I'm spending tonight in Arcata, CA at my brother's old apartment. This past March, I flew out to California on a vacation from work to visit him and other friends here. I've now re-entered familiar territory. I've driven the road from here southward to San Francisco before and I must admit, it's a bit strange to be somewhere I've been before after having been in completely UNfamiliar territory for most of the last 3 months. What's also strange - the sound of the TV in the background, a roof over my head, being INdoors, a computer to use for as long as I want, a couch to sleep on, a REFRIGERATOR!
Let me catch you up a bit on where I've been, who I've met, and what I've been seeing.
Just outside Cannon Beach, OR (I don't know what this is or why it was parked in front of the bike shop):
Going through a tunnel on the OR coast:
Paul and Jimmy, from Ohio, biking Victoria, BC -> Mexico in 3 weeks. Yikes:
View from lunch a few days back:
Sunset at the beach at one of my favorite camping spots:
Colin, from Calgary, going to Mexico with his guitar and totally free spirit. We spent an afternoon together and chilled at the Hauser Bar and Grill (Hauser's population is unknown but word on the street is it's about as many people as were in the bar that day - mmm...'bout 10: A sample population:
Bob and Sherrie, headed to San Diego. It was Sherrie's 46th birthday yesterday and I shared it with these two and her friend Devorah around the campfire with seafood, salad, wine, COLD beer, and chocolate cake. What a treat:
As always, there's lots more but it's past my bedtime now. Hope to catch up with you all soon...looks like I'll be in SF in about a week!
Unfortunately, this library won't let me plug in my camera to their computers, but I just wanted to give a quick update. I'm just a few miles from the CA border now, and I'm about to cross over and head to the RV park where I'm staying for the night. All goes really well, but the pictures will have to speak for themselves because it's all beyond description. I'm totally bummed about this library! Anyway, I guess when that's the biggest grump I have, I don't have it so bad.
Here I am with the spiffed-up Bruiser, ready for takeoff on the morning of August 21 in Seattle, WA. That morning, Bruiser and I cruised over to the ferry terminal at Pier 52 and headed west (further west) to Bremerton, from whence we travelled to the little town of Elma. The trip got off to a great start; at the ferry, I asked a woman taking photographs if she'd take a picture of me and my bike. I got into the story of it all and she was just amazed. We talked for the length of the ferry ride (an hour) while she showed me pictures of her recent trip to Africa and also gave me her phone number and her father's phone number (from Elma) in case "anything should go wrong, God forbid." Susan was a good omen from the start. The next morning was damp, but brightened by my encounter with Becky and Louie Berry, a couple from Portland, OR who have done many tours and gave me tips about campgrounds along the way. On day three, I crossed over into Oregon, via ferry. It was a strange ferry. I brought my bike town onto what I thought was the dock and sat waiting for the "ferry" to return to pick us up. Then, the "dock" just started moving, and off across the Columbia River (we meet again) we went. The Oregon welcome sign on the other side was hardly sufficient, so I had to consider myself welcomed by the MOUNTAIN I immediately proceeded to climb, finally having reached US101. It was a new experience to climb such a hill (I really prefer to call it a mountain) with so much extra weight on the bike, but the scenery is payoff enough out here. I'll give you a sample: It was at this site that I first talked with Jim and Paul, from Ohio. They're trying to make it to Tijuana in 3 weeks. Crazy, if you ask me. But then again, people say the same of me. No shame.
My internet time is running out now, but there is so much more to say. Use your imagination and I'll fill in the gaps later.
Leaving Seattle today, shooting for the 10:15am ferry to Bremerton. Should arrive by 11:15 and then start the 75 mile ride to Elma, where I'll be staying the night at Elma RV park. Tomorrow, shooting for Lewis and Clark State Park.
