2010 June 22nd:
Mark:
This morning we woke up with the sounds of other people waking up and getting ready to leave for work. There were several people staying at the hotel that were working nearby. Niko and I went to the kitchen area to eat our breakfast. This place had a really good breakfast for their guests. We both ate quite a bit and then we went back to our room to get packed up and ready for the day.
We loaded up the motorcycles and thanked the mangers for a great stay. Thank you, Kim and Dwight for a great stay at Crest Trail Lodge in Packwood Washington. Niko and I had decided to make another trek up to Mt Rainier NP and try to see a little more of the park. The sky was clear and the mountain was very prominent and visible early on.
We drove up to the park and stopped at the Visitor’s Center, but soon found out that it wasn’t open quite yet. The ranger was out hoisting the flag and we followed her in. She was happy to let us stamp our passport book. We had a look around and found several interesting items to check out. We headed out to take the drive up to the Visitor’s Center on the mountain.
We drove over to the road and right off we stopped to take a picture of a big waterfall. Being still on the motorcycle, I pulled the camera out of the tank bag and in the process some trash came out with it and fell onto the ground. I’m not one to litter in a National Park, so I bent down to pick it up. I retrieved the trash and stood back up. In doing so I somehow lost my balance and the motorcycle started to fall over. I was not able to regain control and down it went. I tumbled off and the tank bag spilled out all over the ground. Since I had the camera in my hand it never touched the ground and tumbled with me. I stood up and took the picture that I had stopped to take and then Niko and I picked up the bike. It was heavy and a lot more difficult to right than I expected but we were able to get it upright. Luckily nothing was damaged and the only thing hurt was my pride. I put everything back in the tang bag and then we mounted up and took off on our way up to the Visitor’s Center at Paradise Sunrise on Mt Rainier.
The elevation gain was well over 3000ft. and the views were spectacular. When we reached the end, we went into the Visitor’s Center and stamped the passport and then walked through the gift shop. We wandered around in the building and I was most impressed with the architecture. I grabbed the camera and took some pictures of the building and the bikes outside.
After looking at some of the exhibits, we saddled up and headed down the mountain. We stopped at another Visitor’s Center just before leaving the park and stamped the passport again. We then rode toward the road to Mt St Helens. When we got closer, we stopped and refueled the bikes. We grabbed a snack and then we took off up to Johnson Ridge to have a closer look at Mt St Helens.
I was having difficulty with other drivers since there seem to be an overly large amount of people driving 20 miles an hour under the speed limit. They didn’t want to pull into the slow moving vehicle turn outs either. It was very frustrating, but Niko and I arrived, and we were able to see the mountain fairly clear. There was a little cloud cover but not very much. We took a few pictures and then we walked through the building and then we headed back down the hill.
We stopped at the Visitor’s Center close to the interstate and grabbed something to snack on in the parking lot. We left and headed down towards Portland Oregon on the interstate and ran into a bunch of bad traffic when we arrived in Portland Oregon. We rode over to my good friend Shawn’s, and unloaded the bikes. We took off with Shawn and went to dinner and had a great meal with a good friend.
We will be staying here in Portland Oregon for the next couple of days, so there won’t be much in the way of travels. We have a lot to do during this period with friends and family members. We will try to keep posting though, Thank you.

Niko:
I woke tired, and got out to eat to solve the hunger issue and gain some energy. Had an egg, lots of sausage links, couple muffins, and some apple cider. After packing up, we headed back up to Mt Rainier National Park for stamps and a very twisty road. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center for a stamp, and saw a few cool taxidermies. The beautiful volcano was in full sight today, and we rode all the way to the top. Dad dropped his bike after entering the park after leaning to far over to pick up trash. I almost dropped mine because I thought my kickstand was down and tried to get off to help, but I saved mine from falling too. How silly I’d have been if I dropped mine too!
The Visitor’s Center at the summit was very elaborate, architecturally stunning, and full of information and gifts. The road down and out of the park was a blast, and I spent most of the time with the clutch in, coasting down the mountain. The trees were tall enough to give you vertigo, the ants about a half inch long, and most of the plants were edible (to an extent). Everything was covered in moss too. Ah, sweet Northwest.
We got out and moved on to Toledo Washington. We stopped for gas and got some Pringles because they just sounded good. We got back on the dead end road to Johnston Ridge at Mt St Helens and rode. We were constantly frustrated by people driving 20 to 30 mph under the speed limit of 50 to 55 miles an hour. We were surprised when we arrived at the ridge, because we both remember being there only ten years ago, and seeing only a bit of grass and shrubs here and there. There were four foot high trees now! Real growth after the catastrophe! Most of the downed trees that were prominent then were covered in overgrowth. Also, laws were now in place for a $100 fine for stepping off the path, to protect the flora.
We headed back after we got stamps and took some pictures, and I coasted down the mountain again. After we were out of the park and on our way to Portland Oregon, we both found ourselves falling asleep at the handlebars, so we stopped at the final Mt St Helens visitor center outside the park and ate some beef jerky to wake up. We rode into Portland Oregon and dealt with the insane traffic and idiot drivers we had expected to find as we came into downtown.
We are currently staying at dad’s friend Shawn’s and we’ll be in Portland Oregon for a few days to visit family, friends, and run some much needed errands… like getting new glasses. Our next few posts will be vague and lacking travel, so please bear with. I hope our daily writings have so far kept you entertained, and I have to get to sleep for it is late. Goodnight, dear reader.