Boise to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

The temps yesterday went from 42 to 75 degrees. I was happy, happy, happy to have my new chaps!
The picture of me by the lake is in McCall, ID by Payette Lake where we stopped for breakfast.

from the boardwalk in Coeur d'Alene

 The road follows the Salmon River and we got some nice pictures of that too. Mostly it was a very pretty drive.

River closer to Lewiston

We took a walk around the lake in Coeur d'Alene. Dale drove by for years for work and wanted to have a chance to take some time to see a little more.

Payette Lake, McCall, ID

River by the road between Boise and McCall

Today we are heading home and hoping to avoid rain.

Last day in Boise

Mom knows people no matter where they go.

Mom's favorite, the " Statue Lady"

This morning we started the day out at mom and dads with the traditional Fitzpatrick Sunday morning breakfast, eggs, hashbrowns and bacon. YUM!
Around 1pm we went downtown for the second annual http://boisecurbcup.com/ , I thought we could have made a killing with a box of ear plugs!  The people watching was good but way too many different kinds of bands too close together.
Kathy, Jim and Mike came over for dinner and we all had a nice time. It was good we could all be together to celebrate Dad's 74th birthday!

Tomorrow we are heading up to Couer d Alene, ID. Hoping we don't hit any wild fires.

really loud band-very popular

Saturday in Boise

This morning we went downtown and met Mom's friends Joan & Gina for coffee. It was great to see both of them and get to show off my wonderful  man. The farmer's market in Boise is such an interesting place. Vegetables that I had never seen before and lots of great people watching! Mom and Joan go every week with mom's dog Suzy and sample the goods. Mom talks to EVERY
ONE. People were happy to see the ladies actually buying some things today, :)

After the market we went home and dad made roast beef sandwiches. Then Dale and I went off to find me some chaps. We had a few suggestions but finally found them at Cruizin Bikewear. Dale wasn't sure about the price so I suggested they throw in one of their t-shirts, they did but it doesn't have the location on it. Weird. Oh well, I have a warm turtle neck, gloves that go over my jacket and leather chaps so I should be able to enjoy the trip back to Illinois!

After shopping we spent the afternoon on the porch roasting the traditional rotisserie chicken. It turned out great. We played catch phrase and had fun with that. I have been having trouble getting the pictures on this this where I wan them so I will just add them after writing. I think it got a good pic of the quail.

Quail, right in the middle

Day Seven-Boise, Idaho

 We made it to Boise, not a long ride but I did put a set of chaps on the agenda for before we head out of here. It does get colder than I had imagined on the road.
We got to Mom and Dad's in time to go out to the Lucky 13 ( outdoor seating so w could bring their dog Suzy). We had a nice visit and tour around the area. Mom made one of her wonderful meals and now we are back at the motel.

Grammy & Grampy Dale - added just for Laila

Ross Fitzpatrick, Dale Shupe and Suzy

Day Six - Hailey, Idaho

On Wed. we drove fromCody into Yellowstone. It was pretty nice when we left but within half an hour or so it was down to 39 degrees. We stopped, had breakfast and I put on about 5 layers. By the time we got to Old Faithful it was back up to 76 so it was nice for a while. I had some trouble with the camera so had put it away when we were stopped on the road by a HERD OF BUFFALO! We couldn't move because all the traffic was stopped. The buffalo were moving out of a marshy area and they were RIGHT on top of us, not a situation I wanted to be in on the back of a motorcycle. The biggest concern for me was all the idiots running around trying to get pictures. Sheesh! these are wild animals people! There were bulls and cows and calves so I was worried the "parents" might get antsy. It turned out ok but we were definitely happy to move on.

  Today we took the day off and stayed with Aileen's Sister, Kathy and her husband Jim. They have a beautiful house and great patio for relaxing. We took the gondola up to the top of Mt. Baldy today.

Dale, Aileen, Kathy & Jim at the top of Baldy.

More from the top of the mountain.

