Forth and back TOR '20
 

Ralf and I were planning to make the trip to TOR(Top of the Rockies Rallye) again this year but things happen. I didn't want to call this the Non-TOR COVID '20 Tour so I stuck with the format I have used in the past.

This is my fiftieth year of motorcycle trips and the first time I have reserved a campsite in advance. I don't usually know where I will be at the end of the day so it is hard to book ahead. Last year I enjoyed the two days I spent in Capital Reef Nat. Park so in January I booked a campsite there for Ralf and I right after TOR.

In February COVID hit the fan and things changed. TOR got canceled. Ralf and I talked it over then decided to do the trip minus TOR plus masks and other precautions.

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The original plan was to meet at Capital Reef then head north. Ralf decided to meet me two days earlier at Great Basin Nat. Park then we would ride to Capital Reef together.

This year's theme song is Get Ready by Rare Earth-

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Day 1-Seattle to Streamboat Rock SP, 238 miles

I delayed the start by two days since all the campgrounds were booked where I wanted to stay the first night. I arrived at Steam Boat Rock Sunday afternoon and there were only two camp sites left. This was the story in '20, campground closed or reservation only. Fewer campsites and more people camping.

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Hwy 2 through Tumwater canyon-

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Descending into the Grand Coulee-

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Great pics RB and glad you put the map in! Missed you guys this year, but Covid has changed a lot of things and the border is still closed!

Cheers

Nice to see this thread again. I see Ralf has new hair for 2020.

Love that pic of the river from Hwy 2.

-Jeff

*I forgot to mention the trip started on July 12th.

Day 2 - Steamboat Rock SP to Maryhill SP, 258 miles

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I have been camping in the Grand Coulee Dam area for 45+ years but have never stayed at Steamboat SP or hiked up Steamboat Rock. Since I was camped at the base of the trail I hiked up in early morning before it warmed up. Great views along the way. There was one steep rocky section that had me a little concerned since my knees are not as good at they use to be. I made it to the top for a few minutes of morning grandeur, got down the steep section and then fell jamming my left shoulder. Great, second day out and first injury. It only hurt on rough jarring dirt road sections but livable.

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The section where the fall happened-

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Views from the top-

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I stopped at Dry Falls overlook and had lunch. This area of WA was shaped by a flood after a giant lake in Montana burst-

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Dodson Road through grape vines in Frenchman Hills north of Royal City-

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The sand dunes near Beverly, WA-

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The road to Bickleton through Horse Heaven Hills-

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Camped at Steamboat about 20 years ago and hiked up the rock! Thanks for the memories!

Day 3 - Maryhill to Clyde Holiday SP 208

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I like camping on the Columbia River but this was not cheap. $35 for mine or $45 to stay on the river side which you can't see from the camp site. Again, welcome to 2020. This CG always filled up in the past but not last night. Nice beautiful morning so I took a walk along the river.

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Well used trail between pond and the river, fresh too. Otter or beaver?-

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I loved the white poplar. All gnarly at the bottom and then decides to be aspen like-

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I had to stop for the wheat and mountains. Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams-

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Great road near Antelope, OR-

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John Day National Monument - Clarno Unit-

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Some old stone near Fossil, OR-

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Day 3 - Continued

After setting up camp I went for another walk. Camped here 6+ times but just found out there is a Riverside Trail along the John Day River-

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RB, thanks for posting this. Always great to live vicariously through your and Ralf's adventures (particularly this year)! Great photos!


Chris

^this

Were is that twisty road picture taken??
I recognize most everything but that road. Great shots for sure.

RBMann-I am not one to post on pictures ever. That being said, I think the pictures you take are quite incredible. They all tell a story and would look quite wonderful in a magazine with an article. Thank you for taking the time to post.

Swamper-

OR Hwy 218 just north of Antelope.

Chris216, BikerMiker & twitchy-

Thanks for the kind words. Doing these post means I get to relive the trip.

Ooops, forgot the map for Day 3. Fixed, sorry Mr. Rotter.

Day 4 - Clyde Holiday to Givens Hot Springs 299 miles

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This morning I decided to backtrack a little to Dayville and ride down the South Fork of the John Day River-

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Cut SE on a FS road through Van to Drewsey, OR. Found a small fixer upper in Juntura-

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Bison ranch and horse too, near Owyhee, OR-

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I was trying to cover more ground today so not as many pictures. Also I just didn't see that much interesting stuff. The pictures on Givens Hot Spring website looked like a nice grassy place to camp. Pretty dried out when I got there, sort of old/tired looking and a bit disorganized. Maybe one other camper because of COVID and the pool in indoors. Okay I guess but not great.

Day 5 - Givens to Ruby Lake, NV 358 miles

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The first thing this morning was art(?) with lava stones and rebar-

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At Bruneau, ID I turned south for Elko, NV on Hwy 51. This is the same road I used in 2008 on my first trip to TOR. Mormon crickets again this year. Scary and slippery, in 2008 two riders crashed on them the previous week. They come out on the road to eat their dead and if you stop they will walk toward you. Luckily this year most of them were on the straight level sections-

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Great stone work as I crossed into NV-

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Riding along the Owyhee river-

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From Elko I headed into Lamoille Canyon, a place that I have wanted to see for years. Pretty views but at 2:30 in the afternoon on a weekday all the camping was already taken-

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Day 5 - Continued

Back out of Lamoille Canyon a quick check of the map and the road took me to Ruby Lake-

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Great camp site with a 180º view and it was really quiet. Quiet until my new neighbor arrived. The couple took 1.5 hrs. moving their trailer around so they could unload the ATV, then moved the trailer out of the way, moved the ATV so they could back in the camper and then finally spent an amazing amount of time jockeying the camper to the perfect level spot. The whole time I was listening to their diesel truck and walkie talkies. If I had to work that hard to set up camp I would just stay home. Done ranting. It really was a beautiful spot-

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After a short walk it was time to watch the sunset-

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Day 6 - Ruby Lake to Great Basin NP 197 miles

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Tried to get moving earlier today as I would be meeting up with Ralf and I was concerned about camp sites. Good thing, I arrived just after 11:00am and got one of only two sites left. I watched 30+ cars loop through looking for sites while waiting for Ralf to arrive.

I love camps that are open to the east-

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Morning on the road in the desert-

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I am a bad judge of distance. How long is this straight section before the turn on the other side of the valley? Been playing this game with myself for years but I am not getting better. The answer is 12 miles, looks less to me-

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Stopped a couple times for a chat with neighbors. These country folk seem kind of shy-

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Day 6 - Continued

After 70+ miles of nice graded dirt I was back on pavement-

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I stopped in Ely, NV for gas, food and to check my phone. Judging by the texts, Ralf was doing well coming up from San Diego and would arrive in mid afternoon. Made it to Great Basin, set up camp and relaxed. Ralf was getting close so I headed down to Baker for food and waited with my new friend-

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Good to see Ralf again. Since we live on opposite edges of the country we only get together once a year for these trips. With supplies and Ralf in tow I rode back to camp. Somehow I don't believe there is a pot of gold in Ralf's tent-

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Baker City has Food? Never looked like anything was open the times I've been through there.