Coulee City - Seattle (5 days) 175 miles

This is my final post for this trip, as we arrived in Seattle the day before yesterday, July 14th, and I am now sitting in a Starbuck's in Lake City doing this since I can't hook up to our Wi-Fi at home. I need a code, and of course Bill doesn't know what it is! :)

I'll try to summarize the last section from Coulee City without getting too wordy. We rode 2 1/2 miles through Coulee City, across the dam forming Banks Lake, and started our climb our of Grand Coulee. It was a 4 1/2 mile grunt to the top, but we rode the whole way and gave ourselves a high five when we finished. (We have to celebrate small victories). We then had a releatively easy 15 miles or so to Moses Coulee. It was really cool riding down into thic coulee. The sides are quite steep with rough basalt cliffs on either side and a flat bottom with grass and sagebrush. The climb up was a mile shorter than Grand Coulee, but a little steeper, and by now it was getting hot, so I walked abou a half mile total two differentt times, but Bill rode the whole thing, as usual. He's an animal!! :) We were happy to see Waterville, a nice little town about ten miles from the Columbia River where we stayed in the only place in town to stay - the Historic Waterille Hotel. It's a restored old hotel tha's on the National Register of Historic Places.

The next morning was beautiful with no wind, and we rode out of Waterville feeling good and excited to be getting close to home. We almost immediately had to climb a steep hill, rode a few miles, and then started our 6% grade descent for 6 miles to Highway 97 along the east side of the Columbia River. That was pretty awesome. Twelve miles and a stop for apricots and Rainier cherries later,we were crossing the Columbia into Wenatchee. About ten miles after that and a stop for lunch, we arrived in the town of Cashmere, where we met my sister Audrey and her grandaughter Emily, who had driven over from Seattle to relieve us of some of our baggage so our climb over Stevens Pass would be a little easier.After a short trip to the Aplet and Cotlet factory we loaded our bags into Audrey's car and they left for Seattle. We stayed in Cashmere for the night. They have a good Mexican restaurant, we discovered.

From Cashmere we rode along the Wenatchee river through the Tumwater Canyon to basically an intersection of highway 2 with another highway going up to Lake Wenatchee called Coles Corner. This is at the base of Stevens Pass, and we stayed there in a cabin so we could start fresh the next morning going over he pass. A road crew was cleaning up a large landslide in the canyon that had occured the day before, so there was alternating one way traffic. This made it nice quiet riding for us for long periods of time while the westbound traffic was waiting for their turn to proceed!

We managed to ride all the way up the pass (well Bill did again, I walked for about a half mile again!). 20 miles worth of climbing with occaisonal short decsents. We got sprnkled on a few times, as there was unsettled weather over the mountains. The ride down the other side was fast and cold! We rode 16 miles in about 45 minutes without having to pedal, and when we finally had to pedal a little our legs were so cold and stiff we could hardly move them! Our overnight stay was in the town of Skykomish in a little hotel that had the flavor of a hostel. Barebones, shared bathroom, but nice.

Thursday morning we ate breakfast in the Deli along the highway and continued west - in the rain. The rain stopped shortly but began again in earnest about 6 miles east of Gold Bar. We pulled into a popular drive-in restaurant 3 miles later - soaking wet and a little chilled. After spending about an hour there eating, trying to dry out and waiting for the rain to stop, we decided to go on, rain or not. However, we got to our bikes and quickly changed our minds. It was cold and wet, we were chilly and damp, and we decided it wasn't worth trying to ride all the way to our house in those conditions. So we called our son Kevin who wasn't working that day, and four hours later he and our granddaughter Lily picked us up in Monroe- about 25 miles or so from our house. While we were waiting for them the rain stopped, so we were able to ride there.Again - a little disappointed that we couldn't ride up to our doorstep, but happy to be home relatively dry and warm!

We haven' t totalled up the miles yet, but the total trip was about 3500 miles, and we cycled a little less than 2000 miles of that.  It was a great trip. Fun, challenging, interesting, and not without its down times, but no trip like this is. We're glad we did it, but wouldn't want to do it again! I could say a lot more about impressions,( the obesity epidemic is real),
 some statistics (like the number of riding lawnmowers and pickup trucks we saw), but this is long enough,and I think I better give up my table at Starbucks!

Done riding!

It's over!!

Carol & Bill



Davenport,WA - Coulee City, WA (2 days) 62 miles

Well it did cool off yesterday - the temps went from the 80's to the 60's, so it was comfortable riding in that respect, but we had to battle the wind again for the last 10 miles of 29 from Davenport to Wilbur. Stopped at a rest stop and talked to a couple men from Kenmore and Bothell respectively, who were cycling from there to Glacier Nat'l Park. They couldn't believe we were cycling east to west fighting the wind on loaded bikes. They had lightweight road bikes with four water bottles, and a few pounds of other stuff. That was it. The rest of their stuff they had mailed to each motel they were staying in along the way. There weren't too many however, as they were averaging 17 mph and going as far as 100 plus miles a day sometimes.The older of the two guys who looked like he was eighty, was so skinny he looked like a stick figure on his bike as they left the rest stop. It was really funny - I'm not exaggerating! Stopped in a cute little place in the town of Creston for some food called the Corner Cafe.

