Dee's Motorcycle Adventure

2010-07-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I am home and rested and somewhat back to normal life again. The trip was incredible. It was a great time of solitude and reflection for me, enhanced by the awesome beauty of the area we drove through. I really do a lot of thinking, meditating, reflecting, and sermonizing in my mind as I ride. Long extended rides like this one produce great results for me. Thank you very much to you who read my blog and prayed for me. You are the best. I am in the planning stages on what I am going to do next year. Love ya all. Dee

July 21, 2010

2010-07-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I am getting close to home. I am camped at Chelan, Washington. I will get up and ride to my mom's in Trout Lake, WA and tell her all my stories and adventures and then stay the night with her and leave early and be home by 10am on Friday. Just in time to be a counselor at Willamette Celebration. Rode 350 miles today. In every town I rode through the thermometers at banks etc read anywhere from 95-102 degrees. It was a hot one for sure. But I was grumbling about the cold and rain a week ago so I will be happy. My motorcycle has air conditioning anyway. Lift my face shield up, unzip my riding coat, and put my feet up on my highway pegs so the wind blows up my pant legs and go at least 60 miles an hour and it isn't half bad. The only problem is that bugs go up my pant legs, into my helmet, and into my coat. Isn't too bad unless it happens to be a yellow jacket. I really have to concentrate on my riding when that happens. My riding partner, Glen, left shortly after we got into Washington and headed to Spokane to visit family. It was great having him on the trip with me. Where I am camped tonight there is a little concession stand so instead of my usual freeze dried dinner I splurged on a hot dog, diet coke, and a little paper cup of rainbow sherbet. Life is good. The trip has been a great time of reflection, relaxing, experiencing, and growing but I am very excited about being home and winning the world for Jesus.

July 20, 2010

2010-07-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

July 20th, Tuesday. We rode 383 miles today. Very hot. Nice for a change. We are camped at Spenses Bridge in British Columbia. We will cross into Washington tomorrow and then home. Yippee!! I had a very challenging day. I have two large aluminum boxes on the side of my motorcycle that I put all my camping stuff in. They are water tight and they lock so I can put stuff like my laptop computer in them and not worry about it getting stolen. This morning as I was packing up my bike I locked my keys in one of the boxes. The key for my bike was in there as well as the key that opened up the lock. I walked around the campground asking to see if anybody had a big hammer and a big screw driver. I had some in my tool box but it was locked up. I finally found somebody who did and I managed to beat the hinge loose that was held on with rivets. Now I hold the lid shut with a bungee cord. Later that day the bungee cord that I use to hold my duffel bag on the passenger seat snapped me in the back of the head. I looked in my rear view mirror and I could see Glen motioning me to pull over. One of the 3/8 inch bolts that hold the aluminum boxes on my bike had broken and the right box was hanging out in space barely hanging on. I brought some nylon cord along and I used that to tie the box back on. I will fix that when I get home along with the latch.

2010-07-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

I locked my keys in the storage box, my storage box almost fell in the middle of busty traffic, but there is more. We stopped at a very busy rest stop. Because it was so hot I decided to take off my riding pants. These are special pants that are made out of very tough material and have fiberglass padding to protect in case of a fall on the bike. But they are hot. I wear them over my jeans. I stood next to my bike to take them off. As I got them down I noticed an old lady staring at me. I looked down and I had mistakenly taken my jeans down as well. I quick pulled my jeans back up and waved and smiled at the old lady. She smiled back. I wish I could hear her conversation tonight with her friends.

July 19, 2010

2010-07-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

Wow. We rode 521 miles today. A personal best, I think. We are staying in Vanderhoof, British Columbia tonight. One hour west of Prince George. Very nice weather all day today. We rode along the Cassiar Mountain Range all morning. 200 miles of snow covered mountains and we were right at the base of them riding along. I kept singing, "Our God is an awesome God" all morning. I sound pretty good inside my helmet to myself!! As I was looking at the incredible beauty I became so impressed with God's power and wisdom and creativity. I thought these huge mountains are made with billions of atoms that have neutrons and protons and electrons that are moving like little solar systems. All that huge mass of stone was alive with motion and energy and Colossians says that Jesus is holding it all together. As I was pondering that along with the fireweed and the spruce and the aspens and bears and moose, I thought, "who am I?" Here I am a living, self aware being amongst all this along with stars and galaxies. Does God really see me? Does he really care for me? If He can do all this He can certainly keep track of me! He loves me more than I can comprehend. He knows my deepest thoughts and feelings. His thoughts are more numerous towards me than the sand. I wonder what I will be like in 100 years? What will I be doing? Almighty God is my creator, my Father, my Savior, and I am going to live forever with Him. So enjoyable to spend hours just thinking about God and who He is. Boy life is fun.

July 18, 2010

2010-07-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

This is Sunday the 18th but I am sending it a day late because there has been no cell service all day. We took a different route today for a little variety. It is called the Cassiar hwy. So far it has been and absolutely terrible road. Miles of gravel and lots of road construction which I hate on my motorcycle. In one section the pilot car was going way faster than we wanted to ride so we got left way behind. Pretty soon he came back from another direction. Everybody honked at us. Then I see this construction truck behind me and he was like an inch from my bumper. I managed to get to the side of the road in the deep gravel without dumping my bike. A near death experience for sure. I kept yelling at the top of my voice, "help me Jesus!" Works good.
We saw a black bear today that had twin cubs. They weren't as big as my dog Russel. They were really cute. Momma bear hustled them off before I could get a picture. We rode 466 miles today. All very hard ones. Trying to make it home by the 22nd so I can be there for Willamette Celebration!!
We are presently trying to build a fire at our camp sight with some quaking aspen wood that is wet. I blew on the fire trying to get it to go until I was ready to pass out and then Glen took over. He got it to go. He must be more windy than I am. Sitting here next to the fire thanking God for my fun life. Doing lots of sermons in my head as I ride. Riding a bike is a great place to think and create.

July 17, 2010

2010-07-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

Rode 420 miles today. Lots of road construction and lots of bad road caused from the perma frost heaving the road up. As I said in a previous entry, it is like a bunch of speed bumps and ditches one after the other. My rear end feels like I have been spanked with a 2x4. We are camped at Whitehorse, Yukon tonight. Weather was wonderful all day. A number of times I would point to the sky and yell, "Thank you Jesus!" I couldn't help myself. I keep my water bottle up on my handle bars behind the windshield. Nice little pocket for it to set in. Whenever we stop it is real handy to grab and get a drink from. I drank all the water out of it today. Once I got going again there wasn't enough weight with the water gone to hold it down and the wind blew it out. As it flew out I grabbed it instinctively, WITH BOTH HANDS!!! The bike just went along fine. I didn't know I could ride it with no hands. If I had known that earlier it would have saved alot of hassle trying to get my glove back on after I picked my nose. Boy today was really a tough one on my rear end. Some biker dudes say they have developed an iron butt. Mine is still soft and tender. I try and sit for awhile on only my right cheek and then the left. I do that by sliding as far one way as I can and not fall off the motorcycle, and then the other way. I lean way forward and then lean way back. I even stood on my floorboards for a bit. That is a trick. I was so hungry when we got into camp at 8 tonight that I ate 2 of my freeze dried dinners.

July 16, 2010

2010-07-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

Rode from Soldotna to Tok, Alaska- 500 miles today. Rode along the Wrangle Mountain Range most of today so it was absolutely, incredibly beautiful. It was way easy to stay focused on God all day long as I rode seeing His amazing creation. No animals today, rare that happens. Big truck went by me and threw out a rock from his tire. It hit me high in the thigh and I thought for sure someone had shot me. Felt around for a hole and kept looking for blood to come pouring out, but upon closer examination in the shower tonight I just have a nice bruise!
Jon Abel, who is in our church, has a brother named Troy who pastors a church here in Tok. Troy came to the seminar we hold in our church in January. He took us out to dinner tonight to a very nice Alaskan restaurant. I had halibut and Glen suffered through prime rib. And now I am laying in a very comfortable and warm bed. I am really sleepy tonight because Chik's black lab licked me in the face at 4am this morning. Very hard to go to sleep after that.

July 15, 2010

2010-07-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

Today is my last day of fishing in the Kenai River for sockeye salmon. 5 days, 3 fish a day limit, equals 15 fish. Not bad for an old guy. Had to work hard for them. My friend Chik Fisher whose cabin I am staying in is going to can the fish and bring them to me when he drives back to Oregon at the end of summer. He is also going to bring back my caribou full head mount as well. That is a major blessing because the cost to ship it was $800.
Fishing on the Kenai is always fun and I have met and visited with people from all over the world. Last night I stood next to a guy and his son who were from Florida. They didn't have a clue how to fish so it was fun teaching them how. Even gave them a bunch of my fishing gear. The son who was about 20 kept calling me "sir." I liked him. I think he thought I was the world's best fisherman. I really liked him alot.
My pastor friend Glen and I are meeting up at 7:00am tomorrow and heading home. Long day planned for tomorrow with over 500 miles. We hope to camp at Tok, Alaska tomorrow night. Have been seeing moose every morning and evening as we drive to the river. They just stand there and eat as we stop and look at them. Saw a momma and 2 little calves this morning. They sure are big animals.

July 14, 2010

2010-07-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

Caught my limit of sockeye salmon this morning by 9am. 3 of them. They fought very hard and took me awhile to land each of them. A ton of fun. A couple were particularly rewarding. Lots of guide boats in the Kenai river with about 4 paying customers in each. I hooked one of my fish when one was very close to us where we were fishing on the shore. I loosened up the drag a bit on my reel so that the fish could run and jump a bunch. I thought I put on a nice show for those in the boat. I know, pride goes before a fall!
Washed my motorcycle today so it will look nice for the ride home. Will get in about 8 hrs of reading and writing today. I get really inspired to write sermons when I catch a bunch of salmon. Must be a spiritual truth in there somewhere.

July 13, 2010

2010-07-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

Fished about 10 hrs today. Caught 2 salmon. I will catch 3 tomorrow, which is the daily limit. Hung up on the bottom today so I gave a big tug on the line and the hunk of lead I was using came flying towards me and hit me right into the middle of my knee cap. Can't hardly walk tonight. Fishing for salmon in Alaska is dangerous! I have a number of sermon outlines done and have lots of sermon illustrations written from my experiences.

July 12

2010-07-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

Caught a sockeye today. Lost 5 others.

July 12, 2010

2010-07-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

Reading Ecclesiastes today. Solomon wrote that book as an old man who had grown quite cynical concerning life. His favorite words in the book are "everything is vanity." I go through times when I get to feeling the same way. What starts it for me is thinking about all the things in the past that are lost because I can't remember them any longer. Got started down this path recently holding my grandson, Wyatt, in Fairbanks, praying for him. I thought, I won't remember this even happening and you won't remember this as you grow older. If I won't remember and you won't remember, it is like it didn't even happen so why even do it? I have been making myself quite melancholy the last couple of days even with fishing thinking about all the life that I have lived that I can't remember anymore. The word that came to mind was "vanity, everything is vanity." Then this morning I read 1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. Someday when I get to heaven it will all be given back to me. I am not sure how exactly but I am sure it will happen. Everything I do matters. I will keep praying for my grandkids, kids, and other people. I will keep serving the Lord. God is faithful.

July 11, 2010

2010-07-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning sore all over my entire body from my mishap on my bike. My right foot is especially sore but got up at 4am and went fishing anyway. Caught one salmon and had a couple of others on for awhile. Made all the aches go away. Works better than ibuprofen. Got in alot of reading and writing this afternoon, even got a nap in. Very few fish in the river. I am praying that a big run of fish come in tomorrow. I have never figured out if it is ok to pray for fish, but I will keep doing it until I now for sure it isn't. Had no trouble waking up this morning. The guy who I am staying with has this mongrel black lab dog and he came and licked me in the face. Woke me up with quite a start. I thought it was Patty kissing me.

July 10, 2010

2010-07-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

Rode from Fairbanks to Soldotna today. 572 miles. Most I have ridden in one day. Don't want to do that too many times. Rained most of the way and was 50 degrees with the wind blowing hard. I was frozen through and through. I would stop at pull outs and put my hands near the engine to warm them up. A couple of times I got too close. I have the blisters to prove it. I had a minor wreck today. One of the pull outs was gravel and I didn't realize it until my front tire hit it. I was going about 20 and before I knew what was happening the bike was on it's side like a baseball player sliding into second base. Sprained my right wrist, sprained my right ankle and bruised my right buttock. I think I can fix it all with a couple of heavy doses of ibuprofen. Bent a bunch of stuff on my bike and took me awhile to get it straightened out. I will have to finish that project when I get home with some tools. I had a tough time after I left Shelly's. I got super emotional and I couldn't make it go away. I must be getting old. I am staying with a friend named Chick who has a nice cabin. He had the fire rip roaring hot when I got in tonight and I am writing this sitting a few inches from the stove. I stopped and bought my fishing license when I got into town so I am ready to go fishing after a good night's sleep.

July 9, 2010

2010-07-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Had a very nice leisurely day with my daughter Shelly and grandkids Alexa and Wyatt. Glen took off this morning on his own. He was going to go on a ride at Denali Park Camp around Anchorage and get started fishing a day ahead of me. I was going to stay at a friends place in Anchorage but he is gone so I am going to drive straight through to Soldotna. That will be about 550 miles. That will be the most that I have ridden in one day. I have lots of daylight so I can take my time. 9 days down and 13 more to go. Seems longer. I am looking forward to catching a bunch of salmon. I hope they are in. Talk to you tomorrow.

