Barking Sands

As soon as we get settled in I'll update this post. All I can say now is that we got up at 3:30 AM and Mike Wassmuth drove us to the airport. Thanks, Mike! You are the best! 

Our connecting flights took us to Seattle where we met up with Caroline and Don. Then on to Kauai, Hawaii where we landed, collected our baggage, and rented cars. Then we went to Costco and Safeway for provisions. Once the shopping frenzy was over we drove south to the Pacific Missile Range Facility, at Barking Sands. 

Looking east at a rainbow @ Barking Sands.

We cleared inspection and got our passes and found our cabin. Opening up the place was a bit hot, the humidity must be real high. We packed our gear in and found spots for most of it and then we walked down to the beach. 

Our cabin from the beach.

We were warned about the chickens in Kauai. It's true.

This owl flew in, funny, all the chickens left.

Copter out on the base entry.

A Nene, a goose, not the dance.

Chicken whisperer.

Watching the sunset.

I think this is Mars after sunset.

Two Quick Things

I have started riding my recumbent, again. Need to get into shape and also need to rehab my achilles tendon that I injured about a month ago.

On my last ride, I cruised downtown Cd'A and out the Centennial Trail. On the way back into town, I needed to stop at the restroom. Approaching the area where the bathroom is I slowed way down. I unclipped from my left foot clip and noted that there was a nice parking spot on the grass next to the restrooms. I coasted off the sidewalk and into the grass. Immediately my wheels sank into a deep grassy mud. I abruptly stopped and fell over with a splat. I lay there for a second feeling the cold wetness of the mud circulating through my clothing.

The fall didn't hurt at all. It was like I did a slow motion tip and sunk into the grass. I got up as quickly as I could and looked around to see if anyone had witnessed the event. No one had, that I could tell.

My clothes were covered in mud so I took off my shorts, gloves, and jacket and put them in the bike bag on the rear carrier of the bike. I rode the rest of the ride in my black underarmor tights and bike shirt. I didn't have to stop until I got to my Jeep so no one saw my attire.

At home, I washed my gear and told my story to Linda. No harm no foul.

Speaking of bike rides, we have a friend who just started an adventure. David Groth, a newly retired principal from Coeur d'Alene, is riding his bike around the perimeter of the United States. He says he will be riding about 9000 miles by the time he finishes. It will take him about nine months, or so. If you want to follow him, he has a blog at https://anothergrothadventure.com/.

We have another adventure coming up so check back in a week and see what's up!

Labor Day at Gifford

Threw caution to the wind this Labor Day weekend, and went up to Gifford Campground with the Anderson clan to do some Walleye fishing and eat a lot of food. Boy, did we do both!

Linda and I met Mike, Rayelle, and Julia at the store in Post Falls and we picked up some final items and were off. Our little caravan drove through west Spokane and headed up through Loon Lake to the Addy/Gifford cut-off road where we climbed up and then dropped into Gifford Campground. The rest of the group was there waiting and we grabbed our spot and got set up.

The weather was calling for rain off and on the entire weekend, but we lucked out and had beautiful days of partly cloudy skies. Most of the time it was warm and even hot!

Mike and Earl ready the boat for Walleye fishing.

We met everyone in the group: Earl and Lorane Anderson, Skip Allert, Mike and Julie Boyle, Mary and James, Kyle and Tessa, as well as Mike, Rayelle, and Julia

The group with dogs.

This was my second time fishing for Walleye and both times were with Mike and/or the Andersons. We fished Saturday morning with Earl and Mike and then in the afternoon with Mike, Rayelle, Julia and their dog, Annie.

Lindy Rig, but Earl used worms and a hook.

On Sunday, all the Anderson clan left. Visitors were coming into town, school was starting, and things needed to be done at home before Tuesday. We stayed and I fished with Mike and Skip. During these trips, we caught some fish, but everyone said it was a bit slow. They all usually fish at a different part of Lake Roosevelt. They kept saying "At North Gorge..." and then went on to tell me about how they fish up there. "At North Gorge, the bottom is rocky, so you don't know if you are hooked on a rock or a fish!" "At North Gorge, we know where all the holds for fish are; here we are just guessing." I guess I will have to go up to North Gorge and see for myself.

We fished with jigs and bottom walkers while we were up there. Bottom walkers were new to me so I enjoyed learning a new technique.  Earl used a system he called "the Lindy rig". From what I gathered, he is so faithful to it that he fishes it come hell or high water. It was fun fishing with these guys because they were so knowledgeable in their usual ways of fishing. I got a lot of great tips and heard some great stories. Remember, "If you are fishing as slow as you can go, then you are going too fast!" according to Earl.