Oregon is a desert?

Oregon Desert

On July 5th we left Salem, Oregon and headed east over the Cascades.  The ride was great, with wonderful views over the mountains, sparkling lakes and rivers, and plenty of pine trees.  We stayed overnight in Bend, Oregon on the eastern side of the Cascades.

On July 6th  as we continued to head east things changed rapidly.  It started to get dry.  Really dry.  And hot.  Really hot.  The pine forests thinned out until all that was left was sagebrush.  Central and eastern Oregon is a desert.

About half way across Oregon we came across John Day National Monument, a place known for its huge deposits of fossils of early mammals (about 20 million years ago).  The museum was a welcome rest stop and had excellent fossil displays.

fossil imprints of leaves

Mammal Fossils

A farm in the desert thanks to irrigation

  The temperatures varied between 100 and 102 degrees F for the last 120 miles.  We arrived at our hotel very hot, sweaty, and tired.  We had traveled 330 miles from Bend to Ontario, Oregon. Ontario is home to 'Ore-Ida' Potatoes, right on the border between Oregon and Idaho!

...and on to Oregon

July 7th  I haven't had internet access (or at least good access) since my last post, so it's time to catch up.

On July 2nd we rested up and only logged a few miles on the Wing, going to lunch and a movie.  We were really beat from the previous two days of marathon touring.

On July 3rd we needed to head south to Salem, Oregon for a visit with Kerry's Aunt Connie.  Instead of going directly south on I-5 (a mere 3-4 hours), we decided to take the scenic route around Mt. St. Helens.
The road that curls around the eastern and southern slopes of Mt. St. Helens is Route 131, a winding a twisting road through the pine forests that should have been a lot of fun.  Sadly, the road was in terrible shape.  No potholes, but lots of patching, frost heaves, big dips and areas on the outsides of curves that had just plain collapsed (plus no guard rails).  For about 60 miles Kerry did his best to maneuver around the worst of it, while I kept my body weight balanced on my legs with my rear end about an inch off the seat in order take the bounces and shocks with my legs instead of my spine.  My legs got a real workout!  Finally we got to an overlook and had a chance to stop and rest, while taking some photos of Mt. St. Helens.

Mt St Helens

For all the youngsters reading this blog, Mt. St. Helens is a volcano that erupted with a huge pyroclastic explosion in 1980.  Trees were flattened for miles around, and there was a huge mud slide that took out towns in seconds.  The trees have since grown back for the most part.

Kim at Mt St Helens

After our crazy ride around Mt. St. Helens, we headed south to the Columbia River, and stopped to take a look at the Columbia River Gorge, then finished up the day in Salem, Oregon.  We spent the 4th of July visiting with Aunt Connie and some of Kerry's cousins.

Wing on the Columbia River

And then we 'off-road' on the Wing...

Tuesday, July 1st:  We are still using the Tacoma Holiday Inn as our home base, as we got a great deal VIA Priceline Express Deals.  It is a warm day for this area, with highs close to 90; very unusual.  We decide to head toward the coast and the Olympia Peninsula where it should be much cooler.  After a very long hot ride, we arrive in Quinault on the Olympia Peninsula, which is famous for its temperate rain forests and large trees.  We take a walk through one of these areas.  It is still warm and humid.

Tall Spruce Tree

Rain Forest

The forest floor is covered with ferns and mosses.  The temperate rain forest is a very rare ecosystem, only found in few small areas world-wide.

Mosses and ferns get very big.  

World's Largest Spruce Tree

me sitting at the base of the tree

We also stop to see the World's Largest Spruce Tree;  1000 years old, 191 feet tall, 58 ft. circumference.
(Ok students, what's the diameter?)

