Well, if I camped out on the beach, odds are that I awoke there too. Around 5AM I was vaguely aware that there was light somewhere. I turned my head to my right, and could see the orange glow lighting the horizon. I watched this for about half an hour and then slept a little longer.

At 7AM, I was done sleeping, packed up the bag and sleeping pad and headed for a different beach. I continued watching the day begin over a light breakfast.

I called my friend Camilla (in town from CO) and joined her and her family in Qualicum Beach. Then Camilla and I hiked down a trail to the beach where we checked out lotsa cool marine life in the tidal pools. We found lots of starfish out in the water. By the way, the water was much warmer than I expected and we had a nice swim. After sunning, it was time for more travels. We climbed the trail back to her grandmother’s house and called it a day at the beach. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “you’d have to work pretty hard to not enjoy your time in Canada.

From there I headed back to Seattle where I joined a new friend for drinks. Paula of the “Garmisch Gang” suggested I call her friend Cindy while in Seattle. So I met up with Cindy and friends at a bar called the Red Door in the Fremont district. Interesting thing about this place, it was recently moved one block to make room for some pricier real estate. In any event, we had a nice time and Jeremy and it was time for some rest.

Back at Jeremy’s place he found some inspiration in the guitar so we were up a bit longer, but very mellow. So I was asking him questions about learning to play and mentioned the “Olga” tab website. Jeremy says, “Before there was Olga, there was rec.arts.tab”

What a wild and full day. After packing up most of what I brought with me, and taking Jeremy to work, I had one last chore. Jiffy Lube. I think I finally found it on the fourth pass. Dropped the car off and grabbed a bite for breakfast.

Now on the road to Canada, I’m just taking in the scenery – I had no idea what I was in for. I stopped for gas just before the border and got confused again. Finally back on northbound I-5, I crossed the border, and headed for the ferry station at Tsawwassen.

The ferry ride to Vancouver Island was awesome! Out in the straight, interesting and mountainous islands appeared in every direction. The sky was blue and the air was crisp. People were out all over the observation deck, some sunbathing, some taking in the scenery and some just relaxing. I asked someone to snap a picture of me hanging over the railing and it turned out that she and her friend worked for Tourism BC. Sheri and Marlene gave me some good tips on things to see and do during my visit.

Once on the Island, I took the advice of a friend and headed for Butchart Gardens. Flora of all kinds are masterfully sculpted there and I found myself taking more photos of flowers than I thought possible. My Dad would get a laugh at this as it is one of his habits I tease him about.

After this, I took in downtown Victoria. I really enjoyed the architecture, especially the copper roofs which seem to be easy to find in BC. Also, the harbor right next to the parliament buildings was very quaint.

I stopped in the “Sticky Wicket” for dinner. Apparently, this is a cricket term that is for known to be applied to other situations. While the cricket definition states that a “sticky wicket” can cause the ball to take an unpredictable path, it is loosely borrowed to mean risky business. It just sounded like too much fun to stay out of.

So I ate dinner and found myself still hungry. Not a surprise. However, in looking over the appetizer menu, I noticed a chocolate-almond crème pie on the desert menu. Since it is rare that I order desert, I decided to give it a whirl. My taste buds overloaded, my hunger was cured. I went downstairs and shot a few games of pool with a local, ah the life…

After all this I headed north, looking for a campsite. I stopped at a scenic overlook and was just about to leave when I noticed the moon rising over mountains on the mainland. It was just an amber sliver when I spied it, and I watched it until it rose up past the mountains and bands of clouds which partially obscured my view.

On the road again, I arrived at Qualicum Beach after the campsites had closed, so I set off in search of place for my thermarest and sleeping bag. I saw a bunch of hooligan youngsters drinking Molson on the beach, and asked them for suggestions. I get to the area they suggested, and it’s all RV lots, not good for the open-air guy. I discovered a little road that goes right to the water and am about to cash out for the night. If I get interrupted or asked to leave the bartender at “The Roadhouse” said it’s OK to crash on a small piece of land in the woods behind the bar.

The moon is now high in the sky, and has switched from deep orange to bright white. There are birds chirping in every direction and I can hear the straights gentle surf lapping on the beach. I just saw a little white critter scamper out of sight when I looked its way. I wonder what it was, and if they bite. Time for some ZZzzzzzz’s…..

Hmmm… chores, how exciting.
Coffee at the beach while working on web stuff.
About ready to publish the first real bit of work, then roller blade the day away…

Well, we slept in again today, I guess we’re still catching up. We are planning a mountain bike ride today, at a place called Tolt-McDonald Park. We are moving slowly. I discovered that his front disk brake is not attached as firmly as most of us would like so we decide to take the broke bike into the shop for analysis and get the disc brake tightened. All this goes smoothly and head for lunch (I said we were moving slowly didn’t I?)
The trail is located in Carnation, WA. There is a nice little park within which you will find the trailhead. From here you ride up a hill for while and at the top is a network of jeep roads. Off of most of the jeep roads is a network of single track. These trails are incredibly fun. Lots of tight turns, roller coaster ups & downs – it was great. Not a lot of places where you can really carry a lot of speed but it was a blast to see how much you could get away with. The single track was mostly flat overall, so folks with good fitness could basically ride until they’ve done them all.
After riding, we went to the Snoqualamie Falls observation deck so I could check them out and snap some photos. Once back in Seattle, we grabbed some calzones & drinks and called a friend whom we’ll rendezvous with next weekend. After a little bike maintenance back at Jeremy’s, we took a leisurely stroll down Alki Beach and called it a day.

