BigJohnSD, "Dr Thompson" (Scott), and Fontanaman Pacific North West 2025

[raYzerman]

You can think outside the box, but should always ride the box in OR.

[fontanaman]

Here are a few photos from the last couple of days.

Liberty Bell at the North Cascades Overlook about 30 miles west of Winthrop Washington.

Along Crescent Lake, Hwy 101 west of Port Angeles.



The Astoria Bridge crossing the Columbia River. This one is for Mark.







The Oregon Coast is great for tourists. I can't recommend it on a motorcycle, unless one crisscrosses the Coast Mountains back and forth picking the good roads using your favorite method. It is just too crowded until south of the Oregon Dunes.

It is scenic, no denying that.



The Painted Hills.





Along Hwy 402 near Monument Oregon.

[bigjohnsd]

Day 9 - 18 September 2025, John Day, OR to John Day, OR via Paulina, OR, Prineville Reservoir Dam, Ochoco Ranger Station, 50 miles of gravel back up to US 26, - 316 miles, 7.5 hours riding .5 hours off the bikes. No sniffing today, "The Road is the Ride, and the Ride is the Road!



We left John Day about 0800 and headed South on US 39r before turning West on the Paulina/Izee Highway. We enjoyed our ride to Paulina which is just a bar, a school, and a post office now. From Paulina we continued West towards Prineville, OR then South to the Prineville Reservoir Dam where we stopped for about 101South minutes for bio's and water. We then headed back to Prineville and East on US 26. we rode a section of Butler Map Gold (not all it is cracked up to be) before reversing course and heading East on the Ochoco Ranger Station Road/NF-42, a beautiful two-lane freshly paved and smooth for the first 20 miles. We continued East on NF-42 until we hit a Tee and then headed North on generally good but washboardy gravel NF-22 for about 50 miles back to US-26 at Mitchel, OR. We rode East on 26 as far as OR-19, then North to OR 402, East to US-395, and South to John Day. The WEAX was perfect, cool when we left John Day, warming gently and generally in the low 80F range and only hit 90F once.

A few pictures from today.

East end of the Izee/Paulina Highway


Flats on the Izee/Paulina Highway


Between Paulina and Prineville there are some nice bluffs


Prineville Reservoir


On NF-42 headed East past the Ochoco Ranger Station where the great road got a bit less great.




Gravel North - very washboardy


It got better as we got closer to US-26


Heading up OR-19 into more John Day National Monument lands

[Toter]

Got some serious bug guts going on there!

[bigjohnsd]

Day 10 - 19 September 2025, John Day, OR to Hearthstone Elegant Lodge, Kamiah, ID via US 26, OR-7N, OR-86, FS-39/North Pines Rd (Three Thumbs Up!), Imnaha Hwy to Joseph, OR, OR-82 to Enterprise, OR then OR-3/WA-129 (Rattlesnake) to Acotin, WA, and on to Lewiston, then the Tamany Creek Rd to US-95, South to Craigmont, ID, then East to Nez Perce, from Nez Perce we took ID-64 to Kamiah. The last 8 miles into Kamiah was very nasty pea gravel, NOT FUN! - 371 miles, 7.0 hours riding 1 hour off the bikes. We stopped and looked down into Hell's Canyon around noon at an overlook along FS 39, and stopped for a drink and snack in Acotin.




Pictures from today:

Leaving John Day at 0810, 53F and sunny. We saw 49F on OR-7.

Approaching Hells Canyon on OR-86


On FS-39 paralleling the Snake River/Hells Canyon


Scott surveying the Hells Canyon Vista from the top. In 2023 we rode the bottom down to the dam. You can't see the bottom from this overlook.









North of Enterprise, OR, the mountains were beautiful


The Snake River at Acotin


Between Craigmont and Nez Perce we thought we were going into a wildfire, but when we got close it appeared to be controlled burning of wheat stubble.



Tomorrow we plan of heading to Elk City, ID then over the Nez Perce Pass (The McGruder Corridor - ~70+ miles of Two Track/dirt/gravel) and will end up in Salmon, ID for the evening.

Stay tuned!

[Hppants]

Has it been 10 days already? Time sure flies.

[bigjohnsd]

Day 11 - 20 September 2025, Hearthstone Elegant Lodge, Kamiah, ID to Salmon, ID via Elk City, ID, the Magruder Corridor, MT 473, US 93.
265 miles, 8.0 hours riding 1 hour off the bikes, 76 miles of rough gravel/two-track/rocks avg speed 20 mph on the Magruder corridor. All I want to do on a "big bike"!





Todays Pictures:

Scott adjusting prior to the Magruder


The first few miles of the corridor are really nice smooth pea gravel, 30-40 mph is easy.



Time to shed a layer


Scott's '25 GSA was flawless over the rough road. My '23 DL800 was the same, the suspension mods I've done (springs)worked well.


The vistas were spectacular, the camera doesn't do them justice.


BigJohnSD shedding layers and drinking water.





I couldn't stop and take pictures in the knarly parts of the passage.





The actual Nez Perce Pass was a letdown after noting 8,900 feet at one spot in Idaho


US-93 South to Salmon was a treet after four hours of rocks and washboard!


Kool rock along 93


A little "Food Porn" from Magruders in Salmon, ID - a great brewery/restaurant !

My Salmon and Vegetables was excellent!

Scott's Orange Glazed Pork Chop was excellent as well.

Tomorrow is a transit day, we will make time towards home, stopping in Thermopolis, WY tomorrow evening. Just a few interesting streches of road around Jackson Hole and heading over to Dubois, WY. Lots of straight roads.
"Suzy" will roll over 19k Miles tomorrow and her chain is about at end-of-life but should see me home.

Stay tuned!

[Bugnatr]

Magruder sure looks different then in June (instead of September) when Robert and I rode it with Fontannaman. The wild flowers were off the chart, fun road!

[Bugnatr]

Magruder sure looks different then in June (instead of September) when Robert and I rode it with Fontannaman. The wild flowers were off the chart, fun road!

Probably helped being on 650 singles.

[fontanaman]

Magruder sure looks different then in June (instead of September) when Robert and I rode it with Fontannaman. The wild flowers were off the chart, fun road!

Probably helped being on 650 singles.

That was a great ride. We rode the best Idaho backroads including the Chinese Wall, the highest road in Idaho at 10450 feet, the Seven Devils west of Riggins, along with a couple of excellent route deviations suggested by Doug just because it seemed like a good idea, and it was.