Topic: Interesting Roads and Destinations

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Yeah, Skyline and Blue Ridge are great rides



But watch out for The Dragon!



It just may bite you in the ass ;-)

[BobbyR]

Ouch Jerry. I remember that. 

[ofreen]

Here's another ghost town, Sage, Wyoming.  This one is in southwestern Wyoming off US30 a few miles west of Kemmerer.  An old railroad stop, it is starting to look a little worse for wear.  The climate is harsh in this area.  But it is my kind of place.  I've been told I like these places because they are even older and rundown than I am, so I look good by comparison.  Could be.

From outer space -



The town is appropriately named, as the sagebrush is reclaiming the place -





This house is no doubt the most recently lived in, but it has been awhile -




A few more in need of repair -











Fido hasn't been home in a while -



Some effort was made to spruce things up -



Some interiors -










The town features an RV park -



A nice piece of fabrication -



The pump house -



The town was not without entertainment -



Not everybody has left -

[BobbyR]

Excellent work!!!!!

[ofreen]

Thanks Bobby.  Here are the remnants of another old town a few miles up the road, the name of which escapes me -

[ofreen]

Got back from a ride through Montana, Alberta, and British Columbia a week and a half ago.  We found some nice roads and scenic views.  There are a couple of roads I’ll feature in this thread later, but here are some high points from the 8 days we were out.  Really just an excuse to post some pix of scenery, old stuff and my old GS.

MT278 –



An old school in Phillipsburg, MT, now doing duty as a tenement –


Camping east of Lincoln, MT –


MT 434, highly recommended –


Holter Lake, MT –


Down the road from Craig, MT –


Waterton Park, Alberta and the Prince Of Wales Hotel –





The Cahoon Hotel in Cardston, AB caught my eye for some reason –


Pit stop –


Highway 40, AB –




Yoho NP campground.  Hard to find an empty camping spot around Banff NP.  This one was busy, but not too bad, a good crowd –



Took a ferry boat ride from Shelter Bay to Galena Bay across Upper Arrow Lake.  Very nice –








Back into Montana on MT508, a 1939 Ford, only $3000.  Very tempting –




An old homestead further along MT508 –




The Dirty Shame in Yaak, MT.  They like their music loud -


Lake Koocanusa, a long ass reservoir behind Libby Dam –


Here comes the sun at Bull Lake, MT -

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

You're killin me! Just told my ex riding buddy I'd buy another road bike just for a retirement road trip to Alaska next year. I don't think he'll bite. Good to see BC and Alberta in pictures but the memories are still etched in my brain from my own eyes. Did you cut through Glacier just across the border from Waterton?

[ofreen]

We crossed into Canada at Del Bonita and came back through Porthill.  My brother (on the Harley) and I have talked about riding to AK next year, but it will hinge on whether I actually retire or not.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

It's not IF it's WHEN?! Keep me in the loop. I'm probably done next year, just gotta be the right time and that'd be a good reason. May take a year and cruise around events and visiting. Should we leave from your place?

[ofreen]

Washington State Highway 410 has a lot of memories for me.  I can remember going up to the summit of Chinook Pass on the 4th of July with the family when I was a little kid and playing in the snow.  We went there often and I never got tired of the place.  Later when I could ride motorcycles on the street, I'd ride up there a few times a summer or take a jeep.  Lots of hiking and rock climbing, too. 

I was up there last month on the tail end of a 3000 mile ride and the morning was so amazing I thought I'd do an entry on the road in this thread, even though it isn't particularly obscure.  Any of our PNW members will be well familiar with it. 

I remember the trees met over the top of this stretch of road when I was a kid.  Then it was clear-cut.  Now the trees are back just like Weyerhaeuser said they would be.  Took about 40 or 50 years is all.


Once you leave Enumclaw, the road quickly gets scenic, following the White River along much of the way.



The road enters Mount Rainier National Park just past the turnoff to Crystal Mountain Ski Resort.  The greedy bastards at the park service have floated the idea a few times to set up their admission booths at this point, but so far they haven't prevailed.  Let's hope they never do.


Before long, the road begins to climb, offering views of Mount Rainier, considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.  The problem is all the water contained in its snow pack and glaciers.  Google 'lahar' if you've never heard the term.  Sure is gorgeous though, rather like Angelina Jolie in her prime, beautiful to look at but liable to chew your nads off if she felt like it.


Highway 410 heads up toward Chinook Pass at the split with Hwy 123 which heads through Cayuse Pass.  410 starts to climb rapidly and has some nice hairpin curves. Here are a few scenery pix with my old GS parked in the way.  This was one of the most haze free days I've seen in a while.  The sky was so blue it almost hurt the eyes.