July 8, 2010

2010-07-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

Made it to Fairbanks today at noon. Been hugging and playing with Alexa and Wyatt my two grandchildren all day. My daughter Shelly too. Having a very nice time. Weather is about 80 degrees and super nice. On the ride here this morning we stopped and took pictures of Mt McKinley or Denali and the mountains all around it. All snow covered and beautiful. We could see them very well which I guess is rare. Talked to a biker who hit a moose and he had broken his leg bad and could hardly walk anymore so we watch very carefully for moose on the road. Had one run across the road right in front of us this morning. They are huge. I wouldn't want to hit one. Shelly fixed sockeye salmon, broccoli, and potatoes for dinner. Way better than freeze dried dinners we have been eating. She even washed our dirty clothes. I didn't have much because I have been wearing the same clothes the last 8 days. They smelled fine to me, but I noticed that the cars that got up behind me would drop way back or pass me and give me a dirty look. I am going to hang out here all day tomorrow and let Shelly spoil me and take off on Saturday morning for the Kenai River.

July 7

2010-07-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

Evening of July 7th. Had a great ride today. Covered 411 miles. Incredible scenery again with lots of snow covered mountains, rivers, and lakes. Saw a big ole grizzly bear next to the road eating berries. We stopped and he just kept right on eating. I turned my bike off so as not to scare him and started taking pictures. He looked up at me and started walking towards me. I think he was thinking, "I wonder if that thing tastes better than these berries." I started thinking options. If he starts running to me, do I throw the camera at him, drop the bike, and run over behind Glen or try and get my bike started and into gear and buzz off before he reaches me. About then he started eating berries again so I decided I had enough pictures. He was really close! Also saw some moose and another black bear.
My squeak turned out to be my rear brake. I had new brake pads put on the back before I left and they were a little close. I used my rear brake a bunch today and no more squeak. We went through a long section of road today that was built on permafrost and the road has lots of places where it has heaved. Makes either a speed bump or a big ditch in the road. It was hard to tell how much to slow down so I followed Glen back a ways and when I saw him airborne I slowed way down. Worked good.
Bunch of construction as well. I hate going through construction on a motorcycle. All that loose gravel and mud. I slipped and slided around a lot. I kept crying out, "help me Jesus" and managed not to fall.
We are in Tok, Alaska tonight. The campground had some nice little cabins that were $5 more than a tent sight so we are in one of those. I should stay warm tonight. That will be nice. We will be in Fairbanks tomorrow so I will get to see my grand kids and daughter Shelly. Philip her husband is gone on a river float trip.

July 7, 2010

2010-07-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

Very cold last night. The only way I can stay warm while I sleep is to wear all my clothes along with my motorcycle coat. Slept very sound though. Headed for Tok, Alaska today. We will be going through customs at the border. Hoping to see a bunch more wildlife today. The roads have been in good shape with occasional stops for construction. Traffic is not an issue. We ride along at 55 to 60 most of the time and most of the RVs do about the same. I rarely see any rigs in front of me or behind me. At road construction stops where we will wait for 10 minutes only half a dozen rigs will back up. Very overcast this morning but the lady who checked us in said the forecast for today was no rain. Hallelujah!

July 6, 2010

2010-07-06T23:30:00.001-07:00

Today is July 6, Tuesday evening. We are camped at Whitehorse in Yukon. We rode 400 today. It was windy and cold but no rain, Praise the Lord. We saw a big grizzly bear rooting around about 10 ft off the road. We stopped to take some pictures of him. Left the bikes running in neutral in case he decided we looked better to eat than the bugs he was chasing. Another car came up behind us and pulled up right between us and the bear. The lady on the passenger side rolled down her window and said they were shielding us from the bear. We thanked her for her thoughtfulness and assured her we were fine but we really would like to take some pictures. I think they will be great pictures. We were very close. Saw several other black bears and lots of buffalo. We saw a big bull buffalo dead beside the road. I assume someone hit him. I bet that wasn't a pleasant experience. Again the mountains and the lakes and scenery were amazing. I have developed a squeak in my back wheel. I am not sure if it is a wheel bearing going out or my brakes. I hope it goes away or at least holds together until we get home. Getting in lots of reading and writing.
Several have asked me the difference between going on a trip by myself as I did last year when I went to all lower 48 states on my bike, and riding with someone else like I am this year. The benefits are the safety issue of having someone to help and be able to go and get help in case of an emergency breakdown especially on this trip where garages are so far apart and email is so rare. Also the friendship issue. It is nice to travel with someone and be able to visit at the camp, especially if like Glen, we have lots in common being close the the same age and both being pastors. Glen is about as deaf as I am so our conversations are loud. The negative side is the convenience thing. I can't just do what I want. I need to check and see what Glen would like and then we need to hash it over.
I also need to consider his opinion of me as a real biker dude, so some inconveniences result.
Mosquitoes like to bite my bald spot. Must look like a good target. While I am riding the top of my head will start itching like crazy. If I were by myself I would just pull over, take off my helmet and have a good scratch. But with Glen I have to shake my head back and forth as fast as I can so my helmet scoots around and scratches my head, a poor substitute for a real scratch. I couldn't stop. Glen would ask my why I had stopped and I would say because I need a scratch. He would know I wasn't a real biker dude right there.

July 6, 2010

2010-07-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

We are camped at Laird Hot Springs. We went down and sat in them for an hour. They remind me of the bubbling hot springs at Yellowstone. The water bubbles up at 142 degrees in this big pool. They have steps going down into it about 8 locations. You start at the lowest one where the water is about 100 and then work your way up to the hot end as you get acclimated. When I got out I thought I was going to faint! I am planning on sleeping very sound tonight.
We had a great ride today. Sunshine all day long. Went across the northern Rockies. Spectacular scenery. We saw 2 bears, 2 moose, about 100 mountain sheep, and a chipmunk. I learned a new biker dude skill today: how to pick your nose while riding a motorcycle. It is harder than your think because you are wearing gloves and you can't pick your nose with gloves on. Talking the left glove off is easy. You just pull on the fingers of the glove with your teeth. Once off you push the glove under your right leg with your left hand so it won't blow away. If you don't get it shoved under far enough it will be gone. I know. Now your left hand is free to clean out the bugs and dirt that has accumulated for awhile in your nose. Now comes the tricky part: getting the glove back on the left hand while the right hand is steering and keeping the throttle open. Retrieve the glove from under your right leg if it hasn't already blown away. Take the thumb of your right hand, hold the edge of the glove against the handlebars while you continue to keep the bike going.

July 5, 2010

2010-07-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

Whooeeeee!!! Woke up this morning to blue skies. Thank you Jesus!! Stayed last night at Pink Mountain Campground. Real manly place. Lots of RVs that are here for the summer with guys and families that are working on the road. The Alaskan highway constantly takes upkeep. The locals here got quite a kick out of me. The sign in the shower said it took one Looney for 5 minutes of hot water. A Looney is a Canadian dollar. You probably knew that but I didn't. I did finally get a nice hot shower.
We rode almost 4oo miles yesterday and got into camp at 9:30 and boy am I dragging this morning. Riding about 350 today and we will be staying at Laird Hot Springs. Supposed to be real nice. I have been missing my hot tub! Probably will be in more road construction today. Hope we don't get in at 9pm again, but I am not grumbling or whining! Hope to see more wildlife today.
Yesterday Glen was trying to put his rubber boots on over his shoes and while he was standing on one foot he lost his balance and fell over on his bike and knocked it over. Bent the brake handle. Took both of us to lift it back up. I am still getting to know Glen so I am kind of feeling him out to see how much ribbing I can give him about that one.
We are having a great time in spite of the weather. Challenges and near death experiences are what make life fun. Hope you all have some fun today.
...OK I guess the gloves come off. Glen has been razzing me about the fact that I said it was 350 miles to Pink Mountain and it turned out to be 390 miles. 10% error he said. Ex-engineer types.
I may be in trouble today. I put my gloves in the dryer to dry out and they shrank. Hopefully they will stretch back out before I lose all feeling in my hands wearing them. Oh the trials of a biker dude!

July 4

2010-07-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

Went to church this morning at a little Baptist church outside Prince George. We decided that if we saw a church between 10 and 11am as we rode we would go. About 40 people; really had a good time. Felt a little consipicuous because everybody was dressed nice and Glen and I came in with our motorcycle clothes on. Generated alot of conversation. Rained all afternoon super hard and super cold. Lady at a store we stopped at said whe thought it was going to snow. I was froze to my inner organs!
Saw a bear and a moose today. Lots of bikers and it is fun to talk with them at the gas stations and viewpoints. One guy was from Missouri. We all whined about the weather. At one of the viewpoints I took my helmet off and set it on the back of the bike while I took some pictures and talked. There were a bunch of little gnats flying around and they got into my helmet. After I put it on and started riding they started biting me. I about ran off the road trying to scratch them. Awful experience. That happened to me on my ride last year, in Mississippi I think. I think I will spray the inside of my helmet.
Tried to spit today with my face shield down. Real messy. Gotta remember to put that thing up when I get the urge to spit.
Glen installed his windshield on his bike too high so he has to look through it instead of over the top like I do. No problem when it isn't raining but once it started raining hard he couldn't see. So I rode in the front and he followed my tail light. Lots of excitement for one day.

July 4, 2010

2010-07-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

Rained hard all night. My bowl that I left on the picnic table was half full of water. My tent does good unless it gets alot of water underneath it. I left one corner of the tarp I put under the tent outside the tent and water ran down the tent fly onto that small piece left out and ran under my tent. My pants and shirt that were rolled up in the corner of my tent were wet. My pad is plastic so only the foot end of my bag got wet. Got up to take a hot shower because I was so cold and I had forgotten to put my towel away so it was wet. Looked around for Glen's to steal, I mean borrow, but he was smart and took it into his tent with him. So I unrolled about a mile of paper towels in the shower room and used them. A man's gotta do what man's gotta do! The campground has a laundry room so everything is getting dried with $5 worth of quarters. I am writing this as I sit on a nice chair in the warm laundry room. Looks like the rain has stopped. Praise the Lord!

2010-07-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Beautiful weather today. Sunny but not to hot. Holiday here in Canada. Their Forth of July is the First of July so no road construction for the last couple of days. Nice. We only road 310 miles today because we had to stop every 20 miles. We had stopped this morning at a stand and bought a little box of cherries and had some home grown apple cider to go with them. Whoooooeeeee. Fresh cherries and apple cider must not agree. We stopped at every store and gas station after that for most of the day. I am still not feeling to good. We are camped near Prince George at a nice campground with a heated pool. I am going to go for a swim as soon as I get done typing this blog. My freeze dried dinner tasted really good tonight. Glen has freeze dried dinners as well. He forgot to take out the little oxygen absorber and when he started chewing on that he thought his freeze dried dinner might be out of date!! Have been meeting lots of nice people along the way who are interested in who we are, where we are from, and where we are going. Another motorcycle rider camped right next to us tonight and we swapped tales. Well tomorrow we are headed for Pink Mountain, about 350 mile ride. We will be going over the Rockies which will mean lots of curves and hills and also some beautiful scenery. Saw a black bear cross the road today and also say two nice bucks. Tomorrow we should see some Buffalo, caribou, and some more bear. Love ya

2010-07-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

We are camped tonight at Spence's Bridge in British Colombia about 300 miles South of Prince George. We rode about 330 miles today. We wanted to ride 400 but we got delayed over an hour by an accident. Two motorcycles collided with a pickup. Not sure of the details. A helicopter was parked in the road. It happened about one hour before we arrived on the scene with traffic backed up. We finally got let through and two bikes were still laying in the road pretty mangled. Caused me to ride the rest of the day extra cautious. We got delayed about one hour while we were getting some lunch. The restaurant was really slow. I grumbled a bit about it, but if we hadn't we probably would have been there right when the wreck happened and we might have been in it. I think God was working that one out. I will find out for sure when I get to heaven. Glen lost one of his bags off the back of his bike today. Bungee cords!! I was riding behind and thought he had run over a tire fragment. I thought to myself, Glen needs to watch where he is going. It isn't good to ride over those tire recaps, you could get in a wreck. Then I thought, maybe that came off the back of his bike. I signaled for him to stop and sure enough he lost a bag. He might have been kind of cold if we hadn't found it. We came to this camp sight and there were literally hundreds of motorcycles. There was a big off road motorcycle rally. There was a camp sight left for us and now we have crazy motorcycle riders all around us. Even got hamburgers for dinner at their barbecue. Great weather today. Hoping for more of the same tomorrow.

First Day Out

2010-07-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

First day on the road to Alaska is over. Camping at Lake Chelan in Northern Washington-very beautiful. I rode 448 miles today. Rained over the Cascades and once I started north on hwy 97 the wind blew terribly hard. Felt like I was riding a horse instead of a motorcycle. Met up with my riding partner here at camp. Glen Douglas. He is 58, almost as old as I am but with way more hair. Married to Mary with three daughters; the youngest is in High School. Glen was an engineer for years and became an associate pastor near San Francisco where he stayed for 11 years. He started a church from scratch 5 years ago in Port Angeles, WA. I thought it might be wise to have someone go with me on this trip. I prayed about who for several months. Glen is in one of my pastor accountability groups. He expressed interest when he heard about it and so here we are riding motorcycles together to Alaska. I believe we will have a very good time.

