The WASH
Table of Contents Announcements & Tid Bits State Reps Corner Columbia Basin News Inland Northwest News Quick Takes Events on the Horizon UMCI Spring Banquet - Connell, WA UMCI International - Myers Flat, CA Vantage Highway and Beyond For Sale Area Reps and Breakfast Schedules Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 5 Page 6 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 13 Page 14 International Website Washington State Website 2
Announcements & Tid Bits Seattle/Puget Sound Area Lunch Rides Cover Photo Irene Blanes, Seattle/Puget Sound Area Rep My story is about how I became the fearless leader, has to do with Mary Nordby and how she nominated me and someone seconded it, and I wasn t even at the meeting. And so it was, she retired and drove off into the sunset, and here I am. I don t ride a motorcycle,tim, the husband, has a Harley Road Glide, that makes me eligible to be in the group. I do like to ride them, maybe someday will have one. You never know. I grew up in Skyway, for those who do not know where that is, it s above Renton (WA). I have two brothers and three sisters. My brothers had dirt bikes. At 21, I traveled on one down the back hill and straight into the concrete rock wall of the garden. I flew off and ended up with a mouth full of dirt. I could say that was fun. But.. The next time it was more fun with a boyfriend. If you asked me what kind it was, I wasn t looking at it!!! He was better looking. I married at 19, had two girls, currently have 6 grandkids and three great grandkids. On my Ancestry.com, outlook, I guess it says my great grandparents were Aliens. This explains a lot. This is what they called immigrants. Our history goes back to Poland and Ireland. That explains a lot too. I am a cross between a Gronski and a McDonald. I am still working at Star Rentals and I m in my 38th year. I think I will retire next year. I am 65 now. I have enjoyed the many people in our groups and they are fantastic to hear from. Everyone has a story to tell, and willing to share it. I look forward to my meetings, I enjoy baking cookies, and making Seahawk Blankets. Keeping up with everything is a little hard. I wake up with the cats between 3:30 and 4 go to work at 6am. I start at 7am, get off work at 3:30. It takes and hour and a half to get home (traffic). Make dinner, feed cats, do dishes, go to bed, and do it all over again. I enjoy being the fearless leader. I hope it quits raining soon, so we can enjoy the rest of the year. I love you all. Keep riding and stay safe and I will see you all down the road!! Irene Blanes 3
State Reps Corner Well, I m back in Spokane and it s been raining almost every day. I did get out last Saturday for a ride with Dave. The next day, Easter Sunday, my bike would not start. I think it doesn t like the rain. Hope to see everyone at the Spring Banquet on April 29. Rich Hentz WA State Rep 4
Inland Northwest News Inland Northwest April Fools Breakfast Lots more bikes in the parking lot this month than many preceding months!! Maybe, just maybe, Spring is here to stay. Petey and I rode in for the first time this riding season. Our road is drying out nicely and the thermometer was sitting on 36 with the promise of heading up a bit when we left home for the 35 mile ride in. Not a large group, about a dozen or so people had started without us when we arrived. Petey of course waiting on the bike knowing I d bring something tasty out when I came back. It was good to see Scotty and his grandson there and a real surprise to see Tony from British Columbia as well. A pleasure to visit with both. Joyce reminded us of the upcoming Kettle Falls food bank run coming up on April 22nd. After a bit more discussion, Dave offered the can of 50/50 tickets to Scotty s grandson to draw a winner. Of course when he read the numbers from the winning ticket, Scotty held the winner. I m not sure where the group chose to ride today because Petey and I headed for Cheap Shots where the Northwest Classics club were gathering to go on the April Fools gopher ride. I gave Petey his two sausage links there and went in to visit with the small group of Classics members who were going to ride to St. Maries, ID. Petey and I didn t go with them either. We rode out to Renegade, where we both went in and visited and I bought a quick coupler for my helmet. My fingers had been so cold when I got to the Timber Creek buffet, undoing my strap had been a major challenge. Solved that one. Then we rode over to Vintage V-twin and visited more. Visited with Bill and Sue, then longtime friend Mike Curtis came in and we visited more. Eventually heading for home. We stopped at the Panda Express in Airway Hts. for a bit of late lunch and my fortune dispensed from the discarded cookie nailed it. The social scene can be fun today. It told me -Tom Wells 5
