Day 7: A tough ride to Coleville, WA

I woke up this morning at 03:45 to lightning, thunder, high winds and rain. I finally broke camp at 06:00 and rode in a cold rain to a cafe for breakfast. It was so cold this morning I had to pump up my tires (as in deflategate). After breakfast at the Tugboat cafe, I asked the waitress if she could make me a PB&J sandwhich to go- she said they didn’t have any peanut butter. Then she said wait, “wait a minute, I have a jar in my car.” She made me a PB and rasberry jam and a PB and honey sandwhich to go! Sweet lady. Then I left for my 3,800′ climb up Boulder Creek Pass. It was a very tough climb! First, once you start climbing, there is not a single level spot or downhill until you hit the summit. Secondly, it was a hard, cold rain the entire 12 miles up. I couldn’t take any photos because I couldn’t slide the screen on my iPhone- either my fingers were too cold or there was too much water on the screen. At the top of the pass, a man driving a logging truck told me to be careful going down because it was “raining like hell” on the eastern side. I thought it was raining like hell all the way up…Growing up in Arizona, I just don’t undetstand the rain scale. It’s like people who haven’t lived in Africa and think you either have diarrhea or you don’t. They don’t know there are at least 4 levels of diarrhea. If I experience any gastric distress on this trip I may go into the 4 levels in more detail. Anyway, it was raining like hell going down- and it was freezing (40 deg F at the summit),  too. By the time I got to the bottom, my hands, feet and face were numb. I found a little country store and warmed up for abour an hour drinking coffee and eating pastries. Then I pedaled another 25 miles to the Barton’s farm in Colville, where I spent the night. The farm (a WS place) was fantastic! I wandered all around, helped milk the cows and goats, picked produce from the garden and had a great time visiting with Ellie and Claire. Had a great dinner and a wonderfull nights sleep- What a refreshing stop after a tough day! Daily mileage 57, trip total: 347 miles

My hands after one cup of coffee and warming up inside for abour 20 min:

After two cups of coffee I was  completely restored: 

My home for the night. The Bartons have lived here for 4 generations:

They have an incredible variety of animals beyond your normal farm animals: african & chinese geese, peacocks & peahens, guinea fowl, lamas, emus, pot-bellied pigs, etc. I think the ark may have landed in Colville not Turkey. 

This one is for Julie: 

Here I am showing Ellie how to milk a goat. Button the goat was very patient: 

A view from their lovely farmhouse: