It was a nice short day. I was in no hurry to leave today, due to the short ride I had ahead of me, but it did take longer than planned to leave town. On my way out of town, I passed several stacks of fruit crates and had to investigate. I turned down a side street and saw a cold-storage unit and, around the corner, an office. Entering the office, I met Diane who told me about the company and the fruit in the region. Pears, apples, and cherries are the main fruits that they process and store.
My first hint that there were orchards in the area.
Immediately after leaving the Blue Bird facility, I stopped once again when I met Ken, a local cyclist. Ken moved to Tonasket several years ago to teach and is now retired. We had a nice conversation about cycling and bike touring. I love these kinds of diversions and the information I glean from them.
My planned route for the day was 29 miles long and took me off WA-20 and through the town of Riverside. Because of the smoke, I was considering just staying on WA-20 to Omak, as this would shave 7 miles off the ride. It wasn't until I approached the turn-off to Riverside that I decided to stick with the original route, and I'm glad I did. Otherwise, I would have missed the best story of the trip.
I stopped at the Riverside Grocery to get a drink and met Bonita, who along with her husband John, owns the store. She was very interested in my trip and, as I was telling her about it, John walked in. Bonita enthusiastically tells John about my trip, and John gets a glint in his eye and asks if I would like to hear a story. I said "Sure", and he takes me to the back of the store and points to some holes in the ceiling and tells me those are bullet holes.
John proceeds to tell me that in the early 1900's the store was a bar owned by Jack Williams. At the same time, there was a locally notorious badman named Frank Watkins, that nobody liked, as he was a known horse and cattle thief. One day in 1908, Watkins entered the bar and asked for a hot drink. Williams, tending the bar, didn't want to serve Watkins so he picked up the kettle off the stove, dumped it out, and told Watkins that there wasn't any hot water left. Watkins pulled out his pistol and shot the kettle off the stove, saying "Then I figure you won't need that anymore". He then turned around and emptied his gun into the ceiling. He left the saloon, and being drunk, went to the nearby livery and climbed into the hay loft to sleep it off. Sometime during the night, someone entered the livery and shot Watkins through the loft floor, killing him. Because he was so disliked and feared, there was never an inquiry into his death. Furthermore, the local citizenry did not want him to be buried in the town cemetery, among the "good folk" and so he was buried outside of town. At the time Riverside had a high school, and it became a prank of the high school kids to move the grave marker. John said it was moved so many times, that now, no one knows where Watkins was actually buried. (John also said that it was only recently that the town decided to put a marker with Watkins name on it in the town cemetery.)
After that story, the rest of the ride was uneventful, and the remaining 12 miles went by quickly.
History of the town, located in the small park next to the grocery store.
Bonita and John, the very friendly owners of Riverside Grocery. John was a great story teller - so good, in fact, that I walked across the street and asked the town clerk if I could believe his stories. She smiled and replied, "On most things" and confirmed the story. It was great meeting you John!!
We're ensconced in a nice Best Western in Omak for 2 nights, taking the last day off before the end of the trip. Only 4 more riding days (but 3 more passes) left!!!
Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km) Total: 5,228 miles (8,414 km)
