This is the final route we took, all 3600 miles of it

Google map of the route can be found here

Today was the day we left Ken and Penny’s aka paradise. We had a lovely time and if Ken and Penny are reading, Phil and I would like to thank them again for a fantastic time. It goes without saying that we will never reveal the true location of paradise

Ken helpfully pointed out the fact that the pannier is barely shutting!

Let this be a warning to you kids!

Sadly after two days paradise we were due some bad karma from Mother Nature. It rained from the moment we left Ken’s drive. It rained freezing cold drops at first followed by harsh icy hail stones. Phil and I were half tempted turn back to paradise… but we pursued, and it was worth it. Once we’d reached the Interstate 90 it was all dry and looking up again.

Despite it being dry Phil and I were still soaked and tired from the morning’s struggle. The big sign of a Hooters was just the excuse we needed to stop of for some America’s finest… food. Our waitress was… well nice… to quote Phil… lovely t*** shame about the rest. I guess this is a boys holiday so it’s allowed.

Boys being boys… only in America though!

This was Phil’s view on the Hooters experience

We followed the 90 until we got to Ellensburg and then headed south on the 82. Just before Ellensburg we stopped off at Moses Lake. Quite a view…

Lake Moses, Washington

We finally ended up in Yakima just an hour away from Portland. More adventure tomorrow…

Another day with beautiful weather in paradise. That is what we’ve nick named Ken and Penny’s place. Not that they want us to tell you that, but there you go. Something to do with people moving here and over crowding the place ;).

We kicked off today by earning our keep. One of Ken’s new toys is a hoist for big vehicles. In his case it’s the motor home. It’s hydrolic and very snazzy all-round.

The hoist we helped construct

In the afternoon we headed into town to find me some authentic cowboy boots. Yeah right! Thompson Falls has one hardware store and a second hand shop, that’s about it. I did manage to pick up a few gifts though (Soundtrack createur Phil Bourdon is now covered!). I also managed to buy a cowboy hat that I’m pretty pleased with. Photos to follow soon…. jokes, comments and general abuse will be welcomed.

On the way to Thompson Falls Ken was kind enough to give us a tour of the area including the road that TomTom was asking us to take. See for yourself… never trust TomTom!!!

A dead end… literally!

The road in question

After a quick bite to eat we headed back to paradise to clean the water filter from Ken’s pump. As Ken has a river (he maintains it’s a stream), it is easier to pump water for the garden from the river. During heavy rains the river gets dirty and clogs up the pump on a regular basis and needs to be cleaned. While down there we had a bit of fun with the dogs in the water. As you can see for yourself, I couldn’t resist the temptation of crossing it

Me being stupid…

This morning I was greeted with a loud “Wake Up Ben” outside of my door. Ken was seemingly keen to get some sports in before lunchtime. A quick shower and shave later I was ready for action

Today was the first full day at Ken’s in Thompson Falls, Montana. A place we are planning to stay at until Sunday morning.

About 14 years ago my family and I visited Ken and Penny when they still lived in California. I remember Ken being a gentle giant with gadgets, a mad man and someone who kept checking the “prop” (it took a while for me to work out what it meant).

In the time past things haven’t really changed. The toys are just bigger and better It was Erwin Honegger (another family friend) that coined the phrased Ken Sports, after he decided Ken’s love for crazy sports was just too much and thus branded it Ken Sports and to this day maintains “sports with Ken are dangerous”.

Ben’s little intro to the day

We started off the morning by off-roading with his ATV four-wheeler and motocross bike around his property. Clearly very proud of this new home, he showed us where the land started and ended. Lets just say it wasn’t exactly small! It has a lovely stream, space for two huge ponds and plenty of woodland to go off-roading.

Ben and Ken ready to head out (Ken on dirt bike, Ben on ATV)

We then headed off up a dirt track with his Rubicon Jeep which was to take us up to the top of one of the mountains that overlooks his property. Unfortunately we didn’t quite get to the top because some of the trees that fell during a huge storm hadn’t been cleared away yet. As Ken pointed out, there wasn’t really any reason for the trees to have been cleared yet, nobody had been this far up the mountain this year. It was covered in snow until a few weeks ago Virgin territory as he called it!

The fallen tree meant it was over!

Normally a guy lives at the top of the mountain in a little hut from May until September. He’s the fire watch guard and does this voluntarily. Lonely chap!

After lunch Ken and I went for another trip on the ATV and the dirt bike. It was great fun. Riding a bike on a dirt track is a completely different challenge to riding a fully laden Harley along straight roads. I loved every minute of it!

We finished off the evening by heading out for some food at the local diner. Unfortunately there aren’t that many restaurants in Thompson Falls, nevertheless the T-Bone steaks were delicious and the strawberry cheese just heavenly. Three rounds of bowling followed by the off chance discovery that the diner also had six lanes of bowling out the back. Phil won on consistency alone

That’s Montana, mountains and trees

We’ve just arrived at our friends place in Montana safe and sound.

