Everyone was up by about 6:00am. It was time for breakfast, make our lunches, clean up and pack up. . . soon we were on the road.

We got on the trail out of town and there was some great art!!!

The trail ran right along a marina. LOTS of big yachts and some new new fishing boats.

. . . and the price includes the trailer!!!

The trail is actually named the Tommy Thompson Trail. Didn’t know our ex three term governor Tommy G Thompson had such an influence this far west.

Allen rides along the bay as we leave town and as you can see . . . Tides Out!!!

Soon I met the Anacortes 7th Grade Biking Team out for a  ride with their teacher. Nice way to start the day!!!

Along the trail there was also an ‘art project’ that encouraged you to add something of your own. I had nothing to to get rid of having just started the tour!

We had to cross the bridge over the bay . . . a high bridge, but we had a special lane . . .

. . . that afforded great views of the area we were leaving behind. Next ocean . . . the Atlantic!!!

First cultivated crops we have seen . . .

. . . but it’s not the only thing they are growing in Washington State.

Right down the road there was another one!!!

I spent about 5 minutes talking to these guys. They came over from all corner of their field to say HI!  VERY curious critters!!

Once again, on the road I am finding the Baptists have the best messages on  signboards outside of their churches.

A truck stopped in front of me and there was Gaylen. He was wondering why he hadn’t seen many riders go by his house the last several years riding the Northern Tier. Ends up the route had been changed. He offer to have me stop by for lunch . . . but David and I had just eaten our sandwiches.

Here is one for Diana. It may not be the movable Martha Stewart type chicken coop but this one is certainly functional. I’m getting the plans for you!!!

. . . and here is one for emJay. Just missed the concert by one day!!!

This was quite the back exit to a Drive In I rode by. They basically sliced the side of a trailer and made a fence out of it.

We were climbing into the Northern Cascades today as we left the farmland behind and climbed into another agricultural operation – growing timber. Here was a clearcut going on across the valley and I could  hear the operation as they hauled out the cut logs.

Another fun message . . .

. . . was soon followed by this shocking site. Hadn’t even ridden 40 miles yet and already saw my first roadside memorial. Sad.

We had a change of campgrounds today because the one we had reservation at had changed ownership and then closed down. THAT is one of the reasons it is so great to tour with Adventure Cycling. They handle all the logistics. When weeks ago Allison call to verify the reservation and found it had closed . . . she just booked another at at this KOA.  The directions to get there  were sort of goofy. I was the first one to arrive and hung the safety triangle to signal this was the way.

I discussed how we have to eat out of convenience  stores several times on theTransAm and I had eaten more Vienna Wieners than I needed in a lifetime . . .

. . . so of course Wade bought me a can of Vienna Wieners . . .

YUMMMMM . . .

Lynn and Kirby were the ‘Rangers’ on deck today and welcomed us with open arms. The rest of the afternoon the others continued to arrive until we had our whole gang.  Showers, swimming, hot tubbing and miniature golf were all available at the KOA. AND wifi.

We start some serious climbing over the Cascades tomorrow and will be camping tomorrow night at a primitive Forest Service campground. We will haul our food for the last 19 miles due to no services at our campground on Diablo Lake!!

Morning  came early at the KOA and people were standing in line for chow at 6:30am!!!

There is always quite a selection of food for breakfast and lunches. Something for everyone!!

High security at the KOA. You need a ticket to get in through the security gate. If you try to go IN the OUT gate . . . time for new tires!!!

We rode the remaining 5 miles to Concrete, where we were suppose to have stayed last night except for the closed campground. Quite a welcome into town and seems very appropriate.

We got on a county road the North Cascades Highway and rode it for about 20 miles. Low traffic and great surface. This tree farmer and Stewardship program member evidently only takes visitors by invitation!!!

David had found a current Washington tagged license plate and eventually turned into the police, who demanded to see his passport, insuring he was not a revolutionary from the motherland. The plate was probably stolen. BUT . . . here was a unique use of several plates

Great riding and great scenery . . .

. . . lots of flowers blooming in the ditches and people gardens already, including these foxgolves . . .

Nice!

First road kill of the trip . . . I’ll be keeping track of them!

