Greetings friends, I hope you are doing great!

Yours truly along the Clearwater River in the mountains of Idaho.

I'll start with the "other stuff" first, which is about my likely last multi-day motorbike ride of 2023 as the inclement Fall weather arrives - which officially signals the start of the indoor audio season! 

For those interested in audio only you can scroll down the page past the motorbike adventures and click on the link for the 2nd page that goes to the first page of the audio adventures. 

I really enjoy going out exploring on my BMW R1250 GS Adventure motorbike. I didn't get as much riding in this summer as I would have liked, due to a number of factors.

With the inclement weather of Fall rolling in, I was determined to get in one last multi-day ride through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. 

I have a goal of exploring small town USA in the Pacific Northwest, and I've managed to visit quite a few little rural villages over the last couple of years. 

These small Pacific Northwest towns remind me of the small town USA I knew as a kid, five or six decades ago.

Some of them are vibrant with a lot of community spirit, and others have seen hard times, with the disappointment and desperation etched in the locals' faces. 

A lot of rural USA is on the ropes financially due to large multinationals taking over the sectors that Mom & Pop operations used to serve, and that used to keep those small towns prosperous. Fast food chains replaced many local restaurants. Walmart decimated small town hardware stores, grocery stores, and the like. Lumber mills are mostly closed down now compared to way back when, which supported a lot of locals, and so forth. 

My route took me through Hermiston, Weston, Tollgate, Enterprise (all in OR), Asotin WA, Lewiston ID, Kamiah ID, and finally Pomeroy, Dayton, and Waitsburg on the way home (all in WA).

To start my adventure I rode from Hermiston to Enterprise OR on 204 / 82 (above), which goes through some really beautiful country.

Oregon 204 / 82 from Tollgate to Enterprise was a spectacular ride winding through the Wallowa Mountains. 

I saw lots of wildlife along the way. A coyote running across a field away from me outside of Athena, lots of wild turkeys alongside the road near Tollgate, along with a few deer, and a lone pheasant.

Before Enterprise there was a big logging mill, and it reminded me of the mills in the Pacific Northwest that supported a lot of small town workers in times past, but most mills are now long gone. 

There was also a cattle ranch that had a herd of Texas Longhorn cattle - an impressive sight. 

Downtown in Enterprise, OR. A nice little Pacific Northwest village nestled in the Wallowa Mountains.

I stayed the night in Enterprise at the Ponderosa Motel, an old rustic log cabin style motel.  

After I arrived in town, checked in, and changed clothes, I went for a walk around town to stretch my legs, and looked for somewhere to eat dinner. 

I came across the Range Rider, a cowboy themed bar & grill, and went in to check it out.

The Range Rider was suitably rustic, with all kinds of horse saddles and cowboy hats, and other paraphernalia decorating the interior.   

I found a table and ordered a local draft craft beer to try.

The local craft beer was very tasty!

After looking over the menu I decided to order a cheeseburger, which is always a safe bet in rural bars & grills.

After dinner I went for a walk around town, and then settled in for the night.

When I got up in the morning it was a frosty 23F. The weather forecast had been moderate for my route, but that changed, and on Friday the 13th (of course) there was an atypical cold snap in Enterprise OR that caught me by surprise. I was glad I had my cold weather riding clothes with me.

I waited until checkout at 10AM to leave, when it had warmed up to a balmy 42F. 

The ride from Enterprise OR to Asotin WA (above, OR 3 / WA 129) was an equally amazing road winding through the mountains that had steep drop-offs along the roadsides.

I got that same feeling riding I get when standing next to a cliff - the willies!

There were a lot of 20 mph curves and they were accurately marked. This was a road where it was advisable to stick to the speed limits. 

These narrow two lane state highways can be dicey at times to ride due to narrow or no road shoulders for runoff room. 

Whenever there is a scenic pullout I like to stop for photos, but they are few and far between.

The Joseph Canyon viewpoint was resplendent with multiple beautiful views (above, below).

After enjoying the views I journeyed on. I didn't get any photos, but Asotin, WA, was a cool little village. Vibrant with life. It looked like 1950s USA.  

I stopped at a town park to stretch my legs, and a youngster on a vintage Whizzer motorbike stopped to talk to me. "Want to race!" he said, as he zoomed out of the park in cloud of blue smoke. 

SR 12 from Lewiston ID to Kamiah ID (above) along the Clearwater River was another spectacular ride winding through the forested mountains.

There were lots of fisherman in boats out on the Clearwater River. 

A rest stop along the Clearwater River in Idaho on SR 12.

I came across more wildlife on the ride, with wild turkeys, pheasants, deer, and Bigfoot (near Orofino, ID).

Then after I arrived in Kamiah ID I checked in at the Clearwater 12 (above), changed into street clothes, and went for a walk around town.

I saw the Kamiah Hotel Bar & Grill and went inside to check it out.  

Inside it was a classic old bar & grill, with friendly drunks lined up at the bar.  I found a table by the window and sat down to check out the menu.

The waitress brought over a single dice and told me if I rolled the dice and got a "1" the beer was $1, and if I rolled a "6" it was 50% off. Every other face of the dice was $5 for a beer.

They had a seasonal craft Octoberfest beer on tap that was very tasty! 🥳

I rolled a "1" on the first beer, and on the second beer a "6". My Friday the 13th turned out to be lucky after all! 

After looking at the menu I ordered a Kamiah burger, which had two 1/3 pound patties, ham, two kinds of cheese, and was formidable! I wasn't able to get through the whole burger but it was very tasty.

It started raining hard in the morning, so I waited for it to clear while I had breakfast at the Clearwater 12. They had a nice breakfast for free. Scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, sausage, waffles, and lots of other stuff.

I was planning on riding Lolo Pass into MT but had to cancel due to the inclement weather on the route, and decided to head for home instead.

When the rain stopped I uncovered the bike and made for home along the Clearwater River into Eastern Washington, through Pomeroy, Dayton, and Waitsburg.

The ride towards home was wet for the first 60 miles or so, then cleared up with temperatures in the 60Fs.

Altogether a great ride with lots of beautiful scenery winding through the mountains!