36.0 miles/ +1327.6 ft/ Total miles 3032.2
I’m in Washington state! Just barely across the border from Idaho, but it counts!
I had an excellent rest day in Sandpoint, thanks to my Warmshowers hosts, who provided advice on what to do and see in town. With their help, I was able to get a spot on a cruise on Lake Pend Oreille in the late afternoon. It was billed as the “Birds of Prey” tour, and according to the host, they had seen eagles on every trip this summer but one. Well, make that two. We did not see any eagles or ospreys, but we did have a nice boat ride on the lake and saw the places where the eagles usually are.
After spending so much time in the tiny towns along the Northern Tier, there was some culture shock being in a big tourist town (Sandpoint isn’t really that big, but when you add all the summer visitors, there are a lot of people). I had Thai food for lunch on Friday and a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich for lunch on Saturday – these are items I had not seen since I left Boston! There is even a big natural foods grocery store in Sandpoint, so I stocked up on oatmeal and bread.
This morning I started on the first panel of Northern Tier 1 – the last map. I started on Northern Tier 10 in upstate New York, so I have been working my way across a lot of maps. Northern Tier 1 is 457 miles from Sandpoint to Anacortes, Washington. I will turn off the route in Rockport, Washington, to head southwest to Seattle, so I won’t ride the entire length of this map set. It feels good to be on the last map!
My plan from here is to ride across eastern Washington, mostly on Hwy 20, with a rest day in Republic on Thursday (after Sherman Pass), and another rest day in Winthrop on Monday, July 31, after riding Wauconda and Loup Loup passes. On Tuesday, Aug. 1, I will ride from Mazama (over Washington and Rainy Passes) to Newhalem. Then I will make overnight stops in Darrington and Snohomish, followed by the last day’s ride into Seattle on Friday, Aug. 4. I am looking forward to getting home!
The ride today was on a back road along the Pend Oreille River. Traffic was light, and the hills were not too bad.
Views along the road:
An old barn:
Judy's Bike Ride 2017 
Love the pictures and feel your excitement about getting close to home, and more familiar landscape. Really pretty country that you are riding in now. Congrats on your trip so far!
Welcome to the home state, Judy! You have a few hills to get over, but the light is brightening at the end of the tunnel. I’ll be a few days behind you on the Cascade Bike Club’s Ride Around Washington trip, back in Seattle on August 5th. I look forward to catching up with you then. — Dave
You’re in Washington! You’re on the last map…you’ll be home around august 4th! Amazing to be hearing about the home stretch. Your pictures from this stretch are especially beautiful – the river and reflections today is a wonderful shot. Good luck with the passes – you are in such great shape now for them.
Welcome back Judy! The North Cascades should be no sweat after all your miles. Nothing but great weather as far as they can predict. Glad you are back in Foodlandia.
You’ll miss Todd and Lucia by about three days coming over the passes with RAW. I hope you have a great ride!
Thanks Judy for staying here in Republic. It was a joy to meet you and hang out with you for a couple of days and thanks for hiking Swan Lake loop too! Have a wonderful trip over 20 and home to Seattle.
Thank you for having me! It was fun to get to know Republic a little. And happy birthday!