Day 7, Sunday in Kennwick

We had a day off today and it was awesome. The park we stayed at was right beside the river and it was also where we had church. It was great to have a day off – we had choices to go tubing, skim boarding, shopping – but I did nothing. It felt good to just relax for the day.

Day 6, Saturday July 5th – Sunnyside to Kennewick – 79km

Today was much less desert and even more orchards and the like. I love seeing them but taking pictures of them continues to disappoint me because they are not as beautiful as the real thing.
We also had a sad encounter today. We stopped by a dam to see the water rushing into the river at the edge of a cliff. When a bunch of the guys went to go see the dam they found a deer who had three broken legs and one of its feet was missing. We called to cops to see if they would send someone to basically put the deer out of its misery. No one seemed interested to a couple of the guys went up the road to a farmers place……. Needless to say my friend Kaitlyn and I left before the farmers came back.

Day 5, Friday July 4th – Yakima to Sunnyside – 66km

We had another short day today which again was nice. On route we stopped at a CRC church in a town called Zillah who had refreshments for us. It was so nice because even though it is not home, in a way it feels like home just because of the CRC connection – I love it.
What we biked through was much more, but whatever is green in these parts is because off irrigation. So along the way we saw a lot of different kinds of orchards.

Today is also independence day, so because us Canadians are just so kind we decided it would be ok that for ONE day we would put American flags on our bikes…….. but some of us had Canadian flags on our bikes already that were bigger than the American ones… haha.

Before dinner myself and a couple friends walked into Sunnyside to a market and bought some cherries and blackberries….. they were so good. The Church in Sunnyside fed us supper and it was also really good. The majority of the population in Sunnyside is Hispanic so thats the kind of food we got – it way yummy. But I was still pretty full from the fruit. Afterwards we went and had root beer floats and watched fire works.

Day 4, Thursday July 3rrd – Ellensberg to Yakima – 68km 37

Words nor pictures can do any justice to how beautiful this day was. We biked through canyons (reminded me a lot of the Fraser Canyons) with the river to our right. It was a sweet and much shorter day, it was also mostly downhill – what a relief.

Jenna had a rough day though. She had a flat – we had to try 5 different tubes before it would work. Then later on in the day she got another flat (as did three of the guys in front of her) and then she crashed hard! She’s got some pretty wild road rash, but she’s doing just fine!

Last night we had the mini worship service that Hans has been working on. It a very cozy atmosphere, and the purpose is to concentrate just on worship and meditation. We all sit in the grass around tea lights, sing some songs (mostly hymns and songs from Iona) as well as doing readings and liturgies. I’m glad Hans has asked Jenna and I to play for them, they’re pretty cool.

July 2, Day 3 – Leavenworth to Ellensburg – 93km

Today was a much easier day. We climbed to 4000 again, but this time the climb was across 20 miles instead of 12 (we’ve been having a km and miles war, well I guess a Celsius and Farenheit war as well – its a problem.)
Jenna found a friend on her bike today (in the picture) she sure is not a fan of bugs, haha poor Jenny.
Its also starting to get really really hot! I guess its just preparing us for whats to come.
Tonight we’re having a worship/tazaie service that I’m going to play for. I haven’t don’t it yet, but I’ll let you know how it goes.

Mom: I miss you dearly. I know that you’d appreciate the pictures of scenery. I think of you whenever I take one. PS – no snakes!

July 1, Day 2 – Sultan to Leavenworth – 127km

I had the climb of my life! Holy, it was steep, long and hard! But it was such a relief when we got to the top. We reached eleveation 4061, it was crazy. At the end of the day myself and three other friends drafted pretty much from the top of the climb down. It was so beautiful! It reminded me of Terrace actually. The river was to our right and rocky mountain edges to our right. Sometimes when the trees opened and so the river was clear the breeze from the water felt so good! I thought of a quote today from which comes from my good friend Hans Doef while biking to like, “Annette, biking is like a feast for the senses.” Haha, oh Hans you are quite funny.
Oh and this little town of Leavenworth is like Germany! Its so cute. Apparently all the houses must be built like those in Germany. This pictures do not do it justice!

Mom: No snakes today, thank goodness. Apparently where I’m headed tomorrow there are a lot of rattle snakes...... uh oh. So in a weird way I’m glad you’re not here..... but I miss you all the same.

June 30, Day 1 - Seattle to Sultan - 80km

Today was our first day of biking. We biked from the University of Washington to the coast to begin the tire dipping ceremony. A couple friends from King's were there which was really nice (I miss you guys!!) So we were all pretty pumped to take off, but the first day of touring was my day to do sweep team. So I learned to take it really slow, but it was totally worth it. It reminded me of two things; that this is not a race but a tour, as well as creating communithy and supporting others.

Mom: Thanks so much for supporting me in whatever desicion I made - understandable that you'd be scared to send your one and only daughter across the country on a bike. Oh and by the way we saw some interesting road kill today - a snake, thought of you, haha.