China Cup

 In the fall of 2019 I was on an airplane from Houston to Seattle. It was one of those rare times when the plane is about half full and you get some room to move. I moved from my normally booked aisle seat to the window since I had the whole row. As I sat bent-necked for basically the entire flight, I made sketches in my notebook to try to go back later and identify the landmarks with Google Earth. 

I identified the Denver airport and Blackfoot Reservoir among others. And then, there was this page:

Though I had been to eastern Idaho many times, I had never looked close enough at the geography to note that it was a large plain. With the Snake River running through it. (I mean, I would have called it the Snake River Plain, too.) I also never knew about all the interesting geological formations to be found there. 

This sketch features the Big Southern Butte and a tiny little donut in the plain that turned out to be China Cup. From that moment I knew I had to visit it. They are about nine miles apart, but from an airplane at 30,000 feet, that looks pretty close. Here's a topo of the area. 

The Big Southern Butte visible at the top of the map. China Cup occupies the small square just left of center at the bottom of the map.  

And here's a detail of China Cup itself. 

At the time of the flight in question, I was already actively seeking employment in the Idaho Falls area, so it caught my attention in a way it might not have otherwise. Only a few months later in February 2020 me and the fam pulled up stakes and headed east towards Rexburg, and now in Idaho Falls. Ever since we got here this has been on my to-do list. 

After a year and a half the day finally arrived. I planned a day to drive from Blackfoot out to China Cup. As I studied Google Maps I could see that it was not that much farther to Arco and I thought it would be fun to make it a through drive, so I set that as an alternate. 

My route planning included some printed screenshots of Google Maps, review of available 2 meter repeaters in the area (more on that later), and GPS waypoints. The area is pretty remote out there and the roads criss-cross that desert all day long. I was worried about getting turned around since it was my first time out there. There is cell service for some of the time, so relying on Google Maps via my phone was a non-starter. My trusty highway GPS is also frequently not-so-trusty on these backroads. For instance, about halfway through my trip I tried navigating to Arco which was only about 20 miles away. despite being close via BLM roads, the GPS still wanted to route me all the way back to Blackfoot and around on highways to Arco. It was annoying. 

Here is an overall Google Maps view of my trip. 

A little over 200 miles in around six hours. It ended up being about eight hours total including walking around time and an extra little jaunt to the north. 

I figured I would always be in reach of the ham radio repeaters. The area is pretty flat and within a triangle formed by the three repeaters: Kinport Peak in Pocatello, Howe Peak near Arco, and the Idaho Falls landfill repeater. (I also find the Relay Ridge repeater to be pretty consistent, but that one was outside of the area.) Well, I was wrong. I think I need a taller antenna since I'm only putting 5W out of my handheld radio. Someday soon I'll be able to put a mobile radio in that can put out 25W to 30W, if not more.

So without further yakking, here are some pictures from the outing. Arriving at China Cup it was bigger than I expected. This first picture doesn't do it justice. It fills the windshield. 

The rim curved away into the fog

It is close to Hougland Well out there in the desert.

These are The Fins, and this is where the little spur trip to the north comes in. Another destination that has been on my list for a long time is Howe Peak, just to the west of the INL reservation. If you read the section on the repeaters you would notice that is one of the repeaters. Well, I was so close that the temptation to explore it a little was irresistible. Unfortunately, it was late in the day and I had other things on the schedule so I only made it about three miles up Eight Mile Canyon. That road was pretty rough and it was something I didn't want to rush. I may return in the spring with the RZR to explore that area rather than going in the truck, but we'll see what I do.  

The Eight Mile canyon road was very steep. It overlooks the INL reservation. I'm sure that only a few more miles along and I would have been treated to a really nice panoramic view, but that will have to keep me going until next time. 

Here is Big Southern Butte from the north. This shows the nice layer of fog that covered most of my drive for the day. When I was about 10 miles or so from Arco, the sky cleared up and you could see for miles in the sunshine.  

