V: What a challenging day!!! This was the most difficult day of driving by a long shoot. After leaving Spokane we enjoyed the scenery which reminded us of SE south Dakota. But the farms were more numerous. Then we started into the Cascade Mts. Gorgeous!!! But the wind was intense. Both Curt and I were leaning far to the right to have the bike lean right so that the wind would not blow us over to the left...or into another lane of traffic. At one point, the wind caused a truck to blow over into our lane. SCARY!!! Curt did beautifully!!!!!!!! To the wind, add the falling temps. We finally stopped and put on our chaps, winter jackets and leather jackets and winter gloves. It was in the low 50's with terrific wind chill as well. There was no where to get off and rest until we got all the way through the passes...very steep up and down and 3-5 lanes of traffic moving really quickly. We were both whipped when we stopped at 2pm for lunch.
I usually make sandwiches in the motel room, add carrots, fruit and a small bag of pretzels. We often stop to fill with gas and then eat lunch under a tree. That's what we did yesterday. We ate in the cloudiness on a small grassy area at the outside edge of the gas station in our winter coats and relaxed watching all the activity around us. We usually fill our thermoses with coffee, but yesterday we just bought pop at the gas station.
Our normal plan of travel is to stop and rest every 100 miles and also when we refuel. We get off and stretch/walk just to give our bottoms a rest. This has worked very well. Yesterday we stopped at a wayside rest where they advertised free coffee. a church group was offering various goodies for sale to fund a trip to a Christian camp, so we helped out by buying a few items. The coffee was great too. the elderly couple running it had been farmers in that part of eastern WA from dust bowl times. Very interesting to listen to their stories.
We finally got into Seattle and to Aunt Ruth's about 4:30pm She said that she had been listening for our "loud" motorcycle to know when we arrived. Our bike is very quiet, so we snuck up on her and rang the doorbell. She laughed and welcomed us in. We had on all our motorcycle garb including helmets, etc. so we looked pretty funny. Ruth is doing much better than I thought she would be and she looks wonderful - she is 94 years old. The weather here in Seattle is 66 degrees and not raining. You have no idea how warm 66 and calm is!
Photos will follow in separate blog. The Cascades were amazingly gorgeous and worth the work. Happy trails!
C:
Wed, I took the bike to a dealer to have new tires put on..should make for a better ride since the old ones were at least 8 yrs old. While R&Ring the front, the tech found that the front brakes were about one good stop from being metal on metal. So I had the front brake pads replaced also. A hellofalot cheaper than having to have to replace the two rotors also.
By the way, mid 50 degrees sounds like it might be a bit cool but at 70 mph its down right COLD!
The bike is running great, but pulling a trailer up and down mountain passes is a real eyeopener and takes a lot of concentration. So, I didn't get to look at a lot of scenery...I left that to my passenger. V: I took a gazillion pics for Curt, but they missed the grandeur of the whole thing. C: Having a great time with Ruth. I think she likes me better than Vicki...or maybe its just boys vs girls. All my weight loss is going back on. She is a tremendous hostess.
Keep the rubber side down, all
You are much braver than I. Glad to hear you are having so much fun and can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. :)
ReplyDeleteLove you!