To Infinity and Beyond

We arrived in Glacier NP on Wednesday, June 24, sans bike and with the wonderful assistance of Joyce and Tim Murphy in who's garage the bike remained as we waited to get the rear wheel replaced. We had hoped to find lodging at The Lodge at MacDonald Lake, but it was full and so we were able to get in at the Village Inn at Apgar, the other end of MacDonald Lake. We're glad we did, because the views from our room, which looked directly out on the lake, were incredible, and changed by the minute as clouds or sun moved across the sky. When we checked in mid-afternoon and entered our room for the first time, we saw a gift basket with assorted goodies to eat and a bottle of Huck wine, made from grapes but with huckleberry flavoring. We thought: "Oh, that's nice, the Inn provides a gift basket when you arrive." Joyce, said: "No, they don't. That must be from some friends of yours." Sure enough, there was a card from our good friends Mike and Carlene Pardina, and gift certificates for two shirts at the gift shop. Thanks again, M&C, you guys are too much. (They are also on a great adventure right now with Marty and Kathy Reis, taking a month to drive to Alaska. They are working their way through Canada right now.) When we went to the gift shop to cash in on the shirts, all the shop personnel had to come out and meet us: "Oh, you're the gift basket couple!" Apparently, gift baskets are a very rare event in Apgar.



We spent most of the first day and evening just enjoying the view, the goodies and relaxing, realizing that we had finally made it to our next big milestone destination. The next morning, after enjoying the early morning view, we cooked up the huckleberry flapjacks from the gift basket and Joyce picked us up around 10 to go back to Whitefish to get the wheel and bike. Another blessing from meeting up with the Murphys and their friend Walt was we learned of the back way for getting to the park, which would keep us off any major highways. What a delight! Fantastic scenery along nice quiet roads for the 30 or so miles and bringing us onto US 2 with less than a mile to West Glacier and the park entrance. With a good part of the day consumed with getting the bike, we once again relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon and enjoyed huckleberry cobbler ala mode.



Perhaps the major disappointment of our stay at Glacier was that the park shuttle system has not started to operate yet (July 1 startup), so we were limited in our mobility in the park to just the MacDonald Lake area; there is quite a bit more to see, we will have to do that the next time. After breakfast on Friday, we rode up the lake to The Lodge, hiked up the Gunsite Trail for a ways, came back down for lunch at Jammer Joe's, and took the early afternoon boat tour of the lake on the DeSmet, a wooden boat that has been operating on the lake for more than 50 years. They have an unbroken record of always returning to the dock, and this trip was no exception. We had the pleasure of a park naturalist being on board, who gave us a narrative about the formation of the mountains and glaciers, the history of the forests, and the various animals that call that area their natural home. He explained how the Park Service was responding to the forest fire that devastated the NW side of the lake several years ago (leaving all the timber standing as it is and allowing the natural processes to take place, rather than harvesting good dead trees, which is the way the Forest Service would handle it). The forest on the SE side of the lake has not seen a fire in 500 or more years, so the contrast was quite astounding.



The boat ride lasted an hour, and then we jumped on one of the Red Bus Tours, the famous 1930's buses that have open tops and can carry 17 passengers at a time. The drivers are called Jammers, since before the buses were renovated prior to 2002, the manual transmissions required double-clutching and "jamming" the gears into position as they went up the mountainsides. Our jammer, Fred, took us up the "Going to the Sun Road" to Logan Pass and gave a wonderful narration about the area, the history of the park, bear management then and now, forestry practices and answered all the questions quite ably. Besides giving us the opportunity to see much more of the park, we also monitored the road and conditions for our ride the next day which would follow the same path. The road was engineered for the vehicles that were available in the 1920's, so the maximum 6% grade also complements bicycling fairly well. While the road is under a state of rehabilitation that is in its 4th year of 10, it is still in pretty good shape. And the views are absolutely stunning. The total elevation gain is about 36oo' over the 24 miles from the Lodge to Logan Pass, with most of it occurring in the final 16 miles. Yet, there is only one switchback, called the Loop at 4300', and then it is about 8 miles and 2300' to the top from there.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Red Bus trip and appreciated getting a close-up of what was to come. When we returned to the Lodge, we had dinner there, then rode back to Apgar to pack up.

We arose at 5am and departed Apgar at 6, hitting the Lodge for breakfast at 6:45 and heading up the road at 7:15 after also picking up box lunches for at the top. The morning was quite cold and we had all our cold weather gear on. Biking notes provided by the Park Service suggested that we allow 45 minutes to get to Avalanche Creek and another 3 hours to get to the top from there. This info was important, because they close the eastbound road to bicycles from 11am - 4pm and I did not want to sit by the side of the road for 5 hours. I had estimated that we would need to be at the Loop no later than 9am. We arrived at Avalanche Creek about 8, and we hit the Loop just before 9, so it seemed we were on track. We did stop several times for pictures along the way, so it wasn't a total drudge, but I was a bit anxious about our progress at times, most notably during breakfast when I was advising Teresa on what she should eat based upon how much time it would take. She did not appreciate it at all, let me know, and I tried to settle down.

As the climb progressed, we shed more and more cold weather gear, finally reducing to just one layer. Although quite sunny the wind was cold, which was a blessing as it helped us keep a good internal temp. We stopped about 3 times during the first 16 miles from the Lodge, and then 4 times during the last 8 miles, as we got more and more tired. Continually checking our time against the remaining distance, each time we said, "Okay, we can still make it." With a mile to go we could easily see the last 2 curves and the view down to the valley below was an inspiration, providing us with enough energy and adrenaline to finish at the top with 5 minutes to spare. We both were running out of gas on that last half mile, but by then there was no way we were going to be denied. Reaching the top, we let out a weak but well-earned cheer, got someone to take our picture, met some folks who had ridden up from the other side, and also some folks who were talking about the people they had seen riding up the pass and wondering what kind nuts they were. "And could you believe that tandem with all that gear on it? That is totally insane!" We had a good time agreeing with them and joking around, and at the same time feeling pretty pleased with ourselves.

