August 2-5th Boat trip
Today I set sail on a ferry for Prince Rupert, B.C. with the intention of seeing few small fishing villages on the way and experiencing the passages, narrows and amazing landscapes as the boat kicks along at 18 knots. The ferry is huge, a mini cruise ship really; with an upper and lower car deck and a passenger capacity of 500. Russ Loraley and I were given the lowdown on the 
Columbia Ferry from J.P. Rice who had retired off the ferry system after 2 plus decades of service. When we got on board we sent Russ immediately up to the “putting green” which is the designated camping area for us tenting types to procure us a couple spots before it was all full, I am glad we did it was crowded with just enough room for the 2 tents and our gear. Settled in we set out to learn the ship find the bathroom, showers, dining…etc.
The ferry has cabins on board; also a tenting area on the aft portion of the ship as well as allowing people to sleep anywhere they want on the boat so along as in the day they don’t take up passenger seating, I think it is very cool of the ferry to be so open to lounging. After we set sail and found all the amenities we got to know a few of 
the other tents on board. There was a group of Russians with their thick accents and suspicious stares who kept to themselves and always eyed me as I walked by, especially the older lady that seemed to be sizing me up every time our eyes met. The guy a few years younger than me who put his tent next to mine introduced himself then was hardly seen again, his tent disappeared one afternoon, I later found out he was traveling with his mother who had put in for a cabin and when one came available he moved in with her. The young lady with the 3 children aged 7,5,1 who had her hands full traveling alone, though a bit overwhelmed seemed to hold it together quit well. The quiet, possibly Asian mixed guy who had a single man tent, in order to hold it up he attached it to the rail and who’s ever tent he could, he said not a word even in passing and I never had contact with him in the 4 days aboard the ship. Next to him was our friend the Irishman a young guy from the emerald Isle who had traveled for about a year working in different places in the Canada and was now bound for Vancouver to 
enter the US since his work permit was due to expire, he was carrying the largest over stuffed back pack I have ever seen, he easily had as much stuff as I did, this guy was Irish tuff for sure and one hell of a nice guy. The guy I came to know the best was Max who had been traveling in Alaska with his family, 2 sons, daughter and wife for about 6 weeks and was now on the ferry with Paul his oldest son, his wife Laura and the other 2 kids went home and it was just Paul and Max having a bit of a father son bonding time. Max first made himself known when he put up a giant tent and placed to small chairs outside, eyeing the chairs he informed me with a warm smile “arms will go missing if you take chair” I liked his sense humor and got to know him and his son better over the next few days.
Haines Bay from Aaron Lisco on Vimeo.
Max and I had some great conversations as we watched the sun set off the back of the boat, we talked about life and its many facets, discussed authors and talked about the Sad ending to the T.V. Show “Serenity” which we both agreed was a shimmering diamond in a sea of scrap or is that crap T.V. We shared similar views and some differences and got along easily which made my time on the boat even more enjoyable. We both were keen to keep in touch and meet again one day after my voyage, neither of us could have known it would be sooner than that; I’ll leave it for now and talk about it later. The last of our tent group I had contact with was a joyful man with a wild bunch of gray curly hair and an affinity for beer, which would almost get him tossed off the 
boat by the night watchman who happened by just as he was pouring a glass of the frosty stuff into his mug. We all became a loose nit family and watched out for each other and our stuff as the trip went on. Traveling on board to Bellingham was George and his wife Karen as well so I spent some time with this lovely couple I hope I will see them again one day.
On the first leg of the journey the Purser asked over the intercom if there are Medics, EMT’s or Dr on board that would be willing to help in case of an emergency. Being trained as an EMT-I, I went to the desk and signed up. The purser then informed me that someone was having severe pains in the side and asked if I could take a look at them. I examined them and found no fever, the pains were on the wrong side for appendicitis and this person had a history of Hernia. So I recommended that they see the Dr in Sitka as soon as we dock just to make sure, it was my feeling as well as another Medic that they 
had a strain, possible hernia due to the lifting they had done the night before. After the exam the Chief Purser gave me a coupon that allowed me free meals in the dining room for the duration of my trip I was stoked, for now I knew I would be eating reasonably well for the rest of the trip.
