Vancouver, BC
Oct 14 - Nov 29, 2003
Our stay in Vancouver was intended as a "rest period" and we knew the
weather wouldn't be ideal so we had no travel plans for this stopover.
This was fortunate as we alternated between flooding and freezing as freak
weather hit the west coast. We took in a couple of Dog Shows to check out
a few breeds in preparation for getting another dog after this trip; we
went to the Christmas House Tour; we had a nice trip to Horseshoe Bay and
had brunch at one of our favourite restaurants - the Boathouse; and we
met up with a great group from the Dualsport Riders Club of BC. They
took me on a ride to Harrison Lake, and we met with them several times
socially. Our thanks go to their President, Tom Timmerman, for the great
hospitality and invites to his home for dinner. One thing about motorcycling
is that it seems to form an immediate bond between like-minded individuals.
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The Island ferry at Horseshoe
Bay, and brunch at The Boathouse.
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Dualsport BC ride to Harrison
Lake, and the washout bridge
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Christmas House tour
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Drive from Vancouver to Las Vegas
Nov 30 - Dec 5, 2003
We decided to cut short our two month stay in Vancouver and head
south for nicer weather. The weather was a bit iffy in Oregon
and the Siskiyou Pass at the Oregon/California state line was restricted
to vehicles with chains, so we took I-5 to Grants Pass and then headed
for the California coast at Crescent City. This route took us close
to Oregon Caves National Park so we diverted to it. The timing was
perfect - it was their last day of operation and we got a personal guided
tour of the underground caverns. December on the coast is unpredictable,
but we had good weather all the way to L.A., despite gloomy forecasts of
rain. On our first visit to Monterey, we didn't know Laguna Seca had an
RV Park until after we'd checked in at Moss Landing so we took the opportunity
to stay there a couple of nights. Track-day (public practice) sessions
were on both days and we could just wander around the racetrack and the
pits to watch the action - what a beautiful sound those Ducati V-twins
have! Pinnacles National Park was nearby so we went for a hike there,
and then visited Carmel-by-the-Sea again. Continuing the trip, we stayed
on Hwy 1 all the way to Los Angeles and then headed for Las Vegas, staying
overnight at Acton, CA. The RV park was close to the Angeles National
Forest so I took a quick ride into the mountains before heading to Vegas
later that day. 1700 miles in 5 days - that's a leisurely pace for us!
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Limestone formations in Oregon
Caves.
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Sunrise at Laguna Seca, and
the early morning mist.
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Hiking at Pinnacles National
Park
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Hwy 1 near Big Sur
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Early morning ride in Angeles
NF
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Las Vegas, NV
Dec 5 - 12, 2003
Ken and Lynn were holidaying in Las Vegas from Dec 5 - 14 so we decided
to detour on our way to Tucson and join them. They've
been going to Vegas once or twice a year for the last 15 years so we couldn't
ask for better guides to show us the sights. While we were there,
Sandy went shopping with Lynn a couple of times and that gave me the chance
to visit the Auto Museum with Ken and to take a couple of bike rides. In
general, the roads around LV are too straight to be interesting for bike
rides, but the exception was the road through Lake Mead Recreation Area
to the Valley of Fire - great ride!
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Paris Casino
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Ken's favourite cars in the
Auto Museum
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The road to the Valley of Fire
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Death
Valley, NV
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You could get bored to Death
(Valley)
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Arriving at Death Valley
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Dante's Peak is 5600' above
the valley floor
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Nearing the lowest point in
the US
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Coloured deposits along Artists
Drive
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Next stop Tucson, AZ ...
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