05-06-2018, 09:38 AM | #1 |
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Unbelievable Car, Spectacular Roads (many pics!)
Featured on BIMMERPOST.com The forecast looked decent for a quick overnight getaway on either a motorcycle or the BMW. Because the forecast looked good for photos (clouds!), the car won this time, since I've taken a zillion moto-photos on these particular roads before. I left the office around 3:30 on Friday, and headed up to Enterprise, Oregon for the night. Although there is some decent scenery along the way between home and Enterprise, my main goal was to get some great photos (and amazing driving) on Saturday along Rattlesnake Pass between Oregon and Washington, then up to Lewiston, Idaho, and over to Elk City, then south back through Riggins and McCall, and back home to the Boise area. The car got a little dusty and bug-coated on the way to Enterprise on Friday night, so, knowing I'd be taking lots of photos on Saturday, and with the forecast just calling for clouds, I went to a self-service car wash and cleaned her up a bit. Early Saturday morning as I left the hotel, I had to snap a photo of the beautiful mountains forming a beautiful backdrop to Enterprise. As I drove north toward Rattlesnake Pass, I had to grab one more shot of those mountains. I saw a few very dark, wet looking clouds around, but hoped they wouldn't be a problem. Within a few minutes, I found it didn't much matter, as the road was completely soaked with water from a shower that must have rolled through a little earlier. Great. Dirty car. Thanks a lot, weatherman! After a half hour or so of blasting through the forest on a beautiful, flowing road, I crested the top of the hill and began to see one of my all-time favorite stretches of tarmac - the incredible Rattlesnake Pass, descending into Hells Canyon. So awesome. I gave the car a quick "dry bath" with some of my motorcycle polish, and had to shoot some photos. The only thing better than enjoying this view is driving here! It's a dream come true, especially in this amazing car. Mind blowing! Almost nobody out here, as usual. A few cars and a couple of motorcycles here and there (it was still pretty early), but generally empty. I had a blast testing the limits of those fat Michelins, and even doubled back on a couple of sections just to enjoy them again while I was there. Awesome! As I climbed the hill on the north end of Rattlesnake, nearing the top, I rounded a corner and saw some wildlife up ahead. But it wasn't the usual deer or wild turkey - they were round and furry and brown. Bears! A mama and her two cubs, just walking across the road. I stopped and watched from a distance (and they watched me). After a minute or two, they scampered into the woods alongside the road. I drove up to that spot and grabbed my camera, which I'm glad was handy! That was a pretty cool sight to see for sure! My next destination was Lewiston, and another favorite - the Old Spiral Highway. I've ridden this a bunch of times on bikes over the years, but this was the first time in a sports car. So completely fantastic! I can't believe this road exists. Super grippy asphalt, perfect banking, amazing views. It's ridiculous. I hammered those corners pretty hard, then stopped at the top for some photos, and even doubled back to go shoot a few more along the way. I wish the camera could really capture it all, but there's just too much. Next I headed over to the Old Winchester Grade road, which was pretty fun, but quite bumpy and dirty with gravel. I headed east toward Kamiah through Nezperce. I thought I'd gone this way before, but apparently only on a part of it. It was a fun drive initially, on a really secluded and fun road that was very scenic and fast. Shortly after Nezperce, however, the road suddenly got really narrow and became a dirt and gravel road! I was low on fuel and Kamiah was just a few more miles - but I really didn't want to take my baby on this kind of road. It was super slippy and dusty. This isn't a rally car, dang it! I kept going and just hoped it would turn back to asphalt soon. Views were nice, and it'd be a really fun road in something I didn't mind getting dirty, but I was so sorry to do that to my baby! Not to mention the fact that I knew I still wanted to take a bunch more photos on the road to Elk City and so on, and a filthy brownish-Long Beach Blue car wouldn't do. No way. So, not only did I stop for gas in Kamiah, but I even found a little self-service car wash! You'll notice a big difference in the way the car looks in the photo above to the photo below. I was happy once again. Long Beach Blue once again! The road to Elk City is SICK! 40 miles or so each way of just incredible curves along the river, with almost no people along the way. We absolutely flew on this stretch, enjoying the hell out of Sport + mode in the M2. So completely awesome! I think it's the best road in Idaho (and there are many great ones). It's sure my favorite, anyway. So darn much fun! This car makes me so happy, especially on roads like this. Just unbelievable. It does whatever I want, corner after corner. Fast and fun, with amazing sound through that BMW Performance exhaust. I'm in love. I climbed the hill toward Grangeville, and took one last look back. I can't wait to get back here again. As I headed back toward Boise, I stopped at the top of White Bird hill to take in the view from the top, which is always amazing. I didn't bother with photos the remaining four hours or so, just had a blast hammering the corners through the beautiful Idaho forest. The sky was a pretty drab gray anyway, so it wasn't optimal photo conditions. Great for driving, though! Nearly 700 miles of ridiculous fun, in a car I'm simply in love with. It's surprisingly comfortable, even in 11 hours or so of driving like this day. And the performance is everything I hoped for and way more. And yes, of course, she got a proper bath as soon as I got home. So fortunate to live in an area with such beautiful and fun terrain for driving and riding. Very grateful! |
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05-06-2018, 12:26 PM | #4 |
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Congrat, must be hard to pause when enjoying the drive! I can't
Very nice pictures, love the car, the scenery and quite amazed to see you could film bears, we don't see much of those around the Alps |
05-06-2018, 02:11 PM | #7 |
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05-06-2018, 09:45 PM | #10 |
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05-06-2018, 11:32 PM | #11 |
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05-07-2018, 02:53 PM | #14 |
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Love the photos - those roads (and the LBB M2) look unreal.
Like seeing the bikes too - I need to get my baby up on some of those scenic routes.
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05-08-2018, 02:29 AM | #15 |
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Great photos, as always. I miss my Ducati. The drivers here in AZ compelled me to sell it. Every ride felt like Russian roulette. When someone dropped a couch out of their pickup in front of me at 70mph on the 101, I reacted quickly enough and lived but felt my luck running out. I think the M2 is a way for me to recapture that feeling but with more metal around me. Glad you included the great bear shots too!
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05-08-2018, 08:26 AM | #17 | |
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05-08-2018, 08:57 PM | #18 |
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Killer pix of scenic roads, sweet car, and bears - thanks for sharing! Need more threads like this... Nice to be reminded we have some beautiful spots and nice roads in this country too - now only if it weren't so far away for me...
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05-09-2018, 10:31 AM | #19 |
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Wow, lovely pictures and fantastic scenery ! So that's what Idaho looks like ! It's not the sort of state we foreigners get to see pictures of normally. Never seems to feature in films. I bet there wasn't a single policeman for 100 miles !!!
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05-09-2018, 12:59 PM | #20 | |
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But I did bring the radar detector along, just in case... |
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05-09-2018, 01:14 PM | #21 | |
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