Day 10 - Tuesday

We woke to another fantastic day. It's getting difficult to describe how great the weather is. The hotel has a rather nice looking laundry facility there so I decide to take advantage. I hang out on the beach until the laundry is done, then we start packing the bikes to head for California.

Morning view from our hotel balcony

While we were packing the bikes one of the locals came up and starting talking. He said he rides and was curious about where we were headed. I told him we were heading for the Redwoods. He starts getting excited and told us about a ride 17 miles from were we were at. HE said to get off US 101 onto Route 197 to Route 199. He said follow it and it will put us back on US 101. It urns out that this is the area where Star Wars was filmed.We thank him for the riding tip and head off. 10 minutes later we arrive in California.

Jamie hooped at the California state line.

We got off at 197 and were in for an amazing little trip. I don't think I can adequately describe the magnificence of the Redwoods, so I'm not going to try.

Stopping for a hike

We parked the bikes to go for a hike in these gigantic trees. Jamie was so excited at the prospect of exploring the woods that she left her bike in neutral, and seeing as we were parked on a bit of an incline, we heard a crash. Sure enough, her bike had rolled back and landed ungraciously on it's side. We got it righted and the bike was fine. Off we went.

Amazing

A little humbling.

See any Ewoks?

After our little jaunt through the Redwoods we were back on 101 heading into Crescent City. We decided to grab a room early and unload the bikes so we could explore the Redwoods National Park in the afternoon without being encumbered by our gear. We found a Hampton Inn on the ocean and they let us check in early, around noon. Kind of unique here, the have a huge wine selection and let you pick out a bottle when you check in. Nice.

Going into the Redwood NP was great. The inland cruising was great but when we got on the ocean side, things were a bit fogged in.

Redwood National Park

We're on the road less travelled now!

Roosevelt Elk lying in someone's yard along the scenic byway.

A couple of young bucs sparring

This was about as close as I wanted to get.

The old bull! He is large!

We found ourselves in and out of the 101 taking all the sidetrips through the redwoods. What a day. Along the way we see an very high number of bicyclist loaded with their gear. It appears to be a very popular ride.

Heading back to Crescent City around supper time we stop for food. I order the surf and turf and much to my surprise, this is what I got.....

I tried, but couldn't eat it all.

Day 10 = 190 miles

Day 9 - Monday

We really took our time getting around this morning. I thought we were about 70 miles from the coast so we were moving at a rather relaxed pace.

Route 126 continued to Florence where we would pick up US 101. Route 126 continued to be an awesome ride. We got into some stretches of huge trees. I am not completely sure, but I think they are Sitka Spruce, or some type of spruce.

Lunch at Leona's in Mapleton!

It was only a short time after lunch when we hit the Pacific. Weather continues to be outstanding. The ocean was as calm as it gets, and cruising down coast on the bikes was stellar.

Our first look at the Pacific

Nothing to add here!

3670 miles of great riding!

We decided to stop at Brookings, OR for a short day of riding. We got a place on the ocean so I had time to take a few pics. We spent the afternoon/evening wandering up and down the beach taking it all in. Here are a few pics of that evening - enjoy! (We certainly did)

Day 9 = 231 miles

Day 8 - Sunday

This is the day we head for Oregon. BTW, while I'm thinking of it, I was informed by a local that it's pronounced OR - E - GUN. Apparently my Midwest accent has it as ORE - A - GONE.

We continue following the Oregon Trail (Route 20) across Eastern Oregon,, heading towards Bend, Or. This is high desert country. It is interesting how the area is transformed with the massive irrigation systems. There are fields stretching as far as the eye can see. I have never seen so many onion fields and the aroma is quite strong even while cruising by at 65 mph.

We stop for gas and a quick cup of coffee at Vale, Or. There is a seating area inside so we take a break. In the process we start up a conversation with an old timer who is playing around with an old Brownie camera, with the original box. It was an interesting story. Turns out he had bought the camera while stationed at Pearl Harbor during WWII. He had used it to take photos of the aftermath of the attack and had kept it preserved all these years. I inquired about the photos he took and he said they were home in a shoe box. I mentioned that he should get them out and display them. He said he still had the negatives as well. Apparently their whole family was out for coffee this Sunday morning. They sure were interested in the Harley's and we had a good chat about the Indian motorcycles that they used to ride in the early 50's. Anyways, very nice people out here.

It's a long ride to get to Bend, but the road in the high country here is just great. It has a flow to it that just sucks you in. We see antelope out in the range, none close to the road thankfully.

Route 20

We make Bend by lunchtime. Asking around again, this place was recommended. I think it is kinda like the Big Boy west, but it was a good lunch.

