We met in Tacoma at 8:30 AM and the cooler fall temps were prevalent. After a few minutes maybe 15 minutes of jaw jacking we were on the road and heading across the Narrows Bridge on SR-16. We turned off on to the Purdy exit and made our way over the Purdy bridge. The view of Car Inlet was awesome. To our right the water was like glass as its isolated by the spit. On our left the water had a slight chop to it from the light morning breeze. The air was crisp but the sun was shining and all was good. We rode 18.8 miles down hwy 302 in and out of tree cover passing by Rocky Bay and Case Inlet. The view of the water were all spectacular. The end of hwy 302 brought us to hwy 106 where we turned right on to 106. We found ourselves riding along the Southern most part of Hood Canal on the east shore. The Olympic mountain range stood tall above the hills of the west shore. hwy 106 stretched for approximately 18.7 miles paralleling the Canal and taking us past many nice homes perched right on the east shore of the canal.

We soon made the bend around the South end of the canal and were now on US 101. We now were riding on the west side of the canal in the sun. Almost the entire ride on the east side we were in the shade and it made for a cool ride. Now that we were riding in the sun we began to warm a bit. Not far from the south end we made a rest stop at Potlatch state park. This is a very popular stop for bikers as parking is in abundance. It felt good to stretch my legs and soak in more of the warm sun. We also took advantage of the restroom facilities. The view of the Hood canal was great. I was reminded of my Scuba Diving days when I used to dive from the beaches of Potlatch for Dungeness crab. After a brief stop we rode 42.5 miles up the west side of Hood Canal through the small towns of  Hoodsport, Lilliwaup, Duckabush,  Brinnon and Quilcene. The entire ride around the canal was loaded with twists and turns all of which are low speed due to presence of state patrol and a 35 to 40 mph speed limit. I found it extremely relaxing to say the least. We were nearing 11 AM and  I was starting to get hungry. This was fueled by the fact that we had only 18 more miles of US 101 and we would be in Discovery Bay home of a well known hamburger joint and one of my favorites, Fat Smitty's. The 18 miles went quick and at minimum Tim and I were jazzed for a burger. This is an old school diner complete with walls and ceilings covered with US currency pinned up by push pins. Most of the money had peoples names and some had phone numbers or business cards. As usual I ordered the Smitty Burger. Dale did the same, Dave went for the fish sandwich and Tim had the cheeseburger. Fresh Blackberry shakes were on the menu so I couldn't resist. Eating a monster Smitty Burger is a black art. It's two large patties, with a center bun, cheese, lettuce, bacon, pickles, tomatoes and sauce. This thing towers at about 6 inches high. The trick is to take out the toothpick and smash it down. This also forces the juice from the patties into the buns. Oh Yeah! Once you pick the thing up you can't set it down. If you do you won't be able to pick it back up without it falling apart. From that point on it's fork time. I will never let that happen. I completed the burger and it left my hand when the last bite was consumed. I chased it with the Black berry shake leaving no room what so ever for a single fry. Fries are often over rated.  We let our food settle a bit and we paid our tabs and hit the open road.

US 101 took us 33.4 miles past the tip of Sequim Bay and on to Port Angeles Washington. This is a good place for a fuel stop so we all filled our tanks. The next left turn brought us to South Race St which turns into the Heart O Hills Rd. This is a 17 mile ride up through the Park entrance and on to hurricane Ridge. Unfortunately for us the National Forest service decided to close the road at the Park entrance for paving. It closed this very day and will remain closed until October 17.  We were not happy about this. First Windy Ridge never opens due to wash outs and lack of budget and now they close Heart O Hills Rd. to Hurricane Ridge. We rested up near the view point that over looks Port Angeles. Once back on the road we made our way back down 1.5 miles to US 101. We rode back the way we came on US 101 but made a left on to the Old Olympic Hyw. We rode some really cool back roads snaking through farm land and through the town of Dungeness and along the west shore of Sequim Bay. We stopped at the Sequim Bay state park and rested again mainly to enjoy the view and get some pictures. This is another good place for a restroom stop at the Marina.

As we made our way back on to US 101 it was getting late in the day. We rode 18 more miles to hwy 20. We rode hwy 20 to hwy 19 which was a short 9.3 miles to our next turn onto hwy 104. hwy 104 was a short stretch to hwy 3. This highway took us through Silverdale and Bremerton. I'm always amazed by the view of the large ships. Some aircraft carriers. When we got to the hwy 16 on ramp Dave headed for SR 16 and Tim and I rode through Port Orchard on back roads to Olalla and on to Gig Harbor making one stop along side Crescent Valley Rd where it meets the salt water. The view here was stellar. We rested a bit and made our way to gig Harbor where we made a food stop at the Tides Tavern. As always it was a relaxing and satisfying stop. We sat out on the deck over the water with one of the best views of the harbor. Tim had the Turkey Club and I was still a bit full from the giant burger and settled for a bowl of clam chowder.   They have the best chowder. Heck all of their food is great!

After a great meal and conversation we made our way out of the harbor onto SR 16 and through the toll booths. The view crossing the new span of the Narrows Bridges was awesome. It was now dusk and there was a harvest moon rising above the hill side on the east side of the bridges. To my left the sky was a dim pink as the sun sunk below the horizon. Although we didn't get up to Hurricane Ridge we enjoyed a great day ride.

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