2010-06-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Started out bad. Got my bike all packed tonight and decided to give it a test ride to see how all the stuff I packed on the back was going to ride. I took off forgetting that my helmet was sitting up on top of the stuff on the back. Got it into 3rd gear before it fell off on the road and rolled along with me for a bit. Scratched the face mask all to pieces. Hard to see through it. Used some buffing compound that I use after painting my pickup with a little foam ball in my cordless drill and managed to get it looking pretty good. Whoooeeeeee!! I am glad I didn't break it. I have to remember not to do that any more. It is tough to get old and lose your mind. Well, I am all packed and ready to go. Going to bed early tonight and off in the morning. I am looking forward to all the adventures I am sure the next three weeks hold. I will try and blog most every day. Love ya. Dee

2010-06-30T14:17:00.001-07:00

I got my motorcycle back. New front tire. New spark plugs. New oil. New back brakes. New starter. Tune up and a wash!! Time to get it dirty again. I leave tomorrow (Thursday) morning at about 7 am. I will be camping at Lake Chelan, Washington tomorrow night. Just above Ellensburg if you are looking on the map. I am heading to Redmond and then will drive north through Washington and into Canada on highway 97. I will ride about 400 miles tomorrow. I am going to try and ride 400 to 450 miles each day. That will put me into Fairbanks sometime on July 6th. I will head to Anchorage on July 8th spend the night at Jay Goolds place. Head to Soldotna on July 9th and fish there for Sockeye salmon for 5 days. I will head home on July 15th and should be home on the 21st. I will try and find a WiFi spot on the road most days so I can tell you about the falls that I have taken, the bears that I have outrun, and the beautiful scenery that I have seen. Love ya all. Dee

2010-06-29T15:32:00.001-07:00

I just finished checking the weather in each town in Canada and Alaska I will be in on the day that I will be there, and it looks like rain all the way!! Every motorcycle trip that I have gone on it has rained most of the time. I am getting used to it. The first couple of times I road in the rain I had the idea that it was pretty much like riding on snow. That my bike was going to slip and spin and go out from under me at the smallest wrong wiggle, so I rode with fear and trembling which is quite exhausting after awhile. I am getting more confident in my motorcycle tires to hold the road even if wet, even sometimes very, very wet. My prayer life goes up a lot while riding in the rain. Praying that God will send some big angels to guard me and protect me from a wreck. My riding suit is waterproof and even in a very hard rain I stay pretty dry. About the only place I get wet is right at the top of my coat. The worst part of the rain is setting up camp in the rain. Everything in my dry bags gets wet as I drag it out, set up my tent, get my pad and sleeping bag into the tent and attempt to cook on my little stove. Most of the places that I camp have washers and dryers so I spend some quarters drying everything out the next morning. Works.

2010-06-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

I took my motorcycle in last Thursday to get new plugs, valves adjusted, brakes worked on, new front tire, oil changed etc. Went to pick it up today so I could leave tomorrow morning bright and early and they told me my starter had about 2 more starts in it and then copluey! $500 for a starter and it wouldn't be ready until Wednesday. I bought an extra warranty last year for my motorcycle that would cover everything but brakes and clutch before I left on my 48 State tour last year. I handed the paper to the guy and asked if this would cover the starter and he said 100%. So I will leave bright and early on Thursday morning with a brand new starter. Way better hear than hours from nowhere up on the Alaskan Highway!! That means two less days fishing or 400 miles each day instead of 350. We will see how my rear end holds up with 350 miles a day before I decide that one. The cost of the trip was going to be $800. $500 for gas figuring 45 miles to the gallon and I got 48 on my last trip, $200 for camp sights for 15 nights at $12 per night and staying with friends the other 6 nights. $100 for fishing licence, candy, etc. I got a check in the mail this morning for $801.49 from IRS because I made a mistake in my taxes!! Whoooeeeeeee!! Now it is a free trip to Alaska on my motorcycle, sort of!

2010-06-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, I only have one more day before I am off to Alaska. I am getting really nervous about the trip. It is always a puzzle to me as I think about it, what causes that weird feeling in my stomach before events like this. Is it fear? I am sure that the nervousness last year was fear being a total novice at motorcycle riding and not having a clue about what was going to happen having never gone to most of the places I was going. But this year I have 30,000 miles of motorcycle experience this past year and Patty and I drove the exact route last year in our car so I know exactly where I am going and what to expect. I think it is more anticipation than anything. One of the reasons I do so much planning, research, reading, and writing about these trips before I go is that I enjoy what anticipation does to me. It seems to give me more enthusiasm and energy and just makes life simply more fun. I like fun and it is nice having learned how to create a lot of it in my own life by doing those things that builds anticipation.

I have learned at this stage in my life that thinking a lot about going to heaven and imagining what that is going to be like creates a lot of anticipation and the benefits that go along with anticipation.

I am going to spend a lot of tomorrow packing my bike. Love ya all. Dee

2010-06-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

The question that gets asked often of me is why ride your motorcycle to Alaska. Here's the answer:

I believe very strongly that God speakes to us. You probably all do as well. I believe that God speaks to us in His Word, but also through the Holy Spirit that indwells each Christian. We hear Him primarily in our thoughts. I also believe that a lot of messages that we think are from God probably are not. It is a very difficult thing to sort out all the thoughts in our mind and decern which are from God and which are not. The primary discipline to figure that out for me is solitude. Solitude would include a number of things. Quiet would be an obvious one. Our brain is constantly recieving input from people, books, TV, radio, CD players etc and it overwelms the input of the Holy Spirit. I become confused with all the input that comes into my brain in a normal day. Another key is being alone. A motorcycle for me is a perfect place to travel and see the creation around me yet be alone inside my helmet, on my bike. Also being away from responsibility for a season. Being responsible as a pastor, husband, father, and friend is very important to me. It takes up a lot of my thinking time figuring out what to do and say in the various roles that I am so that others are blessed by my life and leadership.

Another discipline besides solitude is writing. I seem to be able to hear my thoughts and sort them out much better as I write reflectively. It works like the old cream separator that I used to crank by hand as a kid separating the cream from the milk. There are so many thoughts that I have that are mine. They come from my past, my education, my prejudices, etc. I want the thoughts that are the words from God to be very clear to me as coming from God, not from me, from you, from the world, or from the devil.

So that is my reason for these seasons of motorcycle trips that I started on last year and hope to continue as long as I can keep a motorcyle upright, and then I will get a three wheeler! Love ya all. Dee

Dee's Motorcycle trip to Alaska

2010-06-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

I am off to Alaska on another motorcycle trip. I am going with a pastor friend from Washington named Glen Douglas. I went by myself last year as I toured the lower 48 States but there is very little cell phone service on this trip and I thought it would be safer to have someone with me in case my bike had problems.

We will be riding a total of 6000 miles in 24 days. Last year my total trip was 12000 miles so this one is much easier in terms of miles ridden. We will be heading for Fairbanks, Alaska where my daughter Shelly, her husband Philip and my two grand kids live. We will stay with them for two nights and then head to Anchorage and stay one night with Jay and Marsia Goold, good friends who used to live in Jefferson and attend JBC. Then we will be off to Soldotna where we will stay with a friend who has a cabin there. We will fish on the Kenai river for about 4 days. My friend, Chick Fisher drove up in May in a pickup and will be driving back here in the Fall, and he said he would can my salmon for me and bring it back with him when he came. I plan on catching a lot of sockeye salmon.

When we get done fishing we will head home. I plan on being home on the 22nd of July. I am going to try to stay in campgrounds that have WiFi so I should be able to do some blogging every night of our days adventures. We are taking all of our camping stuff with us on our bikes. I will be eating 10 grain cereal in the morning and freeze dried dinners at night. Just heat water. My kind of cooking. For lunch I will pick up whatever at service stations when we get gas. You know, health food like black licorice and snickers candy bars.

The big challenge will be making sure we don't run out of gas. Gas stations are farther apart on this trip, and motorcycles don't have very big gas tanks. Mine is 3.7 gallons and I get about 47 miles to the gallon. 170 miles per tank. My goal is to fill up every 100 miles. I am carrying 2 gallons of gas just in case. The other challenge will be not hitting any wildlife. Patty and I drove this same route in our car last summer and saw lots of deer, elk, caribou, buffalo, bears, and goats right in the middle of the road acting like we were trespassing. I am thinking it will hurt if I hit any of them. With the bear it will probably hurt twice.

Well, I hope you have as much fun reading the blog of our trip as I will have writing it. Love ya all. Dee

2009-07-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

I traveled a total of 11,302 miles in 36 days. That is 314 miles each day average. I was in each of the 48 lower States. I stayed in 3 homes of people. I stayed in 4 motels and I slept in my tent at a campground 29 nights. I lost 17 pounds eating primarily freeze dried dinners and oatmeal and flax breakfasts. If I could just keep up the eating routine while I am home!! The trip was wonderful. I saw a lot of country, met a lot of people, had a lot of experiences, had a wonderful time of relaxation and emotional renewal, and had an indescribable time with God. A number have asked if I would do it again. I would. Not tomorrow but I would like to do something with the same ingredients next year. For those of you who read this blog faithfully, thank you, and a really big thank you to those of you who prayed for me. God really did answer your prayers.

Monday July 6th - afternoon

2009-07-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

I AM HOME!!! When we went through Stayton, Rich Sebans, who is a Stayton police officer, was waiting for me and he turned his lights on and pulled me over. I thought, " Great, I go this entire trip without getting pulled over, and 10 miles from home I get pulled over, I wonder what I did?". Then when I looked in the mirror I saw who it was and knew I had been set up. It is so good to be home. The trip was great, but I am so glad to be home.

Monday July 6th - morning

2009-07-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a very good night sleep at my mom's. Went up to Jonah Ministries and they fed me a breakfast of of ham, eggs, and pancakes with lots of syrup. They have a bunch of little kids here for camp and a work team all the way from Kansas to re-roof the buildings. My daughter Sarah and her husband Mike, Terry & Donalda Hill, and Matt Beardon came up last night on their motorcycles and we are riding back to Jefferson together. We are going up by Mt Hood, so should be a great trip.

Sunday July 5th - evening

2009-07-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

Made it to my mom's. She fed me as much as I have eaten in the last week, but she is my mom, so what can I do but eat it:-) I will hang around here until about 9 or 10 am and visit with my daughter Susanna who is serving at the camp up here, Jonah Ministries. I should eat some more of my mom's cooking as well. I will be home probably around 2 pm. I am looking forward to getting back in the groove. This trip has been a major challenge physically for a 60 year old preacher, but it has been a major time of refreshment and rejuvenation for me. I am more glad that I did it and knowing what I do now, after having done this trip, I would do it all over again. God is good to me.

Sunday July 5th - noon

2009-07-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

You ever have one those times in your life where you really wanted something bad. You get to the point where you think maybe, just maybe, it is going to happen, but you don't want to get your hopes up too soon. That is the way I have been this morning. I think "You are going to finish and make this goal Duke". And then I think, boy a lot could still happen, keep going. It is close and I am feeling pretty emotional about accomplishing this when I let myself. But I will wait until tomorrow night, when I am home, everything is unpacked off the bike and I am sitting in my chair scratching my dog and talking to my wife or whatever:-)

Sunday July 5th - morning

2009-07-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

Slept in a nice bed last night and had barbecued steak in Post Falls, Idaho. Got a good start this morning and on the road by 7 am. Rained on me for about an hour this morning. Not a lot, but officially makes it 27 days out of 35 that I have been rained on:-) Saw a big herd of elk grazing next to the road. I am now in Eastern Washington driving through the wheat fields of the Paolouse area of Washington. Nice riding this morning in the farm country. In a couple of hours I will be driving next to the Columbia River on the Washington side. I will be in Trout Lake with my mom tonight.

Saturday July 4th - afternoon

2009-07-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

Left this morning and it was 60 degrees, got to Missoula, Montana and it dumped rain big time. 26th day out of 34 that I have had rain. I just went through Moscow, Idaho and it is 100 degrees, cool. Love the variety. Rode along the Clearwater river for 150 miles this morning. Very pretty, hundreds of 20 - 40 mph curves. Lots of fun for a guy experienced on the Dragon's Tail.

Saturday July 4th - morning

2009-07-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

Headed down from Ovando, Montana following the Blackfoot river. 400 miles of scenic highway today. Sleep in a real bed tonight.

Friday July 3rd - evening

2009-07-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

I rode 365 miles today, about half of it on I-90. Rained about half the day, glad I have a nice warm waterproof riding suit. Tomorrow I have just about 400 miles to Duane's sister's house. I will follow the route Lewis and Clark went, should be an easy day. 3 more days and I am home:-) In an earlier text I said that when I get too old to pastor, I was going to buy myself a cattle ranch in Wyoming. I have changed my mind. I am going to buy a cattle ranch in Montana near Ovando:-)

The ride this afternoon was super. Quit raining and I got on some roads other than freeway. Went over the continental divide, big open meadows. Lots of wind to fight, nice windy roads for motorcycle riding. I was getting a bit nervous about gas and then I saw a sign that said gas, pretty crude one, pointing down a road that wasn't very good. I really didn't want to drive down it, but I needed the gas, so away I went. Not very far was the little town of Ovando, Montana. There was a single pump so I went in and the fellow said pump away. Went in to pay my bill and I asked him if he knew of any places to camp. He said " I will rent you that teepee over there for $5". I looked where he was pointing and across the street was a nice sized teepee. I said "I will take it". I have always wanted to sleep in a teepee. The town is near the Blackfoot river and the main population of the town are fly fishing guides. The sign says population 51. There is a little fishing shop in town, I went in to get myself a bumper sticker and while I was in a guide came back from fishing with a couple of guys from Boston. The lady running the store wrote "Boston" up on this board that had at least 200 different cities on it. I should have had her put Jefferson on it since I got a bumper sticker from her.

Friday July 3rd - noon

2009-07-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

Poured rain on me for the last 30 minutes. I am sitting at a McDonald's drinking a cup of coffee, getting warmed up to go out for another dose of fun and adventure:-) I am in Bozeman, Montana and it is noon and Jesus loves me and you too:-)

Friday July 3rd - mid-morning

2009-07-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

On this trip I have gone through literally 100's of small towns. It has been interesting seeing the school reader board comments and mascot names. The best was this morning as I went through a small town in Montana name Belfrey,the school mascot was the Bats:-) Another good one in Minnesota was in a town named Lake, the school mascot was the Walleyes. Interesting signs and billboards also, one was for a mortuary - it said "drive safe - we can wait". Right now I am in Columbus, Montana on I-90. I will ride on this for a while. It is 62 degrees and looks like it could rain at any minute, but so far so good. I skipped Yellowstone this morning because of the crazy number of people and when I looked up the forecast it was for heavy rain and lightning. So I headed north to Billings. I am hoping to camp somewhere around Missoula, Montana.