Quick Takes Photo courtesy of Patrick McManus Names - Starting on the left Patrick McManus Duane Wood Susan Fitzgerald Lyn Meyen (hiden) Buz Meyen Betty Swadener Eddie Glasgow Martin Burgisser Mike Liebold David Fitzgerald Ray Cruikshank Irene Blanes Jerry Slocumb Valeria Rae (camera) 6
Quick Takes Too much rain in Central Washington to go riding, so Jan Dale, Gordon Dale and Rollie Rohrer went fishing instead. Everyone limited in 1½ hours and had a lot of fun! Rollie caught the largest trout at 7½ lbs. 7
Events on the Horizon April 29 & 30, Spring Banquet @ Connell WA Kevin Besel - 509-531-1942 See Info & Registration - Page 9 June 9-11, Idaho State Rally @ Kamiah, ID Lewis & Clark Resort - Lonnie Holloway, 208-841-0395 July 6-8, Washington State Rally @ Kettle Falls, WA Circle Up RV Park, 1925 Boise Road, Kettle Falls $15.00 per tent (Electricity, no extra cost if needed) $30.00 per RV site (Two tents max per RV site) No deposit for reservation, but will bill unfilled commitments Reservations: May Gorley, 509-738-6617 July 17-20, UMCI International @ Myers Flat, CA See Info & Registration - Page 10 August 23-27, Coos Bay/Oregon State @ Myrtle Point, OR Coos County Fairground - Chris Williams, 541-404-5286 See Info & Registration - Page 11 Sept 1-4, Tygh Valley Campout @ Tygh Valley, OR Tygh Valley Fairgrounds - Ben Altman, 541-993-9015 8
WASHINGTON STATE UMCI SPRING BANQUET April 29th and 30th Michael Jay s Restaurant - Connell, WA Get on your bike, jump into your car, no one cares what you arrive in, but ride to Connell Washington for the 2017 UMCI Spring Banquet. Name Dinner is $21.00 per person, for Saturday nights meal. Breakfast is $10.00 per person for Sunday mornings feast. $ $ Total $ Mail Registration to: Kevin Besel, PO Box 190, Connell, WA 99326 Let s get riding! Lots of fun, door prizes and good food! M&M Motel, 509-234-8811 (Map 1) Connell Inn & Suites, 509-234-2081 (Map 2) Coyote Run RV Park, 234-0111 (Map 3) 9
UMCI International Rally 2017 Giant Redwoods RV and Camp - Tel: 707-943-9999 Myers Flat, California July 17th - 20th RV's must make their own reservations; let them know you are with UMCI Name: Name: Address: City: Zip or Postal Code: Mileage to rally: State/Province: Age: Age: Camping: $10.00 x x = $ (#people) (#nights) ($Camping) Tee-Shirts: SHORT sleeves: S-M-L-XL $15.00 ea. LONG sleeves: S-M-L-XL $20.00 ea. $3.00 additional for plus X s after XL Please select sizes and number wanted. SHORT sleeve Size ( ) # $ SHORT sleeve Size ( ) # $ LONG sleeve Size ( ) # $ LONG sleeve Size ( ) # $ Mail prior to July 1, 2017 to: UMCI International Pam Robertsen PO Box 105 Cutten, CA 95534 TOTAL $ ($Shirts) NOTE: All funds in US Currency. International money order from Post Office works wonderfully for our Canadian friends. I/we the undersigned, do hereby declare that I/we will not hold the United Motorcycle Club International (UMCI) or its California chapter, responsible for any loss, damage or injury that may occur attending the 2017 UMCI International Rally at Myers Flat, CA the third week of July 2017. Registration and Banquet: $25.00 x = $ (#people) ($Registration) Grand Total $ ($Registration + $Camping + $Shirts) Signature: Signature: 10
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Vantage Highway and beyond by Patrick Thomas Like any good interstate, there was always the road before. And in many cases those roads still exist today. Whenever possible, it s a lot nicer to take this stretch between Ellensburg and Vantage, than the roadmore-travelled I-90. If you never have, give it a shot. There s also that road I ve eyed from the car each time I drive by it when I m driving on the interstate. Huntzinger Road dreamer I am! It wasn t so long ago, there was no such thing as Interstate 90. Instead there was the Sunset Highway, a collection of roads that linked cities from Seattle across Washington. When I-90 was built, it followed some of those roads, but not all of them. Some were lost, others were saved and used as additional service roads for various communities. This is a common trait of most interstates as I m sure you already noted back to me in thought- by this moment. The Vantage Highway is one such road that survived the takeover of I-90. Somewhere along the way, a brilliant engineer