West 16 Day 6

Spokane, Washington to Chemult, Oregon:  479.3 miles

I was awake before anyone else, so I grabbed a cup of coffee to watch Spokane wake up.  It was very peaceful sitting on Keith's deck watching the sky begin to get light.
Soon enough, we had to pack up and head out after a quick breakfast.  It was great to meet Keith and also great to be back on the road on another cool morning.

We started out on the Interstate for a while.  Traffic wasn't too bad, especially once we got a short way away from Spokane.  Traveling south, the area was quite pretty.  We got off on US395, which I thought was going to be a 2-lane road, but it ended up being another four lane divided highway.  This was fine as we were able to make great time.  Four years ago when we went through Washington, I remember verdant valleys filled with crops.  This part of Washington was bone dry, with what appeared to be only wheat and hay crops when the arid landscape wasn't sagebrush and rocks.  Early on, there were some picturesque lakes though.

We got to the Columbia River at the Oregon/Washington border.  The GPS wanted to put us on I-84, but I chose WA14 north of the river instead.  This was a good choice as there was almost no traffic and the speeds were comparable.  The scenery early on was flat and barren, as the road followed loosely along the Columbia River.

There were patches of what looked fruit trees and grape vines and occasional signs for vineyards.  These contrasted to the overall dry landscape.  I was surprised there wasn't more in the way of towns since the area was picturesque, with a good water source.

Farther on down WA14, the elevation rose as the Columbia River Gorge began to take shape.  Here, WA14 hugged the river.

I-84 could be seen south of the river in spots.  Likely the scenery was pretty there too, but there was definitely more traffic south of the river.

We saw a sign for "Stone Henge" and pulled in to have a look.  It was a concrete recreation of the actual Stone Henge, originally constructed as a memorial to WWI.  I'm really not sure why the choice was made to make a Stone Henge replica as a WWI memorial, but I'll assume there was some kind of logic behind it.

From Stone Henge, the US97 bridge over the Columbia River could be seen.

In the background, Mount Hood loomed over everything.

Back on the road, the intersection of I-84 and US97 was a zoo.  And they were doing chip seal construction at the same time.  I started to head south on US97, only to see a very scary sign.

I might have been able to make it, maybe, possibly...  But I chose to commit the cardinal sin of turning around in a construction zone to go back to the zoo and get gas.  Farther down US97, there were gas pumps, but it was definitely ambiguous if they were still active.

Headed back south again, the chip seal was the loosest, gooiest I've ever seen.  I was afraid that we'd end up in a long convoy of slow vehicles once out of the active construction zone, but the mayhem straightened itself out soon enough.
We made good time heading south; there wasn't much there.  This part of Oregon is mostly desert, with only a few small towns.  We tried to stop to get something to eat in one of the towns, but there wasn't anything there.

We ended up stopping in Madras for lunch.  Madras sounds Indian (subcontinent), but we ate 'merican at the Black Bear Diner.  Lunch was winding down so we were almost alone there.  The food was quite good.
From Madras down to Bend was bonkers with traffic.  After Bend, things got a little better, but US97 is quite obviously a main north south thoroughfare in this area.
We got down to Chemult and decided to stop for the day.  This is a close as we can get to Crater Lake, and we'd rather do that first thing in the morning when it is quieter.

Dinner was just down the road from the hotel - it was adequate at best.  The Zingers back in the hotel room were a good way to end the day.

West 16 Day 5

Harlowton, Montana to Spokane, Washington:  485.4 miles

If Day 4 started out cool to cold, Day 5 started out cold.
I had a brisk walk to the gas station for coffee, before talking with a couple other guys who were looping around on rented Harleys for a while.  They had gone over beartooth pass the previous day and said it was brutally cold there - having recently snowed.

We were on the road near daylight.  The sky was cloudy, almost hazy with what looked like rain in the distance.  Nothing was on the radar, so we soldiered down the road, trying to keep warm.

Shortly after leaving Harlowton, a mule deer buck jumped the fence by the road and ran through the ditch toward the road right in front of us.  I saw him, he saw us.  We both took evasive action and missed each other by the slimmest of margins.  If the cold didn't keep me awake, that deer will.

We enjoyed riding through Montana's wide open spaces.  The road varied through the morning between straight with some very curvy areas as well.  There were virtually no other cars on the road.

