Iron Horse Rodeo Rally Review
The Iron Horse Rodeo (www.ironhorserodeo.us) was held June 27-29th at Lake Selmac, OR benefiting the Wildlife Images Animal Rehabilitation Center (www.wildloifeimages.org) It was also held in conjunction with the Grant’s Pass Motorcycle Festival (www.grantspassmotorcycleshow.org).
Marilyn and I left Vancouver, WA on Thursday and camped out at the Umpqua Golf Resort and RV Park in Sutherlin, OR. At first, they didn’t know what to make of us and our Aspen Sentry pop-up. A manager finally came by and gave us the green light to stay after we reassured him that it wasn’t a tent and didn’t set on the ground. They were wary of tents after an incident where an errant golf ball struck a tent and the people complained. After the camper was set up, we got a lot of very friendly visitors to see it, as most had never heard of nor seen such a setup. I have to admit it was pretty hilarious wandering through the park and seeing all the behemoth RVs next to our little camper. We had a great spot in between two larger RV’s (to shield us from any errant tee shots) that overlooked the 10th fairway. We pulled out our camp chairs and spent the evening watching the sunset over the course as the stars came to light overhead.
Friday morning we enjoyed watching the sunrise before breaking camp and hitting the road. About an hour and a half later we stopped for breakfast at Grants Pass, OR where we touched bases with Mike and Diane from Brookings, OR who were joining us for this rally. They were stuck in a construction zone, so we decided to all meet up at the rally site. They ended up pulling in right behind us as we finalized our registrations. Camping sites were “first come/first serve” so Marilyn and Diane went off in search of the perfect site. They found a pretty good one under some shade trees next to a small creek. The evergreens were draped in Spanish Moss, and the fluff from the cottonwoods floated gently through the air. Even though this was Mike’s first camping trip, the campsite went up in record time with Mike and Diane setting up their tent like old pros.
Now that the campsite was settled, we took the opportunity to go exploring. We headed off to the Oregon Caves National Monument (www.nps.gov/orca). Highway 46 from Cave Junction, OR to the Oregon Caves National Monument was fairly steep with lots of winding, twisting curves perfect for motorcycles!
Marilyn was worried that she might not be able to complete the guided hike through the caves since it was listed as “moderately strenuous”. She needn’t have worried because she zipped through those caves like nobody’s business. Our ranger-guide, Joe, was an excellent tour guide. He kept the tour moving, but also kept it fun with a lot of interesting facts and light-hearted humor. The tour was 90 minutes long, and that seemed to be gone in a flash. The temperature in the caves was about 46 degrees which was welcome relief from the 90’s and humidity that awaited us outside. We traced our way back to the campgrounds, stopped at the local grocery store to get provisions, then parked the bikes for the night. The entertainment wasn’t over; however, because the bands were beginning to play. “Hog Wild” played first, followed by “Hot Gossip”. These bands played a mix of rock, oldies, and a few newer songs. There was also an interlude where Polynesian-style fire dancers performed. The fire dancers were good enough to remind me of home!
Saturday, we awoke to temperatures and humidity climbing rapidly. We registered for the poker run then left the campgrounds and traveled west along Lake Shore Drive, turning south on Reeves Creek Road until it rejoined US-199 south into Cave Junction, OR and our first scheduled stop at “My Brother’s Pub”. We grabbed a danish, coffee and juice before running north on US-199 back to Selma, OR and Ray’s Food Place which was our second scheduled stop. A quick stamp of the cards, and it was back on US-199 north to our third stop at Wilderville, OR and the Wilderville Market. We took a rest break, got some refreshments, and recharged our cool ties before making our way north on Riverbanks Road. We crossed the Rogue River via Roberston Bridge where Riverbanks Road intersected with Lower River Road, then continued on Lower River Road to our fourth stop of the day at Wildlife Images. We had just missed the start of the last tour, and the next scheduled tour wasn’t for another hour, so we opted to take the tour another day. We retraced our steps north along Lower River Road to Artlin Road followed by Robertson Bridge Road before a quick jaunt east on Galice Road brought us to Merlin, OR and “Victoria’s Station”, our fifth stop along the course. We took another rest break, looked at some souvenirs, and ate a nice lunch in the attached eatery. The sandwiches were so large they had to be eaten with fork and knife and the ice cream was a welcome treat. We had noticed that not many people were shopping, eating or drinking at any of the establishments along the route. Even the taverns were empty! We surmised that it was probably due to the current economic conditions, but it was quite the surprise nonetheless and I’m sure it was equally heartbreaking to the business owners struggling to survive. We were now in the home stretch, so we traveled east on Merlin Road then south on Highland Road before turning onto 6th Street in Grants Pass. We followed 6th street down to Lakeside Park which was the endpoint of the poker run and the venue for the Grants Pass Motorcycle Show. Mike, Diane and I wandered around the park looking at the motorcycles on display along with various vendors. Marilyn looked at a few booths before retiring with cool drinks to the comfort of some shade. The 103 degree heat and high humidity had really gotten to her by this point. I drew the cards for our two hands but came up empty on both and Mike fared no better, so we loaded up the bikes again and made a dash back to the campground to park the bikes for the day.
Upon entering the park, someone had the great idea of using a garden hose for a misting station, so we rode the bikes through the mist which was really refreshing. I then went back and got thoroughly drenched! The weather started cooling off pretty rapidly, and we noticed a thick haze that was cresting the ridge line and progressing towards the lower elevations. The winds started swirling where in one direction the wind would be very hot and dry, and then from another direction be very cool and moist. It really didn’t feel like rain, but to be safe we closed some of the windows on the Aspen and set the rain fly on the tent before sitting back to enjoy the night’s musical entertainment. The bands that played Saturday night were “Rogue Rage” and “The Billy Martini Show”. The Polynesian-style fire dancers were back for another show as well. We preferred the bands that played Friday night, but these guys also did a pretty good job. Shortly after turning in for the night, the first of the rain and wind storms hit and continued off and on through the night. While they didn’t drop a lot of precipitation, they did carry a lot of lightning and thunder which this area did not need. We later learned that areas of Grants Pass lost power for a couple hours, and areas south of us received softball-sized hail.
Sunday morning, after a fitful night’s sleep, we broke camp and headed back to our everyday lives. We had a lot of fun at this event and are interested in seeing how it progresses in later years. Other than the need for more porta-potties, I feel this rally went off beautifully. The volunteers did an excellent job and everyone I saw and talked to were having a lot of fun. It was well worth the trip!
Total miles for this trip: 1032.5
Allen
‘02 1800 Ka Uila (Lightning)
Vancouver, WA
