June 6, 2007
Posted by: Dick Wilson
Start: West Richland, WA
Destination: Desert Aire, WA
The morning and early afternoon today were spent in search of a replacement for Steve’s
defective radio headset. He could hear messages delivered from my unit, but he could not talk back to me. We finally decided to call Whitehorse Gear in Conway, New Hampshire, where we had purchased the headsets. They will be sending them overnight to us, with any luck, to be picked up Friday morning in Bellingham, WA, before we get on the Alaska Marine Highway’s flagship, Columbia, northward bound to Haines and Skagway. The wind today was worse than yesterday. We felt like ping-pong balls in a clothes dryer. After fighting the wind for over one hour, we decided to pack it in, get a good night’s rest and get an early start riding in the morning.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Alaska Caper -- Day 2
June 5, 2007
Posted by: Dick Wilson
Start: Baker City, OR
Destination: West Richland, WA
We awoke today in the midst of a horrendous rain storm with gusty winds. I think the Gods were testing us for what we might be confronted with in Alaska. We donned our warmer clothes and rain gear and headed west on I-84. As we reached Pendleton, Oregon, the rain was replaced by gusty winds which challenged our riding skill. Our destination was West Richland, WA, to visit and spend the night with Byron, a long-time friend of Steve’s from Virginia. It was there that we discovered his radio headset was defective. All the tinkering in the world did not get it working. We turned in after a great home-cooked dinner, determined to solve our communication problem in the morning.
Posted by: Dick Wilson
Start: Baker City, OR
Destination: West Richland, WA
We awoke today in the midst of a horrendous rain storm with gusty winds. I think the Gods were testing us for what we might be confronted with in Alaska. We donned our warmer clothes and rain gear and headed west on I-84. As we reached Pendleton, Oregon, the rain was replaced by gusty winds which challenged our riding skill. Our destination was West Richland, WA, to visit and spend the night with Byron, a long-time friend of Steve’s from Virginia. It was there that we discovered his radio headset was defective. All the tinkering in the world did not get it working. We turned in after a great home-cooked dinner, determined to solve our communication problem in the morning.
Alaska Caper -- Day 1
June 4, 2007
Posted by: Dick Wilson
Posted by: Dick Wilson
Start: Boise, ID
Destination: Baker City, OR
My riding buddy, Steve Larrabee, and I were good friends and partners in crime during high school but lost track of one another for nearly 40 years until a recent high school reunion. It 
turns out we evolved with a common addiction–motorcycles. Steve rode from his home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia three years ago to visit his daughter in Salt Lake City and to tour Southern Canada. He visited with us in Boise on that trip at which time we spawned the idea of a Great Alaska motorcycle caper. After three years of planning, months of motorcycle and gear preparation, and Steve’s ride out again out from Virginia to Boise, we are finally on the road.
As we pulled out of the driveway, the thermometer hit 90 degrees. With a cool breeze, we remained comfortable on the motorcycles as we traveled north to McCall, south to Cambridge
, and then west crossing the Snake River at Brownlee Dam. As we traveled north along Oxbow Reservoir, the trip was enhanced by a large variety of wild life. We saw goats in the rocks on the Idaho hillside, big horn sheep, and several generous coveys of chukars shared the road with us, scampering away as we passed by. The ride from Oxbow Reservoir to Baker City, Oregon, was majestic in the early evening with the foothills still quite green and numerous wild flowers along the roadside. Upon arrival in Baker City, we found a motel, ate dinner, organized gear for the following day, and then crashed. This was the end of a perfect first day on our long-awaited trip.
turns out we evolved with a common addiction–motorcycles. Steve rode from his home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia three years ago to visit his daughter in Salt Lake City and to tour Southern Canada. He visited with us in Boise on that trip at which time we spawned the idea of a Great Alaska motorcycle caper. After three years of planning, months of motorcycle and gear preparation, and Steve’s ride out again out from Virginia to Boise, we are finally on the road.As we pulled out of the driveway, the thermometer hit 90 degrees. With a cool breeze, we remained comfortable on the motorcycles as we traveled north to McCall, south to Cambridge
, and then west crossing the Snake River at Brownlee Dam. As we traveled north along Oxbow Reservoir, the trip was enhanced by a large variety of wild life. We saw goats in the rocks on the Idaho hillside, big horn sheep, and several generous coveys of chukars shared the road with us, scampering away as we passed by. The ride from Oxbow Reservoir to Baker City, Oregon, was majestic in the early evening with the foothills still quite green and numerous wild flowers along the roadside. Upon arrival in Baker City, we found a motel, ate dinner, organized gear for the following day, and then crashed. This was the end of a perfect first day on our long-awaited trip.Saturday, June 2, 2007
Preparing to leave
It is Saturday, June 2nd 2007 and Steve and I are preparing to leave for our great Alaska Motorcycle Caper. We are going to be leaving Boise Idaho on Monday, June 4th and we expect to return to the United States sometime before July 4th.
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