Friday, November 7, 2025 - Touring Assisi

Today was tour Assisi day. I cooked a breakfast of fried, thin sliced potatoes, onions and hotdogs and scrambled eggs with onion and yellow peppers. Yum!  We were out the door and hoofing our way up to the high point in town, piazza Mattiote. Here we did what we have done many times before, insert ear buds and follow the instructions and information in a Rick Steves audio tour. Always interesting with the perfect mix of just enough information to introduce the town without too much detail. Each is a walking tour of the town and they work well to give one an overview of the city being visited. 

We found the walking directions a bit more confusing than others we have enjoyed, but by rewinding and listening carefully we were able to following the path he described and experience Assisi as a whole. 

The tours usually have about a 40-60 minute run time, but with stopping to see things, read details or discuss what we are learning they usually take us 2-3 hours to complete. Today we started about 8:20 and decided to pause our tour at about 10:30 to walk down to the St. Francis Basilica to obtain our credentials for our walk to Rome. 

We dropped down to the lower piazza on the side of the basilica to the information office to ask where to obtain our credentials. They pointed us to the arched entrance to the left of the lower basilica entrance. Here a man listened to our request then picked up a phone and spoke briefly on it. About four minutes later a friar came out to greet us and walked us to the pilgrim office. He unlocked it and we followed him in. Here he filled out our credentials and gave them the official stamp of the St. Francis Basilica. We talked to him for a few minutes. He was from Honduras and had been here for six years. He figured to be reassigned in the coming year. We took a photo with him and then he had to leave to give a sermon. We visited the restroom and then began our Rick Steve’s audio tour of the basilica which starts on the lower level. We spent about two hours touring the basilica, really enjoying ourselves. Waves of people would pass by us as tour group after tour group, led by their hushed speaking guides spoke quietly into their microphones for the benefit of their paying customers, not unlike us with our audio tour. 

While in the lower basilica a very kind and friendly priest asked if I could take his picture in front of the relics of Francis. I declined as I had just been scolded by a docent about taking photos. He smiled and understood. But, a few minutes later I saw all kinds of people snapping photos near the relics. Did they just object to photos of Frances tomb? I motioned to my priest that I would be happy to take his photo. He smiled and handed me his camera. After the photos he blessed Sally and me and asked about our children, then our grandchildren. This took a bit of hand waving gyration and Spanish/Portugese language juggling. In the midst of it all I thought how kind this man is, I should reciprocate and ask about his children. I did. Sally burst out laughing as did the priest. I immediately recognized that my curiosity overpowered my reasoning and laughed with them. He had us take a photo of his instagram account so we could come visit him in Brazil. And just like that, we parted. 

After our tour of St. Peter’s Basilica we walked back to our apartment for lunch. We are not very inventive when it comes to lunches-bread and cheese with a piece of fruit.  Sally took a short nap and I tried to compose my blog starting with a summary of my impressions of St. Frances and his position in this community, the church and the world at large. Everything I tried to write came out a jumble. I realized I was, if not confused, at least conflicted about my impressions, opinions and conclusions. Too much input and too little time to assimilate. Perhaps, more reflection is needed. If only I could go on a long walk and have a chance to contemplate. . . 

After our long lunch break we returned to the main square of Assisi to pick up our audio tour where we left off. When we interrupted it this morning neither of us looked to see how much time we had left. We were both surprised when we looked and saw only eight minutes to go. Those eight minutes took us to a tiny church that used to be outside the city, an area populated with a plethora of cats. 

We ended the tour back on the main street to St Frances’ Basilica, but instead of turning right toward the basilica we turned left and headed back to town and our apartment. 

The apartment Sally found is a gem. Newly remodeled, clean and modern on the third floor with a nice view out over the valley. Of particular interest is its location of only about 100 yards from the main square and less than 30 yards from three food stores, all small but with everything we need. Puts us right in the heart of Assisi. 

We spent half an hour sitting on a bench in the square people watching, having fun guessing nationalities and looking at the fashions. 

Back in our apartment we cooked noodles and vegetables for dinner. After dinner we called the Caldwells to say hi and then headed back to the square for a treat and to people watch some more. We got back home about 8:45. Sally did more of what she is amazing at-research. She enjoys it and always finds interesting facts and things to go explore. I vowed to go to sleep early tonight, and left Sally to explore our possibilities for tomorrow.  I thought I should be tired and I felt tired, but I didn’t fall asleep. This happened last night too, but I blamed it on a couple cups of tea I drank at dinner. Today I was careful to avoid stimulants altogether but still I did not sleep. Jet lag. It’s a bummer. 

Assisi

Old Roman Amplitheater

Typical Assisi street

Well tended home

Baptismal font used by Saint Frances and statue of the man himself

Actually crucifix that channeled god’s voice to tell Francesco to fix the church

St. Francesco Basilic

Friar that gave us our credentials

Lower Piazza at St. Francesco Basilica 

Inside lower level

Priest who has no children 😃

St. Francesco returning from war

Us - St. Francis Basilica behind

Piazza Comune After Dark

Piazza Comune

Thursday, November 6, 2025 - Rome to Assisi by train and bus

Maybe I am more small town boy than I think I am. After our three hour romp through downtown Rome last night, I came away amazed at the size and scope of what humanity has created. I guess I have no imagination, or no organizing skills. How can this many people be crammed into this small an area and all their needs be met? Abundant and affordable food? Check. Pure drinking water? Check. Human waste and garbage properly handled? Check. It puts me in awe of the human ability to organize, manage and execute systems to meet the people’s needs. And it is done without central control, but as a collective of agencies, businesses, and individuals solving problems, designing and manufacturing devices and implementing systems to provide for the communities needs. In a way, it gives me hope that once we recognize a set of needs and problems we can solve them. Now we need to wade through the tidal wave of ignorance and misinformation, recognize global warming, bigotry, hate and our over consumption and put our ingenuity to work solving the problems obviously facing us. 
Anyway, Rome again made an impression on me. 
For some reason I slept well last night. 4 solid hours 8:30pm to 12:30am (while the rest of Rome is partying) then awake for 3 hours, then 4 more solid hours of sleep, 3:30am to 8:00am. It really put a dent in my fatigue caused by jet lag and no sleep. 
We shared a peanut butter sandwich I had brought from home for breakfast, and a cracker and piece of cheese from the airplane flight while we did more plotting and planning for the days ahead. I called to reserve rooms in Trevi and Poreta. It is funny here. When you call to reserve a room, they don’t take your name. They just say okay, sounds good, then Ciao and hang up. We are assuming they can do this because they are not busy. We will know more once we start on our way. 
Once out the door and down from the third floor (in the U.S. it would be the fourth floor. Here they don’t call the ground floor the first floor. Numbering starts with one on the floor above the main floor) we found a pastry shop two doors down. We bought something that was like a chocolate chip muffin that we split for breakfast, then headed off toward the railroad station for our train to Assisi. 
We were very early for our train. At the north end of the station we stepped across the road to visit the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs, designed by Michelangelo and built on top of ancient Roman baths. We stepped inside and marveled at its vastness and opulence although the massive outside appearance was more impressive.
After our quick tour, we headed for the train station to learn what we could about which of the over thirty tracks our train would leave from. We wandered through the lobby reading the schedule boards and discovered we were so early our train’s departure had not been scheduled yet. We walked the breadth of the station, passing by platforms 29 to 1, then out to a ticketing machine to see how the price we paid buying them online from home compared to buying them here just before departure. No difference. Good to know. 
As our departure time approached we saw our train was leaving from platform 2 east. We asked an attendant and she pointed us through the gates by Track One and told us to walk alongside that platform to find 2 east. It was good we were a little bit on the early side because it was a good ten minute walk down to the 2 east platform. We found our train, boarded and found forward facing seats. The train began to fill up and exactly at the 11:45am scheduled time the train departed. 
A man in his mid forties sat opposite us in our “booth”. He had an electric scooter, helmet and backpack along with tons of tattoos on his arms and hands. He talked on the phone for the first 45 minutes of the ride and eventually fell asleep. 
The train’s route paralleled the route we will follow walking back to Rome, although a bit north of it. From the windows we could see the nature of the countryside we would be traversing. As we neared Assisi, the train passed through four of the towns we would spend nights in, Spoleto, Trevi, Foligno and Spello. We detrained at Foligno, walked under the tracks and boarded a second train for the last 20 minutes to Assisi. 
The train drops its Assisi passengers in the lower part of town that sits in the broad valley of the Fontanella River. To get to the hillside Assisi we are all familiar with one boards a bus for the 15-20 minute ride up the hill.
Rick Steves says to scoot across the road to the news stand to buy your tickets for €1.30 or pay €2.00 in exact change to the bus driver. The smallest denomination we had was a €5 bill. I walked across and paid €2.60 at the news stand (the savings was spent upon arrival at the top of the town on a Coke for Sally).
While waiting for the bus we met two ladies in the crowd that spoke English. One of them was planning to walk the Camino de Santiago in the spring. We started answering her questions about the Camino while in line and continued the conversation up the hill in the bus.
At the first stop of the bus the ladies started to get off. I explained that I thought we should wait as we were no where near the top of the road and the town center. I went to ask the driver. He only spoke Italian. What little Italian I had learned in my Italian classes from seven years ago have long since exited my brain. The only landmark that I could name that was near our apartment on top was San Rufino. I tried to ask if this bus would go there or should we get off here. He said something I didn’t understand but gestured I should stay here. Here as in here at this bus stop or here as in this bus?  Couldn’t tell. Went back to report to the ladies my findings. They had reentered the bus. I explained I didn’t know. The cagy bus driver could see my confusion and to help us make the right decision closed the doors, barring our exit so we couldn’t get off and started driving. 
10 minutes later he dropped us off where I wanted to be. As we were stepping off the bus he pointed at the San Rufino church and yelled “San Rufino”. I yelled back a big “Grazie” and we plotted our route to our apartment on Apple Maps. I had cruised over this site the day before in Google Earth extensively, so it felt like I had been here before. With a quick stop for a Coke for Sally we descended to our lodgings on Vin San Gabriella Dell Addolorata. We used the code the landlords had emailed us to enter the building, walked up two floors to the top and again used the code to enter our apartment. 
Wow!  What a beautiful place. Tastefully designed and furnished with a view out over the valley below, it was perfect. A great place to spend the next three nights as we explore Assisi and recover from jet lag. 
We rested an hour, then I emptied my backpack and we walked the mile or so south to the town’s grocery store where we bought breakfast, lunch and dinner food for the next three days. It was nearly dark when we arrived and totally dark by the time we exited the store, my pack full of food. We had a pastry and coke at the bar next door, then walked back to our apartment in the dark, Sally using her headlamp to make sure she could see her footing well and mine to alert the drivers on this narrow road with skimpy sidewalks that we were there. 
The walk was beautiful, the streets lined with trees and the sunset putting on a colorful display on the way to the store and the street lights casting a warm yellowy glow to everything on the way back. Again, I marveled at industriousness of my fellow human beings, marveling at the endless rock walls and stone buildings we passed by. If you consider every stone was cut and placed by human hands the scale of the endeavor is staggering. Truly a marvelous town. 
We prepared Spinach Tortellini with vegetable stir fry for dinner and caught up on Steven Colbert via Andy’s VPN server located in Kirkland. 