 

Last night Kathy and Jim had an event to attend so my nephew Brad and his girlfriend, Anaya came over and we had a nice visit with them.

Day Four - Cody, Wyoming

Today we traveled through the Big Horn National Forest to Cody, Wy. It was a beautiful ride. Lots of amazing old rock formations and so many different colors. You really do see so much more on the motorcycle. We went to the rodeo tonight, Dale's first. We had a good time. Here are some photos.
 

Cowboys praying 

Well, while we are riding, I think of all sorts of interesting things to say but I'm not overly creative at the end of the day. We are having a great time. 

Dale & Aileen at the Cody Rodeo 2010

Day Three

Yipee, we got to try out our rain gear! It wasn't too bad, only about an hour and not really heavy rain. We got to the Badlands Park and the rain had stopped. Really interesting rock formations there.


The worst thing we have encountered is the wind, described at the info center as "breezy", HA. It wasn't so bad when we were driving straight into it but when it was coming at us from the south it felt like it would pull our helmets right off!
Stopped in Rapid City to get the bike looked at. It is fine, just adjusting to the altitude...the MAP sensor or something..it is fine anyway.

Next we went to Mt. Rushmore. It got pretty chilly so I got to wear my leather vest, such a motocycle mama, ha!

Day Two

Today we met Dale's sister, Pam and her husband Rod. We had a nice visit and like a dummy I didn't get a picture.
We did get Pam to take a picture of us on the motorcycle though.
Our goal today was to make it to the Badlands Nat'l Park. Unfortunately, the Northern Plains Wind Tunnel, A.K.A. I90, Did us in and we stopped early. I was about done by the time we got to Mitchell, the home of the Corn Palace!! It was HOT! I can't say I complained when Dale decided to throw in the towel early because it was 103 degrees and the wind was unbelievable.
We are hoping to see the Badlands, Mt Rushmore and make it to Cody, Wy for the rodeo tomorrow. Ha, we'll see. We did make it 446 miles today!
Well, it's dark now so we can go to sleep and not be wimps.

Day One

We left Aurora at 2:00, Aileen had to work! We made it to La Crosse, Wi around 6:30. We just returned from a nice dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Mississippi River. So far so good.
Tomorrow we are going to meet Dale's sister Pam and then make it to SD. hopefully.

Practice

Laila Lu

Dale and Brian getting the bike ready

Background

This blog will be about Aileen and Dale's motorcycle trip from Aurora, IL to Wyoming, Idaho, Kansas and back.

We met in November 2009 through eHarmony. We both feel very lucky to have found each other and are amazed at how compatible we are. We are going to be married November 1, 2010 on the anniversary of our first date.

This will be another in a long list of motorcycle trips for Dale but I am a beginner! We have taken a few short trips (4 hours is the longest). I have been learning a lot about riding in the last few months.

1. I feel much more comfortable in a full face helmet.
2. The new helmet I got is much lighter than Dale's old one and it actually insulates me from the heat. Yay!
3. Bug juice comes out of your clothes without having to pre-treat!
4. Learn the wave, nothing looks sillier than a guy on a Honda (well, it's never a guy on a Harley) doing the "beauty queen" wave. It's down, not up. Usually I am looking the wrong way so Dale has to be in charge of the waving.

We just traded Dale's Harley Ultra Classic in for a Victory Vision. The ride on the Vision is great, Dale is still adjusting to the color but it was a great deal.

Falling for Dale already!

Our first ride, Nov 11, 2009. Went to Starved Rock State Park.

Dale and the new bike, first long ride...  Lake Shelbyville, IL

It cracked me up that we drove through corn fields to get from one marina to another. Makes sense though since the lake is in the middle of Illinois. We had the most fun sitting on the porch of the Shelby Inn, eating our Dairy Queen treats and watching the locals dragging main. The chief of police had a terrific chopper and he was out there too.

We leave in 2 weeks so I thought I'd better get this set up. Stay tuned for pic's and video.