Author: tophatpat

Oyster Bay,  Skip and Teresa’s, 366 mile jump

Penny enjoyed the ride on I-90 across the state of Washington. She even drove some to give me a chance to relax before the driving would get really tough up and over the Cascades through Snoqualmie Pass, then the grueling traffic snarls of the Seattle-Tacoma I-5 corridor. She drove across the Columbia River and up the ten mile hill to Ryegrass, a rest stop at the top of the climb. From there, we had a most excellent view of Mt.. Rainier, 100 miles away. She had ridden east on I-90 when we first met and borrowed Mike and Jean’s pickup camper for a trip over the North Cascade Highway to visit her daughter and grand daughters in Poulsbo, Wa. The weather was extra special on today’s drive; the Pass was dry and the views magnificent. The traffic on I-5 was special, too. NOT! We didn’t get to Olympia until almost 5 pm.

Mt. Rainier, about 100 miles away.

My friends, Skip and Teresa, have been dear to me for many years. They used to live in Spokane, but Skip was approaching retirement from the DOT of WA and wanted to build a house on the family estate outside of Olympia, on Oyster Bay. It is just about as far south as the water of Puget Sound goes. I call it heaven on earth; I gladly helped Skip build his house just for the opportunity to spend time there! As a mid western boy, I knew nothing of tide charts, clams, or oysters, but I got an education. Anyway, we still enjoy our times together and they always make me feel at home. Skip is a great cook and he dazzled us with delights such as eggs benedict and home made bread. We went for a long boat ride in Skip’s boat, went mushroom hunting without finding any so we filled our bags with litter left lying about, and took a nice ride through the countryside and stopping to enjoy a beer at a quaint rural bar.

Finally, we visited another long time friend, Rene, and her husband, Steve. We enjoyed a noontime beer and some of Steve’s fresh smoked salmon that he caught in Alaska. Yum! They live out high above the confluence of the Little Spokane and Spokane River in a beautiful home. I have known Rene since I was building my house in 1975 on a primitive road up in the foothills of Mt. Godfrey, down river from Steve and Rene’s.

I wanted Penny to see the house; I have described it many times, but seeing is believing. The road up to the property is not maintained by the county; it is rough, only wide enough for one vehicle at a time. But the 20 acres I bought was magical, still worth the drive. It had two strong springs with a sub irrigated meadow where I planted my garden. The 28’ x 28’ house was a modified A-frame having a 14’ x 28’ loft. The front picture window was literally that, giving splendid sunsets throughout the seasons. The house was still standing! And, it looked quite homey with a new metal roof, entry porch and cedar siding. Unfortunately, no one was home so we did not get to see inside.

That was an emotional moment. I hadn’t thought much of those days lately, but being there unleashed all sorts of memories of the building process, the friends and neighbors, the chutzspa I possessed to build something that complex on a shoe string budget while living in our ’56 Chevy school bus, raising our 1 year old son. We had left Rockford, Illinois when he was 5 months old and travelled to the state of Washington where I picked fruit in the fall of ’74. We then went down the west coast to LA, then east to eastern Oklahoma and all the way back to Spokane via Salt Lake City the following spring when we found this property and started construction. Crazy! But the house is still standing and it is someone’s home!

Penny was impressed! (Finally!)

Chinese Lantern Exhibit, Riverfront Park, Spokane, Washington

This trailer repair, like all projects, took a great deal more time to complete than one would have thought. And, October was a record setting rainfall month, so that slowed us down considerably. But, the job turned out structurally sound and visually attractive which is the way we try to do all of our projects. Unfortunately, I did not get to see a number of friends that I had hoped to see; however, we did spend quality time with our dearest friends.

We went to church and visited my brother-in-law, Mike, and sister-in-law, Jean, a few times. I went to my Dead Men Walking club on two Wednesday nights. We spent the night at Craig and Marsha’s twice and once with my former boss and his wife, Fred and Leni, where we saw the Cubs win the World Series! That was fun!

I was glad we got to see Kay Miller, a lady I have known since first starting to work in Spokane. She encouraged us to see a concert at The Fox, a renovated theatre in downtown Spokane. Peter Rivera, drummer and singer for Rare Earth, was off the charts. People, including us, were dancing in the aisles.