I was riding along on I-90 in Montana and this little Mini Cooper passes me. When he gets around me, he slows way down and I am thinking what kind of crazy driver is this, so I pass him. When I get around him he speeds up and passes me. When he gets next to me, he stays right with me until I look over and he is motioning for me to pull over. I think, " I wonder if I forgot to tie something down again". I pull off at the next exit and pull into a gas station and he follows. He jumps out and enthusiastically yells, " I am your Colorado bumper sticker". I had met him and another fellow on Harleys in Utah. They were on a trip and they were from Colorado. He had taken my address and had promised to mail me a bumper sticker from Colorado for my aluminum boxes. He drove by me on the freeway in Montana 30 days later. He said he knew it was me, because nobody else in the world has that much stuff stacked on a bike. We visited for a while and he said that he had to go. We have each other's address. Must be God's will that I stay in contact with this guy.

Friday July 3rd - morning

2009-07-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

It is Friday morning, July 3rd at 6:30 am. I am about ready to push off. This will be my last night camping. Saturday night I will be staying with Duane Williams' sister in Post Falls, Idaho, Sunday night, I will be staying at my mom's in Trout Lake, and Monday night I will be staying with Patty Duke:-) Didn't sleep too well last night. Very noisy town, very windy, and VERY cold, but just the way I like it:-) Lots of big black clouds everywhere so we will see how it goes with rain today. I will stay someplace in Montana tonight. I will try not to leave with anything unzipped or not tied down.

Thursday July 2nd - night Late

2009-07-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

It is 11:30 pm, Cody is a zoo, lots of people. This particular campground is right in town. I wouldn't normally have picked a place with this location, but the rain kind of forced my hand. I walked around and visited with some of the campers earlier. There are people from everywhere, Florida, California, and France. There are lots of these campgrounds in town, evidently to take advantage of people coming to see Yellowstone. The number of people is obviously because of the 4th of July. The noise level on the street is starting to go down a little. The wind is really blowing, I hope it is blowing a storm out. Just walked to the bathroom and the sky is black. Hope tomorrow is clear.

Thursday July 2nd - night

2009-07-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of some of the thunder clouds this evening. Today I left the top open on the pack that rides on my luggage rack and all my maps and camping books came out. They are someplace along where I rode today. It is a good thing that I am about done, because my maps are gone. Darn, I hate it when I do dumb things like that:-)

Not much to write about concerning my camp. The couple on one side of me are from France and don't speak much English. The couple on the other side are grumpy and would rather be left alone. Really the first grumpy people on the trip. A few people have walked by and seen all the bumper stickers on my aluminum boxes and want to talk a little. I am going to take a shower and go to bed early.

Thursday July 2nd - evening

2009-07-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

Got started into the Rockies out of the town of Shoshone and it started dumping rain. Drove the next couple of hours in it and got into Cody and drove into the first place that looked like it had camping. I ran in and paid my 21 dollars, hurried and got my tent set up so I could get out of the rain and now it has stopped and the sun has come out. Big black clouds all around though. People everywhere, Big Cody Rodeo going on. I keep forgetting that it is almost the 4th and Yellowstone is a popular vacation place. Rode 386 miles today, mostly dry. Saw about 100 antelope by a hunters count. (editorial comment - I think that means Dee counts both ends behind they tree, so closer to 50).

Thursday July 2nd - noon

2009-07-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Stopped for gas at a town with a population of 2. Gas pump - old one, post office, hardware store, grocery store, and cafe all under one roof. Didn't intend to, but I had a cheeseburger at the place. I have just been having a protein bar for lunch along with a Diet Pepsi. There were a number of rough guys in there for lunch who were oil drillers. I stayed there for an hour talking to them. I learned more about politics, world economy, energy, and oil than anybody would ever want to know. One of the guys owns 300 guns, all different he says. Nice break from riding. Not many people in Wyoming or at least not many on the road. Actually road 80 miles on I-25, but I don't think I saw 10 rigs while I was on it. Cruised along at 70 mph and felt fairly comfortable. I will be in Cody in a couple more hours and it is only 1 pm. Good weather all day.

Thursday July 2nd - mid morning

2009-07-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Ridden about 100 miles this morning, great weather. Wyoming is beautiful. When I retire from pastoring when I am 72, I am going to buy a cattle ranch in Wyoming. My new number one thing I don't like riding my motorcycle is road construction. Wyoming must have gotten a bunch of stimulus money. Lots of road construction. I don't mind the waits, it is the terrible stuff you have to ride on, gravel, dirt, mud, ruts, and rocks. I am not riding a dirt bike! Makes me tired just writing about it, Oh well. One of these days I will have my training wheels and it won't matter. Only one antelope so far. I have seen millions of box cars of coal. I didn't know Wyoming mined coal. Oils rigs too.

Thursday July 2nd - morning

2009-07-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

Nice morning. Doves cooing, birds chirping, clear skies. I have had my breakfast and had my time with God. My goal is Cody, Wyoming, 7 campgrounds there. 380 miles according to GPS dear. 4 more days and I will be home - Yea. My son Sam is preaching on Sunday, make sure you go to church and listen. Pray hard for him in the meantime that God will use him Sunday and directs his life into the ministry that would be God's will for him. Bike has run good for the trip, starts every morning first turn. I noticed a little bit of missing pulling some hills yesterday. Might have been some bad gas. About 1500 more miles for the ole baby to get me home, then we will reward her with a nice tune up.

Stopped for gas yesterday and there were a number of bikers. There was a guy with his old uncle that I got to talking to. The old guy was riding what looked like a trike. A 3 wheeled motorcycle, but as I got to looking, it was a regular bike with training wheels. The wheels were small car tires with fenders and looked like part of the bike. He said they were a kit made by a company in Texas. Bolts on and "voila" no falling over. He said they are called "outriggers" and don't dare call them training wheels:-) He said he had been riding motorcycles since he was a kid, but when he got to be 65 his legs weren't very strong and he kept having accidents tipping his bike over at stop signs, traffic lights, and parking lots. I said I knew the feeling. He said once he got used to the ribbing of having "training wheels" they were great. He was 70 and biked 15000 miles a year. I think I will have Patty get me some on my 65th birthday or maybe my 61st:-)

Wednesday June 1st - night

2009-07-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

I am laying in my tent thanking God for the great day, reading my Bible, and writing. I usually do this in the evening in my camp chair, but it is raining, so I am doing all of the above laying down instead of sitting, listening to rain fall on my tent. I hope it will do what it has done on numerous other occasions, that is rain in the night and clear up by morning. I am anticipating seeing hundreds of antelope tomorrow. When we drove through Wyoming with the kids years ago we saw a lot.

Wednesday July 1st - evening

2009-07-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

Rode 396 miles today and went to the Badlands. Very cool place and lots of fun to ride the Badlands Loop road on a motorcycle. Also went to "Wall Drug". Got a bumper sticker there for every state to stick on my paniers. Hadn't been able to get them in many states as I went through. Cold and clear when I left this morning, but it warmed up real nice in the badlands. Took my wool shirt, gloves, and motorcycle pants all off and wore my jeans. As soon as I left the badlands, a huge black thunder cloud moved in and I put everything back on again. The rain actually felt pretty good. It quit when I got to where I am camping, Fort Robinson Park, 2 miles out of Crawford, Nebraska, which is in the northwest corner of the state. I am planning on riding to Cody, Wyoming tomorrow, which will be close to another 400 mile day.

Now that the trip is getting close to over, I am getting a bit meloncholy. Not that it is over, but that I am already struggling to remember what happened at the start of the trip. I know that next year I can tell my grandkids that I did it, but it will be a fading memory. It is like that with my kids. All those years with them at the center of my life and now they are all gone and I have to struggle to remember all the things we did and the stuff that happened. Makes me sad. Oh well, I guess I have to learn to say with the Apostle Paul, "forgetting the past and pressing on for the goal". I guess the idea is to come up with something next year crazier than this one. I bet I can do that with a little help from my wife, kids, and friends.

Went through some major road construction today. There were several miles of gravel/dirt roads with severe ruts in it. I was having a real struggle navigating it. Going super slow and getting left behind by the group that was being led by the pilot car. I used my technique I learned earlier on the gravel road and yelled, "help me Lord or I am going to crash". I got through it. I thought afterward, boy I have made it this far without a major mishap, it would be a shame to have one this close to home. My morning prayer every morning is, "Lord, I don't want to wreck. Assign some big angels to take care of me today" For my life I don't want to wreck. I am not done living yet, but I am way past the half way point. It would be a shame to wreck my life now. My greatest desire is to say with Paul, "I finished the race".

Wednesday July 1st - morning

2009-07-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

6:30 am and I am packed and ready to ride another 380 miles to get me into Nebraska. Very cold last night sleeping, very cold this morning. If it were a hundred degrees, which it normally is in South Dakota in July, I would be whining that I couldn't sleep. I made a daily commitment this morning that I wouldn't complain today, only rejoice. They had a double header last night with the baseball games. I went to bed after the first. I thought that the noise would keep me awake. It didn't, but at 10 pm when the second one was over, they set off a bunch of fireworks. I guess the home team won or something. I didn't get up to see where the fireworks were, but it sounded like they were right outside my tent:-O When I got up this morning there was a baseball laying by my tent, evidently a foul tip. I took it as a souvenir and will give it to one of my grand kids. Well, I have read 5 chapters in Psalms this morning, prayed through it, asked God to fill me with His Spirit, give me strength, give me wisdom, to guide in every detail, to keep me from having any accidents on my bike, and not let it tip over.

I like South Dakota. The only paper I could find in the McDonald's that I stopped to get coffee in at Pierre, was a "Capitol Journal". For you unlearned people, that is the premiere farm newspaper. If you asked somebody why that is the only newspaper, the answer would be, "who cares about anything else?" I saw dozens of pheasant this morning next to the road getting grit for their craw. Very pretty birds. Very good roads, very little traffic, a little wind, wide open fields of corn, grain, and grass. You can almost see the thousands of buffalo that once roamed over the fields. One other thing is that is nice about South Dakota is the road signs that I have seen, most are pro-life. Very well done billboards.

I got thinking as I was riding this morning how easy it is to pretend to be something you really aren't. Rick in Rhode Island took me to the biker bar and introduced his friends to me and told them what I was doing. He was proud to be the one showing me off to his friends. They shook my hand with obvious admiration. I thought, Yeah, I am wearing the right clothes, I have the biker wave down, I have learned to sit on the bike with a sloutch, but if they knew how many times I have tipped over in parking lots! If they knew the sick feeling I get every morning when I start the old bike up again. If they knew the number of times I can't remember if I shift the lever up or down when I come up to a stop sign. If they could witness the number of times I kill my bike starting out from a stop sign because I am still in second gear instead of first. I guess until I get it all figured out and become a real biker dude I will just pretend. I don't want to do that as a Christian. I want to be real and genuine with God, others, and myself. Only then can I become the real thing, a mature son of God.

Tuesday June 30th - night

2009-06-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

36 days in a row riding a motorcycle around the USA, it is just about over. I really had no idea when I started what this trip would be like. The adventures have been challenging and fun. The people experiences have also been a great part of the trip. Seeing God guide and supply has been so encouraging. Seeing the scenery, the trees, rivers, farms was one of the things that I anticipated most. The USA is very beautiful and amazingly varied. The thing that I have valued most, especially at this stage of the trip, has been the alone time all day long as I have ridden. Alone with God, not just away from people. It is easy to see how easy it is to get distracted from Him. I know I will still get distracted, but I really believe that my ongoing relationship with God has been altered for the rest of my life because of this 36 days of pursuing a goal and a dream.

Tuesday June 30th - evening

2009-06-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well, my camp is all set up at Gettysburg, South Dakota, a little town of 1100 people. They have a city park in town and camping is free, they even have a shower. When I read in my camping book that there was no fee, I thought it would either be a junk pile or it would be full. Neither was true. Two trailer houses with really old people and nobody else. The camping area is next to the city and school baseball diamond and there is a summer league game starting in an hour. I can watch from my folding camp chair. I rode exactly 400 miles today. Pretty easy day of riding especially this afternoon. I rode one stretch that was 60 miles long and I did not make a turn. It was straight as a string. Tomorrow I am going through the Badlands and Mount Rushmore and will camp in Crawford, Nebraska if all goes according to plan. If there is a ton of traffic, I will skip Mt Rushmore, I have seen it 3 times. Other than wind this morning the day was great. The warmest I saw any reader board say was 75 degrees.

The way the schedule looks now : Tuesday here in Gettysburg, South Dakota. Wednesday July 1st I will camp at Crawford, Nebraska. Thursday July 2nd I will camp at Cody, Wyoming. Friday July 3rd I will camp somewhere the other side of Yellowstone depending on availability, that will be a busy day. Saturday July 4th I will stay someplace in Northern Idaho, possibly Duane Williams' sister's house. Sunday July 5th, I will sleep at my Mom's in Trout Lake, Washington. Monday July 6th I will be home - YEAH. I can't wait. I am getting tired of sleeping with my GPS:-)

Tuesday June 30th - noon

2009-06-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

South Dakota is flat rolling grassland, corn, and wheat. Long straight roads. Wind at my back most of the afternoon. Quite pleasant riding, almost boring. Have seen lots of birds, geese, ducks, pelicans, and pheasants.

Tuesday June 30th - mid morning

2009-06-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

I am drinking coffee in Hankinson, North Dakota. The ride this morning has been very windy, cold, and pretty. Lots of nice farms and lakes. Minnesota is supposed to be the land of 10,000 lakes. I am now heading for Gettysburg, South Dakota. There are 3 different campgrounds there, I should find an available space. I am heading southwest now, maybe I will have some wind on my back now. Wind while riding a motorcycle is like smoke around a campfire. It doesn't make any difference where you are it is going to be in your face.

Tuesday June 30th - morning

2009-06-30T07:27:00.001-07:00

My camp site last didn't have any mosquitoes, but it did have these little black gnats that were quite pesky. They didn't seem to bite, but they liked to land and crawl around on a person. I think they must have been licking me because they were terribly annoying. I left my helmet setting on the picnic table right side up so no rain would get into it, if it happened to rain. It didn't rain, but those little black gnats seemed to like the inside of my helmet. Warm and it smelled good. I didn't look in it this morning when I put it on and about one mile down the road they started crawling into my ears:-O I got stopped and pulled over very quickly and took the next 10 minutes getting those crawly creepy critters out of my helmet and my ears. Whoooeee was that bad!