Well, thanks for reading. Go ahead and check out the route and wander in the desert for a while. Maybe we'll meet out there.

Topophilia: Whidbey Island Edition

This weekend Chelsea and I went on a little getaway to Whidbey Island. It's been a long time since we were able to have some time together so it was particularly nice. We took the ferry over Friday afternoon, stayed one night in Oak Harbor, and came home Saturday evening.

Regular readers will know that we have been to Whidbey Island many times, but this time was different. Chelsea and I haven't gone by ourselves since May 2013, so this time we were able to see some things that haven't made the cut in recent years because young children don't appreciate museums.

We also had lunch at Pickles Deli, which is half the reason we go to Whidbey Island anyway. Pickles is great because it's the kind of place you can bring a board game and play it while you have some lunch. I had recently been looking to buy Splendor and I found it at the game store in Port Townsend, so we played it at lunch.

As I said, Friday afternoon we headed over on the Coupleville ferry. I only have one complaint about the Port Townsend - Coupeville run: it's too short. I wish it was twice as long. You barely get any time to enjoy the ride. For the first time I saw a warship from the ferry. It was well off in the distance. Still cool, though.

The plan was simple, go over, have some sushi for dinner, then hang out at the hotel. My only requirement for the hotel was a hot tub. The Coachmen Inn was right next door to Harbor Sushi and the hot tub was good. It was very enjoyable. 

Of course, since it's me, I had to bring my bike. For some time I've been trying to get over to the Kettles Recreation Area which is adjacent to Fort Ebey State Park. A fairly extensive trail system has been developed there between the county park and state park. Chelsea likes to sleep in and relax in the morning, I like to get up early and head out for some trail. It works out. After my ride we met up for breakfast and pushed our checkout as much as possible.

I never knew why it was called "Kettles" until this visit. One of our stops was the Island County Historical Museum and they had a geological display that taught me a kettle is a geologic phenomenon that happens during a glacial recession where large chunks of ice are covered with glacial till (dirt). After the glacier continues to recede, the ice melts, the dirt falls, and you're left with lots of depressions. The Strava map of my ride shows the topography better.

For the rest of the day we went all over the island. In addition to the Island County Historical Museum in downtown Coupeville, we saw the PBY Naval Air Museum in Oak Harbor, had lunch at Pickles, and made a side trip to Mt. Erie on Fidalgo Island (more on that later).

I had only seen models and pictures, but I thought the PBY would be larger.

Nerding it up in the museum.

The lookout at Mt. Erie was less spectacular than advertised due to the clouds. It was kind of fun driving to the summit and watching ourselves enter the clouds. The drive up was a fall foliage must-do despite having little to see on top. We'll have to try again another time.

Saturday evening it was time to head home. We also checked off another long-procrastinated check point: Chimicum Cafe, in none other than Chimicum. A slab of pie each was the perfect cap of the day.

It will probably be some time before we're back. Hopefully sooner than later.

Topophilia

This week I learned a new word: Topophilia. I also learned that I am a topophile. Let me explain.

I just started reading Mapheads by Ken Jennings. This book has been on my Amazon wish list for some time. I heard of it by listening to Ken Jennings' and John Roderick's podcast, Omnibus. Ken talked about how he loves maps, apparently enough to write a book about it. I also love maps, although, so far, only enough to write a blog about it. 

Like Ken, I've spent hours hunched over maps. Topo maps for my next outdoor adventure. Road maps for my next road trip. Political maps of far away places I'm not likely to visit. Growing up we had a globe on top of one of the bookcases that we looked at often. I've thought on more than one occasion that I'd like to have a globe for the kids to look at. (If I ever have a basement again the walls will be covered with maps and dry erase boards.)