It appears on the map that the road we are on circumnavigates a large lake, with a bridge on the upper end over the feeder creek.  I tell Kerry that I saw on my big paper map (back at the hotel) that it turns to dirt, but he looks at his map on his phone and says he

Quinault Road Map; grey lines are unpaved road

sure it's paved, and my map must have been out of date in 2013.  (I am sure it's dirt, but I won't argue with the stubborn Wing pilot; he's the one that's driving)  Sure enough after a few miles the road turns to gravel.  I stay silent on the back and put up with the rough bouncing and jostling.  Fortunately there are few other vehicles.  The road is level and turns to hard-packed dirt in places.  After about 5 miles we find the bridge and cross over to the north side.  Now the road narrows and gets windy and hilly, still gravel and dirt.  At times as Kerry powers the Wing up a hill we come very close to drop-offs down on my left side.  It was a bit scary.  After another 5 miles of this, the road finally flattens out and we ride through beautiful pine forests, the floor covered with large ferns.  The only words that cross my mind are 'forest primeval'.  I can see glimpses of the lake to me left.  The road eventually returns to pavement and both breath a sigh of relief, and no, I never said 'told you so!'  It is a long trip back, so we take a quick side trip to see the Pacific Ocean.  Kerry nearly gets stuck in the sand.

Pacific Beach with Horses and Cars

I notice large groups of horses and vehicles parked on the beach.  There are folks here that take people on horseback rides on the beach for 20 dollars an hour.  Kerry can't find a firm place to park so we head out.

We finally arrive back in Tacoma after a very tiring day.  We decide to take a day off from touring tomorrow and rest up.

Mount Rainier

On Monday, June 30th we rode southeast to tour the Mount Rainier area.  This had to be the most spectacular ride of our trip so far.  The weather was perfect; deep blue skies and temps in the middle 70's.

Mount Rainier is an active volcano.  At over 14,000 feet, it is easily visible from 60 miles away in Tacoma.  You can clearly make out the snow-filled caldera.  Mountain climbers often take cover in crevices and
caves that are warmed by the steam coming out of cracks in volcano.  In the event of an eruption, Tacoma, parts of Seattle, and all the towns in between would be wiped out. Mt St. Helens is located about 50 miles southwest of Rainier, which erupted in 1980.  Mt. Rainier last erupted in the mid-1800's.

At one of the pull-out places

Mt Rainier from the Southwest

We entered the national park from the southwest corner, winding through a forest of tall pines, the branches covered with moss. This area is considered a temperate rain forest because it gets 10-12 feet of rain per year.

As we wound up the mountainside into the park we started to see less moss and ferns and things were generally drier.   With the exception of some small areas of road work, it was a fun ride with lots of twists and turns through beautiful pine forests and the occasional pull out to see the view.

One of the many waterfalls

If you click on the picture at the right and enlarge it, you will see lots of people climbing around in the snow.  This is the highest point on the road around Mt Rainier, called the Paradise Visitor Center.  Kids had their sleds and were playing in the snow in shorts and sneakers.  This is also the place where most of the hikers attempt the summit.  About 8,000 people attempt the climb each year, with about 4,000 actually making it to the top.  There are mountaineering guides that will assist you for a fee.  We declined to take that option and just watched the hikers departing with their loaded backpacks.  I was surprised at the number of hikers that looked much older than us.  Some of them had to be close to 70 years old and looked like they did a lot of this type of hiking.  The glaciers that need to be crossed have lots of deep crevices and people often fall into these and need to be rescued.  Two weeks ago a very experienced hiker (at age 72!) died on the way to the summit.  She was hiking alone and word is she fell into a crevice. There is an ambulance sitting here 24/7 and I am sure the local helicopter rescue is very busy this time of year.
The weather is not usually this beautiful.  It was clear and warm, with temps around 70 degrees here.  Usually it is cloudy and much colder.  We got lucky and had a beautiful day to see this area.

Walk to Grove of the Patriarchs

On the way back down, we continued to the southeast corner, where there is another temperate rain forest and we took a short walk, about 0.5 mile, to the 'Grove of the Patriarchs', a place with lots of very large and very old conifers.  These trees were red cedar and spruce and are 500-1000 years old, surviving several eruptions of the volcano.

suspension bridge on the way to the grove

grove of patriarchs; me down in front

Grove of Patriarchs

We finished out a very long day by stopping at a restaurant in Bonny Lake outside of Tacoma called HopJacks.  They have their own craft beers and great menu.  They also put cocktails in these nifty cup-shaped ices.

