Danger! Tunnel Ahead

Today’s ride started a little later – 8:45 am.  A relatively short ride of 27.5 miles.  Full of flat, winding roads until about mile 17.  Then the hills and tunnels began.  Hwy 20 was well marked that there were bikes sharing the road, however the shoulders were narrow and one of the tunnels was long, dark and the motor traffic was moving! There was an alert for bikers to notify the motorized traffic that they were sharing the tunnel, but it was still a nerve-racking time until entering the light once again.   Today we entered North Cascades National Park.  Joe stopped at a visitor center during his bike ride and one of the rangers mentioned that the campsite were full, but they always have camping space for bikers traveling through.  Joe is trying to stop more and enjoy the scenery as he bikes through the US, but it’s a process.  He did take a great water fall and river picture, as well as a selfie. Susannah and Neptune met Joe before noon.  This time the truck beat the biker to the rendezvous spot.  A lot of people stopping to hike and enjoy the beauty of the Cascades including many waterfalls and the Ross Dam. We stopped at the North Cascades National Park Visitor Center and went for a quick hike to the Skagit River.  We enjoyed more greenery and moss covered trees. Some of the trees were enormous and we were able to fit inside!  The size reminded us of the coastal redwoods at Muir Woods National Park.  We got back to the campsite mid afternoon and Joe and Neptune had time for a small nap.  Neptune finally noticed the rabbit that had been just feet away for ½ hour.  He’s an observant dog.  I had only seen grey and white rabbits in the wild before, so it was pretty cool for me, too. Tomorrow is a big day with a long uphill climb of about 19 miles and about 6000 feet elevation gain.  We are moving campsites again, so I’ll be packing up the RV and moving it along solo for the 2^nd time.  Will be using that checklist.  And probably calling/texting my RV friends for help.  At least this site is pretty level and I don’t have to back up – I hope! 5:00 will be well deserved tomorrow.

Thank you for thinking about us and your well wishes for our safe travels.  We’re doing it one day at a time.  And still meeting wonderful people every day.