Glacier National Park

7/12 - Troy, Montana (67 miles)
7/13 - Horseshoe Lake (52 miles)
7/14 - Columbia Falls (72 miles)
7/15,16,17 - Glacier National Park (61 miles)

Glacier N.P. definitely lived up to the hype. Someone said that after Glacier, we would throw rocks at Yellowstone. Well boohoo at throwing rocks. They are both very majestic in their own way. Glacier's majesty resided in big, epic mountains, ubiquitos waterfalls, and clear, cold lakes and streams. We took gobs of pictures and had a real difficult time selecting the ones below. The goats, sheep, marmots, pique, wolverines, and rangers were of the friendliest variety. It's funny how national parks do that. In fact, there seems to a completely friendly ethos in national parks as a rule. At every campsite we made new friends and shared stories. Rachel even hitch-hiked w/ much success on our "alone" day (a new relationship maintenance idea we've introduced). The only bummer about the experience was not seeing any bears. Although, we almost got a ticket for leaving carrots on our table in an effort to attract some.

Eastern Washington Rain Shadow

7/6 - Twisp (77 miles)
7/7 - Tonasket (61 miles)
7/8 - Sherman's Pass (57 miles)
7/9 - Tiger (64 miles)
7/10 - Priest River, IDAHO! (73 miles)
7/11 - Sandpoint (27 miles)

I remember reading about this notion of "rain-shadow", but not really appreciating the extent of the phenomena. Within about 15 miles of Washington Pass came the desert. Arizona type desert. Sagebrush, no trees, and extreme heat. We wished we were still climbing in the mountains. The good news was they did irrigate in places and the fruit was fantastic. The bad news was there weren't any trees for us to hide behind while trying to camp for free. We managed to hide behind some sage which made for some very fragrant sleeping. I should really look at topo map of WA, but it sure seemed to me that the mountain ranges kind of stripe eastern WA north to south. Since we were traveling east to west, each day was filled with a huge climb (3-4 hrs of riding), then a 20 minute down hill and then a nap. Such is the lifestyle of riding bicycles in the mountains... and this only the beginning :(

Northern Cascades Highway

7/3 - Everett (67 miles)
7/4 - Rockport (52 miles)
7/5 - Colonial Creek Campground/Cascades National Park (47 miles)

Finally, on the road again... but yikes big hills, legs flabby, buns hurt.
We left Seattle and traveled east on hwy 20 (Northern Cascades Highway) and began our ascent into the mountains. It was sad leaving the ocean behind. Those smells, cool air, dewy mornings, but the Cascades made up for it. Huge huge, pointy, malicious looking crags. The National Park visitor's center had a real suave theater and movie as most folks don't get very far in this park. The freshwater lakes and streams provided a new source of personal hygiene, but the water was so cold that we became nearly hypothermic and almost thought better of this hygiene business (just kidding). In an effort to warm up a bit and to start reading more classical literature like the Gordons, Scott enjoyed his first "classic" romance novel. Baby steps to the great books :)

Vashon Island

6/30-7/2 - Vashon Island (30 miles)
Next on the Seattle area tour was a trip to Vashon Island where we were greeted by our new surrogate family-- Larry and Wendy Jensen. This family and their hospitality marked a high-water mark as far as new traveling relationships. We had never met the Jensens before and yet we called them up and asked to spend the weekend with them. Having never met us in person they arranged for us to spend the weekend in their home, providing all meals, and providing car and sea kayak tours of the island. How did we get the phone number and what is the phone number you ask? Hah Hah! We will sell be selling it to help pay for our stolen bikes...

Just kidding, its really a poetic story. In Oregon we met Andrew Jensen at a grocery store. He too was traveling by bicycle and he too had experienced the love of strangers while traveling. Andrew knew his parents were grateful for his safety and grateful to all those that helped him... and so he gave us the magic phone number :)

The Seattle Gordons

6/28,29 - Seattle (63 miles)
After all the ferry and island hopping, we welcomed an invitation to join the hospitable, eccentric, theatrical, lifestyle-inspiring Gordons in Seattle for a couple of days. David Gordon is famous... a living legend perhaps... at least to those folks interested in visualizing molecular genetics data and automated finishing software (which is most of us... right?). Everyone at our workplace (GSC) knew of him, but Rachel's position entitled her to the most DG contact. And now was our chance to shed the work talk and get personal.

