Lower Columbia Basin Sampler

I got the book Motorcycle Journeys through the Pacific Northwest by Bruce Hansen from the library and decided the first trip looked interesting. So I did it on Wednesday and Thursday with two changes. I started from Olympia, not Portland, and I extended it a bit to Pendleton OR.

Day 1: I-5 and I-205 to get to hwy 14. This follows the Columbia on the WA (north) side. The trip includes a side trip on hwy 141 to Glenwood (nice view of Mt Adams) and then back on hwy 142 to 14. Last section on I-82 and I-84 to Pendleton. 425 miles.

Day 2: Less scenic away from the river but great roads. Almost no traffic and lots of sweepers. The towns like Heppner, Condon, Fossil, Antelope and Maupin are small. The last treat was hwy 30 and the road up to the Rovena Crest viewpoint. Then I-84 and I-5 back home. 450 miles.

Columbia River Gorge. It does have some beautiful views!



View from Skamania Lodge.



Mt Adams. No roads within 80 miles of it.



Klickitat River. Hwy 142 follows it all the way back to the Columbia.



Things starting to flatten and dry out now. No more trees.



Stonehenge on the Columbia.



Hwy 74 towards Heppner OR. Awesome roads with almost no traffic



Heppner OR. Definitely spring.



John Day fossil beds between Fossil and Antelope OR.



Hotel in Shaniko OR. Population 36 in 2010. Ghost town. Fortunately I did not see any.



Maupin OR. Very popular for river rafting on the Deschutes river in summer.



Columbia River Gorge from the Rowena Crest Viewpoint on the Oregon side.



Road leading to the Rowena Crest viewpoint.

Henwil,

Thanks for sharing. Your photos bring back many memories of summers spent working in these areas.

Cheers,

Gmann

Have rode some of that, you had some good times with that little ride. Thanks for sharing.

Nice ride henwil!

Very familiar with many of those same roads...the Fossil area is home to some great riding.

--G

Great pics, henwil!

I remember staying in the Shaniko Hotel on the way back from "TechWest 2007", and it was a really awesome place to overnight. Wonderful old rooms, great little restaurant.

Too bad the owner closed it down some time later. Some dispute with the county over water rights or some such.

Very nice report, love those roads out in eastern Oregon. Your picture at the Skamania Lodge brings back memories for me. I spent the night there the day Bambi totaled my FJR, sat in one of those chairs while watching a full moon rise with a cold one. I was really sore but quite happy to be alive.

Nice ride report. Thanks for sharing your trip.

In Fossil Oregon you will find this:

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Elderly folks in a retirement home in Fossil Oregon -

Fontanaman said:

Nice ride report. Thanks for sharing your trip.
In Fossil Oregon you will find this:

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Elderly folks in a retirement home in Fossil Oregon -

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Can I get a phone number or web address?

Very nice photos and report, henwil.

Panman said:

Have rode some of that, you had some good times with that little ride. Thanks for sharing.

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+1, Gunny; very nice ride report, thank you! JSNS!

Thanks for the replies everyone. Much appreciated.

Good of you to share. Sadly I see we missed Stonehenge on the trip home from Canada a couple of years ago. We were within a mile of it and, "missed it by that much".

The last picture of this ride report is what my dreams are like. Awesome, man!

hppants said:

The last picture of this ride report is what my dreams are like. Awesome, man!

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Dream bigger Pants for at 1 to 2 miles long this twisty section of the Rowena Loops looks dramatic in this photo but in the long run falls short on the fun meter. It is over before you know it. There are some great views of the Columbia River from up there. And there are other very good roads in the area.

Nice to see others out and about!

Fontanaman said:

...short on the fun meter. It is over before you know it.

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Hmmm. Sounds like, ……. never mind.