4 Days of Twisties! North Central Washington & Lower Kootenays, BC

[DJStevieB]

Motorcycle: '04 FJR-1300 non-ABS, Quest I GPS, Sirius satellite radio, Cobra radar detector

Helmet: Bell Star Viper
Jacket: Joe Rocket Mesh
Pants: Alpinestars Air Mesh
Boots: Sidi B2
Other: Tourmaster Synergy heated vest

Tent: Sierra Designs Sirius 3

Packing: Since the weather was supposed to be nice, I packed fairly lightly. I mostly wear base layering or spandex stuff under my riding gear. I did pack my heated vest, a light fleece jacket and a fleece neck roll for the colder times. I'm glad I did because it was a little cool on some mornings, in some of the higher passes and shady lanes. I stored my big-ass sleeping bag in the starboard side case. Clothes were packed in a bag strapped to the pillion seat. Emergency supplies and rain gear were packed in the port side case. Everything else went into the Givi top case, tank bag or under the seats.

The trip: For quite some time, I've been on a personal mission to explore the Pacific Northwest, specifically the state of Washington. As some of you may know, this trip was planned some weeks ago. It went from a simple overnight trip to a 4 day expedition. The weather played a big part in the actual start date. In addition, this was my first attempt at motorcycle camping (Not the full bore cook-over-the-campfire type of camping). I pretty much grabbed my meals at deli's or local restaurants. Anyway, I decided to start on Monday, August 21. The forecast was for nice weather the entire week.

The route: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107392374427633964079.0004746c8e6589f1e30d4&z=8

At about 10am, I bid the little woman 'Adieu' (yes, she had THAT look!) and headed east on Hwy 2. I didn't stop to take any pictures on the way because you've seen them all before on other threads (see Silver Bullet runs, etc.). Here is, however, the obligatory pic of my first stop at Nason Creek rest area for a quick cup of coffee. What are we travelers going to do when these nice folks die off?  



Traffic was fairly light so I was able to enjoy the new ribbon of twisty asphalt along the Wenatchee River in Tumwater Canyon prior to entering Leavenworth. A quick jog through downtown Leavenworth to check out all the lederhosen and swooping bosoms, then eastward on Hwy 2 through miles of fruit orchards, across the Columbia River, north to Orondo (many more miles of orchards), and east up the canyon (more twisties!) towards Waterville and the high plains.

FYI: I always stop at Timberline Motel & Motorsports in Peshastin to say 'hi' to Lizzie and Jay. They operate a motorcycle friendly business including motorcycle repair and lodging. Great folks. http://www.timberlinemotorsports.com

At the tiny village of Douglas (see below pic), I decided to tic-tac northward through rolling wheat fields to Ridgeport Hill Road, a very nice little 8 mile section of downhill twisties.



Just east of Bridgeport, I intersected with Hwy 17 north and came upon this little jewel (Chief Joseph Dam) as I was crossing the Columbia River (again) heading towards Okanogan via Hwy 97.



Somewhere near Monse, I spotted a huge very white satellite dish complex. Hmmmmm. I didn't spot any black helicopters though. Anyway, just outside Okanogan, I sorta-kinda jogged eastward onto Cameron Lake Road to catch Columbia River Road/ Omak Lake Road (Hwy 140), and on into the interior of the Colville Indian Reservation. Wow! Nice rolling, twisting paved road with awesome views, no cars, no dwellings, no nothing for miles and miles. Just me and the purrrrrrr of Mia Bella, my '04 FJR. Omak Lake was absolutely stunning!




Then I rode past Goose Lake and started to descend through Hopkins Canyon to the Columbia River valley below.



I got pretty overwhelmed with all the beautiful landscape that was spread out before me. It seemed to be never ending. I kept thinking to myself, "What a beautiful place we live in as well as being free to roam where ever we want to go! Wow!". Anyway, I finally arrived at Hwy 155 and I headed south. Just south of Belvedere, I turned left onto Peter Dan Road. Once again, I got into the twisty left-twisty right mode.... nearly 20 miles of very nice apexes. Then it all came to an end, and I turned south onto Hwy 21 to catch the tiny Keller ferry.

I'll stop for now because there's a funny little story about my ferry ride that I need to tell you.

Be back soon.

[DJStevieB]

Continuing on: Anyway, I drove off the Keller ferry and pulled off the road into the info/restroom building parking lot. After I came back out, I saw that the truck and boat trailer that had waited to get on the ferry was still there. Huh? Why hadn't they loaded onto the ferry? Well, come to find out someone on my trip had locked their keys in the car. The ferry staff had called a locksmith in Wilbur. Although the truck and boat trailer could have fit on the ferry, there wasn't enough room for them to go around the locked car to unload! Plus, the guy didn't feel comfortable backing up the hill on the other side. So the folks in the truck and boat trailer had to bide their time until the locksmith arrived. They weren't real happy campers, excuse the pun. I couldn't figure why the guy in the car had locked his car. There were only three vehicles including me! Dumbass.

I continued south on Hwy 21 towards Wilbur. From the ferry dock to the top of the hill was pure giggly time. The road was beautiful newly-laid blacktop with flourescent yellow lines. Several miles of uphill twisty heaven. Look at a map and you'll see what I mean. At the top of the hill, the scenery once again returned to rolling fields of grain and various other crops. After reaching Wilbur, I hung a left onto Hwy 2 to Creston. Just outside Creston, I jumped onto Miles-Creston Road that wound through Olsen Canyon. Hee-haw! Oh, that's where I saw some turkeys meandering alongside the road. No ambush, though. As I approached the Hwy 25 junction, I decided to spend the night at Fort Spokane State Park. After I found a decent spot and set up my tent, I skipped into this little funky place for dinner.



It's one of those old country combination store and restaurants. Yea, it's a dump alright but it's a dump with character. The owner is a avid hunter/fisher. He's got stuffed animals hung all over the place. Great food, though. Note the fancy mailbox.

Fort Spokane State Park is so-so. IMHO. But I'm certainly no expert. There's easy paved access to all the camping spots but it's mostly dirt with pine needles. There's a fire pit, water spigot and a picnic table at each spot. No showers. But it's only $10 a night. Really quiet except for coyotes howling somewhere off in the distance.

Here's a few pics of the major building left from the actual fort. The fort complex was located just up the road from the park entrance.




The next morning, I headed north up Hwy 25 through Fruitland, Hunters and Cedonia where I hooked a easterly right turn onto Cedonia-Addy Road, another known twisty heaven. I briefly stopped in Addy for a latte, rested my right wrist and let my knee pucks cool down. There's a huge aluminum plant in Addy, yet the town looked trashed... lots of homes and small businesses were empty and/or boarded up. The latte gal stated that they had a huge meth problem there.

Anyway, I scooted south on Hwy 395 to Chewelah.... or just outside it. Traffic was backed up both ways through town. It seemed DOT was repaving or applying new chip-seal. I slipped down a couple of side streets until I found my goal: Flowery Trail Road. Just as I pulled onto the road, I spotted a big flock of riders headed my way. I didn't want to have them in front of me so I gunned it. After a bit, the first few of the flock caught up to me (I got stuck behind a soccer mom in her mini-van). She finally turned off and away we went.... me in the lead closely followed by a yellow Beemer of some sort, an '07 FJR and a Buell, I think. The rest of their flock were on cruisers. They never did catch up to the rest of us.

Anyway, we bombed up and over Chewelah Mountain... bunches and bunches of twisties of all sorts. I actually scraped my peg feelers as well as my boot sliders. Holy cow, that was fun. Maybe stupid, but fun! I finally slowed down, pulled to the side and let the other three pass me when the road turned into freshly laid chip-seal. I'm not going to push the limits on gravel! At the east end of Flowery Trail Road, I stopped in Usk for a bit and picked gravel and tar off the bike and radiator guard.

After removing about 2.5 lbs. of tar and gravelly bits, I crossed the Pend Oreille River and headed north through the Kalispel Indian Reservation via LeClerc Creek Road. And guess what? DOT was repaving a 3 mile section and using a "Follow Me" car!   Just north of the reservation, I came upon this yard art at a private residence. Cool!




Then, I continued on across the bridge into Ione for gas.

Next up, Sullivan Lake!

[UHOH]

nice report & photos.       so keep going please...

