BMW Rally Republic, Washington

I arrived Friday and got my tent situated before dinner. Unfortunately dinner was very disorganized and we waited in line for an hour and the meal was A piece of BBQ chicken, Reesers potato salad and beans. It was  sufficient and I felt sorry for the caterers as they seemed so unprepared. They had a live band on Sat night but many just sat in their little groups and visited. Turk..my friend from Borrego Springs was camped next to me and Bob Bivalet from Orcas Island was there. As well as Duncan from Salmon Arm. Doug and Marlene Nault who used to live in Calgary and now hale from Crawford Bay were there also. El and her husband who were at the Lunatic Fringe Rally from Colorado were also there. What a diverse bunch and what an interesting time. When you arrive you have to sign up if you think you are eligible for any awards.

I did not So happily a woman 3 years younger than I won Oldest female to ride her bike to the rally. For some reason it is not an award I want to win. Instead I won the 50/50 for 180.00. Much nicer. The next day I packed up reluctantly to head home and decided to treat myself to a motel in Libby, Montana. A wonderful couple from Georgia pulled in next to me and we had dinner and shared stories of our journies. They were coming from the CMA International rally in Moses Lake. That it truly what this motorcycling journey is all about.

UMCI Rally John Day, Oregon

On Sunday July 17 I headed out early for Rathdrum, Idaho where I was to meet up with friends and continue on to John Day the next day. Billie and Dave welcomed everyone and had a great BBQ that evening. Everyone pitched in and we had a wonderful time. The next morning we met our fearless leader Scotty 84 years young at a restaurant in Post Falls Idaho. There were 9 motorcycles in all with 6 being bikes and sidecars. We traveled south without mishap except Scotty made a wrong turn in the Tri Cities area which is not hard to do and we all had a much welcomed rest in a park along the river. Ann Odell said once we left Rathdrum it would be baldheaded prairie all the way...Except once we turned off the Interstate on 395 we went over 5 mountain pases with twists and turns galore...Some bald headed prairie!

Beautiful little town. No wonder so many motorcycle rallies are held here. We had 147 in attendance with the furthest away being from Portland, Ontario. I was delegated to do 1/2 hour of jokes at the banquet as entertainment. It is so good to enjoy the camadarie of all ones friends. There were several rides but the only one I took was to the John Day Fossil Beds and museum. What a diverse region and so different from our Drumheller. In my quest to find someone to share my retirement gift with I was bugging Ron Pratt from La Ronge if he was ready for his audition yet. Finally at the banquet he said he was ready but I would need 4 cotton balls..I finally asked what for? He responded 2 for my nose and 2 for my ears. I can't stand the smell of burning rubber or screaming women. And on that note I left on Friday AM to head out for Republic Washington to the BMW rally there! ALONE! I negotiated all the twists and turns heading the opposite direction on 395. No problem but I only met about 6 cars in 150 miles til I reached the Interstate. I was a little freaked out by the mention of the tight turns on Hwy 21 down to the Keller ferry. Your traveling along in this flat farmland and then all of a sudden the bottom drops out and you wind your way down to the ferry, Again I was all alone but I managed just fine and arrived in John Day early Friday afternoon.

BMW rally

Our BMW Lunatic Fringe Rally was down in numbers this year with only 40 attendees but it was fun and lots of great people to meet and old friends to greet. I went for a ride with Roy Sidebottom up the forestry road til the pavement ran out, It had been many years since I traveled this route and it was beautiful and brought back lots of memories. A large group went to a car show in Calgary with David Shipley leading and the 3 from Minnesota went to the Columbia Ice Fields.

Motorcycle trip to UMCI rally in John Day Oregon July 11/2011

Friday July11   Packed and starting out for the Lunatic Fringe Rally at the Beaupre Community Hall west of Cochrane. Who will be there? What new friends will I meet and what old friends will I become reacquainted with?