Escape

School was ramping up and the retires were doing what they always do... making plans when us working souls had to work and then chide us to get time off at the worst possible time.

Plus is was going to be a wet weekend, extremely wet and brutally wet weekend. So seeing as I couldn't take Friday off, seeing as it was my birthday weekend, I told Mrs. RedTigre we were heading South to the good stuff and Saturday morning off we went.

Heading out of Wenatchee saw the skies opening up to patchy clouds and cool temperatures as we did the familiar Hwy 28 out toward Quincy, White Trail Road to Rd. 6, Adams Road, and Frenchman hills to breakfast at Mardon Resort and Hwy 17. Cutting the path through Warden on the Lind-Warden Hwy to Lind and a shot across the 395 south onto Hwy 21 (Lind-Kahlotus) to Wastuchna/Palouse Falls and a break at Lyons Ferry and 75° warmth

Mistress hit 101,000 miles here... damn fine bike.

Look at that blue sky!

We went on through Starbuck, Pomeroy and Clarkston before taking the Asotin/Enterprise Highway (Hwy 129) for curve after curve after curve after curve... and entered Enterprise to find "Mule Days" had locked up every motel in the area. So, getting dark and running out of options we got lucky and found a place at the South end of Lake Wallowa at the Eagle Cap Chalet.

It was dark when we pulled in but the morning found us again with blue skies and 70° starting off.

 

Return trip were some roads new to us, out on the 82 to the 204 north at Elgin, up to Milton-Freewater and then a side road that brought us though Umapine and onto Hwy 12 at Touchet.

Umapine School

We followed the 12 to Road 68 at Pasco, up Taylor Flats to Sagebrush Hill, Othelly, the back roads to O'Sullivan lake and a return trip across the basin to home.

Perfect weather once out of Wenatchee, warm sun, no wind, Mrs. RedTigre and a fine weekend.

Ammo Can Panniers

Being CBOA takes work... you can't be cheap without enough effort to prove how cheap you really are. Maintenance is one thing, never skimp, always on schedule with the right parts, never substitute.

Accessories are another...

Often overpriced and a crap-shot if they fit as described, I'm a make your own kind of guy utilizing "My Garage Technologies" business approach.

The soft pannier Medium ALICE packs (rucksacks) worked well enough, but collected dust on the gravel roads and trails like maintenance dollars in a BMW service shop. So what could be attached, sturdy enough and dust free to handle the bouncing around on my Happy Trail frame, and not cause tears if/when the bike does a ditch-dive being cheap to replace?

At first I thought Mermite cans, but they were so big and heavy, plus the locking lid was going to be a pain, so I settled on ammo cans. All shapes and sizes, but I wanted something that would not block the side of my rear turn signal, yet have enough capacity to make it worth mounting.

I used some mortar ammo cans as they gave me the width and depth, plus hung low enough to not be a center of gravity issue over areas unfriendly to high center mass trekking. Three 1/2" U-bolts and rubber strip waterproofing per case and the first dirt road has proven them functional and with minimal vibration.

$65 into it and I think it'll do... I'll let you know.

Vacation -Destination Glacier

We decided to break our vacation into two rides instead of one big one for logistical reasons.  We wanted to do Glacier National Park in reverse and hit the Washington/Oregon Coast so we decided to do the Glacier run first.

Day one was a lot of roads we have taken in the past,  and a few new ones for us as a couple. Hwy 2 from Wenatchee to Wilber was the usual "they need this to be a 90 MPH Speed Limit" run and we had breakfast in Wilber where we discovered they were replacing the Keller Ferry with a new ferry (It had  been in service since 1948 and they can't get parts for it anymore) and it won't be in commission until after mid-August, so we elected to go on a route I had ridden with the guys once before. Coming off the 2 onto the Miles-Creston Road to Hwy 25, then North to the Cedonia-Addy-Gifford Rds landing on Hwy 395 N to Colville, East on Hwy 20 to the 31 North and on up to the Nelway Border Crossing. It was warm riding until we followed Canada Hwy 6 to the 3 (Crowsnest Highway) East and enjoyed crossing the mountains in the cooler air coming into Creston for the night.

