Day 9... Still in Montana.

This morning, I knew it was going to be hot. It was 75 degrees when I pulled out of the Mustang Motel in Townsend. I followed 12 and diverted around White Sulphur Springs. There was a lot of road construction on US-12.I rode 30 miles of ripped up roadway. I will have to be checking the fork seals after that! I also had a bad head wind and high heat to contend with. I wanted to ride to Bismark, ND, but I had to stop in Glendive, MT, there was a huge storm cloud ahead of me. The weather radio was talking about Quarter sized hail and lots of lightning. I checked out the free camping at the City park, but the lot was mud and the place had 2 large groups of teens. I found an RV park and paid my $15.00 to camp.

The day was not a total bust. I had a little excitement on 12. A rancher was moving a large herd of cattle down the highway. They were on 4 wheelers and had dogs helping.

I was a little intimidated by thr number of cows. Luckily, a pick up truck came up behind me and then got in front of me to divert the cows. That worked great.
I snapped a picture of the dinosaur in the city park in Glendive.

These last 2 wont mean anything to anyone but Nancy......

Got to go, running low on battery. I hope Wednesday goes better.

Day 8... Headed Home. 4 States, 450+ Miles.

This morning was quite cold. It took me a while to get going. Karen packed up and was on her way about an hour before me. I was nearly packed, but not ready to leave.
The tents....

Fog rolling down the mountain...

I had planned how to get to the IMBC, but I never gave much thought to getting home. Bob had suggested taking hwy 3 north from Enterprise.
Looking back south towards Enterprise, OR..

Thanks for the tip Bob... another ride through the "High Pasture"
Hwy 3 takes you past the Joseph Canyon Overlook.

After the overlook, the highway gets even more interesting. It runs down hill for many miles, There are a few 180 degree turns...

Once the road reaches the bottom, it crosses the Grande Ronde River.... Then climbs back up hill. I stopped at the bottom for a bottle of water.

I finally reached the top, Rattlesnake Summit.

3 became 129 once I crossed into Washington. I rode it all the way to Clarkston, WA. I got on US-12 and rode it all the way to Townsend, MT. I was thinking of camping tonight at the campground just outside of town, but there was no electricity and my netbook battery was low. I also didn't want another cold night inthe tent. I grabbed a room at the Mustang Hotel for $40.
I only took a few pictures along the way...
The sign at the west end of US-12 near hwy- 13.

Last year I saw old saw mill incinerators and didn't know what they were. Now I see these things... any ideas??

Be sure to zoom in on the are near the Oregon-Washington border.
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A Day of Rest...

I'm a day behind on the blog, but Sunday was a day of rest. We all met at the hotel in Joseph, where Bob and Richard were staying. We spent most of the day in the shade of a large tree. We took a walking trip up and down Main street,exploring the shops. We had a snack at Mad Mary's Soda Shop. We went back to the shade tree for a while and talked some more.
The view from the street...

Mad Mary's

At dinner time, we walked down to the Mutiny Brewing Company. I had a bowl of their Bean Soup. We talked until the sun started to set, then everyone said their good byes and headed to their hotels/campgrounds.

What a great bunch of people! Thank you for letting me attend!!! I look forward to another meet sometime in 2014.

Day 6 of My Trip... Day 2 of the iMBC 2012.

I packed up early and was out of the Knights Inn before 0730. The original plan was for all 8 of us to meet at a Bakery downtown. There was a small problem, The city had closed off streets for either a parade or run. There were joggers on the closed streets and cars were filling the surrounding side streets. Plans changed and we moved breakfast to the Sumpter Junction.

After breakfast, we all headed out for Hell's Canyon via 86. It was a nice road except for the recent chip-seal project. most was OK, some not so much. We followed 86 to Oxbow. From there, we rode up Hell's Canyon Road. Some of the group rode all the way up to the dam. I held back for photos and to find some shade. There was no way to get lost... it's a dead end road.