The boat trip was fantastic with views of islands, towns’ eagles, whales, dolphins, orcas and other marine animals I would never have seen had I not decided to take the ferry to Prince Rupert. I’ve been enjoying the trip so much the decision was made to stay on board until Bellingham, Wa, 2 days past Ketchakan, the point we were to transfer to Prince Rupert. It was never my intention to skip large sections of the ride but the views and the boat it’s self-have captivated me so that staying on board was an easy choice, plus I get all my meals for free for 3 days.
August 6th
We docked in Bellingham at 8am and I was off the ship and riding by 9. It felt good to have the legs spinning instead of just walking me around, the bike felt comfortable even after a week off and I was able to knock off 40mi without much effort, OK most of that was flat but still I feel great I really needed the time to let my body and legs recover from the 15 days on the bike.
Bellingham is a nice town with a small feel but not lacking in shops or traffic as well. I hit up the R.E.I. to return some things that failed on me, namely a Water bag and a pair of pants. I also picked up some T9 lube and 2 extra cables. They gladly exchanged the water bag and pants no questions asked and I was off and riding out of town by noon.
I 
was told to take Lakeview Road that would connect me to a nice road called highway 9 that I was told was trafficked but had a good shoulder. The road was great following the lake as it meandered up and down through beautiful pine forests and giant patches of blackberries which I stopped and ate often, in fact there were so many I was thinking it should be called Blackberry lane, I love wild fruit!! Lakeview eventually dumped me onto highway 9 at first the traffic was not so bad and that was a good thing because there is NO shoulder on most of it which made riding a bit scary at first since I am used to having so little traffic in AK/BC
I made it to a town called Sedro/Woolley and visited the local visitors center asked about camping and was told the only one in town as $10 a night. Bummed I moved on but not before I discovered the free wifi across the street. Next to the visitor center is a coffee shop the wifi comes from across the street at a hotel and is free to use. I left the little town and headed out in search of water and a place to camp water I found camping looked as if it might be a nightmare the whole valley I am in is houses towns and Private Property all over it wasn’t until 10mi later when I got to Clear Lake I was able to find camping behind the Fire Station, it is good to be an EMT sometimes I think it helped. So here I am on the grass the sun is shining the temps are perfect, I and happy to be back on the bike again.
August 7th
I left the nice grass and the company of the Fireman in a slight rain and headed south on the 9, for Snohomish and a camp spot that would not materialize. The road wasn’t very busy as I made my way out of town; I stopped to see a Bicycle fence in the making first I have ever seen. The road was similar to the yesterday except for a few more hills and lakes with small one shop towns here and there selling fishing stuff, junk food and a few odds and ends to the occasional tourist and local alike.
I passed through a small town called Bryant it was there I noticed a sign saying “Centennial Trail Phase 2” at first I thought little about it until I was riding on the highway and noticed off to my left was a nice new piece of asphalt paralleling my road so the next opportunity I got I cut over and bypassed the sign saying closed I figured it was Saturday and no one would be there to care. I can’t believe my luck the trail rolled on and on passed Arlington and all the way to Snohomish my destination town for the night. The trail is a “rails to trails” so the grades were nothing and it meandered in and out of beautiful woods, along fields of grain and pastures with horses, cows, sheep and Lamas. I passed over many bridges with nice clear streams and passed a few swamps designated as habitat control areas, whatever that means!
The trail eventually lead me to Snohomish around 4pm so I headed to the Library to check email and see if there were any books for sale. After the Library I made my way to the visitors center to ask about camping, the nice guy told me that camping was not available in town but I could camp at Hearer park about 3 miles out of town so I headed to the local Bakery for a snack checked out town then headed out to the camp spot. Well 5 miles 40 minutes and 3 hills later I arrived at the “camp spot” only to find there is NO camping in the parks, bummed I headed farther down the road looking for a flat spot but nothing came so I turned around and headed back towards Snohomish to find a hotel since it was almost 7 and would be dark by 8:30 I was running out of time. Headed up a hill in town a car pulled up and a voice asked where I was headed, my savior had arrived. he was driving a vintage Mercedes with a bike rack and a Thule box on top and was accompanied by a pretty girl named Holly.