...Why hadn't they loaded onto the ferry? Well, come to find out someone on my trip had locked their keys in the car ...
I couldn't figure why the guy in the car had even locked his car...

when I'm on those remote ferry waiting lines I leave keys in the bike as I wander around ... there's no downside

[Yakiman]

Nizzze so far  

Saw your "Da Route" over in "Region 1". Looks like we did a lot of the same sections/areas, maybe only a day or so apart.

Main parts being: we joined at Wilbur; I did what I'm calling the Creston to Creston run (WA to BC), via Miles-Creston Rd. > 25 to Cedonia-Addy Rd. At Addy I decided to save Flowery Trail for later, and did 395 N to Arden > Artman-Gibson cutoff > 20 > Tiger.

Of course, north of Metal Line and the boarder I left your route heading east on BC-3/3B to Creston, and an outstanding run north along the south arm of Kootenay Lake.

The Kootenay Free Ferry put us on the same course again, and I stayed in the Kaslo Municipal Campgrounds (Wed night, right on the Lake - 15 CanBucks).

If OK with you, I'll wait 'till you've finished your RR, and I'll arrange mine so as not cover yours, but to give readers a consolidation and broader scope of the routes and areas.

(From New Denver, I continued on BC-6 (amazing) over to Vernon, and south through the BC/WA Okanogan Valley, where the routes crossed again for a time.)

[DJStevieB]

First, I wish I'd taken more and better pictures, but after a while the scenery became a blur... and a bit repetitious. Plus, if I stopped for all the pics that I wanted to take, I'd still be on the road. One thing for sure... I'm no photographer!

Anyway, the place that I stopped for gas in Ione was pretty cool. It was a multi-business: gas station, pizza parlor, motel, laundromat and store. Sure can't beat that!



After fueling, I crossed back over the Pend Oreille River and headed northeast-ish on Sullivan Lake Road. The only vehicle I saw was a parks worker in a beat-up pickup. I'm really glad for that because I was screaming "YaaaaaaaHoooooooo" a whole bunch!



After enjoying the solitude (and twisties) of Sullivan Lake, I headed north out of Metaline Falls towards the border. Hooknose Mountain was kinda cool!



Following a whim, I zipped off the very nice curvaceous Hwy 31 to get a gander of Boundary Dam. This wayyyy out-of-the-way structure is owned by Seattle City Light. Weird!




After an uneventful border crossing at Nelway, I headed towards Salmo on BC 6/3 for a little rest, directions and another latte. My original idea was to head to Nelson and then circle around back through Castlegar. Oh, but the best laid plans! Blame it on the call of the Kootenays!

So I twisted and turned, and twisted and turned my way north through Nelson, along the western shore of Kootenay Lake to the village of Kaslo. Nice little town! After a quick visit to the Info Center, I copped a motorcycle-friendly motel room for about $35 US. Family owned, clean, very nice! I unloaded Mia Bella and took a rejuvenating HOT shower. I ran into a guy at the motel from Nanaimo, BC. He was riding a real nice (and very clean) '07 ZX-14 with a really neat looking, nicely engineered luggage rack.

It was getting dark so I decided to walk around town to find a place to dine. I highly recommend the newly renovated Kaslo Hotel Bar & Pub. Terrific food, great service and a cheesecake dessert to steal for!  



In the morning, I loaded up and made my way back into town for a better look-see. I found this cool building on the way.



I spent a lot of time in Kaslo. It's a very nice town located on the shores of Kootenay Lake. I visited the wonderful SS Moyie museum. Here's a variety of pics for your enjoyment.





The galley was located on the cargo deck. Meals were ordered and sent up to the Saloon deck via a dumbwaiter.








Here's a northerly view of the lake from the pilot house.



Next up, New Denver and beyond.

[DJStevieB]

Third Day: After visiting Kaslo, I headed west on BC 31A. Wow! Nothin' like starting the morning out with a double fistful of twisties! The folks at the deli in New Denver told me that a lot of motorcyclists come up there to run 31A several times in one day. I can see why!!!

Here's a pic of a famous spa in New Denver. Neat round buildings. Probably expensive.



After a brief stop in New Denver for gas and the proverbial latte (served in a large china cup!), I started south on BC 6. It squiggles along side Slocan Lake and Slocan River. I stopped at a little overlook to catch a pic of the lake. One of the folks there at the outlook approached me, introduced himself and his wife, and then proceeded to thank me for having a "quiet" motorcycle. I thanked him, then tactfully reminded him that "loud pipes save lives".   He laughed.




