The Izaac Waalton Inn

July 11, 2015

The Izaac Walton Inn, is pretty cool, especially if you are a railroad buff. They half a half a dozen old cabooses made into lodging cabins, lots of old railroad memorabilia. Freight trains do roll by quite often, big ones, it makes me wonder why railroads have declined they way they have in this country. We like to think we are the world leader, but we lag so far behind the rest of the world in mass transit, it's too bad with so much of the infrastructure still in place. Just think of all the abandoned railroad tracks we all see. It is remarkable how easily dependent we can become in just a short period of time. Without internet, we become lost, I keep trying to connect for the weather, hotel for the night, directions. No cell service either, But it seems we all survived nicely just 10-15 years ago without any of it.

We have an excellent dinner in the restaurant and some very good wine. It rains a bit and cools down, the room is warm, but comfortable enough to sleep, until the freight trains rumble by...at least 1 every hour. Not the best night's sleep we've had.

It's warm, cloudy, humid when we hit the pavement, not the weather I had expected in northern Montana.

 Another Freight Train Rumbles by

Peacocks are noisy

July 10, 2015

No Internet, but that's OK

I awake early to the sounds of geese, ducks, peacocks and lots of other birds. The deer are tame and hardly notice me as I wander taking photos. We have a great breakfast of duck egg omelets, bacon, cinnamon buns and fresh fruit. We say goodbye to Rachel, Arnie and Teddi. The temperature is a perfect 70 albeit the sky is still quite hazy with wildfire smoke. We take a beautiful ride north up the shore of lake Kooknausa, there is no traffic and the lake is at least 50 miles long. We end up in Eureka, about 20 miles from the Canadian border and turn back east and south to Whitefish. The temps are in the 80's as we pass through several good sized towns and eventually to Glacier National Park. The temps reach the 90's for a bit, but at least not 100 for a change. Problem now is it's the weekend and very few rooms to be had. We finally find a room at the Izaac Walton Inn. It's nice, no store for beer, but they have a restaurant and bar. Our room is on the 3^rd floor, with 1 small window, and no AC... and the wifi doesn't work, and we're next to the main railway line. Tomorrow we head into the park and the “Beyond the Sun” road. We are still smiling and life is ok.

A Deer, A Dog and a Peacock

The Bobtail B&B, Libby Montana

On the Road Again....

July 9, 2015
On the Road Again

Got the bike over to Dave Russell's KTM Shop in Spokane Valley Washington. Dave and his mechanic Matt were able to get the fork seal changed by noon and we were on the road, but not after a few more stories from Dave. Dave is a rider and racer, and we have several common friends, Kevin Hines, Malcomb Smith and just racing and riding in general. Would have been nice to have a few beers and do some more 'Bench Racing',  but the road was calling. It was 100 when we left and got to 111 when we reached Idaho. We exited the highway and headed towards the mountains and a the town of Libby, Montana. We find a little B&B about 8 miles out of town, a cool ,little place in the middle of nowhere.  Here's the description from Teddi, the owner:
 My mother and father, George and Evelyn Backen, built our family home in 1947 from logs harvested from this land. George and Evelyn raised eight healthy and happy children here; our family has been truly blessed.

Deer, elk, bear, moose, and turkey also call Montana home and can often be seen from the front window. Have your morning coffee or tea and watch the mountain humming birds feast off the nectar we provide or watch eagles gracing the sky.

In addition to the wildlife that calls our ranch “home” Bobtail Lodge is also a working agritourism farm. We have several species of domesticated ducks, chickens, turkeys, quail, and pigeons. We are especially proud of our beautiful pheasants and peacocks. All of our exotic birds are actively producing eggs, so guests that have a taste for the exotic can try turkey, duck, pheasant, or quail eggs for breakfast.

The only other guests to arrive are Rachel and Arnie, and older couple (ok, not that old, mid 70's) from Washington who are thrilled to see our bike, it seems they did a lot of motorcycle touring too, until recently. Arnie just sold his Yamaha FJR, and really misses it. Of course he still has a big touring bike and a KTM 530. We talk bikes over cocktails, and he gives me some advice as to what roads not to miss. nice folks. It's nice and quiet here, we have Washington yellow cherries, some Tillamook cheddar and leftovers from last nights dinner. The peacocks are wandering around, deer walk through the yard just a few feet away and the ducks and chickens are settling down for the night. It's still warm, but cooling down, I see an eagle overhead, the peacock squawks, life is, indeed, pretty damn good

Amber waves of grain...

