Going to the Sun - Day One

The Kat is out of the Bag

I guess it's no secret where Ron and I have been this past week. Out gadding about the countryside with fellow bloggers, Bobskoot from Wet Coast Scootin' and Dom of Redleg's Rides, and his family: Martha, Patrick, Miles and Richard, and Richard's friend from Norway, Jan. We will end up crossing off several things from our bucket list on this trip.

Bob knew that I wanted to ride Going to the Sun Highway, and since Ron now has a reliable bike to ride, he invited us to join him on a journey to Montana and Going to the Sun Highway, and to meet Dom and his family. Ron and I left Oregon on Sunday for a long day of riding. We'll put in over 400 miles before the day is through. Not a lot of mileage by most standards, but it's a record for us. We take the quick path up the I-5 freeway then cross over the Columbia River into Washington.

Windmills near Goldendale

This is only my second time driving the Washington side of the gorge. It's pretty in it's own way, and a fun road for a busy highway. We turn onto highway 97, the route to our first destination for the day: Yakima Canyon.

Kari riding through Yakima Canyon

 I first heard of this road on Bobskoot's blog. It was part of the route he and Sonja took to Bend last year, and I knew I had to go there someday. The weather was perfect, not too warm, and while there was some loose gravel in parts of the road, the ride was beautiful. One bucket list ride crossed off.

 After the canyon ride and a quick stop for lunch in Ellensburg, we head back to the freeway to slab it the rest of the way to our destination. One more stop recommended by Bobskoot, Wild Horse Monument. This is a viewpoint just off the I-90 near Vantage Washington with a stunning view and a wonderful sculpture. We had just ridden across the bridge pictured below. I'd heard of Wild Horse Monument, but couldn't find any information online as to it's location. I was pleased that Bob found it for us. If you're ambitious you can hike up to the sculptures. If you look close there are people walking around in the photo.

Vantage Bridge Viewpoint

Wild Horse Monument

We have a long, rather tiresome ride to our stop for the night. I forget how far it is across the eastern parts of Washington. We find Bobskoot waiting ever so patiently (like and hour and a half) for our arrival.

Home for the night

 We were happy to arrive in Ritzville, Washington for the evening. Must have been tired because we have no decent pics of our arrival in Ritzville.  Dinner was to be at Casuela's Mexican Restaurant.

Unfortunately we forgot to consider that small rural towns close up shop early on a slow Sunday evening. Dinner would be found at a diner down near the freeway. Our mexican meal would have to wait.
to be continued...