The voice belonged to Nick and Holly is his girlfriend. They were just cruising through town when he saw me on the bike; he said the flag and the large amount of gear gave me away as being a serious rider and not just a commuter. I told nick I was headed for the police station to ask about camping and asked if he knew of any? Nick said he knew of none and then offered me a place at his house he would just have to ask his father first. His father called and the OK given I got direction to his house a mere 20min I was assured I did have to ask “is that by bike or car?” he assured me it was by bike. Directions in hand I head back the way I came and followed the directions as they were given. I was told about a hill but no elaboration was made as to it’s severity or the fact it made three steep pitches as it rose up into the heavens.
An hour later I found the house! I wasn’t lost it was just that steep and farther than Nick had thought for a loaded touring cyclist. Holly opened the garage and as I rolled in she asked if Nick had found me I shook my head no and then it dawned on her he had gone down the hill a different way to where she sent me up since she drew the map. Lavon his father came down we talked shop for a few minute before he showed me to the shower. Nick had returned when I emerged, we all had a good laugh about the miss direction and the hills. I was hungry having not eaten since 11am so I thought I would head over to the Pizza place and down a whole Large pie, but Nick and his father insisted that they had enough food and would make me something to eat.
While I talked with Lavon, Nick made me a nice salad with spinach cashews and cranberries tossed with a bit of olive oil along with some spinach ravioli and cottage cheese as well as a few slices of cantaloupe. The only thing that cold of been nicer would have been more food I was used to eating the amount of 4 people and so after I went to bed I woke up hungry, even though they said to raid the fridge if I wanted I felt like they had done too much already so I slept through the hunger with the intention of making my usual 4 serving of oatmeal in the morning.
August 8th
I had almost forgotten what a bed feels like ooooooh! so nice. I awoke feeling tired and hungry so I headed into the kitchen to make some food. Nick had prepared some oats for all of us, looking in the pot and not realizing he had already take some for himself I informed him that the amount in the pot would not be enough so I made a large bowl of my oats and sat down to eat, only then did I realize I had made the error and apologized for not seeing his bowl full. I did end up eating my oats and a bit of his as well that I had scooped into my pot while mine was cooking. So I don’t feel too bad… Lavon Nick And Holly thank you so much for your hospitality!!! You ROCK !!! Breakfast done pictures were taken of me and Nick in the rain and I sped off OK I crawled away up the small hill from his house and headed to the coffee shop to look at a route and call Kaori to see how she was doing.
Kaori ad I talked for a while and it seemed like my plans were going to change. We talked about me coming to Japan and touring there so that she could travel with me and see if she liked cycle touring, it was a major deviation from my current plan but I figured it was a good time to see Japan a country I am fascinated by as well as spend more time with Kaori and then possibly do my route backwards instead of returning to the US go to China south east Asia….and so on. So I made a plan called on my friend Max from the boat who had graciously offered me a place to stay at his house on Bainbridge Island if I needed. Max was true to his word and told me how to catch the ferry to the island form Seattle.
I left the Coffee shop and made my way to the river canal system bike path I knew was there, following the bike path I was able to cross I-90 on a bike path next to the freeway and make it all the way to the ferry terminal with little street use, you got to love a city that makes bike travel so easy, it’s too bad that the roads in and around Seattle aren’t flat I had to climb some serious hills in the 12-14% range before I made the turn onto Jackson and cruised mostly downhill to the terminal,while I was waiting for the ferry I met a attractive young lady named Renae who had just gotten of the ferry riding a loaded touring bike complete with her Little Dog in a carrier strapped on the back named Jackson, she was headed home from touring the Olympic peninsula, way to go Renae and Jackson. I paid my $7 and boarded the ferry to Bainbridge.
