After six days of riding, setting up camp then taking down the camp, we are taking a day off and staying two nights in Osoyoos, BC. It’s nice to not have to pack up the tent in the morning and to take a break from the routine. The weather isn’t great (overcast and windy) but at least it’s not as cold as where we came from. Thankfully, the campsite has a nice shelter so we are out of the wind.
Category: camping
Weather driven touring
There’s a reason we live in Arizona. We are weather wimps and cannot seem to get away from the cold. We have been doing a good job of avoiding the rain but cold is a whole other matter. Wearing heated gear while riding during the day is no big deal. However, waking up to morning temperatures in the low 40s F is not much fun while tent camping. Makes it reeeeally hard to get out of that sleeping bag in the morning – half the time I only leave my cocoon because Diane’s a slave driver, having me make her tea.
Crossed the border into Canada
I didn’t think we’d make it this far today but we made good progress this morning. It was another ride Diane enjoyed – along the river, long sweepers, nice weather, and most important, no one on her tail. Diane was chatting with a local at a gas station south of Kalispell who recommended we take the bypass thereby avoiding all the Kalispell traffic. We did and before we knew it, we were in Whitefish, MT by about 11:00. Signage announced the Roosville border crossing as only 62 miles away. After a gas stop and some lunch (half an apple, half a pro-bar and some trail mix) in Eureka, MT we headed for the border.
**Updated** Arco, ID to Salmon, ID
**Update: Forgot to mention – we had planned to hike at Craters of the Moon today but decided to pass. The forecast called for 18-20 mph winds at the park which didn’t sound like a good set up for parking the bikes and hiking. As it was, it started raining in Arco as we were on our way out of town. Yes, we are doing our best to avoid bad weather. 🙂
Yes, still in Idaho. The weather isn’t cooperating — at least based on all the weather apps we’re consulting. Big thunderstorms and multi-day rains in Missoula, MT. Things aren’t going to clear up until tomorrow so we went as far north as the weather allowed.
Boise to Arco, ID
The plan called for an easy and short ride east on US 20 to Craters of the Moon National Monument arriving early enough so we would have a good chance of getting a camping spot in the national monument campground. Leave it up to Oliver and the GPS (I blame the GPS ;-)) to take the longer, twisty route through the mountains on ID 21 also known as the Ponderosa scenic byway.
BMW F700GS – repairs completed
We were anxiously waiting for a phone call from the dealer to let us know that the bike was fixed. I finally called just before noon because the hotel checkout time was 13:00. The repair wasn’t going well. Apparently the thermostat didn’t fix the problem and the technician was on the phone with BMW technical support. Not good.
As it turned out the thermostat was indeed the culprit but when refilling the coolant after installing the replacement an air bubble was trapped that required multiple flush/purges. Once that was done all was well. Diane had her bike back by 15:00. We had decided earlier just to stay another day to avoid unnecessary stress. This allowed us to take the bike for a lengthy test ride to make sure the problem was solved and we would feel confident to continue. No incidents while we were out for a ride that included some freeway as well as stop and go city driving.
The next morning would see us leaving Boise behind and heading east to the Craters of the Moon National Monument outside of Arco, ID.
Ely, NV to Twin Falls, ID
It’s cold in the morning at the higher elevation of 6000+ feet, even in the summer. Waking to a frigid 44F makes that hot coffee taste and feel that much better. I’m like a lizard, seeking out the sun, trying to warm up sitting on a log. Thankfully, the temperature rises quickly so it’s in the 60’s by the time we pack up and leave.
We ride all day on US 93, more high desert with the occasional farming community sprinkled in. Again, beautiful scenery though the temperature never made it above 70F until we reached Twin Falls. We are prepared for it though, wearing our heated liner under our outer shell riding jacket. It’s now nice and toasty, just the way I like it :-).
Lake Mead to Ely, NV
Putting too much trust into the GPS got us way too far into Henderson when we left the campground this morning. Too much city driving this early in the day so we were glad when we left Las Vegas behind us, heading North on US 93 towards Ely.
The landscape colors are the usual desert browns and grays when all of a sudden ‘green stuff’ appears to the West of the road – the Pharanagat National Wildlife Refuge. An unexpected site in the desert. We follow this sliver of green all the way past the US 93/NV 318 intersection before the desert reclaims the land. Beautiful weather and riding conditions. The temperature has dropped markedly as we are getting up in elevation, to the point that we had to close the air vent zippers on our riding jackets. It’s barely 70F.
Home to Lake Mead, NV
After our good friends Chad and Jenna saw us off, we started heading west and unfortunately had to do some freeway riding to get out of town quickly. Sunday traffic was light so it wasn’t too bad though US 60 and US 93 were busy since it’s the shortest route from the Phoenix area to Las Vegas.
The route includes a section of high density Joshua trees known as the Joshua Tree Parkway. Though picturesque, we struggled with increasing winds by late morning which only grew stronger as the day progressed and we approached Lake Mead. By the time we made it the Boulder Beach campground wind speed was 20-30mph, making for an interesting time pitching our tent ;-).
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- Joshua trees
On our way home
After evaluating our options and our desire for extending the trip significantly by heading north again, we decided that we would go back home. So soon you ask?