OGRES Motorcycle Club 2018 Summer Run Report

Leann, Joy, G-Man, Bomber, Gundy, Barry, Stephen, Smooth, Grim and Duke

The OMC members and their guests met at the appointed time and place.  OMC members present: G-Man, Bomber, Gundy, Smooth, Grim and Duke.  Guests: Barry, Stephen, Joy and Leann.

Departure Preparation in Boise

We saddled up and headed north to began our grand adventure.  Eight of us left from Boise while Duke and Stephen departed from their overnight stop in Washington State.  

The decision to reverse the direction of this ride just got better and better as we proceeded.  Traffic was light and we only had a couple of knuckleheads on the way to Lowman.  It was cool and pleasant.

Lowman, Idaho

We stopped for a break at the Lowman Lodge to stretch our legs.  Grim had a great piece of cake and others grazed out of the goodies in Bomber's Tourpak.  Eventually we got back on the road and headed to Stanley.  The ride up over Banner Summit was smooth and it was really nice rolling into Stanley where we could view the Sawtooth mountains to our right for quite some time. 

Bomber and the Sawtooth Mountains

We stopped at the Bridge Grill in Lower Stanley for lunch.  There was some excitement in the parking lot as we parked, a scuffle in the gravel but the gang wreck was resolved in a quick and timely manner.  Grim only wished he had remembered to take pictures. We sat on the deck and enjoyed a great meal while watching the river run in the wrong direction.

After our sojourn, we headed up to Challis.  G-Man expressed a desire to stop at the museum in Clayton and Grim summarily rejected the proposal but as we approached Clayton his heart was softened.  We stopped only to find the museum was closed.  Note to Grim:  Stick to your guns next time.

We stopped in Challis for gasoline and enjoyed a full octane fill-up at the Phillips 66.  We then headed upriver towards Salmon.  The temperature seemed to rise commensurate with the distance to Salmon.  It was very hot the whole distance but the road was fun and curved just enough to keep G-Man and Smooth awake.

We arrived at our hotel to find that Duke and Stephen had already arrived and were headed for the pool.  Duke was wearing an especially fashionable and handsome swimming suit and many of the OMC members and guests were envious.

The Shady Nook, Salmon, Idaho

We had dinner at our usual Salmon spot at the Shady Nook.  The air conditioning must have been broken in our dining room but the food was good despite the heavy amount of horse radish on Grim's steak.  His sinuses continue to be very clear and open.  We all headed back to the hotel only for Stephen and Leann to be treated to a very naked man modeling in front of his hotel balcony doors.  Thankfully, most of us missed the show.

Departure Preparation in Salmon, Idaho

The intrepid and brave awoke the next morning for their mediocre Stagecoach Inn free breakfast.  Duke was smart enough to get his breakfast elsewhere.  We met at the Sinclair up the street and departed from the gas station.  A mini gang wreck broke out in the parking lot involving a new bike but it was quickly resolved and no switch needed to be reset.  Luckily, highway pegs had just been installed to assist in the clearing of the gang wreck.  Again, Grim was remiss in taking photos.  

We headed towards Darby and enjoyed a cool and uneventful ride on the fun and varied roads leading to our next stop.  

Darby, Montana

Darby, Montana 

We rolled into Darby while it was still cool and fairly quiet before Logger Days really got underway.  We entered our favorite shops but the usual ladies were not there.  It appears there is new ownership/management but the experience was still just as fun.  Duke bought a boom stick while G-Man was looking at antique looking deputy sheriff badges.  G-Man asked to see one and was holding it when the lady answered his inquiry about the price.  When G-Man heard it, it was as if the badge became molten hot as he dropped it quite quickly.  It is true a "Cheap Meter" sounds just like a Geiger Counter according to witnesses who were there.

Some hats were almost purchased but it turned out that candy and chocolate were the commodities that mostly left the store.  Grim definitely enjoyed the chocolate haystack he gets there every year.

After the appropriate amount of shenanigans had transpired, we climbed back on our motorcycles and headed for Lolo Pass.  The ride through the valley was nice as it was much cooler, with less traffic, than we had endured when traveling in the opposite direction in past years.  We stopped for gas in Lolo.  While gassing, Grim struck up a conversation with a local at the next pump.  The man was very congenial and gave Grim the scoop on where to eat lunch.

We finished gassing our bikes and headed up towards Lolo Pass in the search for the Lochsa Lodge and eventually found that it was a place we had stopped in a past year but did not realize there was a restaurant there.