It was too cold and windy to enjoy the pass for long. We ate our lunches, looked at the visitor center a little, then headed down the east side. The scenery changes quite dramatically on the east, as the rainfall amounts are considerably less. Much less vegetation, and the trees are much smaller. Also, the road was not in great condition, so we kept the brakes on for much of the descent. We met a Canadian couple on a Santana tandem (not loaded) heading up and chatted for a few minutes, they were very interested in our bike as they were hoping to get a new one soon to replace their 1992 vintage Santana. The views were excellent, and we were able to view a large glacier, Jackson, the first one that we had really seen. The We made it to St. Mary at the eastern side of the park, 50 miles from Apgar, around 3pm and setup camp at the Johnsons RV park for the night, found a place to eat and have a beer, and hit the sack fairly early.

We arose to a very nice day on Sunday, much warmer than the previous day's start. After breakfast, we headed out expecting to find a relatively easy path. We were quite surprised when the road immediately began going up and at a steeper grade than on the Going to the Sun Road. After 6 miles and 1600' of climbing we crested, once more over 6000'. I wondered why this was not considered a "pass" at this level and advertised on the map as such, since many other "passes" were considerably lower. After dropping about 500', we started back up, then down again, then back up. Finally we reached the Starr School Road, just before Cut Bank Creek and the next uphill, and turned east. At last, a fairly flat to descending road and a tail wind! We started to really cruise and made it about 2-3 miles when we heard a "ping" sound. Immediately we both knew what it was as we had heard it before: broken spoke. We stopped, looked at the damage, saw that the wheel wasn't too out of shape, opened the brake a little, and pushed on.

Our objective for the day was the town of Cut Bank, about 65 miles for the day. As we rolled into town around 1:30pm, we were feeling pretty good and it was still early, so we decided to push on after lunch. Pedaling away from the restaurant we heard it again: "ping." This one broke about 8 spokes away, and was enough to put a good warp in the wheel. So I got out the spoke wrench and trued the wheel enough so that the warp was again acceptable. We rode another 24 miles to Shelby, 89 total for the day (our longest day of the trip) and we found a nice little town, a nice little hotel, a nice little park with a nice little band performing (the Flathead Community Band), and enjoyed a nice big dinner. I discussed the spoke situation with my cousin, Bill Murray, who lives in Billings MT. He offered to help in any way possible and provided some very helpful info on the HUGI hubs (he has the same wheels on his Co-Motion single bike) that allows one to remove the cassette (the bundle of 9 gears on the rear wheel) without any tools.

The next bike shop was 103 miles away, in Havre MT. We decided best hope was to try to make it to Havre to get the wheel relaced with a stronger spoke pattern. So we pushed off from Shelby hoping to take advantage of the tailwind that got us there. The wind was promising as we left town, and we were making good headway. After about 18 miles: "ping". This one was just two spokes over from the first one that went, and it would be impossible to true the wheel enough to ride it without replacing the spoke. We did have 3 spare spokes with us, but they were for the old wheel were way too long. Our options were down to two: repair the wheel or find a ride. I also carried with us a tool called a "fiber fix spoke," which is a kevlar string that you can use in place of a spoke in such cases. Thanks to Bill's information about removing the cassette from the hub, I was able to remove the old spoke and replace it and true the wheel with this fiber fix spoke in about an hour or slightly more. Never having used this tool before, and not knowing when the next spoke was going to go, we gingerly rode the remaining 85 miles to Havre, arriving in town around 6:30pm. After calling the bikeshop owner to be sure he could help us the next day, we found another RV park in town, setup our tent, showered, hit the restaurant attached to the RV park and motel (two for one Moose Drool beer), and hit the sack, thoroughly worn out (especially the bum).

Today was really good. We got the wheel fixed, ate well, got haircuts (thanks, Marilynn, next to Teresa in the tie-dye), at the Gloden Belle Beauty Salon, had great ice cream at Scotty's and witnessed the ice cream eating record get smashed by John (in the Blue Pony t-shirt and red swim shorts). The previous record for 12 scoops - 36 oz. - of ice cream was 13:30. We watched John turning red, hand shaking as brain freeze set in, finish in 6:o3! We bought supplies, had espresso, sent 8 lbs of cold weather and/or no longer needed gear to Michigan, toured the Havre Railroad Museum (Havre is a major repair center for the BNSF railroad) and took the Havre Underground City Tour. This last item is quite interesting. After a fire in 1904 that leveled most of the town (at that time 20-30,000 people), and without a way to rebuild in less than 2-3 years, the businesses decided to conduct business from their basements. To do this, they built hallways/passages under the sidewalks that would connect the businesses and allow commerce to continue. Several sections of this underground city are preserved, and you actually walk under the sidewalks and into the basements of the existing buildings that on the surface. The displays, authentically equipped with period pieces and collections donated or on loan from local individuals, included a barber shop, a Studebaker service shop, a saloon, a bordello, a saddlery, a blacksmith, a meat shop, a bakery, a pharmacy, and others. I recommend taking the tour if you are ever in Havre.

Tomorrow we push on, hoping to reach Williston ND by the end of the week, possibly Saturday. May we find more tailwinds and good roads.

God continues to shine, and the weather gets better too

Leaving Seeley Lake on Monday morning, we wore our raingear even though it wasn't raining - yet. It was just really cold, and the cold lasted all day long. Riding north through the Swan Valley along MT 83, we had great views of the Swan Mountains on our right, which were getting new snow on them whenever a storm cloud would pass over. We would just get a periodic shower of cold rain. I don't think the temperature went above 50 all day.

Not many towns along the way, but just before the town of Condon we found a small enclave of buildings including a general store, a restaurant and a ranger station. We stopped in the ranger station and got good advice on where to eat, where to get groceries, and also how to deal with bears, which are quite prevalent in the area: bear spray, which is a really powerful and potent pepper spray. We bought our bear spray there, which looks like a small fire extinguisher (red, and about 8 inches tall) and got to try it out before purchase with an inert demo canister - that thing can really shoot. If a bear is threatening and within about 30 feet, you aim below him so that the spray rises up into his face. One second of spray should do it, but if not you have an 5 or 6 shots remaining. Hopefully that will do it. Probably take us down, too, if we use it all up in one small area. Need to be mindful of the wind, too.

