Port Angeles

A few miles above Lake Crescent we came to the city of Port Angeles. Port Angeles is one of the northern most citys in Washington. From there you can catch a ferry, cross Strait of Juan de Fuca, and dock in Victoria, Canada. Regretably we did not have the time to take the ferry to Canada. I will save that trip for another time. (Remember it is another country, and now you need a passport to go there. Even for just a day visit.) In this photo you can see one of the ferrys. They were huge. We wern't able to get real close but did get some shots as some came in on there return from Canada. We visited some gift shops, had a bite to eat, and decided we would spend the night in Port Angeles as it was to late in the day to see Hurricane Ridge in Olympic Park, which was to be the high point of the whole trip.

Fully Summer

Optimal route condition and great weather systems are starting to line up with one another. Longer trail approaches on the West Side of the mountain are melting out which facilitates access to some rarely climbed gems. The freezing level has been hovering between 12,000 feet to 14,000 feet making for comfortable climbs. Mid-July has historically been the busiest time up high on the mountain - and for good reason.



Crevasses are starting to open wider, and as the summer wears on, the routes that navigate along glaciers become more circuitous. Longer summit climbs aren't necessarily the worst thing, but they can put climbers crossing bridges and overhangs during the warmest part of the day.



Notable events in the last week include a posse of "mono-skiers" on the Muir Snowfield, the opening of the new Carbon River Ranger Station in the often overlooked northwestern part of the park, and black bears starting to make their way into the alpine meadows. Come on up and enjoy prime-time at the park!

The Bike Aquatic

Our latest trip along the coast was of the epically off-road variety.



Behold the single speed aquatic tandem recumbent, a.k.a. pedal boat!Isn't she a beauty?When I was growing up, we used to pedal these things around small lakes, but I had no idea they could be taken out into the ocean. Turns out there is a whole culture out there of self-propelled ocean travel, including transatlantic voyages. The boats used for those are a tad more sophisticated, but this one is just fine for pedaling leisurely along the coast.



The local rental place assured us that these boats are marvelously stable and virtually impossible to flip over.We experimented, and are pleased to confirm this. Very safe and reliable, even in turbulent water.



Operating the pedal boat was much more effortful than we expected! Ocean water is rougher than lake water, and pedaling this thing felt like riding a single speed bicycle that is geared way too high.



Feeling as if we were treading through thick mud as we rode the waves and tried to stay on course, we soon longed for gears and foot retention. At least the adjustable seats allowed for full leg extension.



Despite our slow progress along the coast, the whole thing was ridiculously fun. It took me some time just to calm down from the excitement of being out in the ocean on a pedal boat.



We went as far out as we dared, pedaling among the sailboats and lobster boats and imagining what it would be like to cross the Atlantic on one of these things.



We pedaled into some of the tiny harbors and beaches that line this part of the coast and took photos from angles that would have been impossible from the shore. We docked outside a cafe and I jumped out to buy us some coffee - just for the fun of having done this. And for the first time in maybe 10 years I wore boat shoes on an actual boat.



We are both pretty comfortable in the water, and at some point we took turns swimming next to the boat. I wish I had the nerve to do this way out in the ocean - but after having seen sharks on Cape Cod for the past two summers I am cautious about that stuff, so this was fairly close to shore.



After three hours we returned the boat, utterly exhausted. Pedaling it felt very much like cycling - though so strenuous that you'd have to be in pretty good shape to do any serious touring along the coast. I cannot help now but wonder what the "serious" pedal boats feel like to operate - I imagine not very different from a recumbent bicycle, not that I have any experience with those either. I am happy to have found a way to combine my love of the ocean with cycling. Pedal boat, we will meet again!

Truss Lust!

[image via ANT]



There is never a shortage of gorgeous ANT bicycles to fantasize about, and my latest obsession is the striking Truss Bike. This design is modeled after the original Truss Bridge Bicycle built by Iver Johnson in 1910, which in turn was modeled after the truss arch bridge.



[image viafixedgeargallery]

The original Iver Johnson bicycles were builtin Fitchburg, MA.The truss frame was available as a "racer" or a "roadster", as you can see in the cataloghere.



[image via oldbike.eu]

Iver Johnson was an interesting man who also made handguns, among other things. The truss bridge bicycle frame design is generally credited to him.



[image via oldbike.eu]

However, there was also La Labor - a French bicycle manufacturer that seems to have built a similar truss frame at around the same time. There have not been any truss patent wars between the two, as far as I know.



