Day Fifteen - Ione to Newport, Washington

Day 15

May 31st

Sunday

54 Miles

From Ione to Newport

As we left Ione we crossed a grated bridge over the Pend Orielle River.  These bridges can be slippery and with rain the night before it made Ronnie nervous.  Looking down made Jamie nervous because of the height, this was a tall bridge.  We made it over no problem but probably both held our breath the entire time.

The ride from Ione to Newport, 54 miles on LeClerc Road, was perfect for our last day in Washington.  We road along side the Pend Orielle River among pine trees, dense forest, wet lands, and wild flowers.  We saw white tailed deer, a moose, and eagles soared above us most of the day.  Traffic was light on this road with gently rolling hills so this was a most enjoyable day.

Eleven miles were through the Kalispel Indian Reservation.  The wild flowers were beautiful along the roadside as a herd of buffalo grazed in a meadow. A wetlands mitigation has been established on the reservation to restore the wetlands and habitation. We stopped to eat our lunch below the Manressa Grotto in a shaded picnic area.  

We arrived in Newport to camp at the Old American RV park and Campground.  The only positive about this campground is our view of the Pend Orielle River.  

Tomorrow we enter Idaho, our second state!

Day Fourteen - Colville to Ione, Washington

Day 14

May 30th

Saturday

45 Miles

From Colville to Ione

Our last day riding in the mountains of Washington.  We left Colville in light rain, the remainder of the day the rain was all around us but we managed to stay one step ahead or right behind it. We did not get rained on until that night in Ione where we experienced our first hail storm in a tent.  Our tent held up nicely to hail that was pea and quarter size.  We set up our tent under cedar trees that provided a nice cover. 

Leaving Colville we were surprised at the steep climb. This was not a pass but we did ride up into the mountains. Traffic was light so we enjoyed a lovely ride through the mountains and meadows.  We saw a lot of white tailed deer.  The deer don't stand around long when they sense your presence, their tail goes up and they bound off for cover in the thick forest.  We would love to have photographed the deer, they are stunning animals.  The best we could do is enjoy seeing them for a brief moment.

Ione was a great little community with very nice people.  When we arrived they were finishing an ATV poker run.  Except for the thunderstorm our stay in Ione was very nice at the Cedar Creek RV and Campground.  Owners Linda and Gabe went above and beyond to see that we had everything we needed for a comfortable stay. The campground had a very nice tent area, clean facilities that included nice showers (no quarters or tokens needed here) a store, and guest laundry area.  They also had two very nice cabins, in hind sight had we known about the looming storms we would have rented one :-)

We have seen many businesses flying the American and Canadian flags since we are only 25 miles from the border of Canada.

Our first hail storm, our tent survived nicely.

Campsite at Cedar Creek in Ione Washington

Only 25 miles from the Canadian Border

Ronnie's favorite sign.

Day Thirteen - Kettle Falls to Colville, Washington

Day 13

May 29th

Friday

15 Miles

From Kettle Falls to Colville

Clouds were hanging low in the mountains that framed Lake Roosevelt. We packed up our camping gear in a light rain shower for an easy ride through a beautiful valley leading to Colville, Washington.  We saw white tailed deer, wild turkey, and quail, among the horses and cows grazing in tall green grass.  

As we neared Colville we saw an additional saw mill producing board lumber.  This is an amazing process with massive equipment.

Our first stop in Colville was Clarks All Sports.  Wes helped Ronnie with a spare shifter cable and chain oil.  The moisture in Washington has bike parts trying to get a little rusty.

We stayed at the Colville Inn since the forecast that evening and night called for rain.  We stocked up on a few groceries and washed clothes preparing for the next few days when we will be leaving Washington and going into Northern Idaho.

Wild Turkeys walking down the road.

Beautiful pastures / meadows between Kettle Falls

and Colville

Lake Roosevelt with clouds hanging low

in the distant mountains.

Saw Mill for board lumber

Mountains of logs ready to make lumber

Sawmill in Colville

Day Twelve - Republic to Kettle Falls, Washington

Day 12

May 28th

Thursday

41 Miles

From Republic to Kettle Falls over Sherman Pass

Today's ride was on the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway.  We had a pleasantly cool start to the day.  The climb to Sherman pass started immediately then leveled out into a very pretty valley.  This will be the last of the five passes we cross in the Cascade Mountains. 

We enjoyed riding through a valley lined with alfalfa fields, and green meadows with horses, and cows.  As the road became steep and winding we were riding through beautiful pine, aspen, and cottonwood trees. At one point the cottonwood tree blooms filled the air like snow.  Part of the day the road followed a small river.  During a rest stop, Ronnie spotted a beaver rolling in the grass on a sunny bank.  Thunderstorms rumbled around us, the clouds provided shade but we were never rained on. Close to the top, we passed the White Mountain Fire area where you could see for miles how it changed the landscape. 

There were a lot of logging trucks traveling the pass. Many of the trucks passed us several times as they retrieved a load, delivered it then repeated the process.  They all moved over, never crowding us.  Many of the drivers waved or honked and waved as they went by.  We also had a man in a pick up pull over to encourage us by saying, "you are doing great, almost there"  When we arrived in Kettle Falls we saw that all the logging trucks were delivering to a massive plywood mill owned by Boise Cascade. We felt very tiny standing next to the mountains of trees stacked up with giant sprinklers constantly spraying water over the top.  

We camped at the Kettle Falls National Park located beside the Columbia River / Lake Roosevelt. There were several bald eagles soaring overhead as we set up camp.  It was a nice park with very tall pine trees.

Overall today was an excellent day as we finished our 5th and final pass in Washington. The smell of fresh rain on pine trees made us smile as we topped Sherman pass.

Columbia River / Lake Roosevelt

Our campsite by Lake Roosevelt

Giant water sprinklers on the tall stacks of tree logs

waiting to be processed into plywood.

Log mover

Logs

Ronnie's favorite saying!

Pass number five done!

White Mountain Fire Lookout