CDN Miracle Miles

Archive for the ‘General’ Category

DAVE AGAIN:  Well enough of the Hoot n Nanny Country Stuff.  It is Day 13 and time to leave Nashville.  Although I am not into country music, I must say I enjoyed my time in Music City, as it is called.  After breakfast we loaded the bikes and were off. It was hot and muggy again and we decided to try and see if we could get into the Opryland Resort, but much to our disappointment the Resort was closed and will not reopen until November 2010, due to the May flood.

 So off we went into the East, down the I-40.  We were supposed to be on it for about 150 kms, but after 50 or so I got bored and stopped and conferred with Nancy to take an alternate route down some more secondary routes.  She agreed, apprehensively, so off we went and within 10 minutes we were on a really really secondary road which I knew was wrong.  (Paul is probably laughing right now as he knows of my GPS expertise from our trip 2 years ago.)  So I used a line from a good friend of mine (Marc Rothwell) and said to Nancy, “Don’t worry, I’m a navigator by trade.”  Funny thing though, she didn’t have a comforting look on her face.  Soon we were back on track and going down Hwy 268 through some beautiful countryside, which lead to Hwy 96 then on to Hwy 70.  This took us through Smithville (see pic) which I grew quite attached to. 

Once we got to Crossville, it was on to Hwy 68 and the road was very twisty through rolling hills and in a lot of cases the road was cut right through a rock hill as if it was a quarry.  The scenery was beautiful as we crossed hills and valleys while we steadily climbed into the mountains crossing many rivers with dams, locks and even nuclear powerplants (see pics).  Once we got to Tellico Plains, we entered North Carolina and the Eastern time zone.  This was also the start of the Cherohala Skyway.  It is a 55 mile stretch of highway through the Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock Wilderness Area of the Great Smoky Mountains.  Once again the views and scenery were gorgeous and the road turned in long sweeping curves as it wound its way up and down the mountains.  We must thank Ed Snow for suggesting this route.  It was well worth the drive.  Thanks Ed! 

 At the end of the Cherohala was the town of Robbinsville where we are staying for the night.  Once we unloaded the bikes, and with the weather holding out, we decided to tackle Deal’s Gap.  Now Deal’s Gap is an 11 mile stretch of road which has 318 turns.  We started out around 5 with very little traffic and great weather.  I lead as we started to the north and was going relatively fast (but safe).  To my surprise as I came around a tight right hand corner a state trooper had 3 young crotch rocketers pulled over giving them tickets.  This section of road is called the Tail of the Dragon and is all curves with no straight sections longer than 100 feet.  Once we finished we turned around and did it again for the return trip.  This time Nancy took the lead with me following, videoing her going around the hairpin turns.  When we got back to the start we stopped at a souvenir store to buy a t-shirt to celebrate our feat. It was a great day and it cooled off towards the end.  We completed about 550 kms today.  A great day of motorcycling.  This really has been a super trip so far.  Many people only dream of doing one of these trips like Pike’s Peak or Going to the Sun Hwy or Independence Pass but we have done them all and more in one long trip.  And best of all we get to share it all with you.   We really hope you have enjoyed the narration and the pics on the blog. 

 It is off in the direction of Norfolk, Virginia tomorrow so standby for more adventures and pics.  See you then.

From Nancy to the CDN gals: the Tail of the Dragon was really great but I have to say that Hwy #1 in California from Leggett would be my first choice.  It was difficult to get a lot of photos today thru the Dragon due to the number of turns and having to keep both hands on the handlebars – and there was no way I was letting go.   Dave did get some good video, similar to your’s from CA Dar…..

Today was another hot and humid day.  We took some down time to do some laundry and map out our next few days travels after we leave Nashville.

 We had called yesterday to make reservations for a bus tour entitled “Discover Nashville”.  The bus picked us up at 1pm and dropped us off at 5:30.  What a great way to see Nashville.  We enjoyed seeing some famous landmarks:  Historic Downtown, Riverfront Park, Fort Nashborough, the State Capital, Bicentennial Mall, the Parthenon, Vanderbilt University, Printers Alley and Music Row including historic Studio B.  We took guided tours through the Historic Ryman Auditorium (known as the “Mother Church of County Music”) and the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.  Both of these tours could keep you busy for a full day, there was so much to see and learn.  At the Ryman we had our photo taken on the Opry’s most famous stage (see awesome pic).  By the way the “Grand Old Opry” is now back here using this stage until their flooded facilities are restored from the May flood. 

