2025 PNW Trip 2 - Day 7

September 29, 2025

When I write that date I remember that it’s my maternal grandfather’s birthday.  Don’t quiz me on how old he’d be as I have no idea.  He passed away when I was 14 or 15 (probably about 1967) and I think he was probably in his early- or mid-60s.  Here’s a photo of him with me from September 1952.

I started packing after I showered and was pretty much done in time to have breakfast with my mom.  We had fruit bowls and oatmeal.  It was drizzling out side but just a bit.  I got the bike loaded and we did our goodbyes and off I went.  For the upper body, I zipped my rain liner into my jacket and worn long sleeve shirt and a sweat shirt.  Lower body was Levis, riding pants, and rain pants.  My cold weather gloves were in order.   I felt pretty good.

The drizzle turned to rain a ways down the road and then got heavy before Bremerton.  No big deal as I am VERY experienced riding in the rain after the last 2 years of adventures.  I stopped for gas in Bremerton.  It lightened up after that and the next adventure was the Tacoma Narrows bridge.  I had $20 ready to go in my tank bag and the transaction to give me change for the $5.50 toll didn’t take long.  I pulled over to the side and got my tank bag’s rain cover back in place before continuing on.

(Not a lot of photos today and I’m hoping that I can pull some from my dash cams when I get back.)

I stopped in Federal Way to use the rest area and then dove back into the traffic. 

I was using a combination of freeway and two-lanes today.  Avoiding the freeway means stop and go through Tacoma and Auburn and I’d rather ride the slab.

I continued south and only got the occasional sprinkle.  I finally got on Hwy 410 that would take me through Mount Rainier National Park and over Chinook Pass.  The traffic was from very light to non-existent.  The temperature dropped to 50 as I went over the pass.  With the cloud cover I never saw Rainier so just kept riding but did stop on the way down from the pass for a photo or two.

Once I went over the pass, the atmosphere changed dramatically: smoke and lots of it.  I saw signs indicating that there were many closures due to the fire in the area.  My eyes burned and my throat felt raspy.

I stopped along the way to look at a list of closure in the area, posted on a fire road.  I didn’t see my campground listed.

However, every campground I passed was closed and when I arrived at mine, Sawmill Flat, it was closed as well.  I pulled in to the Mather Highway interpretive exhibit across the way and took a break.

No problem.  My backup plan was to ride to Yakima and go up Yakima Canyon and camp where I did on the way out here.  Once out of the mountains, the speed went up into the low-60s and I just cruised through the big sweepers along the river.

In Yakima I stopped for gas and that was a pain.  The first station appeared to be abandoned and taken over by the unhoused.  The next one seemed OK but I couldn’t get it to dispense fuel.  It had one of those vapor recovery nozzles and even though I drew it back, it wouldn’t deliver unless I inserted it flush to the tank.  However, by then the nozzle was in the fuel already in the tank and it shut off.  I gave up and went down 1st Street a ways and found a station without those nozzles and all went well.

Now it was just a matter of riding up Yakima Canyon to the Umatanum Recreation Area and choosing a site.  There are only two other campers here and I chose site #5, paid my $7.50 and got the tent set up and the bike unloaded.

It was a hot and dusty trail and I’d brought along a nice IPA I picked up in Sequim to wash that dirt down while I wrote this blog entry. 

I took a walk to check out the bridge and the river.

It was a 257 mile day and about 7 hours.

2025 PNW Trip 2 - Days 4-6

September 26-28, 2025

The 3 days in Sequim were mostly about just visiting with my mom.  She lives in a very nice independent living facility with her own apartment.  The services are great: room cleaning, shuttle to take residents on errands, day trips to local venues, recreation room, exercise classes, etc. They serve 3 meals a day in their dining room and the food is quite good. I tended to skip breakfasts and go out for a run instead and even though they have some vegetarian options on the menu, I was quite satisfied with their expansive salad bar.

I did two really nice runs while there, a 7-miler and a 5-miler.  The 7 was out to the railroad bridge as I’ve done in the past when visiting.  It is an actual railroad bridge that’s been converted into a pedestrian path and is part of the Olympic Discovery Trail.

The 5-miler was to a very nice city park that had large playing fields, a huge bandstand, a Japanese garden, pickle ball, a skate park, a dog park, and a botanical garden.

Most of the time was just visiting or eating but I did find their recreation room and practiced my pool gave a couple times.  

