Day 18 - Seattle to Wenatchee

We arrived in Seattle in the rain and, fortunately, left Seattle in brilliant sunshine. The sun came out, for the first time, on Tuesday and continued today. Of course, as we leave, the sun is expected to continue for the next week or so! I knew the sun God would get me for leaving the Northwest!

We said goodbye to Mom this morning, picked up "Goldie" at HD of Seattle, and headed over Stevens Pass to Wenatchee. The rivers flowing both West and East are beautiful - emerald green and crystal clear (photo). Exactly as I left them and fished them as a youth.

We had an easy day, not meant to cover lots of miles. We got into Wenatchee at 2:30pm and took "Goldie" to the car wash for a much needed bath. By 4:30 we were at Applewood Bar and Grill (photo). Then to the Buzz Inn for dinner and to watch the Seattle Mariners game on TV.

Wenatchee is an interesting town, with lots of folks from Seattle moving in when they retire. While Seattle gets around 40 inches of rain a year - in excruciatingly continuous doses, Wenatchee, Ellensburg and the rest of Eastern Washington get around 8 inches of rain a year. The result is semi-desert (photo), all 100 to 150 miles from Seattle.

If you don't like the rain - drive 100 miles East and bask in the sun - in the summer that is. Of course it is HOT in the Summer, and in the Winter it is COLD. Well, you can't have everything - unless you live in Florida that is!

Cheer

John and Suz

The Interlude

We did go fishing in Sekiu. I caught a small sole (which I released), but no salmon. It was good to be back on the water again after so many years, but the on-and-off rain made the experience a bit less enjoyable than it could have been!

On Friday, we headed back to Seattle in the rain, and it has been raining off and on since. We stopped at the Harley shop on the way to Mom's and said hello to "goldie." They had put on the new Metzler tires, but had not yet done the oil change. The dealership doesn't carry Mobil 1 for V-Twins, so I drove to another cycle shop and bought some and had it put in. HD of Seattle has been most helpful and accommodating in all respects.

We had dinner with my daughter, her husband and my two grandsons last night. What a great time. I will miss them when we leave. The rest of the time here is going to be busy visiting relatives and catching up with old college buddies that I haven't seen in 40 or so years.

Talk to you again from the road.

Day 12 - Sekiu and the Pacific

This morning was partially sunny and warm. I went out and talked to the morning fishermen who were cleaning a good catch of Coho (Silvers) and a few Chinook. We then drove to Neah Bay and Cape Flattery - the western most tip of the lower 48 states. Along the way, we stopped at a smoke house and bought some wonderful tasting Alder smoked salmon. Suzanne and I are supposed to go out later this afternoon for a little fishing - if it doesn't rain, which it is doing at the moment.

Tomorrow we head back to Seattle, and will be there for five days, so this is the last Blog entry for a while. We will be back online when we begin the journey back East.

Talk to you next week!

Day 11 - Yakim a to Seattle and then Sekiu

We left Yakima at 7:15am and headed West on Hwy 12. We reached White Pass (4,500 ft.) and began the descent toward HWY 123 around the East side of Mt. Ranier. Unfortunately, 123 was closed due to a mudslide, so we had to continue on Hwy 12 to Packwood, Randle and Morton. The diversion cost us 2 hours. Not only that, but as soon as we started down the mountain, it started to rain, which it did the rest of the day! The rain gear works reasonable well - something I could have gone without knowing.

We finally arrived at Mom's apartment in Seattle around 12:30pm, had lunch and departed (in the rain) to drop off the bike at the Harley dealership for an oil change and a set of new tires. In the rain, we (Suzanne) decided we would take to car to Sekiu - a wise choice as it runs out.

We caught the 3:00pm ferry from Edmonds to Kingston (a 25 minute ride) then headed West on WA 104 to Port Angeles and Sekiu. We stopped between Sequim and Port Angeles for dinner at a wonderful seafood and steak restaurant called Dupuis, which my family had stopped at for cracked Dungeness crab since the late 40's. The food was great. We had a single cracked crab and spaghetti dinner for two, and it was all we could eat. We finally arrived at Sekiu, still in the rain, at 6:30pm. the rain subsided so we walked the "street" and went out on the floats to look at boats.

