6 Day Motorcycle Trip to Tillamook, Oregon

June 18 – 23, 2009

For a while now, Craig and I have anticipating a motorcycle trip to the Oregon Coast to see his step dad John and Rea in Netarts, OR. Craig also needed to take a Supply Chain Management test in Portland during the month of June, so…..we decided this was the time! We would combine business with pleasure and take a leisure back roads trip on the motorcycles.

June 18, 2009 – Day 1

Stats: Boise to Prineville

Route: Boise to Ontario via I84, Highway 26 through Vale, Unity, John Day, Prineville

Miles: 302 miles

Time: 5 ½ hours

We left Boise about 3:00pm this day (Craig had to work until then) and our destination was Prineville, OR to spend the night. We wanted to avoid the Interstate as much as possible, because you know….side roads that are windy are much more fun. The weather was GORGEOUS and perfect and the road was GREAT and a ton of fun! Holly only gets about 120 miles on a tank of gas and Craig gets about 250 on a tank. So we had to stop frequently for me to gas up and it was good to stretch the legs and go potty : )

Gas stop in Unity Gas stop in John Day

Somewhere between Unity and John Day – very pretty country

Outside our Best Western – Prineville hotel Hotel room

Of course we ended the evening with a dip in the pool and hot tub. NICE after a long day or riding.

June 19, 2009 – Day 2

Stats: Prineville to Portland

Route: Highway 26 through Madras, Government Camp, Sandy, then on 99E through Portland to our hotel.

Miles: 152 miles

Time: 4 hours

The day started out with great weather and got worse as we rode on. The temperatures were great, but we encountered some strong winds around the Madras area and then rain from Government Camp all the way into Portland. Luckily we pulled over early and donned our rain gear. At first the rain was just a few heavy cloud burst near the summits and then after Government Camp it was a steady drizzle all night long. It was great experience riding on the rain especially on windy roads. The roads themselves were in really good condition, but we were extra cautious with the wet roads and rain.

Somewhere along the route

Gas stop outside of Government Camp with our full rain gear on

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriot in the North Harbor area of Portland. Once we got settled and checked in, Craig studied for a few hours while Holly read a book curled up on the couch. The rain was constant, so it was nice to stay inside and let the clothes dry and air out. We did take the hotel shuttle to “Boomers” a KILLER BBQ joint Jantzen Beach.

Craig studying for his test tomorrow.

And once again……we ended the evening with a dip in the pool and hot tub.

June 20, 2009 – Day 3

Stats: Portland to Netarts

Route: I5 S, 405S, 26 W, Highway 6 into Tillamook, then Netarts

Miles: 80 miles

Time: 2 ½ hours

Today was the day of Craig’s Supply Chain Management test but he did not have to be at the University of Portland until 1:30 to begin the test at 2:00pm. We have a really good friend, Tim who lives in the Portland area so we hooked up with him in the morning for breakfast at a Greek restaurant in downtown Portland. Great food, conversation, and friends! After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to pack up and then off to the University for Craig’s test. It was scheduled for 4 hours, but Craig finished it in about 2. During the test, I sat outside in the hallway reading my book and enjoying the rain outside. We then hit the road and headed over to Netarts. Oh….did I mention that as soon as we loaded up the bikes to head to the University for the test….it started to rain : ) Yep – again! Pretty much rained the rest of the way into Netarts. Again……great experience riding in the rain!

Craig, Holly, and Tim in downtown Portland Tim and Craig

We rolled into Netarts and John and Rea’s place about 6:00 pm. They live in Seattle and are building a house near the beach in Netarts. They are doing most of the work themselves, so each time they come for a weekend, they have various projects on tap. We took some time checking out the beach house they are building and it is looking GREAT! They have made a ton of progress since the last time we saw it. It was very comfortable and we had all of the modern conveniences including chairs, beds, toilets and a GREAT shower! We were their first “official” house guests. After getting settled in, we headed for dinner at a local place called Schooner’s – good food!

We kept our bikes in the garage during our stay Front entry way and laundry area

Guest bedroom downstairs Guest bathroom Guest shower

Rea did all of the tile work in the house and did a FANTASTIC job on the shower. The colors and types of tile that she used are beautiful.

Stairs leading from basement to upper level Kitchen area with a ton of windows

Living area with a deck off the side and a whole wall of windows that look at out the Netarts Bay. They have a great view!

June 21, 2009 – Day 4

Stats: Netarts

Route: n/a

Miles: n/a

Time: n/a

Today was a fun play day for us all. John and Rea usually work on the house the entire time they come to Netarts, so they were glad for our visit and an excuse to NOT work and play. We decided to take a drive up the coast going north and since it was Father’s Day find a nice place to eat lunch.

