MexiCan Mounties - Chapter Four

Mexico-to-Canada[1]
Pedal Days
44
Miles
2,340
Feet Climbed
157,098
Shouters
2
Tandems
8

Day 1 - 6/6/15

Miles – 72 Total Miles – 72 Feet Climbed – 4,262 Total Feet Climbed – 4,262 Shouters – 0

 

Day1(5)[1]

And… it begins… the final chapter of the MexiCan Mounties… We flew into Portland yesterday and were retrieved from the airport by friend, Lindsey, who drove us to the lovely home of friends, Linda and Bruce. They’ve stored the bike since Bruce picked us up at the conclusion of Chapter 3, even taking it to the local bike shop for maintenance. After we sorted through our inventory, we had a yummy lunch at the local Mexican restaurant, Si Senior, and Blizzards at the DQ next door. Then, we headed to dinner with Bruce and Linda. We met friends, Dave, Carol, Bob, Dorothy, Ted, and Lindsey, for dinner at the Bridgeport Brew Pub in Portland’s Pearl District. The service was great, the food was, too, and Andy enjoyed their beer – one of the oldest brew pubs in the city.

After dinner, Bruce took us on a little circle-drive so we could see some of the ships – Coast Guard, US Navy, Canadian Navy – that were in harbor to help celebrate the annual Portland Rose Festival. There were numerous people already camping along the city streets to hold their spots for the Saturday parade. Portland is such a beautiful city, with lovely classic homes, excellent downtown, and gorgeous views.

After a comfy night in Linda and Bruce’s guest room, a relaxing breakfast, and getting Bruce’s truck loaded with our gear (and Bruce and Bob's golf clubs), the two guys transported us back across Bridge of the Gods and up the hill to Old Man Pass, where we ended Chapter 3. Then, it was pure bliss to start this chapter with a downhill glide of about 10 miles.

At the bottom of the hill, we noticed two cyclists with loaded bikes, so we stopped to meet them. Herbert and Rene are brothers from Switzerland who are riding from Seattle to San Francisco. Herbert has done number of rides across sections of the US, including North Carolina to San Francisco, via New Orleans, Texas, and Albuquerque. They shared some helpful info about our Northern journey, and we shared info about their Southern journey, and we started pedaling in opposite directions.

Day1(8)[1]

Then, the challenge began. We climbed over 2,700 feet in 20 miles, through beautiful trees and ferns and rocks, with glimpses of Mt. Saint Helens. At last, we made it to the Clearwater View Point and captured this full-view. Then, it was a bit of rolling climbs and descents with some very challenging roads. Apparently the volcanic activity results in pavement shifting, fissures, heaves, and quasi-cave-ins, which, combined with the fir tree shadows, made for a very bumpy journey. Fortunately, there was very little traffic, so swerving was an option!

We reached the Cowlitz Valley, and stopped for lunch at Mt. Adams Café. The server noticed us leaning the bike outside the window, and already had our water and menus on the table before we came through the door. He was great. Andy loved his Chicken Logger, complete with bacon, and Kim felt the same affection for her salad with walnuts, craisins, and gorgonzola. For dessert, we noshed on yummy Snow Peas from Dorothy and Bob's garden.

Back on the road, we attained pure bliss for the last 16 miles, with only slightly rolling hills, and an excellent tailwind, which allowed us to speed along at 19+ mph. We rolled into Packwood, WA at about 4:00, and checked-in to The Historic Packwood Hotel (established in 1912). We were able to tote the bike up the narrow, u-turn stairs (avoiding the Moose head on the wall), and lift it over the bed in our 10 x 10 room (one of only two rooms with its own bath).

After stocking-up on some supplies at the local grocery store (yeah, bananas!), we had dinner and watched game 3 of the Stanley Cup in the Blue Spruce bar and restaurant (where we’ll also have breakfast tomorrow). So, a great Day 1!

 


Day 2 - 6/7/15

Miles – 60 Total Miles – 132 Feet Climbed – 3,619 Total Feet Climbed – 7,881 Shouters – 0

 

Day2(21)[1]

After a medium-ok night's sleep in one of the smallest hotel rooms we've ever been in, we got an early start and headed to breakfast at the Blue Spruce at just after 6:00. We, again, had great service and the food was good, although Andy was disappointed that the karaoke hadn’t started yet, since he felt ready to sing. Then it was a quick start to the day’s workout, climbing about 3,500 feet in the first 20 miles. Fortunately, it was through beautiful county, with lovely views of Mt. Rainier, excellent rocks, rushing creeks, and very little traffic.

