Hells Canyon Rally Day 3
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sunday, June 13th, we all woke up early and significantly less hung over than Saturday for day 3 of the Hells Canyon Rally.
Eager to get out early and beat the rush, we were on the road by 8:00 AM, heading east on OR-26 towards Hells Canyon. Riding with the snow-capped Blue Mountains in the background was incredible! 40 minutes later we stopped in Richland at Annie's Cafe for breakfast. It was small, quaint, and friendly... and much faster than Saturday's breakfast.
We left and continued east, stopping at Scotty's for gas just before the Idaho border (and Mountain Standard Time). From 86 we turned up the road and went 30 miles along Hells Canyon to the dam. The roads were decent and pleasantly empty, but there was occasional debris and someone was, at some point in the past, over-zealous with the crack sealant. My tires would occasionally slip and inch or two, which was mildly disconcerting. Still, riding in the canyon was exhilarating and beautiful.
We stopped at the dam for a few pictures, then went the visitor center another half-mile further up the road. The river looked like it was flowing fast - and it was - but (and this is according to the visitor center person), at 35000 cfm, was still over 20000 cfm less than it was during the record rainfall a few days prior.
View Larger Map
From there we hopped back down a few more miles to the Hells Canyon Inn (right next to the aforementioned Scotty's), where we stopped to have drinks and appetizers. We almost had a tree frog in our fries; it jumped down from the table's umbrella a split second after we moved our appetizer plate!
We were back on the road soon for a quick ride to Baker City. I was at the back of the group; I had to stop and clean my visor because I could barely see through it. The rest of the group kept going. I started enjoying the ride alone but I mysteriously managed to catch up with the group right before Baker City.
At the trailer we showered in the high school showers, which were nicely deserted as most of the other riders had packed up to head home. The water had started running in the trailer and the waste water tank had filled up. The trailer's owner nobly took it off to get emptied. We then all had cigars and a drink before headed dowtown for dinner. We ended up at the Geiser Grand. I, along with several of my friends, capped the trip off with a succulent prime rib meal.
After dinner, we went back to the trailer to throw a frisbee around, discuss the ride home, smoke more cigars, and enjoy the amazing sunset, with Venus and a crescent moon hanging just over the horizon. A wonderful and beautiful end to our trip. The next day was the ride home...
As a rule, happiness in motorcycling can be as simple as a clean visor. In my case, however, happiness rarely lasts more than 60 seconds.
Eager to get out early and beat the rush, we were on the road by 8:00 AM, heading east on OR-26 towards Hells Canyon. Riding with the snow-capped Blue Mountains in the background was incredible! 40 minutes later we stopped in Richland at Annie's Cafe for breakfast. It was small, quaint, and friendly... and much faster than Saturday's breakfast.
We left and continued east, stopping at Scotty's for gas just before the Idaho border (and Mountain Standard Time). From 86 we turned up the road and went 30 miles along Hells Canyon to the dam. The roads were decent and pleasantly empty, but there was occasional debris and someone was, at some point in the past, over-zealous with the crack sealant. My tires would occasionally slip and inch or two, which was mildly disconcerting. Still, riding in the canyon was exhilarating and beautiful.
We stopped at the dam for a few pictures, then went the visitor center another half-mile further up the road. The river looked like it was flowing fast - and it was - but (and this is according to the visitor center person), at 35000 cfm, was still over 20000 cfm less than it was during the record rainfall a few days prior.
View Larger Map
From there we hopped back down a few more miles to the Hells Canyon Inn (right next to the aforementioned Scotty's), where we stopped to have drinks and appetizers. We almost had a tree frog in our fries; it jumped down from the table's umbrella a split second after we moved our appetizer plate!
We were back on the road soon for a quick ride to Baker City. I was at the back of the group; I had to stop and clean my visor because I could barely see through it. The rest of the group kept going. I started enjoying the ride alone but I mysteriously managed to catch up with the group right before Baker City.
At the trailer we showered in the high school showers, which were nicely deserted as most of the other riders had packed up to head home. The water had started running in the trailer and the waste water tank had filled up. The trailer's owner nobly took it off to get emptied. We then all had cigars and a drink before headed dowtown for dinner. We ended up at the Geiser Grand. I, along with several of my friends, capped the trip off with a succulent prime rib meal.
After dinner, we went back to the trailer to throw a frisbee around, discuss the ride home, smoke more cigars, and enjoy the amazing sunset, with Venus and a crescent moon hanging just over the horizon. A wonderful and beautiful end to our trip. The next day was the ride home...
As a rule, happiness in motorcycling can be as simple as a clean visor. In my case, however, happiness rarely lasts more than 60 seconds.
posted by Burton at 8:20 PM
1 Comments:
Really well done for the blog.these are so sweet and pretty!
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