Not quite as windy this morning, but maybe I am just used to it. Clear and very cold. I have all the clothes I brought on me. I look like a really big fat guy riding down the road. When I left on this trip I had visions of riding in nice hot weather wearing a t-shirt, blue jeans, half helmet, and sunglasses. Hasn't happened yet. Maybe when I get back in Oregon. It is now 8:30 am June 30th and I am about 30 miles from North Dakota.

Monday June 29th - evening

2009-06-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

Finished the day with 337 miles. I am now sitting in my comfortable little folding chair at "Redwood Campground" on the Redwood River near Redwood City, Minnesota. Very nice campground, lots of big red oak trees and some other kind that I don't recognize that have my entire area in shade. The river is 10 feet away and is making a very soothing noise for a fisherman. No mosquitoes so far. Hot showers that are clean and free. Lots of RV campers, but no other tent campers so I don't have neighbors to invite me to dinner. Guess I better get busy heating water for some delicious freeze dried dinner. Let's see, I think I will have Teriyaki chicken and rice tonight:-)

By the end of today the wind was just as strong, but I was riding much more comfortably in it. Got used to it and it wasn't nearly as intimidating as earlier in the day. Even got to the point that the wind blowing on me was a bit exhilarating, you know, what this riding is all about, riding with the wind:-) I saw quite a few big wind generators today. I think if they would put one on every acre of land in this prairie that they could supply the world with electricity.

So far Minnesota has the best roads and New Hampshire and Vermont have the worst. Only rode on mountain roads in New Hampshire & Vermont, so that may be unfair. Nice farms in Minnesota. Well kept, good crops, lots of corn, corn, corn.

Monday June 29th - noon

2009-06-29T11:27:00.001-07:00

I had another embarrassing thing happen. I put my GPS in my pocket as I have been doing lately, but I forgot to turn the old girl off. When I got into McDonald's she started nagging at me, "wrong turn - recalculating". I am not sure why, but she kept saying it over and over. The problem was I couldn't hear her, but everybody else in the place could. I could see everybody was looking at me. I thought maybe I better get my clothes washed afterall. Then some little kid came up and said that my phone was talking. I turned her off.

The worst thing about riding in this wind is I can't scratch. I am afraid of turning loose of my handle bars with one hand to scratch my nose. Ever notice when you can't scratch and you know it, that your whole body starts to itch. I have had to take a break pretty regularly just to scratch.

Monday June 29th - late morning

2009-06-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

It is 11 am my time. I have ridden 130 miles so far and it has been blowing 30 - 40 mph all day. I hook my toes under my highway pegs, grip the handle bars real tight, and hang on to the gas tank with my knees. So far the wind hasn't blown me off of my bike, but it feels like it is going to at any moment. The trucks are all going 50 mph, so as I am going 55 - 60 mph, I pass them occasionally. When I get next to them everything goes in reverse with the wind and when I come out in front of them, there is this major blast of air that feels like I am going to leave the ground. I guess it blows like this all the time around here. I take a break and stop for a cup of coffee every 50 miles to relax.

Someone sent me a text when I wrote that 400 miles per day was more than I wanted to do after doing it a couple of times, because I get too tired. They asked what muscles got most tired? The answer is my head and my heart. I have had 4 accidents in a car. Nobody got hurt in any of them. Cars got dented, towed, and totaled, but with the protection of the car, seat belts, and air bags - no injuries. One thing that I know as I ride on my bike, is that any one of those 4 accidents on my bike, I would have sailed through the air, landed on my head probably, and been hurt. That realization causes me to ride my bike like I am walking through a field of alligators or rattlesnakes. Every intersection, I have my hand on my brake and I am watching every person like they are blind and dumb. That constant tension really begins to wear on me after a while. It is one of the aspects of riding a motorcycle that appeals to me, but I can only handle about 300 miles a day. The first thing I do when I get to my camping spot is get my little folding camp chair out, sit down, heave a big sigh, and just sit and relax. I bet you wish that you were having all this adventure with me:-) One of these days when I become a real biker dude and not just a wannabe, I probably will ride way more relaxed.

Stopped for gas and I took my helmet off and set it on the seat while I pumped gas. The wind was blowing so hard that it blew my helmet off of my seat. It rolled across the parking lot like a ball with me in frantic chase. I caught it just before it started into the street. Bunch of scars on my new pretty helmet.

Monday June 29th - morning

2009-06-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

6:30 and I am all packed for another day riding my motorcycle through the USA. No rain this morning, slight breeze off the river, so no heavy dew. Everything is dry!! Packed in record time. This has been my favorite campsite by far, incredible view, great weather, no mosquitoes. Big bald eagle about 50 yards away perched in a tree looking for fish. I had a good night reading and praying last night. I built a nice big fire, slept like a baby. God is good, and God is good when it is raining:-( This morning I am making a bee line for the south east corner of North Dakota. It is 500 miles to the corner, so I will camp some place in Minnesota tonight. Minnesota is a big state! Looks like I will have good weather and I don't think I will have the wind today. I will take good care of Patty (my GPS).

Sunday June 28th - Evening

2009-06-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Today I discovered something worse than a cattle truck. In Iowa they have pig trucks:-O I am so thankful that I had my new full face shield helmet on. Whooooeeee. I have to do a little washing on it. Whooeee what a smell.

I just pulled into my camping spot for tonight, 4pm. I road 343 miles, no rain. Absolutely gorgeous scenery all day. I am at LaCrosse, Wisconsin. I am literaly 5 feet from the Mississippi river. I am camping in a hardwood grove that is beautiful and a nice breeze and not a bug one, so far:-) They have showers, so no Handi-Wipe job tonight. It is so comfortable here I should get in quite a bit of reading and writing.

My GPS started acting up a bit this afternoon when it began to get warm. I took it in with me when I bought a diet Pepsi and set it inside the cooler where they keep the pop. The old lady that was tending the store saw me do it, came over to see what I was doing. I said " my GPS starts acting weird when he gets hot". She said, "why do you call it a he?" I said, " I have this friend who talks like that about computers and I guess I picked it up from him". She said, " You should say she, no he". "Why" I said? "This thing keeps you from getting lost doesn't it?" I said "yes". "When you ride with your wife, doesn't she do that?" I said, "Yes". " I rest my case!" she said. So, I have named my GPS Patty. Even talked to her today.

I just went skinny dipping in the Mississippi river at LaCrosse, Wisconsin. How many people do you know can say that:-) I wanted to do something like in "Wild Hogs".

Went walking on a trail along the river earlier and saw a big bald Eagle roosting in a tree. He was only about a dozen feet off of the ground looking out into the water. I got really close to him before he saw me and flew off.

Sunday June 28th - Mid-day

2009-06-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

Various parts of my body get sore and tired from riding 8 hours everyday. The worst is my neck. Almost every state on the east coast and midwest has these expansion joints in the road. They feel like a mini-speedbump. Occasionally would not be a problem, but every 30 seconds really takes a toll. Each time I hit one I have a mini whiplash and my new XXXXXL helmet that seems to weigh a ton compounds the jarring my neck takes. Good old Ibuprofen comes to the rescue though.

Just bought my tank of gas in Iowa. Riding along the Mississippi river called the scenic ridge road. Very, very pretty. When I crossed the Mississippi river, it was a big high bridge with that expanded metal floor that makes you feel like you are riding on ice and the wind was blowing a million miles an hour. Very scary for an old novice biker dude like me. Whooooeeeee lots of motorcycles on this road. My left arm is getting very tired doing the biker wave.

Sunday June 28th - morning

2009-06-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Blue skies here in Kankakee, IL. Quit raining about 3 am, rained really hard up until then. Everything is wet. Have it all draped across my bike, little shrubs, etc trying to dry it out. My French press finally broke, so I am drinking hot water while I read my Bible. Got to remember to buy some tea bags, decaff ones for the evening and another lighter, too much water in mine last night. Had to borrow some matches this morning from the neighbors. My goal today is to make it to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, about 350 miles. I will go into Iowa once I drive across Illinois, drive up the Mississippi, cross into Wisconsin, and drive up this scenic route along the river until I get to LaCrosse. Sounds good on paper.

My GPS quit working yesterday. It started shutting off and then restarting over and over. I finally figured out last night that I think it overheated. I will take it inside with me when I go to get something to drink so he can cool his little brain off some. It really is very handy when I am going through highly populated areas with lots of streets that don't show up on my map.

I have been on the road for an hour now this fine Sunday morning. The wind is blowing hard across the road, so I am in a constant state of turning the bike left to compensate. It is clear, no rain so far. I have enjoyed driving through Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois seeing all the farms and farm ground, lots of corn. No coffee at this station:-( Got to get some coffee soon before I go into some kind of shock from no caffeine! I will begin looking for a church at 10 am and see what pops up.

Man it is a real pain trying to fold up my map in this wind. Whoooooeeeee it is blowing.

Saturday June 27th - evening

2009-06-27T18:33:00.001-07:00

Well, I made a decision today. I won't make it home in my 33 day goal, July 3rd. If I could do 430 miles each day I could make it. I went exactly 400 miles today and I am so tired as I sit here in my little camp, I don't even feel like fixing my dinner. I am afraid that if I do another like this one tomorrow I will end up having an accident. At the end of the day I was very mentally fatigued and could hardly figure out how to get to the campground from directions I had. I am bummed in that I wanted to be home for fireworks with my grand kids and to be home to preach on July 5th. I am working on getting somebody way better than me. I should make it home by Monday or Tuesday. I am relieved now that I have pulled the trigger on this decision because I will enjoy the rest of the trip without the pressure of getting the miles.

I am camped this evening at Kankakee, IL. Nice campground, but no showers. I will use some handy wipes, they work pretty good. I was sitting here trying to muster up the strength to make dinner and my neighbor camper came over and invited me to dinner. Corn on the cob and barbequed hamburgers:-)

It was hot today. I drank 32 oz of water, diet pepsi, or ice tea every hour and never went to the bathroom all day. The heat with the wind that is hitting me all day must really suck out the moisture. I think that is one of the reasons that I am so tired today. I tipped my bike over again today leaving a gas station. Thought I was going out a driveway, but hit a curb that was there that I didn't see. Picked it up OK without any assistance. Looked around at all the people gawking at me and shrugged like "I do that all the time." No damage to the bike.

Kankakee, where I am camped is about 30 miles south of Chicago. Large campground with lots of people and lots of kids, especially since it is a Saturday. Right on the Kankakee river. Big slow moving river with nice beach and lots of canoes to rent. The kids are coming by often to look at my bike and ask questions.

Had only 1 close call to a serious accident today. There was a corn topper going down the road about 25 MPH. I came behind him and when I could see that nobody was coming, I whipped out to go around him. At the same time he turned left in front of me to go into a corn field. I don't think he saw me. I slammed on the brakes and screeched to a stop without loosing control of the bike. I prayed for the next 30 minutes as I drove.

Hot all day and while we were eating dinner we had a fireworks display from God. Big bright, booming thunder and lightning, raining now. I will never again complain about the rain in Oregon. The couple who invited me to eat, come to this campground every weekend during the summer. They are Christians and they are both reading purpose drive life by Rick Warren. They live in Chicago in a 24 unit condo. They were quite fascinated with our work in Sierra Leone and Liberia and asked a ton of questions. I don't think either have been much further from Chicago than this campgroud. Raining hard now. Hope it quits by morning.

Saturday June 27th - noon

2009-06-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

I went into Michigan, then into Indiana, and in about an hour I will be in Illinois. It is now 2 pm, so I should make it almost to Iowa by the end of the day. My new helmet is working good, except I haven't done too well remembering to lift the face shield before I spit:-( My nose has been running a lot and I can't blow it proper while riding and I hate to just let it run, so I sniff in hard and spit. Works good except when you forget to lift your face shield. YUK.

Saturday June 27th - morning

2009-06-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

7 am Walnut Grove campground in Tiffin, Ohio. I have eaten my oat/flax breakfast, taken my vitamins, showered, shaved, and brushed my teeth. Now am going to read in my Bible for a while, pray, and ask God to protect me and keep me from wrecking on my motorcycle. I am going to commit my life to living for Him today. I hope to go through Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and camp somewhere in Illinois tonight.

Friday June 26th - evening

2009-06-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

My tires wore out:-O I looked at them a couple of days ago and I thought, "I am not sure they will make the 10,000 miles that they were advertised to get." Stopped for gas an hour ago and looked, back one was totally bald. I went in the little store and asked if there were any motorcycle places around. A young kid in the store said yes and gave me their phone number. I called them and told them my story. They said they had my size in stock and even though they were due to close in an hour they would get them put on for me. Only problem is I am not going to get my 400 miles today. About 330. There is a camp site 8 miles from here. Probably won't get out of here until 7pm. I will sure feel better riding tomorrow on new tires. Messed up my budget for my trip. Will have to take it out of Sherri's marriage money:-)

Well, what started out as a bummer day turned out alright. This morning I prayed that the Lord would show me a place to get some new tires, if I needed them. Well after 350 miles of riding today, the tires were definitely hairless. Lady at the gas station told me where this place was. They were absolutely wonderful. Large place with lots of employees. They all wanted to talk about my trip. They hung my used tires on the wall and put a sign under them that read," these tires have rolled in 35 states". They gave me a bumper sticker with their store, town, and state on it. They took pity on me and sold me a very nice new helmet for less than I paid for my cheap one at Joe's in Salem. They washed and waxed my bike and found me a nice campsite with a shower for cheap. The sun is shining and the weather report is that it is supposed to be nice where I am tomorrow. New tires, new helmet, I can ride with confidence the rest of the trip.

I am camping at Tiffin Ohio.

Friday June 26th - noon

2009-06-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Lunch time - I am eating a chicken wrap and drinking a Diet Pepsi at a Dairy Queen near Akron, Ohio. Made almost 200 miles so far, about 100 on freeways. Started raining about 30 minutes after I started this morning and has rained continually since, but not real heavy. Kept my head down behind my windshield and cruised along. Roads never got really heavy with water, so I felt safe enough to keep going. The sun is coming out now and I am shedding some clothes.

