U.S. Trip part 1

Woo Hoo
Two months off
What to do, what to do

I decided to take a trip to Moab UT
Via
A whole lot of other places
I will be riding my trusty XT250
All that way on a 250cc motorcycle?
Mad? butt of steel?
Not yet, but is that not what an adventure is about.



Riding through Vancouver, then on the number 1 to the Sumas border
Was not much fun
But, as soon as I crossed the border I found myself on some great back roads
Where traveling at a slower pace
is much recommended
This is a shot of the Skagit River
before you start the climb through the Cascade Mountains



A slow climb, but the scenery

Amazing



I stopped to take a photo of this dam
It was not till later, that I noticed that the sign was intended
for skateboarders



Nearing the top of the pass



At the top of the pass I met a couple riding sport bikes
They were from from Princeton BC
They highly recommended being at camp before dusk
The deer come out, and stand on the highway
No fear



Starting down the other side



Great road for bikes
with gravity as my friend
these corners were a blast



As I got lower, deer were springing from every little clump of scrub



So, I found a nice quite place to set up camp
just outside of Winthrop WA
Pearrygin Lake



Watched the bats eat some bugs "Yaa"



Then had a cup of tea, while the moon rose
(My photos of the moon suck, but it was a spectacular site)

The next morning up early
Into Winthrop for a coffee and ham bun
Then head southeast



Not a sheep friendly zone
Eastern WA is Very hot and dry!
But, I did run into a Rolls Royce tour :)
The highlight was a 1914 silver ghost
(no photo)



Had tea with this couple from Vancouver



then just watched them drive by



The roads were really boring
so I found some trails to amuse me for a while



Great views from this track



Then off to the Keller ferry



The line up was huge



A few shots of Lake Roosevelt





Bike on the ferr?
What the hell is a ferr?



It was quite a climb up from the lake up to the prairie
And this is what met my eyes



Mile upon mile of straight flat road
Oh, and the heat :(



Bla :(



After a few hours of hunting for shade
I came across Palouse Falls state park



The landscape was made by glacial run off
water cutting through the basalt (volcanic rock)



On my way to the camp ground I came across
Many of these flowers



Here are a few shots of the falls
And the rock formations surrounding it







Sunset on the canyon wall



While in the camp ground I met a few different groups
out from Seattle to watch the harvest moon rise

Wow

"Again my shots at night are not so good"



Time for sleep

Short Run Squamish BC

I had wanted to do this trip earlier
but an rock slide had stopped all travel
to Squamish

The clouds look ominous





It seemed to be some clearer where I was headed



These little streams cover the banks



Which in turn lead to these





The road was just gravel
but climbed quite sharply



Looking down into a ravine





This is where the Skookum Creek
enters the Mamquam River



Just after the river I took a small detour
I glad I did
I came across the area of Basalt
(Volcanic Rock)



It was amazing to explore







Back on the trail



The road follows the river for a ways
before it starts it's climb





These are all old logging roads in this area
as you can tell by the clear cuts







In the distance you can see a clear cut
that has been replanted
and growing well



The roads were fun



Hillsides covered in fire weed



So many trails



I chose this as my turn around
and place for lunch





From here the stream takes a huge drop down into the valley







In the distance you can see the road
that I have to get back too



Almost out to the #99



Out on the highway
at the base of the Stawamus Cheif



In very little time I was
back to Vancouver