Cheers. John and Suz

Day 10 - Pendelton to Yakima - Part 1

We left Pendelton at 7:15am and headed Northwest on I-84 to I-82 North and crossed the Columbia River into Washington state. We turned onto WA 14, which runs down the North shore of the Columbia for nearly 90 miles through the famous Columbia Gorge. The Columbia is one of the largest rivers in the world and drains a basin that begins just South of the Yukon in Canada. Along the way we saw an old stern wheeler heading down the river (pics).

We turned North on US 97 toward Goldendale, where we stopped in the old town for a coffee (cappuccino and a latte) at Coyote Coffee, a coffee shop run by a fellow and his wife transplanted from Tucson, Arizona. The coffee was great, and the conversation about Goldendale and things in general most interesting.

From there we were back onto 97 climbing into the Pine and Douglas Fir forests lining Satus Pass (3,146 ft.) On the descent, Suzanne was stopped by a Wapto police officer - not for speeding, but because he didn't see a front license plate, and couldn't read "Florida" on the rear plate due to the license plate bracket. Front plates are mandatory in Washington. He apologized for his error and we had a great conversation about the trip and the area.

Day 10 - Pendelton to Yakima - Part 2

Further down the pass we moved back into the prairie grass and sage brush landscape except for the Cottonwoods and Willows lining the stream that ran alongside the road. The distinctive smell of the Cottonwoods brought back vivid memories of fishing for trout in just such streams during my youth. Wonderful (and not so wonderful) smells are one thing you can enjoy when riding a bike and miss when riding in a car!

We arrived in Yakima at 12:15pm, checked in to the Best Western and headed North (by car) to Ellensburg (35 miles), home of my undergraduate Alma mater, Central Washington University. When I started there in 1960, there were 900 students. When I left in 1964 there were less than 2,000. Now there are more than 8,000 and the campus is quadruple the size or more. The old buildings are all still there, but there are many new ones. I could still find my way around - even after 43 years.

We stopped in and met the director of alumni, Jim Armstrong and he filled me in on what had happened over the past 43 years - and got my address, which the University did not have. He also gave me information on the former members of my long-since defunct fraternity - it is now a law office, how ironic (or not) given what went on there when it was a fraternity!

On the way back to Yakima we followed the old road down the Yakima River - a beautiful trout river. And wouldn't you know it, after decades without a citation - I got pulled over by an Ellensburg sheriff for going 60 in a 50. He saw that we were from out of state, and we shared information about our trip. Turns out he was a fellow Central Washington U grad - need I go on? He gave me a warning and we sat there for five or so minutes sharing memories of the area. Two pull-overs in one day!!

Back in Yakima, we visited the local Harley dealership, which by the way, is the only one I have ever seen that shares its premises with Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and others. Really unusual! We are now headed out for a drink and dinner. Tomorrow Seattle and Mom!

Day 9 - Twin Falls to Pendelton

Day 9 already! We left Twin Falls at 7:15am and headed up I-84 toward Boise and ultimately, Pendelton, OR. Not initially a very stimulating drive - flat, high speed interstate. Then after Boise, "Road Work" and a long stretch of single lane.

Things got more interesting when we crossed into Oregon near Payette, ID. We stopped for lunch at Durkee, OR at an interesting little restaurant called "The Hungry Redneck Cafe." The restaurant is small and isolated. It was started a few years back by an immigrant from Croatia. A chef by training, Bozcho "Bo" Luttunich speaks 4 languages and has made it his life to serve good food, and lots of it, to Redneck truck drivers, to whom he confers a 10% discount if they have a Redneck Cafe Card - which is free to truckers. After our lunch, we agreed that "Bo" has succeeded completely.

From there to Baker City, climbing into the rolling hills of Eastern Oregon (pictures). Then into the Wallowa - Whitman National Forrest before La Grande. Until now, mostly sage brush and dry prairie grasses, but after La Grande, we climbed into the Blue Mountain Forest Scenic Corridor and to the summit at 4,193 feet. Here the hills became increasingly, for the first time, covered with a variety of conifers - mostly Pine, Douglas Fir and Hemlock (picture). The drop down to Pendelton was full of high speed sweeping curves as we dropped down 3,00 or so feet in only a few miles - a 6% grade with truck runoff lanes. Pendelton is in the Columbia River basin and is a major wheat producing area (picture).

The high temperature for the day was 96 under a hazy sky. We checked into the Best Western at 2:30pm, ready for a clean up and later for a beer or two! We are now into an area I knew as a child and young adult, and the territory will become increasingly familiar - we are looking forward to it.