Saturday, 12 April, 2014
Had originally planned to take a big trip down to South America on two wheels only but instead I'll be leaving with "Nine Wheels and Big Hank". Hank is my best friend and I've had him since he was a seven week old pup. He's still hanging on (15 years now) and I just couldn't bear to leave him behind with someone else during his last stint. Six months ago I didn't figure he'd still be with me and although he's got arthritis pretty bad, can't hear a clap of thunder, cataracts like the bottom of a coke bottle and has a bad attitude but he's no quitter and so.......he's my pillion until called to doggy heaven. Will just put the Strom away for another time to ride "way south". Should he pass I may get the Strom out of storage and head south once winter settles in over the northwest. Something I have been contemplating for years but this trip with nine wheels, vice two, won't be too much of a sacrifice for the time being. I have been residing in Bend, Oregon for the past 19 years and will miss it but it's time for a change. Am now unemployed, homeless, and have sold everything I own minus some motorcycles and tools. Home will soon be the FWC camper shell pictured. . First, I had to unloaded a lot of crap. I refuse to pay someone to store crap that I didn't use that much anyway. It was a very liberating feeling to purge all the "stuff" that I had to maintain, move around while trying to access other stuff, keep track of, pay insurance on, clean, etc., etc., etc.. Funny how one goes through the acquistion period in life and then one day looks around and says to oneself "Why do I have all this crap? My feeble mind couldn't come up with a good answer so my response was "screw it....sell it all". What didn't sell was given away or donated to the local Humane Society. What's left had better fit in the truck and trailer or it will find the bottom of the nearest dumpster. Plans are pretty wide open for the next 6 months other than the Overland Expo outside Flagstaff and a week or two in Moab with a friend. Travel, camp, drink some beer, meet people, take pictures, unload the bike and ride. That's it.....nothing more. Will be heading to the southwest for about a month, then maybe Baja/Mexico if it's not too hot. If the heat is too much I'll simply go up in the Rockies. Schedule is shall we say.... wide open vice two weeks. Have to be back in the Seattle area for a couple of weeks in July for comitments made last year. Afterwards, plan is to possibly head up to Alaska/BC during August/Sept. Other than the Seattle area obligations I don't really have to be anywhere.
As I've been an avid reader of numerous reports on this forum I thought I do an ongoing trip report in hopes that some others will follow along and might provide some insight on some great campsites, cool towns, epic rides/trails, places crawling with hot women, must do hikes, great breweries, great places to see, or anything else you deem so important that I'd be an damn idiot not to check out. Anyway, two weeks from today the trip begins so I thought I'd start posting up for anyone that might want to follow along or has some insight they deem important. In the meantime I'll post up some modifications I've made to the Tacoma/Camper/Trailer. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Home beginning in two weeks....
My traveling companion.........
