Riverside State Park

Lt. Data's costume from ST:TNG

November 18th, 2013

After returning from Alma, I spent that last weekdays and weekend with Max and Cait before taking off on the road again. Max and I visited the EMP museum. Basically, it is a nerd haven with fantasy, fiction, sci-fi, and music exhibits. They were also handing out starter packs of Magic The Gathering cards, so Max and I were playing during lunch. I am not sure how, but I am pretty sure we were the biggest nerds there.

Simon Peg's costume from Shaun of the Dead.

They have a recording studio upstairs where you can record 15 minutes of yourself or a group on instruments.

On the last night Max, Cait, and myself did a night on the town in Seattle. We hit a few of the higher rated bars and speakeasies. We had tried to visit a brewery that we had a Groupon for, but they closed before we got there. Have to check those times closely! We still had a great time visiting the other places downtown. We even got to watch a class of acrobats practicing. I think Max and Cait might be trying some of that this year.

In the morning I said my goodbyes and hopped in the car. Cait said I couldn't come back this time until I finished the trip! I had my plan to make a V across the country; making my way south before shooting back home to Traverse City. This portion would be a much faster pace than my first leg, to see as much as I could before reaching home and prepping for the wedding. My first stop was Riverside State Park, just outside Spokane, WA.

Passing over the Columbia River. Such a great place for lunch with a view!

On my way there I had to pass through the Cascades. There wasn't any snow when I left Seattle, but as I went higher into the mountains there was quite a bit of it. The roads weren't too bad, but you really couldn't go full speed.

The furthest I ventured upon arriving.

I got there just around 4:30. This meant I only had about an hour before it got dark. I setup my tent, walked about 2 minutes to the bridge to take the shot above, made dinner, and went to sleep.

Other side of the bridge in the morning.

Bridge constructed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps). These guys did great work at a lot of the parks I visited.

I woke up just after sunrise and hit the trails. I hadn't been hiking for a while, so it was good to get back into nature. I didn't really see anyone out on the trail, which wasn't too surprising. I was also the only person who stayed the night at the park. It was like my own private state park for the day!

The trail kept pretty close to the river the whole time. It was much calmer upstream.

I hiked along the path for about 4 miles until I saw it was another 8 miles to my destination. The maps they had didn't really give you a good idea of how long the paths were, since they stuck pretty close to the campsites. Not wanting to walk a total of 20 miles that day, I made my way back to the camp. 8 miles after not hiking for about a month would prove to be enough the next morning when my feet and legs would ache.

Being by myself, there was really not much to do in the park besides hike. Hiking is great, but after spending half the day in my own head I had had enough for a little while.

Really cool bar, and lots of craft beer!

With the day halfway over, I decided I would grab some lunch downtown. I got on Yelp and found The Flying Goat. I had a pear and blue cheese pizza that was fantastic. I of course had to wash it down with a local craft beer.

After lunch I hit the road again towards Yellowstone.

Pictures of the EMP
Pictures of Riverside State Park

Alma, MI

Grandpa Ted Brecht

November 8th, 2013

After Rainier, I stuck around in Seattle waiting for my laptop to come back. It was acting up and had to be sent back for servicing. In that time I also tweaked my back somehow (still kind of a mystery). Once I got my laptop back, I figured I would hit the road again. I had been in Seattle on and off for about a month and was itching to get back out there.

I was about ready to leave when I got a call from my Mom. My Grandpa (Mom's side) wasn't doing well back home. Grandpa hadn't been doing well for a while, but in the past week he had taken a turn towards the worst. I dropped my plans and found the first flight back to Michigan.

I landed in Grand Rapids around 10:30pm and waited for my sister to get there from Chicago. I took up the driving, arriving in Elwell around midnight. She had to work all day before heading to pick me up.

We were able to see Grandpa in the hospital. I had seen my Grandma Doherty (Dad's side) before she passed and the sight was very similar. The man that I loved was sitting there in pain and looked rather foreign to me. Grandpa was always smiling when us kids were around but he was out of it. The worst part was feeling absolutely powerless.

Grandpa always hated hospitals, so we moved him to hospice. The place was out in the woods, surrounded by trees and really peaceful. Grandpa passed while most of us were on our way to the hospice. Those who were around said that he seemed to relax a little after seeing he was out of the hospital.

My cousin Adam and his fiance Angela drove all day from Duluth, MN but didn't make it in time. I don't know if that is better or worse. My sister didn't get to see Grandma Doherty before she passed. Her memories don't include the sadness of seeing Grandma in pain.

Grandpa and Adam

We decided we would scan some pictures we had of him and make a slide show. I did a lot of the scanning with my sister, but when it came time to put the slideshow together I was incapacitated by my back. The pain had been around since I hurt it, but it reasserted  with a vengeance. I couldn't stand, sit, or lay down. My Dad took me to emergency care and they gave me some meds that made it manageable. Adam was able to finish the slideshow with his dad.

My back also prevented me from being a pallbearer at the funeral. This hurt because I felt that this was the one thing I could do for him and it had been taken away. I know Grandpa would understand, but it still had me feeling useless.

At the cemetery, Grandpa was honored with a 21 gun salute for his service. He joined the Army during the Korean War and was stationed in Greenland 1952 to 1954.

I spent my summers out on the farm with my sister. We would always "help" grandpa by shucking corn, cleaning the dust off the combine, or cutting grass around the machines. He would cook us breakfast in the morning; sausage, pancakes and eggs. Adam and I rode with him a few times to drop off grain at the elevators, often hopping in the wagons to help force the grain out. He always had a few animals following him around, often with us joining the pack. He was always, always good to us.

I am not a very emotional person, at least on the outside, but this hurt. Even now, writing this, I am fighting tears. My Grandpa was a great man and I will miss him dearly.