting to rain at this point and I was more interested to ride on. Sorry to disappoint the Alaska fans.. I didn't "get laid" in Chicken!! Move on.. ;-)

I made it to my goal destination of Tok, Alaska for the night. There is a little motorcycle camp where I stayed and even though I desperately wanted to be warm this night, I still chose to camp as the cheapest hotel was $75 USD. Again, several of them were closed already and I couldn't bring myself to pay that much.. so camping it is.

Sunset as I drive up to the camp..

My next goal destination is Anchorage Alaska. It's all paved roads now, beautiful like nowhere else!! Like seriously, the beauty never stops, hardly a chance to stop saying "wow" out loud! Sometimes it's like there's only so many scenic photos of beauty one can take! So I will try to keep the scenic photos to a minimum. Here's an event...Moose!

Luckily I saw his huge a_ _ horns moving amongst the roadside bush, and I slowed down enough until I was sure that he wasn't going to look both ways before crossing the road.

You know what's unique about seeing a big moose around here? I am so surprised there are any left alive.

For hundreds of kilometers/miles, the loneliest roads in the middle of nowhere are packed FULL with hunters. I don't know much about why there are so many here. Really and truly there are hunters by the masses in every spot you see. Hunting seems to be more of an Alaska thing, as I didn't see so many hunters on the Canada side.

I have always lived around hunters, mostly for deer. The big game in Alaska from what I can tell is a multi-million dollar industry. The amount the hunters invest in their trucks, nearly every one I saw has a 4 wheeler on a trailer as well, all the special equipment for carrying the kill, how to live like a wild man in the bush with the comforts of home, etc.. The camps I would pass were like little hunter camping Hiltons!!

I couldn't help to stop and ask these guys about it as I am now to see a moose or caribou in another form.

A proud first kill for this young guy... turns out to be caribou.

Not sure how long their season is, but it's all very organized.. on the road are little signs making clear what district you are in to report your kill. Even more important if you are hunting on Native owners land.

Ok, back to the traveling.. the road into Anchorage got prettier and prettier.

Gee whiz, I don't really have any words to describe.. just post the pictures..

I was wondering about this steam.. I asked the locals about and they didn't know why either, and had never seen before. My best guess is it's the changing of the seasons, with air and water temp differences.

I finally make it into the BIG city.. well, maybe not so big, but for around here, I'll call it big.

Anchorage Alaska

Anchorage had been bugging me for a while because from every traveler I've talked to. They've told me that even bad hotels here are beyond expensive. Way back when I was staying with a most wonderful host Shelley in Whitehorse, Yukon, she had been working and working on finding me a host for Anchorage. I still can't get over her efforts but here she has me meeting new host in Anchorage, Bob!

Bob in Anchorage

So I ask Bob and his wife Jeanine how they know Shelley, and they tell me they don't know anyone named Shelley.. I'm like, "What?".. should I be concerned? How did I get to stay at your house? We all had a big chin wag about it, and somehow info got passed on and on from so many kind people who I've never met, connections from a rotary club member Shelley must know in Whitehorse maybe? and came up with these two are in the rotary club here.. ha! Can you believe?

So Bob and Jeanine have me in their gorgeous home in Anchorage, fed and watered me, gave me my own lovely large room, bathroom with long hot shower, and Bob goes so far as to get my tent and sleeping bag to hang and air out in the garage. (I do have several things that are wet, mainly from packing up my camping gear each morning with frost and dew still on)..

The big air-out

I stayed here two nights, so I could have a day at the Anchorage KTM dealer to get a desperately needed new sprocket (remember the one I'm riding on is actually missing some teeth!)

This has been my goal destination ever since I left my family in Indiana. I needed to get Yukon and Alaska done and be out of here by September 15.. My self inflicted use-by date, which had more meaning than I expected.. I was personally worried about getting stuck by the oncoming snow season. However, most everything up here closes on the 15th, and I didn't even know that at the time!

Anyway, being here now means I can now breathe and relax a bit.. take a little pressure off and see what Alaska is really like.

Again with the accommodation price situation, in order for me to stay I go looking for a couch surfing option. I found one up the river in Talkeetna Alaska. Arrangments are to bring some food to share, park the bike and ride on a boat to a camp upstream.

And here is the camp.. I'm really not sure what to expect with a "couch surfing" place in wild remote camp.. but I like to be adventurous.. obviously! ;-)

There is good and bad news about this "couch surfing".. The good news, is that it's such a great place to experience! Away from everything, in the wild good and proper.. no phones, no cars, no way out except by the little boat.

The bad news is, the German couch surfing guy wants his guests here so they will work for him for free. When I arrived camp I see an entire large table absolutely piled high full of dirty dishes, plenty of scrap food on and around. I had a quick worry, this is GRIZZLY country. If there is anything I've learned is that you just don't do that! And I have to sleep here tonight worrying about the bears this man has attracted?? I'm always willing to help out when I stay with hosts, but not to clean up after a guy who has saved an entire week full of dishes.. very not cool.

Not long after I arrived a couple more guests walk in from the bush. Turns out to be James from Melbourne and "Zorro" from Switzerland.

These boys have read this book called "Into the Wild" and they had just been hiking alone with no map or supplies in the bush for 4 days to test their survival skills and found their way back to camp.. very hungry and pretty amazing!

James turned out to be a great buddy and he showed me so much about living out here. First job.. catch a fish for dinner!

James prepares a pole for me and shows me what to do..

There is a huge school of salmon.. just here. So close, so visible, we both throw our lines right into the group and they ignore the lure!! We tried for over an hour! Not a single bite.. I thought that was super weird, but I don't know anything about salmon... or fishing for that matter. But it looked to me like they have had a meeting and said that whatever looks like shiney food, don't fall for it!

We give up, go back to camp, and I make us all a big stir fry with all the veggies I could find.. the way it should be really.

Zorro decides to cross the river and get us a heap of firewood for the night..

Firewood for "mon Cherrie" as Zorro would call me

I woke up the next morning and could not stop thinking about how all those fish wouldn't bite. I grabbed the same rod, told the guys I'm going to see if the fishes 'attitude' has improved this morning and try again.

One thing I know about myself is that if I actually catch a fish, I'm in trouble. I don't want to touch it. So I told they guys if they hear me screaming, it's either a bear or I've caught a fish and need somebody to come help me either way. They all agreed.

I went back, saw the same group of dag gone fish just hanging about in the current. I toss my line in and whack - I caught one straight away.. But the hook went into the fishes side and I was dragging it toward me that way.. I felt so bad, and luckily it got free.

I threw the line in again and whack! This time I caught one by the mouth! I caught one, I caught one! Second throw!! I was screaming for the guys, nobody was coming! I am truly well out of hearing distance down stream, big dummy.

Now what do I do.. I've even got one of the favored salmon on the line, a bright pink one. (The gray ones are called Chum and not desired eating).

You see him in the water? Pink with the yellow lure out the mouth?

I hate to admit what I've done, but what I've DONE.. is taken this photo because I tied the pole to a tree.. I gave the fish enough line to swim around as normal as possible and even a couple of his friends came by to keep him/her company. I told it I would be back with some help and I PROMISED I would set it free.. (Yes, I talked out loud to the fish, I can hear what you guys are saying.. ;-)

I ran as fast as I could back to camp and got James.. He was thrilled even though it was a bit early for him..

James the cool kid from Melbourne helps save my salmon friend

Using my leatherman plyers to get the hook out

I still wouldn't hold it as much as James tried to get me to take the "proud" photo of my catch.. I gave James the honors ;-)

And there you go, we set it free.. hallelujah!! What an ordeal for the poor thing. James went on to tell me I can keep my promise, but now I need to catch another pink one as that's what they want to eat.. oh dear...

Later in the day, James and I decide to cross the river in the canoe and fish from that side.. the other fish wouldn't be on to us over there.. ha!

I managed to catch a rock! How the heck the hook got into that smooth rock???

Next up, both James and I caught several salmon, one after the other. They were all gray chum, not the pink ones they wanted.. I got James to come over and set every single one of mine free..

After some seriously coaxing, James gets me to hold one I caught.. I don't need to pee here, I don't like touching it and I want him to take the photo QUICK!! That sucker was slimey and strong!

James pulling in his catch

We both make a decision not to put many more fish through this hook and line ordeal, so James decides to kill his next 2 catches, chum or not. Which he does, with a rock to the head.. ugh! ;-(

Back to camp James insists I continue my survival training and clean one of the fish.. I'm like yeah, right. But technically, I eat fish in the real world which has always been nicely prepared for me, I should actually do this.

James shows me by cleaning the first one.. full of salmon eggs, the desired bear food! (we toss into the river.. )

My turn..

I did a dreadful job, I think we all might go hungry if I continue this..

Job complete, we take our fish to the kitchen, where I take completely over and cook the fish and veggies for everyone.

All the boys are happy, but I must say I wasn't thrilled with the chum salmon. It didn't taste bad, it just barely had that salmon taste.. oh well. At least we had a meal.

One of the happiest now that he is fed is Zorro!

Okay, my time is done here.. what an amazing Alaskan experience! (Except for the couch surfing guy.. who was asking us for references because he needs more new surfers to help him take down his camp for the winter... ) hmmm..

Back onto the boat to take us back to Talkeetna (the closest town)

And on to the local shop for some early morning breakfast treats.. cute town!

Bob and Jeanine invited me back to their house for one last night before I start making my journey south. We go to dinner at a place near a shop that sells carved petrified Walrus penis. I'll let you sort out which ones they are in the glass case... see you!

Yukon Territory to Alaska "Top of the World" Highway

2011-12-04T20:30:00.001-08:00

Ok.. on to the next road I am supposedly not to take...!

It's called the "Top of the World" Highway and apparently several motorcyclists have died on this one as well. One just 2 weeks before I decide to ride it. I hate to even report such things, as for one, it's very sad, but secondly, in perspective as I said before, there would have been many motorcyclists who died the same day in the United States on any given paved road.

But before I do, I've been wanting to check out the famed Dawson City. I am also very due for a shower and internet break, so I go in search of a hotel in town after finishing the Dempster Highway..

Hmmm. not looking too good.. the hotel scene, not the town. Was a great town with character! However, I am here late in the season (early September), and most hotels are actually closed for the year already.

Hotels, the one or two that are open and as old as they are, fetch a very steep price, darn it! I could so use warm water too! Oh well... not meant to be.

I settle for this place, a campground right in the middle of town.. and an evil reminder of the love Canada has for providing gravel campsites with ZERO grass to pitch a tent, Ugh!! This place is also closing in two days time and the owners are heading for Florida for the winter. Lucky I got my tiny hot shower, and camped nearest to the office for some internet.

The good news is: I've been doing it for so long, camping with grizzly bears or gravel, I can most definitely sleep nearly anywhere these days. Even though this photo looks nice and warm, at night was a different story.. I wore all my layers, plus my beanie hat, winter coat inside my -20 degree sleeping bag, which I'm usually so proud of, but I still woke up cold.. and on rocks. Did sleep well for the most part though, didn't have to worry about bears for once.

I got a kick out of the notices board at the grocery.. "Notice of Election" One Chief.. Who wants to be First Nations Chief. I do!!

Not far out of town begins the "Top of the World Highway".. When I discussed this route with friends, they recommended to me to go back down the highway to Whitehorse and across to Alaska on paved roads to avoid the "treacherous" TOW Hwy. However, this is the short way across and given the advice not to do the Dempster, I take no time to think about it, I'm gonna go THIS way!

Early morning TOW Hwy

Serious autumn colors..

Does this road look dangerous????

Again, I know I am lucky. I'm sure the stories of motorcyclists misfortune would have been due to more serious weather and or road conditions at different times of the year. For me, it was well packed mud/gravel, no rain, as easy as it gets.

A temporary change in elevation, and it's looking very "top of the world" at the moment.. but never fear, when cranberries are near! When in the land of the grizzly bear, do as the grizzly bear.

If I hadn't already had experience on this land, I wouldn't have known to stop and look for them.
I again thank God nobody was watching, I gorged myself on these little berries until I was full..

While eating, I spot a metal building in the distance.. I think it might be the border crossing, but it looks far too small to be such a place.

Yep, that is exactly what that is, the Canada/United States border crossing! Didn't mind coming through this one, again no hassles.. super nice and professional officials.

Welcome to Alaska!!!

Welome to America! Where you can count on not being able to read road signs due to bullet holes!

It's another world up here... even though there are plenty of similarities between Canada and United States, there is no question which side of the border I am on now.. It's been a dream of mine to visit Alaska for many years.. I'm finally here for a while! See you...

Dempster Highway Part 2 Yukon Territory Canada

2011-11-15T05:48:00.001-08:00

So... the Dempster experience continues. I'm still just doing my little test of the road.. and still have NOT A CLUE why people tell me it's too dangerous!! This road is, at least this far, one of the nicest easiest dirt roads I have ever been on.. anywhere.. even in the rain! They certainly look after it and maintain it very well.

The majority of the traffic on the road are truckers who travel back and forth to the mine at Inuvik.. right up at the top of the world.

Once the big pour of rain calmed down I was able to take a somewhat photo.. and have a look! This road really is as good as any paved road. I'm always on alert though waiting for this greasy icy part to start. There were far too many people who told me the horrors and if it was only one, I'd say I found a crazy person. But with many warnings, I'm guessing that I just haven't reached it yet. So I'm still prepared to check it out and if it gets really bad, I'll turn around.

But I just can't 'bear' to do that yet.. I'm loving it too much. Those mounds look interesting ahead, more motivation to continue.

I've honestly never seen a mound of rock like this.. like one big solid rock and smooth.

So I go a bit farther and still the road is good.. but I need to make an important decision whether I like it here or not. I have to turn around right now to make it back to the fuel station at the beginning of the Dempster Highway. Or else, I disregard the warnings for good and continue through whatever must be so horrible about this road until I reach Eagle Plains (the only midway stop on this road with fuel).

Curiosity got the best of me and I continued on.. Seriously, this road does not give me the slightest reason to give up on it and turn back. I bet you've got that point by now.. hey? ;-)

I pulled over here at Ogilvie.. (Gwazhal Kak is the First Nations language) and a trucker was also stopped here at the sign. He came right over to me and asked what am I doing here - especially alone.

He explains to me how horrible this road is, people on motorcycles die out here often, etc etc. I look at him and nod... He tells me of a guy he stopped for last year who crashed his bike near where we are standing now.. broke his leg, tore up the bike and had to be airlifted out by helicopter. This year, the same guy tried again, crashed again closer to Eagle Plains.. didn't get so hurt, but still had to take the bike out by truck due to damage. After he finishes his rant, I tell him, "Sir, I can't turn back even if I wanted to, I don't have enough fuel".

Then he explains the next 100 km from here to Eagle Plains is the worst part with extremely rough conditions.

He was a nice trucker and asked me to follow him through this. I agreed. He went quite slowly. It was really nice for the man to care that much about a crazy lady on a motorcycle, and he kept an eye on me for a while.

I was riding standing up as the road was truly rougher in some sections here but still nothing compared to other roads I have been on and I wouldn't put in the "dangerous" category. And despite this nice mans caring, I would be better to go faster over the bumps.

I went up along side him and waved him on. Truckers here go super fast and I'd rather that he be ahead of me and drive his truck at his normal speed.

The trees are looking a bit funny up this way!

The farther north I go, the trees diminish, shorter.. smaller.. until they are only bushes. The permafrost doesn't allow them to grow, as well as the very short season.

100 k's later, on what I considered to be a very fun road and an absolutely great day regardless of all the warnings, I made it to Eagle Plains!!!!! What a sight! (especially since I am now running seriously low on fuel).

After 3 nights primitive camping at Tombstone and brushing my teeth in the ice cold creek, I was ready for a real bed and a shower.. and a normal meal.. I got all three!

And most importantly- fuel!

I can not tell you how thrilled I was to make it here.. This is 300 km from the camp I rode out of this morning which I agonized for 2 1/2 days about whether I should do.. listening to more and more people tell me not to. And then needing to make a decision not to listen to any of them. I initially decided not to do it, when as I said before, 'I' turned right, but my bike turned left and heading north anyway. And then when my bike took over the decision making process, it chose the worst time of all in heavy pouring rain!

The rain dimished within a 1/2 hour and I just couldn't stop myself. And then, I had no need to stop. There was nothing to fear! I wasted so much time listening to people and if I had a road halfway as nice as this one while in Russia, my Siberian experience would have been a breeze!

Eagle Plains sunrise

Birdy on a bike! A good sign!

I learn the weather will be better today, so it was an easy decision to carry on to the north. From this point I am only 40 km from the Arctic Circle. I am so excited to get an early start!

Not much different when I was a kid.. always tons happier doing something I am not supposed to do.. ha! (hopefully my nieces and nephews are not reading this.. ;-)

Even though they scare me, the trucks are still rare enough in numbers that it's just good to see SOMEBODY else is out here..

I get right out of the way.. these trucks are on a mission.

Have a look at the slimey road I am riding on this morning.. definitely a big change for the worse. My excitement bubble was burst right out of Eagle Plains.

This is definitely justified with the "greasey" title I have been warned about.. whew!! And greasey it is!! They put down this calcium chloride stuff for the trucks.

It was wet and slimey, and I was only topping 20-30 km/hr. I know the tough guys on bikes would go faster, but I come up with imaginations on my own and I visualize me falling in the center of the slick stuff, bike pins me down and one of those fast semi trucks runs right over me and squishes me like a bug. So I go slow.. ;-)

I wouldn't want to ride all day in this.. torture! But I knew the Arctic Circle was so close and I confirmed with some people in a car that the road is exactly like this all the way to Inuvik, another 300+ km. There's nothing up there except a goal destination, then you get to turn right around and come back through it again.. I'm quite happy for the Arctic Circle to be my goal destination. This is far more than I expected of myself and where I will actually turn back..

Can that Arctic land be any more beautiful!!??? It's so peaceful, wild and remote.. totally my cup of tea.

My tires had zero tread as the mud clonked on and stuck to them like slimey glue. Totally made the road that much harder and slippier to ride.

It's literally like keeping all my weight balanced on two spinning balloons covered in grease. It was really difficult and nerve wracking. If somebody could have taken a photo of my face while riding, my eyes would have been bugging right out of my head in concentration. I can only knock on wood that I didn't fall even once.

So.. let's go back! I know I'm including far too many photos in this post, but I haven't been so in love with a place on the planet since I was in remote Siberia. So unique and amazing, so few tourists, really special..

I made it past Eagle Plains again on my way back down the Dempster and now I have more little challenges than on the way up. New calcium laid this morning. Doesn't seem to effect my ride, but I wonder what it does to the bike.

Next challenge.. new grading! Should be better, but I have always found newly grated roads to be more slippery. I was also warned about those dark patches from the grating in the photo below from locals. They tell me bikers don't expect them to be soft and deep, throwing the bike off which are often the cause of bikes going down. I avoided most that I could.

I come through these odd "mounds" I call them.. I'm sure there is a far more technical term. ;-) They are not really a mountain to me even though they are rock.. they are not really a hill because all the hills I know have dirt and trees or grass. This is my reasoning anyway.. I clearly didn't go to geology school. ;-)

The mountains return. And do you see what I see on this one? It looks to me like either a super size alien or a very large aboriginal elder's shadow on a walk.

I also saw another wolf cross the road. Darn it, I missed it with my camera! He's gone...

Plenty of moose and caribou on the way..

It's only the beginning of September, and those trees are the brightest color of gold. I have heard about the masses of rain all season long.. so my timing here couldn't be more perfect.. golden even! ;-))

And then back to camp. It's the end of a very long exciting day and I'm looking forward to my moose steak and a beer!

First thing I do is hear the story of the grizzly bear that JUST WALKED BY!! Geez.. miss the wolf, miss the bear. Not my day for getting the good animal shots. But Darren video taped the griz as he or she walked around the Tombstone Interpretive center and the rangers cabins just before I arrived back to camp. Darn, I missed it!! But here is Darren's video anyway taken just shortly before I arrived.

(video) Sorry I tried to upload the video many times. It came in once, but very jumbled, now it uploads and then disappears. I give up.. It was a big grizzly, very big!!

After I fearfully set up my TENT and hear the worries from the other campers (all of whom have a hard shell camper by the way).. I go back for the dinner on a campfire. and another surprise! Darren wrote me a very cool song while I was away. He sings away while Sniper keeps an eye on me! Very cool dog, I really enjoyed him.

The Sherri Jo song is fantastic to hear by guitar, the words are below..

Sherri Jo Road calling
You have traveled the world
But your journey slows here
The rain brings your spirits down so you build a fire to dry your day
You soar on the road made of hell never looking back
Till you see the river with the light at the end of the day
Jelly jam and a fire bug make a good time the coldest nights
Whistling at the dancing lights for the spirit takers
Laughter was heard for miles around
The roar of the road was calling again
Ride with the wind and the rain
The sun comes up and goes, but never dies.
Written by Darren Bullen

Thank you Darren! Besides being a good songwriter, he's an excellent cook! Great moose, veggies and beer. I'm so glad I didn't chicken out on the Dempster.

One last thing, a good face wash in that ice cold water (instant head ache!) and a good brush of my teeth. Then I'm ready to head back to civilization tomorrow.

That nicely concludes my Dempster Highway experience..

Parting shots of fall colors as I come to the end of the road the following morning.

I get back to the cross road of the Klondike and Dempster Highways, which so conveniently is placed a fuel station and a very expensive power wash. Didn't matter, I am so happy it's here. Can't say it got the bike totally clean, but much better to get that calcium and mud off as much as possible.

My sprocket is not looking too flash, actually lost some teeth on it. Hopefully I make it now to Anchorage Alaska. Why I am talking about that now.. Time to celebrate!! Whew! What a trip.. What an experience!! Love Yukon, Canada.. !!

Yukon Territory Canada to Dempster Highway

2011-11-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

Onwards and upwards first toward the top of the world from Whitehorse on the Klondike Highway!

Road hazards.. ;-)

Road hazards extended family... too cute!

Spotted this old wood cabin in the woods... my mind starts daydreaming about what it must be like to live a life up here in the bush, off the land.. pretty harsh but beautiful!

Rather common site ever since Yellowstone to here when I pass remnants of forest fires.. in a way it's sad, but in another way it's really beautiful too.

I like to see the new life. It's interesting they tell me in a town up the road that the Yukon did not get their summer bloom of flowers until August.. and by the end of August the season is changing back to cold already! My timing to be here must be right!

So, I'm getting close to the Dempster Highway.. I chose to explore this area early on as being a most spectacular part of the world to ride a motorcycle.

Most people who come to the northwest by motorcycle tend to do the exact same track as everyone else. Prudhoe Bay (top of Alaska) to Ushuaia (bottom of South America).. I purposely didn't want to do the Dalton Highway in Alaska simply because I get put off by doing the same as everybody else. Sometimes this can't be helped, but if I can, I would rather do something different. I asked enough people about it though to make sure I wasn't missing something, and the most common response regarding the Dalton vs Dempster, they would choose Dempster. If I had more time and I was here earlier in the season, I would love to see both! But I had to pick one and Dempster is what I picked. (I have looked at photos of the Dalton from other riders and to me it looks as spectacular as the Dempster.. so either one is a good choice I would imagine)

Knowing the time of year was iffy, Shelley and I enquired in Whitehorse with a trucking company about the road conditions. He said truckers are reporting bad, greasy and icy for the Dempster. He more or less said I'd be foolish to go up there on a motorcycle. She also has other friends around here she called on to get advice about the road, everyone said the road is too bad. My goal was to get to Inuvik, but the sound of it not too promising. Plus a couple of motorcyclists had just died on the Dempster about 2 weeks ago.

The more I thought about that though, I bet motorcyclists died just this week on Highway 65 which is all flat and concrete! And even more people died in cars! I'm trying to keep perspective as it seems like the majority of people are putting fear into my head.

Hmmm.. for real though, it's not sounding good. We pondered whether I should just get a ride on one of the big trucks so at least I can see that part of the planet since I'm so close, but don't want to be stupid about insisting on motorcycle. Then my reasoning turned back, I'm not going up there just to see a destination, it's riding my bike along the way that I want to do.

The last straw was when I stopped at the only fuel station at the base of the Dempster Highway. Everyone checks in here, either to get fuel to go up or when they come out.

I decide to stop here and ask the people who experienced the road this actual day to tell me the conditions. Same story, urging me not to do it. And then the owner of the fuel station came up to me outside by my bike as he owns a bike too and he said if it was him, he definitely wouldn't do it. Okay okay!!! I get it!!! To dangerous for Sherri Jo!!!!

But what this guy DID recommend is that I at least get a taste of it. There is a campground about 60 miles up the road called Tombstone and he thought I would at least enjoy that and not feel like a total failure.

I agreed, didn't even fill my fuel and went that night to the camp.

The beginning of Dempster Highway, Yukon Territory

Gee whiz, I know the road is wet, but I wouldn't describe it as greasy and I would more describe it as EASY! (and super duper beautiful!!!)

About 60 k's down the road I come up to Tombstone National Park, so I'm assuming I will see a campground soon.. I first see an Interpretive Center and decide to pull in. I guess if this is as far as I'm going to go, I'd like to learn more about it. It was late in the day AND the season and I was only lucky they were still open and about to close up for the night. Added to that, this is the last weekend for them to be open for the season.. I am sooooo lucky!

I meet young Darren, an interpreter for the park who tells me the campground is full.. Full!!! It's the end of season, how could this be??? Well it is the weekend, but still. There is no city around here for people to escape from.

Ah well, he says I can put my tent up in the parking area for free, and he gave me a can of bear spray as I'm not traveling with one. I decided to go and check out the campground anyway, "cuz you never know!" And score! I found a vacant site right away. There was actually still smoke coming from the fire pit with nobody around.

I asked the man across the way who was also packing up his tent at 5:30 pm, couldn't understand. And he said, I could even have his spot if I like. I ask him why would he leave this magical place and especially at this time of day, where will he go? He was a German man traveling by car and he said "I'm going to a hotel in Dawson City where I will stay warm and dry tonight". Okay then! His campsite was awesome, so I took his!

You can see I'm well prepared for grizzly bears tonight! Now this will be a little different than the little black bears I just sort of got used to.. Grizzly!! BIG bears, I want to be prepared.. So, you know the drill.. All food and cosmetic stuff with smells get packed away in the panniers. I've got not only the bear spray, but my air horn, flashlight and my leatherman (haven't pulled out the big knife yet). I decided I wouldn't do the knife, I'd be better off to play dead if all else fails.

This is the view of the closest mountain from the campground.. so it looks like the snow is low enough to prepare myself for a very chilly evening....

Chilly evening it was.. I wore every bit of winter gear I had IN my sleeping bag.. 3 pairs of socks, beenie hat, the whole deal.. but I slept, mostly.

The next morning, I decided rather than pack up the bike and move on from the Dempster as originally intended, I might stay in this gorgeous camp one more day. Still disappointed I won't be going up the road, I was thinking it would be good to soak up the atmosphere of such a wild place rather than escaping too quickly.

Early morning walk, I stick to the road where I can see big furry things with teeth coming my way in plenty of time.. ha!

Hey, are those grizzly tracks over there??

Yep, grizzly.. I'll head back to camp now...

I went back to the interpretive center, and they have their very last organized nature walk for the season. Good for me, to be able to hike into the bush with a group, I would never do on my own in this grizzly country.

Before I left with the small group for a bushwalk, Darren invites me to go fishing with him later on.. Ha, fishing! Me? then I thought, I'm in the middle of nowhere, and whether I catch a fish or not, it must be a cool experience in a beautiful place, so I said yes! ;-)

But first, the bushwalk with a geologist. We're taking our shoes and socks off and walking through the freezing cold water.. good morning!!

Besides the amazing education about the land we walk on, we have cranberries.. !!

We spot a moose!

And then.. blueberries!! Oh man, now I am in total love!!!!!

Of which we all commence to be like bears and gorge ourselves on blueberries and cranberries.. I can see what the bears love about them.. they are so incredibly delicious pulled off the plant, I personally ate so many I got completely full. I was the slowest one of the pack, picking berries all the way back to camp.

So.. now to continue my Tombstone experience, it's time to go fishing!

By the way, the mountain top in the middle that looks like a Tombstone, is Tombstone Mountain ;-)

Darren picks his favorite fishing hole.. and loads up a pole for me to use too.. I haven't been fishing since I was a kid, so I hope he doesn't expect much from me.

Darrens totally cool dog, Sniper, is our bear guard.. and a perfect little guard he was!

Couldn't pick a prettier land on this planet to be tonight.. I am aware how lucky I am..

We made plenty of noise while we wandered through the bush to the water toward any potential bears. However, our noise may have backfired as we were completely unsuccessful at catching a fish.

Never fear, the experienced First Nations fisherman comes prepared.. the sun went down, we made a really big fire along a river, had leftover pizza and a beer which he had well stashed in the cooler.. for desert, bread with jam.. perfect!

Along the way, he hears me talk about all the people who insist I can not ride a motorcycle up the Dempster Highway.. and he agrees, he knows about the motorcyclists that recently died.. and he refuses to tell me the story about them. Smart man knows not to put visions and fears in my head.

But he's been up the road many times himself and he's not convinced that I wouldn't make it. This is the first person AT ALL that actually gave me a bit of hope.

However, the next morning in the center, and after I pack up my gear on to the bike, a young girl from Australia just came down from attempting to go up the road herself in a car (4 wheels!) and she she said she was sliding all over the place, so she turned around and came back. She also described the road as too greasey and icy. Ugh!

Then!! Comes a big hard core heavy rain.. Geez freakin' whiz...okay!! That seals the deal for me.. If it was that bad of a road without rain, then it can only be worse. I'm giving up and moving on to Dawson City.

However, Darren, still stands by the fact that I could do it, even in the rain.. He tells me the weather changes dramatically here, that I'm so close I should do it and if I do, he'll have a moose steak and a beer waiting for me when I get back. I thoroughly explained that now with the rain, it's not gonna happen!!

He gave me a funny face, a can of bear spray to take and walked away. I thought.. well, I'll take the bear spray, but I'm not going. I pull out of the center in the pouring rain and started to turn right toward Dawson City..

However! My bike turned left toward the Arctic Circle!!! Seriously!! How did it do that!! I swear I had no control over the wheel of my bike anymore!!!

I didn't stop immediately.. I decided with myself to go a few kilometers up the road and see for myself how bad it is. I did this in Mongolia too, when I was too scared to go on the track there.. just test it out Sherri Jo, if you can't do it, turn back! But at least I will know for myself.

To be continued....

Bears, Hyder Alaska, Stewart BC, and Yukon Territory Canada

2011-11-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

It's all about the cute little bears in this part of the world!!

I made a mad dash through British Columbia and had a plan to travel up the Stewart-Cassiar Highway toward the Yukon.

One of the great recommendations from nearly everyone is to take a 67 mile diversion to Hyder Alaska..

Why not.. I've never been to Alaska, I am so excited to go there.. on this road I can not STAY there, but come back on the same road back into Canada. However the highlight to this diversion is that I'm likely to see more bears around here because they are protected.. Do I want to do this??

This guy just looked at me and said "Whatever, I'd rather eat my tree than you!" ;-)

Well, that's either a dog or another bear up ahead!

Scaredy cat... it's blurry but I had to include this photo because I loved his little bear feet pads.

All up I saw 4 bears on my way down the road.. and the following day I saw 2. They were just like any wild animal and more scared of me than I was of them, and other than the first one, none stayed still for photos. Even though I considered it, I didn't see the point of getting off my bike and chasing a bear into the woods so I can get a better photo.. ;-/

In general I am really glad to see these bears though.. They are not as big as I imagined and they are not as scary as I imagined. I actually feel like now, if I'm not a total idiot and leave food or toothpaste in my tent, it's as though I don't feel I would panic as much if I heard a bear sniffing around my tent at night. I still hope it doesn't happen, just saying I shouldn't be ridiculously worried about it, which I have been.

One thing I will stop quickly for are these gorgeous glaciers along this road! I feel like this part of the world can be called the "Sherri Jo's Glacier Tour"! ;-) This one is just spectacular!!

Bear Glacier

I arrived Stewart, had a quick look around this tiny town, then carried on to Hyder Alaska.

Hyder, Alaska

My first stop was this pub (picture below), of where I knew from research had camping and I was ready to stop for the night. There was not a single other camper let alone tent around. So I went down the road to another camping option which had a few RV's. I asked about camping here in a tent and they said, "Oh, you don't want to do that". And I asked why? They said there are too many bears around. Well, the absolute cheapest room I could get in HIS hotel was $90 and that wasn't going to work for me.

So I went back to the RV camp owner, who is the same guy as the pub owner, and said I will have to find a way to camp here tonight.. and then he said, "We can't have tents here. The people in the RV's will complain because people in tents are cheap". I just looked at that guy, couldn't believe that came out of his mouth and walked away.

And this comes from a place that uses a mobile home for a post office!

Hyder Alaska Post Office

I also enquired at 3 more places about where I might be able to stay tonight.. They ALL said to not camp in a tent. A man was killed here just last summer. Okay then, maybe I do have to pay the $90? I asked one more man at the small dusty hardware store about camping, and he said the same, except he added.. "Well nobody else has really been killed here except that guy and the reason he got nailed by the bear was because he got drunk in his tent and threw up on himself"... Disgusting!!

I don't see this being repeated by me!!

So I came to a new idea.. I am literraly only 4 miles away from going BACK to Stewart Canada. I decide to cross back through the border and check out my camping options there, not because I expect less bears in such a short distance, but because I didn't want to be in a grass patch by myself behind the pub all night NOR was I going back to the stupid RV guy.

However, I was SO excited for the possibility of camping in Alaska!! Therefore, I rode away disappointed...

Stewart, BC

So there was a really nice and normal campground in Stewart.. the attendant said to take the precautions, there are bears around that wander through, but I should not die tonight because a bear wants to eat me. Whatever.. bears or not, I'm tired and set up tent.

When I did this, the people in the only other tent here came and asked if they could set up near me because they were scared.. I was happy for them to, better for both of us! It's really quite dense woods here, and a beautiful creek running right behind my tent site.. Magical really!

I couldn't get a photo to show both, but there was a mountain through the trees and straight up was this patch of blue glacier ice.. and I'd look down and see purple mushrooms. VERY magical and now I feel like Alice in Wonderland!!!

Purple Mushrooms!

I survived the night (of course) and knew ahead of time that this was going to be a full rain day. And I had a super huge ride ahead of me today. So I packed up somewhat in the dark early morning rain and hit the road.

Leaving Stewart, BC

Oh boy, this is my very first full on - hard core- big rain day on the bike since arriving North America.. ever since I left Europe!

My mistake was that I had been riding in such warm weather all across America and to here that I was not in the habit of having my heated jacket handy. I was so cold...!

There's not really any towns to speak of on the Stewart-Cassiar, but luckily a couple key fuel stops. Being the end of summer, there was little or no traffic, so it was just me and the rainy road all day.

By the time I made it to this first fuel stop about 200 km down the road.. I was shaking in my boots. I filled my very favorite Safari Fuel Tank, was about to get back on the road and thought.. If I was in Russia, here is where I'd have a cup of tea. So I did! Always does the trick and lasted me for a few minutes. It even looks a bit like Russia around here.

My heated jacket is buried way at the bottom of my pack, and if I had a real brain, I would have taken the time to take my gear off the bike and dig it out.. but I chose to continue on and suffer through the cold rain then dig it out when I have all the gear off anyway for the night. Ding dong!!!

I laugh at this photo below because I look so ridiculous, wet and cold the whole day completely miserable. I point a camera to myself in the rain and being a creature of habit.. I smile.. It's a lie!! I was not happy this day!! ;-) You know, I don't want to sound too much like a woosey rider. But I had been traveling for weeks across America and Canada in hot summer sun, no rain. This was just my first full day back to reality of cool wet weather. I've had many rain days before and since then, plus I have many more ahead of me.. (just wanted to clarify that as this is the perfect place for me to whinge to someone other than myself about it..ha! ;-)

What I did love about this ride is that it reminds me a bit of Australia. Not the landscape, but driving hundreds of kilometers with no towns in between. This is the real wild Canada, it's gorgeous and I love it!

I made it to the end of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway.. far too wet and cold, I decided to do hotel tonight. Quite expensive here and was not keen to pay the price, but I was a bugger of a guest and got my money's worth. Took the tent in and hung it from the curtains to dry out from the night before, the dirty wet tarp I washed off in the tub and hung from the shower curtain.. turned up the heat and let all my wet gear and myself dry out. Got a really cheap bad meal at the pub next door, then went to bed.. you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.

Plus, it had wifi there and I was able to see the weather tomorrow will be MUCH better..

And it is!

What I do notice is that the colors of the leaves are starting to show up as yellow.. After coming out of a very hot summer in America, it was a surprise to see that autumn is truly here. A very big sign I am traveling very North!

My goal today is to make it to Whitehorse and stay with another great facebook friend, Shelley Williamson!

Welcome to Whitehorse!! and...... here is the horse!

Whitehorse, the town is actually not named after a horse at all. If I had to assume and guess, I'd say it may be the name of a First Nations Chief. However, the term "white horse" comes from the standing wave or whitecaps the stampeders during the gold rush would deal with in the river rapids just outside town. River traffic was the most used form on transportation on the Yukon River until road and air options could be established.. Eventually Whitehorse became the capitol of the entire Yukon Territory.

Isn't it cool?? A local artist had literally just finished this awesome work of art this year.

Shelley shows me around this very Yukon town of Whitehorse.. a fascinating place really. We are nearly at the same latitude as Anchorage Alaska.

In the 1800's, the discovery of GOLD is what brought so many people here. They called them stampeders, as many of 30,000 people came into the area at the first word of the discovery. This place that Shelley shows me, Miles Canyon, was the most difficult part for them to get through. They'd come on rafts or small boats with supplies and would only be lucky to make it through this fast moving rock walled canyon. Several men drowned.

Eventually the men were stopped upstream and could only pass through this canyon if they hired a skilled pilot. A few years later they managed to build a horse-drawn tramway to bypass the canyon completely.

Shelley was a fantastic host.. nice big warm house, great food and funny stories. I was so glad she invited me for a visit. Amazing lady who is now in Africa helping the people there.

Next stop, The Arctic Circle!! ;-)

Walking on a glacier! Nakusp to Jasper National Park

2011-11-04T07:44:00.001-07:00

OK, now I've agreed to do the SCARIEST thing on this trip so far!!

Forget about unmaintained tracks in Siberia... or camping in bear country.. Let's try public speaking!! Geez!!

It turned out I was very near the next Horizon's Unlimited meeting in Nakusp Canada, which was literally just over the mountains from where I was, Calgary. Received a little bleep from Grant Johnson suggesting I attend. But I didn't decide to go straight away. Last time I spoke to Grant at the UK Horizon's meeting in England just a couple months ago, he was giving me suggestions to do a presentation. I just laughed at him and thought, there is no way I can do that.. no way!

So, I knew if I attended this meeting in Nakusp, the suggestion would arise again and I didn't want to be a weeney and say no. Again, my self proclaimed 'because I can' title came back to haunt me. I was making excuses, so I dug in, sent Grant an email back that I will attend AND give a presentation... Now look what I've done... now I'm committed.. darn it!

I've convinced myself that Nakusp is a small town in Canada and there would not be many people there.. so if I screw up in front of 10 people, I should be able to cope.

I packed up in Calgary and then started on my way; over the river and through the woods...

Cool! It's a ferry! Couldn't tell you how many ferries I've been on all over the world now, so I know the deal. As usual, they put the bikes together at the front of the boat, where I met these two characters from Vancouver out on a day trip.. they were hilarious!

I rode with the boys until I reached the town of Nakusp.. and with the toot of a horn, I was on my own again. For about a whole two seconds. I pulled right into the Horizons Unlimited camp.

I am one day late for the meeting and there are tents everywhere. I get off my bike to have a look for a spot and I hear across the way, 'Sherri! Need a place for you tent?!" I'm like, are they talking to me? Who the heck knows me here??

Turned out to be Nevil Stow.. who I had never met before, but is a friend on facebook.. of course! He gave me a couple suggestions where to squeeze the tent in. I tried my best, but I still ended up in the wrong place.

Not long after that I see a familiar face, somebody I actually have met in person.. Miles! I met Miles and his wife Tracey at the HUBB meeting in England and totally forgot they are FROM Canada! After a little catch up they show me there is more room at their end of camp.

So we decide to go fetch my already assembled tent. Miles brings his Ural, and I ride back with him in the sidecar holding my very lightweight tent over my head! It was quite a sight, wish I had photos of it. We did see people laughing and snapping away, but I forgot to ask for a copy.

Anyway, here is Miles and Tracey in the Ural.. Shortly after this meeting they took off for their 6 month journey to South America and back! If you like to catch up with them on their blog, it's at: www.smilesandmiles.com ;-)) I still need to go north into Yukon and Alaska before heading south but we are hoping I make it in time to meet up in South America at some point.. yay!

They, along with many others, gave me heaps of great advice for traveling north in Canada to Yukon and over to Alaska.. I have to admit though, I can hardly concentrate on anything anyone says.. all I can think about is "I have to give a presentation"!! I've never done one before and I'm nervous as all heck.. knees knocking long before I need to say a word in front of people.

Grant, Miles, Nevil, and many others all supported me with lots of advice and said it will be far easier than I imagine.. I've heard that before about motorcycle technique in the sand, and I'm not convinced! I know what an idiot I am at forming sentences that make sense.. they don't understand.....!!!!! (of course they all do, they've done a gazzillion presentations themselves.. however, I'm very good at convincing myself it's far worse..)

My time arrives, and I'm like, "why are all those people in here?? Oh, sh__" !! This is far more than the 10 I had pictured in my head!!!

It was exactly like they said.. after the first sentence, the knees stopped knocking and off I went.. it turned out to be a lot of fun and then my hour was over in what felt like 10 seconds! I still can't believe I did it and now I know I can still keep my "Because I Can" title... ;-) I would have sworn to you a thousand times before this moment that I really couldn't do it.. life lesson!

Once the meeting finished on Sunday, we all go our separate ways.. For me I need to go back to Banff National Park so I can make the general population happy as they all say I CAN NOT MISS JASPER National Park!! (Jasper is connected to Banff to the north).

On the ferry with Ekke, Audrey and Doug.. ALL on BMW's.. I'm the only odd ball, as usual ;-)

Along my route I decide I need to pull over and plug in my iphone for a charge in the 12 V. Blew a fuse immediately, I knew straight away what it did, and I pulled out the connection took out the old fuse and and installed the new.. Yes, it shocks even me that I can do this all by myself! ;-)

While on the side of the road with my tools out and my seat off, all these guys flew right past me.. hmpff! Eventually I ran into Doug at the next fuel stop.

He was kind enough to ask what the problem was, I told him and he volunteered to dig in and fix it. I was in this worry state all along because if my 12V didn't work, this meant even worse consequences.. I would not be able to plug in my heated jacket!!! Tragedy!! Especially since I'm going toward the Arctic Circle! I am very spoiled by that jacket and can't imagine how I'll get through the journey without it.. ha!

Electrical stuff totally scares me so I didn't touch the wires, but Doug is a master and he fixed it up straight away.. wearing and torn connections, etc. It's ironic how the right person comes along just as you need them. Then I was on my way! Thanks again Doug! Lucky me!!!

At the junction he turns right and I turn left, heading north. Right into Jasper National Park.. I'm diggin' that glacier up ahead!! I've seen a few glaciers lately, but this one looks extra cool!

This is where the glacier came to in 1942..

This is where it came to in 1982..

Sort of reminds me of the witch in the Wizard of Oz.. "I'm melting, I'm meltiiiiiiii....!!!"

Sorry, don't mean to make light of a serious glacier melt. Pretty cool to experience Athabasca Glacier so close.

I could show you a thousand million zillion scenery photos, but that can get really boring. I will do my best to keep it to a minimum and you'll just have to go see it for yourself! ;-)

No matter where you looked, upside down, right, left, every view is the prettiest view you've ever seen in your life.. even in the rear view mirror! I can't tell you how many times I looked in the mirror and said, "holy crap!" ;-)

It's been a big day long ride from Naksup to here.. time to set up camp before it gets dark.. always the worry for wildlife on the road at dusk..

By the way, notice my new tent?? The green tent I have been carrying since day one that uses air beams instead of poles.. failed again!!! I have spent far more time fixing that tent, pump and air bladders than I should be, and this time I didn't have a spare air bladder (the other times I did). The reason I followed advice online before the trip to go with that one was because I'd be able to travel without poles, and the tent would be smaller to pack and lighter. Not true at all!

My new one is exactly the same size, and even WITH poles, packs far smaller and lighter than my old tent. Luckily for me the old one broke this time in an area full of adventurers and gear, so it was easy for me to into Banff (the town) and buy a new one and continue my journey..

Even better news, since I now have more space, I was able to buy a little cooker and teapot so I can make my own tea in the morning.. Yes!!!!

I loved this camping area.. was so pretty but I was extra worried for the bears, very few people around.. many warnings posted everywhere, but survived again! ;-)

The next morning on the road in Jasper Naional Park I got an extra special treat.. I spotted a wolf!!

This first photo is as close as I could get with zoom and cropping, but wanted you to see.. big gray!

Into the woods he goes. Wonder where he was going.. he wasn't running fast like in a chase, just galloping steadily. So happy to see him or her.. seeing a wolf has been on my list ever since Yellowstone. Score!

;-( I get the unhappy face in my helmet.. I've actually been quite lucky with great weather in Banff and Jasper National Parks. I've heard many people around tell me it's been an unusually rainy year.. so looks like it's my turn, but literally just as I was leaving Jasper the clouds roll in. And boy did it ever rain! I pulled over in Jasper (the town) for the night and found a little cheap room in a basement (finding anything cheap in that town was a challenge!). I happily stayed dry for the night..

I do feel very lucky to see this great land.. rain or shine.. ;-)

Moving North into Canada

2011-10-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

This was a really odd day.. can't say I wasnt' warned!!

I've left Glacier Park and need to travel through a bit of another Indian reservation.. I'm traveling now through the land of the Blackfeet tribe toward the Canada border and I saw this red band around a tree. I wonder what it means... red is for warning, right?

Well the border crossing was a breeze, knock on wood, as usual.. no worries. Welcome to Alberta Canada!

If you ask me, the oddness of the day crossed the border with me! Pink horses???

Now that I know why I see pink everywhere, turns out this town is in great support of breast cancer.. ok, not so odd, good on 'em!

Later on down the road, oddities arise again.. This farm, very large farm.. has a hat on every single fence post. ??????? I followed it for such a long time until the hats went up a driveway.

This is where the hats ultimately live.. is it a way to help grandpa find his way home? Or just a hat 'enthusiast'??

I find a provincial campsite tonight on a beautiful lake. It's such a gorgeous spot for an organized government campground, it's the weekend, and there is only one other tent here.

My campsite tucked in the trees

I got really worried, even if it wasn't so pretty, it's the weekend, and it's warm and sunny, where is everybody! I rode the bike into town to get something to eat and asked a couple people if there is something I should be worried about due to the absence of people. Like did a bear kill somebody there recently? They say no.. it should be a safe place to camp.. Okay, so I head back, meet the other couple in a tent and tell them that I am worried, something is not right and if they hear a loud air horn in the night, it is me (and a bear or whatever).. they chuckled and agreed to come to my rescue.

On the notice board posted in the park, during my wander before sunset, I notice that a big notice is placed right in the center that says, "This park is experiencing an unusually high amount of theft, please keep your belongings locked in the vehicles, during day and night".. Hmmmmm.

So I go back to the couple and tell them this, they were surprised.. A small 4WD had since come back to our area, just sat in the car and left it running for the longest time. I am getting a bit nervous, but I decide to wave at the single man to let him know that we see him if he needs anything. After 20 minutes or so, he drives away, and I leave the security of my new friends out here.

During the night, around 2:45 am, I woke up hearing the wheels of a car going ever so slowly across the gravel on the road above our tent sites.. it was so slow, and the hour, I knew something was not good. I had my trusty tire lever in one hand and my leatherman knife in the other, and thought to myself, "here we go..."

Then in the distance I hear another car come barreling down the gravel road.. top speed.. I think this must be the bad guys back up? We're outnumbered, what would the natives do???

Then I hear the "blip blip" of a police siren... oh thank goodnes.. How did they know??? Whatever happened happened, I didn't leave my tent, I just listened and hoped for the best.. and they both left.

Eventually went back to sleep, never needing to use my air horn.. but to this day, this is the worst experience I've had camping.. not from bears, but from humans... however, no harm to me, thank goodness. It was just a scary night.. can't say I wasn't warned.... still!

The couple up the hill came to see me at first light and we both pack up our tents to get the heck out of there.. Now I know why the campground was empty on a weekend!

Next stop, Calgary. Time for a nice big service to the bike as I am about to head into Yukon Territory and Alaska.. want everything in good shape as population dramatically dimishes soon.

While I'm hanging around the shop, typing away on my computer, this guy comes in the door and walks up to me and asks, "Are you Sherri Jo Wilkins?" I think I just looked at him with my mouth wide open, like. who are you and how do you know me and how do you know I am here........???"

He says he recognized my head lights.. "I'm like, what?? Should I slap this guy??" Desperatly wanting to put my jacket on.. Ohh, yeah, he's talking about the headlights on my bike which is parked outside. Duh... I guess these custom lights are a bit distinctive to my KTM. So he's cool now, and introduces himself and all is well.. He had been following Walter's blog and recognized from there.. gee whiz! And has done lots of RTW travel himself!

Me and Corey Hanson

Okay, that was just the tenth odd thing to happen in the last two days.. so now that the bike is fixed up, time to go see the pretty stuff. On to Banff National Park!!

Glaciers are everywhere!. Granted they are severely retreating, but still here and I feel an honor for me to see them..

This one is Crowfoot Glacier, really cool!

Loving the color of glacial silt water...

I came to Lake Louise because many years ago I saw this hotel on a travel program and it looked so pretty, I remember saying waying back then, "Someday, I want to go to Banff and Lake Louise".. So! Here I am!

Lots of ski slopes behind the hotel

Do you think I'm going to STAY in this hotel!? No way, didn't even bother to enquire about it. It was $35 to get a campsite, let alone a place with a bed.. too much. I did love my campsite, can't believe I don't have a photo of it, but the campground here is surrounded by electric fence to keep the bears out, so at least tonight I can sleep with less worry for once. AND, it doesn't cost anything to wander around the hotel.. so I got my money's worth.. ;-)

I..... think it's a bit beautiful around here!!!! See you..

Montana

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm back on blog!! Sort of.. only a quickie while bike is in for repairs.. now where did I leave off..

Here I am leaving Yellowstone (in August) and found this important little sign to pass on my way to the north of America..

I'm on my way to Bozeman Montana to visit and stay with Barton Churchill, whom I met last year in Russia.. a man with very good taste, he rides KTM as well!

Best add the Siberian flashback photo here along with Dean and Paul Martinello, from Adelaide!! in August 2010 (photo by Walter Colebatch):

Now a year later at Barton's house in Montana!! I think we both look a bit different.. many many miles/km's after!

I know, the lighting sucks on this one, but I loved seeing Barton's dog, Amelia, smiling so nicely behind us.. such a good girl!!

Montana is a place I've wanted to go my whole life.. cowboys, ranches, horses, big sky, the whole deal appeals to me.. but I never really thought of it this way.. (took this photo through the store front window in Bozeman, if you can't read past the sunglasses, it says "The Green Coalition of Gay Loggers for Jesus") All righty then! That would be a busy mob keeping up with the politics... ;-)

After a great visit with Barton.. he changed my oil for me.. ;-)))) and we ate the best sushi in the world right here in Bozeman steak/cattle/ranch country..!

I was off on the road toward Canada and Alaska which I must accomplish before the weather changes up that way.. hard to imagine as it's so warm here in Bozeman.

So the other stuff I dreamed of is clearly here too.. big sky country!

I can not believe that house is abandoned!! I'll take it.. I'd live there in a heartbeat!!

Big day riding, I make my way onto Flathead Indian Reservation where I set up camp for the night..

I know, I live in a dream world. But was hoping to see native culture happening here, maybe two men in a canoe with feathers fishing for dinner.. but so far I mostly see fast food joints and RV's... bummer..

Great night of tuna from a tin and crackers on the lake, looking forward to morning ride through Glacier National Park..

Beginning Glacier National Park

The poor fisherman.. waiting so patiently...

And a drive through the park

Here is a native Flathead man.. who brought me to the front of the line of traffic he is stopping for construction.. Absolutely hilarious man.. I was stuck there for 15 minutes, and couldn't stop laughing..

The cars behind me don't know what they are missing with this guy.. total comedian! If the traffic people were on motorcycles, they would be having more fun.. ;-)

Haystack Falls

Watching a ranger talk is not normally what I'd put in a blog, but I really thought what this guy was saying is important.. he is showing us how the glaciers used to look compared to today, but the big point to note from him.. the glaciers are EXPECTED TO BE GONE.. by 2020...!!!!! That's only 8 years away.. made me a bit sad and wanted to mention to you so that if your goal is to see "Glacier National Park", you might want to get here sooner than later!

Another note.. the birds on the picture board the ranger holds above are called White Tail Ptarmigan. They also suffer from the effects of global warming. Most animals that change color, do so as the season changes. These birds however, change on a time clock rather than season.. so they are turning white for winter earlier than they should now since warmer weather means later winter. Unfortunately, makes them very easy to see for predators long before the snow now falls.

Disappearing glacier...

So I've set up my tent and decide to go for a walk.. some things to keep in mind as a solo traveler in bear country..

I was scared walking the trail back to these water falls.. I rattled my keys for noise the whole way.. at the end of the trail a couple there says, "did you see bears?" I said no, thank goodness, however this couple was very happy to say they were right on the track! Am I the only weirdo who is not keen to come across bears on my walk??

OK, there's one.. far enough away and only interested in berries it looks like.. whew! When I was nearly back to my motorcycle, a couple with 2 small children were starting down the trail. I warned them about the bears because they were letting their little ones run ahead of them (running small people = bear targets?)... they didn't stop their children, but the Dad ran back to the car to get the camera, in hopes of seeing these bears.. don't mind the children!

Moving on to my next campsite..

I found hiking not to be as enjoyable when constantly worried for big grizzly bears. I might be over worried, as most people around here don't seem to be..at all! I'm going to hide out in my tent for the night.. I'll be safe in there.... yeah, uh huh.. ;-) As they drum into you around here on paper notices.. do NOT leave any food within 20 meters of the tent, not even a water bottle, put all food in storage lockers or tie into a tree, including cosmetics, anything that smells of food, might invite a bear into your tent.. geez! I've got my little airhorn, a tire iron and a leatherman (with knife part already out) ready for attack right by my pillow.. but I kept my water bottle and took my chances.. see you!

No posts recently... ;-(

2011-10-23T18:14:00.002-07:00

Sorry I have not posted in ages!! Really been on the move.. since my last post in Yellowstone, I then rode up into Canada, through Calgary, Banff, Jasper, up to the Yukon as far as the Arctic Circle! Then west to Alaska, with a goal to reach Anchorage, which sort of completed my world "circle", getting me as close to Magadan Russia as possible, where I was about a year ago..

Enjoyed Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Whistler, Washington state, Oregon and now in Southern California.

A lot of writing and catching up to do, which I will hopefully have a chance to slow down and do just that! I always have plans for it, but things keep me going.. I think it's time to put my foot down and dig the heels in for a couple weeks if I can.

In the meantime, apologizes for being so behind in the blog, and I will do my best to get caught up!

Greetings from Southern California..

SJ ;-)

Yellowstone National Park

2011-10-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone National Park.. has been on my list for years!!

But first a little lead in to it.. Traveling west from South Dakota, I stopped for the night outside the park in Cody Wyoming. Named after the all too famous William "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

A bit like Elvis, could swear I actually saw the guy alive and well walking down the street back in Custer, South Dakota! Could Micheal be nearby??

Found some hot springs further along the road that remind me a bit of Pammukkale Turkey! Pammukkale was really dramatic having never seen a landscape like it before. I remember thinking while there that I wonder if any other place on the planet would have such calcium mineral formations, and here it is! (granted, not as nice as Pamukkale..) In a place called Thermopolis, Wyoming.. interesting name! Being that Pammukkale was at a place in Turkey called Heiropolis!! On the other side of the planet!

Now on to Old Trail Town Wyoming.. laid out by Bill Cody in 1895.. Most of these western states have plenty of history, wagon wheels, and buffalo grazing in the field. But this old town drew me in because it has many of the original cabins.

This is where I have always thought I'm meant to be.. a pioneer woman in the wild west.. However, in this daydream I've often had (instigated by all the best western movies I watched as a kid on Sunday mornings with my Dad), I imagined I would be rescued by a long black hair native man on a pinto horse with lots of feathers and beads of color and ride off into the sunset!! I probably shouldn't admit my dreams in writing, should I!!

Oh dear.. back to Old Town..

Still taking the long way around, I go up to Red Lodge and carry over to Yellowstone via the Beartooth Highway. (which weaves in and out of Montana and Wyoming borders) Highly recommended by many as then most beautiful road in America! After coming across the midwest flatlands of corn and soybeans, I won't argue with this claim..

Even at this elevation I get one of my biggest bug splats ever!

Now for a bit of Yellowstone.. Finally!!

What is one of the biggest attractions to aim for here?? Old Faithful, of coarse! By the looks of the crowd here, "biggest" was the key word!

This is what we've all been looking at for the last 45 minutes..

And then.. pressure..!!! I've met a few people, let alone Mother Nature, who do exactly this!! ;-)

Oops, felt the need to pop my head up.. to ruin a perfectly good photo! ;-)

Remnants of a forest fire.. 1980's?

Heading on down the road, as we ALL do!!

Close call!!

Plenty of buffalo in the road, and from what I can tell, it's their preferred track as well.

Kiss My Ass, comes to mind...!!

Made my way to camp.. lots of warnings about bears, not many campsites available.. not much food in my pack, I go to a little community called Fort Yellowsotne built by the US Army in 1886 as a base to control the Sioux Native people. Now it's "tourist central"..as you might imagine and I find these elk also prefer the freedom of this very public land.

U.S. Post Office.. and the local loitering elk!

The next morning, I scrape the frost off my bike's seat and make my way out for an early morning ride.. hoping to see a grizzly bear!! It's on my list.. as well as the wolves I've been listening to, but not seeing. Anyway, I found a dirt track.. yay!! After all the civilized paved highways to get here, and even within here, this is a real treat..

I made it to the east side of the park where I knew some people saw a grizzly yesterday. I hope with my zoom you can see Mr. Grizzly.. this is my first one to see and I'm happy to keep my distance.

Bear crosses river and has a one on one face off with a lone buffalo.. Having the time to watch for a while, when I knew where the bear was heading, I was so ready to see it fly.. and then hide my eyes. But nope! After the stand off, the bear walked on.. and ate grass!! Fascinating!

Aw well, Grizzly bear I was glad to see, even at such a distance.. better than nothing!

On a rush back to camp to beat the sunset , Indian Creek camp to be exact at the Northwest side of the park, I loved the moon... was just such a pretty dusk, why rush...

Couldn't decide which one I like the best so I show you both.. hope you can see the elk, lovely lucky place to be on this night in the world..

Moon included it was about 5 AM when I was listening to the gorgeous sound of many howling wolves from my little tent.. they were far enough away, but close enough I could make out either a little one, or something smaller within the howling group.. do coyotes howl?

Wisconsin to South Dakota

2011-09-27T08:52:00.001-07:00

Straight after visiting Indiana, I make my way up to Wisconsin. I found a place online that has my favorite tires, and lucky that they specialize in custom design KTM parts!

I just went there for my tires as they are not available in Indiana. You know I've always had issues with my side stand, and Craig from CJ Designs http://www.cjdesignsllc.com/LC8parts.html has created an adjustable side stand for his 950 that might just do the trick for mine too.

Good looking, isn't it?

Craig thought I should give his KTM 950 Adventure a try, it's so BIG and heavy!! Noooooo.. I feel better not to destroy his creation today..and stick to my little one. ;-)

A most interesting day, where I managed that night to spill the slightest amount of beer on my new laptop. It spazzed out and died, that quick. I bought it in Indiana, but I took it to the shop in Wisconsin to see what I can do to fix it. They immediately tell me that liquid spillage is not covered under warranty or insurance. I totally understand, but I still need to get it fixed regardless. The guys goes out the back room and returns and says they are going to send it away and fix it for free..! What? I can't believe it, but the guy looks at me and says, "this computer is only 7 days old".. I know. I was gutted and embarrassed, but so lucky to meet this guy.

So, bigger longer story short, I went back down to Indiana only a few hours away, got my old computer to travel with while the new one is sent away for a couple weeks. And then make a b-line to South Dakota to try to get back on schedule.

I was totally diggin' that cloud! I watched it for the remainder of the day.. seems so out of place! Never really moved, just stretched. I must study meteorology, have always wanted to..

First most interesting stop was the Badlands.. I had no idea there was a place in America with that name. What's the story, why that name? Is it safe to go there??

This is what I eventually learn from Wikipedia:

A badlands (also badland) is a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water. It can resemble malpaís, a terrain of volcanic rock. Canyons, ravines, gullies, hoodoos and other such geological forms are common in badlands. They are often difficult to navigate by foot. Badlands often have a spectacular color display that alternates from dark black/blue coal stria to bright clays to red scoria.

I'm in the land of the prairie dog!! Local residents..rodents..I want to shake their little hands!

Nobody around, I spot another local..

He seems friendly enough, but still chooses to make a little more distance between us.. don't jump!

My Badlands National Park campsite and my continuously failing Nemo Morpho tent!

From the Badlands I move on to a camp outside Custer State Park.. where along the way, I spot this!

Mt. Rushmore

I just realized George Washington and I could be related... we have the same nose! ;-)

I heard a rumor that Sturgis is on this weekend, right up the road from my camp. Didn't plan to be here for that, but since it's happening, might as well check out one of the largest bike meetings on the planet!

I met this fun couple at the wolf camp I was staying, Killer and Dee, who invited me to come and tour around the event with them.

Excuse me, Ma'am.. what is that you're ridin'?

I had to stare at that sign for a while.. was thinking, no colors? Does that mean you can only wear black in this bar? Until somebody explains to me that colors is slang for "gang" wear, which seems to cause trouble, shooting and killings at past Sturgis events... okey dokey then!

He calls himself "Snuff Man"... here from Germany

There's a BMW here!

Here's the board in a bar so you can mark where you came from.. Adelaide was looking pretty healthy, I was surprised!

So, tell us how you really feel...!!

My favorite side stand..

My bike is down there if you can spot it.

These guys did.. who seem to have known a bit about my trip..and gave me a huge congratulations once I got to the bike, I was embarrassed and surprised ;-)

After riding around a large part of this planet, I finally find where I belong!!!

I'm home!

Welcome to Indiana!!

2011-09-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Who'da thought many years ago when I moved from Indiana to South Australia, that I would actually ride all the way back on a motorcycle!!?? I sure didn't!!!

Wasn't even a blip on my radar.. Now that I have, it will probably be something I will remember in to my old age... ha!

The last few months have been go go go.. so much riding, so many great countries, so many people.. so many goals to meet. I have absolutely loved it!!

But I can tell you I'm darn tired. Ready for a break.. a break from trying to find a place to sleep at night.. a chance to wear something different (and be able to wash it anytime I want), play with nieces and nephews, not have to ride a motorcycle for a few days, but drive on four wheels, replace gear, get gear I have been wishing for (so much easier to do these things when you know your way around to the shops and don't have to ask and get lost all day in a foreign language!)

One of the first things that hits me when coming back into the United States, is a trip to the grocery store. Where you have an ENTIRE AISLE dedicated to the "chip".

And another ENTIRE AISLE dedicated to "cola".

It's just a clear definition of American culture.. While in Italy, they had an entire aisle dedicated to pasta! (and not the sauce, very little pasta sauce can be bought in Italy, you make it yourself!)

While in some eastern countries, they have entire aisles dedicated to beer and vodka, something you won't see in an American grocery store.. We're all different, that's for sure.

I quite liked the Italian "wine aisle".. easy to buy wine at $2 per litre, which was cheaper than coke! And healthier if not too much intake.. ;-)

It's summertime in Indiana and good to be home with family and friends.. my first trip home without my Dad being around...

Here's a little run-down of the family..

My sister Kim and her dog George are very happy!

My niece Julia is also.. happy!

Nephew Jack and his puppy..

My brother Joe and daughter Molley

Nephew Sam..

Nephew Joey.. (who I think is channeling James Dean today.. another Indiana native!)

Daryn, my brother's wife.

It's.... Summer time!!!

And friends!

The arrival of Clare, my good friend from Adelaide!

It will be quite an American experience for her here in the Midwest! Very cool to come so far out of her way to visit...

My wonderful sponsor Pasi from Innotesco and Rukka have sent me a brand new complete riding suit!! After wearing the first one every single day for the last 15 months, I feel honored they wanted to get me updated and looking sprucey! Thanks a million Rukka!!! http://www.innotesco.com.au/ in Australia and New Zealand. www.rukka.com for the rest of the world. ;-)

Clare was handy as photographer as we take some photos of the new gear in a pretend professional photo session.. love love love my Rukka gear ;-))

We all went to my favorite place on the planet.. the Exotic Feline Rescue Center!

This is Joey, one kitty cat I helped raise a few years ago.. she is such a good girl..

with lots of gossip and love to catch up on..

Herman tells Joey to move over, he wants to visit.. much to her disapproval..

Herman wins.. she moves and he contently lays down for his baby boy attention.. which I'm happy to give..

This is a painting another friend from Adelaide, Marie did for me of these guys when they were babies.. not in the painting is Joey who was on my leg.. Herman is the baby boy who always wants to be close, even now! And Sumara sucking on my finger..

I spy... two little eyes!

And Stephen McCloud, signing his new book for me. Amazing photographer and book with photos and stories about all our resident cats.. Have a look and order one at www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org I guarantee you will love it! I hate it when I sound like such a saleswoman.. but honestly, every person I've ever shown his books to have oooed and ahhhhed, loving the cats..

Joe Taft, Founder and Director

That boy needs a talkin' to!!

Jean Herrberg..Assistant Director Huge job, lots to do when looking after more than 230 big cats!! and still has time for me! ;-)

Even lions are tree huggers...

Lauren, Jasmine and King

Today a new enclosure is finished and we are here to witness the lucky release of Leopald into his new home!

You know I love showing off these cats.. but I must mention that to have so many cats here is not a good thing.. They've all been rescued from wrong situations... illegal breeders, abusive owners, etc. We have some horrendous stories of abuse to these animals before they were rescued.. you can read some of them at www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org

They shouldn't be living in peoples homes across America in the first place if you want my opinion. There are more large cats living in America than in the wild. There are countless cats still in peoples basements or far too small cages with concrete and gravel.. used as prop's in a nightclub or being bred for parts to the Asian market..(why does a culture with such a massive overflowing population need aphrodisiacs in the first place! I'm getting myself in trouble here, but had to say it..) I always feel honored to volunteer my time and money to Joe and Jean and their huge undertaking of giving so many cats loving homes, large enclosures and plenty to eat.. they are truly the lucky cats to end up here.. EFRC has to turn away far more too many requests to take on more cats every day. I hope America wakes up and puts a stop to the madness of not only these exotic cats, but all exotic animals that don't belong in your neighbors basement!! 'Nuf said... sorry....

Clare prepares to go.. we all enjoyed so much having our true "Aussie" in the house! What a treat!

Last but not least, Steve.. good friend and accountant, came by to see the bike.. keeping my American taxes and details in line! God knows I couldn't!

And Brandon.. who's fault it is that I started riding a Harley many years ago in America.. haven't seen him in that long, so he was a bit shocked I was back in Indiana via my alternate motorcycle.. ha!

So this is my Indiana family and friends post.. ! And a great goal to meet that "sort of" marks my 1/2 way around the world... Not to mention the many milkshakes I managed during my time here.. I can certainly vouch that there is no other country that makes a better milkshake!

Lots of great home cooked meals by my family... a very very full three weeks. I'm exhausted!! There was no rest about it as much as I was needing one.. This was more fun, I can do that later.. ;-)

Big Blue Marble: Iceland, Greenland and a move through East Canada!

2011-09-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

This makes me think it looks like we're flying in on the space shuttle!!

Big apologies for an awfully behind blog.. lack of internet and being on the road have thrown me far behind.. as usual!

This fly over part of the blog doesn't really count, because I didn't go to Iceland or Greenland. Iceland was simply a stopover on my way from the UK to Canada.. but dag gone I wish I could stay!

I haven't been this entranced in landscape for a long time, as many parts of Europe I was just traveling I had been to before.. this is a whole different world! Loved it so much from the air, I wanted to share some photos...

The first ones are flying into Iceland for layover.

The last ones flying over Greenland..

What an absolutely beautiful day it was..

Eventually arriving to Halifax airport in Nova Scotia. I was recommended to fly here instead of America as the fees and paper work for the bike would be much easier. Since I didn't have an experience with New York, I assume they must be right!

My bike arrived Halifax around 4 pm, and I arrived around 7 pm on a different airplane.

I had spoken to a man named Paul from the Horizons Unlimited website a couple days prior and not knowing for sure when my bike would arrive OR be released from customs, I told him I'd give a call with information after I arrive.

To my surprise, he was waiting for me at the airport!

Customs and paperwork were a total breeze. So Paul suggested after my long flight not to uncrate the bike here. He'll just put it in the pick-up truck and we can take it to the family farm and tackle that project in the morning.. sweet!

What a seriously nice man!! So lucky and so unexpected!! With neighbor friend and daughter in tow, we all rode back to his farm.

After a fairly good sleep and a bit of jet lag, I come out the next morning to see where the heck I am...! And there's my bike in the box, waiting so patiently for me..

First things first..

There are these gorgeous little babies outside the house crying for Mom and some milk.. being a sucker for animals, especially crying babies, I volunteer to help feed.

And then get to my other crying baby....

It was a surprise to everyone to see what was in the box! ;-)

And then they all start bringing out their toys, one by one!

Deb Blois

Baron Blois

Paul Blois

Nephew Michael steals my bike!

This is one big motorcycle riding family!! Very fun and lucky to be here as they are all looking after me so well during my big transfer to North America..unbelievable. ;-)

We had a little ride around their neck of the woods, beautiful area..

They show me this most unique spot.. it's called Bay of Fundy.. claiming to be the location of the highest tide in the world!

“The Natural World, Greatest Tides: The greatest tides in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy.... Burntcoat Head in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, has the greatest mean spring range with 14.5 metres (47.5 feet) and an extreme range of 16.3 metres (53.5 feet).” from Wikipedia info..

Now, thanks to the Blois family, I am off to a great start exploring parts of North America I have never been before.

But for now, the next goal for me is to get on the road and make my way to Indiana.. as much as I love my life and excited to explore, I am really looking forward to getting back to see my family and take a much needed break off the bike.

It's a long ride across Canada.. and very hot one at that!

Heat break...and a SPOT check..

A quick stop in the Toronto area where a great guy there has offered to trade me front forks, via communication with Walter. After they worked so hard in Holland to lower my back end and sturdy it up, the front end was still a little tall creating a wobble on the road.

Stepaen has a different model to me, the 690e, mine is the 690r. His is naturally lower..he wants to be taller, I want to be shorter.. perfect!

Thanks again Stepaen!! My bike is low and smooth.. I am loving it so much I can hardly see straight.. this has been what I have been wishing for all along! To be able to sit on my bike with feet flat on the ground, and not only that, a little bend in my knee! It has totally changed how I ride.. with tons more confidence and I feel normal going into corners now.. A really big difference. Thanks again to Walter who suggested this and organized it through his posts on ADVrider. I'm one lucky chick!

A couple last photos of my time after camping at Lake Hudson, before heading through Michigan and on down to Indiana..

Camping here is gorgeous.. but costs $32.50... $32.50!! for a primitive campsite! This is more expensive than Europe, and I don't get why! Other than this bit, it's all just boring farm land.. no major castles or attractions.. has me dumbfounded, but obviously the people around here are happy to pay it, the campgrounds were full... I hate to admit, but I snuck in with a little help from the young camp gate employee (who agreed with my Europe argument) for free.. don't tell anybody!! Hey.. you gotta do what you gotta do..

See ya!

England, many many Motorcycles and Horizons Unlimited UK

2011-09-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Time is nearly out.. I must get to England! Another overnight ferry (I wish I kept count of the ferries on this trip!) to get across from Rotterdam Holland to Harwich England.. which as normal sails through the night and arrives very early in the morning the next day. Off the boat and a mad dash of around 320 km to Ripley England to attend my first ever world famous Horizons Unlimited meeting!

Another country, another language.. and it's English! Boy does it hit you when you see road signs in English and can have meaningful conversations with the people at the fuel station! I immediately thought, this won't be as fun.. far too easy in English.. ha! (I've been gone too long I think)

When I first decided to do this motorcycle journey, one of the first places on the internet I found with the majority of info I needed to arm myself was at www.horizonsunlimited.com

Most of you know about HU, but for those of you who don't, they have meetings all over the world bringing people together who love motorcycle adventures! This one in Ripley just happens to be the largest one and perfect for it to be here now. I can meet so many incredible adventurers and then get my butt down to Heathrow airport where I have booked a flight.

Danny stole my bike! (as a very confident woman passes him!...that's karma, Danny!

Bikes arrive this meeting in all shapes and sizes.. you can go on a moto adventure on any dag gone thing you can think of! ;-)

An Australian postie bike..

A sports bike.. Sjaak Lucassen on Yamaha R1 has done 75 countries in 5 years on this bike! Including ice and snow.. and the Amazon jungle! I shall never complain again about how difficult the road is on my bike.. ha!

Or this one.. imagine going up the mountain on this!

You can learn how to do anything here at Horizons Unlimited..

Learn to ride and fly!

Learn to waterproof your tent! (Donkey shed and shit not included in purchase)

Sheonagh and Pat's tent ;-) They are always teaching me something..

And not to mention all the other amazing heroes I'd seen on the internet or HU DVD's are here.. this place is full of them, I'm so lucky to meet in person!

Grant Johnson (co-founder Horizons Unlimited)

Lois Pryce and Austin Vince

Sam Manicom

Captain Magadan himself.. hey, didn't I just see you in Holland?

Stalker.. ;-) Just kidding, Walter gave an excellent presentation on .. guess what! Siberia! www.sibirskyextreme.com

Every single person I meet here has the greatest stories to tell.. lots of presentations to learn more.. This is the place for me to be for sure..

It is, however BYOS.. (Bring Your Own Squirrel)

or anything else you find dead along the road.. Helen bothered to pick up a dead deer! Luckily she came in a van..

After a super full, super fun weekend, it's time to pack up and go..

Luckily Shoenagh and Pat have a friend and host for me to stay with near Heathrow airport to get organized for the transfer, so on 'yer bikes!

They escort me through England to go to stay at Janet's house..

Sheonagh explains this is the Swarkestone causeway, just south of Derby, built in the thirteenth century. It is the longest stone bridge in England.

Janet, a close friend had ridden a motorcycle overseas with Shoenagh in the 1970's..! Knowing how much it is a surprise for some people to see a woman traveling by motorcycle, I can only imagine the response these girls got back then.. amazing inspiration they are!

One thing anybody on a motorcycle has told me is to visit the Ace Cafe while in London.. great meeting place for bikers. I asked Janet about it and she had never been there herself! Sounds like this is the place to see today. (By the way, I have time to do this because I have just dropped my bike off to the shipping agent who needed the bike at least 3 days before shipping... it's gone, hopefully to be seen again in Nova Scotia Canada in a few days time..)

Now, back to the cafe!

After lunch with Janet, I took a train into Central London. Quite honestly didn't want to go, I have a million other things to do, but I thought I might regret being so close and not having a look.

I regretfully must admit that at this point in my journey, I'm quite tired of big important things to see.. It's a horrible place to come to, as we were just discussing last night. I have recently become completely blaze' about these things.. hopefully it's just a phase and will return after I have a few days off the bike..

What did excite me in the city was a complete M&M shop! I never knew there was a whole shop dedicated to the M&M!! I'm in loooooove.... so I thought. I went in search of my most favorite M&M of all time, dark chocolate mint.. they come in all different shades of "cooties" green.. (I can't remember why it was taboo to eat the green ones when young, but if you did, it gave you cooties.. ?) I could not believe they don't have this flavor here.. in the largest M&M shop I've ever seen!!?? Oh well.. I walked away empty handed.. but still fun to be amongst lots of candy..

Then another great thrill was stumbling on to the National Geographic Society building.. oh man! This is super love even beyond the M&M!!

Great wall of inspiration inside.. so many of the greatest adventurers of the world.. I didn't see any on motorcycles though.. we must change that! ;-)

Ah yes, pomp and circumstance.. and important things..

So this is Londontown.. ;-)

Must get myself packed and prepared for North America.. see you in Canada!

Holland aka The Netherlands!

2011-08-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yepp.. I'm in Holland!

I'm here for 2 reasons. First, to get some special attention to the bike. Captain Magadan emailed me weeks ago suggesting I come to see his best technician at Hyperpro to get my suspension worked on. His friend Bas was kind enough to make an appointment for me to come in on his day off!! You know he's good if he's booked that far in advance.. Secondly, I've heard so much about the Netherlands and always wanted to come, but didn't think I would catch it on this trip.. So! To be able to add another country to my list of places I've been is always a plus for me!

In the organizing of it all, I get to stay with wonderful Marco and Dorine, whom you might remember me meeting near Kos Turkey earlier this year. They are so fun and we've kept in touch.

Marco and Dorine in Turkey..

Now I'm at their home in Haarlem, Netherlands

I wasn't sure I was going to like Holland and quite frankly from the highway, I wasn't looking forward to it (highways will do that to ya.) Other than the odd windmill and cows, looking pretty flat and boring. This is why it's best to never take the highway! Because once I arrived, look what a fun trendy place this is!

They suggest I bring the bike into the house.. it's normal...ha!

First job is to get to Hyperpro in the morning to meet Bas and see what to do.. In all my photos and visuals, you never get to to hear the developed sound of my bike! My "sound" since I've been in Montenegro last March is that of a squeeky rusty old jalopy. So loud every time I got on the bike, and sat down.. rreeek.. rrrrrreeeek!! (not good at how to word the sound, but I tried..) It was well worth the chuckles it created from those around me..

Always hoping its just a squeek and not a warning of something coming. (yes, I know better..) I should have taken photos, when the guys in Italy I bought that rear tire just after Portugal were dead set on finding the source of the squeek.. They took oil spray to EVERYTHING! Both men on the ground, upside down, pushing on my bike, backwards forwards.. with all that extra oil, it squeeked just as bad as when I came in and they eventually got disappointed and gave up.

Bas on the other hand is on top of his game and goes right to the source.

The squeek is here, Sherri Jo..... (I knew that.. seriously! ;-) Not really, but now I see where the inside part was rusted out, which the oil could never reach.

This is going to be a day job.. executive decision is to send Sherri Jo on the train into downtown Amsterdam for a few hours as there's nothing I can do here. Feeling guilty again! Wish I could be more helpful.. but welcome the opportunity to see the city since I've heard soooo much about it.. Most comments I remember about Amsterdam is that it's so much more open and advanced about MANY things than we are in the USA.. is it true?

INVASION!!! Masses and masses and MASSES of bicycles.. everywhere!!

It's all about the "advanced" civilization of the bicycle around here! Keep in mind the parking "garage" in the background is all bikes too.. besides the masses of them parked in the city..

Amsterdam is a very good looking, unique looking town.. a style all its own. Only a quick look around. It is very touristy.. lots of 'tours' I could take.. but I was just happy to get a feel for the place and get the train back to the shop. When I did, I find Bas is nearly finished..Very precise, a true perfectionist!

Walter who knows my bike so well, wants to test it out.. I think he looks quite happy to be re-united with his little 690 Siberian friend.. look at that grin! ;-)

Bas put in many hours over 2 days to make my bike perfect.. in support of my journey.. The rear end is lower now. When I sit on it, there is a slight bend in my knee, and those who know I've been wobbly with the height of this bike all along (I was supposed to get used to it.. never did..) Thanks Walter for organizing it all and letting Bas stop his work on YOUR bike and spend that time on mine instead.. really appreciate it!!!

My bike feels really good, what a huge difference it makes to get the best surgeon on the planet to fix up the suspension. and I couldn't be more grateful. It's been a struggle with this bike for so long.. and as a bonus, Bas even perfected my wobbly side stand! I can park anywhere now! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Still on the run and just in time, I will be able to make my ferry to England tonight.. but they convince I have plenty of time to come for their weekly club family super great Dutch meal at Peter's house.. hope that makes sense!

These guys are the best, including Peters' wife behind the camera..couldn't feel more welcome anywhere.. ;-)

In the back, Peter and his wife have a bike club. They have gone to so much effort to put these memory boards on the wall of many of their great group rides..

And, they can pick any bike they want to ride today.. what a pleasure!!

One last photo with the master, Bas. Ruud, on the left, kindly offered to ride with me on his black BMW to the ferry port in Rotterdam..

(this photo taken the day before on his yellow BMW.. I just like this photo better)

Big thanks again (can't say it enough) to Walter and Bas at Hyperpro for working so hard and for so many hours over 2 days on my bike..

I didn't care I was around a motorcycle shop more than sightseeing Holland. All these guys are my Netherlands experience, and it was the best.. ;-)

France

2011-08-22T20:41:00.001-07:00

I think I mentioned that my original plans to travel north to England was via the French coast with a visit to Normandy.. This wasn't going to work due to ridiculously bad weather, so I diverted to Switzerland.. good call!! Very happy I did!

My next overnight stop in France, however, still welded some serious American history that I didn't expect.. Mainly because I hadn't studied the details of the war(s) in this area.

Anyway, during my daily research, I came across an English couple who live and own a Bed and Breakfast in France. They so kindly invited to me to stay... free of charge!!

They've been here for 8 years, and told me I am their FIRST solo female rider to visit... YAY!! and secondly!! I am their FIRST, round the world rider from Australia to visit.. double YAY!!!!

They have only a tiny sign, but it's a whole different world inside..
Check out my very gorgeous, very comfortable room!! So happy to be here.. The house is large and lovely inside.

The place is called Two Wheel Morrings in Dun Sur Meuse France. http://twowheelmoorings.co.uk/default.aspx They only allow visitors here on 2 wheels.. mostly motorcycles, but if you ride a bicycle..you are welcome too! Keen riders themselves (hence the two wheel theme) they have ridden around so much and have the absolute best advice on roads, places and everything needed while here.

Indoor parking for the bikes too..

Right outside the B&amp;amp;B is a very important statue of a charging American Infantryman WW1 1914-18. The Americans crossed right here at this point on the bridge over the Meuse River for the first time during the war.

So many battles took place right around here.

Ian and Carol insist I must go and see the largest American Cemetary outside the United States, just down the road.. really, just here in countryside of France? Turns out there are over 14,000!!!!! soldiers buried here. They tell me there was actually over 50,000 soldiers .. can you believe?! But the difference is the amount of families who chose later to take their soldier home.

Really makes you see CLEARLY the effects of war, and think about how many DIE on behalf of their country. Not just Americans, but all countries. And how lucky I am to have been born into freedom and knocking on wood, have never had to live through the hardships and death war brings.

Just remembering some of my earlier posts... "Hiroshima in Japan", being on "high alert" with navy ships from North Korea as I was traveling through South Korea, the recent Yugoslav wars, still very visible in Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia... all the castles and fortresses I've been through in Europe..(they weren't just built for decoration and tourism!) In my life, the biggest things I have to fight for is a parking space, or corrections on a telephone service bill.

You know what I read in my iphone app "National Georgraphic World Atlas" the other day, that blew my mind.. : "The number of nations has soared form 65 in 1946 to 194 today - with 30 new independent countries added to the maps since 1990." That is incredible.. I had no idea THAT many!

Okay, I've gone off on a tangent..best get back to France.

After I visit this amazing place, I must keep riding north.. One thing I can say about France, is their countryside is really beautiful (I know I've already said this.. plus I like their food..ha!)

Views from the road...

And up to the 8,000th castle I've been to in Europe.. but they are all cool. I try to pretend I have permission to enter with my white horse (no disrespect to my black and orange horse).. ;-)

The Mote

Darn, another castle entry with a stop light.. where's the guard.. and still looking for that Prince!!?? ;-)

Once inside, it looks like this. People still live and work here. How cool would that be to say I live in "Montmedy Citadel!"

Now I am seriously on a marathon, time is running short. I make a mad dash from France into the tiny country of Luxembourg (just to say I've been there!) No photos, rainy, windy, yukky..

Then to Belgium, where my friends Sho and Pat have hooked me up with their friends Pascale and Gretel for a nights stay on my way north.

These two girls travel heaps by motorcycle as well, with tons a great stories from South America! Gives me inspiration and more countries to look forward to!! Besides hosting me for the night, they made a kickin' meal including Belgium Fries!! They tell me Belgium is really famous for the best "fries".. I did not know this, but the ones they made were truly awesome..! And not ever having "fried potatoes" in France, we question where the term "French Fries" comes from..

My mad dash to England has taken me off the lovely country roads and on to the big bad highway..blaaaaa...

So there you go.. a super quick drive through Belgium.. no famous Belgium beer, (some very good wine though..) only a taste of Belgium chocolate, happy enough with my Belgium Fries and I'm off to one last stop in Holland.. before I catch the England ferry.

See you!

Switzerland !!!

2011-08-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

After I finished my bike service in France I made my way to a small town near Geneve Switzerland. I have friends here I met in Fiji a few years ago and they have invited me to stay.

As I said, I am on a mission to go north, but this country is so beautiful... like SO beautiful, I stayed here two nights.. I won't need to explain much as the photos will hopefully speak for themselves.

After dinner the first night, and much advice on all the routes I can pick from for a quick tour of this country, we chose a most famous Grimsel Pass. This is a favorite for motorcyclists I have since learned! So I'll take you through one of my favorite days, and one of my favorite rides so far.. ;-)

I love the house design and character here!

Train stop.

Haven't started going over the pass yet, but I am at the base, where I decide to stop for lunch.. and watch motorcycle after motorcycle pass by the front veranda I am sitting.

I lost count how many passed by during my short yet divine Swiss lunch!

Back on the road, I see the beginning of Grimsel pass.. that is a very snakey road coming up!

Words OR pictures for me can not describe just how gorgeous this ride is.. I was riding with my mouth wide open and "wow" coming out continuously...

Eventually made it to the top!

Where I met this man!

He came out of nowhere. His name is Rolf and he wanted to take photos.. and said he had something special for me. He was a really nice man but this statement quite honestly made me a bit nervous.. He pulls out this gorgeous crystal (which I still carry with me to this day). He had just been up the rocks in the picture behind searching for crystals and he had one to give me! How did he know I was coming!? That was fun.. and what a great guy.

So from the top of Grimsel Pass, I have plenty of kilometers to cover to get back to my friends house and head back down the other side of the mountain.

And I met another interesting man.. check this guy out!

His name is Steve from Ireland and he was here on a fishing holiday.. Love the look! ;-)

I took the road less traveling to finish my day... I just didn't want it to end!

It was getting late in the day and made it back to Geneva just before dark...

I do hope to come back and spend many more days riding around Switzerland... ;-)))

Fast forward through Spain and France!

2011-08-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

I'm running short on time and I need to get a move on through Spain and up into France. Problem is, I need service on the bike and desperately need a new rear tire!

All those little stone streets in Portugal ate my tire right up and it's completely bald. But there is no where around here to get a new bike tire, the kind I want anyway.. so I take my chances on getting to Pamplona Spain and hope for better luck there.

A few photos from the road between Portugal and Pamplona..

I'm in the middle of "nowhere" north Spain.. and there is half a man out here!! NO idea why!

Taking the back roads is always the most fun.. who is the man walking down the road? Where is he going? AND.. Who is the alien walking in the field next to him?????

Then I come across these hillside homes. I'm traveling way off the beaten path.. nobody around to ask, so I don't know the story..It's way out in the country, no big tourist thing happening around these places. Reminds me a bit of the cave houses in Santorini Greece.

The villages out here are always a pleasure to explore.. but no stopping for me today.. gotta keep moving.

For most of the day, I passed a lot of dry farm land.. now I start entering grape growing territory - again.

I eventually got my new tire north of Pamplona.. only needed the one. It took lots of time around Pamplona going from dealership to dealership. They were all good guys who really wanted to help me find my tire, but nothing to be found in this city with my size. One shop made many calls on the phone and got a guy in a small town on the French border who had a Pirelli Scorpion the size I needed. So that's where I headed the next morning.. No "running with the bulls" happening in Pamplona this week, so might as well move on.. hey?

I cross the border and head east in France for 2 reasons. Even though I am meant to be traveling the coast of France north to get to England. First, I desperately need a complete service done by KTM mechanics and the only one that was available in France during my time limit was due East. Secondly, the coast of France has really bad rain now and not letting up for the 10 day forecast I can see.. So I decide to go around the weather.. why not! Why ride 10 days of rain when you can go somewhere else and have fun! Being that the service is East, and Switzlerand is east.. I'll go that way!

Some views from the road in South France....

The architecture changes dramatically after you cross the border from Spain.. EVERYTHING is red and white! This is "Basque" country.. a region and culture of people that follow along the north side of Spain and the Southwest of France along the Pyrenese. A very proud culture who straddle both countries as they have been under each others rule at times during history.

Anyway, without all the culturual detail, I simply like the buildings this way.. a nice change from stone and earth colors. I was super hungry and well past lunch time. I couldn't find anything open at all since I was past the lunch mark, but before dinner. So I popped into a village hotel and went to the bar.. and with my totally non-existent French (and the bar lady with zero English!) She was able to make me a sandwich. I knew I wanted green (verte in Spanish is verde).. tomato (tomates).. simple one. and fromage (cheese) on bread (le pain in Spanish is pan). I know enough Spanish and the words are similiar enough that if you work with the lady we eventually totally understand each other!

Gee whiz, she brought out my sandwich.. only those bits on it, but with the super fresh French bread.. why would you want anything else..! It was soooo good. Welcome to France! Normally in my real world, it's habit to put a sauce on of some sort, either Mayo or pesto whatever. But it was the best simple sandwich I had in a long time!

The Basque color houses slowly dwindled away in each village as I went further.. and I found.. guess what!!! ANOTHER CASTLE!! Check out the old mote around this one.

My bike is parked near the building, but I wanted to show how incredibly thick they build castle walls.. standard in all of them really, but it still amazes me to think of all the hard work to build. This wall surrounded the entire town.. all stacked by hand.

Traveling through country then villages then country and more villages.. is a lot of fun.. even though you are only seeing a snipet of it! ;-) I remember thinking they are all so picturesque and sooo French!

Beautiful country.. South France

And then I get to my favorite favorite favorite castle of all time.. Carcassonne!!

I've been here before, many years ago with my sister... doesn't get more spectacular than this.. I have always recommended to anybody I know coming to France over the years to not miss Carcassonne! It's a super strong fortified city.. with a huge amount of history as you can imagine.. I'll leave it up to you to google search if needed to read more about it. ;-)

While your here.. might as well visit the Australia Park????

Well there you have it.. my quick pace marathon through Spain and South France.. one last stop to send a telegraph.. (just kidding! was just surprised to see that it's still part of society today..) and then on to Switzerland tomorrow..

Portugal Part 3

2011-08-15T10:17:00.001-07:00

Just a little blog post I would have liked to have included to finish up Portugal on the last one, but ran out of time.

Back on the road again north of Porto, I get a text message from Miguel asking where I am.. I told him I was heading back into Spain shortly. He said wanted to show me more of Portugal first. Mmmm.. should I? I was feeling I moved too quickly through this country, so.. okay! ;-)

We meet again..

Northern Portugal is quite different to the south. Much more populated and green! And they are well known for the vineyards in this area. We leave the region of Porto and head into District of Vila Real.

We are headed toward the River Douro. One of the major rivers of the region, this area has a microclimate that grapes and olives seem to love which are most important for making that famous Port Wine! The rivers end is in Porto, where the wine can be shipped to the world.

