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.