Part V - Homeward Bound, Completing the Circle.

We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Joni Mitchell, "The Circle Game"

Day four and time to head home. We had a really relaxing overnight stay in Olympia, although it could have been more challenging when the hotel's computer system was kaput at check-in. Not to worry, Rochelle at the front desk worked through it and got us organized with no fuss, no muss.

We needed some fuel so the first stop was around the corner and give the bikes a drink. We decided to take I-5 for a while to get us out of the metropolitan area all the faster. Heading north on the 'slab' we passed Olympia, Tacoma and then veered off onto 405 to WA-522 which led us to one of my favorite roads, Hwy 9. This is another local road which I have ridden many times. It starts in Woodinville and runs north through hills, forests and farmlands and stops a few miles south of the Canadian border near Sumas. Once again Hwy 9 delivered and after losing some initial traffic around Marysville the road cleared and with the exception of some southbound vehicles we had the place to ourselves. I've promoted this road many times in the past and will continue to do so, but only for motorcyclists so keep it under you helmet. If you want to avoid the pounding on I-5 give this gem a try.

We made a quick coffee/comfort stop around Arlington and other than that it was smooth sailing all the way to Nooksack where we took advantage of the cheaper gasoline and topped the tanks up before hitting the border at Sumas/Abbotsford. The border was a breeze, thanks to NEXUS and we were through in a minute and on our way home to Langley just a few kilometers away.

This was a very different tour as it was much shorter than most of the rides I take, the daily millage never exceeded three hundred kilometers. Consequently there was lots of time for touristy things and we were never overtired. The highlights for me were the visit to Neah Bay and the spectacular views on the Cape Flatter Trail. Riding the circle route around the Olympic National Forest was well worth the time; the roads were in tip top condition, traffic was absolutely minimal and the views were incredible. October is starting to get late in the season, however; the weather folks delivered on their promises and served up four days of clear autumn skies and nights. With the exception of one morning of some light fog we had sunshine the entire trip.

See you soon with more stories.

So in closing I highly recommend this route. It is quickly accessible from Vancouver and Seattle, it is well marked, in good condition, lots of yummy eateries along the way, plenty of accommodation and camping. We took our time but if you're a little more frenzied than Lori and I you could do this tour on a three day weekend, although I'm sure the traffic is a lot heavier in the summer months. If you decide to give this tour a try let me know what your impressions were. I can be contacted at steviebee16@gmail.com.

Many thanks for riding along with us. We have a couple more smaller tours coming up which I will feature as well as a BIG one still in the development stages for next year. To further facilitate these stories I will be launching a website dedicated to motorcycle touring with tips, photos, routes, road reports for both the experienced and the newbie rider. You will be invited to share your stories as well as comment in a readers forum. What's the URL?  www.amotorcycleodyssey.ca. It's coming soon so stay tuned.

Be safe and enjoy your ride.

Steve Buckton
Langley B.C.

Part IV - That's A Long Way For A Free Entrée.

Neah Bay and another beautiful day, sunny warm and not a breath of wind. I get the coffee on, tidy up a few ends and start packing the bike. I meet the neighbors, five Russian guys, SCUBA divers from Oregon up here on the Peninsula exploring the reefs and kelp forests.Those that speak the better English are fairly chatty; they like the bikes and nod their approval when we fire the machines up.

We check out and off to our first stop for the day, the Makah Cultural Center about a half a mile up the road. I first read about this visitor center over ten years ago when the local Makah people were preparing for a traditional whale hunt using open canoes and hand harpoons as in the old ways. The band caught a lot of flack from some groups for hunting whales old school; whether you agree or disagree you have to admit that hunting whales in a thirty foot canoe with wood harpoons and bone harpoon heads takes a lot of guts and I admired them. The whalers were successful and the whale skeleton now hangs in the museum.

I found this museum particularly interesting. There was an abundance of historical artifacts as well as plenty of historical date pertaining to the Makah people and the place where they live.

Next we're off to buy some smoked salmon from the local dealer. Surprise when we find him at home in his shack on one of the side streets. He and a pal are carving up an elk; he has plenty of Dungeness Crab for sale but tapped out in the smoked salmon department.That's too bad because we wanted to get a bunch of smoked fillets for snacks over the next couple of days.

Now we head off to Cape Flattery to hike out the trail to the headland on the tip of the cape. The road out is a newly made paved road and is in tip-top condition and with the twisties and the gentle rise and fall it is a pleasure to ride. Lori's in the lead and wastes no time wheeling us up to the parking lot at the trail head. It's not a long hike, less than a mile and easy to tackle.

