Red Lodge Rendezvous Ride Report

[hppants]

I swear, as I was getting caught up with this thread, I was thinking "Man... the only thing that would make this ride better is..... pie."

Close, but no cigar apparently.

Oh well, if at first one doesn't succeed, sweet mother of pearl, try try again....

 

[Fontanaman]

Day Nine

I want to thank everybody for their "likes" and following this ride report.

Today I slept in for no particular reason and paid the price later in the day. I believe I hit the road about 9:00am or so. I sure enjoyed sleeping in. Today's destination is Sandpoint Idaho via Going to The Sun Highway in Glacier Park Montana.

And here is my GPS track of the whole affair.

I started off with breakfast at Mickey D's. I like my morning coffee jolt.

On the road I start off in endless range land. I love it. This is FJR country!

I circled back for this photo. Two Harley's at a Muffler shop!

My new cockpit addition.

More FJR country.

And then the mountains come into view. This is FJR country too.

And it gets a bit greener out.

Then I am in Glacier Park along Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park. This is going to be fun!

I pull over to take photos of Wild Goose Island.

A different exposure and a different framing. You can see a recent fire destroyed trees on the right side of the photo behind the island.

Approaching the summit. To this point traffic was not too bad for this time of day.

The not to bad traffic thing ended at the Logan Pass Visitor Center. The parking lot was full, cars looking for a place to park, it was a mess. This is the price if sleeping in. Thankfully I was just driving through so on I go.

The Weeping Wall.

I whip a U-turn for some photos ops.

I prefer taking a shot of the Weeping Wall heading east. Today is was not to be. Too much traffic. Here is what I was stuck with.

After this I simply put the camera away and left as quickly as possible. Getting out of Glacier was a bother, but for the folks heading up to Logan Pass it was a traffic jam. What a mess. Thankfully I have been here many times and wasn't looking to spend much time or get good photos. Just passing through, soak up the views, and beat the heat. Mission accomplished.

I stayed the night in Sandpoint Idaho where I walked to a nice diner along the waterfront. It was a very enjoyable evening even in 85+ degree temps.

to be continued.

 

[NTXFJR]

Awesome scenery. Nice work!

 

[Fontanaman]

Day 10

The obvious route is take Hwy 20 all the way to Rockport, then on to Arlington Washington where I hop on I-5 to I-405 for a one hour slog on the freeway home. One hour is under ideal conditions. Rush hour traffic makes this 1.5 to 2 hours and this is not appealing.

So what to do. I whip out my trusty Destination Hwy Washington map to look for roads less traveled. So I look around on the roads north and east of Spokane and pick out three little less travelled gems. Here is my route.

The Great White North Liberation Army had stayed the night in Newport Washington a bit east of Sandpoint Idaho. I get an early start and roll through Newport looking around for the Liberation Army without success. They must have been holed up someplace worried about a counter attack from the conservative forces inhabiting the area. Honestly the only liberation was to the Liberation Army's souls.

My route takes Hwy 20 for a short time to the West Calispell Road in farm land. It was very nice and a road I don't think I have been on before.

The West Calispell Road

The West Calispell ends where I take a left on the Flowery Trail Road a mountain pass leading to 49° North a ski area. It is a scenic road with a white chip sealed surface. Not my favorite.

Flowery Trail Road. This is how to take photos on the go!

Can you guess where I am heading next?

For some reason along the Hunters Springdale road there was a motorcycle use extreme caution sign every mile. The road is about 27 miles long. I did see any motorcycle hazards. Very odd.

I take a left on Hwy 25 and follow it to Fort Spokane. There are a lot of nice road in this area but you will really have to bust out detailed maps to find them. Save yourself the trouble and buy the Destination Hwy book and map - you will not regret it.

The last little gem of a road is the Miles Creston Road. It parallels the Columbia River and there are access points to the river. This is a popular spot for houseboats. Rent a houseboat for a week and some water toys and have a great time. The road is a hilly and scenic. Highly recommended.

View from the Miles Creston Road.

And it is hilly. I just like the photo of the road "ending".

