We have never watched the Buckeyes play while having breakfast but that’s what we did on Saturday. Game was at 9 AM here. (Buckeyes 71 Oregon State 31) Then to make it an even better day, we watched the “team up north” get beat by Notre Dame. Oh perfect day!!
On Sunday we moved on to Pine Meadows Campground on Cottage Grove Lake. It’s a Corps of Engineers campground so only $11.00 a night for us.
Beautiful Bohemia Park in Cottage Grove. Good place to park near trailhead.
Monday morning we road the Row River Trail from Cottage Grove to Culp Creek. I chose this trail because Cottage Grove is the “Covered Bridge Capital” of Oregon.
Mosby Creek Bridge – this bridge was near the trail.
We saw a couple other bridges from a distance. I was a bit disappointed they weren’t closer to the trail. It was a fun trail. Through forests and meadows and beautiful valleys far below the trail.
Dorena Reservoir – water was extremely low.
There was an uphill grade for about 6 miles then the trail leveled out for the next 10 miles until we reached Culp Creek Trailhead.
Trails end – 16.5 miles from Cottage Grove.
We stopped at a farm market for some vegetables on our way back. The gentleman there told us that the lake was always a bit lower this time of year but extremely low now because an error was made and too much water was released from the dam.
Dorena Dam
This was our 4th and final ride in Oregon. We reached our 100 mile goal. Tomorrow we are headed for the Oregon coast to spend a day beachcombing and tidepooling. Later in the week we are meeting our friend Pete at Lake in the Woods near Klamsth Falls.
We left Memaloose State Park and headed for LL Stub Stewart State Park near Banks, OR. This campground is right on the 22 mile Banks-Vernonia State Trail. It is the first “rails-to-trails” linear state park built in Oregon.
Campsite at Stub Stewart State Park.
Wednesday we rode the trail north of the park to Vernonia, around Lake Vernonia and returned. From the campground we took a mountain bike trail to reach the rail trail. White knuckle ride for me, I don’t like doing downhill in the dirt. Beautiful ride, mostly forest with lots of welcoming shade. Some areas were being logged.
Logging area along trail.
There was a mostly gentle uphill grade to Vernonia. One exception was the Horseshoe Trestle bypass which switchbacked up 700 feet and descended 300 feet at Tophill (13% grade). There was a sign at the top of one of the switchbacks that said “steep grade walk bike”. A challenge for sure but the ride up the hill to our campsite was even more of a challenge.
We were armed for bears and bees. Cougar sited on trail a couple days ago.
Thursday morning we road the trail south to the city of Banks. We traveled through forests of tall pines on a significant downhill grade for 6 miles.
Beautiful tall pines.
The floor of the forest was covered in huge ferns. The last 4.5 miles was a gentle downhill grade. Just before Banks we saw small farms and large meadows.
Large ferns along trail.
The Buxton Trestle was a highlight of the trail – 80 feet high and 700 feet long.
Buxton Trestle
Some parts of the trail was lined with raspberries. They were so sweet, warm and tasty.
Yummy trail side snack.
Our return trip was a bit slower. The last six miles were slow going. Two moms had 5 young children out for a hike and they waved and cheered us on. I felt like I was in the Tour D’france.
Back at Stub Stewart the long steep climb to our campsite awaited us. I really don’t think I could do that climb a third day.
Friday we were off to Albany, OR. it was a really enjoyable trip through the Willamett Valley. Acres of corn, peppers, vineyards, and more hops. We planned to stay at Blue Ox RV Park where we would have cable to watch Ohio State defeat Oregon State.
We left the RV Park about noon and were off to Richland to see Trish. We hadn’t seen her in almost 35 years.
Trish and her husband Ray have a beautiful home with plenty of room for us to park and plug in. We had a wonderful time reminiscing and catching up. Who knew we could talk so much. Lots of laughter! We really enjoyed our time with both Trish and Ray.
Ray and Trish- biggest pancake we’ve ever seen.
We had breakfast at a fun little restaurant. Huge servings.
This was hanging from the ceiling.
Sunday we headed for the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. It was so enjoyable following the river. At a couple places we saw wind surfers and kite sailing. There seemed to be 100s of them.
We were fortunate to get a beautiful campsite at the Memaloose State Park. It was on the river and we had a nice shaded site.
View from campground.Nice place for walking Flo. Lots of squirrels to tease her.
