Day 48 - Sherman Pass. It Just Went On and On. But We Did It !!: Kettle Falls, WA to Republic, WA

Today was a challenging day. We climbed Sherman Pass. A 22 mile climb. And the temp was over a 100 before the day was over.
We were getting tired and felt really glad to finally see the summit sign for Sherman Pass. After that, it was a 13 mile coast down to Republic, our destination.Tomorrow we'll have the 2nd of 5 successive passes - Wauconda. It won't be nearly as long and tough. Piece of cake.  

Martha. She's checking out the bronzed shoes marking an old CCC camp. She wears a size 4.5. Those boots look a little big for her.

 

Barney awaits our return while taking in some nice scenery.

 

Lunch break beside a babbling brook. Or was that Martha babbling?

 

New tour BFFs Cindy and Rupert. Met them on the Sherman Pass climb. They're experienced cycle tourists and thought the climb was hard. Made us feel better.

 

We'd been looking for that darn sign for 6 hours.

 

See? I told you it was hot.

 

  

 

Day 47 - More Beatiful Weather, More Great Riding, More Spectacular Scenery. More of Everything!: Ione, WA to Kettle Falls, WA

Yet another great day.
We got a little taste of the climbs to come this morning. We got an extra early start and were rolling at 6:45 to beat the heat. We had about a 3 mile climb that Barney handled with ease. After that it was pretty much a down hill day. We liked that.Tomorrow will be only 47 miles, but will include a 25 mile climb right out of the chute. We expect to spend 4 to 5 hours on the climb and then coast 20 miles or so to our overnight destination of Republic, WA. We're both excited about tomorrow. We decided to get an even earlier start on our big day, so breakfast will be served here in our motel room at 5 a.m. We should be rolling by 6.  Whoopee.  We stopped in Colville, WA for lunch (delicious) and a haircut (well done). Here in Kettle Falls, WA, it's another tiny one street town, but it does have not one but two places to eat and a C-Store. We'll provision up for that early breakfast since we have a microwave and fridge here in the room.

The highest priced gas yet.  $4.90/gallon. Yikes!

 

See.

Just chillin' with some more great scenery in the background.

 

Why such loooong faces?

 

 

Farmers market in Colville, WA. We bought some peaches.

Day 46 - Rest Day in Ione, WA

Today we had a rest day in anticipation of the big climbs we have coming up.  Spent the day doing laundry, catching up on email, Sports Center and ESPN.  Also researching some rides once we get to Anacortes, WA.  Had a wonderful picnic lunch in the local park across the river from our motel.  Will be getting up early to start riding tomorrow so we can enjoy the cool temperatures in the a.m.

The local grocery has a deli where we picked up sandwiches for lunch.  With only a pizza restaurant in town, we've already frequented the grocery store twice with another trip planned for tonight!

Barney hanging out while we lunched.

 

We sat in a swing and enjoyed the view.  Larry tried to sing that song about "swanging"!

Day 45 - Downhill Downwind 60 miles - Did Somebody Hit the EASY BUTTON ?: Priest River, ID to Ione, WA

Yet another beautiful, cloudless day. For the first time in several days we got a tailwind out of the east. The route was mostly downhill. It was a near effortless 60 miles. We've never had a better day. And the scenery - it was, as ever, just great.
We entered our 11th and final state, Washington, this a.m. Sorry, no state sign to take a picture of. We're staying in the tiny crossroad town of Ione tonight and tomorrow. We're taking a rest day before we start the mountain passes so we'll have fresh legs. Our motel is literally on the banks of the Pend Oreille River. Very nice. We may even get in a little swimming. I call it swimming. Martha says it's really just wading.

 

Barney and his new BFF await us while we lunch in Usk, WA.

 

 

Martha waiting for her lunch order to come up in Usk. Check out that farmer tan.

 

We passed 2,000 miles of pedaling this a.m.

