Kyle Petty Charity Ride: Off and riding across country (cont'd)

DAY 2: RICHLAND, WASH.

Kevin Kane Photography

A rainbow highlights the way to Richland, Wash.

Shelia stood gazing out the window, antsy with her leather jacket on and a number painted on her cheek. As half a dozen patrons thumbed through chips or drinks in the convenience store, she was nervously looking outside, distracted from ringing up the customers.

"Sir," she said. "Is Kyle Petty out there?"

"Nope," a waiting patron replied, turning to his left to the man standing two feet away. "He's right here."

Shelia's jaw dropped. She screamed, shook Petty's hand and had her picture made with the head of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride. Afterward, she went back to ringing up customers with a smile. Petty went on his way, too, back outside to pump gas for the scores of motorcycles on the ride.

Day 1 of the ride began in Stevenson, Wash., with Mayor Dave McKenzie's Dream Team of riders donating a $1,000 check to Victory Junction Gang Camp. "I think it's a great opportunity to showcase our part of the world," McKenzie said of hosting the rides kickoff. "There's a reason why us locals live here. It's just a beautiful place."

The day ended in Richland, Wash., where six groups were honored for their fundraising toward the camp. One was an elementary school girl who held garage sales and asked friends for donations. Another was a local hot dog vendor who raised what he thought to be an estimated $500 with a bucket and a loud voice; dollars kept falling into his bucket all the way up until he presented the wad of cash to Petty.

In between was a ride through the depths of the Columbia River Gorge, all the way to the peaks of Mount St. Helens (elevation 8,365 feet) and the snow caps of Mount Rainier (elevation 14,411 feet). There were elk feeding on the side of the road as the group rumbled by, and a stroll through Yakima County, known for proclaimed Bigfoot sightings.

But it was here, in tiny Morton, Wash., where Shelia met her motorcycle-riding hero -- she prefers cycles over NASCAR. Folks in Morton were waiting for the ride to arrive, even if it was an hour before the scheduled time. Men and women came and talked with riders, kids waited in line to get Petty's autograph and then circled Herschel Walker as he patiently chatted with each future footballer.

Kevin Kane Photography

The gorgeous Columbia River Gorge is the backdrop through Washington State.

"It's going to make all the newspapers and everything," said Harrison Christian, owner of the Gas Plus Chevron where the ride made its first fuel stop. "This is a logging town with three different mills. And of course with the economy, things are very slow right now. Even being a small town to get this much excitement is happy for everybody. I've heard people talking about it for a couple weeks with anticipation and excitement."

Christian knows. A retired logger, he began his own business in Morton 20 years ago and now operates the towns two gas stations, a pair of motels, a Subway and a local coffee shop.

"This is being part of the American dream," he said. "I started out one of the poorest kids in town and this is what can happen when you work hard."

But Christian's small-town ties haven't kept him inside the city limits. Last year, he and his wife joined a friend for a motorcycle ride around the world.

"I've been in 86 different countries," Christian said. "I've shipped my bike around Cape Town and Africa and all around the world. This time we shipped to Tokyo and went all through the islands, took a ferry over to China and through inner Mongolia, Siberia, across Russia to the Ukraine across the Black Sea. Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria.

"Because I was raised during the Cold War, I enjoyed Russia really well for a couple of different reasons. One, I never thought I could go there. It was scary because of Siberia and all that. Being a retired logger, I just loved riding across Siberia. We were treated with so much respect and everything; I would encourage anyone to go there."

But on this day, he was glad a ride across the United States made a stop at his filling station.

"We have the only two gas stations in this town so maybe it worked out mileage-wise," he said. "But we sure appreciate having you here, more for your friendship than your business." (Continued)