We went through the Helena National forest which was a nice change of pace.  Unfortunately, the settings on the camera were set to overexpose at some point near the end of the national forest, making many of the later pictures from the day unusable.
Still, even without the pictures, the time through Montana was wonderful.  What a beautiful state, with wide open spaces, mountains, hills, animals.  The pictures in memory are worth more than the camera pictures, if a little hard to share online.

Shortly outside of Helena, we jumped on the interstate for a while, getting off just north of Missoula.  We weren't in a hurry and if anything had a little extra time to get to Spokane at an appropriate time.  Getting off the interstate allowed us explore some more 2-lane roads through Montana and Idaho.

We worked our way north and west through western Montana.  As we got near the Idaho border, we started to see smoke, and shortly thereafter, smell smoke.  There were signs warning people not to stop on the road, as there was lots of firefighting activity, including fire helicopters picking up water from the Clark Fork River.  In some places, the road was completely shrouded in smoke.

Thompson Falls was smokey, but still open for business.  We had a great lunch, before motoring out through Thompson Pass.  I was a little concerned that the road might be gravel since signs warned that it was not maintained in the winter, but it was paved and quite smooth all the way over the pass and into Idaho.

We jumped back on the interstate to get past Coeur d'Alene and into Spokane.  Getting off the interstate, we worked our way through Spokane, which was pretty crazy, even in the early afternoon.
We made our way to Keith's house.  Keith was a friend of my Dad's, who was not able to make it to his funeral, but I wanted to meet him.  So we made arrangements to spend the evening with him.  We got there a little before he did, and enjoyed sitting in the cool afternoon on his porch.
Once he got home, we visited with him a bit, getting to know each other and talking about Dad, stories, history ... life.
Dinner that night was at Cafe Rio - which was very good and filling.  Outside the restaurant, was a very unusual car - it appeared to be a Chrysler Lebaron, that was outfitted on the outside with an actual boat.  From a few feet away, it actually looks like a boat going down the road.  It was quite unique, to say the least.  And with no frame modification, was still road legal.

Back at Keith's house, we talked a bit more before turning in for the night.  I wasn't sure what to expect, given that I had never met him, but was very glad we made the stop.

West 16 Day 4

Alliance, Nebraska to Harlowton, Montana:  585.1 miles

Morning came bright and early.  SO's sister's family needed to get ready for their work and school day, so it made sense for us to head out early as well.
The morning was somewhere between cool and cold, with temperatures in the low 50's, requiring heavier gloves for the morning.  It was wonderful watching the sunrise to the east as we started to head north.

In some places, the road was arrow straight.  In others, it undulated along with rolling hills and sweeping turns.
We've passed many agricultural fields so far, but surprisingly there have been few sunflower fields.  I guess we've mostly seen these in South Dakota in previous years.  We did pass one field with all the smiling sunflower faces watching us headed out of Nebraska.

Crossing into South Dakota, we skirted the Black Hills where traffic did pick up for a short time.  Remnants of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally were still evident - it takes a long time to recover from a hangover that massive.  Having been in the area closer to the rally time on a previous trip, as well as to other bike events like Daytuna Bike Week, I'll take the more contemplative time without hesitation.

We crossed briefly into Wyoming.  I was just beginning to wonder why we hadn't seen any pronghorn antelope yet, as the area we were in should have been silly with them, when we started to see them.  In addition to many herds of antelope through the second half of the day, we also saw quite a few mule deer, including a road kill buck that was very impressive.  The remains were already bloated and stinky, as were many, many animal carcasses we saw throughout the day.

Animals aside, there are very few places one can safely speed on the road.  Remote Montana probably qualifies.  After passing several slower vehicles, I took advantage of the opportunity to make up some time.

Eventually we got to Custer National Forest.

The area is much hillier, but not quite mountainous.  Compared to much of what we had seen up until then, there were many more trees.

There were also areas where either beetle kills or previous burns had left large swaths of the forest dead.  It is a bit sad to look at, but there was also evidence of new regrowth in places; a reminder that life comes after death.

