Tonasket to Tsawwassen

I was up at 6:30 a.m. I dressed quickly and then opened the curtains so I could see better. Big mistake. There was a good reason the room had only one very dim lamp, and the full extent of its decrepitness was now clear. I very quickly packed up and didn't bother checking around in case I'd left anything. No way was I poking into the corners or under the bed of that place.

My bike was covered in a layer of ash, which didn't bode well for the ride ahead. I had originally wanted to take Highway 20 West. It's a beautiful twisty road that goes almost to the coast. Unfortunately, a section west of Winthrop was closed due to the fires, and there was no way around.

Google Maps now has a feature showing where all the fires are burning and where the smoke is heaviest. If you type "wildfires" in the sesrch bar, you can see what a mess North America is in. I'm sad that we now have this feature but it's very helpful. The shortest but smokiest way home was to go north to Canada and then west. The longer, clearer route was to go south for a bit and then west on Highway 2. I chose the longer, clearer route to give my lungs a break from all the smoke.

I went down the road about two kilometers and had coffee and a cinnamon roll with Laura, Denise, and Cinnamon, the pug, who invited me to join them.

Finally, I couldn't delay getting on the road, and off I went. Temperatures were good, and the smoke did seem to be less dense as I went south, so for a while, it was a pleasant ride.

Eventually, there was lots of traffic on the roads, probably because of road closures due to fires. The smoke never disappeared completely. At lower elevations, it was clearer, but it got quite thick higher up. Eventually, I made it to Interstate 5 and just booted it up to Canada. The border control agent didn't even ask me to remove my helmet.

Thirty minutes later, I was in Tsawwassen, where our lovely friends Greg and Ingrid live. With very short notice, they had very graciously offered me big hugs, a fabulous meal, a soak in their hot tub, and a freakishly comfortable, clean bed. What a difference from the night before!Leia mais