...across the road to keep my pants down....

I bet that title caught your attention! Normally I like to wear chaps when I'm on my bike but honestly this heat has got me 'taking 'em off'! In fact when we arrived in Redding, CA this afternoon I had to shed the new "mother of all leather jackets" I got for my birthday this year too. I felt the heat stroke coming on and it just had to go! One of the problems of not wearing chaps is that the wind catches the hem of my jeans and hikes them up over top of my boots. Hence the handy dandy jean straps! These babies are leg savers! It was so nice not to have to worry about baring my legs and accidentally burning them on the pipes!

Something else I bought at the Harley shop that saved me from heat stroke today was a tube band, long enough to tie around your forehead, neck/throat to keep cool on the ride. The tube is filled with some type of beads that expand in water so the trick is to soak the whole thing for about 30 minutes which is long enough to cool you for a two day trip! Ingenious invention! They even have vests that are made of the same stuff (I just don't know that I could wear a wet vest under my jacket all day!)

We rode from Chico, CA this morning through the Lassen Volcanic National Park. As soon as we entered the park we felt like we had found a new world! Everything looked brighter, sharper, greener than where we came from! Stunningly gorgeous and comfortable temps. Then we got to Redding and almost sweat to death! I think it's possible to see the heat in the air. Looks like fog! Even the palm trees look tired here!

Speaking of tired, there's a king bed waiting for me! G'nite!

...across the room to Park City, Utah!....

If we could find it in our hearts to stop whenever we travel an exceptional stretch of road I would have pictures to post today but honestly, the best thing to do it seems when you're on your motorbike and you suddenly find yourself on a spectacular road is to just do what comes naturally (shout for joy, smile, let the jaw hang, stare in wonder, shed a tear of disbelief) and keep going! Such as been our pleasure and sheer enjoyment as we've travelled through Montana, Idaho and now Utah. Oh the beauty that is ours to enjoy!

Every day so far I've thought "This is the most amazing rock I've ever seen" or "the colour on that mountain is like nothing I've seen before" only to be even more surprised the next day that there is something even more stunning than the day before. Can this continue? Really? I'm in awe. That's all I can say.

At the moment we are in Park City close to Salt Lake City, Utah. This is actually a ski resort. We only go to ski resorts in the summer on our motorbikes! We love the down town area with all the unique shops and restaurants. Everyone is out and about in the evening and it's just a pleasure to be part of the crowd. We ate on an outdoor patio tonight and enjoyed a little 3 yr. old photographer two tables from us. He chose my hubby as his target and kept calling "Hey man" to get his attention so he could take his picture. I'm sure he took 37 pictures of us eating! He sure was cute!

Arizona, California, here we come!!

...across the room to celebrate summer.....

The blog has been a little on the heavy side lately so I thought I would share some of the sunshine in my life for a change. This spring, for some reason I felt the need to buy some new "summer dishes". I had broken a few of the dishes I use every day and felt the need for a new set, something bright and cheery. However, this was to be my year of curbing my spending and I just wasn't sure whether I should give in to this desire or not. I had been eyeing these pretty bright dishes at our local Safeway store and decided finally that if they went on sale I would get them. Not too long ago I needed a few things from the store late in the evening and there they were again! Discounted and waiting for me to take them home and now one of the bright spots in my day is waking up to these dishes, coffee, and whatever else my heart desires. I use that big plate even though I'm just having a little piece of toast, a muffin or some fruit and cheese! Even raisin bran tastes good in those beautiful big bowls!! I love my new dishes and I'm not sorry I bought them :)