Wow, we really slept in today. Both Jeremy and I having pretty full days prior to now, we deemed the extra rest appropriate. We grabbed large breakfasts at the greasy spoon around the corner from his place (did I mention he live 100 yds from the beach?) After this, we geared up for a tour of Seattle by bicycle. Missed the water taxi by a few moments but that’s OK. The ride into town was fun and we toured the normal landmarks such as Pioneer Square, Pikes Market, waterfront district and so on. All was going very well until Jeremy’s bike decided it didn’t like us very much. While shifting gears, the cranks sucked up all the slack from the chain, and threw the rear derailleur into his rear wheel. The chain was mangled, derailleurs broken, spokes in the rear wheel munched, and the rear derailleur hangar was distorted to a state of irreparable state. Bummer! After bussing, taxi-ing and biking home, we decided the only way to rescue the day was with food. We cleaned up and went out for big, yummy and filling burritos – ah burritos!

Well, as anyone who has ever slept on the side of the road will tell you, you don’t do it for long. I woke at around 4AM and decided it was time put some road behind me. I crossed into Montana just before daybreak. The light gradually appearing from around my dark, hilly surroundings was very calming. The more miles I passed, the more impressed I became with the large, empty, northern state of Montana. As I traveled through, there were mountains, farms, rolling hills, streams – all very pleasing to the eyes. I reached Missoula at about 11:30 AM, and promptly headed south to Hamilton for some biking. After inquiring about the location of some trails at the LBS, I set out in search of the trail. I turned too soon (little anxious I suppose) and ended up in the wrong place. I was supposed to be going to the “Lost Horse” trailhead, and ended up in a rural neighborhood. I thrust aside my normal male trait, and asked for directions at cute little bed and breakfast. The woman who answered the door gave me great directions and I was on my way. The trail was a lot of fun, albeit very different from the trails I’m used to in Colorado. The Bitterroot National Forest has much more moisture than your average arid CO trails. There was an abundance of foliage, the trail was just wet enough to be tacky for great traction. While most of the trail was very smooth soil, parts were quite rocky. Baby head rocks, mostly buried at intervals of 5-25 inches made some parts of this trail pretty tricky (CO kids should think rock garden at the base of White Ranch). In short, it was a great ride, and I’m really glad I chose it. While driving from Hamilton back up to Missoula, I noticed that there were frequent trailhead signs all along the way. I bet there is lots more riding up here, it’s definitely on my repeat visit list!
Once again headed for Seattle, I really enjoyed the drive through the remainder of Montana. Crossing the Idaho panhandle and entering eastern Washington were also very scenic. Coure D’ Alene Idaho looks like a fun place to spend a few days. Beautiful lake, tucked away between the mountains it was quite a sight! From Spokane to the Cascade Range, Washington kind of reminds me of Nebraska. It was quite flat and seems to be a large agricultural influence. I was very pleased when I reached the Cascades. They were quite impressive! I was crossing Snoqualamie Pass at sunset and the shadows of the mountains were haunting.
I finally reached my friend Jeremy’s place at 10:30PM. He had a busy day helping a friend move. We got cleaned up and headed out on the town. Somehow we managed to have enough energy to close down the town – Life is good!

While I had planned to hit the road between 7:30 and 8:30 AM, it didn?t happen. I actually did get out by 10, and considering the length of time I plan to be away I?m pretty happy with that. I arrived in Fort Collins, CO a little after 11AM, just in time for an early lunch with my friend Carson. We grubbed, caught up and I even got to check out his new bike. He also passed some important information to me. Another old friend is moving from the Chicago area to Southern Cali about the time I plan to be there. Good news is our agenda?s will overlap. Bonus! Extra encounters with old friends are always a good thing.
After lunch, I continued my trip, headed for Casper, WY. Here I met up with a new friend I met over the last 4th of July weekend. She?s the grandmother of musician friend I met the same weekend. We lounged around the house, talked about fun we had over the long weekend and the concert her granddaughter performed in. Additionally, we watched the golfers continue to play, and wondered how they were not struck by lightning. We went out for some tasty Italian food, did a little more visiting and it was time for more driving. After driving a couple hours, I was done and cashed out in the car for few hours.

I picked up a crazy idea from someone I met a few years ago. To ride some singletrack on a mountain bike in all 50 states. Thanks to this trip, I’ll knock a few more off the list. Here’s the list of states I ridden in, in order:

California
Colorado
Oregon
Utah
Wyoming
Idaho
South Dakota
Hawaii
Montana
Washington

New states planned for the remainder of this trip:

Nevada
Arizona
New Mexico

All this should put me at about 25% completion of my goal. Got to have goals.

This is the current plan, however, I may have to make some adjustments.
July 19 Depart Denver for Hamilton, MT
July 20 biking in the AM, then depart MT for Seattle, WA
July 21-23 Seattle
July 24 Vancouver BC (Victoria)
July 25 Vancouver BC -> Seattle
July 26 Depart Seattle to Medford, OR
July 27 Depart Medford OR to Chico, CA
July 28-Aug 1 Sacramento
Aug 1 (eve) Go to Modesto, CA
Aug 4 Depart Modesto for San Jose
Aug 6 Depart San Jose for Irvine
Aug 11 Depart Irvine for Phoenix, AZ
Aug 13 Depart Phoenix for Los Alamos, NM
Aug 15 Depart Los Alamos for Denver, CO