Southern Oregon to Canadian Rockies

[huchieglide]

On Sept. 9th a riding buddy and I departed Medford, Or. on a 7 day trip. First nights destination was Pendleton, Or. Headed out towards Bend/Redmond/Prineville. Cool temps. up around Diamond Lake/Crater Lake area. Mid 30's that morning going over the pass but once down on Hwy 97 it warmed back up. Fueled up the bikes in Prineville and had breakfast at Dads Restaurant. I am a breakfast guy and this was the second best omlett of the trip. Now the trip begins. To me the lower section of Hwy 97 is straight and loaded with cars and trucks. Just a way to get to northeast Oregon. East of Prineville the traffic drops of dramaticly. Some great riding is to be had here. Light traffic, meandering twisting roads and great scenery. We took hwy 26 to Mitchell, then 207 to Heppner and 74/395 to Pendleton. I know others on the board will agree and recomend to you all if you are in the area to explore many of these roads. Don't think you wil be disapointed but YMMV. Day two was Pendleton to Missoula, Mt. Went north on hwy 11 to hwy 204 into Elgin. Some construction on this road so some slow when dirt but overall a good one.

Picture of flagger standing there freezing with Bob. Two Bobs on this trip.

From Elgin we headed to Enterpise for breakfast. Best omlett of the trip here. Like the window says I had the "junk omlett" at Friends Restaurant. On the recomended list.

Also on the recomended list is hyw 3/129 from Enterprise to Lewiston, Id. This is a great road with many canyons to drop into and then climb out of. My first time here. Look forward to a return trip.

From Lewiston we went south on hwy 95 to hwy 64 to Kamiah to Kooskia. Beware, hwy 64 has a keen section of gravel for about 4 or 5 miles down the side of a canyon. Then it was up hwy 12 over Lolo Pass. Have always wanted to ride this road and finnally got the chance. Great scenery but a bit more traffic than expected (it was Sunday). Lower section winds along the river with the elevation gain quickening towards the pass. Some nice views but smokey from fires. Spent the night in Lolo, Mt. Met a couple other motorcyclists at the hotel. They came down form the north and warned of a very long stretch of construction in the Flathead Valley so we altered our plans and were not disapointed. On Monday we headed east out of Missoula to hwy 200 then went north on hwy 83. Was cold that morning. First reminder to check into heated grips and clothing. Water was frosting up on this fence and field.

Hwy 83 to Big Fork another one of those hidden gems (at least hidden from me). Not real twisty but meanders along nicely through the woods. Came across this canoe maker at Swan Lake. Nice Work!

Sorry gang, I was about done with page 2 and hit the wrong button and lost it. Too late to start over!

 

[zzkenoman]

Don't Stop, just reply and add more content and photos

 

[huchieglide]

Thanks ZZ. Reply to your own topic and keep going because of the space limit. I actually went with same topic but a page two but new thread. Halfway into it I accidentally hit the back button and all was lost. Gettin late so I shelved the rest for now. Your suggestion makes sense. If I find time next week maybe I can do a Readers Digest finish.

 

[dcarver]

Ok, you've had several days now and I'm still holding my breath for more pix...

 

[huchieglide]

Rode Hwy 36 last weekend so finally got a chance for a quick finish.

From Bigforkm Mt. we rode north through Columbia Falls and into Glacier Park. Nice park with some great views. A bit smokey from the various fires in the Northwest. Hwy to the Sun is a nice ride with many turn outs. Lot of slow (it is a National Park ya know) traffic.

At the visitor center at Logan Pass we met a couple other motorcycle tourists. Both on Honda ST1100. One guy was visiting from the Netherlands (honda is his USA bike). Always good conversation and BS!

Now out the park and to the US/Canada border. The border patrol guard in Canada was all business. Guess she has seen hundreds on wise guys like us before. Did get her to smile before I left. Success!

BMW Bob haming it up at the border.

https://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/ffn...06/IMG_0892.jpg

We stayed at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Park. Killer view of the lake. Pizza of Waterton in town had some of the best pizza I have had in a long time.

Tues. morning we hit the road and went to Pincher Creek for a quick breakfast. We then took hwy 22 which runs north/south from hwy 3 to hwy 1. A very good ride. A pretty straight road through some ranch land but light traffic and the Canadian Rockies just to your left made made for a nice morning view. Came along this hat fence. Goes along for about a quarter mile with all kinds of hats nailed to the post tops.

Couple guys thinkin about what to do for the rest of the day. Ok we will ride!

