[Smoke]

If you could get across the line into WA.
Updated: 7:14 PM, Apr 12, 2020
SR 20 North Cascade Highway remains closed from milepost 120 at the west end of Newhalem, to milepost 177 near Early Winters Campground. Due to COVID-19 concerns and in accordance with state guidelines, we will work to reopen mountain passes as it is safe for our crews to do so. A reopening date has not yet been determined.

 

[bacchus40]

nope, cant enter the USA.. thanks for the non-update..

 

[bandito]

nope, cant enter the USA.. thanks for the non-update..

Chances of crossing the border to ride in 2021 I'd bet - are zero!

 

[Steve G.]

Chances of crossing the border to ride in 2021 I'd bet - are zero!

You a betting man? How much?

 

[bacchus40]

Chances of crossing the border to ride in 2021 I'd bet - are zero!

its inching towards that isnt it. although cases are somewhat easing off hot spots. Politically
they're such a mess that its gonna be a while before they get their shit together.

i dont see any way the US doesnt' come out of this half broken.

i cancelled my online sports package, at a loss.

 

[Steve G.]

its inching towards that isnt it. although cases are somewhat easing off hot spots. Politically
they're such a mess that its gonna be a while before they get their shit together.

i dont see any way the US doesnt' come out of this half broken.

i cancelled my online sports package, at a loss.

The U.S.? Try the world. The 1st world anyways. The 3rd world will cope just like it always has. it still struggles with issues from the stone ages in certain ways. The 1st world is going to be knocked down a few rungs down the ladder, for years. World travel is changed forever. It's either going to get very expensive, or there's going to be screening methods to keep unhealthy people off planes and cruise ships.

 

[bacchus40]

no point speculating on such large scale.. we shall see

 

[Steve G.]

no point speculating on such large scale.. we shall see

"""""i dont see any way the US doesnt' come out of this half broken.""""""

 

[bacchus40]

"""""i dont see any way the US doesnt' come out of this half broken.""""""

thats pretty obvious though, every time you flip on the tele 1/3rd of Americans
still dont believe its real. We know this is financially driven. Trump keeps
shooting himself n' the white house in the foot. States are banding together and
will likely go off on their own, regardless of what the orange egozilla thinks. With,
less than 200 days to go b4 the election, it keeps showing up on the polls. Nothing
like a little death on mass scale to break a country up and divide opinions.

that does not automatically extend to the entire freaking world. i'm not reaching
for tin-foil, thats all.. I still have family in 'a third world country', they're not where
the US is, not by a very long shot.

 

[the bartender]

The fact that this is being used as a Republican rally call to get the Trump fan based worked up about the "Evil democrat hoax" is fucked. I wouldn't be surprised if Trumps do even more damage than the disease.

 

[bacchus40]

some of this is being felt in third world country as the US decided to 'deport' people in large groups. countless of 'em are now testing positive as they return to their home countries. By and large one of the 'perks' of 3rd world living if you can think of it this way, is that those in these countries do not travel abroad. Since this is not an air-borne virus, mostly diplomats n' business men/women are the only ones actually infected. Their numbers are much, much lower than the rest of the developed world.

i agree though, the whole mess stateside is being propped up by partisan politics. Trump is a
cheer-leader and he's pushing to open up 'his' economy in order to win a 2nd term. It is working, sadly.

 

[the bartender]

i dont think most people even know what '3rd world' means, its not referring to what most poeple thiink it is.

 

[bacchus40]

its a general, and broadly used term though.. not necessarily nor specifically
tied in to the original definition. I dont think it really matter anymore.

a quick google search spits this out:

The term third wold country originally comes from the cold war and described countries which were not part of the east-west conflict. Guatemala was one of those countries.

Western World - first world
UDSSR - second world
Others - third world

fast forward to 'modern times':

the term describes countries which are not yet as adapted or developed as the industry nations. Guatemala belongs as well to those countries. Some want to argue Mexico is no longer considered one, because it has money. Mind you, drug money does not necessarily create a 'self sustainable' financial system.

Financially speaking and in terms of development Latin-America is still considered to be in the dark ages and the term 'third world' country has stuck. Above statements on why a wide spread break-out has not taken place are tied into this, as financially speaking most are not doing well enough to travel outside their own country, and since very few parts of 'developed' countries are allowing world travel, risks remain low.

As a society, the term “third world country” refers to countries with high mortality rates, especially infant mortality rates. They also have an unstable and inconsistent economy. These are countries that contain massive amounts of poverty and in some cases have fewer natural resources than other nations throughout the world. These countries often have to rely on more industrialized countries to aid them and help stabilize their economy.

These countries usually lack economic stability because of the lack of a functioning class system. Usually, the country will have an upper class and a lower class. Without a middle class to fill the gap, there is almost no way for a person to escape poverty because there is no next step for them on the economic ladder. This also allows the wealthy to control all the money in the country. This is detrimental to the economy of the country, and both increases and helps to sustain the poverty running rampant throughout the country while allowing the upper class to keep their wealth to themselves.

