Day 82, Wednesday

Orcas Island WA

Today is whale watching day. I went out on a boat with around 16 other people. Puget sound is amazingly beautiful. The weather was perfect for a boat trip with clear skies and calm waters. We left port at 1:30 and will return at 5:00. It was about an hour before we came up on the resident group of orcas. It was pretty cool to watch them swim by quite close. There was even a baby that was born this year. The whole area was full of whale watching boats. On the way back we saw some sea lions, seals, and a bald eagle. It was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

Tonight I decided to camp out on Moran State Park on Orcas Island. I found a nice little spot next to the lake. There was a store just outside the park so that I could drop my stuff off at the campsite to make room for supplies for the night. Dinner was beef jerky, chocolate and veggie sticks. I sat up for a while staring at the fire. Later that night when all the other campers where a sleep I went for a midnight swim. It was not as scary as I thought it would be, but I didn’t stay in the water that long either.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knappn/sets/72157601898085031/

Day 81, Tuesday

Seattle WA to Eastsound, Orcas Island WA: miles 109

Today I decided to drive north to go whale watching or something. I heard about San Juan islands, don’t really know what that is. Unsure of where I was going, I got a little dishearten about my journey today. Wanted to turn back and keep going south to go home. But I kept motoring on, stopped at a visitor center and got some info. San Juan islands is about 50 miles north of Seattle. Damn. I didn’t know where or what I wanted to do/go so I just kept on going towards Anacotes where you get the ferry to the islands.

I got to the ferry ticket booth and the guy asked me where I wanted to go. Uh… you mean I have a choice?? How about that boat that is leaving right now? Where does that go? Orcas Island he told me. Ok, so that is where I’m going. The boat ride was amazing! Water, fog, islands, wow!

I got the Orcas late after noon and stopped at a store to ask for info on the island. Eastsound is the main town on the island so that is where I headed off too. After riding around I pulled into a pub to ask them about places to stay. I figure better ask locals rather than picking a place out of my GPS. They recommended Outlook Inn down the road. Turns out the have a room for $89/night. That’s cheep for around here. So I booked it out of the pub to get my room. It turned out to be the cutest freaking place to stay at. Full of history too!!

The Inn has been around since late 1800’s! I stayed in the building where you share the bathroom. Way back when, this was considered a fancy place to come to for the Seattle elite. Why? Because the bathroom was down the hall and not out side! This is definitely one of the coolest places I have been too. Mima mentioned something about a place out here that Donnie found for a family gathering, I def rec the WA area! Come out here and get away from the old world shadow.

I had a great dinner at a place called Lu Lu’s. The best salad I have had since Montreal. I met the owners Dave and Jessi, very nice and friendly people.

 Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knappn/sets/72157601897984419/

Route Map

Day 80, Monday

Seattle WA

The goal for today was to check out downtown Seattle. I was here before a couple of years ago for work but did not get a chance to see anything due to the fact that my shit hole company, PUBLICIS DIALOG, worked me to death while I was here.

I spent the day walking around, saw the Public Market, got a hair cut at a barbershop that turned out to be the oldest one in Seattle, 100 years! The barber gave me tips on where to go for happy hour. Went out later for drinks and met a group of fun girls.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knappn/sets/72157601890990648/

Day 79, Sunday

Pendleton OR to Seattle WA: miles 290

Leaving Pendleton my GPS took me through some really nice roads across huge grain fields. It was rolling hills with the roads going in between them along some stream that turned into a river once it got to ID. I road along the Columbia river for a while and past by historical landmarks along the Lewis and Clark trail. Pretty cool.

From the Columbia river on up the Seattle the roads were nothing special. It got into town before dark and got a room at the Travelodge next to the Space Needle. After settling in I met up with Junior Watski for dinner. Most of you know him as Eric Conrad. Good to see an old friend after a long time, even though he turned into a tattooed freak! 5555! (for those of you who don’t know the word for “five” in Thai sounds like “ha”, so that’s short hand for “ha ha ha” get it?)

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knappn/sets/72157601890875038/

Route Map

Day 78, Saturday

McCall ID to Pendleton OR: miles 350

The plan for today was to ride north and then go west into WA State. I got about 70 miles north before I stopped for lunch. The guy at the restaurant told me that there was not much to see in eastern WA and that it would be a more scenic ride if I went through northwestern OR. This meant I would have to go back south to get the route.

I got to go through Hell’s Canyon recreation area. Very nice canyon carving. It was pretty darn hot too. Temperature varies so much out here in the west. Once in OR I passed through a little town that billed itself as the biggest little town in OR.

I got to Pendleton after dark. Got a cheapo motel, had some steak for dinner. Met Some nice folks at the restaurant I ate in. In about 10 days there a rodeo in town call the Round Up which is one of the largest rodeos in the country. Tens of thousands of people are coming to the town.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knappn/sets/72157601833454357/

Route Map

Day 77, Friday

Boise ID to McCall ID: miles 110

Before leaving Boise I went to the Ducati dealer to have my rear brakes checked out. There were barely working. Well they told me that the master cylinder was busted and they did not have parts for it. They said it won’t be a problem to ride back to SF with only front brakes. Apparently are guys who race bikes that don’t even use the rear brakes at all. They charged me $17 bucks to tell me that and to completely disable it. It was working slightly when I brought it in. When I left it didn’t work at all. No wonder the guy said “remember you don’t have any rear brakes.” I got a new rear tire since the current ones were just about worn down.

I had to wait several hours at the bike shop so I got to see cool BMW bikes and chatted with the sales guy about them. When I finally got to leave the skies had become very cloudy. So far in ID the skies were completely clear. As I was leaving Boise I noticed the sky to my left becoming yellow and dusty. Sure enough it was the t-storm coming in. I pulled over suited up and kept on riding.

After several hours the rain stopped. I passed by more fires burning in the Cascade Mountains I think. At one point the smoke that was covering the land made me cough. I rolled into McCall right after sunset. I had a nice prime rib dinner and the restaurant nearby then went to the bar next door. There I met Rod a silver haired gentlemen who had just gotten back from a motorcycle trip to Alaska. It was neat to hear of his experience.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knappn/sets/72157601793230704/

Route Map

Day 76, Thursday

Lowman ID to Boise ID: miles 60 

I woke up around 9am. The sun was out and warming things up. I was freaking cold last night. I slept with my heavy jacket and boots on! Will told me that the other campers up stream form us had all their food eaten by bears last night! I guess Will really did see a bear last night. They did not properly store their food. They just left it out on the bench, hello!

Since we didn’t get to go to the hot springs last night, we got ready and hike the 200 or so yards into the woods to get to it. It was very nice. There was only one other person there, so we pretty much had it all to ourselves.

As we were packing up the camp host came by to chat with us. This bear sighting was the first one all season he said. He told of this parasitic larva that would attach itself to the chipmunk’s neck and grow until it became a beetle. He saw a chipmunk with one about in inch long bulging from its neck. Yuck! These chipmunks are known to chew through tents to get at food too.

After Will got his enormous amount of gear packed up we headed back to Boise. It was much more fun to camp with a friend then by yourself. Will’s 2 year old behaved amazingly despite having a tooth ache. We had a nice bbq dinner at Will’s place. Then I said my goodbyes and went to my hotel.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knappn/sets/72157601774590272/