July 8, 2015

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

Karooo III

July 7, 2015

Dayville OR

I've spent a good deal of my life around motorcycles, motorcycle shops and motorcycle riders, a better group of folks would be harder to find. We went to the KTM shop first thing this morning and yahooo, they have a tire for the bike. Bad news is, Paxton the young kid running the shop is there by himself and can't change it. He says, "no problem" makes a quick call and says follow me. He closes up the shop, tosses the tire in his truck and off we go a mile or so down the road to "Cycle Parts" a Triumph Dealer. We meet Rod, the owner and tell him our story, he calls over his service manager and tells him to put our tire change on the top of the list, "These guys are on the road" and an hour later we are, on the road with fresh rubber. Of course while we waited Rod had me check out his new line of electric bikes, so I took a test ride on a new "Zero" dirt bike. It was unbelievable how fast it was! It took a little getting used to with no clutch and no sound!, but man did that bike go!!  So if you are ever in Eugene, stop by and see Rod and Erica at Cycle Parts and Paxton at KTM Country, real good folks.

Once on the road we head east and follow a nice road along the McKenzie River, then head up a great twisty, (no RV's Allowed Road) up over McKenzie Pass. We stop at a viewpoint overlooking a huge black crater and see Mt Washington and Mt Jefferson in the distance. We pass through the cool little town of 'Sisters' and the on to Redmond. Once past Redmond the 2 lane road weaves in and out of the painted hills to the town of Mitchel, where we had hoped to find lodging for the night. Not much in Mitchell, so we make a few calls to the next town and find all the hotels are full, reserved for fire fighters.....  hmmm firefighters??   Then I notice the large plumes of grey smoke up ahead, 2 large wildfires are moving through the hills. We move on and find a room at the Fish Inn Lodge in the tiny town of Dayville. There is no restaurant, just 2 small stores with some beer left. The firefighters have a camp set up in town with tents and facilities, it's in the 90's....  We sit on the porch and watch a hundred or so firefighters drive by, stop for beer and cold drinks and head for their tents.
The Inn has a microwave and our dinner of frozen bean burritos isn't so bad....

Random Thoughts

Random thoughts and observations

Miles click by way faster in the morning than they do late in the afternoon

Most Oregonian drivers obey the speed limit.

West Coast Motorcycle riders seemed compelled to wave at other riders. Adventure bike and sports touring bike riders, just wave. Harley guys, Cruisers and Wanna-bees for some reason have to point to the ground. The way some of them drive, that's probably where they'll end up.

When you start riding in the morning at 60 degrees, when it gets to 80, it feels really hot. When you ride in the afternoon at 110 degrees, when it drops to 90, it feels really cool.

No motorcycle seat is comfortable after 250 miles.

A GPS is a great tool if you have a destination, not so much if you are wandering.

We pass lots of loaded down bicyclists grinding their way up and down the coast highway, I haven't noticed a smile on any of them  

The Oregon Coast is very similar to the Maine Coast, without the sunshine.

July 6, 2015
2320 miles since Loreto

Cool Day

After a nice breakfast with our friends Robert, Kristi, Nisha and Rick, we head north along the Oregon Coast. The weather is cool (low 60's) all the way to Florence. The ride is nice with not much traffic, we pass by Point Blanco, the furthest most western point in the US. The fog lingers about 200 feet overhead and we feel the dampness seep in. We head east towards Eugene on a nice road that follows the river. It warms up. Our quest is to find a rear tire for the bike, and as I well know, most bike shops are closed on Mondays so the staff can recuperate from the 'On Any Sunday' rides (and beers etc).

We do find the KTM shop along the way and hopefully  they'll help us out in the morning. Eugene seems pretty bland, lots of rush hour traffic and the usual assortment of MacDonalds, Taco Bells, Wally World, etc. We search for a motel and settle for what appears to be a fairly cheap, and maybe a little seedy place on the main drag. Amy checks us in and we unload our stuff into what is a nice and clean room, and it was cheap! Although I wonder if I looked old, crippled, tired or all 3, because she gave us the 'Handi-cap access room.
 I wander about the streets looking for a store to pick up a few beers and see what's around for food. Surprisingly, there are several good looking options, A Mexican/Salvadorian place, a good looking Seafood spot, a nice Thai place and the Beergarden. The Beergarden looks interesting, so I check it out, excellent beer and wine selection, and in the courtyard for food are 4 local Food Trucks! with all kinds of good looking options.... So this is where we head.

The Beergarden is great, what a great concept. The beer is good and reasonable, and the food is awesome, lots of choices, from Costa Rican, Hawaiian, organic and more  Fun night