Pano TEST: Shelter Island Marina, Richmond, BC

A few posts back   (here)  ,   Richard mentioned  that it would have been nice to be able to see my Panoramic photo at full size.

Well,  I've been working on it. 





Feel free to navigate and move around the image using the navigation tools, and remember to click the FULL SCREEN icon on the right

First 2 wheeled ride to Oregon, August 2008: Part Two

I had been to Oregon before.  One of the first times was when we drove our brand new 1970 Datsun 1600 to the Oregon Coast.   We actually drove it to San Francisco when we visited Mrs Skoot's sister in Berkeley, CA.  Datsuns were good cars back then.  Anyway this was the first time I rode to Oregon on two wheels and I decided to ride my new Kymco Xciting X500Ri Maxi-Scoot

This is a continuation of my previous post  click Here  ( for part one )

This was one of the first times I had ever been to a multi day rally and I didn't know what to expect.  Camping was included in the entry fee but I had never camped before so I stayed at the nearby budget Motel

This particular year BMW supplied the bikes for the demo rides.   As I rule I don't do demo rides

myself unless I am actually looking to buy that make/model.  I generally don't do rides just for the thrill of riding a different bike but here they are all lined up for their prospective riders

They also had vendors there with moto related accessories for sale.  You could have also ordered tires before arrival and have your new tires fitted during the weekend, right on site

During this 3 day event organized by Soundrider   (link  click here)    you are able to sign up for talks on various riding techniques by high profile riders.    Moto journalist Tom Mehren is the head honcho and he is an authour himself (click here)    He was actually our ride leader and he took us on many backroads around Mt Hood as you will see on the following photos which were taken on various rides, over two days

    Mt Hood from Panorama Viewpoint  (Kymco X500Ri in foreground)

somehow we ended up at Mt Hood

and we had lunch at Timberline Lodge

                Timberline Lodge,  interior

There was also some ornate artwork on the doors.   It was a beautiful, warm August day

and we got a nearly unobstructed view of Mt Hood.   Of course I also had to snap a photo of

my Kymco Maxi-scoot to show I was actually there.   A few hours later of being disoriented on a few backroads we headed north back to the Gorge where you can see Vista House in the distance

and we made it to the Vista House parking lot

    Arrived at Vista House,  (restrooms are on the lower level)

and I had to snap another photo of my scoot

I remember it was very busy that day and I was lucky to grab this spot.  I was much younger back then and I walked up to the bridge

 and I managed another photo at Stonehenge.   I rode to the rally, solo,  met a few friends and we all came back together back to the SeaTac area where I continued home back to BC

We left Stevenson, WA around 9am in light rain which stopped near Seattle

I thought it was a great weekend with new friends.   Thanks for following along

Guest Post: Morgan Sansotta "Ghost Town Gal"

I receive many requests to evaluate products and also requests from others to host guest posts which I generally ignore.   That's the downfall of having a listed email but I choose to have a way for my readers to contact me and so far my junque mail hasn't been much of a problem.

Early December I received an email from Morgan and somehow the tone of her email was more personal so during the past month or so we have exchanged a few emails and I decided to publish her article.  She is a freelance writer and novice biker now living in Idaho who is most likely going to start her own blog called  "Ghost Town Gal"

Excerpt from one of our conversations:

Quote " I came across your site today; I really enjoyed your new post about an old trip (yuck, yuck). In all seriousness, the photos of the Montana area in July has my heart aching for the return of greenery.

I'm a rural Idahoan (just transplanted back from the Bay area) and pretty new to riding. I've been trying to branch out and make contact with moto-bloggers across the country before I dive into the deep end and start my own touring site. 

Any chance you ever let outsiders chip in guest posts for Riding the Wet Coast? I've been working on a piece about riding the Silver Valley area in Northern Idaho. I was up there in September and the trip was full of history, beautiful scenery -- fun galore, basically. "    signed   Morgan

Guest Post:  Author:     Morgan Sansotta:   -----------------------------------

Hi-ho, Silver! – A North Idaho Moto-Tour

                                                                                                 image source

Morgan Sansotta, freelance blogger for Jafrum.com, loves the sight of abandoned smelter. Even if the EPA doesn’t share her opinion.

