Wallowa, Elkhorn & Blue Mountains
 

Just got back from a seven day, 400 mile tour, in Northeastrn Oregon. The route was Pendleton => Elgin => Joseph => Baker => Sumpter => Ukiah => Pendleton. (Here's a link to the route on Google maps.) For anybody heading that way, the Wallowa Mountain Loop highway is rideable but there's maybe 10 miles of loose gravel with bad washboards. They are convoying traffic through the construction zone once an hour but the part they're actually working on is pretty limited.

Here are some photos:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=465790http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=465791http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=465792http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=465793http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=465794http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=465795http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=465796http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=465797


For anyone interested, the whole write-up is here.

I love that whole area.

Yeah, Joseph is like the hidden jewel of Oregon.

Spectacular write-up. I enjoyed it immensely, particularly the dry humor. Too bad you kept just missing the glorious thunderstorms; better luck with that next time. :D

My first long tandem tour took me through that neck of the woods, although that was just a small piece of a 4000 mile ride. It's a truly great place to ride. At the time, I was riding up from the Sacramento Valley, so to me the temperature was always cold. However, now that I live in a cooler place, I can see where you would find it warm.

Oh, and nice bike.:thumb: After the nice folks at R+E repaired my original tandem frame, I just couldn't resist having them build me a new one a couple of years ago. They really know how to make a bike that just plain works, no matter how quirky the riders (we're the odd pair, indeed).