California Hwy 1 to Horizons Unlimited meeting Cambria and James Dean!

Early morning, back on the road west coast California.  ANOTHER beautiful day for riding a motorcycle.........!! 

One thing I did notice the farther south I got was a fair amount of homeless people along this road and just long the road, nowhere near any community.  I hadn't seen this since Anchorage Alaska.  I would pull over to take a photo, and laying in the bush would be a man or a family.  I didn't take photos of them out of respect, but I was saddened to see so many.  And a big reminder to me how lucky I am in my life to be able to travel like I do.

On a happier note!  I made it to San Francisco!!  No reason to pass up this big city unless you ride across the famous Golden Gate Bridge.  Besides there wasn't an easy option of getting "around" the city anyway.

I've been to San Francisco before.  Never rode a motorcycle across the bridge until now, but it was something I wanted to do.  However, still on my mission to get south in time, I simply took a couple photos, just crossed the bridge and continued down the road. Not as easy as it sounds.  San Fran was quite tricky to navigate even with a gps! The highway system is mad and crazy and I was only too happy by the time I was free again to be out of the city limits.

Continuing on down Hwy 1, hugging the coast all the way, through Monterrey, Carmel (where I really wanted to look up Clint Eastwood and say g'day).. Would it be possible?  Is he still the Mayor? Bugger!  Knowing the likelihood of a howdy from Dirty Harry is fairly slim, I best keep on rollin' ha!  ;-)

Long day again.. Distance not so bad, but San Fran really slowed me down.  By the time the sun was going down, I couldn't resist pulling over yet again for sunset photos.  I took heaps of them, it was such a pretty sunset.  Then this bike pulls up, and I'm like, hey Dude, I'm taking photos here and your in my way!  It was quite unusual to see a bike like this guy though, an old BMW in America?  Not a Harley?  His name is Jeremiah and he was on his way to the same meeting.. of course!

The headlights on my bike are horrible, and I can't see well at night.  I still had far enough to go, so I pull over to check out a campground in Big Sur, California.  It is the weekend, and every campsite along the coast is booked out.. and ridiculously expensive!!  Luckily, things always work out though.  A nice young guy at one of the campgrounds I stopped at was kind enough to let me camp in the playground for free.. woo hoo!! That's my price!  Thank goodness too, as I really wanted a shower before I showed up at the Horizons Unlimited meeting the next morning.

It was nice until all the teenagers escaped their parents camp after dark and decided to drink and smoke on the swing sets until a very late hour.  But hey.. it's all part of the adventure. And I learned some things listening to those young guys.. Gee whiz!!!!! I would never repeat what they were talking about, and I hope the girls they were referring to never know what they were saying either!! ;-/

It was easy to get up the next morning and pack up before the kids started showing up in the playground.

As soon as I arrived to the Horizons Unlimited meeting in Cambria, I knew I was in good company!  KTM's Unite!!! ;-)))

The meeting was full on from the very moment I got off my bike.  So many super cool people (needless to say - Motorcycle Adventurers!!)  Most I never met before, but there is no question that these are my people. My extended gigantic family outside of my own family in Indiana.

Grant and Susan Johnson who's creation IS "Horizon's Unlimited".  I have written about them before, but as a recap I can say that most anything I learned from ground zero that got me on the road within 6 months of having this crazy idea came from their website and videos.  Highly recommend their new and improved website!  http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/

I've got heaps of photos of so many people, both seasoned and aspiring adventurers, but here are just a few.

My absolute hero's, Peter and Kay Forwood from Australia!!!  If you don't know them, they are the only riders that I am aware of that have ridden a motorcycle in every country on the planet.. which I believe at the moment is 193?!  All on a Harley Davidson!  You can read more about them here http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/forwood/

When think of the them, I know that traveling around the world doesn't have to be just a 'trip'.  It can be a long term lifestyle.. i love love love the thought of that!

They were quick to encourage me to enter a contest for the most stickered bike.  They acted as judges for this event, so their bike was disqualified, but they clearly would have won!  So I did get the prize instead..! ;-))) Haha.. thank you!!

(Gee whiz, I notice in these photos how desperately ready I am for a haircut..one of the downfalls for not staying still very long.)

Another favorite for the event is Ted Simon, author of "Jupiter's Travels".   Ted rode his motorcycle around the world in the 1970's (he's actually done it twice now) and quite famous for the adventure books he writes. http://www.jupitalia.com/

More amazing adventurers.. no shortage of them here!!  And I'm giving you plenty of reading material!

Below is Carla King, another great motorcycle adventurer and writer as well!  http://www.carlaking.com/

Randy, who came down from Oregon for the meeting, and Nicole Stavro Espinosa. Who is the owner and president of Rugged Rider. She designs dual sport adventure riding gear..!!  Go girl!!!  http://www.ruggedrider.com

These women are a great inspiration and so happy to meet them in person!

A somewhat old KTM 690 (around 70,000 km at this point) meets a brand new one!  Photo by Carla King.. thank you!

Matt from Touratech USA.. who set me up with some Rok Straps! I've been wanting and NEEDING a set of these forever and now that I have them,  I love them!  They work so well. Thanks again Matt!

