Day 10 (9/15/11)

Last night was surprisingly comfortable sleeping on a concrete pad. At least there were no lumps in the ground that invariably end up under my sleeping pad. The sprinkler system did not come on either, so that was a welcome relief. Right when I was about to get out of the tent I could hear rain drops on the rainfly. I hate packing up in the rain. Keeping dry and tryin to get everything loaded and buttoned up is hard to do. If by chance you get wet and then have to ride in 40 and 50 degree temperatures it is very easy to get hypothermic which can be very dangerous on a motorcycle at 65 mph. Fortunately, it was only spitting and I was able to get things all wrapped up in short order and stay dry. The gentleman in the motorhome next to me, that was not the most cordial when I rolled in, came over and offered me a cup of coffee. I guess he decided that I was not "biker scum" and afterall. The the tires were still on his motorhome in the morning. I went to the office to try to pay for camping, as it had been closed when I arrived last night. They were not opening until 9:00 and I wanted to get on the road, so I just headed out. Later in the morning I called them and arranged payment for the night via credit card. The lady was very appreciative that I had been honest and hopefully her opinion of motorcyclists moved up just a bit as a result. Todays route took me west on Rte 12 to the Columbia River Gorge. I have never been along it before, but have seen video on TV of the sailboarder's jumping huge waves and setting the world record for speed on a sailboard. I think it is up around 60 mph. The winds very often funnel up this gorge at high velocities. Today was one of those days as a cold front had moved in overnight and the winds were howling when I arrived. I was getting beat up by 40 mph winds from continually changing directions. Not easy cruising weather on two wheels. Not time go let your mind wander or you end up in an oncoming lane face to face with a logging truck, or off the berm of the road and headed down a ravine. You can see from the pictures the size of the waves and whitecaps whipped up by the winds. This must be the norm because all of the hilltops were covered with large windmill farms. I mean by the hundreds! Between hydroelectric power from the dams like the John Day Dam in the picture to the windmills that are everywhere, I would love to know what percentage of Oregon and Washington's electricity is generated by renewable sources. It has to be some of the highest in the nation. I saw one windmill farm of over 200 sites that were just sitting still and not turning despite the high winds. I guess the power grid, just did not need the power. I can't imagine having that much money tied up in equipment just sitting there idle when the wind is blowing. I would love to hear why they just don't feed it into the grid and transmit it to where it is needed. These are the kind of questions that my mind ponders as I spend hours rolling down the road. Once I exited the Columbia River Gorge and headed south on Rte 97 toward Crater Lake, Oregon the temperatures started to fall as I climbed in altitude. The advancing front was moving in and I was getting chilled to the bone despite having all my warm clothing on except for the rainsuit. I could have used my electric jacket, but I did not bring it on this trip thinking I would have more problems dealing with heat than cold. I am sure I will rellish these days in a few days when I get farther south. Crater lake was not as beautiful as I have seen it at other times, with the clouds and smoke in the air today. There are a number of fires in the area and I saw a lot of Forest Service teams on the roads. On the way into the area, I passed a huge burned out area where there had been a grass fire. You can see the results of a lightening strike or a careless smoker throwing a cigarette out of a car. Add 40 mph winds and fighting these things must be impossible. I suspect this was caused by a cigarette as it was right up against the road, unless they used the road as the fire break. My initial plan was to camp at the rim of Crater Lake, but at 7,200 feet and the ranger saying they were expecting freezing rain overnight, I decided to head further south and drop down considerably in altitude. I eventually stopped at Klamath, OR which is along my route for tomorrow and is almost on the California border. It will make my ride into Reno tomorrow shorter, and allow me more time to watch the air races. I have included a picture of Crater Lake from a prior trip along with the one taken today so you can see the contrast a sunny day makes in the color of the water. For you trivia buffs, this is the deepest fresh water lake in America. It has no stream flowing into or out of it and all the water is either rain or snow melt. It is some of the purest available and they work hard to keep it that way. What a gem of a National Park. Yes that is snow along the banks... it is still here from last winter and more will be coming soon. Anyone want to take a dip?