The day off was promising. Stayed in a comfortable rustic inn called The Virginian. Laundry got done. Winthrop is a cute little town with a very old time western front to the "downtown " area, partner. The food at the restaurant next to the inn was very good. The local pale ales were good too.
The plan for this day was to reach Omak. If you're not sure where that is it just east of Okanogan. The first 10 miles were flat. I still wasn't feeling perfect but thought the fist stretch from Winthrop to Twisp would be a suitable litmus test for my current ability. About 1/2 way to Twisp it became apparent that crossing Loop Loop Pass was not in the stars for me.
I made it to Twisp. Gay, Bill, Sandy and a new companion, John (another story yet to be told), kept riding to Omak. Pam went with me to see if we could find a ride to Omak. As it turns out there was a series of stores owned by Jack( I think that's his name) right where we stopped for breakfast. A man had come up to us to chat about our journey. Pam told him of our need to catch a ride. He told us to ask for Jack at the customer service desk.
Jack was The Man! He had our back and could get us a ride in minutes. For both of us and our bikes/gear, $50. Worth every penny.
A couple of young men showed up. Loaded our stuff in the back of a truck that's used for hauling lumber. The driver was a lumberjack that works for Jack. Sadly I can't recall his name. He sang Jack's praises. Told us all about growing up in rural Washington. He likes to work and workout! We drove though areas that were scorched last year when Gay was riding this part of the route. Enormous damage. If fires don't burn trees the water inside boils and drys it out to kill it soon enough. Some can be salvaged if cut soon as I understand it.
They dropped us off at a truck dealership. Turns out they needed to go pick up a vehicle being repaired anyway. I'm sure they wouldn't have made the drive in the lumber truck though. We thanked them. Took pictures and waved adios! Nice folks. Saved my bacon that day. Pam and I back tracked a short distance to "downtown "t Okanogan for a place to wait for everyone. We spent some quality time in the bike shop.
The shop owner made some great recommendations. Don't camp in Omak but stay at the RV Park in the next town of Riverside. But be sure to have lunch in Omak at the Breadline restaurant. Recommendations were spot on. Breadline food was good. Great soups. Fun decor. Riverside wasn't far past Omak for camping. Not much of a town however. One general store/convenience store. One RV Park and pottery business all in one!
As it turns out, Gay was bantering/joking with the manager about getting Bill a massage. A little while after we paid her $10 a head to camp, she showed up at the shelter with some massage ointment and next thing you know Bill is taking his shirt off and laying on top of a picnic table getting his back massage! Too funny!! No extra charge!
Nice campground. Very grassy. Shaded. Good showers. Bill and Sandy cooked a great meal with a salad. Rain threatened most of the afternoon and night. Only a little rain fell on us but a storm stayed off in the distance.
As it turns out the best thing that happened to me personally was the Alohabagan (Winnebago)RV camped next to us. The couple were meandering along the Northern Tier route on their RV. No hurry. No agenda. Rick and Maile. (Married young. 47 year anniversary!) They had bikes on the back of the RV which of course caught our attention. Pam talked with them and they offered me a ride to wherever I needed to go. Considering the relative remoteness and possible alternatives should I continue not to function at my normally superpowers level, I agreed to gratefully accept their super kind offer.
Yeah I know. That puts my claim of cross country in the asterisk territory. I can live with that. I'm not about to fold up my tent and go home just yet. There's still plenty of riding and adventures to be had. Tomorrow is another day. The gang will continue without me for a couple of days. They will depart about 7a m on the 24th with Republic as their destination.
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