I love maps, but the word topophilia, is actually a little misleading. You would think it was love of maps, but it's actually love of places. Here's an excerpt from Mapheads: 

"The word "topophilia," from the Greek for "love of place," was popularized by the geographer Yi-Fu Tuan in a 1974 book. When I first read about the concept, I experienced a jolt of recognition and validation, like a patient finally getting the right diagnosis for an obscure malady. I had felt this weirdly intense connection to landscape my whole life, but it was a relief to finally have a fancy Greek name to hang on it."

I felt a similar sensation while reading Mapheads. I feel this same intense connection to places. When I graduated from the University of Utah and took my job in Washington, I knew I would miss Utah. I still feel a strong connection to it. I've always loved Utah. Here's a further excerpt:

 "Young topophiles are most deeply shaped by the environments where they first became aware they had an environment: they imprint, like barnyard fowl." (Author's emphasis)

For the final project in a college photography class I submitted a group of photos I took around the Salt Lake Valley. I titled the project "In the Shadow of the Wasatch". Since a quick look in the top of my closet turned up this project, here's an excerpt:

" I think everybody has a certain fondness for the place where they were raised. For me it no exception. Utah is rich in history that sparkles with stories of great people coming across the country in a day when the journey was only done on foot. Today, Utah, and Salt Lake city, have matured with time. Salt Lake City lives in modern times while still reflecting its past heritage. The Wasatch Front is the region lying at the western foot of the Wasatch Mountains and it is where I have spent my life. As an avid outdoorsman, I am always finding new places to explore in the The Wasatch, and every morning the sunrise is delayed just a little to remind me that I live now, as always, in the Shadow of the Wasatch."

This continues to be one of my favorite photos from that project.

As I said, I have always felt a strong connection to Utah, and in particular, to those Wasatch foothills. 

But I fell in love with another place. Puget Sound. In particular, the northern Puget Sound area bounded roughly by Port Townsend, Whidbey Island, and northern Kitsap County. A regular reader of this blog will know that I recently posted about Whidbey Island, and how that has become a happy place for our family. We have been there about twice a year for several years in a row. We always love it there. 

What is it that makes me feel so strongly connected to that area? I ride the foot ferry across Sinclair Inlet to work most days. A short walk to the end of the pier at the shipyard brings the music of the sea lions lounging on the floating fence and the smell of the sea, but it's not quite the same as the smells or sensations of Whidbey Island or Fort Worden. 

This summer on July 4, we promised the kids that we would go to the beach. We had resolved to go to Hansville and visit Point No Point. From there your sight line is filled with Whidbey Island. Looking to the northwest you can see Marrowstone Island which is adjacent to Port Townsend. 

I LOVE visiting these places with my family. There is just something in the air up there. Five out of the twelve RV trips we took while we had it were to this region. 

 The beach at Fort Casey (Whidbey Island)

 Lighthouse at Fort Worden (Port Townsend)

 The stony beach at Fort Worden (Port Townsend)

Double Bluff Beach (Whidbey Island)

(She's a cutie, but if you cross her or mess with her brothers, you'll see this face.)

Deception Pass (Whidbey Island)

Dungeness Spit (Near Port Townsend)

So yeah, I think I qualify as a topophile. Sometimes I ache for the Wasatch, and when the day comes that I leave Washington, there will be an almost equally large hole in my heart for Puget Sound. 

Bike Work

It seems like I have more time right now. I spend some of it watering the flower pots I planted this year or sitting in the hammock hanging from the pergola I built at the end of May. 

Where did this time come from? A lot of the time came from not doing RV trips. The trips, plus all the prep and cleanup really took a lot of time. 

One of the other things I've been doing with my time is working on bikes. This year I've done quite a bit more of this than other years. I've had my mountain bike for 4 years now and I've done very little work on it in that time. This year it really started to show. For a long time I've also wanted to do some work on Chelsea's bike. It's a good bike, but the fork was terrible. It started out terrible, but then when all the damper oil drained out onto the bike as it hung in the garage, it became worse. 

In the last few months I've replaced the fork on my mountain bike, replaced the fork on Chelsea's bike, rebuilt my rear wheel, replaced all my frame bearings, and replaced my shifter cables, among other things. 

