After a long winter at latitude 48N the WA State DOT
finally announced the opening of North Cascades Hwy 20.
The weather looked promising so I hastily packed a few
clothes and hopped on STealth for a romp East of the Cascades.
Who knows where the roads will lead me?

I wasn't out the door until 2:30 pm but shortly climbing into the
North Cascades on one of my favorite roads.
I never tire of the fantastic scenery.

Bridge Creek Rd. connecting WA 21 to the free ferry at Inchelium (Gifford Ferry).
It's still a bit early in the season for these less travelled higher roads as it takes
a few good rains and some traffic to clean the winter sand and gravel off.

I like getting away from the hustle/bustle.

Gifford Ferry. Am I sucker for free things or are the roads in this area outstanding?
I could tell you but why not ride them and find out yourself?

After disembarking from the ferry I took Addy-Gifford and Blue Creek Road to US 395 and
Colville, WA followed by Hwy 20 to Hwy 31 North along the Pend Oreille River.

This is the Box Canyon Dam which has the Pend Oreille River
plugged up for 56 miles. It has no significant storage capacity
but relies upon the constant flow of river water for generating capacity.

If the good roads lead me to Canada, who am I to argue? I crossed
at a sleepy little Border Station just North of Metaline Falls, WA.
There was no activity at the crossing and I waited a good five minutes
for the light to turn green. The Canadian Customs Agent treated me with
courtesy and respect and sent me on my way when he learned I was just
out to tour some Canadian roads for the afternoon. This is Hwy 6 in B.C.
and it was deserted of other traffic.

I was travelling East on Hwy 3 in lower B.C. when I spotted these
big-horned sheep. Goat Boy, are you awake? Yes, I know they
are not goats but I took the photos anyway for your viewing pleasure
as I understand you're not too particular. Cute, aren't they?

Canadian Hwy 3. Traffic was very light, especially considering this is a major
East/West route. After crossing this 5700' pass and the Kootenay River I followed
it across the Border into Idaho.

Unlike my pleasant experience entering Canada, the U.S. Customs Agent treated
me with suspicion and disdain. He appeared to think it odd that I would tour Canadian
roads on a motorcycle just for the fun of it. He looked like he hadn't had a fun day
in 20 years and was doing his best to turn mine around. But I wasn't letting his sour
demeanor and suspicion penetrate my pleasant mood which had been charged by my
invigorating ride through the mountains. Finally, having not suceeded in making me
nervous, he finally waved me through like I was some kind of gnat or something.
This experience mirrors every recent border experience (but one) I've had in the
last several years. Having lived within an easy ride of the Canadian border most of
my life I find it kind of sad what things have come to.

The Kootenai River east of Libby, MT.

Same place looking upriver. The crisp morning air seemed to supercharge the ST4s
as I roared north on Hwy 37 along the shores of 70 mile long Lake Koocanusa.

Not much traffic on this stretch of US 93 south of Eureka, MT. Heading south I
stopped in Whitefish, MT, a town I spent a winter in during my ski bum days.
Fond memories and it hadn't changed as much as I imagined it would have in
the 18 years since I had lived there. Best place to eat in town is the Buffalo Cafe.
After a delicious breakfast of steak and eggs I made an impromptu visit at my Aunt
and Uncle's house north of Creston, MT who tried their best to feed me more food and
entice me to stay the night but I was heading West towards Spokane to meet with Jeff
who I spoke with a couple of days earlier and made plans to ride some backroads
together for a couple of days.

Flathead Indian Reservation and the South end of Flathead Lake.

Jeff and I hooked up south of Spokane and rode numerous
backroads with names such as S. Prairie View Rd, Spangle-Waverly Rd,
Pine City Rd, Endicott West Rd, Benge-Winona, S. Beckley Rd, Hwy 26 to Washtucna,
Hwy 260 to McAdam, 261 to Starbuck, Whetstone Rd, McKay-Alto Rd, Fields Gulch Rd.
Middle-Waitsburg Rd. and Stonecypher Rd.

It turns out that Washtucna and Starbuck have no fuel above 87 octane.
Neither of us wanted to backtrack or divert and we both felt Jeff's tank
(which had the least fuel) could make it the 48 miles or so to Dayton or
Waitsburg so we carried on the twisty backroads. Jeff's engine never missed
a beat but his tank looked pretty dry when we inspected it at the next station.
Even with a small flashlight we could not see any fuel sloshing about. I suggested
he fill it to the hole punched in the filler neck so we could see how much the tank holds.
Imagine our surprise when it took 5.601 gallons!

Eventually the rural roads deposited us in downtown Walla Walla, WA, where the above picture
was taken and where we took advantage of some of the many wine tasting
rooms the town has to offer. I was pleasantly surprised to find the most
delicious crab cakes I've ever tasted (and I've tried a lot) at a place downtown
that I believe was called the Pastime Cafe.

After departing Walla Walla in the morning we found this classic 1950's (or earlier) inland PNW diner/bar
where we ate breakfast in Pendleton, OR. To get here we headed west from Walla Walla to Touchet
and turned south to explore a paved route into Helix, OR from WA. We didn't find a paved one so
we ended up cruising over the low hills on a wash boarded gravel road. Shortly we
intersected the paved roads north of Helix which are quite scenic and, of course,
not very congested! After breakfast we headed towards Butter Creek Rd. with high hopes but
a light drizzle and fresh cow pies covered the turns. They looked quite slick so
a little caution was the order of the hour.

We stopped to listen to these giant wind generators whirring away in the
breeze west of Condon, OR. Wind farming must be profitable because
I see new wind farms springing up all over.

Jeff's yellow 2001 ST4 and my BBG 2002 ST4s are very compatible sport-touring mounts.
We switched machines for a few miles on twisty Wasco-Heppner Rd. It was the first ST4 I had ridden and
I was impressed with the amount of torque it produced as low as 4000 rpm's as it was not
hugely different than the ST4s. I think the 916 motor is under-rated. Maybe Jeff's chip, pipes
the fact that he has had his cams dialed in have something to do with it.

Since this little section of road is in the Columbia Gorge, I call it "Gorgelicious"!
They don't make roads like this anymore! It's the old US 30 that has been replaced
by the super-highway along the banks of The Gorge.

It looks like Jeff is saying "Do you think they'll have beer this tasty at
the East Coast Madness?". We stopped in Leavenworth, a fake Bavarian town
but the bratwurst and beer was good although we did opt out of the Bavarian
lagers in favor of PNW IPA's. The following morning it was time to return to
our domestic lives. Thanks for a great trip Jeff!

I had one more delicious pass to cross before arriving home in
Anacortes, WA and it was made even more tasty by the road crew
that was closing alternate lanes for 30 minutes at a time. After passing the
two lead cars I had the westbound lanes of Steven's Pass to myself until reaching civilization
on the other side. The above photo was taken with Mt. Index as the backdrop.

A fitting end to a wonderful 6 days and 1818 miles of remote backroads and
scenic byways.

See the Madd ones up close!
A Tour through Yosemite 2005
2005 Madness Trip Photos - page 1
2005 Madness Trip Photos - page 2