I dropped in to see Robb Koscaulk, another employee of mine, for whom I have a great deal of respect.

Rory’s House, 219 mile jump       2,189 miles: Grand Rapids to Spokane

The trip from Missoula to Spokane was spectacular; low clouds hung on the higher peaks filtering the sunlight on the bright yellow tamarack and aspen lighting up the evergreen forest as we descended along the Clark Fork River, which empties into the exquisitely beautiful Coeur d’Alene (CDA) Lake as we leave the Bitterroot mountains and enter the Columbia River Basin. The basin is an arid flat plateau between the Bitterroots and the Cascade Mountains, 200 miles west. Spokane is just across the Idaho border from CDA; we were headed north through Spokane to the Chattaroy, Washington area; a wooded rural area where people live on 5 acre parcels, and larger, to commute to work in Spokane.

Rory worked with me at Spokane Fireplace and Patio; he was my first hire and was willing to do any and all of the crazy stunts I asked him to do. He’s an avid fisherman, hunter and outdoorsman. After working for me at SF&P for 15 years, he was one of our best servicemen. When the bosses decided to pull the plug on SF&P, he wanted to start his own service business. I warned him that it was hard and demanding, but he has done very well because of his diligence. He has a beautiful triple wide mobile home with a large shop. Scattered around the property are his toys: ATV, 2 boats, 2 utility trailers, Toyota FJ, 4WD diesel powered Dodge pickup, a cabover pickup camper, log splitter, et al. He is doing quite well.

We did enjoy this park! Today the rain was intermittent. The facilities are top notch with large paved sites surrounded by grass and a nice diversity of trees. The rain and wind made a blanket of leaves creating a colorful scene. We napped and read and stayed put. The Montana Grizzlies have a home game tomorrow so the park will be full tonight with fans.

We are planning a fish fry and more R&R.

On to Spokane tomorrow, our first destination, to see family and friends. I lived there for 40 years, so I have some catching up to do!

Jim and Mary’s RV Park, 355 mile jump

After a hearty breakfast, we bought groceries and diesel and still got on the road at 10:15am. The early morning frost had melted and the temp was 34F with bright blue skies. To the south, the mountains of Yellowstone and Gallatin Parks were spectacular, all capped in snow.

Penny took another turn at the wheel for about an hour and did well in spite of some ferocious sidewinds and steep down hills.

As our elevation rose to 4000’, snow on the mountains became snow on the roadside, but the roads remained dry. This alarmed us, but the temp was 55F and then sun was shining. Last week, we chose this day to make our crossing based on the forecast, so we had faith and pressed on.

The pass at 6320’ was dry and bare with no sign of snow anywhere; amazing! It was such a relief to start down hill even though I know there are two more passes to cross before leaving the Bitterroot Mountain Range and the Columbia Basin begins. The first one is Lookout Pass at 4711’ and Fourth of July Pass is 3081’. Before going down there we will stop in Missoula, Montana, to spend a couple of nights in one spot for the first time in a week. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, so we can hunker down, read, write, nap, and relax.

Cracker Barrel parking lot, Billings, Montana, 278 mile jump

What an amazing day! US Hwy 212 heads northwest out of Belle Fourche, clipping the NE corner of Wyoming and continues toward Billings, Montana, about 225 miles. It was a nice straight road through some of the most expansive scenery we have seen in all of our adventures. Big sky, big mountains, big valleys, big everything!

This highway, known as the Warrior Trail had only 4 towns between SD and Crow Agency, where it meets I-90 heading north to Billings. The road passed through the Cheyenne and Crow Indian Reservations; we stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield Visitor Center and were saddened to be retold the stories of the treatment of the native peoples and the greater honor given to the military. The natives were promised the Black Hills, but as soon as gold was discovered there, the military was brought in to protect the gold prospectors and eventually to force the tribes off of the Black Hills.

Tired after another long day and unable to find a convenient state or national park, we decided to park in back of the Cracker Barrel in Billings. We have twice parked at Walmart; they are so noisy it is hard to get a good rest. But this Cracker Barrel was off the highway and the lot in the back was secluded. We got there about 5 and cooked our supper; another couple pulled in to stay overnight and none of the staff objected. They knew we’d be in for breakfast in the morning!