Leo's work gave everyone Thursday and Friday off for Independence Day. Since I didn't have such a luxuriously long weekend, we agreed that he and Leela should have their first road trip together, and I'd get some work done around the house, and keep the girls entertained. What I feel for my fiber arts, Leo feels for exploration and doing so on bike is all the more exhilarating.
He brought the camera along and took some amazing shots, whenever he had a chance to park the bike. It was drizzly but nothing to keep him from enjoying the scenery.
It's hard to believe all his stuff fit in two saddle bags and a little net on the back of the bike, but the man knows how to rough it in style.
He says those yellow flowers were incredibly fragrant. I know nothing about flora but it sure looks pretty.
Leo spent his second night near big foot. He's obviously a fan of fun fur.
After a rainy night, Leo got everything packed up for a leisurely ride home.
Unfortunately, the rain was unrelenting. By hour 6, of his drive home, he was starting to feel a little sorry for himself.
Boy, was I glad I let him go solo.
Anyway, all in all, it was a pretty great trip and he scoped out a bunch of great spots for future camping events for the 4 of us. If you are curious, here's the approximately 600 mile drive he did.
If you want to see all his pictures, you can see the Flickr set here.
It is the Olympic "rain"forest, ha ha. I have been up in that area as my husband and I (and our first daughter) took a road trip up there. Our favorite places is Neah Bay, we went to the most Northwest corner of the lower 48 states. You have to get a permit from the local Indian tribe. We also got fresh smoked salmon there.
Then we drove down and stayed several days at Kalaloch Lodge. It is gorgeous. I guess we were lucky though we had a room in the lodge that you could see the ocean. We heard kitchen noise, but it wasn't that bad. After reading of some reviews on tripadviser.com, I have realized we probably got one of the better rooms.
Wow, looks like a fantastic trip, rain and all!!
The yellow flowers are 'Scotch Broom' and yes they are terribly fragrant. They are also the cause of lots of allergy reactions.
Years ago they had them planted down the middle of the I-5 corridor of Oregon and Washington. They finally correlated the causes of accidents during the spring and summer due to people sneezing from them and then had to rip them out.
They are a non-native plant. Someone long ago missed them from home in Scotland and brought them here - damn weed.
Back in the 80's when I owned a motorcycle, I used to go camping on it. I had a small rear rack, and I could strap everything to it and head to the mountains. :) Good times.
However, I also did my share of driving in the rain. Worst case was when I was coming back from the Georgia coast (about 4.5 hours), with rain almost the whole way back. I got a late start, so part of that was in the rain, in the DARK.
Not recommended. I was so tired when I got back to my parents' house, I could barely climb off the bike.
That was also when I learned how helpful it would have been if I'd had a throttle lock. My right forearm was sore for days. :) Keeping that throttle cranked open for hours at a stretch is TIRING!
Looks like quite an adventure....but how cool that you have new places to go back to...scoping out good campsites ahead of time is a great idea!!
Love seeing the Scotch Broom too....even if it is an invasive bush!
That picture of the water and mountain in the background is gorgeous. What a great place to camp!
I also like the pouty faced picture, how cute! ;-Þ
I'm glad to know he wears a helmet in his biking travels. I'm always amazed at the number of bikers I see on the road who do not wear helmets!
Wow he covered alot of ground. He must have followed the rain course to get that much rain all weekend. Poor guy.
He also got some great photos.
Holy moly, that was quite a trip! At least you didn't have to get soggy. ;) Oh and just so you know (like this will come as a shock) my dog feels the exact same way about the 4th as yours. :p
it looks like he had fun! the photo of big foot is too funny. i'm not terribly familiar with the route, but i do love the area around olympic national park. have fun camping!
Looks like a great trip. I can almost smell the cool, damp, fragrant air. I've always wanted to visit the Olympic Peninsula. Did you see the story on 60 Minutes about the only place that is completely quiet ids there? There is nothing like camping out - even if it's drizzly. But I think my arthritis wouldn't let me - the Kalaloch Lodge looks like a great alternative.
That's some serious drivin'! Apart from the rain (but, come on, you're on the West coast. I'm in Britain and even I know it rains there!) it looked like a fun journey
What a great trip! The peninsula is such a special place, so many beautiful spots. I feel a bit bad for Leo getting rained on, but I think it's somewhat expected since he rode right through two rainforests! I hope you get there soon, you and the pups will love the beaches, mountains and forests.
Eeek... big foot!
Wish we could travel with Leo!
I went motorcycle camping over the weekend too!! I went with a group of friends from southern Maryland up to northern Pennsylvania, about 700 mile round trip. We had rain too. Our tents went up in the rain Thursday, but the rest of the weekend was dry and warm. Our next rain encounter was on the ride home, just as we got on the DC beltway there was a torrential downpour, with hail!!
Motorcycle camping is the best! And I took knitting with me!!
The route and the ride look fantastic, but Leo's pouty mug steals the show!
Hope he waved at my mom on his way through Olympia!
It never ceases to amaze me what guys will do. On purpose.
Then I look at a pile of yarn and think it'll make something.
Maybe the crazy goes both ways.
Naaaaaaahhhhhhh.