Sunday 16 September 2012 Layton – Boise Idaho – Oregon – Yakima Washington - Home 850 miles

Sunday 16 September 2012  Layton – Boise Idaho – Oregon – Yakima Washington - Home 850 miles

Off we set at 0700, the sun not quite out of bed, but it was a clear, not so cold morning. As I rode north out of Layton on I84, the sun rose from behind the mountains, not too shabby a sight with some pink reflecting off of the clouds until it put its head above the mountains. 

Sunrise leaving  Layton

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Once I was clear of any city, the temperature dropped a fair bit, so I was glad of the fleece once again. Heading north towards Idaho, the scenery became just brown and parched. One felt sorry for any cattle trying to get some nutrients form the earth. I think the whole northwest has had a prolonged period without rain, Seattle certainly has, and it was much the same until about 40 miles from Twin Falls, where it suddenly switched to farmed fields, and agriculture. Obviously a case of irrigation from the Snake River complex. Past Twin Falls and on towards Boise the land resorted back to brown and dry. About 30 miles from Boise the air became very hazy to the west, more like smoke haze, and judging by the burnt areas along the highway, some serious bush fires had occurred. Zipping through Boise, and into northeast Oregon. It was now an area of brown mountains, and it was hard to imagine them being covered in snow during the winter. 

Brown Blue  Mountains of Oregon

 

Traffic was very light, I was surprised seeing as it was a Sunday, I expected more holiday type traffic. Many bikes were heading south, so I assumed a meet had occurred in the area. After a short while in Oregon, I picked up my hour for entering the Pacific Time Zone. Coming down from the brown Blue Mountains, I branched off onto I82, and across the Columbia River into Washington State.

Crossing the Columbia River:

 

As I rode towards Yakima, I could see the thick orange/brown haze to the west, caused by all the wild fires in eastern Washington; it was blocking the sun at times. I was making really good time, and Yakima was the point of stay or ride on. It was an easy decision, as I had plenty of time to make Snoqualmie Pass in daylight. Picking up I90 at Ellensburg, it was a100 miles to I405 then home. I had expected a lot more traffic, especially on I90, but was pleasantly surprised, traffic moved at limit rate (and more). The smoke mostly cleared as I headed west, and it was a really nice evening.

I turned off the ignition about 7:05PM, not bad, 850 miles in 13 hours.

So my 2012 road trip came to an end. I did manage to meet my main objectives of:

Seeing family and friends.

Riding in the rest of the 49 mainland States I had not done before

Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Memphis and the King.

Some stats:

Since leaving Waterdown last Monday 10^th, I had ridden 4121 miles in 7 days, the total mileage for the trip, including day rides was 9,381 miles.

The States I rode in when  returning from Ontario,  in order, were:

New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee (new), North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas (new), Oklahoma (new), Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington.

As for next year, who knows, it is a year ahead.

Thanks for reading, take care, and be safe..