Look out!! Here we come!

[Red01]

In Montana, the Going to the Sun Hwy thru Glacier NP is beautiful, but not really a road you can make any time on due to low speed limits and high tourist traffic, but if you haven't been, it's worth consideration.

Is there an easy way around this area with the trailer?  For instance, if we made camp at say Rising sun campground, rode the going to the sun hwy, then came back for the trailer, could we reasonably circumvent that road when we moved on?

yes, you can drive around the park on US 89, SR 49 & US 2.

We are planning a PNW get-together starting Aug 15th...
http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=10769.0

I was looking at that.  I'm not sure if we can do that.  Ryan has work booked for the 18th, and I have committed to be back for the 18th for my contract.   That said, I might be able to meet up with some of ya before you leave for that trip. :)

I'm also going to look at the feasibility of reversing the trip I'd thought we would take, which would put us in about the same area when you guys start.

Let us know.  It would be great to meet up with you both.

[andrewsw]

Those crazy Cannucks can't understand how small our states are... 

[Red01]

Those crazy Cannucks can't understand how small our states are... 

They ought to... 90% of them live within 100 miles of the US border. 

[stormi]

I've been thinking that a drive through that redwood forest on the West Coast as you get into Washington would be a nice ride, and r_outsider's never been to Washington (unless you count Point Roberts)

Ummm... The Redwood Forest is in Northern California... 

LOL! as you come into Washington from BC, at the entrance closest to the coast, there's a "redwood" forest that you drive through that borders the coast for a little while.  Not -the- redwood forest. 

[stormi]

Well, for geological stuff, and general outdoor sight seeing, you can just drive through parts of the "channeled scablands" south and west of spokane. The drive through the Grand Coulee area is fantastic to. Include soap lake on that run. If you're headed to Seattle, you can run over on US 2, which runs through some high plains and then dives through the columbia gorge, very nice. A lot of this stuff you can just enjoy from the car (too hot anyway) by driving off the freeway...

Uh oh,.. you guys are all talking about it being too hot,... so I'm starting to wonder if  I'll even be able to manage the heat!  Of course I've been in Seattle in June or July, that's fairly close to the same as now, right?  It was pretty cookin hot. That's when the "Underground tour" sure is a welcome change.

Check.  I will add some of those destinations to the "Trip Planner" tonight, and see what I can come up with for a route.   Of course, we do plan to take the bikes out of the trailer and tour around, so I hope to see lots of nifty things at closer than the highway. :)

[stormi]

Those crazy Cannucks can't understand how small our states are... 

They ought to... 90% of them live within 100 miles of the US border. 

Not these ones.  We're 614kms from the border.  Or 381.52mi.

[Red01]

I've been thinking that a drive through that redwood forest on the West Coast as you get into Washington would be a nice ride, and r_outsider's never been to Washington (unless you count Point Roberts)

Ummm... The Redwood Forest is in Northern California... 

LOL! as you come into Washington from BC, at the entrance closest to the coast, there's a "redwood" forest that you drive through that borders the coast for a little while.  Not -the- redwood forest. 

I'm not familiar with it... AFAIK, the northernmost Redwoods are in S. Oregon.
Unless you're referring to Chuckanut Drive, between Bellingham and Burlington. That's not too far from the Peace Arch Crossing at Blaine/White Rock. It is a beautiful scenic route (and practically in my back yard), but the trees aren't gigantic on the scale of Sequoias.

[stormi]

yes, you can drive around the park on US 89, SR 49 & US 2.

I -totally- just figured out I've been plotting this all wrong.   If we go from Alberta into BC into Idaho ( with the trailer) then  ride to Montana, we shave off 600mi with the trailer, and we can ride more. 

Let us know.  It would be great to meet up with you both.

It would!  It would be nice to put a real face to the names I see on the board, not to mention one of the people that I trust with the board when I'm not around, which is -way- too often lately. 

I think I will leave one of the cell #s in one of the "private" boards when we leave, so that it's easier to meet up, and our approximate itinerary, so if anyone is on our route, we can try to meet up with them.

[stormi]

I'm not familiar with it... AFAIK, the northernmost Redwoods are in S. Oregon.
Unless you're referring to Chuckanut Drive, between Bellingham and Burlington. That's not too far from the Peace Arch Crossing at Blaine/White Rock. It is a beautiful scenic route (and practically in my back yard), but the trees aren't gigantic on the scale of Sequoias.

I think it might be Chuckanut Drive.  It's not the gargantuan trees that I wanted him to see, it was more the really scenic ride.   What sort of trees are those?  I thought they were a "redwood" sort of tree, no?   Of course it -has- been 5 years, and my step father was just hauling ass through there.

[Red01]

What sort of trees are those?  I thought they were a "redwood" sort of tree, no?

The biggest ones you saw were probably Western Redcedars. Though Douglas Fir and Western Hemlocks and some of the other native evergreens can also get over 200' tall, the Redcedars are usually the ones with the bulkiest trunks and become the stars of photographs, much like the giants to the south.  The Redcedar (commonly misspelled Red Cedar) isn't a Cedar at all, but a member of the Cyprus family, just like the the big Giant Sequoias and Coastal Redwoods to the south, so this probably explains why you were thinking they were Redwoods.

[stormi]

What sort of trees are those?  I thought they were a "redwood" sort of tree, no?

The biggest ones you saw were probably Western Redcedars. Though Douglas Fir and Western Hemlocks and some of the other native evergreens can also get over 200' tall, the Redcedars are usually the ones with the bulkiest trunks and become the stars of photographs, much like the giants to the south.  The Redcedar (commonly misspelled Red Cedar) isn't a Cedar at all, but a member of the Cyprus family, just like the the big Giant Sequoias and Coastal Redwoods to the south, so this probably explains why you were thinking they were Redwoods.

I think I thought that for 2 reasons.  My mom called it a redwood forest, and I thought they were $%@@ huge and red. :)

[stormi]

http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=11223.new#new

Sketchy details for the moment, but if I has internet access along the way, we'll update as we go. :)