We enjoyed lunch and coffee at the nearby restaurant, and got to spend a little more time there when it began to rain hard as were about to leave. The rain lasted only a few minutes and so we pushed on to Condon for a few groceries as we planned to camp in Swan Lake. While Teresa was inside the store, a group of folks came out and started asking about the bike and our trip. Another small world event, one of the folks was originally from Turlock.

Other than being cold and rained on a few more times, and also getting a great glimpse of Swan Mountain, which rises nearly 10,000 ft and is completely covered with snow, we had an uneventful ride to Swan Lake. As mentioned, we planned to camp, and came across the Swan Lake Trading Post which had campsites and small cabins. Teresa was pretty well done by then, so we asked about camping: $13 including showers. But, since it was Monday and Monday's are completely dead, we could get a cabin for $25. Didn't take too long to decide on a cabin. Really nice folks running the place, they've had it for 8 years and are gradually adding the rustic cabins, which have a nice secluded setting across a wooden footbridge over the little creek that runs through it. They also run the post office and it appears they have a weather station out back probably providing info to the forest service. Great coffee in the morning is also included in the price.

After a totally quiet night of good rest in the cabin, we had hoped to ride from Swan Lake to the West Glacier entrance. However, as we looked for the camera in order to be sure we had a picture of the trading post, we couldn't find it. Thinking where it could, we have decided that we left it one of two possible stops during our ride the previous day. So we lost the pictures from Sunday and Monday, including the kayak races, the cyclists Steve and Shelly we met in Missoula, and the Swan Valley/mountains. What to do - we had to get a new camera. The folks at the trading post said the only really good place would be Kalispell, which would take us off route about 20 miles, and would mean we would spend Tuesday night in Columbia falls, 15 miles from West Glacier. So we re-routed for Kalispell to find the nearest Best Buy.

We found a whole new perspective on Montana: the skies began clearing, the temperature began rising, and the wind began pushing us from behind. A great second breakfast at Echo Lake Cafe, and the espresso was the best we have had yet. We really cruised along on MT83, and then MT 82 which took us along the northern edge of Flathead Lake. Reaching US93, we were very pleased to find a well designed and paved bike trail running parallel to the highway, which we took immediately. Outside a series of dippy-dips for drainage cutting across the path here and there, which we learned to slow down for after the first couple (bump!, ouch!) we sped into Kalispell and found the BB. Found a really good Canon camera at a really great price, the picture with this blog entry were taken with it. The old camera required a special adapter and cable for charging and downloading, this one doesn't so we can get rid of a little more gear.

After lunch at Subway just across the parking lot from BB, we were heading out on our way to Columbia Falls, and spotted a woman giving her dog a break on a grassy area nearby. Teresa said hello and we started east again. About 2 miles later, as we hit the bottom of a downhill and a street intersection, there she was standing in the middle of the road waving her arms and shouting at us: "stop, stop, I need to talk to you! You're going the wrong way, you must go to Whitefish the farmers' market is tonight, it is the greatest! You can stay at our house, you just can't go through here without going to Whitefish, it is the best place ever!" So, what do you do when something like that happens? You go to Whitefish.


Joyce and Tim Murphy, and their University of Oregon bound daughter Hayley have graciously put us up at their home and have shown us around Whitefish. They have a beautiful home in an area that has lake access via a nice little trail, and are absolutely right about Whitefish. Fantastic farmers' market where we enjoyed kettle korn and a brief massage, a great little brewery that makes a very fine stout, a really good bike shop, and they treated us to dinner at The Lodge on the lake. Tim has been an agent for State Farm for 24 years and Joyce was a special ed teacher.

Like very good neighbors, they have really been there for us. As we were riding through Kalispell, we noticed a wobble in the rear rim. When we got to Joyce and Tim's, I took a look at it and tried to true it but it was beyond my skills. Joyce called the bike shop and we took the wheel them, they said they would true it as best they could and have it back to us by morning. This morning they called to say that it wouldn't be ride able for long, it really should have a new rim, which would take at least a couple days to get in because it requires 40 holes which aren't too prevalent here. But, they did know of a couple who owned a Co-Motion tandem and who had recently upgrade their wheels and were looking to sell their rear wheel. So we are going to buy it and have bike shop get it setup for us. This will all happen tomorrow. But we have reservations for Glacier Park for tonight. So Joyce has offered to take us and our stuff to Glacier today, we will leave the bike at their house tonight, then she will pick us up tomorrow and bring us to the bike shop, get the wheel, go to here house, get the bike set and ride it - unencumbered with gear- to Glacier. What truly generous folks we have been blessed to meet. Praise God.

The next piece of really good news is that the Going to the Sun Road is supposed to open over the next two days, so we should be able to depart the park on Saturday by going up it and over Logan Pass, as had been our original plan. We understand from another cyclist, Walt Chauner, whom we met last night, a very good friend of Joyce and Tim's (he is going to Louisville, KY this weekend to compete in the Master's National Road Race which he has placed in the top 10 more than once over the past 5 years) that it is not that terribly steep, probably not more than 5% grade. So we (or at least I) am really looking forward to it. Teresa is concerned that there may be alot of traffic, I hope that if we get an early start we can beat it.

So we will be in Glacier later today, and then heading across Montana by the weekend. Blessings to all our followers, friends and family.

Moving to Montana Soon

Cambridge is situated along the Weiser River. Yes, Kathy and Marty, the Weiser. There used to be a train track that ran along the Weiser, of which 84 miles have been turned into a gravel trail suitable for hikers, bikers and horse riders. As our next destination was to be New Meadows and the trail ran for 44 of the 48 miles from Cambridge to New Meadows, we decided we would at least try the trail for part of the way.

We left Cambridge on Monday the 13th, just as it was starting to rain. As we donned our rain gear, we confirmed our decision from the previous day. We had asked a few locals about the trail condition and had been advised that it may be a little soft but with the wide touring tires on our bike it should not be a problem, even if wet. So off we went on the Weiser River Trail in full rain gear and a steady drizzle. We were pleasantly surprised to find a firm if not slightly rough gravel surface, firm bottoms to the rain puddles, and the tires only made small impressions where the gravel was thin. We progressed well, although slower than on the highway, enjoying no adjacent traffic, much wildlife (deer, quail, turkey) and an occasional glimpse of potentially brightening skies that would quickly disappear. Small streams would at times pass beneath us as we crossed over refurbished rail bridges, fed by the rains that had been falling for the past several days, including this day.

