4 Days to Ride....Let's see it all!

With 4 days to ride we loaded the bikes with luggage and prepared to see some awesome country.  We decided the first day would take us from WA state down into the tip of NV where we would have a nice soak in the hot springs before turning in for the night.  After day 1 we will wing it...who knows where we will end up :-)

Here's a overview of our route from the GPS tracks...1600 miles total.



The Riders:

   ANDY

   TOM

   ROMAN

   MIKE



DAY 1

We left home at 5am and headed south into Oregon.  The temps dropped down to 29 deg at one point, although it was in the low 50's most of the time.  Heated gear is absolutely amazing, not sure why I waited so long to invest in a heated jacket and pants!

The first stop came when Andy's 990 ran out of fuel, we had been pushing the bikes pretty hard with lots of elevation gain since we left home so all the bikes were using more fuel than normal.  Andy pulled to the side of the road and emptied his 2 gallon RotoPack into the bike.




A stop during some road construction, a fire had recently came through here and there were burned out houses all along this section of road :-(



We ate breakfast in a small town we passed through then headed to French Glen, gateway to the Steen Mountains.  We got a snack while we were there and stretched out a little.









Just outside of French Glen we headed up the Steen's Scenic Loop...Close to 10,000 Feet at the top and the views are amazing!

Andy snapping some pics of us riding by.






Roman arriving at the first view point.




Wow....Just Awesome!



Roman...."I think this is close enough to the edge".





Snow




Back on the road heading to the next view point.





With the monster fuel tank I started calling my bike Miss Piggy :-)  It's nice having the 400 mile range out here!






Roman cruising along.






Andy's HID lights are VERY visible.




Looking down the East side of the Steen Mountains.  The east side is very steep and jagged, you can see the Alvord dry lake bed down below.  Here I'm pointing out Micky Hot Springs off in the distance.

They were going to try and set a land speed record with a jet powered car on the lake bed the same weekend we were there but the car had some problems and the run was postponed.














Andy taking in the View.




Good view of the Alvord Lake Bed






Heading down the back side of the Scenic Loop




The views on the way down were amazing as well.






Back on the pavement




It was just about dark at this point.  We stopped at Denio Junction and grabbed a burger to eat.  The cafe was closed for a while at Denio while the new owners were waiting for their food permit, they now have the permit and the restaurant is open again. :-)




Can't stop at Denio Junction without taking a photo of "GODS RIDE".




We arrived at Bog hot springs just as it was getting dark.  We set up the tents and had a great soak in the 103 deg water!  Nothing is better after a long days ride than a relaxing soak in the middle of the desert.



461 Miles today, 8.49 hrs ride time.

Lots more to come.

Hodakaguy

Day 2

It was a chilly night in the tents, wasn't bad until around 3am then it cooled right down.  I was glad that I had put on the long johns before hitting the sack.  Once up we were treated to a beautiful sunrise across the back side of the Steen's.





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Bog hot springs.  This is one of my favorite hot springs, it's a flowing hot creak that pops up from the desert then flows lazily along until it once again soaks back into the desert.  It's right around 103 deg, perfect soaking temp!




Mike Gearing up.  About 2am this camper came rolling in, they were fast asleep when we rolled out. 




Lot's-O-Supplies but the whole kit fits nicely in the three hard bags including the tent, sleeping bag, cloths etc.  I finally popped for a good sleeping bag, rated at 20 deg and fits in that green back in the pic. 




We rolled out of Bog Hot Springs and headed towards Lakewiew OR.  At this point we have no plans for the rest of the trip, at camp we talked about heading north into ID, Maybe going back up through OR on a different route or ???  We decided we would head to Lakeview OR get some breakfast then make a decision on the next route. 

Roman Rollin down the HWY.




Mike and the Strom




Andy rollin the 990




Probably not the smartest thing but over the years I've gotten very good at riding with my left hand on the throttle and shooting pics with my right hand while going down the back roads :-)








Stopped in the middle of the road for a photo shoot of Miss Piggy lol.  Out here you can sit for 30 min and never see another car go by!




And a group shot




Overlooking the Guano Valley.  Wide open spaces!




At this point we hit the dirt again to check out an abandoned ranch that I know about.   It's been several years since I've visited the ranch and I was looking forward to seeing it again.