Jasmine and Mike.. 2 Californians that make me laugh!  The entire weekend was like this, so much fun with everybody.

It was such a great weekend and so glad I made it.  I even gave a little presentation for the second time in my life.  Nowhere near as hard as the first time!

On Sunday morning it was time to pack up the bikes and move on.  I was invited by Randy who was riding with his friend Stephen around a bit of southern California that would point me in the direction of Yosemite, my next destination.  They had also invited Adam Shani who is another superstar world rider here from Israel!  And just as I was getting on my bike I met James from London England!  Who would have thought the world was already here in one spot!

I didn't have much time to chat with James so I invited him to come ride with us today as well.  A sort of plan was made and after a zillion goodbyes to so many friends, and we were off!

 

Stephen, James, Adam and Randy

 

The thing to do in California don't you know is wine tasting!

Which is a real bugger when you are a wine lover but can't taste much due to riding a motorcycle!!!  But it was still good fun.  Since I live in wine country myself in South Australia, it's good to compare.

I will keep my comparison opinions to myself though... ha! ;=)

 Uh oh.. 4 men and 4 road maps are out now.. I'll stand over here and just observe ;-)))

Stephen needed to make his way toward home, Randy decided to ride with us a bit longer before turning north to Oregon.  He decides to show us where James Dean (the most gorgeous famous actor from INDIANA!!) died on the road far too young here in California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dean

English: Studio publicity portrait for film Giant. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lets hope the same fate doesn't appear for another Hoosier on the road today.......

After exploring, riding, wine tasting, etc. we made our way a bit closer to Yosemite.  Randy suggested we get a room in a Casino for the night.  Casino!??  We are all happy to camp.  Besides, Adam, James and I are not casino gambling type people, but Randy assured us that they offer really cheap rooms and meals in the hope that you will dump your money in the slot machines.. Okay then, a normal hotel and bed does sound kind of good, so we all got a room.

And I am most pleased to learn that inside the Casino, food was cheap AND my new Israeli and English friends share my love for the American milkshake!!

We were quite the interest and spectacle packing up at the Casino again the next morning! We might not be the usual sort of visitors there.  So many questions!

Coming up is Yosemite and Death Valley.. see you!

Walking on a glacier! Nakusp to Jasper National Park

OK, now I've agreed to do the SCARIEST thing on this trip so far!!

Forget about unmaintained tracks in Siberia... or camping in bear country.. Let's try public speaking!!  Geez!!

It turned out I was very near the next Horizon's Unlimited meeting in Nakusp Canada, which was literally just over the mountains from where I was, Calgary.  Received a little bleep from Grant Johnson suggesting I attend.  But I didn't decide to go straight away. Last time I spoke to Grant at the UK Horizon's meeting in England just a couple months ago, he was giving me suggestions to do a presentation.  I just laughed at him and thought, there is no way I can do that.. no way!

So, I knew if I attended this meeting in Nakusp, the suggestion would arise again and I didn't want to be a weeney and say no.  Again, my self proclaimed 'because I can' title came back to haunt me.  I was making excuses, so I dug in, sent Grant an email back that I will attend AND give a presentation...  Now look what I've done... now I'm committed.. darn it!

I've convinced myself that Nakusp is a small town in Canada and there would not be many people there.. so if I screw up in front of 10 people, I should be able to cope.

I packed up in Calgary and then started on my way; over the river and through the woods...

Cool!  It's a ferry! Couldn't tell you how many ferries I've been on all over the world now, so I know the deal.  As usual, they put the bikes together at the front of the boat, where I met these two characters from Vancouver out on a day trip.. they were hilarious!

 

I rode with the boys until I reached the town of Nakusp.. and with the toot of a horn, I was on my own again.  For about a whole two seconds.  I pulled right into the Horizons Unlimited camp.

I am one day late for the meeting and there are tents everywhere.  I get off my bike to have a look for a spot and I hear across the way, 'Sherri!  Need a place for you tent?!"  I'm like, are they talking to me?  Who the heck knows me here??

Turned out to be Nevil Stow.. who I had never met before, but is a friend on facebook.. of course!  He gave me a couple suggestions where to squeeze the tent in.  I tried my best, but I still ended up in the wrong place.

Not long after that I see a familiar face, somebody I actually have met in person.. Miles!  I met Miles and his wife Tracey at the HUBB meeting in England and totally forgot they are FROM Canada!  After a little catch up they show me there is more room at their end of camp.

So we decide to go fetch my already assembled tent.  Miles brings his Ural, and I ride back with him in the sidecar holding my very lightweight tent over my head!  It was quite a sight, wish I had photos of it.  We did see people laughing and snapping away, but I forgot to ask for a copy.

Anyway, here is Miles and Tracey in the Ural.. Shortly after this meeting they took off for their 6 month journey to South America and back!  If you like to catch up with them on their blog, it's at:  www.smilesandmiles.com  ;-))  I still need to go north into Yukon and Alaska before heading south but we are hoping I make it in time to meet up in South America at some point.. yay!

