We began the day in Oregon, looked across a canyon at Idaho, passed through a corner of Washington and then settled into another fine Hampton Inn in the bustling community of Lewiston, ID. Day eight is complete.
My day started with complete disappointment with the hotel we stayed in...dark hallways, a dingy room, bad pillows, carpet that had two inch high ridge in it, an inedible breakfast and a guest in the room above me that pounded the creaking floors for hours. I couldn't wait to get moving.
Our route for the day was Baker City, OR to Halfway, OR on Hwy 86, north on FS39, west on Hwy 82 and north on Hwy 3/129.
We ran up I-84 for one exit and headed due east on Hwy 86. The country became very isolated very quickly and the road, in excellent shape, rolled over the foothills through open range.
Halfway to Richland the road began cutting through a canyon and the BMW GS's ran through it effortlessly. We rode through the ranching town of Halfway and remarked at how unaffected it was by tourists (like us). It was all about supporting the local ranchers.
A few miles past Halfway we turned north on Hwy 39, the Wallowa Mountain Loop, and buckled up for the twisties and incredible scenery that Butler Maps demands before it will classify a road as its best, a "yellow road". Forest Road 39, a seasonal road which will only remain open for a few more weeks when it will close for the winter, was amazing. And the primary sight to behold is Hells Canyon National Recreation Area and the Snake River that runs through it.
Hells Canyon boasts the deepest canyon in the US, including the Grand Canyon. At its deepest Hells Canyon is 7,993' deep. We followed the sign for the Overlook and in a few miles we caught our first glimpse of the canyon. At the overlook, which we shared with maybe a dozen other folks, we looked out at one of the most incredible sights I've ever seen.
We chatted with a father/daughter team who were scouting for their annual elk hunt. The dad pointed to a road/trail on the Idaho side of the canyon and told us about being with a group on horseback that were packing in. They encountered a group on their way up the trail and as he described it, "All hell broke loose. One of the other party's mules, with a full pack, lost its footing and began tumbling down the mountain. The owner scrambled down after it, expecting it to be dead. When he got to the mule it was upside down, but alive. He cut the packs off and the mule scrambled back to the pack."
We also met a nice couple from Montana who were touring on a GS. We got some tips from them on great roads and will be on one of them tomorrow.
From Hwy 39 we turned west and followed another road through spectacular valleys and gorgeous ranch country landing in Joseph, OR for lunch at the R&R Diner. Good burger, service at the speed of glaciers. Not a bad thing though as we needed a break after three hours of twisties. Up the road a bit we hung a right on Hwy 3 and pointed the pigs due north.
Hwy 3 was a scenic route through high desert, wheat ranches, foothills with views of the Rockies to the east. About 30 miles north of Enterprise, OR we arrived at a fabulous overlook called Joseph Canyon Overlook. It was stunning. KC chatted up a local rancher and they talked about growing hay (NOTHING grows here without irrigation). The rancher told KC that his hay gets shipped to Kentucky and Florida and is very high quality alfalfa hay.
North of here we entered an incredible canyon that dropped us down to the Grande Rondo River and then lifted us back up an amazing set of switchbacks and in another 15 miles the highway descended to the Snake River and Lewiston, ID.
Whew...what a day.
1 comment:
Hells Canyon is very cool.... we did a Jet-boat ride up it in late May while on a Snake- Columbia River Cruise. Looks like great roads
Carry on
MM
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