Tokyo, Japan to Bangkok, Thailand

I was fortunate to capture this incredible picture of Mt. Fuji and the crescent moon over the city of Tokyo when we were climbing to our cruising altitude on my way to Bangkok...
Flying First Class was really tough...

Wajima-City, Ishikawa, Japan

After spending a couple of nights in a very small hotel room in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, I headed off to the Haneda airport to catch an ANA flight to Noto. Noto is a beautiful part of the west coast of Japan in the state of Ishikawa. Specifically, I was going to spend time with my 1997 exchange student Hazuki, who lives in Wajima-City. Hazuki spent part of that summer in my house to experience life in the United States, tour the Oregon and Washington landscapes, meet new friends and improve on her English skills. I promised her back then that I would visit her home in Japan at some point, but we never set a year to do that. I got close in January 2001 when I make a business trip to Kanazowa, also in Ishikawa. Hazuki suprised me by finding me at Narita International Airport, but I had to make a quick getaway to Haneda Airport to catch the flight to Kanazowa. Hazuki had to remain in Tokyo to attend to her university studies, however, I was able to have dinner with her mom, dad and brother one night in Kanazowa, which was an interesting experience because they did not speak English, nor did I speak Japanese. We were constantly on and off the cell phone with Hazuki to translate for us, but it was a great time. Since that meeting, Hazuki has gotten married and has a 1 year old daughter. Finally, we got to meet again. :) Hazuki's Parents planned a party for my welcome to Wajima... here are myself with Hazuki and her daughter Itoshiki, which in Japanese means "the person who know love is all"...

Here is Hazuki with Itoshiki... Hazuki's husband Eiji, Itoshiki (still a bit bewildered by this Western visitor), Hazuki and Hazuki's mom...

The whole gang... Hazuki's dad is the one next to me with the orange stuffed animal on his head... what a great guy! First on the left is Hazuki's cousin Natsuko, and to the right side are Hazuki's boss and his wife...Nine years ago, I played tourguide for Hazuki's visit to the United States, and now it was her turn to return the favor and show me her beautiful part of the world. Wajima is famous for its Morning Market... one of the streets is completely closed off each morning (except on the 10th and 25th of each month) and becomes basically a place to buy and sell anything from trinkets to crabs to fish to shoes to clothing...

Eiji's grandmother also works at the market... The rest of the day we spent traveling north along the coast out of Wajima...

That evening, I got to have dinner with all of Hazuki's co-workers...

Hazuki with Eiji's family...Can't go to Japan without doing some Karaoke...

Itoshiki... the new girl in my life...

Mom and daughter...

Hideki Matsui, the Japanese national who currently plays Left Field for the New York Yankees is from Kanazowa, and here is where his museum is located. Hazuki's parents, knowing I am a Yankees fan surprised me by bringing Hazuki and I here one day...

Hazuki's mom & dad with a wax Hideki behind them...

Hazuki and her dad at the museum...One of the National Parks in Kanazowa...

One of the local museums in Wajima-City...

A local temple...

Making the last night's dinner...

A last picture from the Noto airport as I made my way back to Tokyo... :(

Tokyo, Japan

I made a quick stop in Tokyo on my big finale trip during my Sabbatical. The weather was good, however it was very hazy. I was unable to get many decent pictures of the city, but I did manage to walk some 15 miles in 2 days and got to take in a lot. And you just know I had to find the Harley-Davidson store... this particular one is in the Shinjuku district (west side of Tokyo)... Tokyo Tower is sorta the equivilent of the Eifel Tower in Paris, but is painted red and white for safety reasons... unfortunately, it was a hazy day, so you could not see very far... Another cool section of Tokyo that I visited was Asakusa... there is a very large public market there, as well as the Asakusa Temple... here is the entrance to the market... Here is the main walk of the market... Some of the typical things you'll find in a traditional Japanese market geared at the tourist industry... Here are pictures of the Temple itself...

Salmon & Steelhead at Bonneville Dam

I had the pleasure of taking my friend and co-worker Karen from Shanghai up the Gorge in early September, and we managed to catch the peak of the salmon and steelhead run over Bonneville dam, where we were able to view the fish going through the fish ladders and through the fish viewing windows...

Western States Harley Tour

September 26 - October 6
11 days, 10 nights, 9 States, 4215 Miles (6744km)
A little 11 day jaunt around the 'neighborhood' seemed like a good idea during my sabbatical, being as I have been on the Great Wall of China, and never had been to the Grand Canyon, a road trip to get there was in order. Little did I ever know I would make my first trip to the Grand Canyon on a Harley. Eleven days, 9 rest stops (two nights in Vegas, baby), and a lot of spinning of the wheels made for a great time!