Today we rode 33 miles to Coulee City, and are staying in the only motel in town named A La Cozy Motel. With a name like that, I was afraid of what we would be in for, but it is quite nice, actually. The woman who owns it with her husvband, is a Yooper. A Yooper is a person living in or originating from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. By the way, a guy we were talking to at our motel in Sandpoint asked me if I stopped to see any relatives in Wisconsin, without knowing I was from there. He could tell by my "accent". I've never had that happen before! It was very nice cycling today. Still not too hot and no wind. The area between Wilbur and here is quite pretty actually. The wheat fields are beautiful. AND we caught our first glimpse of the Cascades! What we saw was probably Libery Bell Mt. in the NOrth Cascades.

Up and out of here early tomorrow to climb out of the Grand Coulee while it is still cool, and on to Waterville.

Riding on....

The office and fuure restaurant at our motel in Davenport

Bill's new hairstyle

Carol & Bill

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A birdhouse at the motel





Newport, WA - Davenport, WA ( 2 days) 87 miles

We left Newport a few minutes before 6 a.m., planning to eat breakfast at a restaurant a few miles away that our motel host told us about. However, when we got there it was closed, and a nearby Subway didn't open until 7, but fortunatelya an espresso place was in the vicinity, so we had a scone and I had coffee with it. Not much to go on when you're burning in the neighborhood of  200-300 calories an hour, so after about 14 miles and one long hill climb we got to a convenience store and feasted on yogurt, a banana, and some baked potato chips. Shortly after that we had a glorious downhill run of about 6 miles. A bit after that we were passed by and briefly talked to a young girl from Utah on a tour by herself. She had been to the Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier Park, and now was on her way to Seattle, an then San Francisco. She seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. After our char, she took off, and within five minutes she was about 1/2 mile ahead of us and the gap was quickly widening - in spite of the fact that we were going between 12 and 18 miles per hour at the time!  Ah youth!

By the time we were in the outskirts of Spokane, it was getting very hot. One electronic sign said 93 degrees, and another said 84 degrees, Either way, it was too hot to be on the road on a bike! However we had to deep chugging along. Stopped at a place to get into some air conditioning, and get a cold drink. Then Bill walked over to a bike shop to get some advice on the best way to get out of Spokane the next day. After that we proceeded down a very busy road, took a detour through residential neihborhoods to escape the traffic, until we got to a Verizon Wirelss store where Bill ended up buying a new cell phone because he battery was about shot on his old one, and of course you can't get a new battery, you have to get a new cell phone. And then of course he also had to buy a new charger, but the saleswoman said that they have finally started making the chargers universal so from now on he won't have to buy any more chargers if he gets new phones. It's about time, don't you think?  The sales people were then kind enough to help us find a nearby motel, which happened to be 1/2 mile up the road, so we were relieved to finally get off the road and our bikes into an air conditioned room and a shower! We had gone 46 miles - more than we have cycled in one day for some time.

Today we also left quite early to beat the heat. A very long hill climb out of the Spokane River Valley slowed us up quite a bit, and it waa already starting to get warm as we neared the top. From then on it was level or up and down, but it seemed mostly up! They were generally long gentle ups however. Stopped in Reardon for lunch, and then completed our 41 mile day with a 13 mile hot and windy ride to Davenport. Going across eastern Washington is going to be more about survival than enjoyment! We'll be very happy to see those Cascade Mountains! Our motel here in Davenport has an interesting building next door that houses the motel office, and an ice cream shop. Needless to say, we had some ice cream when we got here. I took a couple pictures I'll post tomorrow.

Tomorrow it's supposed to cool off to the 70's, and we have only a 28 mile day, so that's something to look forward to. :)

Riding on.......
Carol & Bill

Sandpoint, ID - Newport, WA 29 miles

Another short day today. Climbed a few more hills today than we have in several days, but they weren't bad. Pretty scenery again. It got hot by aout 12.30 this afternoon, so fortunately we arrived in Newport at about 1:15, soon after crossing the border into WASHINGTON!!!!!  YEAH!!  Tomorrow will be even hotter, so we are going to leave earlier as we have a 45 mile day.

We figure if everything goes well, we'll be home around the 14th of July. We're getting excited about getting home. This trip has been fun and challenging, but we're not sorry to see the end. It's coming just about at the right time.