Well with my three little gem roads now behind me I enter Eastern Washington Farm land near Wilbur Washington. It looks something like this.

This house was not for sale. The farmer left it there and it is a relic from days gone by.

My route take me to I-90 where I get a 2 hour freeway ride home. Not bad and not crowded.

Thanks for following along, the likes and the comments.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Thank you Fontanaman for this Great Ride report with wonderful pictures!!!

You live in a beautiful country!!!

 

[Fontanaman]

Thank you Fontanaman for this Great Ride report with wonderful pictures!!!You live in a beautiful country!!!

Thank you very much. I am lucky to be have lived in the State of Washington all my years.

 

[Tyler]

Great RR, Jim... I'll have to refer back to it for those little known gems... always good to find a new road!! B)

 

[Niehart]

^^^ Like ^^^

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Please keep in mind that a click of the "Like" button for a decent post does not mean anyone actually likes YOU as a person. Just sayin...

But I did like the RR and I would like to meet you one day. Good stuff.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Great RR told by a great guy. Enjoyed your camera angles and trying to keep the Canadian Invasion Forces ahead of you......

 

[Fontanaman]

Great RR told by a great guy. Enjoyed your camera angles and trying to keep the Canadian Invasion Forces ahead of you......

Thanks Ray. It was a pleasure meeting you in Red Lodge. Hopefully we can meet and swap stories again. The Invasion Force ride report was hilarious and since I was following you guys north it was just too good not to mention it in my ride report.

I used to carry a large DSLR camera. With advances in camera technology I found a Canon S100 Powershot works fine for my snap shots and works very well for on the go shots. Most of the shots are taken while riding. A bit of editing with Microsoft Windows Essentials Photo Gallery to crop, straight and sometime set the exposure is all I need.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Great RR Jim, nice way to finish the trip to Red Lodge!

Enjoyed the ride east...looking forward to the next one.

--G

 

[JamesW]

Day Nine
I want to thank everybody for their "likes" and following this ride report.

Today I slept in for no particular reason and paid the price later in the day. I believe I hit the road about 9:00am or so. I sure enjoyed sleeping in. Today's destination is Sandpoint Idaho via Going to The Sun Highway in Glacier Park Montana.

And here is my GPS track of the whole affair.

I started off with breakfast at Mickey D's. I like my morning coffee jolt.

On the road I start off in endless range land. I love it. This is FJR country!

I circled back for this photo. Two Harley's at a Muffler shop!

My new cockpit addition.

More FJR country.

And then the mountains come into view. This is FJR country too.

And it gets a bit greener out.

Then I am in Glacier Park along Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park. This is going to be fun!

I pull over to take photos of Wild Goose Island.

A different exposure and a different framing. You can see a recent fire destroyed trees on the right side of the photo behind the island.

Approaching the summit. To this point traffic was not too bad for this time of day.

The not to bad traffic thing ended at the Logan Pass Visitor Center. The parking lot was full, cars looking for a place to park, it was a mess. This is the price if sleeping in. Thankfully I was just driving through so on I go.

The Weeping Wall.

I whip a U-turn for some photos ops.

I prefer taking a shot of the Weeping Wall heading east. Today is was not to be. Too much traffic. Here is what I was stuck with.

After this I simply put the camera away and left as quickly as possible. Getting out of Glacier was a bother, but for the folks heading up to Logan Pass it was a traffic jam. What a mess. Thankfully I have been here many times and wasn't looking to spend much time or get good photos. Just passing through, soak up the views, and beat the heat. Mission accomplished.

I stayed the night in Sandpoint Idaho where I walked to a nice diner along the waterfront. It was a very enjoyable evening even in 85+ degree temps.

to be continued.

verified my decision to bypass Glacier and go S. on 89 and the highway 49 pass route, some really cool country and little traffic.

 

[FJRBandit]

Loved it Fontanaman! Thanks for taking us along for the ride. Makes me jones just that much more to get back to Montana.

 

[FarWestFastEddie]

I just read the report, you did a great job! Thanks for sharing

FWFE