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The Motorcycling Holiday of a Lifetime

...I would consider routing through Lilloet...Selyab

He's talking about the Duffy Lake Road (Highway 99) which is very scenic, and twisty, but looks to be a bit away from your route.
 
Oregon to Idaho Alternate Suggestion

Mark;

Living in Boise, my wife and I are lucky enough to get to spend a fair amount of time traveling in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, so after looking at your proposed routes I can only offer a suggestion on your Susanville/Idaho Falls route.

While Hwy. 20 to Weiser & New Meadows is good, about all I can say is it allows you to make good time. Burns to McCall is one day by your route.
If you are looking for entertainment, I have an alternate suggestion.

I have attached a map at this link which will help. Hopefully it will work. http://goo.gl/maps/pT7Kb

The Bates / Sumpter / Granite to La Grande route is more scenic, less traffic and more fun.
The Joseph / Cambridge route is over a paved Forest Access road, and takes you to viewpoints at the top and bottom of Hell's Canyon.
If you are not in a big hurry, both of these roads are great. This route would probably add a half day or possibly more, depending on the number of photo and tourist stops. My wife and I can usually find a way to kill most of a day on the Cambridge/Joseph/La Grande route alone.

Overall, it's not as direct, but it's all on pavement and gets you to McCall by a much more scenic and entertaining fashion.

I could also suggest a route from Enterprise, OR to Clarkston, WA to New Meadows, ID.
It really does not fit as well to your initial proposed route, but if you get the chance this one of those bucket list roads.
Try Goggling Rattlesnake Grade Washington.

Feel free to PM me if you would like lodging information along the route or anywhere else in Idaho, Oregon or southeastern Washington. I have several places that are regular or occasional stops.

Glen
 
The Joseph / Cambridge route is over a paved Forest Acces road...BeemerBOI

Mark:

+1 on this section. My wife and I just drove it last June. The north part is called Forest Service Road (FSR) 39 or the Wallowa Mountain Loop. Note: the signage in the Forest Service areas can be confusing, so I suggest you get one of their maps before you go in. Also, Joseph is a little gem of a town, and suggest you spend a few hours looking around.

But this whole area is spectacular.
 
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Glen (and Rinty),

Thanks for the tip on the loop up around La Grande and Joseph but unfortunately we are just running out of days and miles.
We need to make it to Garden Valley ID from Burns OR in the day (310 miles / 6 hours) and although some of this other route looks great we just don't have the flexibility. This then sets us up for the next run from Garden Valley to Idaho Falls.
So as you say - the run on Hwy 20 from Weiser may not be the most exciting but I'm hoping the stretch south from McCall to Garden Valley can make up for it. The run across from Burns to Vale looks like an open expanse which may actually be a nice change from all of the mountain and tree lined roads on other sections of the trip.

The big problem with planning this trip is just that - it's so BIG.
There is no end of places which are great rides but just like Australia, there are huge distances between them and sometimes we will be forced to make a "quick dash" from A-B just to pick up a road or a start point for the next section. In this case it was the jump across to get to Yellowstone.

Thank you for taking the time to suggest an optional route though - it so nice to see people who are experienced, knowledgable and passionate about their favourite roads.
 
...we are just running out of days and miles...

No worries; always happens on trips like this.

When you're in Red Lodge, Montana, which is a great place, you might want to treat yourself to a night in the Pollard Hotel. Check ahead for specials. We paid $100 for a night, which included dinner, and had the best prime rib I've ever tasted. We got lucky, as there was an Austin Healey owners group from New England staying at the hotel. They truck their cars to Whitefish each summer, and then go touring.

september08%20049-XL.jpg


september08%20042-XL.jpg


After you check in, walk a few feet down to the Snowcreek Saloon, one of best bars in the West.

http://www.snowcreeksaloon.com/
 
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just running out of days and miles.

Completely understand, Mark. We are planning a trip north next year, and I have had to scale it back from way north to mid-BC, mainly because we don't have a huge amount of time available off from work. I don't want to just rush through, so something had to give.

Getting back to your trip, there are a couple of decent spots to eat in Crouch, which is about 3 miles east of Garden Valley. The Sourdough Lodge is just over 30 miles east of Garden Valley, and makes a good breakfast stop. Let us know when you may be through the area. Would like to meet for coffee and see how your trip is going.

Oh, and I had to laugh at a comment that RINTY made about Browning. We were through there a couple of years ago, and now some of the gestures (that I mistook for casual greetings) are more clear. ;)

Glen
 
Hi all,

It's probably time to close this thread off now - so I just wanted to thank everyone for their time and efforts in responding with such detail and knowledge on some of the sections of this tour.
We can't wait to get over in the US and start the riding. May 26th still seems like such a long time away.

The input from all of you has without doubt made this a better plan for what will certainly be a motorcycling holiday of a lifetime.
 
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