As we came to a small grove of trees just short of the next bridge, I could see that the gravel was getting thin and our tires were beginning to make bigger impressions. Pedaling and steering became more difficult and we struggled to keep our momentum and direction. After fighting both issues for a little ways, it became impossible to steer, the mud had caked around the fork and was beginning to fill the chains. We stopped and began pushing, which was almost as difficult since the mud continued to suck at the wheels and build up on the brakes/frame. On top of that, we couldn't get good footing. With both of us pushing for at least 50 yards, we finally got onto a firm surface again and surveyed the situation: unrideable until we clean it up some.

So how do you clean up a really muddy bike without a water hose? Use your handy collapsible bucket and water from the river. Getting down to the river was a bit of a problem where we were at, so we pushed the bike along for a while until we found a spot where I could get to the water and pass the bucket up to Teresa, who then poured it over the brakes, tires, chains, etc. After several buckets full, we had cleaned it off well enough to ride.

Praying we would not run into a similar situation again, but very wary of the potential for muddy conditions, we continued along our way. Not far up the path, we entered an open range area where cattle could cross the path freely. We passed a gravel road and entered another bridge and saw a small herd of cattle, probably about 15, resting on the path at the other end. I had once had an opportunity to herd some escaped dairy cattle down a country road near Modesto during one of our training rides (Teresa did not appreciate it at the time), so I just started hollering at them to get up and get moving, which they did. Slowly advancing on them and continuing to shout - yipee ti o ti ay - we gradually moved them ahead of us. Every few steps, they would look back to see if we were still coming and, seeing that we were, they would trot and moo forward. This lasted for a couple hundred yards, until finally a clearing opened and they could get off the path and we could return to our normal trail progress.

It wasn't much farther, however, and we ran into the second stretch of mud. Hoping that it wouldn't be as bad as the first we again pedaled as hard as we could to try to get across it without stopping. But no, stretch was too long and the bike again filled up with mud. So we went through the motions again: push the bike to a spot along the river where we could get to water; fill the bucket; pour it on and wash it down; fill it again; and so on. Finally clean enough, we pushed on. When we started to mire the third time, it was getting pretty irritating and I was losing my cool. However, before it got too bad, we found our way out of it without harm.

We were now determined to get off the trail as soon as the opportunity presented itself (we hadn't had a chance to get to the main highway since we got on the trail). After 16 miles, and 3 hours, we reached a point that ran within 20 yards of the highway, and we left the trail. 4 miles and about 15 minutes later, we arrived in the town of Council, had lunch and coffee, and agreed that we were glad we took the trail for the experience, but would avoid trails during wet weather in the future.

So we pushed on from Council, continuing to follow the Weiser most of the way to New Meadows. The scenery was spectacular through the wooded hills/mountains, and occasionally we could spy the trail running alongside us or under us as we crossed over the river from time to time. There were a couple of canyons we passed through with very narrow or non-existent road shoulders that we would have preferred to be on the trail for if the conditions would have been
better, but as it was the traffic was light and drivers very courteous/patient.

We finally arrived in New Meadows and contacted a campground 4 further up the road to see if they had vacancies and groceries: no groceries, but plenty of room. So we bought groceries in town and rode the final 4 miles to Zim's Hot Springs, totalling about 53 miles for the day. Nice old log cabin lodge, two hot spring pools of 96 and 105 degrees F, showers, and the only other camper was an RV. Camping was $10 and it was $5 each to use the pools, showers, etc. We set up camp, showered and spa'd, cooked dinner, gave the bike a very good cleaning, and planned our next several days. By the way, if anyone is interested, Zims is a great opportunity if you can wrest it from the family that has owned it forever. Needs considerable updating, a good marketing plan and connections with all the outdoor activities that take place nearby (fishing, hunting, rafting, skiing, etc). Could be a really great attraction catering to many interests, including those who just want to spa and relax.

The plan we evolved was to hit it hard for the next four days to make it into Missoula, MT by Friday. Two reasons: the services were very limited between Grangeville and Missoula; and we needed to get the bike worked on in Missoula. We had 260 miles to cover to get to Missoula, which would have been 5 of our usual days. 5 days would have landed us in Missoula on Saturday. Bike shops generally don't service bikes over the weekend, so if we didn't get to Missoula by Friday, we would have to wait until Monday for service and probably not ride until Tuesday. Too much down time in Missoula, we wanted to save that for Glacier NP. So, to get there by Friday, and to incorporate the issue about limited services, we agreed try to ride 63 miles on Tuesday to White Bird (mostly downhill), 72 miles on Wednesday to Lowell (3000' climb at the beginning of the day), 66 miles to Powell Junction on Thursday (3000' of gradual climb), and the remaining 61 miles to Missoula on Friday (with 2000' climb over Lolo Pass to start the day).

Fortunately, the first three days proved to be very good weather-wise. If fact, Tuesday grew rather warm, hitting almost 80 (warmest we had seen since we started the trip). Leaving New Meadows, we cruised downhill along the Little Salmon River for an hour, covering good distance before second breakfast. As we approached Riggins, the Little Salmon joined the Salmon, a very powerful and fast-moving river. It was salmon season, and the sides of the roads were often full of parked vehicles owned by the horde of fishermen in the area. I understand the catch had been good up until that day, when the weather turned warm. The rainy, cool weather that had been our bane had been good for fishing. We continued to follow the Salmon all the way down to White Bird, a small town that has been there forever and is famous for the nearby battlefield where the Nez Perce Indians defeated the U.S. army who was chasing them north as they tried to escape into Canada instead of being put into reservations. We found a great little RV park to setup our tent between the river and the gazebo (in case it rained during our meal).