I'll have my cell phone the entire way. I don't have a mailing address yet, but you can send things to:
General Delivery ATTN: Terra Curtis San Francisco, CA 94142 *Make sure you note on the bottom: Please hold for pickup by Sept. 12, 2007
I'll be able to pick up mail once I reach SF. My email will still be out there, too, I just won't have very frequent access. (terra.curtis@gmail.com)
And now I'm about to leave. I'm here in West Seattle, where I've been staying since our group arrival in Seattle one week ago today. The last mile of the ride in was indescribable; we were all chanting and yelling and flying down a huge windy hill to meet the ocean in Golden Gardens park, flanked by our families and friends yelling and chanting and squirting champagne on us, too. After a couple really successful and productive days building on Vashon Island, most of the group dispersed and made their way elsewhere. I've been lucky enough to be hosted by Erin Kinneen, a P2S04 alum who lives here in W. Seattle now. The generosity I continue to experience in this country has been an eye opener, and one that makes me want to find some permanence again soon so I may, too, offer a roof or a meal to those passing through.
As for me, I'm biking out of here tomorrow, taking a ferry to Bremerton and will head south hopefully as far as Elma tomorrow night, where I plan to stay at an RV park there. I just spoke with Frida from the Elma RV park and she seemed really excited and enthusiastic about bikers and biking, so I hope I am able to make it the 70-75 miles from Bremerton by dusk. The next day I'm looking to get to Lewis and Clark state park, where camping is available on a first-come, first-served basis (I'm thinking free as well). From there I'm not too sure, but according to the forecast and a few locals' thoughts, the sun should be coming back out sometime tomorrow. It's been sort of rainy ever since my fellow B&Bers left. Ironic?
Sorry to not post any photos right now. I'm sitting in a cafe and without my camera. I also haven't taken many photos in the last week. After arriving, I think I preferred to just live in every moment rather than through the perspective of a photographer. As soon as I can, I'll get some photos up. You might check the other blogs for photos, too. I'll steal this video from Sam just to give you something:
Godspeed (not sure why I've heard that a lot lately), -Terra (a.k.a. t.bone)
First of all, let me post this video from our own Gregory Hunter (aka Crocodile Hunter gone cyclist):
So, how can I catch you all up on the goings-on of this crazy group? Last time I blogged, we were in Missoula, Montana. I don't think I mentioned the Big Dipper Ice Cream shop, home of the Supernova (see pictures on Sam's blog). Sam and I polished off 6 scoops of ice cream with 6 toppings AND a brownie on the bottom. It's insane the amount of ice cream that we consume. (Side note: both Nate's and Brianne's parents are in town tonight and what did they BOTH treat us to? Ice cream. So, sitting in the church freezer are TWELVE half gallons of ice cream. 30 people, 12 half gallons. That's almost a quart of ice cream for everyone. Then there's peanut butter and microwavable fudge topping, sprinkles, and choc. chip cookies. Does this sound like an athlete's diet to you?)
On our way out of Missoula, we all had our pictures taken at the Adventure Cycling HQ. From there, we rode on to Superior, MT, after a morning stop at Liquid Planet for some of the rider's caffeine fix. This days ride was especially beautiful as we were able to avoid I-90 most of the way on frontage roads. Unfortunately, Courtney's tire was going flat about once every mile, so the last 10 miles into lunch were quite slow. Lunch was well worth the wait that day, though. This is where we ate (and swam and hung out for no less than 2 and a half hours): Directly after lunch, there were about 10 of us riding down a back road directly adjacent to a railroad track. I can't give you the details here, but I will say that we had a very memorable mile down this road - I think it was also quite memorable for the girl that drove by and the conductor who, yes, STOPPED his train to watch us pass AND gave us a "toot toot!" and a smile. Ask me about it later.