Half of us grouped up in an opening along the side of the road near an abandon table. It was missing two legs and David propped it up with two sticks so it was usable.

, , ,we were enjoying our break when Darla drove up in her van, left it parked in the middle of the road and turned on her four way flashers . . .

. . . she is a bus driver and picks up her first kindergartener at 6:10am, on this road, and had noticed the table. She thought it looked salvageable and came back in the afternoon to get it.

David and Mike helped her get it into her van . . .

it fit like a glove!

 

Here she is striking a glamour pose for David, our table procurer.

Mark and his trailer rig . . .

Soon we ended up in Marblemount,  where we had been guaranteed was the best shopping in a 50 mile radius!

. . . Marblemount it is right on US Bicycle route 10 and you can see at least one of the restaurants caters to bicyclists.

They did have a good supply of food including SOOOOOOOOOO . . . many type of Vienna Sausages!!

This is a GREAT idea. Instead of using plastic bottles how about a cardboard carton? Have not seen this in the MSN area.

Jim and Allen are on deck for cooking tonight . . . I wonder if it involves peanut butter????

Our daily food allowance is $240. It covers dinner at night, and breakfast and lunch the next day. Usually we have no idea what the total will be so have the cashier subtotal the amount, at several intervals during the check out, making sure we don’t go over budget.

We need to haul the food 19 miles to Colonial Creek Campground, our home for the night, so we divided into 14 bags. The first 8 of us were able to haul it all so when the remaining 6 got into town . . . they were home free!!!

Great viewing as we pedal along . . . water flowing everywhere!

Stay on high ground! The series of dams we would be biking by supply 20% of the electricity for Seattle. Quite a watershed!!

We also had to bike through two tunnels today. One of them was long enough to have a light flashing system to warn drivers of bikers in the tunnel. A wide load went through the same time Mike N. was going through and combination of the closeness of the vehicle, road surface and water caused him to fall over into the traffic land after the truck had passed. Luckily there was no traffic behind the truck.

We stopped along the way to view the first of several dams we would pass. With any kind of viewing area, good restaurant or point of interest you are bound to see some of our lineup.

Nice view down the gorge.

. . . one of the THOUSANDS of little streams that feed the watershed that turn the turbines . . .

We were HIGH above the gorge when we pedaled by this sign. The blue sign says, ‘This area ABOVE flooding’!!!

. . . another one churning away producing those kilowatts.

This one is for Ron . . . well preserved!

Great local art in the sculpture garden built by the Seattle City Lights utility.

We met Margie who had biked up from Marblemount. Originally form Seattle, they now have a condo there and live the rest of the year in  Marblemount. She was excited because the community was having a meeting tonight to discuss the sighting of two wolves in the area. Some want to preserve them and build a pack . . . other already want to shoot them. Sounds like WI!

Soon we entered the Cascades National Park. Great vistas as we pedaled along. We are in the mountains now!!!

We reached Colonial Creek Campground, out home for the night and sort of filled the group site. Better hope your neighbor doesn’t snore . . .I have ear plugs!!!

The normal routine seems to be to buy about 4 pounds of some sort of meat (or god forbid, meat product) to go into our meal. Allison is a vegetarian so we make the dish, she scoops out what she wants and in goes the meat. Déjà vu all over again . . . just like with Caitlin on the Trans Am. Tonight it was Andouille sausage . . .

. . . that went into a quinoa, tomato, onion, garlic red pepper stew. YUUM!!!! there was none left.

Jim has a unique bag that fills up his air bed . . . movie of the whole operation on the way!!!

We are in bear country and there have been several sightings so everything that has ANY scent to it must go in the bear box, Toothpaste, deodorant, FOOD, toothpaste . . .goes in the box!!!! Good night!

Today would probably be one of the biggest days of the trip as far as climbing. Straight up to Rainy Pass, drop some, and up over Washington Pass!!

The weather forecast was not good . . .1/2-1 inch of rain and temps in the 40’s. Over 5,000 feet of climbing over 30 uphill miles followed by  a BIGGGGGGGGGG downhill.

Calm, cloudy skies when we started . . .