Wednesday morning, after breakfast at the Silver Dollar in White Bird, we left the Salmon and began the 3000', 13 mile climb up White Bird Hill. Fortunately Old Hwy 95 is still quite passable so we did not have to use the new highway, which is very steep and without a good shoulder. While about 3 miles longer, the old highway is the best way for bikes: the grade is less than 7%, the view is terrific, and there is zero traffic. We saw one car the whole way up, which took us about 2 and a half hours to complete. Cresting at about 4200', we descended into Grangeville for lunch, then took the steep and winding Harpster Grade down to the South Fork of the Clearwater River and Hwy 13. Following the gradual descent of the river in Kooskia was delightful, and coffee and groceries awaited us there. Since this was our last point to stock up on supplies before the section of limited services, we made sure we had plenty of snacks, oatmeal, bananas and a full dinner.

From Kooskia we joined US 12 and turned upstream on the Middle Fork of the Clearwater. We had been warned about heavy truck traffic and poor shoulders on this road, so we were quite concerned and alert. Surprisingly, this was one of the lightest trafficked highways we have been on. We ended the day at the point where the Lochsa and Selway Rivers join to form the Middle Fork of the Clearwater, called Lowell, staying at the Three Rivers RV Park and enjoying a hugely delicious and filling BBQ rib dinner. We had earned it, after 72 miles and the big climb at the start of the day.

Thursday was spent riding up the Lochsa River for 66 miles. They were right, no services, although there were a few campgrounds. A really neat old ranger station and museum provided a place for our second breakfast of bagels with peanut butter and a banana. There was a 23 mile construction zone which slowed us a little and provided some good jolts where the road had been cut across, and three places where construction reduced the road to one lane with pilot vehicles taking each direction through in turn. They are shoring up the edge of the road which is eroding into the river, by digging everything out, then placing steel cages at the edge and filling them with rock, over which they add fill and then pavement/shoulder material. Hope it works, and hope they can add a little shoulder in the process. Perhaps this had something to do with the little traffic. Perhaps the economy, too.

We were well pleased when we reached Powell Junction. We were able to stay in a USFS campground with electric hookups (charge our electronics) and walk a couple hundred yards to the Lochsa Lodge for showers and beers. The best of both worlds. We iced our weary legs in the ice cold snow melt water of the Lochsa, cooked dinner, and hit the sack.

It was raining slightly when we awoke, but quit before we got out of the tent. After our usual oatmeal and banana first breakfast, we loaded up and left for the 13 mile 2000' climb to Lolo Pass at just over 5200'. We had eaten just about all food except for the snacks we had planned for the day, so we were as light as we could be. Although the sky threatened, the climb was dry and very light with traffic, a real blessing. We reached the summit in a little over two hours and crossed over into Montana, leaving Idaho and its very beautiful rivers behind. We had planned to have second breakfast at the resort at Lolo Hot

Springs, about 10 miles down from the summit in Montana. What a disappointment. I guess hard times have hit there, too, because the menu literally sucked. Most money we spent for a bad sandwich on the whole trip.

As we left the hot springs, the rain began so we donned our rain gear once again and didn't take it off until we reach Missoula, about 35 miles later. Only other stop of interest was at the Traveler's Rest State Park, an historic and archaeological park associated with a camp used by the Lewis and Clark expedition so many years ago, and which is very prominent in the entire region. However, with the rain and the need to get to Missoula in time to get the bike to the shop, we didn't remain long.

We arrived in Missoula around 3pm, a bit earlier than we had first expected, and so we went straight to the offices of the Adventure Cycling Association, of which we are members and who provided the maps and routing that we are using for this adventure. They receive bicycle travelers by taking their pictures, providing ice cream, internet service, local motel and bike shop information, and tours. They were intrigued by our gear set-up, and asked us to go out back where they take black and whites of bikes and riders for potential use in their magazine. As we complete our trip and our story, perhaps we will one day also appear in the mag.

We found a motel close by for a good rate, cleaned up quickly and got the bike to the Bike Doctor around 4:30. He looked it over, we agreed on the work to be done, and he said go get a beer or a coffee and come back around six. We got coffee at a nearby Safeway (Tully's coffee), made some phone calls and emails, then got back there at six. He was still working on it, but the shop was heading into TGIF mode, and so they offered us a beer as we waited. I love these guys! One beer later (darn it) they had the bike ready to go, and so we went.

After 8 days on the road, and 310 miles in the previous 5 days, we had earned another day of rest. Our "day off" in Missoula, Saturday, was anything but: Laundry, grocery shopping, errands, cleaning the bike (a total mess after the rain and road crap on Friday) and trying to get to the blog, plus running into other bikers and trading stories, etc. We also had to fit in Mass at 5pm. Got everything done except the blog, which is what I am catching up on now on Sunday evening after riding 55 miles to Seeley Lake, sitting outside the motel portion of the Seeley Lake Motor Lodge that we are camping at ($13.70 including showers and wi-fi) because the wi-fi doesn't quite reach the campground and I also need a power outlet. We did meet a really great touring couple, Steve and Sherri, who are from New Mexico and are biking there to Eugene and have done lots of touring in the past. They arrived at our motel Saturday early afternoon and saw our bike drying outside, which led to a conversation and eventually having dinner together. Great meal and conversation, and once again a late evening trying to post what Teresa had written several days before. Yes, a well deserved day of rest.

Today, we managed to avoid any rain during our ride, although it threatened often and is spitting again even now at 9pm. One cool thing we ran into unexpectedly today was after about 3 hours of riding, it was time for lunch and a good break. As we came down a long grade and reached the bottom we crossed the Blackfoot River. Upstream we saw a bunch of numbers hanging over the water, with striped pipes hanging down from them: a kayak race course! We pulled in to watch part of the Blackfoot Challenge kayak and canoe races, meeting some of the contestants and race coordinators. They string wires across the river from trees to hang the gates from, which takes 8 people 2 days of work to do to get them set just right. It can all come down in about an hour. Racers of all ages were participating, with several entire families competing. Quite unexpected and a totally new thing for us.

We will head to Swan Lake tomorrow, about 55 miles again, and then should be at the doorstep to Glacier by the end of the day Tuesday. We plan to spend Wed-Fri at Glacier, and will learn whether we can go over the pass there or take the detour on US2 around the park on Saturday. Not sure which we prefer: through the park is more spectacular but also about 1500' higher and definitely the nigh point of the trip - literally

Wish us luck, keep sending your comments, and especially thanks for all the prayers and blessings we have received.

