304.86 Miles | 5:37 Riding Time

It’s Sunday, June 16, 2024, and it’s Day 67 of my cross country motorcycle trip.

It was 34.3 °F when I started riding today. I knew I would be seeing a lot, so I got started just before sunrise, and headed north toward Mt. Hood. I’d be passing by the Timberline Lodge, where many of the outdoor scenes in The Shining were filmed. I wanted to go up to the lodge, but there were several inches of fresh snow on the road up that they had just started clearing. I didn’t want to stop and put the tire chains on my bike, so I passed.

Even in the cold and the rain, the Mt Hood National Forest was beautiful—amazingly lush and dark green. As I started coming down in elevation, it started getting warmer. By the time I got over to Portland, it was warm.

A little highway riding up to Castle Rock, WA, where I filled up the tank, and made a right to RT 504 (the Spirit Lake Highway) East toward Mount. St Helens. I was 12 years old when Mount St. Helens Erupted, and being there brought back memories of watching it all unfold on television. The small screen was so bad at capturing the enormity of the devastation.

I visited the Mount St. Helens Science and Learning Center, which is a National Volcanic Monument, and the exhibits and media there do a great job at showing just how massive the eruption was. And, looking up at the mountain, the crater is essentially the entire north side of the mountain. The clouds weren’t super-cooperative, so I didn’t get an amazing shot, but I think you’ll be able to see how big the eruption was.

Back to the highway, I rode north up to Olympia, WA, and stayed in the next town over, Lacey, for the night. After a cold morning and relatively long day, the hot shower and comfy bed were very welcome.

The Route