"Most of the kids I hang out with and am around confuse being American with what the administration is doing. And that's not really what being American is. You can question your administration without being unAmerican."
Adam Miller, 23, at Miller's One Stop convenience store in Elk, Wash.
This morning I missed a flagpole gathering in Deer Park for the National Day of Prayer. I heard there were lots of people there.
Honestly, after so many days of cleaning, packing, planning and driving, I'm content to be parked down a winding dirt road, away from everything.
This afternoon, while I was hanging out with the folks I'm staying with, a U.S. Census Bureau worker came by to inquire about the number of residences here. Wonder if he counted my RV?
The highlight of my stop in Ritzville was talking to the guys outside Tracy Jirava's auto shop. I stopped to look at a 1989 Camaro with its guts hanging out. (I own a third-gen. Camaro and have definitely been there!)
The car belongs to 19-year-old Eric Hille.
"It's probably the most boring town you're ever gonna find," he says of Ritzville. But he concedes it's a good place to be American, though the current state of our economy "is kind of ridiculous."
"I hope Obama fixes it."
Also outside the shop was retired World War II veteran and Ritzville City Council member Barney Streeter, 85.
Serving in the sixth infantry division of the U.S. Army, Streeter spent time on the ground in North Africa and in Italy, including "five months of hell" on a beach in Anzio.
"I fought for that old flag and I'm still proud," he says.
(Sadly, I'm not sure he'll be checkin' out my blog. "I'm old-fashioned. I don't go on the Internet," he tells me.)
For picturesque Americana, you've come to the right place.
Just make sure you can handle the wind!
Here's a "Where's Waldo" shot for you guys:
Can you spot my RV?
What about all the flags?
They're part of a 'just 'cause' program that runs May through September, explains Mary Graves, Ritzville Chamber of Commerce administrator.
Graves and her husband, Terry Kaas, moved from Bremerton, Wash. to this town of less than 2,000 residents, three years ago. Their goal was to retire, but they ended up taking jobs in the community.
A former marketing professional, Graves sees a future of increased tourism for Ritzville due to its proximity to Interstate 90 and role as eastern Washington's wheat and grain transport hub.
"I think it is on the verge of itself. I think in the next few years it's just going to blossom," she says.
I've headed east on Interstate 90! Stopped in Ellensburg to get gas, then at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest trail, just outside Vantage. By the time I finished my peanut butter sandwich, we were the only ones there. I love that.
We walked the trail of petrified wood stumps (elm was the most beautiful, I thought,) and ventured out on the hiking trail for a little bit to smell flowers and herbs and listen to the light rain soak the parched, volcanic earth.
Armani is being a really good girl. I think she will do fine on this trip. She takes her guarding job very seriously, but lets people and cars go by at a safe distance without barking. And she LOVES the RV. Everything in it works pretty well — a few scars and leaks — but that just makes us feel well-traveled, even at this early phase.
At 8 – 9 miles per gallon with a full load and moderate wind, we are taking it easy! I figure it may cost me $75 in gas just to get to Spokane, so why rush things?
The rain and all the miles were making me sleepy, so we found a rest stop to chill at for the night. Listened to the Tom Petty Ezra gave me on the way. I will stop in Ritzville tomorrow for gas and breakfast and then on to Spokane and Elk!