May 5/15
Today's plan calls for a shorter ride, roughly three hundred miles. We don't have a lot of time left and wanted to spend at least one more night away while we work our way homeward. Out come the maps, both Google and hard copy and I have a couple of cups of coffee going over the possibilities. Looking carefully at an exploded view on Google maps I saw a road, Washington Hwy 821 that looked very interesting, all turns and twists in some unique landscapes. This road will take us in our intended direction as well as being one I'd never ridden before.
Time's a-wasting so we go through the routine of packing, one last cup of coffee, oh and better stop for fuel. We rejoin Hwy 97 at the north end of Bend, passing through Redmond. Driving through Madras I spot a motorcycle shop on the west side and bee-line into the parking lot. Both Lori and I have been having hair trouble, blowing hair in the face while riding and it's very irritating. Lori figures a couple of skullcaps will do the trick so I had been keeping my eyes peeled for such a shop and lo and behold here's one, Northwest Cycle, with the desired caps hanging in the front window. Now how serendipitous is that?
Inside we meet Sam, working on the bench and we get to yakking motorcycle touring and air-guns which he also sells. Bikes and guns...one stop shopping, you gotta love that! Sam's' a friendly guy and today is his birthday and his wife's is tomorrow, the 6th. Well the 6th just happens to be Lori's birthday too so everybody's feeling good. Next time you're in Madras, Oregon, stop by and say howdy.
Northwest Cycles
We grab a couple of caps and head out continuing north on 97 passing little hamlets and crossroad communities when we come to the junction of OR-218 and Shaniko where I wheel off onto a side street and pull up. Over the past fifteen years or so I've passed this little village always saying that one of these days I'm going to stop and have a poke around.
Shaniko is a couple of short streets lined with some old buildings dating back to the late 1800's when it was a camp for prospectors on the gold rush trail. The railway came later and the town made it's name for the sheep ranching that predominated the area. Dubbed "The Wool Capital of the World" the town boasted a large wool warehouse, post office, train station and had a population of 500 people at it's peak in 1910. In 1911 the railway diverted the trains via another line and things started dying down for this bustling little town. Today the population is 36 and I think we same most of them when we were there. The town still operates a general store, ice cream parlor and café, a couple of seasonal business and the rest is historical buildings, a walking museum if you like. We walked the town stopping at the open buildings including a barn full of old cars, the jail and the general store. One piece of excitement was a truck with an oversized load experiencing permit problems from the Department of Transport. The convoy included the truck with part of the base structure of a fracking plant destined for somewhere in Alberta, escort vehicles and other interested parties. Evidently the company had maddened the DOT who pulled their oversize permit, shutting the entire parade down. In total there was maybe ten people and four or five other vehicles all at a standstill waiting for someone in the DOT to smooth out their feathers and sign off on the new permit. Shankia was very interesting and I'm glad we took the time to stop. Hwy 97 at OR-218...check it out.
Shut down and waiting.
A little store.
The local lock-up.
Lori checking out the antique handcuffs.
The hotel in the heart of downtown.
One of the back streets in Shanika
A little bit of everything in here.
The barn was full of old vehicles.
Let the winds begin! Those windmills on the horizon aren't for show.
Time to go and we wheel north heading for the Washington state line. I've been in this part of the country a lot over the years and I know it's going to be windy. Today was no exception and the winds were brutal; headwinds, crosswinds, it didn't matter it was always there and came from every direction. The state line is the Columbia River and either side are the growing number of windmill farms. I was last here about a year ago and the number of windmills has multiplied significantly sine then and appears to have no end in sight. Unless you're in a sailboat, wind has a way of infuriating most people and I'm no exception. It rankles me to no end, the continual blowing, dust in my eyes and beard, buffeting my motorcycle all over the road and the added swerving blasts from the oncoming trucks. Grrrr!.
The state line, abridge over the Columbia River
Windmills on the Washington side of the river. The wind was howling!
