Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Skagit River: A Time of Reflection

Crossing the Skagit River near Concrete WA ... Day 52, last day of the trip. Photos taken on a bridge.




The last day. I was up by 430AM and on the road by 5. About a mile south of Concrete I crossed the Skagit River. I was way ahead of schedule and was expecting to be finish by 1PM. I decided to wait on the bridge and contemplate my 52 day adventure. My thoughts turned to the past 10 days and the 6 passes that I peddled up and over. I continued to think about the desolate land of North Dakota and Montana and the winds that I fought each day. I thought about the 7 times that I crossed the Mississippi River and realized that I could have cut more than a few miles out of the trip if I would have only crossed the river 5 times. I shivered as I remembered the Blue Ridge parkway and the hail and sleet that I experienced. Then my thoughts came to the morning 52 days earlier. It didn't seem that long ago when I saw my Mom and Dad in my rear view mirror waving goodbye after following me for 2 miles in their mini-van.

My thoughts turned to Liz and all of the love and support she gave me in the months and weeks prior to the beginning of my trek. I then began to peddle...It was time to knock this mother out.

No comments: