Harley Owners Group #1665 / Antelope Valley CA Chapter / Ridgecrest Activity Group

 Debbie and Tracy's Long Summer Ride
Up PCH to Vancouver, Canada
and Back -- 2976 miles!

Three weeks in July 2005
Posted: 24 August 2005, 10:30 PM
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First night out on our journey
Ever since Debbie and I got my Lowrider back in 2003 I have wanted to take a long trip on it. I had spent the past 2 years riding it and getting used to the feel of it but not really going any long distances, sure we had been to the coast with it and last year we went with Dennis and Debbie and one of the members of the Lancaster group up to Yosemite, but we hadn’t really gone any great distance. I know Debbie would disagree with me about our Yosemite trip not being a long distance but that was only a bit less than 900 miles. What I wanted was a really long trip. We had been getting the bike set up the way we wanted ever since we got it and I for one thought we had it set up pretty good. We had a comfortable seat on it; I had put an intercom system on it and even went so far as to put an XM satellite radio on it so we didn’t get bored listening to each other.
Ready for the long haul ahead
I thought it was about time for a long trip on it so last winter when the weather was not conducive to comfortable riding I had sat down with the computer and started mapping out a trip that would be worthy of my trusty steed. I don’t know if anyone else has used the route making portion at the HOG website but I for one think it’s really cool, you can map out a whole trip with stop points, points of interest, and several other cool features then save it for future use, and its all powered by map quest so it takes all the inputs from that source as well. And on top of that it tells you were all the Harley stores are on your route so you can stop and get T-shirts. I worked on the trip for most of the winter and by spring time had a really good route worked out that would take us up the coast all the way to Vancouver Island by way of Oregon and Washington states, then back down through eastern Washington, Oregon and finally back into California with a short trip to Nevada just for good measure.
Now all we had to do is decide when we should take the great journey. I work for NASA and one of the projects I work on is the Space Shuttle. We all knew that the Shuttle was supposed to be blasting off to space sometime this year but we all figured it was going to be in September sometime and by then it would be to late to go all the way up to Canada anyway so that wasn’t going to play into the equation. After looking at all the historical weather data up the coast and into Canada we figured the best time would be in early to mid July, the weather is typically nice then not to hot not to cold and the rain is usually done by then so that narrowed it down somewhat. We looked at Debbie’s schedule at work and mine and figured that we should leave the day after the Fourth of July holiday. Hopefully most of the nut cases would be back at work and we would have smooth going. So both Debbie and I put in leave slips for the 3 weeks following the Fourth holiday and started counting the days till we left.
Now the reason I mentioned the Shuttle, we had planned the trip well in advance and put our leave notices in 2 months in advance but as you all know life has a way of intervening in the best laid plans. After a slip in the launch date in May the Shuttle set a new launch date of the 13th of July, right smack in the middle of our planned vacation. Surely they weren’t serious we all thought. Well they were serious and after talking to the other people in my office I finally found someone that took pity on me and agreed to cover the launch for me since we still didn’t think the Shuttle was really going to launch. So the trip was back on and the packing could commence. And as luck would have it the Shuttle slipped anyway and I was home for the launch the week after we got home. All is well in the world.
Finally the day came for us to leave; we carefully went over what we had planned to take with us and made sure that we had everything we would hopefully need and nothing that we didn’t need. We loaded everything onto the bike and set off on our great adventure not knowing what might be thrown at us but feeling confident that we could handle whatever that might be.
Our first day out was beautiful we had planned to leave home around 10 or 11 in the morning and met that right in the middle at about 10:30. The weather was perfect and the traffic light. We had planned on going all the way to San Jose the first day but after looking at the time we left decided that we didn’t want to go through San Jose traffic at rush hour so we changed our plans in mid stream and instead stayed the night in Paso Robles. This wasn’t all bad since there are lots of wineries in Paso and it gave us a chance to sample a couple of them before we turned in for the evening.
Arriving in San Jose
The next day found us up early for the fairly short trip up 101 to San Jose. We were going to be staying the night with Debbie’s oldest daughter so it didn’t matter when we arrived in San Jose so we hit a couple of Harley dealers on the way, had to start the shirt collection on this trip sometime anyway so why not here right?
Debbie at the Golden Gate Bridge on a cloudy morning
Tracy at the Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz Island from the Golden Gate Bridge
After spending some quality time with Debbie’s daughter we were up the next morning ready to continue, we planned to take a nice ride up to San Francisco on the 101. We had never been through Frisco that way and didn’t know what to expect since all the maps I had showed the freeway part of the 101 ended and it dumped you onto Van Ness street and then onto Lombard street. This was quite a trip to be on the freeway one second then right DOWNTOWN Frisco the next but over all it wasn’t bad and we made it through the city after a short stop at the Wharf. We stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge to get some pictures and stand in awe of the engineering marvel. When we continued we went across the bridge, I had been told that if the wind was blowing we would be in for quite a “fun” ride but luckily for us there was no wind and we made it across with little fanfare.
Whalfmasters Inn at Point Arena California
Debbie at Point Arena, “at least one of my feet is now happy”
Looking out at the ocean from Point Arena Wharf
Point Arena Wharf
Debbie “trying” to be coy
Wooden sculptor at Point Arena
Other sculptor at Point Arena
On the other side we only went about 5 miles on the 101 before we got to the exit for the 1 better known as PCH. This was the road we planned on taking as far as we could till it turned back into the 101 up around Leggett California. We spent a wonderful night in Point Arena that first night out of San Jose. We stayed in a place called the Wharf Masters Inn in Point Arena. If anyone gets the chance to stay there I highly recommend it. It started out life as what the name implies, the Wharf Master lived here when this was a minor port for shipping supplies to the area inland of it. The wharf is no longer anything other then a place for fishing boat or pleasure craft to launch from so the wharf masters house was turned into a really cool little inn.
Highway 1 better known at PCH above San Francisco
Debbie still looking pretty
Tracy trying to look pretty, doesn’t work
Debbie taking off the leather after another fun day
Tracy unloading bike, notice long sleeve shirt, it was cold
Fountain on Main Street in Eureka California
Threatening skies, it rained all the way from Eureka to Canada
The next day found us up early and ready to continue, the weather was ok but had the chance to turn ugly if given half a chance, this day we were bound for Eureka California after a long twisty ride through some of the most beautiful country in California, or at least that’s my humble opinion. This road takes one through the Mendocino county area past some of the best bluffs and ocean vista I have every had the pleasure of seeing. And then as if that wasn’t enough the road then goes inland and meanders through the coastal redwood forest where you get to see some really big trees. We had been through this area before in a car but never on a bike. When you are on a bike you not only get to see the trees and flowers and other wonderful scenery but you also get to smell it. It’s like you are becoming a part of the forest with the sights and smells you get assaulted with. And I only went over the center line a couple of times trying to look at all there was to look at, not bad if I do say so myself. And I don’t think Debbie even noticed cause she was busy herself looking.
Debbie on Oregon coast, “you didn’t tell me it was going to be this cold in July”
We spent the night in Eureka and woke the next morning to a grey ugly overcast day. It looked like we wouldn’t escape the rain after all but I figured how bad can it get, we get a little wet then all is good. If I could have seen what we would be hitting the next few days I might have thought different but it was all part of the adventure so what the heck. We rode the better part of that day in a light misty rain, nothing hard but just enough to be an annoyance. We crossed over into Oregon to more rain but the scenery more then made up the rain. The beaches in southern Oregon are nothing like any in California, there are huge sand dunes all the way up the coast. And to top that off some of the prettiest beaches with forests on the other side of the road. All in all it was a good ride even if we had to endure some rain.
Tracy smiling for the camera
At Stan Dishong’s antique motorcycle museum in Port Orford, Oregon
Stan’s “hog” drag racer from the 50’s
Indian Scout drag racer
Steve McQueen’s 1929 Harley DL
1934 Harley flat track racer
Various other flat tracker racers
During one of our other trips down the coast from Washington we had passed through a little town called Port Orford Oregon. Driving through town I saw a sign for a Antique Motorcycle and Auto Museum. We had tried to stop there to see it but it was closed that day. Well I figured why not try again so when we passed through town it was open so we stopped. The place has quite a collection of bike from all eras. It’s mostly bikes that the owner has collected throughout his life and wanted others to be able to enjoy also, so he bought this building and opened up his museum. He had been a bike drag racer in the 40’s a 50’s so he had some of the bikes he rode back then plus some others of note like flat trackers. After his racing career was over he started buying other bikes and just had them stored till opening his place. He had a bike that Steve McQueen owned, a few Indians, a Pope and lots of other unique bikes plus a few cars thrown in for good measure. He has a web sight at www.antiquemotorcyclemuseum.com of anyone wants to check it out. It was a cool little museum and the owner is not shy about telling you about all his collection, we stood and talked to him for over an hour before we had to hit the road again but it was a very enjoyable experience. That night we spent in a little place called Florence Oregon, not much there but a nice little town.
Bridge over the Siuslaw river at Florence Oregon
MV Coho ferry coming into Port Angeles Washington
Coho heading for Victoria Canada
Victoria from the ferry. About 5 miles away still
We spent the next day riding through more rain on our way up to Astoria Oregon. We saw lots more sand dunes and trees and even a few critters. I didn’t get to look much that day since I was trying to keep the bike on the road and keep my goggles from fogging up on the inside. Its bad enough when they fog up on the outside but mine kept fogging up on the inside too so we had to stop quite a few times so I could see where I was going. We hit a lot of rain that day but made it to Astoria ok that afternoon. We had planned on spending a couple of days in Astoria to unwind a bit and do our laundry. Astoria is a cool place and it’s dominated by the bridge going over to Washington. This bridge crosses the Columbia River and is big. The bridge starts out on the Oregon side as a span type bridge then goes down to just a bridge a few feet over the water but it’s at least 3 miles long before you get to the other side. We got to cross over lots of bridges on this trip and the one at Astoria is one of the neatest in terms of what it took to make it.
After having a good rest and doing laundry we were ready to continue the journey. We were heading for Port Angeles Washington when we left Astoria which would take us to the ferry and over to Vancouver Island. We hit more rain that day but not as bad overall as we had been in. There were a few showers that were hard rain but also periods that we had no rain so it was ok. We were taking the 101 around what they call the Olympic loop this is a section of road that goes from Olympia Washington all the way around the coast and eventually back to the Seattle Tacoma area. This takes you through some very pretty areas; you are next to the ocean one minute then inland and going through pines and other trees the next. There is even a section that’s classified as rain forest. It’s a very scenic ride and worth the trip up there if you get the chance.
Debbie on the ferry
Tracy on the ferry
We made it to Port Angeles in one piece and since we got there a few hours early for the ferry ride to the island we spent it looking around a bit. Port Angeles is a fairly big city and we had fun looking around, we had lunch then ventured down to the dock to get our tickets for the trip on the ferry. The Ferry we were going to take is called the MV Coho and it has been in operation since the 50’s taking cars, trucks and other vehicles as well as walk on passengers on the 90 minute ride to Vancouver Island and to the city of Victoria B.C. The boat doesn’t look that big when its pulling into the dock but after they opened the doors and they started unloading the tractor trailers you get an idea of just how big it is on the inside. They had 5 or 6 big rigs on it as well as over 100 cars and a few motor homes thrown in for good measure. It’s a cool ride over the 30 miles to the island after they get everyone loaded and the bikes tied down to the sides of the boat. I spent most of the ride out on the bow taking pictures while Debbie sat in the nice warm cabin area since it was a bit chilly and she was trying to thaw out from the wet ride up still, but we both enjoyed the ride over.
Debbie trying to communicate with the local Canadians
British Columbia’s Parliament building in Victoria
Debbie’s Canadian tree, ask her about it
The Empress hotel in Victoria designed by the same person as Parliament around 1860
MV Coho pulling into Victoria for the return trip
APL barge in Puget Sound as seen from the ferry
Port Angeles U.S. Coast Guard station
After the 90 minute ride over we unloaded the bike off the ferry and could say at last we had made it to Canada. Victoria was by far one of the nicest cities I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. As you get off the boat you are met by the Parliament building for Province of British Columbia Canada. It’s a lavish building that was built in the late 1800’s and has a sister building across the street built at the same time called the Empress hotel. The hotel is just as impressive as the Parliament building and you don’t know which to look at as you ride past.
We made it to our hotel for the evening then after changing out of our riding boots we went for a stroll around the downtown area of Victoria. If you ever get the chance to visit Victoria I highly recommend doing. One thing that neither one of us thought about when we started this trip was the fact that we were going pretty far north, as we were walking around downtown it was still light at 9:30 at night which was a little weird but made our walk nice. We turned in for the evening ready for the road ahead the next day.