Got to hwy 1 and headed west to Canmore of lunch and fuel. Lots of resort condos in this trendy town. $$$

Stayed on hwy 1 to Lake Louise. Stopped and had a hazy picture of two Bobs at the lake and split. Too busy for me. Nice scenery though. Down hwy 93 to Radium Hot Springs.

Good road, two lane asphalt. Winds down the mountain. Nice ride.

Wed. we headed out south on hwy 95 towards Creston. Had breakfast in Kimberly. Another good omlett and freindly waitress. Came across this ski fence just north of town.

Now this is the riding I came to Canada for. This road winds through many small towns. Moderate traffic. Nice country, good riding. At Creston we headed north on hwy 3a to the ferry at Kootenay Bay. Another great road. A short distance north of Creston at a rest area we ran into "Ed" on his ST1100. Shot the breeze with him for a few minutes. He was from Nelson and rides his favorite loop a couple times a week. Bob said lets get cause we are on Ed's home turf. See how long it takes for hime to finish his sandwich and catch us. Oh maybe 10 to 15 minutes. So it was BMW Bob and Ed off to the races. There were a few RV's on the road and it is very curvy. I didn't partake in the Canadian national passtime of passing on a double yellow. I represented the fjr community with sanity. (good excuse for being the slow guy) I caught them at the ferry, where could they go?

We rode the ferry and had coffee and converstion with Ed. Another good guy we met on the trip. He represented you Canadians we, both riding skill and welcome conversation. From Balfour we rode hwy 31 to 31a to New Denver. This is a premium motorcycle road over the mountain. On the recomended list.

Just before New Denver there is a turnoff to Sandon. We went for it. It's a dirt road about 3 miles to an old mining town in various stages of resoration. Checked it out and hamed it up at the brothel.

In New Denver we stayed at the Dome Quiote. Nice place and resonable rates. Good people running it too.

Thursday morning brought much rain so we bagged the run over to Vernon(good reason to come back) and headed south, crossed the border at Carson/Danville. You would think the BMW guy could get a real raincoat. I guess out of money after he bought the bike.

We took hwy 21 south from the Canadian border to hwy 395 into Hermiston, Or. for the night.

Hwy 21 look real straight on a map but it was a verry good ride. North of Roosevelt lake it winds nicely through forest canyons. I would like to ride it again. So many roads, not enough.......It rained on us hard through here. Picture on fjr Bob on the ferry over Roosevelt Lake.

South of the lake it was mostly flat agricuture with and occasional winding canyon. More good riding. More threatening rain.

Friday was the end of the line. But not without some exitement. Crossing eastern Oregon between Heppner and Spray we hit a pretty good smow storm on the mountain pass. When it started to acumulate one the road and windshield it made for some tense moments. Made it through ok. Never stop to take a picture of this crap. Always just want to get through it. Cafe in Spray warmed us up with coffee, hashbowns and eggs. Very welcome. On the way home we went through Fossil and Antelope. New road for me, very nice. got one last picture of the trip with Allice(fjr) in the Fossil Beds Monument.

Overall a great trip. 2600 miles overall. Bikes ran perfect, not a hicup. I want to get back up to B.C. and explore more roads up there. And darn I have to ride through Oregon and Washington to get there. Enjoy, and many safe miles to you all. Bob

 

[FJR_pig]

I went to high school with a Molly Brown...brothel, huh?

 

[painman]

Way excellent gotpackage!! Real nice shots and the scenery in that part of the world is awsome. Thanks for making my day and was nice meeting you in Fortuna. So keep up the good work. PM. <>< :good:

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

I grew up in a neighborhood across the street from Molly Brown's summer house in Denver...actually Lakewood. But when she built it, it was in the middle of nowhere about 10 miles East of the Red Rocks.

Your ride report rocks. It's ride reports like this that make me happy I have a Bill Mayer Saddle. Your report makes me want to ride, and ride and ride.

Funny, I rode through snow that accumulated on my windscreen and on the road over Berthoud Pass in Colorado and I didn't stop for pictures either. I totally understand your desire to just get through it!

 

[Fjroamer]

Enjoyed write-up as well.

I Spent three different, two day rides all over B.C. in the last couple of months avg. 500+ miles per day. You have to go back and do Hwy 6 from Needles to Vernon... one of the best roads in the Province, bar none! Nakusp is a good overnight stop place. B.C. 99 from Pemberton to Lilooet is right up there for one of B.C's best roads and a beautiful, untrafficed run from Princeton to Aspen Grove (B.C. 5-A) would be right in there as well. Oh..., don't miss the west side road down Lk. Okanogan from Vernon to Kelowna..., that's a super one as well! (did you do 31A from Balfour to New Denver??? also tops in B.C.)

I guarentee none of those roads will leave anyone dissapointed!!!!!