WASHINGTON

DAY 1 - May 12, 2001
171 miles

I left Seattle at 1 pm this Saturday afternoon. Following me were friends Colin Williams, Willo Bellwood and Todd Pike. We were on our way to the Tom Petty concert at the Gorge Amphitheater, off I-90 just east of the Columbia River.

It was a perfect day - sunny, light wind, temperature in the 70's. It didn't take long to discover that the bike didn't handle as well as I had expected. Apparently all the weight in the saddlebags and on the back end has a tendency to lighten up the front, so it wobbles in the turns at high speed (say 50 and above). It's too bad, and I hope not an insurmountable problem - I'm going to try tweaking the rear suspension to see if it will make a difference.

We reached the gorge at about 3:30, intending to stay at a campground a few miles away from the concert area. Unfortunately that site was full - evidently a lot of other people had the same idea. So we resigned ourselves to camping at the amphitheater's own campground, with the prospect of a long, sleepless night. The gorge campground is famous for its late (4 am) and lax "quiet hours" rules. This usually results in car stereo wars and far more "woo-hoos" than can possibly be counted.

But as luck would have it we passed another campground - Wild Horse. Much cheaper than the gorge, same lush grass, free shuttle to and from the concert and great people running the place.

[Colin, Willo and Todd at Wild Horse.]
(click to see a larger image)

[Amateur rider with no protective clothing and pita in mouth on non-operating motorcycle. Do not attempt.]
(click & see bigger)

The concert was fantastic though we missed most of the opening act - the Wallflowers - as we were stuck in the beer garden line. Priorities. But we caught all of Tom Petty and even though we were pretty far back the sound was excellent. He's working with a new drummer from England who laid down a groove that locked everything together. My only complaint was the lead guitarist - he played some technically interesting stuff but it lacked the story, the melodic line that can take a solo from paint-by-numbers to masterpiece. But perhaps I was digging too deep.

DAY 2 - May 13, 2001
321 miles
Total miles: 492

The next morning I got up about quarter to eight. Willo and Todd were already up and somehow had found some coffee. I soon learned how:

[Mobile coffee and breakfast burrito delivery team. The coffee was free. Try THIS at the gorge campground!]
(click, see big)

[After coffee, how about a quick shower? Hey, how'd that get in here?]
(maybe you don't want to click this one)

We skipped the breakfast burritos and instead decided to try a place I'd been last year. Of course I couldn't remember the name or exactly where it was - luckily we found it after only a little searching.

The Martha Inn (in George, Washington) is a classic greasy spoon. This time it lived up to its reputation. The biscuits and gravy had some pretty scary gravy - maybe that's how it always is, but it's going to be a long time before I try that again.

[The Martha Inn - George, WA.]
(click, see)

I finally rolled out of George about 10:30, after lots of well-wishing from Colin, Willo & Todd. Broke off I-90 on the east side of the Vantage bridge and headed south along the Columbia River. This was a secondary highway and started to wind and twist as it followed the contours of the land. Signs cautioned of drifting sand (which I saw a couple of times). The far west bank of the Columbia was ridged cliffs, flocked with green foliage. They looked like green velvet.

Further south the west bank flattened out and electrical towers appeared in long lines on the desert east bank.

[Heading down the Columbia. Lots of electrical towers.]

I reached the Tri-Cities (Richland, Kennewick and Pasco) around noon. My first question on pulling over in Pasco was "where can I find some good coffee?" I got directions back to Kennewick and the Grand Central Coffee Station, where I bought an iced latte and a tuna sandwich (with assurances from the girl at the counter that "she eats them all the time" - tuna can be a bit scary sometimes but this one was perfect). Out back was a nice picnic table - okay, it was next to the car wash entrance but pretty sweet all the same.

[My lunch spot in Kennewick.]

I was hoping to find the old part of town - usually the place worth going in this era of strip malls - but no such luck. I'm sure it exists somewhere around there but it was not for me to find.

While I was eating a man stopped by and introduced himself as Mike O'Brien, the owner of this and another Grand Central Coffee joint. We talked quite a bit about motorcycling (he's the proud owner of a new Honda Valkyrie - a large-displacement cruiser/tourer.) We also talked coffee beans and Idaho roads. Mike definitely sent me the right way to Idaho.

[Mike O'Brien]

One of the prettier towns Mike mentioned was Dayton, WA. Unfortunately nothing much was open there - things seem to close down on Sundays in the smaller towns - but it was a beautiful little place. And speaking of beauty, this is where the real scenic stuff started. The Columbia down to the Tri-Cities was pretty desolate, but after Pasco the rolling hills turned a beautiful green. It reminded me of parts of New Zealand's North Island, or images I've seen of Ireland and Scotland. This is grain growing country, and in spring it hasn't yet turned to the familiar golden color it reaches before being harvested. Every so often the route would be interrupted by winding streams lined with trees, old bridges and small towns that might be called quaint. But I'm afraid it was so fun to ride I didn't get many pictures. Sorry.

[Dayton, Washington. Main Street.]

[The Dayton courthouse.]

[A classic piece of sign design - Dayton.]

I crossed into Idaho about 4:30, and there the story continues...