The house rules were simple:
NO... shoes , meat, tv, cell phones, internet, home computing, machine dishwashing
YES... recycling, composting, commuting via bicycle or jogging or hybrid car, family book sharing and reading aloud, and eating dinner as a family

We loved it!

First order of business was scrubbing clothes and body and next we moved into the electrical wiring of the house (which entailed an unpaneled view of the circuit brakers-- all of which DG proudly installed himself). Dinner followed and we were treated to home-made sushi, a plethera of organic teas, decadent chocolate cake, and raspberries fresh from the bush. Nirvana dining compared to the usual fare of mac & cheese.

The next day we rode our bikes to the University of Washington with David and daughter Olivia on a tandem, and got to see the lair of a computer genuis. We were briefly introduced to two modern genetics research SUPERSTARS: Phil Green (barely acknowledged our existence) and Bob Waterston (engaged us w/ a friendly chat in the hall). It was real eerie to be back in a lab again and when the doors closed behind us, we hugged our bikes and thanked God for all that we have.

After a DG guided tour of down-town Seattle, Rachel and I returned home to plan and prepare a thank you dinner. Dinner discussions meandered from traveling and good books to music, theatre, and electrical wiring theory... all the stuff that Rachel and I always want to engage more of but so often get distracted from. The Gordons revealed the trick... remove the distractions and live simply. There was something very satiating about this simplicity, an uncluttered feeling, a sense of freedom from multi-dimensional noise. This feeling is exactly why we decided to quit everything and hit the road. This was a new found piece of our bigger life puzzle.

Thank you Gordons for sharing space, time, and love.

Ferry Hopping across Puget Sound

6/25 - San Juan Island (14 miles)
6/26 - Orcas Island (28 miles)
6/27 - Port Townsend (30 miles)

More ferries and more Islands... We really didn't have a plan but "visit the San Juan Islands" and once on the islands we really just rode around in circles (around the islands). We really wanted to see some orcas (killer whales) but instead settled for an old English encampment. The towns were cute but touristy -- we had fun bushwhacking and camping for free. That's probably a book that's not on the market "Bushwhacking the San Juan Islands - the guide to free camping in expensive touristy islands"; perhaps we'll write the first.


















Mount Baker

Rachel just loved Port Townsend. We looked at Victorian buildings and houses and all kinds of stuff like that. We stayed in the backyard of Bev's and were guided across the monstrously hilly hamlet.

Victoria, Canada ehhh?

6/23 - Port Angeles (75 miles)
6/24 - Sidney, British Columbia (20 miles)

We took a ferry from Port Angeles and arrived in Victoria, Canada on Vancouver Island. This was the fast and pedal free way to arrive in the Great White North. Upon arrival, we stowed our bikes and joined the mobs of tourists in the streets. Apart from our greeter, Mr. Redcoat, our favorite events were touring the Royal B.C. museum and taking a tour of the capital building (I'm sure the Canadians call something else). These both brought a sense of location to us; a sense that we really were in a different country, ehhh? It felt really surreal to view a presentation of B.C. and realize this is the big region in between Alaska and WA that all our maps excise. Another odd tid-bit was the revelation that Canadians still recognize the Queen of England. The capital tour was filled w/ Queen stories and I was the one who foolish asked about "the Queen of Canada?".
















Our evening concluded w/ the all too recurrent event of free campsite scouting. We found an abandoned lot outside of Sydney but the neighbor insisted we stay in his yard instead. We instantly made a new Canadian friend w/ Bill ... , Harley-Davidson Rider & Donkey Engineer. The latter was initially puzzling to me. Bill looked pretty old but bossing around donkeys seemed a little too old. Bill quickly educated us on the history of the logging industry and that a donkey was one of the engines which dragged out fallen timber. It was exciting to be talking to a man who not only knew his history but had lived it. We stayed up late talking politics and getting a genuine Canadian perspective on life (and the US - but that's a whole other entry :).

