And Back to Vegas I Go…10/16-10/19

After spending a couple of weeks with Mom and Gene in Tonasket it was time to head back to Vegas.

My old POS made it back to Spokane without any issues and I dropped it off at Bill’s Import Auto Repair, a fairly small, modest shop in north Spokane.  They had been recommended as being good Subaru mechanics.  I spoke to the owner and told him he would have it until my return in December.  Actually there was a fair amount of discussion between us about what I was considering doing to POS, but I won’t bore you with it.

My brother Wes showed up and gave me a ride back to his house where Ryan’s Subaru was waiting.  We grabbed it, drove back to the shop, unloaded POS, and transferred it all into Ryan’s (including Rosa’s bike on the roof rack).

Prior to heading back to Wes’ I told him I wanted to pick up some .38 cal ammo.  He said the closest place was Warehouse Sports at the Northtown Mall.  As we arrived he directed me to the parking garage….WHAM!!  Yep, Rosa’s bike took a hell of a shock up there….FUCK (sorry folks, no easy way for me to say it).  Besides bending the seatpost, and breaking the Freeload rack, it managed to screw up the roof rack on the car.  After several minutes of frantic work at the top of the ramp we were able to get the bike off the roof and get the hell out of the parking garage.

The rack ‘had’ another level to it and the seatpost used to run straight within the steel frame. Thankfully I didn’t have a Thomson post in there or it would have bent the frame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent watching Son’s of Anarchy episodes on Netflix with the occasional F-bomb uttered by me at random moments.

I hit the road with no determined destination, but was headed towards Hood River, OR.  This route took me through the Tri-cities of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland, WA.  The area that serves as home to the Hanford Nuclear site, as well as home for the pinhead who bought my beloved BMW vert earlier in the year.  I won’t go into a full-blown rant, partly because it would shine on my own foolishness, but mainly because it would be hard for anyone except pinhead and I to appreciate what happened next.  I decided to stop by pinhead’s workplace to let him know that the final check he had given me had failed to clear and to let him know of my displeasure at having to detour to deal with it.  After a few minutes of discussion it was decided I would follow him to his house where he would make good on the final payment.  As we were driving on the freeway I began to see smoke blowing from the right rear tire.  It was as though my faithful old Beemer was letting me know it would serve no master like it had served me and to prove the point it decided to blow the tire apart in front of my eyes.  Mr. Pinhead wrote me another check on the side of the freeway with the understanding that it would clear the next day (it was promptly cashed the following morning).  Karma is always at work in my world.

I got into Hood River and spent a few wonderful minutes visiting with Ashley and catching up on her latest news regarding her desire to backpack through Europe next year.  She was preparing to open the doors at the sushi house where she works so I didn’t want to take up too much of her time and hit the road to Camas, WA.  Camas is only about an hour and a half away.  I was looking forward to seeing Brandon and Kirsten.  I had met them on my previous visit to Camas and was looking forward to seeing them again.

Brandon and I had a few drinks and some dinner prior to Kirsten showing up.  It gave us some time to discuss some potential business ideas of mine.  Brandon is a shrewd businessman and is an expert in his chosen field of work.  I like being associated with people like this.  You people know who you are…or at least I know who you are.

We ended up going back to Brandon’s where I was graciously given the use of the guest bedroom for the night.  It was a night I won’t soon forget (although parts of it I would gladly if able).  To give you an idea, the next morning over coffee Brandon told me that Kirsten was afraid that he’d “killed the Dos Equis man”.  That brought a smile to my hung over head.

I hit the road again and had a sobering drive to south central Oregon.  For those of you who have never been in this part of the country…well, put it this way, there’s a reason you’ve never been here.  I hit the wide spot of Burns just as the sun was going down.

Mt. Hood seen from Hwy 26.

Mt. Jefferson seen from Hwy 97.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the type of landscape I was driving through in south central Oregon and north central Nevada. Pretty in its own right but not lots of vegetation.

