A Good Start

My day, being Monday the 6th, began like so many others.  The majority of others, barring a few minor differences, in fact--at least since as far as the last 4 months go, anyway.  I woke up at 4:45ish, a.m.  Dark and early.  The milk had run dry, and I had decided not to replenish the day before, as I was going out of town for the next week or so, and figured I didn't need to come home to that particular olfactory bouquet.

With cereal essentially out of the picture, I opted for some whole grain toaster waffles I picked up a while back.  They did the trick.  They were food.  I had taken a shower the night before just to be on the safe side--I didn't need that eating into my precious little time and mental faculties at such an hour. 

And then I went to work. 

That was an interesting experience.  Since I've had this job, I haven't taken more than 2 days off in a row, so I was really excited at the prospect of a whole week away.  Then I got really tired.  Someone had brought in a cardboard container of Starbucks coffee, so I decided to have a cup, figuring that would do just the trick in waking me up.  Then, a coworker mentioned that he was going to Starbucks himself, and was taking money and requests.  I figured if I'm going to drink coffee, I might as well drink it in a flavor that I like, so I put my order in with him, too.  Then I finished the cup I'd already taken.

Once I began drinking the specifically ordered drink, I was pretty wired in a way that I don't ever really recall having been before.  At least one of my coworkers took note of my... change in behavior.  Hopefully he was more entertained than annoyed.  Plus, he knew how excited I was about my vacation. 

The remainder of the day came and went uneventfully, except for the fact that at a mere suggestion, I changed the plan from heading directly south on I-5 to heading east, and exploring Eastern Washington.  And I'm extremely glad that I did things that way.

This is another terrible tease, I know, but there are a few things that I realized that I have particular interest in--as far as photographical subjects--and Eastern Washington had them aplenty.

Aged or abandoned buildings, barns in particular, have always been of special interest to me.  Driving around over there though, I just kept seeing fascinating image after amazing scene.  I stopped.  A lot.  I think in my first 3 days out I took over a thousand pictures.

So, I left work, heading south on 405, then turned east on 90.  On the way up to Snoqualmie Pass, I saw a sign for something that I'd wanted to investigate for a long time.  This is exactly the sort of thing that this journey is supposed to address.  So I took my leave of the freeway and made for the location of the signs' suggestion: Iron Horse State Park.

The park was a lie.

When I think Iron Horse, I think old locomotives.  You know, trains.  Nope, not there.  At that state park, they're referring to the other Iron Horse: the bicycle.

I got up to the park, and I was looking all around for an old locomotive near a parking lot so that I could get out, inspect it, and take pictures.  I did find it curious, all the mountain bikers weaving in and out of the forest, but figured it was a state park, so it wasn't really a big deal.  Yep, I'm a quick one.  It was probably five more minutes of me driving around the park before I finally realized my error.  Liars.

Anyway, there was a really neat lake up there, I believe it was called Rattlesnake Lake.  I've got pictures which I'll have to check to verify (and add, of course), as well as maps, and whatnot.  There was also a cute brother and sister that were playing on a tree that was growing out of the water.  It had branches that dipped beneath the water line.  The little girl had been adventurous enough to try and see how far she could get toward the water, when her brother decided to follow suit.  This produced... unexpected effects for the girl and her position with regard to the water level... well, the brother did have a bit of a mischievous grin and a glint in his eye, so the effects may not have been so unexpected to him.

Shortly thereafter, I summited the pass and began my descent.  The next stop I made was at the Indian John Hill Rest Area.  It was an interesting place.  Lots of people coming and going.  Obviously the restrooms were in demand, but there was also a staffed donation based coffee/snack building that demonstrated quite a draw.

I left there continuing on my eastward journey, thinking that I wanted to get to Wenatchee or a rest area to sleep. 

However, I did decided to stop at the historic mill in Thorp.  Afterall, it was Labor Day.  The mill was closed for the day.  I still wandered around the grounds taking pictures, though.

On the way back out to the highway, I saw a few old barns that were interesting.   So, I decided to stop and take pictures of them, as well.  While doing so, the farmers brought out some large piece of farm equipment that I am hopeless to know the name of, and hauled a load of hay from one side of the road to the other.  The older farmer drove a small ATV and as he passed by, his dog--a blue heeler, I think--climbed out of the passenger seat and onto the back to look at me skeptically as they passed.  The man smiled as I took my pictures.

Another reason the barns held my interest was the fact that there's a wind-farm under construction on the hill directly behind them from where I was positioned.  That presented some kind of juxtaposed, anachronistic irony to me, and was just another reason as to why I couldn't bring myself to pass it up.

After I finished, I continued on my way, and then turned north for Highway 2 to be able to get to Wenatchee.

I stopped a few more times for pictures of barns and various other things, but by and large the light was fading fast and there wasn't much that I could do about that, especially considering I was still in the mountains.

I did make one more stop before Wenatchee, and that was in the town of Cashmere.  One of the loose rules that I made for myself (which I have amended and added caveats to a few times already, you'll see) was that I didn't want to eat at any chain restaurants (at least of the sort that we had in my home area).  So, as I drove through the town, I was looking for a restaurant that fit my criteria.  You know, something with a little local flavor (those of you who know me won't believe this, but no pun intended).

It came to my attention that the fair was going on, and there were signs pointing out the direction of the fairgrounds, and I thought I followed said signs, but no fairgrounds revealed themselves to me.  Hungry as I was, I headed back for the town and noticed an older building in need of renovation or, at the very least, repainting.  At the top of the building read the words "Modern Apartments."  This demanded attention from my camera, and I was happy to oblige.  See below (eventually):

Bringing the truck around to the main street, I parked and looked at my three main options.  There was a pizza place, something about a block to the east, and another restaurant which at a glance I couldn't tell the name of, nor what they served.  I'm fairly familiar with pizza at this point (though not as familiar as I had suspected, as you'll hopefully read in the entry that deals with the 8th), so I decided to risk it at the place across the street.

It was a Mexican restaurant and I ordered Huevos Rancheros.  I was thinking of the road trip I did in 2006, and the stop I made in Albuquerque, NM, at the suggestion of my brother-in-law.  Not quite as tasty now as then, the meal was still pretty good and to be recommended.  Alas, no green chile this time.

I paid up and headed out.

My next destination was the Wenatchee Fred Meyer.  I figured with the amount of time I'd been using my phone, I'd need a car charger, but then decided on one better, and was on the hunt for a power inverter.  One was found at the Wenatchee Fred Meyer (and only one--I feel a bit fortunate to have been the one to claim it).  It was 29.99, and when I told the young man in the Electronics section that I had other things to look at in other parts of the store, he said it was fine, and gave me a coupon for 20% off.  Sweet deal.

The other stuff I needed was a tarp and a mallet.  I have a tent, but forgot the other stuff before I left, so I figured the Fred Meyer in Wenatchee was as good a place as any to amend that mistake.

Soon thereafter, I was tired and sleepy.  That's right, both of them.  At the same time.  Too late to find a campground, and not quite ready to spend money on a motel, I decided that the parking lot of that very same Fred Meyer would be as good a place as any to try and catch some of those elusive Zs.

I might have been mistaken.