Part 3 of "...Last Train to Clarkston..."

Monday came all to soon and it was time to point the chrome & steel (and rust) back toward the West. Our host seemed to think home was "that-a-way".

So we cleaned the bugs off from the East-bound journey and set out to collect a few hundred more with the sun at our backs. Down along the Snake and then West into Pomeroy (our favorite pheasant hunting ground) and then down through Walla Walla and Pasco where we brushed elbows with the Might Columbia before rolling up into Richland for gas, water and "feeling" in our butt cheeks.

At Richland, we veered northwest onto Hwy 240 to Hwy 24 and skirted the West edge of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Out there, the sage brush rolls down the highway almost as fast as our suicide machines.

Those are the Rattlesnake Mtns. in the West behind K.T.

And the Hanford Reservation behind me in the East...After the photo-op, it was on to Yakima for more fuel (gas & groceries) and then back on Hwy 12 through Naches and up over White Pass.A very talkative truck-driver was kind enough to shoot this pic of K.T. & I with Mt Rainier in the background.

To make a long blog short, we had one more gas stop in Packwood before the last leg of our journey. Tired as we were, we still took the long way home and ran the "twisties" between Alder Lake and La Grande on Hwy 7. Yeah, Eatonville Cutoff would have been shorter but "who cares"? It's all about the ride.

And the ride was worth it all. Besides a great visit with an old friend, K.T. and I bonded on a new level. He's not just my son anymore, he's my "riding partner".

And, oh yes, his '81 CX500 made the whole round trip without incident. (Gotta' hand it to Honda- they just keep running)

See you on the road. Don't forget to "wave"...