 And we ended our tour at one of Nashville’s famous Honky Tonks – Legends Corner.  Legends Corner is right next door to Tootsies Orchid Lounge.  These two lounges hosted some of the best in country music especially since the most famous of musicians could leave the back door of Ryman Auditorium and nip in for a quick drink in either of these two spots.  We had a great tour guide who has lived here all his life and had more great stories to tell about several of the greatest country legends. 

 Yesterday we visited some of the most well known saloons but today we heard about some of the best restaurants but don’t have enough time to try them out.  So let me share some info with you if you plan to visit here: Rotier’s Restaurant, 2413 Elliston Place has the best cheeseburger, Demos’ Steak and Spaghetti House, 300 Commerce Street is a family restaurant with the best steak and pasta, and Gerst Haus German Restaurant, 301 Woodland Street for the best “frozen fishbowl of German amber beer” and the food is great too.  These three places are where the locals visit all the time as well as celebrities who visit. One of the other suggestions for things to do is the General Jackson Showboat.  I guess we have lots to do the next time visiting……

 Tomorrow we will be leaving Nashville and heading for Cherahala Skyway in North Carolina.  But before we leave Nashville we will take a ride around Gaylord Opryland.  Due to the severe flooding in Nashville in May the resort is not open.  In our travels today we heard of many other famous sites that are still under restoration. 

 Stay tuned tomorrow night for more photos and adventures… Thank you so much for your support…

We have been back two weeks now and life has come back to normal.  We will always continue to look at the photos and talk about the trip to all that we meet up with.  The following is a list of places that we visited: 

• Day 6-8 South Dakota:  Sturgis Bike Rally – including Mt. Rushmore, The Needles, & Deadwood
• Day 9 Wyoming:  Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park
• Day 10 Montana:  Beartooth Pass – “America’s most beautiful highway.”
• Day 11 Montana:  Glacier National Park – Going to the Sun Road & Logans Pass, Calgary, Alberta
• Day 12 Alberta/BC:  Crowsnest Pass & Hwy #3 to Nelson
• Day 13 BC:  Hwy #3 to Surrey
• Day 14 Washington:  Whidbey Island ferry to Port Angeles – beginning of Hwy 101 Pacific Coast Highway
• Day 17 Oregon:  Redwood Forest
• Day 18 California:  Route 1 along the coast to San Francisco
• Day 19-21 California:  San Francisco
• Day 23 California:  Hearst Castle
• Day 24 Nevada:  Las Vegas
• Day 25 Nevada & Arizona:   Hoover Dam, Kingman and Oatman, AZ, the oldest part of Route 66 starting at Oatman
• Day 26 Arizona:  Route 66 and Grand Canyon
• Day 27 Arizona & Colorado:   Monument Valley, Durango, Hwy 550-Million Dollar Highway
• Day 28 Colorado:  Monarch Pass, Cripple Creek (The World’s Largest Gold Camp) and Pikes Peak (altitude 14,110 feet, or 4,300 meters – the second most visited mountain in the world, behind Japan’s Mount Fuji)
• Day 34 New York:  Lake Placid and Lake Champlain
• Day 35 New Hampshire:  Mt. Washington
• Day 37 Nova Scotia:  Digby – Wharf Rat Rally then HOME

 In total we traveled approx. 11,000 miles (17,563 km) in 37 days.  We visited 21 states and 6 provinces.  We stayed five nights with family and the rest in hotels/motels.  We spent two nights in Rapid City, four nights in San Francisco, and two nights in Las Vegas – the rest were one night stays.  We had two “hitchhikers” – Cheryl Hawkes from Toronto from Day 3-11(Ottawa to Calgary) and Denise Chiasson from Halifax from Day 18-21 (our San Francisco stop over).  We crossed the Can/US border six times.  We also crossed by ferry on both the east and west coast – St. John, NB to Digby, NS, and Keystone Spit, Widbey Island, OR to Port Townsend, OR.  We followed Hwy #1 in California as well as Hwy #1 Ontario, Quebec, NB, & NS.

