If not for the advice from a cyclist on Crazy Guy on a Bike (a portal for journals of touring cyclists), we would have missed it entirely. Our planned route had us continuing straight on highway 2. But taking the shortest distance between two points is not necessarily the best choice. And that was most certainly true in this case.

Angling up to the Grand Coulee Dam instead allowed us to travel through the area below the dam which is an ancient riverbed, now home to several lakes. Called the “Grand Coulee,” it stretches for about 60 miles and is a feast for the eyes, particularly on a bicycle.

It is an extremely arid area, with less than 12 inches of rainfall a year. Huge basalt cliffs border the lakes and form an impressive landscape. One rock named Steamboat Rock, is definitely a standout. Particularly on the upper end, the road clings to the base of the cliffs and we rode in the shadows of their huge height. At times the road cut through the rocky formations, and sometimes we rode up and over the lower ones.

Dry Falls bisects the Grand Coulee. Stopping at the roadside overlook, we were amazed to see the sight of what was once the world's largest waterfall. We were only a few thousand years too late to see it, as it was wiped out by the Ice Age floods that swept through the area, leaving it high and dry. But it was still a captivating sight, especially as we tried to imagine it in its former glory.

The basin broadened out below that, but was still dominated by the other-worldly cliff structures that were so prevalent. It didn't hurt that we had yet another cloudless blue sky to reflect off the lake waters and fill the day with sunshine.

The Grand Coulee ends at Soap Lake, which is actually a natural salt water pool and contains 23 different minerals. We didn't bathe in its healing waters, but we did settle into a unique lodge on its shore to enjoy the view and savor the day's ride. We are most grateful for the good advice. In fact, I'd say this cycling and scenery was my favorite of the trip so far. The detour was worth every extra mile.

In the last two days we have cycled in three different states. Yes, we upped our our daily mileage to about 70 miles, but mainly it wasn't far across Idaho to fill the gap between Montana and Washington.

Continuing along the Clark Fork River, we cycled a long span with little in the way of civilization. We also experienced our first clouds of the trip, which prolonged the morning warm-up. Our breakfast turned out to be a moveable feast, as we cobbled together findings from a little general store – complete with old hardwood floors and low shelves – to a modern convenience store. I quickly shed my coffeehouse snobbery to down some machine-made mocha, which was heavenly for its sweet warming effect. Apart from that, we greatly enjoyed the lack of traffic and the unspoiled beauty along that stretching the river.

We also met a young man who had spent the morning picking wild huckleberries up in the mountains. We'd never had them before this trip, but had quickly figured out that they were a local delicacy. In fact, we've already sampled huckleberry ice cream, vinaigrette and ice drink. So we were intrigued when he took us out to his truck to show us the buckets of berries he'd picked, and the long pronged contraptions he used to colllect them from the bushes.

Crossing over into Idaho, the river eventually emptied into Lake Pend Oreille. The road skirted the edge of the extensive lake, making for a scenic ride. Although the clouds kept us from getting too warm while cycling, we did wish for the return of blue skies to show the lake off to better advantage.

Stopping for the night in Sandpoint, we were hosted by a wonderful Warm Showers family that immediately enveloped us with their multigenerational family members and made us feel so very welcome. The kids eagerly showed us their egg-laying chickens, gave us a tour of the yard, and introduced us to their old cat Peanutbutter. We set off this morning among the familiar flurry of making school lunches and getting kids off to class.

We happily followed the Pend Oreille River out of Sandpoint, but once over the border into Washington, we left the river and headed toward Spokane. Despite riding through beautiful pine woods much like home, the traffic increased and it felt too much like just working to get from Point A to Point B. We did take a brief detour through a county park, which was a nice interlude. On the bright side, it was easy going with more downhills than up and the wind mostly behind us. So we have few complaints.

We won't be adding another state for a while, as it will take us a while to make our way through Washington. But in case you're wondering, next up is Oregon.

At last the waiting is over. Our Glaciers to the Sea cycling trip has been months in the planning. And we've spent the past three days in the car getting to the start. After all that forced inactivity I was just itching to start pedaling.

