Morning at Burney Falls

The third day of our motorcycle trip for my birthday took us to one of the main stops on our list - Lassen Volcanic National Park. However, our first stop of the day was a little bit off route. Instead of heading south on route 89 toward the national park, we headed north for a …

Continue reading Morning at Burney Falls

Motorcycling Through Lava Beds National Monument

The longest day's ride of my birthday motorcycle trip was 280 miles, traveling from Bend, Oregon, to Fall River Mills, California. This stretch of our trip not only set a record for the most mileage I've put on my bike in one day, it was the first time we've had our bikes in California! It …

Continue reading Motorcycling Through Lava Beds National Monument

Summer Afternoon in Sisters and Bend, Oregon

After our late morning hikes around Smith Rock State Park, we were ready for lunch - and Brian had researched the perfect spot in Sisters, Oregon! Sisters, Oregon A short and speedy ride from the park, we arrived in Sisters to find an extremely popular downtown strip. We quickly turned off the main drag and …

Continue reading Summer Afternoon in Sisters and Bend, Oregon

Exploring Smith Rock, Oregon

Our first full day of my birthday motorcycle trip took us from Carson, Washington, to Bend, Oregon, with a little-more-than-halfway stop to stretch our legs at the highly recommended Smith Rock State Park. We had a lovely ride south from Hood River, initially taking a backroad that wound through hills and woods before rejoining a …

Continue reading Exploring Smith Rock, Oregon

Motorcycle Ride to Carson, Washington

For my birthday week, we planned a motorcycle trip from Spanaway, Washington to Lassen Volcanic National Park and Redwood National Park in California, riding south through Central Oregon and north along the Oregon Coast for our return loop home. It's the longest bike trip I've done to date at 1,500 miles! Our first partial travel …

Continue reading Motorcycle Ride to Carson, Washington

Afternoon at Elandan Gardens

On our way to Bainbridge Island from Gig Harbor during our recent Labor Day motorcycle trip, we made a stop at an unusual roadside attraction Brian found near Port Orchard called Elandan Gardens - home to hundreds of different types of Bonsai trees! Bonsai, the Japanese art of growing miniature trees, is a process that produces exceptional …

Continue reading Afternoon at Elandan Gardens

Morning in Bremerton, Washington

Brian helped devise an awesome two-day motorcycle trip around the Kitsap Peninsula and several nearby islands we'd never managed to visit for Labor Day weekend. We started our adventure Saturday morning, hopping on one of the first ferries from Edmonds to Kingston so we could make our way south to our first destination, Bremerton. We've …

Continue reading Morning in Bremerton, Washington