Summer Dream 2006

The day dawned bright and clear, a perfect day to start a long ride; cool and clear. But cool turned to cold as the route entered the Columbia River Gorge. A stop along the highway to put on a rain slicker helped cut the wind, but those Golden Arches at Hood River never looked so good. A stop for coffee, a sausage sandwich, and some motorcycle talk with a few local people made a half hour go by fast. Warmed up just in time to enter the praries of Eastern Oregon.

The cold morning gave way quickly to a very warm midday, appropriate for the parched grasses and sage of that area. And in such dichotomy, the Eastern desert is bisected by the mighty Columbia River. The river is a mile wide nearly all the way to the eastern border. Only two minor construction points along the way, pavement so hot the flagger has to keep shifting feet. Arrival in Lewiston was with cutoff “T”, having shed most everything else as the day got hotter. A cold beer and shrimp from the local grocery makes the evening perfect.

And a motorcycle brings you most of all the smells. New mown hay in an Oregon field, pines of the Columbia Gorge, the pungent sweet smell of sage and juniper in the hot afternoon sun of Eastern Washington. A fruit stand in a little farm town outside Umatilla. And campfire smoke in the Idaho mountain foothills. More tomorrow.

Highway 12 is a beautfil drive. It’s a lonely place at times; a half hour passing without another car. I am very eager to see Lolo Pass in the Idaho mountains tomorrow A little bonus, highway mileage is pushing 50mpg, a little relief on the high cost of fuel