#  >  > Non Asia Travel Forums >  >  > Travel the World Travellers Tales Forum >  >  Father and Son US Road Trip- 9 States, 12 National Parks, 2 Months, 6500 Miles!

## TonyBKK

Father and Son Epic Summer Road Trip- 9 States, 12 National Parks, 2 Months, 6500 Miles!

My head is still spinning a bit from the fantastic summer I spent  with my beloved son. He's only 5 and I wasn't sure we could pull it off,  but it went better than I could have imagined. 

I'd sought advice on many forums about how best to accomplish this trip and while I received a  lot of good advice and constructive criticism, there were also a few  folks who told me I was nuts to even consider such a journey with a five  year old. So it was a big relief, but also a few tears when I dropped  him off at his mom's house near Seattle undamaged and with enough  stories to talk his mom's ears off.

I flew from Bangkok to Seattle at the end of June to pick up my son. On approach to SEATAC-


A happy reunion!


Here we're waiting for Grandma Kitty to pick us up at the Minneapolis  airport- I hadn't seen my son since I had him over the Christmas/New  Year Holidays- my how he has grown! He's pretty tall for his age; most  people think he's 6 or 7.


From Seattle we flew to Minneapolis, MN to celebrate the 4th of July with his Grandma (my mom) and friends-


My son was very excited about the trip and is at the age where he's  starting to be able to figure out maps and remember where the states  are-


A little back story- I live in Thailand and my son was born here, but  the marriage didn't work out and my Thai ex quickly found a new husband  and meal ticket to the US. Breaks my heart to have my son so far away,  but in my gut I have to admit that the US is probably a better place for  him to grow up and receive an education. Don't get me wrong, Thailand  is a fantastic place and I love it here, but it's a strange place to  raise kids imho.

My son has been riding with me in Thailand since he was quite small and  we've had some great adventures, and while we've ridden some  considerable distances together, it's never been for more than a long  weekend, so this would be our first BIG trip together. 




For a trip of this distance and duration and for my son's safety and  comfort I decided we'd need a big touring bike for this ride.

At the age of 5 my son has a tendency to nod off and so I needed to  choose a bike that had passenger amenities that would preclude the  possibility of my boy falling off! 


While I've never owned and know very little about the big touring bikes I  quickly zeroed in on the Goldwing GL1500 and found lots on Craigslist  and Cycletrader that seemed like they'd fit the bill. I'd made  arrangements to see a bunch in and around the Twin Cities, yet after  days of wasting my time looking at bike after bike with issue after  issue I widened my search parameters and wound up with this beauty- 

2005 BMW K1200LT 


Looks like just the thing for a long distance tour!


First thing I needed to do was add some footpeg risers since pretty much  every state on our itinerary had a statute requiring a pillion's feet  to be on the pegs-

Some PVC plumbing pipe and caps from the hardware store, some hardware,  silicone sealant and a rattle can of paint that was a pretty close match  to the bike and she's sorted. A good fit for the little guy and gives  us a bit more storage space too!


Next I added a seatbelt and shoulder harness as my son has always had a habit of falling asleep on or in any moving vehicle-

Kind of hard to see in the pic above, but I picked up 2" webbing for the  seatbelt and 1" webbing for the shoulder harness along with buckles and  all the other parts at Midwest Mountaineering in Minneapolis- man I  LOVE that store!!

We delayed our departure by a few days on account of the heat wave that  brought triple digit temperatures to much of the US over the 4th of  July, but by the 6th a cold front had moved in and we were ready to hit  the road!


Huge thanks to my friends Jeremy and Stephanie for letting us use their  home and garage as a staging area. Steph got some nice pics of us on our  morning of departure-


Bye bye Minneapolis!!




To be continued!!!

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## TonyBKK

My plan for this trip was pretty flexible - I wanted to keep our days  short, never more than 300 miles or 5 hours in the saddle. Goal for day  one was to reach the Lake Vermillion Recreation Area that is just past  Sioux Falls, SD-

Trying to avoid interstate as much as possible on this ride, but to get  across South Dakota we'll have to hit the I-90 at least until we reach  the Badlands.

What a beautiful day!! After so many months of planning it's feels so  good to finally be on our way. I forgot how beautiful the midwest is in  the summer. 

Feeling Minnesota 




Breakfast stop at McD's in Jordan, MN


Yeah, I know it's not a terribly healthy choice, but my kid just loves  the play areas and while he's off in the hamster cage I have  a bit of time to check emails and play with Google Maps and upload some  pictures.


We've not the only bike on the road, but we're carrying the most luggage! 


Self portrait 


Random views from the road-


I'm diggin the proliferation of wind farms-




I90 West




Lots of other bikes on the road. I'd guesstimate 90% Harleys, 9% Goldwings, 1% "other" 






On some of the forums I joined to plan for this ride people recommended I  pull a trailer. I am SOOOO happy that I did not listen to that advice 


A little spot of rain. Certainly not enough to dampen our spirits!


My co-pilot was all smiles 


Welcome to South Dakota!


Thought about stopping at the Mitchell Corn Palace but decided to press on-


Approaching Sioux Falls


We made excellent time to Sioux Falls and found a nice camp site at Lake  Vermillion Recreation Area in the early afternoon. Nice spot with a big  lake, hot showers, a huge playground, and not very crowded- perfect!


Let's go swimming!!




Really nice playground at the Lake Vermillion site-


Welcome to our home for the next ~7 weeks 


Day 1 complete! So far so good!

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## TonyBKK

Back in the day I used to be a hiking and camping fiend, but I must  confess that it's been years since I've cooked on a camp stove. My  organizational skills obviously need work, but hey, we've got the whole  summer for me to get my act together  :Wink: 


One of the things that is so much fun about a 5 year old is that almost  everything is new, and you get to re-experience the joy and wonder of  discovery through their eyes.  Take Spaghettios for example- my son's  new favorite food 

They didn't have Alphabet Spagettios when I was a kid! I was (am) a bit  shocked at how poor my son's reading and writing has become since he  moved to the US. In Thailand I sent him to a good bilingual pre-school  and he had his roman alphabet and Thai characters down pat and could  write his name quite legibly. Since moving to the US he's just  languished in day care, where they do arts and crafts but no reading and  writing and for some reason his mom has stopped speaking to him in  Thai... What a waste. Growing up bilingual would be such a plus! OK,  rant over 



I hope you will note that I do do my best to try and provide the little  guy with a fairly healthy diet despite the occasional McD or can of  Spagettios. That said, when you're traveling on the road the temptation  to hit a fast food joint if often hard to resist.

Of course we must celebrate our first night under the stars with a proper desert- S'Mores baby! 


Watch out little guy- that's a hot fire! 


It's a trip how late it stays light in the midwest in July. I think we  were cooking smores over the fire around 8pm and the sun doesn't set  until after 9!

I told Kristhawee that this was his opportunity to practice clean eating before we get into bear country...


Well, it's a work in progress  :Wink: 


This kid sure can eat! He had a big dinner yet still managed to put away 4 smores without even getting sick  


I must confess that I matched him smore for smore (I'm not sure I could  even find marshmallows and graham crackers here in Thailand...) 


Is this smore #4?!


Dang, posting these pics is making me hungry!! 

Our leftovers are safely guarded  :Wink: 


Good night my prince. Sweet dreams! Our adventure has only just begun!!

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## Aberlour

Another cracker of a thread mate. Great photos of what looked like the trip of a lifetime.  How many people get to do something like that with their 5 year old. Amazing!

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## Bower

I don't know you but I as a father of many am proud of you. Well done and thanks for sharing.

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## S Landreth

Unbelievable! What a great experience for the both of you and something I am sure both of you will never forget. Your son will have some wonderful stories/memories; for the rest of his life, to share with others. 

Great pictures! And glad you took the time to take them and share them with all of us.

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## rogerluli

Awesome...Hats off to you for being a Super Dad... :Smile:

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## snakeeyes

Fair play to you a journey of a lifetime for your son , my father took me on a bus one time , it was the school bus ,  :Smile:

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## Dillinger

I guess that's great fun for the kid on the back of a bike, but  for only a little while,A car  with a dvd player and playstation in it for him would have been safer, more comfortable and more fun for him IMO . I would never entertain the idea of putting one of my kids on the back of a motorbike
I could imagine my ex wife's response if I turned up on a big bike and told her I was taking the kid into bear territory on it  :Smile: 
Each to their own I guess, great pics BTW

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## bsnub

Awesome thread! Great work!

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## peterpan

What a fortunate lad, my daughters are green with envy as I are.

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## misskit

Excellent! What a lucky young boy to have a dad take him on a cross country motorbike adventure.

Looking forward to the next episode.

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## kingwilly

> A car with a dvd player and playstation in it for him would have been safer, more comfortable and more fun for him IMO .


I saw gloves, boots, jeans, jackets, glasses, helmet with radio control, full seat, foot pegs and safety harness. 


Give it a rest, damn safer than in many cars. 

Sensational trip mate!

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## barbaro

I´m chiming in late Tony BKK to say, what a great thread!  

So personal and unique!!

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## terry57

Never went anywhere with my old man as he was too busy working and providing for the family.

Your kid will always remember it. Too bad you cant be with him full time.

Good stuff there mate. Ive been through the badlands by the way.

Crazy arse place.

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## KhonKaenDan

You have done something for your son that will remain in his mind for the balance of his life.  You are also a wonderful example to other fathers that only get to see their off-spring during the time you are allowed visitations.  This should tell others, that it is possible to make split marriages good for their children.  Blessings :bananaman:

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## TonyBKK

Good morning! Day 2 of our father and son epic ride begins!


Get your pants on quick- I'm dangerous with a camera and this could come back to haunt you when you're a teenager  :Wink: 


Breakfast is served 

Cheddar scrambled eggs, baby carrots and Kristhawee snuck a marshmallow too >.<

Today's destination: Badlands National Park!

The theme of today's ride is "ROAD SIGNS"! (Because if you've ever  traveled through Eastern South Dakota on the I-90 you know that there is  pretty much NOTHING else to see...) 

Wall Drug is an institution! For someone who's never been there it's  quite difficult to explain just what the heck all the fuss is about, but  since it's beginning as a small drugstore in the tiny town of Wall in  1931 it's grown into what the New York Times describes as, "a sprawling  tourist attraction of international renown  [that] takes in more than  $10 million a year and draws some two million  annual visitors to a  remote town"."


I later read that Wall Drug spends close to to half a million dollars a  year on their infamous billboards which are located around the world but  become more and more common the closer you get to the town of Wall.

Badlands National Park only has one campground, and it's a bit  miserable, no trees, no shade, close to the road and very exposed. I was  told that the nearby KOA in White River is just 4 miles from the park,  infinitely more pleasant and sports trees, grass, WiFi, a playground and  even a pool. Yeah, that's the ticket! 


