And the adventure continues...
Today: 356 miles
Since Ranch Santa Fe: 2156 miles
Since Loreto: 2980 miles
Woke up early today, watched the firefighters grab coffee and head to the fire.Two things I found interesting watching them come in last night and leave this morning. The first is how many of them smoke, the second is how many independently owned firefighting outfits were there. I had always assumed they were government or volunteers.... I guess not.
We leave fairly early (for us) and drive 20 miles to the next town, passing another firefighter camp, although this one was mostly helicopters, we turn north in hopes of avoiding the two or maybe three wildfires. Our plan is to head north then east into the mountains and Idaho.
The road north is beautiful, passing through several National Forests. We decide we enjoy the National Forests more than the National Parks. The forest roads are scenic and long and never any crowds or even traffic. We follow rivers and valleys, see wildlife and spectacular views, and no speed limits to deal with (in my mind, anyway). We stop in the town on Pendelton for lunch, that's when I notice oil leaking from the front end, closer inspection reveals a leaky fork seal. While not a huge deal and not a major safety issue (except for the oil splattering on the front brake disk), it needs to be fixed. After a bunch of phone calls, I find a KTM dealer in Spokane who can help us out, we just need to get there, 200 miles away. We take a direct route through more friggin wheat fields than either of us have ever seen, oh yeah, and it's over 100. Long day in the saddle for both of us, DeeDee is a trooper. We make it to the shop just as it closes, the owner Dave Russel greets us, he's a rider, he starts 'bench racing', good stories, he even has dirt bikes down in Los Barrilles on the Baja, not far from Loreto. He'll get the fork seal changed in the morning. There is a hotel right next to the shop, a store for beer, and restaurants near by. Not the plan we started with, but that's life on the road and here we are in Spokane Washington and life is pretty good....
Firefighters Camp, Dayville Oregon
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