Tuesday morning we road the twin tunnel section of the Historic Columbia River Trail. The trail is part of the original road built between 1913 and 1922. When the interstate was built in the 1950s the old highway was abandoned. For the past 30 years efforts have been made to restore the road. Some sections are drivable and others are for biking and hiking only. The section we road did not allow cars.
The views were incredible. This was just east of the tunnels.
There were some long climbs (over a mile) but going down was just plain fun!!
We were thrilled to have blue skies! It’s been a while.
We stopped at the RV for a PB&J and then went to ride the Riverfront Trail at The Dalles. We parked at the Discovery Center. We had expected a flat trail but it was not to be. Leaving the Discovery Center we headed downhill on a series of switchbacks. It was more downhill then up the entire 8 miles and I was dreading our return.
Houseboats at The Dalles Marina.
Our return trip was not as strenuous as I thought. The views along the river were beautiful.
Near site where Lewis and Clark were said to have camped.
We returned to RV hot and tired. The place smelled yummy as we had pork chops cooking in the crockpot. We were tired – we burned a lot of calories climbing all those hills.
Home sweet home – Memaloose State Park
Tomorrow we are headed for Stub Stewart State Park – it’s right on the Banks-Vernonia State Trail.
We were looking forward to a rest day. Both of us were feeling a bit worn out. Flo let us sleep in and so we started our day rested. We did housekeeping chores around the motorhome, took Flo for some long walks and then headed for 14 Hands Winery.
Mural outside 14 Hands Winery.
The winery is named for the small wild horses that once roamed the area.
Outside 14 Hands tasting room.
We really enjoyed this winery. Good cheese, good almonds, good grapes and of course good wine. We purchased a couple bottles of their reserve. Special occasion bottles.
The RV park hosted another wine tasting in the evening which we attended. The haze had cleared significantly, there was a full moon (which we could see) and a perfect evening to sit outside. What a perfect rest day. Tomorrow we are looking forward to visiting our friend Trish. We have lots of catching up to do.
When we left Spokane Valley on Monday the air quality was very poor – we could smell smoke. We didn’t have reservations in Prosser until Tuesday so we headed for Richland to do the Walmart thing. We had shopping to do so it was very convenient. And there was a Krispy Kreme right there!
It was a really pleasant drive to Prosser, the hills were covered with orchards and vineyards. We arrived at Wine Country RV early on Tuesday and got settled into our site. We had some very good neighbors.
Down on the farm. They were very good neighbors.
There are several wineries nearby so we decided to do some winery hopping on our bikes. One problem, they were all closed. They do a Thursday thru Sunday thing. We toured Prosser and put in a few miles.
Wednesday morning we headed out to ride the Lower Yakima Valley Trail. We road from Prosser thru Grandview to Sunnyside and back. Near Granview there were acres and acres of hops fields.
Near Sunnyside there were fields of corn, herds of cattle, vineyards and more hop fields.
This gives an idea of how large these plants grow.
This area grows 75% of the hops used in the US and makes up 20% of the worlds production.
Pretty plants up close.
Thursday morning we drove into Richland to ride the Richland Riverfront Trail and the Sacagawea Heritage Trail. We really enjoyed riding along the Columbia River.
Near end of Riverfront Trail. When will we see blue skies again?
The area near the marina in Richland was really beautiful, nice condos and apartments overlooking the river.
Can’t resist kids on bikesFlying bikes along the Richland Riverfront Trail.
We road the length of the Riverfront trail passing thru beautiful parks and then headed for the Sacagawea Heritage Trail. There was a very steep climb to get up and over a bridge.
View from high atop the bridge. Needed to catch our breath here.
This was also along the Columbia River, thru parks and in one area high above the river along a dyke. This reminded us of riding along the Mississippi River in Louisiana. Wind and all.
Follow the long white line.
Somewhere along the way we passed our 100 mile goal for Washington. Love these “100 mile done”days.
We went to a wine tasting at the RV Park in the evening. It had been a windy day and we were able to see a bit of blue skies. YAY!!
We awoke to smoke haze here in Spokane Valley. Our plan was to ride early before the heat of the day. We rode on the street about a quarter mile to the Centennial State Park Trail and headed west.
Big Foot was staying at the KOA too.
This trail follows the Spokane River. We had great views of the river while riding thru pine forests. It was hilly, but nothing extreme. Just fun!
You can see the haze but was beautiful with forest and sound of river.
