I was up early this morning and at the Suzuki motorcycle dealer at 8:00 am to be sure that I was first in line for service that opened at 9:00 am. They were very helpful, and pulled my bike in as soon as they opened, did the oil and filter change and then Jack, the mechanic, showed me why the chain was making such a noise. He said that as chains wear in time they have a variation in the stiffness and that whenever it is time to set the tightness of the chain, always find the tightest position and use that as the point to make the adjustment. I explained that last night I had adjusted the chain as per specifications, took the bike for a short run, and then found the chain was much tighter than I had set it. He said that is the exact reason for adjusting according to the "tightest position". I hope this makes sense.
I was on the road at 10:30 am and it was a beautiful day as I rode south on Highway 97 and entered a beautiful road that was in a valley between desert like mountains, with a very fast flowing river and a rail way track . On the river were several fishermen in what look to be flat bottom boats, with one person steering and the fishermen using a fly rod to place the bait in the 'special" places as they flash by. They must cast very quickly.
There were many fields with elaborate sprinkler systems including some that do a half circle of the field. It is so impressive to see the volume of water that they move from the river into the fields.
While in this desert area I came across an animal that looks like a deer, but runs in a very strange way. It sort of hops like a kangaroo, with the front and back feet folded together as they hop along. It is a very different kind of motion.
I continued south on another twisty road, that followed the Yakima River, and the landscape became much greener with some very beautiful brides veil falls to be seen.
This is a very large agricultural area with farms everywhere and a lot of fresh fruit stands along the highway. I stopped at one and had the most amazing peach, two types of plums and one large crisp apple . The peach was without question the best I have ever had.
I turned south on the thruway Highway 5 in order to try and get away from some black clouds, but was unsuccessful as the sky opened up and it was so bad people pulled over to the side of the road as the visibility was so poor. Can you believe it!! I was soaked to the bone. Either my riding gear is losing its ability to keep me dry, or perhaps it isn't designed to handle such strong downpours. So here I am again in a motel room with the "Chinese laundry look" with clothes hanging everywhere. I saw on the news tonight that I in fact rode through a record rain storm. I think I should offer my services to any region that is in need for rain as it certainly has followed me or the past five weeks. The forecast for the rest of the week does sound more promising as I continue south to San Diego and the Mexican border.
Distance Travelled: 280 Miles 450 Kms