The east side of the pass is much different than the west side -



While I was standing on the narrow shoulders taking pictures and trying not to get run over, a small herd of Jags drove by.  I rode up to where they parked and took photos of the interesting ones and talked to the owners.  The E-Type was very pretty, but smelled like hot oil.




I remember when this thing was being built, back in the early 70's if I remember right.  Abandoned now and falling apart, but I always thought it was interesting.  Still is.





Highway 410 over Chinook Pass from orbit -


I consider this video to be less boring than my others -

[BobbyR]

Beautiful! 

[Stev-o]

Great post, thanks for sharing Greg.

[ofreen]

This post will feature eastern Oregon.  Eastern Oregon is sparsely populated and maybe one of the best kept secrets as a riding destination.  So don't tell anybody.  Lots of scenery, lonely  paved and unpaved roads, small old towns, abandoned farms and ranches, wildlife, and did I mention scenery?  So here are some photos of all those things, plus my old GS.

Starting with some scenery -













Some views of Mount Hood from different angles -




Some roadside art -


Here is the biggest hazard to motorcycling in eastern Oregon.  You cannot let your guard down for a second and I won't ride there once the sun starts to go down. This was back on a forest service road way up in the hills. Somebody hit it the night before and left it for somebody else to run over in the dark.


Antelope, OR is an old stage stop with an interesting history, check out the Wiki page on it -









These two made a wrong turn somewhere -


Paulina is a little town that sits way out by itself.


It wouldn't be hard to convince myself to retire in Wamic, another little wide spot in the road.


Eastern Oregon has no end of abandoned stuff, so if you like the Abandoned Thread, you'll like this next part. This stuff fascinates me for some reason. I'll start with this old Forest Service house that is turning into a leaner -




And here is a whole bunch more.  Most who ride with me get a little tired of me stopping at every broken down old shack to take a photo.  Can't blame them.  Some of you might feel the same after you scroll through all these.

[754]

Nice, reminds me of  the road to Ukiah, after I left your place..

 Are you all healed up now ? Get any riding in this summer ?

[ofreen]

Nice, reminds me of  the road to Ukiah, after I left your place..
 Are you all healed up now ? Get any riding in this summer ?

Thanks Frank, Ukiah was one of many little towns we went through. 

[RAFster122s]

Very cool! Ever do any photography to sell?

[ofreen]

Very cool! Ever do any photography to sell?

Thanks David, I've never given it a thought.  All these were taken with an old Canon Elph point and shoot or a not quite as old I-Phone 5S.  So nothing fancy.

[Stev-o]

Another great post, thanks Greg. 

[ofreen]

Thanks Stev-o. I’ve found myself some spare time, so I’ll try to get some more of these up. It was a year since the last one. Time flies.

[BobbyR]

Great shots Greg. I have to get out there with the wife.

[ofreen]

Thanks Bobby.  Here's a short little road you can check when you are out west, the Mount Nebo Scenic Byway.  On the southern end it runs from outside of Nephi, UT north to Payson on the east side of Mt. Nebo.  It is about 40 miles of steep, winding, scenic fun, climbing up over 9000 ft.  When I was on it the first time back in the early '90's a lot of it was a barely paved cow trail, but it has been 'improved' now.  More traffic on it these days, but still very worthwhile.

[Mooshie]

I'm so jealous...what great pictures

[ofreen]

Thanks Lisa, I just checked your blog and it looks like you've been riding and taking some great photos yourself.

[scottly]

Very cool! Ever do any photography to sell?

Thanks David, I've never given it a thought.  All these were taken with an old Canon Elph point and shoot or a not quite as old I-Phone 5S.  So nothing fancy.

I once considered selling photos after finding this book in a bookstore. Do they still have bookstores?

[RAFster122s]

Books a Million is thriving here in TN and used bookstores are popular for paperbacks and even hardbacks. In southern AZ there is a bookstore that does a good business with dvd rentals as well as used and new books and magazines (magazines are on the way out grasping at straws to stay afloat for some genres...)

To do large photography you need to have a high resolution camera... otherwise the enlargement becomes pixelated and grainy.

Doing greeting cards with some of your pictures would be totally feasible and doable. Just need to do the printing so it could be small format prints or even as an alternative to a postcard. Then get a small shop to carry them for a consignment of the total cost.
These days you might not make much. Depends on what you do.

Stock photos would be one way to sell things, but then you need to have high resolution modern camera and that usually means lenses and cleaners and all the fun with that.  Stuff isn't made as sturdy as it once was... 
David