They, along with many others, gave me heaps of great advice for traveling north in Canada to Yukon and over to Alaska..   I have to admit though, I can hardly concentrate on anything anyone says.. all I can think about is  "I have to give a presentation"!!  I've never done one before and I'm nervous as all heck.. knees knocking long before I need to say a word in front of people.

Grant, Miles, Nevil, and many others all supported me with lots of advice and said it will be far easier than I imagine.. I've heard that before about motorcycle technique in the sand, and I'm not convinced!  I know what an idiot I am at forming sentences that make sense.. they don't understand.....!!!!! (of course they all do, they've done a gazzillion presentations themselves.. however, I'm very good at convincing myself it's far worse..)

My time arrives, and I'm like, "why are all those people in here??  Oh, sh__" !!  This is far more than the 10 I had pictured in my head!!!

It was exactly like they said.. after the first sentence, the knees stopped knocking and off I went..  it turned out to be a lot of fun and then my hour was over in what felt like 10 seconds!  I still can't believe I did it and now I know I can still keep my "Because I Can" title... ;-)  I would have sworn to you a thousand times before this moment that I really couldn't do it..  life lesson!

Once the meeting finished on Sunday, we all go our separate ways.. For me I need to go back to Banff National Park so I can make the general population happy as they all say I CAN NOT MISS JASPER National Park!!  (Jasper is connected to Banff to the north).

On the ferry with Ekke, Audrey and Doug.. ALL on BMW's.. I'm the only odd ball, as usual ;-)

Along my route I decide I need to pull over and plug in my iphone for a charge in the 12 V.  Blew a fuse immediately, I knew straight away what it did, and I pulled out the connection took out the old fuse and and installed the new.. Yes, it shocks even me that I can do this all by myself! ;-)

While on the side of the road with my tools out and my seat off, all these guys flew right past me.. hmpff!   Eventually I ran into Doug at the next fuel stop.

He was kind enough to ask what the problem was, I told him and he volunteered to dig in and fix it.  I was in this worry state all along because if my 12V didn't work, this meant even worse consequences.. I would not be able to plug in my heated jacket!!!  Tragedy!!  Especially since I'm going toward the Arctic Circle!  I am very spoiled by that jacket and can't imagine how I'll get through the journey without it.. ha!

Electrical stuff totally scares me so I didn't touch the wires, but Doug is a master and he fixed it up straight away.. wearing and torn connections, etc. It's ironic how the right person comes along just as you need them.  Then I was on my way!  Thanks again Doug!  Lucky me!!!

At the junction he turns right and I turn left, heading north.  Right into Jasper National Park.. I'm diggin' that glacier up ahead!!  I've seen a few glaciers lately, but this one looks extra cool!

This is where the glacier came to in 1942..

This is where it came to in 1982..

Sort of reminds me of the witch in the Wizard of Oz.. "I'm melting, I'm meltiiiiiiii....!!!"

Sorry, don't mean to make light of a serious glacier melt.  Pretty cool to experience Athabasca Glacier so close.

I could show you a thousand million zillion scenery photos, but that can get really boring.  I will do my best to keep it to a minimum and you'll just have to go see it for yourself! ;-)

No matter where you looked, upside down, right, left, every view is the prettiest view you've ever seen in your life..  even in the rear view mirror!  I can't tell you how many times I looked in the mirror and said, "holy crap!" ;-)

It's been a big day long ride from Naksup to here..  time to set up camp before it gets dark.. always the worry for wildlife on the road at dusk..

By the way, notice my new tent??  The green tent I have been carrying since day one that uses air beams instead of poles.. failed again!!!  I have spent far more time fixing that tent, pump and air bladders than I should be, and this time I didn't have a spare air bladder (the other times I did).  The reason I followed advice online before the trip to go with that one was because I'd be able to travel without poles, and the tent would be smaller to pack and lighter.  Not true at all!

My new one is exactly the same size, and even WITH poles, packs far smaller and lighter than my old tent.  Luckily for me the old one broke this time in an area full of adventurers and gear, so it was easy for me to into Banff (the town) and buy a new one and continue my journey..

Even better news, since I now have more space, I was able to buy a little cooker and teapot so I can make my own tea in the morning..  Yes!!!!

I loved this camping area.. was so pretty but I was extra worried for the bears, very few people around.. many warnings posted everywhere, but survived again! ;-)

The next morning on the road in Jasper Naional Park I got an extra special treat.. I spotted a wolf!!

This first photo is as close as I could get with zoom and cropping, but wanted you to see.. big gray!

Into the woods he goes.  Wonder where he was going.. he wasn't running fast like in a chase, just galloping steadily.  So happy to see him or her.. seeing a wolf has been on my list ever since Yellowstone. Score!

;-(  I get the unhappy face in my helmet.. I've actually been quite lucky with great weather in Banff and Jasper National Parks.  I've heard many people around tell me it's been an unusually rainy year.. so looks like it's my turn, but literally just as I was leaving Jasper the clouds roll in. And boy did it ever rain!  I pulled over in Jasper (the town) for the night and found a little cheap room in a basement (finding anything cheap in that town was a challenge!).  I happily stayed dry for the night..

I do feel very lucky to see this great land..  rain or shine.. ;-)