Day 1: Wenatchee

 Day 1: Wenatchee, Washington

Distance for the day: 367.1 km

Cumulative distance: 367.1 km

Top speed: 117 kph

Moving average: 78 kph

Temperature range: 14.8 - 24.8

Outgoing weight: 159 lbs. (not saying who!)

We woke up without an alarm today, determined to operate on "holiday time" and not be in too much of a rush for the sake of rushing. Even though we had packed our panniers yesterday, they still had to be mounted and all the extraneous rocket launchers - tent, sleeping bags, shoe bag and sleeping matts strapped to the tops. Also, we had to do a little tidying around the house because a friend of ours is moving in for the duration of our absence and we wanted to give her a clean slate. 

We were loaded by 9, on the road at 10:15. Because Nan had not been this way, we rode

Nan, ready to roll.

down 3A through Keremeos so that I could introduce her to the Nighthawk border crossing as it is a much prettier, fun ride on the motorcycle versus 97 straight through from Osoyoos to Oroville.

We were fortunate not to encounter inclement weather at all down to the 3A turnoff, though once we were heading to Karemeos, we kept hitting patches of rain soaked tarmac but didn't get rained upon at all. Through Keremeos, we were saddened to see the state of the vineyards

Vines, decimated by the cold
snap in January.

in the area. We are fans of wines of the Keremeos area and all the vines were all either dead or cut down to the root stock. I fear for the Okanagan wine industry and all the related businesses.  It will be bleak for several years and only the strongest will survive.

The Nighthawk border crossing is a small, little used crossing west of the 97 crossing. The pavement is good on the Canadian side but almost like gravel on the U.S. side. We rolled up to the stop light at the crossing and waited for the border guard to wake up from his slumber due to the bike going over the signal strand (like you used to see at gas stations in the days when your gas would get pumped for you). We sat for a few minutes before the light changed to green - there were no other vehicles for many kilometres - and we entered the covered portion where we were greeted by the U.S.'s finest.

 

I had trouble to get the bike in a good postion to stand without being tippy; with the weight of two people and gear for many weeks, the suspension is a little compressed and the bike sits low, so there is less lean on the side stand. I mention to the border guard that I would like to get the bike into a better position but the guard tells me lots of bikes come through there and they are all good so I will be, too. Then, he is giving us the Third Degree about coming through the Nighthawk crossing. This is my second time through and because it is such a lonely crossing, they all think that people crossing there must be trying to get away with something. He asks us twice if we are packin'. He also asks if we are carrying any alcohol. I say "no" but Nan blushes but doesn't say anything. After we are on our way, Nan tells me I lied to the guard. Whaaaat? She is such a bad ass! Apparently, we ARE carrying alcohol! I tell him we chose this crossing because of the beauty of the ride and my motivation to bring my wife that way.  That seemed good enough for him.

It is noon and we are in Oroville looking for lunch. Only place we see open is Rancho

Very colourful.

Grande, a Mexican restaurant on the main drag through town.  We park out front and go in and there is one other person and she is leaving with her leftovers. It's a bit gaudy inside but we get seated in a front facing booth so that we can see the bike, and get treated to the "best" table mural in the house. We both had a look around at the other tables and there is no question that there is no comparison. 

This will help you enjoy
your lunch!

The food is surprisingly good and that a two hour motorcycle ride with some friends would be totally worth a dedicated trip. Portions are generous, price is reasonable and the food is enjoyable. Can't comment on the quality of drink, I'm afraid. Motorcycles and booze don't mix. But not according to the person serving us. 

Quesadilla, normal size.

Pretty easy ride all the way to Wenatchee. There was a fairly strong crosswind but nothing onerous. Rode by a series of radio dishes quite large near Brewster and we learned later that one is associated with the Very Long Baseline Array, a series of ten 25 metre radio telescopes spread across 8,000 km of American soil (including Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands). The large number spread over such a vast distance allows for much higher resolution of astronomical radio images. There was also a collection of smaller radio dishes used for... radio. 

Burrito, super sized, apparently.

For our first night, we are motelling it. Off and on weather all day led us to seek shelter under cover and not exposed to the elements. We are saving that for the summer weather. We were thirsty and tired when we checked into the motel and we decided that a beer would go down nicely so we walked over to the nearest restaurant to our motel and, sure enough, Mexican! But the place was deserted and didn't look in very good order so we decided to keep walking. The next place we came to was a km up the road and looked busier from the outside so we opted to go in and discovered... Mexican! Well, it was the beer we really wanted and if we had dinner there, we were honouring our Mexican relatives. Sadly, the food was half as good for twice the money that we had at lunch time. But the beer was great!

Someone is having
too much fun!