July 18 - Wednesday
This is not to be a riding day. I know I posted up a superdeeduper route in post #1...but that was just a fantasy of mine. I knew I wouldn't catch it on this trip...but would definitely use it on a future trip (It was loaded up in the GPS just in case, though). I'll be back in this area many times and will use it then.
The plan for this day was to have a nice breakfast in the lodge restaurant that overlooks the gorge, get info. on the hiking, do a little hiking, then hit the water park/pool which is brand new starting this summer.
Just a note on Breaks, we discovered that there was no wifi, as promised on their website, when we got to our room in our lodge. I specifically made sure they had it spelled out on their website...they did. We called up from our room...and they said it was down...they were "in between suppliers". I don't require it on most trips, but with this trip with wifey, I wanted wifi for a weather check, and a pool at each place we were at. I was
very disappointed in this issue, as "pop up" thunderstorms were happening every day, and affected our daily planning.
I have tried to get some sort of satisfaction regarding this, but have not yet had a return phone call from Breaks. So although I love the nature around the park...this issue riled me up as I paid extra money to stay at Breaks and it's water park as opposed to staying in a chain motel. In retrospect, I would stay in a chain motel, and make a day trip to the park.
Anyways, we did have a great pancake and bacon breakfast with coffee overlooking the impressive gorge, then set off to do a little hiking. And by that I mean very little. Unless you go really rugged, the trail consists of 4 spur trails off the park road to the 4 overlooks, which are really spread out from each other...so we would ride the bike to the spur trail and hike the short (< 1/4 mile) trail to the overlook. The overlooks were spectacular...
Louanne snuck one of me in there...
We then headed to some more overlooks...
Can you spot the railroad tunnel?
more...
looking south and west...
After all this overlook watchin', it was time to head to the pool/water park. Although it was a sunny blue sky when we woke up, it was getting more overcast...hoping it is just a passing cloud. We paid $8 a piece to go into this little lazy river kind of park...but the sun never came back out. In fact it started sprinkling...then raining...then the thunder came and it was everybody out of the pool. With dark clouds overhead, we asked the pool dudes if they could check local radar to see if this was just a passing thing. They had no idea what website to go to
...so after awhile of them futzing around, Louanne pointed them to one...and sure enough, this was no passing phenomenon...so we got on the bike and got back to the room just before the downpour came.
The weather was not cooperating...so Louanne read her books, and I exercised my TV channel flipping muscles, as there was no neenernet to argue on, and no cell service to call up my 100 bestest buddies and chat the day away.
In the early afternoon, we braved the sprinkles and walked over to the restaurant for a big lunch. After that, I took a nap and waited the day out...then about 5:00pm, Louanne had an idea...the weather was clearing up, how about us going out on a motorcycle ride? We could call the kids at home at some place that had cell service, and find a twisty road. She asked if if I could come up with a route. I smiled.
As the rain lessened, the fog in the gorge started clearing up and tufts of clouds would grace the rock faces of the formations...
Just awesome sights...
And as we were getting ready to leave on the ride, I heard bird sounds in the air...I looked up and saw a pair of peregrine falcons flying by with their characteristic call. How neat is that! :clapping:
Well between 5pm and 8pm, we were out and about on the FJR, headed over to 80 to 83 to 460 :yahoo:
We found a place to stop and call the kids and see if all was well as we had no phone or email for two days. Everything was fine they said. :lol:
We stopped at a grocery store to buy some fruit to have for a light supper as we had had a late, full lunch. So we continued south on 460 to 19 west to Honaker, where we gassed up and then hit 80 north back to Breaks. I really enjoyed 80.
I came up behind a car doing the speed limit uphill on a straightaway so I did the natural thing and passed him before the upcoming curves started. Of course, as soon as I did that, this little beat up compact car, driven by a local, speeds up above the limit and decides to have a run at me. Now I will make no bones about my passes, I make them short and sweet, but I do not speed dangerously down the straights...I go about a plus 10 and enjoy the curves however fast is safe and comforatable. But I did wick it up a little bit as I wanted to keep a space cushion between this car and whatever his unknown intentions were. I did not get baited into entering corners too quickly, but I did enjoy them. :yahoo:
Louanne, oblivious to what was happening behind, was saying that that was about as fast as she was comfortable on the bike, and that she hoped that David (our son) did not ride that fast. She called it "Mark's thrill ride". Of course she did. All in all, it was a nice little 100 mile loop. B)
I have no idea what the dudes in the car were doing, but they did speed up on the straights to get closer...all this after barely going the speed limit before I passed them. People like that make me nervous, and I like distance between my bike and the metal of their car.
Well, we got back to the room and watched the fog roll into the canyons...pretty spectacular.
