I've been on the road for the last 2 weeks, seeing San Diego for a conference, then Vancouver for a weekend, working remotely from a friend's house in Seattle, and now I'll spend the next 5 days reuniting with my fellow Northern Tier cyclists.
Today, I left Seattle via Lyft taxi to the Greyhound bus station downtown. It was my first Greyhound ride and it was definitely what I expected. There was WiFi and power outlets. The seats weren't bad and the people were extremely unique. I was able to work a little bit on the bus, with the exception of a dropped call while passing through Snoqualmie Pass.
Once we reached Ellensburg, I change buses to a small van, similar to airport shuttles. No big deal, until I stepped onboard and found there was no WiFi, no outlets.. and no A/C... in 105°F heat! I was in jeans, too. This was a 5 hour bus ride. I was 1 of 3 passengers on the bus. I finally changed into shorts in the back of the bus about 60 seconds before we reached Wenatchee, where everyone else offloaded and we picked up a nice Colville Tribesman named Steven from Omak who earns his living fishing in Alaska. He even had a big box of frozen and dehydrated fish onboard that was quickly thawing out.
Steven and I endured the heat and he gave me lots of great information about Omak, the landscrape and the apple orchards we were seeing, fishing in Alaska, living on a reservation, casinos, his family background, the controversial Suicide Race and so much more! It was fascinating and enlightening conversation. We both happened to be staying at the same motel in Omak, so the driver kindly took us straight there. As we were parting ways, Steven offered me a gift of dehydrated salmon from Alaska, which I took with excitement.
After checking in, I walked down Main Street to find dinner, which was at an Italian restaurant. Omak is a very small town with most of the population inhabiting the Colville Reservation on the other side of the Onakagon River. I started to cross the bridge to look at the Reservation, but I wasn't sure what the sign that said Tribal Laws Apply meant and didn't want to intrude.
Despite the heat on the bus and long ride, I had a very enjoyable journey to Omak thanks to the good company and beautiful landscape along the way. I am so very excited to see my fellow cyclists tomorrow morning right here in Omak, WA!
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