. . . at the first stop above Diablo Lake one could look up and see snow in every direction.

. . . we were still in the ‘flower zone’ though and things were in full bloom

. . . and a nice shoulder and sign to warn those going over the pass we were out there.

This was reassuring the gates were open. The road was Open and NO slides reported!

However . . . look out for the winds!!

, , , again water flowing everywhere!!!! Must have been a good snow year.

Nice views, the higher we climbed.

. . . with a waterfall around every corner.

Up . . . up

, , , and more and more snow.

We reached the snowline at about 4,000 feet.

after 25 miles of grinding up  . . . we reached Rainy Pass where appropriately,  it started to rain. And the temp had dropped from 51 to the low 40’s!!!

. . . you could see the snowline at the guardrails.

After five more miles up the mountain, Washington Pass appeared out of the clouds. It was raining quite nicely now and the temp was about 38 degrees.

Enough snow that the Visitor Center was still closed.

Look out for ice bergs!, The ride down was worse than going up. Riding up at 4 miles an hour was difficult but kept one warm. Dropping over the pass and immediately going down at 30+mph meant bone chilin temps. So on went the rain pants, rain coat and windproof gloves. Not enough though and it was a very cold descent, through rain and sleet, until I dropped about 2,000 feet and reached warmer temps.

There was still 15 miles left until Winthrop but at least it was flat. Looks like they have a few deer problems in the area.

Nice play on words.

It was a tough day for everyone and the last riders arrived about 7:30pm. Lots of stories to share. We are staying at a RV trailer park and rented a house on the grounds for showering and cooking . . . and it’s a lay over day. Yippee! (most were sleeping by 8:30pm!!!!)

After the big day yesterday most breakfast at 8:00am. Here was our camp for those who preferred sleeping out in the bush . . .

folks slept in . . . me until 5:15am, but some didn’t get up until 10:00am!!!  We pushed our trail routine back some and since we had a full kitchen at our disposal, coffee was at 7:00am and

. . . located n the backyard of the house we rented.

But we were in RV land with a jamboree of Class A motorhomes parked right next to us. No problems with noise there. They all looked older than us and were in bed by 8:00pm!!!

Chateau ACA . . .

. . .  Karen, a ‘million dollar view’ out the picture window.

Rod and Mark had cooking duties last night, this morning and for lunch. We didn’t eat until 8:00pm last night so it was rotisserie chickens (they bought all the chicken the store had) salads, bread and ice cream with chocolate sauce and bananas. YUM!!!

In the morning David and Doc Mike went downtown for breakfast but . . .

. . . Rod and Mark made breakfast to order for the rest of us!!!

Wade jumped in too to help with the scrambled eggs . . .

good coordination . . .

. . . produced a breakfast fit for a king!!! Over easy eggs, toast, pork sausages and hashbrowns with homemade tarragon cream Sauce . . .NICE!!!

 

After a big breakfast it was time to discuss the days activities. We were all given our lunch money of $5USD and would explore downtown, do laundry, fix bikes EAT, and maybe drink some too!!

I met Glenn the owner of our RV park. Great guy with a great sense of humor. He was just heading to the dump with about a WEEKS WORTH OF GARBAGE!!! He has ridden cross country 4 times and is anxious to do it again with his 13 year old son. His son has read all his journals and is always asking to go on a tour with Glenn. What a great father son bonding experience that would be. Memoires only the two of them would share for  the rest of their lives.

Once breakfast was over the kitchen crew cleaned up and everyone scattered for the day!

Denise, David and I did laundry together and while I was typing away, David delivered my laundry washed, dried and folded. What a gentleman!!!!

Eventually most of us walked downtown for lunch and some looking around.  Quite the little tourist town.

The four blocks of main street have authentic looking western store fronts that were all paid for by a woman whose family owned a local sawmill. Also shown here are two riders Wade met Hank and Andy. They are heading west to east too and look like they will be a day ahead of us . . . for the time being.

Guys are guys, wherever you go. her was a bunch from a vintage motorcycle club standing around looking at their bikes and talking about them!!!

Snaren, here  is one for you. When you are Winthrop . . . check it out!!!!

