Another hot day, but fun!

We left Salt Lake City this morning with a sunny sky and warm temps. It was a great morning to be on the bikes.

 After a left turn at Provo we hit the canyons and did some canyon carving for a while.

As we approached Soldier summit every vehicle that was coming at us was flashing it's lights. I figured they has the police patrolling by the summit.

Nope...

We came around the corner to find a Truck/trailer rig on it's side all the way across the road. It took all 5 lanes and completely blocked all the lanes. The police routed us onto the shoulder and around the accident. It was quite a sight to see.

A little further along as we were coming into Price, Ut, Lori was getting nervous because we were on a downhill with big sweeping corners and she doesn't like downhills that much. She got over it for the most parts when she saw I was driving the corners one handed while taking pictures as we went. I guess she figured if I could do it one handed, she shouldn't have a problem when using both hands.

From there it went from a nice warm day to HOT!. the temps jumped to 95 and the sun just never let up from Price, to Green River and east on I-70 all the way into Grand Junction.

We arrived into Grand Junction and the hotel to find Larry and Dixie had already arrived. We Said Hi and went in to check in. The young lady at the counter told me I had no reservation, I was not real happy, but I had the confirmation on my cell phone, so I went back out to the bike and got it and went back in. She looked and looked up the confirmation and told me she had some bad news. The reservation was for the next night. I asked if she could move it and she told me no, as it was all done online. By this time I was about ready to call Hotels.com to see what was up and she said "but I have some good news!" I asked her what it was and she said "your friends are pranking you!"  and Larry just busted up laughing behind me. Yah, they got me... I owe you one Larry :-)

After a short break to cool down and relax and we went down to Larry and Dixies room and bs'd for a while until it was time to go to dinner. We always have a good time with Mark and also with Larry and Dixie so when we all get together it is memorable for sure!

We finished the evening up by sitting around the pool and just enjoying each others company.

Tomorrow we go down the million dollar hwy and into Durango to meet the rest of the gang.

Another ride!

We are on our way to Durango, Co to meet up with the 1300 tourer group again.

This being our second day on the road with not a lot to report. We have been riding too much and not taking pictures. It has been hot and the freeways are boring. I was surprised with the speed limits in Utah are now 80 MPH. I just set the cruise at 77 and relaxed.

We now have the worst part of the trip over with and we will be exploring more and taking pictures tomorrow. We have done this part of the trip so many times we could do it blindfolded, I think...

We just got back from having pizza and are settling in for the night in Salt Lake City. The bikes are performing flawless (as usual) and the only real excitement was when Lori thought she left her phone at a stop 250 miles back. Fortunately is was just misplaced in her bag. She was ready to drive back and get it. :-)

Anyway, time to relax. I will post up tomorrow and hopefully have some pictures.

Gary and Lori.

Ann did such a great job on  my Member of the Month Bio. I made a copy for here so people not in the club can see it too. Thanks Ann!

 

Gary Yates

Gary was born at Tacoma General Hospital on July 19, 1957, the second of four boys: Mike, Gary, Joe and James.  Gary and his brothers mostly grew up in Federal Way, but they moved around frequently.  As a result, Gary ended up attending four different high schools, ultimately graduating from Thomas Jefferson High.
Like most teenage boys, Gary was extremely interested cars.  His first car was a 1966 Rambler Classic 660, which he purchased at the age of 16.  The most important thing about this car was that the front seats slid forward enough so that when the seat backs were laid down, it made the interior into one big flat bed.  But his favorite car was a 1967 Mustang, which he rebuilt three times.  It was lowered and had a Shelby suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes.  He put a cage in it and raced it at Monroe until it was destroyed.
Gary’s other big interest was square dancing, and in fact this is how he met Lori when she was just 13 years old.  Gary and Lori went into international competition together, and for a few years Gary was a caller.
After high school Gary and Lori soon became the proud parents of daughter and only child, Penny.  They celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary last month.  They renewed their vows in 2002 at a beautiful ceremony at Emerald Downs in Auburn.  They have two grandchildren, one in college and one in diapers.  They also have two very spoiled Miniature Australian Shepherds, Tink and Callie.
Gary’s first job was at Herfy’s Burgers.  Next was a Union 76 station, then a route driver for a medical lab in Seattle, then another 76 station on top of Capital Hill in Seattle, where he was once robbed at gunpoint.  After that incident he left 76 and went to Kmart for auto management training.  He took over the Edmonds Kmart auto department when he was just 23 years old.  Later, when Kmart closed all their auto departments, Gary went to work at Big ‘O Tires in Redmond.  He worked there for twelve years and then moved up the hill to Eastside Tire in Kirkland in Feb 1992.  Six years later he bought the company, which had been relocated to Stanwood.  It is now called Stanwood Car Care.  This summer Gary expanded by buying Northwest Tire in Kent.  Right now he is extremely busy!
Lori is currently the Practice Manager of the Richmond Internal Medicine Clinic, which means she essentially runs the place.  When Gary and Lori retire, they plan to sell everything and travel the country in their motorhome.
Gary first started riding motorcycles at the age of twelve.  Bikes he has ridden include:

• 1967 Honda Trail 90
• 1964 BSA 250
• 1975 Honda CL360 (bought brand new)
• 1972 Harley Sportster
• Suzuki RE5 (rotary engine) (where he learned the most important motorcycle lesson – don’t Amour-all the seat…)
• 2007 Yamaha v-star 1300 (lori’s current bike)
• And his current bike, a 2012 Cross Country Tour

Gary was attracted to Victory by the crisp, clean look.  He bought his Cross Country from the Lynnwood Motoplex last year, and has already logged 45,000 miles.  He estimates his total mileage on all bikes to be in the neighborhood of 150,000 miles.  His favorite places to ride are British Columbia and anywhere in the southeastern United States.  His most memorable trip was when he and Lori took three weeks and rode to Key West, Florida and back.  Together they have ridden in 49 states and five provinces of Canada.
Gary’s other big interest is 4-wheel drive jeeps and playing in the mountains on the rocks.  In fact, that is what the “TJ” in his VMC handle stands for.  His current rock climber is a 1997 Jeep Wrangler, not even close to stock.
When I asked Gary if there was anything else he wanted people to know about him, he responded that all his life he knew he was going to die before reaching the age of 45. There was never a doubt in his mind.  When he started getting close, he and Lori went on a spree for about a year and a half where they lived life to the fullest because he was certain he didn't have a lot of time left.  They sky dived, snorkeled all over the Caribbean, visited the Mayan ruins, white water river rafted, hot air ballooned, swam with the Stingrays in the open ocean, swam with sharks, zip lined in Costa Rica, went cave exploring and did just about everything else they could think of. It was the best couple of years of their lives.  The best part was that Lori has been with him through all of it.  They truly are each other’s best friends.

Victory Motorcycle Club National Meet

This last weekend we went to Lewiston for the National Meet of The Victory Motorcycle Club. It was a great time with lots to do. There were some great rides in the area and fun stuff to watch just hanging around the Hotel

I went up Rattlesnake Grade with some friends and got my first ever major spook on the bike. The corners are so much fun and we were riding at a brisk pace and dragging the running boards in a corner when I hit a good sized bump and picked the rear wheel up for a second. That spooked me a bit and I settled down. The road is so much fun because you don't have to exceed the speed limit at all. Just don't slow down for the corners. LOL

I stopped at Palouse Falls and got a few pictures. It is a beautiful place.

We had the dogs with us and got a couple of pictures of them hanging out on the bike, wanting to go for a ride.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the event.