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Title: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: sgollapalle on August 09, 2013, 07:29:31 AM Today will be my last day at work [drink] After bending over for more than a year at this gig, I've decided to show them the finger and move on! Before I get back into a new gig, I've decided to take on some adventure!
Here is the rough route [The points on the map aren't necessarily where I'm stopping] The only definite stops are Indy, Green Bay, Glacier NP, Yellowstone NP, Mount Rushmore. Alternating between friends of friends, rest areas, and camping; and if it needed to be done a motel here and there. (http://i41.tinypic.com/11l7pfa.jpg) Think it will take me 3.5 - 5 weeks; Stopping at interesting places along the way, some detours, some mountain roads, good food, beer and music ;D Unfortunately, I'm doing this in the Auto and not on the moto :( Any of you in these areas, know of must see places, good twistys to take; I'd like to check them out. I'll post some pics along the way if there is interest. Mods, feel free to move to the no moto area, if thats where it fits better. Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: Skybarney on August 09, 2013, 08:24:24 AM Should be a great adventure! I took off once for a month and rode every single twisty road I could find in Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Literally zig zagging the states with no goal other than twisties!
If you want to do big distance it is a good route (bring rain gear). If you want to play on a ton of twisties you might wanna dig a bit more ( : Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: Dirty Duc on August 09, 2013, 12:32:32 PM You should swing a bit further south and come check us out at Bonneville! We'll be here all next week (or until it rains).
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: duc_fan on August 09, 2013, 02:30:09 PM When you go through the Columbia Gorge, hop over to SR-14 instead of slabbing it on I-84.
Here's a good scenic route to Portland: http://goo.gl/maps/LnN2U (http://goo.gl/maps/LnN2U) I added in several of the good twisties and scenic roads in the Gorge. There are a bunch of alternate options. 1) If you cross over to Oregon at The Dalles, you can take the old Highway 30 from The Dalles to Mosier. Stunning views and some tight twisties on this stretch. Then back on I-84 from Mosier to the turnoff for the Old Columbia River Scenic Highway (still Hwy 30) west of Cascade Locks, and you can stay off the interstate all the way to Troutdale. 2) On the Oregon side, you can go south on Highway 35 from Hood River, swing past the east flank of Mt. Hood, then west on Highway 26 into Sandy then on to Portland. There are a BUNCH of backroads I could get you lost on along this route... 3) If you stay on the Washington side, you can turn north on Highway 97 and go to Goldendale. Then turn west on Highway 142 and follow that down to Lyle and meet back up with SR-14 (this is a great drive/ride along the Klickitat River). This is a 45min-1hr detour that is totally worth it, IMO. It all depends on how much time you have and how twisty you want the detours. ;) If you're coming through Hood River on a weekday, post up... that's where I work. Would be happy to take a "mental health break" and introduce you to one of our local breweries. [beer] Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: herm on August 11, 2013, 06:20:16 PM go further south in Oregon before sliding over to Idaho, and check out Crater Lake NP....
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: Mike_D on August 11, 2013, 06:40:23 PM Quite the road trip. I grew up in Montana, so definitely take your time in Glacier and Yellowstone. You might consider heading south from Portland and spending some time at Yosemite, that way you can see the three best national parks in the lower 48. Have a great time and soak it all in.
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: bob795 on August 11, 2013, 07:19:34 PM Looks like it's going to be a great trip [Dolph]
Be safe and keep us update if possible, I personally would love to read a ride report on this trip. Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: sgollapalle on August 11, 2013, 07:40:06 PM @ Skybarney, That's about my goal, not to have a goal! Doing this in the car. Would get too expensive to do on the moto, between the two 7500 mi services, and the two sets of tires that I might burn up; Not to mention the sore back and ass....
@Dirty Duc, Had checked out the Bonneville flats back in 2008, but there wasn't any event then [was there early winter]. I probably won't make it to southern ID until first week of Sept; if you guys are going to be there then, Would love to do the detour. @Duc fan, Thanks for the tips. Will look into the route map. Definitely looks fun. Will post if it looks like I'll end up hood river on a week day. Would love to check out the local breweries! @Herm, Crater Lake NP does sound interesting. Thanks! Will see how I'm doing when I'm around Portland and plan from there. @Mike, Yellow Stone has been on list of things to do for a while.. And while planing the route, I stumbled upon Glacier NP, and added that to the agenda. Have already done a couple of trips to Yosemite; The western side in 2008 and the Eastern side and mono lake in March this year. Good times! Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: ChrisK on August 12, 2013, 05:21:33 AM At point D on your map, continue going north rather than sliding a little bit to the East. Follow the Mississippi up through Savanna and Galena, IL then on up to New Glarus, WI.