Then we arrived at White Pass, elevation 4,500 feet, a ski area frequented by famous Olympic ski-racers Phil and Steve Mahre. We decided to stop at the White Pass mini-mart for some snacks – Mint M&Ms, Almond Joy, Starbucks Frappuccino, smoked Salmon (best, ever, according to Andy), Skittles, Gatorade, a Power Bar, and a homemade granola bar. As we dined, in their very comfy dining area, we started talking with Bettina, from Mainz, Germany. She’s been solo-cycling all over the US, Canada, Mexico and Argentina, and is currently following the same section of the Adventure Cycling route we are.

Day2(13)[1]

Then we had our vacation, coasting down the East side of the pass, crossing the Pacific Crest Trail, and arrived at beautiful Rimrock Lake. We had a lovely view of the lake, the cliffs, with a bit of snow, on the other side of the lake, and an excellent view of Goose Egg mountain peninsula which extends across the East end of the lake. As we headed toward Naches, our destination for the day, the traffic really began to increase. Although all the drivers were courteous and friendly, with many waving and smiling as they passed, it was some of the heaviest traffic, in both directions, that we've experienced on the trip. Numerous motor homes and 5th-wheels, and boats being towed by pick-ups, and a significant number of milk transportation trucks from the “Milky Way”.

Finally, we got to turn onto a road that parallels the highway and took us through a huge section of fruit orchards – apples, pears, and lots of cherries – and then found ourselves at Hotel Naches, our home for the night. After a quick check-in to our very large room, at least 4 times larger than last night's, we had a real lunch at the bakery next door, and added blueberry and strawberry turnovers, a cinnamon roll, an oatmeal cookie, and an M&M cookie to our stash for tomorrow. A great way to wrap-up Day 2!

 


Day 3 - 6/8/15

Miles – 49 Total Miles – 181 Feet Climbed – 2,037 Total Feet Climbed – 9,918 Shouters – 0

 

Day3-(4)[1]

We took off from Naches a little after 7:00, for an early start, in an attempt to beat the heat and wind. Breakfast was blueberry and strawberry turnovers from the bakery. As advertised, the bakers seemed to use one blueberry and one strawberry per turnover… it was pretty thin, but a Frappuccino later we were on our way. The morning was calm, cloudless, and in the mid 60’s. Perfect for biking, except we quickly left the flatlands and headed up a 1-mile, 400-foot climb. No need for coffee this morning!

Once on the plateau, we descended into another valley that was well irrigated and had many hay and alfalfa fields. Yay, back to greenery! We followed this small valley for about 10 miles into the town of Selah, just outside of Yakima. After a quick stop at the local mini mart (Simply Orange, Nature Valley Vanilla Almond bar, and some water) we were back on our way up the Yakima River Canyon. As we climbed, with Mt Adams in the rearview mirror, Kim shouted for a quick STOP, and collected The Find of the Day from the gravel shoulder – brand new Craftsman vice-grip pliers.

Our next view was the huge (several acres) Zirkle fruit processing plant. Very impressive, but also lots of truck traffic from I-82. Luckily, we were going the other way, and soon we were, almost totally, truck-less. The Yakima River Canyon reminded us of our ride through Nevada: a moonscape with lots of cool rock formations, but this canyon differed in that it had a rather large river at the bottom. We continued along the canyon floor, beside the river, for 24 beautiful, hot, and dry miles. The highlight was when about 20-30 swallows briefly came out of their nests in the cliffs and flew beside us for a few hundred feet.

We were reminded how dry it was when we stopped at a fishing lodge for a short break, and each ended-up drinking a couple of sodas and a bottle of cold water.

Day3-(8)[1]

Yesterday, Cupcake, a woman we met at a Mt. Rainier viewpoint, said she was good friends of the Mahres, of skiing fame, and that Phil has a house up Canyon Road. We saw one compound that had its own waterski lake, complete with course buoys, so we figured that was the one.

Once out of the canyon, we rode the next 4 miles quickly to the mini mart in Ellensburg for cold drinks. The guy there gave us directions to the bike shop in town, and we gave him our last Sierra Cascade bike route sticker for his shop window. Our next stop was about 50 yards away, Taco Bell. Then we were off to the bike shop for a tail light and some chain lube. The bike shop was in a very cool, old building that had been the welding shop of an old Chevy dealership. It was well laid-out, and very clean. Another “plus” was a brewpub right across the street.