The ferry crossing was fast and I was on the island in about 35min. of course none of the roads here are really flat either so I climbed a bit on my way to Max’s house. I made a wrong turn and max and his friend came out in the truck and picked me up for the last mile to the house. Once at the house I met his Lovely wife Laura his daughter Emily and his young son Rowan as well as a group of friends that congregate at the house on Sundays for the BBQ and jam session. Max is a guitar player and does very well, he has a base player and a heavy metal guitarist turned mellow man. The BBQ Ribs, Chicken, salad and corn bread were a real treat, as I hadn’t eaten well all day I downed a healthy portion of the food had a beer and a glass of bourbon listened to the jam session for a while then passed out in my tent exhausted from a day of not only physical ups and downs but emotional ones as well.
Kaori and I had a long talk about Japan, touring and riding together and in the end it was the high cost of airfare that would keep me in the US and send her to NZ to find work. I will probably head to NZ in October to cycle the south Island and visit her if she stays there, it was on my “Maybe I will do list” but like all things on this crazy adventure “everything is subject to change without notice”. 
For now I am at the sanctuary of many a tired and weary soul who is looking for a positive atmosphere and place to recharge Max and Laura’s house, I can’t say enough good things about these people, so few out there would take in a stranger they just met on a boat trip and treat them as close friend. The whole family is great and has been truly wonderful to me.
Tomorrow I leave for Mt Rainier NP.
August 11th
The best laid plans are never followed very well! I was going to get on the road at 8am, I awoke at 7 had my coffee ate some oats and toast, checked email and was about ready when I noticed I had a broken spoke on the rear wheel, my first. I hadn’t noticed anything odd about the way the bike was handling if it wasn’t for my spinning the wheel by accident I may not have noticed since it all felt normal. So I unloaded the bike and set about changing the spoke which took about 25m and set me back a bit. I also wanted a photo of Max and the family so I had to let them get ready; I left at 10am headed for the ferry and back to Seattle. Let’s take a trip back a few days, to the day I rode into Seattle…....... I was told to take the I-90 bike path that parallels the freeway into Seattle, it was not easy to find. I was relying on the signs for the path and they were a bit misleading with the arrow pointing in a general direction and a lack of signage clarity at some turns, but I did find my way. Max had told me the route would be mostly flat well that was not the case I climbed some major hills in my quest to find Jackson St. OK he did say mostly flat. My ride into Seattle on the bike path was not as pleasant as I would have liked, I passed hundreds of people, cyclist and non-cyclist alike and said hello to all that I got eye contact with and to those I didn’t as well. I got a 5% return on my hellos and most people looked at me as if I was on fire or was a complete freak, very few people said HI in return and a few made strange comments to me like the guy who said as he cycled past “ are you looking for a laundromat?” what the hell does that mean? Did I stink? Was I smeared with shit all over my clothes? I’m sure I wasn’t!! I felt like a circus freak. Now I could understand the stares if I were cycling in some Poe dunk town in the bayou but I wasn’t, I was in Seattle home of grunge, free love and gay and lesbian rights….why did I stand out so badly, and not so positively? It got to the point I couldn’t take the stares any longer, so I put on my sunglasses to hide my eyes from theirs something I wish I didn’t have to do. Seattle cyclist and you exerciser people! (I know "exerciser people" is NOT proper grammar) you are on my suck scale!! I give you an 8 out of 10, ten being the worst of course, the only way you get 2 points back is because of the 2 nice people who said hello and asked about what I was doing and were interested to meet a fellow cyclist traveling through. But then there’s the rest of Seattle. I rolled down Jackson St past the Korean and Vietnamese restaurants with their large neon signs announcing their version of Pho. I passed a small Latino section with a Mercado’s, Taco stands and workers hanging around looking for work trucks to make a days pay doing manual labor. Jackson Street is not a smooth ride the surface is torn up from the continual stream off cars and large trucks that roll across its surface, cracking it, digging it up creating pot holes that jar and vibrate my bike with regularity. As I get more into the city I get a slight whiff of foul air that is soon a very strong odor of urine, alcohol, mildew and rot from a century and more of life, it defines the city for what it is, a mass of humanity that make the city a living thing, pulsing to its own beat breathing, feeling, feeding and sometime excreting …almost human. Seattle has a bit of magic in its soul, even the rain gives it a gloomy charm…..back to the present! The city skyline was I got lost twice but eventually and by my own stupid luck found the “E Medial way Sw” and followed it as it wandered through industrial areas and eventual Boeing’s plant here in Seattle, a few miles later I came to the “History of Flight” Museum, loving planes I dropped my $15 and bought a ticket for the ride. There are 3 main areas of the Exhibit one of which is outside and feature a British Airways ‘Concord’, an old version of ‘Air force One’ a 747 and a 737. The other area is for the WWI-WWII fighter planes and older turn of the century paper planes and cloth ones, along with a few Bi and a tri winged plane. There is a lot of information and even a movie that plays the history of WWI-WWII I spent some time in the theatre learning a bit more about the Great Wars of our time. Back on the bike and full of flights of fancy I made my way via the map that I had lost all hope in to the Green River trail system. Luckily I found it but once again it was not my true intention I was just wandering around aimlessly when I happened upon it. I followed the green river to the “interurban trail” I would follow this for 12mi of straight bike trail to the city of Auburn, Wa. I stopped and asked another cyclist about camping and she informed me that there was camping at the “Game Park and wilderness reserve” I looked at the map got the streets I wanted and headed out to find this Game Park. OK maybe I’m a bit slow but if I told you there’s camping at the “Game Park and wilderness preserve” do Elk, Dear, Bears and the like come to mind?? It did for me until I wondered around the park a bit, “Game park” literally meant “Games” like , Baseball, Basketball, Soccer…Etc. I was hard pressed to find camping. It was early and the park was packed with all manner of gaming people, tennis newbies, Soccer teams and Little league baseball was all happening at the same time, as well as a crowd of less than desirable s that kept making comments about my bike. Not wanting to have a lengthy conversation that turned weird I opted to head back to town find internet and have a hamburger. I found the Starbucks so internet problem taken care of now I needed food and the place I stopped at while not having the greatest name in the biz “Dad’s Burgers” served up what is in my opinion the best looking best tasting hamburger I have ever eaten, or probably will eat in my entire life, my only regret is I did not take a picture of it. I was so impressed I asked to see the owner and told him and his wife exactly how I felt about their food, it was Delicious and that doesn’t even do it justice, damn it was a near perfect burger. If I’m ever anywhere near Auburn I will be stopping at Dad’s again for sure. After my mouth watering burger, damn! I’m drooling thinking about it….OK I headed back to the “Game Park” and still couldn’t find camping, no sign nothing! I asked a guy he told me it is across the river and there's a lot of good camping. As the hour was getting late I headed over and looked I still could not find camping the sun was disappearing and I was running out of time. Just when I thought I was not going to find the camping there it was unfortunately it was not cheap at $25 a night, so I left in the fading light to see if I could find free camping across the bridge I turned off of. I found a spot just as it was getting dark and threw up the tent, I was far enough from the road to not be seen but close enough to the bike path to make an escape if need be, because the only thing dangerous in the forest is another human. At 2am I am woken by the drunken slur of someone trying to get the attention of a person in my general direction. I sit upright in bed and listen the voice comes again “heyws ithe yoies” either he speaks a very weird foreign language or he is piss drunk. I open the tent screen and stick my head out. “What do you want?” I say, the man is about 15 feet from the tent and takes a step back, he then says “ardte yoies Erc?” I say no and tell him with no cheer and a slight bit of disgust that it is late and he needs to leave now, I don’t want any company, he apologizes and leaves. I spend the rest of the night with visions of Jason and Freddie Kruger running around in my head, sleep comes eventually but it is not an easy or good sleep. August 12th I pack and leave as soon as it is light so I am not detected by the fuzz. I head over to the Starbucks for a coffee and a chat with Kaori, she is leaving to take a job in NZ so it is our last talk before she goes on Sunday. The road leading out of Auburn starts the climb to Enumclaw I was told it was a long one but in reality it is just a meander up and down nothing major the whole way its after Enumclaw that the road goes up and up and up… Stocked with peaches and apples I headed back to the road and made my way too Enumclaw. The town has an old section with the usual stores that accompany such towns, but the one thing I did find strange was the sheer number of hair