With that we headed to bed, hoping the jet lag gods would grant us sleep, for although our watches and phone proclaimed it to be 10:00pm, our internal clocks still said 1:00pm in the afternoon. Sally fell right asleep. I spent a wakeful hour writing this blog post hoping sleep would overtake me. It is now 11:45. Time to knock off and get some sleep. 

Hotel Sonya in Rome

Statues and impressive buildings of Rome

Statues and impressive buildings of Rome

Riding the train to Assisi

Hill top town of Trevi

Roads and stonework buildings in Assisi

Inside our apartment

Inside our apartment

Tree lined roads and rock walls

Paths and walls at night

Road and walls at night

Walking the Way of St. Francis

Tuesday, November 4, 2025 thru Wednesday, November 5, - SeaTac airport to Rome

If you are new to this blog, a warning. I write this for my future 80 yr old self to help me remember what our trips of past days were like. Lots of detail. Not much of a story line. Experiences common to all travelers across time zones. A strong stimulant is recommended to maintain attention. Good luck;

Sally’s alarm went off at 6:30 this morning, waking her and letting me know it was time to get up. It didn’t wake me. As is my body’s habit, I had been awake since 3:30am alternately resting in a sleeping position and getting up to use the bathroom or attend to some detail my overactive brain conjured up instead of sleeping. 

We had all preparations completed early enough last night to watch a couple episodes of “The Diplomat”. This morning it was showers, omelet for breakfast, preparing sandwiches for lunches and tidying up the house. 