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: duc_fan on August 12, 2013, 12:02:15 PM You're welcome. [thumbsup] Oh... I just realised I was looking at your route backward. I thought you were going east-to-west through the Gorge. Will need to reverse the directions of my recommended alternates.
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: SpikeC on August 12, 2013, 03:14:52 PM Here is one more... The Custer battlefield in Montana. There are many ghosts lurking about the hills, it is a very sobering experience.
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: sgollapalle on August 12, 2013, 05:44:39 PM At point D on your map, continue going north rather than sliding a little bit to the East. Follow the Mississippi up through Savanna and Galena, IL then on up to New Glarus, WI. Thanks! Looks like a nice route along the river. Will make a day trip out of it since I have a place to crash in the Quad cities area. Any idea if one side is better than the other? [67/52 on the IA side or 84 on the IL side?] Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: sgollapalle on August 12, 2013, 05:53:46 PM Made it to Point C today. It was a straight shot. Going to check out the big cats tomorrow ;D
http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org/home.html (http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org/home.html) Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: Dirty Duc on August 17, 2013, 10:42:06 PM Ah... we just got home from the salt today.
We won't be back Bonneville way until next year, but there should be at least one other forum member representing with a wee little bike... Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: RBX QB on August 18, 2013, 01:04:17 PM Jealous. Would love to do a massive road trip... even if it were in the car.
Once you get to Spokane, WA, look at taking Highway 2 west of there. Less traveled than I-90, some more interesting sites and small towns (Leavenworth, for instance)... could even side trip up to the Grand Coulee Dam, if time allows. Downside to this route is that it will dump you in Everett. I-5 Everett to Seattle will be packed if you roll through during commute hours. Be patient, or time your arrival on this side of the mountains to fall outside commute times. If you have WAY too much time, look at the North Cascades Highway (SR20)... Popular ride on 2 wheels, but pretty far north. Winthrop is a major stop on that route. And, if you have more time than you think once you get to Portland, you can't drive this far across the country without making it to the Pacific Ocean. If you find Crater Lake, OR is an option (highly recommended), take the long way out of Portland... head west to the coast and Highway 101 thru Astoria (Goonies), Tillamook (great cheese and air museum), and find an interesting road to cross back thru the mountains towards Crater Lake. Drive safe. Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: sgollapalle on August 21, 2013, 05:43:43 AM Finally got a decent internet connection to upload some pics. Here are a few.
Since Indianapolis, I went up to the Quad Cities (Moline, IL); cut across to Madison, WI; then Green Bay, WI; then up into the upper peninsula of MI. From there, i took a bit of a detour down to Minneapolis for a couple of days. Going to head back up to hwy 2 in North Dakota today and camp at devils lake. The big cats. (http://i43.tinypic.com/2co38sw.jpg) (http://i40.tinypic.com/2d75tlt.jpg) (http://i40.tinypic.com/2afykva.jpg) Beautiful sun rise in the UP of MI along green bay (http://i43.tinypic.com/9i76hk.jpg) It was called Sunday lake, somewhere on county road 77 in WI (http://i41.tinypic.com/2yvpd37.jpg) Spotted 2 monsters along the way. One black older model, probably a 750 along HWY 2 in UP of MI somewhere about Iron Mountain this past sunday. The second was yesterday in downtown minneapolis near the bar arrogant bastards. (http://i42.tinypic.com/28qt3li.jpg) If you folks are on here, we crossed paths :) Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: duc_fan on August 21, 2013, 10:03:42 AM Very cool. [thumbsup] Ride on... [Dolph]
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: spolic on August 21, 2013, 02:46:02 PM Great call duc_fan on Hwy 14. I got that tip years ago from an old truck driver.
