After 3-4 hours of freeway I managed to cut off onto 36 east of Red Bluff and headed for the south entrance to Lassen NP. What a pretty park. Nice roads and nice views. Lots of trees and lakes off in the distance to the east, about six of them, lakes that is. Trees are everywhere. Lots of rock formations too. I prefer the north side of the park. Bigger lake up close and more trees. Would be a 600 mile day but I took a leisurely ride thru the park as I do every park I visit. Managed a couple pics inside the park but learned right off that my camera was going to give me problems. If I got them in order correctly, the pics start off with a shot of my daughter and I the week before on a shakedown run up the Cal coast from Cambria thru Lucia and Big Sur, Carmel and Monterey clear to Alice's in Woodside, north of Santa Cruz in the hills. The pics are at Lucia where we had lunch. Fish & chips turned out to be an entire fish large enough to hang off each side of the plate. Yummy!
Anyway, leaving Lassen I head towards 395 north into OR where its what they call, high desert, and the road is straight as an arrow for miles at a time, over and over. Ended up in Burns for the night. Sunday morning I'm up heading towards the NE corner of OR, again, very straight and vacant roads until I get there. Once I'm taking the long way around to the west side of the Snake River Canyon area the road stays vacant but gets better and better and twistier...Great riding area! Green everywhere along tree lined roads until the very end as I climb into the SE corner of WA to slip into ID on hiway 12 for the ride across the Lolo into MT for the night in Missoula, another 600 mile day but really enjoyable. Having three different but uninterrupted rivers along one side or the other of hiway 12 for over a hundred miles is something that everyone should experience. In and out of shaded corners and long straights and sweepers. Lots of room to pass when necessary and plenty of room to just cruise and watch the sun bounce of the river's edge again (right next to the road for over a hundred miles) see the 77 mile twisties sign?
Monday morning I take a short jaunt on a freeway out of Missoula to hiway 200 then 83 up the east side of Flathead and other lakes on my way to Glacier NP. Won't see a freeway again for three days
The ride up 83 is very nice. Long tunnel like, seemingly endless runs thru tree lined avenues with the occasional lake visible thru the trees. Very nice ride and only a couple hundred miles into Glacier for my ride W to E across the GTTSR. Next episode... :) http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i87/j ... NW%20Tour/
OK, I see the pics are along the GTTSR, Mt goats etc, see the lack of snow? Was a real shocker even for it being July 2nd. Never seen it this bare and I've always been up there around this time of year, give or take a few days. Never seen so much traffic either, but again, next edition.