Short Update, full details in a few days:

After leaving Cambridge, ID we pushed on for 5 long days, covering about 310 miles. We arrived in Missoula, MT on Friday, took a day off on Saturday, and will depart for Glacier NP on Sunday, expecting to arrive there on Wednesday. We have 3 nights reserved at the Village Inn on Lake McDonald, using it as our base for enjoying the park and getting caught up on the blog. It sounds like the "Going to the Sun Road" is not open yet, so we will have to detour around the park when we leave, taking Route 2 across Montana and into North Dakota.

Thanks to all for the great notes/comments you have provided, it is great to hear from all of you.

into idaho

I was real sad to leave Baker City -such a nice town: good eats, great coffee, wonderful library, but I knew we needed to push on eastward. Plus the Hell's Canyon motorcycle rally was coming to town for the weekend - lot's of hogs! I will carry fond memories of Bella (where we bought cycling jerseys designed by a local artist for the Elkhorn Bicycle Race next weekend), Mad Matilda, Geiser Grand, Brewery.

We reluctantly set off on Friday, June 12, in the rain from the Bridge St. Inn and rode up to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. They should have a shuttle at the base for cyclists because it is one long steep hill to get up there - we had to walk the last half of it. Spent 2 hours there - terrific displays, amazing view and special events. After leaving, still kind of rainy making it hard to get motivated for cycling, but I dogged it along, making it to Annies in Richland for a late lunch. Met some real nice people - customers and owners. Even though it looked threatening outside and it was already 3 pm, we decided to go on to Halfway and were we glad we did. After one big tough 7 mile hill which we did in 1 hour 15 min., we found a huge descent into a most lovely valley. One little pocket of beauty after another. We rode into the Halfway Motel and barnyard at 5 pm and were surprised to see 9 other cyclists. We tented in the barnyard with 4 Canadians at $5/head, showers and bathrooms available. It was great! Splurged on a nice meal across the street at Mimi's. I tell you, not a bad salad to be had in all of Oregon: great fresh greens everywhere. It was real nice chatting with the Canadians - very experienced touring cyclists.

We decided to take an easy day on Sat. June 13 and enjoy a beautiful morning in this quiet place called Halfway so we were the last to leave (the other cyclists were heading west) at 9:30 and continued to have some traffic from the motorcycle rally. All of them were polite drivers and interested in what we were doing. Chatted with a number of them at Scotty's in Oxbow. All they had to eat there were dogs so that's what we ate. So glad we didn't skip the eats because we had a couple of steep climbs to 2 dams on the Snake River: Oxbow and Brownlee.


After crossing the Oxbow Dam we met the Snake River! It is just beautiful so wide and windy. We had a long ride beside it with headwinds and sprinkles, on this road that was signed 'owned by the Idaho Power Company. Then just before the Brownlee Dam we crossed the river and we were in Idaho - a first for me. At 1 pm we arrived at this huge campground - Woodhead Park - run by the Idaho Power Company. Is all of Idaho owned by Idaho Power?

It was so nice to arrive in early afternoon: we had time for a snack, ate a camp dinner in a little rain, it cleared up and we took a nice walk up to the info kiosk for overlook of the reservoir and dam.

Corpus Christi Sunday - June 14 - and our 35th Anniversary. Ate a camp breakfast in the rain but thankfully it cleared up for the packing. Tent was pretty wet as it rained much of the night but we were nice and dry. Weather is real squirrely around here - comes and goes and changes quickly. Said goodbye to the beautiful reservoir about 8 am and stopped at a store up the road 2 miles. We met a couple of families from Chicago on a 4 day raft trip on the Snake River. One of the women was originally from Birmingham, MI, went to Groves HS! Their tour guide told us about a river trail for our next day from Cambridge to New Meadows. We may take that instead of the highway.

Another ascent of about 2000' in about 9 miles which we did real well in about 1 1/2 hours. At the summit we had just enough time to pull on the rain gear. For the next 17 miles we rode downhill in heavy rain. Rolled into Cambridge at noon to motel it, get warm and clean, to Mass at 3:30 at Holy Rosary Church. Reuben asked the priest for a special blessing for our anniversary and he obliged.

Every mountain that I see, I ask Reuben if that is part of the Rockies. He answers No. This makes me look forward with more than a little fear. was real sorry

Our Oregon Trail

After 7 days of riding, we are taking a day off in Baker City, Oregon. We either did not have a connection or did not have the time/energy to blog during this segment, so we are catching up with things from our previous day off in Eugene a week ago.

We left Eugene Thursday morning under threatening skies. Within an hour, we were in a light drizzle, and then the rain began to fall steadily. We put on our rain gear while waiting for a one lane road closure to allow us pass (we waited for all the cars to go by, then we rode grandly through - not sure how much longer the other direction had to wait for us after all the cars had passed through). One of the nice things about these lane closures is that the traffic comes in spurts afterwards, so we have long segments of quiet road in between.

The rain lasted about 30 minutes, then with sunshine and a tail wind we had a gorgeous day riding along the McKenzie River. Relatively flat, but with a gradual rise as we progressed towards the Cascades. About 2pm, the clouds began to form again behind us. We were hoping to reach a campground that was part way up the road to Santiam Pass, but the storm was clearly brewing around us and beginning to close in from all sides. Praying a rosary may have helped to hold back the storm for a while, because we continued for about an hour after it looked like we were going to get dumped on. As we were approaching the outskirts of the little village of McKenzie Bridge, all hell broke loose: heavy rain, wind and hail started to pound down on us. About 100 meters ahead we saw the General Store, and began pedaling for our lives, literally. We reached it just as the thunder and lightning began, parked the bike and ran inside. There, we were greeted by the owner and his mother, who provided us with a warm and dry place to sit it out. Very helpful, they called ahead to the Belknap Hot Springs Resort, where we were able to rent a cabin for the night since there was still the threat of serious weather through the night. Once the rain had passed, we rode the six remaining miles to the resort, very thankful for the roof and assistance we had received.

Also staying at Belknap that evening, and equally thankful for the safe shelter, were a couple from the UK, John and Jan Bell. They were on a 70 day tour with the aim of riding coast to coast and ending up in Washington D.C.