No not the Brooklyn Bridge but but the main thoroughfare for pedestrians to get from one side of the town to the other . . . nice!!

. . . of course you can also go by horseback.

One of the main draws in town is the Shafer museum. Interesting hunks of iron. Fun to guess what they were used for BEFORE you read the explanations.

Anne and Hugh made a yummy dinner tonight of marinated grilled flank steak and salmon . . .with all the fixin’s.

Grilled to perfection and slice on the bias . . .

. . .with salad, grill brussel sprouts, green beans, rice and beans,  chips salsa and homemade guacamole. Oh yeah, and three kinds of pie with ice cream!!!

Going to be hard to go back to one pot meals after this layover.

After a day off it was time to hit the road again. What a beautiful morning. Sunny sky, no wind and 75 degrees!

We biked 30 miles through this pristine area . . . really NICE!

. . . and we had this surprise floating along us for about five miles . . .

. . . when it landed in a field right next to us!!!

This looked like a recent slide to me.

Every time you bike by a VFW or American Legion they seem to have some type of armament outside or in front. From a tank to a missile like this.Not sure how the process goes on what they get but I am sure there are politics involved. Twisp must not have much pull in the political arena . . .  no tank!

Gee . . . I  wonder what this landowner does for a living?

Five of us stopped in Brewster for out lunch and sat along the Columbia River n their city park. great sculpture!

Great ride out of town on along the river.

The apple and fruit industry dominate the economy in this area. We biked by every type of orchard one could imagine today. And once again in the west . . .water is king .EVERYTHING has drip irrigation.

Most of the workers we saw in the warehouses and fields were Hispanic. This is where some of them are housed  . . . right out in the orchards. Not a long drive to work!!!

One of our many stops along the way. Whenever anyone feels like having a snack . . . the whole pack stops!!!

. . . but away we go again.

Until the next stop maybe . . .10 miles down the road. Time for another sandwich in the shaded!

Smoochie, this one is for you. Happy Birthday on June 19th . . . I love you X

Couldn’t figure this out, looked like some type of weird fish weir.

The local smoke jumper base had their own airstrip,

Four of us had lunch in Paterous along  the Columbia River . . .  a PERFECT riding day.

Example of a new vineyard/fruit plantation being installed with the latest in drip irrigation.

Came upon Rod who had made a little comfort stop. Nice of Adventure Cycling to have these rented for us and strategically place along the way!!

Don’t need to go to the Tar Sands in Alberta to see dinosaur bones . . .they have them right here in Washington!

The apples you see in the store next week may be coming out of storage at this facility. You can see the crates and truck is FULL!

I came along a ranch where the chickens in the fenced enclosure were going wild . . why, Wile E, Coyote was trying to make a visit in broad daylight. See red circle. I barely had time to get my camera out!

You know . . . they always say there is room for improvement. The people of Malott take it very seriously!!!

Tonight we are staying in Okanagan’s American Legion Park. Nice place and they have wifi!!!

David and Doc Mike are our chefs tonight . . . a few appetizers . .

followed by pasta Bolognese . . .

. . .  very tasty. Doc Mike got the pasta perfect!!!

Big day tomorrow . . . another 75 mile day and we climb Wakanda Pass!

Everyone slept well last night in the American Legion Park but were up early and were leaving by 7:30am. BIG climb today and 73 miles too!

We rode down to Omak which is a village and Indian Reservation located along the river . . . here was one of their housing developments . . .

. . . very tidy!!!

. . .and there was some GREAT sculpture. Not just wooden cutouts but three dimensional metal works of art. REALLY nice!

. . . quote a vision this artist had.

. . .something for the kids too.

The tribe doesn’t provided all the amenities like ACA does, and like Rod used yesterday but they make an attempt for those who have a ‘road side emergency’. This would qualify for TommyH’s ‘emergency roadside repair kit”!!!

Now the Indians REALLY know how to close down a road. You are not going to get through that blockage!

Great westerns store we rode by at 8:30am. Too bad they did not open until 10:00am.

I’d really like to live on this street.

As we climbed into the mountains on our 4,000 foot climb we passed this place. Looked like a Catholic facility. Not sure if it was for fathers of family’s or priests.

