Sunday Motorcycle Loop Ride - Old Yakima Valley Highway

The early March weather was too good to pass up. After church, we ate a quick lunch, dressed in our motorcycle duds, and headed off on a lovely loop ride through the lower Yakima Valley.

We drove south from Yakima and hit the Old Yakima Valley Highway just outside of Wapato. I wanted to hit it at the beginning at Parker, but the husband was not into the proper motorcycle sign language at that point. Don't worry, things did get better for our communication. (Note: No headsets. Lots of quiet thinking time on our trips).

Mt. Adams showed off lots of snow.

Stinky cows remind one that fresh air is not always pleasant fresh air.

Yakima Valley Highway winds and turns, but mostly parallels I-82, all the way to Prosser, our destination for this trip. Why you ask?

Starbucks. Potty stop. Treat.

The handsome driver.

We then looped behind Prosser and hit Highway 22, which runs parallel I-82, but much further south.

This road actually bends around Grandview, Sunnyside, and Granger. It goes below Toppenish and then swoops right up to Highway 97. We drove straight through Toppenish, the actual town, went back across I-82, hit Yakima Valley Highway heading north, and turned onto Konnowac Pass.

Konnowac Pass is a short but pretty jaunt through orchards and up over the sagebrush hills. The scenic road then drops bikers, tractors, and vehicles down into Moxee. And again, we went straight through Moxee, following all sorts of back roads. This part of the trip was gorgeous as well, with sunny temperatures, budding greens, blooming apricots, and lots of people out enjoying the early spring weather.

I'm sorry to tell you, we took so many roads I can't name them all. But we did eventually reach Terrace Heights Drive, which lead us straight to our home.

What a perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon - motorcycle, beautiful sights, my honey, and a coffee date somewhere down the road.


Thought she may not look it, Angie Quantrell is a motorcycle Nana. She loves riding behind her husband on their Honda Shadow. She really loves getting off and moving so the circulation will get going again. Coffee stops are the icing on the motorcycle cake.

Great Sunday Afternoon Motorcycle Ride in the Yakima Valley

We took our 2nd motorcycle ride of the new year. 2nd. In Washington state. Is that amazing or what? February 15 and we are out on the bike. With lots of other people on their bikes.

The first trip of the year was last Friday, February 13. Just a nice loop through the Wenas Valley, down the grade to Naches, and back around to Yakima.

Today we headed south. All of you on the ground probably didn't notice the breeze, but once we hit 55-60 mph, the wind chill, well, got chilly. But we were dressed for cold. It was great.

The amazing thing about riding a motorcycle, besides the numbing of your backside so that you think you have lost it somewhere, is how much you experience with your senses. I will say 4 senses, as the sense of taste, number 5, only happens occasionally when my visor is up and a bug drops in my mouth and becomes a tasty snack.

But the other 4. Wow.

Of course, one reason we go out is to see things. Sight. Other than the huge helmet head directly in front of my face (my honey is the front seat driver), I have a wonderful view of all that is passing, dare I say, whizzing by. Everything.

Sight. Some things I saw today ~

two bald eagles, sparrow hawk, blue heron, various farm animals, a gopher atop a fence post, wild horses (though not as many as usual), Mt. Adams, pine trees, the valley spread out before me, the sun-bleached white fan fingers of wild horse ribs and bones (once you figure out what you are seeing, one sees bones everywhere), rivers, puddles, mud, the greens of sprouting winter wheat, and so much more.

Smell. Uhm. Today we scented some very interesting odors ~

skunk (numerous), cow poop (it's not all roses on the back of a bike), rotten stuff, the fresh breeze, pine trees, recently tilled dirt, exhaust, and the great outdoors.

Touch. This sense is mostly related to what runs into us (bugs) and the feel of wind and weather hitting our skin. Cold air and very cold air were in abundance. The freedom of hanging out on the back of a motorcycle, flying through the air, is exhilarating. And then later, painful. We are not in motorcycle shape. The buttsy and back were done way before we got home.

Hearing. This one gets a little challenging, but oh, what a treat.