figured out the terrain to the south was more suited for a high-speed roadway, and it is. But you can t close the original Highway 10, because it serves the community between Ellensburg and Vantage more than ever today. The major industry here is wind. And it s got lots of it. So much so that in the early 2000 s Puget Sound Energy dropped in more than 100 wind turbines. To do this, the Vantage Highway had to be tidy'd up for all the excess vehicle traffic it got. Even today, it is well maintained since there are still times large trucks need to use it and there are enough service vehicles on the weekday, it s get taken care of year around. On the weekend, it s a pretty barren strip of asphalt. A perfect time to get out and ride this wonder. Riding east from Ellensburg, it s a tad straight for a while, but eventually you rise up into the hills and then descend into the Schnebly Coulee. Eventually, access to the Wild Horse Wind & Solar Facility appears to your left. You can take a ride up the hill and explore the well-done visitors center. Just remember, the higher you ride, the more likely you will encounter wind. 40mph gusts are not uncommon here. 12
Vantage Highway and beyond, continued... Continuing east toward Vantage you ll pass the first of two Gingko Petrified Forest visitor areas. This first one is all outdoors and includes some interpretive hiking trails. Did someone say petrified forest? Yes. Just another mile east and you arrive at the full-blown visitors center for the Gingko PF State Park. Here you ll find lots of interpretive information inside the museum, some visual media about the history of the area and outside some petrified logs, along with assorted wildlife including snakes if you re not careful on hot days. While you re here, you could follow the boat launch road down to the shores of the Columbia River. At the launch point, there used to be a bridge here that took motorists across the river before I-90 was built. After the interstate replaced it, the bridge was sectioned out and floated up the Snake River to be used as todays Lyon s Ferry bridge between Washtucna and Starbuck on Highway 261 in Eastern Washington. You ll find gas and food in Vantage just south of the Gingko PFSP visitors center. Enjoying the desolation? There s more if you want it. Continue south, over I-90 down along Huntzinger Rd. aka Wanapum Rd. The road continues south 10 miles into the Sentinel Gap area. This is a stunning area of beauty and lends itself to the camera in the early morning or late sun hours when the cliffs to the east or west will be lit on sunny days. Along the way, you ll pass the Wanapum Dam and several boat launches. At the end of the road is the Gee Whiz ranch, a farming community that grows their fruit trees the 21st century way, training them more so as vines, like you might see with hops. Turn the bike around and retrace your ride, enjoying all the sites from the opposite direction. If there s a breeze, expect tumble weeds to come at you from all angles to the front. They re quite harmless, but you can laugh and pretend you re in a strange movie being attacked by giant tumble weeds. Chances are you didn t encounter much traffic on your ride here today and all indicators say it s probably going to stay that way for a long time. Ahhhhh 13
For Sale For Sale, 1983 Harley Davidson FXE, New top end,.20 over, with approx. 600 mi. on, rebuilt lower with approx. 20,000 mi. on, custom paint and many extras. For more info call Rick, 509-221-0017 or text. $6000.00 OBO 14
Freedom, Friendship, Food & Fun Our Only Business UMCI Representatives International Rep WA State & Inland NW Area Rep Columbia Basin Area Rep Okanogan Area Rep & Treasure Seattle/Puget Sound Area Rep Sedro Woolley Area Rep Daniel Magee, Medicine Hat, AB Richard Hentz, Spokane, WA Kevin & Kevi Besel, Othello, WA George & Willie Penner, Okanogan, WA Irene Blanes, Mountlake Terrace, WA Duane Wood, Bow, WA 403-488-9387 509-999-1556 509-531-1942 509-485-1922 206-914-2147 360-766-6603 Monthly Breakfast Schedules Columbia Basin Area, 2 nd Sun. Inland Northwest Area, 1 st Sat. Okanogan Area, 1 st Sat. Seattle/Puget Sound, 2 nd Sat. Sedro Woolley Area, 1 st Sat. 8:00am, (9am, Oct-Apr), Bob s Rest., 1807 E. Kittlestone, Moses Lake 8:30am, Timber Creek Buffet, 9211 E. Montgomery, Spokane 8:30am, Contact George Penner @ 509-485-1922, for current location 8:00am, Denny s Restaurant, 132-128th St. SW @ I-5, Everett 9:00am, Hometown Café, 818 Metcalf Street, Sedro Woolley David Fitzgerald, Editor UmciNewsWash@gmail.com 15