"It would be pleasant to be able to say of my travels with Charley, "I went out to find the truth about my country and found it." And then it would be such a simple matter to set down my findings and lean back comfortably with a fine sense of having discovered truths and taught them to my readers. I wish it were that easy. But what I carried in my head and deeper in my perceptions was a barrel of worms. I discovered long ago in collecting and classifying marine animals that what I found was closely intermeshed with how I felt at the moment. External reality has a way of being not so external after all."

John Steinbeck
Travels With Charley


So,

Off I go, from Anacortes, Washington to Lubec, Maine.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

One more to go

Today I'm hold up in the town of Republic, Washington.  I have one more pass to cross, Sherman Pass, which is the highest of the Northern Cascade Range at 5,575 feet.  It's raining and lightning storms are predicted so I've decided climbing this pass today is not a smart idea.

The Cascades are nothing short of spectacular.  I'm not having any luck posting pictures from this computer so I'll try again later.

On Sunday I caught up with the couple I met at the hotel in Anacortes, Barb and Bill Bochner.  They are from California and headed for Bar Harbor.  They are biking in part to raise awareness for Canine Companions.  You can find their blog at http://pedalingpuppyraisers.wordpress.com/bblw25@comcast.net.

Yesterday I stopped in Tonasket for lunch at Pedros, something of local fame I'm told.  The food was great but better yet I met Alan and Karen Crossley whom I have been riding with since.  A fun couple to be with.  Ok, for the coincidence department: Alan is a wildlife biologists who studied at the University of Maine at Orono.  He shared an office with Mark McCollough from Hampden, father of Paul's college roommate with whom they still keep in touch.  small world? No, tiny.

Yesterday as we were climbing to Wauconda Pass a gentleman in a car stopped, rolled down the window, and offered us to stay at his place near the top of the pass, which we did.  It gets cold at the top of these passes this time of year.  This morning I had ice in my water bottles.

 





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3 comments:

  1. Myron L Meters The Water Quality ExpertsMay 30, 2014 at 7:21 AM

    "This morning I had ice in my water bottles". Is that a euphemism?

    ReplyDelete
  2. PegMay 30, 2014 at 2:50 PM

    So John, do you have upcoming "mail drops"? I once knew a hiker that was so strong and so fast, that we actually put rocks in his pack to try and slow him down. That night as we set up camp he found them. We explained that were collecting rocks to send to Ovie's dad every mail drop. In return, he sent us food. He left early the next morning and we never caught up with him. Guess the joke was on us. We really were collecting rocks to send home to his dad. We did it the entire trail!!!!! So it you could pick us up a few rocks...

    ReplyDelete
  3. PatrickBJune 9, 2014 at 12:15 PM

    Great Pictures

    ReplyDelete

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