Roman getting some dirt action.








Andy Hauling the Mail




The ESA suspension on Miss Piggy is awesome, one push of a button and the suspension is tailored for off road!






Mike had complained earlier in the morning that he kept hearing a rattle on the bike, he found what it was when the RotoPack and mount fell off the bike going down the dirt road lol.  Luckily all the parts were found and he had it re-mounted again in no time.




Lots of wide open country down here








Arriving at the Shirk Ranch







The whole gang made it




The Shirk Ranch is lost in time.  Nothing rots out here in the desert, it's amazing how long places like this last out here.  The ranch looked just like it had when I was here several years ago :-)








Checking out the inside of the house.  With all the rat crap on the floor its now the "Hantavirus Hotel".






Sink and Pluming out back




Checking out the hand dug well.




Hey...is this a long straw?






Back side of the House




The old tool shed out back, lots of little bits to look at out here.








One of the many sleds at the ranch




Hiking further out back to check out the holding pond




Andy got fascinated at this point with the water gate on the holding pond, he was obsessed with running it all the way up and back down again lol.








After checking out the ranch we headed for the hill side to walk through the dump.  Old dumps at places like this are always fun to check out, if you visit the ranch please don't remove anything from the site so others can share the same experience.




One of several old cars in the dump






And more.....








Piles and Piles of old garbage...soooo cool!








Home brew hay fork made from a old truck frame.  Pretty wild!  You had to be resourceful out here!










I had to take it for a spin :-)




After checking out the dump I showed the guys where a tomb stone was located over looking the ranch.




The tomb stone is carved out of sand stone.  It reads "Here lies Bill Vickers and ?...  Shot August 17, 1889".  I asked a local once about it and they said they had heard a bank robber was involved in the shooting.  Would be cool to know the real history behind this tomb stone.




Overview of the ranch taken from the grave site.  Desolate Living!




The original house at the ranch, must have burnt down.




Square nails at the original house site.




We said good by to the ranch and headed back to the Hwy again.  Once back on the black top I had to snap a road warrior pose lol.




Roman got in on the road warrior action as well.




With the off road detour the 990 decided it wanted some fuel or it wasn't going all the way to Lakeview.  Mikes 1 gallon RotoPack being emptied into the 990's belly.




We made it to Lakeview and had a great lunch.  At this point we decided to head all the way to the Oregon Coast to Coos Bay then take Hwy 101 north along the coast.  We will go from mountains, to Desert then to the Ocean and back into the Mountains again.  Wa cool!

We filled up the bikes and hit the road.  Not sure why but we didn't get any more pics the rest of the day today.

We rode the last couple hrs in the dark arriving in Coos Bay OR about 9pm that night.  Another long day in the saddle and lots of great scenery along the way.

Tomorrow...the Oregon Coast.

More to come

Hodakaguy

Day 3

After a warm nights sleep at a Motel 6 we geared up and headed north from Coos Bay.  Typical coastal weather had set in and a steady rain was now coming down, we rode a little over an hr north to Newport OR to get some much needed coffee and breakfast.   I have to say it again....Heated gear is now my favorite piece of kit!

After a great breakfast we rode down to the water front to check out the local tourist traps.  The weather started to break and the rain stopped for now.

NewPort Water Front




Not every day you have a Unicorn Sighting!




Checking out the Sea lions, man these things are noisy!






Next up we rode over to the Historic Lighthouse to check it out.  The views are soooo cool.








Andy soaking in the view, except the lens are almost completely fogged over so it looks like your looking into a fog bank lol.




Bridge crossing over into NewPort on HWY 101




Group shot before hitting the road again.




Next up we stopped at the Tillamook Air Museum.  The actual museum itself is just a shell of what it used to be, most of the planes have been moved to a different museum.  Even with the lack of aircraft now the building itself is definitely worth seeing!

The Hanger at Tillamook is a WWII Blimp Hanger.  The Hanger is the largest free-standing, clear-span wooden structure in the world. Covering more than seven acres, the building is 1,072 feet long, 296 feet wide, and towers more than 15 stories high.

Info from the Tillamook web site, full site here (CLICK HERE).