We went back to Oxbow for a short break. It was getting pretty warm.

At one of the stops the cameras came out.... Here's Brandy (Oregon) and Richard (Alaska)

Brad (Oregon) and Karen (Ontario)

Bob (Vancouver)

Sonja and Roland (Vancouver)

We back tracked a little further and took NF-39 the 75 miles to Entrprise, OR.

We stopped at the El Bajio Mexican restaurant for a group dinner. After dinner, we all said good bye to Sonja and Roland. They were going to be leaving first thing in the morning. It was great to meet you both!
Everyone had made different motel/camping arrangements. Both Karen and I stayed at the Log House RV Park and Campground. Brain Walker, the owner, and his wife, Margaret, are really great people. They are motorcyclists them selves and are very motorcycle friendly. Their web site is www.LogHouseRvPark.com.

The day wasn't entirely without incidents though... 2 bikes were dropped, one at a stop sign, and mine in the middle of a low speed U-turn in a gas station parking lot. I knew better than to touch the front brake... I managed to scratch the paint a little, but it's not too bad. Nothing broke. I've also misplaced my vented summer riding gloves!


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Day 5 of My Trip...Day 1 of the iMBC 2012

I woke up this morning to a beautiful, clear day in Riggins. It looked like it was going to be a great day for a ride! This was the view from the motel.

A few miles down the road I stopped for a few more shots of the hills.

I crossed the 45th parallel, on US-95, just north of New Meadows, ID.

Just before Council, ID I spotted a few tractors for sale... An Allis-Chalmers single front tire CA, a Framall A and a Ford-Ferguson.

US-95 runs through Weiser, Id and into Oregon.

A few blocks into OR, I got on 201 and followed that out to I-84. I rode the interstate up to Baker City. I was here by 10:30 local time. I pulled into the hotel and asked about my room. I figured it was way too early, but they had it ready.

I unloaded my baggage and called home to check in. Then I called one of the 3 other bloggers that I knew to be in town. After a few calls, Bob, Richard, and Karen showed up at my hotel, and we went for lunch.
After lunch, we all went back to the campground where Karen was staying. We sat around in the shade, on the picnic table, waiting to hear that the other 4 bloggers had arrived. Around 6:15 p.m., the 4 of us rode into town to meet the others for dinner.
During dinner, Sonja provided each of us with the patch shown at the top of the page. Thank you Sonja, what a great idea!

The following bloggers are here. Click their names to be taken to their blog...

Karen from Ontario, Canada.

Richard from Fairbanks, Alaska.

Brandy and her husband, Brad from Oregon.

Bob from British Columbia, Canada.

Sonja and her husband Roland, from BC, Canada.

I didn't bring my camera to dinner, but I'm sure there are pictures on the other blogs, and there will be more pictures taken this weekend.


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Trip to the iMBC, Day 4. Lincoln, MT to Riggins, ID

I spent a quite a bit of time last night standing around a fire pit eating somores with the motel owner, his wife, and her parents. We were talking motorcycles, touring, heavy equipment and gold.

I spent some time this morning repacking my gear and that slowed me down. I didn't get going as fast as I thought I would. That's OK, I'm in no rush
I left Lincoln on highway 200 towards Missoula.

I took highway 12 out of Missoula and headed for Lolo Pass.

It was nice and cool up at the visitors center, but the temps slowly climbed throughout the day.
I didn't stop for very many pictures along highway 12.

Ahhhh... SHADE!!!!

I had originally thought I'd camp in Kamiah, but the weather made me change my mind. I turned left onto 13 and rode to Grangeville. The lowest price room was $71.00, a bit much for my budget. Before I left town I had a late lunch at the Mexican restaurant, Palenque.
I headed south on 95. In Riggins I saw a sign for an affordable room!

I've put 1510 miles on so far.
Tomorrow, I'll be in Baker City, OR to meet 7 other bloggers.
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