Forth and Back TOR '21

[RBMann]

Day 23-Lolo Pass to Zims Hot Springs, 251 miles



Every time I have camped at Lolo it has been cold and damp in the morning. 48ºF. matching Colter Bay which is 3,000' higher at 7,200'. Lolo Pass Hwy. is usually a scenic drive but not today-





We did have a good late breakfast/early lunch in Kooskia-



Found a new way to go south from hwy. 12-





We saw this little gem in Grangeville when we stopped for gas. Wonder how many times he has been stopped for having a machine gun?-



The always entertaining Old White Bird Grade Road but hot today-



We reach Zims in the late afternoon and had another nice soak.

[RBMann]

Day 24-Zims to Oxbow, OR, 94 miles



Surprise, smokey again this morning at 58ºF.-



Ouch!-



We had a late start today and then an early stop. Twice in the past when we have arrived at Copperfield CG I have had flat tires. I have also arrived here with a bad wheel bearing on a solo trip. This year it was Ralf's turn-



The good thing about a BMW GS is you can field test for a leak and not worry about the bearings-

[RBMann]

Day 25-Oxbow to Mt. Vernon, 201 miles



Nice 71ºF. in the morning as we packed to leave our camp on the Snake River. Turns out Ralf's tire was not the only thing that leaked. I still question if it was the tent floor or the occupant. I don't remember now if it rained during the night but it took a little longer to dry out and pack-



Wait, now I remember it was raining and we had to suit up for the first couple hours of riding-



While we ate breakfast in Baker City the rain stopped. Just in time as Hwy 245 heading south over Dooley Pass is more enjoyable when dry. From the summit going south you have your choice of dirt or pavement. We took the pavement which had a lot of rocks and debris from the recent rain-

[RBMann]

Day 25 continued-

Down off the pass we see another scene of broken dreams in the West-



Oregon desert as we head south on Hwy 26 before taking NF 16 westward. I have some friends that claim 16 is their favorite road in OR. I have been on it in both direction and it is nice but nothing special to me-





We only covered half of 16 then cut NW to Prairie City on NF 13. On this road we had a nice 10 mile downhill coasting race. We hit camp around 4:00 to spend some time kicking back and hiking the trails along the John Day River-

[RBMann]

Day 26-Mt. Vernon Loop, 199 miles



Ralf wanted to go see the John Day Fossil Beds and I wanted to show him the Painted Hills Unit of the Monument out by Mitchell. First stop was the Mascall Overlook where the road just goes into the mountain-





We then rode north on Hwy 19 to the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center-





I love this area of Oregon with the deserted roads and ever changing scenery. However, when we came out of the exhibit at noon it was Hot. We worked our way NW on 19 through Spray so we could take Rowe Creek Rd. back down to the Painted Hills. We had to stop a couple times for cold drinks-

[RBMann]

Day 26 continued-

Rowe Crk. Rd. is just a very small road along water past some cliffs-





At 2:00 when we joined Hwy 207, the sweeping view toward the Painted Hills did not look good. A massive storm was in the area of the Hills and heading our direction. We decided to delay the Hills for another trip, stop at Mitchell for more drinks and beat it back to camp before the rain storm-



Maybe we were lucky to skip the Painted Hills as it was 4:00 when we got back to camp and Ralf's plugged tire was leaking again-



My gummy ropes seem to hold better than his mushroom plugs-



Time for another evening walk along the river-

[RBMann]

Day 27-Mt. Vernon to Windy Point CG, 288 miles



It is always a tough day when Ralf and I separate. Today he would head south while I went north-



More broken dreams as I head up Hwy 295-







At the junction with Hwy 74 I went west to try some new roads near Heppner-



Turning north again on Little Butter Creek Road-

[RBMann]

Day 27 continued-

After crossing the Columbia River into WA you can see there were still smoky skies. This year was the worst and most wide spread that I have seen. Oregon, California and the last 12 days since the middle of WY-



Looking down on Othello, WA-



I arrived at the campground at 5:00 and luckily scored a great site on the river. I finished setting up for the night right before a storm passed overhead-



I hid under some trees while the hail fell then ventured out to capture some stormy sunset photos-

[wswartzwel]

Thanks for doing this every year Rick. You do a great job of presenting stories, you should have been in the film industry.

[RBMann]

Wait, wait, I'm not done yet.

[RBMann]

Day 28-Windy Point to home, 182 miles



Once again, thanks for coming along if you made it this far. In 2022, Ralf and I do intend on making it to the Top of the Rockies Rallye.

Final day and no hurry to end the trip. The dawn broke sunny and clear at 64ºF. Looks like a great day for riding as I bid goodbye to Jessica-







Stopped for an early lunch at Nile on Hwy 410-



Checked out NF-19 that branches off to the north from 410. Probably driven by it 50+ times and never gone up the 15 mile paved road. Pretty, quiet and Salmon Falls is a nice place to stop, good little one hour diversion-







Hwy 410 is my favorite to and from route for Seattle. Many views of Mt. Rainier and the lovely Tipsoo Lake-



While at Tipsoo I saw these costumes but I am not sure who they are try to portray. I must be nearing civilization and home. Made me think sometimes Ralf and I must look like a real clown show to other people, well maybe all the time-