Our trip over Santiam Pass on Friday started out with a little steeper road than the previous day, and very little traffic. Before long we passed the campgrounds we had planned on staying at the night before, again thankful that we had found better shelter. Still riding along the McKenzie River, we rode through some lava flows that had occurred 3000 years ago, and which had passed across the river, creating several beautiful waterfalls. Second breakfast was served at the lodge at Clear Lake, fantastic pancakes with a wonderful view. The weather was not great, however, with a low ceiling and very cool. As we rode higher, the ceiling continued to get closer and closer. Our intention for the day was to camp somewhere near the top of the pass to enjoy the view and the high country, but the weather was not going to permit us to enjoy it, so we decided to push on over the pass.

As we approached the final downhill before the final uphill, we stopped to rest and a car pulled alongside. The driver asked if we had seen John and Jan, as she was carrying their things for them. Apparently they had met at breakfast and the resort, and after a nice conversation, she had offered to do baggage service for them and they had accepted (very smart). Only problem was that she had not listened carefully and so could not recall where she was to meet them. We had left before John and Jan, and had not seen them go by us, so we figured they must have passed us while we were eating at Clear Lake. We all pushed on and it wasn't long before we came upon John and Jan and the baggage sag clarifying the plan about a mile from the top.

So we crossed the Cascades over Santiam Pass (4817') on Friday, June 5 and headed down into Sisters. What a fantastic downhill ride, accompanied by ever increasing warmth and sunshine as we headed into the valley. As we came around a corner there, directly ahead, was Black Butte, an extinct volcanic cone that rises on its own about 10 miles from Sisters. Stopping at a vista point, we were able to see several of the closer mountains, but Mt. Washington and the Sisters themselves were obscured by the cloudy weather in the mountains, so we were glad with our decision to continue rather than remain in obscurity. We camped that evening in Sisters City Park, sharing a campsite and the fee ($12 total) with John and Jan. We enjoyed a couple of really good beers and a steak with them, and found the City Park to be a great location and campground.

John and Jan disappeared before we arose at 6 that morning, they are very early risers, but we were planning to meet up with then again at Ochoco Lake, east of Prineville that evening. We headed out about 8:30, using the eastern exit from the park. Unfortunately (or fortunately as will soon be revealed) we didn't realize that our road split off from the highway between the two entrances, and so we headed off towards Bend instead of Redmond. What a fantastic view we came across: the three Sisters in full view. Magnificent, snow covered volcanoes that rise above 10,000 feet, they are the third, fourth and fifth highest peaks in Oregon. They now go by the names of North, South and Middle Sister but the early settlers called them Faith, Hope and Charity - I prefer the old names.


We discovered our mistake about 3.5 miles later, when we came upon the KOA campground and Teresa said, "I think we're going the wrong way, that's supposed to be on US20". So we turned around and headed back. Lo and behold, there we were facing Mt. Jefferson, another snow covered volcano that rose 10,500 feet and is the second tallest mountain in Oregon. Only Mt. Hood is taller. So, one of the benefits of our mistake was that we were able to get great views of these fantastic peaks that we likely would not have seen.


Once returning to our correct path, we rode to Redmond for second breakfast. Afterwards, we took a shorter but less scenic route to Prineville to compensate somewhat for the early mileage addition. We arrived in Prineville in time for lunch, and found a nice little sandwich shop where we ate outside. While munching away, a fellow rode up to us and commented on our bike and load. We told him about our plans for the tour as well as our destination for the day, which was about 8 miles further to the east and downwind. Since it was Saturday, we had planned to go to Mass in Prineville that evening at 6pm, which would require us to ride back into town against the wind, have dinner in town, and then head back. Teresa asked him whether there was a taxi service that could pick us up for church. He asked which church, which was St. Joseph's in Prineville. He said that was his church, and why not have us stay at his house in town, it would be much easier. So, we stayed with Jim and Anna that evening, and they graciously asked us to have dinner with them, Jim took us to Mass, we used their laundry, enjoyed a couple of beers with them, and had a wonderful home stay.


Sunday morning we arose early and Jim prepared excellent coffee with beans that he roasted himself. We enjoyed first breakfast and morning prayer together, and they sent us off with several pieces of the grilled chicken from the previous night's dinner, some cherries, almonds and their blessings and newfound friendship. We hope they will get a chance to visit us in Modesto some day. And we are very thankful that we were sent in the wrong direction, because we would not have been at that sandwich shop at that time for Jim to ride up and ask us about our trip.


Sunday was slightly overcast, which was not unwelcome to keep us cool. We passed Ochoco Lake where we had planned to camp and saw that we would not have been disappointed. Our route would take us over Ochoco Pass at 4720', an 1800' climb which proved to be not too difficult as we had wind at our back and only a few steep grades. As we approached the summit, we came upon two cyclists who said "Hey, we heard about you!" I asked if it was from the Brits, which it was. They had camped at Ochoco Lake with them the night before.

Reaching the summit, we stopped to get a photo, and met a guy coming up the other side. He and three others were doing a 4-day circuit of 80-100 miles per day, carrying only a change of clothes and a credit card. As we started down, the second one came up, and then about 3 miles later we found the other two.


What a downhill! 13 miles of continuous smooth pavement and sweeping turns, accompanied by vista after vista of mountains, valleys, forests and streams. Every so often we would see cattle grazing and irrigated pastures or forage crops. It seemed like the downhill would never end. Sadly, we did find bottom but it was at the entrance to one of the John Day Fossil Beds, with a marvelous geologic striation of many colors. We thought about going to get a closer look, but it was 6 miles away on uncertain terrain, and we wanted to have a somewhat short day. So we went on to Mitchell, a small town of less than 200 that once boasted a thriving lumber industry.


