Part 2 of My Grand Coulee Dam Ride
After waving good bye to the Harley Riders, we rode through Coulee City, Electric City, and then Grand Coulee. Upon arrival at Grand Coulee, we were unable to secure a place to sleep. The info guy, phoned around but there was only one B & B with one bed. So-o-o-o, suffice it to say, we had to keep moving.
We stopped at the dam long enough to admire the immense proportions and lamented that it was too bad we would have to miss the laser light show later. We took a couple of pictures and gabbed with some locals before heading out.
We rode to Bridgeport thinking that maybe we’d find a place there. Yikes! What a sorry looking place that was. It is right beside the Chief Joseph Dam and my guess is that it employs the people of Bridgeport. We stopped long enough to fuel the bikes and then headed for Brewster. No luck there either. After Brewster we rode into Pateros. I had high hopes because it had a nice setting right beside the lake. Unfortunately, there were no rooms to be had here either. Fortunately, though, there was a public bathroom.
Dr-bar got a couple of phone numbers of a couple of hotels in Okanogan. The Okanogan Inn had 2 rooms available so dr_bar gave them his credit card number to hold the rooms for us. We were about 40 minutes away. We doubled back through Brewster, and passed through Monse and Mallot on the way to Okanogan.
The sun was setting as we rode parallel to the river. The views were stunning, but unfortunately due to time restraints now, I could not stop for any photography.
It was unfortunate that circumstances became what they were. One of the purposes of this trip was for a “relaxing photographic” journey. I saw so many great scenes and compositions, but we had to keep moving.
It was dark as we pulled into Okanogan. We were fortunate to have the rooms….even if it meant I had to sleep in a smoking room.
Dr_bar asked me,” So, are we going to fight over who gets the king sized bed?”
I told him, “No fight. I get whatever one smells better.”
As we were checking in, more people arrived looking for rooms. Angelina at the front desk was very helpful. She made a couple of phone calls and found a few rooms in a small place a few minutes away. I think it’s something only the locals know about.
I was getting tired, but I was also very hungry. We stepped next door for some supper and then headed out for a short walk before heading to our separate rooms
.
I love my earplugs! Once I put them in my ears, I couldn’t hear the traffic on the highway. I slept ok, considering the smoke residue in the room. However, in the morning, I felt a little unwell. (I am seriously allergic to smoke). There had also been smoke in the air from the nearby forest fires, so I got a double whammy. I was coughing a bit, but more than that was the fact that I was feeling a bit woozy. I was having trouble focusing. Although we would have preferred to get moving and find breakfast and coffee along the way somewhere, we didn’t think it would be a good idea for me to ride just yet. We went into the restaurant and had coffee and breakfast there to give my head a chance to clear up. After we ate, I felt well enough to get geared up to go. We figured once we got out of the forest fire area, that I would feel more “with it”.
We left the hotel and turned onto Highway #20 to head to Winthrop. The smoke along the way continued to be a problem, but we kept going because we knew that once we got out of that area we would be away from the smoke. We rode to the Loup Loup Summit which was 4,020 ft above sea level. We passed through Twisp which is so small that if you blinked you would miss it. Kind of like Spuzzum, here in BC. After Twisp we arrived in Winthrop. Now this is a quaint, historic western town, complete with boardwalks. We decided to park and have a look around. It’s worth a stop if you’re ever through this way.
Shortly after leaving Winthrop, we were finally out of the fire area. It was a relief to breath fresh air again. It would probably take about three days for me to stop coughing after ingesting all the smoke.
Riding along Highway #20 is both exhilarating and frustrating. There are lots of twisty bits and hills, but unfortunately there are also lots of motor homes. At some points it required the patience of Job because the boneheads driving those behemoths would not pull over to let others pass.
There is a law in Washington State that requires slower moving vehicles to pull over if there is a line of 5 or more behind them. However, they either did not read English or chose to ignore the law.
The scenery was spectacular and the roads were in good shape. We stopped a few times for some scenic shots…and once to ask an old Harley rider if he needed assistance. He was sitting on his bike along the side of the highway with nobody else around. He had some kind of “colors” on his vest, but I stopped and asked him anyway. It turned out he was waiting for a few of his group to come back from a little detour.
We made it to Washington pass Summit at 5,477 ft.
We stopped for a look back to where we had been.
dr_bar is in fine form as he comes around the bend.
And an artsy shot....
Then we stopped again at Ross Lake. Wow, oh, wow, oh wow! It was a gorgeous view.
Next stop was Diablo. The glacial waters are an amazing turquoise blue.
Finally we stopped in Marblemount for gas…and some cold drinks and ice cream. It had been a particularly hot day and it was a relief to stop and get in the shade for a while.
There were a few other bikers there trying to figure out how to get a can of gas back to their friend several miles back on the highway. Dr-bar pulled out a couple of bungee cords and gave them to them. They wanted to pay for them but dr_bar said “No thanks.”
He then added, “Call it paying it forward. Someday you’ll run into someone who needs help and you’ll do the same thing.”
Dr_bar informed me that he was feeling really bagged. He didn’t think he would be able to make it home that night. He thought it might partly have been from the heat and partly from the smoke. I asked him if he thought he could make it to Burlington. I pointed to the mileage sign which showed that Burlington was only 46 miles away. He said he would try. I told him to let me know if he was having problems and we would find a place sooner.
The last stretch from Marblemount to Burlington felt like the longest portion of the ride yet. Arrrgghhh!!!! Slow moving motor homes!!! There were no places to pass so we were stuck behind for such a long time. I was beginning to see why someone could ride off the road. It was a struggle to keep alert and focused. Without being able to see anything ahead of me, it was a difficult ride into Burlington. Once into Burlington I suggested we go find a hotel, but dr_bar thought we should eat first. So, I led us to a big mall where there is an Olive Garden. We turned the corner and as we sat waiting for the light to change, dr_bar finally woke to the fact that we weren’t that far from home.
He saw the I-5 North sign and asked me, “Is that I-5 right there?”
I replied, “Yes.”
He said, quite enthusiastically, I might add, “Aw, "fudge" it, let’s just go home!”
“OK”.
dr_bar heading home.
So we changed lanes and headed for the freeway. It was only 70 miles to Vancouver. I pulled off at a rest stop though. I had planned on having a break in Burlington, and all the fluids I had been drinking were catching up to me. I didn’t think my bladder would make it 70 more miles.
We made great time to the truck crossing and it was only about 20 minutes in the line up before we were back home in Canada. We stopped for fuel in Surrey and the headed into Coquitlam for my overdue dinner. After supper, we went our separate ways home......but not before talking about what ride we should do next.
I was now extremely tired but also very satisfied with the big ride I had just done. We covered almost 700 miles in 2 days. We saw lots of great scenery and got to talk to lots of interesting people. I felt very good about how I handled all the challenges of the mountain roads. I was almost disappointed that I didn’t get to sleep under the stars…..but maybe next time…..
One of their riders suddenly accelerated out of formation and they all changed positions. The next thing that happened was a big cloud of smoke and their group breaking apart and suddenly slowing down. The rider on the vintage Harley had a mechanical problem of some kind. That cloud of smoke coming out of his bike did not look good. 
