Motorcycles
Montana Road Trip 2007
Day 7 - Saturday
My tire fiasco cost me half a day. I was anxious to get home if for no other reason than to relax a little before returning to work on Monday morning. Highway 50 was officially out. The quickest route home would be to take Highway 95 south to Winnemucca, Nevada. There I would jump on Highway 80, taking me through Reno, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, and then the SF Bay Area. A much more boring route or so I thought.
I was on the road by 6am. I had heard that southeastern Oregon was one of the most desolate and uninhabited areas of the country. Due to the time of day and the remoteness of the area, I saw almost no one. The terrain was mostly flat with huge vistas. I took the opportunity to stretch the Tuono's legs more often than not. I would rise over a crest and after seeing nothing but flat, empty road for miles I would quickly wind through third and fourth gears, sometimes fifth. I'd upshift to sixth, tuck in and hold my speed until coming to the next rise or slight bend. I'd slow until I could see a ways ahead before repeating the pattern. Very quick and reasonably safe too.
I had just been going, uh...'fast' seconds before coming over a hill and seeing this:
The driver had crashed, flipping his 18-wheeler over and blocking both lanes of the road. The accident had happened about ten minutes ago. I spoke briefly to the driver who was currently in Phase 2: Denial. His co-driver had been asleep in the back when physics gave him the ultimate wake-up call. He was limping around sans shoes, trying to comprehend what had happened and what to do next. As I spoke to both of them I heard loud banging from their overturned trailer. We all looked up and I wondered what their cargo was. Before I could ask them we heard even louder banging interspersed with the sounds of agitated cattle. Not good. After confirming that help was on the way I took to the dirt and eased past the overturned cab to continue on my way.
Look familiar? This was typical of the scenery today, which sometimes played tricks with me. I actually stood here for several minutes with camera in hand, waiting for that dark truck in the distance to drive past and give me a clear shot before realizing it was a shadow cast by some railing on the side of the road. And stretches like this, which seemed like they would only take a few minutes to cross, sometimes went on for much, much longer - even at 'higher' sustained speeds. The scope of things out here throttled the imagination.
Right after the above pic was taken, I was hurtling through the landscape and saw something way off in the distance that caught my eye. Two tiny dots on the left edge of the road slowly grew to become two parked cars. Seemed odd so I slowed. Eyes darting to the right I thought I saw people standing there. What were they doing? I slowed some more. Closer still I noticed what appeared to be an old wooden structure covered in dust. I assumed the people standing next to it were taking photos. Closer still it finally came together. It was a car that had just gone off the road and flipped.
I came to a stop and walked over to check on everyone. The accident happened about ten minutes prior to my arrival. The two passengers seemed to be ok, both in a daze. Clothing, hair, lips - all covered in dust with only their eyes and teeth showing through. They made for a dramatic sight. One man sat on the ground, still in shock. The younger man stood nearby, attempting to wash the dust out of his mouth with bottled water. The car was destroyed but they appeared to have no cuts or broken bones. Fortunate as help was a long, long ways off.
The driver who had stopped first to help said he saw a tremendous cloud of dust in the distance. He knew instantly what had happened. Above you can see the skid marks they left before going airborne.
Nothing to do but wait.
I rolled on wondering what might have been if I had hit the road just a little bit earlier that morning. Highway 95 was awesome in it's austerity and sheer scale. It was not without its dangers however.
Not much else to say. I made good time all the way home, continuing to avoid any traffic citations or accidents of my own. I pulled up to the house at 3:45pm, thankful for a safe journey.
Total miles for the day: 665 miles
From: Meridian, Idaho
To: Mountain View, California
Parks passed through:
26. Tahoe National Forest
Saturday's route:
Conclusion
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