We made good time today, and the folks at the Hampton Inn (another Yay!) were able to let us check-in early for some extra rest, and a chance to do some laundry (yep, Yay!). Tomorrow’s goal is Cashmere. It’s supposed to be a neat little town, with a good bakery and brewpub, so we should be all set.

 


Day 4 - 6/9/15

Miles – 59 Total Miles – 240 Feet Climbed – 3,497 Total Feet Climbed – 13,415 Shouters – 0

 

Day4-(1)[1]

We started today a bit later, leaving the comfy Hampton Inn about 7:30. Perhaps we also delayed our start because there were hills and wind turbines in our future… which meant quite a challenge for the first 14 miles. Plus the hills got steeper as we climbed. Great opening to the day… that, and getting passed by the road-stripe painting trucks. Those, were actually pretty cool, as they painted both the center stripes (in perfect match to those they were covering) and the white outside line at the same time.

At the top of the hill we got to coast downhill for a couple of miles – passing the paint trucks – and found ourselves in a lovely, green, windless valley. We got to pedal along a beautiful creek on a smoothly paved, and wide, shoulder. An excellent reward. Then, we started climb 2 of the day, about 2,000 feet, up to the summit of Blewett Pass. We were looking forward to our first mini-mart stop of the day. Upon arrival we saw the “for sale” sign on the building, and were denied the longed-for Frap. It turned out that this was to be the status of all three places to stop on today’s section. Fortunately, we were well stocked with water and had enough snacks to keep us fueled.

The fueling was also enhanced by the 22 mile downhill to Dryden. Excellent! There was quite a bit of traffic – including lots of big rigs – but the shoulders remained wide and smooth and the drivers were very friendly – lots of waves and smiles. Upon arriving in Dryden, we stopped at The Y Café for a much needed (and appreciated) lunch break. We each drank at least 36 ounces of water, Arnold Palmers, etc in spite of all the water we’d consumed since Ellensburg – obviously a very dry day! The chicken quesadillas were the best ever!

Day4-(23)[1]

The owner and his wife have had the place for about 9 years, after moving from Vancouver so they could have four seasons. It’s currently on the market so they can have a new adventure moving back to her native Romania to spend some time with her family.

Back on the road, we got off the highway, via a very steep, but short, climb, and pedaled through apple orchards with a view of the Wenatchee River below us and hills all around. After about 6 miles we coasted downhill into Cashmere, through a fruit processing plant, dodging forklifts was we pedaled. We cruised through a very cute downtown and arrived at our home for the night, the Village Inn. It was definitely old-style, but clean, and our room was on the ground floor (yippee!!).

After getting settled and showered, we thought it would be nice to stroll through the nearby park, next to the Wenatchee, on our way to dinner. Unfortunately, it turned out to be just a very dry baseball field and the “breeze” was more like a furnace wind. Dinner at Milepost 111 Brewpub was very good, and Andy enjoyed his Moose Drool Brown Ale from Missoula, MT Big Sky Brewing. Kim loved the Marion Berry pie with ice cream. We took a shadier walk through town back to the hotel, stopping at the local grocery store to replenish the snacks, and Kim was able to resist the F’Real milkshake machine (amazing!).

 


Day 5 - 6/10/15

Miles – 41 Total Miles – 281 Feet Climbed – 1,594 Total Feet Climbed – 15,009 Shouters – 0

 

Day5-(8)[1]

After breakfast in our room (bananas, Clif Bars, Frappuccinos) since no restaurants were open early, we were on the bike about 7:00 for a pretty mellow ride to Chelan. After pedaling across the Wenatchee we turned on to Highway 97, along with all the folks heading to work, including a couple of bike-commuters. After about 3 miles we turned onto Easy Street (really) where we cruised by cherry orchards, with trees close enough for Andy to reach them as we passed. However, Kim wouldn’t allow the “inventory theft”.

Within about 6 miles we reached the Columbia River, again. Andy’s research found that this river has a watershed as large as the country of France, and is the biggest river in the western US. It was another great road with wonderful, smooth shoulders and excellent views of the lovely homes, orchards, and rocks on both sides of the river. Thanks to Rocky Reach dam, a section of the river has become Entiat Lake, with gorgeous smooth water. Turns out there are 14 dams on the Columbia.

