The Best Laid Plans...

 Robbie Burns, the Scottish poet, once said, "The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry." This line in his poem To a Mouse, proved especially apt this morning. Garry and I had planned on leaving Omak and heading west on Highway 20 on the North Cascades Parkway through Twisp and Winthrop, WA, to finish in Burlington, WA.

Highway begins about 10 kilometres south of Omak. Just north of the intersection the Department of Transportation placed a sign indicating that Highway 20 was closed 15 miles (25 km) west of Winthrop. Our plan went up in smoke in one fell swoop. Since we had already reserved and paid for a room in Mount Vernon, going to Canada was not an option. The new route took us 90 miles (150 km) south to Wenatchee where we would take US Highway 2 to Everett, WA. 

We made one stop for a break about half way to Wenatchee at the Wells dam. There we met Joe, a man from Staten Island, who was on a journey even longer than ours. He began his journey on June 26th heading to Montreal and riding to Sault St Marie with a friend. He crossed into the US and met his wife in Minnesota. From there he rode to the West Coast and met his wife in Portland, OR, and they went riding for a few days before she flew home. He was headed to the Dempster Highway, and perhaps Tuktoyuktuk.

He expressed his concern about the politics in his country and he has real fear about what could happen in the US elections in November. 

It was again really smoky today. The view from the outlook was really muted with the smoke. Still it is beautiful country.

Wells Dam on the Columbia River

Columbia River

Haze over the Columbia River

One of the 150 ton turbine spinners from the Wells Dam.

We  merged onto Highway 2 and traffic appeared to be heavier than it was earlier. Perhaps it was because Highway 20 was closed. Perhaps it was a normal traffic pattern. But perhaps it was because  many tourists were going to Leavenworth, a tourist town with a Bavarian theme. We stopped at a McDonald's for a quick break, then continued west. Traffic through the town was stop and go until we passed through when it picked up.

The highway to Stevens Pass climbs to more than 4000 feet and the temperature dropped to a more comfortable range. There was one frustration though. One driver of a motorhome was driving at about ten miles per hour below the speed limit. When traffic reached a passing line, this idiot the sped up to about 5 mph over the speed limit then resumed his slow speed when the lane ended. Washington State has a law that makes it illegal to have more than five vehicles following you. The state has built pullout areas for slower drivers to pull over and let others pass. This guy at one time had thirteen vehicles behind him. Either he had no idea that he was doing this or he was so entitled he didn't care that he was holding up a long line of traffic.

We stopped for a break at Deception Falls, a waterfall in a small state park. The falls cascade over rocks ending at a small pool before resuming as a rapidly flowing stream. It was worth the stop and a family was enjoying the opportunity to swim in what I imagine to be very cold snow melt water.

Various views of Deception Falls

We stopped in Monroe, again for a break, and when we left the temperature was quite hot but not as hot as it had been in the Okanogan Valley. Traffic again was stop and go, but it was because an orange car had been rear-ended in a collision with an SUV. The collision looked serious. Later a fire truck and Fire and Rescue truck were headed to the scene. 

I love watching trains and as we refueled in Sultan, WA, an empty coal train rolled through. I was lucky enough to get a video of the first half of the train. In all of our travels I have seen only one other train despite the large number of rails lines we passed or rode alongside of. Kind of a little bonus for me on a hot afternoon.

As we made it to Everett, the maze of roads and the directions from my GPS were somewhat confusing and a led us astray taking a long unnecessarily convoluted route to I-5. We did see a lot of the Everett area, that will never see again, nor do I wish to. 

Our last stop of the day was at Sound H-D, where we checked out the dealership. I was interested in buying a coffee mug, but the US $32 price translated to almost CDN $45, more than I would ever consider paying for an item as mundane as a coffee mug. The people at the dealership were as friendly as I remembered when I used to have my Ultra Glide serviced there years ago.

Views of Sound H-D

It was a smooth 70mph (115 kph) ride to our motel in Mount Vernon, which we found without difficulty. Today's run was longer than we had planned and we were both disappointed at not being able to ride the North Cascades Parkway, but things work out satisfactorily in the end and we are now one day's ride from home. We covered more than 400 kilometres today but tomorrow should be considerably less. Day 17 is now in the books - and in the blog.