Fontanaman
Robin Trower
This is the last in a series of ride reports when the wife was away the King will play. The day before I rode around the Olympic Peninsula while most FJR peeps in the Pac Northwet were attending the FJR Forum Tech event in Auburn Washington, a most excellent event, I decided it was riding day not wrenching day. After all the weather was excellent and summer crowds are not out on the highways yet.
The question is where to go. Chinook Pass, a favorite, is still closed for the season, buried by 18’ of snow. The Forest Service road around Mt. St. Helens on the east side of Mt. St. Helens are still closed too.
I was just on the North Cascades Hwy April 24 but decided to return because you can’t get too much of a good thing. In this case it is a real real good thing.
This time I decide to do a loop and knock off five passes in one day. Here is the route., at 10+ hour trip without stops.
I hit the road on Sunday morning at 7:00am and pin ball up the freeway and get off at Arlington where I stop to get gas.
Next stop was a photo op long Hwy 530, near Darrington, featuring the North Fork of the Stilliguamish River. Around here we call it the Stilli.
What caught my eye was the snow capped peak in the upper right. I was shooting somewhat toward the sun so contrast was a problem.
In this photo the sun was behind my back.
Not long after the river photo op White Mountain calls me to take a photo. I just shot this photo two week ago but was compelled to try again with my larger DSLR as the wife, who was out of town for 10 days, had the small pocket camera.
I shot this photo on April 24 with a Canon S100 Powershot.
From nearly the same position I shot this with my Canon Xsi DSLR with a 10-24 Tamron wide angle lens.
I cropped and edit these photos. The Canon S100 is a pocket camera while the DSRL take up much more space on the motorcycle. I am thinking the Canon S100 would be the only camera I need on a long trip.
As I entered Darrington these trees caught my attention and I have been looking for a shot flowering cherry trees all season.
I continue to Rockport and head on up the North Cascades Highway one of the top five great motorcycle roads in Washington. Just before a twisty second a couple of sport bikes appear in my review view mirror. The lead bike goes around me while the second guy follows me for a while until I wave him buy. To my surprise I hang with them for a while.
After following these fellows for about ten miles I observer the rider of the lead bike is an experienced rider cutting nice confident turns. The second rider on the other hand is a rookie, he is not sure where he should be in the turns and I hang with him easily wishing he would pick up the pace in the twisties along Diablo Lake some of the best twisties on the North Cascades Highway. I smiled a the irony of it - usually sport bikes just blow by me and never bother trying to keep up - I just ride my ride. But not today.
Once again I stop to take a photo the the sport bikes are gone. This is today’s photos with the DSLR.
A couple of weeks ago I shot this photos in the same place with the Canon S100 pocket camera.
I continue to Rainy Pass where once again I stop to take some photos.
I have been waiting two years to get this photo and today I did it right.
Two weeks prior I took this photo from the same location. This time I put the bike a bit further down the road. I like the affect of the bike further away. Look at the sign and see how much the snow has melted in two weeks.
Up and over Washington Pass I starting to get hungry. The idea was to ride to the Red Horse Diner in Ellensburg for lunch. The GPS said I would be in Ellensburg at 2:45 too late for lunch so I stopped at the Twisp River Brewpub and order a salmon sandwich. For the second day in a row I got a salmon patty sandwich. This a a far cry of my expectation for a real piece of fish. Humbug.
I cruise down the the Columbia River where I get to enjoy the dryer climate and vistas of Eastern Washington.
Through Wenatchee and up to the summit of Blewett Pass which as 4000 feet has no snow on the ground. It is on the dry side of the Cascades and gets less snow.
I could have bailed back home along I-90 but decided to stay the course, accepting the two extra hours of travel time for the scenery of the Yakima River Canyon, White and Cayuse Passes.
Yakima River in the Yakima River Canyon. Notice the green slopes. In 3 weeks it will all be brown until next year.
Lumpy rocks along the Yakima River Canyon
Yakima River
I run up to Cayuse Pass, over the crest to the Mt. Rainer photo op. This is what the camera caught with the wide angle lens.
This is what the eye sees. A bit of cropping and exposure enhancement.
Just before Cayuse Pass is the weeping wall. Water runs over it in season only. By August it will be dry, but not today! Shot with a Canon Xsi DSRL with a 10-24 Tamron lens.
