Greetings friends, I hope you are doing well. This is an 'other stuff' post about a fun adventure motorbike ride I just got back from, with a brief mention about the Leben CS-300F integrated amplifier that I'm writing a review about now.

Man cannot live on hifi alone. At least that's what I've found to be true for me. I have to do something fairly regularly that gets me outside for a little exercise and adventure or I wither away on the inside. 

International travel helps with the travel & adventure, and is just a lot of fun, but since the pandemic started that's been off the table. Getting out on my bicycle provides some nice exercise, but doesn't scratch my adventure travel itch very well. 

That's where my new BMW R 1250 GS Adventure motorbike comes in. The motorbike gets me outside, provides a big dose of adventure and travel, and helps fuel my 50 year plus passion for riding motorbikes.

Me and my new BMW R 1250 GS Adventure motorbike.

I just got back from an impromptu adventure motorbike trip on the BMW - what a blast - that scratched the adventure and travel itch in excellent fashion! 

Jeff and his new BMW F 850 GS Adventure motorbike.

My friend and former colleague, Jeff (yes, another Jeff!, photo above), and I got a nice invite from our friend and former colleague, Chad (center, photo below), to come visit him at his cabins on beautiful Lake Chelan in northern Washington State.

Ron, Leo, Chad, Santos, and myself all having a good time at Jeff's Place.

Chad's buddies from Seattle, Bill and Mark, who are a couple of cool guys, also joined us, for what turned out to be a great time of kicking back and enjoying the Fall chill in the mountains, eating good food, doing a little partying, exploring, and generally unwinding in the great outdoors of the North Cascades. 

Lake Chelan, is a "... 50.5-mile (81.3 km) long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S." (Wikipedia)

Its a great time of year to visit the Chelan area, as tourist season has wound down, and it's mostly the locals hanging out and chilling as the temperatures drop down with Fall rolling in. 

We saw three bighorn sheep along the mountain road as we were riding in to the cabins, which is always a good sign that the wildlife are feeling comfortable again after the tourist exodus occurs. No photo, sorry, I wasn't quick enough with the camera.

Auntie Irene's vintage cabin on the lake.

Chad's got a couple of cabins on Lake Chelan. The first one is a vintage cabin that belonged to Chad's Auntie Irene, and is a beautiful cabin with a big fireplace, boat docks & launches, and nice big deck with a grill and plenty of space to enjoy the lakeside view.

Morning coffee on Lake Chelan. Yes, that's a radioactive vintage Fiestaware mug! 

Chad's Auntie Irene had a nice collection of vintage Fiestaware dinnerware.  "Fiesta dinnerware that's radioactive contains uranium oxide in its ceramic glaze. ... The half-life of uranium-238 is 4.5 billion years, so Fiestaware is as radioactive today as when it was made. The uranium decays into thorium-234, which emits beta and gamma radiation." (Science Notes)

We all had a great time grilling steaks and chowing down on a great meal Chad put together, and then talking, telling stories, partying into the wee hours, and just celebrating being alive. Good times!

Lake Chelan, Chad's sailboat, and the BMWs waiting to go on a ride.

The next day after breakfast, Chad and Bill got a big fire going in the fire pit by the 'adventure' loft, where people can sleep out under the stars in the warmer weather.

Chad's putting together an adventure 'course' by the big outdoor loft, with a zip-line, a wood-fire pizza oven (inside joke), sail boating, and bicycling. 

View from the adventure loft. Chad, Jeff, and Bill tending the fire-pit.

While we were waiting for Mark to arrive from Seattle, Jeff and I went out riding to explore some of the backcountry roads and parks around Lake Chelan.

Exploring scenic backroads in the mountains around Lake Chelan.

The dirt backcountry roads around Lake Chelan are perfect for getting in some adventure riding, and the nature views were superb!

Yours truly enjoying the backcountry roads.

Jeff enjoying our quick stop to check out the great nature views.

The big BMW GS motorbikes are perfect for exploring the backcountry roads.

Backcountry road views. Nice!