[image via Ahearne Cycles]

Another contemporary remake of the truss: a randonneur from Ahearne Cycles. Stunning workmanship, and I love the colour - although I never thought I would say this, but there is too much lugwork going on here for me. To my eye, it seems that the truss frame is best shown off with clean TIG-welding, without lugs. This is possibly the only bicycle design of which I would say that.



[image via John Grinder]

And here is an ultra-modern interpretation by John Grinder. This is a welded 29er mountain bike with sloping top tube and derailleur gearing. Certainly not your everyday mountain bike!



[image via oldbike.eu]

If anybody out there is knowledgeable about truss bridge bicycles and their history, I would love to know what the original purpose of the design was: Was the intention for it to withstand extreme stress during races? Or was it meant for loaded transport cycling, like the double top tube? I am also interested in whether the original was welded or lugged; from the pictures it is difficult to tell.



I am glad that this classic but eccentric bicycle design has been resurrected by several excellent builders. If you have a truss bike, what is it like to own and ride? "Jim the mechanic" at Harris Cyclery has an ANT Truss Bike in a deep red, but I missed the opportunity to properly photograph his, so stunned I was by the bicycle's beauty!

Swimming With the Manatees

The Other Reason We Travel

The main reason we wanted to travel full time was to see the world and do it together as a family. The other reason I love to travel is meeting all the new people we do. We've had a fairly transient life from the time we were married. We just never have seemed to want or need to stay put in any one place for too long. But the last place we lived, and it is the longest I stayed put in one house in my life, was South Florida. Southeast Florida to be exact. There is much I loved about the place and the people. And anyone that has lived there can attest to the fact that people being friendly or close to others is not one of the plusses. It is just how it is there.



Not to say I didn't make and keep great friends there, because I did. But they were few and far between. I didn't realize how starved I was for people interaction until we went on the road. I soak it up now that I have it so readily available to me everywhere we go. And I love it. I really miss it when I don't get it now.



Today we are sitting inside and I'm a bit pouty about that because we were invited to Happy Hour over at Ken and Faye's. All the pickle ball players will know who I am talking about because they are Pickle masters or ambassadors or something like that. And they are really great people to boot. (As a side note, I realized yesterday that Faye is one of the most regal women I've ever met. She has the kind of southern accent that makes me feel homesick. Someone once told me I was a southern Belle at heart and I think she meant that I want to be a southern Belle at heart, like Faye and my friend Marcia! Unfortunately, I'm more like Jenny from the block so I'll let them be the Belle's!) I'm really bummed that we are missing the Happy Hour due to rain. And I am just so grateful that I know we live a life that another and another and another will come our way. So it's not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of life.



I'm also pondering that the other day we went to Petsmart so we could waste more money on the pets who could care less about the gadgets and gizmos we buy them. While we were there though, I struck up a conversation with one of the managers and she was just the neatest lady. I'm thinking I'm going to have to drive back over just to talk to her again. She had lots of animals for pets, told us about some of them and told us why she moved to Florida, told us how she lost her mom and MIL both within six months and she is from my hometown. She is the first person I've met from Jackson. Well the first person that would admit it at least.

I was so touched that she'd share her life with me so freely and I hope I extended the compassion that I felt in my heart when she shared about being here without extended family around. While I can feel pouty about this or that in my life, she helped me to remember that most of the people I love the most are still here for me to see and visit with and talk to. And that's a pretty huge thing. She reminded me that while I lived for a season where I felt pretty lonely neighbor wise, I have now had a season where neighbors are abundant because most people in this country are still very neighborly. She reminded me of the other reason I love to travel. The people. They are every bit as incredible as the landscape!





Living the life in rainy Florida!

Summer Fog, Pete's Island

We have had some pretty interesting fog in the past couple of weeks. This photo was made from the summit of the Mt. Rose Trail in Grand Portage National Monument. It was taken during a beautiful, sunny day on land but out over the lake the fog was pretty thick. Along the edge of Grand Portage Bay, warm air from land clashes with cold air from the lake. Combined withthe frequently shifting breezes the fog comes and goes frequently. I captured this photo during one of the times when the fog was receding and the island came into view. It was visible for a short while then the wind switched and blew the fog back in, once again completely blocking the island from view. I watched it change like this several times in the 30 minutes I sat on the summit.