Northern Idaho’s Silver Valley region, located on a stretch of US I-90, is renowned for its rich history. Literally. Since the 1880’s, over one billion ounces of silver have been mined from this area. Not to mention the literal tons of gold, zinc and lead. To this day, the mines in the Coeur d’Alene district are among the most productive in the world.

                                                                                                                 image source

                                                                                                                 
As it turns out, it’s also a really awesome place to ride a motorcycle. Tucked into the Bitterroot Mountains, ATVs and snowmobiles are actually the preferred modes of transportation in these parts. You can even legally ride a snowmobile through the streets of most of the small towns. But dual-sports are almost as popular.

Outdoor recreationalists from all over the world pour into the Silver Valley to get a taste of the Wild West. If you’re an off-road enthusiast, the Idaho Panhandle offers nearly 4000 miles of trails and roads. The majority are located on National Forest or public lands. But don’t worry; there’s plenty of regulation pavement to pound. If you prefer designated routes (as opposed to the play-it-by-ear method) the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway, International Selkirk Loop and Lake Coeur d’Alene Scenic Byway are among the most celebrated in this region.

                                                                                                                         image source

I visited the area in autumn and the scenery was no less than breathtakingly gorgeous. The tamarack larch trees, nestled amongst red cedars, aspens, Ponderosa pine and Doug fir, had just turned a brilliant shade of canary yellow. The sloping canyon hillsides open up into lush valleys and winding river systems and dazzling lakes. It’s one of those places where you really don’t know what’s around the next turn.

                                                                                                                       image source

Personally, I like to take things leisurely and the Silver Valley was a perfect fit. Unfortunately, during my visit, the world’s longest gondola (from the town of Kellogg to Silver Mountain Ski Resort) was closed. I hear it’s a wonderful little jaunt; just like floating through the forest. On the off chance you’re into the other form of two-wheeled recreation, the Route of the Hiawatha’s bike trail (formerly the famed Old Milwaukee Railroad) is an international treasure.

                                                                                                                image source

History buffs know this area for the major unionized labor disputes that took place around the turn of the 20^th century. For those not familiar with the ‘Dynamite Express’ – I highly recommend looking into this explosive story. A friend and I actually followed the trail of the ‘Express’ from Burke to Wardner and it was…much shorter than we expected…but exhilarating to be there, nonetheless.

Speaking of history, Kingston is home to North Idaho’s Motorcycle Museum. Embarrassingly enough, I didn’t hear this existed until I got home. I hear it features around 20 classic bikes, including a pair of ‘70s Indians, a ton of vintage paraphernalia and an entire Evel Knievel section. I visited half a dozen other museums, mostly mining or railroad oriented, but my only real recommendations are the Crystal Goldmine Tour and Wallace’s Oasis Bordello Museum (the brothel was in operation until 1988!).

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Depending on what sort of rider you are, you can plan your trip with maps from the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management or the Idaho State Parks and Recreation department. They’re certainly more informative than I am regarding open/closed roads, seasonal information and other details. As with other rural areas, you have to stay on your toes – you never know when a stray bear or elk might wander into your path.

To wrap it up, I’ll leave you with a fun fact: evidently, in the state of Idaho, it’s illegal for anyone over the age of 88 to ride a motorcycle. While I understand the basis for such a law, I’m dying to meet the fellow who breaks the rule every day. If you know him, let us know! Have fun and stay safe out there.

Morgan Sansotta, a freelance writer and history buff, blogs about her two-wheeled adventures on behalf of Jafrum.com. When she’s not cruising the Northwest’s finest highways and back country roads, you can find her reading about Idaho’s gold rush and whipping up batches of homemade jam with ingredients from her backyard (jalapeño huckleberry, anyone?).

Google+  profile      and another published article    here

Clear, Sunny & plus +4°C ( 40°F) on the Pacific Coast

With so many reports of Ice Storms, Wind Chill factors, Snow Storms, Power failures in the Eastern Parts of the Country, those of us out West are experiencing normal weather this time of year

    Shelter Island Marina, Richmond, BC                                        5 January 2014

I can't imagine living without power with temperatures at -40°F such as those in Newfoundland right now.   All I can say is that we are fortunate to be here on the left coast on a clear sunny day with water as calm as glass

It's still on the chilly side for us with night time lows of about -3°c and we have to scrape our windshields in the morning but so far we have been on the plus side of freezing during the day.

