Day 7: Chelan Lake State Park

After promising to sleep in this morning, we did exactly what we always do and woke up at the same time: 6:30. We took our time, and had a hearty breakfast of blueberry pancakes, packed up, and hit the road a little after 8. It was cold, but the sun was out, and puffy clouds followed us all day. We left Twisp, and took the Twisp-Carlton Road to, yep, you guessed it. Carlton. It was a lovely country road, with almost no traffic, and we just followed the Methow river downstream. At Carlton, we joined the highway again, and traffic picked up a bit, but it was still a nice ride, with rolling hills and a wide shoulder. The Methow River wound its way downhill, and we followed it all the way to the Columbia River.

Just before the Methow joined the Columbia, we stopped at a roadside shop and bought some apples for later, and an apple cinnamon roll for a snack. It was delicious, and we decided it was probably time for lunch, so we had a sandwich, and enjoyed the picnic table in amongst the apple trees next to the stand. Then, it was time to complete the ride for the day, and lo and behold, our beautiful weather with no wind that we enjoyed for the morning ended as soon as lunch was over. The theme for the afternoon, was “headwind.” No matter which way the road turned, we were riding into the wind. Even when we turned off the highway and up the opposite direction, somehow the wind was in our faces.

Luckily for us, we both felt much better today after feeling sick for the last two days, so even with a persistent headwind, our spirits were high. Now that we are on the Eastern side of the mountains it is a whole different environment, much more like the desert climate we are used to riding. It is very dry and barren, even near the rivers there is hardly any growth in many places.

We took a bypass off highway 97 via Apple Acres Rd which brought us up and around a mountain before dropping us down above Chelan. We certainly enjoy riding the quiet backroads, they allow us time to chat and not worry about fast moving traffic even if they add a bit of climbing. We saw a lot of quail along the road, throughout the day, too, which was neat.

We finally dropped down into Chelan, which is on the northern edge of Chelan Lake. We paused to stock up on some dessert and a snack at the most well stocked health food store that we have ever seen (Bear Groceries, or something like that), and then rode around the lake and alongside it until we came to the Chelan Lake State Park. As we were coming in, we recognized the cyclist we had met earlier, Kevian, and we said hello. We were a bit surprised to meet up, as we thought they would be much further than us, but sometimes these things just work out. We set up our tent near theirs, and showered and made dinner. Then we enjoyed our meals together, and shared stories of touring and adventuring. They are such a nice couple, with a great attitude. I think they’ll have a lot of fun on their journey which is going to last a year.

Now it’s getting dark, and it’s about time to take another dose of cold medicine and try to get some rest. We have a decent climb tomorrow, but I think we’ve recovered enough from the last one that we should be ready. It’s nice to be back on the bike and put some miles behind us again.

Distance: 62.85

Avg: 10.6

Max: 28.9

Climb: 2067ft

Time: 5:55

Methow River, we crossed it / rode next to it for half the day today

Hopefully the poem is readable in the full picture, thought my mom would like it

End of the Methow River as it backs up into the Columbia River

View as we rode along the Columbia River

Apple orchards along Apple Acres Road

Pam cruising in front of Lake Chelan

Lake Chelan as twightlight comes on