Wall Drug!

What 5 year old boy isn't in to dinosaurs? This billboard certainly piqued my son's interest.

Harvey Dunn? Had to look that one up- a famous painter from South Dakota apparently... 


Well, I don't know if I'd go so far as to call a visit to Wall Drug  "Priceless", but it did sum up quite well my feelings about spending the  entire summer with my son. I feel so very fortunate that I could take  the time off from work and take him on this adventure. The memories and  the experience are absolutely priceless!


Kristhawee kept asking when would we see a real cowboy. I promised him it wouldn't be long.


The exciting view as you head west on the I-90. Zzzzzz... Have never  ridden a bike with cruise control before. Have to say, that for  stretches like this, it does come in handy. 


Timeless...

You know, at the beginning of our trip it felt like we had all the time in the world, but in the end, as is so often the case, the time went by far too quickly. After a summer on the road it feels quite strange to be back home and not moving. I never wanted our trip to end, and I'm pretty sure my son felt the same way. We would have liked to have just kept going and going and going. He'll start Kindergarden next week but I have no doubt that he learned more and grew more as a person during our nearly 2 months on the road than he might from an entire year of Kindergarden. Well, rather than lament the adventure that is over, I try to look forward to the next one. He's made it quite clear that next summer he really wants to come back to Thailand- just imagine all the fun and adventures we'll enjoy then!



Other businesses have tried to imitate Wall Drug's advertising style too-


I guess imitation is still the sincerest form of flattery?


Oh, I should mention, I've got a strange fascination for old derelict  buildings, especially barns, so you'll be seeing quite a few in this  report... 


This smelled like a bit of a tourist trap, and anyway we're on a bike so  it's out of the question, but my son was excited to see his first  "bear"... 
















My son and I had intercoms in our helmets so we could chat and listen to  music and we quickly started a game where whoever would see something  "different" would shout it out. So it would be something like "BARN!" or  "COW!" or in this case---

"HAY!!!"

A silly funny game that we played all summer long 



Woohoo! We're getting closer! Only 126 more miles to the Badlands! 


Crossing the Missouri River- a welcome change of scenery!






My son is doing great! 


Am I going overboard with the Wall Drug signs? 






The Wall Drug billboards  just keep coming


Quite beautiful these big open spaces- especially since it was a wet spring so everything is still green-


Not too far past the Misouri River we stopped at the 1880 Town for lunch in their 50's Train Diner-


 A bit windy-


My son is way into trains so he was all over this place! This 1950's  Santa Fe Train originally ran from Chicago to California before coming  to rest at the 1880 Town. They had pretty decent grub and the train cars  were full of old train memorabilia. 

Chili Dog for dad


Grilled Cheese for my little guy-


450 miles and Kristhawee is starting to look like a real biker (or did he pick up the tan from swimming and fishing at the lake yesterday?)


His first taste of Mellow Yellow, you might not guess it from the pic, but he loves this stuff 


Father and son-


Exploring the train-


Ready to roll!


"Wallways in Season"?! Too much! 


Wall Drug's 5 cent coffee is no joke- it really exists, and when your  camping and surviving on instant coffee it's really not all that bad! 


Wall Drug- Since 1931!




Do Lunch Or Be Lunch!


Lots of other bikes out on the interstate- mostly Harleys






Got a chuckle out of this one: "Help manage your wildlife, WEAR FUR" 




Getting closer!




Buffalo Gap National Grassland


Here's our exit!


Badlands, then Wall Drug. Sounds good to me 




Woohoo! We made it! Welcome to the Badlands National Park!


My little guy has certainly never seen anything like this before!




Awesome!

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## TonyBKK

We made good time and it's still early afternoon and I'm keen to get to  the campground and unload our stuff and then return to the park in the  evening when the colors really pop, so we just snap a few more pics,  drink some water, then jump back on the bike-




We were pretty lucky to hit the Badlands between heat waves. It can be crazy-hot there during the summer months.




Random pics taken as we ride the "short way" through the Badlands on our  way to the White River KOA via the tiny little town of Interior-




Middle of the day the colors tend to be a bit washed out which is why I  was keen to set up camp and return in the late afternoon. 

Sometimes my Canon Powershot D10 surprises me though and does get the colors- I just set it on auto and let her rip-




I learned on this trip that KOA's come in many different flavors and it  pays to do a bit of research. Some cater almost exclusively to the RV  crowd and are quite dreadful, others are much more tent friendly. The  White River KOA falls in the later category 




As advertised- lots of trees, green grass, a nice cold pool, playground,  slow as molasses WiFi (common to all KOA's I've learned), etc.


Ok, another quick rant- why can't my kid swim anymore?! He was a water  baby from the age of 2 months and was swimming and surfing back in  Thailand. WTF happened?!

From catching waves in Thailand at age 4-


To floundering in the deep end at age 5-


So I quiz the little guy about why he can't swim anymore and he tells me that, "There are no swimming pools in New York". (He only just recently moved to Washington and was in NY prior) 

Who told you that nonsense??

"Mom" 

Grrrr, ok, rant over. Our goal this summer is to get you swimming again!! 

I thought swimming was like riding a bicycle... Apparently not... C'mon Kristhawee- you can do it!


Even though he can't really swim anymore, he still loves the water!

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## TonyBKK

Some pictures of the White Horse KOA's old skool playground-


My boy LOVES to swing 




Our menu for this evening- not exactly haute cuisine, but then I can't  cook worth a damn and what kid doesn't love hot dogs? And he has no idea  what a Jiffy Pop is- this should be fun! 


A couple more pics of our camp site- not too shabby for a KOA 




The sun still doesn't set until around 9pm so after dinner we jump on  the bike and head back to the Badlands to check out the evening colors-


Beware Rattlesnakes!   (So of course, my son decides he REALLY wants to see one...)


Sunrise and sunset seem to be the best time to admire the badlands-


I took Kristhawee to the Fossil Loop Trail- it's short and easy and the ride there is spectacular.


Seems he's more the off-road type  :Wink: 


Did my best to scout around and make sure there were no snakes!


Easy to forget you're on planet earth here


King of the World! 


Forced him to sit still for a couple father-son pics 




What a great kid!


Getting grubby like only a 5 year old can 


After walking the Fossil Trail my son had it in his head that he would  go find some fossils. I told him it's not really that easy, but he  wanted to try all the same. Go for it!


Still King of the World!


Sun is sinking lower. Can you spot my kid?


Sun has set behind these hills-


Still looking for fossils 


Found any yet??




Points for effort!!


Sun still shining on some hills to the south of us-


Amazing views and hardly anyone around-




Our mighty steed looks pretty good in this light-



Time to head back to our campground and call it a night. Tomorrow we ride to the Black Hills!

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## Humbert

Love it that you made s'mores! Very interesting trip. Can't wait to see your pics through the Rockies.

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## TonyBKK

Day Three- Badlands National Park to the Black Hills via Wall Drug 

Good morning Kristhawee! Nice bed head you've got going there! 


I hear they serve pretty decent grub at Wall Drug- let's ride there for  breakfast. Plenty of billboards to make sure we don't miss it  :Wink: 






5 cent coffee... Hmmm, will have to check that out... 


Welcome to Wall Drug!!


I hadn't been there since I was a kid, and it's still just as weird and  wonderful as I remember it. I'm not sure my son knows what to make of  it- He wasn't too keen to pose with the creepy cowboy in the pink shirt  and kept his distance  :Wink: 


He warmed up to the old grandpa cowboy though  :Wink: 


My little guy waiting in line to place his order-


Breakfast is served!! Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and of course a famous Wall Drug Donut 


This kid can EAT!!!


Kristhawee is trying to copy the expression of the gunslinger with the shot glass 


Posing with the rare and elusive North American Jackalope- he looked everywhere this summer but never saw a real one... 


At least he got to ride one at Wall Drug  :Wink: 


Then we hear a loud roar coming from the very back of the place... What could it be?!


A seriously creepy T-Rex!! Do you think it's real Kristhawee?? 


He was pretty convinced that it was NOT real, yet wouldn't get close to  it. It's got sensors or something so that if you do get close to it, its  eyes and head follow you... Like I said, pretty creepy 


Plus, every 15 minutes or so it "wakes up" to feed and makes like it's  going to jump over the wall and get you. A must see for every dinosaur  loving kid! (Video to come)

We must have spent another hour or more wandering around Wall Drug-  there's just so much to see! Finally escaped without buying any of the  tourist crap (benefit or touring on a bike- you just tell you kid  "sorry, no room").

Did get the complimentary Wall Drug bumper sticker though for the bike 


Time to saddle up and hit the road- Here he's talking to his mom-


Don't worry, the helmet goes on before we roll. ATGATT for my son!!


Next stop- Black Hills and Mount Rushmore!!!


What a beautiful day for a ride!!! Mount Rushmore exit coming up-






The first of many cool tunnels in the Black Hills- this one was just south of Keystone I think-


Welcome to Keystone, SD! Lots and lots of bikes in the Black Hills. (Can  you spot our LT parked in between the Harleys and Goldwing?)


To be continued!

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## TonyBKK

Keystone was pretty touristy, but also a fun place for people watching. 

Spotted our first "real" cowboys  :Wink: 

This freakishly tall fellow was walking down the street cracking his  bullwhip and there was another "cowboy" a little out of camera range who  was shooting his pistols into the air. Of course my son didn't know,  and I felt no need to tell him that they are actors promoting a show. He  was pretty impressed by them 

It was getting pretty close to lunch time so after wandering around the town for a bit we hit up a deli on the  main strip and enjoyed a small meal and a huge ice cream cone as we took  in the sights-


Cotton Candy ice cream, and guess what, it really tastes like Cotton  Candy, though I'm not quite sure if that's a good thing or not  :Wink: 


Great spot to relax and watch life go by-


Some amazing roads and so much to see and do in the Black Hills that we  ended up staying there longer than planned. After the good experience at  the White River KOA near Badlands National Park I was game to try  another KOA so we rolled in to the Hill City KOA which is just around  the corner from Mount Rushmore National Monument.

Our spot-


I always had a notion in my head that KOA's are pretty much exclusively  aimed at the RV crowd. Turns out some of them are, but some are really  tent-friendly too.

Always feels good to get the boots off, and Kristhawee was eager to hit one of the pools we saw on the way in-


The other nice thing about KOA's is that they are always full of kids,  and my son, who is normally a bit shy, became very adept at making new  friends everywhere we went. He'd just walk up to the first kid he saw  and say "Hi, can I play with you?". Good on ya Kristhawee! Here he is  hanging out with one of his new friends-


Funny story about the pic above- this huge rock was directly across the  road from where we were camping. After we pulled in and while I was  setting up camp Kristhawee asks me, "Daddy, what kind of tree is that?".  I look around and see a lot of pine trees, so I tell him "Pine Trees".  He says, "no, the BIG one?". We went back and forth like that for a  while and he was getting frustrated until I realized that he thought the rock was a tree! Guess he'd  never seen a rock so big before? That had me rolling and I took him over  there to show him that it was a rock and not a tree and we had a good  time scrambling around his big "tree". 5 year olds sure do come up with  some funny stuff sometimes!