Just north of Castlegar, I came across yet another damn dam.



After navigating through Castlegar, I decided to stop for lunch... and other stuff.



Next came the town of Trail. It's hard to miss this town with it's HUGE zinc and lead smelting/processing plant. In a way, the town reminds me alot of Butte, Montana.

Anyway, on to Rossland. The road between Trail and Rossland is real twisty, but the road is in terrible condition. Lots of big truck traffic, too.

I crossed back into Washington at Patterson and proceeded south on Hwy 25, along the Columbia River towards Kettle Falls. Very nice sweeping turns all the way. At Kettle Falls, I crossed the bridge onto Hwy 20. Sherman Pass, here I come.

My throttle rocker thingy came loose so I stopped to fix it at the monument to Camp Growden, a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp. Pretty cool story boards and a very life-like statue. A very nice piece of Americana.



Then on to the White Mountain area via Sherman Pass. Even though it's been many years since the infamous White Mountain fire, the damage is still visible for miles and miles.



I finally reached the crossroad of Hwy 20 and 21. I decided to find Curlew Lake State Park first, make camp, then run back into Republic to grab dinner before dark. The park was wonderful... nice grassy areas and SHOWERS! Price was a meager $19 a night.



I ate dinner at a combo store, gas station and restaurant at the Hwy 20/21/crossroads that seemed to be popular with the locals. After dinner, I took a short tour of Republic. The main street was filled with several herds of Hollywood pirates... yes, all of them parked in front of taverns. Anyway, after dinner and the tour, I boogied back to the park. As I turned into the park entrance, I found these guys.



I pulled into my parking spot, covered up the bike and headed to bed. Quite a day!

[DJStevieB]

Final day: Wow! Woke up to a bunch of fukkin' crows wanting attention. Cah! Cah! Cah! Over and over.... sometimes I wish I had a pellet gun... or a grenade!

I made my way to the restroom for a nice hot shower. Best $0.50 I ever spent. After dressing, I enjoyed the warm morning sun as I packed up and stowed all the gear onto Mia Bella. Back in the saddle, I left the park and followed Hwy 21 past Malo to Curlew. Earlier on, I had noticed a slight squishiness in the front end and a resistance to turning. Hmmm?? Now what? It was past time for my morning coffee so I pulled into Curlew. Lucky I did! I checked the air pressure and was surprised to see it read 21 lbs. WTF?? It's never gone low before. Hmmmm. I wheeled the bike up to the air pump and put in the required pressure. Ah, much better.

Curlew is one of many, very, poor ex-lumber towns. These towns (lumber or mining) seem to be slowly decaying, held together only by the determination of a few hardy residents. Here's the 110 year old general store in Curlew that seemed to bind the town together. It's family owned and the people are really friendly. The cashier had rosy cheeks and a nice welcoming smile. The store is huge inside and packed with all sorts of stuff. And yes, they even had a latte stand towards the back!!!



Leaving Curlew, I headed west-ish on West Kettle River Road, then southeast-ish on Toroda Creek Road, and again west on Oroville-Toroda Road. During that section, there seemed to be an inordinately amount of roadkill. Luckily, nothing ambushed me. Maybe those cheap-ass deer whistles work!   I slowed down quite a bit anyway as I wound through the canyon past Beth Lake towards Chesaw. I kinda sorta liked what I saw in Chesaw although I didn't stop. I'm going to return there next year. It's situated in the middle of absolutely nowhere on rolling high plains grassland. Anyway, I was anxious to see Molson, my main goal of the day. After winding my way past secluded ranches, lots of piled rocks and crumbling whatnot, I finally got to Nine Mile Road, the cutoff to Molson. Here are a few pics of the former historic boomtown.






Instead of backtracking to Oroville-Toroda Road, I decided to stay on Nine Mile Road, disregarding the minimally maintained county road. The rural pavement soon turned to hard packed graded gravel. Being the manly-man I think I am, I forged bravely ahead. I was able to keep a steady pace of about 30mph +/-. I stopped twice along the way to read historical info signs at two other ghost towns called Sidley and Circle. Unlike Molson, nothing remained at those sites.... except memories and a beer can or two.