Arrival at Lochsa Lodge, Montana

Lochsa Lodge Restaurant

Lochsa Lodge Store

Lochsa Lunch

Leann's Salad

Grim's Egg Bison Burger

Gundy's Burger

Leann Pointing To Where the Bears.......

The Lochsa Lodge was even better than advertised.  It was cool and quaint inside and our waitress was delightful.  The food was absolutely wonderful and all the diners raved about it.  We lingered over our meals as it was such a nice experience that one was loathe to leave behind.  We eventually dragged ourselves out to the parking lot and disembarked back out onto the highway.

At this point in this narrative, Grim wants to apologize to the rest of the pack.  The leader of a run is supposed to keep the speed at a rate that can be absorbed by ALL members of the group to maximize the enjoyment of the group as a whole.  From Lochsa Lodge to Orofino, Grim rode too fast and furious for the aforementioned goal to be realized.  The speeds were too high during this stretch and made the ride less than enjoyable for the group as a whole.  Grim should have also made one more stop in Lowell, Idaho to break up this leg of the run.   It will be better next year.  My apologies.

The Best Western on the River, Orofino, Idaho

We rolled into Orofino and found that a white cage had parked where we normally park our bikes.  Grim tried to be a traffic cop and in the future will not make that mistake again.  We eventually parked and went inside to check in at the Best Western.  This is always a treat as the hotel is so nice as are the staff.  After a few refreshments, much of the crew hit the pool and hot tub.  It was very refreshing and fun.  If only there were rocks on the bottom of the pool.

We went to dinner at the great restaurant next door and really had a nice meal and dessert.  Everyone was in rare form and the laughter came often and in large volumes.  The company and mood was as good and as much fun as Grim can ever remember.  We stayed at the table for a long time as we were having too much fun to leave.  The spirit of fellowship was thick and sweet but we eventually headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.  

G-Man, Bomber, Leann and Grim were finally able to head to their respective rooms after playing with every stuffed animal puppet that was on display in the lobby.  Gundy also joined in as we repeated all the funny story title/author jokes we could think of.   

The next morning, all riders awoke and had a nice free breakfast in the hotel.  This hotel knows how to do it.  

As luck would have it, there was a local car show in the City Park next door.  Most all went over the train trestle to check it out.  Many cars had not arrived yet but the best in show, in Grim's opinion, was the 1955 Chevy 4WD pickup that wasn't even in the show.  It was fun checking out the locals and their cars.  Grim doesn't know why he didn't take any photos, especially of the pickup truck.  

We climbed aboard our iron horses and headed down the road towards Grangeville.  One could tell that we were getting closer to Grangeville as the temperature rose the closer the proximity.  We had one close call with a couple of deer going into Sites, Idaho but we were able to avoid them.  Duke must have had his deer whistle turned off.

After a quick ice cream break in Grangeville, we headed down White Bird grade.  The temperature really rose the closer we came to the bottom of the grade.  We continued down to the "banana belt" of Riggins and on through New Meadows.  

The Pancake House, McCall, Idaho

We rolled into McCall where a fuel stop and lunch was planned.  Grim had never seen McCall so packed with people and traffic.  There must have been a family reunion for the whole state of California that weekend.  Holy cow.

We finally did make it to the Pancake House where we had a pretty nice meal.  Grim could eat breakfast every meal of the day.  Just remember to get the buckwheat pancakes and not the buttermilk ones, Bomber.

After that nice respite, we got back on the road and enjoyed a pretty nice ride down to Smith's Ferry except for a couple of idiot cages that got mixed up with us for a bit.  Oh well.  Our last break of the trip was held in the shade at Smith's Ferry as we finished up the last of the deli from Bomber's Tourpak.  

We headed on down the road following a slow vehicle train but took our time as there was a lot of rafting and vacationing traffic.  Next year we will probably go through Cambridge and Weiser.

Reluctantly we ended up back where we started to end the Summer Run and say our goodbyes.

Current Club Members Attending the Summer Run

However, we did not conclude the closing ceremonies before Barry was inducted as the newest and youngest member of the OGRES Motorcycle Club.  Barry is a great addition to the OGRES MC and we look forward to our continued friendship and affiliation with Barry.  Congratulations to him and we are lucky to have him in the Club.  Grim will announce his Club moniker as soon as it is finalized.

All of us greatly enjoyed this Run and considered it one of the best ever, if not the best.  

There were some participants who stated they would have rather been home working on their sprinkler systems.  Oh well, there are some things you just can't account for.

See you at the barbecue with the spouses in September.  More information about that to follow.

That's all, folks....