Trying to get home

   The boys have had a challenging couple of days.  After I flew home from Sheridan, Wyoming, they headed toward Rapid City, SD.  They ran into thunderstorms and had to stop in Spearfish, SD to wait out the storm.  Because of this, they were unable to get into any trouble (or have any fun) in Sturgis and had to hurry on in to Rapid City.  This morning they stopped at Mt. Rushmore, but then spent the afternoon dodging thunderstorms trying to make it to Cheyenne, Wyoming.  They just called from Torrington, Wyoming and are stuck there for the night.  Too many storms in front of them.  

   Looks like I picked the right time to exit the "adventure."  

4000 Miles and I'm done

   Finished my last ride today across the Bighorn National Forest into Sheridan Wyoming.  Just past the top of the pass, we hit the 4000 mile mark in our ride.  The guys are continuing on to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore and then they are headed for home.  They will add approximately 750 more miles before they arrive in Denver and trailer the bikes home.
   I am flying a "puddle jumper" to Denver and then home and will be back in Oklahoma by 1 p.m. tomorrow, before they even hit the Dakotas.  You gotta love flying!  (We'll see if I say that after my flight tomorrow morning.  I'm not looking forward to climbing in a tiny plane.)
  Here are a few final pics from today's journey.  

   Now, I didn't really have a problem with strapping this small bison to the bike for a 300 mile ride today, but I was hoping that we didn't pass any on the road.  I didn't want to have one following us!  Is it wrong that we have all eaten bison meat within the last 24 hours?  

   

This was taken at our 4000th mile!  

   If Jerry and the boys keep me updated, I will try to post a few final times.  

Wild Animals . . .

   It's good to be back in touch.  Can you believe that we have no internet service here at the Old Faithful Inn?  Something about "enjoying the outdoors" and "disconnecting from the world."  Hmmn, I for one am perfectly capable of enjoying nature and still using the internet, both in the same day.  I have foiled their plans and found a place called the Snow Lodge, which has internet service by the hour.  I'm trying to type fast . . .

   Here are the links to yesterday's and today's photos.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151661441422456.1073741840.677627455&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151661450537456.1073741841.677627455&type=3

   We have had a great two days, and have already seen a black bear, quite a few bison, some elk, assorted chipmunks and squirrels, and a large amount of tourists, most of them carrying extremely large cameras.  We apparently had a bison pass quite close to our parking spot last night.

 

   Of course, the Hurley family has been behaving in its usual dignified manner.

   Almost forgot to mention, the ravens here are about the size of condors.

    A few parting shots -

Everywhere we rode today, the rangers said, "Yesterday, there were several hundred of the bison on the roads."  God is keeping us safe.  We only had to ride through about two dozen and they are MASSIVE.

   Tomorrow is my last day on the road with the boys and we are going to try and conquer the Bear Tooth Highway and Pass - apparently a must do for motorcyclists.  

 

"Big Sky Country" comes through

   Here is the link to today's photos:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151658526447456.1073741839.677627455&type=3&uploaded=40

   After riding for a week, and never having a day without at least some rain, it was nice to finally get an entire day where we did not have to put on our rain suits.  Almost the minute we left Washington State behind and entered Idaho, "The Gem State," we had clear skies and an enjoyable ride.  We fell in love for Idaho for the 80 odd miles that we were traveling through on I-90 and then entered Montana.  "The Treasure State" is one of the nicknames for Montana and it also didn't disappoint.  So far we have enjoyed the beautiful blue skies and lack of rain.  We are spending the night in Missoula and will ride to Yellowstone tomorrow.  We are trying to keep an eye on the weather, both along our ride and at home in Oklahoma.  It has certainly been a volatile spring and we are praying for safe travels and good weather for the rest of our ride and an end to the rain and storms to aid the cleanup going on in Oklahoma.  

   Finally got Jerry in a compromising picture today for all his friends at LifeChurch.tv.  We had been seeing these signs along the highway advertising one of those MUST STOP destinations.  This one said "See 50,000 in Silver Dollars."  Out of curiosity we stopped and the place had a gift shop, restaurant, etc. along with a bar where they actually had 50,000 + in silver dollars.  I went to the bathroom and when I came out . . . look where I found Jerry.  ha ha  I know that I'm pretty fortunate if that's the most "compromising" place that I can catch him. :-)

Here is another photo of the "Silver Dollar" collection.  It was actually pretty cool looking.  

Here are a few photos of the beautiful skies of Idaho and Montana.

