Day 16 Monday, July 11, 2011

Springfield, Oregon to Kenewick, Washington
Miles Traveled Today: 396.8
Total Miles Traveled: 4597.2

We left Springfield this morning in kind of a downer mood. Having achieved the goal of reaching the Pacific, and then spending time with DeAnn's family in Springfield, it seemed anticlimatic to return home. That's the way it is on a motorcycle. The journey is the excitement, and knowing that this trip will come to an end soon makes it tough to return. To a person, all of us would just assume stay in the Great Northwest for a while, but we all know we have commitments back home.

We were able to again experience the two vastly different climates just over the hill from one another in the Cacade Range. The day started cool and cloudy on the western slope, but as soon as we crossed the pass on OR 126, the temperature increased by 10-15 degrees, the clouds broke, and brilliant sunlight beamed down on us. We picked up OR 97 near Redmond, Oregon, and took it all the way to the Columbia River at Biggs, Oregon.

This was the same location where we switched from the Oregon side to the Washington side on the way west. This time we crossed the bridge again, but were now heading east on 14. We were able to see closeup the types of agriculture that we could only guess at from the other side. There were groves of fruit trees on the sides of the hills surrounded by miles of brown. The green areas were only as large as the irrgation sprinklers were wide. It was amusing to ride for miles and see nothing but brown, and then find just a little patch of green here and there. We saw cherry, hazelnut, and possibly peach trees, along with some corn and wheat fields.

Today was the first long mileage day for Ginny's bike. We took it easy to give it a break-in period. Tomorrow we will change the oil and then push a little harder. She should be good to go. All the other "horses" are running fine. We are very thankful for that.

Nothing really outstanding to photograph today, so it is basically just a journal entry. We are hopeful to find some interesting scenes and/or historical sights tomorrow.