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: KnightofNi on August 21, 2013, 04:19:10 PM I approve [thumbsup]
Hwy 20 through WA is a nice drive. I have been warned about 26 through OR. One of the podunks along the way will get you for a couple over Other than that, pick the roads that appeal to you each day and enjoy! Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: krolik on August 21, 2013, 05:26:30 PM Watch out for Jacob on Mt Hood. :o
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: duc_fan on August 22, 2013, 10:29:40 AM Is he still stationed up there? I was at SkiBowl last weekend... didn't see his bike at the Gov't Camp fire station.
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: Skybarney on August 22, 2013, 12:58:16 PM Be aware there are several large fires burning right now. Best to avoid the smoke filled areas. Here is a link to check fire/smoke status.
http://www.inciweb.org/ (http://www.inciweb.org/) Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: duc_fan on August 22, 2013, 06:06:55 PM Yeah... the Government Flats fire complex outside The Dalles, OR has the whole Gorge smoked up right now.
Road visibility is fine, but the epic viewpoints aren't so great right now. :-\ You'll definitely wanna check the status on the Idaho wildfires. They're pretty bad. Most of the PacNW wildfire resources have been diverted to fight there. Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: sgollapalle on August 28, 2013, 08:43:24 AM Thanks guys. I will check on the wild fire status. I am now in Plains, MT and headed towards Spokane and Seattle. Won't make it to Dalles, OR for another 3-4 days. Hope it gets better soon. May be the rain I see here is a bigger shower out West :)
thinking of doing 101 down from Seattle down to Eugene, OR (I have a place to crash there) and then Crater Lake NP and out to Yellowstone NP. But I might still do a day trip out to Dalles along the Columbia river for that brew [drink]. @duc_fan, will send you a message with my number. If you want to shoot me a text, I can message you if I make it there on a weekday. Some more pics, since I have a good connection. A beautiful sunset in Montana (http://i41.tinypic.com/jfca37.jpg) They had horses on the roof [drink] (http://i42.tinypic.com/2pzfm0i.jpg) After a storm passed by at the Glacier NP (http://i40.tinypic.com/wlvbwh.jpg) Gremell Glacier, Lake and Falls (http://i44.tinypic.com/2zyzfq1.jpg) (http://i43.tinypic.com/35a8080.jpg) (http://i43.tinypic.com/dmcv8j.jpg) Night Sky (http://i42.tinypic.com/4rx8cw.jpg) Sunrift Barge falls (http://i39.tinypic.com/2rh5qc1.jpg) Iceberg Lake (http://i42.tinypic.com/2wf3ccw.jpg) Going to the Sun road [beer] (http://i42.tinypic.com/245zr0i.jpg) Awesome twisties - From the dash cam Vid 1 (http://tinypic.com/r/2b7587/5) Vid 2 (http://tinypic.com/r/2h87p79/5) Vid 3 (http://tinypic.com/r/21l25xj/5) Vid 4 (http://tinypic.com/r/263y0xh/5) Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: duc_fan on August 28, 2013, 10:20:38 AM Wowsers... that is beautiful country. We have mountains out here, but not quite like that.
Yep, just post up with your route when you figure it out... If you don't make it into The Gorge, the coast run is a beautiful ride, too. [Dolph] One of these days I will take some vacation time and go on a multi-day adventure ride. That's on my bucket list. It may end up being local to the PacNW, but there are some cool loops one can make around Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: duc_fan on August 28, 2013, 12:20:10 PM Modified route, considering the direction you would likely come from...
