Riding, Geocaching and Exploring . . . .

There are three State Parks in a short distance of each other along the ocean and it was now time to look for the cache in this park.




I’'ve been here before. It was during an ADV event called Wetfest Recon. It was a follow up weekend after a good Wetfest weekend. The downside is after breakfast while riding with a group, doing an easy ride, a young man on a sport bike didn'’t make a corner and crashed. I was right behind him and watching someone wreck is un-nerving. He broke his collar-bone but was basically OK. Sigh….

Back to more pleasant thoughts and finding that cache.




Oh, that’'s right I’'m supposed to be looking for a cache not playing with birds. The cache is over there near or on the jetty.



I looked for the cache


And looked




And looked, I spotted surfers but no cache


And looked


And never did find that little bugger so I have to return.
There was another park to find a cache in but first to check out a few of the backroads.

Dry cranberry bog


These bogs will look much different this fall when the cranberries are on.


I made my way to the next park


Once I got there I saw it was a distance to the cache. I thought about it and decided since I need to return to the area anyway I would save this one to look for it at the same time.

I hit the main road then I-5 headed for the next state-park. Sculptures along the interstate.


I must have been getting tired since I didn'’t take any more pictures that day. I slept well, was rested and ready to head home the next morning.

Hi Shesaid

Thanks for popping in, saying hi and telling us the story about your uncle. He sounds like a very dedicated man and it is so sad that he passed away much too young.

Yes, geocaching is a lot of fun. Those silly useless treasures can take you to some mighty cool places. For me, that's the real treasure.

Saturday July 13, 2013

As you follow this on-going report you will rapidly learn that while I love motorcycles and riding I'm mechanically inept. Always have been and it looks like I always will be. Growing up the "tool box" in our home consisted of a pair of pliers, a tack hammer and a phillips head screwdriver. If a flat head screwdriver was needed it was right there in the kitchen drawer most commonly used as a butter knife. Learning to use tools didn'’t happen, much less learning anything mechanical other than how to change the tire on my first car. Crap, it takes me 30 minutes to figure out which socket fits what when I do try to do something on my bike. Meanwhile I watch other people look at a bolt and reach over and grab the right socket every time.

With that bit of an explanation you’ll have a little bit of an understanding as I tell you about my decision to go home on the 3rd day of this ride rather than staying out for another day when I still had time off work. My clutch lever had started sticking. When I would let it out the lever wouldn’'t go back all the way out and I would have to push it the rest of the way out. I looked at the cable, where it attaches to the lever, and it didn’'t look frayed so I suspected the cable was gummed up a bit. I had no idea why it would be but that was all I could think of. I decided I should head for home rather than staying out longer.

There is a cache at the Seaquest State Park that needs to be found for the challenge I'’m doing but I couldn’'t figure out how to get to it and I wasn’'t into looking so I decided to get headed toward home instead of looking any further. I was in a funky mood.

I headed North on I-5 but luckily I didn'’t have to stay on the interstate very long and I exited onto Hwy 12. My plan was to ride this highway on my way home because no matter how many times I have ridden it I always enjoy the ride. There is a restaurant on highway 12 right after leaving the interstate and I decided breakfast and a hot cup of coffee sounded like just what I needed.

These stickers were pretty interesting. Inside I kept looking around trying to determine who was driving that vehicle. I didn'’t figure it out.


After breakfast I wasn’'t feeling as funky and was looking forward to the day’'s ride. As I rode east I started thinking that it would be fun to ride up to Windy Ridge (A Mt. St. Helen’s viewpoint). I was thinking about my clutch cable, the need to go home, and the desire to ride to up and look at the exploding mountain. The closer I got to the turn off the more I wanted to go. When I arrived in Randle, WA my motorcycle turned and headed for the mountain.




Mt. St. Helens is a Pacific Northwest volcano that decided to blow up in 1980. Anyone that was around that day remembers it. I was around and I remember that day very well even though I was about 200 miles away, as the crow flies. At the time I worked a graveyard shift and slept during the day so when the mountain blew I was asleep. When I got up for the day it was sort of gray outside but I didn’'t think anything of it, figuring the sky was just overcast. I went to the store and while I was in the store ash started to fall. I had no idea the mountain had blown until people in the store said Mt. St Helens blew. The ash fall got heavier and heavier and the sky kept getting darker until it looked like midnight at 4:00 pm.

