Colleen “DantesDame” First returns to the flood-ravaged Chehalis area to assist families in need.

Based on the experiences I had the previous weekend, I decided to go back down south and see if I could help out some more. I’m glad I did. While before I had seen the devastation wrought in the town of Adna, this time I saw even worse circumstances. And part of what made them “worse” was their isolation. This farm was miles from town, on a road with maybe half a dozen other farms and while I was there I saw only one other family being helped. Rebuilding your life takes a lot of work, but it goes much faster when there are more hands to share the load. I pleased to say that for another day, my hands could be counted among them.

Read the full story, with photos at DantesDame.com.

The first week of December brought with it amazing weather. Heavy snow in the mountains combined with a steady hard rain and then rising temperatures created tremendous flooding in the Pacific Northwest. The town of Chehalis (just south of Olympia and 90 miles south of Seattle) was devastated by an overflowing Chehalis River. On Friday I got a message from my friend Chis: he has family in the area (near Adna, WA) and would I be willing to come down as part of the clean-up effort? My original plans for the weekend had just been kiboshed and I had nothing else to keep me from helping out. I agreed to be there Saturday mornong with tools and a smile.

Read the rest at DantesDame.com.

Fossil, OR
Labor Day weekend, 2007

Carolyn had left San Francisco with her friend Jenny on Thursday the 30th and made her way north. Meanwhile, I would leave my house on Saturday morning and meet them “in the middle”, the “middle” being La Pine, OR. It was only a 6-hour ride to La Pine from Seattle, including a boring stretch of I-5 between here and the Oregon border. I hit the road at a leisurely hour and wiled away the hours as the pavement zipped under my wheels. I was on the KLR so as to better play in the dirt of Oregon with Carolyn but the bike ran well and I had it efficiently packed with minimal gear. Read the rest of this entry »

May 13, 2007
Total Miles: 268 miles, 1 day
Seattle, WA to Quilcene, WA

My friend Chris from Olympia and I were planning on exploring a bit of mud last weekend and had decided to head for the Hood Canal on the Olympic Peninsula. The plan started out as a weekend ride with camping tossed in for the night. But then the First Plan changed and Chris said that he would not be able to camp, so I figured that perhaps I would stay and camp after our ride. But then The Plan changed yet again and Chris I would hook up with two other guys, Doug and Steve from Victoria, BC. We would ride around Saturday and then I would then camp with Doug and Steve after Chris went home that night. The next day Doug and Steve would continue south on their weeklong tour and I would go home. Finally! A Plan had been made! Read the rest of this entry »

The “Odessa 100″ is a two-day even put on by Stumpjumpers, a local (‘Central Washington’ local) motorcycle club that’s been putting on this event for the last 37 years. Each year it gets bigger and better. I knew very little about it other than it sounded like fun. What the heck – it was time to check it out for myself! Read the rest of this entry »