Lake Cushman and back… WA
Saturday, July 21st, 2007The most important and valuable after market accessories here? “rain gear”, and the good stuff please. All these years never buying anything but 100% waterproof, and proven to be, has finally paid off… I should be glad that we are by the Hood Canal, an estuary to the Ocean as that is where the rain will run off… we might have been floating otherwise. It is dark, foggy and I think only because of a break in the weather from 9am till around 4pm, no cabin fever yet.
Jim joined us from Tacoma today… at 9am… well planned, for a ride up the back roads, a few of the many logging trails around here. There is no room to post a detailed map here, but there are miles and miles of them. I had talked to Jim many moons ago, before buying the sidecar for Spirit, asking him for some education and at the time he had even offered to take a ride over Dauntless to check on the progress of it’s fabrication. We finally met today! Little did I know at the time that my education would never stop… will never stop! I have learned a lot about it, but I have no doubt that the class is still in session…
We took off southbound on 101, through the little colorful town of Hoodsport, the rain spared us, but the fog prevailed, only to let us take some rare glimpses of the scenery. No complains… we stayed inbound all day yesterday, catching up on e mail, sorting some pictures… some research of future areas to live in… cooking and sleeping! I am rested… Spirit is restless! I try to entertain him a bit, he is just too smart to look at me in the face and fake a mood that would suit me. A sigh, a rolling of the eyes and down goes his head… he wants out, I am lucky that he is a patient and non complaining buddy!
When the sun is red at sunset, old sailor tale but true, the next day will be nice… when you see this as a sunrise… well, you better be prepared for what we are experiencing… rain and unpleasant for the most part weather. The weather forecast is one more day like today, which I will take anytime if we can ride as we did for about 7 to 8 hours… a bit wet… a bit dry.
The road to Lake Cushman, a National Park was nice. Paved in the beginning, ending up with a gravel road, a bad section with much washboard and pot holes, the last section taking us back to 101 just about as smooth as it could be. We stopped often… and did I tell you that it was a great pleasure to ride with another rig just like mine! Identical… Finally a rider with the same speeds as mine, stopping as often as my eyes desired and changing lead quite often to watch each other’s rig from behind, specially in the curves… interesting to see how they behave.
I love this picture… Mr. attitude as I call him sometimes… Today was a great day to use his cover, still amazed that it works so well at normal speeds (???), even with his raincoat on this added protection has been a great solution. I just cannot remember who’s idea it was to have it fabricated before we left… whoever you are… “tank you”, from the both of us.
A Vietnamese family had moved in next to us last night, amazingly with the many kids they have it was very quiet, very respectful of someone else’s space. Of course I am going to think food and told Jim that we needed to go and talk to them… find out if they were going to cook! I love Vietnamese food, very light, always filled with fresh herbs including much mint and always cooked fresh on the premises.
To my surprise… oysters were on the menu. The canal is full of them and when you camp here you can get a wrist band that will allow each camper to harvest 25 oysters and more clams, at low tide. That is the story anyhow… I guess they did count 25 per person, lets see, about 20 in the family all together… you do the math. The kids had a blast on Jim’s rig, Spirit would not give up his seat and I think was bewildered by the sight! The parents were excited, I can just see them showing the pictures next week in the neighborhood… and of course, I was excited about sampling some of the raw oysters, with lime and some salt, pepper, lemon juice, green onion and ginger mixture. Topped with some strong ice coffee mixed with condensed milk, a bit of French conversation with the elderly man… “this” is what living on the road is all about… “the experience”.
I should probably skip the lunch experience at a roadside BBQ joint… I know back east, could be in Georgia… North Carolina… even Texas… this place would have lasted maybe 3 days at the most! I am not being difficult, trust me… I just have to stop eating any kind of lunch on the road and just pack my own… my rate of success has been very poor lately.
I have a couple recipes actually that I will post next time… a breaded and stuffed filet with cream cheese, prosciutto, green onions and sundried tomatoes… also a quick meal with chicken breasts, zucchini, garlic, green onions and again… I am into it lately… sundried tomatoes… Rainy days only means more cooking!
Till next time… you all be well… send us some sunshine… please… along with a contribution to keep this site going… Snail mail is always:
Ara Gureghian
853 Vanderbilt Beach Rd #245
Naples Fl 34108
Ara and Spirit
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:50 pm
C’est bien quand on peut bavarder un peu avec les nouveux amis trouver en route. Thanks for the multiple photos of Spirit who’s various expressions made me laugh. Not so the rain; the only rain I like is in the heat of south Florida when it comes down hard and clears up quickly. If i were yuou I’d be hunting sunshine all year long!
July 24th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
I work with a number of 1st generation Viet and they didn’t warn me as to how strong the coffee was. My heart hasn’t beat that fast in quite a while after I had my first cup. And the food they bring me in is good as well.
May 17th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I just found your site. My grandparents owned some lakefront property on Lake Cushman for years and years, and I spent a lot of my childhood there. A beautiful area for sure, and I’m glad you decided to make the trip!
That is great about the Vietnamese family and the oysters! It’s amazing how great such simply prepared FRESH food can be.