"When Smoky Sings" - Going to the Sun Scooter Trip - Part 1 - Maple Ridge to Omak, Washington

430 kms

A smoky view from the Diablo Lake Overlook - on the North Cascades Highway

After last summer's trip to California, I thought I'd scale back my annual scooter trip. My friend, Dale, was unavailable as he was holidaying in Europe with his family, so I decided to do a trip that, all told, would last five days but would include a five day stay at Jasper National Park in Alberta.

The first day was a carbon copy (do you think Millennials understand that phrase?) of the first day that I did n my Cascades Loop Tour two years ago. When I looked at that trip, I noticed that it was so packed with things to see in 2015 that I took two posts to describe day one.

Not so this time.

Things started out a bit poorly on day one. I had packed my stuff the night before so I took my helmet electronics off the charger, grabbed my top case off of the counter and headed down to the underground parking. After loading up everything, I put on my jacket (despite the hot temperature) and turned the key.

Agh!

I peered at the display of my BMW C600 and noted the word "LAMP!" and the yellow warning light lit up.

I grumbled to myself that I wasn't going to ride with a warning the next few days so I went upstairs, rummaged around the utility closet, and found the second replacement light for the burned out low beam bulb.

The interesting thing is that the low beam bulb is on the right side of the scoot. You can access it by taking off the right panel.

Wait! If you take of the right panel, the battery is in the way. So I removed the battery.

Wait! If you remove the battery, there is still a bunch of other stuff in the way.

Wait! I remember! If you reach up from the front tire you can actually squeeze your hand in there and feel around to replace the bulb. Problem was, my hand must have gotten a lot fatter than last year because I could barely squeeze it up the front of the bike....

Wait! If I turned the handlebars, there's tons of room!

After this unfortunate start, I was drenched in sweat so I took a brief shower, changed my shirt, and then actually embarked on my tour.

I took the Aldergrove border crossing as there was less of a line up there. It was smoky leaving Maple Ridge (from wildfires in the interior of the province) and that continued after I crossed the border. I took Interstate 5 until Sedro Wooley and then headed on the North Cascades highway.

A bit smoky - but not overly so - at a rest stop near Rockport WA on the North  Cascades Highway

Another view from the rest stop near Rockport, WA.

Unfortunately, it was smoky. And as I got closer to the more scenic aspects of the ride, it became smokier. I took a few photos, but mostly to show how the smoke basically ruined the view. It was disappointing.

An acceptable photo near Marblemount, WA on the North Cascades Highway

A terrible view of Diablo Lake - sooo smoky!

I stopped in Winthrop for lunch (again, like last year) and after deliberating, ended up at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery once again and had a great blonde beer and a pretzel (which was OK). The heat and smoke combined to reduce my hunger. When it came time to pay, and I handed over my credit card, it compared interestingly to two years ago, or even last year -  the US has really embraced chip technology on credit cards (rather than swipe technology), and it showed in the restaurant as well as the fill ups at gas stations. How times have changed!

The Old Schoolhouse Brewery in smoky Winthrop

I continued on to Omak which is in the American Okanogan (not the Canadian Okanagan. Interestingly, Canada, we have an area called the Okanagan but the US has a town called Okanogan. Also, we have another areas called the Kootenays but the US has a town called Kootenai! I stayed at a different hotel called the Omak Inn. It was a bit nicer than the Rodeway Inn I stayed at two years ago and was in a part of the town that I didn't recognize. I didn't feel like a giant Mexican meal like I had the previous visit so I just bought a deli sandwich at Safeway and had a couple of large craft beers while I watched Netflix on my iPad.

At least it wasn't smoky in the hotel room....