Day 3 (Crater Lake/Mt. Rainier...or not)

It was up early to pack up the campsite and head up the mountain to 'the crater'.  I generally like to have some fun riding the mountain roads, but portions of the road up to Crater Lake are not to be messed with.  One mistake and you are over the edge and it is literally straight down...a LONG way down!  Once up there, I was the only one there.  Talk about peaceful!  Here are a couple pics I took before hitting the road...

...leaving Crater Lake and Oregon, next stop was supposed to be Mt. Rainier in Washington.

I crossed into Washington at Briggs Point, temps were 110, and it was taking its toll on me.  The heat literally beats you down, hours of riding with temps in the 100+ range, with full gear on, will mentally drain you...not a good thing on a motorcycle.

My riding partner happened to call (taking phone calls in your helmet is cool!), he was on the road to meet me for the ride to Rainier, we decided to meet in Yakima to discuss options.  I pulled into the Sun Country Motel, was met by Scott and a Canadian (Tom), who was on his own adventure, riding from Ontario to the California Coast, via the northern US, and then back via a Canadian route.  Here's a pic of Tom and his VStrom.

After a dip in the pool and over a few Corona's, we discussed the following day's options...

Option 1:  Ride to Mt. Rainier for a 'drive by', then on to Idaho and his place in Rathdrum.  

Option 2:  Head straight to Scott's place and R&R for 2 days.  

I chose Option 2 and 5 hours less driving time!!!