Glacier

Rainy Glacier !! I guess our weather good luck chips are running low. I think we used most of them in Washington. We've made it to Glacier National Park, but a combo of rain and snow ( and tired legs ) have stalled us for a bit. The weather has been on/off rain the last week or so,but just a little soggy , not much real rain till now. Snow up in Marias Pass, that is ahead, and with it being a holiday weekend we are taking a few days off in West Glacier hoping it will blow by us. The 'rustic' cabin we are renting is perfect for sleep, rest, watching a movie and more rest!! The cabin is also a good choice since all are clothes and panniers smell like peanut butter and honey. Yogi's favorite!!
Memorial Day: Spent the day in Glacier Park and as John rated it, it was a 5 out of 5 day!! A vacation within a vacation. We climbed Going to the Sun with little to no car traffic and no weight on the bikes. The last 7 miles were open to hiking and biking only!! John of course didn't stop at the road closure sign but went till he hit snow and mountain goats, riding another 6 miles. Of course the Catholic girl in me stopped where told, hearing Sister Adele's voice yelling once again 'you Graney girls up against the wall' It worked out OK though, 50 miles for an ' rest ' day is not too bad.
The sun came out strong over McDonald Lake, hopefully some of the pictures will reflect how beautiful the afternoon turned out. I got to see a bunch of Forget Me Not flowers on the road side today. I was afraidI would miss all the wild flowers this year but I got to see one that really means to me
summer is here. To finish the day we had beers and dinner in West Glacier. Some how I found John hugging strangers as I returned from the bathroom in the restaurant, beers and a good ride make him a little too friendly sometimes.
Talk with ya soon! Kate

Good bye Washington

Goodbye Washington! We've made it thru the first set of mountains and are in Idaho! The riding in Washington was great, lots of climbing but amazing views, a sense of accomplishment by making it over the passes! The rain held off except for a few drops which was a nice treat to start the tour. The mountains had the smell of firs and the small towns that we went thru, no matter how depressed, all had lots of lilacs in bloom!!
The camping still is a source of surprise and entertainment. One night we stayed in an RV park with a very friendly owner who who walked around in his boxers talking to his pet rabbits (no joke). There were eagles and owls in the area and we waited for the show to start but the bunnies lived another day. The next day we camped right on the Pend Oreille River at another 'RV park'. The views were spectacular but the manager was drunk on the porch at 4 in the afternoon. It was a saturday so maybe that's mot so bad . Tonight we are holding up in a motel in Sandpoint Idaho. Our luck with the weather has finally run out. It's raining and I wanted a bed, time to rest our legs.
Glacier is our next major stop, hopefully by memorial day. The going to the sun road is still not open and the weather may delay it longer. If we are lucky the road will be open to bikes when we get there but not cars. I guess that happens, let's hope.
The dinosaur meter (megasoreass) has been high to extreme but with a day off hopefully it will drop.
Gadget update... The Dynamo hubs, with batteries, are charging the phones nicely. The iphones are very helpful but distracting. I've watched John try to ride and navigate at the same time, he is getting better but looks close to riding off the road sometimes. The rear view mirrors are high on the nerd factor but I can't imagine it without them. Try driving your car next time not using your rear view. Good luck!!
Thanks for the comments, it's fun to see who is reading. This part of the trip has been sponsored by Backcountry Coffee Roasters, Stella Artois, and Steve's cookies. Without their help we might still be in Bellingham!!
Till next time, drink a Stella for us!!
Kate and John

Week 1

Week One; Well we are on the road and finally riding instead of talking and planning (although John loves that part). The first week was easy in the sense that the rainy northwest has been sunny most days. Luckily it was cloudy today when the hill climb was long (25 miles/3800ft) and the sun would have baked us. The roads have been mostly good, the maps from Adventure Cycling giving us great guidance onto some great back roads. As predicted we got our ***** handed to us with the climbs from the start, more time training would have been a wise choice.
On our first day in Bellingham after,driving all night, a couple of guys told me that I had "options" and that I didn't have to follow "him you know". Hopefully those ideas won't come back later in the trip and haunt me! I think John's safe though since he carries the kitchen, tent, and sleeping bags.
If you haven't been to the The North Cascades National Park yet make plans and do it! Hike it, ski it, bike it whatever you are into just go see it. We were only on the road thru it and it amazed us with the beautiful peaks and undisturbed terrain. It was a great way to kick off this adventure, especially when we got to see a bear wander thru the camping area!
The camping as been diverse from the coastline, to KOA' s with hot tubs, to tonight we are in Republic's fair grounds pretty much by ourselves. It does have showers and free wifi.
John's going to post some pictures and videos on the link, hopefully we won't bore you. For my reading buddies we just started The Big Burn about the fires in 1910. Hopefully it will give us some good back ground info on the west and not freak us out like reading Pompeii when in the Naples area.
Hope all is happy where you are and we will hear from you at some point.

Kate and John

Overview

Proposed Route