Day 12 - Interstate Riding

Riding the Interstate

Today I opted for some highway riding. I needed to run an errand to Kalama, WA so I thought I would ride on to Castle Rock, WA also. Kalama is a port town nestled tightly between the the mighty Columbia River and Green Mountain. I-5 and the railroad mainline are shoehorned in between downtown and the river. Kalama has one of the best boat moorages in the area and the waiting list to get a slip is long. Kalama has one interesting claim to fame. Elvis stopped in one day and ate at the restaurant and stayed at the motel. They have a photo of him in the restaurant as proof.

Places to See

The 16 mile ride to Castle Rock was a breeze. The pavement was dry and traffic was reasonable moving along at the posted speed of 70. I saw one trooper checking an abandoned vehicle, otherwise the trip was uneventful. I arrived at Castle Rock and thought I would stop in to see my old acquaintance, Bob Heuer, Chief of the Castle Rock Police Dept. Bob was in and we had a nice visit. He humored me by letting me take a photo of him with my Ultra just before I left.

While Castle Rock is not a destination town, it boasts of a few good places to eat and several gas stations. Many bikers are familiar with it's location as they travel north and south on I-5. This is one of the best places to jump on Highway 504 for a beautiful 52 mile ride to Mt. St. Helens. This is not a good time of year to try the ride since the roads are usually snowed in starting around mile 30.

End of Day

I headed south on I-5 and could see some dark clouds in the distance. I figured I would get a little wet and I wasn't disappointed. As I approached Woodland, the rain started. I needed some fuel, so I dove in to a covered filling station. It was inevitable I guess. I've heard of other Harley owners spilling fuel on their gas tank. Today was my turn. I'm usually a lot more careful than this. It got soaked pretty good. I took note of a fire extinguisher near by and quickly dug out the rag I carry with me and cleaned up the mess. The rag was so wet with gas that I just threw it away. I swapped out my 3/4 helmet for the full face and hit the road again. Since I was only 5 miles from home I decided to take the back road and enjoy some curves. Once again it was a pretty cold day, but my heated gear made all the difference.

I spent the last 30 minutes of daylight washing and drying my bike. It was fairly dirty from winter riding the last few days. All in all it was a very enjoyable ride today.

Ambient Temp: 38F
Ending odometer: 000934
Trip Miles: 73
Fuel: $3.31 in Woodland, WA.

Ride Safe.