OH, another Western Epic and CFR 2022

[wheatonFJR]

Ray. This is AWESOME!

[Cav47]

A "Great" road between Stanley and Clayton!

You should have stopped at the hot springs, we used to stop there every year on the way out from our annual Elk hunt.

I know this place. The hot springs is a good place.

[bigjohnsd]

A "Great" road between Stanley and Clayton!

You should have stopped at the hot springs, we used to stop there every year on the way out from our annual Elk hunt.

I know this place. The hot springs is a good place.

20 years ago clothing was very optional, in fact, there were fewer clothed than unclothed.

[fontanaman]

A "Great" road between Stanley and Clayton!

You should have stopped at the hot springs, we used to stop there every year on the way out from our annual Elk hunt.

I know this place. The hot springs is a good place.

20 years ago clothing was very optional, in fact, there were fewer clothed than unclothed.

I was at a clothing optional beach in the Caribbean many years ago. I came away thinking most things look better covered up.

Great ride report Ray.

[Cav47]

A "Great" road between Stanley and Clayton!

You should have stopped at the hot springs, we used to stop there every year on the way out from our annual Elk hunt.

I know this place. The hot springs is a good place.

20 years ago clothing was very optional, in fact, there were fewer clothed than unclothed.

I have been by there at least 4 times. The only time I did not stop was when there was an old dude there and he was not clothed. The same trip I went to the one that has the big barrel. My hope was to stop at that one, but it was occupied by about 6 late teen/early 20s mixed company. I was not going to crash that party. I stopped for a few min but did not want to appear as a pedo. Then I got the distinct smell of weed and bolted in short order.

I went back the next morning early and had the open river one all to myself. I will find a few pics.

[raYzerman]

Here you guys wanna go skinny dippin' and we haven't even left Clayton yet.... and I'm sorry to say, we will have a lot of ground to cover as we're taking the long way to Enterprise, OR. The RV place is called Sawmill Station, and we had breakfast on the patio. Here are our yummy breakfast sandwiches, 'cuz youse guys and gals like food porn.





Rode right on by those hot springs y'all are raving about, but did stop to take a few pics of the Sawtooth Mountains on the way into Stanley.





Gave Dean a quick tour of the village and then headed out of town......



This is the Payette River as we approach Lowman. The area in the upper right is..........



where there is water running off the rocks into the river........



and a few folks enjoying the Kirkham Hot Springs. We had to keep moving so we kept our clothes on.



We're headed into the town of Lowman and if you like you can go west, or you can go south, and we were going south..... lots of twisties and big changes in elevation (and temperature changes).



We went down to Boise, then skirted up 95 to Cambridge, then 71 to Oxbow, then took the National Forest roads north, kinda following the Snake River and Hell's Canyon. We had started in Clayton at 9C (48F), cooled down in the mountains to 6C, it was 20C in Boise, and at the Hell's Canyon lookout it was 13C (55F). It was obvious summer had not arrived yet. Last time I was here in June it was a sweltering 95 and high humidity. There were only a handful of cars along this big stretch.... three guys on GS's were just pulling out of the lookout when we arrived.











After taking pics, we got on our way, it was still a fair distance to Enterprise.... and not long after it got misty and cold, then wetter. Rain jackets on to keep out the cold and wet, jacket liners were turned on. In some places it was 6C (42F). Nobody else on the road and skies were darkening.... We were getting low on fuel and we had no choice but to keep going. I was sure we could make Enterprise but the FJR was using more... we found gas in Joseph a few miles earlier, to Dean's relief. The Versys has a bit more range (21 litre tank) than the FJR (25 litres).

To be continued.

[Panman]

Love that area Ray, I've never taken 21 down to Boise I always just go to Banks. Proablbly just making tracks as home is close.

[wheatonFJR]

LOve that area as well. Was only there once, on the way to CFR with Griff in 2009. We also continued west to Banks then north, following cattle trucks on the curvy way north till we got around. And yes, it was 95F at Hells Canyon...on the way to Enterprise, then points northward, eastward, then westward, and northward. Classic trip.

Awesome report Ray.

Even if you are on that little bike.

[raYzerman]

Sunday June 19 - We were going to have another long day from Enterprise, mainly because I decided to add in a scoot straight north for an hour or so and back again. After what they called a continental breakfast at the hotel, we took off on a cool damp 6C morning up OR 3 to WA 129... intending to stop at Boggan's Oasis for a real breakfast, which is on 129 at the Grand Ronde River. This was the added loop for the day, we'd turn around at Fields Spring State Park... if you go on up north, you'll hit some more good stuff at Asotin, then you could follow the Snake River into Clarkson/Lewiston. We didn't have time for that bit, but I have ridden that in the past....