Thirty- seven days on the road.  We started with the Sturgis Rally (approx. 400,000) on Aug 5 and ended with the Wharf Rat Rally in Digby, NS (approx. 40,000).  It was a great day but a tough day.  We left St. John in sunshine and warm temperatures and boarded the ferry (with about 30 other motorcycles) at 11:30.  The ferry left at 12:30 and took about three hours to cross.  During that time we transferred all 15 GB of photos onto a portable drive for Darlene to take home.  Can you believe we took that many photos?????????????  It took just over an hour to copy all of them – what else can you do on a ferry for three hours!!!!!!!  On Friday the ferry had carried 117 motorcycles along with other traffic over to Digby.

 What a surprise we had when we got off the ferry. Darlene yelled out to me to stop – her brother and friends were there to greet us.  I had never met Oliver so didn’t stop when I saw the people waiting on the wharf.  It was a really really nice way to enter back into our own province.  We stopped and hugged and chatted – and like true NS hospitality were invited for supper and to stay for the evening, if we wanted…..

 We eventually made our way into the Rally.  We parked at one end of town and started to walk.  One of the first groups we met were Darlene’s boys (motorcycle trainers from Yarmouth) – Chris, Jim, Joe, & Doug.  What a reunion and of course they wanted to know all the details.  Lots of hugs, lots of stories, and lots of laughs…  We did eventually get to the other end of town but it sure took a while.  We came back into the vendors area to check out all the stuff and to talk with the fellow Darlene had received her gel seat pad from before leaving.  Folks, those gel pads are definitely the answer to making your riding more comfortable and if there is anyone who can attest to that, it is certainly Darlene. 

 The sun was starting to set and I decided it was time to leave for my 2.5 hour journey home.  The last picture taken was one of Darlene and I at the Wharf Rat Rally.  The journey home for each of us was long – happy but sad. 

 As I rode home the sun was setting behind me – the sky was red, beautiful – the moon was full and bright ahead of me.  And I realized that after all the riding we had done we had come back to a place called home, a province that had a bit of everything we had done.  For those of you who have never been to NS – we have 3500 km of coastal roads, mountains, lakes, rivers, valleys, fields of corn, orchards, the best hospitality and we also have our own desert.  The ground around the Greenwood Kingston area is all sand – you can see it all along the highway.  And I saw motorcycles everywhere – coming and going – and all types. 

 When I arrived at my home my family was there to meet me – a lot of tears shed, tears of absolute joy.  Cathy had arrived back on Friday safe and sound.  Darlene called later to say that she had arrived home safe and sound also.  We laughed again – it was over folks.  But we have lots of photos and memories that will stay with us forever. 

 This journey, this part of our lives has ended.  What we had set out to do 37 days ago has been completed – safely.  Oh, we have stories and events we never spoke about on the blog so as not to worry anyone at home.  But now we can say we did it…  And what does tomorrow bring, we’re not sure.  Work starts on Tuesday and tomorrow, maybe we can start making plans for the next journey in life. 

 Over the next few days I will bring you all the facts and figures – and if there is anything else you want to know – just email us…. 

 Thank you to everyone.  One guy I especially have to thank is Mike (Mickey) Moses.  Mike designed this blog and taught me how to use it.  He gave me lots of hints about its use – you can see Mickey’s blogs listed at the right of this blog site.

 May God bless you and give you the strength and courage to follow your dreams.  Remember my prayer on the first day – well He did it………

This is just a short note to let you all know we are home safe and sound – PTL.

I shall update the last day on the road tomorrow – it is time to spend time with family. 

Cathy is home in Dartmouth, Darlene is in Yarmouth, and Nancy is home in Dartmouth….  Sleeping in our own beds tonight!!!!!!!  And homecooked meals – yes……..

Dear Family and Friends,

 We do have another day or two on the road but we want to say thank you to all of you for your support.  At the end of the day we looked forward to reading your comments – many nights we have laughed and found encouragement in your words.  It is always interesting to see who knows the person who has written.  Comments were all approved as we received them – except the spam.  For those who followed faithfully each day, thank you.  Each day there were approx. 50 people who visited the blog.