24 July 2013 -Day 1

Day 2 was much more pleasant as we stayed high in the mountains for the most part. Once we were out of Cranbrook traffic settled a bit and we worked out way East.  

The Crowsnest was beautiful as always and passing Frankslide once again keeps one humble to the power of Mother Earth (boulder landslide that wiped out a mining town). 

Following the 3 East we cut South on the 6 at Pincher Creek and then continued past Waterford Park down to the US Border. From the point where Hwy 5 and Hwy 6 meet down to the border is one of the most visually pleasant meanders one can experience. From the fields to Aspen, pines to mountains, this road rolls up and around and is best enjoyed at medium speeds. When you hit Hwy 89, South takes you to tourist central and St. Mary. 

St. Mary is the East entrance of the Going to the Sun Road and $129+ lodging. So we decided to head back 30 miles or so into Canada and $69 lodging at Cardston, Alberta a really small town with a decent Greek restaurant and a humongous LDS temple.

25 July 2013 -Day 2

Day 3 brought us to the border back into the US and a backup 25 vehicles deep. Once through the border and into the park the beauty came to life. Joan and I both agreed that the trip from the West to the East has more visual opportunities to enjoy the splendor that is Glacier, but it is such a nice place either way.

 

 

Ended up in Libby, Montana for the night.

26 July 2013 -Day 3

Our final day:

Leaving Libby we headed west going over our favorite areas of travel and the ferries that take us there.

Explain the ferry propulsion system again?

100,000 miles!

100,000 smiles!

RedTigre and the Agent Provocateur

Live music in Pateros!

"Mistress"

Life is good...

27 July 2013 -Day 4

Oregon Ghost Town Tour RedTigre 1, Ghost towns 1

T-14... drive chain oiled, change oil, tires inflated to the proper pressure, bags packed, I think we are about ready to roll.

Day 1:
Deciding which way to go is always the hardest part. I knew that the heat was going to be brutal through Central Washington so I decided to try to route that my friend John introduced me to. Highway 28 toward Quincy, White Trail road to Adams road on to Frenchman Hills road, and just after the Potholes resort you go south on Road H until you hit McManamon road and then on to Othello. From there straight south on the 24 to Sagehill flats road road 170 to Taylor cutting down into Pasco. I decided to do a short freeway burst and then follow the 12 around Columbia on the 270 thinking it would be cooler and it was a smart move all though once entering Hermiston the heat really began to build. I decided to take the 207/206 all the way through Lexington and then drop down to Heppner.

I decided to get a little lost and follow an old telephone pole road back around between Hepner and Condon to come across an abandon homestead true to nature.











It seems things in Oregon are just like Douglas County where you can follow your instincts, a few trees, and a run along an old telephone or powerline road which will take you to a place long forgotten.  This had to have been a incredible house for it's time. From Condon to Fossil went pretty quickly and I ran out of cell service just as fast.

I am here now in the Shelton campground (Wheeler County) and I am the only one here. It is so serene, but a tad weird that no one is camping in such a big place. I blew a fuse on the Beemer with my powered air pump so will have to go into one of the towns and see if I can find a NAPA parts store tomorrow, I carry plenty with me on the LT, but am lacking a few with items in the GS kit, which is opposite considering the back-country areas I end up in. I also noticed my left fork seal was leaking again, oh well. I ended up blowing up the mattress myself to wind up dizzy and ready for bed!

Day 2:
I woke up to light showers at 5:00 but by 6 am they had passed and the tent was dry so I'm getting up to pack it all away while the packing is good. I rode into spray for breakfast and to figure out my plans for getting a tire. After talking with another rider over breakfast, I determined that my best course of action was to head in to Bend and see if there wasn't a motor sports dealership there that could help me out.

