Day 13

The day dawned much like a few others had, very cloudy.
The weather report was telling me that there would be sunshine in my future, and forever the optomist, I dressed for a warm sunny day.


I woke up to a clean bike, all those years of thinking that the shoemaker's elves were a fantasy, suddenly vanished and I totally believe that they exist now! I arrived in Colville WA with my bike being the dirtiest I have ever seen it. Surprise of all surprises, I had encountered some road paving along the way there and the big sign that stated, "motorcycles use extreme caution" was an understatement. About a quarter mile of deep muddy puddles, I have never ridden anything like that! Forget about trying to navigate around them, there were just too many. Once again, in my head I heard the mantra that has brought me through many a hazard, "hang on and go hang on and go...." It is cases like this that braking will equal failure. I keep wishing for that dirt bike experience, but I never thought it would be with my heavy cruiser. Needless to say, my Dirty Girl was the muddiest I have ever seen her and I was very appreciative of the bath she got.

Ranger also took care of my missing highway peg issue and transferred the passenger pegs to the front. Thank goodness for the gift of a tool kit before I left on my trip! This is the second time it has been used. I will never ride without one after this. :)


This little motel has my favorite continental breakfast so far, not because of the food but because of the atmosphere. How can you NOT love a giant fishtail inches above the toaster?

While getting ready to go, I chatted with the other motel guests.... a couple of little kids who grinned pretty big when I offered a seat on my bike,


and I think this big friendly dog named Harley was grinning too.
Notice my lovely hairdo... and that Harley's is the same color!


One more photo op by the cool sculpture in the center of town, this time from the side that Ranger called "Looking for Bee", and I was on my way to Winthrop WA.


I am still very much under the weather and was looking forward to the little gift of a short riding day and good weather. Only 160 miles to go today, to meet up with Patrick, who lives south of Seattle. He rode up to meet me and ride back to his house. The day is promising to be a beauty!

Route 20 was highly recommended by more than one biker, and I soon understood why. Sweeping twisting roads along a riverbank, the kind that bikers all love... the rhythm of the leans back and forth through the curves becomes like breathing, and with the right pace there is no braking and shifting.... just leaning and breathing.


The landscape along this road is just what I expected from Washington. Tall pines on both sides, that smelled so well, piney.... clean and crisp. The thought went through my head that it is no wonder this smell is chosen for so many cleaners. It is funny what thoughts will shoot through ones head as associations pop up along the way. I have decided on my next tour that I must have some sort of voice activated recorder while I ride because most of the time, the brilliant thoughts are fleeting! I think I will remember all the town names, like Twisp and Tonasket, but most of the time I do not.

The landscape opened up to what I am going to call ranch type land. I was caught off guard by how the color went from the deep forest greens to an over all olive drab color. It was not what I expected for northern Washington!


This landscape was dotted with small ranches and lots of trailer homes, nearly all of them with horse corrals. In the distance, the snowcapped mountains showed up, clear and dark against the light landscape I was riding in. Again, I wondered... "will I be riding through those?" Patrick has informed me that yes we will. I am pretty sure those are the Cascade Mountains. I will dress accordingly today, because they look chilly. I think I need to be done with chilly riding, as I have not been able to get myself over the hump of whatever is brewing in my chest and I get cold easily.

I arrived at the Inn around 3pm and found a shady spot on the grass to relax. Patrick showed up an hour later.


We have been friends online for a few years and it was nice to meet him! We chatted with other bikers as we parked our bikes, got settled in our rooms, and then decided to go downtown. Winthrop is adorable! I don't know if that is an adjective that they would necessarily have chosen, but I like it.



Winthrop looks like an old western town, all the facades have that saloon look to them, the sidewalk is elevated and wooden, with an overhang. I was enjoying all of this, totally sucked into the tourist element of it all!


The highlight of my night, was a little gift shop called Retro Pony.
Occasionally in my life I meet people that in the simplest of terms, click with me. The owner and silver smith, Jenny Tissell is one of those. I so wish I had my camera! We spoke of my trip, about owning a store, about jewelry and a bit about seemingly magical connections. Something had caught my eye in her window and what I left with was completely different.... how could I NOT buy this?

And then right before I was ready to leave, Jenni said to me, "let me see how this bracelet fits your wrist." While we were talking, I had been looking at her silver jewelry and had fondled a little leather bracelet with a silver heart. Jenni gifted this bracelet to me and suddenly I knew what my customers feel like because I will do that with them. I gave Jenni a huge hug and thanked her for the blessing on my trip... Patrick and I left her store and he said "I see you met your sister."
I laughed out loud because this is exactly how I would describe it.

Then Patrick and I had a delicious meal at Three Fingered Jack's Saloon. FINALLY, I went to a saloon!! I was beginning to think that my trip out west would be lacking of this experience. There are just not any saloons at home
We have pubs.

All in all, a great riding day!
Here's to hoping that tomorrow is a beautiful day and that my cold has lifted.

thanks for reading and riding along with me in spirit
xo
Bee