So this is the famous Rattlesnake Grade, and I've seen this picture in motorcycle mags in the past. I don't know how to adequately describe it except to say, you have to do it if you're there.... I've ridden it 3 times, and if memory serves, this was a fontanaman-approved ride.





Of course it goes way beyond what the eye can see in the pic. We made our way to Fields park and took some pics on the way back..... the road was damp, but was drying up on the way back as the sun tried to come out and it warmed up to 13C. I took some video, we'll see what's on it later maybe.



Well, wouldn't you know Boggan's Oasis was closed, have new management and undergoing a refurb. No sign of life as we rode by. Dean suggested we go a mile or two on a side trip along the Grand Ronde River. A back road through the valley with a few of fishing camps, boating, and a small ranch or two.... this pic is almost back to WA129 (in the distance across the river)....



Always good to do this road in both directions if you have the chance.... back in OR, we stopped at Joseph Canyon for a couple of shots....





Back into Enterprise, looking for a restaurant that wasn't closed... well, judging where all the cars were concentrated on the main drag, the Red Rooster was obviously the 'go to' place in town, and has all day breakfast. They boast everything is made on site, they even grind their own flour from local grains. Busy and service was a bit slow, they needed a better process... I keep saying "If I was CEO, things would be different". I walked by the kitchen and the chef was an older woman, one helper, and orders were being prepared one at a time, not a lot of multi-tasking going on.

Dean ordered one of the specials, French toast stuffed with strawberry rhubarb (made on site), while I had bacon and eggs with their hash browns and homemade bread toast. I must say, everything was delicious. It was noonish before we got out of there....





From Enterprise, we headed west to Ukiah and Heppner, then I had two routes depending on how much time we had.... I chose the shorter one, and we headed towards the Columbia River... it got breezy on OR 206, and there were lots of windmills among the canola and wheat fields. As we angled up toward Biggs, I could see a sea of white rotors as far as the eye could see, literally hundreds and hundreds, with a very heavy concentration in the distance towards Arlington. On the way into Biggs, Dean was taking pics and I was a good half mile ahead of him. I informed him I wanted coffee, I'd meet him at the golden arches.

The streets and intersection with I-84 can be rather confusing in Biggs, and I figured Dean got lost somehow.... so I went on a wee backtrack a couple of miles and when I didn't find him, I went back into Biggs... I pull into a gas station where he can spot me if he goes by.... then our Cardos reconnected. Dean is right across the street at a different gas station, TPMS told him he had a leaky rear tire. He's located the leak and is parked beside an air pump... There was nothing in the tire but something had made a small puncture right in the middle of the tread on the smooth part. I also noticed his rear tire seemed to be wearing down way faster than mine. My explanation is he was way overloaded on this trip.

I plugged it, aired it up, walked right next door to Starbucks for my coffee at Starbucks. We headed across the steel grate bridge over the Columbia River. The toll was $1 each for bikes, I was going to pay for both, and the nice man said just give me a dollar for both of you. Up on the north side, we would take Highway 14 west until we reached The Dalles. This pic just looking across the river and I-84.



At one point I had stopped and saw these berries at the side of the road...... huckleberries?? They looked a little too big to me, I didn't sample them.



When we reached The Dalles, we went back across the river..... I had a salad for dinner from MOD Pizza, a chain, where you pick the size and build your own, no extra charge for any toppings. Interesting business plan.......




To be continued.......

[raYzerman]

I forgot to mention, Dean is now watching his TPMS like a hawk and was getting all nervous about hole #2 and the seemingly rapid disappearance of tread...... I sent a little note off to ~G since we were dropping by in the next coupla days anyway.... I figured he's likely to have a takeoff we could slap on, but no, he had a brang new T32GT on the shelf... you already know the answer I posted in the tire thread.....

Next morning we have options, we're headed for Mt. St. Helen's and Randle, but we have an option to duck down to Mt. Hood, optional for me, and that morning, Dean decides he definitely wants to see Mt. Hood.

It was 14C and we took US 30, because a certain fontanaman implied I shoulda taken it 6 years ago... here's a shot from The Dalles...... rail transport is big on both sides of the Columbia, and down there somewhere is I-84, and around the point is Rowena. US 30 runs from coast to coast.



Here's why Jim wanted me to go to Rowena.....









We next stopped at the official viewpoint for a bio break, it's part of Mayer State Park. As we rode through, we saw new but old-fashioned wooden guard rails all painted white. Thought I was in Cape Cod for a minute or two. A few miles more is Hood River, and we turned south on 35... Mt. Hood in the distance 45 minutes away.....



