The last leg

I'm done! Let me walk you through it...though I completely forget the past 2 weeks or so and where I went and what towns I went through. As I've been saying, I will fill in all the details later on and then in about 6 months you'll be able to read all the great stories and see all the great pictures--the fun will never end, because I have no idea when I'll be able to finish writing this all up. It's going to be my "pet project."

Okay, I basically left Wisdom, Montana and then I think I was in Montana two more nights and then I crossed back into Idaho on Highway 12--a beautiful scenic route along the Lochsa River. I was only in Idaho two days because I booked it from Lolo Pass to Lowell and then to Lewiston. From Lolo Pass, which is incredibly steep if you are going west to east, is a perfectly reasonable grade if you're going east to west, and then you go downhill for about 60 miles or so...the first 10 miles are very steep downhill but then it's just a slight decline for the next 50 or so, but noticeably downhill. Other bike tourers headed east that I passed on the road didn't look like they were going to pass out or anything, but I was sure happy that I was going slightly down and not slightly up like them.

Fast forward, I left Lewiston and got out on the road sort of mid-day...I was taking my time. I crossed the bridge into Washington State and traveled about 20 miles down the road through the arid part of the state, took some photos. I was taking a banana break at the bottom of a steep-ish grade when a large truck pulled up next to me and the woman in the passenger seat asked if I wanted a ride up the grade. Presented with the opportunity, I hesitated for a couple seconds but then I couldn't say no, so we heaved my bike into the back and I hopped into the backseat. Cynthia and Dennis Phillips inroduced themselves and we got to talking and having a fun conversation--they were loving my trip and asking me all sorts of questions and I loved being able to talk about it...but before all this we established that I was heading west to Portland and then onto Astoria, Oregon. They said, "Well, we're going to Portland too--so you just let us know when you want to get out of the truck."

I didn't want to get out of the truck. Because they had watermelon and funny stories and we got to talk about so many different things...and I was honestly ready to be done with my trip. So I cheated, and loved every minute of it. Dennis and Cynthia said, "No one will ever have to know, Amelia." But the truth is the truth, and this is what happened.

So I got to Portland in one day! They dropped me off at the Hawthorne Street Hostel and I stayed there for 2 nights so I could check out Portland and buy my plane ticket home. This was Thursday, July 19. So Friday, July 20 I spent the day in Portland hanging out at the library and at Mother's Bar and Bistro which has amazing breakfasts.

Then on Saturday I got back on the bike and rode 60 miles to Clatskanie, Oregon and spent the night at a city park. It had rained off and on the whole day and was chilly. But overnight the temperature was nice.

And then on SUNDAY, JULY 22ND--the best day in the world, my birthday--I rode 37 miles uphill it seemed the entire way to Astoria, Oregon. They make you work for the finish line. But I whipped up those hills, honestly--I was so ready to be DONE! And it excited me to get to Astoria, so I did the 37 miles pretty quickly, in just over 2 and a half hours. And it was completely overcast and drizzling and I had left the campsite at about 7:30 in the morning. So I got to Astoria just in time for breakfast and had a great one on the main street near the Columbia River.

The great thing was that the battery in my camera died right when I got to Astoria so I couldn't even take a picture of myself finishing! But no worries, I charged the battery that night and reenacted my approach of the Pacific Ocean the next morning--it was still raining, so it looked the same. You would never know.

You may remember Astoria, Oregon from the hit 1980s Corey Haim/Feldman classic "The Goonies"--and did they ever pick the perfect place to shoot that film. At least the two days I was there it was both drearily overcast and incredibly picturesque with the houses sitting atop the steep hills and the Columbia River below. There were clouds on top of fog under a blanket of other clouds--and everything was steely gray/blue except for the brightly colored houses on the hills and boats in the port and all the evergreen trees. I got there on Sunday so there was a great farmer's market and crafts market happening, and lots of people milling about, shopping, eating, enjoying the day though it could have been called dreary.

I decided to continue along highway 101 so I could get to a town that was actually on the Pacific Ocean--Astoria is on a peninsula and has the river and a bay...but I couldn't figure out if that was the ocean or not. So I went to Seaside, Oregon where there could be no doubt that I was on the side of the sea. That's where I spent the nght, at another hostel. And I spent another day there and in Astoria walking around, bringing my bike to the shop to have it boxed up and shipped back east, looking for the Goonies house, taking pictures with my newly-revived camera, and walking along the beach when the sun finally came out near the end of the day. It was a beautiful day, so windy and chilly, but beautiful. I also went on a short hike through the national forest right there next to the beach--I turned around before I got all the way to the top of the trail where you could look out over the Pacific because I got started late in the day, but it was a great trail in the middle of a very dense forest.

The next day I hopped on a bus back to Portland with a couple other folks from the hostel. We had a lively conversation for the two hours it took us to get back into the city. Then I got on a train headed for Seattle--that was July 24th. One of the reasons I sent my bike back earlier than I truly needed to was because I heard the siren's song of Seattle and wanted to visit while I had the chance. So that's where I am right now--staying with a friend of Loren's from college named Maria. I spent yesterday biking through the city, borrowing Maria's bike. I biked down to Lake Union and kayaked for 2 and 1/2 hours thanks to Maria's boyfriend, Darren, who used to work at this kayak place so I got to do all this for free...and then I kayaked down to meet Chris. another of Loren and Kat's friends from college (thank you Carleton College) who works at the Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union. So I kayaked to the dock and then got on a sailboat with Chris and a couple other folks and we sailed for an hour or so. It was all a fantastic time and what a great vacation at the end of my trip!

After all that I went downtown to visit Pike's Place Market, the one where they throw the fish at you or whatever...it was closing down by the time I got there so I couldn't get the full experience, but it was neat to be downtown.

So today I am heading back to Portland on the train and I'll be flying from there tomorrow to BWI in Baltimore. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone back in DC/NOVA! And if you didn't already know, I got a new job that starts almost immediately in August up in Boston. So I actually now have to move from DC to Boston--all the while updating my blog about my bike trip! It's going to be a busy month.

Thanks again to everyone for supporting me on this journey in every way possible--sheltering me, giving me food, being next to a computer when I needed directions or the police's phone number, calling me, leaving me messages--all that stuff. I truly couldn't have done it without all of you. I'll see most of you very soon! And for those of you I met along the way, I can't imagine this being the only time our paths cross. For instance, I am determined to have a fantastic, worry-free experience in Wyoming the next time I go there. And Montana and Idaho, you'll see me again one day.

Love, Amelia