Debbie looking cool, it was starting to get hot at this point in the trip nearing
John Day, OR
The next day found us back in the saddle and heading back into the good old USA. We started out the morning in gray cloudy conditions but as we went to the east and over the Cascades it started to break up some. This day we were heading for Yakima Washington, which little did we know is actually in a kind of desert. Not like the desert we have here but still called a desert. The ride through the Cascades was beautiful to say the least, down here we are used to riding in mountains but the Cascades are not like the Sierras at all. First of the road through them is quite high up. There were times we were riding at 9000 feet and above. Having a carburetor on my bike didn’t make this easy. For some reason bike don’t like to run real good when they don’t get the proper air fuel mixture in them and at that altitude the mixture sure wasn’t right. But we made it through and into Yakima.
Tracy relaxing for a few minutes before continuing
After a good nights rest we were once again back at it heading for Oregon. I had never been that far up on 395 and really didn’t know what to expect but I sure wasn’t expecting to find the “Oregon Outback”. That part of Oregon it turns out is a very desolate place. There was one point that we went for almost 100 mile without seeing another person not to mention a gas station. I was glad that we filled up when we did because I’m not sure we would have made it if we hasn’t filled up. I had worried before the trip about filling up in Oregon. As I’m sure many of you know you can’t pump your own gas in Oregon in a car and I really didn’t want anyone else to put gas in my bike. But it turns out that I worried for nothing, all the stations we went to the attendant came out and started the pump and handed me the nozzle so I could put the gas in myself. Not sure why they let you put gas in a bike but not a car but I for one wasn’t going to complain.
The bike starting to show some dirt from the miles
We traveled down 395 for a couple more days through some beautiful country if not a bit sparse in just about everything but still beautiful in its own right. We had planned on staying a night in Reno and having never been there I was in for a bit of a shock on seeing the downtown area. I have been to Vegas on several occasions and was expecting Reno to be like that but it sure fooled me. Downtown Reno isn’t like any of the pictures you see of it. The main part of downtown is only a couple of blocks long and the big Reno sign over the road is actually over a railroad track. Not what they make it look like in the pictures but I guess that’s the magic of pictures. Even though it was smaller then I was thinking we still enjoyed our night and didn’t loose too much money.
Mono Lake looking north towards the Sierras
We had originally planned to ride down 395 to Bishop but after talking we decided to stop in Lee Vining and go over Tioga pass to Yosemite the next day.
Tracy in Yosemite with Half Dome in the background
Debbie also with Half Dome, we try to not make it to difficult
Traveling through Yosemite on the way to the Valley floor
Trees for as far as the eyes can see in Yosemite
Yosemite burn area starting to show new growth
Half Dome from the other side of the valley from the earlier pictures
One of many very cool tunnels in Yosemite
Valley formed by glaciers in Yosemite
Merced River
Debbie leaning more then me in a turn didn’t think I would ever see that happen
What the hell do you mean lean the other way now?
Half Dome taken from the road to Glacier Point
Nevada and Vernal Falls
Nevada and Vernal Falls, closer view
Tracy & Debbie with Vernal Falls in background,
“I don’t know if it took the picture or not.”
Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls
The Ahwahnee Hotel from Glacier Point zoomed way in
The Ahwahnee Hotel from Glacier Point normal zoom,
this gives you an idea how high above the valley floor Glacier Point is
Half Dome and the glacier valley from Glacier Point
Bridalveil Falls
Bridalveil Falls taken from the trail up to the falls
Mist off of the Bridalveil Falls this is the reason it got its name
El Capitan Taken from the valley floor
The Merced River running through the valley floor
Cathedral Rocks taken from the valley floor
Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls taken from the valley floor
We both wanted to see the falls and rivers while they were still running full. We weren’t disappointed by them. We had gone into the park last year with Dennis and Debbie and found the falls beautiful but it was nothing compared to this year. With all the rain we had this year the falls were really gorgeous. And the meadows were green and pretty as I have ever seen them. All in all we were glad that we made the side trip over the pass and spent the day in the Park.
Debbie back home, “I can’t believe that my ass just survived 2976 miles on this thing.”
Happy travelers and their trusty steed after going 2976 miles
After spending one last night on the road we made our way back home. And this was the hottest part of the trip. We found out that while we were freezing our butts off in rain, the desert had been having a heat wave and roasting everyone here. We made it home without any major problems happy and ready for a few days of rest but by the following Monday I was ready to throw my leg back over the bike and take off again for more places unknown. Over all we had a blast on our little adventure and put 2976 miles on the bike. We are already planning our trip for next year. This one will take us to another National park this time in Wyoming and to Yellowstone. I can’t wait till next year……..
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