We were headed down in elevation to a cool 5C at one point, warmed up a bit until we actually drove up to Mt. Hood, and it was 5C in the parking lot. Last time I was there, there was not much snow except near the peak.... lotsa hikers and snowboarders, surprised me it was so busy on a Monday.





We didn't stay too long as we still had a mission, so off we went back to Hood River and across the bridge. West to Carson then north, we were looking for NF25 to take us into Mt. St. Helen's. We caught a couple of hints of Mt. Ranier in the distance to the north...... the plan was to do that tomorrow.......





The whole plan would go awry..... we see a sign that says NF25 is closed... there was debris and branches all over the road from an obvious windy storm some days earlier, we pushed on as far as we could hoping..... road was barricaded further up, National Forest Service truck and some folks there...... guess that means we're not going to Mt. St. Helen's from the east side. Backtracked...... this was one tree leaning over the road....



We had to take Hwy 503 west, actually some lovely riding, but we could only go up I-5, and make our way to Randle. We coulda maybe shoulda ducked in to Mt. St. Helen's from the west side, but we were concerned about time. In retrospect, "shoulda" was the right answer.

Once in Randle, I checked on the next day plan.... Randle west and north to come into Mt. Ranier National Park via 706, going through Longmire (remember the TV series?), on to Paradise, and take Stevens Canyon Road to the east entrance...... this would be the best view of Ranier, and the road is all twisty and stuff, I always wanted to go in there.... well, don'tcha know spring is late and the road not open. Crappola.

Edumacational info. Elevation of Mt. Hood 11,240', Mt. Ranier 14,410', Mt. St. Helens before 1980 9,677' and 8,360' after the big bang.

To be continued.....

[raYzerman]

This was Plan A...... scrubbed.




Mt. Ranier Plan B - go east from Randle and join up with WA 123 on the second half of yesterday's route.... it was 14C (57F) and I headed off to find the breakfast place we'd scouted the night before. I'm wondering why Dean isn't catching up to me, I did a U-turn and find him still at the motel..... rear tire was down to 22 psi even though it was fine the night before. Out with the tire fixing stuff again, the plug in the middle of the smooth tread is leaking, so I re-do it and we get on the way. The breakfast places weren't open on Tuesday, but a coffee shack was open... Dean had a stash of snack bars....

Stopped in at the Palisades Lookout area on Hwy 12.....



Back to WA 123, we turned in to the Stevens Canyon entrance to Ranier, they were open but had a sign posted "Road Closed in 600 feet"... we didn't even stop to ask. Carried on and surprised to see so much snow.



Obligatory run up the Chinook Pass...... this at the northeast end, a gentleman enjoying the sun and the view in the 6C (42F) temps.....



U-turn and back we go......



Tipsoo Lake still frozen over......







Dean stayed there and had me go ahead and he took this shot of me, zoomed in....



Back down to the junction of 123 and we'll head north on 410 to a spot we can find Ranier......one of the only good views if you don't go into the park. In 2018, the park opened for free access and I rode in along that river, there's trails and campground back there, can get another shot.



We were headed to see ~G for that new tire, and I has a planned stop in Enumclaw. I told Dean we should have pie for lunch, and I knew just where to go. Everything made on site...... a little pricey, but good. One of the very best blueberry pies I've tasted....





We arrived at ~G's, got the tire changed in short order. He's the greatest... that Angel GT only had 2500 miles on it, but was looking a little thin, definitely would not make the rest of the trip. Dean is very much happier the T32GT is on there now. I had earlier arranged to take ~G out for dinner, so we agreed to meet at Ixtapa, and toasted the day with a couple of margaritas. Dean and I had walked from the hotel, and he notices an independent unique-looking donut shop... he stopped in on the way back, later informed me he bought a couple of something we could have for coffee break tomorrow, and would keep me in suspenders until then....

[wheatonFJR]

That blueberry pie looks TASTY!

[escapefjrtist]

Glad I had a tire in stock and could help a traveler in need. Whole trip looks tasty...looking forward to the next installment, Ray!

~G

[ice station zebra]

Sunday June 19 - We were going to have another long day from Enterprise, mainly because I decided to add in a scoot straight north for an hour or so and back again.

When we reached The Dalles, we went back across the river..... I had a salad for dinner from MOD Pizza, a chain, where you pick the size and build your own, no extra charge for any toppings. Interesting business plan.......




To be continued.......

Fantastic trip! My bucket list now overflowith even though I've been through much of this area....there's so much worth seeing over and over again! I think those berries you saw might be Holly Berries?

[ice station zebra]

Sunday June 19 - We were going to have another long day from Enterprise, mainly because I decided to add in a scoot straight north for an hour or so and back again.