Bill and Pat arrived at 8:27. We loaded into their new Prius and were up the driveway by 8:34. Sally and Pat chatted in the backseat while Bill and I did the same in the front seats. There was no slowing of traffic for the whole route and we arrived at the airport about 10:20.

Last night I received an email for Lufthansa telling us to be extra early because of the government shutdown and delays at the TSA stations. Arriving at 10:20am for a 2:00pm flight seemed excessive, but we were being responsible. There was no line at TSA Pre-check and we were on the subway to the south gates by 10:30. 

Interestingly, there were no bins at the TSA Pre-check station, yet they wanted us to empty our pockets . . . into what?  Luckily, I was carrying an open bag I could dump my pocket’s contents into before going through the scanner. In my rush I missed my passport in a zippered front pocket and a hanky in my rear pocket. The guard stopped me when he saw the deformity in my front pocket and had me take it out. I complained about no trays to put my stuff in. He said, this is precheck. Don’t need trays in precheck. Well, where am I supposed to put the billion things I carry in my pockets?  He told me in my bags. It’s safer in there. Hey!  I’m a Caley, my father’s son. Do you know how much stuff we Caley men carry in our pockets? My father’s shirt pockets strained under the weight of pads of paper, pencils and pens, a calculator, a small metal ruler, his cell phone and a couple pieces of candy. He always had a pocket knife in his pants pocket along with other important stuff. Bring back the trays to Pre-check!

Sally and I sat for three hours by gate S15 before sitting for 9 hours in the plane. We used the time to do that which we should have done in the previous weeks, carefully study where the Way of St. Francis took us and what accommodations were available en route this late in the year. We had a rough plan, but we refined the first five days, even calling the Hotel Trevi in the hilltop town of Trevi to ask about rates and availability. From searching booking.com and our calls we are beginning to get the impression that reservations may not be necessary in this off season. We will know more once we get to Assisi and explore that area for a few days while we recover from jet lag. Tuesday night is spent in the plane getting to Frankfurt, Wednesday night we will spend a grew blocks from the train station in Rome. Thursday, Friday and Saturday night will be in Assisi and then we start walking. Night one in Spello, about 8 miles along the Way. Night two in Trevi, a 12 mile day. Night three in Poreta, an eight mile jaunt. Night four in Spoleto, another 8 mile day. Each town has some piece of St Francis’s history in it. I listened to a 12 part, six hour lecture series on the history of Francis on the 9 hour flight to Frankfurt, so I have a little background to go on. The more we read and plan, the more excited I am to get walking. We will walk from one hill top, walled town to the next. Our guide book has good info about what towns have food and which we will have to carry food into. Choices to stay are very limited and range from hotels to monasteries. As Indian Jones says, “I’m making this up as I go”. 

We always buy the cheapest flight tickets we can find regardless of airline. This trip we were aboard Lufthansa, an Airbus 340. We have been blown away by the flight crew. One of the men moved us out of the center block of four across seating into business class, an aisle and window seat.  We didn't ask for it, he just saw us sitting in a full row and asked if we would like a little more “air”.  He had Sally go “try on” the seats. She approved so he beckoned me forward, then quickly dropped back to help me move our bags to a closer overhead bin. He gave us half a dozen pillows so we could get comfortable to sleep. Once seated, he brought us two mixed drinks, again not asked for.  All this while we were still sitting at the gate in Seattle. Once in the air the kindness continued. 

We are traveling fairly light. Besides the clothes I have on, I have a fleece pullover, a puffy coat, rain pants and jacket, one pair of extra socks, one extra underwear, mittens and a hat. Sally packed a dress, 2 tops, a pair of sweats, an extravagant 3 underwear and an extra pair of socks along with her jackets and rain gear. We brought sleeping bags in case we stay in monasteries. 

Never tried a walk in November before. A little trepidation about rain and cooler temperatures, but looking forward to not baking under the hot spring, summer or fall sun. 

We landed in Frankfurt about half an hour late, 9:35am, pinching the time for our connection to our next flight scheduled to start boarding at 10:20am. The plane parked on the tarmac and we had to ride a bus to Terminal A.  The ride seemed to take forever but we were finally disgorged at 10:05.  A quick second to check the flight schedule, “on time” at gate A21, then a sprint up the stairs to customs. The line snaked back and forth with 50 people in front of us and 4 agents checking passports. We are not going to make it. The woman in front of us was in the same predicament and started asking the people in the switchback ahead of us if we could cut in front of them. They said yes, and we got to the customs agents by 10:13. Once through we hoofed it down the concourse to A21 by 10:17, allowing us time to visit the toilet before we marched onto the plane in the third boarding group and plopped into seats 12A & B. Whew, that was close. 