Hanging out with another friend at the KOA  :Smile:  Love their expressions :shifty:


What an amazing place- they put us in a really beautiful "tent only"  spot at the end of a dirt road in a nice forest with big trees-


Bit of a hike to the pool- but there's nothing wrong with that. Hey! Wait for me!!


We were far away from the RV's and all the noise they produce and this  place had EVERYTHING. Two pools, hot tubs, water slide, trout pond,  paddle boats, horseback riding, a splash park, mini golf, and a lot  more. The nice lady who checked us in said it's one of the largest KOA's  in the US. Yet they've done a really good job of making it "feel"  small.

Pool-


Waterslide-


"Jump Pillow" (I guess it's safer than a trampoline, but just barely)  :Wink: 


Kristhawee loved the horses and stables and REALLY wanted to ride, but  the minimum age is 7... He's never ridden and I didn't want to risk him  falling off and getting hurt so I had to tell him no. 




Near the stables was a decent little food shack serving your typical fare and we ordered ourselves a pizza for dinner- yum!


You might think that would be enough for one day and that we'd call it a night? You'd be wrong!

They were showing "The Tigger Movie" that evening and Kristhawee was keen to go check it out. The "movie theater" was attached to the campground store so Kristhawee enjoyed checking out the toys before the movie started-

Sorry buddy, that will never fit on the motorcycle  :Lol: 

Man the sun stays up late! After the movie there was a live band playing so we stopped and checked them out- The Hill City Slickers was there name, and they were damn funny and pretty good too!




Finally we made it back to our site, got ready for bed, and I think I wasn't more than 2 pages into the Jungle Book before my little guy was sound asleep. 


I wasn't far behind him! (-_-)Zzzzzz

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## Looper

Looks like a dream trip for the little fella. The back seat of a Gold Wing must be like an executive lounger to him! Onya Tony!!

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## TonyBKK

Good morning! Day 4 begins!


I have discovered that my son is not much of a morning person 




First stop- all you can eat pancake breakfast!!


Little guy wanted milk so I gave him some money and told him to go buy  it. He wanted me to get it for him- you can tell he's not too happy  about that, but that's part of growing up!


Still making friends everywhere he goes 


After breakfast we went on an impromptu hike around the grounds of the campground-




Another beautiful day!


Looking over the campground- Mt Rushmore is just on the other side of those mountains-






Then Kristhawee went to check out the "Splash Park" which he most definitely enjoyed-







He could have spent all day playing at the campground!

Found a bug!


And a snake (anyone know what kind of snake that is??)


Finally we managed to get back to our site, jumped on the bike, and  headed to Hill City where we would catch the historic 1880 steam train to  Keystone!

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## terry57

America is a brilliant country to tour.  I always remember the large double lane concrete roads that snaked through out the country. 

If I'm lucky before I die I'll get back there to do some more of it.

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## t.s

bloody remarkable, i keep hoping the trip wont end. It has becom a part of my daily routine to check in.

Looking at the pictures is especially poignant as my 6 yo daughter who currently lives with me in bkk will be traveling to the US for a few years to study with her mother half-sister and step father while he does a degree.

I am not sure how i will cope, but i will have her summers, so this is very inspirational.

seriously well done mate

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## terry57

^
Yes, I'm following it every day as Ive been there and its bringing back some fantastic memories.

I recon I can Russel up a decent travel thread but fuk me, this really takes the cake.

What really makes it stand out is the relationship between a removed father and his son.

Simply Brilliant adding the human element.

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## mackayae

Bodega Bay reminds me of The Birds, The Fog.

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## TonyBKK

^ Thank you all for your kind comments.  :Smile: 

I wanted to visit Fort Ross, the southernmost Russian settlement in North America between 1812 to 1842, but unfortunately, it was closed  

Pretty cool story- The west coast of the US would probably have belonged to Russia if not for the fact that they couldn't grow potatoes here and therefore deemed it unworthy of settlement and sold it to a private buyer for $30,000 

We stopped at the Fort Ross Store to grab some lunch. They have a pretty nice deli and restaurant. My little dude never seems to get tired of hot dogs... 

Ice cream for dessert-


All smiles!


We continue north, riding along the coast through Salt Point State Park-









Nice rig!


Onwards we ride, through Manchester State Park, past countless coves, through Mendocino to Fort Bragg. I'm getting tired of the cold and fog and want to see some sun so we head inland at Fort Bragg towards Willits and the 101-


Highway 20, the Fort Bragg-Willits Road is a nice ride through the Jackson State Forest, and as soon as we're away from the coast the sun comes out and temperatures rise dramatically- in the span of only ~30 miles the temperature goes from from ~60 degrees to 100! 


We stop in Willits, Gateway to the Redwoods, to cool down, get some drinks, and buy supplies for our next camping spot.


We make good time north on the 101 and as long as we're moving the temperature is bearable-


This northern part of the 101 is called the Redwood Highway-


It's late afternoon and my little guy is in a good mood-


I can't remember what we were talking about, but it must have been something funny  :Wink: 



Welcome to Humboldt Redwoods State Park! We made it!

----------


## TonyBKK

We exit the 101 and continue into Humboldt Redwoods State Park on the Avenue of the Giants- a remarkable road that takes you through the amazing redwood forest-


We arrive at the Hidden Springs Campground shortly before sunset-



We grab spot 134 which is near the trailhead to the Williams Grove-


The campground is quite empty, but we do find a nice family with a boy about Kristhawee's age, and they enjoyed hanging out while I set up camp.


Once the sun set it was pitch dark under the redwoods- we built a nice fire and went to bed fairly early.

Up early the next morning, we were keen to explore the park and see some big trees! 

There's a lot to see in Humboldt Redwoods State Park!

This stump is in our campground; a reminder of days past when logging was big business in this area-


Figured we'd burn too much time hiking to the Williams Grove and back, so loaded up the Land Yacht and rode there. Kristhawee is getting geared up for our short ride to the Williams Grove-


All packed up!


Ready to roll!


Parking at Williams Grove- the size of these Redwoods makes the Land Yacht look tiny!

----------


## TonyBKK

It's a beautiful August morning and we walk down to the Eel River to find the trail to the Williams Grove-


Kristhawee discovers that the shallows are full of tadpoles! This guy already has his rear legs and will be ready to leave the water soon-


Walking along the bank of the Eel River in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Northern California-


We reach the temporary bridge that will take us to the Williams Grove trail-


The water is so low this late in the summer, that the bridge isn't really necessary-


These temporary bridges are taken down every fall and put back up in the spring after the snows have melted and water levels drop to the point they won't be washed away.

Kristhawee under a massive fallen redwood-




Welcome to the Williams Grove! So peaceful and quiet here-


We spend a little while wandering around in the woods, feeling small amongst these giant trees, then head back to the river-


My little guy wants to go swimming. I think that's a fantastic idea!


C'mon in the water's fine! 


Kristhawee in the Eel River, Humboldt Redwoods State Park-


Self portrait  :Wink: 


Under water too!  :Wink: 


A striking blue and red dragonfly-


Kristhawee finds a cool rock with a hole in it-


We spot a interesting looking fish who thinks we can't see him  :Wink: 


We lounged around in that refreshing creek for a long time, and Kristhawee practiced floating on his back and letting the current take him downstream- good fun! 

He also liked to try catching the tadpoles, but fortunately they were too quick for him-


Finally I had to insist that we get going. I wanted to get to Redwood National Park at a decent hour as I hear campsites there can be hard to find. Walking back to the bike I spotted a huge blackberry bush-


Kristhawee pigged out on fresh blackberries before we saddled up and hit the road.

Next stop- Redwood National Park!

----------


## terry57

I remember going the Redwood Forrest in California amongst the largest trees I've ever seen in my life. 

I'm always thinking " Seraquoia " can never spell that word.

Same spot is it.  ?

----------


## mackayae

The Grove of Titans, discovered in 1998, contains the largest coastal redwoods. It's exact location is secret but lies in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

----------


## TonyBKK

^^ Redwoods are the tallest trees on the planet. Giant Sequoia are the oldest and largest trees on the planet. (Same same but different)  :Wink: 

^ Stay tuned! We didn't sniff out the Grove of Titans, but we did ride and walk amongst some majestic giant redwoods!

We ride north along the Avenue of the Giants- what a road!


The massive redwoods are so close you could reach out and touch them-




Eventually the Avenue of the Giants rejoins the 101 and we leave the redwoods behind and ride through grasslands to Fortuna and then up along the coast through the quaint towns of Eureka and Arcata-


We stop in Eureka to grab some lunch and buy some food for Redwood National Park. My little guy is all smiles 


A stunning ride along the Pacific Coast as we pass Trinidad State Beach and Humboldt Lagoons State Park-


Almost there! Gorgeous afternoon for a ride up the 101!


I just love signs like these :mrgreen:


Zoom zoom!


Near Dry Lagoon State Park-


Woohoo! Welcome to Redwood National and State Parks!




We exit the 101 and ride along the unpaved and quite rough road that will take us to the Golds Bluff Beach campground-


This was not an easy road on the heavy LT! Some sections were very steep and slippery. I'd hate to ride this road in the rain! KLX would have been better!  :Wink: 


We made it!! Welcome to Gold Bluffs Beach in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park-

----------


## TonyBKK

Let's get our bearings- looking west out across the Pacific-


Looking north towards Crescent City and Oregon-


Looking south it's beach and bluffs as far as the eye can see-


The campground lies in the dunes along a beautiful 10-mile stretch of beach. The campground was pretty full, but we found a spot in the "hiker/biker" section. Yippee!

Some more info on the Gold Bluffs Beach Campground-


It can be cold, foggy and windy here- I found the perfect spot for our tent in a kind of natural "cave" deep inside a dense grove of pine trees- 




The sun was going down by the time we had our camp set up and it got really cold really fast! I whipped up a pretty decent macaroni dish that seemed to meet with my son's approval-


Then we snuggled up in our sleeping bags and read the Jungle Book until my son was asleep. I read a few more pages and joined him in dreamland (-_-)Zzzzzz

----------


## misskit

It's too cold up here in Humboldt.

I want to go back to Marin and live in the tree house. Pleeeeze.

----------


## TonyBKK

Good morning from Gold Bluffs Beach Campground, on the edge of Redwoods National Park! 

Scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, coffee for dad and hot chocolate for the little guy- yum!

Cold, wet and foggy this morning-


Let's go for a hike!