There were a couple areas where the trail was along the street. That is our least favorite place to ride especially with lots of traffic. The trail passed through the Gonzaga University campus. Moving in day for some of the students.
We made our way to Riverside Park in Spokane which was a 17 mile trek for us.
Giant Radio Flyer in Riverside Park.
We only saw a few other bikers, some walkers and joggers. Many people fishing, wading and swimming in the river. The water was crystal clear with huge rocks and boulders throughout.
These huge boulders were in the middle of the river.
We returned to the trailhead in Spokane Valley and decided to ride east for a few miles. From the trailhead it is 6 miles to the Idaho border. We went out 4 miles but the smoke haze seemed much worse so we headed back. We were beginning to smell the smoke. We completed 43 miles.
Oh yeah, we saw a moose near Riverside Park in Spokane.
The smoke haze continued to increase throughout the afternoon. The sun was red – what an eerie feeling. Air quality now in hazardous range. Tomorrow we are headed for Prosser, WA – wine country. If air quality doesn’t improve we may adjust our plans and travel closer to the coast.
We got a slow start Friday (Heather and Erik’s 17th Anniversary). We were on the 10 AM tour for the Sierra Silver Mine.
Entrance to Silver Mine.
We had a nice ride thru Wallace and up to the mine. Our guide made the tour interesting, sometimes too technical for me but Lenny was in his element.
Lenny drilling core holes for dynamite.
It was a fun tour. Our guide said he was a 4th generation miner. He had many stories about the miners. After the tour we visited the booths set up on the street for the Huckleberry Festival. We purchased a few things we couldn’t live without.
The evening found us checking out menus at the various restaurants. We ended up at City Limit Brew Pub again. Very busy there on Friday night. And they had that cold Mountain Top Ale for us. The RV park was full for the weekend.
Sorry to leave Wallace behind. It was such a pleasant little town. But it was time to head for Washington. I hear there are at least 100 miles of bike trails waiting there for us.
Goodbye beautiful Wallace.
Arrived at KOA in Spokane Valley, WA around 1 PM. Beautiful drive past north shore of Lake Coeur D’alene. Bike trail (Centennial Trail State Park) just 1/4 mile down the road. YAY!!
After our long ride on Tuesday we took the day off. Flo did not allow us to sleep in too late. Walked into town, the train depot and railroad museum is near the RV park.
Wallace train Depot and railroad museum
We spent the afternoon at the City Limit Brew Pub using their internet to update our blog. Good Mountain Top Ale served here.
City Limit Brew Pub – bike friendly.
Thursday morning we were up early to head for the East Portal Trailhead of the Route of the Hiawatha. We followed a 2 mile dirt road to the trailhead. The east portal to the St. Paul Pass – Taft tunnel is in Montana. When you exit the west portal you are back in Idaho.
East portal to Taft Tunnel. 1.6 miles through Bitterroot Mountains.
The Taft Tunnel was cold, damp, very dark and long. Helmets and lights are required! The trail is 15 miles from the east portal to the Pearson Trailhead. Along the way we passed thru 10 tunnels and over 7 very high trestles.
Very high trestles. Standing on the edge was a bit scary.
It is the roughest trail surface we have ridden. Good news is that the trail was all downhill with about a 1.6 percent grade. Mountain bikes may have made for smoother ride. The scenery was amazing.
You can see 2 Trestles in the distance
There were many historical marker along the way. We road thru an area that was burned in the 1910 fire which was one of the largest forest fires in the history of the U.S.
Some humorous markers also. This one about bears eating fermented grain from a train wreak.
We took a shuttle from the Pearson trailhead to the west portal of the Taft Tunnel. It was much colder and our hands were freezing by the time we exited with our glasses fogged.
We returned to the RV, walked Flo and headed to Cataldo to finish our Idaho 100. We road on the Coeur D’alene east of Cataldo along the river. Another beautiful ride and a good way to finish with 103 miles in Idaho. We celebrated with a bottle of Moose Drool.
We left Black Rabbit RV a day earlier than planned. They were so gracious, giving us a refund for Sunday night. No rush getting on the road as we only had a 3 or so hour drive.
Pretty drive back north through Missoula and west on 90. We planned to stay one night at the 50,000 $ Casino. Free RV parking with electricity. We couldn’t pass it up. Anyway, we expected a casino – it was a small bar with a few tables and electronic gambling machines. We were a bit disappointed but the RV spot was great with good area to walk Flo. There were corrals for horses and all were full. Nice service they offered for travelers.
