Thursday, August 28, 2014

19 Days, 8500 Miles or So: Ride Overview - Part 3

Finally back to start part 3 of the recap of our 2014 Northwest Ride. Before starting Day 6, let me address why the title of these posts says 8500 miles "or so".  The odometer reading on my 2013 HD Road Glide Ultra was 8650.3.  My Garmin Zumo 665, however, indicated my total mileage was 8475.3. There was at least one occasion when I rode to dinner without the GPS, so I'll add a few miles to the Garmin tally.

Speedometers usually have some percentage of error - so I think the Garmin number is closest to accurate. So that's why I figure the ride was 8500 miles... or so...


DAY 6
Beginning location: Grants Pass, OR
Day 6 destination: Baker City, OR
States visited: Oregon, (12) Washington
Daily mileage: 561
Cumulative mileage: 4,083

Our destination for Day 6 was Baker City, Oregon – one of several places we had an advance reservation. Finding a decent play to stay in the more remote parts of northwest had proven to be a challenge. Not wanting to get caught without a place to stay while the ladies were with us, we made a reservation, and this meant we had to reach our goal. Behind schedule, we knew the ladies faced the longest distance they had ever ridden – more than 550 miles.

We headed north on I-5 to make up some more time. This proved to be a pleasant ride. In the original draft of the trip, I had us routed well into Washington to visit Mount Rainier. On a trip of this length, choices have to be made. In the interest of time and miles, we decided to just barely make our way into Washington and then cross the state line back into Oregon to ride along the Historic Columbia River Highway. Annette likes waterfalls, so after visiting The Vista House, we enjoyed an easy visit to Latourell Falls. The next waterfall, Bridal Veil Falls, was more of a challenge.  By the time we reached the Columbia River, the beautiful day we were enjoying was sunny and hot, as the temperature reached 104 degrees. The hike to Bridal Veil Falls seemed long and steep due to the heat. The sight was worth the hike, but we were hot and tired – and we knew time was slipping away.

After seeing Multnomah and Horsetail Falls, we stopped for a pleasant lunch at the Char Burger Family Diner, which sits at the base of The Bridge of the Gods. The food, scenery - and the break to cool off and rest were very nice.

After lunch, we continued east, enjoying more of the Columbia River and The Dalles before turning south on I-84 to get to Baker City. The girls managed there 561-mile day without a whimper but were definitely glad to call it a day as we checked in at our hotel knowing we were back on schedule and set up for our ride to Hell’s Canyon and The Devil’s Tail.



















DAY 7
Beginning location: Baker City, OR
Day 7 destination: Pocatello, ID
States visited: Oregon, (13) Idaho
Daily mileage: 490
Cumulative mileage: 4,573

Already we enjoyed great sights and experiences – but we are finally approaching the real highlights of the trip. In the days ahead, we will visit Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone. I am equally excited about the Day 7 run through Hell’s Canyon and The Devil’s Tail.

Our goal destination is Pocatello, Idaho – for no particular reason except landing there gives us an easy ride to Jackson Hole, and because we know we can find lodging there. What was originally planned to be our longest day while the ladies are with us – 490 miles – seems like no big deal after our Day-6 run of 561 miles.

I expected the highlight of the day to be the ride on The Devil’s Tail, and I was not disappointed.  The ride to get there, on the Hell’s Canyon Scenic Byway, was very nice, too – long sweepers at speeds that made this part of the ride even more fun, and scenery that was not to be missed.

We knew there was a long loop that we could have ridden to get to The Devil’s Tail, but road construction was going to require us to take a 30-mile detour on unpaved roads. My Road Glide and I try to avoid anything unpaved, so we decided on an in-and-out ride on the Hell’s Canyon Dam Road. This 22 miles in and 22 miles out provided some real riding excitement, and was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me.  Here is a description I read about this part of our adventure: Riders from all over the world come to Hells Canyon to ride this famous motorcycle road. Located in Hells Canyon, this is the deepest motorcycle road in North America. 2000' deeper than the Grand Canyon. The road gets it's name from the fact that it forms the base of the Seven Devils Mountains and the eastern wall of Hells Canyon. The scenery is out of this world. Makes Deal's Gap look like child's play. Bring your camera and enjoy a special ride only a experienced by a few.

Another description reads, This is CANYON CARVIN’ at its best, after all Hells Canyon is the deepest canyon in North America. Everyone should do this ride at least once, if not once a year! The last 22 miles or so is the ‘Devil’s Tail’ and is officially know as Hells Canyon Dam Road. It dead-ends at the visitor center, below the Seven Devil’s Mountains, just past the dam so you’ll have to ride it twice! The Devil’s Tail traces every curve of the Snake River so I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

If you want to see video of our ride to Hell's Canyon, check it out here - but be warned: it's long! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLgHUnUWFfU

Disappointed we were not! Leaving the excitement The Devil’s Tail, we crossed the state line into Idaho and continued along the scenic Snake River. One word of advice for anyone headed this way: Plan your fuel stops. Opportunities to get gas are few and far between. Those of us riding American-made motorcycles nearly ran out more than once on this trip, but this gas crisis was the worst of all for me. I reduced our speed and was shifting into neutral when descending hills to save fuel, unsure of when we might find a gas station.

When we finally found gas, we were able to grab some lunch before jumping back onto I-84 to get to Pocatello as fast as we could.  What a day!



























DAY 8
Beginning location: Pocatello, ID
Day 8 destination: Flagg Ranch Village, between Grand Tetons and Yellowstone
States visited: Idaho, (14) Wyoming
Daily mileage: 301
Cumulative mileage: 4,874

As I reflect on the ride and read through the pre-trip itinerary, it seems funny to consider Day 8 to be a leisurely day. But that’s how we viewed this July 3rd day. We slept in a bit, leaving our hotel just minutes before 8 AM. Our plan was to ride to Jackson Hole for a meal and a stroll through the town square. Parking was hard to find around the square, so we parked at the Jackson Hole Harley Davidson dealership. Of course, I felt obligated to buy a t-shirt since we were using their parking. This was the first of a number of shirts purchased during this grand adventure.

From Jackson Hole, we would ride through the Grand Tetons. Best case would have us beginning our visit to Yellowstone late in the day – and this is exactly what we were able to do. We rode into the Grand Tetons under overcast skies, and we experienced our first drops of rain since early in the trip. We all put on raingear, but while riding on wet roads, actually rode through very little rain. Our route took us on the Inner Park Road and around Jenny Lake Loop Road. We traveled up most of Signal Mountain Road, but started back down when the rain came again, this time accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Finishing up our ride through the magnificent Grand Tetons, we decided to ride past our lodging place for the night and continue north into Yellowstone. We really wanted to see Old Faithful do its thing, and wanted to be sure we were not rushed the following day. We were also really concerned about visiting Yellowstone on July 4th – but given our schedules, I just couldn’t avoid the holiday.

The decision to see Old Faithful first was a great one. We had a relaxing ride into Yellowstone and we were rewarded with an eruption of Old Faithful and another nearby geyser. Following our time here, we headed south and out of Yellowstone to our cabins at Flagg Ranch Village. This place was one of the more expensive places we stayed on the trip, but the cabins were very nice. The restaurant offered one of the best meals I had on the entire trip. One interesting note: you are completely disconnected in this part of the country. No television. No cell service. And no wi-fi. (Gasp!!) What is one to do with no connection to the outside world? Engage in real conversation, perhaps. Laugh a lot. And quietly reflect on the grandeur of the surrounding. Yes, we should be disconnected much more often.






































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