5/22/11 Amazing Moto Ride

Took off this past Sunday on what rather unexpectedly ended up being one of the more enjoyable days I've had on two wheels. Yard work kept me around the house until around noon, and the highway 20 closure had me trying to find another way over to the coast. What I ended up finding was near solitude on miles of classic OR coast range "forest tunnel" roads... The fun started on the high road off of 20 at Blogett through Summit and then over to Siletz... I had driven this before but it had an entirely different feel on a bike. Very tight and fast corners mixed with open sweepers and that ended way too fast (even the couple miles of loose gravel weren't too bad). Once in Siletz I figured I'd check out the "Siletz Highway" which was about 25 miles of incredibly tight turns on perfect pavement through the coast range. Total bliss... Then I popped out on the coast just north of Depot Bay and rode the coastal route south (enjoying an occasional overlook!) to Rogue for a quick stop. Then back inland to Toledo, where I accidentally took the "back" route into Harlan... Yeah, I kinda got lost and ended up on a freshly graveled forest road 1000 (eek) but completly redeemed myself when I found the paved single lane "Hill Top" road, which plastered a shit eating grin on my face for the rest of the trip. From Harlan I rode the dirt up the back side of Mary's peak, popped over to the summit for a few minutes, blasted through the Alsea curves and into corvallis. Funny thing is that these pictures are of the "boring" places... The really good stuff was too good to justify slowing down for pictures. Awesome day to remember, right in the ol' back yard. I love this state!!!


Didn't even pull the camera out until the end of the Siletz highway, now I regret that...


Oops, missed the bike in that first shot...


Boiler Bay, now heading south.


Awesome little bridge near the start of the Otter Crest one way loop.


...Taken from the Otter Crest loop road.


Yeah, sometimes I forget how awesome it is here...


One lane awesomeness, right above the water


Looking down from Cape Foulweather. See the rock ring? Think lava outflow!


Seriously, OMG...


More absurdly awesome road. I wanted to kiss whoever built this work of art.


Almost drove right by this sneaky little coastal arch


Devils punchbowl, a popular spot to stop, tide must have been pretty low.


Okay, by this point my senses were overwhelmed...


...thankfully I was able to find a cozy roadside pub to relax.


Crappy cell shot of my vittles. I think this might have contributed to me getting lost...


Riding up the inlet to Toledo.


The only pic I took of the Hill Top Road. I shot some crappy video, but it didn't do justice to that incredible find.


Up on Mary's Peak now, first of the summit Meadows.


Top of the parking lot, all alone!


Cool clouds and sun near the top.


More snow in the meadows... Bring yer sleds!


Track of the route.

More winter -> spring stuff

Took a day off and dragged the sleds over to Bend... Here's the 500 with a stormy look at S. Sister


Devils hill area, our ski spot for the day...


Matt working his way up...


Wee snowmobile specks down the hill... Noooobody else around. :P


Bachelor, Sparks Lake, Lava, etc.


Snow stability exam later in the day on Ball Butte.


Weather cleared for a minute!


Day 1 parting shot. Parked the sleds right at the wilderness boundary (see our tracks behind!?) Amazing we only got stuck once on the way up here (and that was cause our "ghetto" ski rack dumped it's contents.)


Day 2 of ski/sled fest: crew multiplied substantiall in size!


Post run tour around devils lake.


Prepping for the fabled "wizard island" trip (inside joke)


Prepping on day 3.


The dog clearly getting sick of being left behind.


The two sleds together were effective at moving 7 people at the same time. Fancy! :)


The penut butter cup lotus pose.


Skinning up at Tam Mac


Tam Mac from the lake.


Next trip was a rescue training on the Deschutes river near Steelhead Falls


Our sweet camp spot!


AM briefing with the crew.


Mel and Aaron attending, Jim prepping for edge.


Again.


A shared moment of relief (for a moment we thought Jim lost a finger, was just his glove+lots of cursing)


Last weekend was a trip to meet up with our friends Chris, Amy, Andy, and Beth. Here's squirt (aka "the squiz") looking very similar to another dog we know... ;)


Basic snapshot of what the weekend activity looked like.


View from camp.


This is the Williamson River from camp. I want a canoe. :(


Dog stoke.


Okay, add some rain to the picture. That's a little more representative of the w/e.


This photo doesn't do justice to what I was trying to get: electric green lichen.


Beautiful spot to camp, even with all the extra H20.


Group shot before breaking camp. Like any album cover, something needs to be looking off in the distance...


The gorge just upstream from camp.


Bella having a little howl session, water get's her excited.


More of the insanely beautiful canyon. I need a canoe.


More. I didn't see another group all weekend, we had the place to ourselves!


The little lady with some sun (finally!)


Otis striking one of his glamour poses.