A Busy Day - The Road is calling... OWGrv is answering.

First, a few photos of scenes along the way…

Seaplanes on the Lake Coeur d’Alene

A common scene in the West.

A not so common scene.

Be thankful for your food.

Hangin’ with the Big Boys.

We woke up to very nice if a bit chilly weather in the Blackwell Island RV Resort. Tom researched different bike paths for a morning ride, and chose North Centennial Trail, where we drove a short distance then took a 7 mile ride along the Spokane river. There were many instructional signs – we stopped to read each one about railroads, sawmills, riparian barriers, and such (they are very ecologically-minded.)

The sign that remains in Scott’s memory is about the Hobo village. It discussed the differences between Hobos, Tramps, and Bums:

A Hobo is a migratory worker
A Tramp is a migratory, non-worker
A Bum is a non-migratory, non-worker

We spotted one of five Mudgy and Millie statues hidden around town. Each one highlights a page from the book.

Scott, Mudgy and Mllie

Unsanctioned Rope Swing

After the ride, Tom thought a MacDonald’s bacon and egg bagel would hit the spot. Scott read the local paper, which had 4 pages of dog breeder advertisements.

After returning to the campsite, we hit the road heading to our next destination, the Umatilla Marina RV Park. We were heading South for a while before turning West along the Columbia River and then North along the Washington Coastline as we go back into Washington state. Tomorrow plan to take a Sternwheeler Cruise on the Columbia River.

We have in general been impressed with these RV parks run by municipalities. This one is very nice – large sites, nice bathhouses, a very nice view of the river – and pretty cheap.

The Rte 395 bridge over the Columbia, which we followed Northbound during our trip from San Diego to Salt Lake City. Today we rode it South from Ritzville, WA to our campsite in Umatilla, OR.

After Scott’s mandatory nap we headed to the McNary Lock and Dam . The visitors center closed at 4PM, so we were too late for that, but we did arrive in time to see the fish viewing room – which had windows into the fish ladder. However, it was apparently the wrong time of year and there were no fish to see, but they did have a fish counter.

Fish ladder – looks exhausting. Scott pacing while waiting for a fish.

Viewing window, but no fish today.

For all you scorekeepers.

We did walk around the park that surrounded the dam and pondered the uses of the infrastructure. The plan is to go back tomorrow and learn more when the visitors center is open.

The weather here was fantastic for this time of year – we had to change to short sleeve shirts. We ate dinner of leftovers outside and aired out the hot Khan, then Tom went to take sunset pictures while Scott browsed the internet and wrote tonight’s blog.

Catching the light.

Almost sunset along the Columbia River.

Sunset at its peak. Interesting clouds, some looked a little like UFOs.