Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1404782
for sports cars. Some highway design engineer for this stretch of road must have had a Porsche! The road was not new, but quality was excellent for high performance driving in the beautiful Wallowa-Whitman National Forest." East of Vinson, the pair took a right onto Hwy 395 south to Ukiah, then northwest on Hwy 244, finally picking up the Grande Ronde River into La Grande. Per Mike: "The day's drive was spectacular with twisties galore carving down and back up out of canyons and landscapes dotted with hundreds of wind turbines, the occasional farm town, and vibrant green wheat fields." Just outside of La Grande, the days destination was reached: the Grande Hot Springs Campground where the plan was to camp for three nights. Upon checking in, the tent site was setup, and they settled in for the evening. With no fire ban, the pair were able to have a nice campfire which was sorely needed as the temperature was a balmy 45 degrees with a 5-10 mph wind. The total miles driven on day two was 240. The strategy was to use the campground as a "base camp," driving out from there, looping around and back for the night. On Wednesday, Mike and Jim headed out to find some twisty roads and succeeded! Heading back up to Hwy 244 and on to Ukiah, then south onto Soap Hill Rd on Hwy 52, taking a southeasterly direction. This was a pretty gnarly, twisty road but nothing in comparison to Hwy 51 which took them northward over Chicken Hill, along Chicken Creek which was a very unmaintained forest service road that had many fallen rocks on the roadway. More than once, coming around a blind corner, the lane was strewn with rocks. Fortunately, being the only cars up there, they had two lanes to choose from when evasive action was required. Back at the campground, the good news from the staff was that firewood was free and available in two easy locations. The bad news was that no firewood could be found at either of those two easy locations. After scrounging around in the woods a bit, some chopped wood left behind by departing campers was found and served well for two cold, windy evenings. The total miles covered on day three was 240. A note from Mike and Jim: Destination Highways Motorcyclist Maps can guarantee excellent excursions as they not only rate roads for twistiness and scenery, but also include pavement quality and 37 Spiel – August 2021