However this is what I was driving along for the better part of seventy miles. What little grass and shrub there was had been burned to the ground.

And I do mean “burned to the ground”. The burn was on both sides of the hwy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winnemucca has this old M3 Stuart on display in their Veteran’s Memorial Park. I read the fictitious exploits of this tank and crew as a kid reading G.I. Combat’s, The Haunted Tank.
Vastly outgunned since it only had a 37mm main gun.

I found this old farmstead holding vigil over the road between Austin and Tonopah.

Stark contrast.

Just south of Beatty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the drive through Oregon and Nevada were uneventful, but once again I was taken with the beauty of the Nevada skies.

 

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Home Again, Home Again Jiggety Jig… 8/03 – ?

A few days after Aaron went back to Vegas I decided to work my way back to Mom & Gene’s in Tonasket.  I had the choice of taking either my POS or the newer one, but in good conscience I just couldn’t leave it parked in front of my brother’s for God knows how long.  So, I packed up POS and was on my way.

Once again I wanted to go a route I’d never taken before, so I went directly north with the intention of going as far as I could without crossing the border (they frown on firearms crossing the border).  I drove up towards Newport, WA (just across the state line from Priest River, ID…a beautiful area).  I came across a cow pen with something that caught my eye so I stopped for a pic.

Kinda hard to notice in this shot however….

It becomes quickly apparent that these cattle got an itch!

I gave a ride to a kid hitchhiking who was on his way to Newport.  He was on his way back home from Spokane.  This is something I probably wouldn’t have done in my former life, but I was glad to have done it.  Perhaps it has to do with receiving lifts from time to time as I rode…

I dropped him off and left a message with my nephew Nick, who works nearby in Priest River.  Unfortunately I could only leave him a message.  I grabbed a pretty good rendition of chicken fried steak and eggs at Audrey’s.  Several cups of coffee later and I was underway yet again.

My next stop was in Ione, WA…actually I stopped a few miles outside of Ione, at a farm right next to the Pend Oreille river (pronounced Pon-der-a).  I stopped at a farm to take a photo.  I’m afraid my rendition is a far cry at capturing the beauty of the sheer cliff walls I saw.

It’s too bad this doesn’t convey the beauty of the cliff wall hiding below the clouds.

Owner of the farm “Monte”.

A more distant shot of the same location. Love the clouds.

I was lucky enough to spot this old-timer, Monte, as I got to the farm.  He was kind enough to let me photograph the place and chatted with me for the better part of an hour.  I told Monte I would come visit him again after I got the POS running well enough to come over the pass from Tonasket.  He told me he’d have a pot of coffee waiting for me.  God I love meeting people.

My telling Monte I’d come back to visit once I got the POS running good wasn’t an idle comment.  I call it a POS for good reason.  It’s got over 300k miles and the power plant is worn out.  The valves and probably the top is in dire need of some tlc.  I’ll be getting this done over the course of the next six weeks or so.  I got a clear indication of how worn out it was as I went over Tiger pass.  I had to shift down to third to get over the pass.

So no doubt several of you are wondering why the POS.  Subaru’s ability to travel in snow is legendary.  I don’t believe in the disposable/discardable nature of the world and want to keep it running as long as it wants to.  I know other of you have different takes on this, but oddly enough I didn’t ask you your thoughts because this is mine.  No offense meant.

Howdy boys. There’s a new Sheriff in town, and his name’s Reggie Hammond. This will make sense to you movie buffs.

Ione’s Sheriff’s office and railway depot.

Crystal Falls…east of Colville, WA.

I got home without any fanfare.  Beautiful all the same.

The weather has held with highs in the high 70s.  The lows were evident in the mornings for a few days…

A chill in the air.

A clump of weeds never looked so regal as being frozen for my benefit.

Small town life isn’t for everyone, but anyone who knows me knows that although Las Vegas has been my home town for almost the last 36 years, it was never home.  The Okanogan valley has always had my heart and on this trip I really felt its pull.  It’s time to come home.

Homecoming parade for the Tonasket Tigers.