   Thankfully, the beauty of the skies offset Jerry and the boys singing a modified version of "99 bottles of beer"  The words went something like "99 miles of road to drive, 99 miles of road, Drive real fast and the mile will pass, 98 miles of road to drive."  

    I kept thinking of my employer, Margaret.  (Who by the way, along with her son Matt, my other "boss", were VERY generous in allowing me to miss so much time from work.)  Anyway, Margaret kept asking me "Now, explain to me why you are going on this trip."  At the moment today, when they were all singing that ridiculous song, I thought to myself "Margaret, I don't know why I came."  ha ha 

   Off to Yellowstone, I can't wait . . . 

 

The Donner Party and "Making Memories"

   Today, Jessica (the smart one on the trip) left us to return home to OKC.  They let us back into the country (with no strip searches) and we once again entered the beautiful state of Washington, or as I refer to it "that cold, wet, miserable, rainy state of Washington."
   Here is the link to today's pics - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151656946787456.1073741838.677627455&type=3

Travel tip #1:
   When mountains look like this . . . they are safe to travel in.

The Cascade Mountains are lovely, aren't they?

Travel tip #2:
When mountains look like this . . . you should begin to rethink your plans.

Travel tip #3:
Visibility of less than 50 yards when driving is unsafe.  Adding snow, sleet, rain, and a motorcycle to those conditions is insane.

I was unable to further document the trip down the eastern side of the Cascades, my new Wal-Mart camera was not up to the conditions.

   The readers of this blog will not be able to hear any further details of today's ride.  You will have to seek out one of the other participants in the ride and ask them to tell you the story.
   I will speak of this day no more.  I have put it in the recesses of my mind, never to be brought forth.

Continuing the Journey

   We are still keeping tuned to what is happening back home, but as we continue our journey, we hope that you don't find it insensitive that we continue to record our trip here on this blog.  The idea of posting a travel blog was an idea suggested to me by several people as a way to share our journey, but the thing that convinced me to do this was the fact that it would force me to document things along the way.  I'm looking forward to having this record of the journey to share with my family for years to come.  In light of that, I hope you will know the spirit in which it is written and know that Oklahoma is never far from our thoughts.
   I have posted pictures from the last two days on Jerry's facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?  set=a.10151655456497456.1073741837.677627455&type=3&uploaded=121
 
   I have been cold and wet for most of the past two days, and am looking forward to leaving the Pacific northwest.  We had been asking ourselves, how could anyone choose to live here, with the overcast, rainy cold weather.  Today, Zach and Jess overheard someone talking about Oklahoma.  They were saying "How could anyone choose to live there?"  I guess it is all perspective.

   We did get some sun while we were on Vancouver Island.  I just had to include this funny shot.  We were walking to Chinatown in Victoria and had to pass a few blocks of less than desirable businesses.  Jerry and I crossed the street and motioned for the kids to follow us.  (They were about 1/2 a block behind.)  As they were crossing the street, I noticed the business name in the background.  I yelled that I was going to take a picture to post on the blog, and Zach and Jessica sprinted out of the picture.  Josh was left as the only one in this "compromising" photo.

   Other than this one "shady" street, Victoria, BC is really beautiful.  I think this is a hotel.  I would love to stay there. 

Later, on the ferry to Vancouver, we were sailing through a picturesque passage between two islands.  I took this shot.  A little while later, I went to find the rest of the family . . . 

Found them playing "Go Fish"  

   Annette -  "Have you been down here the entire time?"  

   Jerry - "Yes, we've been playing cards."

   Annette - "Jerry, we've been passing some beautiful scenery, have you not been looking outside?"

   Jerry - "No, we've been concentrating on our card game."

   Annette - "You've got to be kidding me."

   Jerry (sensing that he may be in a little trouble) - "But, we've been enjoying the scenery in our peripheral vision."  

   Did you notice that he has dragged our new daughter in law Jessica into his gang?

   Here are a few more shots from the last two days for those of you not able to access Jerry's facebook photos.  

This is for my friend, Benji, who works for the postal service.  She better get to work on those Oklahoma mailboxes.  They just don't measure up!

I didn't even know that Canada had submarines, but this little one was steaming out of Victoria Harbor.  

Broken Hearted for Oklahoma

   I am really not in the mood to post any pictures.  We were so sad to hear the news from home about the loss of life in today's tornado.  It is just surreal to be here and only hear bits and pieces of the story.  I have talked to Erin and she has updated me a few times, but it is so different being in a location where the focus is not on what has happened in Oklahoma.  The news here is not really covering the story much, though we have read some of the online coverage.  I was really shocked when Jessica and Zach showed me the reaction of what I'm sure is just a few Seattle natives - talking about how they hoped that the basketball stadium was destroyed.  Isn't it hard to believe that even a few people would focus on their feelings about the Supersonics leaving Seattle and not focus on the lives that were lost and the loss of property?
   On our way to Canada tomorrow.  We will update you from there.

