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

[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


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


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!

[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.

[misskit]

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.

[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!

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.

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.

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

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!

[patsycat]

What a wonderful thread!!!

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

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.

[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

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.

[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

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

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

[slackula]

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

[Satonic]

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

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

[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.

[FarangTom]

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

[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.

[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.