BMW Motorcycle Rally in Redmond, OR
(July 2010)

Starting out.  I started my ride from Bellingham, WA, about 100 miles north of Seattle, 20 miles from Canada.  It was a beautiful, sunny, cool (65F) day.

Lots of little farms in the Pacific Northwest

Snoqualmie Falls is a sight to see.  It is located about 60 miles from Bellingham, near the intersection or Rt-203 and I-90.

After Snoqualmie Pass, heading east on Rt-90, I came to Keechelus Lake.  It sits at about 3,000 ft. elevation.

Descending further along Rt-90 I came to the little town of Roslyn, WA.  This is the setting for the 1980s TV series called Northern Exposure.  The town in the series is called Cicily, Alaska.  For the TV show they painted up the Roslyn Cafe sign to read Roslyn's Cafe.  I stopped and had lunch here.  The food was excellent, by the way.

This is the Selah, WA bridge.  It is the longest all concrete bridge in the States.  Just North of Yakima, WA where I spent my first night.

The next day I rode through the Yakima Indian Reservation on Rt-97 out of of Yakima, WA.  This was a stunningly beautiful drive through 50 miles of totally undeveloped land.  There is a sign at the beginning of this stretch that warns, "no gas, water or food for the next 49 miles".  Yikes.  After riding through that area I crossed the magnificent Columbia river that Lewis and Clark navigated in 1805. Then through more absolutely desolate, but beautiful prairie country before arriving at Oregon's most famous ghost town, Shaniko (population 25).  What a trip.  This is a photo of a "pony express bath" on the front porch of the town's post office.

Peter Skene Park, near Redmond, has a sign warning parents to keep an eye on their kiddos.  This gorge is 300 ft. straight down and you can walk right up to edge...if you dare.

Finally arriving in Bend, OR, I met up with my macho looking motorcycle buddies.  From left to right: John, Linda, me, Bubbles, Bob and Big John.  We had a great time hanging out together and attending the BMW motorcycle rally in Redmond, about 17 miles away.

Lots of vintage hardware on display at the show...

...and crazy guys riding 200 hp motorcycles...

...and crazy gals who will do just about anything to get to know a daredevil.

Cool mirror cover

This classic BMW side-car looks like a torpedo

Once the rally ended I traveled south along Rt-97, passing through southern Oregon, past Klamath Lake and eventually into Northern California.  Here is a photograph of Mt. Shasta from a ranger station near Macdoel, CA.

And then I came upon a really beautiful area called Grass Lake.  About 25 miles northeast of Weed, CA.  Stunningly beautiful and deserted. 

One final treat before I descended into the hot, hot, hot central California valley.  This is Mt. Shasta as viewed from the northeast.  Kinda takes your breath away.  But then came the HEAT.  As I dropped from 5,000 feet elevation, through the Shasta Lake area and into Redding for the night, the temperature rose steadily until it was over 109F.  With fully armored riding gear, helmet and gloves it was very toasty. 

This is the "dashboard" on my BMW R1200RT.  109F was not the hottest temperature I rode through.  It actually got up to 112F....but it was too hot to bother stopping and taking another photograph.  All I wanted was an air conditioned room and a pool.  And that's what I got.   

The last day was just a run down I-5 to the SF Bay Area and Cupertino.  It was a fantastic trip and I'm looking forward to another motorcycle adventure soon.