Bay View, WA to Flathead Lake, MT

Lake Pend Oreille, WA.

Swinging Bridge at Kootenai River Falls

Lucy at summit of Loup Loup Pass, WA

Lucy and Barb dipping back wheels in salty Pudget Sound water at launching of cross country trip Saturday, June 13, 2009.

Clarice, Lucy, Chuck, and Neil~out launching hosts in Woodenville, WA.

Lucy and Barb at Kootenia Falls

Below: Kootenia Falls

Our bicycles at Idaho border.

Above: Morning mist on Lake Gillette, WA.

Left: Brothers fishing in morning mist on Lake Gillette, WA.

It's Big Adventure Day 17, Monday June 29, 2009. This is my first blog update since computers are far and few between. We stopped at one library to update blogs, but the computers were so old that we killed them trying to get onto the Internet other than just to read e-mail.

We're well on our way across country having pedaled 681 miles through Washington, Idaho, and now into Montana. Today is a rest day with Barb's cousin's on Flathead Lake, Mt. We've climbed five summits (Washington Pass, Rainy Pass, Loup Loup Pass, Waconda Pass, and Sherman Pass) with one more to go (Marias in Glacier) then we'll be riding through flat Montana and N. Dakota.

The roads are good for the most part~drivers are courteous, giving us wide berth. The Adventure Cycling maps keep us on less traveled routes. But where we venture off those maps on our own, we tend to get into heavy traffic with narrow shoulders along the roads.

The scenery is stunning. The Cascades are rightly named with waterfalls gushing from every crevice of the rocks lining both sides of the highway. On the third day out while pedaling at 3.5 mph uphill between Rainy and Washington Passes, I came upon a big black rock along side the road in the distance. The closer I got, the stranger the rock looked to me~then the rock started "waddling." It was a Cinnamon Black Bear about the size of a Smart Car. A rush of healthy anxiety surged through my legs and luckily, a slight downhill in the road occurred just as I realized it was indeed a "BEAR." So I pedaled as far to the left side of the road as I could while passing, making very brief eye contact with the beautiful, shiny beast. I don't know who was more frightened, the bear or me, but I pedaled as fast as I could without looking back until I was well down the road. Hope that is my last bear encounter for this trip!

Being a desert dweller, the green, green scenery and gushing water, rivers, streams and lakes I pass every day are very impressive. Everyday the temperatures start about mid-forties and rise to mid-eighties. Most days we've had tailwinds from the west by afternoon. Two days in the Cascades we rode in rain so cut our riding short to find shelter and warm up. So far I used everything I packed for clothing at one time or another. Nothing to send home yet.

I stop to read all the historical markers along the way and have learned that this area of the northwest was formed by a great glacial lake that flooded this area a zillion years ago. Now some of the rivers such as the Pend Orielle flow north into Canada and back into the Columbia in the USA. The rivers here make the Virgin river look like a backyard irrigation ditch.

People we' have met along the way are impressed that two 64-year old women would undertake such an ambitious adventure~and at times, so am I. Some days I am so tired I can hardly put up my tent, feed myself and crawl into my sleeping bag. The goodness of people along the way is heart warming. In a campground in Newport, WA two RV'ing couples from BC invited us to spaghetti dinner just share traveling tales. Twice I've had slight mechanical problems with my bike and panniers. I've just stopped along the way when I spotted a "man with tools" for help. Both times they've been very obliging to get me back on the road.

Two nights ago I had a wild encounter with mosquitoes! We had cycled 73 miles (8 hrs on the bike) from Bull Lake to Happy's Inn on Hwy 202 in the middle of no where. We couldn't get a cabin at Happy's so I prevailed upon the owner to permit us to pitch our tents on her property along side the road. As we began unpacking our tents, we were attacked by "killer mosquitoes!" Knowing that this would happen sooner or later along this "high line" route, I pulled out my trusty DEET spray and gave myself a quick cocoon of poison. The mosquitoes kept their distance~aha~I was victorious, almost. I missed my butt. Right through my cycling shorts, they raised welts all over my hiney! I'm keeping the itch cream people in business for a few days :-) Karaoke from Happy's Bar lulled me to sleep.

At the "Kicking Horse Saloon" that evening I had the best 8 oz top sirloin steak I've eaten in years!~aged to perfection and grilled masterfully~juicy, tender, and flavorful Montana grown beef~only $11.00.

Another surprise for me while riding along all the lake shores is the sight of Osprey swooping and catching fish for their young. This is nesting season, so when we come upon a high post, snag or tree with a nest, the parents who mate for life and return to the same nest annually, put us a big screeching ruckus and flap around to shoo us along. I've also seen tree swallows, purple martins, herons, and lots of ducks, geese and little brown birds. Carrying my binoculars and bird book, though heavy, have been worth the price. White tailed deer with fawns are everywhere in the forests. All the gardens near homes and farms are fenced for protection from the wild life.

Day 18~Tuesday, June 30, 2009.  We've rested for two days at a lovely cabin on Flathead Lake, MT.  Today I mailed home about five lbs of stuff I really don't need.  Tomorrow we begin our odyssey again, heading for Glacier National Park.  I'm rested and eager to get back on the road!  There's nothing like just eating, sleeping and cycling everyday!