The 1911s do Reuben Run 7

[wheatonFJR]

Duane, this is really spectacular!

Did Marilee enjoy the trip?

"GIVI full of glacier..."

[bungie4]

Man, this sure is a lazy Thanksgiving Monday morning in Canada coffee sipping ride report.

I'm surprised you went to St. Mary's, next time, Many Glaciers Road campground.

Many Glaciers was loaded in the Zumo. Getting there, and back out if full, would have to be done in the dark. We already had to brake for Mamma bear and a cub on the way up to Logan Pass, so as much as would have preferred a park campground (KOA St Mary = $$$), I took the commercial route.

Some, if not all of the campgrounds on the west side of Glacier were closed due to fire. My guess was that was causing the east side ones to fill up.

We experienced the same thing up this past summer with the forest fires. At one point, thier were something like 70 of them burning out of control, 3 of them were close by. Lots of animals (bears) pushed out into the city, at least more than usual. At least you got a place and didn't get skunked of accommodations. Especially with the boss onboard. Looking forward to more!

[bungie4]

Glad you enjoyed Canada! Come back again.

[Hppants]

Oh man, Duane - this is something.

I'll get to B/C next year, I hope. Your pictures will have to hold me until then.

Amazing, man. Just great.

[bungie4]

Duane, i forgot ask, did you guys stop in at Waterton turn site? One of Canada's most memorable scenes is there with one of the CP Grand hotels featured.

[Hppants]

Pants bucket list adjustment: Move the following item WAY up toward the top of the list:

Walk a glacier in British Columbia.

That is all.

[1911]

Boy this sure is nice. I'll ride northwest some day.

I hear Yellowstone is a fine line. You want to wait long enough in the year that the snow is gone, but you want to get there before the schools let out for the summer to avoid the major crowds.

If some of the crowds we saw were minor, I’d sure hate to see a major crowd

Duane, this is really spectacular!

Did Marilee enjoy the trip?

"GIVI full of glacier..."

Enjoyed it enough to already be talking about the next

Duane, i forgot ask, did you guys stop in at Waterton turn site? One of Canada's most memorable scenes is there with one of the CP Grand hotels featured.

No, just kind of skirtted Waterton/Glacier.

Any place that we visited would be worth a whole vacation, but we will have to settle for the sampler platter for now.

Pants bucket list adjustment: Move the following item WAY up toward the top of the list:

Walk a glacier in British Columbia.

That is all.

Don’t wait too long, global warming you know.
http://www.icewalks.com/Icewalks%20brochure%202017.pdf
http://westoc.org/

[1911]

Thanks everybody for following along so far and the for the nice comments.

And because I lack willpower, a couple more Canada pix before we get back to the states

[bungie4]

WRT: Time only for a sampler.

True, always true.

[dcarver]

Really good photos in this RR..

[1911]

Leaving Banff there are big ideas and some good looking routes based on suggestions from escapefjrtist in the Zumo. When we get to Revelstoke we decide to continue west instead of turning south towards Arrow Lake. We’ll need more days in this trip to take advantage of all of George’s suggestions. Save something for next time, spend the night in Kelowna, not far from the border.

Wednesday morning we stop at the last Tim Hortons before you get to US customs. Hortons is packed. US customs isn’t nearly as pleasant as the nice young lady that let us in Canada. We repack our gear and head for the North Cascades Highway and one of my favorite signs.













Many small towns have banners and signs expressing appreciation for firefighters and we pass a few fire camps, vast expanses of equipment and tents.

It’s dark and drizzling and chilly when we set up housekeeping at White River Campground, at the foot of Mount Rainier. I really like this place. Too small for big RVs with generators. No artificial light. Rushing water white noise. When the sun peeks through the trees in the morning it sure looks good and feels nice.











The rangers at the White River station check the webcams and tell us that the Sunrise visitor center situation looks a little cloudy. But they tell us that Rainier makes its’ own weather and that the weather would likely change by the time we get up to it.

Looking back down at White Rive as we climb up to Sunrise and noting that the weather certainly HAS changed.







Use your imagination to see Rainier towering over this Black Cherry beauty



It’s a good thing we stop along the way up and get a couple pix like this, or we’d have no pix of Rainier at all.



After we leave Rainier we brave FS25 and FS99 to get a look at Mount Saint Helens. And here it is.





We get clear skies and dry gear crossing the Columbia, Cresting Rowena, and then cruising some high desert as the shadows get long. The sun is set and the moon is out when we roll into LaPine and the Reuben Run crowd.