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For a few weeks it felt like we would never see the sunshine again. Vehicles were parked because sucking in the ash clogged the air filters and killed engines. Emergency vehicles, for the most part, were also parked. The police cars would go to the garage between each shift to have the oil, oil filter and air filters changed just to keep them running. Walking outside was a walk through about 12" of fine volcanic ash. The ash piled on roofs and clogged gutters. People were trying to clean the ash and dispose of it. The hospitals were full with people having breathing problems. Meanwhile others were wearing masks when they would go outside. Some people collected jars of ash to keep. I didn'’t. I just wanted that nasty, dirty, stuff to go away. Some said I would one day regret not having a jar of the "keepsake" I said I doubt it. All these years later I still don’'t regret not having a jar of ash.

A couple of years after the eruption the road to Windy Ridge opened. When it opened like many others I headed out to see what happened, first hand. WOW – I still remember that first ride up toward Windy Ridge. At the time only a short ways was paved the rest of the road was fairly rough dirt/gravel. Most people didn’'t go beyond the end of the pavement. At the time I rode a street bike but I rode that nasty (it would be easy on a dual sport bike) rode so I could get as close as possible. The most memorable thing for me was riding through a lush forest then I rounded a curve and BAM! No more lush forest, instead there was the remains of stripped trees, trees blown down, and blackened ground cover. It was like going into a different world.

At least every few years I ride up to Windy Ridge just to see how things are changing and watch mother nature heal her world.


As I was riding along and still quite a distance from Windy Ridge I saw a "Slide Area" sign and thought, "I don’'t remember that". Then I saw this.


Hmmmm that looks different

This is new






I stopped at a viewpoint with a ranger station at it so I could get my day pass.


And look at the information signs. Every year more and more is added for tourist enjoyment.


From there it was to the Miner’s Car. The first time I saw it, there was a lot more to it however it had been stripped of all it’s paint. Sadly three people had signed a waiver to go into the "blue zone" knowing there was the threat that the mountain would erupt. They had gone to a cabin in that car and all three died there. The cabin was disintegrated, the car was lifted and dropped 60 feet away, where it rests now.






As I said more and more things are being added for the enjoyment of the tourists. A walking path and boardwalk over wetlands has been added to the Miner Car viewpoint so I decided to go for a walk. Come take a walk with me and enjoy the scenery.
















I have places to go




And there she is, the mountain. You can still see the crater on the North side of the mountain. Still at times steam will rise from the crater but it wasn'’t doing it this time.


The road is fun to ride




Stopped at another viewpoint


There is a great view of Spirit Lake here.


The white on the lake is the logs that were blown into the lake when the mountain erupted. The elevation of the lake rose when it was filled with mud sliding off Mt. St. Helens.

From there it was on to the end of the road and the Windy Ridge Viewpoint.




And more views, other mountains were showing that day as well. I think this one is Adams (?)




This lady was getting a shot of her dog with Mt. St. Helens in the background.


Toutle River






I don’'t know who this guy is but I sure like the picture of the bike in front of the mountain.


I went and listened to the Ranger give her talk about the eruption of Mt St Helens and the things that have happened in the area since. She did a good job and she made the information very interesting.


During the presentation there was about a dozen cruisers that decided to leave the parking lot. The majority of them started their bikes and quietly left from the far side of the parking lot. Meanwhile there were three rides that chose to ride over next to the presentation area and reved up their bikes as they rode by. Hmmmmmm I wonder why some people don’'t like cruiser riders? Those three made the entire group look rude and obnoxious.

Time to wrap this ride up and make my way home……

During the presentation about the eruption of Mt. St. Helens the ranger talked about many things and one of those things was how the blast turned the trees into compass needles pointed north. Here’s some of those compass needles on the hillside.



In 1980 that hillside was stripped clear of standing trees now trees are returning but yet the fallen trees are still there reminding us what happened all those years ago.