You start with an elevation drop and continue downhill throughout the walk. A large segment of the trail is boardwalk so it is accessible for pretty much anyone.

The trail continues down with a few lookouts along the way until you get to the end where there is a wooden lookout platform with a spectacular view of the ocean and the rocky shoreline. The lookout is a couple of hundred feet above the crashing water. The cliffs are riddled with caves and there is a notice informing us that when the waves are particularly heavy they crash up into the caves so you feel the ground rumbling beneath your feet.

The currents swirl around the rocks washing tons of kelp in large eddies, like a washing machine. We were told that there were whales sighted in the straight a couple of days prior but none today. There were lots of Murres flying about screeching as they flew overhead.

Tatoosh Island, namd after Chief Tatoosh of the Makah people lies just off shore and is home to the Cape Flattery Lighthouse. Built in 1854 the lighthouse protected vessels from the treacherous rocks and signalled the opening to the Juan de Fuca strait until it was decommissioned in 2008.

Cape Flattery Lighthouse, the most North-Westerly light in the contiguous United States.

The air is fresh and we're feeling hungry, which is not surprising as we hadn't had any breakfast save for a couple of cups of coffee. The trail back to the parking lot is all uphill but it is an invigorating walk and I feel great when we get back to the bikes. It's time to saddle up and head out for some brekkie/brunch/lunch whatever. We decide to ride the twenty-five miles to Sekiu where I had spotted an oceanside cafe the day before. The ride back along the coast was nothing short of fantastic! Once again the sweepers, the ups and downs and the road condition was superb, add to that riding with your best buddy and it just doesn't get any better for the two-wheeler.

The cafe is still there and we're soon tucking into lunch. yes with chowder again, I can't get enough of it, Beef au Jus and Reuben sandwiches. Someone, and I won't say who also indulged with some lemon merrainge pie.

With lunch done we're back on the road heading east on Hwy. 112 until we get to the junction of Hwy 113 where we swing south and to the junction of Hwy 101. It's a quick scoot down to the town of Forks where we top up the tanks and set the course for Olympia, one-hundred and fifty-eight miles away.

The weather is beautiful the roads are empty, Loris takes the lead and we're off and running. The highway swings back to the coast and follows some lovely beaches before cutting back inland through heavily cut terrain.

 The Washington Coastline and the Pacific Ocean.

Looking south along the Washington coast.

Next town is Aberdeen, a mill town and the home of Kurt Cobain, that's about all I can tell you. Despite a detour around a construction site we're through Aberdeen in a matter of minutes and now heading east on Hwy 12 with our sights on Olympia where we'll hole up for the night. The traffic builds all the way to the State Capital and the forty-five miles quickly pass and we're soon merging onto I-5 for a couple of exits, hopping off at Exit 102, the Tumwater exit where there is a Comfort Inn I know of, in fact Lori and I stayed here for a night in June 2014 on the "Desert Honeymoon: A Motorcycle Odyssey" tour which you can read about at http://steve-buckton2.blogspot.com.

Check-in is a breeze despite the hotel's computers being down. The front desk gal gives us a rate off the top of her head, $80.00 for  King Suite, deal! She puts it in writing for us and throws in a restaurant discount/freebie coupon. We unpack in record time, program the restaurant address into the GPS and backtrack about four or five miles to The Outback Steakhouse. We're sitting in the lounge area, our complimentary Bloomin' Onion is on the table and I look back over the wonderful day, the over hill and dale ride all the way from Neah Bay, the laughs and the fun time we had together and I say to Lori, "That's a long way for a free entrée."

Steve Buckton

Olympia, WA.

Part III - All The Way To Neah Bay

We were up and about much earlier today. I was awake at 6:00, in the bathroom by 6:05 and back in bed by 6:07! After an hour and a half I did rise to greet the day, foggy and a tad on the cool side but being intrepid travellers we were not deterred and were out the door soon after.

Today was another one of those lazy riding days, seeing the sights, taking our time and not rushing for there was nothing to rush for or to.

