June 24, 2023
Day 8: Methow to the Okanagan
Racing the Storms and Laundry
We woke up at Alta Lake State Park to beautiful skies and set out on our ride at about 8:30 am. Our thirty-three mile ride on Methow Valley Hwy followed the Methow River, a tributary of the Columbia, until the town of Twisp. The valley’s landscape looked similar to yesterday, but we eventually reached pine trees in the Okanagan National Forest, which provided a tiny respite from the pouring rain, as we climbed Loup Loup Pass.
Last night we made reservations at a hotel in Omak in order to do laundry and also because there really wasn’t great camping near our desired destinations. Our choices were city parks, one of which was located in the town of Okanagan. While we were lunching outside Safeway in Chelan the day before, we struck up a conversation with a local Okanagan who claimed that the town of Okanagan has a meth problem. So, we stated that camping there was probably not a great idea, but she reassured us that it was…yeah, it still wasn’t for us. Now we are in Omak, after a longish day, at a laundry mat at 9:0o pm; the hotel’s was super busy and closed at 9:00 pm.
Today’s ride was really pleasant; we had about 900 ish feet of climbing in thirty-three miles to Twisp. After visiting the farmer’s market for local cherries and the grocery for lunch, we headed our way up the Loup Loup Pass. We had about 2,900 feet of climbing to Omak. As we ascended the pass, angry clouds and thunder chased us up the hill, but so did an awesome tail wind! I was hoping that we would beat it, but to no avail. Once the rain picked up, we donned our rain gear, sat under a tree until it let up a bit, and then continued climbing. Besides that, it was a pretty uneventful day except for having to hoof it to the laundry before it closed; we are lucky it’s close by the hotel.
I guess the highlight for me was seeing Twisp again; Mike and I have pondered if this might be another place we could live. It reminds me of our hometown in many ways, especially because it’s a river valley. Luckily, we made reservations yesterday for Omak because if I stayed any longer, the siren call may have led me back to the Twisp River Suites, a lovely place we stayed at during a previous tour, and much too expensive for our current budget. If you are ever in that valley, stay there; it’s worth it.
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Until tomorrow,
Team Bean
Tour Stats
- Cribbage Game Wins: Mike 3, Dawn 2
- Tortillas Eaten: Mike 9, Dawn 2
- Jars of Peanut Butter: 1
- Flats: Dawn 1
- Bike Haters: 1
- Bags of Salad Consumed: 4
Today's ride: 71 miles (114 km)
Total: 376 miles (605 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 1 |