These countries often accrue a copious amount of debt from foreign countries because of the constant aid they need from other countries to keep their economy afloat and provide some financial stability to the citizens of the country.

The definition of a third world country has evolved from the political meaning during the Cold War to the economic meaning of today. Today’s meaning refers to countries that are in financial trouble and need help from other countries to keep their economy sustainable, at least for a short time.

 

[heisenberg9]

Got an email this morning that WSDOT snow cleaning crews have been quietly clearing the North Cascades Highway to Winthrop. Should take another 2 weeks to complete. Also got an email from Hagen's of Blaine this week that starting April 27th they are open full-time. Me thinks there must be some chatter in the background that the Border Closure may be lifted or partially lifted within 2 or 3 weeks. We shall see.

Here's the press release/email...

North Cascades Highway spring clearing update

Clearing work was paused with most other maintenance and project construction in response to Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” proclamation. However, this highway is more than a scenic drive as it provides valuable freight access, and is vital as an alternative emergency route in the case of natural disaster.
So, with a plan in place to ensure that this work is done with the utmost attention for COVID-19 precautions, the seasonal clearing of SR 20 North Cascades Highway restarted on April 13, 2020.

We determined it best to cancel the usual media fanfare around this work as to not to appear to invite nonessential travel. Although this may be disappointing, it is important to slow the spread of the coronavirus in every way possible. We thank you for your interest and look forward to sharing this experience with you next year.

The clearing work is expected to take about two more weeks, at which time we will update the North Cascades Highway webpage.

 

[bacchus40]

thanks for the 'on point' update.. i think we all took it upon ourselves to derail threads like this..

what can i say, much more interesting material around at the time. I already took care of my
US parts purchasing needs via customs fanfare. Swallowed the bullet n' paid freight.

this was a couple weeks ago, didnt wanna chance it on being able to pick up, but have to isolate upon
return across into Canada.. I think thats a little more expensive than USPS Int. Priority express

 

[Steve G.]

thanks for the 'on point' update.. i think we all took it upon ourselves to derail threads like this..

what can i say, much more interesting material around at the time. I already took care of my
US parts purchasing needs via customs fanfare. Swallowed the bullet n' paid freight.

this was a couple weeks ago, didnt wanna chance it on being able to pick up, but have to isolate upon
return across into Canada.. I think thats a little more expensive than USPS Int. Priority express

Got an email this morning that WSDOT snow cleaning crews have been quietly clearing the North Cascades Highway to Winthrop. Should take another 2 weeks to complete. Also got an email from Hagen's of Blaine this week that starting April 27th they are open full-time. Me thinks there must be some chatter in the background that the Border Closure may be lifted or partially lifted within 2 or 3 weeks. We shall see.

Here's the press release/email...

North Cascades Highway spring clearing update

Clearing work was paused with most other maintenance and project construction in response to Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” proclamation. However, this highway is more than a scenic drive as it provides valuable freight access, and is vital as an alternative emergency route in the case of natural disaster.
So, with a plan in place to ensure that this work is done with the utmost attention for COVID-19 precautions, the seasonal clearing of SR 20 North Cascades Highway restarted on April 13, 2020.

We determined it best to cancel the usual media fanfare around this work as to not to appear to invite nonessential travel. Although this may be disappointing, it is important to slow the spread of the coronavirus in every way possible. We thank you for your interest and look forward to sharing this experience with you next year.

The clearing work is expected to take about two more weeks, at which time we will update the North Cascades Highway webpage.

I very much look forward to crossing into the USA again, with some personal restrictions. Clearly Washington State has been hit harder by this bat stew flu. For various reasons, which I will not chat about here, wrong thread. As such, I will say that if the BC/Cdn govt. will place 'isolation' restrictions on returning Canadians, I'll refrain from heading across the border. Even if it's a solitary visit 178 feet south to the fuel station to buy gas at $.51 Cdn /litre. The best back road riding in this area clearly is south of the 49th parallel. The last month of riding around here clearly has emphasizing how limited we have it here in SW BC.

 

[bacchus40]

yep.. if summer turns out to be just as much a 'hot-spot' for the states, i'll refrain from crossing.

it is what it is. Life gives you bat-soup flu, well.. you're certainly not gonna make lemonade with it,

that would be stewpid 💩

 

[heisenberg9]

Good points from both of you. Not worth the risk with the current state of affairs.

 

[CHIA]

May be a busier riding season in the Kootenays this year!

 

[bacchus40]

May be a busier riding season in the Kootenays this year!

this, accurate assumption as it is already. I'm very much certain the continued US political
shit-show has scared enough of us into submission. Dad had planned a trip to Alaska
this year, even though things up there are likely to improve quicker than most, just the idea
of riding through areas where there are no medical hospitals or test kits available was enough
to have him cancel plans. He's at home until end of July, period.

Its not that US residents cant control themselves, but they cant control themselves..