Hell's Canyon / Oxbow Crossing, Oregon

We finally made it to the end of SR39 and made a left turn at SR86 north to Oxbow crossing. The main road goes over a bridge to the East side of the Canyon and is paved all the way to the Hell's Canyon Dam approx 22 miles north, and is one hour ahead. How did we know that you had to cross a time zone. The jet boats leave from the dam and I am sure that many people get their times mixed up and arrive one hour too late. Of course we always take the road less travelled so we started out on the gravel road on the west side until we came to this . . .



I had actually been keeping a lookout for this beauty ever since I saw it on beemerchef's blog. I knew that I had to travel in his footsteps (or should I say, wheel tracks). We continued northward for a few miles and when I realized that this road was going nowhere except to the Hydro Station, we turned around and crossed the bridge into Idaho onto the paved road which snakes through the canyon.



It was a very warm day, for us anyway as we are used to rainy Vancouver weather. The water appeared very inviting and calm but as you look closer you will see the fast current going northward (uphill actually).



I must say that the scenery is just picture perfect. There were lots of pleasure craft on the water, people just enjoying nature and the good weather.



It is just a beautiful twisty road just made for motorcycles. There is little traffic nor any speed enforcement that we have noticed. Actually in the fours hours it took us to get here from Enterprise we have only seen a handful of vehicles. Up until this point in our travels I think that the road from Enterprise, OR to Halfway is one of the best motorcycle roads I have seen.



We spent a lot of time stopping at all the pull outs and just enjoying nature's beauty. The road just snakes, more or less at water's edge and you get to enjoy many vantage points.



and of course, Oregon has the best motorcycle roads around. You just have to experience it for yourself. Note to myself: I'm going to have to ride my bike down here some day real soon.