 Our journey will soon come to an end.  Today we crossed the Can/US border for the last time.  I saw a bumper sticker in Colorado Springs that said “Life is a Journey, Ride with it” – how true that is.  Our journey was only a small part of the life journey.  The life journey is determined by the choices you make in your life.  Don’t be afraid to make choices – no decision is ever wrong unless it is illegal, immoral, or life threatening.  It may not turn out the way you imagined but wisdom is gained by the experience. 

 We have been on the road for five weeks now – leaving Friday, July 31^st.  We have traveled 17,425 km through 21 states and 6 provinces.  Our weather, especially the last few days, has been absolutely wonderful.  We have had 36 days on the road – except for 2 days in Rapid City, SD, 4 days in San Francisco, and 2 days in Las Vegas we have been staying at different hotels along the way. 

 Tonight we are in St John with Darlene’s sister and family and had a home cooked meal.  That is one thing we have missed and will be happy to be home for.  We traveled 335 km today – it was a short day but we did stop to shop in Bangor.  We followed Hwy 2 in Maine then the Airline Route 9 to Calais.  We breezed through the border as the young customs agent talked to Darlene about all the bikes that had been through over the last couple of days and how envious he was….  Darlene finally took the lead today as we got closer to her sister’s place. 

 This will be the last blog as a team.  Tomorrow we will travel by ferry to Digby for the Wharf Rat Rally.  At the end of the rally Darlene and I will part ways – her heading south to Yarmouth and me heading north back to Dartmouth.  It will be a very sad occasion.  The blog will continue for a couple of days as I share some the facts and figures with you – in hope that you may one day consider a journey of your own.  Remember miracles do happen.

With love from CDN gals – Cathy, Darlene, & Nancy

PS If you ever want information to help you in your planning, please contact us.

I realized that each day I talk about the great day we have had – and seriously each day has been good.  If you consider that each day you get out of bed, walk upright and are able to get around – it is a great day.  Now add to that the fact that you can get on a motorcycle for each of those days and see a part of the country that you have not seen before – the day has to be great.  Oh, yes we have had our challenges but nothing that has caused us to become discouraged. 

 So today was another fantastic day.  Darlene and I rode 421 km in glorious sunshine and warmth – I think the highest temperature we saw was 79F.  And everyone we speak with can not believe how good the weather is at the moment…  We are in Canaan, ME at a little motel – the Canaan Motel on the side of Hwy 2.  We had a wonderful conversation with the owner and another couple from Vermont.  The couple have read all the same motorcycle books I have plus more and would love to do the same as we are doing. 

 We had a bit of a detour today and we are not sure why.  There must have been a crash just before Farmington and if we had not stopped for something to eat we might have been there…….

 We stopped at Mt. Washington but did not ride up.  Instead we took Cathy’s advice and headed for Whitehorse Gear near Conway.  We googled the address last evening and when we arrived we thought that Cathy had lead us on a wild goose chase.  But not true – we shopped and dropped lots of dollars there and took a catalogue home to order more!!!!!!  We asked for directions back to Hwy 2 and ended up on a great narrow, winding road – Hwy 113.  We met up with plenty of other motorcycles on the road so it was definitely a road to follow – not a lot of houses…  The road is right on the border of New Hampshire and Maine.  We arrived at Gilead, ME before getting back onto Hwy 2. 

 We are sure missing Cathy on our travels.  Our photos are limited because we are usually on the move when trying to get some good photos. 

 Tomorrow morning we leave and it will definitely be our last day in the US.  We’ll pass by Bangor and cross at Calais, ME.  We only have to go to St. John, NB to Darlene’s sister so it will be a nice short day.

The day today was just the best for weather – sunshine all the way – and the riding was great.  Darlene and I left Ottawa around 10 after having coffee with Janice and Cathy.  We headed south for Prescott to cross the US border into upstate New York.  Thank you to Dan for recommending a route through to Lake Placid.  I can certainly understand why the “Easy Riders” love to ride Rte 68 and Rte 56 – it was really nice. 

