2025 PNW Trip 2 - Day 9

October 1, 2025

I rained a lot over night.  By the time it began to get light it was coming in 30-minute waves with 30- minutes of rain and 30-minutes of light drizzle.  During the lighter moments I got up to stretch and get some photos.

I got my breakfast going and with more rain I ate in the tent.

I started getting packed and getting the bike loaded while also watching the weather.

It finally looked like it was going to be clear so I got on the road and had a pleasant ride to the state line at Lolo Pass.

The ride to Lolo and Missoula was quite nice.  I got passed by some Harleys along the way but other than them I didn’t see much other traffic.

When I got to Missoula I pulled over to check my map and find where the county courthouse was located.  When I started off, I was in front of Sentinal High School and it was lunch time as students escaping.  I had to stop for pedestrians and was coming up behind several other cars, going very slow, when a car to my right backed out of her diagonal parking spot WITHOUT looking.  She missed the back half of my bike by a foot.  Hopefully I caught that on the cameras.

I found the courthouse and can add that to my collection of my bike in front of county courthouses.

Now it was a straight ahead and nice ride to Helena and then to Townsend where I stopped for gas and a snack.  From there I rode east and instead of doing the “shortcut” which misses White Sulphur Spring, I headed north to that town.  I’ve done the shorter route which goes to Martinsdale, but I am not fond of one section of that road which is a bit rough.  The other roots only adds a few minutes, plus I get another count courthouse photo, Meagher County.

I stopped in Harlowton for a rest stop.

I’d like to say that the remaining 90 miles to Billings was uneventful, and it really was, except for one rude dolt from Texas.  I was in a short line of cars following two cattle trucks.  As is done, starting with the first car behind the trucks we were taking turns passing them.  When it became my turn, I signaled and was getting ready to go when a car passed me at a very high rate of speed.  It had a Texas plate and I’m getting he was doing about 95 mph.  It’s a good thing I check my mirrors.

While it really had nothing to do with that guy, I did open it up to pass those trucks and when I glanced down at my speedometer as I pulled back into the right lane I saw it read 103.  That’s a personal record.

The remaining ride back to my driveway was swift and it felt good to pull into the garage.

It was a 414 mile day and about 9 hours.  The totalk miles for this trip were 2.208.

2025 PNW Trip 2 - Day 8

September 30, 2025

It was a riding day.

I got up and went for a walk to loosen things up and to see the sun come up.  Some photos:

I slowly got things packed up as I was eating my oatmeal and having a cup of hot chocolate.  The weather was clear and comfortable.

It was 9am when I got on the road and the same issue I had last May when leaving this site plagued me again.  I didn’t have my phone on the charger overnight and had left the Wi-Fi and hot spots on so the battery was dead.  OK, no navigation aid BUT I’ll do like I did last time: head south and look for Hwy 12.

I stopped at Roza campground to get a closer look.  Nope, I am not impressed.  Too exposed just like the one back up the road at Big Pine.  When I was walking back to my bike I heard some rumbles and a car club had parked near the entry to the campground.  They were in line, side by side, and the occupants were up on the adjacent hillside taking photos. The cars were all newer and it looked like Porsches and Corvettes.  I figured that my bikes cameras grabbed a photo as I went by and I’ll try to paste some in here later.

I rode south through the west side of Yakima which looks a lot nicer than the east side.  I found Hwy 12 and headed east on it.  It’s also I-82 so qualifies as “slab.”

I stayed on this route and knew it wold take me to the Tri-Cities but after a but, and some daydreaming, I realized I’d missed a turn.  I turned around at the next opportunity, Coffin Drive, and headed back.  That’ll add 20 miles or so to todays’ ride.

In one of those cities I stopped for gas before heading east again.  My phone had charged and I was back being directed to the Jerry Johnson Campground.

It was scenery I’d seen before so I just enjoyed the ride without thinking about taking photos except for this one of a grain elevator.

The crops along the way are varied.  LOTS of apples, hops, and grapes with, of course, wheat.  Most every possible patch is cultivated in one way or another.

In a small town, the name escapes me, I stopped at the city park to update the blog.  I had a fig newton and called that lunch.  There was a food truck nearby and I was tempted but wary about having strange food while traveling, plus, I am not sure what vegetarian options it might have.

In Pomeroy I stopped at my usual city park but not for lunch or a blog update but to fill my water bottle.

The next stop was a rest stop in Slaterville, one I’ve used before.  

Then it was on to Kamiah where I got gas and a can of beer to go with my dinner.  When I came out the guy putting groceries in the car parked next to me wanted to talk motorcycles so, of course, we did.

Then it was pedal down for the next 90 miles to the campground.  The sun was going down and I wanted to get there before dark.  It appeared that I was following a storm as all the roads were wet.  I’d had a sprinkle or two earlier but not much and it looked like they had a pretty good wetting before I roads through here. 

I did stop for this photo:

I arrived at the campground and it appears to be mostly empty.  My preferred site, #7, was available so while it was still light, I got the tent set up and the bike unpacked.  After registering ($7.00) and fired up the stove for tonight’s dinner: lasagne.

It was a 421 mile day, about 9 hours.