We were up for a bright and early start, per our normal routine, but our plans soon changed. With the temperature at 37 degrees, it made little sense to set off in the morning chill. Knowing that the clear skies and bright sun would soon warm things up, we lingered in our motel room until it was a balmy 45 degrees. Finally, we could hit the road!

Day 1: Whitefish to Elmo MT, 53 miles

Our route today took us from Whitefish, Montana south to the midpoint of Flathead Lake. We were pleased to find fairly quiet local roads, which then met up with a bike trail that took us right to the top of the lake. It was idyllic cycling, mostly downhill, a tailwind and the sun beating down. It wasn't long before I discarded all my extra layers of clothing. To the east the Rocky Mountains formed an endless ridge line that stayed with us all day. To the west were lower, softer tree covered rises. We were happy to ride in the flat valley between.

We knew nothing about Flathead Lake, but soon became enamoured with this huge pristine lake. It is the largest inland lake in the western US, and it is a Montana passion to preserve the integrity of the clear deep lake. We followed the shore of its blue waters for 25 miles, never tiring of its glistening surface.

Further down the lake, the road cut across some of the lake's peninsulas, delivering uphill and downhill stretches just to remind us that we were still in mountainous country. We figured they were good warm-ups for what is yet to come. We made such good time that by mid-afternoon we reached our Warm Showers host home. We were warmly greeted by Al and his sister Sharon, who graciously shared their home with a view of the lake and a bountiful dinner.

Oh yes, it sure feels good to be cycling again. And this is just the beginning.

A year has already gone by since our last cycling trip, so it’s time to push our pedals again and wheel our way through some scenic countryside. After considering numerous different options for our itinerary, we finally chose a trip through the Northwestern states. And as always, we have a name and a logo for our tour.  This one has been dubbed Glaciers to the Sea.

Rich has been plotting our route for months, carefully checking other cyclists’ trip reports, scouting out lesser traveled roads, and going to the greatest level of detail by viewing actual roads and shoulders on Google Street View.  He doesn’t leave anything to chance.  If our route looks a bit windy and twisty, there’s a good reason for it.  The straightest route is not always the best approach when traveling by bicycle.

Our route from the glaciers in Montana to the coast of Oregon and Washington

We start off in Whitefish, Montana which is just outside of Glacier National Park.  Rich took great care in selecting our starting point, making sure that we were already over the continental divide before we began cycling.  No climbing up mountain passes if he can help it.  We know there will still be plenty of ups and downs, but we hope the highest ones will already be behind us.  From there we will follow the Clark Fork River.  We learned on last year’s trip that staying in river valleys is the perfect way to minimize altitude changes – as long as we don’t stray far from the water.  After traveling through Spokane, Washington we will cross the high plateau.  That brings us to the next major waterway, the Columbia River, which takes us all the way to Portland, Oregon.

Rich’s brother and his wife live in Eugene, Oregon so we will dip down to visit them.  We’re planning a 3-night stay to rest up, enjoy a few luxuries and spend time catching up.  The final leg will be along the Oregon and Washington coasts, which promise some spectacular views.  After visiting my friend, Anne, in Olympia we will finish up in Seattle. There we will be hosted by some Warm Showers cyclists who stayed with us last summer on their cross-country cycling trip.  Amtrak will then deliver us back to our car in Whitefish.

In total, we expect to cycle about 1,400 miles over 4-5 weeks.  We’ve left it intentionally vague, which allows us to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves along the way.

Friends have asked what we are most looking forward to.  I think we both have the same answer.  The simplicity of the journey.  Traveling by bicycle trims everything down to the bare necessities.  There are no decisions to make about what to wear – out of two sets of cycling clothes, we put on the clean ones.  Our possessions are few – tablets are our best friends, providing reading material, contact with family and blogging tools.  It’s just us, our bicycles and the scenery.  Oh yes, and our cameras.

We’re excited for this trip, from the glaciers to the deep blue sea.  And everything in between.