088: 06/11/2022: Crescent Lake to La Push: 35.5 miles today, 4045 miles in total. WE DID IT!!!!!

Today is a special day. I completed the last 35.5 miles to La Push on the Pacific and, therewith, completed our Cross-USA cycle trip. 

There will still be much reminiscing over this experience but one thing stands out clearly - it is better to cycle along trails than along roads. We took much longer, both because the trails are not running east-west like the roads and because progress along the trails are naturally slower than on paved roads. However, the benefits of being away from traffic are huge. 

Thank you Christine for being there all the way. It was a great time to be together on the bikes from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to Missoula, Montana. It was reassuring to see you next to the hospital bed after my fall and it was great to see you recover from your fall. 

I am sad that you could not do the last 750 miles with me, but it was great to see you on every day these last few days. It made my days so much easier. 

Today the rain held back for a while and I cycled through beautiful country.

The flowers are so colorful.

This section of road has a couple of shoulderless bridges. Even the traffic was slow and I did not have problems at all. 

I was doing good time and all the while I was thinking, "Shall I slow down to make the experience last a little bit longer or shall I continue?" I stopped here for a snack, but the Burnt Mountin Store was closed desite the sign. :):):)

I saw this beaver carving in front of the Beaver County Volunteer Fire Department building. 

I also stopped at the Lake Pleasant Grocery Store. At least I could get my snack here.

Seeing the first road sign for La Push certainly brought out the emotions.

The flowers were also very happy along the way.

A logging operation next to the road. By this time it was raining steadily and there was no time for good photos. You can see that this road has almost no shoulder and I rather concentrated on the traffic.

I heard a lot about La Push in the Twilight Zone, but, honestly, did not read more about this. For all you followers, I crossed the treaty line and there were NO vampires on my bicycle. :):):):)

There is a good trail along the road running for a couple of miles into La Push. I was very happy to use it. 

I cycled past the Lonesome Creek Store and

suddenly saw the islands in front of the La Push Beach. 

This is a beautiful coast.

Christine was there to prove that my bicycle's wheels were in the Pacific. I did not worry about my sneakers. They were still wet from the rain the past couple of days and a healthy wetting with sea water would probably do them good. 

One tired, but happy man.

We went for lunch and this sea otter came and dried itself in front of the restaurant window. This was a special sight.

After lunch we went for a short visit to the Hoh River Valley in the Olympic National Park. 

I loved these bearded mosses, as they made me think of wisdom. 

Then I thought of all the mental resets we had to do as we met different people along these trails. So many people responded to our meeting in ways opposite to what you would expect. We met with such generosity and friendliness that we many days thought we should get all the politicians on their bikes to also ride and listen. This will be a different country.

I am certain I shall still do a final blog to tie up all the loose ends, but for now, thanks so much to all the people who helped us along the way and also thanks to all the people who prayed for our safety. Your prayer requests have been heard and we praise God with you for all the answered prayers. 

What a great trip. 

087: 06/10/2022: Sequim to Crescent Lake WA: 60 miles today, 4009 miles in total.

This morning Christine and I got "beamed up" at this kiosk in Port Angeles. She took me to the trail after a good night's sleep there. 

We said our goodbyes on the Johnson Creek Trestle, a curved structure that takes one from the woods on one side of the valley into the woods on the other side.

This is a well-designed trailside stop.

The Olympic Discovery Trail runs on trails and very low-volume paved roads all the way from Discovery Bay to just past Port Angeles. It goes past so many diverse and interesting points along the way. 

Just look at the flowers, 

so colorful.

It runs along highways and

irrigation channels in the town of Sequim.

West of Sequim it goes by the new Dungeness River Nature Center. This center is built adjacent to the Railroad Bridge Park.

The construction is ongoing and includes the lengthening of the bridge in the direction of the new center.

I thought the design and layout for the new building is quite good with the windows of the Atrium (in the background) perfectly lined up with the bridge.

And the trail crosses the beautiful Dungeness River on this bridge 

before disappearing in the green foliage again.

Some more Spring flowers and 

the bees were humming away in this hedge. 

Sometimes you do not hear any traffic

only for the trail to swing back to the highway corridor.

The trail was linked up to the Moose Creek Trestle. A part of this trestle washed away in 1987, see the gap going into the trees. Trail volunteers built a long ramp to make the trestle accessible on this side, as

it crosses a beautiful stream.

Not long after the trestle, the abandoned rail line and trail reaches the coast and 

follows it to Port Angeles.

After passing this landslide, I reached Port Angeles and

Hollywood Beach.

Thanks Brandon Irvine of Discover E-Bike for helping me out with a chain cleanup here. You guys are real trail angels.

I crossed a small bridge on the Trail with this view of the sea. I was happy to see how old tree trunks have been worked into the landscaping downstream of the bridge.

The Port Angeles marina was quite full with a number of boats being checked out and cleaned up - probably for some sailing to Canada.

I reached the Olympic Discovery Trail Trailhead on the west of town and 

this part of the trail is a real mix. It is on road shoulders for a while, then on a newly constructed trail on an old rail grade

before it crosses the Elwha River on this hanging pedestrian bridge under the vehicle road. What a good idea to provide separation between motorised and non-motorised traffic. 

Then it was cycling through the countryside on road shoulders of varying widths. 

It was great to meet up with Christine for a coffee and a chocolate at Joyce General Store.

From Joyce the road climbed some more, see the view over the Strait of Juan da Fuca to Canada in the distance.

I soon came to the Spruce Railroad, a beautiful trail on the northern side of the Crescent Lake. This railroad was built during the First World War to export spruce timber to assist the war effort. The war ended before the railway was completed and the rail grade was never used.  

This trail is also part of the Olympic Discovery Trail and by far beats the other sections. It has a perfect paved surface, runs up and down very easy grades and the scenery is spectacular. 

It was quite rainy, but you make up your own mind, so beautiful.

Amazing.

This scenery is not seen from the car, as the road runs along the far shore all along the Lake.

Amazing scenery.

The trail runs through two tunnels as well. 

Both are within easy walking distance of the eastern trailhead. I encountered quite a lot of tourists along this section.

The Lake and surroundings are just beautiful. I can imagine what this lake would look like on a sunny day.

I soon passed the Lake and cycled into the fog.

I cycled past this huge log on the trail.

Too soon (have you read this before?) I saw the end of this part of the trail. 

Christine was so kind as to pick me up at the closest trailhead. Tonight we are sleeping in Forks and tomorrow I shall do the last 35 miles.