Friday, August 24, 2012

Republic, WA to Colville, WA


Today was pretty tough.  I awoke freezing at about 4am.  It turned autumn all of a sudden.  I crawled out and put on all my clothes, but still couldn't get warm.  Finally around 5am I got up, walked around, and hung out in the park bathroom because it was warm.  Later I went into the laundry room because it seemed like it might be questionable to stand in the bathroom for no reason all morning.  Finally the sun came up and I was warm enough to head out.  Keith and Shannon, my hosts at the Winchester RV park, gave me a fleece and some big socks for my trip.

The pass is the highest year-round maintained pass in Washington at 5575 feet.  I started climbing and felt OK for awhile, but just got hot and clammy as the ride went on.  My shell was dripping on the inside and I got nauseous.  It was very cold at the top and I put on all the clothes that I could.

Got into Colville, checked into a motel because it's next to the fairgrounds and I wanted to go to the fair.  I walked over and browsed through the exhibits, which included an unbelievable number of cute animals.  Most of the animals were handled by the kids who came from all over the area.  There were horses, cattle, donkeys, goats, rabbits, chickens, geese, turkeys, ducks, guinea pigs, iguanas, tropical fish, pigs, cats, and dogs.  In the dog show area, an 8-yr-old boy with an official badge asked me very professionally if I was enjoying the fair and if I had any questions.  I asked him if he had any animals in the fair.  He said he had a dog, a rabbit, and a pig.  He wanted to show me his dog, which was obviously his favorite.  We sat and pet his dog for awhile until I felt a little awkward and left to get some candy.  Sorry kid.

There were lots of older kids there too, dressed up for Friday night.  Hats were at just the right angle, jeans were squeezed into, text messages were flowing.  I left after it got dark and returned to my digs to plot tomorrow's leg.



View Larger Map


The start of Sherman Pass


 Coming down, down, down to the Columbia River


Tried out the weigh station, but couldn't get anything to happen


Pedaled with coffee for about 3 miles.  Thanks, Jackie!


This awesome crane was moving stacks of trees around.


This one eats well.




What's it's name?  "Butterfly!"



Hi, my name is  Jane  Samantha.