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Central Oregon Loop
Wow, another day, and another great ride!!
My daughter brought back my borrowed Jeep back from Madras, OR yesterday and spent the night. Now she needed a way home. Lets see should I drive the Jeep or ride the bike?????? Gee, that was a tough choice. Clear blue skies with temps forcast to 90.
Headed out about 10am. Short trip up the I-5 slab then onto the back roads to Hwy22. Traffic was kinda heavy, but plenty of passing lanes in the right spots to pass all and get a clear road in front of us. Followed the N. Santiam river as it wound up through the deep canyons covered thick with tall firs. Plenty of shade kept the temps nice and cool. Stopped to fuel up in the small town of Detroit, OR. Right next to the lake with the same name. Boats, boats, and more boats!! This place gets crowded on a sunny weekend.
We continued up into the Cascade Mtns. Finally we hit the summit of the Santiam Pass. As soon as we start down the other side the temperature shot up 10-15 degrees!!! Looks like it's gonna be a hot ride through the high desert today. This part of the road is pretty cool, because you don't notice unless your paying attention, but the fir trees suddenly turn to ponderosa pines. We stop in the town of Sisters to fuel up again. Then it's on to the small town of Metolius which is about another 45 miles.
Just out of Sisters we turn off onto Hwy126 to Redmond. The landscape changes once again. We are now in the high desert of central Oregon. Lots of sage brush, a few scatterd trees, and awesome rock formations. They divert water from the Dechuttes river into irrigation canals all over the area, so there are a lot of green fields scattered in the brown landscape. They have something like 300+ days of sunshine in this area. Summer is usually pretty hot, and the winters can be very cold.
Finally get to my daughter house. What a view on the way into town!!! Off to the north you can see Smith Rock State Park. It is a well known place for rock climbers. A wall of shear cliffs which jut out of the mountain. To the west sits Mt. Hood. Slightly south of Hood is Mt. Jefferson. Then off to the south of that you can see Mt. Washington and the North, Middle, and South Sister tripletts. Totally breathtaking view!!! 160 miles so far from Albany to Metolius.
Take my daughter and grandkids to lunch a short distance away in Madras. Have a great lunch then back to my daughters house to play with the grandkids. My 3yr old grandson loves my XS. So of course he had to sit on it. Well, once he was on that was it. He didn't get off until it was time for me to leave.
About 4pm I decided I better get going. Said my goodbyes and was off for home. I decided to take the northern route back home. Head north back to Madras, then Hwy 26 past Mt. Hood to Oregon City to hit the I-5 slab. I've driven this way in a cage before, but first time from central Oregon to Mt. Hood. The desolution and rock formations just blow you away!! Deep narrow canyons with a creek somewhere far, far below. Flat top mesa's with rimrock lining the edges where they drop into the canyons. This is an area I definately need ride in some more. As I climb out of the canyons and into the flat lands the winds were really gusting. Around 20-30mph gusts from left to right was making it tough to keep the bike upright.
Finally I hit Cascades again and the winds are blocked. Temps cooled down nicely again. Stopped just east of Mt. Hood to fuel up. Had to wait several minutes for a group of squids in their full leathers fueling up. Once fueled up I'm headin' down the mountain. Hwy 26 is great!! Two lanes most of the way, so even with all the traffic I was able to keep a great pace. Got home at 7:30. The route home was 180miles for a total of 340+ miles today.
Gee, I wonder where I'll end up tomorrow.
Here is a map of my route.
My daughter brought back my borrowed Jeep back from Madras, OR yesterday and spent the night. Now she needed a way home. Lets see should I drive the Jeep or ride the bike?????? Gee, that was a tough choice. Clear blue skies with temps forcast to 90. Headed out about 10am. Short trip up the I-5 slab then onto the back roads to Hwy22. Traffic was kinda heavy, but plenty of passing lanes in the right spots to pass all and get a clear road in front of us.
Followed the N. Santiam river as it wound up through the deep canyons covered thick with tall firs. Plenty of shade kept the temps nice and cool. Stopped to fuel up in the small town of Detroit, OR. Right next to the lake with the same name. Boats, boats, and more boats!! This place gets crowded on a sunny weekend.We continued up into the Cascade Mtns. Finally we hit the summit of the Santiam Pass. As soon as we start down the other side the temperature shot up 10-15 degrees!!! Looks like it's gonna be a hot ride through the high desert today. This part of the road is pretty cool, because you don't notice unless your paying attention, but the fir trees suddenly turn to ponderosa pines. We stop in the town of Sisters to fuel up again. Then it's on to the small town of Metolius which is about another 45 miles.
Just out of Sisters we turn off onto Hwy126 to Redmond. The landscape changes once again. We are now in the high desert of central Oregon. Lots of sage brush, a few scatterd trees, and awesome rock formations. They divert water from the Dechuttes river into irrigation canals all over the area, so there are a lot of green fields scattered in the brown landscape. They have something like 300+ days of sunshine in this area. Summer is usually pretty hot, and the winters can be very cold.
Finally get to my daughter house. What a view on the way into town!!! Off to the north you can see Smith Rock State Park. It is a well known place for rock climbers. A wall of shear cliffs which jut out of the mountain. To the west sits Mt. Hood. Slightly south of Hood is Mt. Jefferson. Then off to the south of that you can see Mt. Washington and the North, Middle, and South Sister tripletts. Totally breathtaking view!!! 160 miles so far from Albany to Metolius.
Take my daughter and grandkids to lunch a short distance away in Madras. Have a great lunch then back to my daughters house to play with the grandkids. My 3yr old grandson loves my XS. So of course he had to sit on it. Well, once he was on that was it. He didn't get off until it was time for me to leave.
About 4pm I decided I better get going. Said my goodbyes and was off for home. I decided to take the northern route back home. Head north back to Madras, then Hwy 26 past Mt. Hood to Oregon City to hit the I-5 slab. I've driven this way in a cage before, but first time from central Oregon to Mt. Hood. The desolution and rock formations just blow you away!! Deep narrow canyons with a creek somewhere far, far below. Flat top mesa's with rimrock lining the edges where they drop into the canyons. This is an area I definately need ride in some more. As I climb out of the canyons and into the flat lands the winds were really gusting. Around 20-30mph gusts from left to right was making it tough to keep the bike upright.
Finally I hit Cascades again and the winds are blocked. Temps cooled down nicely again. Stopped just east of Mt. Hood to fuel up. Had to wait several minutes for a group of squids in their full leathers fueling up. Once fueled up I'm headin' down the mountain. Hwy 26 is great!! Two lanes most of the way, so even with all the traffic I was able to keep a great pace. Got home at 7:30. The route home was 180miles for a total of 340+ miles today.
Gee, I wonder where I'll end up tomorrow.
Here is a map of my route.
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