http://goo.gl/maps/2beyi (http://goo.gl/maps/2beyi) Starts in Portland, and gives you a sampling of some old favorites. Historic Columbia River Highway, SR-14, a little of 197, Tygh Valley/White River Road (NF-48), then back to Highway 35, Hwy 26 to Sandy, and then you can head back to wherever in Portland. This can easily be an all-day gig. There's approximately 1,627,348 variations of this route. ;) If you want, lemme know how much time you want to spend exploring, and I can add a few excursions. Cook-Underwood Road is a good one (there is an epic view overlooking Hood River on this road). I also recommend Highway 142 out of Lyle (WA)... follow this up into Goldendale, then you can take 97 south to SR-14 and head west to The Dalles. Oh hell, here's another Google Map route with these added: http://goo.gl/maps/MpX7z (http://goo.gl/maps/MpX7z) From the Dalles, you can also make a side trip to Mosier on the old highway 30... there are some excellent twisties and great views on that road, too. Anyway... as I said, this loop can easily become an all-day gig, with many variations. ;D If you stay on the coast, I highly recommend hitting up bnbmike... he owns the Craftsman Bed & Breakfast in Pacific City, OR. Nice guy, fellow Monster rider, and knows a few hidden backroads around that area. Here's his website (includes contact info): http://www.craftsmanbb.com/ (http://www.craftsmanbb.com/) If you have time and like airplanes, stop in at the Tillamook Air Museum in the old blimp hangar: http://www.tillamookair.com/index.html (http://www.tillamookair.com/index.html) And when riding the Oregon coast, it is almost obligatory that you stop, at least briefly, at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. ;D Have fun and thanks for the pics! [thumbsup] [Dolph] Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: LA on August 29, 2013, 04:33:53 PM Wow! Most excellent photographs.
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: sgollapalle on August 30, 2013, 11:16:20 AM Thanks Dan!
Thinking i'll do 26 from the coast to portland, pick up your route to hood river, then take 35 south, and hop back on I5 to eugene. Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: duc_fan on August 30, 2013, 03:19:16 PM Sounds good. [thumbsup]
Quick FYI: the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks and the Hood River Bridge are both toll bridges... $0.50 for Bridge of the Gods (last time I crossed), and $0.75 for Hood River. Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: BlackdogGS on September 02, 2013, 09:25:58 PM I'm in The Dalles, if you need any assistance call me 509-969-4999.
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: Skybarney on September 03, 2013, 10:42:48 AM Whoo Hoo Just rode that route! The bridge of the gods was cool, so was the 14 east. It would be incredible to ride through glacier someday.
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: duc_fan on September 04, 2013, 09:06:10 AM A swing and a miss... oh well, I still enjoyed a good amber at Double Mountain (the locals' favorite watering hole). [drink] Hope you got some good pics of the Gorge!
Title: Re: Hitting the road to the great north west (US) Post by: sgollapalle on September 27, 2013, 10:01:14 AM Finally got around the rest of the pics.
Iceberg Glacier, GNP (http://i42.tinypic.com/6gbkw8.jpg) Garden of one thousand buddhas in MT (http://i39.tinypic.com/2me9wmp.jpg) The space needle (http://i42.tinypic.com/xlcaie.jpg) Columbia River gorge and Historic route 30 (http://i40.tinypic.com/2hz3kwk.jpg) (http://i42.tinypic.com/2d9ny3t.jpg) (http://i43.tinypic.com/2mmydzr.jpg) (http://i44.tinypic.com/dpwbwo.jpg) Crater Lake (http://i42.tinypic.com/2ih2iz4.jpg) (http://i39.tinypic.com/2hi5z0y.jpg) Yellowstone (http://i43.tinypic.com/nh0u90.jpg) (http://i39.tinypic.com/j0gw1d.jpg) (http://i42.tinypic.com/2ef2s0l.jpg) (http://i39.tinypic.com/2qizj85.jpg) (http://i39.tinypic.com/2nb6nnp.jpg) Devils Tower (http://i44.tinypic.com/2hgb85c.jpg) Crazy Horse (http://i41.tinypic.com/25iyvbl.jpg) (http://i42.tinypic.com/2wqg0f6.jpg) Mt. Rushmore (http://i42.tinypic.com/21n4k0z.jpg) WallDrug, SD (http://i41.tinypic.com/2s0d7jk.jpg) Badlands (http://i43.tinypic.com/20hrp7m.jpg) Sunrise, somewhere in central Nebraska (http://i40.tinypic.com/2130sgn.jpg) St. Louis Arch (http://i43.tinypic.com/21oydzn.jpg) This is the link to a slightly more extensive album on fb.. and it says it should work even without an account... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100464648268264.1073741827.32312965&type=1&l=f9956396d9 (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100464648268264.1073741827.32312965&type=1&l=f9956396d9) Thanks to all for the tips and suggestions! It was a fantastic trip! Went smoothly without having any issues along the way. Now back to serious job hunting [shot] to save up for the next trip [beer] |