Riding on......
Carol & Bill

Noxon, MT - Sandpoint, ID (2 days) 52 miles

We're getting down to some pretty low daily mileages. Partly because of the spacing between towns, and we weren't sure what the level of difficulty was and if we'd run into any construction, etc. Now in hindsight we know we could have gone further, but it's really not a big deal. As I said, we got to take an afternoon nap, and relax a little in the afternoons, as well as have time to do laundry, write blogs, see any local attractions, etc. and still get to bed early. I find I need at least nine hours of sleep while we're biking. Bill seems to need more sleep too, but he sleeps a lot anyway, so I don't notice the difference. :)

We've been leaving between 7 and 8 a.m. to beat the heat the last four or five days. It's definitely warming up, but the early mornings are frigid! Like 50 degrees, and when we're in the shade and going downhill, the wind chill factor feels close to freezing! This morning the people in Clark Fork, (pop. 500+) were already getting ready for their 4th of July parade, which was starting at 9 a.m. We were told by one guy that we shouldn't be passing through today, we should stay for the all-day party starting with the parade. Alas, however, we left and rode to Sandpoint, where we are tonight. We missed their parade too, which started at 10. Had a great ride today. I felt more energy today than I have for a long time. Tonight Bill and I went to a nice restaurant, and had some really good food, with wine and the works! We were really looking forward to this all day,as we have had our fill and then some of fried foods, canned veggies, iceburg lettuce salad, and the usual menu items one gets at the little towns in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, etc. At first we didn't care because it was food, and we needed to EAT! We still need to eat, but we have our limits. :)

Since we have to go to bed so early, we decided to pass up the fireworks show here in Sandpoint. Instead, we just finished watching the fireworks from Washingon D.C. on TV, which was just spectacular. We could really identify with some of  t he words from God Bless America, and Battle Hymn of the Republic, both of which were sung during the fireworks, after having just biked across most of the country. We saw the D.C. fireworks in person 11 years ago, and are so glad we had the opportunity to have that experience.

Tomorrow we enter Washington!

Riding on,........
Carol & Bill

Plains, MT - Noxon, MT (2 days) 60 miles



There's a house on that point in Flathead Lake



Speeding down highway 200 from Thompson Falls to Noxon :)




We had two glorious days of biking along the Flathead and the Clark Fork Rivers. Wonderful weather. Today we had mostly a gentle downgrade with a couple sharp ups and downs that made for easy biking. The mountains are smaller now so the scenery is not quite as spectacular, but still pretty.Thompson Falls, where we stayed last night is a fairly large town in a pretty setting. We wheeled into town at about noon and had lunch at a cute little place with a deck out front, so we ate outside and enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather. Had a conversation with a couple hat were travelingby motorcycle, but he said he's like to try a bicycle trip some day. Did some laundry, took a nap, and went to a little jailhouse museum. These short days of biking give us most of the afternoon to relax, and hang out, which is kind of nice. Today we biked 35 miles, but it didn't seem that far because it was such an easy ride. Noxon, which is where we are tonight, is a forgettable place.

Tomorrow we leave Montana and enter Idaho! In three days we'll be in Washington!

Riding on......
Carol & Bill

Polson, Montana - Plains, Montana (2 days) 61 miles

The woman in the office at the motel we stayed at in Polson told us about another rail trail we could take. It started about a mile from our motel and went 13 miles to a town called Ronan. A very nice paved trail and the scenery continues to get even more spectacular. We got so close to the Mission Range between Ronan and St. Ignatius, where we stayed last night, that we could almost reach out and touch them. Stopped at another nice little bakery and cafe in Ronan for more breakfast, since we had only had cereal and orange juice at the motel. From there it was back on the road again (no more rail trail) for a straight, level shot to St.Ignatious, about 15 miles. There we had a reservation at one of the two motels in town. At first sight, it appeared to be an unimpressive old, and I assumed run-down motel. Well, it WAS unimpressive from the outside, and it was old, but the owners had bought it five years ago and had the rooms totally redone. They said it had been "trashed", and was a mess. Judging from our room, they did a great job. Very nice and homey, and of course everything was new and clean. Unfortunately, they said business has been slow so far his year, although rhey were booked up for 4th of July weekend. The little town itself wasn't bad either. They had quite a large grocery store, hardware store, and "Malt Shop". Of course we had to go to the malt shop and have a malt. A young woman we had met in the grocery store joined us for a malt. She was riding solo from St. Mary (where we had camped with Margit) to Hamilton, which is about 40 miles or so south of Missoula.

This morning we loaded our bicycles and bags in our motel host's pickup truck, and he drove us 10 miles over a big hill and a little more, to help us make it here to Plains. We found out however, that a confusing mileage marker on our map made it appear that the ride to Plains was seven miles longer than it was, so we possibly didn't need the ride, but I'm glad we got it anyway, because I got pretty tired today. I can't figure my body out. I sometimes get more tired on relatively short and/or easy days than on longer or more difficult ones beccause of hills or wind. Strange. We had another beautiful ride through the mountains and along the Flathead, and then the Clark Fork river. They are both running very high - two to three times their normal flow rate for this time of year. Some of the trees and bushes that are normally away from the banks a bit are now standing in the water, and in some cases way out in the river!

Our motel tonight is another old one that has been fixed up very cute by the owners. These kind of motels in the east were usually marginal and definitely forgettable. Not so here in Montana! We have three more days and nights in Montana and then on the 4th of July we'll be in Sandpoint, Idaho. That should be a good plaee to spend the 4th.

Tomorrow we will be in Thompson Falls.

Riding on.......
Carol & Bill

On the rail trail from Polson to Ronan