Today I woke up in my least favorite campground of the trip. About the only upside to the site was a pair of wild (not very wild though) turkey hens that came through the campsite while I was folding my tent. I hit the road leaving Leavenworth and headed for Everett, Washington, and the Pacific ocean.
On the way across the Cascade Range I saw some more of the beautiful scenery I've come to expect from the northern and western US. The road went through towering mountains covered by a temperate rain forest, along snow fed rivers, and was graced by beautiful wildflowers. The Skycomish River paralleled the road for quite a while and offered some dramatic views.
Upon arrival in "civilization" traffic immediately became an issue. After so long on small roads and in small towns the volume and speed of traffic in and around Everett seemed murderous. I was glad to get away from it and head for the ferry terminal in Edmonds, just a few miles away. Of course like all the modern ferries I've ridden, there was a 20-25 minute wait in line to get to the terminal. Then once you've paid the $7.50 for a one-way ticket I had to wait for another 20 minutes for the ferry to arrive. It wasn't bad, the temperature was in the low 80s and the people waiting with me were quick to start up conversations. The good thing about being on a bike is that you have your own lane just for bikes and we got to go on first so the small bikes could be shoehorned into the bow of the boat. Then we got to be the first off. That was a good deal.
First view of the Pacific
about a half mile line to get to the terminal
once there motorcycles got their own lane
there was a slight delay in the arriving ferry while a crew worked on the ramp
we got the prime spaces at the front of the boat
once they lowered the ramp we took off like a swarm of bees
It was beautiful. I was enthralled by the beauty of the coast and most specifically, of the rain forest through which I was driving. The shaded highway was towered over on both sides by monumental cedars and towering maples. From Kingston to Port Gamble to Eaglemont thence south on highway 101. Not having a map though caused a headache. Somehow I ended up in Olympia...I was enjoying the drive and suddenly I'm back on Interstate 5. What the heck? So I pulled over to check my iPhone and sure enough, I needed to turn right instead of left quite a ways back. I was pulled about 60 miles east of where I wanted to be. So after getting my bearings I set out to backtrack to where I made my mistake. And of course, when things go bad it really goes bad and I dropped a glove in the middle lane of I-5 at 70MPH. Crap. So I pulled over and asked my phone to find me a Home Depot so I could replace the glove. I had to go the other way and backtrack yet again. Boy was I frustrated.
Then, when I got on US 101 again there were LOTS of trucks, lots of backed up traffic behind them, and lots of no passing areas. I guess I shouldn't complain... the drive was beautiful and I'm sure I saw more of the countryside going slowly behind traffic than I would have zipping along at speed with all the curves to negotiate.
By the time I got to the coast again I had 350 miles on the bike and a fog was rolling in that chilled the air and cut visibility down. So I pulled over in Aberdeen for the night. I made contact with my cousin David who lives in Fresno. We are going to link up in two days and he's going to join me for a day or two on the ride.
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