A cocktail at HopJacks

Jet Planes, Ferries, and More Motorcycles

On Sunday, June 29th, we woke to a mostly cloudy day, with a 50% chance of rain.  This is apparently the norm for the Seattle/Tacoma area.  We stayed in Tacoma, so we got on the bike and headed north on the I-5 to the Boeing plant for their tour.  Boeing employs over 40,000 people at this plant, and with Microsoft is the areas largest employer.  The scale and size of the building is mind-boggling.  Once again, NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES!  Also no purses, bags, or back packs.  Security is a big deal here.  Their only competition is AirBus, so they make the big planes for almost every airline in the world right here.  We saw a 777 being put together for delivery to China.  The 'parking lot' of new planes ready for delivery held icons for airlines I've never seen before.  We could only take pics from the visitor center.

plane parking lot

Assembly building for 737, 777, and 787

The assembly building is 1/3 of a mile by 2/3 of a mile, and about 6 stories tall.  There are three separate assembly areas for each of the big planes.  They can work on 4-6 planes at a time in each area.  Each plane sells for 200-300 million dollars.  The scale and scope of this operation was incredible.  The tour takes you through underground tunnels, then up elevators to viewing decks that look down on the assembly floor.  Too bad the we couldn't take any pictures on the inside.

Waiting to board the ferry

     After the Boeing tour, we decided to try out the famous ferry system and see some of the islands west of the city.  We waited patiently in line at the toll booth, and when it was our turn, the women in the booth told us that motorcycles don't have to wait in line, and always get priority boarding!

Motorcycles in front. We are behind the red Harley

Crossing the Pugett Sound to Whidby Island

After crossing over to Whidby Island we road across to the next ferry, which took us to the Olympia peninsula.  From there we went south back to Tacoma.  The islands have lots of woods, small towns and small homes.  It is not very scenic, so I didn't take any pictures!  It took us about 90 minutes to get back to the hotel.  We were pretty beat, but it was an interesting day with lots of new sights.

Crossing the Cascades

Entering the Cascades Highway

Saturday, June 28th:
Today we took route 20 across the Cascades, which is a mountain range in the northwestern Washington known for its spectacular views.   The weather was cool but comfortable, in the 60's and 70's, and alternated between sun, clouds, and showers. We passed LOTS of motorcycles of all kinds.

Cascades Rest Stop

One of many waterfalls

Crossing the Cascades

After coming out of the Cascades, we continued west on Route 20, and got on the I-5 south toward Seattle. This was quite a change, from winding mountain roads.  Kerry was busy negotiating the Wing on a very busy 4 to 5 lane highway with traffic going 75 to 80 mph.  We finally stopped for the day at a Holiday Inn near Tacoma. We plan on spending a few days touring this area.

Our first glimpse of Seattle; Space Needle in the center distance

From Natural Splendor to Man-Made Wonder

Central Washington; Black rock is volcanic basalt

We woke up in Sandpoint, Idaho to a grey, rainy, cold day.  There was no avoiding it.  We suited up in the rain gear and headed west on Route 2.  The Idaho panhandle is blanketed with pine forests and green mountains. The rivers and creeks are full and the current is swift from all the rain.  After a time we finally passed the state line into Washington.  The rain stopped but the skies were still full of low gray clouds.  We passed through Spokane with its miles of chain stores along route 2.  Any chain store you can imagine was there.  The traffic had also changed from pick up trucks to a general mix that looks more like what we see in Pennsylvania.  Departing Spokane we continued west on Route 2 into the center of the state of Washington.  It looks very much like the rolling prairie land of North Dakota or Montana, except for the ridges of black basalt that dot the land, a testament to its volcanic past.
     We departed Route 2 and headed toward the Grand Coulee Dam, and stopped there for a tour.  The tour was OK, but not as exclusive as our tour of the Fort Peck Dam.    The sun was out now and it had warmed up considerably.

on top of the Grand Coulee Dam

Just as we were leaving the Dam, a thunderstorm let loose, and we quickly pulled into a pizza place.  The outside didn't look like much, but the pizza and service was great.

Pizza shop at the Grand Coulee

After our early unscheduled meal, we headed northeast and ended up at a motel in Omak, WA, which is surrounded by fruit orchards thanks to all the irrigation.

Cherry Orchard covered with screen to keep out the birds!