With that in mind I’ve found a place that’s going up for auction next month.  It’s 2.25 acres.  At first glance you wouldn’t give it a second glance.  But if it can be had at the right price it might be worthwhile.  Only time will tell.

A view from the rear of the property looking towards the road.

Not a helluva lot to look at, but the shell appears to be tight.

Only time will tell what it will auction off at.  I am however, ever hopeful.

Aaron Hits Town…Lets See How This Future Cat Rocks…9/28-9/30

So Rosa flew back to Vegas on Tues and my youngest son Aaron was due to fly up late Thurs night.  Why you ask?  A fair question indeed.  Aaron is a Senior in high school and is still deciding on which university to attend.  I knew he was interested in San Diego St and was surprised to hear he wanted to check out Wash State Univ…home of the Cougars…go Cougs!  Regardless I was happy to know he was coming up.

However, there is more drama to be had prior to his arrival….

Although I’d bonded with the beater POS(my generic reference to my new Subaru…the Roo) I figured it might be a good idea to take it to Rob @ Rob’s Automotive in Spokane Valley.  Wes has been going to him for years and trusts his judgement/ability.  That’s good enough for me.  I called Rob and warned him what I was up to.  It only took a cursory look for Rob to declare my car a heap and demanded its removal in order to keep his property values up.  Well, if I give it some thought perhaps there was more dialogue than that.

About this same time I had been looking for bike racks and came across exactly what I wanted…and guess what, it was mounted to the same model Subaru as mine except ten years newer and in a helluva lot better shape.  Did I mention he was selling the car too??  At a really good price?  Yep, I bought the racks…and the car too.

But getting back to Aaron…He flew in late Thurs evening and I was damn glad to see him.

We took off for our WSU campus tour the next morning and what a good tour we had.  The campus is beautiful and sizable to boot.  I think Aaron was suitably impressed.

He looks thrilled eh?

We spent the rest of the weekend kicking around Pullman, Greg & Jeannie’s house in Colton and down in Lewiston (love the smell of the paper mill!).  All in all it was a good time.

Found this cool old abandoned farmhouse along the 195 Hwy and snapped a couple of shots from the iPhone.

Sunday morning saw us heading over to Moscow to meet a Subaru enthusiast who agreed to look over my POS (did I mention Aaron drove the newer Roo while I drove the POS…it was a Roo caravan…breaker, breaker 1-9).  He pulled the plugs and put in a new set of NGKs and while doing so found one of the wires hadn’t been seated too well on one of the plugs as well as a pin-hole leak in the upper radiator hose.  After all was squared away we took off for Spokane via some back roads I’d never driven.  It was a great drive to Tekoa where we stopped for some chow.

Pretty uneventful.  I got Aaron to his flight on time and asked him to call me when he got back to Vegas.  He did, but it was with bad news.  His dog Cooper had to be put down earlier in the morning.  Coop had been a faithful companion to Aaron, Ryan and Paula for several years and I know his loss will be felt by all…but especially by Aaron.  Without doubt, he was Aaron’s dog.  It’s so easy to get attached to ’em. Via Con Dios Amigo.

You Can Never Go Home, Or Can You? Ridin’ w/Rosa,,,9/19-9/25

So although Rosa and I didn’t ride from Spokane to Tonasket, we did manage to ride every day.  Our rider were only 6-16 miles but they were all good rides and gave her a lot of confidence in herself which she didn’t have prior to starting.  Rosa had told me she had been close to canceling her trip out of fear of the ride, so taking these short daily rides was a good call.  We had a blast riding around the area.

One of her first climbs.

We’d had a pretty good time with Mom and Gene all week-long.  Riding during the days with little excursions here and there and evenings spent on the patio around the fire pit.

Another beautiful evening out….

Yet another morning ride in the Oakanogan Valley

Another bit of fauna watching over us…he kept us company over the course of a couple different days.

