[Lonnie]

Maybe this should be listed in the trips section, but think this gets more traffic. Looking at making a big trip {for us, my wife & I, we each drive a wing} in a couple years. I live in Iowa and looking to go to the Northwestern part of the country {Idaho, Wash, Oregon,etc.} Just trying to get a handle on some costs of some people who've done something like this. I know there are several variables, [motels, food, length of trip suggestions]. We don't want to just drive there and turn around and come home. Looking for some fun suggestions or don't do suggestions. We love riding curvy/scenic areas. I know this a pretty broad range question, but after seeing some comments, then I may be able to narrow down my questions.
Thanks for any replies.:excited:

 

[Zee Fifty]

National Park tour of the West with the northwest coast thrown in. You won’t have time to do it all.

 

[gray red rider]

I'll be watching this thread as our riding group of 4 or 5 from NW IL have talked about heading that direction this year.

 

[bingle50]

You said it, that is broad - base your cost on what it takes for you as a couple on the road. Only you can come up with that number; what my wife and I spend is not going to be what you will spend. It is not terribly hard to come up with an average cost per day. (btw - we have used priceline's express deal, letting them pick the hotel at a good discount)

-
There is a lot to see and do in the northwest, some major bucket list items:
As previously mentioned; National Parks and specifically Yellowstone, Grand Tetons - Life time senior at $80 or annual at $20 is a bargain and will pay for itself quickly.
Lolo Pass
Beartooth Hwy - watch the video below

Glacier National Park and Going to the Sun Road

Note: this is a few bucket list items, others will chime in, there is life time of things to do and see.

 

[CAWing]

Definitely purchase a Nat'l Parks Pass. Check out the following site as their are different passes that are available

https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

 

[bingle50]

When you are in the area; why not visit Canada and the Garden Island of Vancouver Island. Port Angeles, WA and the Black Ball Ferry is the easiest on the Pocket Book. You will need a passport. A short ferry ride puts you on the huge island at the town of Victoria. If you go, be sure to spend some time at Victoria's Inner Harbor during he evening; there are street entertainers that are a lot of fun. The area also has a lot of roof top and open air bars overlooking the harbor that is a pleasant way to end the day.
-
Of interest to me (such a small world) the busker was playing/singing Bull Dose Blues, a song written by Henry Thomas of Big Sandy Texas, the song never made a hit and was not too widely disseminated until Canned Heat changed the verbiage, not the instrumental, each note exactly the same (they even used the Quill) and named their version Going Up The Country which is currently used in the Geico Motorcycle commercial.

 

[beckhardt]

Lived in the PNW most of my life, Spokane, Coeur d Alene. Spectacular riding around here. As time approaches, be glad to help any way I can. Sounds like a blast. Safe travels.

 

[slolane]

Last summer the wife and I rode from Michigan to Yellowstone. We had two weeks and spent 4 days in Yellowstone and took our time and we were still home in 10 days. We hit Devils tower, Little Bighorn battle ground on the way there. We entered the park from Bozeman. On the way home we went thru the park and out from Cody and thru the big horn mountains ( great road by the way ). Back thru South Dakota Custer, Mt Rushmore, Crazy horse, Badlands. It was an awesome trip and we had great weather the whole trip. I was riding my wing and my wife was riding her VFR1200 it was a fantastic trip. Here is a link to some of the pictures if you would like to see them.


https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=b0twRTdWb3pFU3VpaW9xcjlkLTJ5OF80OFlLQ3hR

 

[TrapDog]

I suggest coming up with the number of days you would like to ride and back into it from there.

What is the longest trip (days) you have done before?

You have come the right place to ask!

 

[Zee Fifty]

if your both riding wings and if you want to save money you could both bring bedrolls which would enable you to use camper cabins rather than hotel rooms. I’ve found this to be one of my favorite ways to travel on a budget in good weather. They can be a good compromise between downright camping and hotel rooms.

 

[farmerbk]

alot of fun in the west

The amount of time you can spend will have a huge influence on how far you can go.


When we were returning home from Alaska, we were in Victoria, and had ridden the island down from the north.
we crossed back into the US, and rode Rt. 2 across. Truly beautiful and fun ride. Lots of lonesome. Rode it over to Spokane.
We also had a stop in Bozeman. Interesting downtown if you have time.


We didn't stop in Yellowstone due to time constraints, but I hope to get back there.
Lots to see, hope you get to do it all


bryon

 

[bgross]

Looking forward to following this thread.
Like all “bucket list” trips, a good plan will draw you closer and closer to the goal of the trip.
Then, when the trip is in your rear view mirror, the next adventure begins to grow in your imagination, and again. And again.


Carpe Diem!

 

[Farmguy]

Rand McNally Road atlas is a useful planning tool, and a useful tool for during trip 'adjustments'.


It doesn't suffer from the disappearing roads when zoomed out problem that occurs with many/most computer based mapping systems.


We generally include as many (or more) 'must ride' roads as 'must see' sites.
Sometimes that just means the roads that have green dots beside them in the Rand McNally.


Always be sure to miss something so you have an excuse to go back. >

 

[BigBob1]

As already noted, the National parks, Yellowstone, Glacier and Cascade NP in northern WA. Beartooth Pass, LoLo Pass are fun bike roads. If your a fan of flight museums Washington and Oregon have some nice ones.

