The plan for this Saturday ride was to go get the Timothy Lake dam and combine that with another tour we are doing. Let's see, it's about 550 miles RT. We'll leave at 7am and we can be back by about 6pm. (11 hours at 50 mph). Would that work out? Stay tuned.
Leaving at 7am from Seattle with friends, Bob & Merle, it was a brisk and cool ride down to our refueling stop in Woodland. There wasn't much traffic and there were lots of low hanging clouds. With a weatherman projection of mid 70's, it was getting hard to believe it would finally get warm. Fortunately Gerbings came to the rescue for my wife. I was comfortable in my LDComfort under my Kilimanjaro Air with it's very comfy liner. The brief breakfast stop at the Golden Arches was refreshing.
We noticed that one of Bob's Bushtec trailer tires was developing a bald spot, so we decided to add a brief stop at Wingman Enterprises in Portland (near the airport and just north of Sandy Blvd.) to see if they would have a tire. Of course, putting a Wing rider in a Wing store is like putting a person in a candy store. While they didn't have the tire, we left several hundred $$ there on other goodies.
Leaving Wingman, it was a busy & traffic filled ride to 26 where we headed for a stop at Mt. Hood since it was along the way. Today I received an email from friends who said, "Was that your twin on the Mt. Hood highway yesterday? We saw your bike as we crested the Mt. Hood highway" Wow, one can't even escape into Oregon!!
Here are a few pictures as we reached the location.
It was by this time getting warm and meeting the weatherman's projection. The area was very busy, but we found a place to park. And I discovered the bike had a milestone which I documented.
Since it was not much after noon (we're right on schedule, yup ), we decided to have lunch. And it was a lovely lunch as the pictures indicate. I heartily recommend the RAMSHEAD Bar & Grille on the 3rd level.
That's one big piece of smoked salmon.
Cheese fondue.
The happy travellers:
Looking around, I see that I don't need a GPS.
At least while I'm stopped.
Continuing on south on 26, we turned on the road to Lake Timothy. We hadn't been there in around 6 years, so it was a set of pleasant memories to re-ride the road down to the lake. We snagged the obligatory photo, and my first Oregon dam had now been snagged.
I rode over the dam and snapped this cool photo of the spillway. I loved the flower looking way that the engineers designed the outflow of this dam. I suspect they were trying to aerate the water before putting it in the stream.
Leaving the dam, we retraced our route back out to 26 and plotted a course north on OR35 to Hood River where we needed to cross the river and snag a photo on the other side. There were great vistas of Mt. Adams and the orchard country on the area above Hood River. Lots of cottonweed was in the air. At that stop on the Washington side, we enjoyed some cold drinks (the root beer float was soooo good on a warm day). It was then time to refuel the bikes and head back across the river to head west on I-84. It's now about 5pm. And what a picture we got of Mt. Hood.
You're guessing by now that the plan came apart: we won't be home at 6pm. 
Oh, and did I mention the temperatures were now in the low 80's. NICE!!
So we head down I-84 in a moderate amount of traffic, but with the sun in our eyes. We found our next stop after taking this nice and twisty road up the gorge wall just off Exit 22 and found our next photo opportunity and enjoyed an appetizer before heading on the final stretch home with one more stop before home.
There was a fair amount of traffic heading north on I-5 and we pulled into the rest are north of Battle Ground to put on warmer gear. At least some of us did.
We did a refueling and further donning of cold riding gear stop in Centralia at around 9:30pm. Yup, the plan had come totally apart, but we are really enjoying the day together. It's been a great ride so far. Let's see, it was 9:30pm, we should be home around 11pm. It sounds good for the new plan and that'll work.
Heading north, we get to around milepost 127 and traffic comes to a halt with a message that the right three lanes go away 2 miles ahead. We then did stop and go riding for nearly 2 hours through this section. Total bummer! And all of that warm clothing was so warm.
We finally rolled into home at around 1:00am Sunday morning with 548 miles. Yes, the plan came totally apart. But it was a great day riding with my wife and friends. One more dam done. Seven more Oregon dams to go. Another dam fine day.
Day One
Every good ride starts with a plan. At least that's my theory. My plan has been to figure out the best way to tag the remaining 3 Washington Dams. I played with lots of options and decided the best way for me (us as my wife would be coming with me) would be to do a clockwise loop. Well it seemed that we had a Carrie Underwood concert in Everett on Saturday night 5/29, so I knew it would not be an early start on Sunday. The plan was to ride to Salmon Lake dam, Boundary dam and then overnight with my father-in-law Sunday night. We'd then tag the last dam, Lower Granite, on Monday morning and work our way back home.
It was a great concert, but we didn't get to bed very early and rose around 6:30 to don our clothes and head on out in a misty morning around 7:40am. Would there be rain this whole weekend? That wasn't part of the plan. 
We headed east on I-90 with a quick breakfast stop at McDonald's and one of the first photos of the Vantage Bridge. I was just on this bridge a week ago. It's like an old friend.
We left the interstate and aimed for Ephrata to refuel the bike. The course then took us north to Bridgeport via Soap Lake.
I think the roads are straight here.
Along this segment we were passed at a high rate of speed by a black Gl1200 Wing. As we approached Dry Falls State Park we see a WSP ST1300 with lights on with a paying customer. Yes it was the black Wing.
We took a rest break at Chief Joseph dam (subject of an earlier DamTour I suspect).
Are aliens near?
At Okanogan, we followed our planned GPS route which takes us along a gravel road for 10 or so miles. I'm sure we surprised some of the dual sport bikers who were riding towards us. I could have ridden the paved Conconully Road, but where's the adventure in that?
Arriving at Salmon Lake dam, we documented my 6th WA dam. It was a nice quiet stop.
The plan was then to keep following the road along side the lake and down the mountain and beside Fish Lake. While the road was a little washboardy, it was totally passable on a 2up Wing and dry conditions. I wouldn't attempt it with wet conditions.
Of course, if you can't photograph dams, there's always old tractors. These are along the paved section between Fish Lake and US97.
Rejoining US97 we headed for Tonasket and a quick late lunch at Subway and a refueling of the bike.
It was then time to head east on WA 20. This turned out to be one of the most pleasant segments. Up until now there had been little traffic. Now there was virtually none. It was just a lot of throttle twisting, roll off, lean, roll on.
About milepost 312 and just east of Republic, we came around a corner and I picked up what looked to be deer in the road (first critter of the weekend). But this was bigger than a normal deer. Yup, a moose was on the loose. I brought the Wing to a stop about 50 yards away and the moose finally decided to amble over the guardrail and down into the brush. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures. Fortunately it was a more pleasant encounter than a few years ago when we got between momma moose and baby moose. That one ended fine, but it was a few tense moments.
We took a rest break at the Tiger junction. Maybe the Wing needs some work?
Arriving at the Boundary dam guard station, we were greeted by a very friendly guard who gave us clearance to ride down and take the picture. Now I understand why one doesn't go past the tunnels.
We then came up to the top side of the dam and a camper took our photo.
Leaving the dam area, we find another un-tagged dam.
The plan was then to head back down WA31 towards Spokane, but lets change the plan. We rode into Metaline Falls and cruised main (I had been hospitalized there many years ago with a kidney stone attack. The hospital is now closed and converted to other use.) Leaving Metaline Falls we headed for Canada. Oops no passports. Change the plan again. We head for Sullivan Lake (a favorite family camping spot from when our kids were young) and take a picture at the Sullivan Lake dam (a nice future dam worth riding to).
Here's a shot of Sullivan Lake in the twilight.
We then rode down the very delightful Sullivan Lake Road and had 3 deer encounters (the first two ran away from us and the third ran across in front of us). If you are up in this area, riding the Sullivan Lake road is a real treat.
It was then back to WA 31 and a ride south. Given that we last refueled in Tonasket, the prospect of running on fumes was going through my head. Fortunately at Cusick there is a Conoco station that leaves the pumps on 24 hours and they take credit cards.
