Day 3 - September 9, 2006 - SECOND CORNER ACHIEVED! Wilsonville, OR to Issaquah, WA Mileage Today:   463 Total Mileage:   1,601 All images below are links to larger photographs.  Click the image to view the larger photo. Started my ride today by snagging my first National Park Passport stamp during this Four Corner (aka, 4 turns) ride in Oregon City, OR at the “McLoughlin House NHS.”  They had a cheesy little sign that I couldn't get the bike near for a picture so I had to settle for one with the Strom in front of the actual house: The lady working at the NPS site said I've seen more parks than she has and she's work for the Park Service for over 18yrs; I found this to be quite odd. I left there and a quick ride across the state line had me at the 2nd stamp (and state) in WA at the “Fort Vancouver NHS” which is also where I met another Stromtrooper (Johnny): Johnny and I went in and stamped my book and talked a bit with the folks there.  The plan was we'd ride I-5 to Seattle where he'd peel off.  Somewhere along the way Johnny pulled up beside me and pointed towards his gas tank.  I thought it was odd he'd need gas since we just started but figured he needed to stop for whatever reason.  I nodded that I understood (or so I thought) and was prepared to take the next exit.  With me still leading, we passed a Rest Area and either I misunderstood or missed seeing a turn signal or something because the next thing I know I see in my mirror that he's pulled into the Rest Area.  I was unsure how to handle the situation.  My GPS showed the next exit to be several miles ahead and when I approached the exit it wasn't a visible easy on/off exit.  I pulled off anyway not knowing really what to do since we had no communications system and the idea of running up and down I-5 trying to reconnect seemed like a very bad idea to me.  So, being very sad I had just lost my newfound friend I kept going up I-5.  Getting disconnected bothered me all day.  I felt so bad but wasn't sure what to do.  To make matters even worse my GPS must have picked up a voodoo curse or something because it, for lack of a better word, completely freaked out nearing Seattle and I could have used Johnny's local knowledge to guide me thru the area.  I have a Garmin 2610 with the latest available version 8 software.  The mapping program had a chunk around Seattle completely missing and so the routing system would divert me 65mi to go around a 1 mile stretch.  I was as frustrated as an Amish electrician!  I made it thru Seattle only to be met with 3 lanes of heavy stop & go construction traffic (yes, even on a Sat) between Seattle and Everett; I had been warned about the delay by a friend but there was no way to avoid the road given my Blaine, WA destination.  Ugh.  All I could think about is how someone needs to let these WA people in on something called lanesplitting (lane sharing).  The traffic finally dispersed and, of course, it started raining.  I saw a sign that said the temp was 59 degrees.  Riding in 59 degrees at 70mph+ in the rain meant I needed to stop and put on another layer.  I found a Rest Area and pulled off.  (In case you didn't know, Rest Areas aka Safety Areas in WA have free coffee and advertise such on the signs).  I looked for a dry place to change out gear and found a tree.  Yes, a tree.  Not just any tree though, take a look at this bad boy: Is that cool or what?  Before I went under the tree I took the Alaska Leather sheepskin pad off my seat and turned it upside down to place over my tank bag because I had a piece of paper that I didn't really want to see water quite yet.  Well, when I came back to the bike I sat the pad back on the seat but neglected to snap it back in place.  I left the rest area rather refreshed and recharged from seeing this cool tree and was sailing down I-5 again when I saw a tire go bouncing across a lane ahead of me and then a bunch of brake lights and swerving vehicles.  It was far enough ahead that I was in no real danger but in order to get a better view and assess the situation I stood up on the pegs.  Yup, you guessed it!  When I sat back down there was no sheepskin pad.  I was in shock.  Complete shock.  I felt for it behind me with no luck.  The next several miles were spent trying to figure out this dilemma... the idea of turning around and going back to find my dead sheep pad in the middle of I-5 with me trying to dodge traffic didn't sound too appealing.  I thought since I have the exact pad on my other bikes I'd just call back and have someone overnight one to me...but being it was Sat afternoon I'd have to ride at least 3 full days without it which, to me, was as appealing as dodging I-5 multi-lane traffic for the pad back in the road.  I remember thinking that I had not considered losing my sheepskin pad as a potential hurdle in the ride but here I was with that very issue.  Crap!  I sometimes ride with my feet kicked back atop the passenger pegs to stretch a bit and so I thought perhaps I'd stretch and think this problem over before I completely freaked out.  When I placed my right foot on the peg I immediately noticed it felt rather cushy and when I glanced down I saw the pad!!  