Bonaparte Run

I took a couple days off to ride with friends and do some ghost town scouting at the same time since the rides went by several areas I wanted to see in Okanogan County.  We started off the morning meeting at the Wenatchee launch point of many rides… MacDonalds, and then headed up Hwy 97a to Chelan, Apple Acres Road, 97 to Brewster, Old 97 to connect to Hwy 20 and then into Okanogan for breakfast where Terry about gave himself, John, and the waitress a coffee cream shower as he knocked the cream pot out of her hands and all over the table while telling one of his wonderfully animated stories (you didn't mention that in your writeup, Terry!).

Don has a new ST1300 he is still getting used to, Jack a BIG Honda cruiser, Terry an FJR, John has a new V-Strom 650 that is fitting him well, and I elected to bring Mystique (my F650GS) along to test her 2 day touring prowess and play around with her dual-sport electability.

From breakfast we headed North up the 97/20 to State Route 7, around Tonasket, and up to areas I hadn't been through in years on the Loomis-Oroville Highway. Whitestone, Spectacle, and Palmer Lakes were very pleasant to cruise around and the sun was shining well enough to keep it warm while skirting them. Not much left of Nighthawk as we passed through, these old mining towns were over quickly as soon as production hinted at less than was was meant to be profitable.  Around to Oroville where at times you are less than a kilometer from intersecting the Canadian Border where we picked up a new friend from Whidbey Island who was around with his significant other visiting her relatives and teamed up with us as we gassed up in Oroville and headed for Old Molsen off the Chesaw Road.

Old Molsen (Co Hwy 4777) was a kick, I'll post a couple through the blog but the majority are all posted HERE. Such interesting history as the town boundary went into dispute and the townspeople got so frustrated with it they moved the town a half-mile North just to end it.

Pflug Manion

Following the Chesaw Rd East I ran across the Hee-Hee Rock and touched it's "memory" for good luck leaving a trinket as required (it was blown up by drunk miners), and met up with the guys at Cheesaw where they were taking a break. 


From Chesaw we took the Chesaw/Oroville-Torado Creek Rd SE passing the small lakes that sit between the Bonaparte Lake Road and the areas the family used to camp when the kids were, well kids!  We hit the Torado Creek Road South and stopped to see what was left of Bodi, another long-gone mining town. Continuing South to Hwy 20, we came through (New) Waconda, then on the 20 West to Bonapart Lake saw the Pflug Mansion, an old homestead by a German immigrant who tried to build his wife and family a home in the style of German elegance but ran out of time and money.

John and V-Strom

Terry explaining to Don that even if Don's bike was at 

the bottom of the lake that everything in his new 

top-case should be dry. *(not really, but that's the first
thought I had when I saw this photo).

Heading up the Bonaparte Lake Road we hit our evening's destination, the Bonaparte Lake Resort. 1 cabin, 4 beds, 5 guys, I paid my $10 to sleep out under the stars that night. Terry pulled out a mattress off one of the bunks and slept on the porch to a) keep me company or b) let the others sleep without occasional harmonious snoring.  We had a nice dinner that night at the resort restaurant, a nice campfire, good stories, and a night under the stars… it was grand. Got up the next morning to 45 degrees wasn't too bad, glad I brought my winter gloves though!  














Back out to Hwy 20 and east toward Republic over Waconda Pass was 36 degrees but I had the right gear so I was fine. I stopped at the site of Old Waconda (another mining town done and relocated to the other side of the pass) before heading on into Republic. The guys were ahead of me many times as I stopped to snap photos and catch up at the next rally point.

Breakfast in Republic and it was East over Sherman Pass toward Kettle Falls and then dropping down  Hwy 3, the Inchelium Hwy.

This is where the dual-purpose function of the GS kicked in.  Rough roads are nothing to this bike and it makes quick work out of ridges, potholes, construction, and most any other roughness that gets thrown in the way. Lake Roosevelt was incredibly low and I can only guess they were prepping for the snowmelt to refill it back.  Into Inchelium and then West on Bridge Creek Road (Co Hwy 2) was a great run with new paving completed over 80% of the way and lots of twists and interesting hairpins to keep one's attention on the beauty and slowed down enough to enjoy it.

Hit Hwy 21 South for a few miles and then to Cache Creek Road where we again had fun in the corners but I felt I was holding Terry back so I waved him around.  I wasn't pushing the corners too hard as I was worried about deer, but we dropped down out of the mountain and into Nespelem where I had to stop for gas and then caught up with the others at Coulee Dam.  Coming out of Coulee Dam was a blast furnace of constant winds and 88 degrees… not fun.  We stopped in Ephrata for cool snacks and then it was every man for himself for home.  This is where things got a little wonky for me.

My battery on the GS blew a cell between Ephrata and home dumping acid all over the tray and valve cover area... did you know BMW uses high strength composite (plastic) for the battery tray and valve cover?  Neither did I until it started melting from the acid and dripping down the side of the engine... what a mess. I have new parts on order and will replace out several parts but sheesh! I have a good bit dissolved from the valve cover but may wait until the valve adjustment to swap it out if it stays structurally intact, but the tray is one-quarter dissolved and must be replaced. Looking at the parts schematic, the battery tray is ALSO part of the air filter assembly, go figure.  I spent the better part of the hour after I got home with baking soda and a toothbrush neutralizing and preventing more damage.

I also ordered a sealed gel-cell Odessey battery so I never go through this again.  Sad thing is I thought about swapping it out 2 months ago but decided to wait until the battery started failing, never thought it would go like this.

So, I'm messing with the GS and I see a tiny puddle under the right front fork of the LT and it looks like a seal is leaking on the same side fork... gotta replace in pairs so I ordered parts for that too. It's still ridable as all the fork does is lubricate the tube and the seal keeps it that way (the shock is part of the bridge set... ingenious really).  So I order those parts at the same time and I'll do the work on Mistress too.

All in all a great run, good friends, and a notch in the adventure belt as I look forward to more Ghost Town adventures and touring with the bike that fits the path best.