“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July
4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the
White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics
where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies
die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”
–Erma Bombeck

Sunshine!Seventy degrees when we started at 7:30 this morning, after pedaling down the road to (apparently) The place for breakfast, consuming our daily supply of sugar in the form of french toast and blueberry pancakes.  Our first 14 miles took us along the forest edge,past creeks and farms.Equal opportunity photo……Perfectly Gorgeous morning.

The best part was it was flat; something we had not enjoyed since beginning this ride.  After a week of seeing deer everywhere, I was finally able to get a picture, they are much quicker than my camera.Once reaching Colville however, everything changed.  We began continuous rolling UP (not up and down) hills. These shorter, stair step climbs were a steeper grade than the straight up mountains of the last several days and they were taking their toll on our legs.  But the day was spectacularly gorgeouswith very little traffic and an occasional log trucks.The fields were a rich, healthy green and the crystal clear blue sky was accentuated by pristine white clouds……breathtaking!

Just before noon and 32 miles of riding we reached Crystal Falls. Without any sound of water all morning, we turn a corner for this spectacular sight,not to mention the family rapelling down the cliff to the falls. We stayed there for a rest, nourishment and our remaining water, hoping to regain some energy for what we hoped was the downward leg of the ride. Though the temperature was only in the 80’s, in the sun the heat was cooking us. Obviously, we had not given enough respect to the gentle climb the topography showed for today’s ride.  It was not until 2:00, we were able to stop for more water and lunch; not sure how much farther either of us had in us, without this stop. Several miles down the road we finally came to the downhill that we had been waiting for all day.  Within minutes of our ten minute thrill down, all memory of heat and exhausted legs disappeared, the smell of pine filling our lungs.  Just what we needed to invigorate us enough to go the 20 more minutes to “town” and our stop for the night. This is second time we have been within 25 miles of the Canadian border.  Though we are going to cross it soon, we apparently need to travel further south, first.  But not tonight, after our 6 1/2 hour ride and almost 57 miles, we needed to stop.

We got an early start this morning as we wanted a jump on the 90 degree heat that was forecasted for the day.  But at 6:30 in the morning it was quite cool, about 58 degrees and no wind. Our course today was on a relatively flat, back country road that followed up the Pend Oreille River past river homes; yes, this river flows north into Canada.  We biked through the Kalispel Indian Reservation, sharing the road with white tail deer and chipmunks, but we only have pictures of horses, cows and flowers. The day was taking a while to warm up, but we didn’t mind the overcast skies, as it kept it cooler.  The sky was looking “interesting” (for lack of a better word), but it made for striking scenery. Not sure if it was because of or in spite of the overcast skies, but we were thoroughly enjoying the ride.

By ten we arrived at the only crossroads that offered refreshments and a break from the saddle.  Since we had already completed 35 miles, we decided to treat ourselves with a rest stop and pastries.  The ride across the bridge (to our stop) offered spectacular views down the river. As we crossed back over the bridge to resume our ride, the wind picked up and it began to rain… pour, lightening.  We made a quick U-turn and quick run back to our previous stop to wait out the storm.  Arrived in time to be undercover when a thunder rumble rocked the floor of the store we were in.  It took another half hour for the storm front to pass, so we could continue.

When we pushed off again, it was still sprinkling but a comfortable mid-60’s, so we continued to enjoy ride, despite the gently rolling hills that threatened our potential double digit average for the first time since we began.  The rain didn’t last and the fields took on a healthy glow. We shed our rain jackets as the temps kissed 70 degrees and dropped again as the rain threatened, it was definitely a duckie kind of day.

Our goal was to get to our destination before the skies opened for a second time.  Unfortunately, we were two miles short of making it happen.  We unceremoniously crossed into Idaho and back into Washington in pouring rain, but we were able to check into our hotel before 1:30 and rest for the rest of the afternoon.  By dinnertime, the sun had come out and our stroll to dinner was lined with flowers. Nothing like a Huge plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes to cure what ale’s ya’, eh!.  Not a bad reward after 54 miles.

Colonial Creek Campground to Newport, Washington336 Miles

5 Summits

Highest elevation – Sherman Pass 5575 feet

Slept in, as we have a low mileage day (closest we can get to a day off).  Amazing how good one can feel after ten hours of sleep!Crystal clear, 70 and sunny as we pedaled out of Newport at 9;45 in the morning.I asked our course director if the ride was flat today, “fairly flat” he said.  Note to self:  fairly flat = Rolling Hills.  But there is nothing like a Sunday morning ride, to make the day right!

Our first seven miles were surrounded by pines and again the beautiful smell of Christmas.  Then we dropped to the Pend Oreille Lake and were greeted by a stiff headwind displayed by the flag above the lumber yard.