Olympic National Park

6/19 - Hoh Oxbow State Park (88 miles)
6/20,21 - Hoh Rainforest/Olympic National Park (21 miles)
6/22 - near Hurricane Ridge/Olympic National Park (75 miles)

The pictures of Olympic National Park speak for themselves. We were very lucky with regards to the weather. The region was under a heat alert with temperatures reaching the 90's. People were running for shelter. We traveled N. on 101 around the peninsula to Port Angeles, passing through ocean, rain-forest, and mountainous zones of the park. We hitch-hiked up and back from Hurricane Ridge as the ascent was straight up hill - for 18 miles. We were welcomed by calm skies and friendly rangers. We can't wait to return with our backpacks.

Ruby Beach















Hoh Rain Forest

























Hurricane Ridge

Our God is an Awesome God

6/15,16 - Long Beach, WA (45 miles)
6/17 - South Bend (38 miles)
6/18 - Hoquiam (42 miles)

Part I -- Our God is awesome on the road
Imagine you are on an old-school rollercoaster that just went way up-up-up and then down-down-down. The bridge into WA was a lot like this except it was not mere "perceived risk" but real. The bridge started w/ a steep climb (imagine that big rollercoaster chain noise - clackity clackity) slow going but filled w/ suspense as you creep towards the crest of the track. Now imagine cars and trucks whizzing by a few feet away. Suddenly, you reach the top and can see for miles but your eyes narrow on the track pointing straight down. This is the thrilling part! ...except that you have a crazy swirling wind and a narrow 3 foot lane to funnel your bike down. If you scootch too far to the left, splat by the big Mac truck; too far to the right, you hit the curb and go flying into the Ocean. The bridge was 3 miles long :)

Part II -- Our God is awesome in town
Well, we were alive and now in Washington! We cruised into Long Beach and discovered that the local Church of the Nazarene was having a free dinner. Yeaa-hah... no shopping, cooking or cleaning. The church minister and his wife, Don and Marlys, sat down next to us as we devoured our delicious burritos and started asking about our trip. They soon discovered that we had not found a place to camp that night and offered their spare apartment (which sounded too good to be true - and it was). We stayed an extra day in our apartment where we caught up on sleep, books, and movies. In the evenings we shared meals w/ our hosts and sang along w/ the gospel videos we enjoyed together. The hymn "Our God is an Awesome God" hit home. Not only did the melody stay w/ us, but the message helped to frame the many things we were discovering on our trip. Don't doubt it, God is really awesome.

Rainy days in Oregon

6/12 - Garibaldi (57 miles)
6/13 - Nahalem State Park (25 miles)
















On the road again... and the weather became unkind. Some fellow cycling enthusiasts stated that there are three things that affect cyclists: wind, cold, rain. 1 of these is uncomfortable, 2 of 'em makes you miserable and all 3 makes you stop and seek shelter. Well the wind was in our face, it was raining, and traveling down hill for several miles made us real cold! We stopped in the Seaside library to warm up and wait out the storm. The storm didn't cooperate... The library closed and we were all set to sleep in the town drunk's favorite little getaway when the very last woman out of the library offered us her shed. We didn't know what to imagine from the word "shed", but it sounded better than sleeping w/ drunks so we gladly accepted the invitation. The "shed" turned out to be a spare bunkhouse and as we unloaded our stuff for the shed, Jana offered us a bubblebath in the master bedroom jacuzzi, dinner, and laundry. Oh my gosh, life is good. I swear we are not beggars. You all are probably reading this, along w/ several previous blogs, and are getting suspicious. True, we have gained skills in looking pathetic, but often times we don't even need to try. People just see two people traveling on the cheap and in need of help. I think Rachel's bright smile helps a bunch too as I doubt two smiling but scruffy men would look as innocent as a scruffy couple :)

6/14 - Seaside (23 miles)

Yahoo, Yachats!

6/9,10 - Yachats (20 miles)

We had no idea how to even say Yachats (Yaah-hots) when we strolled into town. A ranger told us that there would be a huge low-tide around 5 pm and that Yachats was right on the beach so we decided to actually stop riding past the ocean and actually play in it. The tidepools were spectacular and we spied a grey whale frolicking in the deep blue. The local library provided sanctuary for most of two days (to update the blog) and the librarian told us of a free "camping" spot for the night behind the library (this also happened to be the local High School "hang-out" spot sadly smitten w/ such graffiti as 4:20 forever dude). The next morning we met up w/ the town baptists for a free pancake breakfast... where they enjoyed testing the capacity of our stomachs. Yachats seems like the perfect little town to escape and retire in... and the locals agreed (as long as your not from CA).