We were on the road early and arrived at Wallace, Idaho RV by 10 AM Monday. Our site was empty so we settled right in. We are near downtown and right along Trail of the Coeur D’Alene.
Our home in Wallace
We contacted Lou’s Shuttle to get us to Mullan in the morning to begin our ride. Plan to do 57 miles or more. Our car will be in Harrison so have to get there – 57 miles from Mullen.
Up early on Tuesday to meet Lou at the bike/coffee shop. We met a young man there who was riding with his son Gus (4 or 5 years old) they were headed back to Wallace and had camped 2 nights on the trail. Gus was riding on a tag-along behind his dad. What a cute little guy, all smiles and ready to hit the trail. We saw them again when we passed on the trail later in the day.
Lou shared a lot of local info on our drive to the Mullan Trailhead and things to watch for along the trail.
We were on the trail a little after 10 and stopped at the RV in Wallace to visit Flo, get sandwiches and our camel packs. The trail travels through the Silver Valley surrounded by forested mountains. I have never seen forest so dense, it seemed there wouldn’t be room for one more tree.
Much of the time we followed the Coeur D’alene River, crossing from one side to the other. We passed the outskirts of many small towns. As we were closer to Harrison we went through the Chain of Lakes and miles of wetlands. Not much shade through here so it was very hot.
Long bridge crossing river.
Along the way we saw osprey, several different kinds of ducks, a coyote, quail, turkey, deer and my favorite blue heron. So wanted to see a moose, but no luck. Gus saw 2 moose!
Lunch stop
Arrived in Harrison, 57 miles done! We stopped at the car to get more water and decided to ride 12 more miles. We are both 69 this year and since 2009 have celebrated by completing a ride to match our years. Yay, we got our 69!
Driftwood art along Lake Coeur D’alene.
The trail out of Harrison is along Lake Coeur D’alene and toward the Chotcolet Bridge. We could see the bridge through the haze but honestly didn’t have enough energy left to venture any further. Hate to complain, but the smoke haze is still an issue.
Chotcolet Bridge thru haze.
An hour drive back to the RV, walk Flo, shower, eat dinner, walk Flo and hit the sack. What a day. This might be our favorite trail.
I best end this. We are at City Limits Brew Pub using their Wifi. We’ve both had plenty of Mountain Top Amber.
We were off early to bike Gateway to Glacier Trail. We parked in Hungry Horse and headed up the mountain. I was Huffin and Lenny was Puffin. Our hearts had a good workout within the first mile – I reached a high of 155 bpm. Sorry to say we did not ride the 10 miles. We went 5 miles out and headed back for a total of 10 miles. Good workout though.
Interesting shop in Hungry Horse
We had lunch at a deli/cafe in Hungry Horse – Lenny had a big bison burger! Since we had plenty of day remaining we decided to visit Glacier National Park and drive Going-to-the-Sun Road. It was an awesome drive. Unfortunately haze from the fires in Idaho, California and Oregon made it difficult to see the mountains clearly.
We planned to leave Kalispell early on Friday but had a delay due to issues with our surge protector/power plug. Someone had tried to take the unit during the night and it was jammed in the receiver. It had shorted out, so it’s fortunate we didn’t have a fire.
The trip from Kalispell to Missoula was very scenic. The haze seemed to clear some south of Flathead Lake. We saw a large herd of bison at the National Bison Range. We were able to get parts for a new plug in Missoula and Lenny rebuild the outlet.
Our home for a couple nights. Black Rabbit RV in Hamilton – on the Bitterroot Trail.
The drive from Missoula to Hamilton was beautiful. The temperature was 100 + most of the afternoon. Planned to get out on the Bitterroot Trail early on Saturday morning to beat the heat.
Bitterroot Range from trail.
Saturday morning was in the 50s, how refreshing. We had a really nice ride on the Bitterroot Trail. Saw a girl practicing roping – her steer was green and pulled by an ATV.
Bitterroot River
There were beautiful views of the Bitterroot Range to the west and Sapphire Mountains to the east. Some haze but better than north of Missoula. We really enjoyed this easy ride – did our first 15 miles in an hour and 4 minutes. There were horse, cattle, burros and a nice herd of sheep, breed we’d never seen before.
Someone we met along the river.
Highlight of day is that we completed our Montana 100!!
