Peenie Wallie: NXNW Motorcycle Trip - Day 6: 'Crater Lake Oregon'

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June 10, 2012

NXNW Motorcycle Trip - Day 6: 'Crater Lake Oregon'

Update: I am alive and well and resting peacefully on the banks of the Rogue River in Shady Cove, Oregon.

Date: Sunday June 10th, 2012

Motorcycle Odometer
Morning Odometer Reading: 25,566.8
Evening Odometer Reading: 25,939.8
Miles traveled: 373.0 miles

GPS Data:
Trip Odometer: 366 miles
Max Speed: 87.4 mph
Elevation:1,412 ft
Max Elevation: 7,115 ft
Total Ascent: 14,435 ft

So tired there are just no words.

I'm in Shady Cove, Oregon on the banks of the Rogue River

This morning, I got up and there was a guy cooking breakfast on a Coleman stove next door to me in the motel parking lot. It wasn't a nice motel. Hard cars for sale in the lot. That sort of place.

Turns out, he was going camping, but ended up too tired or something and ended up crashing in the motel. He'd been to a lot of the same places I'd been, as far as National Parks and all.

It seems like this was in Burns, Oregon.

Get up. Tighten the chain in the parking lot. Lube the chain. Hit the road following route US 20 West for Bend, Oregon. I try to explain to my sister that there aren't a lot of gas stations out here. It's not like I'm passing a lot of them up, they're just not there. Very desolate out here. Very remote.

Somewhere east of Bend, Oregon, I start noticing that there are more raptors than I've ever seen before in my life. They're on every telephone pole I pass. Immature bald eagle. Mature bald eagle. Red tailed hawks. You name it. They're everywhere. I dunno why.

Eventually, I roll into Bend, Oregon. Not sure where to go, of course. Only I roll into town and start poking around. Find a cool little section down by the river with a park and stop for at the Bend Burger Restaurant, I think.

Some guy has a bike and I try to talk to him, but he sort of "big leagues" me and ignores me, which is very unusual. So be it. I leave him alone. Eventually, he spots my helmet and then he's like.."Oh, I didn't realize..." Then he tried to be more friendly.

Another dude pulls up on a Harley with his wife. They're down from Portland, I think. They're a lot of fun and I sit and talk to them for too long.

Bend is just the dreamiest little town you could ever imagine. The parks on the side of the river remind me of Boston. Way cool place to hang out. Eventually, I blow out of there, heading south on US 97.

I take the Diamond Lake road west, then south to Union Creek. At Union Creek, I ask everyone I can find if Crater Lake is open. If they sell gas. People just look at me like I'm insane.

"Oh...I haven't been up there in years. I don't know if they're open. Or if they sell gas."

And I'm like..."seriously? It's 23 miles away?"

But no one has any clue. Finally, I just decide to drive up there and see. The road is open. They sell gas. These people are complete morons.

Very cold up there. Mosquitos like you've never seen before. Trillions of them. They're still trying to plow open the road around the lake, but I can get to the edge of the crater and snap some shots. It's so large it's just beyond belief.

Roll back down through Union City, Prospect, keep rolling down towards Medford. Hope to get there before it gets dark.

Cross a large lake called Lost Creek Lake, which is just insanely large. Stop and take some shots. Rolling south (and west) on US 62, now following the Rogue River.

It's getting close to dark and I really don't want to hit a deer tonight. I pass a dead deer with some buzzards (turkey vultures) on him and I say "that's it, I'm stopping."

Pull into the little town of Shady Cove and decide I've gone far enough for the night. Stop and shoot the people fishing in the Rogue River for Chinook Salmon.

Above: Immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) between Hampton and Brothers, Idaho along U.S. Highway 20.

Above: Mature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) between Hampton and Brothers, Idaho along U.S. Highway 20.

Above: Unidentified flower in Bend, Oregon. This is a fairly large flowering bush that grows wild all over northern California.

Above: I tried to explain to my sister why I ran out of gas. "There are no gas stations out here. It's a desert."

Above: Unidentified mountains south of Bend Oregon as viewed from U.S. Highway 97.

Above: Rogue River waterfall, Klamath County, Oregon.

Above: Entrance to Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County, Oregon.

Above: Ascending to the rim of Crater Lake. Still solidly snowed in on June 10th, 2012.

Above: Crater Lake, Klamath County, Oregon.

Above: Chasing the setting sun on Crater Lake Highway.

Above: Lost Creek Lake, Jackson County, Oregon.

Above: Fishing for Chinook Salmon on the Rogue River.

Above: Flower in Shady Cove, Oregon.

Posted by Rob Kiser on June 10, 2012 at 10:20 PM

Comments

Hey Rob,

I'm The Dude from the motel, alive and well resting comfortably on a friend's couch. I'm enjoying your tales. I wound up camping that next night at Laughlin Reservoir outside Klamath Falls, and the next night at Fern Ridge Reservoir in Eugene.

I've written a few pieces not entirely unlike yours. Here's one: http://www.curbsideclassic.com/stories/how-my-dream-car-killed-my-dream-car/

Happy trails, and fuck da police!
Mike

Posted by: Leon Spinks on June 17, 2012 at 2:10 PM

Peenie Wallie

A confused jumble of paranoid ramblings, politically incorrect diatribes, worthless photographs, amateur slideshows, and disturbing videos. Guaranteed to offend the narrow minded and amuse the rest.

June 10, 2012

NXNW Motorcycle Trip - Day 6: 'Crater Lake Oregon'

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