Day 6. Omak
59 miles 3,340 ft
After a short overnight stay with dinner and breakfast with family and Jay in Mazama, I packed up and headed east. I thought about a rest day but decided to save that for farther along. The route took me from places I've visited hundreds of times (Mazama, Winthrop) to increasingly less familiar spots as I climbed Loup Loup Pass and descended into the Okanogan River Valley. The climate changes from the green of the Methow to brown, rolling hills. I decided to stay in Omak because going further the choice of hotels and places to eat diminishes within reasonable range for the day. Also I have crossed 3 passes so far and don't want to exhaust my legs early in the trip.
I've been to Omak before but only to hardware stores. It's a small town of 4,800 on the Okanogan River. It's quite nice, and example of towns I'm taking this trip to explore. It has some fame because of the Omak Suicide Race in which horses and riders run down a steep slope to the river, swim across, and end in the corral. PETA points out how many horses have died in this event so it has lost some luster but continues with some safety measures. Turns out the event begins a few blocks from my motel and I checked it out. It is a very steep, long drop and so the casualties are not surprising.
I had dinner in a local Mexican restaurant and read John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley on my Kindle. The book describes a trip not unlike my own, but Steinbeck writes so well. There is even discussion of a political campaign (Kennedy vs Nixon) and he tactfully asks people what they think.
Tomorrow I head further east in Washington.
After a short overnight stay with dinner and breakfast with family and Jay in Mazama, I packed up and headed east. I thought about a rest day but decided to save that for farther along. The route took me from places I've visited hundreds of times (Mazama, Winthrop) to increasingly less familiar spots as I climbed Loup Loup Pass and descended into the Okanogan River Valley. The climate changes from the green of the Methow to brown, rolling hills. I decided to stay in Omak because going further the choice of hotels and places to eat diminishes within reasonable range for the day. Also I have crossed 3 passes so far and don't want to exhaust my legs early in the trip.
I've been to Omak before but only to hardware stores. It's a small town of 4,800 on the Okanogan River. It's quite nice, and example of towns I'm taking this trip to explore. It has some fame because of the Omak Suicide Race in which horses and riders run down a steep slope to the river, swim across, and end in the corral. PETA points out how many horses have died in this event so it has lost some luster but continues with some safety measures. Turns out the event begins a few blocks from my motel and I checked it out. It is a very steep, long drop and so the casualties are not surprising.
I had dinner in a local Mexican restaurant and read John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley on my Kindle. The book describes a trip not unlike my own, but Steinbeck writes so well. There is even discussion of a political campaign (Kennedy vs Nixon) and he tactfully asks people what they think.
Tomorrow I head further east in Washington.
Omak Stampede hill and swim
