Friday 9 December 2016

Trip to Quincy California 2016

Just before we left Tombstone on the Three Flags we had a little entertainment at the Grand Hotel. Local Tombstone Vigilantes came to the Grand and did several skits. At one point they arrested Gonzo and hung him for failure to pay his ladies of the night.
I also forgot to add this lovely photo of a mural in Bisbee
Okay now onto the next trip. I was delight to leave Kimberley in the company of Wayne King and Randy Rosenau from Medicine Hat. We had a great breakfast at Denny's in Cranbrook and shared fun and laughs with other friends. Then we met again at the Tim Horton's in Blairmore. This is what it is all about. Enjoying with good friends.
Now on to Quincy,
Well I arrived home and changed motorcycles and headed south.
I stopped in Ritzville Washington and stayed in a small but adequate little motel, Colwell Motor Inn.
The next day I rode south through the Tri Cities.and on 395 through John Day Oregon. I was thinking of staying in Lakeside Oregon but decided to travel on a few more miles. Just before dark I walked into the Super 8 and they asked if I had reservations. ??? This is a Wednesday. Off season???
Well it seems the town of Alturas was full up. No rooms available and 60 miles down the road in Susanville. Same scenario. Seems there was a Grand Auto Tour and these prewar cars were touring all over the country and everything was full. Okay do you have any campgrounds? Noone knew so I thought I had seen one close to town so I rode back to find an abandoned KOA. All boarded up . No bathrooms. Some abandoned trailers and it was getting dark. So I pitched my tent. Crawled in with some deer keeping an eye on me and slept fitfully through the night. In the morning the deer were still watching over me and I think someone else must have been also. No pictures I'm afraid I just wanted to get out of there. It was early and I really needed a cup of coffee and breakfast but alas nothing was open as I journeyed along. It was cold as the sun rose. I finally decided to just get to Quincy and I headed to my favorite restaurant before I went to the campground to set up.
Best cup of coffee I have had in a long while.
Went to the fairgrounds and set my tent up in my usual spot.
Checked in the next day as I had preregistered.
My friends had saved my place and it was great to see everyone.
Was delighted to find that the stock car races again coincided with our rally and this is such a highlight. For 7.00 dollars one has the best entertainment ever.
The 3 Amigos from B.C.
At the closing ceremonies and again I never one a thing.
Waiting for the races to start.
My dates for the races. The Harkov brothers. Really nice guys from California whose paths cross mine on numerous rallies and BMW events.
Some of the other rally goers who take in the event
This is a real family event and the whole town shows up.
Let the fun begin
Rally over I headed home. The first night I stayed in John Day Oregon at Dreamer's Lodge. It is just off main street and many BMW guys who do not camp stay here at the John Day rally. It is right behind our favorite restaurant so I walked up there for a wonderful dinner. North of John Day the fall colors were beautiful. Wish I could have stopped and got some memories but pullout are gravel and there is very little traffic so I forge on not wanting trouble. I should have stopped earlier as I had traveled many kms but as I got close to the border I thought Cranbrook was not too much further and the motels would be cheaper as there would be no US exchange. So I forged on despite the rain on our side of the border and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the Vacancy sign on my favorite motel.
The Lazy Bear Lodge.
The following morning I got a call from a friend in Cochrane. They had gotten snow and the wind was wicked cold so he thought he would be funny. Do you want to go for a ride he says. Well it seems I am in Cranbrook and yes I am going for a ride so I can get home. Last laugh was on him.
The wind was strong and very cold.
A high spot however was that while I was in Cranbrook I thought of calling friends John and Dorothy Wetherell but decided not to bother them. In Fernie I stopped at the MacDonalds to use their facilities and there sat John and Dorothy. They no longer ride but did up to 2 years ago. They are both now 90 and my heros.
I did stop and get a couple of pictures of the foliage but it was not as beautiful as I had seen the day before.

This is the trip where I would normally have left my bike in Palm Springs to fly down later and enjoy warmer climes but the airfare has gone up so much I just could not do it this year. So today it is -21C and I am wishing I was south with my friends in California.
Did a couple of rides after I got home. Several of us went over the Highwood Pass and then a few weeks later we rode to Wayne Alberta near Drumheller and went to the Last Chance Saloon for lunch.
Top of the Highwood Pass. There is snow in them thar hills.

Carol, Karl and Doug
The bikes are all put away and the trickles chargers on on them. We rode late into November so deem ourselves lucky but definitely no 2 wheels now.











3 Flags 2016

I left off my last episode leaving Tombstone Arizona and traveled the first leg to Purgatory. Kind of ironic. Purgatory was up the mountain at a ski hill north of Durango. Not that nice as we had trouble finding the checkpoint in Aztec New Mexico so it was dark when we arrived and we had trouble finding our room which gave credence to the name Purgatory.
It turned out to be a Condo and because Gord booked it we gave him the king size bed in the bedroom, I took the pullout sofa in the living room and Nowell slept on the couch cushions in the dining room. Hey whatever works. The next morning we headed out. Cold through the mountains as we were at high elevation. Beautiful scenery. Went to the lovely little town of Ouray and were thinking of stopping for lunch but it was so busy with tourists decided to forego and headed north. Stopped in Montrose as did a few others on the ride. Great little restaurant. Then we headed for the Harley dealer in Green River Wyoming. We traveled through the Flaming Gorge which is a really beautiful ride that I have done before several times. Checked in at the checkpoint and then continued on to Rock Springs. It started to rain so we found a motel. La Quinta. Kind of tight as we put a cot in. As I explained to the clerk 3 adults and none of us sleep together.... Once we got a room we went to Appleby's close by for supper and while we were there enjoyed this gorgeous double rainbow.
The La Quinta was looong. From the reception to our room was this hallway.
That is Gord part way down. And our room was at the far end. That is not a mirror, this hall went on forever.
The next morning it was still cool and damp and the road was straight and nothing for miles. We headed for West Yellowstone and stopped at a Denny's for a bite to eat. It was so busy we ended up hopping into a fast food place next door. So far not to bad but as we headed north it started to rain. It was cold and wet and I had not put that extra spray of wet proof on my boots. We stopped at Wheat Montana west of Bozeman and after nourishment and a little bit of heat headed towards Helena.
The checkpoint closed at 7:00 and we arrived at 10 minutes to. I had texted my friend Annie who was manning the checkpoint and said hold on I am coming. She texted back..I wonder how many men have heard that line? The motel was full because everyone who was going to go on didn't so Annie insisted we stay at their place. It is several miles north of Helena and would have been great had the rain stopped and we had to go back and then west. We went for breakfast at Denny's in Helena and headed west over MacDonald Pass. When we stopped in Seeley Lake for fuel. I actually changed my socks. My feet were very cold and wet. The rain lightened up as we headed north but it was still drizzling and cold. We crossed at Rooseville and with the holiday traffic it was quite an ordeal. 
We made it. Nowell , myself and Gord. Here we are with our belt buckles. I did not want to get back on the bike. Nowell had a place downtown and Gord had a place somewhere up the hill. I found out they still had rooms and paid $149.00. I ended up having to go a few blocks and ride into the underground parking and then found out I did not have a room. I had a condo. Kind of lonely kicking around all by myself but I even got my laundry done and managed to slip in a little hot tub time with Miles.

Had dinner at Montanas in the hotel. These 2 were some of the organizers of the 3 Flags. Rodney Chew was the chair. The next day we had a gorgeous breakfast put on for us and that evening a great banquet.

My room was the windows on the second floor next to the balconys. Just gorgeous and this was my view.
Next trip is to Quincy California and back. Hopefully I get at it soon.