I've got a challenging loop planned for us that will take us 2 miles up the Miner's Ridge Trail then north along the Clintonia Trail about a mile to the James Irvine Trail which will take us another 1.5 miles to Fern Canyon, then we'll follow the beach back to the campground. Total loop will be around 8 or 9 miles! Let's go!






Lovely trail and we had it all to ourselves-




Everything is so lush and green and still wet from the morning fog-


Well, we didn't have the trail entirely to ourselves- plenty of signs of elk all over the place. Careful you don't step in any!  :Wink: 


Entering the redwood forest-




Love how these smaller trees grow around the huge fallen redwood-


Kristhawee is enjoying the hike-


He hikes down to explore the inside of a huge redwood-


Where's Kristhawee? 


I join him inside the tree. Wow, you could live in here, and in the past some settlers did. This tree cave even has a back door:


Onwards we march!


Here's a shortcut across a fallen redwood- looks slippery, I think we'll take the long way around-


We feel pretty small amongst these towering giants!


I am loving this trail!


Kristhawee had mad energy today and sprinted several sections-


A "see through" redwood- 


Can you see Kristhawee?


On the run again!




Father and son in Redwood National Park, California, USA


Onwards!


I thought my gf would get a kick out of this phallus covered tree :smile1:


We've reached the Clintonia Trail! Another mile to the James Irvine Trails and 2.8 miles to Fern Canyon!

----------


## TonyBKK

Lots and lots of mushrooms in these woods! 


Some of the trees have grown into very odd shapes-


I'm so proud of my son, he is handling this long hike with no problems whatsoever-


Running again!


I wish I had his energy!


Banana slug!


Walking amongst giants-


We've reached the James Irvine Trail! Only another mile and a half to Fern Canyon-


Kristhawee explores another "tree cave"-


So warm and dry in here-


Onwards towards Fern Canyon-


A bench and a plaque on a small wooden bridge- the words on the plaque took my breath away-



"You shall walk where only the wind has walked before
and when all music is stilled
you shall hear the singing of the stream
and enter the living shelter of the forest"

Beautiful! I read it to my son and he seemed to get it. I'll never grow tired of this short poem. Couldn't have picked a more suitable place to read it!

----------


## Humbert

Redwood forest pics are awesome!

Tony - Dad of the year.

----------


## UdonForever

What a wonderful thing to do with the boy.

As I said earlier, when you exited Crater Lake National Park and turned left toward Hwy 97 and Klamath Falls/Klamath Lake, you were about an hour NE from my home.

Now, when you were in Redwoods National Park, you were also about an hour from my home but on the other (SW) side.

Even living for so long where an hour's drive in any direction will take me to have a picnic in one of these places, they never get old and they never lose the awe.

I'm really enjoying your trip.

----------


## terry57

Yes, those trees are certainly out of this world.  To be amongst them is quite insane.

----------


## UdonForever

> Yes, those trees are certainly out of this world.  To be amongst them is quite insane.


Yes, it is almost spiritual. The biggest trees are nearly 100 meters tall, and that big one is about 7 meters in diameter at the base. There are several through there that are more than 7 meters (21 feet) in diameter.

An amazing thing is that it's rarely crowded. I have never been in one of those groves when it was crowded, and I've never seen the setting fail to bring people to a hush.

The boy is wonderful, and I'm so happy that he experienced all of it. He won't forget it.

----------


## TonyBKK

> What a wonderful thing to do with the boy.
> 
> As I said earlier, when you exited Crater Lake National Park and turned left toward Hwy 97 and Klamath Falls/Klamath Lake, you were about an hour NE from my home.
> 
> Now, when you were in Redwoods National Park, you were also about an hour from my home but on the other (SW) side.
> 
> Even living for so long where an hour's drive in any direction will take me to have a picnic in one of these places, they never get old and they never lose the awe.
> 
> I'm really enjoying your trip.


Thank you  :Smile: 

Our hike through the redwoods was unforgettable and we had the trails almost entirely to ourselves. Other than fern canyon, which is just off an access road, I reckon we encountered maybe half a dozen people during our hike.

You are very fortunate to live where you do! We'll be back in your neighborhood in early to mid July. Can't wait!!!

----------


## TonyBKK

We're making great time and stop along the trail to explore the many wonders of the forest-


A happy hiker! 


Finally we reach Fern Canyon!


C'mon dad, quit taking so many pictures and hurry up!


Kristhawee in Fern Canyon, Redwood National Park, California, USA!


He loved bouncing on these makeshift "bridges" placed over the shallow creek-


It's hard to believe Fern Canyon is a natural phenomenon- it seems almost impossible to have so many ferns and moss growing so densely, with countless trickling waterfalls keeping everything green and alive- quite amazing!






More banana slugs! Are they making out?  :Wink: 


Little guy is looking mischievous... 


Gazing up at one of the many waterfalls that keeps Fern Canyon so green-




It's a cool trail that requires a bit of scrambling over downed trees- 




Easy to get wet feet here-


As we are hiking out of the canyon and towards the beach we spot a huge bull elk in the meadow-


There's a map at the Fern Canyon trailhead that helps show our hike-


Now we have to get out to the beach to hike all the way back to the campground, but there's a huge herd of elk in the way... 


Takes us a while to find a way around as the area is very marshy and plenty of dead ends-


But finally we are on the beach, and it's a pretty long slog back to our campground-


Gold Bluffs Beach Campground is that away!


Kristhawee pretends he's a train and chugs along 


Lots of pelicans in the air and seals in the surf-


Uh oh, has the train run out of steam? C'mon Kristhawee, we're almost there!


Kristhawee checking out a crab skeleton-


Yippee! We made it back to our campsite and the sun is shining! Perfect end to a perfect day!

----------


## TonyBKK

While Kristhawee is off playing by himself I take the opportunity to replace the rear pads on the Land Yacht. The rear brake had been making a crazy racket and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to check the rear pads for wear without taking off the caliper...


Caliper off and I see that the pads are still fine... Weird, where's all that noise coming from?


I play around and soon enough discover that the "floating" disc has way too much play on the rivets and that's what's making all the noise... 


Well, it's definitely annoying, but probably not terribly dangerous. When I got back to civilization and had a chance to check some BMW forums it turns out this rear disc "cow bell" is a common problem and that there was even a recall to replace that disc with one that has been re-designed not to get loose on the rivets over time. Of course the replacement BMW disc costs a small fortune. There are also some DIY epoxy fixes where you basically make your "floating" disc into a fixed disc, but the best solution I found was an aftermarket floating disc from EBC that I bought from Motorcycle Superstore on sale for just ~$148.

----------


## TonyBKK

Once I got the bike back together I accompanied Kristhawee down to the beach where he had a good time trying to outrun the waves. The water was freezing cold and it looked like there was a mean current, so swimming was out of the question.




A beautiful spot!


Kristhawee on Gold Bluffs Beach, Redwood National Park, California-




We had some fun tossing a frisbee around too- my kid has a pretty good arm!


As the sun sank on the horizon the temperature dropped quickly. We made a fire using driftwood that we collected on the beach and called it a night when the wood ran out. Another evening snuggled in our sleeping bags reading the Jungle Book. Our last night in California. I never want this journey to end.

----------


## TonyBKK

Another cold foggy wet morning- After a big breakfast it took a while to get everything packed up- it's no fun packing a wet tent :shifty:


A good friend has recommended we not miss the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and more specifically Honeyman State Park, home to the largest sand dunes in the country. It's about 220 miles from our campground to Honeyman-


Not sure we'll make it in a day, but we still have plenty of time. Adios California! Hello Oregon!


A beautiful ride up along the Oregon Coast Highway-




Mixed fog and sun and quite chilly along the coast!


Breathtaking views along the Oregon coast-




Great motorcycle road too!




We stop in Bandon, Oregon to grab some food and see the sites- 




You are here!


It's a neat old fishing village and they've done up the waterfront nicely with boardwalks and lots of local art-




A lot of people were out crabbing and these nice young fellows invited Kristhawee to give it a try-


Seagulls and pelicans are eager to steal the bait if they can-


Kristhawee caught a crab! Now kiss it for good luck! :smile1:


We were warned to beware the local pelicans; apparently they can be quite aggressive and I never realized just how sharp their beak is-


These birds are BIG, with a wingspan as large as 10 feet and weighing as much as 30 pounds or 12 kilos and they can mess you up if they feel so inclined!

----------


## TonyBKK

We weren't going to make it to Honeyman State Park today. No worries, still plenty of time so let's not rush  :Smile: 

We needed to get some laundry done and Kristhawee was very keen to go swimming, so I stared looking for the nearest KOA. There's one in the Oregon Dunes Natl Red Area, but no pool, so we opted to backtrack a bit to the KOA a little ways south of Bandon. Good choice! 

Hot tub? Check!


Pool? Check!


Laundry? Check!


Lots of kids to play with? Check!




A good night's sleep? Check!


Pancake breakfast? Check!




Somebody ate too many pancakes? Check!

----------


## Looper

> but we found a spot in the "hiker/biker" section


Hey you are not allowed in that section with your motorised contraption!

Well those were the rules when I cycled (bicycle) down the pacific coast 20 years ago.

Awesome deal camping in those great sites for $2 (Oregon) and $3 (California).

Had forgotten half the names of the sites until reading this thread... cheers!

----------


## Kurgen

I love this thread Tony and envy you still.

Please excuse me for posting this but everytime I log on here I hear Country Roads.

----------


## S Landreth

Two fortunate points.

The first, your son being able to see/visit the wonderful places you have taken him that many of us Americans have yet to see. Very fortunate

The second, is obvious.

Wonderful pictures/captions/thread.

----------


## UdonForever

Still wonderful Tony. Just for info, the elk you saw along the coast are Roosevelt Elk. While they still have massive antlers, they are physically a bit smaller than the Rocky Mountain Elk you saw or could have seen anywhere near the Rockies, and into any state such as Montana, Wyoming, Colorado., Utah, etc.

Unlike deer, elk are ruminants and like cows have a 4 chambered stomach and eat grass, while deer eat browse - leafy things. That's why you were more likely to see elk in a grassy field and deer in the woods. Of course they all move about through both areas, but that's how they feed.

Elk aren't real good at digging down through snow to find enough grass, so they winter down low as you saw them. As the weather gets hot they won't do well with that and will migrate back into the cooler mountains for the summer.

Keep posting. I'm loving it. You posted the sign for the cutoff to either 101 N. or Grants Pass, Oregon. That's the road I would take to get home - about an hour or a bit more.

----------


## TonyBKK

^ Aha, I didn't realize the elk we saw at the coast are different. I guess the ones we saw in Yellowstone would have been Rocky Mountain Elk? 

Beautiful elegant animals!

Riding north from Bandon towards Coos Bay, Oregon we tagged along behind a group of Harleys for a while-


These folks were cool, gave my son a big thumbs up, and didn't seem to mind us following them-


Cruisin' up the Oregon Coast Highway 101-


Arriving Coos Bay there are huge timber yards just south of the city-


Welcome to Coos Bay, Oregon!