We continued our ride on into Spokane and decide to change the plan and stay in Spokane. At the "Y" in north Spokane, we enjoy a gormet dinner salad and snack wrap at McDonald's (part of the plan) and find a room at the Comfort Inn. It was 585 miles for the day and lots of smiles. It just wasn't worth riding another hour or so in the dark to Colfax with the prospect of critters. Plus King sized beds are very nice after putting lots of miles on the bike and absorbing the sights, sounds and smells of the ride. Yes, I like it when a plan comes together.
Day 2
Day 2 (Memorial Day):
After refreshing good night's rest, we were rudely awakened by our alarm at 0630. Peering out the window we can see that it's pouring rain. Does our plan have 400 miles of rain ahead for us? If one is to believe the TV weather lady, it sure looks like it. What a plan!!
We enjoy a nice breakfast, suit up in our Frogg Toggs Highway Elite rain gear (can't say enough good about these), check out and head on south through Spokane. It was sort of a sentimental ride as we lived in Spokane for about 15 years back in the 70's and 80's. It's interesting to return to a city one has lived in and see the changes.
Heading south on US195, it's a nice pleasant cruise through the Palouse farmland.
Just outside of Colfax we see a sign that's a DamTour rider's delight:
Arriving at Angela's dad's condominium, we have a pleasant reunion and a chance to thank him for his service in WWII. He's 91 going on 92 and sharp as a tack. He wants to go up to the cemetary and see the flag display where his first wife (Angela's mom) is honored. So I drive all of us up to the cemetery where we are greeted by a flag display.
Each of the flags are the ones presented to the family member after a military funeral. Angela's mom was in the US Navy in WWII and we seek her flag.
Here's a picture of it.
It was a good opportunity to honor the people who make it possible for us to enjoy the freedom to do things like the DamTour and the many other freedoms we enjoy. Thanks, Leonard and Lorayne Guptill for your service.
Colfax also has a carved pole called the Codger Pole.
Here's the history:
Leaving Colfax, we head up the Hospital Road towards the Almota grade. Just past the church and the hospital, the road turns to gravel for 4 or 5 miles. While I know the road is paved to Boyer Park and the Lower Granite dam, I decide to follow the GPS down another "shortcut" which was probably 10 or so miles of very rural, gravel, Whitman County roads that eventually comes out on WA194. I don't recommend it for the typical rider.
Here's a nice photo coming down the grade to the Snake River. Very nice twisties here.
Arriving at the dam, we take the documentary photo, remove our Frogg Toggs, and proceed to the gate.
We wait for around 10 minutes after placing the call. The friendly guard comes and takes our driver's license and plate numbers down and we get to lead a procession of two vehicles across the dam. It was very cool to ride along the locks and make the U Turn in that process.
Leaving the dam, I once again follow the GPS track (after all that is the plan isn't it?) with a left turn towards the Wawawai Grade road which turns to gravel (Matt wrote this up). On the way there, a hawk flies up in front of us with what's probably a rattlesnake in it's talons. It flies ahead of us for a bit as it tries to gain altitude. It was such a surreal sight, but unfortunately we couldn't get a picture fast enough.
Abandoning the GPS plan, we turned around and headed south along the Almota Ferry road with a routing to Pomeroy (the town where my father graduated high school). The plan was now to head for near Othello and a restaurant we had on another Tour list.
It was a fun ride through lots of back roads of SE Washington State.
We arrived at the restaurant and enjoyed a couple of great meals. We then headed west on WA26 for the Vantage Bridge. We re-fueled at Royal City so we wouldn't need to stop in Ellensburg and the holiday traffic to be found there. The ride on WA26 was extremely gusty and we skirted several rain showers.
The winds continued on the ride west on I-90. The gamble in this part of the plan was whether the holiday traffic had dissipated. The ride up the Vantage grade was very windy as was the ride between Ellensburg & Cle Elum.
At Cle Elum the traffic suddenly comes to a halt and we are caught in a traffic jam. The Traffic Radio reported the backup was only about 6 miles so we inched along. Over the CB I hear a transmission about a motorcycle splitting the lane and shortly I have a very loud motorcycle beside me and the passenger is asking how long the backup is. Because of the loud pipes we really can't communicate. So off the 2 gals head in the right lane. About that time a group of 4 or 5 V twins come roaring up the shoulder and they are joined by the motorcyclist that tried to communicate with us. Where's the WSP when you need them? About 3 miles up the road, all of the bikes are pulled over with two troopers attending to their situation.