I ride home with about 530 miles on the odometer for the day. It was a nice day go for a ride in the Park.
The question is where to go. Chinook Pass, a favorite, is still closed for the season, buried by 18’ of snow. The Forest Service road around Mt. St. Helens on the east side of Mt. St. Helens are still closed too.
I was just on the North Cascades Hwy April 24 but decided to return because you can’t get too much of a good thing. In this case it is a real real good thing.
This time I decide to do a loop and knock off five passes in one day. Here is the route., at 10+ hour trip without stops.
I hit the road on Sunday morning at 7:00am and pin ball up the freeway and get off at Arlington where I stop to get gas.
Next stop was a photo op long Hwy 530, near Darrington, featuring the North Fork of the Stilliguamish River. Around here we call it the Stilli.
What caught my eye was the snow capped peak in the upper right. I was shooting somewhat toward the sun so contrast was a problem.
In this photo the sun was behind my back.
Not long after the river photo op White Mountain calls me to take a photo. I just shot this photo two week ago but was compelled to try again with my larger DSLR as the wife, who was out of town for 10 days, had the small pocket camera.
I shot this photo on April 24 with a Canon S100 Powershot.
From nearly the same position I shot this with my Canon Xsi DSLR with a 10-24 Tamron wide angle lens.
I cropped and edit these photos. The Canon S100 is a pocket camera while the DSRL take up much more space on the motorcycle. I am thinking the Canon S100 would be the only camera I need on a long trip.
As I entered Darrington these trees caught my attention and I have been looking for a shot flowering cherry trees all season.
I continue to Rockport and head on up the North Cascades Highway one of the top five great motorcycle roads in Washington. Just before a twisty second a couple of sport bikes appear in my review view mirror. The lead bike goes around me while the second guy follows me for a while until I wave him buy. To my surprise I hang with them for a while.
After following these fellows for about ten miles I observer the rider of the lead bike is an experienced rider cutting nice confident turns. The second rider on the other hand is a rookie, he is not sure where he should be in the turns and I hang with him easily wishing he would pick up the pace in the twisties along Diablo Lake some of the best twisties on the North Cascades Highway. I smiled a the irony of it - usually sport bikes just blow by me and never bother trying to keep up - I just ride my ride. But not today.
Once again I stop to take a photo the the sport bikes are gone. This is today’s photos with the DSLR.
A couple of weeks ago I shot this photos in the same place with the Canon S100 pocket camera.
I continue to Rainy Pass where once again I stop to take some photos.
I have been waiting two years to get this photo and today I did it right.
Two weeks prior I took this photo from the same location. This time I put the bike a bit further down the road. I like the affect of the bike further away. Look at the sign and see how much the snow has melted in two weeks.
Up and over Washington Pass I starting to get hungry. The idea was to ride to the Red Horse Diner in Ellensburg for lunch. The GPS said I would be in Ellensburg at 2:45 too late for lunch so I stopped at the Twisp River Brewpub and order a salmon sandwich. For the second day in a row I got a salmon patty sandwich. This a a far cry of my expectation for a real piece of fish. Humbug.
I cruise down the the Columbia River where I get to enjoy the dryer climate and vistas of Eastern Washington.
Through Wenatchee and up to the summit of Blewett Pass which as 4000 feet has no snow on the ground. It is on the dry side of the Cascades and gets less snow.
I could have bailed back home along I-90 but decided to stay the course, accepting the two extra hours of travel time for the scenery of the Yakima River Canyon, White and Cayuse Passes.
Yakima River in the Yakima River Canyon. Notice the green slopes. In 3 weeks it will all be brown until next year.
Lumpy rocks along the Yakima River Canyon
Yakima River
I run up to Cayuse Pass, over the crest to the Mt. Rainer photo op. This is what the camera caught with the wide angle lens.
This is what the eye sees. A bit of cropping and exposure enhancement.
Just before Cayuse Pass is the weeping wall. Water runs over it in season only. By August it will be dry, but not today! Shot with a Canon Xsi DSRL with a 10-24 Tamron lens.
I ride home with about 530 miles on the odometer for the day. It was a nice day go for a ride in the Park.
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