Memorial Day River Run

This time of year the rivers are really beginning to pick up speed as they begin to dump their melt from feeders into the mighty Columbia. We decided to make a run up the Methow and see what we could see and play tag with the rains as they worked their way though the valleys.  So Mrs. RedTigre, Karen, and I mad a dash up river for lunch and see how long we could stay reasonably dry.  We stopped for some lunch in Pateros and was jaw-dropped at the size of a motel (resort?) that had gone in over the winter... can't stop progress I guess.

Below is Joan's "what is this progress business and where is my view of the river" face.

So with the bikes parked off we went to get a bite. There is a great deli/bakery there and the Methow River Cream Ale is a treat!

So well fed, we decide to head up the Methow river, but before we do, Karen gets to do the "missing key dance" (been there, done that, got the t-shirt).  If you've ever been out on a ride and had to dance this dance, you know the anxiety of it! Funny thing is we were talking before we left about always carrying a spare attached to one's-self and if there was ever a time to remind us the value of the discussion, today was it. Always have a second key, always have it attached to you in a way that can never get lost or misplaced, and especially not locked in a saddle bag or trunk when you absolutely have to have it!

But she is getting faster getting her rain gear on and off!


So we got all the way to Winthrop with only some minor squalls, and decide to loop down the other side of the river by Bear Creek Lumber and the USFS Smoke Jumper training school because it looked like we could skirt the storm when the rain decided to be a poor sport about the whole thing. Of course, Joan says "I thought you said we'd probably skirt it" as we get hit hard by the rain.

Yep, time to get wet.  Next time I'll under-promise and over-deliver.

But as rains come up and down the Methow this time of year we are out out it within about 10 minutes and the rest of the down-river journey was without accusation (the intercom became disconnected somehow) and we took a break at Well's Dam to stretch.

They have one of the turbine screws out on display and Mistress is dwarfed by it.

There are also some very cool pictographs from the tribes that were here a long time ago, and the earliest here in North America were dated 4500-6000 BC.

The ride back along Apple Acre Road, Chelan, Navarre Coulee, Entiat, then home... and we missed all the caravans to boot!

Oregon Trail, without the trailer...

How often is it that you get to help a friend fulfill a dream?  My friend Karen started riding a year ago after finding out that cancer was something that was not going to knock her down.  She took the basic riders course, picked herself up a RoadStar 1100 (out of Canada) and rode it throughout winter to appease a friend who needed those fixes every time the road cleared enough to make it safe. Still, she lusted for that elusive Harley out there that would make her sing, so to beef up for it she enrolled for a the "ride like a cop" course at the Northwest Motorcycle School, passed the brutal trials, and set her sights on finding what she wanted. So recently she showed me a photo from a private dealer in Oregon that she was negotiating with (Allen's Alley- http://www.allensalley.net/) and asked one simple question "this is the one, but how do I justify it?"

Sister, please...

"So, when are we going to Hillsboro?" was probably the only reasonable answer.

So we loaded up last Friday morning on the "Mistress" and headed down to Hillsboro with a cashiers check, rain gear, unseasonably cool temperatures and a road trip in mind that if this was the one, then this was the one!  Good thing Mistress is geared for European driving because the rain and greater Portland traffic at 3:00-ish was less than fun, but we arrived at Fred Allen's shop near 4:00 pm and then the fun began.  Fred is the kind of guy that if I was ever to buy a Harley, he would be the first I would call and deal with.  So he rolled out a 2008 FLHX Street Glide that impressed me.

This is one nice bike...












So off she goes with me in tow on the Mistress.  It looks, runs, and maneuvers well for such a big bike, and we stop and she says "you ride it".  Woo-Hoo! Nice bike, handles well, LOTS of grunt, and balanced.  Looked over the accessories, Karen poured through the dealer service records, turned them over to me to pour over, and the final determination is that "this is one sweet deal".

I watch the negotiation with fascination, and they seal the deal.

Finished up with her on her new bike and off to a place for the night we went (Karen paid for my room and fed me for my "troubles", like a road trip is "trouble"?).

As we were unpacking gear she noticed a screw in the tire, so as we were checking in and talking about finding a dealership to get it fixed, in walks Fred with some farkle he wanted to give her for the bike that was part of the deal and she points out the screw.  On me he said, take it to D&S Cycle down in Aloha and I'll make it good.  So Fred shows up the next morning with an air compressor to make sure she has enough air and off we go.  Tire fixed at the bike shop and we think we are ready to head home!

If there was ever a trial by fire, I led Karen through it Saturday.  State Highway 26 through Portland was the first leg, then I decided to go around the back side of Mt. Hood and come up the 35... we hit a blizzard at Government Camp that was incredible.  In 1/8th of a mile the temp dropped from 35° to 25° (like 35° wasn't bad enough?) and the rain turned into a white-out. If I wasn't in such shock I would have taken a picture, but the snow frozen on my windscreen made me think twice about sticking around and I motioned to Karen "Follow me" and we U-turned in the middle of the highway and headed back out of the snow and back into the rain.  An hour later we were at Interstate 84 and headed out down the Oregon side of the Columbia to Hood River, where I made her cross a 1 mile grated bridge, then a break before continuing down the Washington side.  A very friendly Trooper of the WSP pulled up and talked bikes a few minutes, and told us that the wind shouldn't be so bad once we left the Gorge.

Hoo-boy.  The winds of the Gorge were child's play after we came out of Satus Pass. There she was thrust into the brutal winds of Eastern Washington between Yakima and the Blewett pass cutoff against winds that would only let us do 45 mph safely. We cut through the Yakima River Canyon for what protection we could, followed by a 20 mile burst in the open winds. Cold wind, damn cold... but we made it to the Blewett Pass cutoff and from there it was a dream.  Handed off at the Wenatchee River turnout and the rest is a story that we'll carry for a very long time.

Karen, it was an honor to have have shared this with you.

Deception Falls

A few miles on the West side of Stevens Pass summit (WA Highway 2) lies the Old Cascade Highway along with the Iron Goat Trail Interpretive Center and a little trail section along side about 1/4 mile away that is known as "Deception Falls".

This section of the old highway spurs around some of the most beautiful old growth there is to be seen and allows you to see the wild water in a way that leaves you breathless.  The gate is still closed for parking, but the trails are easily accessible.

2.5 hours round trip, 80° in Leavenworth, 54° at the summit today.

Man I love living here...

Home projects... ugh.

Some home projects simply take too long, sap too much energy, and get way too much in the way of riding.  I had a pool in the back yard, 16'X32' in ground vinyl, that was 30 years old, needed updating for code, and looked like a $10,000 chunk of change just to have to maintain it when it would be used very little from here out.  We like our house, have a great overlook view of the Enchantments and the greater Wenatchee Valley, and was not going to move yet over not wanting a pool... so what's a homeowner to do?


Fill it in...

So over the last 2 months of planning and prep, I then spent 26 hours with 1-10.lb sledge, 1-5ft railroad bar and 17.5 tons (8 tonnes for my metric friends) of broken cement later pitched into the bottom of my soon to be decommissioned pool. The fill guys finished last Tuesday, and the sod guys delivered yesterday at 11:30.


By 4:30 I had a lawn...

Now I can focus on riding like my other skive off from work friends!