Sea Lions, Seals, and a Parade

  A lot of mixed emotions today knowing that all of our Oklahoma friends and family were experiencing tornadoes, while we were out enjoying our vacation.  We felt particularly bad that our daughter Erin was home alone having to "hunker down" as Gary England would say, and that we couldn't be there with her.  Our prayers go out to all of the people affected by today's tornadoes.
  We had another cold, but not wet day here on the Oregon coast.  I guess it's the moisture in the air, but I sure do feel extra cold here.  We are near the site where Lewis and Clark camped and I can't even imagine the cold, wet misery that they endured when they first arrived here and lived with little or no protection from the elements while building their winter encampment..  I have on every layer that I brought on the trip and still feel cold at times.
   Here is the link to today's photos:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151652161197456.1073741836.677627455&type=3&uploaded=77 
   We were really blessed today to be able to experience some firsts for us.  We saw a huge group of sea lions near the start of the day, and as I sit here typing, I am accompanied by the barking of about 40 harbor seals that are sitting on a jetty outside of our hotel here on the Columbia River.

   Strangest moment of the day - we rumbled into Florence, Oregon and found ourselves smack in the middle of a parade.  We laughed as we proceeded down the crowd lined streets, right in the middle of the festivities, which were taking place on the other side of the dotted line.  Then, just to add more chaos, an army convoy passed us.  It was quite exciting.  When we passed the Shriners doing their figure eights on the other side of the road, we were tempted to attempt a few maneuvers on our side of the road, but thought better of it.

      Tomorrow, we cross the Columbia River and begin our ride up the Washington coast.
   Hoping and praying that the storms subside in Oklahoma.  I'll leave you with this photo of the sun beginning to set over the mouth of the Columbia River.

Who'll Stop The Rain

   My boss had told me that it rains a lot in Oregon.  She was right.  It started raining about 20 miles south of the California/Oregon border today and is still raining as I type this at 7:30 p.m. in Coos Bay/North Bend, Oregon.  Something about the weather here just chills you to the bone.  Thanks to Zach, we actually broke out the rain gear about a mile before the rain started.  Our usual procedure is to continue to discuss how much rain is or isn't coming until it's too late and we ride directly into a thunderstorm.  This time, we "bit the bullet," pulled over by the side of the highway and donned our rain gear just in the nick of time.
   I kept my camera protected from the rain and mist most of the day, but I still managed to take a few pictures.  I'll add them to the blog later.  Right now, I'm sitting in the laundry room at our hotel, trying to get all of our laundry done with one washer and two dryers and I forgot to bring the memory card from my camera with me.
   Remember how we saw the "Bigfoot" gift shop yesterday?  Not to worry, we had another highlight today.  A huge Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, complete with gift store.  Had we not just stopped to stretch our legs at another location, it would have probably been a "must see."
   Just in case you're keeping track of the bizarre things that we have seen, you can add:  an ostrich, an emu, and a peacock just walking down the side of the road.
   As for northern California, I couldn't begin to list the strange things that we saw alongside the road today.  Must be something in the air.  Eureka, California was probably the strangest town that we passed through.  A lot of strange people there and a mall that had a Wal-Mart as one of the main anchor stores.
   More Redwood Forests and beautiful coastline today.  Looking forward to seeing some more new sights tomorrow.

   Here are the pics from today:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151650361562456.1073741834.677627455&type=3&uploaded=15

The Longest Day

   Made it out of San Francisco in one piece, the traffic wasn't even as bad as we expected.  Then we followed Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway.  A VERY long day.  The twists and turns, and cliff drop offs made the guys a little tense, and everyone was pretty tired when we finally got off the bikes a few hours ago.  Here are the pics from today's ride:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151648777352456.1073741833.677627455&type=3&uploaded=86 

   It was a really windy day, and I had a hard time capturing a great shot of the beautiful coast line.  Here are a couple of photos from the day:

                                                            

Because we were on motorcycles, the kind folks that own the piece of land that this tree is on, only charged us $3 per motorcycle to drive through.  Cars have to pay $5.

Don't you think that they should have charged this guy a few dollars more.  He was determined and finally made it through.  

For those of you concerned about where to find Bigfoot, you can rest easy.  He is in California, and we have a nice gift shop to prove it.  