After about 25 miles we saw a familiar-looking, cross-country cyclist parked by the side of the road. It turned out to be Bettina whom we’d met a couple of days ago at White Pass mini-mart. We spent a bit more time catching-up on her adventures, learned that we’d stayed in the same hotel the night before (just two rooms apart!), and remembered to snap a picture this time! Then we headed on down the road, at least for a couple of miles, until Andy noticed a fruit stand and stopped to purchase, and devour, cherries from the local orchards. Bettina pulled in as well, so they shared a large bag.

With a just a few more miles along the river/lake we turned left, and started to climb up from the river valley… yes, up. And up. And up. Then, we saw a sign warning us of a tunnel and instructing all “peds and bikes” to push a button to alert traffic of our presence. The button turned on flashing lights outside the tunnel and very bright lights inside the tunnel. We made it through pretty quickly, with very little traffic, and then began our cruise over a series of rolling hills, past numerous vineyards (really) and more orchards into the town of Chelan.

After breakfast in our room (bananas, Clif Bars, Frappuccinos) since no restaurants were open early, we were on the bike about 7:00 for a pretty mellow ride to Chelan. After pedaling across the Wenatchee we turned on to Highway 97, along with all the folks heading to work, including a couple of bike-commuters. After about 3 miles we turned onto Easy Street (really) where we cruised by cherry orchards, with trees close enough for Andy to reach them as we passed. However, Kim wouldn’t allow the “inventory theft”.

Within about 6 miles we reached the Columbia River, again. Andy’s research found that this river has a watershed as large as the country of France, and is the biggest river in the western US. It was another great road with wonderful, smooth shoulders and excellent views of the lovely homes, orchards, and rocks on both sides of the river. Thanks to Rocky Reach dam, a section of the river has become Entiat Lake, with gorgeous smooth water. Turns out there are 14 dams on the Columbia.

After about 25 miles we saw a familiar-looking, cross-country cyclist parked by the side of the road. It turned out to be Bettina whom we’d met a couple of days ago at White Pass mini-mart. We spent a bit more time catching-up on her adventures, learned that we’d stayed in the same hotel the night before (just two rooms apart!), and remembered to snap a picture this time! Then we headed on down the road, at least for a couple of miles, until Andy noticed a fruit stand and stopped to purchase, and devour, cherries from the local orchards. Bettina pulled in as well, so they shared a large bag.

With a just a few more miles along the river/lake we turned left, and started to climb up from the river valley… yes, up. And up. And up. Then, we saw a sign warning us of a tunnel and instructing all “peds and bikes” to push a button to alert traffic of our presence. The button turned on flashing lights outside the tunnel and very bright lights inside the tunnel. We made it through pretty quickly, with very little traffic, and then began our cruise over a series of rolling hills, past numerous vineyards (really) and more orchards into the town of Chelan.

Day5-(6)[1]

Chelan is at the East end of Lake Chelan, a natural lake that is pretty narrow, and about 55 miles long. It’s got many resort-style hotels on the lake and lots of vacation homes on the surrounding hills. Our stay for tonight, and tomorrow night, too, since we’re taking an actual vacation day tomorrow, is at the Lakeside Inn, a pretty large place with each room having a lake-view balcony.

After check-in and clean-up we walked about a mile-and-a-half to town for dinner at another hotel (mostly because they had a neon sign advertising Cascade Glacier ice cream, which Kim loves). We ended-up sitting next to another couple, from Yakima, who were vacationing. We got to learn about cherry and apple growing from Mark and Jeanie, who shared lots of interesting info about their orchard business, and were very friendly. We even convinced them to indulge in ice cream after dinner – wow, the “single scoop” here was like a triple scoop in other places. Wonderful!!
Then, we walked back home as the sun began to set behind the hills (at almost 9:00), enjoying the much cooler temperature and light breeze. A lovely way to wrap-up the day.

 


Day 6 & 7 - 6/12/15

Miles – 77 Total Miles – 358 Feet Climbed – 3,084 Total Feet Climbed – 18,093 Shouters – 0

 

Day7-(15)[1]

We had a relaxing day off at Lake Chelan, and an excellent dinner last night at Tin Lilly. Initially, Kim thought it might be a country music bar, but instead it had great music, excellent service and yummy food. Then, we got an early start this morning, leaving the hotel before 7:00. This turned out to be a good idea, since the long pedal-day was made even longer, due to serious headwinds for the last 60 miles. Yes, 60. A couple of times we we’re almost brought to a complete stop due to gusts, and a few more times, we were almost blown off the road.

