The OGRES MC members present were Smooth, Slick, Gundy, RipCity, Grim, G-Man (half ride) and Ace.
The OMC members absent were Duke, Bomber, and Rowdy.
OMC Members and guests met at the Garage Cafe to kick off this year's OMC Summer Run. Everyone was actually early, except for Ace, who bypassed breakfast in exchange for more sleep (I made that part up). The food was plentiful and tasty as usual with an unusually funny and smart alecky server.
After a quick but informative briefing, we headed down the road to Parma. This year, an alternative route was taken to Vale by going through Roswell and Adrian to reach the destination. It was a fun and different way that was new to some of the riders.
A quick stop was made in Vale and then it was on down the road to Burns. This road is always fun and varied making for enjoyable passing. The weather was cool and pleasant which is a nice thing for air cooled V-Twin motors.
After some easy cruising, we came upon a timely rest stop and we made use of the respite to stretch our legs, eat some snacks and use the fine facilities.
Shortly we were back on the road...the weather remained nicely cool and the traffic was cooperative.
We rolled into Burns and cruised the main streets until we found the BBQ place and Chevron station across the street from each other. How handy.
It turned out that it was a Mennonite owned restaurant thus the food was delicious and the service was great. RipCity's meal came with tomato pee but that was quickly rectified.
After fueling up at the aforementioned handy Chevron, we headed through town and cruised north towards John Day. This stretch of road was very nice with the great views of the ranches, mountains and valleys.
As we rode closer to John Day, the temperature increased gradually. Eventually we rode through Canyon City and on into John Day.
We checked in at the desk and the lady had most of the reservations correct. We sat and chatted in the cool, cold lobby while we waited for some of the rooms to finish being refreshed by the staff.
After putting our gear in our rooms, we headed off downtown in search of hardware goods and ice cream. We found ice cream at the Dairy Queen but the AC was broken and the swamp cooler was not even close to being sufficient. We then headed to the hardware store and Grim bought a wooden train at the lovely little store up the street.
We eventually made it back to the motel and cooled off in our rooms or the pool. The pool was quite nice and it was the first time it was not closed for repairs for years.
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At the appointed hour, we met and went to the restaurant next door. As bad luck would have it, the server was the same as the one last year who really messed up all the checks and payments. However, the food was served in a timely manner and was just fine.
After dinner, card game broke out in the lobby. It was more fun with Smooth dealing and making sure the rules were met. His running commentary adds a lot to the experience and Grim won big on the first two hands allowing him to coast through the game.
The next morning, we met earlier than usual to allow us to stop at the Austin House for breakfast. The weather was cool and the roads were short of traffic to make the passing pleasant and downright enjoyable. We stopped in Prairie City for gasoline and then headed on over to the Austin House.
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| Brown Britches!?!? |
We were a little early so we hung out by our bikes and watched fire personnel come and go. They opened at 8 a.m. and we went inside and ordered.
The folks there are so nice and friendly and the food was divine along with great, strong coffee.
We also got the lowdown on the bar in the dining room that originated in Chicago but was quite travelled by the time it ended up in the Austin House.
We departed the breakfast spot and headed down the road towards Sumpter. It was decided to go this way rather than south through Hereford and the twisting roads back up to Baker City. We had not gone this way for years and it is a beautiful ride. In hindsight, this deviation made the relatively short overall ride even shorter. Oh well.
The forested thoroughfare was cool, lovely and the swoopy roads made the ride very nice and zen. We passed by Sumpter and continued on towards Baker City. There were many firefighting camps but hardly any traffic on the highway.
We rolled into Baker City and stopped for a bio break at the Shell station. We were joined, at the point, by G-Man who had ridden to meet us from Boise.
We moved on down the road through Baker City, Haines, Powder River, Union and Cove. These roads are a lot of fun and the weather was still pretty nice for riding.
We rode on through the pretty little town of Imbler and then over to Elgin. We stopped for gas at Elgin and it was decided to head on to Joseph instead of stopping for lunch due to the late breakfast.
We cruised on over the highway through Wallowa and Enterprise eventually arriving at our destination at the Indian Lodge Motel in Joseph. We were a little early for our door codes to work. Some participants gathered on the veranda and chatted while some took off for a "Wild Mr. Toad's Ride" out to the lake.
Shortly, a few of the brave toured the downtown sidewalks looking for adventure.
There are many nice stores, galleries and restaurants to be visited and enjoyed.
Reservations inquiries were made at the Stubborn Mule for outside dining and the only reservations remaining were 5 and 7:30 pm. Hence, we all gathered at 5 pm. for an early dinner. This worked out fine as we had a late breakfast, no lunch and then an early dinner.
The food and service provided by Laramie was great and the company was delightful except for one grouchy member. Sorry.
The next morning found us at the Cheyenne Cafe for some breakfast. The lady serving us was slow but steady. We had a nice breakfast with all the locals.
The glare was quite bright from RipCity's fluorescent jacket but it wasn't bad if you squinted. The upside was we were not struck by any cars or trucks while eating.
We retreated to the Indian Lodge Motel for briefing and departure.
The cool temperature was refreshing as we headed out of town towards the mountain passes in front of us. The road was not as rough as in the past but there were still a few patches that one really had to watch out for. This is always a very fun and challenging road to ride. Sometimes the corners are marked and sometimes they want to surprise you.
We made our customary stop at the Hell's Canyon overlook to check out the sights and the restrooms. It was quite smoky and warm but the usual OMC members chatted up the three Harley riders who arrived at about the same time. We took photos and hung out for a bit before continuing on.
We flew down the mountain on the other side and it was as swoopy and fun as always. This stretch of road between the overlook and the highway is a great favorite.
As we passed we had light rain which felt great. As we passed down by Scotty's and down the reservoir road, one could tell by the wet road that we had just missed the storm. We rode on down past the reservoir and finally turned across the Dam entering back into the great state of Idaho.
We rumbled past the parks and stores upwards, finally arriving in Cambridge. We made a quick stop for gasoline and then headed on to Midvale.
The diner as open for business and we put some tables together for our seating pleasure. Most of us hit the salad bar while others ordered usual diner fare. It was a nice, cool stop and it wasn't too crowded. Speedy service was not their forte, however, and some didn't get the salad bar due to most items being exhausted and slow to replace. Dang.
We jumped back on our bikes and sped down the road passing through Weiser and Payette. As we took the old highway, a Payette County sheriff deputy pulled out in front of us and slowed us down until he turned off towards New Plymouth. We turned the throttles and sped down through Sand Hollow, passing some cars, until we arrived at the Chevron on Highway 44.
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