Our first impression of Mitchell was a very good one, at the "Get your fix on Route 26 Espresso" drive-in coffee stand. Great espresso and a very warm and friendly proprietor. After getting our fix, we proceeded the "Route 26 Business Loop" which took us past several run-down looking shops, a couple of cafes, a general store, and the city park. We understood that we could camp in the city park, and so we checked it out. Lo and behold, the park had most of the essential services and a garden hose to rinse off with. Best of all, it was free! We setup camp, talked to some other cyclists who were leaving, saw the couple from the pass come in (Aaron and Laurenz), hit the general store for batteries and beer, met four guys who provide guided fishing tours (gourmet, with all the trimmings) on the nearby John Day River, and ate at one of the cafes where we met a waitress who had grown up in Manteca. We couldn't figure out where everyone lived until we took a walk up the hill and found the actual town, including the school (Home of the Loggers) and the First Baptist Church that was built in 1894. In one of the shop windows were some old newspaper postings and historical information, including a few obituaries from the early 1900's. We were astounded to read the beautiful language that the local writer used to describe the unfortunate death of a young girl caused by appendicitis, and felt saddened not so much by the event as by the passing of such a genteel age and way of expression.


Monday we were immediately climbing, after espresso of course, with the first 7 miles a quite steep grade. This set us up for a splendid descent along a beautiful creek for the next 30 miles or so. At times relatively flat with a broad valley, at others we found ourselves in a narrow canyon with steep and towering sides. The creek eventually emptied into the John Day River, and we rode a couple miles out of our way to see the Condon Visitor Center in the John Day Fossil Bed national historical area. The fossils found here represent the time period from 5-45 million years ago, all mammalian or plant, and are believed to be the largest and most diverse such collection in the world. The center does a fine job of providing the actual fossils along with a backdrop that shows how the living creatures would've, could've appeared in likely settings. We enjoyed lunch at the center and then headed to Dayville for the evening.

Two very cool things about Dayville, a small town of less than 150. First, the Presbyterian Church permits cyclists to stay overnight in the small church itself, which includes a shower, laundry, kitchen, dining area and the sanctuary (you are allowed to sleep in the sanctuary but not on the pew pads). It is free, but donations are appreciated and the stove and refrigerator have been purchased as a result of cyclist donations. What a blessing this was, the shower was great, the price even better, and we could cook our meals without having to break into our gear. We enjoyed a great spaghetti dinner with Aaron and Laurenz, all parties chipping in food and cooking skills.

The second cool thing about Dayville is that the Mercantile store carries an odd assortment of bicycle parts. After leaving the visitor center we had 9 miles between us and Dayville. With about 5 to go, Teresa noticed a rubbing sound coming from the rear wheel. I couldn't hear anything, so we continued. Eventually it got worse (I could hear it now, so it must really be happening) and we stopped for her to take a look. I suggested she check the spokes in case one had broken (this would cause a rubbing) and as she was doing this she noticed a bulge in the tire that ran at an angle from one side to the other. Not something you can fix on the road, so we continued with care. As we got closer to Dayville, the sound increased as the bulge got bigger. I was relieved when we got to the Mercantile store on the edge of town, which reportedly carried some bicycle parts. When I asked the owner if she carried tires, she gave a look like I was crazy, and I understood why a little later. Her mother showed me to a backroom behind the backroom, where we found a couple boxes of bicycle odds and ends and some tires of various sizes, styles and ages. Poring over them looking for a touring tire that would fit my wheels and carry our weight, I became concerned because nothing was fitting the bill. I chose one that I thought would work but, when I got a chance to try it out, it was a little off. So I went back and this time found one that I knew would fit, but it was a triathlon tire, not one for touring - very narrow which could be succeptible to flatting in rough or stony conditions. I put it on the front, since there is less weight there, and moved the good touring front tire to the rear. And prayed.

Timidly, we started Tuesday hoping to make it all the way to Austin Junction, a crossroads with a market that allowed cyclists to camp in the back. We started quite early, about 6:30, making it to Mount Vernon for second breakfast at the Silver Spur Cafe. We had a good chat with some of the locals, learning about the local lumbering and ranching industries that have either been closed down (lumber) or are in danger of extinction (ranching). We then pushed on, following the John Day River all day, arriving in the town of John Day for a late morning reststop and moring prayer and then Prairie City for lunch. After buying groceries and trying to contact the store behind which we hoped to camp (they are closed on Tuesday and Wednesday), we saw the sky darkening quickly. We had an 1800' climb over 5300' Dixie Pass to make, about 9 miles in total, so we got started. Halfway up, it started to rain, but the rain was light and sporadic. The blessing was that it cooled things off and we had a strong tail wind. We made it up the hill in less than two hours, but by the time we got to the top we were spent. So we stayed in a USFS campground just a mile past the pass, and had the entire campground to ourselves. A very nice spot with latrines but no water, so we had to make do with no shower and using our filter pump for water from a nearby stream. Pretty quiet night, but Teresa was awakened by the clump clump clump of some heavy footed beast at some point. I was oblivious.

Wednesday was to be our last day before a day off, and we only had two climbs to make, one about 1100' and the other about 800' before a 35 mile mostly downhill to Baker City. Both passes took us over 5000' again. We started with a very cold 6 mile descent to Austin Junction, then continued down another few miles before we started back up. Between the 6 previous days of riding with many ascents and the long cold downhill before getting a chance to warmup, we found the climbing to be quite difficult and it quickly became a burden. Thank goodness for the beautiful scenery and little traffic. After the second descent, we came across the ghost town of Whitney, which had once been a lumber center but now was just some dilapidated wood frame buildings and a few abandoned trailers. The second climb nearly wiped us out, the only thing keeping us going was the knowledge a day off waited for us. As we crested and started down, the wind started into our faces and only gave up when we had adequate forest cover or were going down a steep enough grade that it didn't matter. We lunched at Phillips Lake, and then followed the Powder River through a beatiful gorge and then into a valley that led us, still into the wind, the 10 miles into Baker City.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our brief day off in Baker City, which is a neat little city of about 10,000. While the weak economy shows it presence in empty storefronts here and there, the people are very pleasant and upbeat. With mountains visible on all sides of town, and pride in the early 19th century architecture that is their hallmark and has been well preserved, the setting is quite spectacular. They also take pride in the fact the Oregon Trail originates from this location, and there is an OT Interpretive Center nearby that we hope to explore a little as we head out on Friday. They are hosting their annual 3 day motorcycle ride-in this weekend, and all the motel rooms are taken as they expect several thousand bikers (not cyclists) to converge beginning Friday. Good time to head out, I think, finish Oregon and head into Idaho.