Road Trip America EP:1 - Exploring the Diversity of the Pacific Northwest

From the moment I was born, I wanted to explore the world. As a child, I was always discovering something new. When I got my first set of wheels, I learned something about myself. I was born to ride. On this trip, I'm heading south for a three-week eight-state road trip. My starting point is the lush green forests of the Pacific Northwest. From there, I'll make my way east across the loneliest highway in America. Riding into Moab, I will test my off-road riding skills on the famous Slickrock Trail, then look for the million-dollar views in Colorado. I will enjoy the remoteness of Wyoming before fulfilling my cowboy dreams in Montana. Finally heading home across the Lolo Pass in Idaho, I'll arrive back in Washington to catch the ferry to Canada. That's right. Once again, I start my journey with a ferry ride from Vancouver Island. This time, I'm sailing across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Coho Ferry. The Coho has been sailing between Victoria and Port Angeles since 1959, and while it's showing its age a bit with the lack of onboard amenities, the views from the top deck more than make up for it. If you're quick, you might even be able to spot a local pod of killer whales. Disembarking from the ferry, I begin my American road trip at the entrance to the Olympic National Park. Covering nearly 1 million acres, the park encompasses three distinct ecosystems, glaciated mountains, rugged coastline, and lush temperate forests that the Pacific Northwest is well known for. Wow, look at that. That's amazing. Look at that. The Olympic National Park includes over 73 miles of absolutely stunning coastline, and it made for a perfect rest stop. Oh man, does that ever look awesome. Holy crap. I gotta stop for a second and check that out. Oh my god, look at that. Stunning. How cool is this? You can ride right onto the beach. So awesome. Rest break over, it was time for me to start making my way east across Oregon and up over the Cascade Mountain Range. At a height of just over 14,000 feet, the Cascades extend all the way from British Columbia to the northern part of California. Let's try a scenic route. Is this it here? Holy shit. Look at this road. Oh my god. Oregon right on. You guys know how to build some roads. Oh my god. Officially known as Route 242, the McKenzie Pass is a hairpin-filled road that feels like it was just made for motorcyclists. Look at this corner. It's banked. Oh my god. You guys are killing me. It's banked. Oh my god. Oh my god. Look at this place. The road follows an old Indian trail that was used to travel over the Cascades, but due to the large lava flows and steep terrain, many early travelers had to abandon their wagons and continue on foot. Oh, here. Scott Road. Is this called Scott Road? I want to see what this says. Felix Scott. Let's see what this says. Felix Scott led a crew of 50 men who blazed a trail across Cascade Mountains following an old Indian trail which skirted lava flows. Oh, maybe that's why it's so twisty. Scott hoped to use the new route to take supplies to goldfields in Idaho. Wow. Way to go, Felix Scott and the Native Indians who built this originally. And the lava who made all the corners. Good job. Look at this road. There's no one here. I love it. The other thing that's amazing is what good shape this road is in. It's not like potholes. Okay. I haven't said that. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. You know, there's not a lot of potholes or tar snakes or none of that. It's really nice shape. There's a little bit of gravel here and there, but that's about it. Wow, look at this. Look at this. Forest fire must have gone through here. Look at this place. As I ascended up over the McKenzie Pass, I was surprised to suddenly come out of the trees and into this giant lava field. The Boring Lava Field, which was named after the local town of Boring, was once an active lava field with over 90 volcanoes. Definitely not boring during that period of time, but not to worry, though, as the last eruption took place over 57,000 years ago. Let's climb up there and see what I can see. In more recent times, NASA has deemed this region to be somewhat comparable to the surface of the moon and has sent astronauts here to practice walking around in their spacesuits. Holy crap. This is all lava. Well, at one point, it was all lava. What is that? Can you go look out there? The best vantage point for viewing the lava field is from the D Wright Observatory. This observatory was built during the Great Depression and is constructed entirely of the lava stones from the surrounding area. When most people think of the Pacific Northwest, they usually think of non-stop rain, but life on the east side of the Cascade Mount Range couldn't be any different. Turns out that the Cascades provide a natural barrier to all the moisture that comes off the Pacific Ocean. This moisture turns into rain and dumps on cities like Seattle and Portland, but leaves the rest of the state relatively dry. I'm really surprised how diverse Oregon is. You go from the coast, which has got those gorgeous beaches. You got that middle section, which is like nice forest. And then here we are, like, look at this place. This is, looks like desert. One thing that this part of Oregon does seem to get a lot of, though, is wind. I don't know if you can hear right now, but it is so crazy windy right now. I'm having to, like, lean the bike over just to go straight. And this, this adventure helmet, this part here is like a sail. It catches the wind and then turns my head that way. And, you know, on a motorcycle, if you turn your head, that's where the motorcycle goes, right? So, oh, crazy. I'm having to, like, tuck down. I kept getting hammered around as I tried to make my way east. Eventually, the wind died down and I found myself on a huge dry lake bed. The Alvord Desert is the largest playa lake in Oregon, receiving just seven inches of rain a year. The surface of the lake is as flat as a pancake and as dry as a piece of toast. These conditions make it ideal for blasting around on a bike or even in a car. In fact, there's been a few land speed records that have been set here. In 1976, Kitty O'Neill set a land speed record by driving her rocket-powered car to a top speed of 621 miles per hour. Unfortunately, land speed records and 500cc motorcycles are usually not uttered in the same sentence, but I had fun zipping around on the donkey while enjoying the tranquility of the Alvord Desert. In 1986, Life magazine called Highway 50 the loneliest road in America and advised all its readers to avoid it as there were no points of interest. I decided to find out if this was true or not for myself. What a fantastic little town. It's unbelievable. My next stop, which takes me underground.