After the scramble to find camp last night, decided to call around and book a spot for the night ahead of time. One less thing to worry about. And good thing I did, the town I was aiming for (Ione, Washington) was having its summer festival: "Down River Days." Typical of lots of little towns, they roll all the summet hoopla into one big weekend to get everybody from the local and sometimes regional area to come out. But I'll get to this more later...
First thing I did was go back to Idaho- just for a minute. Crossed the Pend Orielle River and found a smaller road that paralleled the highway that would take me all the way to Ione. Within a mile or two I was back in Washington.
These back roads never have very good "Welcome to so-n-so" signs, but the county-line sign is good enough. Was feeling a lot more ready for this occasion after being rested and coming to terms with being in the final state of the journey last night. Yesterday's entrance into washington was less than ceremonious...
So I began. The road was pleasant. Quiet and pretty tame. Consistent pavement and good shady pines lining both sides with occasional views of the river. Pretty hills rising here and there around the shoreline. Flipped on a podcast and learned all about the rise of the ancient Persian Empire while I glided without trouble down the road.
I saw a sign for the Kalispell Indian Reservation. This one looked a hell of a lot nicer than some others I've gone through
Pretty small though...
Wondered how you say the name of that town:
Was it Usk like husk? Or Usk like "oosk"? Settled on Usk like "You-sk." Sounded the most natural.
Snapped out of the ridding daze when I saw a sign for Manresa Grotto. Don't really know what a grotto is, and I don't know who Manresa is so I figured it was worth checking out. There was a picnic bench under a pavilion, and a pit toilet (which was horrific inside...). Pulled Breezey over to the table and had a snack. While munching I looked down and who should I find but this little fellow staring up at me.
It was as though the table had known I was coming and had made a perfect caricature of me. A skinny mess of hair and beard, riding wide-eyed into the future. I felt lovingly mocked.
After I ate I went to find out west this grotto business was all about. Found a trail that lead to a set of stairs up a short slope towards a rocky cliff. Then I saw this:
It lead into a large cavern inside the cliffs. Acousgics were phenomenal. Some stones had been assembled into benches and a table or altar of some sort built at the front. Looked like a great place for ceremonies. Too bad I had nothing in particular to celebrate.
Some just by the wind.
Hopped back om Breezey and made great time for another twenty miles. Took a lil snack n drink on the side of a dirt road and pushed on to Ione. Crossed a bright red bridge and found main street all decorared for the festival.
Found camp at the rv park which was filling quickly with trucks, motorhomes and trailers of all shapes and sizes. Many had snowmobiles in tow, which seemed odd for the middle of summer. But I found the reason when looking at the schedule of events for the weekend posted on the bulletin board:
(It's worth skimming if you haven't read it yet). Tomorrow morning's main event is the Snowmobile Water Cross competition. I guess they ride thier hogs across the water? Sounds reckless- who knows, maybe it's a good ole time. Either way, I'll be out of here by then.
After I had a shower in the bathhouse I did go for a walk downtown to check things out. Town was mostly comprised of 4 different bar & grill establishments facing off down the main street. A phone booth stood by a bench and I picked up the reciever. Still had a dial tone!
Down at the city park there was a bouncy house and pool, and many vendors selling the average fried or chilled treats, and then lots more selling crafts and goods of various kinds. The townsfolk were mostly by the river cooling of in the shade (it was almost 100 today) or wrestling in the water (all ages were participating). I had a feeling the whole town would be good and drunk tonight (If they weren't already). Had some ice cream and put my toes in the water, and then walked home. My tolerance for many people had decreased significantly on this trek. Prefer to have my dinner in peace, maybe play some cards, read, and go to bed early. Aren't I a troublesome teen?
Gabe, the owner of the RV park had won a snowmobile in the raffle. He was so excited he was red in the face when I talked to him. Meanwhile the Lions Club was having a banquet on the lawn and several of the men were wearing kilts. Later, they pulled put the bagpipes and howled for a bit (they had been a main feature in the parade earlier today). Kids ran around the lawn playing and thier parents ate and drank and listened to Bruce Springsteen in circles under the awnings of the trailers. Just another night in America.
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