it starts out impressive, a few miles of switchbacks as you increase in elevation. Soon you are at the top and you transverse miles of flat farmland
(BlueKat with her photogenic Ninja)
We noticed a barn in the background and stopped for a photo break. The speed limit is 55 mph and we were tired of following a car which was creeping along at 30 mph. We had passed him several times and when we stopped this time, he passed us again . He was the snail and we, the hare. But slow and steady wins the race so he was now in front again .
I looked at Ron and asked him to give me a cool pose "man", and he countered right away as if by instinct he knew what a cool look looked like
I had heard so much about this road but so far it was just a straight ribbon of asphalt taking us to the outskirts of Hell's Canyon and miles out of our way, I mean, we could have taken another straight road to get to our temporary home down in John Day, OR . We knew that this was going to be our longest day
After about an hour of straight boring riding we started to notice the terrain changing and we were now approaching a canyon
There are not many places to pull over. Ron and Kari overshot the gravel shoulder and ended up at the 2nd curve ahead and waited for me
Soon I caught up with them. We decided early on that if anyone saw a photo opp then just stop and the group will wait at the next crossroads, or turn around.
the scenery was just stunning, and we were gloating at the sight of the road ahead
Notice that the roads also seem to be cambered especially for us
It was so nice to be able to stop and breathe in this view, but since we had a long ride ahead of us we had to get on our way
another click and we are off . . .
soon we cross into Oregon
We decide to minimize our stops as we were getting behind and had to cover some miles. This eventually turned into an 11-1/2 hour day arriving in John Day, OR just before 7:30pm, a mere half hour before the restaurant closed
