The "Leaf" Blew over to Grand Coulee... and Got Burnt to Ashes!

HooooolllllllllEEEEEE CRAP! I fergot jussss how hot HOT is! ;) Been on the coast so long I got un-acclimated to the ree-al-i-TEEZE of "Mans' Country"!

Whew! Comin' across the midsection of Washington on a sunny August day is gar-uhn-teed to warm up yer surf chilled tootsies... :)

Pullin' away from the Columbia River Gorge when we left the Wenatchee area there's a long long grade...

Considerin' the age of this Ol' rig and her OH-Kay-shun-al infirmities, pulling a stiff grade, it makes me a mite nervous, what with her tippin' the scales at approaching 20,000 lbs, to look up at the thermometer on the roof of the cab and see numbers that say stuff like 99... or ... 100...

But with my tender coaxing and her actual solid self we climbed up out of that ditch with nary an issue.

Somewhere along in there we got a pretty good look at one of the fires we made the cut north to go around...

That smoke was all east and south of us... which was the plan... one finally worked!

We'd been thinkin' that we'd do a casino night up at Grand Coulee... Well... sure... if you're a mountain goat and a small one at that. There's a casino there but you'll be better off to be drivin' a car, and one with a decent parking brake... 'cause the only flat spots (or close) are only gonna fit something with four wheels.

If you've got 10 like us... and don't like sleepin' standing up? you'll keep on looking.

We'd already passed a "community" park where they wanted 25 bucks for dry camping in a gravel lot... yeah... uh... No.

We found, three miles east of Grand Coulee, a Park Service camp... set up mostly for Morris Minors pulling tear drop trailers I think... and managed to squeeze in for a $5 night.

Managed to get unhitched and brushed up in the shade under some trees in the center of the place until the sun went down enough to think about goin' down for another episode of the Grand Coulee Dam Light Show...

* Grand Coulee Dam *

I tried... I truly tried to capture the light show with a camera... It turns out that doin' such a thing is like chasing a humming bird with a freight train...

They open up the gates across the spillway a bit, so that there's a sheet of white water running down the face for a picture screen... then cut loose with a battery of laser projectors...

Your free to guess at what these were...

... cuz I ain't got no recollection...

They do make kinda nice abstract pictures though...

... when those lazers are dancing all over the face of the dam... a digital camera just can't keep up.

We got up fairly early... took care of some secret business ;)

... and hit the road for wherever we were to end up...

Now, one word of warning... iffn' ya'll are in a hurry, and you're travelin' through Spokane? get on the Interstate and roll on... The thing is... somebody in that burg has an affinity for two  things; Traffic lights and... RED ones.

I mean... they've got 'em every 12 feet and then their engineers have 'em set so you get to look at each and every one of 'em for about two minutes. Lordy... I had two birthdays gettin' through there!

But, we did... and then dodged up to Priest Lake in Idaho and found THE LAST CAMP from what I'm told in the Luby Bay area. And only got THAT one, cuz a young couple who was grabbin' camps for three couples, decided they could all fit into one site and let us have the only non-reserved that would be available for more than one night!

That'll leave us plenty of time, I'm hoping, to scout around and find us a boondock to set up for a couple of weeks maybe. Still haven't recovered from all the repairs... and need to let the bank recharge... if I can figure a way to get something flowing to it! ;)

... and, just like Klbexplores advised a week or so ago... I got 4G bangin on the air card so I can work! in this one lil part of Idaho we've not dipped into before...

Anyhoo... after putting a dent in my head... again... from that #&%$@  *%#%@ fiver nose unhitching... and cooling out with a Full Sail brew and a nice cool, Rocky Mountain night... I'll be bustin' the keyboard on that next book today... and tomorrow... and tomorrow...

* Another Grand Coulee Abstraction *

* Grand Coulee Relections *

Well.. that and ride the bike back down to Priest River for some of those Huckleberry Shakes we saw on the sign boards when we rolled though...

Back in the Rockies
Brian

A Leaf in the Wind

Another place we're slow to leave. So many camps along the road have grown on us. We pull into a place thinking we'll only stay for a day or two. Then extend, and extend again another day.

This camp at Nason Creek, along the Wenatchee River is one of those.

