Three years ago my husband, Tim, and I made a decision to take a 5,300-mile Harley-Davidson trip to Banff, Alberta. The following year was a visit to see my Aunt Lucille in Memphis, which ended up being a 7,200-mile loop, once again on a Harley ElectraGlide motorcycle. But last summer's trip was a true evolution and a dream come true.

It was Tim and my third wedding anniversary on Aug. 1, 2001. The first thought was a trip to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Neither of us had been there and it was a place I had always wanted to visit.

After looking at maps, lots of maps - AAA maps, maps in the Atlas, Visitor Bureau maps and traveling across the United States via the Web, we decided that Wisconsin was a good destination. After all, that is where "my people" hail from. I come from good dairy farm stock from the heartland of Wisconsin, and still have relatives there. In 1947 my parents moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in a town called Ironwood, so we decided we might as well venture there, as well.

But those darned maps. Tim and I had always wanted to go to Niagara Falls. And looking at the maps and doing the mileage calculations, it didn't seem as if it were that much further. Besides, it was our anniversary and the place is notorious for romance.

We had previously sold our Harley and bought a BMW K1200LT touring bike. They are ideal for long-distance touring because of the 98 hp, compared with the 62 hp of the Harley. The ride is smoother with less vibration, therefore, not there is not as much road fatigue. The BMW averaged about 46 miles per gallon, with a high of 58 mpg. The Harley averaged 32 mpg on our other trips. Plus, we had bought a small trailer on-line, called a Uni-Go, which was shipped from New Zealand.

Besides, looking at the distance on the map, traveling to Niagara Falls didn't seem that much farther than the distance to Memphis. A piece of cake.

But then there was the "offer" from a friend of ours. "Yeah, my wife's parents have an old family homestead in Nova Scotia. You're more than welcome to stay there. It's only about a day and a half from Niagara Falls. You should check it out, it is an incredible place."

Tim and I are fascinated by geological wonders. Our friend's family homestead is located near the funnel-shaped Bay of Fundy, which has the highest and lowest tides in the world and is a geological phenomenon. The tide goes out and in, with an ebb of more than two miles, and a drop of up to 52 feet, twice daily. The family is from several generations of ship builders, which pieced together massive ships on the beach, near the house that is positioned atop the reddish banks of the Bay of Fundy. They built large steamer ships equipped with all of the elaborate rigging and beautiful woodwork. The ships were used to transport goods to and from the Mother Land of England to and from the North American colonies, in the 1700s and 1800s.

A kind, wonderful opportunity had been presented to us. This was too good of an opportunity to pass by. Our quest was to travel across the United States and return home via the Trans Canadian Highway to the Rockies, then south through Montana.

Our journey began as we exited California at Reno and headed east. We drove through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, through South Dakota and its majestic Black Hills, traversed the verdant, northern reaches of Wisconsin and Michigan (Land of the Lakes), meandered east to Niagara Falls, Ontario, then to Vermont to meet the family whose house we would be staying at in Nova Scotia, up and over Maine and then entered Canada.

I love Canada. The people are friendly, the pace is more relaxed than much of the United States, the exchange rate was CD$1.50 to US$1, and the natural beauty is lush, varied and less developed (in the best sense of the word).

Because of abundant rainfall, our July/August trip was filled with fields of wild flowers, mixed with the waterfalls and ponds that graced the landscape. And because we were on a motorcycle, I could smell the damp moss that covered the trees and earth, the sweet essence of the flora and the dank scent of the fauna, which included moose, mountain goats and big horn sheep. It was magical.

I am a 45-year-old pseudo-"biker chick" who had never traveled by motorcycle up until four years ago. I had never thought about it, had never desired this mode of travel, and especially had never fathomed traveling across the United States and Canada on one.

But I did, confidently wrapped around Tim, who has more than 27 years of motorcycling experience. The trip took approximately five weeks, in which time we covered about 10,570 miles. And we only stayed one place for more than one night. That was the capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax, nestled along the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean.

Luckily, it was time for the bike's 12,000-mile tune-up. The extra night allowed us time to savor the fantastic seafood fare and the illustrious history of Halifax. Meticulous mechanical maintenance is imperative when traveling by any motorized craft, but especially with a motorcycle because of the riders' physical vulnerablility.

All told, we experienced about six hours of rain, yet spent days weaving beneath ominous black skies. We traveled early to avoid the thunderstorms or heat, frequently traveling eight to 12 hours. The temperatures ranged from 36 F to 115 F, averaging about 80 F. We usually made reservations one night in advance, or else took our chances because we didn't know how far we would travel each day.

To me, traveling by motorcycle is like the difference between watching a movie on a 16-inch black-and-white television and experiencing the same movie at an Omni Max Theater.

When it is cold, you feel it. But the ensuing warmth of the day is so much more appreciated, more than simply turning a knob for instant heat. Passing by blooming alfalfa fields enlivens the senses.

I always had a camera around my neck and took 90 rolls of film on the trip (next year I'll be digital). That made me more alert, as I looked at everything more closely. You can't cruise down the freeway in a car at 70 mph, clicking away at the old Canon automatic, but you can on a bike, as long as you're not driving.

Even the segments of the country that some people say are boring didn't seem boring - such as the seemingly endless miles of corn fields and the "amber waves of grain." They are awesome and impressive. These people are feeding the masses. As we traveled through the belt of our nation, I admired the people riding their tractors and bailing their hay.

And everywhere we stopped, we talked to people -- at gas stations, restaurants and parks. It was fabulous. Tim and I both felt a renewed warmth and affection for our fellow Americans.

Our brief conversations with the people in our travels heightened and enriched our experience. From a 20-minute chat with Junior, the Mennonite chicken farmer from Iowa who hadn't had a vacation with his wife in 12 years, to RV Harry, the retired, recently widowed, Southern gentlemen from Atlanta, who was spending his time passing time. In Canada, the humanity and warmth continued.

When I got home, my head was filled with thoughts like, "God Bless America -- North, South and Central. God Bless Earth and all of her creatures."

Now where will we venture to next summer? The key is that it isn't in the destination, but in savoring the journey. And this journey was definitely a gem.