The buildings are worthy of note as much as the aircraft they accommodated. Each hangar required more than two million board feet of lumber, most of it from Oregon. Even the gutters and downspouts used wood to conserve metal, and more than 2,000 tons of steel were saved per hangar. Each timber was treated with fire retardant, and it took fifty different lumber companies to prepare and supply all the wood needed.

The buildings were completed in summer 1943. The first blimp had arrived on February 15 that year; but because there was no hangar to protect it, it was torn to pieces in a heavy storm on March 27.

With the huge hangars completed, NAS Tillamook stationed blimps during 1943-1945. They were used to watch over ports in Oregon and Washington and shipping lanes from California to the San Juan Islands, a 500-mile radius. These Lighter-than-Air (LTA) ships could stay aloft 48 hours, cruise at 50-67 knots, and cover 13,000 square miles of water during a day’s shift.

Lots of cool construction pics of the hangers here:  CLICK HERE





It's pretty dark inside the hanger and my pocket camera isn't the best for low light.  Here's a shot looking down through the hanger.




Plane flying through the hanger (Photo from Web)




Blimps in the hanger (Photo from Web)




A Rutan Quickie home built aircraft.  This plane has always been one of my favorites, 115mph cruise on 18hp!




1946 Curtiss Flight Simulator...very cool!










Roman trying a jet on for size....it was a tight fit lol.




Restored Mig




We popped outside to check out the Guppy, the "Super Guppy" is even weirder looking that this one.  The tail section swings open to allow large cargo to easily be loaded.




Once inside there is lots of room.




The extended fuselage is just built off a cut section of a standard fuselage...wild.










The group standing at the base of the hanger doors, this shot really shows how massive this building really is!
120 feet high

The Doors consist of 6 sections each weighing 30 tons.  220 foot wide Opening.  Opening Sections roll on railroad tracks




The original Helium compressor used to fill the blimps during WWII.




Picture of planes being stored in the hanger at one time...man I would like to have that stash now!




We saddled up again and left the hanger.  I stopped along side the road on the way out to get this overall shot of the hanger.




We stopped again just down the road from the Air Museum to get some squeaky cheese at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.




Photo Opp Bus inside the Cheese Factory




Once back on the road again we stopped for a seafood dinner at Seaside OR.  After a great dinner we rode down to the turn around to get a quick picture of the ocean, it was getting dark and we needed to put some miles on to get to Astoria Or for the night.




We ended up stopping at a KOA just outside of Astoria for the night.  This is the fanciest KOA i've ever seen with multiple pools, kids fun land, miniature golf etc.  They only had one tent site left open for the night so we all split a small cabin with 4 beds and got settled in for the night.  We walked back down to the office and sat around the fire for a while before turning in.




Home sweet home for the night, at lease we won't have a wet tent to pack up in the am :-)




More to come!

Hodakaguy

Day 4

We were up early to check out the old Military fort at the mouth of the Columbia River....except we are early risers and the fort doesn't open for another 3 hrs. Well cancel that idea. Plan B, we head into Astoria OR for breakfast and form a plan for the day.

We stop at Pig'n Pancake for breakfast, we are all ready for some food. After eating a good breakfast and more importantly inhaling large quantities of coffee we set out again to see the historic Astoria Tower.



Bummer, turns out the tower is under renovation while they restore the art work so you can't climb to the top right now. It was still cool checking out the tower from the ground. Here's a shot of the tower with all the scaffolding in place for construction.






Even with the tower closed the views from the parking lot are still incredible. In the distance you can see the mouth of the Columbia River with the Astoria Bridge in the background. The bridge is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America at 4.1 miles long.








Maint is taking place on the bridge so we had to stop for a couple minutes...just enough time to snap a couple pics.






We continued along the coast and finally stopped at Long Beach WA to stretch and take in the sights. Roman and Andy decided to ride down to the water line for a photo shoot. :-)











Coming back off the beach, Andy powering through the sand. Andy is an animal on the 990 off road!






Roman taking the more conservative approach






Roman picked up a souvenir from the beach :-)




After the beach we needed to make time so we headed out for home. I didn't get many pics between the beach and home. Here we snapped a couple pics while crossing the cascade mountains.






It was a great trip....can't wait for the next one!

Hodakaguy

NIce

Great trip and fantastic photos.  Thanks for sharing.