In which there is an itinerary of the cross-state ride venture

Yesterday, I made a beautiful itinerary document to send to my mom and dad.

Then, I realized that my mom's computer won't read the formatting of it.

Sigh.

I (mostly) love technology.  

Windows was made for short-attention spans like mine, and connectivity not only makes my job as a librarian easier, it allows me to give my library patrons really good information even when I'm working at a teeny library that doesn't have room for a ton of reference books.  

I love the ability to answer my own questions in the middle of conversations, even if it does lead to jokes about me being unable to talk unless I have my information source (i.e. my phone) fired up.  This became really apparent on a recent drive to Seattle:  I accidentally left my phone behind, and so I couldn't consult library databases, Google, or even Facebook.  Egad.

And yet, in a little more than a month, Fiddle and I will head out to an adventure that will take us away from our usual connectivity:  the Cross-State Ride is a journey through territory that will have few, if any, cell phone bars.  

I can hardly wait!

The website for the event is a patchwork of old tech stitched to newer tech, edited by people who put things together as time allows.  I wanted a sleeker itinerary, so I made one.  I want my mom and dad to be able to access it, so I'm posting it here.

My goal is to post updates from the trail, but I make no promises. When you see the itinerary, you might see why:  most of the "towns" we will travel through are tiny, and are unlikely to have wi-fi I can tap from my camp.

But hey, you never know.  That's one of the joys of this kind of adventure: to go and find out!

Cross-State Ride Itinerary

May 16: meetup in Easton.  Camp meeting @ 5pm

May 17: Easton to South Cle Elum, 11 miles.  Bridges, gravel footing, train tracks nearby.

May 18: South Cle Elum to Thorp, 18 miles.  2 tunnels, gravel footing.  Bring a headlamp for the tunnels.

May 19: Thorpe to Ellensburg Fairground, 11 miles.  Parade through town with police escort! 

May 20:  Ellensburg to I-90 Trailhead, 11 miles.  Farmland, sage, gravel footing through town in Kittitas.

May 21:  I-90 Trailhead to Vantage/Wanapum Dam, 23 miles.  Sagebrush, gravel/sand footing.  We will pass through the military training grounds. Water on trail, bring a bucket.  Fiddle and I traveled this section of trail in 2015, as part of the Milwaukee Rail Trail Ride.

May 22: Vantage/Wanapum Dam to Smyrna/Warden, 13 miles.  Portage across the river, then ride.  Follows Crab Creek, Wetlands, farms.  Lots of bugs, bring bug dope! 

May 23:  Warden (rest day).  In town: showers (at the fire station), post office, restaurants, landramat, grocery, hardware store.  In Othello: feed stores, shopping.

May 24: Warden to Lind, 20 miles.  Irrigated farmland, open range, sandy trail, some gates.  Water at lunch stop, bring a bucket. 

May 25:  Lind to Ralston/Marengo, 16 miles.  Farmland, open range.  Sand/rock footing, 3 gates.

May 26:  Ralston/Marengo to Revere, 17.5 miles.  Scablands.  Watch for snakes!

May 27:  Revere (rest day).  Grocery store, restaurants. Fuel available in Ritzville.

May 28: Revere to Ewan, 13 miles.   Farmland, high trestle, high rock formations, waterfall.  Sand/gravel footing. 

May 29:  Ewan to Malden, 23 miles.    Pine trees, old homesteads, vistas.  Gravel/sand footing.  Go around the grain elevator.

May 30:  Malden (rest day).  Water available in town behind tire store.  Laundry. Groceries, fuel, restaurant, post office, drug store and a golf course available in St. John. 

May 31:  Malden to Rosalia, 10 miles.  Woodlands, canyon, trestle. 

June 1:  Rosalia to Tekoa, 23 miles.  Wheat fields and trestles.  Sandy track with a swampy area near Tekoa.  Optional parade in Rosalia on Saturday morning.

June 2:  Tekoa to Idaho border, 6 miles.  Farm land, pine forests.  Gravel roads and dirt trail. 

June 3 (afternoon):  Pack up and go home!