Oregon

We spent our first couple of days in Portland being couch potatoes at Jon and Lucies'. Marty had a big bruise on his butt from the bike seat, so he was in no hurry to venture out on the bike. We have remedied the problem by buying a sheepskin from IKEA that we have affectionately called Shrek. Elli ( a Bernese Mountain Dog ) thought it was great to have company and Marty managed to teach her a few bad habits so Jon will have to implement a retraining program again.

We all took a drive out to Silverton Falls but were not able to do the hikes as it was a no dog zone. Elli wasn’t complaining as it was pretty hot. On the homeward journey we stopped at a little fruit stall and the first thing I noticed was kiwifruit growing on a frame as a windbreak. Once the owner discovered we were from 'Kiwi Land' he and Marty became instant buddies. While Jon Lucie and I waited in the car Leo hijacked Marty and gave him a tour of his new house, garage and was part way through his life history when visitors arrived and Marty was able to escape – with a bag of Leo’s freshly picked beans. Leo was most disappointed that we didn’t have time to go and stay with him.

With Shrek onboard we went on a 180 mile loop ride over some of Jon’s favourite local roads. We headed east along the Clackamass River. A beautiful scenic route along the river. Then we were riding through the Mt Hood National Park. It was easy to tell where all the freedom campers were by the gorgeous smells of BBQ cooking wafting across the road. We then turned onto a neat little one lane highway through the forest before rejoining the highway and heading up to Timberland Lodge, a huge ski lodge on Mt Hood. The ski field is open all year and there were plenty of takers the day we were there. Jon gave us a guided tour of this beautiful building finishing up in a little bar dedicated to Paul Bunyan. The cool beer was most appreciated.
We retraced our steps for a while then turned onto another narrow twisting road that took us through forest and farmland before dumping us alongside the Sandy River and back to Portland. This stretch is part of the old road used by the early settlers many years ago. It is very scenic, and a gorgeous ride.

Our early start to Hood River next day was put on hold due to rain and thunderstorms. We eventually got on the road about 1.30pm. We took the 84 east a scenic ride alongside the Columbia River. We stopped off at the Bonneville Trout and Sturgeon Hatchery as we wanted to see a Sturgeon and we weren’t disappointed. They had 3 pretty big ones in a viewing pond. An interesting fact is that the female sturgeon doesn’t reproduce until she is 20 years old and 6 foot long. We arrived at friends Kelly and Tina’s about 4.30 and had a lively evening with their friends and family.

Next day Tina took us on a wee bit of a tour of Hood River, driving up to an overlook which gave us spectacular views of the Columbia River. Then it was down to The Dalles, over a bridge into Washington State and back into Hood River a few miles downstream. We then got to laze in the sun while Tina did a spot of kite boarding. It was quite entertaining watching the activity on the river. Neither of us was tempted to venture in.

The 9am start next day didn’t eventuate as once again it was raining in Portland and Jon’s mates Andrew ( Honda Leadwing) and Joe (Hinkley Triumph Tiger) were late leaving. Jon drove out to Hood River as he had to borrow a bike for our next adventure. His Ducati had buckled it’s back wheel under the pressure of keeping up with the BMW on our last outing. He was now aboard a BMW GS 1150.

He had promised last time we were over to take us riding on some of Oregon’s hidden highways and he didn’t disappoint. Without boring you with too many tedious details we covered some awesome little back and forestry roads with little or no traffic, passing through the towns of Shaniko, once the largest sheep range in Oregon and now just a Wild West tourist town, Antelope which proudly boasts a population of 37 and Fossil where we stopped for refreshments. I think the name is self explanatory. The no town of Twickenham had a sign announcing an International Airport but all that was visible was a farmers paddock with a private plane housed in a hanger.

We stopped for the night in the town of John Day. We went to dinner at a local restaurant and I decided to step outside the square and order a Bigfoot Margarita. Little did I know that it was indeed meant for Bigfoot. It was huge and the glass required two hands to lift it. It lasted the whole dining experience. From there we walked down to the local county fair because Andrew wanted some Elephant Ears. They are like a big flat donut covered in a sauce of your choice or sugar. We were all too full to truly appreciate them. I tried to get the guys to go to the sideshows a win a big cuddly bear like all the guys do on the movies when they take a girl to the fair but I had no takers so had to shoot the hoop myself. Didn’t win a big bear but did win a little orange hedgehog, which now travels under the bungee cord on my pannier. His name is Harry. Before we had too much fun we headed back to the motel and bed.

After a hearty breakfast we hit the back roads again. Passed by a few derelict settlers homes that looked so cool but alas I didn’t get my camera out quick enough and the opportunity was gone. We followed a gorgeous forestry road that meandered alongside a river. Didn’t encounter any other vehicles on the 40 mile road but the odd cow and fresh cow pats on the road kept everyone on their toes. We took a break at Sumpter Valley Railway Station before heading out past Baker City towards Hells Canyon. We stopped at a little town called Halfway where we had a late lunch, booked a motel, unloaded the bikes then rode the 40 miles down to the bottom of Hells Canyon. This is the most beautiful road. The Snake River runs through the canyon and the scenery is just spectacular. We stopped to admire the dam built almost at the bottom of the canyon. Not sure how long the dam took to build but I do remember it took two years just to construct the road. Had a beer in Pine River before heading back to the motel. We’d had a busy day, travelling to two States, two time zones and hundreds of miles of terrific motorcycling roads with wonderful friends. Life doesn’t get much better.

All good things come to an end and next morning after a yummy breakfast at a local café where they make everything themselves we had to say goodbye to our good friends Jon, Andrew and Joe and start on the mad dash to Idaho Springs in Colorado 1000 miles away.

We rode for 2½ days, taking a day each to cross Idaho and Utah. 700 odd miles of desert in temperatures around 104°, the bonus being that the speed limit was 75mph which really means 85mph so the miles clicked along quite quickly. Keeping ourselves hydrated was the biggest problem. Our night in Utah was spent in the town of Tremonton and we spent the evening at the local rodeo. I liked the kids riding the sheep the best. That was a scream.

We arrived at Idaho Springs just after 2pm on Sunday afternoon just the right time to register for the rally and begin the next phase of our trip.