salons there must be 15 in this town and it doesn’t seem big enough to support so many but there they are everywhere. On the way out of town I noticed a bike/ski shop so I poked my head in and looked around, the young man asked if there was anything I needed when I said no told him I used to work at a bike shop in Maui so I like to see what’s happening in others, he just said “cool” and never talked to me again. I wandered around for about 10min, I left a bit disappointed that he didn’t even ask what I did at the shop or were it was or for that matter what the heck I was doing in Enumclaw, Ah Youth? I started climbing outside of town and made my way up a valley that was forested on both side so the sun was never right on top of me, the shoulder while not great was plenty wide. The days are getting warmer and today was a nice 80 degrees as I made my way towards Mt. Rainier National Park. August 13th I left early to try and beat the heat as I knew I would have a lot of climbing to do and was not sure the road would be the same all day. I passed the turn to Crystal Mtn. resort which The glaciered sides and craggy rock peaks were I stopped in a ranger’s station to ask about my purposed route on FS 23 to White Salmon and was informed it was open but had 11mi of dirt in its length, I figured that would be OK. The hour was getting late so I searched for a place to set up camp and found a beautiful park next to a stream, the park is owned by a nice old lady who agreed to let me camp. I spent the night taking pictures of the Milky Way and enjoying the piece of my camp spot. August 14th I left camp and continued on FS23, a I climbed higher the grade increased to the point I was slipping the rear wheel on occasion, not easily done on a bike weighing 135lb along with my 175lb of body weight. I was watching the mountains around me to see how much higher I would go, the top of the hills were coming closer as I rose until I topped out and started to make a decent that curved around not making the rest of the road visible, I thought I had made it then in front of me the road pitched up and for the next hour and a half I climbed until the point I lost it, I was screaming at the top of my lungs “who made roads like this, what kind of masochistic road builder person likes to torture cyclist uuuuuuugghh!!!” after my melt down, partly due to the grade and condition of the road which had become worse as I climbed as well as my hunger it was 5pm and I hadn’t eaten since my donuts earlier, Back on smooth tarmac again I looked for a place to camp, not easy since the areas I found are to rocky and the turnouts are too few. I made a decision that the right spot would find me, so I just rolled on the smooth road watching the view and waiting for the spot to locate me. I was cruising downhill when I saw a dirt road heading off to the left up a steep pitch, thinking it might be flat at the top I walked up and found an amazing site. I returned to my bike and pushed it up to the camp spot I found, set up my tent cooked dinner then took a look around, the spot I found was in direct view of Mount Adams, just as impressive as Mt Rainier. As the sun set Mt. Adams turned shades of orange as the light reflected o August 15th I awoke in the morning with the sun peaking through the split in Mt, Adams and the squawking call of the Grey Jays. I took my time getting ready ate my Oatmeal, had a Mocha packed my bags and left my perfect camp spot on my way to a place called Trout lake and eventually Hood River Oregon. The road continued its downhill trend much to my delight. As I plunged the trees suddenly parted on my left and reviled Mt. Adams in full frame, a spectacular site. I stopped for a few The road was flat and fast with a slight downhill trend that never really changed, the girl was right I made no major climbs and soon found myself sitting on a bridge watching a group of wannabe adventure geeks roll down the drop, I only wish I would of taken pictures of the crowd of Life Jacket clad goofy looking mostly overweight “rafters” who crept on to the bridge blocked my view and watched the drop they would be doing later. I did take a video of rafts taking the plunge over the drop which is not big but looks cool. I made it to the mighty Columbia River around noon and faced the difficult challenge of crossing the bridge that has NO access for Bikes or Peds. I stopped at the visitors center close to the bridge to ask what I was to do since the sign warns “No Bikes or Pedestrians allowed on the Bridge” the nice lady reached into her Jar of Dollar bills handed me a $1 and said “ Go to the beginning of the bridge, not to far on and stand there with this in the air, someone will pick you up” looking at her like she was crazy I took the dollar and headed back to the bridge. Standing in the 100 degree heat I held out the dollar and truck after truck passed by with no one stopping this went on for about 20min until a nice Spanish couple picked me up bike and all and dropped me off in Hood River, I made it across and entered a new State, Welcome to Oregon.