~ the motorcycle engine, the tiny bell that tinks as we go, other vehicles, the rushing wind past our helmets, and once, when we stopped and turned off the motor at the end of the road, complete silence. That was my favorite part.

Motorcycle riding is a multi-sensory experience, one of adventure, and a certain amount of risk. Believe me, we pray all the time. My man is super watchful. Being on the motorcycle is our special time together. Couple time.

Sunday Afternoon Yakama Reservation Route

(The end of the road where we turned around was 46 miles from our home in Yakima.)

~ Head south on I-90.

~ Turn on Lateral A. Follow to West Wapato Road.

~ Head west on W. Wapato Road until it ends.

~ Turn left on Stephenson. Follow through White Swan. (For bathrooms or a snack, this is it.)

~ Turn right on Ft. Road Extension (goes past the high school baseball fields).

~ Turn left. Can't remember this road's name. But you have to either turn left or right. Turn left. Stay on this road for a long time.

~ Follow the road. It becomes Signal Peak Road. There will be a stop sign. Turn left and stay on this road.

~ When you get up into the hills, you will come to a stop sign with some buildings. This is the beginning of the Tribal Land. We can't go there unless we have a host. This is also 46 miles from home and the place where we turn around.


Enjoy the ride.

Angie Quantrell writes from the great northwest where possibilities for beautiful motorcycle rides abound in God's backyard.

Sunday Loop

With gorgeous weather on Sunday afternoon, we saddled up the Honda and went for a drive. Once we were out of the valley, sharing ice tea to wash away the excellent but lingering flavors from pesto pasta and veggies, the weather cooled enough to be perfect. We ignored the looming thunderheads that danced along ridge tops.

Plan 1 was to head to Randle on HWY 12, going over White Pass. Plan 2 was to avoid hitting deer or elk. Kevin's plan 3 was for people to stop tailgating our Sunday drive.

Plan 4 was a change from the same return trip, instead going on HWY 123, connecting with HWY 410, and looping back over Chinook Pass and heading into Yakima from that direction.

Our first stop was at the Butter Butt Coffeeshop in Randle. We had to go, just because of the name! We split a delicious (pricey) bacon, cheese, green onion scone. We took our iced lattes to-go and hit the road after the Kevster confirmed the HWY number for connecting to HWY 410, as we did not have a map.

Beautiful weather. Refreshing trees. Lack of bugs. Tons of traffic. Great minds think alike? I adore the smell of pine forests. Wearing a helmet with the vents open kept me deep breathing most of the trip. If only I could capture that and bring it home. Canned pine is not good.

Helmet hair

We stopped at a creek bridge to finish our coffee. It IS possible to have a drink with a helmet on, but challenging. And the back seat person at times gets sprayed with what doesn't make the mouth.

Chinook Pass furnished scintillating alpine spring colors and scenes. We were over the pass about 2 weeks ago, and Tipsoe Lake was totally snowed and iced over on that chilly day. On Sunday, large swathes of icy water and thousands of flowers were on display. As evidenced by the lots full of traffic, travelers, cameras, and pedestrians. Mt. Rainier shone splendidly with a racing clouds and blue sky backdrop.

Most of my photos where shot as we traveled. It's a bit of a challenge, with the helmet mask in the way, and Kevin's head blocking 45 degrees of vision, but all I do it point in the general direction and click. I check for success when we get home.

As we came down 410, the clouds certainly seemed darker but theatrical. Not much later, we hit a light rain. We stopped at the Bumping Lake cut off, contemplated the side trip to the end of the lake, and considered the darkening clouds and sprinkles of rain. We quickly tucked away and camera and saved that adventure for a different day.

Just in time. Within a few miles, we hit real rain. The first real rain we've encountered on the bike. Enough to soak our socks and the front halves of our bodies. Kevin caught most of it while what missed him soaked me. We got chilly enough that I decided to make hot soup for dinner as soon as we got home. No pictures of the rain.

Once we hit Naches, poof. Oven and hot fan back on. Ugh. Yes, we dried up quickly. Except for the socks. But I do prefer the cool mountain air and evergreen freshness.

We had soup for dinner. Kale, hominy, black bean spicy soup with multi-grain chips. Mmmmm.

This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)

Where shall we go next Sunday?