A River Runs Through It & Weed Too

Today was our group's first day of serious riding after meeting in Mount Vernon yesterday. After yesterday's cold and grey start from Campbell River the weather has taken a decided change for the better. The sky was blue and it was already getting warm and as we were having breakfast at the motel, the weather person announced that the temperature would hit about ninety degrees Fahrenheit (about thirty-three degrees C.) in Seattle. Across the Cascade Mountains it would be much warmer.

Jim and I have perhaps foolishly put down payments on 2016 Honda CB1100A motorcycles and we hoped that we would be able to see one in person this morning. Our best bet according to the young woman at North Cascades H-D was the Cycle Barn in Smokey Point, WA, because, as she said, the owner was an 'inventory whore'. 

It is unheard of, nay, almost sacriligeous, for Jim, Garry and me to pass by a Harley dealership without going in and checking out all the goodies. This morning we committed that sacrilege. We rode right on by Sound H-D to the Cycle Barn, with our (Jim's and mine) little hearts a-twitter in the hopes of actually seeing one of these beauties in the metal. Alas, it was not to be. The salesperson told us that they haven't had one for a month and told us the already oft-repeated story about how the earthquake in southern Japan was the reason that there were none of them available. This time though, a new detail was added. The factory itself was damaged by the earthquake, not simply the transportation infrastructure around it.

He did however, hold out a ray of hope when he said that some of these coveted machines might be being built in Italy. Be still my beating heart! Perhaps there is hope for us yet, although the earliest date that the bikes will be available now is mid to late August. At least that is what we have been told. It was worth the time we took even though we didn't see our Japanese unicorn (that's a creature that is rumoured to exist, although no one seems to have seen it.)

Back on the road, we caught Highway 2 east in the north end of Everett, WA, and headed toward Stevens Pass. When we rode out of the developed area east of Everett, we entered the temperate rainforest. The profusion of growth he is just as amazing as it is on Vancouver Island and vegetation encroaches to the edge of the highway. We rode along the Skykomish River, and past the little town of Skykomish whose existence seems to be wholly owed to the BNSF Railroad.

In an isolated empty lot we saw evidence of the ongoing/upcoming presidential election campaign in the form of 'TRUMP Make America Great Again.' I'm not sure of the premise under which the 'Duke of Orange' is running his campaign, but the definition of 'Great' might be up for grabs. Is an America where a purported 'multibillionaire' pays no income tax.'Great'? Is an America where millions go with out health care because the military consumes almost half of the national budget, 'Great'? Is a nation that has one quarter of the world's prison inmates but one twentieth of the world's population, 'Great'?

Don't get me wrong here. I love being in this country for the reasons that I think it is great. The wonderful friendly people who are very open too having a stranger from another country in their midst. A country that values so much of its history and geography that it creates and preserves sites that represent them in perpetuity. A country that twice during the last century spent its lives and treasure to save the world from dictatorship,

There are a great many factors about America that I consider to be  'Great' that I haven't listed here, and it bothers me tremendously that a bigoted, essentially unschooled in government or world affairs demagogue, has at this time a real possibility of being elected as president of this great nation. As an outsider it is perhaps not really my right to opine on this subject, but as a person who has spent a great deal of time in this country and avidly observes what is happening here, it bothers me greatly By the way, one of the TRUMP signs was dumped on its side, so someone takes exception to the possibility, although I don't condone this type of action..

On the way east we passed a roadhouse that had a sign that advertised 'Hillbilly Hotties' 'Three Pretty 

Girls and One Ugly One.' (For those readers who interpret this as being mysoginistic, I'm just reporting what I saw.) Jim thought that we should have done a U-turn to check it out, but unfortunately Kerry led us onward and upward. At a rest stop when were talking about this, Kerry mentioned that he hadn't seen the sign, but he did see a bloated deer carcass in the ditch. We fortunately missed that sight.

On the way to Steven's Pass we came upon a scene with two police cars, lights flashing, controlling traffic. I thought it might be a road check, but as we got closer we could see two fire trucks in a parking lot and an excavator tearing down the sad remains of the Espresso Cafe. It had just burned, the roof was caved in and smoke was still rising from the ruins as the excavator went about the business of demolishing the rest of the building. Some has probably lost there life's work in this fire, so it was a sad thing to see.

The climb up to Stevens Pass is a great ride with long curves and great views of the surrounding mountains and as we reached the summit we passed the ski resort that is a popular attraction for people from as far away as Seattle. The downward ride eventually brought us to the Wenatchee River. 

In this part of the world rivers, rail lines, and highways often share the same small area. The native peoples have used these passes for millennia because rivers are often the easiest way to cross these mountains. Old time fur traders followed these trails and when the great burst of railroad building hit western North America from the 1880s until just before the First World War, surveyors found that the best place to build railways over the mountains was to follow these old trails as closely as possible. With the increasing popularity of the automobile before and after the Second World War, highways were often built next to railway lines or adjacent to rivers.

For a long part of the ride we followed the Wenatchee River, a fast flowing and clear stream that curves its way down to the Columbia River. The racing white water with a background of mountains is a sight that people should never take for granted. There are too few places as astoundingly beautiful as this. 

