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The 2004 Crater Lake Run is all gone and history,
good history I might add.
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My day one started at 7:00am riding east out Springfield, OR under cloudy skies. I wanted to stop by and see Bill and Aleana Raycrafts new digs to be in LaPine, OR. I took Hwy 58 over the Willamette Pass after stopping for a good hot breakfast in Oakridge, OR. After which I headed north up Hwy 97 for about 20 miles to their new homestead to be. They are putting up a 120’ by 30’ metal prefab building by themselves, what a project. After boring them to death I headed south on Hwy 97 to Chemult, OR for my first and only gas stop. I then headed south another 10 miles on hwy 97 to the Crater Lake Junction that heads back west. The road is as straight as pin (almost) for 20 miles with only a couple of slight curves. You go from around 3000ft. to a little over 6000ft. elevation in the process. After reaching the top, the road splits and goes to the north entrance of Crater Lake or down to the Medford/Diamond Lake Junction. The road down to Prospect starts out being a very nice two-lane road with sweeping curves. The last half is made for motorcycle riding as the road narrows up and the corners are much tighter.
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I arrived at the Prospect Hotel/Motel at around 10:00am, my riding partner Oren Goldstrand was the only one there so after checking in we headed out for a mid day ride. Oren had me lead, which was fine except I didn’t know where I was going. (I know, what’s new) We ended up at the Oregon Vortex (The House of Mystery) and took a guided tour of the weird happenings. It is a very interesting place to visit and well worth the entrance fee, but keep an open mind when you see all of the mind-boggling things. We returned to the Prospect Hotel around 5:00pm and the majority of the rally goers had arrived while we were out, enjoying the country side.
There was the normal Washington contingent and several from California including Jeff Ellmore and his friend named Sue. I’ll have to pass on all of the names of people there as I’m sure I’ll miss some. Some of us walked up to the Pizza Parlor for dinner Friday night and others ate at the Hotel or next door at the local restaurant. There was the usual BS session after dinner in the parking lot and at Mike Turners deck.
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Saturday morning sent us in several different ways. Some of us had breakfast at the local restaurant; some rode 25 miles to Butte Falls for breakfast while others decided to go to Shady Cove. Mike Roberson, his friend and myself rode up the Crater Lake while others went for a ride in the Butte Falls area. I’ve been to Crater Lake many times, so I left Mike and his friend at the main gate as they were heading over to the coast before heading back to CA. After returning from Crater Lake I met up with Jeff Elmore, Mike Turner and Mikes’ riding partner Dick from Washington and we all rode back up to Crater Lake. This time we all rode in to see the lake, there is no two ways about it, Crater Lake just plains kicks ass.
Saturday evening we had a banquet dinner at the Prospect Hotel and as always they treat us all like royalty. My friends Bill and Aleana Raycraft along with their son Geno drove over on Saturday to spend the day with us and stayed for dinner. This time we all rode in to see the lake.
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When I checked Friday I was told that Gary Allan had called and canceled his room, but he would be coming through early Sunday afternoon. I live only about three hours away so I decided to hang around and wait for Gary. I had only met him one other time at Morro Bay in 1998 and wanted to renew our friendship. Low and behold around 9:00am in rides three very cold motorcyclists and you guessed it, Gary and friends. They had made better time than they planned on, they crossed over the Crater Lake Hwy early that morning. The four of us went over to the local restaurant for breakfast and coffee so they could warn up some. Oren Goldstrand donated T-shirts again this year and he left some for the late arrivals. I think that the boys were still cold as they all put them on along with their other clothing.
After saying our goodbye I headed north towards home for an uneventful trip. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to spend a couple of days with us at Prospect and Crater Lake.
Tom Whaley
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Average Score: 3
Votes: 2
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