Across the USA on a KLR 650- done!

I left my Vermont home 11 days ago. Since then, I have driven thousands of miles on my awesome, trusty Kawasaki KLR 650. I've slept in abandoned parks, been held by border patrol, stared down by buffalo, laughed till I cried, met great new people and reunited with old friends. The best part is, this is merely the beginning of the adventure that I am shaping my life into. With only a week and half down, and so much amazing things experienced, I feel extremely happy with my decision to abandon my previous life, and live on the road.

When me and my two friends set off from Vermont, we could only guess at what lay ahead. We had a small group of friends there to say goodbye to us, each mentioning their own bits of advice and humor. With an official flag drop, we pulled out of the drive and set off. We had to address some issues with my driving license before the border, so we took a small detour to the state capitol, before making north to the Canadian border. We were held there for about 6 hours, before I was denied access because of two small scratches on my record that translated to a bigger deal in Canadian law. We decided to head west while I figured out my next step. 

We made our way across the top of Vermont into New York, down along western border and into Pennsylvania. The beautiful roads country side reminded us of home, but was a great experience as we got used to long distance on our bikes. We road across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and into Iowa- what we all considered the more boring part of the country. Long flats of farmlands, long hauls at high speeds and a sketchy experience in Canton, OH. Up into South Dakota and into Wyoming, we witnessed the first of the truly beautiful country, including Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, the Black Hills and Yellowstone National Park. Riding across the great plains that we had heard so much about, the trip finally began to seem legitimate. 

We wound our way through the hills of Montana and came to the deserted town outside the western entrance of Glacier National Park, where the group split up- Mike & Jeremy heading north for a direct entrance into Canada and straight shot for Alaska while I headed further west to find a boat to bring me to Alaska. I navigated myself though the southern route of Glacier Park, one of the most amazing rides of my life. I crossed Idaho into Washington state, ending up in the port town of Bellingham at an old friends house.

 I sit now in the beautiful town, listening to the sounds of a bustling but clean city, considering the next part of my trip. The challenge of finding a boat to the north would prove to be a challenge, as most fishing vessels had already set to sea, the local ferry was mostly booked, and most other possibilities required some sort of Canadian interaction. I'm not too concerned with what lies ahead, mostly because I know that no matter what, it will come together. If it was easy, it wouldn't be an adventure. I've found that traveling solo more suits me and what I am looking to experience, both on the road and in camp. I've gotten to meet new riders and chat with them, eat when and where I want, and explore areas alone. 

Julie has made it to the camp in Chickaloon, AK where she works as a glacier guide and says that its super cool, lowkey place. The two riders are somewhere along the Alaskan Highway now, hopefully they don't get eaten by bears or rabid squirrels. In the mean time, I'll hunt down a way to get north and continue exploring. Stay tuned, my friends!

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Cheers!