The traffic eventually breaks up and we again pass through some sqalls, and once over the pass we enjoy a nice break in the clouds.
We arrived at home around 8:30pm. It was 1,005 miles in 37 hours, 3 dams, 1 cafe, 1 moose, a number of deer, 30 or so miles of gravel riding, and lots of pleasure. In fact, Angela's comment was, "When's the next over-nighter?" Hmmm. Let's see. WAC Bennett or something south? Hmmm....
Here's a link to our SPOT track
http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=5759
And if you want to view all of our photos, here's the link for that:
http://timmer.smugmug.com/Other/2010/12129038_UypK8#886961236_W65vf (start on page 6 for this report.)
I headed out on an early sprinkly Friday morning for RMC to meet Gary Paul who was to be my riding partner for this trip along with Tug who we would meet at Hawks Prairie. We were concerned about the weather going over White Pass, so we elected to ride around via I-5 & Portland. How do you spell riding 250 miles in varying degrees of rain? Answer: Our route. The rain was heaviest between the Toutle River and Woodland where we refueled.
In order to miss the WA14 construction I routed us via I-84 where we finally rode out of most of the rain by Cascade Locks. We re-crossed the Columbia River at Hood River, rode up WA 14 to Dallesport where I found a photo location at the end of the pavement near the sewage treatment facility.
I then routed us along Hoctor Road through a nice Wind Farm to old WA8.
I've always liked these next two scenes:
Continuing on we reached our night's destination in Pendleton. The following day we did a 350 mile ride that I had laid out for the group I was riding with. If you would like to view pictures of that ride, go to the following link:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/28wwo6x Essentially it was a ride that left Pendleton headed south on US395, west on OR74/207 (nice technical twisties) to Condon, south on OR19 via Fossil and Spray to US26 and west to John Day. Then we rode north on US395 back to Pendleton.
Today, Sunday, Gary and I decided to tag the Mill Creek Dam in Walla Walla since it was only 40 miles away. I had originally considered running to the Swan Falls dam and then picking up the two eastern Oregon Dams on the way back, but because of the very variable weather conditions, decided to cut my ride short and just get the Mill Creek Dam.
It was a nice ride there and the setting for the dam is so close to civilization. It, however, was very, very windy and I had to tape my Damtour placard to the windshield.
Leaving Walla Walla, we selected a route up WA24 along the east side of the Columbia River.
Lunch was in Mattawa at La Parrilla where Gary Paul gave it a 2 thumbs up (he's a Mexican food fan).
Here's a picture of the Vantage Bridge where it wasn't even windy.
The rest of the ride over Snoqualmie Pass was a mixture of wet & dry (mostly dry).
It was a nice 3 days of riding 1,085 miles. 5 Dams down and 15 to go.
I love it when a plan comes together. But it's even more challenging when the plan comes apart. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Today the plan was to snag Cowlitz Falls, French Canyon, and The Dalles if everything worked out. The plan was to have a few others join me, but they dropped out and one of my riding friends, Bob, stuck with the plan and met me at 9:30am this morning at my place. We reviewed the routing and took off with a general plan to head from Burien to Orting, along Lake Kapowsin and down to Morton for a fuel/rest stop. Leaving the 167 freeway and getting on the secondary roads was so refreshing. As we approached Lake Kapowsin, we tucked in behind a group of 4 bikes and rode with them all the way to the Chevron Station where we refueled and got a chance to chat about our respective rides.
Here's our bikes (clean - that was about to change):
They were impressed about the Dam Tour and what we had planned to do.
Soon that group was off and a V-Strom owner pulled up and immediately wanted to chat. It turned out he was returning from Portland to Issaquah.
I shared some routing suggestions with him and we chatted about the merits of the 60CSx GPS he was using and talked Dam Tour. It was soon time to saddle up and head up the road to the Cowlitz Falls Dam. I asked Bob if he minded riding on gravel roads and he said, "No problem, I'm following you." (Keep in mind Bob rides a black GL1800). Off we head and quickly reach the turnoff at Kosmos Road which turns into the Champion Haul Road (both of which are paved and nice riding).
