Is it Desert or Dessert? All the same in Oregon!

A short stint of gravel then it’s back up into the twisty trails. Some corners were somewhat technical and required momentum otherwise you would sink in the moon dust.

I find a nice spot to stop for a picture on the downhill switch backs and wait for the group to catch up.



Looking uphill.



Downhill.



I wait for much longer than I think I should. The last intersection wasn’t that far back when I saw Todd.

I wait and wait.

Finally able to connect with Dave on the radio (25 mile range radios in the mountains can be reduced to a half a mile or less). He’s a couple miles behind me and tells me a couple riders took a wrong turn somewhere.

Todd finally shows up.



Turns out he had missed a turn that I thought he saw me make. My bad. I should have had confirmation (hand wave, head nod) before continuing.

Back on track we drop down to a connector road. It’s after 11 already and we need to turn back and head toward Silver Lake. Not enough time to finish the rest of the 40 miles of wide track. Next time.

We turn north, cross the Rogue River and follow a single track along National Creek. Fun, fast riding. Here are several video clips.



















The trail opens up and we blast through the forest roads.







And stop to take a break by Lake West.





This is where Dave discovers he has a stick in the radiator fan of the KLR. Gear to run the fan is toasted so the motor continued to run without actually cooling the motor.



That doesn’t stop the mighty KLR so we motor on.

Heading northeast we cross highway 230 with a view of Mt. Thielsen in the distance.



And up close.



A few miles more and it’s lunch time at South Shore Pizza.

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Thanks man!

Nice write up. Looks like fun. Wish I were there now!

THANKS!

I wish I were there too!

South Shore Pizza is located, well, on the south shore of Diamond Lake. Heard lots of great things about it but have never had time to stop…until today. I think the owners were pretty excited to see us all roll in.



Bought a bunch of pizzas and some potato things and ate down by the water.







Lake pics.





After lunch we have about 85 miles to cover to make it to Silver Lake. Should be fairly fast riding as we are on old logging and service roads for the most part.



We meet up with Don and the chase truck to refuel a couple of the bikes with short range.



Crossing Highway 97 we head west toward Silver Lake until we run into this.





We make a slight detour and motor on into Silver Lake. We made such good time we actually beat the chase truck there.



So, we head to the bar to wait for him.







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Good buddies, good times in some great countryside. Thanks for sharing.

Nice! Your photos are getting better every ride!

For sure and you're welcome!

Thanks man! They say "quality" comes out of "quantity" but I'm not sure about that. I just try to copy what I see from guys that know what they are doing like you and Park! More like a "fake it 'til you make it" sort of philosophy!!!

Thanks for taking the time to share your rides and photos, I have enjoyed them all!

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Thank you!

I am notoriously slow at posting RRs. The day job gets in the way. But at least my pictures are marginal! More to come...

Maybe slow posting ride reports, but is quick at helping out an inmate. Humunn, thanks again for the bike recovery. Enjoying the report.

How are you doing? Back on that beauty of a bike of yours yet?

That bike was Craigs, he is doing great and gone through at least six bikes since then. He misses the Super Enduro, even though it tried to kill him. :eek1

That was a NICE bike. Looked good in the back of my truck. I still have a picture of it. Would have liked to keep it for myself!!!

Speaking of Super Es, have you seen the video in this thread?

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=845663

A beer or two later chase truck Don shows up. I knew we made good time but was a little surprised how good. We meet up at what we call the “Deerhorn Lodge” which isn’t really its name but just what we call it, for obvious reasons.



And it sounded better than calling it this. :eek1



The Deerhorn has been in the same family for years. There’s a log book that people have made entries for years…going back to the 70s. Used mostly as a hunting lodge it is interesting to read. One night on a moto trip a few years back I met the owner. We struck up a friendship and she offered us the lodge for future trips. The place has a ton of character and is perfect for group gatherings.



Corralling the bikes.



Dave and Don checking out the year round Christmas lights.



Happy hour.





We jump in the high desert redneck taxi for a ride to the almost world famous Cowboy Dinner Tree for dinner.





Erik catching a snooze?



Arriving at the Tree.



Place is packed!



Food is awesome. Knowing the monster meat steak is on its way it is hard to pace ones self when it is all sooooo good.



Some of the best steak you will ever eat.













Integrated attire based meat scrap carrying device.



Not sure how it happened but Kiwi James was nominated as the birthday boy. No, it wasn’t his birthday.



Post meat fest and pre food induced coma, everyone is a bit giddy and having fun dangling their meat bags on others shoulders…LOL. :ymca



Ride back. Laughed most the way!





Then headed to the bar to see what kind of shenanigans were going on or we could start.





Then of course we had to beat the birthday theme drum again. Good thing KJ was a good sport.



Completely whooped from the day, Bad Cowboy crashes early. Check out the curtains, couch fabric and carpet. Classic 1960s! Felt like grandma’s front room!



Up tomorrow, a climb to the top of Table Rock…

Sunday morning at the Deerhorn just kinda hanging out. KJ reviewing the guest log book that goes back to the 1970s.



Egg/steak mash for burritos.





Today’s plan is a 150 mile ride heading north after we take a jog to the east and climb to the top of Table Rock.

Table Rock in the distance.



Saddling up.



Loading the chase truck.



A few miles of slab until we are able to hit the dirt again and take the spiral road that circles the outside of the rock all the way to the top. Last time I was here was back in 2008 in a Jeep Wrangler.

Arriving at the top.



The top of Table Rock sits 1,300 feet above the valley floor below.

An incredible picture spot!









We couldn’t convince Erik to take a peek over the edge! “No way”, he says. “I’m good right here in the middle.”





Panoramic video. It is big country here!



On the way down we stop for pics.









On the way down we follow a few trails to see where they go. All that we tried were once trails, but now dead ended into private property or fences. But, we had fun exploring!



Looking back up at Table Rock.



From here we continue north to meet Don in Fort Rock for lunch and fuel. A lot of it was boring slab but we found some old two track that took us through the pucker brush. Arriving at Fort Rock.





Lunch spot.





Fort Rock in the background.



From here we continue north into East Fort Rock.

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