Since I’d gotten home I’d been giving more and more thought to not coming back to Vegas.  I’ve been in Vegas for the better part of 36 years, but it’s never been home to me.  Home is where the heart is…now I’ve just got to narrow the playing field.  I want to stay in the valley through most of the latter part of this year.

I decided it would be a good idea to find a decent ‘cheap’ beater to drive around when the weather turned cold, so I found an old Subaru in Wenatchee I wanted to look at.  This car lives up in every way to the description of ‘beater’.  Holy shit, I probably would have given the kid an extra $100 bucks if he’d taken the time to clean it up a bit.  I got the last laugh as I must have gotten at least $10 bucks in change from the interior….I mean I did get the last laugh….didn’t I????

I didn’t dare drive over 60mph….which was kind of a guess since the speedo/odo doesn’t actually work.  I’d go more into what doesn’t function but I don’t want to get the answer to my previous question.

The weekend rolled around and that brought Wes, Mikala, Brad and Kathy (son and daughter-in-law) over to spend a couple of days.  Kathy’s family lives about 40 miles away and raises Vizsla puppies.  Vizsla’s are generally considered to be a premier hunting dog.  Rosa and I accepted the offer to come meet them.

The area I grew up was (and still is) a major area for orchards…apples, pears, cherries, peaches, apricots and lately more and more grapes.

Nice peaches….er, ah, I mean pears of course.

Another view of the valley.

On Monday, Mom, Rosa and I drove up to Canada and decided to visit LaStella Winery.  None of us had been to this particular winery.  We enjoyed the tasting and picked up a couple of bottles…I’ll let you know how they are.

Mom and Rosa at LaStella Winery.

Tues came all too soon and it was time for Rosa to head back to Vegas.

I decided to take Rosa to Spokane in the beater (Wes had taken the truck over the weekend at my request).  We had a damn fun drive over stopping every now and again for photos…Grand Coulee Dam, my Dad’s gravesite etc…

Omak Lake…I’ll be fly fishing here soon.

A different point of view.

Lake Roosevelt near Grand Coulee.

Below Grand Coulee Dam.

It wasn’t long before Rosa was on her flight bound for Vegas.  I don’t think she wanted to leave.  I know I didn’t want her to….

Rest Days in CDA & Spokane 9/8-9/16

It’s been a while since I’ve posted…and more than a few have commented on it, sorry for taking so long!

I stayed in CDA for a couple of days.  The combination of a good inexpensive hotel combined with the local scenery prompted me to stick around.

Lake Coeur d’Alene…though not much of a photo

On Sunday I decided to call my brother Wes who lives in Spokane and give him a heads up that I’d be coming in.  He surprised me by saying they were only a few miles away in the pickup.  Never one to miss an opportunity I decided to take him up on his offer of a ride.  So it was that I arrived in Spokane not under my own power…I know, big surprise!

Rosa hadn’t been able to get the bike packed in time to have it shipped up and it turned out to be a good thing.  Having her bring it up via SW air only cost $50 as opposed to double that to ship it.  I love it when a plan comes together!

Regarding Rosa and the bike…I had been telling her that she would regret not having some saddle time, but I really couldn’t get after her too hard considering I had done the same thing prior to going to Mexico, so what could I say?  Wes told me that I could borrow his pickup, and drive us and the bikes to Tonasket if I didn’t think Rosa was up to riding there.

Prior to her arriving though I had some really good time with Wes, Mikala and their family (to include Max).

Max, Wes, the Spokane river and a tennis ball…need I say more? Come to think of it yes…Mikala sits in the background.

Finally Rosa arrived late Sunday night (actually early Monday morning).  It didn’t take long to realize there was no way she would be able to complete the ride to Tonasket and she agreed.  So the next morning we got the bike put together and headed off for a day of sightseeing in downtown Spokane.

Rosa and friends at Riverside Park.

The beautiful Spokane falls.

We set off for Tonasket Tues morning with the idea of getting home by late afternoon…well, that was the plan anyway.

Glad it was him and not me!

An all too familiar sight, but it was worthwhile!