Did I mention the weather was perfect?  Not a cloud in the sky. We flew south, passing over the Alps.  The top 3000’ had a layer of new snow sparkling in the sun, contrasting beautifully with the verdant green valleys that run deep into the range. It was magnificent. As soon as we crossed the alps we could look down to the Po River Valley and see it flowing eastward to the sea. There we saw Venice and its causeway off to the east. Over the Apennine mountains and we landed in Fiumicino. 

We chose to ride a bus to the Termini train station in Rome rather than the Leonardo Express train, mostly due to price. Train-€18.00 each, bus €9.00 each. We sat in the front most seat to have the best view and enjoyed watching the driver weave this monster tour bus through the narrow highway lanes and crowded downtown streets. 

Once at Termini we walked to the Hotel Sonya, about 1.3 miles away and registered for the night. The last half mile was wearing on us due to lack of sleep. Other than a few short cat naps, we had been up for over 24 hours straight and were fading. Once in our third floor room we flopped into the bed and took an hour or two nap. 

Awake at 4:30, we searched with mapping programs for a hiking shop where we could buy trekking poles. We found one about 1.4 miles away, not too far from Piazza Navona, a place we hoped to visit. 

It is amazing how vibrant this city is after dark. The two of us could not walk side by side due to the crush of people on the sidewalks and streets. Using Apple Maps tied to my watch we navigated across town to the mountain shop and found trekking poles for €50. 

By now we were getting hungry. I had mentioned finding a Dońar Kebab for dinner and Sally was all in. Searching the map we found one a 6 minute walk from the mountain shop. They had Kebab sandwiches so we ordered one chicken and one lamb. They were not what we had hoped for, but they filled our empty bellies. These were made shish kebab style, roasting the meat on a charcoal burner under the vent hood in the kitchen and then putting the pieces into a hoagy style roll and draping it with sauces. Sally’s lamb meat looked super pink when she bit in. She chose to pull the meat out and just eat the roll, veggies and sauces. Mine had some strong and unfamiliar flavors. I could get used to it if I ate it more often, but at least the chicken pieces were cooked through. 

Dinner done, poles in hand, we navigated to Piazza Navone, then the Pantheon and finally Trevi Fountain on our way back to our hotel room. It was now prime Roma dinner time and the streets were packed as were the tables at every restaurant. We were beginning to drag again. We made it back up the hill and into our room, plunked down on the bed and prepared to sleep. 8:30pm here translates to 11:30am back home, but we were able to fall asleep. 

Great first 30 or so hours. After hiking both the PCT and the CDT where 600 miles for a month of walking is the standard, it is mind blowing to fly those same monthly distances each hour and be on the other side of the planet in less than 24 hours. Mind blowing. 

On the bus to Rome from the airport

Our room for one night in Rome

The Kebab place, Sally waiting for her undercook lamb sandwich

At Piazza Narona in front of the fountain

Cycling the Palouse to Cascades Trail - Sunday, October 15 - Ponderosa Pine Campground to Vantage - 52 miles

 I woke up a couple times during the night to pee. At 6:00am I had been horizontal for about 10-11 hours so I figured it was time to get up and get moving. We had a cup of hot cocoa in bed, then packed up the saddle bags and headed out a little after 7:00am. There was no one on the trail until we reached Ellensburg, 17 miles away. There we saw locals using the trail for morning walks, runs and short in and out cycles. The route passes through 2 short tunnels as it winds down the Yakima River shoreline. They are short, but still require a headlamp. Once out of the Cascades foothills it is a series of about 5 or 6 miles long stretches of absolutely straight trail across the plains of Ellensburg to Kittitas. 