In Superior, we stayed at the local elementary school directly next to the fairgrounds where, lucky for us, the rodeo was taking place that evening. Most of us bought our $9 tickets, found a seat, and prepared for what turned out to be one of the most "enlightening cultural experiences" (in Derrick's words) of this trip. The men's events were all violent; the women's were not. Win found a guy wearing a t-shirt that read "Liberalism is a mental disorder." At one point, parents threw all their children 8 and younger into the rodeo pit (for lack of a better term) to chase a calf with a ribbon on its tail. The parent of the child who successfully removed the ribbon from the calf's tail got a handle of whiskey; the child received nothing. Sexual and political jokes were being cracked left and right. It was a trip.
The next day we crossed into Idaho (again) and into the Pacific Time Zone. Our route took us mostly over I-90 the whole way, including multiple sections of road work. Sadly, as I was trying to take a picture of Bronwyn and Marie crossing the "road closed" section of the road, I dropped my camera. This being the second blow in one week to the poor device, I pretty much pronounced it dead then and there. Broke down and got a new one - credit cards can be (temporary) saviors.
From Wallace we rode a beautiful bike path part of the way into Coeur d'Alene. There was also a section on I-90 taking us over 4th of July pass, approximately 1,000 feet of climbing in about 2 or 3 miles. Not too bad. The end of the ride took us up the cliffsides above Coeur d'Alene lake, conjuring up images of the Pacific Coast Highway. Once we were back down at lake-level, Sam, Evan, Eric and I jumped off the bikes and right in. It was perfectly refreshing. Wish I had pictures, but at this point I was still sans-camera. Maybe Sam will post some from there.
Out of Coeur d'Alene, we were blessed with a 42 mile ride entirely via the Centennial Bike Path into Spokane (WASHINGTON!). In order to get pictures at the state sign, we all left the bike path on foot, walked across a grassy separation and climbed up underneath the I-90 overpass. It was worth it, as Washington is our last state line sign together.
So, here we are in Spokane on our second night. We had a build day today at a big site. Habitat seems to have built an entire block. It was neat to work with two other large groups, mostly younger than us. Local media was there throughout the day, so if you feel like googling local Spokane TV channels, you might find some footage.
Tomorrow we're off to Wilbur. It's hard to believe we get to Seattle on Monday. Everyone's got it a bit in sight at this point, and you can tell it's on everyone's mind. No one really knows what to expect.
Here I am in Missoula, Montana. It must have been a week and a half or two weeks ago that I last wrote. Luckily, there is a very nice public library here in town with enough computers for us and the citizens.
Since I last wrote, we have accomplished some pretty amazing things, if I do say so myself. I can't even remember it all, but in about 5 days we climbed Togwotee Pass (and the continental divide), Teton Pass, the continental divide again (back east) into Montana, and Flesher Pass, crossing back to the west side of the divide. Here we are in Missoula at an elevation of about 3200 ft. I think, in a tea-sup shaped valley unfortunately filled with smoke from the wildfires burning just 50 miles away. According to the locals, this never used to be, but is becoming, a common summertime occurrence.
I've just taken a brief look at all the photos I've taken since I last posted, and I have no idea how to sum it all up nor the time to explain it all in detail. I visited the headquarters of Adventure Cycling here in Missoula and saw a topographical map of the U.S. on the wall. I am amazed at what we've biked through already, and fortunately feel ready for what still lies ahead.
Two interesting tidbits: in Bozeman, I was able to locate and visit the house where my grandparents used to live with my Dad's older siblings. It was literally 5 or 6 blocks from the student center where we stayed. My dad had called my grandmother previously to let her know I was out looking for her old house and, as if it were scripted, my phone rang just as I pulled up out in front. It was my grandmother and she was happy to tears with my being there. I sat in front for a long while trying to imagine life there 60 years ago when they inhabited it. Tried to imagine my uncle Carl riding his tricycle down the street, my grandfather leaving for work in the morning. It was a really neat experience. Sadly, my internet session is about to expire in 5 minutes, so I'm going to try to put up some photos and trust I'll fill in the gaps of these stories later.