It was trapped between the peg and the SB900 saddlebag!  Woo-hoo!!!  Hallelujah!  I quickly pulled over to the side of the road and grabbed it.  The cars passing me must have thought I'd lost my mind.  I literally was jumping for joy!!  So, back in the sheep saddle I headed for Blaine and my second corner of the ride. I proudly arrived in Blaine and headed straight for my chosen site for the “official” photo (the one submitted in the SCMA envelope), which also meant the gargantuan Polaroid camera got it's second duty of the ride: More later on why I chose a school.  After the school I headed for the gas station to get an official receipt (time/date/location stamped) to include with the photo which I'd be mailing from the Blaine Post Office.  I decided before I headed to the PO I'd go take a few pictures of the border much like I did in San Ysidro.  The underpass had a big “I-5 North” sign which I followed thinking once on I-5 it couldn't be too far to the “Last USA Exit” according to my calculations and the GPS.  Well, we were both right, it wasn't very far at all... that WAS the last exit!!  I still have no idea why that sign points I-5 North and doesn't include something along the lines of "Canada ONLY" since once you enter the interstate you are less than ¼ mi from Canadian customs and no exits between.  There was a small driveway/goat trail that I saw and thought, whew, what a close call, it was looking like I had no choice but to enter Canada!  However, the driveway looped you right into a multi-lane dead stopped traffic snarl of cars who were headed back into the US!  Holy cow!  Thankfully a driver seemed to see what was happening and motioned for me to cut in front of him while displaying a look I can only translate as "you must be one confused traveler.  There were at least a dozen cars ahead of me waiting to process through US customs.  It seemed like it took forever. As I watched it drizzle rain and waited (something I completely suck at doing), I thought about how I might answer the likely upcoming questions of “where are heading, where did you come from, how long have you been in Canada” etc.  Oh geez, this might get even worse.  Do I say Key West via Maine and coming from San Ysidro, CA??  Well, I finally made it to the front, explained my errant turn, offered a Chevron gas receipt as proof (of course, time/date/location stamped!) and tried to keep the heading for Key West via Maine thing quiet.  It didn't work.  He asked, in an understandably matter of fact manner I might add, where I was headed next and what my intended destination was and when.  He asked for my passport which I had to get out of my Givi bag.  Since I wasn't prepared for this I had to remove most of my electronics to get to it and the whole time I'm thinking oh crap if this guy thinks any of this looks strange, as most people do, my next corner might not even be inside the Blaine Post Office that's down the road!  Thankfully, I was waived back in to American territory.  I wanted to ask him if I never crossed into Canada but had to “cross” back into the US then what exactly was the space where I turned around if it wasn't US or Canadian?  Talk about being in no-man's land! I was rather emotionally drained with all the day's events to be honest when I arrived the Blaine Post Office: After sealing the envelope with my paperwork and dropping it in the box I called Stromtrooper “zero_it” (Lori) since we had planned to meet up once I arrived Blaine.  Geez, did I ever need a smiling face and someone to take the lead on the road for a bit.  Better yet, she took me on a scenic tour of her stompin' grounds.  The timing couldn't have been better!  She came down to the Post Office and off we went after she informed me the border I just crossed was called the “Peace Arch Crossing” (though anything to do with the word "peace" or "peaceful" would be the last word I'd use to describe the experience).  Here's our 2 V-Stroms at the PO: Drayton Harbor marina in Blaine, WA: Standing on US soil looking at White Rock, BC, Canada: Lori was going to ride with me towards my intended end destination for the day of Issaquah, WA, but of course we took the long scenic way which included "one of the most scenic roads in Washington” called “Chuckanut Drive” (Hwy 11) a side road south of Bellingham, WA.  The road follows Chuckanut Bay and overlooks the San Juan Islands, which are located at the confluence of the Straits of Georgia (from the north) and the Straits of Juan de Fuca (from the west).  Simply beautiful! Lori and I hit Hwy 2 towards Monroe and just before turning into the restaurant we passed, of all motorcycles, a blue V-Strom 650 riding 2up.  I had a great time visiting with Lori and sure did appreciate her taking time to play tour guide.  After dinner we parted ways and I headed towards Issaquah where I have arrived to a hotel that regretfully informs me their Wi-Fi is down for the night.  (which is why this will be delayed being posted!) Two corners down, two to go.  I'm having the most fun between the corners... I hope I can stay on track to make it to that piece of Key Lime pie! Copyright © 2006-2008, All Rights Reserved.