We stopped in Ellensburg for breakfast. The railroad grade was bulldozed out of existence in downtown Ellensburg. You have to take a side trip down the city streets to rejoin it. Along the way are restaurants and grocery stores and CWU. We ate breakfast at a coffee joint and relaxed. Before riding out of town, I stopped at the Grocery Outlet for a package of cookies to see us through the afternoon. We arrived in Ellensburg about 9:30am and didn’t leave town until about 10:15am.  Andy had pegged Kittitas about about mile 30 for the day so we were surprised when we entered town at mile 25.5. We figured it must be 30 to the Renfrow Trestle that crossed high about I-90. The trail now starts an uphill grade of about 2% for the next 10 miles. Our tired legs balked at the extra exertion, but it was manageable. 

Three years ago when we rode to the trestle we found it had not been worked on since its days as a train trestle.  There was no way to ride across it. We had to lift our bikes over fences and scurry around on some side roads to rejoin the route on the other side of I-90.  This time the trestle was converted to horse/foot/bike path and we simply rode across, grinning at the luxury of it.

Now comes the hard part.  The old railroad bed sat on sand and the sand is still there. With bikes in low-low gear we struggled to maintain 4 miles per hour as we rode across the loose sand.  Andy actually walked parts of it, noticing that he kept up with me even though he was on foot. After about 3 miles of this torture the surface hardened up a little, making it possible to ride at about 6 mph, although the effort of peddling was about the same. 

About 6 miles from the I-90 crossing lies the Boylston Tunnel. It is closed due to a partial roof cave in and loose rock at its entrances. Last time we rode up and over the tunnel. This year we rode through it. The west entrance was choked with tumble weeds blown in over the years.  There was a narrow path between the mass of weeds and rock cliffs of the entrance that we negotiated to enter the tunnel. The tunnel was lined with concrete at both ends, but the middle was just bare rock.  The floor was smooth enough to cycle across. In the middle a portion of the roof had fallen in and created a small mound of rock we had to walk our bikes across, but other than that the tunnel was fine. On the eastern entrance water has encroached and we had to ride/push our bikes through a swampy area for a 100 feet. 

Now to the downhill!  The next 14 miles is all 2% downhill to the Columbia River.  It is not fast enough to coast on, but with minimal peddling effort we could maintain about 12 miles per hour on this steady downhill grade. At no time can you ride with only one hand on the handle bars. Pockets of deep sand lie on the grade and when your tires enter it the bike squirrels all over the place. Two hands driving is the only thing that keeps the bike upright. The only part that is packed hard enough to ride is about the width of a car tire. Drift out of that narrow band and the bikes tires start sinking into loose sand slowing the bikes speed and causing the bike to drift sideways. 

This part of the railroad is so interesting. The route traverses a side hill that has many ridges on it. The builders made cuts through the ridges and deposited the material from the cuts into the draws between the ridges so the ride is a series of cuts and fills. In the cuts, which are just wide enough for a train to traverse, rocks fall off the sides and lay in the roadway. You have to carefully steer through these areas to avoid these fist sized boulders. It was better this year than 3 years ago. The state parks department must have sent a plow up the grade and pushed most of the rocks to the sides. But there were still many to dodge.

We noticed some large vehicles off in the distance and heard what sounded like automatic heavy gun fire.  As we approached we saw they were Army vehicles of some type, about 20 of them, out on maneuvers.  We waved at them as we rode past.

We reached the truck about 3:45pm. We both changed into cleaner clothes, loaded up the bikes in the truck bed and the bags behind the seats and started the drive back to Kirkland, about 3 hours away. We stopped in Ellensburg for dinner at the Sugar Thai restaurant. It was excellent.  We got to Andy’s house about 7:30pm.  I flew his F-18 flight simulator with the 3D headset. That is sooooo cool, even if I did get shot down by a couple of Migs. We next moved to his hot tub for 20 minutes.  By this time I was exhausted and went to bed.

What a great trip!!

The trestle over I-90 is repaired!!

Andy shows his approval of the new trestle surface

Approaching the closed Boylston Tunnel

Riding thru the weeds on the east side of the Boylston Tunnel

Riding down to the Columbia River

Approaching one of the cuts thru the ridges


Army troop transports on maneuvers (zoom way in to see)

Cycling the Palouse to Cascades Trail - Saturday, October 14 - Snoqualmie Pass to Ponderosa Campground 7 miles east of Cle Elum - 40miles

 Lazy morning. Up at 8:00am, breakfast and out the door about 9:00am. Drive to Snoqualmie Pass is about 45 minutes.  There was and annular solar eclipse happening as we drove. Tabitha had it live on her phone. In our area it was a partial eclipse and we could see the sun through the broken clouds enough to see a big chunk taken out of it by the moon.

