The Motorcycle Diaries, Kansas Edition, Day 2

Friday was a glorious romp in the woods compared to Saturday.

Left my campsite in Newport, WA about 0830.  Only six or seven hours to Missoula, because I'm going up through Kalispell, just to check it out.  It's still nice-ish.  The lake for which my campground, the North Shore KOA was named for.

Does the phrase Winter Storm Warning ring any bells to anyone?  Yeah, I didn't see that at all.  Didn't look at my weather map because, well why would I.  I already knew it was going to be a chance of rain.

Instead, just as I was approaching Kalispell it opened up.  I couldn't see anything.  Including the sign saying "Slow to 15mph for roundabout".  Thankfully I saw just enough out of the corner of my eye to think I should slow down more than I had when the downpour started.

For the record, it's not a good idea to slow down too much in a downpour like that.  Even though you can't see the road, and you can't see enough to get off the road, the people in cars behind you can't see either.  So you run the risk of being rear ended.

So to allay your fears, I slowed down a lot, made it through the inch or so of water that was sluicing through the roundabout, made it down the hill on the other side, and into the first gas station I saw.

Which is when the hail started.  😒

I have no pictures of the storm.  It was the last thing on my mind.   Which is why I don't have a viral youtube channel where I film all the horrible things that happen to me.  

So made it into Missoula, on and off rainstorms but nothing like the Kalispell episode.  Drowned rat is the expression that comes to mind.  Wish I had my full face helmet but I never take it with me on trips as it most likely won't get used and just takes up space hanging from the luggage.  And of course it's Sunday so nowhere that might sell a helmet is open today.

Next steps?  Either push on, chancing the fact that there's a pass with a Winter Storm Warning prominently displayed on every possible way to Kansas, or turn back where the passes are lower.  I could probably get home no problem today but then I'm home and not in Kansas.  So push on it probably is, wishing I had a full face helmet.

And try to remember to take pictures of the worst of it.

The Motorcycle Diaries, Kansas Edition, Day 1

 Not an auspicious beginning.  The weather decided not to cooperate.  I've been watching the forecast which has said "Rain until 11, thunderstorms after".  Gah!  

I love thunderstorms but would love even more to sit in my chair on my front porch and watch the lightning,  preferably with a glass of something in hand.  If you care to comment, what's your go-to beverage for summer thunderstorms?  I've been shifting to cocktails and away from mixed drinks.  Things like Old Fashioneds, Negronis, etc.  When I drink gin it's poured over ice.  Gone are the days of tonic water and lime.

Hit the road about 0830.  Not really raining but threw the rain jacket on and wore chaps, which I wasnt planning on.  On and off rain.  Stopped at the Harley dealer cause they had some special order small parts for me.  Wasnt going to get them now but they open in 10 minutes so good chance for bathroom break.  They have a 260th Anniversary edition which I love.

On down the road.  Highway 2 to Wenatchee and beyond.  All the way to Newport, really, although at some point Google decided I should take a bunch of side roads before getting back on 2.  I assume they had their reasons.  Weather promised thunderstorms as well as rain but the former never materialized thankfully.

Why is that picture upside down?  No idea.  It isn't upside down in my phone.  Oh well.

KOA just outside of Newport is nice.  Ive stayed here before.  Friendly staff, good amenities.  Can recommend.  Tomorrow up to Kalispell and then down to Missoula.  Need to stop at a sporting goods store cause I forgot fuel and refills for mosquito repeller.

The Motorcycle Diaries, Kansas Edition, Day Negative 1, Preparation

Headed for Kansas.  25 days on the road, 5 to get there, 12 days in Abilene, 3 back, and 5 in Richland, WA.

Bike is packed.  First trip longer than 600 miles on the Road Glide.

Not thrilled with the amount of stuff on top but it's light.   Touring bike doesn't have any more room, it's just distributed differently.  The tour-pak limits you because things have to fit.  It's a bit like playing Tetris.

Actually this post could just as easily have been titled Day Negative 1 through 14.  I started by making a list of everything I normally take.  I'll be camping, staying with relatives, and staying in hotels.  It's the first thing that makes it complicated, but it saves a lot of money.  I have to have a tent, a sleeping bag, and because I am getting older, an air mattress and a folding chair.  No more sitting or sleeping on the ground.  I also like to have a coffee maker (Aeropress) and a Jetboil, which I wouldn't need in a hotel.  Some firestarter, a small hatchet, that's about the minimum.  That stuff is mostly in the bag strapped to the top of the tour-pak.

Then I went out, set up a folding table, put everything on the table, and started packing.  Once I had everything in I made a list for each storage container: left and right saddlebags, tour-pak, T-bag strapped on the passenger seat.  It's a lot of stuff.  Then I realized I hadn't packed my sleeping bag and had to start over, which is when I added the small duffle on the tour-pak rack.

How did I miss this?

 Happy Gin Day!

June 13, two days ago.  I will drink three times as much gin tonight to make up for my failure.  😁

On the shelf now:

1) Boodles, the old standby.  The gin that got me to like gin.  Beefeater is NOT the gin that will get you to like gin, neither are most gins served in bars, unless you go top shelf.

2) Bellewood, purchased recently.  Distilled from apples by local farmers here in my Pacific NW county.

Pro tip: Do NOT put tonic into a good gin.  Just pour some over ice and sip.