 

The Stonehenge of the Northwest?

 

More Stonehenge.

 

The scene from our Ione, WA motel. Too bad we couldn't find a place with a nice view.

 

 

Martha took a look at the profiles of the climbs coming up.

 

Day 44 - Same Old, Same Old - Spectacular Scenery and Great Riding: Clark Fork, ID to Priest River, ID

Yet another great weather and riding day. As we finished at about 4 p.m., we noticed that the time/temp signs all said 93 degrees. We were both surprised it was that hot. We had been riding a lot on shaded roads. That, and the low humidity made for a great day.
We had a long, leisurely lunch in Sand Point, ID. Sand Point is on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. A lovely resort/ski town. Lots of bikes and shops - and lunch was delicious. We had mostly great roads - even a 5.5 mile bike path - today. Took our time and had a great experience. Arrived at our destination with plenty of gas left in our tanks. This was our fourth consecutive day of riding after our little layoff. Our bodies have quickly adjusted to the everyday routine of riding and our stamina has come back strong. We'll be ready for the mountains that are just around the corner.

Beautiful Lake Pend Oreille, ID.

 

At lunch in Sand Point, ID we broke out our last ACA map. We started out with a dozen or so. Just 462 miles (and 5 mtn passes) between us and Anacortes, WA, our end destination.

Us and pretty flowers in the happening little town of Sand Point, ID.

A wild flower bordered bike path along the lake shore. That water really looked good. I wanted to skinny dip. Barney and Martha said 'no'.

A friendly enough seeming bear.

 

 

Day 43 - More Beautiful Country and Our Tenth State - Idaho! We Have Come!: Libby, MT to Clark Fork, ID

The weather is quite hot, but very different from what we're used to in the mid-south. Overnight temps fall into the low 50s, then rise into the high 80s/low 90s during the day. Up until about 10 a.m. it's almost cool feeling. Then the heat comes on strong. Even so, the humidity is so low that you hardly perspire, unlike at home when you're drenched in sweat walking from the house to the car. We like it. The weather forecast says more of the same for the next several days.
By shear happenchance we ran into a local pay ride today. The ride was sponsored out of Sand Point, ID and was styled CHaFE (Cycle Hard For Education). There must have been about 150 riders. They invited us to stop at one of their rest stops and stock up. The pumpkin bread with peanut butter on top was my favorite. Very, very nice ride sponsors and participants. The ride had two options - 80 miles or 150 miles. The riders out here are tough!  Another 60+ mile day tomorrow going into the big city of Priest River, ID. We're staying tonight in the one and only motel in Clark Fork, pop. 508.

Rest stop scene on the CHaFE ride. Thanks again for your hospitality!!

 

Just a friendly warning.

 

Idaho. State number 10. Idaho is only 65 miles wide on our route.

Day 42 - Our Best Yet Riding Day of Natural Wonder: Eureka, MT to Libby, MT

Today was another beautiful day, but trending to the hot side. We rode for 40 miles along Lake Koocanusa. The lake is manmade, narrow, deep and 90 miles long. There was only one place with services for a distance of maybe 50 miles. Not even a house - nothing.
We met a Spokane, WA couple at lunch - George and Gayle. They were finishing up a 2 week loop of the northwest. They were on a recumbent tandem. They gave us some great tips about riding in the San Juan Islands once we get to Anacortes. We're going to look into that some more. Sounds like some great riding.Tomorrow will be another lengthy day - 72 miles, but pretty flat. Today is our last day in Montana. Another great riding state. We'll miss you, but it's on to Idaho. Also, starting next week, we hit the passes - Sherman, Wauconda, Loup Loup, and Washington. Barney says no problem, so we'll be okay.  

Koocanusa Lake. We rode alongside it for 40 of its 90 miles of length.

Martha and Barney at a roadside break.

 

Barney taking in the scenery while we snack.

 

New touring BFFs George and Gayle.