I took leave for the next week and Melissa and I decided to do some kayaking on the Hood Canal Saturday. It was pretty decent weather for kayaking with clouds and about 55F. Turns out that anything much warmer is too warm for a wet suit, and the Puget Sound is too cold to not wear a wet suit! We had a great time and will definitely go again.

And Another Dam Trip!

Looking Out on the Sound From Edmonds

Yesterday was a pretty nice day by Pacific Northwest standards. It didn't rain, the sun made an appearance and it was a weekend day. A trifecta! I went for a ride east across the mountains and collected another dam near Wenatchee, WA. The dam's name was Rock Island dam. It was a very nice ride and I enjoyed it with some good company who had recently been convinced to sign up for the tour! I enjoy riding by myself more, I think, but it is nice to have company once in a while. It's not that I am a loner, just that when I am by myself I don't have to worry about whether me stopping every five minutes to get another "perfect" shot is going to annoy someone. My friend Roger is easy enough to get along with, though, so no worries.

Tim at Rock Island Dam

It was pretty cold when I left my house to meet up at the ferry to Edmonds. I got there in time but my friend was riding further and had less wind protection so he was late. I waited on the other side for him to catch the next ferry and that only helped warm up a bit as I drank a mocha and watched the birds. After we hooked up again we headed east over Steven's Pass. The road was in good shape but it was cold, cold, cold. 38F at the summit and about 45 minutes below 40F. Once we made it down the mountain into Leaveworth it warmed up to the low 60s. That was very welcome. On the ride back we stopped for a couple of pictures in the area where they filmed Harry and the Hendersons (remember that movie?!?). Got a picture with Bigfoot and then headed home. All in all it was a great day.

Me and Harry Hanging Out

Not much else to report here. Just looking forward to a summer full of sunshine.

Another Dam Tour Trip

Fishhawk Dam

So I decided to take advantage of the fantastic weather today (sunny and 70!) and rode down to northwest Oregon to pick up another dam. This one was more remote and required a bit of a trip that included some freeway riding, a bit of gravel on the road and a fair number of frost heaves to keep my back in the game. The gravel made some of the trip pretty stressful and I slowed way down to make sure I kept two wheels on the pavement.

The dam was purposefully built to make a lake for a housing community. These people live there just because they can - there isn't much anywhere nearby.

There was a light cloud cover (filtered sunshine) for much of the ride but you could see for a long ways. I managed glimpses of Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens and Mt Adams today. Not bad for spring time in the Pacific Northwest.

I stopped at an elk preserve on the way back to stretch my legs and a funny thing happened. There were about 15 bikes parked and as soon as I got off my bike this older gentleman comes marching over with some purpose and asks me "How much does a Roosevelt Elk weigh"? Huh? Apparently his group was doing some kind of rally and that was the question you needed to answer to get the clue to the next destination. I was confused for a moment but managed to eat my banana without being beaten up by anybody :)

Went on up to Astoria afterwards and then back up 101 to get home. All told it amounted to about 370 miles and 9 hours of riding. I am a bit saddle sore but feel accomplished!

Hired Help!

So when your son asks "Hey, Dad, can I earn some money?", you have to be ready to help out :)