We started and 7:30am this morning and a group of us got to the Waucoda USPS about 2:00pm. One more three mile climb to the pass and then a 11 mile downhill into Republic. YIPPEE!!!!!

One more stop at the actual pass for a photo op.

As I rolled into Republic I saw this view which I think is our exit from Republic tomorrow. Up over Sherman Pass out highest pass in three days. Going to be a tough climb!!!

Also  on the way into town was Dan’s ‘House of Interest’ Not sure what it was all about because Dan was no where to be found!

Tonight we are staying at the Fossil Museum, using the bathrooms in the city parka across the street and using the one shower available in the laundermat down the street. Sort of a hodgepodge tonight.

Some of the gang are sleeping in this human size foose ball court. Good thing we will be gone by 8:00am Monday morning or they become part of the game! Tight quarters.

Plenty of room to dry laundry, though!

The laundermat was something to behold. Here was the one shower that was $2.00 for 4 minutes . . .

. . . and of course no animals allowed in the shower!!!!

Since we had riders get in so late, again tonight, we all went out to eat. Sally our waitress had an amazing smile, memory and energy level!! Will be no problem sleeping tonight after our second big climb.

Today would be all about the climb. The third big one in five days and this one the tallest. Sherman Pass at 5,575 feet. The climbing STRAIGHT UP . . .

. . . gave one plenty of time to look around. Here was a table laying in the ditch that our friend Darla from Marblemount would have loved to have. It even had four legs!.

Oh boy up we go!

Sad to see this fawn lying in the road . . . not much road kill here in WA. Beautiful animal.

After three hours it was finally time to summit. The truck in the photo is typical of the log haulers we have been dealing with for the past week. They give you ZERO room on the road and would just as soon we were not riding. Today David was blown into the ditch by one today and crashed!!!

This is what it looks like as you approach the top of a pass.. YIPPEE Finally a 25 mile downhill. The longest I have ever ridden. NO PEDALING . .  .just controlling the speed.

There was a GREAT USFS Civilian Conservation Corps display on the way down . . .

. . .  with lots of great exhibits.

We finally made it to Kettle Falls after a very long day. Camping in the Great View campground . . .

The week of climbing has taken its toll. One of our riders has rented a van and is traveling ahead to Sandpoint and will meet us there. Another is having problems with his Achilles tendons because of all the climbing.  Everyone’s REAR END is sore!!!

Jill, out campground host stopped by to make sure we had everything we needed in the way of creature comforts during our stay.

Busy cutting up 4 pounds of stew meat!

Mike N and I had cooking duty today and used a beef stew recipe out of the ACA  cookbook. Served with a salad, worm bread, and cake for dessert.

YUM . . .

. . . and more yum. There wasn’t much of anything left.

We are done with the Cascades and on the way to the Rockies!!!!

Today we are out of the mountains a bit but still have a couple thousand feet of climbing before a BIG 4 mile fast descent into our home for the night, Ione, WA. Beautiful scenery as we cycled along the back roads heading towards Colville.

Mike, D and Anne round the curve in front of me. The sun coming up, no wind, great scenery and no traffic . . . perfect riding conditions.

Somewhere out in this vicinity (red circle) was Sherman Pass that we came over yesterday. At 5,557 feet it is the highest point we have been over so far.

As we approach Colville it looked like they were having a ‘Fire Sale’ on white goods. Slight used though . . . however we could use a cooler!

Bernie and Corvin are cooking tonight and when we passed through Coleville  I saw Bernie pull into the Gallo Meat store and  . . . maybe by half a hog??? The way we eat no problem  . . . and our nightly food budget is $240!!!!

Great scenery as we pedal through the countryside . . .

Mirror image . . . nice!

This may have been the way to go . . . but it was off route.

Impromptu sandwich break at 35 miles . . .

David, our British cyclist, showing his affection for the good old US of A . . .

. . . but also flying his own colors today!!

Time to head out again down thee road.

Down the hill . . . before we spent considerable time going back up and up.  Several 10 percent grades. Everyone agreed the route today was tougher than we thought it was going to be.

I feel like I am related to whomever lives on this road!!!!

