OGRES Motorcycle Club 2017 Spring Run Report

Grim, Krome, Gundy, Smooth, Bomber, Rip City and G-Man

It was a cool, wet morning for a ride over to Notus for all to meet up at the Garage Cafe.  Present: G-Man, Rip City, Bomber, Smooth, Gundy, Krome and Grim.  Two guests were also present.  Absent: Duke.

We enjoyed a nice meal and also checked out a nice ride belonging to the owner of the Garage Cafe.  

Rip City had the guy start it up and the rumble of the 426 Hemi was a fitting sendoff for our Run.

After a short safety briefing, we headed off for a nice Run segment to Baker City.  It remained cool and overcast with just a few drops of rain.  Quite pleasant actually.  It was good to be back in the saddle with the OGRES brothers.

Our first stop was in the center of Baker City at one of our favorite fueling stations.  Gundy was smart and chose to hit the head before fueling his bike.  This turned out to be fortuitous as the line for the facility became long and sketchy.  

We took off and headed through Haines.  Grim was reminded a a great meal in Haines and maybe next year we stop there instead of Notus.  We headed into the foothills only to have the heavens dump rain upon us.  We stopped in Cove and donned our rain gear which proved to be a good move as we were rained on the rest of the way to Joseph.  

When the weather is better, we will take a nice route through Summerville but the wet weather was a deterrent on this trip.  We arrived in Elgin to find out usual lunch spot, The White Horse Cafe, to be closed and was being renovated by the new owners.  The mother (?), father (?) and son (?) looking alarming alike and banjo music wafted down from the foothills.  They did direct us to a cafe in town which turned out to be pretty good.

The Cowboy and Angel's Place quickly threw a motley collection of tables, chairs and a divan into an eating space for our gang.  The food wasn't half bad and we will probably make the cafe our lunch spot for the future.

Gundy's Surprised Look

It was a nice ride over to Enterprise with only light rain and little traffic.  It is always nice to ride through the rural towns and along the river.  We stopped in Enterprise for fuel as the little one pump Chevron station in Joseph can be a bottleneck the following morning.  While we were fueling, G-Man could be seen sniffing the air like a bloodhound.  It was clear he had detected "rust" in the air and would soon start howling.  Part of the group accompanied him to seek out the source and the rest of us rode the last 6 miles into Joseph.

After all had arrived  and moved into our rooms at Walter Brennan's Indian Lodge Motel, we headed downtown to check out our usual haunts.  Chocolate haystacks and strong coffee were first on Gundy and Grim's list.  We then headed to the t-shirt shop where Grim bought his wife a new t-shirt with Chief Joseph on the front.

Okay, okay....it was a purchase for Grim but he failed to notice it was 100% cotton.  After washing, it fits his wife unless he can get another OGRES member to buy it at a reduced price.

We then found the sign shop, the lumber yard and the sporting goods store among other things.

Some had a short nap after shopping and others rode out to the Lake to check out the wildlife.  We then went to the Stubborn Mule for dinner.  No photographs are available for this activity as we were there so long, Grim's phone died.  We had to sit at two different tables, hostile locals looked at us like we had killed their children and all the children who survived were loudly in the restaurant.  The woman who won the local "Shrill Laughing Voice" contest at the local county fair was at the table right next to us along with the other millennials who were trying their best to show how loud and clever they could be.  It should be called the "Airport" cafe due to the long "lines" at each stage of our meal: ordering the food, receiving the food, getting the checks and paying for the checks.  

We walked up the street to the Outlaw Cafe for ice cream to find they were closed.  The owner, however, was nice enough to let us in for ice cream.  Much to our surprise, we found the owners of the Outlaw Cafe and the Indian Lodge Motel to be one and the same.  And there were coupons in our rooms for food at the Outlaw.  Dang it.  Well, we know where we are eating next year.  That will be much better than Grim ending up in jail for discharging a firearm inside the Stubborn Mule.

Rumor is there was a poker game in one of the OMC members room that night.  A new banker will be appointed next year (Grim) as self service turned out with more chips on the table than money in the bank at games end.  Rumor has it all players had a great time as four members left their $5 at the table for the other three players.  

The next morning we adjourned at the Cheyenne Cafe which was much less crowded than usual.  No complaints from Grim as his ears were still ringing from dinner the night before. 

We finished loading up our bikes and headed for Hell's Canyon.  It was a nice ride up the first side.  Grim was in the process of thinking it was strange to see no deer on the road as we were getting close to the overlook turnout.  Just then, around the bend, were two deer on the left side.  A quick engine rev, and they were in the woods.  Not fifty yards further, a large bird arose from the right side of the road.  A golden eagle !!  Grim and Rip City had not seen a golden eagle for quite some time. 

OGRES Members with Guests

We arrived at the Hell's Canyon overlook.  The scenery was especially breathtaking with the clouds and coolness in the air.  Not near as hot as it is when we are normally there in August.

The crew then rode down past Scotty's and then on down to Brownlee Dam.  (Several made an emergency stop at Scotty's and then caught up).  We then swooped on down into Cambridge only to find The Ranch House had closed. 

So we ate at the only cafe in town.  It was deja vu, however, as our waitress from the closed cafe was in attendance and served out table.  It was okay but as we left Cambridge, I spotted a couple of great replacement restaurants around Midvale where we will probably stop next year.

We continued on down through Weiser and Payette and headed down Highway 52 through Sand Hollow ending up west of Middleton at the Highway 44 junction.  We said out goodbyes and headed for our respective barns.

There is no doubt this was a great trip and strong group riding skills and etiquette were in evidence.  The chemistry of the group both on and off the road was greatly enjoyed by all.

Can't wait for the Summer Run.