Category: Travel Blog

Keep Going, Suffocation Is Normal.

Leave a comment

I didn’t make it to Lewiston yesterday and I didn’t make it there today either. I did, however, get over the Lolo Pass.

I went to Arlee yesterday to visit the 1000 Budda Garden. It was already smokey and hot as hell by noon. I stopped and had a good chat and some food at Hangin’ Art… But I was feeling off. I was dragging the whole day and right as I was about to get on the pass I started feeling sick. I decided to call it a day. I stayed at the amazing Square Dance campground in Lolo.

Today I went over the pass and it was pretty wrecked. Lots of construction. Not a lot of places to stop on my side of the road. I think if you’re heading from Idaho to Montana you get a better deal in general. I was stuck in there for about five hours. Hot and smokey, my friends. It was another hour and a half to Lewiston. After talking to a cryptic gas attendant named “Rusty” about places to stop near by, I headed by to the KOA I passed right as I entered the Nez Perce reservation.

Deep West: An Update

Leave a comment

There is a lot I haven’t written about from the last week. I’ll try and write it all up soon. Trying to keep on top of my blog and anything else “normal life” related has been pretty difficult. The important thing is that I’m ok and doing fine. That’s why you’re reading this… Probably.

I’m in Missoula, MT. I’m at a very fancy KOA. This is my third day in Montana. Places all around here have been on fire. It’s more windy than I expected and apparently that plays into the whole fire-season thing. I’ll be crossing the Lolo Pass tomorrow and stopping in Walla Walla, WA. I’m excited to get a souvenir from there, because I feel like I’ve been hearing jokes about Walla Walla, WA since I was a kid.

I guess I barely stopped to take any pictures today, because this is my only on-the-road picture. I normally try to take pictures at least at every gas station I stop at.

Day 10(?): I’ll be better at this, I swear

Leave a comment

Leaving Dubuque, IA for Lacrosse, WI.

I stayed at the Richard House last night.

I needed to find a place to sit and figure out where to go next, so I went into the Dubuque arboretum.

I figured I’d look around and then draw some plants, but I ended up meeting a bunch of sweet older folks and chatting instead. The ladies painting group, “The Broad Strokes”, let me sit in on their session. I ended up speaking to the husband (a former Navy pilot and professional motorcycle tour guide) of one of the ladies about where to head next. Everybody there was so genuine and kind and very happy to meet me, which I was so tickled by. I didn’t get to see much of the arboretum, but it was an interesting time for sure.

I ended up staying at a campsite near the Mississippi. The drive to Lacrosse was beautiful.

Day One-ish: Maryland and Pennsylvania

Leave a comment

I got out on the road kind of late, but it didn’t really matter. Some how it took me about three and a half hours to get up to Hereford. I stopped in Monkton for “dinner” which was, and will probably continue to be, jerky and dried fruit. Once I was getting closer to Lancaster I started seeing some really cool stuff. Like this hotel that’s shaped like a steamboat.

Anyone who’s been to Bird-In-Hand or Intercourse PA, knows that the area is both very pastoral and full of Amish-based entertainment. Lots beautiful cows, little goats hopping around, and draft horses pulling things. Also, lot of people staying in hotels so they could get some rest after watching and buying things from Amish people all day. I saw a very spirited party going on at one local homes. Children were running around in the dark and the parents were sitting around a big fire. It was kind of like looking to a different reality. I snuck into a KOA and set my hammock up in the dark.

I guess it was an area that was sort of not available to the general public because no one else was in that section and it wasn’t on the KOA map. Fireworks and gunfire around dusk, but everything calmed down pretty fast. I thought being away from the other campers wouldn’t bother me that much, but then I heard the tree limbs breaking… Nothing came of it, but it freaked me out enough to lie awake, afraid a bear would be coming out of the woods.

I’m heading to Roadside America now, and it’s raining off and on. There should be some pictures of little towns coming up soon.

Travel Blog

Leave a comment

Hi! I’m going on a cross-country motorcycle trip and I’m going to try and keep track of all the things I see and do. I’m not always the best at chronicling my life as it’s happening, but as this is a way for people to know that I got to where I’m supposed to be, I’ll try and be as consistent as possible.

I did a test ride yesterday to see how heavy the bike could/should be while I was riding. It was tough. I purposely over-packed (100-120lbs of extra weight) and, man alive! I am hurting today. The bike also seemed to be struggling with all the weight. I’m going to try and take it down 20-30 lbs and see how it feels then.

I’m very excited to head out this week. To just keep going without having to worry about getting back for anything… I seems like a dream.