I went almost three weeks on the road and only got rain one day. Now all of a sudden I’m a rain maker. The last three mornings I woke to drizzle. That’s not a bad thing – I enjoy riding in drizzle, it’s just that you don’t know if it’s going to become a regular rain, so you have to get out all the rain gear. Other than going through Louisiana, that hasn’t happened yet.
This was just kind of a lazy morning. The motel served their continental breakfast till 9:30, and I’m still drinking coffee at 9:35. Ooops! I better get a move on. About 40 miles east of here is the little town of Maryhill. It was founded by Sam Hill and boast a tiny little museum, but what really intrigued me was there is also a replica of Stonehenge and was built by Hill to memorialize the local troops that fought and died in WWI, of which there were about a dozen. A few years ago, when I was still riding my Honda Valkyrie, I remember reading about the Valkyrie Owners Group making an annual ride on the first day of summer to Stonehenge. I had fantasized about making that trip one day, and while I’m a few days early and riding a Goldwing, it was still fun to see it. The actual museum is about 4 miles away and while the grounds are in a beautiful setting, high above the Columbia River, I chose only to wander the area and take pictures of the numerous peacocks and some of the outside artwork. I could have paid to go inside to view more artifacts, but come on – I’m not a cultural kind of guy. WOW – now it’s almost 12:30. Better get my a$$ in gear. I drive back across the Columbia, where the sign says “Warning – High wind gusts on bridge” I knew that – why didn’t they have that sign on the other side when I first came across?
When Louise and I first made this trip on a river cruise a few years ago, we both thought how beautiful it was, but you really can’t appreciate the vastness until you get a little higher up on a hill to see just how far the river flows and how high the hills are around you. The river just seems to go on forever, but eventually, the interstate moves away from the river valley and you start heading into higher elevations. I’ll say this for Oregon – they have the best Interstates for motorcycles. I remember thinking that when I first came into this state almost a week ago and today just reinforced it. As you climb the hills, it’s one big curve after another. The roads are free of loose gravel and in most cases about three lanes wide. The traffic warning signs say to slow down to 45mph. I don’t think so! This is perfect, but at the same time I’m thinking – don’t screw up, you’ve come this far without hurting yourself. So then I start riding like Louise is on the back. It was still fun. I’m still amazed by the landscape and the ability of farmers. On one side of the road is mountains and sagebrush, and on the other is fields of crops with water sprinklers for as far as the eye can see. Really remarkable!
I tried stopping in LaGrande for the night, but it appears that a local college is having graduation ceremonies, and what should be a 75 dollar room in now 200 and the town is pretty much booked. Guess I’ll move on down the road.
This was just kind of a lazy morning. The motel served their continental breakfast till 9:30, and I’m still drinking coffee at 9:35. Ooops! I better get a move on. About 40 miles east of here is the little town of Maryhill. It was founded by Sam Hill and boast a tiny little museum, but what really intrigued me was there is also a replica of Stonehenge and was built by Hill to memorialize the local troops that fought and died in WWI, of which there were about a dozen. A few years ago, when I was still riding my Honda Valkyrie, I remember reading about the Valkyrie Owners Group making an annual ride on the first day of summer to Stonehenge. I had fantasized about making that trip one day, and while I’m a few days early and riding a Goldwing, it was still fun to see it. The actual museum is about 4 miles away and while the grounds are in a beautiful setting, high above the Columbia River, I chose only to wander the area and take pictures of the numerous peacocks and some of the outside artwork. I could have paid to go inside to view more artifacts, but come on – I’m not a cultural kind of guy. WOW – now it’s almost 12:30. Better get my a$$ in gear. I drive back across the Columbia, where the sign says “Warning – High wind gusts on bridge” I knew that – why didn’t they have that sign on the other side when I first came across?
When Louise and I first made this trip on a river cruise a few years ago, we both thought how beautiful it was, but you really can’t appreciate the vastness until you get a little higher up on a hill to see just how far the river flows and how high the hills are around you. The river just seems to go on forever, but eventually, the interstate moves away from the river valley and you start heading into higher elevations. I’ll say this for Oregon – they have the best Interstates for motorcycles. I remember thinking that when I first came into this state almost a week ago and today just reinforced it. As you climb the hills, it’s one big curve after another. The roads are free of loose gravel and in most cases about three lanes wide. The traffic warning signs say to slow down to 45mph. I don’t think so! This is perfect, but at the same time I’m thinking – don’t screw up, you’ve come this far without hurting yourself. So then I start riding like Louise is on the back. It was still fun. I’m still amazed by the landscape and the ability of farmers. On one side of the road is mountains and sagebrush, and on the other is fields of crops with water sprinklers for as far as the eye can see. Really remarkable!
I tried stopping in LaGrande for the night, but it appears that a local college is having graduation ceremonies, and what should be a 75 dollar room in now 200 and the town is pretty much booked. Guess I’ll move on down the road.
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