Here. We. GO.
Hi! My name is Dumptruck. I am a man who has talked good in the entertainment and power sports industry for over 15 years. I have been an emcee for women’s roller derby, power sports oval track races, concert festivals, experiential marketing events and motorcycle rallies since forever.
Most would say: I like to party.
So much so, that it’s been my literal job to be the fun haver in most rooms I get invited to…
Much of my time as an adult has been spent on two wheels, without an address, rolling from one event to the next in the name of work and a good time. What you are about to read is not a collection of those stories. What you were about to read is a catalog of new adventures that I experience between the big dances of the events world. This is about the ride and the beautiful people and places it guides me to.
I’m a big fan of just jumping right in there and starting to tell the damn story, so here’s the beginning. When: Circa July 2021. Location: My living room in the 9th ward of New Orleans, LA.
The love of my life, Bizou, and I had just wrapped up a video call with her mother who lives in British Columbia. Right after we hung up, she mentioned how much she missed her family and that it had been almost 5 years since she’s held them. That’s all I needed to hear. I told her, “I wasn’t even planning on going to Sturgis this year, but if I go and work it’ll pay for a trip to Canada on the motorcycle. Are you down?” She said, “Are you serious!?”, and we started planning to leave for The Legendary Buffalo Chip to co-host the anarchy that is Camp Zero during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Which was EPIC.
Once we finished the Sturgis hustle we headed Northwest to Washington state so my love could hold her momma.
Remember now, we’re still dealing with closed international borders due to the Covid pandemic. With that in mind we decided that no matter what we’d get to the border just in case the situation improved. It did not. BUT! After a bit of research we discovered Peace Arch Park at the Washington - Canadian border. A place for Canadian and US citizens to mingle without a border crossing. At 8 am the 19 acre park opens to both sides as if there was no border to speak of. There are only a few officers monitoring the park, I never even spoke to one, and at dusk you just go back across the street to your respective lands. Sounds crazy right!? Come to find out this is where displaced family and couples have been congregating ever since the lock down began.
Bizou in da Bad Lands
It’s crazy to think that after living almost a solid decade on the road going from one event across the country to the other that I never really stopped to appreciate what my route was directing me through. At the time, it didn’t make any sense to stop. After all I was going to work no matter how many miles were in between each job. Fortunately, times have changed. A lot of it has to do with having a life partner and the want to create stories together rather than just tell them to each other. Yes, I’m in love. Get used to it. Now, back to story time.
First stop Bear Lodge Butte, aka Devil’s Tower, and then on to Yellowstone National Park. This is one of those rides that you just can’t take enough photos of during your trip. Next time I make this ride from Sturgis, SD through Cody, WY and into the national park I will absolutely take an additional day to do so to explore. That being said, this is a must when it comes to things to add to that bucket list of yours. There were so many unique landscapes to experience as we rode my ‘19 Harley-Davidson Road King West on Highway 14 through Shenandoah National Forrest. The closer to Yellowstone we got the more excited we became. We stop, we set up camp, and we get some rest for an early start for some geyser gazing on the west side of the park.
Mornin! At this point I’m beyond excited for the day to begin! I’ve never in all my years taken the time to explore while on the road so these are all new miles to me for the first time. That’s something I don’ often say.
On today’s list is Old Faithful in the Upper Geyser Basin, Kepler Cascades, then the colorful waters of Midway Geyser Basin. I mean DAMN y’all. This place is covered with almost every road-trip vacation daydream I’ve ever had. I mean, did you know that Old Faithful is one of the rare geysers that you can actually predict!? It’s only extended it’s schedule by 30 minutes over the last 30 years! Mind. Blown.
Once Bizou and I watched the geyser put on it’s regularly scheduled show we headed to Midway with a quick roadside gander at Kepler Cascades to just breath and love on the moment. Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the sulfur ya know?
It’s just past lunch now as we park the bike on the side of the road and start the short Firehole Riverside stroll to check out the Grand Prismatic Spring, Excelsior Geyser, and Turquoise Pool. I’ve never walked so slow in my entire life. The multicolored display of heat-loving algae that cover the spring floor makes you feel like you are no longer on this earth. Especially when you learn that the algae are showing us how the water cools from blue to red according to temperature. I mean what!? I thought red was HOT? -Not gonna dribble on about the really cool geology and history of the place, but you can check it out here if you’re a nerd like I am.
The rest of the day’s ride to Boise & then on to squeeze Bizou’s momma at Peace Arch Park was a TRIP. One you’ll have to read about in the next post…
Thanks for reading all the way down to here!!! Hope enjoyed the 1st of many looks through the window into my world. I hope you’re having a great day and you’re working towards crushing your goals and a better quality of life. You deserve it.
Please comment on what you do and don’t like so I can babble about the stuff you wanna read more often than not. And PLEASE SHARE on the Facebooks etc. It’d really help a lot for free. Work it out.
Big thank you to my friend Ashley for the use of her captures from Camp Zero. Links in descriptions. Check her work out at www.ashleyeriksen.com