After cruising the backroads for a while, we checked out a couple of the State Parks along Lake Chelan as we rode back towards Chad's place.

Our first stop was Fields Point, where you can catch a ferry that goes up Lake Chelan to the remote village of Stehekin, that is nestled in the peaks of the North Cascades, and is only accessible by boat, plane, or foot.   

Fields Point on Lake Chelan.

The dock where the ferry comes in at Fields Point.

View of the Fields Point facility from the ferry access point.

The display board at Fields Point describing the surrounding North Cascades.

3D map of Lake Chelan in the North Cascades at Fields Point.

The 'enduring pleasures' of the North Cascades.

After visiting another State Park, we ran into a gentleman who was admiring our bikes, and who struck up a conversations with us about them. Turns out he has been considering a new bike as well!

We, of course, encouraged the gentleman to follow his dreams and go for the new bike! There's just something special about getting on a motorbike and going on an adventure. The fresh air, the scenery, the excitement of the ride that makes one feel vibrantly alive, are all great reasons to get an adventure bike!

The BMW Adventure motorbikes - highly recommended!

We rode back to the cabins where Chad and Bill had the fire going great, and were flame grilling some sausages on a pitchfork for lunch.  

Chad getting the sausages ready to grill.

Bill, Jeff, and Chad. The feast is in preparation!

Almost done!

Dogs on a bun, with all the goodies, and a beer or two to wash it down, makes for a mighty fine lunch!

Scaffolding and zip line platform.

Chad's been working on getting the zip line up and running, and has a couple of ideas for landing points that allows the zip-liners to sail through the 100 foot tall trees to a safe touchdown on the forest floor. 

The zip line is getting closer to completion.

After a nice evening of BS'ing, storytelling, eating good food, and partying around a roaring fire in the fireplace of Auntie Irene's cabin, we all called it a night.

The morning sunrise on Lake Chelan. 

After a good nights rest, and a hearty breakfast, we set out on a final adventure of checking out the haystack rocks as part of the ride home.

We wanted to explore the basalt haystack rocks on the Waterville Plateau that mark the southern border of glacial ice from the last ice age. 

On the Waterville Plateau and heading towards the haystack rocks. 

Chad, Bill, and Mark led the way in Chad's Subaru, while Jeff and I followed on the motorbikes. You can see some of the haystack rocks deposited on the mountainside in the distance.

Haystack rocks of the Waterville Plateau in the distance.

It takes a bit of dirt and gravel backcountry road riding to get to the more accessible haystack rocks.

Mark, Bill, and Jeff at a haystack rocks stop.

Haystack rocks in the distance.

Haystack rock.

Another haystack rock.

After checking out the basalt haystack rocks on the Waterville Plateau that mark the southern border of glacial ice from the last ice age, it was time to say our goodbyes to Chad, Bill, and Mark, and for Jeff and I to make the long fun ride back home. 

Many thanks to Chad for inviting us to visit, and a great time was had by all!

Getting ready for the ride home.

Jeff and I rode the dirt backroads that go through the remote Waterville Plateau farmlands for part of our ride, then past the ancient Farmer's Graveyard where generations of farmers lie at rest.

I didn't get any photographs of it, but we rode through the Moses Coulee on the Waterville Plateau on the way back home, and it was impressive! If you get up that way, be sure to check it out.

We stopped for a quick lunch at the El Agave Mexican Restaurant in Ephrata, WA, where I had one of the best burritos I've ever had - yum!

Then back on the road for the final part of the ride home.

Back home.

I arrived home, parked the BMW R 1250 GS Adventure in the garage, unpacked the bike, took a nice hot shower, had a bite of dinner, and watched Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol on Peacock TV on my AV system.

The big Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers were sounding especially good with the Leben CS-300F integrated amplifier driving them, and it was a great way to relax after our adventure motorbike ride.

Leben CS-300F in my vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre based AV system.

I'm back working on the review of the Leben CS-300F for Positive Feedback now after that great adventure motorbike ride, and of course more hifi and music fun & games will be coming soon!

As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!