Mount Rainier Weekend Roadtrip

I’m making this my rule - go to Rainier NP every year. It never disappoints.

Up the trail from Sunrise. OK Mr. Cloud, I will wait for you to pass.

Twisting up a Butte

Although it is easy to drive past, it is almost always worth a trip up the narrow road that winds around Steptoe Butte to the top. It is a Washington State Park, so I usually make this my excuse for buying my annual park pass from the vending machine at the top.

The scenery is always worth the short drive from Pullman.

#1 son relents…allows Dad a selfie

North Cascades Road Trip

If there is one trip I could repeat on an annual basis, it would be a road trip across Washington, using a Northerly route above I-90, through the small farming towns of Central Washington and then across the Cascades via Highway 20.

For this trip, my destination for lodging is Winthrop. There is plenty of lodging if you plan well ahead with a reservation, and from most of the hotels and motels you can walk to the restaurants or microbrew locales.

As always, the drive up into the Cascades is amazing, with several side trips to several off the beaten track locations off of the main highway.

Weekend in Dayton

One of the little towns in SE Washington I usually just roll through is Dayton. I had heard that the Weinhard’s Hotel was a neat little spot. I used this location as my stopping point, and took advantage of the location to also ride up into the Blue Mountains.

Dayton is a sleepy little town, but that is OK by me. I nice a nice stay, and nice weather for a weekend full of riding around this scenic corner of the state.

Sunset from the hotel roof deck in Dayton

Serving my Country - In a Grand Way!

Note: My service on this jury is complete as of June 2019.

Ever been on a jury? How about a Grand Jury? What's the difference? Well, if you are ever lucky enough to get a Grand Jury summons, and make the cut, you'll find out. A Grand Jury assignment lasts for 18 months, with a one or two day meeting each month.

I made the cut as an alternate in January 2018. I figured as an out of towner, I might never catch the fulltime gig. This held true until July. One of the original jurors had a health issue, so I caught their seat for the remaining months.

Since the Federal Court is in Spokane and I live about 75 miles away, my plan was to drive up the afternoon prior to service, spend the night, and then walk over to the court each Tuesday (first Tuesday of each month). Especially in the Winter months, this arrangement eliminated the need to get up at the crack of dawn and drive in the snow.

Side bonus - I live in a really small town. Visiting Spokane once a month isn't the worst thing to have to do. I tried really hard to make this a positive experience. So I stayed at the Davenport Tower most months. Nice place, walking distance to nice restaurants, and I could leave my car in their garage until the court released me on Tuesday.

So what does a Grand Jurist do? Well, it had nothing to do with active trials like the typical county jury duty. The panel of jurists (usually around 21, 16 are needed for a quorum) hears Federal prosecutors present evidence of a Federal crime. If the jury agrees that there is evidence of a crime, they vote affirmatively. Each prosecutor typically has a law enforcement officer present the evidence. THe prosecutor outlines the Federal statues, and what the law requires.

After several months, a pattern develops, and many of the same prosecutors and law enforcement officials return each month. Many are specialists in certain types of federal offenses. The most common are drugs, guns, violence, child pornography, immigration, and drugs. Sometimes combinations of those things.

Much like trial jury service, you quickly realize that people caught up in this activity are really in trouble. The quantity of some of these crimes is really unfortunate. And sad.

The Middle of Idaho is Amazing

In June of 2017, I stopped in Stanley on my way from Pullman to the Tetons and other Western destinations. I had such a nice time, that I arranged another trip this year. While the first trip was via motorcycle, this time I drove the Jeep, and brought along my mountain bike. The idea was to emmerse myself into nature more directly. Often times, when on motorcyling tours, it is hard to mix in hiking and other activities.

Stanley, Idaho is about 350 miles from home, via a fantastic drive through Idaho backroads. The Stanley Hotel was my destination, which is cool little hotel and restaurant.

Early June is just the start of their Summer. Since Stanley is at hight elevation (6000 feet), early June is when the mosquitos are just getting started. Most of the tourists haven't arrived either. One of the best parts of this time of year is that the Sawtooths are still fully snow covered. I'd say that the Sawtooths rival the Tetons in terms of prominence and photo beauty.

After Stanley, I drove up through Montana towards Lolo, and cut across Idaho via I-12 (Lolo Pass) and stayed in a cabin at Lochsa Lodge, which is one of my favorite destinations.

Doing Jeep things.

Making desktop images to look at all day while I sit in a cube.

Palouse Loop

Not every trip needs to be a long one. I specialize in making the routine trip to the grocery store take about 2 hours and cover a 100 miles or so. Especially in Spring and early Summer, the Palouse is pretty magical. Sometimes I don’t even remember to go to the store.

May 12

Down along the Snake River, while the canyon is still green.