Don'’t forget to stop and enjoy the flowers, they are very nice this time of year.


Time to go home


Where I was


Almost to Naches, WA on Hwy 12


It was getting late and time to make miles so I could get home before dark. As much as it didn'’t thrill me I was riding the interstate the rest of the way home.


Not long and I was feeling tired and I needed to be rejuvenated plus my bike needed fuel. A stop in George, WA would do the trick. It looks like a few other people needed a fuel stop too.


The soldiers were picking up munchies in the convenience store and were very polite.

My dinner - not all that great but it did the trick.


There were a couple tables behind the gas station/store so I took a break, had dinner and enjoyed the beautiful early evening.

The tables were made by the Job Corps.


Leaving George I was entertained by the signs with the crop names along the interstate.




I like the crop names out there so I know what I'’m looking at. I wish all farmers would do this. It’'s about a 20 mile stretch where this is done. In the winter these same fields have holiday decoration displayed and they have been there for years. The displays are lit at night and I think they used to be powered by car batteries but now by solar panels. It’s pretty cool at any rate. Someone is dedicated.

This stretch of I-90 I have been traveling since I was 16 when I first started driving. I don't have even a close estimate of how many times I have driven/ridden it but I'm sure it's well into the hundreds. I'’m always looking to see if I can spot something I that I haven't noticed before. Sometimes I do, most times not.

I got bored and started to play with my shadow.


Uh oh, shadow better stop screwing around or it’s going to get ran over.


Just a few miles out of Spokane the sun set and for a few brief moments it as very pretty.


At home I was tired and too lazy to put my bike away so I parked the bike in the back yard to deal with in the morning.

The stats


Remember I was worried about my clutch cable? Needless to say I got home fine. The next day after unpacking the bike as I was pushing it into the garage I was at the perfect angle and I could see what was wrong with the clutch lever and why I had to push the lever back when I would let go of it. The hand-guard had worked it’s way down just a little and was rubbing on top of the clutch lever. Sheeshhhhh - - - At least it was an easy fix.

Next up: A Superbug ride with two other gals headed for a ladies ride and campout in Tygh Valley, OR.

So, you were one of the people that helped clean up the ash one jar at a time? I think more people have misplaced/lost their jars of ash than ones that still have them.

You're right it has changed up there but at the same time there is still a lot that's close to the same like all those logs in Spirit Lake, the trees laying on the ground pointed North and the mud flow of the Toutle River.

If you get a chance go up there again, it's always changing and always interesting.

Thanks. I'm glad you popped in to see what's going on.

Shooby, thanks for helping the park service make the views accessible to more people. I think everyone should go to both Windy and Johnson to see what it's all about. While Windy Ridge is my favorite both are must sees.

Hi redog1 Nice to see you are still following along.


Hi Sam It's always good to see you. Compared to me you are zipping along on this ride: http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=917071 but have slowed down compared to your normal pace. There are flowers out there waiting for you to enjoy Now about those trees, believe it or not many times if you are riding slow enough you can see in between them.

I like those quotes you shared. Thanks

In January MustangShelly posted an invitation to the lady riders in ADVland to join her for the 2013_PNW_Ladies_Adventure_Ride July 26-28. That sounded like fun and a good way to meet other lady riders. There aren'’t a lot of women riders out there and even less that ride dual sport. While I enjoy my guy friends it’s nice to have other gals to hang out with too.


Once I determined I could make this ride I invited Rainbow007 to join in for the fun and she was on board. Remember back at Hells Canyon one of our friends showed up and surprised us? Lee from Montana who is now MTLee6 on ADV was also invited to join Rainbow and I for this little adventure and a plan was in place.

Introducing Rainbow007 in the lead with MTLee following


I’ll leave you with this as I work on writing up the story about our Ladies Ride.
www.youtube.com/embed/0_TmLhtKZ6I

With all my rides I have everything planned out, I’m a planner and always feel better having a plan in place before I leave home. Also with my plans I always plan a lot more than I can reasonably do in the allotted time so the plans are subject to change. Rainbow007 and MTLee6 don'’t care how crazy I get with the planning they just happily follow along, laughing at me a bit, and having fun doing it.

