Motorcycle Monday - Satus Pass to Horse Heaven Hills Loop Ride

The perfect weather last Saturday (and enough time) gave us a much needed refreshment break on the Honda Shadow. Here are some photos from our 6-hour loop ride. Minimal stops, maximum fun.

We went south on Highway 97 over Satus Pass. We always stop at Brooks Memorial Park for a potty stop. It is just enough distance from home that our bums are numb. And we need the break.

One of our wildlife sightings of the day - blue jay. Loud and squawky but gorgeous. The list for the day: turkey vultures, hawks, osprey, blue jay, swallows, deer (almost hit), wild turkey (was next in line to be hit), ground squirrel, deer ribs, wild horses, pelicans, ducks, coyote, and many, many other birds. Great day for seeing the critters.

One of four mountains spotted during our loop trip. This is Mt. Adams. We also saw Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Hood. The sky was not totally clear, but beautiful none the less.

Wind machines. Cool in a mechanical sort of way. I'm fascinated with how LARGE they are in real life. The shadows and backlighting keep me taking photos, though I have many.

Columbia River Gorge, vineyards, and orchards seen from the Maryhill Winery, another of our favorite stretch stops. The warm weather drew a large crowd with children who ran up and down the amphitheater hills.

What's that? Mt. Hood, located in Oregon on the other side of the Columbia River.

We didn't stop, but Stonehenge is a great place. Wonderful views and intriguing rocks. The cows could care less. Heading east on Highway 14, we traveled towards Patterson, paralleling the Columbia River.

My new home. Seriously. I want to live in the barn.

Well away from Hood River, a lone para-sailer (para-glider?) circled above Highway 14. We had fun taking photos of each other.

The river was so calm, I couldn't stop snapping photos of the reflections. Beautiful.

Lots of train traffic for a Saturday afternoon. This swift railcar kept pace with us (we were doing about 65 mph). We watched trains on both sides of the river headed both east and west.

At Patterson, we turned left, and headed north, up and over the Horse Heaven Hills (Highway 221). I did not see ONE horse. Ok, there are three on the sign. What's wrong with that picture? (I thought God made the Horse Heave Hills, ages ago, not in 2005. ;)

That's me and my cowboy, riding our steel mustang. I'm reclining on the back, amusing myself with the camera.

Like I said, amusing myself with the camera. It is hard to get clear shots. Invariably, whenever I click the shutter, there is a wind sheer, a bump, a road sign, a vehicle, a tree, or a rock outcropping. Most of my photos are dumped in the trash.

And here we here we are, coming down from the Horse Heaven Hills into Prosser and the lower Yakima Valley. A beautiful sunset awaited our homeward drive. What a great day!