With 12 miles more to go we arrived and the Beaver Lodge Resort and Trading Post where there were Gatorades and Starbuck Ice Cappuccinos all around!!!

. . . and finally one of the fastest down hills we have had. REALLY fun. Long straight away so you could really let it rip!!!

As we turned to Ione, there was this sign. I don’t have the big geographic image in my head yet I guess. I was surprised we were this close to Canada!!!

As we entered Ione I was also surprised to see a Wisconsin Ave sign!!! Small world. We  own  . . . Ione!!!!

We are staying at the Cedarview RV park and camping in the owners backyard. YES . . . Garden Party!!!!

David was one of the first in today and I got a good look at his tent. I finally realized it reminded me of a black trash can liner. VERY light but we’ll see how it handles the July and August sun!!!

But he found a VERY comfortable place to relax!!!!

Linda and her husband Dave were VERY accommodating even providing us with extra cooking utensils and the use of their personal deck for our prep station!!!!

Yummy chicken asparagus risotto dinner followed by smores for dessert!!!

 

We were sorry to leave Linda and Dave’s RV park this morning. They were both up early supply us with carafe after carafe of coffee. But soon we were on thee road. If you were not getting your coffee fix from Linda and Dave . . .this was the place to be in Ione!!! The sheriff was just leaving on his way to work and the USFS had just pulled in next. Ahhhh working . . . what a distance memory.!!!

Still rolling in Ione, WA!!!

We road across the bridge to the other side of the Orville River over an open expansion decked bridge. Sort of creepy looking down and seeing the water as you roll across . . .

. . .better to look downstream and the beautiful view that was awaiting us today. We would have a 52 mile ride down the River, and through the Kalispel Indian Reservation. We had heard they had a buffalo heard and were anxious to see it. We also heard the 8.5 mile of LeClerc Road that runs through their reservation is a famous ‘speed trap’. Shouldn’t be an issue for us.

But what about bicyclists!!!!

BEAUTIFFUL riding, no traffic, cool temps and great scenery. This is what bicycle touring is all about.

Soon I met Elaine who was out for a walk with her pup, Rags. I asked Elaine about the buffalo herd on the Kalispell Reservation but she had never heard of it. We’ll see!!!!

In the middle of nowhere was this Washington State version of Stonehedge. No sign or information . . . just out in the middle of a field!!!

Another unique mailbox. I guess the USPS must allow any kind of mailbox decoration as long as it is at the proper height. Wouldn’t work in our neighborhood!

Having been in the fire business I had to stop and check out the local fire station, where as most volunteer fire  departments, are looking for help.

Boy . . .to bad we missed tis community event. We would have made a dent in their food supply!

We entered the Kalispel Indian Reservations, checked our speed and were on the hunt for sighting the buffalo herd!

Soon we came upon the tribal headquarters building. Modern design  . . .

. . . and sure enough there were buffalo . . . a ‘herd of three’. We were expecting 50-60. Maybe the rest were scattered in the pasture. We would keep our eyes open as we biked on through the reservation.

We  came to the  Madreas Grotto and thought  it was a good time for a mini lunch stop.

David pulled out his iPad and checked out the grotto info online before he and Rod decided to climb up the bluff to see it. After 15 minutes of climbing the trail petered out and they never found it!

Seems like the garbage man had not been around to the grotto for a while . . . but no sign of bear activity.

Right next to our lunch spot was this little cave. We called it good and got back on the road . . .

FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) has a big dam spillway project on the Orville River and we rode by access points all day.

As we neared OldTown/Newport out home for the night the river widened. We had a slight headwind but it was VERY refreshing. Perfect end to a perfect biking day.

As we crossed over the bridge into Newport we passed through a small chunk of Idaho. Sort of a teaser. Tomorrow night we will be in Sandpoint, ID . . .

. . . but tonight we are staying in the Fire Science Building of the Newport High School Firefighter Academy. Evidently they start recruiting their volunteer/professional staff very early in life

Here is a shot from the loft of our home tonight .. .

. . . where Corvin may have found the most unique place to sleep!!!