As a side note:  the Pend Oreille River, which we have followed for two days, is 43 miles long and is the 5th deepest river in the country.

We rolled up and down, lake to our left, forest and fields to our right.  Even with a head wind, it was a beautiful day to ride.One of those days that every turn offered a picture perfect scene, so we will save most of the photos for below.

With the clear skies, it did not take long for the day to heat up, so we were looking forward to this sighting.Never found it, but did see several Osprey;this one not happy with us trying to take her photo.  Idaho we know is known for potatoes, but happy cows??? so looking for commentary on this one……

We had a three mile trek along the highway.  Though the shoulder was wide, the traffic was deafening after the serenity we had biked in up until now.  However, after three miles along the highway, we were rewarded with two large mocha expresso milk shake and a dedicated bike path to take us into town.  It was still another six miles, but with a private path just off the highway, it was easy to enjoy the ride.  Our 35 mile ride was a bit tougher and longer (4 hours) than anticipated, but still a great day, eh!

Even though our ride was under 30 miles today (another day off), we left early to beat the triple digit heat that was forecasted.  Fifteen minutes down the road, I realized the real reason for our early departure as we rode past Coldwater Creek headquarters.  No chance of them being open at 7:45 am…..nice one, Jerry!

It was a cool morning, warm sun and fiesty wind in our face, but we had all day to ride, all we had to do is stay upright when the wind whipped around to our side.  Then our course took a turn along the ever present Pend Oreille River as it flowed at the base of the mountains,offering spectacular scenery (many of which are in the gallery below).

The Pend Oreille Lake was shaped by a glacial ice dam with water massed to 2,000 feet deep.  The resulting ice age floods had a force “hundreds of times the explosive energy of Mt. Saint Helens.”

Shortly before ten, we stopped for coffee and donuts along the lake and started the discussion that was bound to happen…..should we go further?    We decided to stick with our original plan; rest in Clark Fork for the remainder of the day and get an early start for our 70+ miles (to the next motel).  That was until we actually reached our destination; a darling town, lots of local restaurants, beautiful accommodations…..but neither of us could pass up on riding longer on such a Gorgeous day!

Stopped at one of the many darling shops in town for food and water supplies for the extra trip.  Just before pushing off, we happened to secure a reservation at a B & B about 25 miles.  All we had to do is get there, which seemed like a piece of cake since it was only 11:30 in the morning.  Climbing out of Clarks Fork and away from the cool waters of the lake, the temperature climbed….and never stopped.We did find a shady place for lunch enjoying the breeze. The scenery continued to be spectacular. Somewhere on a downhill corner, we flew by the Idaho/Montana border too fast to take a photo, but did manage a shot of the time zone change shortly thereafter. The rolling hills in the heat were starting to add up and take a toll on our bodies, but the scenery…… Thank goodness for the vistas as it kept us going, that and the ice cream/water stop nine miles from our destination.  It was the only way we would make it.  It was a long nine miles and hot, but still breathtaking scenery. Made it to the gravel drive at 5:00 (local time) that pointed down into the woods, it was not something we would look forward to tomorrow, but we were in the middle of nowhere and “wild camping” was not an option in this wilderness.  At the bottom of the hill, we could not believe the bed and breakfast that appeared in front of us. The Big Horn Lodge was way beyond what we expected, even if we were not exhausted.  Our only regret, is we didn’t get here hours ago to enjoy it more and longer.We shared a toast, laughs and delicious pie with our amazing hosts, Dave and Karen (on the right) and their friends and family; it was a magical evening.  Though the sun was still up, we were beat and a bit dehydrated after 54 miles in 100+ temperatures; we fell asleep to the chirping of chipmunks.

It was tough to leave our beautiful home for a night, but we had a hot day in front of us and wanted to get going.  Our delicious and hearty breakfast (including the best coffee we’d had since Seattle) would definitely help; the flat tire would not.  We finally started rolling at 8:00, only to have the tube patch fail a half hour down the road.  The bright point was these two that came to supervise! Finally settled into a pedaling rhythm by ten and began to enjoy the cool 64 degree day with very little traffic.We rode in the shadow of the beautiful Cabinet Mountains on our rightand hillsides reaching into the water on our left.Found an unexpected and much appreciated refreshment stop; though it was not open yet, Johnny let us in and happily sold us a Pepsi.  Enjoyed an early lunch break at a shaded rest stop, along with some Canadian bikers (motorcyclists).  Our last twenty miles was on a busy highway (luckily, with a wide shoulder),

the traffic deafening after enjoying our solitude through the hills.  We have found Montana cuts the trees far away from the road, so there is no shade available for our last two hours of riding, but we were distracted by the occasional glimpse of the the beautiful waters of the Kootenai River.Made it into Libby by 2:00, just as the dry heat was reaching 100.  We were thankful for the air conditioning, laundry and rest after 43 miles.