Olympic Speedos

From what we observed, Aberdeen is not really a place one would aspire to visit. It’s not all that pretty and without the presence of the BEAUTIFUL near-by beaches (and where Kurt Cobain formed Nirvana) it really doesn’t have much going for it. So we left as we arrived, in a hurry. We decided we would take it easy. It was only going to be about a 4 hour trip from Aberdeen over White’s pass and on to Ellensburg, right? We had left Aberdeen early thinking we would get to Ellensburg just in time for dinner, we had plenty of time. Well, remember that something, something about best laid plans?

We spent our, clear blue sky, Sunday morning finishing up the Olympic Peninsula Highway 101 by riding south from Aberdeen to Raymond. We then turned east toward Chehalis along beautiful, meandering State Route 6. As we were riding through this little old lumber town called Pe Ell, I spotted an old tank and pointed it out to J. Who, of course, stopped to check it out. J recognized it right away as a Stuart Tank built for use during WWII. But what the heck it was doing in Pe Ell? We headed across the street to the bar that was serving breakfast to see if we could find out. Breakfast was over and the nice ladies inside weren’t sure how the tank got there either, but suggested it was put there by the VFW along with the memorial stone as, you guessed it, a memorial. But why a tank? In this little tiny town in the middle of, really, nowhere?? So anybody who has any info as to why this tank is here, drop us a line.

Back on the bikes we headed over to Chehalis. Okay so here is a bit of my nerdy tour guide self coming out again. In Chinook Jargon, Chehalis means “beating heart”. Chinook Jargon was spoken all over the Pacific Northwest as a common trade language during the fur trade. Incidentally Pe Ell was founded by a retired fur trader who worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Told you this was my area of expertise. Anyway, history lesson over…

We stopped for gas and some quick directions to the old scenic Jackson Highway that would take us the 16.5 kms to Highway 12 and White’s Pass. On the way to said highway, we spotted something that made both of us do a double take and, made me at least, burst in to a fit of hysterical laughter that nearly ended with me embedded in the tailgate of a pick up braking at a stop sign. What, pray tell, almost made me catch a bad case of hurt? Beside the road, in full late morning sun, was a very pasty and very…ah…squishy…guy, strutting down the road in a SPEEDO. And I don’t mean a casual stroll, I mean a full on, arms swingin, peacock-shaming, STRUT. I couldn’t help it. I just burst out laughing. It was definitely one of the weirdest things witnessed to date. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I didn’t have the opportunity to capture that little event with my camera.

After recovering from the shock of that experience we turned on to Highway 12 and settled in to cruise up and over the 4500 ft of White’s Pass. But before long our stomachs started rumbling and we decided to stop for lunch in Morton. We found a interesting little bar called the “Bucksnort” that had a few motorcycles parked out front. This was a place we could get some lunch and some info about the road ahead. Good thing we stopped, after talking with the locals we found out that the road over White’s Pass had just been seal-coated. So, after obtaining a few more directions and lunch, we set out again. This time the plan was to head north on State Route 7 to Elbe then east through the very scenic, Mt. Rainier National Park. A route that we were told would maybe take us “an extra 45 minutes to an hour…max”. As were were leaving, another group of locals who were stopping for lunch recommended we stop at “the giant giraffe sculpture” just outside of Elbe. They assured us it was well worth the stop.

What’s with the giant giraffe? HOW long did that take?? Stay tuned for the answers in our next episode….

To read what happened before click here