MOA National Rally, Redmond OR, 13-16 June 2024

MOA National Rally, Redmond OR, 13-16 June 2024

LOE Website Forum Home Club Organized Rides, Activities and Events MOA National Rally, Redmond OR, 13-16 June 2024

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  • #96764
    Avatar photoJohn Dillon
    Moderator
    2 Topics11 Replies13 Total Posts

    MOA National Rally Route idea:

    Jennifer Ott
    Top contributor
    · 3h  ·

    RIDIN’ TO REDMOND: I-84 / US 26: THE FINAL SPRINT TO REDMOND
    You may have read elsewhere about the attractions I-80 has to offer as it rambled across the plains from the east. Crossing the Wyoming border into Utah, it is decision time. That’s because near Echo, UT, an I-80 variant emerges: Interstate 84.
    I-84 branches to the northwest, crossing southern Idaho and terminating in Portland, OR. And while I-80 will eventually get you to additional jumping-off points to Redmond, I-84 is the most direct route.
    As originally designed, I-84 was originally marked as I-80N or Interstate 80 North. However, in 1977, federal highway officials altered their guidelines, eliminating directional suffixes. I-84 was born.
    It is only 790 miles from Echo, UT to Redmond, OR and allows you to maximize your time on I-84. However, following I-84 as far as you can takes you unnecessarily way far north before needing to drop back south to Redmond on US 97 at Biggs Junction (Exit 104). The better route is to depart I-84 just after crossing the Oregon border at Ontario (Exit 374). From this point westward, you will be traveling briefly on US 20 to Vale, OR, then on US 26 to Redmond. Exiting I-84 at Ontario, OR cuts 123 miles off your final leg — probably a welcome development after a few days or more on the interstate.
    The first 80-mile stretch of I-84 can be tedious — it passes through the most densely populated section of Utah, the northern side of the greater Salt Lake City metro. With the Wasatch Mountains looming to the east and the Great Salt Lake to the west, there’s little opportunity to avoid it. Once you get to Tremonton, UT, you’re back to wide open spaces. The most telling sign? The speed limit is 80 mph all the way to the Oregon border! We know you want to get to Redmond, but we should mention a few touchstones and bypasses along the way.
    About 27 miles east of I-84 at Exit 40 lies the Golden Spike National Historical Park. Here on the 10th of May 1869, Leland Stanford drove a ceremonial golden spike connecting the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento to the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha. Thus, the first transcontinental railroad was completed. When leaving Golden Spike, be sure to stop and checkout Northup Grumman’s Rocket Park before getting back on I-84.
    I-15 north from Tremonton, UT offers another option and a few other worthy destinations. Lava Hot Springs, Idaho is a 75-mile detour that is a worthy destination along your route. Numerous small motels abound; a favorite is the Alpaca Inn. We highlight these points of interest on this option in our I-80 to I-84 connector.
    Staying on I-84, but starting to tire of the super slab drone? At Exit 211 in Idaho, consider detouring south onto old US 30. This section, known as the Thousand Springs Scenic Byway, dips into the Hagerman Valley, where you’ll find fossil beds and a shallow canyon of the Snake River. Here the abundant springs and rivulets feed one of the largest groundwater systems in the world. And the 90-mile byway only adds 19 miles to your trip.
    By the time you reach Mountain Home you’re about a day out from Redmond. Perhaps you’re in the mood for a big steak dinner followed by a good night’s sleep. Any number of motel waysides cross the horizon from here to Ontario, OR in which none of which stand out. However, we do know where you can get that steak. The Indian Creek Steakhouse in Caldwell, ID is a nondescript quarter-block in the middle of town. Here you can enjoy an enormous ribeye or slab of prime rib, broiled over applewood to perfection. You’ll find it about a mile south of I-84 Exit 28. A sister restaurant, Cowboys Bar & Grill, is located next to a Holiday Inn Express across the Snake River in Ontario, OR, 30 miles further west.
    As we suggested above, your best bet for the last sprint to Redmond is to seek US 26. From Caldwell, Exit 26 in Idaho, will get you on US 26 and cross over the Snake River into Oregon at Nyssa while passing the Sugar Beet Refinery on the Oregon side.
    If you continue on I-84 past Caldwell, you’ll find US 26 by leaving I-84 behind at Oregon Exit 374 to head south on OR-201. Follow the signs to Vale, OR, where US 26 breaks to the northwest. Gas up in Vale… there is nothing but wide open spaces for the next 100 miles.
    If you take the fantastic Dooley Mountain Highway bypass. Look, we know you’re tired and anxious to get to Redmond. So, file this one away and do it in reverse when you’re fresh and just starting out for home. However, if you’re feeling frisky, take OR-245 just west of the “town” of Unity. The first 21 miles leaves you asking yourself, What’s with the flat backtracking? The next sixteen miles answer the question with an exclamation point — a perfectly engineered roller-coaster that climbs 2,000 feet before cresting and immediately requesting that 2,000 feet back. A left at the tee on OR-7, a wonderful road in of itself, will deliver you back to US 26. Celebrate with an ice cream cone at Austin House. This delectable detour will add sixty miles to your trip — if you don’t turn around to do it again!
    Gas up in John Day. But don’t have lunch or at least save room for pie at the Dayville Café (baked fresh daily), thirty miles west. Only 106 miles remain between you and Redmond. Enjoy the ride through Picture Gorge and over to Ochoco Summit. To the north along these next fifty miles are several units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The monument’s Thomas Condon Visitor Center is two miles north on OR-19 and definitely worth a stop. And check out the Painted Hills after leaving Mitchell if you think you won’t make it back this way during or after the rally.
    At long last, you have arrived in Redmond! If you crossed the country to get here, you deserve an extra pat on the back. Next steps? Check in, take a nap — and prepare to enjoy all that a MOA Rally has to offer. Welcome to Oregon! The good times have only just begun.
    You can find a GPS file for this route in the BMW MOA’s Ride with GPS organization account here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46345466
    USING RIDE WITH GPS
    Ride with GPS is a great way for the MOA to share and distribute maps, GPS routes and turn-by-turn instructions. As with any great service, some best practices in the form of tips and tricks are in order.
    Each route in Ride with GPS is equivalent to a track in the world of Garmin GPS units and BaseCamp software. So for all the routes, make sure you get the entire collection of routes in Ride with GPS.
    Ride with GPS allows you to download many different GPS files types, including GPX, for the BMW Navigator series and other Garmin products. When downloading GPX files, only download the “GPX Track” version.
    The “GPX Route” version will leave you at the mercy of the settings on your Garmin GPS, and will take you off the planned route and maybe to unexpected places and road conditions.
    Once you have the “GPX Track” version loaded on your device and want turn-by-turn navigation, convert the “track” on your Garmin GPS to a “trip.”
    If you don’t have a dedicated GPS device and use your phone for navigation, Ride with GPS also has a number of file formats to work with various navigation apps for phones.
    Ride with GPS also has its own phone app that will also help guide you! Download now for Apple iOS or Android.

