Day 15 - Washington state's Olympic Mountains

I am now officially in the far reaches of the Pacific northwest of the continental United States. Tomorrow I head to the Port Angeles area where I will catch the ferry into Canada the next day. I am now closing in on 4,000 miles on my bike and let me tell you - my bike is one filthy beast!! Sally, as I have affectionately named her, needs a bath and a manicure in the worst way. And we are both perpetually pretty tired. That said, I don't know that we could have picked a more beautiful place in which to be tired. The Olympic Peninsula must be close to 80% national park and for good reason - it is beautiful! The spuce pines are HUGE and the water is so crystal clear you can see a quarter on the lake floor in waste deep water. The sunlight filters onto the hiking trails through tree canopies that are way high in the sky making you feel minuscule and like a visitor to someone else's world. The Quinault Lake feels a bit like something the Kennedy's or the Roosevelt's might have played in back in the day - it is elegant yet relaxed and casual at the same time. If I lived in these parts I would make this national park a regular place for me / us to escape. I am also glad to report I have no stories to report today - a man can only take so much! I am still scratching my head about yesterday. It started off so simple and peaceful yet ended up so crazy, fun, different and full of wine! I was talking to a goat at one point last night with a glass of wine in one hand and a horse's mane in the other. :-) I guess it just goes to show how little control we actually have over things. "Lest me not suffer the delusion that I can wrest satisfaction from this life if only I manage well. Nay, surrender me boy, and let the sails take this ship where she belongs."