12-16SEP07 - Monroe, WA

After an uneventful drive from Kittitas to Sultan, WA, we had a little difficulty finding a RV spot to park. Turns out the one recommended to us close to Sultan was members only. The next one up the road couldn’t guarantee us the number of days we wanted, and the one after that was squeezed (and we mean squeezed) between the railroad tracks and the river. We had no problem with the river side, but since the railroad was a main east/west route, we didn’t want to deal with passing trains. It was then that we remembered a RV’ers standby, the local fairgrounds (and in some cases Civic Centers or Arenas). Most fairgrounds have RV sites for the workers, performers, etc, and for those attending the events held there. Prices are generally lower than the true RV parks in the area, but amenities are also limited (ie no laundry, no showers, no pool, etc). So here we are camped at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds on the outskirts of Monroe, home to the Evergreen State Fair.

http://www.evergreenfair.org/

Upon arrival Dan went to local equipment rental store to rent something to clear our four acres in Sultan. We bought the property about twenty years ago. Our intentions were for the Coast Guard to send us back to Seattle and we would build on our property. But the CG never sent us back and obviously our plans changed. Now we are faced with land that is overrun with blackberries, salmon berries and alders. Our first objective is to clear the land once again, to see what we have and what are costs to build RV garage with small apartment. Dan ended up renting a John Deere 450H “dozer”. Since every boy who has played with Tonka Toys has dreamed of driving real earth moving equipment, this was a fantasy come true! After two days of trying to figure out the joy stick controls, a gas pedal that slows the engine when you step on it, and the button that makes it go faster in reverse than forward, the land is pretty much cleared and no one was injured in the process. Now we just need to figure out what we really want to do with the land.

Just FYI, Sultan is very small town on old US Highway 2 from Everett east to Stevens Pass over the Cascades. Sultan is first of many small towns (Gold Bar, Start Up, Index, etc) going up to the pass and its adjacent ski area, Stevens Pass (very original name that). Dan and friends routinely drove this road in the 70s to go skiing at Stevens, at that time they knew where the speed traps were (Gold Bar), best burgers (Skykomish), and cheapest beer (Keg n Cue). These small towns are pretty much unchanged, but the suburbs are coming and the town of Monroe has definitely changed! In the 70s Monroe was made up of farm workers, some lumberjacks, hippies and blue collar workers who need cheap rent or were looking for entry level housing. Now there still is a farming community that is getting smaller, no lumberjacks or hippies, and housing starts in the low $300K for a shack. The mega stores are building, traffic is constant and grid locked during commuting hours. Another noticeable change is a Hispanic American population; a quarter of the small stores are Spanish speaking, and about half are bilingual. In fact, the church behind the RV park advertises first service in Iglesias, and second in Espanol. Monroe which was never known for cuisine now has excellent restaurants ranging from Indian, Vietnamese, to premier sea food. In fact, we highly recommend the Sailfish Grill home to the Twin Rivers micro brew; and the Clay Oven, excellent Indian Tandoor oven food!

http://www.ci.sultan.wa.us/

Meanwhile back at the RV. Did we mention that the fairgrounds are also the home to the Evergreen Speedway, largest racing oval in the Northwest? Well it is and from our observation it is a pretty busy place! Thursday afternoon and night was go kart racing, free admission. Friday afternoon and night was practice session for sprint cars and super stocks, free admission. Saturday afternoon and night was super figure 8 racing; sprint car racing (30 laps); and super stock racing (150 laps). Sunday afternoon only was truck racing, foreign stock, and a few other classes, free admission. Dan kept wandering over to check out the action, and paid to watch the Saturday night races. Corrie decided to enjoy the activities from the RV (ie she could hear everything, but couldn’t see it).

http://www.evergreenspeedway.com/

Sunday we were treated to the liquid sunshine Seattle is famous for. To Dan it was welcome break from the dust of the plains states and the farm country we have been traveling through for majority of our trip so far; to Corrie it was a little too gray. In the afternoon we decided to head to Uwajimaya in Bellevue. Uwajimaya started in the international district of Seattle carrying Japanese and Chinese foods and items for Seattle’s large Asian community. They have grown tremendously and now carry items and foods covering from India, across Asia to the Pacific Islands. We decided to buy some items familiar to us for dinner – chicken and leek pot stickers, Filipino lumpias (not as good as Indonesian), shrimp chips, and a sushi roll called Seattle roll. Very good sampling of Asian food at a 1/3 of restaurant prices.

http://www.uwajimaya.com/