Travel On a Bicycle Built for Two: Day Eleven - Tonasket to Republic, Washington

Day 11

May 27th

Wednesday

44 Miles

From Tonasket to Republic over Wauconda Pass

We were glad we started early at 6:30 am. The climb started immediately and was pretty steep for the first 6 miles before evening out some as we rode through a valley. This was our fourth pass and the easiest so far. We would climb at around 6% then it leveled out Giving us a break. The only disadvantage was the heavy traffic that consisted of gravel and logging trucks. The upside of being passed by logging trucks was having the air filled with the smell of fresh cut trees.

The different valleys were very pretty with small creeks, rolling hills, pine trees, and aspen trees. We rode past what looked like an old mine beside the road. The Wauconda Ranch stretched along the valley just before we climbed to the community of Wauconda. Our map indicated a store and cafe would be in Wauconda but they recently closed on May 1st with a sign on the door that said "gone fishing, store and cafe for sale".

Our ride into the town of Republic was nice. We stopped at the visitor center to ask about camping. Ronnie would not let Jamie go in the visitor center because they shared space with a rock shop, the trailer is heavy enough! The town of Republic plans to build a new campground in town that will be open next summer. For now the only campground is just outside of town at their fairgrounds. We bought a few groceries and then rode to the Ferry County Fairgrounds. It was a nice area we shared with only one other camper. The grounds were well kept with a stream running along the back of the property, lots of birds, and flowers. After setting up camp we walked around and looked in one of the newer buildings where they have a 100 year old Merry Go Round. We also enjoyed watching a young boy at the property next door. He was riding a small motorcycle in the field accompanied by two small dogs, one large dog, a goat, and a cat.