Heaven Has Wi-Fi

I climbed to the top of a little ridge behind our campsite just to see what was there. In the near distance I saw a mama mule deer walking at a stately pace followed by two little fawns. They crossed a road and vanished into the tall brush. Just then a third fawn came running across the road, racing to catch up.

Today we pedaled 40.41 miles, an intentionally easy day. The plan was to be done early, wash some laundry, get a shower, and relax a little.

Our toughest climb was just leaving camp. I was surprised not to have to hike-a-bike at all. Stopping to see Dry Falls State Park (a beautiful overlook about 1.5 miles from Sun Lakes), we chatted with some cyclists who were just finishing a week-long tour. They recommended a place to eat: the Steamboat Rock Restaurant in Coulee City.

A bicycle tour is fueled by calories. Calories, water, and sometimes grim determination. But mostly calories.

We had killed a sleeve of fig bars with our morning coffee in camp. (Coffee is a euphemism for the stuff that Folgers puts in a tea bag). We ate a hearty breakfast at the restaurant. I bought a bag of homemade snicker-doodles from Darlene, the waitress and stowed them in a pannier fully expecting that they would be snicker-crumbles five miles down the line. We stopped at a grocery store to stock up on "coffee" and BJ bought a bottle of orange juice.

Last night when I phoned Melanie, she asked, "Are you having fun?"

I said, "I'm having an adventure." Last night I wasn't ready to call it "fun." Today was fun.

Before we left, David P. asked me what he called a geek question, (or was it nerd?) "Are you taking a fountain pen?" David, if you are reading this, the answer is "no."

At Coulee City we were told that there was a cafe in the school gym at Hartline. I was skeptical. Even though it was only 8 miles away, we stopped for lunch. The gym is actually the old gym. The school district rents it to the cafe's proprietor.

Another 20 miles brought us to the Country Lane Campground and RV Resort in Wilbur, WA. The owners are friendly. The price is lower than a state park. The amenities include WiFi and (I am not making this up) room service breakfast. The shower cost $1.00 and almost lasted too long. I stuck it out, though! I give this place a solid five stars.

The town of Wilbur was named for Wilbur "Wild Goose Bill" Carson whose story is barely to be believed. When we arrived at camp, we at the (amazingly intact) snicker-doodles, washed down with warm orange juice.

We walked into town for supper and each had a 2 ounce sample of Iron Horse Brewery's Irish Death Ale. Yum. Two ounces was just enough.

It was fun to chat with Melanie on Face Time this afternoon. I showed it to the campground owner who later described the experience to his wife as follows:

"He said, 'This is my wife.' I looked at the picture and said, 'She's pretty.' The picture said 'Thanks.'"

That's not quite how it happened, but why let facts spoil a good story?

Dry Falls State Park

A place for lunch in Coulee City

A Sign in Wilbur