Big loop of the Pacific Northwest

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The way to Quincy

After the hike with Don, Joanne and friends, I left Ketchum at about 2:00 PM. Still half a day of daylight for riding. Back to Stanley for gas, then north on beautiful Rte. 93 through Challis and Salmon. The geology along this road is fantastic. Huge talus slopes, rock spires, walls of cliffs, serpentine roads winding through canyons and gulches. With only a half day of riding I'd hoped to get north of Salmon and find a campground somewhere around Chief Joseph Pass.

Views heading north on MT Rte 93.

I did find an excellent campsite at Twin Creek Campground north of Gibbonsville on 93. There were some RVs and tents, but I never saw or heard anyone else there. Had some scotch, played my travel ukulele and decided to have a campfire since there was split wood right there by the fire pit. Super nice. I did think about bears though.

Campfire!

The next day's main attraction was going east over Lolo Pass, a favorite amongst motorcyclists. There's a famous sign that says "Winding road next 99 miles". Indeed it is. Lots of sweepers and a fair number of twisties following the Lochsa river. It felt like the Norge was built for this road. Views of the Lochsa River on Rte 12 going over Lolo Pass here.

At the east end of the Lolo Pass road is a small town called Kooskia. I saw another Norge there and stopped. A guy named Scott from near Tumwater, WA was the owner. We chatted for a bit, mainly about his upgraded suspension, then said goodbye so I could try Rte 13 to the south. I'd never ridden it. Great, twisty road! So happy I did. Then north on uneventful 95 towards Lewiston and Clarkston.

Rte 13 south of Kooskia.

Road P2 leading into Clarkston. Nice clouds.

I've done this before, but I had to ride the Spiral Highway on the edge of Lewiston, ID. It's a 10 mile stretch of VERY curvy roads leading up a 2,000 foot grade. Excellent pavement for a road built in 1910. views of this road below. Zoom in on the pictures.

After leaving Lewiston, I took Rte 12 west along the Snake River. I hoped to camp and Palouse Falls State Park. Maps showed there was camping there. You see tourist information promoting Palouse Falls a lot in Washington. I'd never been, but have wanted to see it for a long time. Turns out it's in a really remote location. My gas level was getting low, and it was gettin dark by the time I got there. I'd expected there to be gas in one of the dinky towns I passed through on the way there, but these towns were too small for that. At the entrance to the park, the pavement turned to washboard gravel. It was 2 more miles to get to the park. A Washington "Discovery" pass was required, and an electronic sign said the campground was closed. Ah back to WA state's crappy campground system. I left and decided to try to get to Connell, WA on what gas I had. Came into town with my fuel light on as darkness set in. Got my first motel that night. Ate dinner at the Pizza Station in Connell. I'd go there again. Was nice to have a room and a shower that night.

Lonely wheat field in eastern Washington near the day's end.

I told my friend Garret who lives in Quincy that I'd be at his house around mid-day or early afternoon, so I had time to kill on my way to Quincy after leaving Connell in the morning. Never having been in that part of the state, I made some stops at wildlife refuges and lake access points. Eastern Washington has some amazing geological history. It was formed by many, repeated lava flows that cover most of the state. Intermittently, ice age dams holding millions of cubic miles of water were released in enormous floods lasting weeks that scoured eastern washington into crazy shapes. A good place to observe this that I saw is the Drumheller Channels. Cool little lakes with marshes are scattered amongst the basalt formations. I'm going back sometime with my paddle board to explore further.

An irrigation canal. I wonder if you can stand up paddle board in them?

Views of McMannamen Lake. I hiked around it.

Rattlesnake skin by McMannamen Lake.

Reeds by McMannamen Lake.

Views by an overlook at Drumheller Channels.

Parking lot at Drumheller Channels overlook.

Basalt columns.

Sign at Drumheller Channels. I like the illustration of the wooly mammoth running from the huge wall of water coming his way.

Drumheller Channels.

I stopped at Potholes State Park to check out the reservoir, and water access to it for the sake of paddling and windsurfing. Typical WA state park, fees and a Discovery pass required. I asked the ranger at the gate if I could just drive in for a look and then leave. He said OK if I don't get off my motorcycle and I'm back out in 5 minutes. Fair enough, I did. View of the reservoir here. They have a good boat launch ramp, but I doubt I'll be back.

Frenchman lake on the other hand looks like a great place for paddling. It's sits in a marshy area and is so convoluted that I suspect you could get lost pretty easily. Bugs may be bad too. I'll be back to check that one out.

Taking stock of my motorcycle at that point, I saw a few wear points.

Metal ground off my side stand from my do-over on Rte 47 in Oregon.

Chicken strips on my new Michelin Road 5 back tire down to about 3/8".

8k+ miles on my Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart IV front tire. Time for a new one.

Quincy