We come here often and today we were meeting friends for brunch.   It was my plan to take my good camera and play around with my Microsoft ICE pano program 

While waiting for our friends I like to walk around the Marina and snap a few photos

The name of this boat caught my eye.  Just imagine that you are leaving your office and you just tell your staff that you are going to "The Job Site" for the afternoon

I surveyed the scene and decided to snap 16 full resolution images in 3 horizontal rows to produce my composite image  (Nearly 45 Megs)

    Output screen of the MR ICE interface

Notice that I am not so good at doing horizontal rows without a tripod.  Luckily the program has a built-in crop function.   In order to keep the colour balance identical for all these (16) images, I used manual mode so all photos were taken at the same settings, plus you should have enough overlap so the program can stitch them automatically

and here is the result

another regular day on the Wet Coast of British Columbia

Flashback to August 2008, off to the Sound Rider rally

I packed up my Maxi-scooter and headed south to Stevenson, WA for the annual Soundrider Rally.    I had gone away on weekends before but this was my first multi-day solo ride to Oregon.   I left home early so I could cross the border by 6am.   I took I-5 south until I branched off south of Puyallup and got lost trying to find hwy 7 or WA 161 and eventually I found less traveled roads

I knew it was going to be a long day on the road but I still managed to pose for a few photos along the way

    La Grande, WA         General Post office

I was riding my new Kymco X500Ri  Maxi-Scooter.   This was the first one delivered into BC.  At that time I also had a couple of other scooters at home, plus my Suzuki GS400s but I wanted to see how the scooter performed on the highway

When I reached Elbe I looked at my map and noticed that was the last place I could buy something to eat so I stopped for a hamburger.    There were a few places to eat but I thought I would go where all the other bikes were parked.   This proved to be a big mistake

I placed my order and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited . . .  I noticed that all the other bikers had been waiting for a longer time than me and they still haven't received their orders either.   I mean,  it was just a simple hamburger and after an hour and a half I was really getting hungry

I should have gone across the street to the Hobo Inn where they had no line up and they served their meals in a dining car

Eventually I got underway and reached Morton where I fueled up at the Chevron

You can barely see their sign on the right at the end of the street, 2 blocks down.  My plan was to take the Wind River scenic Forest service road  NF25 to Carson, WA

It is not a road to be traveled alone but I took my time and didn't take any chances.    I also wanted to take NF99 to the back side of Mount St Helens but the road was closed due to a landslide, and it was closed

So of course I posed for another photo with my new Kymco X500Ri maxi-scoot

    Mount St Helen's from  NF99                                         August, 2008

I arrived at Stevenson, WA  just after 6pm.   Soundrider took over the fair grounds and they set up their store inside where you could buy camping accessories

This was the first rally I had been to and I was anxious to meet the others from the Maxi-scooter forum.

I didn't know what to expect but they had scheduled workshops and BMW demo rides.

    That is David Hough, the author   (on the left) setting up his seminar session

I wasn't into camping back then but this is where you could park your bikes, under cover

and look what I found parked in the corner

This blue Beemer was David Hough's   Hack  which he has since sold.  He now rides a Canam Spyder ( I believe ) .   I had the pleasure to meet and have lunch with him during the rally

The field was to be full of tents by the next day as I arrived early.  Stevenson, WA is in the Oregon gorge and beside the Columbia River which is on the other side of the train trestle

 

 Here we are socializing and putting names to faces.   The problem with forums is that most of us don't use our real names

The seats are filling up fast and we want to hear David Hough give his Traction and Sight lines seminar

and here he is in action giving his slide show presentation

Breakfasts and dinners were provided under the big tent.   After breakfast on this day we went on a very long group ride to Bickleton, WA which is in the middle of nowhere

and here we are in front of the oldest tavern in Washington State.    I know, don't drink and ride, but the Bluebird was closed that day and I really needed to find a washroom . . .

    Bluebird Tavern,  Oldest tavern in Washington state.          Bickleton, WA    August 2008