The Laundromat Inn

Cindy and Mary Anne washing clothes in the Laundromat Inn.

January 29, 2013 
 

In the summer of 2000, I cycled across America from California to Virginia with two friends, Cindy and Mary Anne. I met them on a bicycle tour of the Mississippi River in 1997. For two months we cycled self-contained with all of our gear loaded on our bikes. 

On June 7, we left Burney, California and headed out into a beautiful morning. It would be a short thirty-mile day to McArthur, California. We were riding in the Cascade mountain range and would be experiencing several challenging climbs.

For the next twenty miles, we were captivated by a brilliant blue-sky morning.  Deer watched as we rolled by their wooded playground, and some were curious enough to greet us in the road. Far to the northwest, Mt. Shasta’s snow covered peak seemed to peer over my shoulder. Like a comforting friend, it kept me company along the way and inspired me on long climbs. Pine and cedar trees dotted the landscape along the narrow road. It was a great time to be communing with nature.  
When we arrived in McArthur, we found a small RV park in the town’s Intermountain Fairgrounds. We secured a tent site, and other than two RV’s had the whole place to ourselves. We parked our bikes and sat down at a picnic table for a snack. It was 1 p.m. and Cindy, a fifth grade teacher, had a former student coming to visit. As we sat there munching on crackers, the wind picked up and nasty clouds started moving in. Our site was out in the open with no protection from the elements. It was cold!

After Cindy’s company left, the weather got ugly. It started raining and black clouds began hurling lightning bolts. There was no way we could stay there. We’d get soaked, fried and then blown away. After some discussion, Cindy suggested that we ask to stay in the park Laundromat. She said she had done it before on other bike trips. Well Mary Anne and I had never heard of such a thing and thought Cindy had lost it.  

She proved us wrong. She asked the park manager and got permission for us to move into the Laundromat Inn. So, with little fanfare we wheeled our mighty steeds into Suds-R-Us. What a great place! We were out of the elements, had a payphone, a huge sink, clothing racks, a coke machine, comfortable chairs and our own washer and dryer.

There was only one laundry customer that night: a young man working construction in the area. He was surprised when he walked in and saw three loaded touring bikes, clothes hanging everywhere and Cindy cooking up a storm on her little gas stove. While he stuffed his clothes into the washer, we told him about our bike trip and our weather-related tale of woe. After dinner, we folded laundry and settled into our sleeping bags for our first all-night pajama party.

A week later, Mary Anne and I had another Laundromat Inn experience in Arco, Idaho. This time Cindy opted to camp out in the blustery, stormy weather and dozed off with her tent flapping and swaying in the wind.  

Tailwinds,

Kathy 

Cindy posing with our loaded drying rack.