We stop here for lunch and wander around the town a bit, finally ending up at the small but very entertaining Coos Bay Railroad Museum-


Kristhawee is a train aficionado and really enjoyed the Railroad Museum!

----------


## Aberlour

^ Couple of links seem broken in that last one Tony. Unless it's just me.

Still loving the thread mate.

----------


## TonyBKK

After the Railroad Museum we rode out to the coast on the Arago Highway to check out the marina and visit some of the fantastic coastal parks-


Crossing the South Slough-


Kristhawee checking out the Charleston Marina -




The water is so incredibly clear here-


Bright sunny August day, but still quite cold-


Scrambling over some rocks-


Kristhawee takes a spill, but he's a tough kid and undamaged-


The Land Yacht admiring her water-going brethren  :Wink:

----------


## TonyBKK

> ^ Couple of links seem broken in that last one Tony. Unless it's just me.
> 
> Still loving the thread mate.


Ya, fixing the links as I go, it's tedious, but the pics load a lot faster from the new links and I don't have to worry about bandwidth limits.  :Smile:

----------


## TonyBKK

> Originally Posted by TonyBKK
> 
> but we found a spot in the "hiker/biker" section
> 
> 
> Hey you are not allowed in that section with your motorised contraption!
> 
> Well those were the rules when I cycled (bicycle) down the pacific coast 20 years ago.
> 
> ...


Heh heh, you'd think so wouldn't you,  :ourrules:  but almost every where we went when the regular spots were all full the rangers would tell us to go ahead and take a hiker / biker site, since they're almost always open, and yeah, they're a bit cheaper than regular sites too so really a win-win  :bananaman:

----------


## TonyBKK

Next we checkout out Yoakam Point State Park and we thought seriously about camping there as it was such a beautiful spot, but I wanted to try and reach the Oregon Dunes today so we opted not to stay here.

Here's Kristhawee on the beach at Sunset Bay in Sunset Bay State Park-






It was low tide so we walked out onto the tidal flats to do some exploring. There were lots of crabs, hermit crabs, starfish and other sea life in the tidal pools- Kristhawee had a good time exploring this area with a really nice older boy he befriended-






It was getting late and I was still hoping we might reach the Jessie M Honeyman Memorial State Park in the Oregon Dunes, so we hit the road again-


Riding along the coast on the Cape Arago Highway-




Crossing back over the South Slough and into Coos Bay-


Through the small towns of Barview and North Bend-


Then across some rather spectacular old bridges that span the bay-

----------


## t.s

im going to be guttted when this trip ends. really great thread. my first green ever given.

----------


## TonyBKK

> im going to be guttted when this trip ends. really great thread. my first green ever given.


You are very kind  :Smile:  Don't worry, the trip will end, but the adventure continues!!!

----------


## TonyBKK

Riding north towards the Oregon Dunes on the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway-


More historic bridges, this one over the Umpqua River-




The shadows are getting long and I'm beat. We've reached the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, but still a ways to go to reach Jessie M Honeyman Memorial State Park . I don't want to be riding in the dark or setting up camp after dark so pull off the road at the Tahkenitch Campground-


It's a beautiful campground and nearly deserted. We found a really nice spot and enjoyed a quiet evening before passing out early-


Good night! (-_-)Zzzz

----------


## TonyBKK

Good morning from Tahkenitch Campground in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area!

Kinda gross but fascinating too, our campground was full of these massive slugs-

I dig how this guy is picking up the pine needles as he goes, giving himself the appearance of a bushy tail  :Wink: 

Jessie M Honeyman Memorial State Park is less than 10 miles up the road- so close, but I'm still glad we stopped when we did the previous night.

Kristhawee in Jessie M Honeyman Memorial State Park!


Wow, calling these dunes "big" really doesn't come close to doing them justice. Very impressive!! Nice warm bottomless sand with Cleawox lake in the background-


People bring sleds and snowboards to slide down the dunes. We made due by just running down as fast as we could. Kristhawee declared we were motorcycles- I'm the GSXR and he's the Ninja and the race is on! 

Ooops, somebody crashed... 

A face full of sand isn't much fun, but he got over it pretty quick 

Maybe rolling down is safer? 


Just remember, hiking back up is a slog! 


Kristhawee on the shore of Cleawox Lake-


We hiked around the lake to the swimming beach on the other side-




Somebody wants to race  :Lol: 


The park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the great depression and features some really cool buildings and architecture; the centerpiece would have to be the Cleawox Lake Bathhouse, built in 1938 and now on the US National Register of Historic Places.

----------


## TonyBKK

They had canoes and paddleboats for rent near the beach and Kristhawee was keen to go for a cruise and wanted to try a paddleboat, so off we went!


Dad did most of the peddling as Kristhawee was more interested in see how the boat works than actually making it go  :Wink:  He did occasionally help out though-


It was peaceful and quiet out on Cleawox Lake, we'd brought along some drinks and snacks and did a full tour of the lake-




My Co-pilot  :Wink: 









Don't remember what I said to elicit this response... 


After cruising around Cleawox Lake for a couple hours we dropped off the boat and Kristhawee wanted to play at the beach-


Water was pretty cold, but didn't dampen his enthusiasm-


Serious work building sand castles-


The super high pressure drinking fountain can double as a shower  :Wink: 


It's getting late and we need to get going- a couple last look at beautiful Cleawox Lake as we hike back to the Land Yacht parked on the south side lot-


Goodbye Jessie M Honeyman Memorial State Park! Kristhawee and I both hope to re-visit this park again some day!

----------


## TonyBKK

Today we only covered about ~65 miles, but it was a fantastic day!


We rode north along the Oregon coast on Highway 101 on a beautiful August afternoon-


We pass through a bunch of State Parks, including Devils Elbow, Stonefield Beach, Smelt Sands and more!


More historical bridges-


A cool tunnel near Cape Creek-


Another cool bridge near Stonefield Beach-


Another very cool bridge brings across the Alsea Bay brings us into the town of Waldport, Oregon-


It was really quiet in Waldport. We stopped to grab dinner at Grand Central Pizza on the main drag-


A big salad bar and all you could eat spaghetti dinner hit the spot! We ate well and they had WiFi so Kristhawee was able to chat with his mom. 

It's getting late and we need to figure out where we're going to stay tonight. I ask the girls working at the restaurant and they recommend a National Forest Campground just east of town. Sounds good, let's go!

We pulled in to the Blackberry Campground in Siuslaw National Forest just before sunset. 


Once the sun went down it got quite chilly. We built a big fire-


And daddy enjoyed a nice cold Stella! 

Life is good!!!

----------


## beerlaodrinker

What an awesome adventure for your young bloke, thanks agai for taking the time to post

----------


## terry57

^
It would be a privilege for a person of any age but to be able to do it with ones dad on a motorbike at 5 years old is mind blowing and it will be burned into his mind for ever.

Extremely lucky lad to have such an adventurous dude as a dad. 

Missed out on Disneyland though, maybe next time.    :Smile:

----------


## TonyBKK

^ Egads, have you ever been to Disney Land during the summer holidays? No thanks!!

Good morning from Blackberry Campground in Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon, USA!


Wow, there's a good reason this place is called Blackberry!!!


Blackberries and Bacon! Breakfast is served!!


One bowl of freshly picked blackberries just won't do- Kristhawee went looking for more-


It was really chilly in the morning, but as the sun climbed higher it warmed up nicely and Kristhawee wanted to go check out the creek that runs through the campground-


We had a great time swimming and bathing in the freezing creek. Hadn't had a proper bath in days so we cleaned up in the creek. Little man looks a bit cold... 


We hung out in the creek for a good long while, getting out to warm up in the sun when we got cold, then jumping back in. Good fun! Finally it was time to hit the road. C'mon little guy, get dressed or daddy's gonna show these pictures to your friends when you're a teenager  :Wink: 




Bye bye Blackberry Campground! 

Next stop, Mount Saint Helens National Monument!!

----------


## Dead Metal

Fantastic...
as others have said.....don't want it to end, each day were looking forward to start the day reading of your wonderful trip.
Hope we are privileged with reading similar stories/adventures about this young "dude" of yours in years to come, well-done

----------


## natalie8

^And this summer's trip!

----------


## terry57

> Hope we are privileged with reading similar stories/adventures about this young "dude" of yours in years to come, well-done




It will go like this.

The little dude will become hooked on Biking and become the National leader of the    " Hells Angels Motorcycle Club " opening up a chapter in Bangkok.  

The old man will be running the books.   :Smile:

----------


## TonyBKK

> Originally Posted by Dead Metal
> 
> 
> 
> Hope we are privileged with reading similar stories/adventures about this young "dude" of yours in years to come, well-done
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...



LOL! Hells Angels? I rather hope not...  :Wink:

----------


## TonyBKK

Today we're headed to Mount Saint Helens National Monument in Washington state, roughly a 200 mile ride from Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon-


Alsea Highway 34 is a fantastic road! 


Zoomin!


The Alsea Highway twists and turns through Siuslaw National Forest all the way to Philomath and Corvalis-


Beautiful riding all the way to Philomath-


We stopped for fuel and lunch in the funky little town of Philomath then continued east until we hit the I-5 interstate which we followed north to Portland and on to Washington state.

A few pics riding through Portland, Oregon-




I don't think I've ever seen an Interstate Highway with a drawbridge before...


We've crossed the Columbus River and are now entering Washington!

----------


## TonyBKK

After we got past Portland and Vancouver we made good time north on the I-5 and exited at Castle Rock where we did some shopping, then rode east on the Spirit Lake Highway-


The Spirit Lake Highway is an amazing road that climbs up the west side of Mount Saint Helens to the Johnston Ridge Observatory-


Beautiful views of Hoffstadt Creek in the late afternoon sun-


We catch our first glimpse of Mount Saint Helens from the Elk Rock Viewpoint-


We're at nearly 4000 feet elevation and as the sun drops farther on the horizon it's getting cold fast-


This is far enough for today- we'll head back down to find a place to camp and return tomorrow. Riding down the Spirit Lake Highway to Silver Lake and Seaquest State Park-








You can just make out the crescent moon peeking over the treeline as we descend the Spirit Lake Highway to Seaquest State Park-

----------


## TonyBKK

Good morning from Seaquest State Park, Washington, USA!


We arrived here after dark the night before but fortunately found a nice spot to camp and enjoyed a twilight hike before bed. 

Well rested we are ready to explore Mount Saint Helens today!

Big thanks to Dave for recommending a quite decent instant coffee from Starbucks-

After surviving for weeks on nasty folgers instant coffee this starbucks brew was very welcome!

We first went to the Mount Saint Helens Visitor Center to learn more about this active volcano that erupted in spectacular fashion on May 18th, 1980. This eruption was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed.

