Day 5, Arrival in Seattle

We made it. Chicago to Seattle. 2286 total miles; 1729 bike miles and
557 truck miles! Our last leg fron the Oregon border (Colombia river)
started off beautifully. If Interstate 84 along the south (Oregon)
side if the river is a 10 as roads go, then Wash 14 along the north is
an 11. It winds close to the river through the appropriately named
Colombia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Forests and foothills on
one side, the mighty river on the left. At some points, I could
literally reach out and touch the rock wall. Great photos and videos
to share at some point.
The bad news is that it started to rain lightly and that rain
accompanied us for the next 5 hoyrs. We tried to take a short cut
through the Wind River and the adjacent National Forest but after a
near absence of gas in the middle of nowhere we returned to a more
traveled route. Note to Garmin users: the GPS was useless in the
national forest; it had roads where there were none (not even trails).
It also didn't have perfectly good texaco station in its lists. Not
trustworthy in remote areas.
so the ride ends not with a bang but with a slog up US205/5 to
Seattle in the rain. At least it was about 55 degrees. A small
confirt. As they say, however, "if you don't ride in the rain, you
don't ride". Seattle keeps its well earned reputation as a cloudy
rainy place.
Overall, a great trip seeing heretofore unseen areas of this great
land. My only regret? The truck and the passes through Jackson, Wy,
skipping Yellowstone. But then again, that leaves a challenge for the
next trip! That trip is just 4 days away. I will restart the blog on
Sunday, May 18th.