 

[empowered01]

You will definitely want to spend sometime in south eastern Washington and Oregon. The tri cities area Kennewick Richland and Pasco. There is a lot to see. We are right in the heart of wine country with miles of backroads where you will see hair pin turns with little to no traffic . I would also recommend checking out the B reactor tour at Hanford. You will need to make reservations ahead of your trip. It’s the reactor that made the plutonium for the Fat man and little boy bombs that ended WW2. Walla Walla has amazing roads. It’s also home to the Lewis and Clark museum. If you need a tour guide through the area feel free to shoot me a PM. I may have organized a few poker runs for HOG state rallies on previous motorcycles.

 

[delusionalmechanic]

The cost part of it will vary greatly depending on your personal taste. You should be able to guess at motel costs and food costs per day and then you just need the number of days.
I was reflecting on our cross canada trip this spring and other than our Canada park pass, other park fees and museum admin, we really didn't spend a lot of money. (not including food, fuel, ferries and motels)

Length of trip: our trips have been planned around number of days we can get off of work. It is never long enough and we never get to see it all. Suffice it to say that your trip will not be long enough and you will not see it all!

Stuff to see: That is a longer list than I care to type. FSR25 south of Randel (beautiful view of Mt St Helens and the ape caves)WA. Maryhill stonehenge memorial WA. Silver Falls Oregon. Crater lake OR. Battle of little big horn is also very well done and informative(MT). O'hares motor inn GreatFalls MT has inside parking with a motorcycle only wash area and the bar upstairs has mermaids and for the ladies mermen. The Black hills is a nice (we avoided the weekend). Craters of the moon ID. And the list goes on.....


Most important - Enjoy your trip!!!!!!

 

[Bluehighways]

Maybe try a few shorter 2, 3 & 4 day trips in and around where you are now? With a relatively minimal investment in both time and money you'll probably be able to seperate your "needs" from your "wants" and what you will find most enjoyable to do and see when traveling like this. Camping is the least cost and the most time consuming, unless you have friends, relatives and children scattered along your route that would like you to pay an overnight visit. Staying in Hotels and Dining out in major cities is probably the most expensive. Then of course, there are all sorts of options and combinations in-between. Most, if not practically all, of the questions I've had or thought about over the years have only been truly answered when I (or my wife) was confronted with a challenge or presented with a pleasant surprise. Also, over the years our preferences have changed; some due to age and others as a result of being free of time obligations in retirement.

 

[05nwl]

My wife and I have toured just about all of the West/Northwest on our wing. We stay in Best Western, Holiday Inn Express (or equivalent) motels, eat pretty good and budget $300 per day for lodging, food and gas. On longer rides I fly the wife roundtrip closer to the "destination". For instance, when we toured the Canadian Rockies, she flew roundtrip to Seattle and we did a loop from there. I rode to Seattle and back from Huntington Beach alone. I ride around 450 miles per day when alone and plan around 200-250 when my wife is onboard and we are sight-seeing. I plan the whole thing and make motel reservations ahead.

I'm in it mainly for the "ride" and she enjoys the "destinations".

 

[wingman05]

MY BUCKET LIST RIDE - New Jersey to Alaska and back

THE RIDE:
51 Days, 17,000 miles
Motorcycle: 2015 Honda Gold Wing
4-Canadian Provincial Parks
12-US National Parks
Wildlife: 33 Black Bears (all but 2 in British Columbia and Yukon Territories), Deer, Elk, Buffalo, Moose, Seals, Spruce Grouse and 1-Bald Eagle
Lodging costs split with another rider; my share $2,700.00.
Average miles per day: 300 (some days longer, some shorter when visiting National Parks)
Gas - A lot cheaper than what my buddy paid to feed his Harley. Gas is available all along the Alaskan and Cassiar Highways)
Other equipment: We both pulled Uni-Go trailers with emergency camping equipment.

Places visited:
Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave National Park, Sturgis in South Dakota;
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Geographical Center of North America monument in Rugby North Dakota;
Glacier National Park and Going to the Sun Road in Montana;
Kootenay, Yoho, Banff and Jasper Provincial Parks and Ice Fields Parkway in Alberta, Canada;
Mile Post 0 Alaska Highway at Dawson Creek, BC;
Liard River Hot Springs, BC;
Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake YT; We posted our Home Town signs in the forest;
Teslin, Whitehorse, Haines Junction, Destruction Bay, Beaver Creek and Port Alcan YT;
Welcome to Alaska sign and International boundary Marker YT/Alaska;
Tok, Delta Junction, North Pole (Santa's Christmas Village), Fairbanks, Denali National Park, Palmer and Anchorage, Alaska;
Seward, Homer, Homer Spit, and Valdez, Alaska;
Wrangell-St Elias National Park;
Haines Junction;
Cassiar Highway - Dease Lake, Iskut, Stewart Junction, Stewart, and Hyder Alaska;
Yellowhead Highway to Prince George;
Trans-Canadian Highway 1 to Abbotsford, BC and US Border crossing into Bellingham, Washington; Detoured 300 miles due to Wildfires;
Ferry across Puget Sound from Edmonds to Kingston, Washington, Olympic National Park and the Hoh Rainforest;
Coastal highway 101 following the Washington and Oregon coastline to Crescent City, California;
"Avenue of the Giants" Redwoods National Park;
US-101 to Sacramento;
US-50 from Sacramento, CA, to Ocean City MD;
Lake Tahoe, across US-50 in Nevada (Loneliest Road in America - Yes I Survived!);
Great Basin National Park in Utah;
US-550 Million Dollar Highway from Montrose to Durango;
Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado;
Dodge City, KS;
Back on US-50 all the way to Ocean City, MD;
Back home to NJ

 

[Lonnie]

Thank You to everyone for ideas, suggestions, and obvious items that I had not thought about. Really appreciate all the comments.