"Ghost Town" Ride to Franklin, WA (7/9/11)

[wukka]

ATTENTION WASHINGTON STATE SPYDER RYDERS!

Join in the fun of exploring a TRUE Ghost Town in Western Washington. Be a part of the next Spyder Event when we visit the long-abandoned town of Franklin, WA.

WHEN: Saturday, July 9th

MEET AT: CLEMS ENUMCLAW POWERSPORTS
408 Roosevelt Avenue
Enumclaw WA 98022

MEETING TIME: 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Complimentary Coffee and Doughnuts provided at Clems. We'll ride as a group to Franklin, where there is a short hike over mild terrain to the once prosperous coal mining town. You'll be able to explore the 1300' sealed mine shaft, old foundations, mining tracks, and graveyard nestled along the forest trails. After a couple of hours exploring, we will gather again and ride as a group back to Wally's Drive-In in Buckley, WA for an excellent made-to-order meal.

I NEED A COUNT OF HOW MANY WILL BE ATTENDING BY NOON PST ON SATURDAY, JUNE 11. PLEASE POST A REPLY, SEND ME A PM, OR SEND ME AN E-MAIL (jomion@gmail.com) TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING. YOUR SUPPORT WILL ENSURE THAT WE ARE PREPARED AND MAKE THIS AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE!

FROM WIKIPEDIA:
"The community was established in the 1880s, with a post office established by 1886. In May 1891, labor recruiters brought African-Americans to Franklin from Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee with offers of good paying jobs and free transportation. The white miners who were on strike took exception to the African-American strikebreakers and tensions grew for a month and a half. In early July, a riot broke out resulting in the deaths of two people and the Governor called out the National Guard to restore order.
In 1885 the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad was extended from Black Diamond to the town, allowing most of the coal to be shipped to San Francisco. On August 24, 1894, the worst mine disaster in King County history occurred at the Oregon Improvement Company mine in Franklin. A fire caused thirty-seven miners to suffocate in the mine. A jury later found that the fire had been intentionally set, but the person responsible had also perished in the disaster.
By the early Twentieth Century, demand fell and mining became more difficult, causing the mine to shut down. The post office closed in 1916."

SOME PHOTOS:

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n391/jomion/franklin_mine/mining_car_tracks.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n391/jomion/franklin_mine/S1080002.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n391/jomion/franklin_mine/S1080007.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n391/jomion/franklin_mine/S1080035.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n391/jomion/franklin_mine/S1080032.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n391/jomion/franklin_mine/S1080026.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n391/jomion/franklin_mine/S1080017.jpg

[IWN2RYD]

We will be there :2thumbs::spyder2::doorag: Going to use it as a warm up for the Redwoods Run...

[Heliplt]

put me down for two :2thumbs:

[Riot]

i plan to be there.

[Grizz]

Count me in also!:2thumbs: Sounds like FUN!:yes:
Grizz

[wa3wheels]

Count us in for 2...... We are still on the road from Spyderfest. Tonight we are in Espanola,N.M. Heading for Teluride,Colo.

[wally69]

sound good to me.

[truck 85]

Is it to late to say yes i would love to go.:2excited:

[wukka]

[QUOTE=truck 85;336346]Is it to late to say yes i would love to go.:2excited:[/QUOTE

Not too late...I figured that you'd be in. :)

[winger]

We are coming too.

Just found out today. :chat:

[wukka]

Picked up maps from the Black Diamond Historical Society over the weekend. This will help folks to find their way around and point some of the "must see" remnants of the old town.

For our lunch, Wally's will have a special deal for our group. They are looking forward to seeing our Spyders!

Will let you know if there are any other developments...

[IWN2RYD]

Sounds great! We are really looking forward to it... :yes:

[Riot]

You havent missed it!..2 weeks to go still JULY 9th. :joke:

[IWN2RYD]

It is almost time!!! :yes::yes::yes:

[wukka]

It is almost time!!! :yes::yes::yes:

Yes! I just touched base with Clem's in Enumclaw, and they will be ready for us at 9AM. Plus I checked things out at Franklin and made copies of the maps for everyone.

CAN'T WAIT - SEE YOU TOMORROW!!!

[wa3wheels]

Spyder in shop unable to attend......