I decided to take the more scenic route along Lake Roosevelt and over Sherman pass.  I think it’s the most beautiful route home.  Rosa thought it was pretty spectacular too.

Lake Roosevelt was created by building the Grand Coulee Dam. It’s a rather long lake going all the way up into Canada (though some may say it ends around Kettle Falls).

Another shot of Lake Roosevelt…oh and Rosa too.

Tall evergreens at Sherman Pass.

So with all the sightseeing we did it’s no surprise that we didn’t get to Mom and Gene’s till it was just about dark out.

Garfield to Tekoa & (pronounced TeeKo) & a Lift to Coeur d’Alene…9/7

I pulled out of Garfield about 8:30 in the morning.  The B&B was in the shade of some big trees so it was a good time to try out my jacket for the first time.  It only took about 20 minutes of riding before it came back off again.

This is where the jacket came off so I decided to get a shot of the bike next to the rail cars. This is probably what the final look of the bike will be for a while.

Figured I ought to at least show what was next to the bike…

Washington is truly home for me even though I don’t know this area of the state too well.  So although I have a map and a GPS it doesn’t always mean I have an idea of the actual best way to go.  So it was with this in mind as I continued northbound on Hwy 27 that I came to the Farmington Road crossroads.  Now, both ways would get me to Tekoa (where I figured on stopping for lunch), but usually one way is a better way.  At this particular crossroad there sits a pretty good-sized salvage yard where Darrel junks out decrepit, old, ruined, dis-used machinery (think semi tractor-trailers, tractors, combines, etc…).  Darrel told me that taking the road through Farmington would be the best choice.  However, once again, I was told to watch out for the semis going to and from the fields.  Thankfully the is near the end of harvest season as opposed to the height of it.

Darrel

I can imagine that the operator attempted to take this on a hillside which was just too damned steep. You should see the inclines they farm down in this part of the state.

For what it’s worth Darrel assured me the ‘ol IH wasn’t headed for the scrap heap.

Just my day for old IH rigs I guess.

Beautiful farm land.

I guess Darrel hasn’t gotten around to this one yet.

The ride was all about rolling hills.  No big grades, just a hill…after a hill…after yet another hill.

Although all the rolling hills I can see what lay ahead.

The hills of Idaho lay in the distance.

I had been told there was a couple good places to eat in Tekoa.  Interestingly they were both said to be “at the far end of town at the top of the hill”.  Well they weren’t kidding.  It’s not as though Tekoa is built on the side of mountain like Pioche, but still why does there have to be a hill just before lunch?  It did make this a bit tastier…

Yummmm

This previous little treat came from “Eclair’s” coffeehouse in Tekoa.  An absolute gem of a spot in a little town.  I had the chance to speak with my waitress Kayla.  Kayla was wearing a Team Scaroni t-shirt.  The t-shirt is a tribute to a local athlete who competed in the London Paralympics; Susannah Scaroni.  The entire town was pulling for this young lady to win in the women’s marathon.  Susannah finished eighth.  Small towns…ya gotta love em.

Kayla in her Team Scaroni shirt.

So the place I was told to eat is a local tavern; C&Ds.  Good food, inexpensive, and oh yeah, cold beer!

I had been told that the next town I was going to hit, Plummer, ID, was not exactly a garden-spot variety town.  Rough around the edges is how it was referred to.  So after my third beer I decided to hitch a ride with a worker who was headed towards Coeur d’Alene, ID.

I’m still deciding if it was the right decision.  I missed out on riding a dedicated bike trail which runs alongside the eastern side of Coeur d’Alene Lake.  I can imagine it would have been a beautiful ride.

Regardless I had a good time chatting with Jeff as we drove towards his hometown of Post Falls, ID.  He was picking up his daughter and taking off to Lewiston, ID to go Steelhead fishing.  Needless to say, he was stoked at the prospect.

