Parade at Kooskia

The town of Kooskia was having a PARADE!! They invited all of us to participate in it and our organizers said yes providing we rode in front of the horses and they accommodated us. We had to be there by 8:15 am for the 10 am parade, that was no problem as the town is only 7 miles from here. Rick and I went for breakfast at the Masonic Hall after we got the bikes all lined up. It was a good thing it was early as it is up to 35 c in the shade again.
Banquet night today and sounds like it will be fun as usual.

Kamiah, ID

Even though we were 3 days early we weren't the first at the Rally and we found out why. It is a beautifully shaded campground. We've done some exploring around and the people are real friendly here. I suppose it is because the town is made up of only about 1200 people.
Yesterday we stopped at their air conditioned casino for a little while.
We rode up Hwy 64 to the lookout that gives you a fantastic panoramic view of the entire Valley. As we are writing this we can hear a few more Harley's coming in. You definitely know that you are at a rally when you hear them coming.
Plan to enjoy their prime rib dinner special at the cafe here Friday nite.

RATTLESNAKE

What a ride through the Rattlesnake Gorge. You climb to about 4500 ft down to 1200 ft and then back up to 4300 ft. Just like a giant roller coaster with lots of twists. We stopped at Boggan's Cafe at half way and although it was too early for one of their famous Milk Shakes we had coffee and enjoyed the friendly ambiance.. It is all in about 20 miles and has 228 curves on it. So they say we were far too busy riding to be able to count them. The ride from Lewiston to Kamiah, Idaho was good even though it was hot. But not too far. Once in camp it was beautiful and relaxing.

Where did this come from??

All set up at camp, (Log Cabin RV & Trailer Park at Enterprise, OR)temperature about 40 c and off to bed at about 9 pm. I know it was early but riding in the heat all day just sucks the energy out of you. At about 11 pm down came the RAIN. For about 1 hr it just poured down. I got up around midnight to go to the washroom and it was as if it had never even rained all was bone dry.
Rick & I went over to Joseph a really neat town that has been revitalized with beautiful bronze statues with a western and native indian theme. Well worth a look at.
The next day was a bit different as the wind blew all day and into the evening. The temperature dropped to 6.5 c overnight. BRRR!!

Hells Canyon

The highest point on this ride was just over 6000 ft. lots of switch backs with all kinds of wild flowers. It has been a way too hot for riding very long. After traveling for about 4 hours we pack it in for the day. The temperature is near 40 c. just too hot. After setting up camp around noon we just relax in the shade. We are currently at the Log House RV park in Enterprise, Or.

Dragon Tooth Pass!!

We are currently in Richland, Oregon. Up and up over the Dragon Tooth Pass and all we can say is WOW!! The road climbed to 5400 ft in about 10 miles with a lot of hair pin curves, it consisted of about 188 curves according to the map. Just outside of Baker City is the Oregon Trail Interpretive center which we went to and it was very well done and very informative as to the covered wagons that came on the Oregon Trail. The Eagle Valley RV park here in Richland is just beautiful. It is one the cleanest parks that we have ever been in and the price is only $8.50 per night per couple. Try and beat that. So we have decided to stay here for 2 nights. This morning we took a short drive to Halfway for groceries as we were told they have a better selection there. They had a great quilt, antique & coffee shop as well. Really friendly staff.
Up to the "Hells Canyon" and on to Enterprise, Oregon tomorrow for 3 nights.

Painted Hills

We had a fantastic ride to the "painted hills" on Wednesday. The total ride was only about 6 hours.
Had lunch in a small "almost" ghost town of Mitchell. Dick & Gerry waited in Mitchell for us to return from the hills as they had been there before. The food at the Lone Pine Cafe was good, even if I had WET PANTS after spilling Irene's Ice Tea all over myself. We all had a good laugh and continued on. Riding in 35 C temperatures things dry FAST. This was one of the best rides that we had been on in a long time, the roads and scenery were fantastic.
Played Sask. Rummy in the evening, it is great to have a pavilion to relax in.
This morning we rode out to Mt. Vernon for breakfast at the Silver Spur Cafe. We enjoyed the food and the service. Headed back to camp to take it easy for the day.

Tuesday at the Rally

Started out the day with breakfast at the cook shack. The same people are selling meals as last year at Myers Flats. Well worth the price.
Our friend Dick from Salem OR. took us on a ride for about 6 hours. We got rained on a bit but all in all we saw some nice country. Visited an old dredger at Sumtner and stopped for coffee there. Then we continued on some very windy roads and finally Rick got gas at Long Creek where we figured we were almost on fumes!
Got back in time to go do the laundry. And then at the 50/50 draw tonight our friend Joyce won $100.
Tomorrow we are going out to the painted hills and the town of Mitchell which we are told are both very interesting.

Great Ride

Well a good ride for us usually starts out in the RAIN and then gets better. Well it did. It rained until around Princeton, from there we went on to Yellow Lake and sat in a construction line up for 20 minutes and on to Brian and Joyce's in Oliver for dinner and the night.
Got up early and headed for Omak, WA for breakfast at the Koala Street Grill. We stopped at the Grand Coulee Dam. Camped over night at Arrowhead RV in Pasco, not the best spot as it was very noisy with traffic and trains. After Omak, Rick set the GPS for John Day and we were on our way via Hwy 395 and it was the best motorcycle road that we had ever been on. Crossed the 45th paralell. We went over about 4 passes climbing to 5000 ft. Irene and I went to Prairie City for breakfast at a small place called Chuck's Diner. What a great spot.
The rally starts on Tuesday and a few have already come in over this week end.