After fueling up and a java stop at my favorite Espresso stand, we enjoyed a nice but short ride along the Tacoma Waterfront (Ruston Way). Since we had allot of distance to travel we took the get to Oregon quickly approach. This meant a ride up I-5 (Uhg!) To my surprise it really wasn't that bad once past Olympia and we did get there quickly. Our first stop was at a fuel station just prior to Hyw 205 near Oregon. This was a special moment for me as my 2007 Goldwing's odometer finally rolled past the 10,000 mile mark. After 10,000 miles I still believe I couldn't have picked a better bike to suite my riding needs. Today's long day ride only re-affirmed this.

After topping off our tanks we made our way up highway 205 and on to I-84 where we were treated to a spectacular view of MT. Hood. The temperature was really warming up and I was jazzed to get to the falls. If you haven't been to the the falls they are nothing short of amazing. There are three water falls close in vicinity and all three are right off the road. Interstate 84 took us about 20 miles to our exit on to the Historic Columbia River Highway. This is a gorgeous road that winds along the Oregon side of the Gorge under the canopy of shade trees. We couldn't have asked for a better road as it's shade and mist from the falls really helped us stay cool. We stopped at Wahkeena Falls as it was the first of the three. Wahkeena Falls is a tall waterfall that is tucked back in the hill side and dumps into a steam that runs under the road. Although its tucked back a bit you still have a great view and the steam is nice as well. A short distance up the road we made our second stop at Horsetail Falls. This waterfall is very tall and dumps into a pool very close to the road. There is a considerable amount of water flowing and the mist kicking up in the wind was exactly what we needed as the temperature was climbing. As we moved on, our final waterfalls stop was Multnomah Falls. This is the second tallest year round waterfall in the United States. That alone makes this ride unique. If you wish to get up close and personal, there is a view point bridge above the lower falls. Multnomah Falls is also a good place to get some food. There is a restaurant in the main visitor center but we decided to do this the right way and eat a 1/4 dog from the snack bar. Not bad at all!

As we left Multnomah Falls the temperature had gone up even more and was in the 90's. The historic Columbia River Highway took us another 4.3 miles under the shade trees to the on ramp to I-84. From here on we were in for Blue skies and the heat of the sun. Once on I84 we rode parallel to the Columbia River for 69 miles. The thermometer on my Goldwing was showing 99 degrees as we rode next to the Canyon walls. From time to time we would get closer to the water and enjoy a cooler breeze but the wind was not in our favor. I'm sure riders that were riding Highway 14 on the opposite side were nice and cool. The terrain really changed as we rode East. The plain life took on light brown and grey colors and the rocks became red to brown in color. We stopped to fuel up on the Oregon side right at the Highway 97 junction. There was a method to our madness. Gas is about 25 cents less per gallon in Oregon. Washington's politicians need to back of on the taxes! We enjoyed a brief rest and I consumed an ice cold Peppsi.

With only 248 miles under our belts we were eager to push on. I enjoyed the breeze while crossing over the Columbia River into Washington. It was short lived and soon we were riding through desert like country. Earlier I chose to remove the First Gear mesh ride jacket in the hopes that I would stay a bit cooler. This was a really bad move on my part as it was 78 miles to Yakima across desert like country and the temperature was 95 degrees. As we approached the half way point my forearms were taking on a nice red color. The land out in this area was barren but was beautiful. As we made our way to Yakima we past a couple areas that fell victim to fires.  By the time we made it to Yakima my arms were a nice red glow and really began to sting. We departed  Hyw 97 and dropped in to Yakima for a food stop at Miner's Drive-In. This is one of my favorite burger stops and detail may be found on my Best Burgers page. What better way to beat the heat then down a Chocolate Malt with my Big Miner burger. As always the food was great. As we finished up and headed out the doors we were blasted in the face with extreme heat. It had to be in the upper 90's in Yakima as we headed back toward highway 97. Once on 97 it was a short 6.5 miles to the highway 12 junction. High way 12 is one of my favorites. It was 35.8 miles of nice winding roads leading up to Rimrock Lake and paralleling the Tieton River. We stopped at Rimrock Lake for some photos and proceeded on for another 27 miles that took us up over White Pass and to the highway 123 (Cayuse Pass) junction. If you have a smaller tank and did not fuel up in Yakima I would make a left at the hyw 123 junction as there is a fuel station not far up Hyw 123 in the opposite direction. If you don't, there is no fuel until Enumclaw. The fuel station in Greenwater is no longer open. The ride through Cayuse Pass was 16 miles of just cool road. Nice winding road going up in elevation with numerous roadside falls and great views of the East side of MT. Rainier. And finally the temperature dropped to a nice cool 71 degrees! My arms still felt like 98 degrees but the rest of me enjoyed the cooler temps. Soon we left the MT Rainier National park and were heading west on Hyw 410. It was about 23 miles to Greenwater where I thought we could fuel up but as I stated earlier, this was not the case. We made a brief stop at the Greenwater Grocer to let some blood flow to our backside.

Hyw 410 took us along the white river and 18 miles into Enumclaw. The ride down into Enumclaw is a pungent one. The local farmers have these giant sprinkler heads that shoot enormous streams of watery cow dung through the air and on to their pastures. This is just wrong! With the heat of the day the smell was far worse then I have ever experienced while riding through this area. Just Wrong! We fueled up in Enumclaw with 1/8th of a tank to spare. That was cutting it close. From here we parted ways as Lloyd rode on to Maple valley and I to Tacoma. This was a fantastic ride and I believe I will do it again but I will ride up Hyw 14 on the Washington side for the sole purpose of providing new content for this site. And now for some after sun aloe crème for my sunburn. 

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Tacoma , Washington  - United States (USA)