I managed to find a really nice motel…the Budget Saver Motel.  Honest to God, this was really a nice place.  At $50 a night I haven’t stayed in a nicer place.  Thankfully, even though it’s not directly downtown there was a great place to eat right across the street; Moon Time and an even better place a few blocks towards downtown for breakfast called Jonesy’s.

Rest stop is over….Colton to Pullman and on to Garfield…9/6

Well, I certainly took my time at my big brother’s house.  I have to say that Greg, Jeannie, Tom and Taylor were very patient with me spending a week with them.  But like all family, as glad as you are when they get there they are equally glad to see you head out.  Now don’t get me wrong, we had a great time together, but just like leftovers in the fridge….well, you get the drift.

Anyway Thurs morning rolled around.  Jeannie and I had a good chat prior to her heading off for work.  She commented that it seemed I was searching for something in my riding.  She wasn’t critical about it, but was glad that it was me and not her.  I completely understand what she means…and she’s right.  Hard to say what I’m searching for since I’m not sure what it might be myself.  But I promise to let you all know when I find it.

Thankfully I managed to find (with Taylor’s help) a chiropractor in Pullman to set right what had gone wrong after my fall outside of Hood River, OR.  The good doctor managed to get most of me back into alignment and his massage therapist, Tia, helped get everything else settled into place.  It was a happy ending to my time in Pullman.

Getting back to Thurs morning….I had asked Rosa to send me up some longer metal stays for my rack, but the more I looked at it the more I realized it should work without changing them out.  So, while Tom got some much-needed sleep, I worked on my bike set-up and was able to get it all dialed in without the new stays (a little metal part that lengthens the distance of the rack from the mounting point), but don’t tell Rosa I didn’t wait for ’em.

Anyway, about the time I finished Tom roused himself and agreed to give me a ride to Pullman…hey I’ve seen the road between Colton and Pullman, I didn’t feel the need to ride it.  We had a good lunch in Pullman and then went to my brother’s work at McGregor’s.  Greg works out of this office once or twice a week, but the bulk is spent in Uniontown just south of his house in Colton.  For some odd reason they seem to like him around there….

I think the point of the photo was to showcase my ability to get a ride when desired…..HA!

So I actually started my ride just north of Pullman with my destination being either Palouse or Garfield…just north of Pullman.  These were little towns on a map that I had driven by countless times, but had never taken the time to actually visit.  With that in mind I set off.  The temp was great, warm without being hot.

Rolling fields of the “Palouse”….

Found in a shed just off the road to Palouse.

Massive powerplant

I got to Palouse and had a great visit with a couple from…well, she was from the “Palouse” (the “Palouse” is considered a large swath of land in southeastern WA usually connected with wheat, barley, soybeans or garbanzo bean farming) and he was from OK.  She commented that I was an inspiration for them…that response always throws me for a loop…

I went into the local tavern and learned they didn’t have a place to stay…although they did have cold beer!  I enjoyed two before realizing I better hit the road.

The following nine miles to Garfield had just enough hills to make me re-think my decision on leaving the tavern!  By the time I got to Garfield it was just getting dusk.  I found myself in Grumpy’s tavern (a common thread).  I enjoyed conversation and a couple of cold Oly’s (Olympia beer).  It was a damn site better than I remember!

I had left a couple of messages with a local B&B but hadn’t heard back from anyone.  Cell service is at a premium out here so I left a message using the tavern’s phone number.  An hour or so later Donna called from the B&B.  She apologized about the delay and let me know she’d be willing to forego the usual room rate for a “donation”.  I was on the bike in a flash (but I would be remiss to not mention the bar manager offered his semi tractor-trailer cab and “Tennessee”, a patron, offered his couch, just in case the B&B didn’t work out.  I used my bike lights for the first time on this trip and made my way to the McCroskey  House where I met Donna Gwinn.  She had a room ready for me and I must say I slept damn good…although the wireless was non-existent.

Late afternoon harvesting…

The weight of the world….God I know that feeling…no shit, I really do!

A meeting of the minds…almost done!

A shower finished off the day…damn it feels good not to stink too badly!