COLFAX, WA
FROM JULY, 2007
Friday the 13th and the weather dorks are calling for “showers” and some scattered thunderstorms around the area. I headed off from the house about 730 or so, got to Jeff’s in Spanaway about 815, and we took off from there. A quick blast up I-5 then onto Highway 18 for the run up to I-90. Really wasn’t bad, no rain and still fairly mild until we got to Tiger Mountain, where we both were getting cold. We pulled over and added some more gear. I didn’t bring my leather coat or even my insulated jeans coat, just my regular jeans jacket over a windbreaker and a tank top. I put on a long sleeve shirt under my coat and we hit the road again. Up I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass, about 55 at the top of the pass, and then we hit the first thunderstorm. Didn’t realize it then, but we would ride through a series of thunder cells almost all the way to Moses Lake!
Friday the 13th and the weather dorks are calling for “showers” and some scattered thunderstorms around the area. I headed off from the house about 730 or so, got to Jeff’s in Spanaway about 815, and we took off from there. A quick blast up I-5 then onto Highway 18 for the run up to I-90. Really wasn’t bad, no rain and still fairly mild until we got to Tiger Mountain, where we both were getting cold. We pulled over and added some more gear. I didn’t bring my leather coat or even my insulated jeans coat, just my regular jeans jacket over a windbreaker and a tank top. I put on a long sleeve shirt under my coat and we hit the road again. Up I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass, about 55 at the top of the pass, and then we hit the first thunderstorm. Didn’t realize it then, but we would ride through a series of thunder cells almost all the way to Moses Lake!
TAKIN A BREAK IN COLFAX
ELLENSBURG, WA
Not really much rain, mostly just a sprinkle, but ominous clouds and lightning flashes. Got rained on pretty hard for a few miles just as we were coming into Ellensburg, where we gassed up and decided to have some breakfast. We ate at the Buzz Inn Steakhouse, a place that advertises in all the biker publications that they are biker friendly, so we figured, what the hell….Not bad food, but you go in and order at the counter like a burger joint, then they bring your food to you. The steak and eggs were good, and prices were reasonable. Saddled up and hit I-90, and as we passed Ryegrass Hill and started down into Vantage, they were doing road construction and had one lane closed, the roadway ground up so it was pretty rough, and a speed limit of 45. We were stuck behind a semi for about 15 miles, in a light rain and muddy road…all the way down to Vantage and across the Columbia River. Saw some GREAT lightning flashes, got rained on hard coming up out of Vantage, but when we hit the top of the hill by Silica Road, the roads were dry and we were rolling at 75 mph. Still watching some of the most awesome lightning strikes we had seen in years! As we rode through George and neared Moses Lake, the lightning strikes were all around us, sharp jagged lightning that make killer pictures (of course, my camera was in the saddlebag…)
At one point, near the edge of the cell, two bolts of lightning came down at once, one on either side of the freeway and no more than 100 yards away from us! Then the rain came---fat, heavy drops that just spilled out of the clouds, right on the edge of the storm. We had to take refuge under an overpass as we were no longer able to see where we were going. Our jackets were soaked, but it was still about 85 degrees out, so it wasn’t cold. After waiting about 15 minutes or so, the rain eased up and we rode the remaining 10 or so miles into Moses Lake, where we stopped to buy our tickets to the jazz festival. By the time we got to the ticket outlet, we were not only dry, but sweating! Time to peel off the layers! After another 45 minutes on the road, we got to Ritzville and checked in, getting a drink and sitting by the pool to cool off. It was a muggy 104 degrees out, and we sat by the pool and watched what was left of the thunderstorm roll right past us!
The next day, we decided to head out on a road trip, hit some of the back roads and see the country. We headed south out of Ritzville on SR 261, toward Washtucna and then caught Highway 26 to Colfax. Not much to see, lots of wheat fields and farm land, some rolling hills, and long empty stretches of road just made for riding! After a quick stop in Colfax, we headed north again into Rosalia. By now it was about 90 degrees, and of course, a beer was in order.
The next day, we decided to head out on a road trip, hit some of the back roads and see the country. We headed south out of Ritzville on SR 261, toward Washtucna and then caught Highway 26 to Colfax. Not much to see, lots of wheat fields and farm land, some rolling hills, and long empty stretches of road just made for riding! After a quick stop in Colfax, we headed north again into Rosalia. By now it was about 90 degrees, and of course, a beer was in order.
SAY HI TO THE NICE PEOPLE, JEFF
OUTSIDE OF COLFAX, WA
We hit the local (only) bar for a quick brew, then rode up toward a bend in the road called Plaza, and turned west, rolling past Williams Lake and into Sprague. We gassed up in Sprague, and hit the freeway (I-90) for the 23 mile run back to the hotel, in 100 degree weather. Partied hard in Ritzville that night at the Blues Festival, catching the “drunk bus” (we left our scoots at the hotel) back to the hotel about 1AM. Sunday dawned bright and warm again, we had breakfast at the hotel and got packed up to go---rolling out of the hotel about 9 am, and at about 85 degrees – perfect! We hit I-90 and kicked the speed up to about 75, set the cruise and rolled on toward home. A gas-and-lunch stop in Ellensburg, and then back onto I-90 and Highway 18 toward home. We still had great weather all the way home, and upon rolling into the garage, I had clocked 755 miles on the bike since leaving on Friday morning.
RAINBOW & STORM CLOUDS OVER MOSES LAKE
ROCKIN OUT AT RITZVILLE!
SOMEWHERE IN EASTERN WASHINGTON