Friday June 26th - morning

2009-06-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

7 am my time, 4 am your time on the 26th of June. It poured last night, but is beautifully clear this morning. I have had tent parts hanging from every tree and draped over nearby picnic tables to dry along with my motorcycle cover. Hate packing all that stuff wet. If I do, it smells really bad tonight while I sleep in it. I am hoping for a non-rainy day all day today. We will see. If not, we will cope, adjust, and grumble:-) No, not really. Too many good things to grumble about anything, besides God says not to. I will work hard today with His strength to do His will.

Thursday June 25th - night

2009-06-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

Here I sit in this really nice campground, and I am the only person in it. Kind of lonely with no other campers to talk to. I am feeling a bit depressed. I went back over all my figures and maps, I have 3300 miles left before I get to my house, and I have 8 days left. That is 412 miles a day. I am not sure what I did or left out to think I had less. Well if I can get some decent weather, I think I can do that. Probably going to have to break down and so some freeway riding. Oh well.

Have you ever seen those movies where a spaceship is re-entering the atmosphere and something goes wrong and it starts going faster and faster and the passengers are shaking and pieces of the spaceship start coming off - then it just burns up! That's the sensation I get when I ride my motorcycle on the freeways. It is like riding in some kind of wind tunnel with all those trucks going by sucking my clothes as they do. Oh well, I have learned a lot of new skills on this trip. I might as well learn how to ride this thing on the freeway. I was talking to one biker and he loves freeways, " Nothing cooler than burning down the freeway at 85 mph". Just about makes me barf my flax seed thinking about it. It is funny that it is no big deal driving a car all day on a freeway, but 30 minutes on my motorcycle about gives me a heart attack. Well, if I am going to be a real biker dude someday, I better quit fussing about it and git er done:-) I think I will try to ride 50 miles on the freeway tomorrow.

Laying in my sleeping bag in my tent listening to the most awesome thunder. Just rolls on and on and is so incredibly loud. Oh oh, here comes the rain. The Bible talks about God's voice sounding like thunder, Ps 29 says " The voice of God thunders. The voice of God is powerful. The voice of the Lord is majestic" Whoooeeee - it is getting louder. Boy, I hope the rain quits!

Thursday June 25th - evening

2009-06-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Great weather and great ride all day. Stopped to get gas at 3 pm and I asked the attendant if he knew the weather for tomorrow, he was looking at a weather site on line. He said tomorrow will be fine, but look at this - these are huge thunder heads moving in and they will be here in an hour and it is going to dump. Oh great I said! Do you know of any campgrounds close, I said? KOA up the road 17 miles. Off I went and here I sit will my tent all set up watching big black clouds moving in. I hope there is a bunch of lightning before it starts raining so I can watch it:-) I rode from Syracuse, New York, straight south in what they call the finger lakes area. Very beautiful. Lots of dairies, but didn't see any Guernseys:-( I rode Hwy 6 straight west once I got into Pennsylvania and I am almost in Ohio in a town named Warren. The whole day was great. Traffic was light, scenery was super, and the ride was semi curvy. Just enough to keep from going to sleep. I rode 320 miles today. I would have made 400 if the rain hadn't come. Tomorrow I will get 400 miles in.

This morning I smeared bag balm all over my mustache to keep it from blowing up and tickling my nose while I ride. Didn't work. It still tickled the heck out of me, but at least the inside of my nose won't be chapped:-)

Thursday June 25th - morning

2009-06-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

8 days left to make it home by July 3rd and watch fireworks with my grandkids. I will try and get in 400 miles today and be in western Pennsylvania this evening. It is nice weather now, hope it continues for a while. Enjoyable staying with my son Sam's in-laws. They treated me well and sent me off with eggs and bacon for breakfast. I have enjoyed the trip very much, but I am for sure in the grind it out stage. I knew that point would come where what I really want is to be home, but I can't until I ride these miles. Well, I will try to get a bunch ground out today.

Wednesday June 24th - evening

2009-06-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

I rode 350 miles today. I am staying the night at Shannon's parents home (my daughter-in-law), near Syracuse, New York. No freeze dried dinner tonight. We had barbecued rib-eye steak with mushrooms, potatos, and brusell sprouts:-) I had a great ride today. Went from the mountains of Vermont, into the Adirondak mountains of upper New York. Very, very beautiful ride, very popular with bikers. Passed several hundred and visited with several dozen during the day at gas stations. The farthest from home were a couple of guys from Chicago. Great weather today. Hoping for some more tomorrow.

One of the most irritating things is, when I am riding the wind blows mustache hairs into my nose and they flop around in there and it itches like crazy, more like a tickle inside your nose. It has gotten worse as I haven't trimmed my mustache since I left. It is getting so I am riding most of the time with one hand, as I am using the other one to scratch the inside of my nose.

Wednesday June 24th - morning

2009-06-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

This morning the birds are chipring, loudly. They started at 4:30 am :-) The sun is just coming up and most of the clouds are gone. Thank you Jesus! It takes about a full hour and a half to get ready each morning. Getting tent, pad, sleeping bag rolled up, and everything packed in the right place and bungy corded on. Get water heated for coffee in the French press and oatmeal / flax prepared. I have to wash dishes too. I usually use the left over hot water, pour it in my bowl and scrape the oatmeal off with my fingernail, rinse with more hot water and there we have it (I'm sure it is sanitized). Never wash coffee stuff! Hey something new! For the last ten years I have not been able to stand on one foot for more than a second. That is why I always put my pants on sitting down. This morning, without thinking about it, I started putting my riding pants on standing up, to keep them from dragging in the dirt which they do when I am sitting down. I was about done when I realized that I had stood on one leg for at least 30 seconds! Wow. I tried it some more, just standing there, I could stand on one leg easy for a long time:-) I am not sure if it is sleeping on the ground, balancing on a bike all day, but my suspicions are that it is the flax seed:-) Well, we will see if my new physical skill lasts. Off I go for another day of trusting the Lord and seeing what happens.

Tuesday June 23rd - evening

2009-06-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Rode 350 miles today. That gives me 6636 miles ridden, a daily average of 288 miles. That means I need to average 327 miles each day from here on out to get home by July 3rd, my goal. I think I can do it. I think every day from here on out will be easier to get more miles. These highly populated states on the east coast are slow going. I am camping tonight at a camp ground in Groton Vermont. It is east of Montpelier on Hwy 302. Hot showers, though they cost 25 cents per 5 minutes, worth every penny:-) I asked the lady how much they charged for firewood, she said $4 for a little bundle. I decided to get some. She sent a kid down with a golf cart and trailor to deliver the wood. He got to looking at my bike and talking to me about it. When he left, he left a huge stack of wood. I asked if I got all that wood for $4! He said no, you get all that wood because you talked to me:-) Here I sit beside a nice fire eating my reconstituted dinner drinking bullion tea and writing my blog:-)

In case you didn't hear, I am a grandpa again. Shelly had her baby, Wyatt Phillip Crabb. Mom and baby are healthy:-) That is 11 grandkids now. I saw a number of signs today that said, watch out for moose. I did, but I didn't see a single moose:-( I sure enjoyed the beauty of the scenery today, lots of birch, aspen, hemlock, and fir. Lots of lakes and streams, reminded me a lot of Alaska. Enjoyed the ride today as I spent most of it contemplating God's character as I witnessed His creation. Romans says that if we really look, everything about God can be understood by what he has made. I crave knowing about God and I crave even more to know Him personally more and more.

There is something about a campfire that stimulates reflection. Sitting here in my folding camp chair reading the Bible, thinking about it, thinking about Patty & I. Thinking about our kids and grandkids, thinking about JBC, thinking about heaven. What I will do there. What it will feel like and look like. Thinking about God and His will for my life. Sitting and reflecting. Nice. Nice fire. Don't do this as much at home. Too busy.

Tuesday June 23rd - afternoon

2009-06-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here I sit drinking a Diet Pepsi in Cornish, Maine, I am now ready to head west. It is 2 pm, so I am going to ride about 3 more hours and look for a place to camp. The rain has held off so far. If it starts raining, I will start looking in earnest for a place to pitch my tent. New Hampshire was gorgeous and Maine as well. I will see some more of New Hampshire now and then Vermont. No adventures so far today. Just lots of riding and seeing new country.

Tuesday June 23rd - mid morning

2009-06-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

Here I sit at a Dunkin Donuts in New Hampshire, just across the border from Townsend Massachusetts. I really am just drinking coffee:-) 70 miles across Massachusetts, it was easily my least favorite state to drive through. Like one big city, lots of people and cars, all in a hurry. So far no rain, but it is dark, overcast, and cold, but I am not complaining. Going to get as far as I can today. Rick, my friend at the Sticks Tavern, got up to see me off this morning, though I am sure he didn't get to bed before 2 am. I asked if I could pray for him, he said "yes" so I prayed a blessing on him and his wife. He seemed very pleased. He said he would call me on July 4th to see if I made it home.

Monday Evening, June 22

2009-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

I sat in Dunkin Donuts for 3 hours waiting for the rain to let up. Started talking to people in there to find someplace I could stay. While I was asking, this rough looking guy came up and introduced himself as a Biker. He asked how I was doing and I told him my dilemma. He said that he worked at the "Sticks Tavern" and they had some rooms and that he would have to do some cleaning first but that I could stay there. I said "super" and off we went. While we were getting my stuff moved in one of the "regulars" came over and started talking. He asked if I had changed the oil yet in the bike. I told him no, but I was trying to. I just hadn't found a place to do it, but that I had brought the synthetic oil with me to do it. He said, "Follow me. I have a shop down the road 1/8 of a mile." So I followed him and I got my oil changed.

The guy who got me the room took me out to eat dinner at another tavern where they serve food, and where the local Bikers hang out. He said they would love to hear my story about what I was doing. Brian, the guy helping me, got me a T-shirt for a souvenir that says, "Sticks Tavern - 2nd Annual Poker Run & Pig Roast." It will be one of my favorite mementos of this trip!

I had a diet Pepsi and a Buffalo Burger for dinner and met a bunch of guys who ride motorcycles, some who were part of the Hell's Angels, and all who have been dreaming of doing what I am doing. They asked a lot of questions and I got their addresses to write to when I get home. They thought I was OK for a religious guy. They all tried to locate a full face helmet for me, but none to be found. They don't have helmet laws here, and as one guy said, "Only guys from Oregon wear helmets." Well, I am going to bed and praying that it doesn't rain tomorrow. Love you all. Dee

Monday Morning, June 22

2009-06-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's hard to imagine that I have been doing this for three weeks. All the days seem to run together. The scenery, the culture, the experiences. Too much information for my brain to process in such a short time. Got up to a soggy day. Everything is wet. A glimmer of sunshine at 6am so I had everything hanging up on tree limbs. My motorcycle has become a clothes line. I hate packing everything wet because it is wet in the evening when I unpack it and it has acquired a bit of a musty odor. The inside of my tent is dry as well as my sleeping bag so I will quit whining about a little smell. I am an ex-dairy farmer (no problem with smells!) First thing every morning I take a shower (where one is available), and there is usually just one water temperature; Wow! Wakes me right up! Then I heat water on my handy-dandy one-burner camp stove and make coffee and my oatmeal-flax breakfast. I put the balance of hot water in my bowl and use my finger to wash away all the sticking oatmeal. Then I sit down and read my Bible and pray and ask God to keep me safe and to experience Him to the fullest, and drink two cups of the finest coffee ever made. Praying for my family and my church. Whooeee, the Bike started another morning. Praise the Lord!

At 9am I was in Connecticut. Oregon type rain - intermittent drizzle. I sat for a while in a Dunkin Donuts drinking a cup of coffee and warming up (No donuts!) I am riding through a lot of little burgs. Old houses. Mostly 45mph limits on semi-winding roads and 30mph in the towns. Fun speed because I can look at the scenery, but slow covering ground.

At Noon I found another Dunkin Donuts in Chepachet, Rhode Island and drank coffee while I waited for the rain to let up. Raining hard right now. If this keeps up I won't make Maine tonight. The rain is not letting up and the weather report is for even worse. SO, I am spending the night in the STICKS TAVERN. There are evidently a lot of motorcyclists through here and a lot of the taverns have rooms for bikers to stay overnight. So that's what I'm going to do. The owner even gave me a souvenir T-shirt. :-) Only made 250 miles today, but can't ride in a steady downpour.

One of the things that I knew when I left on this trip was that I was a motorcycle riding novice. I had never ridden a motorcycle in my life except for a Yamaha Trail 90 on the farm when I was a kid, but never on the road. When I got started , all the habits that I had developed to drive a car no longer worked. Everything was different. I had to think every time I shifted: "Let's see now, is it one down and four up or the other way round." Sometimes I would shift down when I should have shifted up and I would get this sudden unexpected slow down as I released the clutch. Speaking of the clutch, it is no longer on the floor, it is on one of the handle bars. Most of the time I remember that it is the handle on the left but occasionally I forget. You don't even want to know what that looks like! The throttle is now a thing that is run by my hand, not my foot. Do I twist it up or down to go faster? Sometimes I just do it a little bit and figure it out by trial and error. I have figured out that if I turn loose of the throttle that it will slow down on its own as long as I remember it is the right hand, not the left. I have yet to decide if all of this is a result of being a novice or being old and senile! I have now ridden over 6000 miles on this trip and I seem to be doing more by habit. Though because of being a novice I have been incredibly attentive in my driving. Brings back the days of learning to drive a car and worse yet, the days of riding in the car that one of my kids was driving as they learned.