Day7-(19)[1]

The first 15 miles, however, were beautiful, pedaling, once again, along the amazingly-calm Columbia River, with lovely views, smooth road, and low traffic. As we arrived to our turn off from Highway 97 onto Highway 153, we made a breakfast stop at yet another roadside cherry and apple stand. The bonus, was that this location also happened to have its own bakery – blueberry scones, coconut macaroons, molasses-ginger cookies (all consumed by Kim…). They also had a gift shop which sold wind chimes with some of the most lovely, relaxing tones ever.

Finally, it was time to start the pedal – which is when we discovered the wind – but, we persisted. Again, there were smooth shoulders and friendly drivers, which made the challenge possible to deal with. We saw 6 other riders, headed the opposite direction, and loving their tailwind! We also got to pedal under a flying hawk for a few hundred yards, as it, too, battled the wind. Pretty cool! About six miles later, we took a break at the mini-mart in Carlton, but decided not to shop at the mall.

Day7-(22)[1]

In the town of Twisp, we pulled into a grocery store parking lot for a break, and happened to see two cross-country cyclists preparing to head out. Angie and Dusty are pedaling from Seattle to Boston, and this was their second day, after a challenging Day 1 climbing over Washington Pass, which we’ll do tomorrow, in the opposite direction. The girls had designed their own stickers, one of which they gave to us, which had their logo and website address. They also were asking people to complete the sentence “Life is short…” by writing on a small whiteboard. Then they took a picture of the writer(s) holding the board in front of them, and will post the picture to their website.

Ours said “so be sure to do bike rides with your best friend!!"

About nine miles later, we stopped at another mini-mart for a deep-fried chimichanga and a standard, ready-made hamburger. Then we were back into the wind for the last 14 miles to Mazama. Gratefully, the Mazama Country Inn was much better than anticipated. We had a lovely, large room, with a great view into the woods, the dinner was excellent, and there were no train tracks within hearing distance. A perfect way to wrap-up a challenging day and prepare for another tough day tomorrow.

 


Day 8 - 6/13/15

Miles – 77 Total Miles – 435 Feet Climbed – 4,787 Total Feet Climbed – 22,880 Shouters – 0

 

Day8-(19)[1]

After a relaxing night in Mazama, we created early breakfast for ourselves (Kind bars, juice, bananas) since the hotel’s dining area didn’t open until 7:00, and were on the road by 6:45. This turned out to be an excellent decision, as we had lots, and lots, of climbing to accomplish. Almost immediately after leaving the inn we were climbing up to Washington Pass.

Fortunately, there was plenty of fuel – in terms of gorgeous views, lovely waterfalls (more than 20 of them), excellent rocks, ferns and trees – so we just kept going. We climbed about 3,500 feet in 17 miles, up what is known as one of the most scenic roads in the US, to Washington Pass. At the top, Kim searched for, and found, the rock for Washington State, which Andy approved.

Day8-(53)[1]

Then we put on jackets and gloves and started our chilly, downhill joyride, descending about 3,000 feet to Ross Lake, in about 1/3 the time it took to climb. We stopped at the lake overlook and snapped numerous pictures of the amazingly-green water. It turns out that while glacier water is perfectly clear, glacial water contains tiny bits of rock and minerals called "rock flour" in suspension from the grinding action of the glacier. Those rock particles refract the green spectrum of the sun's light so the water appears green.

After cruising past Diablo Lake and across the dam, about 60 miles into the ride, we were delighted to find New Halem-Skagit and the general store. It was our first opportunity for “food” since we left Mazama. We had a full lunch of chili and hot dog (Andy), and bean burrito and Frappuccino (Kim), so we could make it the last 17 miles to our stop for the day. Back on the road, it was rolling hills and friendly traffic all the way to Marblemount.

Day8-(61)[1]

 

As we cruised into town, and stopped for snacks at the Shell station, another patron, in bike gear, stopped and talked with us about our ride over the pass. It turned out he, his wife and their friends were staying at the same place we were to check-in to – Clark’s Skagit River Resort. They invited us to stop by their cabin after we checked in – offering Andy interesting libations.