[IWN2RYD]

Spyder in shop unable to attend......
What? :gaah::gaah::gaah:

Man if I had a second unit I would offer it to you :thumbup:... Very sorry to hear of this nojoke

[wa3wheels]

Thanks for the offer. Should be a great day for ride.:chat:

[wa3wheels]

.? Ooops!

[wukka]

Special thanks to everyone that participated in the GHOST TOWN ride today. Weather was perfect, ride was perfect...couldn't have wished for a better day with a greater group of folks.. Hope that everyone enjoyed exploring Franklin, WA!

[IWN2RYD]

We enjoyed it greatly. Love the variety of rydes and folks that came along.

Just sorry we had to cut out the eating part to tend to our pups... :(

You do a pretty darn good job of organizing and keeping everything flowing during these rydes. Your daughter was a lot of fun and was a joy to try and keep up with on the trails :thumbup:

Looking forward to our next get together...:ohyea::spyder2:

[IWN2RYD]

I almost forgot! How awesome it was to have a such a nice guy from BRP to join us!!! We really wanted to speak with him more. Man what a nice guy.

P.S. Looooooooooooooooooove the hat :2thumbs::spyder2::firstplace::yes: :bowdown:

[Riot]

Thx for settin that up Joe! Very cool getting to meet more riders in the state. also thx for inviting the sidecar friends we made last month! Dale loved taking her 1st ride in a sidecar.
The fishin we did afterwards 1/2 dozen trout..none under 20" capped off a good day. Troy

[wukka]

For the Ghost Town Ride, we had 25 participants and 11 Spyders show up, making this the largest Spyder event to date. Every time they keep getting BIGGER and BETTER!
http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n391/jomion/2011/Ghost%20Town%20Ride/005.jpg

Weather conditions were perfect, and we worked up a healthy appetite hiking in the hills along the Green River Gorge. Afterwards, we took nice scenic ride to Wally's Drive-In for burgers and fries.

A special thanks goes to CLEMS ENUMCLAW POWERSPORTS for hosting the event - providing free coffee and doughnuts when we started AND coordinating a special "Spyder Rider" Discount at Wally's.


Here's some pictures that I took for this event...If you have additional photos, please post...

SLIDE SHOW (http://s337.photobucket.com/albums/n391/jomion/2011/Ghost%20Town%20Ride/?albumview=slideshow)

[coreyt700]

Thanks to all the ryders (and riders) and passengers that showed up for this event. Joe you did an excellent job putting this together they just keep getting better and bigger. We love that you guys (and gals) let us be a part of these events, we sure enjoy helping with them. You all made us local celebs, I was working the King County fair last Saturday and quite a few people mentioned seeing everyone parked outside the shop, riding out to Franklin and even at Wally's. We can't wait to get another ryde going. I think some of the guys here are going to "scout out" a good loop ryde, kinda like the one we did last year. We are shooting for 175-200 miles start and end at the shop, with coffee and doughnuts in the morning and BBQ up some burgers and dogs for lunch. If there are any routes or places you might like to include let us know.

[wa3wheels]

Mt. St Helens back side. Turn at Randle,Wa.. Maybe incorperate with Ride for the Beef BBQ in Packwood, the 1st. Sunday in August the 7th. ... :chat:

[wukka]

Mt. St Helens back side. Turn at Randle,Wa.. Maybe incorperate with Ride for the Beef BBQ in Packwood, the 1st. Sunday in August the 7th. ... :chat:

Ray -

That sounds awesome, but I already have concert tickets for that day. Saw your rig around back of Clems...are you back up and running again?

Corey...Also sounds like a great idea...Did you have a weekend in mind? Mebbe 2nd or 3rd weekend in August? A ride around the mountain would be great!

[Riot]

Id be down for 3rd weekend. 2cd weekend is Sturgis

[wukka]

Id be down for 3rd weekend. 2cd weekend is Sturgis

I'll be at Clems tomorrow, we'll talk about the 3rd weekend for this ride...

[coreyt700]

August 21st (3rd weekend). We will have exact times and route to follow. We are shooting for 8ish for doughnuts and coffee, leave around 8:30-9 and meet back here around 1-2 for bbq. All input is welcome we are trying too keep it between 175-200 miles.