The plan was to head out Friday morning and meet the rest of the gals in Tygh Valley, OR at camp that evening and go from there. The ride MustangShelly had planned would be along Barlow Road, which I have wanted to do for a while but I haven'’t gotten around to riding it and I was really looking forward to this.

The route I had planned for the four days we had ahead of us:

For a Ladies Ride pink routes are appropriate. Right?

Day 1 Friday July 26, 2013

Rainbow007 and MTLee6 met me at the gas station, we fueled up and they were all smiles and ready to ride.


You never know what you'll find out on the backroads in farm country.
A caterpillar on a stick?


A little blurry but it shows we did fine with getting an early start and we were already in the Rock Lake area.


As I was riding by Rock Lake I was thinking about how a few months before some of the Spokane/Couer d'’ Alene riders were talking about a fall ride out at Rock Lake but we didn’'t follow through with the plans. We really need to do that because there are some interesting features out there that needs to be exploring but for now we’re riding farm country to get where we’re going.

Why are there arrows on the road pointing the opposite direction of the lane travel?


Riding a road I haven’'t been on before was fun. I always like seeing new things.


In an area that seems to be flat and straight on the map and from the Interstates/Highways there are some very fun twists, turn, ups and downs. Hidden gems out there in the Lower_Channeled_Scablands that most people don'’t see.




We found the south end of Rock_Lake, which of course wasn'’t hard to find, since we were on the road that skirts it.


We rode a little bit of nice fresh pavement.


Found a road that looked promising and the moon was still out. What the heck? It should be down by now. Oh well, it’s the moon it can do whatever it wants to do.


When I spotted this driveway I had to stop and check it out.


Rainbow007 and MTLee6 still have big smiles.


A closer look at the "welcome" to this ranch.


I'’ll pass on going in for a visit, they don'’t appear very friendly although they do have a sense of humor.


Seeing these people out working made me smile because I wasn'’t working.


The post office/general store in Benge,_WA


I led Rainbow007 and MTLee6 to where a geocache is located. It’s one I'’ve found before so I was able to just sit back and watch them look for it.


Rainbow007 was hot after that geocache.


MTLee6 spotted the cache and Rainbow007 played monkey and went after it.


Cache retrived.


Log signed


And the cache was returned to it’s hiding place.


The old water tower is still in use.


You probably can’t tell it in this picture but the pipe coming out of the tower and the hose hanging down are new. Fill ‘em up? OK maybe not.


MTLee6 has picked up some habits from me already. Rainbow007 and I are ready to ride but MTLee is taking pictures. I love it, she has learned well and rapidly. Wahooooo!


We were moving again.


After crossing the Columbia River (I missed getting that picture) we stopped at the Vernita_Bridge Rest Stop for a rest and a cache.


MTLee6 and I were wandering around trying to figure out where the cache was but inquisitive Rainbow007 saw the wire sticking out of the post and said "hmmmm what’s this?" and pulled it up. At the end of the wire was a tiny geocache only big enough for a small rolled up log to sign. Some people are so clever with their hides.


We filled up our water containers, had a snack and MTLee6 fueled up her bike. During this trip her bike only had about an 80-mile range as the bigger tank she had bought wasn'’t installed yet. Sometimes gas stations are few and far between when you are playing on the back roads.

Of course I had to take pictures for my own amusement.




The ride was in July and this particular weekend was hot, hot, hot,…… we were headed toward Sunnyside, WA which is one of the hotter towns in WA during the summer. We stopped in Sunnyside for fuel and we were all dripping with sweat but still having fun although we didn’'t screw around as we wanted to get moving again with the hopes that as we climbed up out of the valley to Bickleton it would get cooler. We deliberately didn’'t look at or for temperature signs as we passed through because we figured what we didn’'t know wouldn’'t melt us into a puddle.

As the road climbed out of the valley the temperature did drop and the cooler air was so welcome even though it was still very hot. I think I will leave you here sweating for a bit but I will be back to tell you more……