I took one side trip on my own while I was there.  I rode my motorcycle to the Olympic National Park just south of Port Angeles.  The road goes up to Hurricane Ridge and is full of twists and turns.  Once on top, there is a spectacular view of the mountains.  I did this ride for the first time when I was here last May and, like the Beartooth Highway, it never gets dull.

On the way back down I remembered that there was a brewery nearby so I stippled for an oatmeal stout.

That pretty much sums up my 3 days there.

The ride to Hurricane Ridge was a 75 mile outing.

2025 PNW Trip 2 - Day 3

September 25, 2025

I slept pretty well, even when people arrived at 11pm and took the last open campsite which was right next to mine.  I could tell they were trying to be quiet as possible.

I got up and went out for a walk to get things loosened up.  There is the upper part of the campground, where I am camped, and the lower part where the sites are walk-ins.  Those are down below and right along the river.

I had breakfast and got packed up and was ready to go at 9am.

That was the last photo I shot today.  The rest of the ride was all about braving the freeways to get to where I was going.

I rode out of the canyon and, after stopping for water in Ellensburg, I got on I-90 and headed west.  I’d looked at the 2-lane option and it would be over 7 hours where if I rode the slab it would be about 4 hours.  I took this route last May so I knew what I was in for.  

The first 90 miles wasn’t too bad except for a headwind.  I hadn’t put on my extra lares and as the road went into the mountains, the temperature dropped.  My mind was on the traffic a dodging the semis as well a drivers who seemed to think that the posted speed limit did not apply to them.

When I got to Hwy 18 that goes to Tacoma, I was not surprised that much of it was still under construction.  It’s a 2-lane road that is being widened to 4-lanes.  Quite the undertaking.

I went through Auburn and then Tacoma before getting on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  At that point traffic lightened up a bit.

I was still cold so I pulled off in Port Orchand/Silverdale someone and got gas.  I also added layers.  I saw that there was small park nearby so I stopped there and had the sandwich I’d brought.  Then it was back on the road to Sequim.

I arrived 2:45.  My mom was gone as it was one of her Scrabble Days so I had time to unpack and get showered before she got home.

It was a 233 miles day.  With breaks it was about 4-1/2 hours riding.

2025 PNW Trip 2 - Day 2

September 24, 2025

It was chilly this morning.  I’m not sure what the temperature was but there was frost on the seat of my bike.  I was in no hurry so I stayed warm in my sleeping back, taking my time before braving the cold.

After going through my morning routine, I walk the loop around the campground.  I surveyed each of the sites there were not occupied (only 2 were occupied) and looked at the tenting possibilities.  My site, like most of them, have plenty of room to back in an RV but not much room for a tent.  Sites 6, 7, and 8 have tent pads adjacent to the picnic table and fire ring.  They looked like the only ones that were like that and I’ll try to get one of those on the way back if I camp here.

I was loaded up and on the road at 9am.  

It was in the upper-40s and felt pretty good.  Once I let my tires warm up I kicked up the speed and enjoyed the ride.  The road is newly paved and felt very grippy.

I stopped along the way for an obligatory photo.

Since I’ve ridden this so many times in the past, and I have dash cams continually recording, I didn’t feel the need to stop for many photos today.  Should you want to see some of this ride, just go look at the 2025 PNW Trip 1.

I pulled over just before Kamiah to shed some layers as it was warming up.  I was at a Nez Perce historical site.

In Kamiah I top up my gas and continued on Hwy 12, riding the route set by the navigation software. I hit some construction.

In Pomeroy I stopped to each my lunch at their city park.  I’ve stopped here several times in the past and it makes a good place to take a break.  Since there was cell service, I tethered my iPad to my phone and updated the blog with yesterday’s entry.

I rode along the Clearwater River for many miles until changing course and heading, I think, north.  I took this route in the past, last year, when I went to Palouse Falls, however, this time I didn’t take the turn off for the falls and just rode Hwy 260 all the way to it’s end.  What a fantastic ride.  Lots of twists and turns and ups and downs.  Very, very fun.

I found more construction.

After that, it was on Hwy 261 and a couple others that were like riding on a ruler: straight, straight, straight all the way to Yakima.  I needed gas and was starting to think about range anxiety but the computer said I had plenty to make it to Yakima.  I was down to one bar and it said I had 70 miles when I arrived in Moxie and pulled in to fill up.  It only took 4.5 gallons so I had plenty left since it’s a 6.5 gallon tank.  But is cost over $22 to fill.  Gas is expensive in Washington.