*Bridge over the Wenatchee*

We've walked the trails above the river and over to the lake. We've met new road friends here, Brian and Sharon, camp hosts that recognized my show off Motorcycle as it rumbled out of the camp. ;) and we've shared conversation with Jim and Pam, camp hosts as well.

I've ridden some fine roads and sipped some excellent Washington brewed Beers in weather that's warmed up hot and dry as we pulled away from the coast that's held us for so long.

I'm not sure how far away Lake Wenatchee pulls people from, but I've seen boat trailers with British Columbia plates on 'em. I expect salmon hunters travel a good ways in search of their passions.

I've ridden that scooter thousands of miles in search of mine!

They launch their boats off a single ramp into the river just where it exits the lake. Around the corner is a nice swimming beach where families play... and a small store...

But even the boat ramp isn't reserved for just big ol' power cruisers... If you have a yen for quieter means of floating... that seems to fit the place too...

They called this a Kayak... looked more like a thick surfboard with a paddle to me... and I believe that's the first time I've ever seen a life preserver for a dog!

I have to say... that being her second day I believe on the water, and with a passenger to boot... she was doing a lot better than somebody else I can think of...

I think maybe I'll stick to wheels? :)

... and sitting on the beach, eating ice cream from that lil' store... watching a day wind down...

Buuuut... Montana and the Rockies keep calling... so today, we'll get loaded and move on. We aren't sure where, or how far other than toward Montana.

We can't go too fast or we'll get there too early... which is kind of odd... how do you know you're early if you don't even really know where there is? ;)

I guess we'll know it when we see it. Till then, we'll just keep moving along finding whatever happens to turn up.

Just a Restless Rover
Brian

An Old Cowboy's Understanding of Minimalism, At Least, How It Works for Him.

Sometimes, an attempt at explanation of my rants is in order. I've found that MY understanding of my words is sometimes a mite different than what others might see.

Some misunderstand my disdain for "Things". They see it as trying to have it both ways I suppose, and they question my talking against materialism... when they see me hawking "Affiliate Sponsors"... and think that there's a contradiction there.

I know they do, because I have to stop every once in a while myself, and make a self-check. I believe I have and am gaining a more finely tuned sense of "Things". I see no contradiction in promoting my sponsors. Everyone needs clothing. The requisite tools for camping, maintaining their "homes"... and even the small bits of art that touch the spirit on occasion. So, I share the best of those from what I see as a place of enlightened self interest. If you have a need for those things, I invite you to give those sponsors an opportunity at fulfilling your needs.

The thing is, it's not a choice between two rigid  options; being buried under a crushing mountain of possessions and living naked in the woods. Like in much of life, it's finding that proper "balance" between those two extremes.

Somewhere, hidden between those two extremes, either of which are as equally destructive, is that place of balance. The trick is to move along carefully, paying attention... so that you see that spot when you pass through it; That spot when you realize, this is what I require. Not too much, not too little. Just this.

I measure a thing by its use. Sometimes it comes pretty close to balancing and making the choice more difficult, but in the end, I believe little in this life, truly balances. It tips one way or the other. No one and no thing is all good, or all evil... well... except Motorcycles. Never was a bad one made! :)

I pursue those things that I need as tools to provide and do what I need for a fulfilled life in this world. Those things that nurture the body and the soul are treasured and defended in balance with their need. Those things that by their cost in life and labor enslave, are eschewed. 

Some mistake me as being a minimalist... uhhhh... not sure there. I want the minimal amount necessary to be comfortable. I'm lazy. I don't want the work of carrying and worrying about what I don't need. Or the work of producing what I don't need in the first place. I want to be cool when it's hot, and warm when it's cold. I want to be fulfilled when I'm bored and eased when I'm overloaded...

I want wide open spaces that let my spirit expand, miles of two lane to unleash my scooter, a cool beer in the evening as I listen to the breeze in the tree tops. A working Ipod with my favorite tunes, a new shirt on occasion and clean jeans. A jacket for when it's cold. Shelter from the wind and rain... one of my "devices" so that I can stay close to far flung friends... Other than that, my needs are few.

Minimalism doesn't mean suffering and doing without. It means knowing when you have everything you need, and not wasting precious life and energy, pursuing what you don't. Minimalism is learning that place where everything has a place, everything fits with purpose, and the energy that was once expended on needless things can be invested in LIFE.

Perfecting My Own Balancing Act
Brian