These ceramics on the town walls (every town, house and building has ceramic something or other, if its not a small decoration, they ceramic the entire house!) Anyway, here's some ceramic of how it used to be..

I know.. it's a wee bit boring for the blog, but I like the ceramic stories and it will be history I'd like to remember when I read these posts when I'm 80... ;-)

Miguel explains to me that the area is very protected. The small farms or quintas are rarely sold and if so they are extremely expensive. There is no room for new construction in the area as none of the farms will be giving up their unique vineyard land anytime soon!

We did well following the river ALL day, a gorgeous ride on a motorcycle!

This is where we stop for the night....... ;-)

Just kidding!!

We were hungry.. Unfortunately, the "Meat Boutique" was closed.. I would have never thought to put those 2 words together!

And we found dinner elsewhere..

This was another fun diversion.. thanks Miguel! However, I really should be on my way heading north. I have a booking to get on an airplane from London Heathrow over to North America in a weeks time, and I am nowhere near the place!

Portugal Part 2

2011-08-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

It's another beautiful day in Portugal.. we're off and running!

A quick visit into Santar and a peek at the Duke of Portugal's house. Really good looking place and we also peeked through the gate to the back yard.

Seems like a pretty normal house for royalty.. but it does carry on a bit..

Now for a REAL CASTLE!! I know I've shown a zillion castles in this blog.. but Europe is just full of them. This one is the best one I've seen.. for sure!

Castle of Guimares.. home to the first King of Portugal!

Built in the center of the city for the purpose of defence against the Muslims.. from there they were able to conquer Portugal. They say this is the place that Portugal was born in 1129. The King's name... D. Afonso Henriques.

The castle was kept busy even after independence as it was then headquarters for defending Portugal from Spain for the next several hundred years. Apparantly successful! I've heard some people speak of combining the two countries even today for strength in the European union... in a more civilized way of coarse. From an outsiders point of view, I wouldn't know but I'd be surprised if that would happen..

It was a lot of fun to run around inside this one.. it really is different to so many of the other castles I have been in lately. Castles usually look like castles but this one seems more like one I'd see in a story book.

Statue of King D. Afonso Henriques

After this break we stop for another fantastic Portuguese lunch.. authentic good local food. thank you Miguel!! And while we were talking, a couple from Portugal who I had planned to meet in their home town up the coast in a few days time showed up today instead where I am... at the restaurant we were eating... surprise!! How they found me I don't know..

Very nice couple Mimi and Manuel Piexoto. Well since they have many things to show me, we plan for me first to go to a campground they had previously told me about and here we have to bid farewell to Miguel. Like I said, very lucky to meet him and experience south Portugal in a much better way than I could have ever done on my own.

Little did I know, that the Piexotos were already here for 2 days wanting to wait for me. The good news is that they already scoped out a super good little restaurant in a nearby village. Nice to get off your bike in a herd of local goats who are making their own way through the village. They sneak a meal in from the neighbors.. thieves!! ;-)

Too cute!

The next day we pack up camp and roll out to see the coastal part of Portugal.. Not a horribly huge country but it has lots of variety!

Mimi and Manuel Piexoto

Nice view of the coast from here!

Igreja dos Pescadores (Church of Fisherman) in Praia de Mira

Costa Nova

They use a lot of colors and ceramics to decorate their buidings in many areas of Portugal. I like it! However this town out did itself! Never seen home design anywhere else in the world this way.. very fun and happy place to live I'd say! ;-)

The Piexoto's take me to their home in Porto Portugal. I've noticed that "port" is a bigger part of Portugal than I knew.. Remember I met Miguel in Portel, I'm with the Piexotos in Porto (or Oporto) and we are having Port to drink.. in Portugal!

We have a meal and they make another surprise celebration of my one year anniversary on the road with cake, candle and that very special ancient glass of Port (from 1937!)with their son Miguel! Gee whiz they know how to maka a moto girl feel special!

The Christmas tree? They love to travel on their motorcycle and Mimi says she just can't be bothered taking it down and re-setting up every year when they'd rather be on the road, so now it's part of the decor..!

Was a fun day all around.. and how hospitable are the Portuguese people!! I haven't had a day alone in this country.. lucky me! I enjoy so much learning about the culture first hand and I could not have imagined that I would get to see and experience so much already.. thank you Miguel, Mimi and Manuel and Miguel #2

Portugal

2011-08-09T09:56:00.002-07:00

Aha!! New Camera project accomplished in Seville Spain.. finally! I've got somewhat normal photos again! Hallelujah!!

Now I can get on the road again.. yay! I'm going to Portugal!~! I've been looking forward to this as it's one of the main countries I wanted to see in Europe. As normal I follow the back routes from southern Spain into South Portugal. Not sure where I'll end up today, don't really care. One of those days I'm just happy to ride wherever the wind blows.

Always castles around here.. castles castles castles... If only I could find a Spanish Prince who would like an Aussie/American Princess!! ;-) Awww come on.. I heard you laughing.. Anything is possible in my world! ;-)))

This is the land of the stork. I notice many telephone poles or anything up high, they've got that big nest. Now I understand why Storks are used in baby stories. They could easily pick a baby up and fly it up to the nest and be tucked away.

Long slow day riding, but this is just a part of the world I connect to, really love it here. Really beautiful countryside. I see the next castle coming up and I'm tired enough to pull into town and figure out where to stay tonight. I see a sign for camping.. yay! I follow the signs all the way up the village until I passed right through.. not sure how I missed it.. go back and try again.. rode right pass all the old timers sitting along the village street watching the world go by so, but still no luck with campground. There is one other sign in town that says "Hotel Rural".. I see a Harley parked outside and decide to at least go ask about where the camping might be. (Usually most hotels have somebody inside that can speak English no matter where I stop in the world.. it's my little "need to know" technique!)

Well the guy behind the counter wasn't real sure why they have camping signs in town as he's never seen one either. So I ask about a room, because we are very rural and I heard from everyone that Portugal is much more affordable to get around. He told me a room was 105 Euro.. and I go "Ha!!" Sorry, no way.. not in my budget..so much for that! Then he brings the price down, and I explain, not possible but thank you.. I'm not on a holiday, it's a long world trip and I'm a budget traveler. He eventually ends up at 45 Euro. This is still far more than I pay for accomodation, but for one, this place is so good looking and authentic Portugal. Two, this is the night of my 1 year anniversary for being on the road.. !!! I shouldn't do it.. hadn't thought to do anything special for the anniversary, but since the opportunity presented itself.. ;-)

So have a look where I'm staying tonight!

S P O I L E D !!!

I'm so excited to stay in this place I hardly wanted to leave the room and waste a single moment here. However, I was also very excited to explore this Portuguese village by foot (this is always a different experience than the bike), I took a quick shower and ran out the door.

The name of this town I ended up in is called Portel and here's a look around including the castle that drew me in.

A very common sight all through Spain and Portugal. These are the boys sitting around watching the world go by...

Oh dear, I love this village. I think I found the best place to get my Portugal experience I had been imagining for so long.

Came back to the hotel, and the director who checked me in, Miguel, I didn't realize is the owner of that Harley parked out front. He said he leaves tomorrow morning for his first 20 day holiday on the bike and asked me where I'm headed. I said North. He asked if he could ride along for a while. Okay, must be an all right guy, gave me such a great discount on a room, why not? So we make a plan to meet in the morning.

First stop, guess what, is a Castle!! Reguengos de Monsaraz to be precise. An absolutely gorgeous and charming place. As with most castles, they are more than just a castle "house". Inside the walls are more homes, shops etc. as a medieval era protected village. Lucky we don't have to live behind the walls anymore.. or do we?? (I think they're just more invisible these days..)

It's very small, but I really loved our walk around. I can only just imagine what it would have been like in the day.

This is just plain lucky.. to be shown around the land of Portugal by a Portuguese man.. who doesn't know of my travels on facebook or the blog.. just a really nice guy who happens to ride a motorcycle I met the night before.. and look where I am today.. I love my life! ;-)

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And into Evora for more................... Roman ruins!

Gotta be quick.. Miguel has organized us a lunch in a 5 star hotel he knows.....

Seriously??!! Have a look at me.. can't do that..! But it's part of his business and needs to meet his business friends there. Oh well, it's their hotel, if they want a grubby ol' moto girl in the building, there ya go! ;-) You can only imagine what a great meal we had.. so good! Local wine! Plus desert!! SPOILED!! I'm happy.. Had a 4 star night and a 5 star day.. seriously happy!

After lunch I went for a wander around the town outside the gates while they discussed more important Portuguese secret mens business. I'd spy and listen on them if I could, but I haven't caught on to the language quite yet on day 2.. ha!

The tunnel into the old town is now managed by a stop light.. to replace the silver armored men and a little red stop sign (sword?) Just my imagination..!

Same on the inside.. of coarse!

Another quick stop, where Miguel wanted to call into his favorite sweet shop and bring out some traditional Portugeuse candy... good man!!!! SMART man!! ;-)

I didn't realize when Miguel wanted to plan a ride with me today, that he would plan so much! The day continues after that late lunch to cross a mountain pass at over 2000 meters. It's called Serra da Estrela and is Portugal's highest mountain peak.. I wouldn't put it in Everest catagory, but with that extremely strong cold wind, I'll give it respect.

My photos don't come close to describing how pretty of a mountain pass this was. It was super duper windy and so cold.. we took the quickest little snaps and kept going. I wasn't so bad, I had heated hand grips, but Miguel was not so good with very little for warmth.

Sheez! We did over 400 km with a late start.. many stops to explore and a very long lunch. Big day!! Back down the other side of the mountain we make it to Miguel's home town of Viseu. He organized another top hotel for me to stay in town, and after dinner went back to his Mom's house to stay.. with plans to ride a bit more together tomorrow.. See you!

Seville Spain

2011-08-07T10:24:00.003-07:00

My ride through the back roads to Seville was beautiful, but that dag gone camera! The photos are not going to work.. most of them are pure white and completely unusable. How I got the few I did, for who knows what reason. I'll put up the ones I managed to tweek enough to post..

Meandering my way through so many great little Spanish villages. Their streets would be seriously confusing if it weren't for my handy gps! Here in the south the villages are very distinctly painted white.

Lots of oldness.. and history.. Must be the old road connecting the villages.

Yep, they're white!

Now into Seville Spain.

I didn’t want to particularly go here, because I’ve been before in high school. I remember I liked it, but I have a mission in my head to avoid the cities and tourists and continue to experience local people as much as possible.

However, something has GOT to be done about this camera situation.. The amount of photos I have to throw out is really not good. So I booked a little hostel for one night in old town Seville.

Lucky for me, I arrive on Sunday night, everything is closed sort of expected.. But I wandered the streets enough to know where the camera shops were so I was well prepared with a plan on how to find them quickly in the morning and still check out of the hostel in time.

Remember those protests I told about? Here they are!! This is the biggest one I've seen compared to Barcelona and Madrid. Pretty serious stuff!

Along my evening back streets exploring…. I discovered a great little Flamenco place!! Flamenco!! That is my greatest memory of Seville from my high school trip.. and to this day, if I have the right heals on, I click away in my kitchen at home.

I don’t like going to shows by myself, but this time I went in.. it’s a must.

What a right decision, this show was so impressive and passionate!! Simple stage..there are no microphones, no electronics, just a flamenco singer, a man with a guitar, and a very passionate dancer. Sorry for the photo quality.. switched over to iphone camera!

I can not tell you how much this group impressed me. I snuck in some photos even though they weren't allowed. But I had to.. this dance and what they put into it I wanted to remember.

In my next life, I want to be born in Spain with black hair and become the best Flamenco dancer in the world!! And convince the country to abolish bull fighting!! Ha! And yes I just said that after admitting to eating part of a baby pig in the last post ;-/

Plaza de Toros (Bull Fight Ring) Still big business..Every town has one!

If you haven't been to a bull fight before, I don't really want to explain it much. I've been to them many years ago in Mexico and in Spain.. They explain to me the "art" of wearing the bull down, with little darts and games as he's bleeding to death.. getting weaker and weaker with more darts, until eventually the bull fighter goes in with the "sword" In an attempt to pierce between the shoulder bones direct to the heart. If they succeed, they kill with that one final shot. Whatever the art, it's cruel to watch, and I won't go again. I can appreciate culture, but that one I'd like to see the public let go and leave it for past memories.. Just my opinion!

On Monday morning, all hot and ready to fix the camera, I went to the shops and nothing open yet! I look at the windows with “Open hours” and they say 10 AM, it’s after 10, what’s going on?

I went down to the grocery store, it was closed as well.. A security guard was able to tell me there is a holiday.. B U M M E R !!!

I thought about it for a while, there’s no big town coming up soon, I’m not liking my photos and I have to put my foot down and make a change. So I hung around and stayed another night.. Against my will!! What will I do!!?? Ahhh.. I know where there’s a good flamenco show tonight!

Could have gone to a different venue, but since I loved so much what a saw last night, no reason to change “what ain’t broke!”

A good surprise was the singer and dancer was different this night. Good – I like variety! Another amazing show.. best costumes, I want one of those dresses. Would look like a raving fool wearing one anywhere in the world including here, but I would so much love to look like that and dress like that and DANCE like that! Hmm.. better keep fingers crossed for next lifetime for sure.