Here is an amazing video of the eruption-



Kristhawee deep inside the volcano- 


We watched a cool movie about the events leading up to the eruption and Kristhawee banged through a Junior Ranger workbook and earned another badge!

Congratulations Kristhawee! I'm very proud of you! 

We rode back up the Spirit Lake Highway to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. A beautiful day with amazing views-


Fantastic road and very little traffic-


Yesterday the volcano was obscured by clouds, but today we are blessed with amazing views of Mount Saint Helens, with Mount Adams to the left-


Kristhawee at the Elk Rock viewpoint, Mount St. Helens National Monument, Washington, USA!


The Spirit Lake Highway ends at the Johnston Ridge Observatory-


Here's a cool map of the National Monument-


A ranger gave a fascinating presentation on the volcano and eruption- 


The crater is over a mile wide and the volcano is still active. A new dome is slowly growing inside the crater-



Consider that Mount Saint Helens is only 96 miles south of Seattle, Washington and 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon!

Father and Son at Mount Saint Helens, Washington, USA!




You can just catch a glimpse of Spirit Lake and Mount Adams in this pic-


Boundary Trail #1- you can actually hike right up to and all the way around the crater, but you have to carry all your own water and the weather up here can turn nasty without warning. This is a hike I'd love to do with my son when he's a bit older and I'm carrying better equipment.


When the volcano blew some 32 years prior every living thing in this zone was killed. Yet slowly life is returning, but it's still in a fragile state-


We hike a little ways down the trail to enjoy the views and a picnic lunch-

----------


## Jools

Some of my best memories are of traveling with my father. Looks like you two had a great trip.

----------


## terry57

I took a Helicopter flight over the volcano when I was there, it was quite breath taking to fly down close to the Dome and to view the damage the eruption caused to the river and surrounding Forrest.  

Well worth the dollars.

----------


## TonyBKK

It's a gorgeous day and we're keen to go hiking so ask the very friendly rangers for recommendations and they say that the 2 and a half mile Hummocks trail might be just the thing for a nice father and son hike-


The Hummocks are huge remnants of the original peak of Mount Saint Helens that came to rest here after the eruption in 1980. The hummocks buried the Toutle river, but eventually the river seeped back up to the surface. It's a fast changing ecosystem of ridges and ponds where wind and rain carve gulleys and ravines. And more recently, beavers have returned and are now doing what they do best, and damming small creeks and creating ponds and small lakes.


This area is teeming in wildflowers-






The trail is a nice easy 2.5 mile loop through the hummocks-


Lots of ponds and small lakes-


Hard to believe we're hiking on land that used to be part of the peak of Mount St Helens-




Birch and Pine trees are slowly returning to this area. Wildflowers are everywhere-


Erosion is hard at work- where'd the trail go??


The crater is again hidden by clouds and I feel fortunate that we enjoyed such clear views in the morning. That's the Toutle River, buried in the original eruption, it's returned to the surface and cut a new path down the mountain-


Another spot where erosion has eaten the trail- 

Kristhawee's like, "now what?!"  :Wink: 

We find our way around and continue on this wonderful trail-


Steep colorful bluffs descend to the Toutle river drainage-


In some places the ground is littered with pyroclasts, the lumps of molten rock that were ejected during the eruption. 


In other areas young trees are taking root and forests are starting to grow-




We spot our first beaver dam-


This one looks pretty old.


I reckon the beavers have already moved on as I don't see any evidence of freshly cut trees. All of the trees we see with teeth marks look like they were felled some time ago-






The beaver ponds are the perfect place for cattails and they going to seed- Kristhawee's never seen one before-


I tell him stories about how when I was a kid we'd have cattail fights. A solid hit and they explode in a puff of seeds. He's game! 


It was a great hike but it's getting late and time to head down the mountain and rendezvous with my friend Dave who's got a fishing spot on the Lewis River. Another pleasant ride down the Spirit Lake Highway-


The Hoffstadt Creek Bridge is an impressive piece of engineering-


We pulled off here for a quick look-


Further down the mountain there are some interesting old houses, some half buried in ash, and this sagging old shed-


This area abounds in bigfoot sightings. They're said to look something like this-


Some wonderful bigfoot tales, if you're in to that sort of thing, here: 1924 - Ape Canyon

I downloaded and read some of these stories to Kristhawee and he was fascinated and bit freaked out

----------


## TonyBKK

It was only some ~50 miles or so from the Spirit Lake Highway to my friend Dave's fishing spot on the Lewis River-


He's got a nice set up there with a camper and fishing boat and Mocha the dog-




Kristhawee and Dave really hit it off and are now best buddies-


Kristhawee even got to drive the boat :mrgreen:


Dave showed off his super-soaker  :Wink: 



The Lewis River is quite beautiful-


When Kristhawee got too naughty Dave hog tied him  :Wink: 


And when that didn't work he threatened to throw him overboard  :Wink: 


We came up empty but Dave's friends did much better-


We ate well, lots of fresh fish! I had a chance to do some laundry and get packed while Dave and Kristhawee took off down the river again-

----------


## Satonic

That fishing looks great! Nothing better than a day on a boat with friends, a few cold ones and a rod & reel.

Looks like Dave has lost a bit of weight since I saw him last?

----------


## TonyBKK

> That fishing looks great! Nothing better than a day on a boat with friends, a few cold ones and a rod & reel.
> 
> Looks like Dave has lost a bit of weight since I saw him last?


Yeah, good times! We'll see him again soon! He tells me he's lot a lot of weight- I think he realized after our last couple of dirt adventures that carrying around that extra weight is no fun at all!

----------


## TonyBKK

And we're off again! 


Kristhawee and I both really enjoyed the Wonderland Cave back in the Black Hills so we were both keen to check out the Ape Cave here in Mount Saint Helens National Monument. We rode to the Beaver Bay campground as it's quite close to Ape Cave-


Beaver Bay was a nice campground with hot showers and very friendly campground hosts. We got lucky and snagged the last spot in the campground!


Lots of kids here and Kristhawee had a good time playing with them. Tonight's dinner was Chili and mashed potatoes with smores for dessert :mrgreen:


You know this is going to go down nicely with dinner! 


Kristhawee likes his marshmellows well done  :Wink:

----------


## TonyBKK

Good morning from Beaver Bay, Washington!

Chilly this morning and we've just cracked the 6000 mile mark on our summer adventure!


15 miles to the Ape Cave!


At the trailhead to Ape Cave we had to check in with the park rangers as they don't want anyone getting lost in what is the longest lave tube in the US[font=sans-serif][color=#000000]. They made sure we had a primary and backup light source and warned about the cold temperatures in the cave.  

From wikipedia:

Ape Cave is a lava tube located in Gifford Pinchot National Forest just to the south of Mount St. Helens in Washington state. Its passageway is the longest continuous lava tube in the continental United States, at 13,042 feet (3,975 m). Ape Cave is a popular hiking destination with beautiful views of the Mount St. Helens lahar region. Lava tubes are an unusual formation in this region, as volcanoes of the Cascade Range are mostly stratovolcanos and do not typically erupt withpahoehoe (fluid basalt).

Kristhawee at the entrance to the Ape Cave-


From the main entrance you have two options- the technical Upper Cave and the easy Lower Cave. The upper cave involves a lot of climbing over rock falls and the rangers said it would probably not be a good idea to take my son on that route. One of the technical sections of the Upper Cave (not my pic):


Kristhawee didn't mind- Lower Cave it is!


It's a cool 42 degrees down here, year around and there's a cold wind that blows through the cave; odd since it dead ends... Where does that wind come from?




Wow, this is the "easy" cave, but nonetheless there are still some technical bits. With a backpack on I had to wiggle through here on my stomach. Not recommended for anyone who suffers from claustrophobia! 


Pretty cool though!


The Ape Cave was totally different from the Wonderland Cave we visited in the Black Hills, and Kristhawee thought it was totally cool!


Climbing back to the surface-


Next time we'll do the Upper Cave!

----------


## Loombucket

Cracking thread and some great pictures Tony! Your lad is, certainly, going to remember this for a few years.

----------


## TonyBKK

After Ape Cave we rode north on the amazing National Forest 25, then west up the equally impressive National Forest 99 to the Windy Ridge Observatory-




Gifford Pinchot National Forest-


Muddy River National Volcanic Monument-


What a road! What a ride!




Approaching Mount Saint Helens from the east via NF99-


The view from the Windy Ridge parking area-


Spirit Lake, and on the very far side you can just about make out the Johnston Ridge Observatory. Would be cool to hike from one to the other some day :mrgreen:


It's a whole lot of stairs up to the actual Windy Ridge viewpoint- Kristhawee wants to race so I give him a nice head start. Can you see him?


About half way up, looking back towards the Windy Ridge parking lot and Mount Saint Helens. Can you see Kristhawee on the stairs? He bolted up too fast and didn't take into account the lack of oxygen at this altitude! 


But he made it to the top all the same! 


Another view of Spirit Lake and that's the summit of Mount Rainier way off in the distance-


Windy Ridge, Mount Saint Helens National Monument- What a gorgeous spot!


Kristhawee at Windy Ridge, Mount Saint Helens National Monument, Washington, USA!




Gazing in to the crater of Mount Saint Helens-


Fantastic view of Mount Adams to the east-


What goes up must come down!


A sexy new R1200RT parked next to our Land Yacht-


Kristhawee checking out the R1200RT-

----------


## TonyBKK

Time to ride back down the 99 and continue north on the 25 towards Mount Rainier National Park-




There's Mount Rainier off in the distance- farther than it looks!


The twists and turns never end on NF99




We catch occasional glimpses of Mount Adams as well-


Bye bye Mount Saint Helens! See you again some day!

----------


## TonyBKK

NF 25 north is an amazing road-


A bit further and we reach the junction with Highway 12 at the tiny little town of Randle- 

Once again we're on the Lewis and Clark Trail that we'd ridden before from Montana across Idaho and on to Walla Walla a few weeks prior. 

Note to self- look into the possibility of riding from the Pacific coast to Illinois on the Lewis and Clark Trail :mrgreen:

Frankly though, that last bit through Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri would probably be incredibly boring... 

But this section of Highway 12 is stunning. Riding east towards Packwood and Mount Rainier National Park-


15 miles to Packwood and 23 to the junction with the 123 that will take us to Mount Rainier National Park-


I dig these old steel bridges-


We catch a glimpse of Mount Rainier as we approach the small town of Packwood-


We stopped at Cliff Droppers for a late lunch in Packwood. Obviously there must be a lot of skiing around here in the winter  :Cool: 


Fish n Chips for the little dude-


An huge bacon cheesburger for dad-


And we shared a most excellent vanilla shake for dessert-

----------


## Aberlour

Tony, have you thought about getting a photo book made up for your son? You can do them on-line pretty easily. Would be a great way for him to share his trip with friends and family.

