Arches

I’m heading west again, out of Colorado and into Utah to visit the Arches National Park. I was alerted to this beauty by an American hiker up in Iceland early in the year and as it is on the wrong side of Utah from Las Vegas I’m doing it on the approach rather than on…

Aspen

After seeing Red Rocks I head for the Interstate and, I have to admit I70 is a super road, the scenery is great and it’s not your standard strip of tarmac covered in cars. After being politely refused entrance in two campsites on the way down the hill, they had a bear problem and only…

Denver

I liked Denver the first time I was there and, at the surface, it has changed little. There are however three major changes that I was going to appreciate in fullness in my two days there. The first it’s me. Last time I was here it was in the autumn of 2012 at a EDUCAUSE…

First bite at the Rockies

After a nice night in the campsite is time to get going with the first mountain day of the trip. I double back to the town and then turn south to get to the park entrance. Along the way I have the first encounter with wildlife of the day. First it’s prairies dogs, cute, and…

Monuments

It’s up early(ish) in the morning, lots of ground to cover on a two monument day that will see me starting in a state, crossing another and end up in the third. The route from the campsite to Mount Rushmore is a delight, swerving ascending and descending through the Black Hills National Forest and offering…

North and South Dakota

morning comes and Michael leaves when I’m still sleeping, after a bit of webbing it’s time to get going, I have a sketch of a plan that includes a flying visit to Fargo before entering the Great Planes of North and South Dakota. On the way to Fargo at a service station, incidentally service stations…

Into the USA

Getting back to Winnipeg from Riding Mountain Park had that sense of coming home you feel when you go to a place you’ve been before, it is a sensation I relish as it is so rare in my day to day life, might have to do something about that. It is only for a night…

9 Finger Ranch

I have to stay in Manitoba a little bit longer, the USA will have to wait. I had the motorbike serviced on Wednesday and I ordered a new back tyre which will be fitted on Monday. Also I decided to invest in a security chain, Canada seems to be largely crime free but I’m not…

Winnipeg

So I got to Winnipeg, After the rain fiasco I have to confess I look forward to a few days hosteling. As per usual it is cheaper than camping which, for a Scot, makes it all the much more enjoyable. Not sure what to expect from Winnipeg, it’s a medium size city in the middle…

Northern exposure

After the splendid two days in and around Manitoulin it’s time to tackle the long ride across the northern shores of Lake Superior. I have been warned by several people that this would be a long stretch, in distance, nearly one thousand miles, as well as in effort, that of staying alert to both wildlife…