Yesterday I just rode south through Washington state and into the middle of Oregon.
I stopped there because on the "Burning Man" trip, I saw a little old 4WD truck that I really liked the look of.
Ive been thinking about getting one for several years but just havent got around to it - mostly because there are virtually none of this particular truck for sale in BC.
At the moment, Im traveling and I certainly dont need a truck, so I dont know what I was thinking but I wanted to go have another look at it. The little truck is a 1972 Ford Bronco and is owned by a really nice guy named Royce in the tiny little town of Tangent in Oregon. On the ride to burning man, I was tired of driving on the big I5 freeway, so I just turned off and took some side roads. Within 20min of leaving the freeway I saw the little truck parked in his front yard and some guys chatting there. I decided to stop and ask what that sort of truck was worth and where these guys would go to try to find one. It turned out that Royce was aiming to sell this one but had not stuck a sign on it yet. Anyway, we had a good chat about the truck and I left with the intent to keep an eye out for others while I rode so that I could see what was around and what other people wanted for them.
It turned out that I saw only two others and they were in far worse condition than Royce's.
So, Ive been thinking about it for two or three weeks and as I rode South again this time I decided to go have another look at it... I rolled up at Royce's house yesterday evening just as he was getting home from an evening drive in another classic old car (69 Convertible Pontiac Firebird) and we had another chat about his truck...
And, we came to an "arrangement", whereby I will continue on my motorbike odyssey for as long as it takes (about 9-12 months I think) and Royce will keep the truck in his back yard...
And when next I come back to Vancouver I can come back down to Tangent and get the truck and move it to Canada. Then, if Im staying in Van, I can fix it up and use it (Ill be needing a car for the winters), Or, if Im just here for a visit then the truck can wait in the back yard of my house (its survived 30 years outside, so whats a few more!).
Anyway, thats the current plan and it makes me happy regardless of weather it makes sense to others or not. :)
With that plan in place, I set my GPS to plot a course for SantaFe in New Mexico (since I want to visit that state on this trip South) and the set off on the route that the GPS selected...