It took us a little bit of exploring to find the Hyak parking lot for the trail. We saddled up the bikes, said goodbye to Tabitha and rode west to the Snoqualmie Tunnel.  It is 2.25 miles long!! We rode to the western terminus, then turned around and rode back. Headlamps are a must as it is totally dark in the tunnel. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but at 2.25 miles distant it offers no lighting in the immediate area around the bikes. 

Once back on the east side we immediately started down the trail. It is slightly downhill, about 1% grade, but the surface is loose rock and gravel. This creates a lot of friction so coasting is not at all possible. You have to peddle the bike every foot of the way. Unfortunately, the route parallels Interstate 90 so there is a constant background roar of traffic, but it is not too bad. The trail starts out in the trees but as you pass Easton and then get to Cle Elum the trees begin to thin out. It is amazing that they were able to survey a route that is continuously uphill at about 1 to 2 % all the way from Ellensburg to Snoqualmie Tunnel. It weaves around hills and generally follows the Yakima River the whole way.

We skipped stopping in Easton. We stopped there when we did this ride in 2020 but found the town depressing with few services. We rode on to Cle Elum.  We arrived about 2:00pm and were both very hungry, having held off eating lunch until we arrived. We rode about 1 mile off route into the town and had lunch at “Stella’s”. Sandwich, salad and a pumpkin, chocolate chip, coconut muffin to die for.  

We rode back to the trail and the final 7 miles east of town to the Ponderosa Campground, accessible only by this trail. There were two other tents there when we arrived about 4:30pm. We found the easterly most tent site still available. I took our water bottles to the river and filled them, then purified the water with Aqua Mira, after which we set up the tent. We did my Yoga routine. This helped a lot because we were both fatiqued from 40 miles of continuous peddling over nearly 7 hours. We were both pretty stuffed from the late lunch, but we enjoyed our pumpkin muffin. I cooked up a mountain house dinner, but Andy said he was good. It started to rain, so we crawled into the tent and relaxed on our inflatable pads, reading the news and emails and listening to the rain hit the tarp. We watched a episode of Stranger Things, season 4 and then flipped off the phones and headlamps and went to sleep about 9:30pm.

Cycling the Palouse to Cascades Trail - Friday, October 13 - Getting Ready

 Sally has her 50th high school class reunion this weekend.  It starts with a get together of her middle school classmates tonight.  She is leaving at noon today, I suspect to do a little last minute shopping before arriving at 4:00pm for the start at a bar/restaurant somewhere in Tacoma.

I plan to leave about 3:00pm for the long drive to Vantage. Before we both leave I cleaned out her car and the truck.  I drove her Prius up onto the yard to wash the outside. Didn’t want her to be seen as a country hick driving a dirty car. I simple vacuumed mine and cleaned out all the trash.

I put the bike rack from the Vanagon in the back of the pickup, beneath the two bikes. The plan is to drive to Vantage and meet Andy there, me in my pickup, he in his Tesla Y. Put the bike rack into his receiver, mount the bikes on the rack, leave the truck until we cycle to it on Sunday afternoon and drive his Tesla back to his place for the night.

Gas is about $4.85 a gallon, yet when I drove through Packwood last weekend following the ski patrol refresher I saw it for $4.39 a gallon. As I left the house and headed up Hwy 12 toward White Pass I wondered if the price was still that low. It was $4.89 in Onalaska as I drove through. I listened to Micheal Lewis’ new book on Sam Bankman Freis as I drove. In Packwood the price was still $4.39 so I stopped to top up. From there it was up over White Pass, down to Yakima and then north to Ellensburg. Andy called and said he was charging his car in Ellensburg. I was only about 10 minutes away. He texted me his position and I navigated to him. As I turned right on Canyon Drive I saw him walking to a coffee shop. I pulled in to the Tesla charging station and unloaded the bike rack, figuring it would be easier to install it on his car in the daylight and on dry pavement rather than in the dark on gravel at the terminus of our ride. With rack mounted we continued our drive to where the bike route crosses Huntsinger Rd and parked the truck. Andy arrived a few minutes later as he side tripped in Ellensburg for a Subway sandwich. With all the gear transferred to his car we drove back to Kirkland, arriving about 10pm. I went to bed. Super tired.