After a few miles, I came upon a beautiful very remote area called Nine Mile Creek Canyon. It's really, really, really out in the middle of nowhere. 'Remote' is NOT a strong enough word!



Finally, I reached the junction of Nine Mile Road and Oroville-Toroda Road.  "Oroville, here I come."  Oroville, built next to the Okanogan and Similkeen Rivers and just south of Osoyoos Lake, seemed to be like a little, old fashioned farming town right out of a Norman Rockwell picture. But to be honest, I only stopped long enough to get gas.

With the tank full, I zipped westward on the infamously twisty Loomis-Oroville Road. What a sweet ride. Not the greatest pavement, but beautiful views of farms, orchards and a myriad of other sites including an abandoned rail line and tunnel. There's some weird looking hills, too.



As I rode alongside Palmer Lake, I forced myself to slow down to the 35mph posted speed limit. Lots of vacation homes, stupid dogs, orchards and several RV resorts. Did I mention 'stupid dogs'? Once I cleared the little burg of Loomis, it was 'yahoo' all the way to Hwy 97/20 south. I did, however, stay on Old Highway 97 as long as I could.

The rest of the story has been repeated many times by others here at S-TN and elsewhere.... Hwy 97/20 to Okanogan, west on Hwy 20 over Loup Loup Pass, through Twisp, passed a herd of pirates, into Winthrop (Note: a short stop for a hot dog and a cremesicle smoothie), stopped in Mazama for gas, passed another herd of pirates, caressed the twisties to and across Washington Pass, giggled, drooled and snickered all the way down the western slope, slowly cruised by Concrete (well-known revenuers), passes yet another pirate herd, fought the gnats across Skagit Valley, found the new southbound freeway entrance in Burlington, and finally arrived at home via I-5 and Hwy 2 around 9:30pm.

You may think I'm nutsy but I'm ready to go again.

SIDE NOTE: When I refer to the 'pirates', I do so with 'tongue in cheek'. The packs usually travel below the speed limit (and that's OK!), however they tend to interfere with my 'twisty fun'.... hence, the noted passings.

[bubba zanetti]

 

Lovely photos and weather you had. I love meandering around the Kootenays and Okanagan on both sides of the border.  

[katego]

very nice!

-k

[Yakiman]

Enjoyed! Nice presentation, clear, good quality photos. And, areas thoroughly loved for moto-touring the PNW.

Major bike envy, also (most probably my next ride when the Strom hits 100K   ). Looks like you've worked out a pretty clean camping pack setup for the bike, too.

(Noticed you did the Nighthawk/Palmer Lake loop. If not done already, sometime try old Hwy 7, W side of the Okanogan, Oroville to south of Tonasket. And, Riverside-Omak Eastside Rd. is a nice back-road alternative to the 97 drone.)

[DJStevieB]

Thanks all.

Yakiman: As you can see, I got onto the south part Hwy 7 (the old Hwy 97) as Loomis-Oroville came to an end. I'll try the northern part next time. I was going to take the Riverside road,but there was an accident blocking the left turn onto the road.

I don't care for Hwy 97. Boring!

[traveler]

I'm envious of your four days in the boonies, and would like to do more exploring up that way myself. Have done most of the Canadian route you took, but your Washington meandering really had me drooling. Obviously I haven't spent enough time in that part of the state.

Well done report and very good pics, thanks for sharing.

[DJStevieB]

The FJR Rendezvous in Moscow, Idaho this year really got me interested in the long distance multi-day traveling idea. The areas all around Moscow were so cool.

I also didn't know about motorcycle camping because I've never done it. Now that I have, it's no big deal.

Plus, my FJR works just fine off-road... at least on graded gravel roads without a lot of washboard areas.

It's kind of funny in a way, but I've sorta-kinda lost my interest for local rides. I've ridden them all over and over again. Maybe the feeling will go away when spring, 2010 comes around.

In the meantime, I'm going to improve my multi-day loading (better pillion bag, etc.) and purchase a few little farkles including a Tiregard system.

I did notice one thing on my trip. I rarely used my satellite radio. Most of the time, I let nature play the music. It sounded much better.

[GuyM]

You were playing in my backyard. Good riding country.

Nice report & photos too.

Regards, Guy  

[greywolf]

Nice pics and report , thanks!

[CBRXXBLACKBIRD]

Great photos and nice report.