obscured by fog as I crossed the channel giving the city a haunted feeling, as I got closer the fog lifted and revealed a beautiful skyline set against a deep blue sky. The ferry hit the dock the attendant shouted to all the bike “Bikes!!” I rolled out with the group but by the top the split had happened and I was alone again headed my own way, I left the ferry and rode back into Seattle. I started to Pikes Place market but turned around and headed back towards my intended route out of the city it was 12pm and I needed lunch I had 50miles I wanted to do and only 7 hours to accomplish it. I got lunch at a Subway restaurant ate my lunch on the wall of the McDonald's and watched the myriad of people pass by, tourist mixed with locals, bums and a couple Italians that looked like pimps. Lunch tucked away I made my way via my Google map south headed for a turn I would not make and a route I would eventually find only to lose again, I dislike following directions!
There is even my favorite WWII plane the P-51D Mustang and gleaming polished beauty of aeronautical design. I made my way over to the space and jet fighter exhibit there is a SR-71 Blackbird Predecessor with a drone attachment a beautiful F-4 Phantom and a couple cockpits you can sit in and experience the feel of being in the chalks while sitting in a jet, you don’t move but it looked neat. 
I happened upon a jewel of a Produce stand on the road to Enumclaw called “Tracey Roadside Produce” it is the coolest store, with the antique pedal cars and the motor cycle hung on the walls, the place is well lit and stocked with all kinds of new and old fashion candies like Saltwater taffy, candy canes in a mountain of flavors as well as Honey, jams and the freshest fruit and veg I have seen at any stand so far, it was a real treat. I happened to meet Tracie the owner as I was leaving she seemed to be a super nice person and is very proud of her Business as right she should be, if you’re in the area stop by for sure you won’t be disappointed.
On the route I found a wonderful spring that someone had dammed up and made a flow over so you can refresh yourself in the water which is ice cold and so refreshing, I stayed a while and enjoyed the coolness. The road was just perfect as I approached 45mi I decided to call it a day. I found a perfect spot off the side of the road tucked in the woods, set up camp and made dinner. As I was making dinner another cycle tourist passed by but didn’t notice me and he was moving to fast to stop, but I did notice his bags only 2 light weight!!!
borders the National park and soon came upon the Gate to Rainier, but unlike the other parks this one had no guard or ranger, I suppose it’s only when you try to get closer that you have to pay. I paused for the obligatory photo and proceeded into the park. Immediately the shoulder disappeared, a bit strange since the road then became so much more beautiful as I wound up with views opening up I was suddenly stopped in my tracks by the most beautiful site I have seen since the road to Haines, Mt. Rainier appeared suddenly. 
contrasted against a pure blue sky. While I was taking photos a monk in his very neatly worn customary orange robe which gave him the appearance of someone very in touch with the simplest way of being appeared, he also took a picture and soaked in the beauty before us, I hope it is not bad karma to take his pic he was standing there so serene looking. I climbed for another hour until the turn off to highway 130 then I plunged down the 3500f I just gained and continued down one of the best downhill’s I have been on so far, at least 16mi of fast fun with perfect road and amazing views. 
road that is very quiet were traffic is concerned with a great blacktop and views of the mountains and streams. I climbed past many camp grounds and people having a leisurely weekend out with families and friends. As I made my way along FS23 the road began to narrow telling me the pavement would soon end and the dirt would begin and sure enough it did. At first it was Ok just another dirt road not as nice as the Dalton which was nicely grated but good dirt any way. 
I summit the Baby Shoe Pass plunged down a worse dirt road until finally and not a moment too soon the pavement appeared and the grades leveled out.
ff the ice and snow that caps it, making for a pleasant evening to a hard day.
pictures and absorbed the moment, I Love Mountains. Descending I made it to Trout lake in about an hour with no real uphill, I was surprised to find NO lake or at least I couldn’t see a lake, maybe it was further away from the town? I fueled up with another coffee a weak flavored water that they tried to pass as coffee, disappointing! The girl at the counter told me it was all downhill into Hood River, cringing skeptically I left Trout Lake with the idea that I would have to make a large climb before I made it too Hood River.
CONTINUED ON THE OREGON PAGE