I replaced a 140 mm Fox 32 Evolution fork (pictured right) with a 150 mm Fox 34 Performance GRIP (pictured left). It is AWESOME. I have to be really stingy when it comes to biking (because the kids want to eat everyday) I bought on eBay as a previous year overstock, as is how I usually do things. I can't afford to be an early adopter. 

Chelsea's bike is a Specialized Hard Rock Sport that we got for a great deal. It came with a little bitty 80 mm coil sprung Suntour fork. From the moment we bought that bike I began scheming about how I would get rid of it. Again, turning to eBay, I found this X-Fusion Enix with 100 mm of travel. It's getting hard to find forks for 26" wheels with straight steerers, so my options were limited. It is an air spring fork, though, which was one of my non-negotiable requirements. It works great, especially considering how inexpensive it was. The fork is longer and I set the handlebars a little higher to make it a little more upright (and hopefully more comfortable).  

About rebuilding the wheel...

In the last few months several younger guys at work have been bit by the mountain biking bug. This is great for me because it increases the pool of guys I can ride with and since they're young, they like to go fast. They also like to jump. With them I've started experimenting with some drops, table tops, and other trail features that would not normally be considered a good idea for a guy like me.

So for four years since I bought my bike, I always tried to keep rubber to dirt, but now the bike finds itself groaning under my landings. I was having trouble with the double butted spokes on the rear wheel that I had build about three years ago and in my research, I found out that a guy of my size should probably not use double butted spokes. It was time for a change. The rear wheel does most of the heavy lifting on a bike, so you're best off to strengthen it as much as you can. 

I found some single butted spokes that are thicker in the j-bend area (where it hooks to the hub). The spoke manufacturer said they were for things like tandem bikes, E-bikes, and other heavy duty applications. Sounded perfect to me. I now feel a lot less wheel flex on those landings. But that may also be due to technique improvements. It was my fifth wheel build. I get better every time. If you care, I used Sapim Strong single butted spokes that are 2.3 mm at the head and 2.0 mm in the body. The double butted spokes I replaced were DT Swiss Champions, 2.0 mm at the head and thread, and 1.8 mm in the body. My front wheel still has the Champions, but I'm considering switching them for straight gauge. 

This year I also really wanted to get to the bottom of a frame creak. To me this is one of the major downsides of full suspension bikes. I just can't live with creaks. It's also a reason I may never go to carbon. (Every carbon bike I've ever ridden creaked.) A few months ago I bought a set of frame bearings and finally over a period of three evenings I replaced all twelve of them. It's a lot of work. And the creak didn't go away. So I rebuilt the bottom bracket. It still didn't go away. I was starting to think I had a hidden frame crack. Then as a last ditch effort I tried something so simple I thought it couldn't possibly have been the problem: the rear axle dropouts and derailleur hanger. Of course, that cured it, and since I had also tried all those other things, and the new fork, the bike basically rode like brand new.

 After all that, the sluggish shifting finally started to rile me up, so I got out the set of shifter cables I bought back in February and got after it. I'm not sure how I lived with the situation before. It was buttery smooth after.

This year both of my boys have graduated to pedal bikes. I love seeing a 4-year-old tear around on a pedal bike. I agree with those that say it's best to start them on balance bikes. I always had lots of different bikes around so they could try different things at their own speed. It seems to have worked perfectly. I must say, though, that my second son might be a little too fearless. I'll always make sure to buy a quality helmet for that one.

Time to go play bikes.

Whidbey Island

This year we had a staycation for spring break and for one of  those days we decided to take a day trip up to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, in Mount Vernon.

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has become a non-optional part of spring for me. Our first time going was only back in 2016, so this year was our fourth in a row. I can't even put a finger on why it has come to mean so much to me. This year, due to the family schedule, it didn't look like we were going to make it and I was truly disappointed. The week before spring break there was a change at work that freed me up so we made a last minute decision to head up to the festival.

