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Both my dad and father-in-law live in other states so on Father's Day we made the obligatory phone calls and had nothing else planned. I was perfectly ready to just vegetate that day because once again, it was overcast and only around 50 degrees. I have had enough!
We got a call from our friend who has the 105th Anniversary Harley and he wanted to know if we were doing anything. We all have grown children who are not living nearby. We speedily got ready and decided to ride north and east towards Darrington and over to Marblemount for a burger. There is a place called Buffalo Run that serves buffalo, elk, venison, and other regular meats. The town has two food establishments, the other a run down burger place as well. They also have a gas station. All the bikers stop there on their way over the cascades, or like us, it was a destination ride.
We met our friend in Arlington at the Cycle Barn - which was closed on Sundays anyway. We took off and the weather was ideal. It was cool, but comfortable when riding. As we headed northeast we took 530 over to Darrington. This area is wooded and approaches the cascade mountains, so has nice rolling turns and scenery gallore. There were snow capped mountains we could catch a glimpse of occasionally that would then disappear behind another ridge as we putted along.
We stopped for a drink of water in Darrington. What a lovely little town looking up to a very close little mountain. People live all along this road with nice large acreages and farms. I didn't stop because there were the three of us, but I saw so many cool barns I was registering them into my memory as I came across each picturesque scene.
We had a most enjoyable ride and stopped in Marblemount to eat. We sat outside and all the tables surrounding us were a vision of black leather. This is where everyone stops. Some were only having mixed drinks, which I thought was probably a bad idea. Some were eating, and all were using the restrooms. It felt good to stretch and walk around.
After a nice meal and a couple of restroom trips we were on our way back. This time we went west on highway 20 through Concrete until we got to highway 9 in Sedro Woolley. We headed south on 9 until it was time for our buddy to split off and head over to Camano Island where he lives. We kept going south back towards Bothell and then cut over on the roads toward home.
It was a great ride and a memorable one. Parts of it kept running back through my mind for days afterwards. We saw a bald eagle flying overhead for a while, very cool. In one place, there were 3 small deer grazing along the side of the road which started to run as we passed. I was in the rear, so one of the deer ran alongside me for a while. I could tell she was ready to dart out in front of me across the road. She didn't, but I was talking to her the whole time she was beside me. Maybe she sensed my thought waves. Seriously!
We rode 210 miles round trip, and took about 6 hours. Not many photos were taken because I just enjoyed the ride and the wind in my face. It was glorious!