We had a great lunch at the Powder River Stockman's Club in Broadus, Montana.  The day was starting to feel old school.  No set agenda or hotel reservation.  Lunch on the road.  Great weather.  No traffic.  It just doesn't get any better.
We got on the interstate again for a while, getting off in Billings.  Billings looked like a fairly large town.  As we got into town, a sign welcomed Wing Dingers - as GWRRA is having their annual shindig in Billings this same week.  I'm a member, but Wing Ding just isn't on the agenda.  Besides, we aren't registered and I'm not sure it is really my scene?

We kept working our way north and west, eventually stopping in Harlowton, Montana - a neat little town on US 12.  According to most maps, we're too far north to be on Robert Pirsig's route from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but in his day there weren't interstates.  I could see him avoiding the interstates, as we were, and using state or federal highways instead.  My mind did wander to that book as we calmly motored through the afternoon.
We stayed in town at the Countryside Inn.  You know when you get an old cut key, that you are in a good hotel.  This just continues the old school theme of the day, since we used to stay in a lot more independent hotels.

The hotel was absolutely wonderful, but the layout was unconventional with beds offset, but facing each other.  After seeing how the mechanicals were laid out, it was obvious there weren't many other options.  After being in the room for a while, I actually think this is a better option and more hotels should look at this.  Quite frankly, it makes a lot of sense.

Dinner that night was at Jailhouse pizza.  There was a couple next to us who were teaching a motorcycle safety class at Wing Ding.  Sadly, it appeared they were in a motor home though.  There is something slightly wrong with that.  The Jailhouse calzones were very good, even if the very small restaurant was a little unconventional.

Back at the hotel, we wound down for the night, ready to do it again in the morning.

West 16 Day 3

Atlantic, Iowa to Alliance, NE:  474.5 miles

We were up and out the door to a cool morning after some gratis hotel waffles.  It is hard to describe how wonderful mornings on the bike are, even if we were on the interstate.  Cool dense air and getting pushed down the road by an amazing sunrise.

I'm not sure what it is about this trip, but we once again had a hitchhiker along for the ride.  He didn't want to leave Iowa, so he bolted at some point near the border with Nebraska.

People often complain that Nebraska is boring to drive through.  And if you jump on I-80 and go border to border, fighting with all of the other people who say Nebraska is boring, it will be.  But the 2-lane roads are nearly as fast and there are many scenic areas.  Nebraska is only boring if someone demands that it be boring.

The eastern part of the state is mostly agricultural and low in elevation.  As travel goes west, the terrain slowly increases in hills and curves in the road.  Elevation increases until the Sandhill region which is around 4000 feet above sea level.  All this while on roads that are nearly devoid of other cars.

Nebraska has many small lakes.  Some of these are likely man made, but they are still pretty to drive through.  Several had people (meaning one or two) fishing in them.

There are several streams which range from tiny, to broad enough to boat one.

It is hard do the Sandhills region justice, but the area is uniquely beautiful.  Approaching some of the higher elevations and being able to see seemingly forever in the distance can be breathtaking.

We had a short rest stop at a gas station where several other "kids" on motorcycles were also taking a break.  They made some Goldwing jokes as we pulled in which was fine.  I was there once too...

Arriving in Alliance, we went to SO's sister's house.  Their rambunctious kids kept us entertained while Troy smoked ribs and chicken for dinner.  Smelling the food for several hours made us very hungry to the point I ravenously ate too much for dinner.

For whatever reason, I was beyond exhausted and turned in early to be able to head out west and north in the morning.

West 16 Day 2

Danville, IL to Atlantic IA:  502.6 miles (and one tire)

I almost always check tire air pressure before leaving for the morning, but I decided overnight that if it was raining in the morning, I wouldn't bother since Day 1 was only 180 miles.  

Up early, it wasn't raining and things were starting to dry out.  So while waiting for the hotel breakfast to be put out, I checked oil and tire pressure.

Front was perfect, back said 8.5 psi.  That can't be right?  Recheck front - good.  Recheck back - 8.5 psi.  This is not good.

Rotating the rear wheel, I saw the end of a big gnarly screw in the tread.  I rode over to the gas station and popped the bike back up on the center stand.  I've had good luck with Stop&Go plugger over the years, and quickly put a plug in after extracting the screw.  I grabbed a cup of water with some shampoo in it and checked for bubbles.  

As I feared, the gnarly screw had gone in at such an angle that it wasn't completely sealed by the plug.  The leak was slow, so after finding out where various Honda dealerships were, we headed out.