   One of our gas stops today proved interesting.  We ended up in a 'sketchy' town, I don't even remember the name.  Here are a couple of pictures of the bathroom we had to use.  

    Anyway, Jerry goes in to use the restroom and ends up leaving his Iphone inside.  He realizes it a few minutes later while we are still at the gas pumps, but just as he heads toward the bathroom, another gentleman steps in.  We had a feeling that the person was going to try and take Jerry's phone, so we gathered around in our leather jackets and waited right outside the door for the guy to come out.  Jerry told me to have my phone ready to call his number in case the guy tried to say that he didn't have the phone.
   The door opens and the guy steps out and looks a little startled to see us standing there. (We are so intimidating in our leather jackets!)  Jerry asks him if he saw a phone in the bathroom . . . the guy reaches into his pocket and says "Oh yeah, I was about to turn that into the office."  Hmmn, we will never know, but the good news is, Jerry has his phone.  (As most of you know, we would have had to begin CPR if he had been without it even a few minutes longer than he was.)

   I'm sure there is a lot more to tell, I'm just too tired to remember.  Maybe I'll add some more later.  

I left my calf muscles in San Francisco

   We had a fairly uneventful ride from Oakhurst down into the San Joaquin Valley and then into San Francisco.  It was overcast and sprinkling most of the day so I wasn't able to take any pictures along the way.  Then, the first ones I attempted from the Bay Bridge came out a little below par.  I don't know if I was holding on tighter because of the traffic or the wind, but either way my photography skills suffered.  

   As soon as we arrived we took off on one of my infamous "I don't care what the guidebook says, we are going to see it all" treks.  I have such a strong desire to see as much of a place as possible, that it doesn't matter how few hours I have, I will make the most of them.  Here is what we accomplished in 5 hours:

 Nob Hill, shopping in Chinatown, Little Italy (including a great pizza at Tony's Napolitano Restaurant and of course a stop for gelato,) Insert here - watching Josh take a cab back to the hotel because he does not enjoy my death marches . . . and then we continued on with Washington Square, walking up the steepest hill I have EVER hiked to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, a walk along the Embarcadero, then Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square and a cable car ride past Lombard St. and Russian Hill back to our hotel.  

Here is the link to the rest of today's pics.  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151647259662456.1073741832.677627455&type=3&uploaded=86

Here is the reason why we ate in Little Italy instead of Chinatown:

       My first view of the Golden Gate Bridge.  My sister Liz, was born at a military hospital right near here.

   One of the more antiquated systems I have ever seen.  The cable car gets to the end of the line, where a man has to physically push the padded railing in front of him to turn the car around.  Then another worker joins him and they both use their backs to push the cable car over a hump in the track.  Then once it is facing in the right direction, they s l o w l y load it full of tourists.  Then all of the tourists sit in the car until the ticket taker pushes his way though.  (You may ask "Why didn't they just take your ticket as you were slowly loading? . . . . I have no idea!)  THEN, everyone sits/stands and waits until the preceeding car gets far enough up the cable to safely start and THEN you hold on for dear life while trying to take cool photographs for your blog, because it isn't about the trip anymore, it's all about capturing interesting photos for your blog.  HA HA HA

   Speaking of interesting photos . . . as we were walking along fisherman's wharf, we started to read all of the advertisements for the fishing trips and tours of the bay.  We came across this sign.  Notice the lower left corner where someone has written in PENCIL - $16.

Now, note the actual condition of the boat.  Yes, that's a sofa that looks like it came out of college dorm.  No, it actually looked a lot worse than that.  

I am convinced that this boat is docked there as some type of joke, but Jerry and Zach say it is a legitimate tour.  

   Zach is on  his way to the BART station as I type this.  He is going to the airport to pick up his wife, Jessica.  The airport is down to one runway because of the fog tonight, so she won't arrive until 10:45 p.m.  Tomorrow, we head out across the Golden Gate bridge to begin our trip up the coast.    

   By the way, to my friends Christopher and Jenny in Germany.  You must be lonely in Germany this month. It seems that all of your countrymen are on holiday in the United States.  Das ist gut.  

We are experiencing technical difficulties . . .

   I have heard from a couple of people that they cannot access the links that I am including to see all of the daily pictures on Jerry's facebook account.  Do any of my technical friends have a suggestion? I went into Jerry's facebook and made sure that the albums were set to allow friends to see them, but I'm not sure what else to do.  Please comment if you have a solution.  By the way the "Thunder" are killing me!!!!!  Memphis is up by 4!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is this better, Larry?