     

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    • #96890
      Avatar photoMartin Crow
      Participant
      0 Topics1 Replies1 Total Posts

      My name is Martin Crow, I live in Los Alamos. I’m a new member of LOEBMWRs. I’m ridin to Redmond this year, it’s my first National Rally and I was wondering if there was a group of riders from LOEBMWR riding together to Redmond. I plan on leaving Monday , 6/10 sometime.

      • #96917
        Avatar photogarytalda
        Participant
        10 Topics41 Replies51 Total Posts

        Hey Marting Welcome!  I am leaving Sunday morning early.  I am leaving the rally early Sunday morning returning to Rio Rancho Wednesday night.  Going to Bear Lake on Utah/Idaho border Monday night on ride home.

        FYI not sure your route but RT 550 is going to be under construction

         

        Roadwork, US 550 northbound and southbound from mile marker 115, 1 mile south of Nageezi to mile marker 135, 8 miles north of El Huerfano.

        Roadwork
        The New Mexico Department of Transportation along with Dustrol Inc. will begin an 80-lane mile pavement rehabilitation project that will include new pavement and striping from mile marker 115 to 135. The project will begin on Tuesday June 4, 2024, and is expected to last 45 working days. *** Crews will be working six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. One lane will be closed during working hours, and the speed limit will be reduced to 45 mph through the work zone. At the end of each workday, all traffic control devices will be removed, and the roadway reopened to motorists.

    • #96777
      Avatar photoJohn Dillon
      Moderator
      Moderator
      2 Topics11 Replies13 Total Posts

      I will be heading up there a few days early to enjoy the ride and will be either camping or hoteling it there. I prefer to ride in a small group of a few riders, or alone, and can meet up along the way with others.

       

      I might go up through Utah and several National Parks on the way.

      –John

      • #96916
        Avatar photoKarl Zuercher
        Participant
        1 Topics9 Replies10 Total Posts

        Greetings Martin, welcome to the club. There are several members going to Redmond this  year. I think 8 or 9 are going. Like a few others, I am leaving early to take care of a little family business in the Portland area. Have you downloaded the MOA rally app? I think there is a messsaging component in the app where we can connect. If you are camping, we will be camping next door to the Colorado group, with which we share some members. Look for the NM plates! Some of us have special routes going to, and back from Oregon. One of our members, Mary Lou Dobbs, is making a presentation Saturday night at the event too.

        There are several opportunities to connect, and I hope we can meet up net week.

    • #96776
      Avatar photogarytalda
      Participant
      10 Topics41 Replies51 Total Posts

      I have heard rumors of a subgroup planning to ride to Redmond.  I asked Karl to give me the secret handshake so I can join in!  I am going to get hotel rooms every night and like to have them planned in advance.  This is my first ride of this magnitude and I hope to reduce my anxiety levels!

       

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LOE Website Forum Home Club Organized Rides, Activities and Events MOA National Rally, Redmond OR, 13-16 June 2024