I stopped to take some pictures of Riffe Lake
And a picture looking upriver:
We headed on to the bridge at Tianopam where a number of people were fishing from the foot bridge. It's at that point that the road turned to hard pack gravel and potholes. No problemo for me. For Bob, however, he got the dust as we rode the roughly 3 miles to the dam. Arriving there, we took the documentary photographs.
Here's a little outflow:
On the way in I saw a potential connector road (Conlay Road, again it was gravel). No problem (ha, ha for me). Bob once again was eating dust even though he lagged behind a fair distance. About 1/2 way along this road a small dark brown deer came out in the road in front of me and darted back. It was to be the only game I saw the whole day.
Arriving at the other side of the dam on pavement, I took the documentary picture.
I also noted that there was a water loading device that was drizzling water, so I rode the bike under it to see if I could get some of the water off of the faux tank area so I wouldn't grind dust scratches into the paint. (Vanity, I know; but it's my ride). Here's a photo of Bob getting the treatment.
Leaving the paved (north side of the Cowlitz Falls dam), the Falls and Kiona Roads are delectably fun to ride. Soon we were on US12 headed east and we were behind another Wing (Candy Black Cherry) which we followed through Packwood and then passed him and rode up White Pass and took a break and some photos.
Soon our new friend on the CBC bike pulled up and wanted to chat. It turns out he's 77 and had just rode from Yakima over to I-5 for lunch and was returning. We chatted a bit and then headed on US12 eastbound.
It was a beautiful day of riding down the pass and along Rimrock Lake. Here are some pictures taken on the fly.
I did note that there is a nice dam there and I need to return and find the access point.
Along the Tieton River:
A little farther east are these magnificent volcanic formations that I admire every time I ride through here.
Soon we were in Naches and took our routing to French Canyon Dam which was paved except for the last 1/2 mile of gravel.
I then obtained the documentation for my 3rd dam (2nd of the day).
And off we head for what we think will be our 3rd dam of the day (The Dalles). Bob has the idea that we should stop at a carwash and rid our bikes of the dust (especially Bob's black one).
And here comes the then . . .
Then just after leaving the car wash, suddenly my FI light comes on and my speedometer starts fluctuating wildly before going to zero. I tried resetting the FI light, with no effect. I can see that all of my other instrumentation is functioning normally including my voltage. So I make the decision to head for the HONDA dealer in Yakima on 1st Street and see if they might be able to help. I'm pretty certain it has something to do with using the pressure washer (even though we used the low pressure settings). Arriving at the dealer, they were closed. But I decide to stop and do a little online research which confirmed my suspicions (either my speed sensor has gone bad or there is a connector problem). I decided to call off The Dalles Dam attempt and simply head for home via the Canyon Road (tough duty I know) and Snoqualmie Pass.
Leaving Yakima where the temperatures were in the mid 80's, the speedometer suddenly starts working although the FI light stays on. We ride up the Canyon Road (simply marvelous) and make a fuel stop at the Conoco just south of I90. I like the Flying J emblem.
I read the FI code (11) and then shut the bike off. I was planning to disconnect the battery and do a hard reset of the computer but decide not to. I restart the bike and there's no FI light!! Good news. But we are committed to this route, so we ride on home up and over Snoqualmie Pass. Right at the summit the temperatures plunge from mid 60's to 54 in about 1/4 mile. Brrrr.
Arriving back in Seattle, Bob and I said our goodbyes and I made a terriyaki run as my wife is singing in a choral performance tonight. Arriving at home, the trip meter reads 370 (s)miles. It was a great two dam day.
I should add that I rode the day in my Kilimanjaro Air vented jacket with my LDComfort shirt and shorts and Tourmaster Convertible pants. I was totally comfortable in the temperatures which ranged from 54 to 85 degrees.
If you want to see more pictures from the day, they can be found at:
http://timmer.smugmug.com/Other/2010/12129038_UypK8#868111429_5Vvr7
