Roam About with "Big Hank"

parkkitchings

Adventurer
Shays4Me.....glad you're following along but in the future when replying with a quote you should probably delete the pictures posted in the quote. Most do not want to see the pictures posted twice which the system will do when quoting a post that has pictures. And yes, you're correct, the Wallowa area is a slice of heaven!

So I'll go ahead and wrap this up. After leaving Joseph I kept working my north up towards the Roosevelt Lake area. Just poked along exploring any side roads or whatever I came upon. Camped one night en-route on some Forest Service land along with some hunters.

Some old buildings out on the open farm land of Washington State. If only these walls could talk.

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Like to poke around old cemeteries. Ran across this one on some back road while looking for some picture opportunity. A life short lived.

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Stopped to watch some pheasant hunters. Finally had to leave as the old lab was more interested in what I was doing than pointing birds. Hunters were nice about it and he loved his old dog too much to really care about it so they took a break for awhile until I moved on.

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Rolled into Roosevelt Lake where I stayed for one night and visited the old fort and the Marina. Would be fun to rent a houseboat here and spend some time on the lake.

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Following day headed for Leavenworth where I had planned to spend a few days for some picture taking and hiking in the area. Weather was not cooperating so I ended up on spending one afternoon and a night. Just didn't feel like fighting the rain. Found a nice spot along the river outside of town.

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Weather turned to crap but it caused some dramatic low cloud cover.

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While cruising around came around a corner and these guys were winching a loaded Harley out of the ditch. Looked like a combination of wet road and probably some excess speed and he didn't make the curve and decided to visit the woods. Pretty big drop they were winching it up from and the front end received some major damage.

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Pretty much wraps this portion of the trip up. Headed back to Tacoma the next day in a torrential downpour. Was the first time I'd been off since losing Old Hank so it was pretty bittersweet not having him with me. Thought of him often while out roaming around. He loved to go off with me in the camper. I've now got Petey so I guess I need to change the title on the report when I hit the road again. Looks like we'll be headed south for a couple of months beginning mid February or so. Hopefully, Petey will enjoy roaming around as much as Old Hank did.

Thanks for following along and hope you got some ideas for your next adventure......
 

chet6.7

Explorer
Riding that Harley off the edge will be something that guy doesn't forget anytime soon.
I like the picture just above the bike.I like driving back roads anytime,but the fall,no dust,but not muddy,yet,the smell of the leaves and the damp earth.
Baja next? Cool...
 

mtnbike28

Expedition Leader
"Weather turned to crap but it caused some dramatic low cloud cover." a little bit of an understatement! Great images!
 
Thanks for continuing your posts really do enjoy them. Joseph is a very beautiful area as is the snake river. I need to get back up that way again soon and do some hunting with my uncle who is out of Lagrande.
 
Just a suggestion but if you change the name of your thread maybe just add "& Petey" to the end. Maybe it honors Big Hank by keeping his name in the title ? I don't know. Thanks for posting all the good stuff. See you on the road.......

Jerry
 

seeNik48

Adventurer
Thank-you again for posting about your explorations. The Wallowa Valley is gorgeous. We were there last spring for photography and to pay homage to Chief Joseph. You probably knew this area was his homeland. Oregon is an amazing place, especially the Cascades and east of the mountains. You captured some amazing photography. Safe travels.
 

mapper

Explorer
Glad to see you're still making the rounds. Sorry to hear about Hank. Myself a dog person, I know the feeling all too well. This last go-round I wound up losing one and gaining two, both of which are seemingly "that once-in a lifetime dog" you refer to. It requires sacrifice but also brings so much joy and I'm looking forward to more posts with Petey on board. Lucky him to land ********** dab into adventure. So cool you ran into Ara and Spirit I keep hoping I'll chance into them on one of my extended weekends.
 

parkkitchings

Adventurer
Thanks for the updates! I will be following along on the next one.

Riding that Harley off the edge will be something that guy doesn't forget anytime soon.
I like the picture just above the bike.I like driving back roads anytime,but the fall,no dust,but not muddy,yet,the smell of the leaves and the damp earth.
Baja next? Cool...

Yea I almost did the same a few years ago on a bike trip up to Bella Coola, BC. Road was wet, pouring rain and I was tired. Too tired to have still been on the road but like an idiot I kept trying to push on to the destination. Came up on a 90 degree unmarked turn on a small back road and almost......went over the edge of a steep drop. Lesson learned!

"Weather turned to crap but it caused some dramatic low cloud cover." a little bit of an understatement! Great images!

Thanks for continuing your posts really do enjoy them. Joseph is a very beautiful area as is the snake river. I need to get back up that way again soon and do some hunting with my uncle who is out of Lagrande.

