I had a few passing rain clouds during the night but they were only a light sprinkle which sounded soothing on the text.
I slept pretty well and didn’t think it was time to get up until 4:30am, which is my regular get up time back home in a different time zone. I heard a piece recently that indicated that one of the keys to getting a good sleep habit is not what time to go to bed but to get up at the same time every day. That makes sense to me and I’ve been getting up at 5:30 for decades, every day, never do I “sleep in.”
I started with the usual morning duties, washing up and getting some hot water started. Today I would have my special oatmeal mix and a cup of cinnamon apple herbal tea.
I noticed that the site next to me, barely visible through the trees, is now occupied. They must have come in pretty late as I didn’t hear them. That reminds me to say a few words about the availability of sites at this campground. When I went to recreation.gov and looked at the site information, it indicated that it only opened for the season yesterday and for this week all the sites were first come, first served. However, the information board here at the site showed that the campground had opened earlier and was already accepting reservations. When I drove through last night I noticed “Reserved” signs on most of the sites. Many of the sites were already occupied. While I was able to find one, after walking around I noticed that most of those occupied sites had an RV but no vehicle. It was the same this morning so I took a closer look and saw that they had reserved the site for the allowed 14 days and dropped off their rigs. They probably just come on the weekends, notably Memorial Day. IMO, if you aren’t going to physically be there, you shouldn’t be taking the space. OK, off my soapbox.
I did the usual packing routine and had the bike loaded and was on the road about 9am. It was 44 degrees and felt pretty good as I took it easy on the damp roads and let my tires warm up. It wasn’t long before I was in the groove and thoroughly enjoying the great sweeping curves on a road that was relatively free of other vehicles. It’s a great way to start the day.
I tried to keep my eye out for a side road that I’d seen on the map but it wasn’t marked and so I probably went right past it. It’s the location of a WWII Japanese Internment Camp. I saw it on the Google maps and read a bit about it but there really isn’t anything left.
I had a great time cruising along and eventually came to Kooskia and the Nez Perce reservation. Time to stop for a photo.
In Kamiah I stopped for gas at the same station I’d stopped at last September when I was riding in the pouring rain. After gassing up I sat at a nearby table and uploaded yesterday’s blog entry. It was the first cell service I’d had since Missoula. I also took advantage of the stop to shed my sweatshirt as it was starting to warm up.
I continued on and stopped at the Slaterville rest area to use the facilities and change from my cold weather gloves to my lighter ones.
I was using the Google maps thing to guide me through Lewiston because the last time I tried going solo I ended up sort of lost. Along the way I stopped to look at this bridge.
I got away from trees and the rivers and worked my way through the rolling wheat fields of Eastern Washington. When I arrived in Pomeroy, I decided to find their city park and have my lunch. I had the other half of yesterday’s apple and the remaining pieces of banana bread. When I passed through this town last year I stopped for a photo of my bike in front of their courthouse, something I do when I come across courthouses, but figured I’d skip that this year. I have to say that Pomeroy is a very attractive little town. The Main Street is quite neat and would be fun to stroll on. I looked up information of the town and noted that the former president of Montana State University, Bozeman, the late Michael Malone, was born and raised here. When I first moved to Billings I asked a librarian for a book on the history of Montana and she gave me his.
I continued on and came to the town of Dayton and had to stop for a photo in front of their very attractive courthouse.
Courthouses like this show the pride they have in their community. I regret to say that among my courthouse photo collection, the dullest is in Yellowstone County.
On I went through miles and miles of those rolling hills. I stopped for a photo of the surroundings.
I stopped for gas along the way and continued on one of the longest stretches of road with the most barren landscape that I’d ridden on since I rode from Forsyth, Montana to Roundup. Not all roads on this trip are twisties.
Due to my own navigational error, I ended up routed through the Tri-Cities. The distance and time were the same as the alternate route but I’d rather have missed the traffic. The people in Pascoe drive 15 over the limit and seem to be a constant race from light to light. Things changed when I got to Kennewick. That navigation tool routed me along the Columbia Parkway past miles and miles of city park along the river. There were playgrounds, picnic areas, gardens, and bike paths all along the way. I’m glad to have seen this. I passed through Richland and survived as I made my way to Yakima.
Yakima is all about hops and fruit. Hop farms and fruit orchards are everywhere and that’s what I saw for many miles as I approached the city, Once there, packing houses were in abundance. The route I took through town showed me that there is a very strong Hispanic presence in the city which is great because it means that my favorite cuisine is in readily available should I decide to eat here.
I stopped and picked up a beer to go with my dinner before proceeding on to Yakima Canyon and the campgrounds along the Yakima River. I checked out the first one but continued on to Big Pines and selected a site from one of those available. It appears that many/most are reserved for the upcoming holiday weekend but there are plenty available today. I’m not picky as most of the sites are in the open which means that there are no trees blocking the view.
And such a deal. With my Military Lifetime American the Beautiful card I got half price so only paid $7.50.
I got camp set up and then wrote this blog which I’ll have to post tomorrow and there is no cell access here. Dinner tonight is the “Forever Young Mac and Cheese.” That fits with my goal to be “forever young.” ;-)
After I ate I walked down to the river.
It was a 360 mile day.
No comments:
Post a Comment