I had forgotten how beautiful the 207 was as I went down to the 26 heading west the painted

mountains for quite a brilliant color in the late morning sun.











As I neared Bend, I Googled and found Pro Caliber motorsports and pulled in to see if they could help me. I really wanted some Bridgestones or Metzler but I would be willing to settle for Shinko if they have them in stock in the size I needed. They actually had a set of Metzler's and exactly the size I needed so I had them mount them up and two and a half hours later I was out the door. I got the fuses I needed and Prineville, changed them out and tested my circuit, got my subway, and headed east back on the 26, then north on the 19, all by mid-afternoon.

Amazing desert scenery as the canyons do their best to bake you. Layers and layers of sediment made this an incredible fossil bed. As you start up the 207 off the 19 you enter the Umatilla National Forest, what a contrast from the fossil beds. Another road I had forgotten how beautiful it was. Winding up and through the corners at a relaxed pace left me enjoying every mile. In fact, I haven't gone over 60 mph any time this whole trip... and I've enjoyed seeing more than rushing through it.

Winding into Heppner I decided people would be nice, so the Willow Creek RV campground called or a $6 spot (tent) on #19 (flat) overlooking the dam. A hot shower and night two comes to a close. There be ghost towns tomorrow!










Day 3:
Bright sun greeted the morning as I broke camp and thought about gas and breakfast. Gas was open but nope, nothing open until 10:00 on Sundays so I topped off and decided to head to Lone Rock.  I decided to take the shorter of the two routes as my fork seal leak was a concern and went west on the 206 (Wasco-Heppner/Condon Highway) to about 8 miles past the 207 turnoff to Redding Road, down a couple miles, then over to Hale Ridge and Buttermilk Canyon.

 When you think you are really lost, go a little further.  This road was rough enough, but mix in with that softball sized rockslides littering the canyon floor and washout areas repaired just enough then you are on the right track.

At 12 miles I thought I had taken a wrong turn but the GPS egged me on until I had broken out of the canyons and climbing out onto some high plains that dropped me into large rolling valleys and into Lone Rock. Here to the right is the icon that the town was named after.

There are maybe a dozen occupied structures, the large old school has been turned into a residence, and the church is smack next to the namesake of the town... a large lone rock. Deciding I wanted breakfast and a smoother road, I followed the main road out climbing along a large rising mountain road that takes out and eventually turns into pavement to Condon.






On the way to Condon I saw a Hawk swoop down along the side of the road and about 75 feet in front of me and grab a snake out of the grass, fly about 25 feet further while climbing to  about 50 feet off the ground and drop the snake smack in the middle of the road. As I passed it, it was not looking too well and saw the Hawk come in from behind me and help it into the food chain. There were lots of snakes  ran over all the way to Condon and I saw another Hawk fly across me with one in it's talons. Front row seat to "Wild Kingdom"!



As I was having breakfast I was looking over my maps and thinking about Winlock and winding around to the SouthEast. A couple guy who work the wind farms came in and joined some ranchers who were already eating. I asked them if the road to Winlock was paved and one rancher replied "sure, about the first 50 feet and then it get's rough".

I mentioned it was listed as a mining ghost town and I was interested on seeing it. He looked over my shoulder and said "your dual-sport will make it no problem" where another chimed in "not with that leaking fork seal, you won't for long... it's puddling out there in the street".

Crum...

Went out after paying my bill and sure enough, it looked bad. Measuring my options, I decided to head home, living from one rest stop hydro-break to another and get Mystique back into off-road condition. Repair and ride another day made sense so I left Condon to Wasco, Biggs, and Goldendale deviating to Bickleton, Moabton, Vernita Bridge and up toward Quincy and home.







Several lessons learned on this trip... as much as I like AT&T for their data, Verizon rules the rural areas and I am getting a Go-phone so I have better emergency coverage,  and I am always taking a paper map as GPS is great but only a paper map can give you the big picture on demand.

Time to get Mystique back in shape, stock up, and head out for another adventure.