We descend down into the river valley, escaping the winds for a few minutes and cross over into Washington amid road construction, climb back up the other side of the valley and get blown apart all over again. The town of Goldendale is about ten miles up the road and we need fuel so it's lay low on the tank and throttle on because I know once past town we will be in a forested area and should get some abatement from the winds. Goldendale is interesting as there is an observatory there open to the public. I've been there a few times and it is very interesting. I've had the experience of seeing some wonderful phenomena including Nebula, binary stars, the moon, Venus and Saturn. Fascinating! Visitation is by donation and I believe it is open most nights except Sunday and Monday. We fuel up and gobble down some leftover chicken wings from the night before and boot it out of there.
Chef Lori digging out the leftover wings for a quick nosh in the parking lot. Goldendale, WA.
Back on the road riding north through some lovely pine forests we're eating up the miles and fast approaching Yakima where we'll be taking the diversion to Hwy 821. I get a little turned around in Yakima and have to stop and reprogram the GPS. Once back on track we locate Hwy 823 leading us to 821 and well....surprise! Before today I had no idea of the road's existence; merely a thin squiggle on the map. This is the road following the Yakima River through Yakima Canyon Now I have heard of this place but hadn't given it much thought and here I am stumbling into it on a gloriously sunny afternoon! What can I say about Yakima Canyon other that it is absolutely gorgeous with high canyon walls funneling the river, two-lane road and a railway track through it. Several state parks are situated along the river so the camping opportunities abound. So to all my motorcycle pals and anyone else for that matter give this road a try; it's not a long stretch, maybe 35 miles, snaking it's way from Yakima to Ellendale . The twisties are everywhere as well as some straights for getting by any traffic. One cautionary note, the posted speed limit is 45 although you can get away with 55 to 60 in stretches....rider beware.
Yakima Canyon...fantastic!
Once out of the canyon the landscape opens up to farmland and our friend the wind is back, this time with a vengeance. We have to take I-90 West for about three miles and it is blowing a strong headwind and the road is teeming with trucks all crisscrossing lanes and adding to the turbulence. Off the highway it is still howling a gale until we get up into the mountains and trees where there is some shelter. As we climb the sun dips behind the mountains and the temperature starts to drop. I'm wearing fingerless gloves but we only have fifty miles to go so I'll suck it up and tough it out, even though I have some nice yummy Thinsulate gloves stashed in my day pack. I flip on the heated grips and it takes the edge off. This stretch of 97, yeah, we're back on Hwy 97, is a wonderful ride with long sweeping turns, mountain views and very little traffic. The temperature goes down to eight degrees C as we gain elevation and before too long we join Hwy 2 West and ride the last few miles to Leavenworth, our bed for the night. We roll into town, avoiding two large deer bounding across the road in front of us and park in front of the Fairbridge Inn. The guy at the desk is a chatterbox so it takes us some time to check in and get organized. It turns out he's from Richmond, B.C. and since both Lori and I work in Richmond and I lived in the Steveston are for some years he feels it's family reunion time and bends our ears off. I'm making exit noises and the guy is till jabbering as I'm backing out the door, joining the Wahine who had long since made her escape.
Hunger time so we dart across the road to Kristalls Restaurant where we order salads, steak for Her Ladyship and prime rib for me, veggies and baked potatoes. Now anyone who has travelled in central Washington has been to Leavenworth as it is a major tourist destination. The architecture and theme of the town is German Bavaria and people flock here to shop the stores, cheese factory and wineries which are everywhere. The restaurants cater to German cuisine so there are lots of sausages and beer for the tasting. It's early in the season so the town is fairly quiet but we have fun walking along the street chatting to each other in overly emoted German accents.
We retire to our room, which is the smallest room we've had on this trip and of course the 'small room' jokes come pouring out..."My room is so small the mice are round-shouldered", "My room is so small I have to go outside to change my mind.", "My room is sooo small I put the key in the lock and broke the bathroom window." You get the idea...funny at the time.
A little TV, some computer work and its Gute Nacht for us.
Distance for the day
337.8 miles
543.6 kms.
Yawn....
Steve
Leavenworth, WA
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