Travels with Walter: Bobble Head Bike Ride

This past week I worked in Kennewick again. The company paid the hotel bill so I did not have to drive home late so I took my mountain bike with me for a little ride along the lower Columbia Plateau Trail. I have been on the northern parts quiet a bit (it runs 130 some miles from Spokane to Pasco) but never on the southern end. It was quiet an adventure. The first 2 miles from Ice Harbor Dam were on good gravel, much like the bits around Turnbull, but after that it all went to hell. The trail is an old rail bed and it is still covered in rip-rap that even sucks down fat tires. It took me 4 hours to go 20 miles. At one point the basalt gravel was so thick I just got off and pushed my bike because it was faster. There is a big park (already forgot the name) that had the sprinklers going on the lawn so I rode through those for a bit to cool off. I felt like I was 10 years old. The trip was fun, the weather was in the 90s when I got back to the car around 1:00pm, the scenery was cool, and I took back roads all the way back to Spokane. I finally visited a lot of little towns I have only heard of because they all have a band and float in the Lilac Parade. I checked out the Kahlotus tunnel which was pretty cool.

Basalt road bed

Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River

Way cool basalt layers...this is about where a coyote ran in front of me for a bit

View

Ummmm.....like, no problem

Other stuff.......

The week after my dog bite along the CdA river trail, Nancy and I took the boys back up along the North Fork for a couple of nights of camping. We stayed at Big Hank. If you do not like dogs running after you in the campground, do not go there. The campground host is one of the biggest idiots I have ever met...they were her loose dogs that kept chasing us. We still had a good time though it rained the first night we were there and I thought we were going to freeze to death. I wore and hat and gloves to bed. We visited Fern and Shadow falls and took a drive up to the upper reaches of the river. Mostly we just rested and read...and napped.

A cool spot along the river near Magee work station. I waded across the water (up to my waist) and decided that I have to go back there to camp one of these days.

Behind the falls (not sure which one)

Why look, it is raining

Did we really get all our crap and two big dogs in that car?

Benewah Lake

Walter and I took a nice day trip to Benewah Lake. The lake is really shallow but there are tons of fowl, heron, osprey and even a couple bald eagles. Walter is getting the hang of the boat and does not move around too much. He likes to look over the edge and watch everything going on. I am not sure what he is going to do the first time a we see a moose in the water. It will most likely result in both of us getting wet.

Wally in his spot behind me

Under the train bridge

The St. Joe River valley

Nancy and I also did a great bike ride along the Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes. We did not do the whole thing this time. We started at Heyburn and rode to Lane (where?). On the way back we stopped at the ice cream shop in Harrison. We were both feeling sort of silly and kept seeing things that cracked us up.

Stack of bikes on the back of the car