8/02/19  

This morning around 4 or 5 a.m. it started to rain.  It was not a hard rain but steady so when I got up to go to the restroom around 5:30 I made the decision to go back to bed and wait out the rain.  Since this was a relatively short day I was not concerned.

Ed was not so lucky.  His tent leaked since he had a broken tent leg and a torn rainfly.  I told him what I was going to do but his choice had already been made up due to the leak so he took off as soon as he could break camp.

I started my ride at 8:00 a.m. with Tim Mannie.  Tim had ridden off and on with Ed and I numerous times.  One thing about Tim is that he is always looking for photo opts so I took this opportunity to follow his lead.  Here is one the  pictures I took of the lake we were paralleling at the start of the day.

The rain continued to come and go during the morning which also gave us a chance to see some unbelievable rainbow pictures in the mountains.

But there is and will always be the picture that got away.  Further down from the mountain rainbow and just before crossing the lake bridge is where that picture got away.  We were flying down the mountain and just as the trees parted and bridge came into view there it was.  The perfect rainbow that shined right into the lake.  Not only into the lake but beyond the surface of the lake.  It was the most beautiful breath taking site of the whole trip.  It took my breath away and I just couldn’t slow down enough to safely stop and take the picture.  It will forever be in my mind thanks to God.

We rode on from the dam to Newhalem which was a visitor’s center and over 10 miles from  last night’s camp.   This gave us an opportunity to get something for breakfast. I was so cold that one of the items I bought was hot chili.  That may seem strange for a breakfast item but it really helped me warm up.

At our 1^st real rest stop in Marblemount we took a back road around Marblemount to hit highway 530 which would take us into Darrington and a Baptist church.

While riding on highway 530 I saw a lady and her son stopped at an intersection and they looked confused.  She asked me if I could help her get to highway 20 and as luck would have it I actually could since that was the highway we were on going into Marblemount.

She noticed my BiketheUSforMS jersey and she told me she had made numerous walks for MS since her sister has MS.  I told her about our ride and her son which I estimated to be about 12 years old.  Her son couldn’t get over the fact that we started in Maine.  Then she asked me if she could give me a $20 donation which I gratefully accepted.  It warmed my soul.

Then Tim and I continued on to Darrington and laundry, tent drying and a large dinner.