We also had a hitchhiker along for the ride.  This little grasshopper decided that the Goldwing was the way to travel.  He came along all the way to Bloomington.

We made it to World of Powersports - Bloomington as they were getting ready to open.  The people there were super friendly, and they said they could try to patch the tire.  I hate losing a tire with 50% of its life left, but more than that, I didn't want to worry about a tire with so many more miles to go on the trip.  They had a Bridgestone G704 in stock, so on the bike it went while we went across the street for a good breakfast.  By the time we had eaten, the bike was ready to go; we were on the road again within a hour of the store opening.

Back on the road with peace of mind, we headed west, getting off of the interstate near Galesburg, Illinois and crossing the Mississippi river at Burlington, Iowa.

Once into Iowa, we stayed on 2-lane roads most of the day, but most of the major roads aren't 2-lane in this part of of Iowa.  This is Midwestern motorcycle touring at its finest.  There were a few cars, but we mostly had the road to ourselves.

We took a brief detour to the town that I lived in until I was about one year old.  We had gone through the town somewhere around 2002, and even got a tour from a woman who remembered my mom ("I used to kill chickens with her," Wilma says).  We drove through briefly this time and took a few pictures.  I was shocked that there was a winery just outside of the town.  The area is pretty conservative even now, but I'm sure a booze factory would not have been tolerated when I was born.

It was another hour or so on the bike to get to my cousin Lynne's house.  I had seen her briefly at my Dad's funeral last year, and thought it would be nice to visit since we were in the area.  We stopped by, arriving a little earlier than we had planned, even with the tire mishap.  We talked for a while, catching up and seeing some old family pictures.  The afternoon ended with a wonderful dinner of steak and fresh salads, mostly with home grown ingredients.  

After the nice visit, we headed west again, to get another 100 miles down the road, ending up in the Atlantic Ocean for the night - or maybe it was just Atlantic, Iowa.  The evening was cool with almost no wind; the sunset was very pretty.  By the time we got to the hotel, it was very dark and we were ready to turn in for the night.

We've gotten lucky over the years with minimal mishaps on the road.  The tire was a bit unfortunate, but it is part of the wonderful world of motorcycle touring.  And World of Powersports - Bloomington gets the hero of the day award for being so friendly and getting us back on the road so quickly!

West 16 Day 1

To be fair, 2016 has been a good year so far - maybe even a really good year.
Despite being cut short, my winter hog hunt was successful, and the abbreviated trip may have prevented me from being stuck on locked up winter weather roads.  March came with a late(ish) snow storm, but we made it to Hawaii, "our" 50th state, and had an absolute blast.
Still, with really nothing since then, it seems like it has been a very long time since the last adventure - not even a brief impromptu weekend motorcycle trip somewhere.  This isn't like 2012, when there really WAS  a long spell without an extended motorcycle adventure, but as I look at the proposed route for a 2016 trip, it looks surprisingly similar, knowing no two trips are ever the same.
And yet, summer has been somewhat complacent.  Weeks of the comfortable routine.  Dog walking, biking, mowing, and working and working.  It is time to get out of Dodge for a while.
I've reread Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in preparation for the trip.  We'll be traveling many of the areas Robert Pirsig did in the book; I fully anticipate he'll make an appearance on this adventure.

And so, after mowing some disgustingly long grass, we are ready to go.
SO took a half day off of work to drop off the dogs in beagle jail.  I escaped the incarceration of work as early as I could.  We finished packing up the Goldwing, and off we went.

Home to Danville, IL:  179.2 miles

We started on 2-lane roads before hitting the interstate.

Traffic was tolerable and not even that bad around Indianapolis even though it was approaching rush hour.  Once through Indy, traffic thinned noticeably.  Somewhere outside of Indy, my Goldwing ticked over to 50,000 miles.  Frankly not that many given the bike has been in 49 states and never on a trailer!

(The picture with the actual 50000 was blurry, but doing this at 75MPH wasn't easy or prudent)

We hit a little bit of rain, but it was almost pleasant with the heat.  Radar suggested we missed some good thunderstorms by only an hour or two.  More was coming, so even though we could have gone further, we stopped in Danville.  Riding in the heat after work is slightly more tiring, and this sets up us well for tomorrows destination.

Dinner at Big Boy was better than it had a right to be, followed by an early evening with a giant chocolate chip cookie to end the day.