Day 5: To Mazama, WA

Sun May 28, 2017
Stats:  Today - 51 miles; 216 miles to date
  Elevation climbed: 5479 ft;  8735 feet to date
  Temp. Low: upper 40's, High: mid 70's
 No wind, sunny

Saturday was a planned rest day.  It came early on our trip, but we wanted to take a day to enjoy the national park a bit. So, we went on a hike in which a short hike became a long strenuous hike that exhausted us.  We were concerned that it would affect our bike ride the next day.  Though we were stiff and sore from the hike, it didn't affect our biking muscles.
Pictures from rest day...

        

More stats:
  We rode 33 miles to get to the top of Washington Pass.  It took us 9.5 hours.  The bike computer says riding time was 5.5 hours. Thus we took about 4 hours for breaks.  We know we took about 3 half hour breaks and numerous smaller breaks.  Our average speed was 7.9 mph.
  Coming down to Mazama, we covered 18 miles in one hour, with a top speed 36.4 mph.
  When we got to the top of Rainy Pass there were a number of vehicles parked along side the road.  We met and started chatting with a woman named Laura, who somehow could tell we were very tired and probably hungry.  She was very kind and offered us some food.  Wow, did we appreciate that.  We each had a turkey and cheese sandwich and took one for the road.  It was really an answer to prayer since our food supply was short, no places to buy food and we still had five miles to the top of Washington Pass.

The route was very beautiful with many streams, rivers and waterfalls.

Diablo Lake

Highway 20 over Washington and Rainy Passes are closed over the winter.  Due to three times the amount of snow and the concern of more avalanches, they started plowing almost a month later than normal, thinking that it may not be open until June.  With good weather and long hours put in by the crew plowing, they opened​ on May 16.  We were monitoring all this on the Washington DOT website.  It was interesting to follow.

This is the group that gave us lunch.

At Rainy Pass

To the overlook

Overlook at Washington Pass

Day 4: Rest Day at Colonial Creek Campground

Sat., May 27, 2017
Stats:  Today - 0 miles; 165 miles to date
  Elevation climbed: 0 by bike;  by foot 2674
  Temp. Low: upper 40's, High: mid 70's
  tailwind, sunny

Today I (Mary) awoke in the early morning and in my half-sleep state, had three words drop into my mind: mother, cancer, and centurion. Then my mind proceeded to construct a powerful dream in which I met a man at a store and told him that God was going to heal his mother of cancer. All that day in every town we went through, I looked for the shop the man might be in but didn't see it. I had started the day exhausted from my lack of sleep because of a nagging headache, so by the time we ended our ride on the side of the mountain we would be climbing on Sunday, I was thoroughly exhausted. I was happy that we'd be spending our free day at Colonial Creek Campground the next day. We rolled in to this North Cascades National Park campground and saw the word, "FULL" posted at the entrance. There was no phone reception in the whole park and no wifi, so we had no options to find anything else. Since we had just entered the Diablo Lake valley, we had no energy to climb out to look for anything else. We decided to look for the camp hosts and ask if they had a hike/biker area or could find something  for us.  As we walked down the camp road, we met a friendly woman who said she didn't think there were any hosts. We told her our story and went back to the entrance and Ron simply prayed, "God, would you find us a place to sleep here?"

As soon as Ron prayed, the woman we had met, Carter, came running over to us saying, "My parents said you can set up your tent on the camping pad behind their RV." Excitedly, I grabbed my bike and the pedal banged into my ankle, causing a big welt. We met Cathy, the mom, who said to let her know if we needed anything. We were so grateful, especially since they wouldn't take any money for the cozy spot (It turns out that, with a senior discount, they only paid $8 per night - half price). We set up and I gratefully asked the Lord for a way to give back to them.

The welt on my ankle was getting bigger, so I went over to Cathy and asked if I could get a bag of ice to bring the swelling down. She invited me into her spacious RV and immediately shared with me that she was suffering from lymphatic cancer, which was causing terrible swelling and pain in her legs. I told her that I had been asking God for a way to give back to them, and this is what He provided.

 I spoke to her about Jesus and how he intended for all of his followers to do the things that He did, to listen to God and do what He told them to do, including healing the sick. She agreed with me. I gave her examples from my life of how God had healed me and used me to heal others. I was just about to speak healing over her when her 5-year-old granddaughter knocked and came in. After mentioning praying for her grandma, Cathy quickly whispered, "They (the grandchildren) don't know anything about it." That meant I wasn't able to pray aloud for her, so I gave her a goodbye hug and whispered, "Be healed in Jesus' name."

I wasn't able to visit with her or pray with her during our next free day and left wishing I had somehow found a way.

As we were biking on Sunday after our rest day on Saturday, the Lord reminded me of the words He had given me that morning: mother - Carter, the first person we met - her mother; cancer - had cancer; centurion - just like Jesus' interaction with the centurion in Matthew 8,  when Jesus healed the centurion's servant at a distance, I had confidence that God is healing her completely, even though my time with her was cut short. God is amazing!

Passing through the town of Concrete.

Entering North Cascades National Park

Day 3: To North Cascades Nat'l Park

Fri., May 26, 2017
Stats:  Today - 55 miles; 165 miles to date
  Elevation climbed: 2047 ft; 3256 feet to date
  Temp. Low: upper 40's, High: mid 70's
  about 10 mph tailwind, sunny

We've been out of range of cell phone service and wifi for a couple of days.

Today was a nice day with a slight tailwind to push us along.