Along the Wenatchee River

Highway 2 brought us to Leavenworth, WA, a small town which has reinvented itself as a Bavarian village. At the building are built and decorated in what passes for Bavarian style, although never having been there, I wouldn't really know. We were able to park our motorcycles on the busiest corner of downtown and we decided to go to Andeas' Kellar for Bavarian food. Their slogan is 'The Best of the Wurst'. Bratwurst and other sausages are the staples of the menu. Everyone enjoyed their meal, but that might have been as much due to the air conditioning as the food. 

The main street, Leavenworth, WA.

Edelweiss Hotel, Leavenworth, WA

Jim & Garry getting ready to leave Leavenworth, WA

Outside it was scorching hot and we stayed on the shady side of the street. across the street a duo was playing music for accordion and tuba. Not my style of music but it wasn't unpleasant. Perhaps 'kitschy' would describe it.

We headed south to Ellensburg where we passed a large wind farm with the gigantic blades turning lazily in the wind. Outside of town we paced a BNSF train with a string of empty coal cars, probably heading east to the Powder River Basin near Gillette, WY,  On the edge of town we  stopped at an old time gas station that now serves as a diner with all the trappings of a 1930s Mobil gas station right down to the winged red Pegasus on the roof. 

Classic 1930 Mobiloil gas station, Ellensburg, WA.

Next door to it was a marijuana store. It was the second one we saw today although the sign below might indicate that the designers may have been sampling their product when they designed it. The first store had a large banner that simply advertised 'Recreational Marijuana'. No pretense about the medicinal properties of the herb, just an admission that some people simply enjoy using the 'Killer Weed' for fun. We stopped to refuel in Ellensburg and on the way out of town there was another store advertising 'Legal Weed'.

This could be BC in 2017

It seems on it surface, that Washington state has made a good move by allowing the legal sale and possession of marijuana in this state. Many people who were in the criminal justice system for possession of small amounts of marijuana will no longer be criminalized. The state will collect revenue which would have gone untaxed  to criminal enterprise, And the federal government will be forced to look at its laws regarding this substance. The use of marijuana by a wide range of the population is a reality and it is time that governments recognize it and act accordingly. Canada would do well to follow what happens in this regard in Washington State, Colorado, and elsewhere when it deals with the issue of decriminalization or legalization  in the next year.

Re-GRAND OPENING???

The woman at the gas station suggested that instead of taking I-84 to Yakima, we should take the more scenic Yakima Canyon route. I thing she was right because Highway 821 follows the Yakima River most of the way to the city. This ride is another of those hidden gems that we, as motorcycle riders, love to find. The river snakes through the canyon for more than 20 miles and the highway rejoins I-84 just north of town. 

Along the Yakima River

We missed the exit that would have taken us to Starbucks so we changed plans and found one in a Safeway store. The girl who was working there didn't seem very happy about it and she was probably the slowest Starbucks barista I have ever seen. Jim had to wait more than ten minutes to have a cup of coffee made for him and I gave up on coffee after waiting for close to ten minutes while two people in front of me ordered and got their drinks.

Rant time. It will be short. I have opined on this before but.....I believe that there should be two lines at every Starbucks; one for people who take more than ten seconds to order a coffee, and the other for those of us who can order a coffee in five or fewer words. There are few things as frustrating as standing in line to order 'Grande, dark roast, black'  while someone orders decaf latte, with skim milk, no foam with an extra shot, blah, blah, blah. I go to Starbucks for coffee, not to have a thirty second  or longer conversation with a barista who is probably going to forget half of the order anyway. End of rant.

We're getting smart about getting rooms now. Usually we pick a place and when we arrive we are quoted a price where we have to to take it or leave it. Now, we stop at Starbuck, or a place with Wifi, check out the price on priceline. com or expedia.com, then call the hotel to see if they will match the price. If the won't we just reserve the room on line and they have to pay the company ten percent. If they match the price they don't have to pay the company and they get a guaranteed sale. Win-win. We go rooms in the Econo Lodge for around $70 all in. Not a bad price for early June.

After the day's ride we decided to cut corners and buy our dinner at the Safeway deli. It was a lot cheaper and the food was as good as any we would get in a fast food place. We may do this again whenever we feel the need and there is a Safeway or other grocery store nearby.

We made about four hundred kilometres today. Not a long day in the saddle but we saw lots and rode on some outstanding highways. It is great to be off the Interstate as often as we can, but the way things look from here is that we have two choices. I-84 runs southeast to Logan and Salt Lake City, UT, or we can take secondary that generally go north-south or east-west. That means we have to do a lot more distance becaus eof the doglegs we have to do. For those of you who remember high school math, think of Pythagoras and his theorem. we can ride the hypotenuse or we can ride the other two sides. And right now I think we'd rather spend more time in southern Utah than riding secondary roads to get there. But, since this trip is being run as a democracy, we'll discuss it and decide when we need to.

The day ended, as is our developing habit, with the five of us sitting around outside on benches telling stories and ragging on each other about silly stuff, and generally having some good laughs. That's about as good as it gets for a group of four 'Vintage Gentlemen' and a young 'whippersnapper'. I'm really enjoying this trip  agreat deal already.