After leaving Vancouver Island, we rode the Trans-Canada highway to Cache Creek through the Frazer River and Thompson River canyons. This part of British Columbia is very dry, turning to desert as we rode east. The scenery was spectacular with various hues of tan and brown with a blue river bordered by train tracks on both sides.After leaving Vancouver Island, we rode the Trans-Canada highway to Cache Creek through the Frazer River and Thompson River canyons. This part of British Columbia is very dry, turning to desert as we rode east. The scenery was spectacular with various hues of tan and brown with a blue river bordered by train tracks on both sides. We stopped to stay with friends of David's that were originally from Ontario, Mike and Mandy. As a teenager, David used to go moose hunting in northern Ontario with his dad and Mike so it had been many years since he had last seen him. Mike and Mandy were wonderful hosts and we were able to get some much needed rest. They provided us with great meals made from vegetables they had grown in their garden and hogs they had raised. They had a beautiful home they built themselves and had created a little oasis in the desert with green grass and willow trees bordering the property. One day we went to visit Mike's brother who is a beekeeper and watched him extracting the honey from the hives. They also took us on a tour of the area.

After five nights with Mike and Mandy, we said good-bye. Our first stop was Kamploops where we got haircuts and did a little shopping. From there, was drove east through Vernon and the landscape became lush once again with spruce covered mountains, blue lakes and many, many twisty roads. At the end of the day, we stopped for gas at a town called Nakusp. A local man came over and started talking to us about motorcycles. He had missed the summer riding season while waiting for a part for his Kawasaki. Toward the end of our conversation, we asked where we might find a campground. He told us where to find one, then suggested that we camp at his place, it was much closer. We said ok and followed him to his house. He had a large, beautiful log home on North Arrow Lake in a perfect setting. When we arrived, he said we didn't have to put our tent up if we didn't want to, we could stay inside. The lower level of the house had a bedroom, tv room and bathroom with a view Saddle Mountain across the lake. We took him up on his offer. We learned that he was a refugee from Hungary in the 1950s who was now an engineer. We spent the evening and next morning talking. When asked what his wife would think of him taking in strangers, he said that said that she would be happy about it. Just that day they had decided to offer up their home to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

We left Gene's house in the morning and rode to the Toad Rock Motorcycle campground near Balfour for the Horizons Unlimited
Travelers meeting. We met many interesting and like-minded people there. We met Hideke from Japan who has been traveling for three years and has two more to go. We also met two guys from the UK, Mike and Jon, who were two months in to their multi-year adventure. We hope to see him on the road in the next year. There were also people who had completed long trips and had good information to share. It was great to see slide presentations and technical seminars on how to prepare for a long distance trip. We learned that we need to purchase a few more spare parts for our motorcycles. It rained for three days straight and we were thankful that our tent kept us dry.

After leaving the meeting, we slowly worked our way south back in to the United States following the Columbia River. We stayed at a hotel across from the Grand Coulee dam and spent the evening watching films about the dam and the surrounding geology and a laser light show on the dam after dark. The next morning we took a tour of the dam and then left town, following the grand coulee. We were surprised to find eastern Washington to be so scenic.

Farther south, we stopped at a scenic overlook and saw a beautiful mountain rising high above the others. We didn't know which one it was and later discovered that it was Mt Rainier. We spent the day riding through the Mt Rainier National Park. It was fabulous riding and when we arrived at the highest point of the road were a little sappointed to find that the mountain was shrouded in cloud barely above our heads. We were glad we had such a beautiful view earlier in the day.

We left Mt Rainier National Park and rode forest service roads in to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. We camped in what appeared to be an old growth forest.

From there we rode as far as we could to the top of Mt St Helens. Twenty-five years after the eruption, the devastation is still very visible, trees flattened by blast, some areas with barren trunks still standing. Because of the lack of trees, the views are outstanding. It was very cold, in the 40s at the top so we put our electric vests and gloves on and stayed toasty warm.

After leaving the Mt St Helens area, we rode south to the Columbia River gorge and then west into Portland, Oregon. After spending the night in Portland, we rode over to the coast and down highway 101. It rained most of the day, but the ocean and shoreline still had a ghost-like beauty.