Rain, fog, obscured scenery, rough roads-shouldn’t we be at least a little bummed out? I try to be disappointed but it’s no use. This stuff is FUN.

[fontanaman]

Nice to see you enjoyed the Rowena Curves. Not many people know about this bit of road with a lot of history. Great ride report and thanks for posting.

[wheatonFJR]

Wow. What a trip.

Y'all rode all day. All damn day. Your wife is amazing.

[bungie4]

Love that North Cascades ride, Lake Diablo, Liberty pass, Winthrop.. just awesome. Shame about the cloud cover but you still made the best of it.

[NTXFJR]

Stunningly beautiful imagery. You have an excellent eye for what to point the camera at. Thanks for bringing us along!

[1911]

Reuben Run, the event. It’s been 13 days getting here.

Friday we ride up to Crater Lake. And let me emphasize up.





And we get blown away.









We’ve stumbled on a good way to plan a ride: Know little of the area upon arrival. Ask a local for recommendations. Be surprised when you get there.

Back at RR7 central we do a load of laundry and then hang out in the parking lot, or more specifically, we hang out close to the grill

Saturday we use our new ride planning method.

Passing through Sisters I get the feeling that this is a place that I must keep Mom away from.



Mom’s a pretty enthusiastic quilter.



When we mention that we went through Sisters her face lights up. Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Canada, California Redwoods……….meh, that’s nice. Sisters…..oh!.... OH!.... Sisters hosts the worlds’ biggest quilt show! I think 76 year old Mom would get on the bike if it was going to the quilt show in Sisters.

Once through Sisters it’s on to McKenzie Pass where we end up in some scenery like we never imagined, surreal and unexpected.



















And then, for lunch, back to Harvest Depot for a….Reuben



The big and great dinner event, followed with the usual and great parking lot socializing, I’ve got not a single picture of. As overboard as I go taking pix out on the ride, I seldom remember to get out a camera during the social parts of these things. Maybe if this crowd was a little younger and sexier……..

Anyway, THANK YOU Ray and whoever else put the work into Reuben Run 7!

[Bugnatr]

Mighty fine report, your camera skills are amazing just like the scenery.

[bungie4]

Just fantastic. I think you need to take mom to Sisters.

[1911]

Sunday morning



The plan is to motor south and east uneventfully for two days and then wander through southern Utah, Bryce Canyon and Moab, on the way home. Just south of LaPine we turn toward the Oregon Outback on Highway 31. Summer Lake, what appears to be a dry salt lake, is almost interesting enough to stop photograph.



Stopping to take a pic is what I think the FJR on the side of the road that we pass is doing, at first. A voice in my head, probably put there through the intercom, presents other possibilities and we backtrack, meeting up with fellow Reuben Runner JREW.



We’ve found bonus adventure, although not ours. JREW has a flat. There’s a slice in his tire that all the string plugs he has, plus half of mine, won’t seal. JREW has given away a bunch of his plugs earlier in the weekend, making a contribution to someone else’s adventure bonus. Having done JREW no good I get his phone number we roll on to the next town, Paisley, home of the Broncos.



We’ve just started to get into some pretty open country and I don’t expect to find anything in the tiny town of Paisley, on a Sunday morning, that will do JREW any good. We are surprised to find a full service gas station open. Heck, it took me a half dozen tries back in LaPine to find a service station with air, pay air. The place doesn’t look like much. OK, it looked like the kind of place Clark Griswold would pull the Family Truckster into for emergency repair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMf5dvUlYko

I noted a flatbed, talked to the owner, and called JREW with the stations contact info. I didn’t know if I was helping or setting him up for a visit with the “sheriff”. It turned out well, according to text from the victim. AMA paid the tow. The station owner didn’t want to mess with the bike but let JREW use his tools to remove the wheel. The station the dismounted and patched the tire without scratching the wheel, for much less than I would have charged Wheat.

Post Paisley, we spend the most desolate day of riding we’ve done, using Highway 140 to cross southern Oregon and northern Nevada.







It’s weird to hear Zumo say “in twenty-something miles turn right on…..” as we’re looking at that intersection on the horizon.

Winnemucca Nevada is the first town of any size we see since leaving LaPine. We clear Winnemucca traffic and construction cones on I-80 eastbound and set the cruise, 80ish. Shortly after, we find our little bit of bonus adventure.

[Steel_Gin]

Duane, i forgot ask, did you guys stop in at Waterton turn site? One of Canada's most memorable scenes is there with one of the CP Grand hotels featured.

Great Picture!! Stayed there one night about 15 years ago, all I could afford, beautiful location.