Guy Boutin's Motorcycle Touring and Travel Pages

Adventures in Sport Touring with the Honda ST 1100, 1300 and the BMW 1200RT

Exploring North America...One Road at a Time

West Coast and Canada 2004-  The following photos are from the westtbound leg of the 2004 West Coast Tour.  A stellar ride in its own right.  Nothing like a cross country tour to bring a "change in attitude."  When a trip is completed, a Long Rider removes it from the "wish list" to the "memory bank," and life is better.  This album is dedicated to those wishing for a change, or has dreams of crossing distant latitudes.  I hope these pictures and Jimmy Buffet inspire you to keep the faith till your time comes.

U.S. 97 South out of Yakima, Washington.  The highway thoughtfully bending as it lazily carves its way through the East Washington hills.  A bright sunny morning after several rainy and cold mornings in British Columbia.  The kind of ride you savor over and over.  My thoughts on this ride were concentrated on the quiet beauty all around me.

The Icefields Parkway brings you up close to glacier land.  Long ago glaciers carved this valley as they moved south.  The morning this picture was snapped it was cold and rainy, and misty clouds hung in the valleys and peaks.   The Parkway is surrounded by towering mountains and rugged land, a beautiful place.

Another scene from the Icefields Parkway.

In this picture you can see the clouds beginning to break up behind the mountains.  We were coming down in elevation and thankfully the temperature was steadily climbing.  When someone says the Northern Rockies I no longer think of Montana, but Jasper.

From the cold Canadian Rockies we now go to a warm, fertile, Iowa cornfield.  The green farmland looked fresh and healthy, and farmers were in a good mood anticipating a bumper crop.  The 1300 and I were in stealth mode as we eased through.  Temps were in the 80s.  This photo was taken near the end of the day, as I closed in on my final goal.  I love late afternoon rides.

Early morning at the "Field of Dreams."  The scene was quiet as I walked the field and sat in the bleachers.  The house in the background was also used in the movie.

The now famous rainbow on U.S. 97.  So close I could reach out and touch it.  A unique experience.

Here you see the Trinity River as it flows through the liked name mountains.  California Route 3 mirrors the river out of the mountains for 50 miles.  The road bed snakes and bends with the river banks in some of the most intense twisties I've ever had the pleasure to lean.

The Columbia River seen from Maryhill, Washington.  Across the river lies Oregon.  This image was taken from the Stonehenge Memorial located on the overlook.

VJ Rang on location with his 2001 ST 1100.  This was VJ's first long tour.  He rode solo from the Bay Area to Jasper, where we united for the ride south.  It was a pleasure to see him sprout his "wings" and experience first hand the wonder of Long Riding.   Now that he knows what it feels like to roam the country free of agendas and purpose, he wants to do it again.  We are already planning next years tour.  This scene is somewhere on U.S. 97.  Note the excellent road surface, thought I was in Tennessee.