   Here is the content of a text message I received yesterday from our best friend Larry -  "Your blog was a little lacking yesterday, we need a little more effort.  We need to feel like we are there with y'all."
   Your point is taken :-), I will try to do much better today. ha ha   First of all, we have a very fast connection here in Oakhurst, California, so here is the link to the rest of Day 3's pics, and Day 4's pics.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151645578132456.1073741830.677627455&type=3&uploaded=79

   By the way, the "Nude Girls" pic was from a spot about 100 miles out in the desert north of Las Vegas.  Really?  Is anyone that desperate?  There was also a "Brothel" sign near the same location.  - Crazy!

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Some funny things the boys said in the last few days . . . They try to keep me entertained.

Driving into Zion National Park in Utah - "Can you believe the Mormons hand carved ALL of this?"

We were entering Yosemite and Zach and I were talking on the radios about Roosevelt's part in influencing the creation of the National Parks . . . Josh says "What the heck does Rosa Parks have to do with Yosemite?"  On this one, he wasn't trying to be funny.


We are driving directly next to a river, probably about 30 yards on our right.  
Jerry - "Oh, look at that gorgeous river!
Zach, trying to be funny - "Where?"
Jerry - "Right there!"  
Annette, trying to be funny - "Where??"
Jerry, the anger and disbelief rising in his voice - "RIGHT THERE!"
Hysterical laughter from the three of us . . . .
Jerry - "I can't believe I fell for that."

A funny discussion on this piece of information.  We discussed Jerry and I picking Zach and Josh up, but the final decision was for them to pick me up.

-- -----------------------
   Today's Ride:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151645646127456.1073741831.677627455&type=3&uploaded=100
   We started the day by putting on every layer of clothing we had to drive over Tioga Pass. (We learned our lesson in the Rockies.) They just finished clearing the snow and opened the pass about 4 days ago.  We loved the drive and I was able to get some great shots with my new camera.  Then we drove into Yosemite Valley.  It was as beautiful as you would expect.  It did surprise me how many people were there.  It's before Memorial Day, and with it being Wednesday, we didn't think that it would be crowded at all.  It was almost to the point that it took away from the experience.  People from all different countries, parents with strollers, hikers, bicyclists . . .everyone rushing around to "experience" the best that nature has to offer.  The campgrounds were literally strewn with tents placed about 3 or 4 feet away from each other.   Our friend Gary, who generously lent us his trailer for this trip, had visited Yosemite with his family.  I remember at the time asking him to tell me about the experience and his first word was "crowded."  I think that he was there in the peak of the summer months.  I cannot even imagine what it was like.
   It seems like this is a real problem that we will continue to face in our National Parks.  We have preserved these beautiful areas of our country so that people can enjoy them, but unfortunately, we have done such a good job and people can now travel so easily, that tourists, both foreign and domestic are coming in droves to experience our parks.  I can't imagine them ever limiting the number of visitors, but it sure looks like that is where we are headed.
   Don't get me wrong, we still really enjoyed the experience.  It has been on my "list" for some time, and I would love to come back and do some more hiking and exploring.
   We stopped on the way to our hotel at another part of Yosemite called Mariposa Grove, which has beautiful giant sequoia trees.  We were too pooped to hike the trails, but did take a few pictures of the ones near the entrance.  Really beautiful.  

--------------------------
   We are settling into a routine, Jerry and the boys go out and "hunt" for dinner, and I prop up my swollen ankles and post the blog in the peace and quiet of the room.  I am trying to drink more water and not use salt, and hoping that now that we are out of the heat, that I won't have to look like a I have a pregnant woman's ankles by the end of every day.
   I am so proud of the boys.  It is amazing to see them work together on the ride.  Jerry takes the lead and calls out any road hazards, etc.  Zach is our "back door" man and lets us know when a car is passing and "takes the lane" for us, by getting over and letting us drift over in front of him whenever we need to change lanes.  Josh rides in the middle and keeps an eye on both of the other two.  A full time job, along with saying the most entertaining things.  I will say that sometimes the topics drift off into weird places, like today when we had a ten minute discussion on why you never choose a urinal that is directly next to someone else.  These are the times that I try to go to my "happy place" and think about Erin and I doing some fun "girl" things together.  ha ha
   I do try to get back at them - today we passed a custom van from Alaska, with two adorable Huskies hanging their heads out the windows.  I snapped a picture, and Josh says "Mom, you can't just squeal "puppies!" and start snapping pictures.  It ruins our image."

   Like I said, I do try to get back at them . . .