After two years and
some change, we are back on the road - this time on a journey from our new home
of Seattle down to the southern-most city in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina.
We are taking two
Yamaha XT 250 dual sport motorcycles, a tent, 2 Wolfman large duffel bags
containing minimalist camping gear and four small sized space bags of clothes
(2 for each of us) as well as some saddle bags, a 1 gallon water container and
a 1.75 gallon gas container. (See our gear page for more details if you feel so
inclined.) We're trying to do this trip with minimal gear, something our
experience backpacking through Europe and South East Asia has well-prepared us
for. On my insistence (although to be fair, Josh did not argue) we are doing
shorter days for the most part; our average day is 150 miles and we'll have
"weekends" (what we're calling two day stops) at least every week,
usually more often than that.
While we have done
backpacking trips before, this will be the first long-term trip that we've done
by motorcycle. We did travel from Austin, TX to Seattle in 2015 (but since it
was only a two week trip I don't think it counts, haha), a 4 day ride in Costa
Rica in 2016, and a 4 day ride in Ecuador in 2013, so we have an idea of what's
in store for us on this trip, but it will definitely be a new experience.
Also, it has been
harder to leave Seattle than we anticipated. Despite all our best efforts we
started putting down roots here. Kirsten, our work friend from Austin, moved
here about the same time as us (and has been super helpful with driving us
around everywhere while we've been getting ready to leave).
We also made other
new friends, and I somehow managed to find the best work environment I've ever
come across. I became very close to my boss and my team, and sometimes I wonder
if I'll ever find a job this good again - hopefully I can just come back. ;)
They've been very
understanding through everything, and even threw me and Josh a rockin' going
away Karaoke party.
The day before we
left we attended the Black Mass BBQ at The Wick (http://www.thewickmoto.com/), a local
motorcycle coffee shop close to our apartment in Seattle. While there we met up
with Mike and Jenny Linquist from Pack Animal (http://packanimal.co/),
an awesome local brand specializing in handmade leather motorcycle luggage and
snagged a couple of their fantastic new insulated water bottles. These bottles
will keep liquids cold for over 24 hours, or hot for up to 12 hours. We knew
these would come in handy for our trip, plus they have an awesome design. Check
them out here: (http://packanimal.co/shop/insulated-bottle)
On July 31st we woke
up before the sunrise to move the last few items out of our apartment, loaded
up the bikes, and rolled them out the door for the last time. We began our trip
by riding North from Seattle to Edmonds, where we caught the ferry to Kingston.
We were surprised how cold it was for this time of year, needing a number of
layers to stay warm. From there we headed North-West to Port Angeles, and
eventually turned South down to La Push. While there we passed through
'Twilight' country, and found some interesting anti-vampire propaganda.
We also went down
and checked out Rialto Beach which was only a mile and a half from our
campsite.
That night we fell
asleep to the eerie but beautiful sound of whale calls, which was only marred
by the intermittent sounds of logging, and the next morning we headed out to
our next destination, Montesano, WA.
After a delicious
breakfast in Forks (still no vampire bites), we rode down the Washington
coast, enjoying the crisp salty smell of the ocean.
A little while later
we found our way to our stop for the night, which Josh had found on the Adv
Rider forums. We stayed in a giant house, built by our host, Randall. He had a
massive amount of toys on site, including a 1985 Jeep, a couple tractors, some
motorcycles, and he even let Josh and I try out his TW200s.
Today we're headed
out to Long Beach, WA to see Marsh's
Free Museum and the Wreck of the Peter Iredale - expect to hear from us
soon!