Today's update will be a little lengthy, but I'm only doing one day and will do the rest later before we leave again.
SPOKANE TO WALLACE, ID
85.4 miles
388 miles so far
Well, we didn't really intend to ride this far..it just kind of happened due to a route change.
We hopped back on the Centennial Trail from Will's house and headed out, having to jump off now and then due to the flooding of the Spokane River.
It was so fun to see how the Lord went ahead of us in such little ways here. Two or three times we would meet someone who would stop us and tell that "just around the corner the water's over the trail, so you'll need to walk your bike around it." Sure enough, we'd get around the corner and the trail was flooded. Then someone would be there to say, "Now if you walk up over here rather than there, it's much easier and not as rocky." or something to that effect. The trail was so enjoyable as it followed the river and stayed pretty much away from the freeway. It was quiet, pretty and we made good time. Until we hit the Washington/Idaho state line.
Here, the trail meandered through some neighborhoods, onto streets, and it just wasn't as enjoyable, taking more time, caution and distance. When it ran past the information center at a rest stop we hopped off and went to 'get informed'.
Earlier, when we stopped for lunch we called a fellow bicyclist in Coeur d'Alene with whom I had been corresponding this spring regarding the route over Thompson Pass to Thompson Falls. He had said it was paved all the way and a beautiful way to go. Today he recommended we not go that way due to all the flooding and possible road washouts.
When we stopped at the information center, the lady there said the same thing. Hmmm, now what to do? We prayed, talked about it and saw that our option was to go over Lookout Pass. That meant a change in mileage for the day in order to start over the pass fresh the next day - thus the 85 miles today.
Okay, not a problem. We set our faces east and took off again - around CDA, on the interstate. We never planned to ride much interstate because of traffic volume, speed and noise, but that's what it needed to be now. And, frankly, it wasn't that bad. The shoulders there were very wide, very clean and the drivers very courteous.
So, after a two mile climb out of CDA, we dropped down then headed for 4th of July Pass. Piece of cake - it's only 3069' - and only 4.5 miles, not nearly climb that Stevens Pass was.
At Smelterville, we got on the Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes and rode it into Wallace. What a great trail (even though we were doing the uphill version of it)! [If you want a sweet ride, get on at Mullan and ride it all the way to Cataldo, downhill all the way!] It's railroad grade that pulls away from the freeway, is straight and smooth, runs through the back side of neighborhoods. At one point, we rode past a home where the lady had planted an extensive flower garden along her section of the trail. She was out tending to it, cigar in hand, as we whizzed by. The trees and greenery along the way are gorgeous. We stopped at a little bike shop that was right on the trail and chatted with the guy inside, and HAD to get this picture!
We were fairly beat by time we came to Wallace and decided that a motel would be the ticket for tonight. As we prayed for one, God led us to a clean, affordable one with two sweet older ladies that checked us in.
Ahhh, this was a good day!
Oh, and by the way, while you all were growing webs between your toes in Bozeman, you can tell from the pictures that we were enjoying God's gift of the warmth of beautiful sunshine!
Til next time,
Pat
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