7th Annual Deschutes River RendezVW, Maupin Oregon

[hambone]

Wow...next month already.
Glad you can make it Mr. Gypsie. Eva will be bummed however. May be staying home with Ma this time.
P.S. hide all the mirrors

[Xelmon]

@ Tris: Excellent... I won't be alone. :)

@ Hammie: Uh-oh, really? :(

[Duke G]

ACK!!!

While I obviously would not have forgotten about this, somehow I forgot about this (scheduling wise, not forgot about the eventwise).

Naturally Mark, you know Courtney, Coler, Kermit and I will be there with bells on. I'll send you some love snail mail this week.

Can't wait to see everyone.

Cheers!

Duke

'78 Westy "Kermit"
'77 Westy "Kermit Mk. II"
'71 Squareback "Baby Blue"

[Xelmon]

Good news guys!

My long time friend (Marcus, drives the 2002) has said that he is down for the trip, so I'll be dragging him along.

[Franz]

Any photo albums of previous years on flickr, facespace or mybook?

[deschutestrout]

Franz...just scroll down thru the Clubs, Get Together forum and find the threads from previous years. Should find lots of photos. Get your reg in soon if you haven't already! Hope to see you in June! Mark

[dtrumbo]

So I'm doing a little route planning. The first year we took the ultra-conservative (I can't believe I used that phrase!) route of I-5 south to I-84 east to The Dalles and then up and over the hill to Maupin. The next year we went I-90 east to Ellensburg, I-82 east to Yakima, US-97 south to The Dalles and then up and over the hill to Maupin. According to Google Maps, this is the quickest route. However, Google Maps also says that the most direct route is I-5 south to I-84 east to Gresham and US-26 over Mount Hood to OR-216 and on to Maupin. I know a lot of you take this route so I'm soliciting your thoughts. Keep in mind I have a loving wife and three (not as) little (as they used to be) ones along for the ride who, along with me, will need periodic stops for potty and snacks. In addition, my newly rebuilt engine is getting piss-poor fuel mileage (at least it's not running lean, huh?) so fuel stops in your police-state where I can't pump my own gas will also be required. They say the journey is just as important as the destination so criteria like 'fastest' and 'direct' aren't really at the top of this list. If the views are stunning and services are reasonably available, is the Mount Hood route a good way to go? What say ye?

[deschutestrout]

Ah, just take the gorge route IMHO. See ya next month!

[Kubelwagen]

Indeed, the gorge route is nice. Especially if you go up the Washington side. Little winding two lane job. You can tool along at reasonable speed and actually look at the river some. Lots of little towns, some with parks though I don't recall which ones.

Also, the Oregon gas stations are a sign of civilization, not oppression! =D>

[deschutestrout]

Good suggestion on the WA side of the gorge. VERY different travel experience indeed. As long as you make it here Dick, I don't give a rip which route you take

[dtrumbo]

Thanks, guys! Funny, Google maps sez if we go through the gorge to take the Washington side. It suggests we cross at the very skinny tolled ($1.00) Hood River bridge. That should be fun!

[Kubelwagen]

Just crossed it (twice) this evening. Pretty and not so very skinny.

[Xelmon]

Honestly, I have no idea... You could 82 down, but that would be sorta lame.
You could try this. I've driven the 161/7/12 stretch and that's a very nice drive, however NF-25/90 seems very twisty. Google also says that that 25 is a seasonal road. =|
Distance wise Norton to Carson is 100 miles... I hope you can make that distance.


On that note, since the trip is a whole 3 weeks away, two things are on my list;

1. I've been bugging the ever living crap out of the local crew, and it seems like a couple of us (Tris, mental, hammy, kilty, myself and ruckman possibly) are all on board for a Thursday Afternoon Caravan. How bad ass would that be?

2. As usual, I am more than willing to pick up a pony keg of... Blue Dog or Solar Flare, I'm not sure yet. Any interest?
If people pitch like last year it'll almost come out to ~$5 a person, give or take some of the more gracious donations.

[Kubelwagen]

I'd be in. I'll be bringing a case of Widmer too, from my "year of Widmer" deal.

[JLT]

Indeed, the gorge route is nice. Especially if you go up the Washington side. Little winding two lane job. You can tool along at reasonable speed and actually look at the river some. Lots of little towns, some with parks though I don't recall which ones.

If you're going that route, you might want to plan a short detour to see the "replica" of Stonehenge at Maryhill. It was put up as a memorial to the local boys who died in World War One. According to the plaques there, some of them were just kids. Very thought-provoking, and a good photo op.