Sal and Debbie, and Andre and Shirley, turned out to be wonderfully friendly, interesting people. Sal and Debbie, from Portland, are starting on a 30-day bike journey to Glacier National Park. Their friends from Seattle, Andre and Shirley, have been helping them with transportation for a couple of days as they get started – Andre riding along and Shirley driving the sag wagon. Sal and Andre have been friends since grade school (50+) years. It was great to talk with them, hear about their adventures, and share some of ours.

We finished the day in our cabin, enjoying our fireplace with a single, Cracklin’ Duraflame log… only two pedal days left…

 


Day 9 - 6/14/15

Miles – 46 Total Miles – 481 Feet Climbed – 804 Total Feet Climbed – 23,684 Shouters – 0

 

Day9-(6)[1]

With a casual start to our day, including yummy cinnamon French toast at the same place where we had dinner last night, and seeing the bunny herd devouring last night’s left over bread outside the back door, we were on our way. The Clark family has owned the cabin-lodge since the late 1800’s, and Tootsie, the current owner, is 93. Her son, Dan, is helping her run the place. Our cabin was decorated with plenty of logging artifacts, so we felt right at home.

It was the coldest start for this chapter – probably upper 40’s – as we pedaled towards Burlington, our destination for today. It was a gorgeous journey along the Skagit River, with rolling hills, lovely firs, and rocky, snow-capped peaks. Near Rockport we saw a man-made logjam, which was fabricated by precast, cement tree stumps, to divert the river from the town.

Day9-(8)[1]

This was great preparation for Concrete, WA, and the best bakery ever. The 5-Bs Bakery was excellent! Andy fell in love with their coffee, and is willing to commute there for our bread. The owner shared info about some road work we could encounter, so we adjusted our route. We had a relaxing break, with background music alternating between the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah and pieces from the Star Wars soundtrack. Thus inspired, we resumed our pedaling, with a maintenance-needed pickup passing us every few minutes (great opportunity for a mechanic to setup shop). After another 13-ish miles, we stopped at yes, another, mini-mart for a Frap and a few minutes of conversation with several customers.

Back on the road it was about 28 miles to Burlington. It was great to have shorter day, access to laundry facilities, and then to be chauffeured by friend, Don, to dinner in La Conner at Seeds – home of the West Coast’s largest Beech tree (12 feet in girth). We were joined by Jodi and Chris and their totally-cute three year old, Grady. The food was yummy, the conversation excellent, and Grady’s demonstration of action figure construction very entertaining.

It was a terrific way to wrap-up the day, and prepare for our last pedal-day tomorrow… almost there!

 


Day 10 - 6/15/15

Miles – 48 Total Miles – 529 Feet Climbed – 758 Total Feet Climbed – 24,442 Shouters – 0

 

Day10-(31)[1]

We got an early start, back-tracking a bit from Burlington to Sedrow-Wooley (which we’d pedaled through yesterday so we would have a nicer spot to stay, and be closer to friends), and turning up Highway 9 towards Sumas, WA, aka “The Finish Line”. There were rolling hills, very little climbing, no wind, beautiful sun, and lovely views of all the mountains. There was quite a bit of truck-traffic going the opposite way, but very little on our side of the road. There was also a smooth, wide shoulder, which made it easy to enjoy the views.

Our pedaling was mostly along the Samish River, with terrific views of snow-covered Mt. Baker, and lots of berry farms – blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. On one section there were at least 50 workers picking strawberries which smelled delicious. We almost stopped to help (and consume…)

Day10-(20)[1]

Our first mini-mart stop of the day was in Acme – which smelled like cows (providing “inventory” for the Milky Way trucks), instead of strawberries, so we didn’t want to stay too long. We did have the usual Frap and a conversation with a “full-time” retiree (his definition of his status) who was riding his motorcycle up to Canada, then over to Waterton and Glacier Parks, which made us a bit jealous.

For the last 20 miles we followed the Nooksack River, with almost zero climbing, lovely fields and beautiful homes. One exciting view was of 3 coyote pups in one of the fields, which just looked up at us as we rode by. Clearly, we don’t appear intimidating.

Then, we saw the Sumas, WA welcome sign and stopped for a picture. And, just a couple of miles later, we arrived at the border-crossing area, and convinced one of the passengers in a car to take this triumphant photo. We arrived!

 

everest-e[1]