Becca's Oddysey

With the Rockies in my rear view mirror, I pulled out of the Blackfeet Indian reservation. Before leaving the friendly town of Browning, I stopped by the Museum of the Plains Indian, where I learned much about Native American history from the tribal docent. Apparently there are more of the Blackfeet nation in the Pacific NW than on this reservation.  Also, interestingly, the tribe got their name from the color of their moccasins. Becca has many days, probably even weeks of plains ahead of her. We’ve allowed ourselves 3 nights in a row of motels, mostly because there is nothing else out here. Last night was spent in Valier, a town with only 2 paved roads. We experienced a huge thunderstorm and orange skies, the likes of which we rarely see in the Pacific Northwest. Today, Becca battled strong, exhausting cross winds while riding the bike. At one point while resting and eating her lunch, the wind even knocked her fully loaded bike over. We made it to Choteau, MT, a town known fo...

It’s a BIG state; we’re going to be here for a while folks. It’s a beautiful state, one with more bears than people. So far I’ve see 2 bears, one big horn sheep, lots of deer, a herd of wild horses and a wandering goat who appeared lost. Yesterday Becca crossed the Continental Divide. Wow what a milestone! And she did it carrying all her gear, no less. I spent the day exploring Glacier National Park. Such splendor! By far the most beautiful scenery on this entire trip. The life of Mutt & Jeff, wrangler and cowgirl involves Becca getting off in the morning on the bike and me packing up the wagon and finding a suitable campground. Then I wait for Becca to show up at the end of the day on her trusty steed, and I cook the grub. Last but not least, we fight with the poptop (which is difficult to open, difficult to close and not much fun to climb into. We take turns on sleeping in the upper bunk.  We spent the night on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which, complete with wandering ...

Today is 6/24, I think.  We've been in the big skies of Montana for several days, and the landscape extends forever.  The Rockies loom ahead of us with endless asphalt and endless natural beauty. The last couple of days we stayed at national forest campgrounds, which had turquoise glacial lakes for us to swim in (a cold shower alternative). Very refreshing! Whitefish, MT was a liberal haven of cafes, bike shops, gift stores, and services for outdoors people. The summer tourist season is very short; snow flies as early as September.    It’s amazing how many people are as driven as Becca when it comes to biking cross-country. The route she’s on is actually a established one for cyclists. Yesterday Becca saw about 14 individuals riding the other way. Whenever she gets a chance, she swaps stories with them. The other night at the campground there was a mother/daughter team on their way from Bar Harbor, Maine to Anacortes, Washington . The next few days will begin the ste...

I have to comment on what a beautiful day it was today (June 21, I think).  Becca says it was her best day biking so far.  It didn't rain, the views were incredible, and we both enjoyed the abundance of nature, each in our own way.  The traffic and hills were manageable. It's amazing what one notices on a bike that's missed when driving.  The least little grade up, an extra 4 miles down a gravel road to a trailhead, the sound of chirping birds, the smell of the morning mist, the wildflowers on the side of the road are all fully appreciated on a bicycle. Becca rode 50 miles up the foothills of the Montana Rockies, to today's destination of Libby, MT.   I took a hike in an ancient cedar grove, and at one point all colors of butterflies fluttered around me while I stood on the bank of a brook that bubbled so loudly it actually sounded like voices talking. I met another hiker, who warned me about bears and we had a discussion about what to do if I encountered o...

Becca had a little family emergency right after the second flat tire in Heltopia, so we found ourselves detouring back to Portland for a few days. In addition to dealing with family matters, Becca went back to her bike experts to complain about the impossible bike tire removal, and opted to buy new tires that were much easier to remove.  Ahh...I attempted to repair the Nomad Moon navigation system again, but of course nobody can do anything in a hurry, so I gave up and it will have to wait till July. I got to visit a few people in Portland, hit Trader Joe's and buy a tiny speaker to amplify my phone apps (phone, audio GPS, Pandora) which is better than nothing.  We headed back up to Spokane yesterday and stayed at Becca's late mother's house, which was bittersweet, and had a nice visit with her brother Nathan. Spokane is a lovely city!  The Spokane River is high and swollen, with turbulent rapids and waterfalls.  Lots of lovely paths, and we got to do some exploring....

I'm losing track of the days.  After the last post, we headed east and ended up spending the night in a place called Roosevelt, WA, which had a free wind surfer campground. A bit of a party scene, and no running water, but we managed. The ride to Stanfield, OR (just past Umatilla) involved some freeway mileage, but there was a bike lane at least.  Upon arriving at Becca's nephew's home, we were rewarded with a warm welcome by Josiah and his wife Courtney, and their 2 adorable babies.  Becca enjoyed catching up with them and even got to sleep indoors, have a hot shower, do laundry and eat pizza!  Unfortunately, the return ride over the Columbia River was quite dangerous, as Becca had to go on the freeway bridge without the benefit of a bike lane. These routes are not well marked apparently. On top of that, it rained the entire day, with nothing but endless brown wheat fields to look at. Plus, due to miscommunication on my part (and poor directions from a local), Becca...

Yesterday we left Cascade Locks after a late start, and Becca peddled across the Bridge of the Gods to the Washington side.   Lots of hills and tunnels, but overall traffic was not so bad.   I did a 5 mile ride on a trail in Cascade Locks and was duly humbled; this is 1/10 of the ride Becca did and I was pathetically tired!    Along the way, I caught up with Becca at a wayside on the Columbia River where we met a man who had been living in his van for 7 years after selling 2 houses.    An inspiration for simple living. When we arrived at Columbia Hills Historical State Park in a place called Lyle, WA, we met 75 year old Kate, who was biking around the state, sleeping in a tent, living the dream. Wow! Puts my tiny little worries into perspective. Kate came down to our campsite to hang out and help Becca with her first flat tire.    A wind and rain storm blew in, but we were safe in the Nomad Moon, and apparently Kate stayed warm and dry as well… Th...

After riding to Portland on 6/7, we spent the night at Becca's house, and several of her friends came bringing bon voyage dinner and a royal send-off.  Yesterday Becca's route took her on the Columbia River Gorge Historic Highway, a beautiful, windy, popular road with no shoulder. While lovely, it is potentially dangerous because of all the tourist traffic and nowhere to pull off.  As luck would have it though, the government has decided to issue permits to drive through, so only a limited number of drivers can be on the road at a time.  This turned out to be a huge benefit for Becca, who was able to enjoy the views of the waterfalls and gorge without the risk of getting run over by tourists. I was able to get in a hike at Wahkeena Falls, a 4 mile loop trail that went straight up but had some rewarding views.  When Becca and I met at our next campground in Cascade Locks, she had ridden about 50 miles and actually arrived before me. The last part of the ride was on a ...

After months of planning and many challenges, Becca and I are on our way. Everyone is wishing her well, and is duly impressed with the undertaking of biking across the U.S. I am just the cheerleader, sag wagon driver, Mother Hen. I'd like to relay some of Becca's experiences, but clearly only from the sidelines where I am waving flags of encouragement without the pain of exertion or the glory of such an accomplishment. I picked Becca up in Portland and we drove to Cannon Beach, ate dinner and dipped in my hot tub before bedtime.  It will most likely be her only ride in the Nomad Moon (my camper van), as I'll be following along for only a month, or at least till she gets through the Rocky Mountains. I was impressed that, in spite of my offer to carry most of her gear for the first couple of days, Becca insisted on piling most of it on the bike to add to her training for what's to come. She got her start in Astoria, OR, along the Columbia River Walk path and rode about 41...