Taking Hwy 20 south we left Port Townsend behind and were soon at the junction of Hwy 101 West. This was the final stage of Hwy 20 I had left to ride. This is a wonderful road that starts out in Central Washington by the town of Omak and works it's way westward through Winthrope, Sedro Wooley, Whidby Island and continues across the water in Port Townsend until it meets 101. Now I have ridden the entire highway and I'd do it again in a heartbeat for it is truly one of the lesser talked about routes. Try it yourself and you'll see what I mean. Port Angeles is the next stopping point, this time for lunch. Downtown at the ferry terminal we found Smugglers Landing a quick and easy lunch oasis. They offer up good pub-grub with  friendly flair. Mushroom-Swiss burger for her Ladyship and a soft Seafood Taco for me. Good, fast and cheap. By the way the ferry terminal next door services Port Angeles and Victoria B.C. This is an excellent way of getting from Vancouver Island to the Olympic Peninsula and vice versa. Lori and I took this route a few years back and it is really handy, docking in downtown Victoria, across the street from the Parliament Buildings. It is not expensive and is a great way to skip the Seattle area with it`s famous traffic snarls. Once again, try it, you`ll like it!

I gassed up and we were off and running west.along 101. The weather had cleared up somewhat, the sun was shining and traffic was light. Next turn is the junction of Hwy. 101 and Hwy 112 which peels off to the right and follows the shore line all the way to Neah Bay, our destination for the night. The weather flip-flopped all afternoon from sunny to fog to sun and back to fog again. As the afternoon drew on the road started to get a little slippery and the chill had me flipping the electric vest on. Lori was leading the way setting down her usual steady path with a good pace suited to the road conditions. You know I never tire of watching her ride, confident, skilled, the complete rider.

Feeling tired we pulled into Neah Bay and started looking for suitable lodgings for the night. So far all we saw were some pretty seedy looking motels none too inviting. Backtracking a little we came across a small resort with individual cabins. Now I had seen this place on the web the other day and pegged it as a possibility but the advertised price was too high in my opinion. Nonetheless we pulled in, rolled up to the office counter and ask the gentleman what he`d charge for a cabin. $88.00 was his reply and we took it, the last one he had available too. The price on line was over twice that but it appears the website is focused around the fishing season when the demand is much higher. Anyway we were soon squared away in a cosy little cabin with the furnace heating the place up.

The Cape Resort Cabins

A peek inside.

This is really a comfy, clean place, across from the harbour and I`m looking forward to staying here. We have the rest of the day open so we go for a leisurely walk along the shore over to the Makah Cultural Center which we will visit in the morning. We continue walking around the harbour and head onto the wharf for a tour of the fishing fleet.

.

...T

The harbour was your typical fishing fleet, gnarly looking vessels that raise question to their seaworthiness, the mixed smells of diesel, oil, salt and rotting fish; in short a wonderful place to roam around and nose.

Feeling a bit peckish we found our way back to the Warmhouse Restaurant right next to the harbour. Laid-back home style cooking is the name of the game and we had chowder, again, and I had a chicken fried steak. This took me back to the last time I had Chicken Fried Steak which was at my friends Kathy and Trey`s house in Knoxville, Tennessee. This was good but not as good as your`s Trey.

Spent and tired, it`s surprising what a day of wind and fog will do to you, we head back across the road to the little cabin and hunker down for the evening.....some blogging for me and some scary TV movie for Lori. Tomorrow we`re hitting the Cultural Center then off to Cape Flattery, the furthest North-West point in the continental United States. There is an interesting walk out there so I`ll be sure and grab some photos for a future instalment.

Well friends and neighbors the day is coming to a close so I wish you all good-night.

Steve
Neah Bay, WA

Part II - Ferries, Food and Fatigue.

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry"
...Robert Burns

Robbie hit the nail on the head as this is exactly what happened to us today. Firstly I did not rise as early as I had planned, secondly I was ailing and feeling very much under the weather and thirdly I simply felt additional time in bed would be the cure-all to my situation. In the end all that really happened was I got up much too ate and still felt lousy.

Lori made breakfast and a huge pot of tea so I crawled into the shower and then headed for the kitchen. Breakfast was great, but I was still hurting so despite the fact we packed the day before it took some time to get organized and eventually out the door sometime around noon.

We quickly booted over to the border, opting for the truck crossing and headed for the NEXUS lane which was jammed and not moving.To my left was the general riff-raff lane, open and moving with one vehicle in it. We quickly skipped over one lane just in time to see a crew shift change of border patrol personnel which took a lot of time. The driver of the van in front of me of me looked like he was heading to a Grateful Dead concert so the fresh, new officer decided this guy was worth spending some time with and he hassled and hassled the guy finally pointing him over to the secondary interrogation area and further delays. The officer waves me forward, I flash my NEXUS card at the sensor, pull up to the booth and expect to breeze through just like any other day. Yes? No. The guy decides he wants to chat motorcycles with me asking some of the most obtuse questions I've ever heard. I know that customs does not subscribe to idle chit chat and that the line of questioning had it's purpose or perhaps the guy was just power tripping on me either way it took forever to get through.