Lunch in Bend Oregon

Open range along 20 - there are Antelope out there but you can't see them in the pic.

From Bend we head up Route 126 towards the town of Sisters. I believe this is part of the Cascade Mountain range. We take Scenic route 242 from Sisters and head deep into the mountains. At the top we encounter the lava fields. They are quite amazing to see. It almost looks like someone ran a plow through the rock.

Lava Info

View of the Lava field from the top

Hanging out at the lava field

Additional photos of the area....

http://www.city-data.com/city/Sisters-Oregon.html

Route 242 did not disappoint. 10 mph switchbacks! It took forever to get off the mountain, but what an enjoyable ride. 242 eventually connected back into Route 126 and we took it into Eugene. Grabbed a room and dinner at the Holiday Inn then it was lights out.

Day 8 = 457 miles

Day 7 - Saturday

We woke up on Saturday morning to a bright, brisk morning. Temps had dropped into the 40's last night and the air was very invigorating this AM.

Getting the bikes ready for another great day!

Today's basic itinerary was to continue on Route 30 towards Twin Falls. It was a great road and took us across the Snake River Canyon twice.

Bridge on the Snake River

Jamie on the edge of the gorge

Snake River Canyon

We saw a sign for the Shoshone Falls, which was a little 10 mile side trip to reach. We headed down the road towards the falls. Turns out the road skirted the canyon for 10 miles, great scenery.

Shoshone Falls

The Falls did not disappoint. We were there before 0900 in the morning and hardly a person was to be seen. I guess it gets quite busy during the day. The lady at the gate (fee area) told us if we parked the bikes in one spot she would let us in for half price. What a deal.

Leaving the Falls we headed into the town of Twin Falls. We came across a Harley dealer and made a quick stop. I had told Jamie that we were going to get her some decent cold weather gloves to avoid another incident like we had going into Steamboat.

While she was looking at gloves, I inquired with service about the possibility of getting the fluids changed on the bike. They knew I was travelling and said no problem. We put the bike into service and about an hour later I had fresh fluids and Jamie had new gloves.

While waiting in the service area I had a good chat with the service manager about potential rides in the area. He suggested Route 75, Sawtooth Scenic Byway, up into the Sawtooth mountains. Sounds good to us so off we went on route 75.

We decided that we should stop for food and gas before heading up into the mountains. We found this quaint diner and chanced it. Once again, good food and no issues.

Outside the diner

We started our ascent into the Sawtooth mountains. We first passed through Sun Valley. Something sounded familiar about this place. When we rode past a small airport that was jammed with private jets, and no commercial ones, I really started to wonder. Well, once we began to see the houses, huge lodges is more like it, the mystery was solved. Apparently folks with lots of money like this valley. The homes were amazing.

Continuing on we rode up towards the town of Stanley. Gorgeous views and scenery along the way.

Stopping to look for Mountain Goats.

We made Stanley in time to gas up the bikes (fuel stops are sparce here). Switched over to Route21 for the descent. As it turned out (we had no idea) the descent is only 120 miles of switchbacks sout of the mountain range. Amazing. We could of turned the bikes off and glided from Stanley to Idaho City. We did happen on a bicicylist who was doing the descent. We followed him for quite a ways as he was doing 30 - 40 mph. We finally hit a stretch of straight road and left him to his journey.

View off from Route 21

We continued on. The road was great, and we just glided on.

Taking a break on the way down.

Another view of the Sawtooth Range

We continued out on Route 21 into Boise where we stayed for the night. Another tremendous day.


Total miles = 331

Day 6 - Friday

We get up to another great day. We service the bikes and head out Route 30 towards Kemmerer and into Idaho.

Jamie adding air to her tires

We get a lot of comments about our plates out here!

We ride up into the high country of Idaho. The weather is great, roads are great, and the air is clear. Very smooth touring, nice pace and no stress.

Travelling along Route 30

We stopped for gas and met this couple. They were just finishing a 6000 mile trip out east. The dog went the whole way.

Don't worry Jenne, the dog is tied in!

Lunch at Butch Cassidys

It is threatening to rain again. Seems to do this mid-afternoon. We chance it though and manage to stay dry. It passes through and we're on to clear skies again.

Awesome to be standing under this.

It turns out that for two days we have been following the Oregon Trail. It was just coincidence but it appears we may follow it right across Oregon.

Info on life on the Oregon Trail.

Our road takes us to Burley Idaho where we stop for the night. Go down to the Maury's, Steak and Seafood joint on the Snake River. Have a excellent dinner there. We turn in and crash immediately, looking for an early start in the morning. This day was just an outstanding cruise!

Day 6 = 325 miles