Sorry about the lack of updates. I promise to catch up with the diary tomorrow now that i have internet access again.

We finally got some miles done today thanks to the better weather. After a filling breakfast we headed up the Interstate 15 towards Salt Lake City. It was a bit cold at first but it soon warmed up.

At Provo we turned off towards Herber City to then take the 40 southbound past the Strawberry Reservoir and the Starvation State Park (what a great name!).

The Interstate 15 just outside Provo (Salt Lake City)

The beautiful scenery near Strawberry Reservoir

The roads out of Herber City are beautiful and we were particularly lucky to get some sun for a few hours. We stopped off at Daniel’s Summit just outside Herber City for some great home made apple pie and coffee… just what we needed!

The best Apple Pie we’ve had so far!

Sadly that was all the good weather we were going to get. Heading towards Vernal on the 40 the weather turned worse again and we ended up riding through icy cold rain.

We got as far as Duchesne, but decided that despite the rain the ladies at the petrol station were a good enough reason to leave as soon as possible and make it to Roosevelt, 30 miles down the road

Despite all the rain we were surprised with this beautiful sky just before heading out for dinner.

Today has been pants to put it mildly! We left Cedar City and got as far as Beaver before we decided to call it a day. That’s all of 50 miles, well short of our 350 mile target. It was just too cold to ride and Phil wasn’t feeling great. We found another trusty Best Western and called it a day.

Just before we left Cedar City, note the snow!

Later on in the afternoon the sun made an appearance after all. Not wanting to miss out I jumped on the Harley and went off on a little adventure on my own. Below are some photos from Beaver and the local region.

Beaver, Utah

What a day! I’m sitting in a Best Western hotel room in Cedar City with Phil asleep (from exhaustion), a nasty weak coffee and my trusty blogging tool, my laptop.

After a heavy night last night to celebrate Andy and Linda’s wedding we’d all agreed to meet at the Harley Davidson cafe at ten for a breakfast before setting off in opposite directions. Not only did Phil and I turn up late after spending too long packing the bike (more on that in a second), but we also found out the cafe is closed until 11am. After a quick call to Andy who himself was late we decided to set off without breakfast.

So this was it! We were off. Part of me dreading the long journey ahead, the other full of excitement about the adventure ahead. Little did I know at the time that today would end up being more like a ten-round wrestling match with mother nature.

Skipping back an hour, Phil and I had packed all our bags ready for the bike. We both knew we’d have to take clothes out of our bags again due to the shape of the panniers and the top box, but it would at least allow us to get all our gear down to the bike. With the bike ready to be laden it soon turned out that we’d been a bit too generous with our luggage. Packing a Harley for two is a matter of science as well as an art After some shifting around and some creative bungy cord placement though we were good to go.

Before - All the gear ready to be laden on to the bike

After - Proof that magic can be performed by Joe Blogs

Our aim for the day was to get to Cedar City in Utah 175 miles away. We headed North on the Interstate 15 towards Salt Lake City leaving Las Vegas in blistering heat. We got to Mesquite on time and having missed out on Harley Davidson Cafe breakfast we were keen to refuel and grab a bite to eat.

Stuffed and with a full tank of petrol we headed back onto the 15 north towards Cedar City. It wasn’t long until thing started to go seriously wrong. A gentle cross wind turned into a full scale sand storm. Words can’t describe the ferocity of it so I’ll let the movie clip do the talking.

Sand Storm outside Mesquite Utah

We made it out alive (just) often riding at an angle to avoid being toppled over. I stuck in the outside lane as well to avoid being blown into lorries and jeeps. As a rider it was great experience and I enjoyed the thrill and adrenaline rush of it. I’m pretty sure Dad would disagree (the fact that he is still fast asleep says it all I think).

Once we were past La Verkin the storm disappeared completely and the vegetation and landscape changed from red sandy desert to lush green hills full of trees and cattle (see photos below). The other sudden change was the drop in temperature with the hills now showing signs of snow fall. This wasn’t good news! Not only were we both freezing due to lack of proper clothing, but if the snow fall persisted we wouldn’t be able to ride the bike. It’s just too risky.

Desert Landscape

Lush Green Landscape close to Cedar City

We arrived in Cedar City about 4.30pm suitably chilled. We turned into the Best Western and got ourselves a room for the night. The video below is from the parking lot outside the Best Western in Cedar City, Utah.

Snow in Cedar City, Utah

We all met at the Paris Hotel for a Harley procession to the church. It was a lovely service followed by a meal and a crazy night at the Voodoo club on top of the Rio. I won’t go into detail, but here are some of the best photos.

The Couple

A Wedding Harley Style

The Boys

The Girls