I opted for a backroad route through the farmlands to Fairhaven which I 'learned' from Kyle Adams, however; I never really mastered it but I gave it a another shot. Every time I try this route it looks different and today's attempt was no exception. Luckily I had my GPS so I was able to sort out what was what and soon we were in Bellingham gassing up Lori's bike. I was still feeling sick as we passed through Fairhaven and onto Hwy 11 know locally as the Chuckanut Drive, a meandering narrow road cut high into the cliffs above Bellingham Bay. A favotite of motorcyclists, this road twists and turns through the trees with ocean views along the way. After running the twisties the elevation drops and the road spits you out into open farmland. Within minutes you're veering off and trundling through the village of Edison, more farms and field and fast upon the junction of Hwy 20. Take a right and head off towards Anacortes another popular motorcycle destination. The annual Oyster Run lures rides in bikers from all over the Pacific North-West of the U.S. and Canada. Not being a crowd fan I forego this pilgrimage but I have friends that go every year and swear by it. The 'Run" was last week or the week before...I'm not sure.

Hwy 20 turns off and after crossing the big bridge at Deception Pass heads south to Whidby Island through the towns of Oak Harbor and Coupville. Fort Casey is another interesting visitor location just to the south-west of Coupville. The fort was once an artillery base and a front line defence post during WWII. The guns and turrets are still there and you are free to wander around. Back in the 1980s Fort Casey was a location site for the movie "An Officer and A Gentleman". Well worth taking the time to visit as it is a very good day-trip destination. We didn't take in the fort this trip as we'd been there many times before and were wanting to catch the Port Townsend ferry with departed from the ferry terminal about a mile away.



We roll up to the ticket booth where the fare for two bikes and two riders was a grand total of $9.80. What a deal. BC Ferries can't even come close to the Washington State Ferries rates. Granted the boats are older and lack all the terminal shops and the on-board services of BC Ferries but for a thirty-five minute ferry ride I don't want any frills.I got a good cup of coffee and I was happy. The crossing to Port Townsend was uneventful albeit foggy and in no time at all we were rolling off the boat and looking for a motel.

As luck would have it we found a nice motel less than a mile from the ferry terminal and we quickly checked in and unpacked the bikes. A woman at the ferry terminal had recommended a seafood restaurant which was within walking distance to our motel so off we go.

Now all day Lori had her taste-buds tuned up for salmon and thankfully they had such bill of fare on the menu. We both ordered the grilled salmon with vegetables and rice. oh and we started off with some of the meatiest clam chowder I've ever tasted! In fact they won an award this week for the "Best Chowder On The Olympic Peninsula" and let me tell you they came by it honestly. The salmon was grilled to perfection and the veggies included carrots, zucchini and broccoli. .Too full for deserts, although I was eyeing the large assortment of pies and pastries in the glass cabinet we took our bill and chatted on the walk back to the hotel. Recommendation.....If you're in Port Townsend WA and are hungry for seafood go to the Bayview Restaurant. Come off the ferry turn left and it's the first building on your left about a quarter mike from the ferry dock. Great food...Great friendly service!

We're back at the motel and planning tomorrow's activities. The lovely autumn weather is holding so tomorrow will be another great day on the road. So it's good night from Lori and I.

Introduction and Prologue


Welcome Back!

Hello and here we are again with another instalment in the continuing "Motorcycle Odyssey" series of touring stories, photos, trip reports, food critiques, historical landmarks and little tid-bits of information for both riders and riders to be.

Once again we have Steve and Lori rolling off on another fun-filled action adventure, this time all the way to one of the most westerly points in the continental United States, Cape Flattery and Neah Bay.

Starting from our home in Langley BC, we'll head south along the back roads through Fairhaven, Bellingham, over the bridge to Anacortes then south to Fort Casey and the ferry docks. Over to Port Townsend then west through the Olympic Range following the shore of the Juan de Fuca Strait until we run out of road.

The return route will see further adventures in the Olympic Mountains south of the state capital Olympia and home, somehow, someway, sometime. I don't want to open the kimono too wide and give away all the secrets, just trying to whet your appetite for this latest story. If you've followed these stories in the past you know I welcome and encourage comments, feedback and disparaging remarks. You can leave your comments here in the blog, on my Face Book page Steve.Buckton or write me directly at steviebee16@gmail.com. All comments and personal email will be answered.

So saddle up your armchair and come for another ride along as Lori and I hit the road on....

Olympic Circle: A Motorcycle Odyssey