The Government Economics of ... (short version, mandatory suicide)

 Hat tip to Peter over at Bayou Renaissance Man.

https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2026/06/tab-clearing.html

He links to this study published in Omega about the cost savings to the Canadian government by expanding access to MAID (assisted suicide) to include mentally ill and old people.  Involuntary access would appear to be the key.

Government Economics of Expanding Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying to Vulnerable Populations and the Ethical Implications of Allowing the State to Control Death

It's just a study, and to be fair to the author, he spends quite a bit of the concluding paragraphs talking about the negative ramifications of both MAID and expanded access to the program, but given that the gist of the study, as evidenced in the title, is an analysis of the cost benefits of the program, it seems a bit "too little, too late".

One item that struck me, early in the Introduction, was this sentence:

A rapid increase in immigrant population has exacerbated pressures on affordable housing, schools and hospitals

 

The author does not appear to consider that the solution to these presssures might be to reduce the immigrant population, but instead focuses on the benefits of removing the legacy population faster.  Understanding that the point of the study is to analyze the cost savings of an expanded program, and also recognizing that his conclusions do address some of those concerns, but there seems to be a lack of understanding of what exactly is happening in Canada in this article.  Or perhaps it's just the ramblings of a PhD student attempting to create something that will ensure progress towards his degree.

Time to think about judges?

I just gave some money to a couple judicial races in Washington state. I think it's something conservatives maybe need to spend more time thinking about.

A bit of background first though. Washington state Supreme Court has nine judges. They are elected by the people, but if a vacancy occurs, the governor appoints a replacement to fill the remainder of that term. Given the dominance of Democratic, left wing, progressive politics in Washington state in the past twenty years (can you say "mail in ballots for everyone"?), this has led to a 9-0 progressive majority on the court that constantly strikes down the will of the people as expressed through referendums. They have, for example, ensured that tax and fee reduction votes were thrown out for covering "too many topics". How a referendum that covered one topic, taxes, could have too many topics is something for the lawyers to discuss, but that was their rationale.

Right now they are poised to rule on an income tax, the so-called "millionaires tax" that the Democratic controlled legislature just passed. Some history on that may be necessary for you out of state readers. The Washington state constitution unequivocally bans direct taxes that aren't equally levied on all Washingtonians. In other words, no income taxes allowed. Three times the Democrats proposed a Constitutional amendment to allow income taxes and three times the people overwhelmingly rejected it.

So this year, they passed on anyway. It was immediately challenged but it will be ruled on by the aforementioned 9 progressive judges. There is a certain expectation that they will either rule contrary to almost a 100 years of precedent and citizen preference, or (and this may be a long shot) rule that the whole bill is constitutional so long as paragraph 2, which limits the tax to those making over $1 million per year, is struck. This would then implement an income tax on everyone.

To make matters worse, emails have recently been released showing that at least two justices collaborated with the legislature to write the law in such a way that it could be challenged effectively and the constitutional ban then overturned. Those judges should, of course, recuse themselves, but they won't.

So to recap, we have a state judicial system that is completely captured by the progressive left and is working with the legislature to evade the constitutional requirements of state law.

Meanwhile, the Washington state GOP, which is consistently in some disarray, apparently stopped endorsing judicial candidates quite some time ago. Although I can't confirm the details, this is insane. They have left the state Supreme Court alone to be run by the progressive left, without even bothering to let their voters know who some positive options might be. To add insult to injury, apparently the five left wing judges, endorsed by all manner of establishment political types on the left, appear to have a combined war chest of about a half million dollars, according to election filings. The three candidates I'm listing below? About $1,000 in donations between them.

So I took the unprecedented step, for me, of doing some digging (wasn't hard because it's a story among the right wing blogosphere this year) and making some donations. Now I will recommend them.

Dave Larson https://www.larsonforjustice.com/

Scott Edwards https://votescottedwards.com/

David Stevens, currently a Mason County Superior Court judge. Did I mention disarray? He doesn't appear to have a website or a fundraising mechanism.

There's a fourth, King County Superior Court Judge Sean O’Donnell, but he's endorsed by Christine Gregoire, the governor who put us into this mess by introducing all mail balloting to the state. On the other hand, he's also endorsed by Rob McKenna, former AG of the state, who was pretty good in his job.

I reached out to Edwards, after having made a donation, to ask whether his campaign team had considered getting together with some of these other judges and running a combined campaign, pooling resources. Haven't heard back yet, but that was just yesterday.

Either way, absent getting rid of all mail balloting, absent a better way to clean the voter rolls in this state (Washington is one of the states that is refusing to cooperate with the Justice Department in cleaning voter rolls), and absent some sort of coordinated campaign to get some justices who are less coopted by the progressive left, this state is on a downhill slide that will be very difficult to reverse.

This Old House (is getting destroyed)

 Yup.  Flickers, occasionally seen around my bird feeders, have decided that the front of my house would make a great home.

Discovered this while unloading my car the other day, when I heard a knock-knock-knock behind me. There he was, drilling away at the third hole, furthest to the right. He flew away, but then the female came out of the middle hole. Turns out it's also a federal crime to interfere with an active nest since they are a protected species. Thankfully it's not an active nest yet, so some a Powershot staple gun and some wire mesh seems to have taken care of the problem. Now I just need to figure out a repair before something that can get through the mesh moves in.