Alone in the Oregon Outback - 7 Days of Solo

"If you're ever at the Adel Store say hi to Chuck and Annie"

That was awesome!!! Amazing the desolation and yet so much to see. Glad you made the trip this time!

Thanks @Dale402! Glad you enjoyed it and appreciate the comments. Think you describe it perfectly - incredibly desolate yet an amazing array of scenery. And yeah, it was nice to finally have one of the trips go smoothly and be able to complete the whole loop without much drama

Wow! Great vid! Thanks for sharing this. I found this RR this morning and haven't been able to stop. I hail from NE Oregon (Enterprise), and this sure makes me want to go back.

I don't know about that language! I usually reserve that for the times I happen to unintentionally "dismount" with-out stopping first. Just sayin...

Great RR - and drone footage. This is one of those ride reports you watch twice.

Rode an eastern part of your tracks several years ago. North, northeast of Alford Hot Springs to the very remote site of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau’s grave. He was the infant (1 year old member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition). Two Years old when the L&C Expedition completed the entire 8,000 miles to be adopted by William Clark. In 1865, at age 62 he left San Diego Calif, stopped for 2 yrs to be the cashier of a hotel in Auburn, Ca to return to Idaho to pan for gold...on the way back to Idaho during the Winter, in a buckboard wagon pulled with 2 mules he fell into a creek near Rome and Danner, Oregon and died of exposure or drowned. A local rancher and his wife rescued and treated him for a couple of days before he died, they then buried him in their front yard, never knowing his celebrity as a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition....that was discovered 50 years later.

I've traveled every state multiple times, across Oregon EW, WE, and NS in the last 3 or 4 years and must say Oregon has the most open backcountry of any state I've ridden in....desolate (which is good).

In 1865 there were no roads from Calif, across Oregon to Idaho so your RR reveals what travels across the prairie would have been like with no roads in 1865. Many of the original roads from Calif across Oregon in the late 1850’s were toll roads. Two men, one called InnSkip layed out and cleared a road and charged a fee when travelers went by his ranch to use his toll road to cross the desert and rivers for a small fee...did not last long. This toll road was probably current day Hwy 95. His grave and marker are at the crossroads in Danner, Oregon and is on one of the old toll roads. Toll road also had a minimal store for supplies and housing for travelers in the late 1800’s which is where Jean Baptiste was headed when he died crossing a river.

Man! What remote country...

Thanks for sharing!!!

Thanks @LogHouseBikers, appreciate the comments! I really like that part of Oregon too; out by the Wallowas is spectacular. Have ridden lots and lots of street miles out that way, back when I was doing that kind of riding.

Glad you found the report and have enjoyed it, and glad you weren't offended by Manson

Thanks @LewisNClark!

That's some seriously cool history I was completely unaware of until your post; makes me want to go back and ride to find the same thing. I assume I'll get back out there and do another ride like this, believe I'll add that destination in somehow. I thought it was really neat finding the grave marker for the outlaw who was shot and killed near Shirk Ranch, though nothing like the historical significance of what you found.

And yes, I cannot imagine trying to traverse that landscape, the Cascades, or really much of the western US by wagon. Heck, I had a hell of a time just getting close to the Owyhee on a decently capable dirt bike...lol.

Thanks again

Won’t distract from your RR but link below to grave site of Jean Baptists - Innskip Station/Skinner Ranch.....quite remote. If you go back I hope you see my Silver Dollar in a ceramic pot by the grave marker. Put it in there 10 yrs ago, went back 2 yrs ago and it was still there. Local Nez Perce Indians consider his grave a sacred site and leave behind coins and shoes for Jean Baptiste’s travels.

It really is a special and historical site that few ever get to see since it so remote.
Coordinates for Jean Baptists Charbonneau grave site: N42 56 933 W117 20 066

https://lewisandclark.smugmug.com/13DeathoftheExpeditionMembers/52-Death-of-Jean-Baptiste/

My $.02: not distracting in the least; all the commentary and information shared in these reports just add to the overall story. Great shots from your trip out there, that's a really cool grave marker. I'm bummed I didn't know about this before now; it's pretty close to Rome and would have been easy to visit after I got fuel and started my westbound return trek.

Next time

I’m sure you have driven by this island on the Columbia River a few dozen times. Meriwether Lewis traded his branding iron for a string of fish, and his Indian trader lost the branding iron on the island in the middle of the Columbia River in 1806. The island is an ancient Indian burial ground. 150 yrs later a railroad worker found the Branding Iron on the Columbia River banks. Now on display in the Oregon Historical Museum. I held his branding iron in my hands a couple of yrs ago.

The Lewis branding iron: Capt M. Lewis backwards. Branding iron is about the size of a pack of cigarettes,

Great, inspiring stuff, Liv! Thanks for posting.

They have to be a great help on cold days and not only that, but they are just plain cool. Rock on, ride safe and keep writing.

Hey Liv!
I am headed from So. Cal. to the WABDR next week and then south into Oregon with about a week to burn.
I will be on a 1290 SA-R with about 40 years of riding experience. After the Continental Divide ride I think it will be fine . I would really like to have a copy of your .GPX file if I could?
email? scott@powdercoater.com
I think a hot springs trip is in order!
Thanks!

Hey @Scott Andrews - that sounds like a killer ride; I'm envious of covering that much ground!

I posted the GPX files in the ride report, though I'm not sure what page they're on - think you can do a quick search and find 'em

https://advrider.com/f/threads/alon...-7-days-of-solo.1451948/page-10#post-40439957

hahaha....the drone footage makes the RR 10 notches better.

just a matter of time we will succumb to buying one. of course, the landscape makes a significant difference.

liv2day, you inspired me so next time i visit OR, i will have a smaller bike.

"OREGON OUTBACK" must have been created by the state Chamber of Commerce. I was there and it was nothing but a F-- desert!!

It's actually a high desert basin that's home to an incredibly diverse range of animals and fauna. Hopefully, more folks feel the same way you do and don't spoil it for those that appreciate it

With all respect, I think what Liv meant to say is, "Don't go there. Terrible place devoid of humans. The local Olive Garden is air conditioned and fluttering with life. Plus: free bread sticks"