----------


## TonyBKK

^ Why yes, that's a great idea! I'm doing it in chapters because there are just so many pictures! I gave him Chapter 1 (Minnesota and South Dakota) for Christmas, and Chapter 2 (Wyoming) for his birthday. Need to get to work on Chapter 3 (Montana)! But we're hitting the road again in less than a week for our 2013 summer adventure! Will I ever get 2012 done?  :bananaman: 

Back in the saddle for the final push to Mount Rainier National Park-


Welcome to Mount Rainier National Park!


We'd been so incredibly lucky all summer long finding camping spots, but tonight our luck ran out... The Ohanapecosh campground was completely full; even the hiker/biker sites were taken, so we back-tracked to Packwood where we'd had lunch and checked in to the quaint Packwood RV Park and Campground-


It was actually pretty nice and filled up with other campers who couldn't find a spot within the National Park. Right around sunset a large herd of elk invaded the campground-

Those are apple trees they're after :mrgreen:

Beautiful animals and not very timid either- we had fun chucking apples at them  :Wink: 




There's a nice big grocery store in Packwood and we walked over there and bought ourselves all the fixings for a nice dinner from the deli, walked back to our campground, and enjoyed a pleasant evening with a nice family that was camping next to us in a beautiful old Airstream camper. They had a sick looking old rat-tailed Chihuahua that Kristhawee took a liking to-


Kristhawee busted out his Pound Puppy "Baseball" for the Chihuahua. I don't think the Chihuahua was in the mood to play though... :shifty:


The stars were so bright that we went out for an evening stroll before bed. Here's Kristhawee with a funny "snow bear" sculpture. My camera battery was charging so this pic was taken with my crappy camera phone...


Man it got cold this night! Forgot to check the temperature on the Land Yacht but there was frost on the grass when we woke up in the morning. 


It probably would have been even colder at the Ohanapecosh campground in the park, so in the end I think we were fortunate to have spent the night here. The Packwood campground had really nice hot showers, so that took the edge off in the morning, plus there was a nice coffee shop on the main street where I got a good cup of joe, Kristhawee had a hot chocolate, and we both enjoyed some fresh pastries. 

Went a bit overboard with the sunscreen today but figured we'd be spending a lot of time at high altitude in bright sun and didn't want my little guy getting burned :mrgreen:


A quick check of the email thanks to the Packwood Timberland Library's free WiFi-

Kristhawee loves libraries, but it was too early so the library wasn't yet open. Besides, we had a lot to see and do today!

Ready to roll!

----------


## TonyBKK

Some friendly locals recommended we enter Mount Rainier via the Skate Creek road which would take us to the Nisqually entrance at the south west side of Mount Rainier National Park. Great advice since I wanted to exit via the northeast White River Entrance and this would save us any doubling back. It was a fantastic ride on the small winding road that follows the bubbling Skate Creek. The road took us past countless waterfalls and through thick pine forest-


The Skate Creek road eventually led us to the National Park Highway 706-


Arriving at the Nisqually Entrance. Welcome to Mount Rainier National Park!


Wow, a lot of people headed in to Mount Rainier National Park today! It's a Saturday in August, no surprise the place is packed!


Glad we're on a bike- easy to get around the traffic :mrgreen: Crossing the Nisqually River-


Wow, what a drainage and what a view!


Self portrait  :Wink: 


We pull off at Rickseker Point to grab a snack and take it all in-


Kristhawee and the Land Yacht at Rickseker Point, Mt Rainier National Park-


You couldn't ask for a nice picnic spot!


Father and son at Rickseker Point, Mt Rainier National Park-




Let's push on to PARADISE!

----------


## natalie8

Great stuff yet again. What kind of fish was that that your friends caught in the river? On the previous page there's a shot of Kris holding one up.

Also, I love how in every set of pics, the more miles travelled, the longer and thicker your beard gets.  :18:  It must have been quite a job taking it off again.

----------


## terry57

I like the way the little dude is being exposed to many different situations and many different people and getting love showered upon him from all.

With a bit of luck he will grow up being a very well balanced person, his dad has given him the basics of life to be successful.

----------


## TonyBKK

> Great stuff yet again. What kind of fish was that that your friends caught in the river? On the previous page there's a shot of Kris holding one up.
> 
> Also, I love how in every set of pics, the more miles travelled, the longer and thicker your beard gets.  It must have been quite a job taking it off again.


The Lewis River is a popular fishing spot. It's full of Coho and Chinook Salmon as well as a few different kinds of trout.

Yeah, I decided early on to quit shaving and to let Kristhawee's hair grow long. We looked like quite the hippy pair by the end of the summer  :Lmao:

----------


## TonyBKK

> I like the way the little dude is being exposed to many different situations and many different people and getting love showered upon him from all.
> 
> With a bit of luck he will grow up being a very well balanced person, his dad has given him the basics of life to be successful.


Thank you Terry  :Smile: 

He's a sweet kid and I try to do right by him. 

Skype is a lifesaver- I chat with him 2-3 times a week and we often talk about last summer's trip though now he's counting the days until I pick him up for our next father and son adventure.

I'll see by beloved boy again soon!  :bananaman:

----------


## TonyBKK

A breathtaking ride up the mountain-


Welcome to Paradise! Great to be on a bike as we can park in designated motorcycle parking right by the visitor center while the car lots were all full and people were having to drive down the mountain and come back via shuttle bus.

"... the most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings." John Muir

Indeed!


We ducked in to the Paradise Henry M Jackson Memorial Visitor Center to grab a Junior Ranger workbook and check out the displays-






Looking at the mountain and glaciers from the visitor center is all fine and well, but we wanted to stretch out legs, go for a hike and play in the snow! Let's go!


There are a bunch of trails heading up from the visitor center. They start out paved and crowded and get better the farther you go. Despite these signs there was an annoying amount of people trampling through the wildflowers...

Reckon the NPS could make a mint if they fined just a fraction of the people who go stomping around off the trails...

Our goal was to reach Glacier Vista- it's about 2.5 miles and climbs some 1600 feet from the visitor center-


Amazing views as we slowly make our way up towards Glacier Vista-


The air is pretty thin up here at ~6000 feet! Every time Kristhawee would get tired we'd stop and work on his Junior Ranger book-


We spotted a fat marmot sunning on a rock near the trail-


I envy him his view!


What a life, eh?


Hiking the Skyline Trail! 1 mile down, 1 and a half to go!


Snow!!


Kristhawee on the Skyline Trail in Mount Rainier National Park!




Glacier Vista-


Lots of kids playing in the snow!


Happy Days!


Kristhawee was having a blast; so was I :thumbup:


That's Mount Saint Helens way off in the distance-


Look at Kristhawee's pants- he was soaked from playing in the melting snow, but it was such a warm day that he didn't care  :Razz: 


Time to build a snowman!


He's tiny, but damn cute!




What a perfect spot to finish Kristhawee's Junior Ranger workbook and enjoy a picnic-


Uh oh, somebody wants to have a snow ball fight! :smile1:




The view down the Nisqually valley- you can see the bridge we crossed on our way up-


It's getting late and we need to turn in the Junior Ranger workbook before the visitor center closes, so time to head back down to Paradise-

----------


## TonyBKK

The hike back down to Paradise was just as beautiful as the hike up-


Crystal clean air, mountain streams and wildflowers-






Looking back the way we've come- Mount Rainier in the late afternoon sun-












Paradise is in sight!


We made it back just in time for Kristhawee to turn in his workbook and get sworn in by a ranger to earn yet another Junior Ranger badge. This little video of Kristhawee taking the Junior Ranger oath is pretty adorable-



Good job Kristhawee!!

----------


## TonyBKK

Getting late and we need to hit the road! Check out the stone work in the hand built Paradise Visitor Center- impressive!


Goodbye Paradise! Hope to visit again!


It's about 45 miles from Paradise to the Ranger Creek Campground just outside Mount Rainier National Park-


Fantastic ride with gorgeous views and very little traffic-


Mount Rainier looks great in the late afternoon light-


Amazing how little traffic there is. I guess most folks leave via the western exits?


The moon is already up-




Some sections of the road were under repair, but nothing the Land Yacht couldn't handle  :Wink: 










Leaving Mount Rainier National Park via the Mather Memorial Parkway (I smell BACON!)  :Wink: 




Welcome to the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest-

----------


## TonyBKK

We arrived at the Ranger Creek Campground just before sunset-


It's a very primitive campground- there wasn't even potable water so I boiled water out of the river for our dinner. But the most surprising thing was the runway running right through the campground!


At $5 this was one of the cheapest campgrounds we enjoyed all summer-


Found a nice secluded spot with lots of room-


Then we went to explore the air strip-


A beautiful old single engine airplane-




Ranger Creek State Airport-


Headed back to our campsite- I want to get dinner made before it gets dark.


I figured that airplane was parked for the night, but no, they fired it up and got out of there just before dark-



Cooked up a not bad dinner of pasta with tuna and we cuddled around our campfire and watched the stars come out.


This was our last night camping. Finally our journey is coming to an end. Kristhawee tells me he wants to stay with me forever. I feel the same and hold him tight.

Good night my sweet prince, tomorrow we return to civilization.

----------


## TonyBKK

Our trip is almost at an end  :Sad:  We ride from Ranger Creek to Bellingham where we'll hook up with Dave and spend a night before I drop off Kristhawee at his mom's place in Snohomish the following day.


Dave met us along the I-5 and we rode the rest of the way together to his place in Bellingham-


Dave took us on the scenic route via Chuckanut Drive which winds along the Samish and Bellingham Bays. 


Fun road, but lots of cops so we took it nice and easy.


I still dig dilapidated farms-


We made it to Bellingham in good time and Kristhawee was happy to see Mocha again-




Dave's got an awesome "man cave" of a garage- every tool you could imagine and tons of hunting and outdoor gear too. 


Kristhawee was particularly impressed by Dave's collection of animal calls. Here he is trying out a duck call-

----------


## Humbert

Yeah Bellingham! Love the place. Lots of family there. Old friends at Kelsham Cycles.

----------


## TonyBKK

We took the dogs for a nice long walk down to a waterfront park-


Striking the wisdom bell for luck (and maybe a bit of wisdom?)  :Wink: 


Back at Dave's house Kristhawee was in a naughty mood, though in his defense it must be said, Dave really asks for it!


Dave suffered having his head licked. 


What does Dave's head taste like Kristhawee???

MEAT!!

God I love how honest little kids are. It's official folks, Dave is a meat-head!

----------


## TonyBKK

The final day of our epic summer adventure has arrived 

Dave took us on a fantastic ride up to the summit of Mount Baker-

I don't know what's more spectacular, the road or the scenery!


Armed with some snacks we set out for a short little hike.


Can you see the mountain goats right in the center of the picture?