Sunday evening, later - June 21st

2009-06-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest challenges on this trip is forgetting things Being an old guy this has become more of an issue. When I stop to read the map, I get out my reading glasses to read it and then I take off down the road with them still on and it takes me awhile to figure why everything is so blurry. I take off my gloves so I can get the map and put on my glasses and I set them on the gas tank. I forget to put them back on, so I have to pull back over and run down the road and pick them up out of the road where they have fallen. One of the good things about my bike is that it won't start with the kick stand down. Otherwise I probably would have ripped it off by now. Oh the wonder of God's grace to me:-) False alarm! My little headlight does work:-) There is a little switch on the back of it to use to turn if off and I must have switched it off while I was putting the rain cover on:-) The bike has ran well. Pretty consistently getting 50 - 54 mpg. Starts every morning first crank. I have discovered that it doesn't want to start on a steep incline though:-) At this stage in the trip I would give myself an A for planning. I did bring way too many clothes:-) I will bring 3/4 of what I brought untouched. I also didn't need to bring my folding table. There has been a picnic table in every camp ground. I am on the other hand very thankful that I brought my folding camp chair. So nice to be able to sit in it in the evenings and read & write. I have developed a real fondness for freeze dried dinners, oatmeal, and flax seed breakfasts:-)

Sunday evening - June 21st

2009-06-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

Do you know what my new least favorite thing is on this trip? The last several campsites have been mosquito free so they have faded from my memory, and I haven't seen a cattle truck for a week. My new least favorite thing is "round abouts". I remember seeing them when I was in England and thinking "boy am I glad they don't have those things in the states!" Well, they have quite a few of them on this side of the US. I spent some time today going round and round on a number of them trying to figure out which little exit I was supposed to take. After several laps around I get so disoriented that I took the exit that I came in on. My GPS didn't help me much:-(( Creativity is a character trait that we can develop if we want, to a very high degree. One of the character traits of God that we see all around us is His creativity. Watching fireflies at night, seeing the Grand Canyon, has made me so aware of the greatness of God's creativity. I have come to the conclusion on this trip that those who will develop it the most in their own lives are those who set and pursue really big goals and dreams. The pursuit of these goals will result in lots of problems and barriers. As these are overcome and solved, creativity gets stronger, bigger, and more powerful in us. One of the barriers to completing this trip could be mechanical failure of my motorcycle. I got a motorcycle endorsement on my AAA coverage and bought a warrantee that is honored by any motorcycle shop and covers everything but tires. I also bought new tires. I had my first problem with my bike today. I have one big headlight and two smaller ones, one on each side of the big one. I don't drive at night, but I like the extra visibility the extra two lights give. One of them quit working today. I bought replacement bulbs and fuses for everything, but I think they are sitting at home in my shop. Oh well. If that is my biggest mechanical issue, I will smile:-)

Sunday, June 21st

2009-06-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

Left Morgantown, Pennsylvania at 7am this morning. Started raining about 5 minutes later and rained all day off and on. Not so hard that I couldn't see or so that the road had lots of standing water. I rode 250 miles today. I was going to try and get over 300 but the riding in the rain wore me out and froze me out as well. I am camped at Sharon, Connecticut. A very beautiful campground with lots of big trees and a shower. I bought a bundle of firewood for $5 and I am going to build me a fire and sit by it later this evening. I might even throw a few pine cones in the fire and make a few major new commitments to God in my service for Him. :-) I am going to have freeze-dried Beef Stroganoff for dinner. Yum, yum! I am going to camp in Fryeberg, Maine tomorrow night and then it is all West after that. This ole horse can already smell the hay at home. Who knows, once I get started for home I may put in some 600 mile days, especially if I can get some good weather. I have 21 days done and 6,250 mi. That is about 50 miles short of my 300 mile a day goal. I won't have any trouble making it up once I get some straight roads and good weather.

Saturday Night, June 20th

2009-06-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow if the weather cooperates at all I will go to Newton, New Jersey. From there to Newburgh, New York, across the top of Connecticut, and into Rhode Island and maybe into Massachusetts. I am anxious to get to Maine and then I am headed home. Hallelujah!! Looking forward to hearing how Father's Day Weekend went at church. Hope all you fathers have a great day with your families tomorrow. Dee

Saturday Morning, June 20

2009-06-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Every night I put this very nice, waterproof cover on my bike. I lay across the seat of the bike everything I don't want to get wet if it rains. I have an alarm that I connect to it so that if anybody pulls on it in the middle of the night this terrible, awful, incredibly loud siren goes off. It would then wake me and I would yell at the would-be robber to get out of here before I have to get up and beat him up. :-) Well, this morning I got up at my usual 5:30am and forgot about the alarm and set it off. Then I couldn't remember how to shut if off, but I eventually got it. This is Saturday morning, with zillions of people from Philadelphia camping. Oh well, so much for their sleeping-in morning.

Today will be different in that every mile up to now has been according to my plan that I have been making for the last year. Today I will make it up as I go, having changed because of not wanting to go into New Jersey on a Friday night. I will try to keep from getting lost.

It is now 10am. I have been riding for 3 hours. Rain started coming down so hard that when a car came by me from the other direction it about washed me off the road. I am not feeling safe at all about riding in this. I stopped at a little food mart that has no gas because a pump is leaking. I'm sitting inside drinking coffee. There is no business because of no gas so the young man running the place who is from India is enjoying my company. There is a motel up the road 30 min. that I located with his help. A low-end beater type that has rooms for $40, so if the rain doesn't let up in an hour I will head there. The weather station here in the store says tomorrow will be better. The whole world is praying for sunshine in New York so Tiger Woods can play golf at the U.S. Open, so I hope that helps me. :-)

Well, here it is noon on Saturday my 20th day of riding, and I am sitting in a motel room because of torrential downpours in Amish Country, Pennsylvania. I am in Morgantown. I will spend the day studying, writing, reading, and see if I can get several really good sermons done. I will work at not feeling lonely, bored or depressed. :-)

Late Friday Night, June 19

2009-06-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

Met a nice guy in camp tonight. Named Dave. Came over and started talking motorcycles when he saw mine, and then he started to share with me about his faith in Christ. Talked about "Bikers for Christ." When he found out I was a Christian we had a very nice sharing about our lives, kids, churches, etc.

Just laid down in my nice little tent on my 1 inch foam pad in my very comfortable sleeping bag, and after a day like today thinking, "Yeh, it just doesn't get much better than this." :-) Thanking God for all of you. Dee

Friday Night, June 19th

2009-06-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

Covering 342 miles today sounds good, but the only problem is that I got lost twice and about 50 miles was makeup. The first time was when I programmed my GPS for a city in Northeast Maryland where I wanted to go. I forgot to push the little button that says "no freeways." My GPS loves freeways and it will send me onto every freeway in the USA if I don't tell it not to. So, before I know it I am on this Freeway. One of the problems with freeways is that the traffic is so heavy I don't dare look down at my GPS. The freeway kept getting wider and wider and before I knew it there were like 40 lanes. I finally got off and ended up at a Motel. I pulled into the parking lot to figure out where I was and to find a bathroom! I got my map out and a guy came over and asked where I was trying to go. I asked him where I was and he said, downtown Baltimore!! I showed him on the map where I wanted to get to and he gave me a few simple instructions and in about an hour I was where I wanted to be.

The town I am at tonight is Quarryville, not Quartzville. Anyway, the second time I got lost I was trying to go to Newark, Delaware, buy some gas to get my receipt and then head to Pennsylvania. I programmed in Newark, but instead of Newark, Delaware, I put in Newark, Maryland. After about 40 min. I thought this isn't right, so I stopped at a gas station and got out my map and a guy came over and asked if he could help and I asked him to show me on the map where I was and I had gone in totally the wrong way.

When I started calling campgrounds I got a rude awakening. Any campground within 100 miles of Philadelphia was going to be full on a Friday night. I kept trying. One lady said they could give me single tent site for $88. I gave her my, "I have been riding a motorcycle for 19 days" line but her response was, "I have heard better stories than that one." I kept calling and finally got a Christian campground and they said they could give me a spot for $22 if I was sure I was a pastor. :-)

When I got to where I was supposed to turn into the campground the main road I was on was real steep. There was a bunch of traffic so I stopped and waited to turn left into the campground. A big line of cars built up behind me. Finally there was a break in the traffic. I hadn't gotten my bike shifted all the way down to first and when I started to go I killed it. And then it wouldn't start. So now I had cars lining up from both directions. So I tried to push it over to the driveway of the campground and just about tipped the bike over. I used the starter motor with it in gear and managed to get it out of the street. (Just about the time I think I am finally getting close to being a real Biker Dude I do something like that.) Got it started and made it to the camp and found the bathroom! I think I'm going to sleep well tonight!

Please pray for my "sense of direction," and that God will keep sending people to give me good directions when I need them! I have a couple more days of heavy traffic to deal with, but then it should be getting better. Appreciate all of you! I love you, Dee.

Friday, June 19th

2009-06-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

Got left at 7am this morning. It was 60 degrees and very cold riding. Spent about an hour riding on a freeway going East in Maryland. Lots of coal trucks. Saw several big coal mines in West Virginia. I don't like riding on freeways but I probably will need to do that a bunch today to get anywhere.

Ended up riding 342 miles, and it didn't rain on me once! I am now camped in Quartzville, Pennsylvania, which is Amish country. I passed five buggies pulled by horses. After I left West Virginia I went to Maryland and then into Delaware, and then Pennsylvania.

Thursday Night, June 18th

2009-06-18T19:23:00.001-07:00

Got a good start this morning. Left Gate City, Virginia at 7am and two hours later I was in Pikeville, Kentucky. It was super foggy when I left this morning, but no rain. Rode through the Cumberland Gap. Very gorgeous scenery, what I could see after the fog lifted. Fairly mountainous with lots of hardwood forests. Lots of up and down riding.

Rode 430 miles today and didn't get rained on once! Most of the day there were thunderheads in front of me, behind me, to my left, and to my right but over me were clear skies. The last 150 miles that I did were in the Allegheny Mountains, and it took me five hours. Averaged 30 mph, 90 degree climbs with constant 20-30 mph curves. There were at least 40 of those kinds of hills. Wild!! Very pretty scenery, lots of trees, little valleys with farms, even saw one dairy. Rode 12 hours but I feel good making up the time that I lost yesterday. I am looking forward to some flat and relatively straight roads tomorrow, but I am not looking forward to the traffic as I go through Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. I am camped at Davis, West Virginia. It is near Elkins.

Was looking for this campground that was in my camping book and I couldn't find it. I pulled into this driveway where a lady was standing to ask directions (I have gotten pretty good at that!). I asked her where it was and she told me and then I noticed a tent set up not too far from where we were. I asked her if this was a campsite and she said it was a small one she and her husband had set up on their 5 acres of land to make a little extra money. She said I could stay for $10. Has water, electricity, showers, and a great view. No mosquitoes in the camp, either!

She invited me down to their campfire to visit later, so I went up and met my neighbors. The six couples who are camped here all came. All older, retired people in motor homes. They were way more interested in talking about my grandkids than the motorcycle trip, which suited me fine. The grandkids are one of my most favorite subjects. One couple had 13 and I came in second with our 11. (I think I have that right.) I got a cup of decaf tea and a cookie out of the deal.

Well, now I am going to load up with Ibuprofen and get into my sleeping bag. Thanks to all of you who are praying so faithfully for me. It was a really good day. I'm praying for you! I love you. Dee

Thursday Morning, June 18

2009-06-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

I really let the weather station get in my head last night. Went to bed discouraged thinking it was going to be impossible to achieve the goal. Spent some time reading Psalms and praying. Got up this morning with resolve. Put the cover for the bike and my little tent on top, easy to get to. If it starts raining hard where I feel it is unsafe to continue I will stop, put the cover on my bike, set my tent up and wait until it stops, and then go on some more. Most of the really bad storms only last an hour at most. I should be in Davis, West Virginia, tonight. It is near Elkins. Praying all of you have a safe and productive day.

Late Wednesday Night - June 17

2009-06-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

They just issued a flash flood warning for Southwest Virginia where I presently am. The weather forecast for the area I am due to drive through is in "Biblical proportions", quoting the weather station. Please pray that I can get enough clearing to ride my motorcycle safely.

Wednesday Evening - June 17

2009-06-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

Got up this morning at 6 am and got my handy-dandy little one burner cook stove out and heated water and fixed my oatmeal/flaxseed breakfast and made coffee (I taped my french press together. It leaks but I can get a cup of good coffee). Looked at my maps and realized that I was going to have to do the Dragon Tail again. One good thing is that I left earlier than the other bikers so I didn't have any of those hot-shot sport bikers on my tail pushing me, so I took it nice and easy. Bought myself a bumper sticker for my aluminum boxes that says, "I did the Dragon Tail." Should have gotten two!

I am now in Gates City, Virginia, just north of Johnson City, Tennessee. I had hoped to make it to Kentucky but it started pouring rain, and when it rains here it gets right with it! I stood under a business awning for an hour waiting for it to quit. Some guys in the business came out and told me there was a Days Inn around the corner, so I gave in and here I sit. I won't lose any time because I will just go into Kentucky until I find a gas station and get my receipt for that State and then head up through West Virginia to Maryland. I don't mind riding in "regular" rain, but when it pours like it has the last couple of times, I have gotten rained off the road because I can't see - and that could be a problem! The forecast for the entire East Coast for the next week is for rain. One good thing is that it seldom rains for more than an hour, and then I can be back on the road again.

Hadn't really budgeted for all these motel stays, but sure am appreciating sleeping in a real bed. Am enjoying reading the texts from many of you. Thanks for reading the blog. Dee

Wednesday, June 17th

2009-06-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't been in areas that had cell phone service so I'm a little behind in the blog. Night before last I had a good night of camping at Sylvania, Georgia. No rattlesnakes got into my tent, no crocodiles tried to get in either, and I only got one additional mosquito bite. I headed west yesterday morning up the west side of South Carolina on Hwy. 25.

Rode 360 miles yesterday. I went through all South Carolina and through most of North Carolina. I rode in the Appalachian Mts. and the Smokey Mts. This was the windingest, curviest piece of road I have ever done. One section called the Dragon's Tail is 320 turns in 11 miles. These are turns that are marked at 20 mph. I rode on about 100 miles of road almost that winding. It took me four hours to ride that 100 miles. I never dragged a peg but I was getting pretty good at cornering at relatively high speeds, but I have to admit that when I came upon a slow car I was relieved that I had to slow down. Praise the Lord for "Grandma Drivers!" It was a very tiring day. The kind of riding I did today keeps your heart in your throat, and the amount of adrenaline I used up made me feel like a limp rag at the end of the day.