Day 2: To Rasar State Park

Thur. May 25, 2017

Today's stats - Road:  46 miles; 110 miles to date
    Elevation climbed:  297 ft; 1209 ft to date
    Temp. Low: upper 40's: High: mid 60's;
     Tailwind, sunny

Guemes Isand, WA to Rasar State Park, WA

Sunrise from Guemes Island

Thank you Dick and Sally for your generosity.

                                             

We got a later start today, not arriving at the ferry on Guemes Island until 10:40. Our goal for today was only 46 miles of flat road and we were happy to have the wind at our backs. We rode in the Skagit River Valley and along the rushing, olive green river on our way to Rasar State Park.

Coming out of Anacortes and onto the main highway, we stopped to have a snack at an underpass. Two guys with loaded bikes saw us there on their way by and were excited to talk about their upcoming adventure. Nick and Spencer from Indiana and Ohio, will also be traveling the Northern Tier.  After discovering that we're all Christians, Nick shared a prayer request with us about whether to accept a job offer and I prayed for wisdom for him as I rode today. When we arrived at Rasar State Park, we went to the three hiker/biker campsites and I was just wondering aloud whether we might see Nick and Spencer again, when a lovely couple, Tom and Jane from New Zealand pulled up on their tandem. They said, "There are more coming", just as Nick and Spencer showed up. As we were chatting, Nick mentioned that he had decided not to take the job and had real peace about it. When he mentioned the timing of the decision, it was right about the time I was praying for him.

One thing we love about touring is this kind of comeraderie. Who knows? We may meet up with lovely people again all along our route.

Wild flowers in the rain.

A bike path in Anacortes.

Leaving Anacortes on USBR 10 (US Bike Route 10)

Otherwise known as Washington State Hwy 20 or North Cascades Hwy.

Spencer and Nick

Beautiful Rhododendrons along the ride.

Day 1: To Guemes Island, WA

Wed., May 24, 2017

Stats: Today - 61 miles: 64 miles to date
Elevation climbed:  912 ft
  Temp. Low: upper 40's: High: mid 60s
    No wind, cloudy, two hours of light rain

 

Everett, WA to Guemes Island, WA

The day has come to head out on our trip.  Our first day was a 61 mile bike ride to Guemes Island.  Before we left we said good bye to our hosts, Phil and Barb.  They were excellent hosts.  Thank you for making us feel very welcomed.

Dr. Philip Smith, whom we stayed with

in Everett.  His wife, Barb, is in the picture

with the group at Puget Sound from 

yesterday's post.  She's the shorter woman

wearing purple.

We were up and started our trek at 7:15.  Our day was pretty much without incident.  We had a cloudy day with about two hours of light rain in the late morning.  Oh yea, there was one small incident.

(Mary) "What's the most challenging part about riding with so much gear?" Our hostess Barb asked me the night before our ride. Unhesitatingly, I answered, "Keeping your balance while mounting." ...You know where this is going, don't you? 

About two hours into our ride, we were on a dangerous highway with lots of traffic and no shoulder. I stopped Ron to see if we were on the wrong route. He rode away after saying no, and I went to mount my bike, putting my left foot into the toe clip as usual. I usually have to balance my bike on my right toe when I do that. I put my right foot down, but there was squishy grass, no pavement, and my foot sank down. I was in trouble, immediately losing my balance. The bike did a complete slow motion flip down into a 15 foot deep ditch! I landed with both feet firmly planted in the mud next to a stream and my bike on top of me!! I yelled for help and two cars had stopped. When the woman who stopped leaned over the tall grass and saw me, she was shocked.  By that time, Ron had come back, he and another guy holding his hand helped me pull my 75+ lb bike out of the ditch. The rest of the ride, my feet were treated to a cold mud bath, not to mention my clothes and gear, but I'm so grateful that my angels were once again working overtime and nothing is injured and my bike's fine too. Hallelujah! Thank you for all of your prayers!

The rest of the day went well.  We arrived at our destination on Guemes Island about 5:00.  On this evening we stayed with a friend of a friend of a friend.  Sally Jo's friend Phil called his friend Dick who invited us to use their yard to set up our tent.  So to Guemes Island we went.

Waiting for the ferry.

Our tent on the deck at Dick

and Sally's house on 

Guemes Island.

We also had our own heated bath house

that we set the tent next to.

Picnic At Puget Sound

Tues., May 23, 2017

Stats: Today - 3 miles: 3 miles to date
  Temp. Low: upper 40's: High: ~70;
     sunny

After we arrived at the airport Monday night, we took a shuttle van to our hosts house in Everett, a city about a half an hour north of Seattle.  We received royal treatment with Dr. Phil and Barb Smith, our hosts in Everett for our first two nights.  They're friends of Sally Jo, a friend from our days with Asia Connect.

                           We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the spring blossoms in the Smith's yard. 

On Tuesday morning, we picked up our bikes from Bicycle Centre in Everett where we had shipped them two weeks ago. Bicycle Centre had re-assembled them and tuned them up so when we picked them up they were ready to go.

After picking up our bikes, we rode back to Smith's house and then we headed out to the nearby Indian Reservation, where Sally Jo hosted us on a picnic at Kayak Beach on Puget Sound.  However, we left our bikes at home as we rode with Barb.  We spent a sunny afternoon with Sally Jo, her 94-year old mom, her niece, and Barb.

                We enjoyed the bright sunshine, and a strong wind whipped up some pretty hefty waves.