Pee Break?

POSTED WITHOUT COMMENT.



THE FINE PRINT.

The road to Cockrumville

DULL, DULL, DULL

I left yesterday morning for the long drive out to Sandpoint, ID to catch up with Ivan for a day and a half of R&R. I decided to take I-90 as the quickest route but I quickly discovered 3 things: 1) it's not as quick as all that 2) it's boring as fuck and 3) I really hate driving.

Taking a cue from our week of biking, I stopped fairly frequently for bathroom and stretch breaks. I tried to keep my mind occupied by singing along with the radio, but it was difficult to hear the music over the rattle of the car and at one point, without warning, the stations I was listening to literally morphed into that un-holy duality that is eastern Washington radio - C&C - Christian and Country. I had a few moments of frantic scanning and I was relieved, RELIEVED, I say when a song by Cher came on. I almost wept with joy. As a bonus, one hit wonder Alannah Myles came on immediately after. I managed to maintain my sanity for the rest of the trip listening to, god help me, Soft Rock Hits.



Other than bathroom breaks, lunch, gas refills, and one power nap stop I only made one un-anticipated stop. Just after filling my tank in Vantage, WA I saw something interesting up on a hill. The roadsigns said "Wild Horse Monument". Generally, when I'm trying to get somewhere I never deviate from the road but this was too cool, so I stopped.


WHAT'S THAT IN THE DISTANCE?

I pulled into the parking lot where there were a few other cars parked and people milling about checking out the view over the river back into Vantage. Behind me was the hill with the monument at the top.


ANOTHER FUCKING HILL.

It looked like a short and steep hike but I was determined not to be put off by another freaking hill so I grabbed my camera and set off. It may have been my imagination, but I swear I could feel the eyes of the other people in the parking lot on my back.

True to expectations, it was short and steep. It also had the added bonus of a lot of scree-like rocks. Fortunately, I had my trusty sneakers on so I took it slow and steady making it to the top where the ponies were waiting for me in less than 10 minutes.


PONIES!

Best as I could tell, they were made of steel and had obviously been visited by the local teenage population on more than one occasion.


TAGGING - THE BRANDING OF THE 21ST CENTURY.

From the front they reminded me of cylons.


YES. I'M A GEEK.

After looking at the view of the river for a few minutes I started making my way back down.


PONY WITH THE BEST VIEW.

As I neared the bottom I spoke with an elderly couple who had watched me climb to the top. I gave them what advice I could (take it slow, put your camera away until the top, watch your footing) and left them to start their ascent. A few moments later, I encountered a mother-type women with what looked like a half-dozen kids ranging in age from about 8 to 14. Most of them were wearing flip-flops - the absolute worst footwear choice for this climb short of being barefoot. I silently wished them luck as they passed.

When I got to my car, I looked back to see their progress. The older couple had made it half-way, but he seemed to be lagging a bit behind his companion. The Mom/kids combo had split into 2 groups, each taking one of the two paths up the hill. From my vantage point it looked like they, too, were struggling many of them on hands and feet scrabbling for handholds to the top. They were less than a quarter of the way. I debated sticking around to see how they all did but the day was winding on and I was eager to get going again.

I've never been to Eastern Washington before. I'm pretty sure the view from I-90 does not give an accurate or complete picture of the region but I didn't enjoy the area until I got through the traffic congestion of Spokane and onto Route 2 north where I drove along the Priest River and the western banks of Lake Pend Orielle. The unremitting sameness of I-90 was now replaced with the tree lined two lanes of state routes and provided a much more interesting landscape.

I rolled into Sandpoint, ID about 4:30 and found Ivan waiting for me at an internet cafe - Monarch Mountain Coffee.


BEAN BAG CEILING.

He was a sight for sore eyes - sunburned face and arms, his once (almost) white shirt slowly turning grayer. Of course he was blogging but he was soon on the horn trying to find us a room for the next 2 nights. Folks, Sandpoint, ID, population 6500+ is not a cheap place. We could have had a honeymoon suite at the La Quinta for the reasonable price of $319 per night but, since it's hot tub was neither shaped like a champagne glass nor filled with champagne, we took a pass.


ALL BUSINESS.

The past two days has been all about the R&R. We went to the movies twice (Hellboy 2 and The Dark Knight). Ivan blogged. I found him bike tubes and checked out the local antique malls. We went swimming in the hotel pool and soaked in the hotel hot tub (still no champagne).

I'll be leaving in a short while for Seattle and he'll be back on the road heading for Missoula, MT not to be seen in these parts again until the fall.