When we reached The Dalles, we went back across the river..... I had a salad for dinner from MOD Pizza, a chain, where you pick the size and build your own, no extra charge for any toppings. Interesting business plan......


To be continued.......

Fantastic trip! My bucket list now overflowith even though I've been through much of this area....there's so much worth seeing over and over again! I think those berries you saw might be Holly Berries?

[raYzerman]

Wednesday morning it was 14C in Monroe, the destination for the day is Kelowna, British Columbia taking the scenic route...... as we went up Hwy 9 it got damp and there was commuter traffic... we're headed for Sedro-Woolley, but I spied an interesting road as we approached Arlington... took 530 heading eastward which would dump us onto the Cascades Highway at Rockport. The skies looked drier to the east.....

There's not a lot need to be said about riding the Cascades Highway, it's just a great ride. Best experience it for yourself...
Diablo Lake (hydro dam) and a terrain map at the lookout.. a cool 8C (46F).





Washington Pass in both directions..... elevation changes were fun





Made it to Winthrop, getting warm at 26C (79F) and I'm looking for coffee... nothing looked interesting on the main drag downtown..... too touristy.



Found a coffee shack on the way through town, it was called Pony Expresso. We park the bikes, I walk up to the window to order a coffee, meanwhile Dean is digging into his top box, sits at the picnic table out front.... Dean doesn't drink coffee or alcohol. As I'm waiting for the barista to brew my brew, I notice a sign that says milkshakes, and they happen to have huckleberry.... I suggested Dean better come to the window right to read the sign (even if he wasn't going to get anything.....). Well, Dean took the bait and inquired about the huckleberry milkshake. He orders one, and once he sees she's making it with real huckleberry ice cream, he asks if she could add chocolate (he loves chocolate, but spoil a huckleberry milkshake with it, jeez). Dean also charmed her into posing for a pic.



I'm sipping away on my coffee at the picnic table and Dean pulls out an apple fritter he picked up back in Monroe the night before.... well, it was quite good, but there's better. Dean and I have been on the "Best Apple Fritter" quest for over a year........



We wind out way over to Okanagan, snack lunch, then up 97 to the border... getting warmer now and there's a lineup of a half dozen cars. Taking their sweet time with each one for some reason... no shade trees... change of the guard just as our turn is coming.... she liked us and we breezed on through. Once across into Osoyoos, I suggested we take the snaky road up the mountain for a pic or two, then we'd head back.....



We simply headed up Hwy 97 through the Okanagan Valley and along Okanagan Lake. I had not been up this road since 1984, back when my brother lived in Peachland.... The valley is famous for its many orchards, fruit farms and vineyards, and normally lots of roadside stands to buy produce. Very warm at 30C (85C) but not very humid this day. Once we got to the hotel in Kelowna, we headed right back out for dinner at a restaurant called White Spot. This is a small chain in BC Dean had frequented in the past. It was very good. I didn't take any pics... one of our longer ride days.

[CollingsBob]

Finally!..an apple fritter makes an appearance!

[raYzerman]

Thursday plan.... from Kelowna down 33 to the Crowsnest Pass (Hwy 3) and on into Nakusp. This is looking back at Kelowna as we climbed in elevation.



At the junction of 3 is the town of Rock Creek, and I hung a hard right to go up to a lookout area above....



Just a random shot along the Crowsnest where we'd read about wildfires in the past.... pretty sparse up top....



Stopped in Castelgar for a coffee, then headed up Hwy 6. A few pics of Slocan Lake.....









Arrived in Nakusp, did a ride-by to see who was at CFR central, then on to the Selkirk Inn..... I was rather suprised to see this bike, normally this gent's bike is squeaky clean. It stayed in this condition for the entirety of CFR, even more surprising.... until I figured it out... he's taking BC dirt back home for his garden in 'metro Seattle'. Must be growing something special........

[wheatonFJR]

Lovin the RR!

[raYzerman]

Friday plan - North from Nakusp to Revelstoke then west to the Dreamcycle Motorcycle Museum.

Leaving Nakusp, riding along Arrow Lake.



We arrive at the Galena Bay ferry to cross Arrow Lake......



A few shots of some bikes, I thought Wayne would like the RD350







Sent this photo to the recovering Mr. Collings.....



This one for Mr. Carver, and it was interesting to see the six cylinder disassembled.........





Of course, I had a coffee from the cafe......



The plan from here was to go south to Vernon and take Hwy 6 east.... to me this is a must do ride if you're in this area. At the end is the Needles Ferry, which gets you over Arrow Lake and on up into Nakusp..... got back a little late, but seems a bunch of CFR folks were at the Leland Hotel... so that's where dinner was.

Others posted stuff in the CFR 2022 thread.......