Our First Casualty & Almost a Second

Last night, just after midnight I finished writing most the the day's blog entry and was ready for a good night's sleep. Except that, when I pulled back the top cover, there was no sheet, nor was there a blanket. I checked to make sure that Garry, who was sleeping soundly, had those, then I went in search of the motel manager. I finally found him and he gave me a sheet that had seen much better days. After making my own bed, I had to lie in it for the night.

This morning both Garry and I slept until past 8:30 and as we were getting dressed there was a gentle knock on the door. It was Kerry who informed us that he would have to abandon the trip because the extreme heat for the past two days had given him a rash, which if he didn't take care of it could quickly become infected and cause him a lot of grief. He rolled out of the parking lot, heading for Seattle by I-90 and then north to Vancouver. I suspect that he made it OK because the distance he had to travel (about 700 km) was not far for him the way he rides.

The remaining quartet found a Starbucks where we had our morning coffee before heading out for our day's ride. Given the lateness of our start, the temperature was in the low 80s F when we left Yakima, and it quickly rose to more than 100 degrees F. but we were making good time hoping to make it to Ontario, OR for the night. 

We crossed the Columbia River into Oregon south of Kennewick, WA. The temperature dropped several degrees as we crossed the river and it was a welcome relief to the oppressive heat. As we approached Umatilla OR, a semi truck was merging into traffic, It was followed by a large white Cadillac. As I moved over to the left lane to safely pass him the old guy driving the Cadillac moved right into my lane nearly forcing me into the median. I hit my brakes so hard that I could feel my front wheel beginning to skid, but thanks to the Harley engineers who developed ABS braking for their motorcycles. 

That incident is what I refer to as a 'Code Brown'. I joked at the next stop that I would have to go into the washroom to change my shorts after that close call. I hit my horn at the old guy and he moved into the right lane. I pulled up beside his driver's door and gave him my best 'I want you to die,' stare but tried to ignore me. I stayed beside him until he did acknowledge me. He then waved weakly to admit that he had pulled a bonehead move that had come very close to causing me some serious harm. In all my riding this is only the second time this has happened to me. The other time was on the Upper Levels Highway in North Vancouver when a driver crossed three lanes of traffic to almost force me off the road.

We made a stop at a gas station outside of Umatilla, OR, to take a break and drink some fluids. While we were there we found an old stagecoach that had seen better days. We also met a woman who had a service dog. The dog works in a medical clinic with people who are stressed. I asked permission to pet it and Garry did as well. The dog didn't seem to care either way.

A yellow rose where I would least expect to find one.

Old stagecoach near Umatilla, OR

Old stagecoach

Jim & me beside the stagecoach

More Jim & me.

Garry with the service dog.

This trip is turning out to be the Rest Stop Tour. We stop at every one to take a break & let Jim smoke a cigarette or two. The best one today was the stop at the summit of Deadman's Pass.The temperature there was a positively balmy eighty degrees F. At another rest stop we met a couple who were riding a pair of Can-Am Spyders. They both loved their machines and their little chihuahua seemed to like being a passenger.

Well, it is a Rest Area.

The 'fleet' waiting to get moving again.

Further on we passed a huge cement plant which lay downhill from a place named Lime. We didn't see it because it seemed to be hidden in the hills. The highway twisted and turned as it reached the summit of another pass and once again the highway and the Union Pacific Railroad shared the narrow pass. I love riding the curves and seeing trains there was a bonus. That's why I'm including these two videos

Beautiful Curves

More Beautiful Curves

For the last forty miles into Ontario, OR, the temperature seemed to drop and to me it felt like rain was coming, except that it didn't look like it at all. The sky had a bit of high cloud and the air felt oppressive. Jim and I arrived in Ontario and after a five minute wait for Tom & Garry found our hotel,  Knowing that Garry knew where we were going to be, Jim and I checked in and waited. Tom & Garry arrived shortly with the news that Tom's Kawasaki was running rough. We'll have to go to the dealer's tomorrow to get it checked out.

When I began to unpack I had two unpleasant surprises. First, my shampoo had leaked all over the bottom of one of my bags so that was a mess to clean up, and second, I left my pair of sandals behind in the Econo Lodge in Yakima. I have had them for a long time and they were the best ones I have ever owned. the only redeeming factor is that they were just about worn out and I would have had to replace them soon anyway. So tomorrow I will try to pick up a cheap pair that will get me through the trip.

Because it was late (we lost an hour when we moved into the Mountain Time Zone earlier) we walked over to Carl's Junior for a burger. Outside the widow the towering thunder clouds were lit from the setting sun and were quite spectacular. The sky to the west was as well, so I snapped a few pictures to include in the blog. I can't remember ever seeing skies like this before, although I suspect that it must be quite common here.

 Storm clouds to the east of Ontario

Bright skies to the west of Ontario, OR

Shortly after our return Jim told us about the lightning show that was going on in the storm clouds to the east so I rushed outside to take some video. I have never seen lightning like this. It seemed to be within the clouds with a few lightning strikes happening randomly. I'll bet the forest firefighters will be busy tomorrow because it is so dry and hot here.

Lightning Show

Lightning Show 

So far we have made more than 1200 km since starting on Friday, and if things work out with Tom's bike we hope to make it to Logan, UT tomorrow. If not, we'll go as far as we can. It is most unfortunate that Kerry couldn't continue with us because the ride just won't seem the same without him. However, we are committed to the ride and there will be a great deal of spectacular sights to see in the next few days.