Some are sleeping in the instructional room tonight and some are camping out on the athletic field. I will be camping next to the engine I am expected to respond with if they get a call . . .

. . . and as I work on today’s journal entry . . . I AM READY TO RESPOND!!!!

We had a great stay at the fire department training center . . . but it was soon time to pack up and move on to Sandpoint, ID. Allison, our tour guide, has spent MANY hours lining up our accommodations but when something better presents itself, she takes the bull by the horns. Here she was on her way to the school admiration office with some flowers for Christy, the administrator,  as a thank you for making room for us in Newport.

She pulled some more tricks out of her hat and tonight instead of staying at the County Fairgrounds in Sandpoint, which there was only a water spigot and porta potties, we are staying at the Sandpoint West Athletic Club and we will have the run of the place!!!

We were teased yesterday with our 1/2 excursion into the State of Idaho, but today we say goodbye to Washington and bicycle into Idaho and points east.

I guess gun ownership must be a big deal in ID since I came to this sign, pasted to a state DOT speed limit sign,  in the first quarter mile after entering ID . . .

. . . probably placed on the speed sign my the same group who posted this sign right across the road!!!

More Logging trucks in Idaho!!!! Hope they are more courteous to bikers than those in WA who seemed to thrive on seeing how close they can get to bicycles, especially when there is no shoulder. The locals even comment that the timber haulers think they own the road. Rumor is they call bicyclist ‘limesicles’ like popsicle but lime because of the safety lime green vest and jerseys we wear SO THEY CAN SEE US!!! Here is what is loaded on their trucks each morning . . .

. . .  and here is the final product!!!

Great riding today along the river as we head to Sandpoint. Blue sky again, no wind, low traffic  and only 40 miles. Lots of osprey along the way. This platform was empty but a neighbor was sitting on the adjacent pole . . .

. . .for some reason in this section the utility did not want birds sitting, roosting or nesting. They placed plastics covers over the lines and on this pole had a plastic owl!!!

. . . but here was a happy family!

Good for Idaho, working to keep invasive species out of their waterways!

Time for an impromptu lunch stop at ‘The Crossing’ . . .  hopefully we will not drive down their property values during our short stay.

Not sure what Lucky the flying cow is all about but . . .

. . . here was another chicken for emJay!!!

After 35 miles we were entering the greater Sandpoint area. We exited  Hwy 95, which we had been on for 15 miles, and got on a GREAT bicycle path. It looked like it had been just sprayed, the weeds were all covered in tar . . .

. . . and sure enough four miles down the trail were Larry and Jim sprucing things up for us. I asked if the city fathers had heard the ACA Northern Tier was coming to town and wanted to put out the ‘black carpet’ for us. No . . .it was just time for normal maintenance.

. . . we have been out of the ‘news stream’ for several weeks now . . . wonder how the whole ‘Rebuilding America’ thing is going?????

The path turned into a full two lanes when we crossed the two mile bridge into Sandpoint, ID. . .

Hello Sandpoint . . . the end of our Map 1, a new state to explore AND a layover day!!!

The city got us off the main drag with this nice path along the river right into the downtown area! Big city for us . . .over 7,500 happy residents.

Not too far from the athletic club was this gun store . . . quite the prop. I assume that is what it is????

Thanks to Allison’s extra efforts, here is our home for the next two nights! Swimming pool, Jacuzzi, hydro massage and all the workout equipment.

Everyone must check in at the club with Leona, who has worked at the club for 26 years. As a shower present, for the delivery of her first son, she was given a free visit. She liked the place so much she asked for a job and has been here ever since!!!

The staff told me one of the women who was teaching a kids class spoke German. Soon her and Corvin were talking it up in German. Diana’s mother is German and her father American. After living in the US for 46 years they are retiring next year to the Motherland. Corvin seemed very happy to speak his native tongue for the first time in several weeks!!

Our camp. The club closes at 10:00pm but we will have a key to get into the bathrooms. AND they had REAL shower towels to rent for fifty cents!!!!

While I have been bicycling through the great State of Washington  enjoying the environment and scenic beauty that has been preserved by federal, state and NGO’s  . .

emJay has been in Washington, DC helping continue the cause!!!!