We were there for the first week of it. Due to the cold winter, the tulips were late to bloom, so for us it was mostly the Skagit Valley Tulip Bud and Daffodil Festival. There were some early bloomers, but for the most part, the gardens were still coming into their springtime look. I'm still glad we went.

One thing about the tulip festival is the traffic. So. Much. Traffic. When you approach from I-5 you have to plan on sitting on an off-ramp for at least 30 minutes. Longer if it's Saturday. The first time we went that's how we did it. I think that will also be the last. It is so much better to approach Mount Vernon from the west since nobody does that. There's much less traffic, it's all right turns, and you get to see Whidbey Island. It's all awesome.

This was the first and last time I rode the Port Townsend to Coupeville ferry without a reservation. I thought, it's a Wednesday morning, I don't have my trailer, there should be no problem getting on. That almost turned out to be a huge mistake. We arrived for the 9:30 ferry and couldn't get on, then we were the LAST car allowed on the 11:00. If we had missed that one, there wouldn't have been time to do the activities. Always reserve. Always.

Whidbey Island has become far and away our favorite place to go when we're feeling like getting away a little, but we still need to be close to home.

On one of our trips with my parents we were looking for a place to get some lunch and found some yelp reviews for a little place called Pickles Deli in Clinton. We decided to take a chance. That chance has become almost a semi-annual pilgrimage to have lunch there. It may sound silly, but they have the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I have ever tasted. It is truly artisanal. Now, I generally don't get that because of the other incredibly delicious offerings they have such as a turkey club with bacon and a barbeque chicken sandwich. The visit is also not complete without stuffing my face with a spicy "Kick your butt" dill pickle. Chelsea prefers the garlic dill pickles which are also extremely delicious. I'm usually amused by crowd we usually see there. Despite the fact that there are toys and games for the kids, just our family's presence in there dramatically reduces the average age. When we went there with my brother's family all the kids decided the several puzzles should all be in one box. What are you going to do?

Here's our current list of Whidbey Island trips over the last few years. 

2011 May, Mother's Day Trip
2013 May, Coupeville cabin rental for Mother's day
2013 June, Deception Pass camping with my scouts
2015 November, Langley Cabin rental with my parents, discovered Pickles Deli
2017 April, Cabin rental in La Conner with Chelsea's friends, also visited Whidbey Island.
2017 September, First RV camping trip at Fort Ebey, also met my brother and his family there
2018 April, Fort Ebey camping with the trailer, went home via tulip festival
2018 October, Fort Ebey camping, Coupeville pumpkin patch
2019 April, Day trip to Skagit Valley via Whidbey Island

We love it. You should try to visit sometime. If you do, I'll make a trip coincide. It will be a great excuse to get out there again.

The RV-Life

Man, what a ride the last year and a half has been. If you read this blog regularly, besides facing long droughts of posts, you've come to know that there has been lots of change over this period.

In my own mind, 2018 was characterized by lots of playing. Lots. For the first time in almost a decade I was not a homeowner and was therefore not constantly dealing with that monkey on my back of the next (or usually current) project. Our rental house has been perfect for us at this time. If I had owned it, there would be a long list of things I'd want to address (very few of which actually matter), but I don't own it, so instead it's play time.

My favorite toy of the year was the travel trailer we bought in September of 2017. Our Sonoma.

I'd thought for years about buying one and after camping in a tent with our whole family once I finally resolved it was time. The day we bought it, I made it known:

 "There have been two times in my life that I made what I considered to be a bad financial decision, but that I got a lot of enjoyment out of.
Here's to number three. Hopefully"

As I'm now preparing to sell it, I can attest that it was a bad financial decision, but for my money, me an my family will have irreplaceable memories from this. Many of our trips were to Whidbey Island. You can read my recent post about Whidbey Island in particular here on the blog and you can see my feelings on that.