 We crossed the bridge into New York – but I took no pictures because the entire bridge was steel grating only.  It was all I could do to keep control with the steel grating and winds as we crossed.  The US customs fellow was not the friendliest today – there was absolutely no traffic – maybe he just wanted someone to talk to but he could have been friendlier about it…It was not long before we entered into Adirondack Park.  The Thirsty Moose Pub & Grub was right beside a leather shop we stopped at but we didn’t go in – too early in the day!!!!!!  But the owner of the leather shop recommended a great restaurant in Lake Placid.  We ate on the patio at “The Cottage”.  The food was fantastic for a great price – and there was lots of food.  We stopped at a couple of shops but didn’t linger long.  We weren’t sure what time the ferry crossed Lake Champlain…

 We took the ferry from Essex, NY to Vermont just outside Burlington.  We arrived just as one ferry was leaving but we didn’t have to wait long for the next one.  Both Dar and I met some wonderful people as we crossed on the ferry.  The fellow I spoke with from Vermont shook my hand when we left – he was just so impressed with the journey we have done… 

 We are now in Vermont staying in Montpelier.  We drove 436 km but that doesn’t include the ferry ride.  It really was a great day for riding – it is so nice to be into country roads and off the big highways.  Not a lot of traffic today but we certainly saw a lot more motorcycles. 

 Yesterday I didn’t include our km because Dar was off visiting with family – and that’s her job to calculate at the end of each day.  So yesterday we had traveled 520 km.

 We will be following Rte 2 through the White Mountains right to Bangor (or area close to it) tomorrow.  I tried to talk Darlene into driving up to the top of Mt. Washington but it ain’t going to happen folks.  Did I tell you that she is afraid of heights – and she has already done more than her fair share of mountains – so I’ll let her off this time.

Another sunny and great riding day!  We left Espanola this morning in the cool but by the end of the afternoon we had shed a jacket.  It is amazing how beautiful the Ontario roads are after you have traveled through the desert.  We really enjoyed the ride through the hills, trees, and the numerous lakes.  I always complained about the northern Ontario roads but not anymore – after Arizona, Ontario roads are great – lots of colour, traffic, and people……

 We stopped in Deep River again to visit with Darlene’s family.  We had lunch with family members whom we had not met on the stop a month ago.  We did stop and visit with Dale and Nancy also. 

 We have arrived in Ottawa where we will drop off Cathy.  She will be staying for a couple of days in order to purchase a vehicle that she will take back to Nova Scotia.  We have had a lot of fun riding two up – there was always someone with a free hand to take photos along the route.  It will be sad that she is not able to continue with us but we have 1000s of photos and memories of all our travels together…  And we have had many many laughs and stories that will not be forgotten. 

 Darlene and I will be leaving tomorrow morning uncertain of our route at this time but we do know that on Friday we will be in St. John, NB to visit with her sister.

We started out on a chilly but sunny morning from Marinette, WI.  It was 57F when we left but the staff at the Comfort Inn said it was 41F when she came into work at 6am this morning.  We did see a temperature of 69F in one town we passed through so I know it got warmer.  At least the sun shone all day…..

 We rode for most of the morning along the top of Lake Michigan.  It was a beautiful road and it was nice to be by the water.  When we crossed north on Hwy 117 in Michigan we got back onto Hwy 28 where we started our US journey almost a month ago.  So we decided to stop at a few of the places we had stopped at on our way out west.  Quite amazing to talk about what we have now done and what has also happened in their lives over the past month. 

 Note for Cheryl:  the gal at the Maple Ridge Restaurant asked where you were when we stopped today.  She says hello.  Check out the photos.

 Every place we stop whether it is for gas, a snack or accommodations we share our story of what we are doing.  The reactions from people have been amazing.  They seem more surprised that women would do something like this and now to come back and see some of the same people, the reactions are surprising again.    

 We crossed the border at Sault Ste Marie with absolutely no delays – or even passports.  We were only asked a few questions and then on our way.  It was great.  We are following Hwy 17 again back to Ottawa and will be there tomorrow night.  The road looked different today – probably because we had no rain or fog – just sunshine…  We arrived in Espanola this evening and the temperature was 67F – not much different than a month ago when we stayed here.  We rode 609km today. We’ll stop tomorrow to see Darlene’s family in Deep River on our way to Ottawa. 

 Folks, we are only about 200 miles short of traveling 10,000 miles so far.  Darlene’s calculations say that we have traveled 15,713 km since her motorcycle left her driveway –  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!