Thanks for this great trip report. I plan to spend some time in eastern Oregon this year, your posts have added many spots to my must-see list. It was fun to see Sheldon NWR again, I was through there in July and was really struck by the remoteness and beauty of the area, incredible wildlife viewing and some great dual sport riding.
I look forward to following your Baja travels.

Thanks for compliments on the pics and for following along. The Sheldon NWR Reserve is a great place for those having not checked it out. The free camping and hot springs aren't bad either!

Just a suggestion but if you change the name of your thread maybe just add "& Petey" to the end. Maybe it honors Big Hank by keeping his name in the title ? I don't know. Thanks for posting all the good stuff. See you on the road.......

Jerry

Good idea.

Thank-you again for posting about your explorations. The Wallowa Valley is gorgeous. We were there last spring for photography and to pay homage to Chief Joseph. You probably knew this area was his homeland. Oregon is an amazing place, especially the Cascades and east of the mountains. You captured some amazing photography. Safe travels.

Yes, love the Cascades. I lived in Bend, Oregon for 19 years and got the opportunity to roam about quite a bit. I don't think there is a bad spot to explore in the state as it's all good from what I saw.

Glad to see you're still making the rounds. Sorry to hear about Hank. Myself a dog person, I know the feeling all too well. This last go-round I wound up losing one and gaining two, both of which are seemingly "that once-in a lifetime dog" you refer to. It requires sacrifice but also brings so much joy and I'm looking forward to more posts with Petey on board. Lucky him to land ********** dab into adventure. So cool you ran into Ara and Spirit I keep hoping I'll chance into them on one of my extended weekends.

Yes, I'll be the first to admit it that I'm an avid dog lover. A man once said "Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished". Ara and Spirit are an interesting pair and it was fun running into them. I've been reading his posts for years. I'm planning on heading over to Big Bend National Park on my next outing and may see them again. I know he has a little spread just outside the park and winters down that way.

In the meantime, Petey is resting up for his first trip.....

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Maybe we'll run into some of you on the road........
 

jrfromafar

Adventurer
Just spent the most part of the evening following your journey - just amazing. Will have to check it out in greater detail. Any idea how many miles you covered?

Good old Hank. A dog can steal your heart. I'm torn, having to leave Lou behind on my upcoming trip - vet prescribed some medication for her infected ears - we think made her go deaf. I can't baby sit her, and she'll be too much at a risk out in the bush.

That bike sure came in handy - it's got me thinking how I could strap on on lol !
 

parkkitchings

Adventurer
Just spent the most part of the evening following your journey - just amazing. Will have to check it out in greater detail. Any idea how many miles you covered?

Good old Hank. A dog can steal your heart. I'm torn, having to leave Lou behind on my upcoming trip - vet prescribed some medication for her infected ears - we think made her go deaf. I can't baby sit her, and she'll be too much at a risk out in the bush.

That bike sure came in handy - it's got me thinking how I could strap on on lol !

You know I'm not exactly sure on the mileage. I roamed around in the southwest for quite a bit and I was on the go pretty much every day either on the bike or in the truck. Between the truck trip and the bike trip north I'm sure I did well over 10,000 miles. Yea, having the bike is nice but there were times (albeit not many) that the trailer which comes with the bike was a burden. Having the trailer allows you take some extra stuff that comes in nice when you're on the road for months. I love being able to set up camp and then take off on the bike for a few hours late afternoon to explore, run back into town, etc. Would even unload the bike to explore down some remote roads looking for a nice spot to camp. Once I found something I'd go back and get the truck/camper. I pulled the trailer down some stuff I shouldn't have at times. Couple of times I had to unload the bike, unhook the trailer, get the truck turned around and then load and hook back up due to road washouts or downed trees. I do think the pros outweigh the cons overall though. Have fun on your trip. I wish I was headed back up to Alaska this coming summer. I could easily go back and do the exact same route...... it's that good.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Great fun reading about your adventures! Thankyou for sharing. Our 4 legged travel buddy punched his ticket two yrs ago. Same deal 16yrs old collapsed wind pipe. He was still sharp as a tack. We miss him. We have our second Red Dobie he'll be two in June. He's still learning the program. But lots of fun.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Oh hey.. Are you still running with the tall ramp tailgate on the trailer? Just occured to me. My uncle had a similar set up we pulled the tall ramp off to see how much it impacted his mileage. He gained 3mpg and said the trailer was more stable. He kept it off and uses a ramp that pins into the rear edge of the trailer and stows on the trailer bed. He spends lots of time up in Montana. Likes to take the Quad way out into the back country.
 

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