Colville, Washington

We have arrived in Washington state! Hard to believe that we have crossed into the final state of our trip. The weather continues to be beautiful ~ cool at night, sunny and warm during the day. Our arrival here in Washington has been eventful. Listen to this story!

Good Samaritans work overtime in Colville
Monday was a beautiful day to ride and we completed our first mountain pass of Washington with no problems. We were closing in on our destination for the day when Dave got a flat tire. We pulled into a side street and began the tire changing process. As soon as Dave pulled the tire off the bike he discovered that not only the inner tube needed patching, but the outer tire was completely shot and needed to be replaced. Well, that's not something you travel around with so a bike shop was desperately needed.

Within minutes an older gentleman pulled over to see if we needed any help. He was very interested in what we were doing and why he sees so many cyclists passing through his town. I explained to him our trip and the maps we were following. As I was talking him, another car pulled over on the other side of the road. I said good-bye and went over to start a conversation with the next person. Meanwhile Dave is working on changing his tire and I'm holding court with all the interested motorists! I repeated our dilemma to this car (Beth) and she confirmed that there were no bike shops in town, but proceeded to whip out her cell phone and use her numerous resources to solve our problem. She called the local sporting goods store and found out that although they carry bike tires, the one Dave needed was not in stock. But she was not deterred and continued on her quest for Dave's tire via several more phone calls.

Meanwhile... the older gentleman in the first car discovers that he has run down his battery while talking to me and his car will not start. So out comes Duncan from his house. He pulls his pickup truck around to jump start the car ~ that problem is solved and we all wave goodbye. Now Duncan comes around to me and wants to know how he can help our situation. I leave Dave and Beth to find a tire and go into Duncan and Katie's house to find a place to stay for the evening. Benny's Motel is right in the center of town and is happy to save us a room and my mission is accomplished. By the time I say good-bye to Duncan and Katie, Beth has arranged for Scott (the local anathesiologist in town) who is going into Spokane in the morning to stop by the motel and pick up Dave. They will make the 70 mile trip into town to pick up Beth's bike and Dave's tires!

As if this wasn't good enough, Beth informs us of a local community event at the city park tonight. There will be a poetry reading and a one man band show to raise money and awareness for a proposed bike path between Colville and Kettle Falls. Beth is planning on going and invites us along. It was a beautiful evening, the poetry was great and the musical entertainment was fantastic. I don't think I can even describe it. You'll need to check out this website http://www.that1guy.com/ to figure it out for yourself. We were mesmorized by the sounds and rhythms he was able to produce using a snare drum, a magic tube, magic saw, a magic boot and I'm not sure what else. It was amazing!

The end of a very eventful day that once again brings home to us the goodness in the people of this country. A good deed is never done in vain and we sure hope to be able to return the favor to someone else one day. We've got a lot of catching up to do when it comes to helping out our fellow man!

Tomorrow we continue on Highway 20 West, the road we'll be on until we arrive in Anacortes. Computer time is well over and it's time to go.