I rode through Yakima and up Yakima Canyon to the Umtanum Recreation Area campground.  I arrived about 6:30pm.  $7.50 for the night with my discount.  There are 6 sites and 4 are occupied.  That’s different from when I was here last May and was the only one.

The sun eventually went down.

It was a 388 mile day.  A bit over 9 hours.

2025 PNW Trip 2 - Day 1

September 23, 2025

The weather looks cooperative, my calendar is clear, the bike is gassed up, so it’s off to the Pacific Northwest again.  The destination Sequim, WA to visit my mom but there is also the desire to hit road again for what is probably the last long, multi-day ride before winter sets in.

I spent part of yesterday getting ready and noticed that it only took less than 90 minutes to round up my gear and get it ready to load on the bike.  I’ve done this so many times that’s it’s almost automatic.  The only thing outside of that was a trip to REI for a couple more backpacker meals.

This morning was Tuesday and Tuesday is Long Run day with Jerry, something we’ve been doing every week for the past 20 years or so.  The time of day and the route varies depending on the season and today’s run was at the Four Dances Recreation Area.  While this is a weekly thing, we do miss weeks when one of us is unavailable.  I missed last week due to a dentist appointment.  I don’t know what I was thinking scheduling that for a Tuesday morning.  The two previous Tuesdays Jerry was out either working or traveling so we had lots to catch up on.

I got home a few minutes past 9am, showered, grabbed a bite to eat, loaded my gear on the bike and was ready to roll at 10:15.  

Today’s destination is the Jerry Johnson Campground on Hwy 12 along the Lochsa River in Idaho.  This is pretty much the same route I have done in the past and one that never gets tiring.

As usual, I avoid the freeway and stick to the two-lane roads which, according to the navigation software, only adds about 30-minutes to the day’s ride. I rode north to Lavina and picked up Hwy 12 to Harlowton.  In Martinsdale I headed south which avoids White Sulphuric Springs and is actually shorter, rode to Hwy89 and then back to 12.  Along the way I had two deer cross the road in front of me.  Quick breaking was effective.

The weather was perfect, about 57 degrees, clear skies, but with a bit of wind out of the west.  At one point I saw that my fuel consumption had dropped from the usual 52 mpg to 35 mpg.  Outside of Townsend, I pulled over for a photo.

I stopped in Townsend for gas and a bit of a break.  I’d been riding for exactly 3 hours.

Back on the road and I went through Helena and west of there I was routed on a different highway that looked like it was another shortcut and would take me back to Hwy 12.

Along the way, the temperature rose to about 77 and I pulled into a rest stop and shed a layer, switched to my summer gloves, and opened the vents on my jacket.

I wasn’t paying attention to the route and just letting the software guide me.  I thought I’d end up in Garrison and have to ride the freeway to Missoula but it had me turn north at Avon on Hwy 141.  I rode north to Coughlin where I headed northwest on Hwy 200.  This seemed familiar and I remember doing this in the past.   I stayed on Hwy 200 all the way to Missoula, never getting on the freeway.  

Once I got there I reconnected with Hwy 12, which is Brooks, and rode that through the city.  As usual, Missoula traffic was heavy.  When I got to Reserve it took a cycle or two of the signal before I could head out toward Lolo.

In Lolo I stopped at the usual place and topped up the gas and picked up beer to go with my dinner.  From there is was back on Hwy 12 and heading into Idaho.  There were very few other cars on the road and I took my time, a bit over an hour, to get to the Jerry Johnson Campground.  The road is freshly paved and, of course, a gorgeous ride, except for riding into the sun.  I just throttled back when headed into it and before long I was in the campground.

The only issue I have with this campground is that the sites are generally made for RVs.  They have picnic tables and fire rings but very little room to set up a tent.  I’d looked at this blog and noted that I’d selected site #2 in the past because it had space foe my tent between the fire ring and the picnic tables.  I never have a fire so this worked out fine.  Another change is that there is now a $14/day charge to camp here.  In the past it was free, I think, because they weren’t maintaining it and the water system was out.  I get half price with my Interagency Pass so I paid up for the night.

I got the tent set up, unloaded the bike, sat down to write this, off line, and popped open a beer.  A great day.  Pad Thai is on the menu.

It was a 420 mile ride today, 6 hours and 50 minutes.