The 2024 PNW Ride - Day 2

September 12, 2024

The rain continued all night and into the morning.

I took my time getting the day started while hoping that it would let up but it seemed to say it was planning to hang on.  I read for quite a while but then got the process started of getting things packed up inside the tent and then loaded on the bike.  I shot a photo before I took the tent down.

The tent was heavier than usual due to the water trapped in it but once everything was loaded up I headed out.  Yes, it was raining but the ride was still a good one.  I stopped along the way to enjoy the wet scenery.

I arrived in Kamiah, ID in what was still a downpour.  I stopped for gas at a place that was also a store of some kind and noticed some umbrella-covered picnic tables in back and decided to take a break from the raindrops.

I continued on westward and by the time I got to the Slaterville rest stop the rain had finally stopped.

The further I rode, the better the weather became although the wind did pick up a bit as I got into eastern Washington.  I pulled into Pomeroy, WA and spotted their courthouse and wanted to add it to my collection of photos showing my motorcycle parking in front of county courthouses.

It seems like a nice town and I’ve have to remember to look it up later.

I’d set my navigation tool to route me to Palouse Falls so I was on a different course than I’d been on in the past.  I went through miles and miles of rolling hills of what I assume were in wheat production.

I crossed the Snake River and pulled into Lyons Ferry State Park to grab a photo of the bridge I had just crossed.

The next stop was Palouse Falls.  The turn off put me on a 2-mile long gravel road that was heavy with the washboard effect.  I felt like I was doing destruction testing to see what would fall off my bike but I arrived at the parking lot without losing anything.  I took a few photos of the falls and then got back on the road.

The next part of the ride was fantastic.  It’s Hwy 261 and although short, it has some nice twisties.  From there I took Hwy 260 westward before getting on some very minor county roads. I gassed up in Connell and then continued on to an intersection that brought me within a few miles of Othello, WA.  My roommate when I was stationed in Germany was from there.  I should look him up before I come through here again.  

I crossed the Columbia River near Sunnyside and stopped at a rest area for a break to remove rain gear and to have a snack.  I notice that the water in my tent had drained out to one end of it’s bag.

I stopped gas in Yakima before heading up Hwy 410 for a place to camp.  I was originally going to take Hwy 12 but many of the campgrounds were closed due to fires and there was lots a construction along that route.  It turned out to be a good decision as Hwy 410 was a treasure.

Before leaving on this trip I’d looked online and saw a campground called Sawmill Flats that would be about perfect and it had lots of available sites.  However, the day before I left it showed none available to reserve but I figured it was because it was too close to my arrival date.  That turned out to be the case because when I arrived there I looped through the campground and saw only one other camper.  However, there was reservation notices on most of the sites for the upcoming weekend.  

I selected a site far from the other camper (who were in an RV and running a generator) and one that was right on the river.  It was a few steps from the bike to where I wanted to pitch the tent next to the river but it didn’t take long to get things set up.  The tent was wet so I mopped the floor with a microfiber cloth and it didn’t take long for the rest of it to dry out.  I walked back to the registration thing and paid ($22, no discounts here) and then got water boiling for my dinner.  It’s a Pesto Pasta I hadn’t tried before and turned out to be mighty tasty.

Time for a few photos.

Just after dark a pickup pulled in a toured the site.  He picked one near the entrance but discovered the sign that indicated it was for handicapped so moved and took one a few sites from me.  I guess saw my light and decided to move again and I saw him back into a site on the far side of the campground. After a bit he started his truck up again and toured the grounds and eventually took the site right next to me.  Geeezzz, whatever.  He was quiet and slept in his truck so that was OK.

I got settled in, read a while, and then slept, soundly.

It was a 412 mile day.