The Dave Mathews Band

After the 14,000 KM trip, returning home for a week to have the RV serviced and some repairs we decided to do another 1000 KM by visiting the Gorge Amphitheatre in Eastern Washington. We took a circular route initially along highway 2 in Washington State (staying two nights on the way at state parks) to Ellensburg where we met up with family members and then returning via highway 20 again staying three nights in state parks. The orchard growing area of Eastern Washington was great scenery drive through. 

Imagine camping with 10,000 people and then attending a concert in a natural Amphitheatre with 25,000 in the audience. We were doing it because Mark and cousins and their friends had being going to this three days of concerts for sixteen years. We decided just to go for one night. The following day we went with the family and friends to a nearby state park to swim in the very warm weather (about 85F).

Who are the Dave Mathews Band? Thanks to Wikipedia - the band, known as DMB was founded in 1991. They are considered a “Jam Band”. Other names - rock, jazz fusion, folk rock, funk rock, pop rock, alternative rock. I enjoyed the experience of being there and understanding the audience. Clearly members of the audience had been following DMB for at least 25 years. They were familiar with the lyrics seem very relaxed, some had flowers in their hair and were smoking joints. Mostly the age group I would say were between 25 and 50.  They came from all over the US. Our camping neighbor came from North Carolina every year for the concert. DMB clearly has a huge fan base. It was great to have been able to experience the band live surrounded by the fans who all seemed to be in a very happy relaxed and friendly mood.  The music for me did not resonate with ones usual enjoyment of classical music. The lighting effects and sound (very deep base) added to the audience being stimulated by the band. DMB has over the years contributed greatly to philanthropic causes.

A few statistics

This was a 70 day adventure with three days back in Victoria because it was cheaper to fly back from Atlanta than to buy extra health insurance. The insurance rates go up at aged 70,75 and 80.

• Total KM driven 14,008
• Total KM with Hugh (part two) 7,101
• Vancouver Island is 460 KM long (according to Wikipedia) so I drove the equivalent of seven times up Vancouver Island and back
• Fuel was 35% of costs
• Food 17%
• Ferries 3%
• Parks 23%
• Other 23% (This included repairs and replacement and return air fare from Atlanta)
• Gas price was a low of $2.50 US per US Gallon to a high of $3.25. By one calculation that I did at $3.00 US a USG it is equivalent to about $1CDN per liter.

That’s it. Thank you to those who have followed this Blog. It is very convenient to be able to look up where one has been when the memory of events may get a bit blurred!

Highlights of the trip

Here are a few highlights for me for this 70 day adventure

• Climbing Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park
• Hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Salt Lake City
• Mountain biking in Moab
• The Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock Arkansas 
• Visit to Grace Land (Elvis Presley)
• Vicksburg National Military Park
• General Lee and Grant at Strand Theatre Vicksburg
• Driving the Natchez Trace Parkway
• The Tom Tom (GPS) Navigator - made navigation so easy
• Having the Honda Fit tow car to make side trips
• Both Hugh and I having bicycles 
• Charleston - Fort Sumpter and Aircraft carrier
• Savannah waterfront
• Yorktown - being able to drive around the site of the battle for the War of Independence 
• Many civil war museums - particularly Richmond, Virginia
• Biking the Richmond canal
• A military museum in Williamsburg
• Taking bikes into Washington DC
• Visiting several of the Smithsonian museums
• The new International Spy Museum in Washington DC
• The Kennedy Arts Center in Washington DC
•  Gettysburg - a very interesting drive around the site with an audio disc in the car as a guide

Were there any lowlights - a few that one should confess to.

• It was very hot - 90F for much of the time in the south
• The RV consumed a lot of gas!
• We got stuck in a ditch when trying to turn around once
• Hugh fell of his bike once on a forest trail due to a tree root or log. No injury.
• The bikes fell of the back three times and one was damaged on the third time.
• The Honda Fit’s battery ran down and needed jump starting a few times
• The Fit electric cable cable came undone and needed to be replaced
• I did not turn the key on in the fit once and the front tires became locked
• One of the lockers was damaged when I closed the slider on it.

La Conner

We decided to spend the last night at La Conner in the La Conner Marina RV Park. This would enable us to be close to the border and home. La Conner is an historic town having been first settled in 1867. It lies on the Swinomish channel which I had navigated in Polyandra about twenty years ago. It is particularly well known for the annual Tulip festival.

I had a delicious dinner, thanks to Hugh,  of scallops, halibut and a lemon tart desert plus a glass of Sauvignon Blanc!

We set of early on Tuesday in order for Hugh’s son Jamie to meet us at Tsawwassen Mills to take Hugh and his bike and gear into Vancouver and me to get the 2 pm ferry. We were glad to be home without any major adverse event occurring during the trip. Statistics and highlights to follow.

Two days to go

We continued to follow highway two through Montana, for a short period through Idaho then into Washington State. In North Dakota it was very obvious that there was a lot of oil drilling activity and evidence of what looked like a gas pipeline. There were many well heads that were flaring the gas. Under this area lies the Bakken oil fields. Highway two was a pleasure to drive, mostly smooth, occasional road works, very little traffic. Driving was made more pleasurable by being able to spell each other off about every hour. Through Montana there were acres of farmland growing wheat and also a lot of grass for hay. Though Idaho it was mountainous, curving and picturesque. It would be enjoyable motorcycling country. We joined Interstate 90 at Coeur d’Alene and then managed to find a campsite Klink’s Williams Lake RV. This involved a detour but it paralleled the interstate. The following morning we were in arid eastern Washington State where there was extensive grass growing and hay that you could see in huge piles covered with tarpaulins. It probably gets fed to cattle in the winter at feedlots. We had driven long days 592, 570 and then 524 KM in order to spend the last night chosen by Hugh to be La Conner. 
   

Lewis and Clark Forest camp site

There are many Lewis and Clark historical sites along this trail. The congress funded expedition of 1805 was to examine the opportunities for colonization on the west coast. It turned out that we could stop the night in the parking lot of a memorial to Theodore Roosevelt (who was instrumental in establishing the National Park system). We parked for the night and in the morning had a great view of mountains in Glacier National Park to the north.
We were at 5,216 ft at the top of Maria’s Pass which had been surveyed in 1889 for the route of the railway to the West Coast.The Great Northern railway was built in 1891. It is of interest that the Rogers Pass in Canada was discovered earlier in 1881 and the railway built in 1884.

  

The Fort Peck Dam

We decided to visit the Fort Peck Dam which Penny and I had visited seven years ago on our way to Ottawa. It is named after a Colonel Peck who was in charge of Fort Peck during the trading days. This dam was approved by Congress in 1927 but the funding did not come through until President Franklin Roosevelt enabled it as part of the New Deal. It was “shovel ready” - a huge dam on the Missouri River originally designed to prevent downstream flooding. Later Hydro Electric generation was added. The weather was damp but we did manage a short bicycle ride. There is an excellent information and museum center run by the Corps of Engineers.