The whole family (minus Henry who is downstairs)

The front of the house as we depart for the day and our adventures.

Our first stop was in Wheeler to hit the antique stores. And……we were in luck – they had a Crab Festival going on so we got to enjoy some wine tasting and fresh crab!

The skies were storming, but the rain held off most of the day. Rea, John and Holly hamming it up.

Craig’s turn to ham it up!

Bay area Fresh crab – YUMMMMM. We split one as an appetizer before lunch.

The wine tasting. We all bought a bottle of wine, Holly had a hard time picking her favorite to buy.

We headed into Manzanita for lunch at a good Mexican restaurant. After stuffing ourselves silly, we decided that we needed a walk on the beach. John and Rea know of a cool secluded area in a State Park that goes for miles on end. We had a great time hunting for rocks and running for cover during a brief rain.

Rea and Holly searching for the “elusive rock”

Craig perfecting his “rock skipping” techniques. Notice the “leg up” stance for better control : )

Craig and John found a broken clam digger, so they messed around with it a little.

Never ask this group to pose. Rea, Craig and John each picking their “favorite” position. Holly doing the same.

Awe…..some sweet “secretly captured snaps” of the two couples.

Sea lions on a sand bar right down the street from John and Rea’s house. They are within walking distance to the water and have great views.

Oh….I don’t have a picture of the best part. But……the day ended with a visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory for: Ice Cream, Fudge, Taffy, and Pepperoni’s. We were all pretty tired and still full from dinner so we had snacks for dinner and watched a movie. What a great way to end the day!

June 22, 2009 – Day 5

Stats: Netarts to Pendleton

Route: Highway 6, Highway 26, 405 N, I5 North back through Portland, connecting to Highway 14 on the Washington side through Cama, Hood River area, down 395, then 37 to drop into Pendleton the back way.

Miles: 330 miles (estimate)

Time: 8 hours and 9 minutes (estimate)

After a quick breakfast and visit with John and Donna (friends of John and Rea’s) we headed out to our destination for the day of Pendleton. Again…..no major roads and all back ones. We donned our rain gear because we knew we’d hit rain going from the coast over to Portland. And…..we did!

Once we got through the Portland area and onto Highway 14 on the Washington side, we stopped for gas, lunch and take off the rain gear. The weather was gorgeous. Lunch consisted of hotdogs and chips from the Shell station.

Craig eating lunch outside the Shell station.

We then proceeded along Highway 14, passing through at least 5-6 tunnels – kind of cool but kind of eerie also. Watched a few crazy kiteboarders and wind surfers around Hood River, made gas stops in Stevensons and Umatilla. Craig found a GREAT road to take from Umatilla into the backside of Pendleton, Highway 37. It was a small winding between some canyons at the beginning and at the end opened up into some large rolling hills. I felt like I was on a roller coaster.

We did not make a reservation in advance any place because thought….Pendleton…..Monday night…..uh huh…..There was a convention in town so it took us two tries to get a hotel. We stayed at the Super 8 off the freeway because…..price was right, pool, hottub and breakfast : ) We ate a GREAT restaurant in downtown Pendleton called “The Hut”. The food was GREAT, the service was friendly, and we enjoyed shooting the breeze with Norm the owner. As luck had it, we had motorcycle and Baja in common. With full happy tummies we retired back to the hotel for…..a swim and hottub! Can you tell there is a theme here?

June 23, 2009 – Day 6

Stats: Pendleton to Boise

Route: 395 S to Dale, Mount Veron and into John Day. Then 26 back through Prairie City, Vale, Nyssa, Parma, Caldwell, and into Boise on Chinden. Highway 26 turns into Chinden so it was a great route.

Miles: 315 miles

Time: 6 hours

We wanted to get an early start so we could take our time getting home and pick up Bailey that evening. She stayed with her Uncle Jay and Aunt Vicki during our trip. Okay……so the truth. FREE breakfast ended at 9:00am so we had to get up early enough to take advantage of that – hee…hee…

Outside our hotel getting ready to head home.

Our original plan was to take a small road and go through Ukiah, Sumpter and then back to Unity and the rest of the route. We turned off into Ukiah looking for gas….Holly again…..and the only station in town was closed because the owner was in Pendleton. So we back tracked 5 miles back onto 395 and rolled into Dale for the next gas stop. Cute little place.

Gas stop in Dale, Oregon

Once we got onto Highway 26, we made it into John Day for…..gas again and decided to head into Prairie City for lunch vs. John Day. On our way through the first time, Prairie City looked like a really cool little town to stop, so…..13 miles later we were sitting down at a local restaurant/bar. They had an incredible bar made in the late 1800’s and shipped over from Italy – great carvings!

Lunch in Prairie City, Oregon