I camped last night at Fontana, North Carolina. There is a big dam making a big reservoir. I enjoyed eating my Oregon freeze dried dinner of beef stew. Really good. I had time to sit in my handy-dandy little folding chair while praying for my church family and watching the fire flies. There are zillions out tonight. They are everywhere. What a nice treat from God. Like sitting and watching "holy fireworks." :-)

Planning to ride through Tennessee today. I'm praying that God blesses your day. Please keep praying for me. Dee

Monday Night, June 15th

2009-06-15T22:55:00.001-07:00

There are four things I hate on a 30 day motorcycle trip: (1) Mosquitos. They may move down from number one when the experience of zillions of them attacking me as I camped near the Mississippi River fades in my memory and the 100 plus bites that I have quit itching. (2) thunder storms with incredibly high winds, lots of lightning just looking for a motorcycle rider to strike, and more rain in 30 minutes than comes out of a fire hose. (3) Truck drivers that are in a hurry; they all are, and are driving way faster than I am. (4) High winds that make riding motorcycles a lot of high-tension work, and a new one gets added to the list, (5) bees and yellow jackets that go up the sleeve of your coat and sting you right when you are in heavy traffic. Ohhhhhhhhhhh that hurts!

Well, here I am at my camp spot for the day. The owner isn't here so I am sitting in the shade texting this blog waiting for him. Rode 350 miles today. Good weather all the way. Pleasant day of riding on back roads at 55 mph with very few trucks. I asked a lady camped here if there were mosquitos and she said no, but they do have zillions of little black gnats that bite read hard. Oh, no! Now I will have to add one more thing to the list of things I hate.

A sad thing happened today. I stopped for gas and a diet coke. I went in after filling up and paid my bill and drank the coke and then came out, got on my bike and took off the way I had just come from. I went about 10 miles and noticed a street I had seen before I stopped for gas. It was named "Dee's Street." When I saw it the second time I thought, "Wow, two streets by that name." And then the thought popped into my head, "You aren't going the way you just came from, are you?" Na, I couldn't do that! Then I saw a church I had noticed earlier, so I turned around and thought, "They probably shouldn't let senile old guys like me out on a trip by themselves. They could get lost and never come home!"

I stopped for gas today and it was in a "pretty back-woodsy" place, or whatever they call them in Georgia. Anyway, the gas nozzles didn't have automatic shutoff on them. I started pumping and about then some "good ole boy" started talking to me. I forgot what I was doing and pretty soon he yelled and I looked down and gas was running everywhere. Ooooooooh was the old lady in the store mad. Ruined my mileage figures for that tank.

I decided today that riding motorcycles and life are a lot alike. Almost everything is trying to knock you over. You just have to figure out how to cope with the "knocker downers" using God's wisdom and strength. To cope with the mosquitos I bought some really strong mosquito repellent. I brought some with me that a doctor recommended because it wouldn't cause skin cancer. The only trouble is it kept the mosquitos off about as good as spit. Good old fashioned 100% deet may give me skin cancer but it keeps those critters off.

At the end of today, Monday the 15th, I have 4725 miles. That is 315 miles per day; 9730 miles is the total miles for my charted trip. That means it will take me another 16 days to get home. Close to half way. :-)

This place I am staying at tonight is interesting. Almost everybody is a permanent resident in RVs here, working on some major gas pipe line going in nearby. The kids have been over looking at my motorcycle and asking questions. The parents are a little dubious of a guy that is off galavanting around the country and not working. My beef stroganof is about ready. Just pour in the hot water and it's ready to be enjoyed!

A fellow just walked by and asked if my tent kept out snakes because there are a lot of them. I assured him that it did. (I hope it does!) A little kid came over as I was boiling my water for my freeze dried dinner. He asked what I was having. I told him beef stroganof. He said, "Sounds good. Save me some, I will be back." And off he pedaled. I maybe should get out the flaxseed and oatmeal and give him some of that.

The kid never came back but the groundskeeper came by and asked what I was eating. He pointed to a group barbequeing and said they were having rattlesnake. I asked if he was joking and he said no, they catch one just about every day and clean it and bbq it. I told him I would stick with my freeze dried dinner. He also said that there was an alligator in the pond that my tent is next to. He said nobody knows how he got in there. After one of the floods they had recently he just showed up. Said nobody has seen him up on the land yet. Hope he stays put tonight.

The reason that it takes 8 hours to go 300 miles is because in staying almost exclusively off of freeways I drive through a lot of little towns like Jefferson. You slow down to 30mph and have either a triffic light or a stop sign. In this part of the country there is a little town at least every 10 miles. I enjoy the scenery and the culture doing it this way, but it is much slower than charging along on the freeways. Saw a big ole tortise in the road today. Must have been 18 inches across.

Praying for you! Please pray for me. Dee

Monday Morning, June 15

2009-06-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

It's now 7:33 am East Coast time, Monday morning, and I am starting the third week of this journey of 10,000 miles going around the US hitting all lower 48 states. I should be close to half done by tonight. We will see. I had a very good night's sleep in the motel and even slept in a little. So far the trip has been lots of adventures with experiences and people. I have had a great time studying and preparing sermons in the evenings and really feel that this has been a major spiritual pilgrimage for me. The biggest challenge has been that I have gotten very lonely without Patty and family and friends, although the alone time has been super refreshing and a key to the spiritual growth. The riding 8 hours every day especially in the heat has been a challenge but is about the same as the grind of preparing for a marathon. We will see what the day holds. I am trusting God for every detail of the day. Stay faithful. I love you, Dee.

Sunday, June 14th

2009-06-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Here I sit in a nice comfortable motel room in Donaldson, Georgia. I got caught in a horrific thunder storm. I was riding through this town when all of a sudden the wind started blowing so hard I thought a tornado was happening or something. I was afraid it was going to blow my bike over with me on it. I stopped in the middle of the street and pushed my bike into a parking lot. Got the cover for it out, got it covered and I ran over and stood under the eaves of a business. I am glad they had closed already. It must have rained a zillion inches in 30 minutes. I have never seen it rain that hard, not even in Africa. Got my handy-dandy cell phone out after it quit, called information and got thename of a motel. Called, and the manager had recently moved from Baker City, OR and said he would give a fellow Oregonian a good deal, and he did. Even let me push my bike into a covered area for the night.

I said in one of my previous entries that trucks were my least favorite part of this trip, but I have changed that to mosquitos. After showering tonight in my nice motel room I looked in the mirror, and I kid you not, there are at least 100 mosquito bites. I got them two nights ago when I camped near the Mississippi River. They must have gotten into my tent while I was cooking, and didn't have it completely closed. That night they had a royal feast. It was particularly hot that night, so I didn't sleep with a t-shirt on. My back looks like Pastor Bob shot me with a shot gun. I itch so bad that I am jumping up and taking a cold shower about every 30 minutes. (A little sympathy from a few of you would probably help. :-)

I rode about 275 miles today. Started in Alabama, went into Florida, and then into Georgia. I am still slightly ahead of schedule even with the wind-thunder-lightening-rain storm interruption to my goal for today. My plan is to ride 350 miles tomorrow, which will put me into Sylvania, Georgia, right next to the South Carolina border.

I went to church today in Alabama at Oak Grove Baptist Church. I decided that the first church I saw after 10 o'clock I would stop at and this ended up being the one. About 25 people in attendance. They all were so old that two of the men called me "young man," and the pastor made mention of the young man from Oregon that was visiting them today. I enjoyed the time very much. I don't think they get many visitors and they seemed very honored that I visited them. It felt good to be able to encourage them.

I almost ran over an armadillo today. I have seen quite a few of them dead along the road. I am not sure what that experience would feel like, running over an armadillo. I ran over a 2x4 board laying in the road where they were doing road construction and that made my bike buck pretty good. Almost bit my tongue. The armadillo was bigger than the 2x4 for sure.

All the states that I have been through have been pretty, each in a different kind of way. Alabama has been particularly pretty. I didn't realize that they had so much timber, at least in the south part. Lots of yellow pine. I even rode by a clear cut. Looked like Oregon. I saw cotton fields today. Lots of peanuts. Millions of acres of corn, much of it for ethonal. Haven't seen any dairies. I guess I will have to wait until I get to Wisconsin.

Every morning I spend some time working on a new Bible memory verse and then reviewing it in my head all during the day. Thinking about what it means and applying it to my life. Today's was Psalm 18:3-4 - "The Lord girds me with strength. He makes my way blameless. He makes my feet like deers' feet and sets me up on my high places. He trains my hands for battle so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze."

I was glad to hear that both Pastor Mike and Saah didn't "mess up" in the Services this weekend, and that Pastor Bob and Journey had a good "first Service." Keep praying that God will continue to bless JBC and all our daughter churches with more and more opportunities to reach people for Him. Praying for all of you! I love you! Dee

Saturday, June 13

2009-06-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying seeing fireflies everywhere in the evening. They are so cool and fun to watch. God's creativity is amazing. The really amazing thing is that He is so big and powerful and wise but He still notices every detail of my life and loves with a love so big I can't comprehend it.

Today I headed south through the rest of Mississippi, through Louisiana, and I'm camping now near Wilma, Alabama. About 330 miles of traveling. I learned things today that I never knew. Arkansas raises a lot of rice. So does Mississippi. Mississippi burns its grain stubble way more than Oregon. I drove through a bunch of smoke today. Mississippi doesn't seem to have as many cattle trucks as Arkansas does. Praise the Lord :-) Rained on me hard right after I came across the Mississippi River. But then in 30 minutes the sun came out and then it was hotter than Africa! So many mosquitos that I am laying in my tent reading and writing and mocking the mosquitos as they fly around trying to get in. :-)

Intimidation is a funny thing. Even though I was only going 20 mph when I had the close call on the gravel road, I thought about it for the next couple of hours, and the more I thought about it, the spookier I got. I remember a lady telling me that she didn't fly because she kept thinking about planes she had seen in the news that crashed. Planes, motorcycles, cars are one thing, but I can remember many times I got intimidated and fearful over making a decision or doing something that I knew I needed to do because I kept thinking about "what if" I did the wrong thing. The more I pray whenever I get anxious, the more peace and confidence God gives me. I am going to stay off gravel roads from now on, though!

The place that I stayed last night was my least favorite of any camp site: "Leroy Pierce National Forest Campground" out of Hollandale, Mississippi. The scenery was incredible but the mosquitos were the fiercest that I have ever encountered in my many years of hunting and fishing. The mosquito repellent wasn't working so I went into the tent to read and write. Uncomfortable to do that for several hours, but no other way. In the morning when I woke up there were about 20 real big ones flying around. How did they get in here? They must have chewed a hole in my tent. I started killing them, slapping them against the inside of my tent. Everyone had about a quart of blood in them. When I got done killing them it looked worse than a Rambo movie in my tent. I was afraid I was going to faint from loss of blood, but a little flax for breakfast gave me my strength back. :-)

I used to wonder why motorcycle riders all tended to ride hunched over and with their knees sticking out. I decided that it was just being a cool motorcycle dude. But now I ride hunched over because after hours sittin on this bike feeling every bump in the road, that position is the most comfortable. I am amazed at how good my back is feeling. The reason for the knees sticking out is to catch wind. You are sitting right on top of the engine and your bottom gets hot and sweats and then when you get off your bike it looks like you wet your pants. That is certainly not cool looking. So you stick your knees out to catch the air and it cools and evaporates in the appropriate places. So now I look like a cool Biker Dude.

Back to my camp site near Wilma, Alabama. It is very beautiful with lots of trees and shade. There are very few mosquitos and the ones that are here are very nice. The campsite cost $10, which has been about the average. I rode 350 miles today and they were very peaceful and enjoyable miles. The speed limit on all non-interstate freeways in Miss., Louisiana, and Ala. is 55mph. I like riding 55. In Texas, Arkansas, OK, Missouri and Kansas the speed limit was 70 on everything except for gravel driveways. I do not like riding my bike that fast, so I continuously ticked off drivers behind me who would then make obscene gestures. The temperature was around 90 which is comfortable on my motorcycle even with the big coat I wear. Unzip the coat halfway so wind can blow in, hold my arms just so , so that wind blows up my sleeves, put my feet up on the highway pegs so wind blows up my pant legs, and keep my knees out (we talked about that already) and it is as good as air conditioning.

My least favorite thing on this trip is trucks. Almost all are in a big hurry. They think that they are king of the road. None of them like me in front of them, and they intimidate me to death. When they pass me the wind that they create with their mass just about blows me off the road. And then there are the cattle trucks!

I can't believe it! Those mosquitos that got into my tent last night bit me on my bald spot, and because that is such a "small" area, there were a bunch of bites in a very small area and today while I was riding they were itching like crazy under my helmet. I am sure I looked funny trying to ride my bike with one hand and putting my other hand on the top of my helmet scooting it all around to scratch my head. I am not sure why God created mosquitos. I think it is part of the curse.

One of the things that I think about while riding is dying. As cars are whizzing past in the other lane 5 to 10 feet away it is easy to think that all I would have to do is not pay attention for a few seconds and I would be dead. The same applies with a car but because I am inclosed, with seat belts and air bags I rarely think the same way. Whenever I think about dying in a motorcycle crash, I think, "What then?" Because of my personal faith in Jesus Christ I have no doubt whatsoever of what would be next. In the Bible it says that Jesus will take away the fear of death for those who trust him. I can sincerely say that I have no fear of death because to die is to go to heaven and that is going to be an unbelievable place. I am going to do all I can to stick around as long as possible even in light of riding a motorcycle 8 hours a day for 30 days straight. I am very much looking forward to going to my eternal home with God because of my faith.

I called Pastor Mike tonight before church and told him not to "mess up." I'm thinking about all of you and praying for you. Please continue to pray for me. I love you, Dee.