September 2010
© 2009-
The Olympic National Forest was waiting at Washington’s doorstep as we crossed back into the USA. We followed the eastern boundary of the Forest and then cycled around the Hood Canal to catch the ferry into Seattle.
We spent our time in Seattle playing tourist and trying all of the delicious local creations.
Our final days in Washington were dotted with rain, sun and berries. We rode through Christmas Town, USA, catching a glimpse of your future holiday tree!
Picking blueberries and blackberries ensured that our bellies were full to brave the bridge crossing the Columbia River into Oregon.
Riding the coastline down Oregon was beautiful and a little wet. Were able to pick up a few fellow touring cyclists along the way to share the adventure with. Aaron shared our pain of the bridge over the Columbia River at the Columbia River Coffee Company and rode several days with us. We also picked up Team Beer Sampler and Karl in Oregon. Karl is cycling for a small AIDS charity based out of Athens, GA.
Our energy was high a we headed into Northern California. We rode through fields of cows and lilies all the while noticing the clouds building. NorCal welcomed us home with a week of rain! Despite the downpour we managed to hike around the giant Redwoods and were treated both awe inspiring, and truly strange sights. We finally got out of the damp weather for day of rest with our host family outside of Arcata.
After a week of riding in the rain the sun came out and we finished off the Redwood Forests with a stroll down the Avenue of the Giants. Then the terrain got tough as we climbed a 2000 foot hill which dropped us off on the beautiful California coast. We spent the next several days climbing and descending along perilous cliff sides until we hit the Russian River. From there we headed into the Sonoma Valley to spend some time with the Russell Family!