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.)
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