Home Safely, At Last

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This is the last trip entry written by Mitch following an epic trip.  or…. you could start at the beginning

It seemed like we couldn’t get where we wanted to be fast enough! When we were getting off of Route 24 at the Easton exit, I looked over at Colton and tears took over my eyes. He looked at me and said, “I’m hugging YOU first!”

It’s been an amazing adventure. Just hearing those words from my son made everything seem right!

We pulled in to the driveway and the helmets came off.  I put my arms around him and knew that all we talked about, all the miles and smiles we shared would all be remembered and cherished. It was a moment I will never forget.Colton, Mitch and Kenai - home

Thank you, Colton, for being who you are and letting me share my life with you.  I know I will never forget this.

Total Trip Miles: 10,876

Start at the Beginning

Day 39 – HOME

America 2014

(Last trip entry by Mitch)

Back in the USA !

We woke up  thinking in mph vs. kph and ºF vs ºC.

We had a nice stay at the Sheraton in Burlington, VT.  We rode through the UVM campus.8-9_UVM Things sure have changed since 1978. Trees have grown, so have strip malls! Burlington is a beautiful town.

8-9_Lake-Champlain

We were both so anxious to get home.  We climbed back on Route 89 south and headed for home. It was a really nice ride through the Green Mountains.

It seemed like we couldn’t get where we wanted to be fast enough! When we were getting off of Route 24 at the Easton exit, I looked over at Colton and tears took over my eyes. He looked at me and said, “I’m hugging YOU first!”

It’s been an amazing adventure. Just hearing those words from my son made everything seem right!

We pulled in to the driveway and the helmets came off.  I put my arms around him and knew that all we talked about, all the miles and smiles we shared would all be remembered and cherished. It was a moment I will never forget.Colton, Mitch and Kenai - home

Thank you, Colton, for being who you are and letting me share my life with you.  I know I will never forget this.

260 miles today.

burlington, vt to easton, ma

Kenai is a happy dog to have her boy back home.kenai

Total Trip Miles: 10,876

Start at the Beginning

Day 38 – Ontario to Vermont

America 2014

The day that was supposed to be our homecoming, turned out to be anything but. The first thing was that the bike wouldn’t start. We finally got in touch with the Harley dealer in Ottawa around 8:30 am, but we didn’t see their tow truck until almost 11:30.  It took an hour and a half to get back to the Harley dealer shop due to traffic! One thing after another and we didn’t get out of there until almost 4pm. By that time, we just wanted to get out of Canada!

We finally did.

We got back onto Route 417 to Route 138 to Cornwall where you go over the bridge and through New York.  We picked up Route 37 east to Route 122 east to Route 11 North to Route 2 into Vermont and down through Lake Champlain to Burlington, VT.

Entering Vermont

Tomorrow – Home – Please.

Rode 225 miles today.

casselman, ontario to burlington, vt

Total miles to date: 10,616

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Day 37 – Ontario

America 2014

We woke up in Blind River. It was cool this morning, around 48º. We jumped on the bikes and headed east on Route 17.  We are both getting excited to be home.  It’s been a great time doing things we’ve never done before, seeing things we’ve never seen before, but it is time to get back to reality.

Route 17 turned into Route 417 south of Ottawa, Canada.
There was really not much to see.  The lakes are amazing, but the roads – not so much.

We made it to Casselman, Ontario, Canada.

Road 435 miles.

blind river to casselman ontario

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Day 36 – Entering Canada

America 2014

We left Appleton, Wisconsin after a good cup of coffee at Starbucks and we headed north.  We took Route 41 which turned in to Route 35 and into Michigan.

We didn’t know that we would be passing through Michigan. Then, we realized that Michigan seemed to never end!  We rode on the west shore of Lake Michigan.  It looked like an ocean – you couldn’t see anything but water! There’s a long northern peninsula of this state before you get to Sault St. Marie.  Then, you cross the bridge, and you’re in Canada.  We picked up the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 17) and headed east. Before we knew it, we were on the northern shore of Lake Huron.  We stopped at a small motel (Old Mill Inn) in Blind River, Ontario, Canada. What a beautiful spot.  There was a small jetty that goes out about 500-600 feet into the lake.  Really beautiful.

8-6_Huron-Jetty 8-6_sunset-lake-huron

We rode 411 miles today.

appleton, wi to blind river, ontario, canada

Tomorrow, we will head to Casselman, Ontario, Canada.

One more night in Canada, then HOME!

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Day 35 – Worthington, MN to Appleton, WI

America 2014

We woke up in Worthington, Minnesota and headed (once again) on Route 90 east toward Appleton, Wisconsin.  We rode another 277 miles on Route 90 before we got off onto Route 21 in Wisconsin and connected to Route 41 into Appleton.

There were a lot of corn fields in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A real lot!  You can ride forever and only pass corn fields.  The good thing is that there are also a lot of windmills.

We rode through a lot of fog today, but the weather eventually cleared up when we were around 50 miles outside of Green Bay.

We rode 408 miles today.

worthington, MN to Appleton, WI

Total to date: 9,527 miles traveled.

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Day 34 – Sturgis to Worthington, Minnesota

America 2014

We headed out of Sturgis this morning on Route 90 east. Our next stop is Worthington, Minnesota.

We rode through the “Badlands” in South Dakota.  It was pretty windy getting through there. When you are riding down the highway and the wind is coming from the side, you have to ride leaning heavily to the side, as you travel straight forward. It was kind of freaky.

Welcome to Minnesota 8-4_Minnesota-3

We never got off of Route 90 east.  We traveled 453 miles today.  Most of the ride was 80+ mph. We hit a few scattered raindrops, but nothing too bad.

sturgis to worthington

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Day 33 – A Down Day in Sturgis

America 2014

Our last day in Sturgis.  We didn’t really want to do a whole lot.  We’re pretty tired.  So we just hung out with some people at the hotel and washed our bikes.  We had some dinner over in Deadwood and called it an early night.  Only rode 10 miles today.  We needed a down day. We got it.

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Day 32 – Sturgis

America 2014

Sturgis is getting very crowded, so we grabbed some breakfast here in Deadwood, and headed in to Sturgis to be a part of it.  So cool!  So many bikes, so many people!

It is amazing to see how many different kinds of people there are, that gather together in one place.

After several hours of this, we decided to take a ride and look at the famous places around here that are associated with the Sturgis adventure.  “Full Throttle Saloon“, “The Beaver Bar“, “Buffalo Chip“.  We stayed on Route 34 east which turned into massive fields as far as the eye could see.

Eventually, headed back in to Sturgis for a while longer to watch all of the characters here.  Really cool.

8-2_Sturgis-bike2 8-2_Sturgis-bikes 8-2_Sturgis2

We only rode about 80 miles today. Fun day.

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Day 31 – Devil’s Tower

America 2014

Beautiful day for a ride, so we climbed on and headed west to see “Devil’s Tower”.  What a unique structure!  This is the one that was featured in the movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind“.  One of the park rangers told us that it was formed by a volcano tube that never reached the surface.  After time, all of the surrounding earth eroded away, which left this tower of rock behind.

7-31_Devils-Tower2 7-31_Devils-Tower3

Native American folklore tells the story that there were a few young girls playing in the fields, when they saw a bear approaching.  They climbed on a rock and began to pray. All of a sudden, the rock started to grow into the sky so that the bear couldn’t reach them.  That would be the explanation for the vertical ‘scratches’ on the tower.

It was a great ride back to Sturgis.  We just walked around town, looking at people, bikes, vendors, etc.  We met a lot of people along the way.  Got back to our room late, but had a great day.

Rode about 180 miles today.

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