Our bikes are tiny specks down in the parking lot-


Last chance for Kristhawee to play in the snow-




Kristhawee, the aspiring photographer, took this picture of Dave and me-

Not bad for a 5 year old, eh?

Someone needs to help me come up with a good caption for this photo 


Some friendly Japanese tourists took this pic of the three of us-


A quick photo stop at the Mt Baker ski area on the way down-

----------


## TonyBKK

What goes up must come down! Headed back down the mountain-



Dave's so lucky to have such great roads and stunning wilderness right in his back yard-



Back in Bellingham we went to Dave's wife's Thai restaurant for a farewell meal. Man can Dave's wife cook!


Kristhawee and Dave are still misbehaving-


Kristhawee gets a whipped cream mustache-


Good times!


Dave's wife and Kristhawee really hit it off. Apparently she's now decided she's ready to have grand kids 


A farewell picture: Evelyn, Pon, Dave and Kristhawee


Then back to Dave's to get packed up. Kristhawee didn't want to leave, but he didn't create a scene either- good boy  I was doing my best to keep it together too. I really didn't want to say goodbye to my boy.


An uneventful ride to Snohomish and dropped off Kristhawee in one piece at his mom's place. He had a bunch of stepbrothers and stepsisters running around and that made saying goodbye easier as he had so many stories to tell and just wanted to play. It felt strange to ride off alone, without my little copilot and companion. I was feeling pretty blue, but Dave was a great help in keeping me distracted and cheered up.

Big Dave's little VFR next to Tony and Kristhawee's Land Yacht  :Wink: 


I picked up some oil and a filter and talked bikes with Ward at BBRP in Bellingham- cool shop-


The title still hadn't arrived from Minnesota, so selling the bike wasn't an option. Fortunately Dave was kind enough to let me leave it at his place-

The good old Land Yacht is waiting for our next adventure!

I was hauling back a bunch of stuff, including a new prosthetic hand for West which we abused nicely 




Mocha lending a hand to Dave  :Wink: 


I wanted to take a shuttle to the airport but Dave wouldn't hear of it and insisted on driving me all the way there from Bellingham. Can't thank him and his wife enough for their incredible hospitality. Kristhawee and I are very much looking forward to seeing them again soon!

And so ends our epic summer adventure. It couldn't have gone better. We were so lucky with everything- the weather, the bike, the roads, our health, the wonderful people we met along the way, and all of the memories that we will both treasure for the rest of our lives. 

Thanks for tagging along for our little journey. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be picking up the little guy next week for another summer adventure! Can't wait!!!

Happy Trails!

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## natalie8

A beautiful ending to a fantastic story! It's great to know that the next one is very close. When will you go - in July? I'm really looking forward to your next update.

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## misskit

:Crying:  Over already? 

I was enjoying this so much, I was hoping your and Kristhawee's trip would go on and on. Loved the beautiful scenery and seeing the warm playfulness you two share.


Looking forward to the continuation of father and son adventure in the future.

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## TonyBKK

> A beautiful ending to a fantastic story! It's great to know that the next one is very close. When will you go - in July? I'm really looking forward to your next update.



Thank you!  :Smile: 

Packing now, leaving in a few days. Gonna be a bit of a zombie after flying BKK-JFK-SEA, but I'll pop some pills on the first flight and hopefully get a bit of sleep along the way.  :Sleeping: 

Kristhawee is keen to earn some more Junior Ranger badges so we'll hit Cascades National Park first, then meet up with my aunt and uncle and cousins from San Francisco who are driving up to Olympic National Park at the end of this month.

We'll probably celebrate the 4th of July with my good friend and his family in Walla Walla. :yanky: 

Then I promised Kristhawee that we'd re-visit Crater Lake National Park in south central Oregon where he wants to try to find the black garter snakes that only exist on Wizard Island  :smilie_clap: 

After that I really have no idea which way we'll go... If it's not too hot I'd like to take him to Colorado, but I've been reading that the state is already suffering terrible wild fires, so that might not be such a great idea...

I wouldn't mind exploring Idaho a bit more. Always wanted to visit the "City of Rocks" National Reserve. 

It would be really cool to take the little guy up to Alberta, Canada to explore Banff and Lake Louise, but not sure if he's got a valid passport... There was a dispute with the ex regarding renewing my little guys passport. It expired and I sent her the paper work so she could renew, but for some reason that was never clear she refused to get it done... If she hasn't renewed it I guess Canada will be off the itinerary... 

Kristhawee also really wants to go back to the Black Hills. Sounds good to me! Grandma might drive out from Minnesota and meet us there, then Kristhawee can travel the final boring bit from South Dakota to Minnesota in the comfort of Grandma's car.

Should be another fantastic summer! I can't wait!  :bananaman:

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## patsycat

What a wonderful thread!!!

I hope you both have as good a time this year!!  Happy holidays!!

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## mackayae

Tony and Kristhawee's excellent adventure comes to an end. What a great story. Thanks for sharing. You should send a copy to BMW.

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## terry57

There have been some brilliant threads on this forum but yours beats them all hands down.. Thanks for the ride. 

Your EX wife wont renew his Passport as she is scared you'll smuggle him out of the country and not return him Id say.

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## Gerbil

> There have been some brilliant threads on this forum but yours beats them all hands down.. Thanks for the ride.


Don't worry Terry. Coming up shortly will be a thread on my epic ride from Bangkok to Pattaya on a Honda Wave, complete with around 400 photographs.  :bunny3:

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## RamboII

Great thread, Tony!   I have a five year old boy that is in ChianG Mai for the summer, with his mother and two half sisters.   We live in the U.S. and they will all be coming back August 9 (I'll be over there in July).  Sometime, int he next two to three summers, I'd love to take the same kind of trip with my son, minus the motorcycle.  I don't know how you do it.  My butt hurts if I ride one from CM to Sankamphaene Hot Springs.  Living in the Kansas City area, I can vouch that the scenery is boring, except for the Flint Hills (which still don't compare to what you and your son saw).  Lots of hunting and fishing, if that appeals to either of you.  Thanks again for taking the time and effort to post a monumental thread.

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## Dead Metal

> There was a dispute with the ex regarding renewing my little guys passport. It expired and I sent her the paper work so she could renew, but for some reason that was never clear she refused to get it done...


Unfortunately womens minds work different to mens, could be she is worried he may fly-away with you ?
 She may just need some reassuring, maybe !

Thanks very much for brightening up our days, look forward to your new adventures.

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## Aberlour

Wonderful, wonderful thread. Now it's all done I'm going to go back and take a leisurely browse from start to finish again, to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Get your act together a bit quicker this year though eh Tony. We don't want to have to wait until this time next year to see this summers trip.  :Wink:

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## TonyBKK

> There have been some brilliant threads on this forum but yours beats them all hands down.. Thanks for the ride. 
> 
> Your EX wife wont renew his Passport as she is scared you'll smuggle him out of the country and not return him Id say.


Thanks Terry  :Smile: 

Well, I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind, but in all honesty, he's in an excellent school in New York and I believe he'll get a better education there than he ever could in Thailand. I'm happy to get him for the summers, and am giving serious thought to moving back to the US in the next few years so that I can spend more time with my son.

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## TonyBKK

> Great thread, Tony!   I have a five year old boy that is in ChianG Mai for the summer, with his mother and two half sisters.   We live in the U.S. and they will all be coming back August 9 (I'll be over there in July).  Sometime, int he next two to three summers, I'd love to take the same kind of trip with my son, minus the motorcycle.  I don't know how you do it.  My butt hurts if I ride one from CM to Sankamphaene Hot Springs.  Living in the Kansas City area, I can vouch that the scenery is boring, except for the Flint Hills (which still don't compare to what you and your son saw).  Lots of hunting and fishing, if that appeals to either of you.  Thanks again for taking the time and effort to post a monumental thread.


Cheers  :Smile: 

I'll probably sell the Land Yacht at the end of this summer (sniff) and bring Kristhawee to Thailand for his summer holidays next year. I'd really like to take him to see some of the stunning national parks in the Southwest part of the US, but reckon we'd be better off in an air conditioned car or RV. Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado are amazing, but simply too hot to take a kid on a bike during the summer months.

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## TonyBKK

> Wonderful, wonderful thread. Now it's all done I'm going to go back and take a leisurely browse from start to finish again, to make sure I didn't miss anything.
> 
> Get your act together a bit quicker this year though eh Tony. We don't want to have to wait until this time next year to see this summers trip.


Thanks mate  :Smile: 

I've never tried to put together a travelogue / trip report of this size, and I learned a lot in the process. Using Photobucket was a big mistake and caused huge delays as I had to go through and change the links for every single picture. What a time consuming pain in the butt that was! 

I don't think I'll be posting updates from the road- very few National Parks in the US have any kind of data service. Same goes for rural America, makes Thailand's 3G coverage seem positively impressive  :Wink: 

I'll get to work on our 2013 Summer Adventure ride report when I get back to Thailand in September. See you then!

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## slackula

Stunning and inspirational thread. Thank you for taking the time and effort to put it up. Young Kris is a lucky little fellow.

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## Satonic

Superb  :Smile:  I actually had no idea how beautiful parts of America are until reading this!

(That pic with west's hand had me in tears  :rofl:  )

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## t.s

Shit, its over. I actually had a lump in my throat.

I have been raising my daughter since her mother and i split 4 years ago, and now, at the age of six, i am allowing her to go with her mother and stepfather to the US while he does a Masters and PHD. 

Up until this point she stayed most weekends with her mom but has been has been with me full time otherwise, splitting time between bangkok and phangan when school schedules allowed.

I want her to spend some time in a US school so i cant really say no to this opportunity, but her leaving will rip something out of me. I really dont know how i will cope. I cant imagine life without her around.

this thread is especially poignant to me as it shows i have something to look forward to -- thankfully summer and xmas breaks are long enough to fly her back here and hit the beach or stay there and do a road trip.

inspirational mate, thank you.

bring on the frequent flyer miles.

EDIT:

hah, seems i have said this already, oh well, cant really give you enough respect for doing it and then sharing it.

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## FarangTom

Thank you for the most exciting trip report I've ever seen!  -  And good luck for the next big journey!

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## DWolfbauer

Fantastic thread! I recently moved from Japan with my wife and son to Idaho, and this adventure inspires me to purchase a motorcycle for fun times with my son. I see you mentioned City of Rocks as a destination. I highly recommend it. I drove it through Burley south to Oakley then across the mountains, but there were many gravel roads before reaching the park. I'm guessing you might be on the road now, and I hope enjoy the sights that Idaho has to offer.

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## wasabi

Very enjoyable,for ages I have been dreaming about traveling around the U.S.A with My Family,one day I do hope to visit the States,and looking through your pictures makes Me want to go. Just finished this book,one thing that seems common is how friendly everybody is.

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