Eagles are so plentiful and always overhead, until the camera emerges and you realize how hard they are to capture.
The Cavendish Highway, or old SR-7, follows the twisted Clearwater then augers its way up the hillsides for more fun on the flats.
speeding chrome, steel, and plastic. The mixed blessing of riding motorcycles keeping you in touch with all your senses and surroundings was driven home with an olfactory exclamation point about every 10 miles, as the Eau de Cay filled my helmet in the now warming afternoon air. It’ s best to reserve riding in these shorter days of light during their off hours, so like Lewis and Clark I headed back to Long Camp RV, which also sports a very good old-fashioned burger stand to sweeten the deal.
During the night a rogue weather system blew through, its sky-scouring downpour quite welcome the next morning as blue returned to the sky and the parched earth formed puddles. Azure skies beckoned this rider back to the river gorges and up into the hills to the north. Destination: Elk River. As I enjoyed the sun-sparked Clearwater River again along U. S. 12, the ride crossed to the northern bank at Orofino and followed it along the Cavendish Highway / Old SR-7. It wriggled like a spastic serpent into another plateau garnished with old towns, grain farms, and postcard-quality ranchettes before diving back down into Southwick / Wauncher Gulch to meet SR-3. I was so blissfully alone I could stop in the middle of the road for photos.
Enjoying a few fast, smooth curves along SR-3 north to Deary, my trajectory and speed saw me closing in on
The plateau above the Clearwater at Cavendish on old SR-7 is dotted with scenic farms and a panoramic view for miles.
26 / NOVEMBER 2026 / RIDERMAGAZINE. COM