Tuesday, September 26
Vancouver, WA to Twin Falls, Idaho
Mostly on I-84 for this point, a lot of it my dad and I had traversed the week before coming back from Jackson Hole, WY. The southeast corner of Oregon is stunning in scenery, but most of Idaho is boring. Not sure if anyone has ever fallen asleep at the handlebars, but if it were to happen, it would be in Idaho on I-84.

Highlights of this section mostly revolved around the Oregon Trail. I stopped at Farewell Bend state park for a break and took some pictures...

Twin Falls has some very interesting parks that all revolve around the waterfalls on the Snake River, Shoeshone being the most famous.

Shoeshone Falls...Wednesday, September 27
Twin Falls, Idaho to Moab, Utah
Burskies... this was a cold morning... stopped a half dozen times just to warm up before getting to the Utah border.

Golden Spike NHS... While on route, I happened across the highway sign for the Golden Spike National Historic Site and it didn't look too far off the main road, so I decided to swing by... pretty amazing place with a great feel of history about it... of course, this is where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met and the Golden Spike was driven to commemerate the completion of the trans-continental railroad...

Arches NP... I got down to Moab, Utah just in time to spend some time in Arches... very neat place... some of the wildest natural formations of rock I have ever seen...

Thursday, September 28
Moab, Utah to Albuquerque, NM
Moab is an interesting small town in the middle of nowhere. Mostly a rafting and skydiving town that revolves around the local national parks, I was surprised at its size.. couple of miles to get from one end to the other on the main drag.

Canyonlands NP... I wasn't even going to stop here at this one, but when I got up that morning, I felt I would be missing something if I did not go see it... and a good thing I did... it was the highlight of the trip... it was pretty cold when i got there, but as the sun came up, the temperature went up, too... Canyonlands NP is where the confluence of the Green River and the Colorado River is, and is really in essence the headwaters of the Grand Canyon.

Mesa Vere NP... I had really no idea what this park was about when I arrived... I had always seen the cliff dwellings in pictures and see TV programs about them on the Discovery or History Channels, but never realized where they were. This was also one of the more scary rides I have done, as the road through the park climbs several thousand feet, is very narrow, curvy and no guardrails.

Friday, September 29
Albuquerque, NM to Grand Canyon Village, AZ
Historic Route 66... I've always wanted to drive part of this road where it still exists, however, riding it on a Harley was even better... in certain places, the road doesn't exist anymore... this picture was taken in Petrified Forest NP where the roadbed exists under the overgrowth, and the original powerpoles still outline the path of the road...

Petrified Forest NP... again, had no clue what this park was really about before getting here... just knew it was on the map... basically it contains the painted desert, as well as areas where large trees were swept into the area and petrified over time, thus leaving vast deposits of petrified wood scatter about the area...

Friday Evening Grand Canyon Arrival... Got there just in time to catch the canyon in the waning light. Also had a close encounter with 3 cow elk at 45mph. Fortunately, no physical contact was made.

Saturday, September 30
Grand Canyon Village to Las Vegas, NV
Sunrise, Grand Canyon NP...

I was up before sunrise to be able to spend some time roaming around the south rim, stop at all the viewpoints, and take it all in before heading out for the day to Las Vegas...

This cow elk was getting a drink of water the hard way...This is the very east end of the canyon, where the Little Colorado river comes in from the southeast and you can still see the high desert plain... Hoover Dam... It was 100 degrees here... pretty cool place, but not as big as I had envisioned from other pictures and stories.

Monday, October 2
Las Vegas to San Diego, CA

Another hot day of riding today...Imperial Sand Dunes... fortunately, it wasn't windy... that would have sucked! Slightly warm that afternoon in Imperial Valley... it was actually up to 110 across Interstate 8 later in the day.
Tuesday, October 3
San Diego, CA to San Luis Obispo, CA
Lots of beautiful coast here, but also a lot of hustle and bustle, getting through LA and all.
Wednesday, October 4
San Luis Obispo, CA to Santa Rosa, CA

An incredible part of the CA coast, however, quite curvy and slow roads. It also started to rain for the first time on this trip as I got up to Santa Cruz.

A lunch stop in Monterey...The Golden Gate Bridge... stopped here for about an hour just to take it in... Muir Woods... I was here over 10 years ago... amazing how it hasn't changed from what I remember... Sunset over Point Reyes National Seashore... Thursday, October 5
Santa Rosa, CA to Crescent City, CA
Redwood National Park... Some pretty darn big trees here... and if people claim that they can't see me in that rain gear, they shouldn't be on the road. My last evening along the coast before heading home... just south of Crescent City, CA... Friday, October 6
Crescent City, CA to Home

Just had a leisurely ride up the I-5 corridor to home. :) What a great trip!