Too many people buy trailers only to find that they didn't use them that often, if even at all. That's because it's a lot of work. To say otherwise is patently false. Don't take that to mean I don't think it's worth it, because without a doubt, it is.

Our trips always started out the day before departure. I'd have to retreive the trailer from storage and spend a bunch of time the night before getting ready to go. Many times this would penetrate into the night, ensuring that I would start the trip short on sleep. Then it was always a scramble on departure day. Since we always wanted to minimize vacation time use and maximize trip time, we'd always leave after work.

Most days we'd leave before dinner because the kids would be so keyed up with excitement it was impossible to get them to sit and eat even just a sandwich. Many times we got to our destination very late at night. As we were preparing to go on the Cape Disappointment trip, Isaiah closed his thumb in the trailer door, injuring it badly. After a while he calmed down, so we still decided to go, but we didn't get to the campsite until almost 11:00 pm. (The kids then woke up at 5:30 am, but that's another story.)

Trips down to the coast, like Cape Disappointment or Twin Harbors were always tough because they were long drives. Trips to Whidbey were my favorite because we got a relaxing ferry ride out of it, and even though the travel time was kind of long, it was less than 90 miles of driving to get there. We'd always get there at a more reasonable 7-8 pm.

We also took advantage of some close camping. There are choice campgrounds right here in Kitsap County that are frequented by travelers from all over the country. It's human nature to overlook the sights found in one's own backyard. Our local favorites were Scenic Beach State Park and Kitsap Memorial State Park. Both very close and exceedingly beautiful.

The sleeping arrangements were always tough. Our youngest simply cannot sleep when other people are in the same room. Of course, in a small trailer like this, you're all in the same room, so she was always a challenge to get to sleep. The trailer had two bunks, a queen bed, and a dinette. Enough beds for five people. We tried a different sleeping arrangement on every trip. We never found one that worked for us completely. Also, you know how finicky kids are. One trip they wanted the bunks, the next they refused the bunks.

Often when I would go with just the boys, all three of us would sleep on the big bed together. We would either lay down and watch a movie or read together, depending on our moods. It will be a great memory for me.

When I'd go with them we would usually all sleep at the same time. There were exceptions to this when I would stay up after they went to sleep, but generally our sleep schedules aligned. For the boys, this was not quite enough sleep and their eyes would be betray it. For me it was more than plenty and that allowed me an improved mental state and an additional store of patience against their inevitable conflicts.

So, as for my facebook post, I did get A LOT of enjoyment out of it. And it's a good thing, too, because it WAS a bad financial decision. I regret nothing.

Alas, the time has come to let it go. We need to shift the focus of our lives for a while so there is not room for this. There are not likely to be any further trips with this trailer, so here is a comprehensive list:

1. 21-23 Sep 2017 Fort Ebey (Maiden Voyage; Everybody)
2. 6-8 Oct 2017 Dungeness Recreation Area (Anniversary Trip; Me, Chelsea, Jake)
3. 1-3 Dec 2017 Kitsap Memorial (House Showing Weekend; Me and boys)
4. 23-25 Mar 2018 Fort Worden (Me and boys)
5. 27-30 Apr 2018 Fort Ebey, Tulip Festival on the way home (Everybody)
6. 25-28 May 2018 Twin Harbors (Lipsense Vendor Show, Everybody)
7. 30 Jun - 3 Jul 2018 Newhalem, North Cascades (Everybody, with Chelsea's sister's family)
8. 7-9 Sep 2018 Scenic Beach (Lipsense Vendor Show, Me and kids)
9. 27-30 Sep 2018 Cape Disappointment (Everybody)
10. 18-21 Oct 2018 Fort Ebey (Everybody)
11. 16-18 Nov 2018 Scenic Beach (Me and boys)
12. 15-17 Mar 2019 Kitsap Memorial (Me and boys)

Too often people find they don't use the trailer they bought with the best intentions. I can proudly say we used the crap out of this thing. It was a great period of my life and I hope the kids look back fondly on it, too.