On Sunday morning, we docked at Nisqually John Landing along the Snake River.  We retrieved our tandem and set off to ride only 20 miles to the final docking in Clarkston, WA.  The route was mostly along the river with one good climb as we pedaled into Idaho, then a nice downhill into Lewiston, ID, crossing the Clearwater River.

We made a Starbucks stop in Lewiston before crossing over the Snake River and returning to the boat, now docked in Clarkston, WA.  Many tandem teams needed to disassemble and pack up their bikes for shipping via FedEx or to take on planes.  We loaded ours onto the truck, to be transported back to Vancouver, WA.

The afternoon activity was a jet boat ride on the Snake River into Hell’s Canyon.  We had a few Category 1 and 2 rapids and saw lots of families in boats and tubing or enjoying the beach on a warm Sunday afternoon.  We crossed back into Oregon briefly at the turnaround spot on the river.

Back on the American Empress we enjoyed the evening lounge show and dinner with Maggie & Joe (he drove the big rig truck) and Steve (he drove a yellow Penske Truck), before packing up lots of dirty clothes.

Monday we boarded a bus at 8 am, finally arriving back in Vancouver just before 4 pm, loaded up our suitcases and tandem and headed to Lake Oswego, OR, for family time with my brother and sister-in-law.

While the cruise was quite expensive, we saw lots of beautiful scenery and many interesting stops along the way.  Our legs and lungs were challenged, but we managed all the miles we chose to ride. We met tandem couples from CA, NJ, KY, OH, among other states.  Santana has upcoming cruises in Croatia, Corsica, Tahiti, and Vietnam, though we have no plans to sign up again soon.

After I post photos from the past week, I will take a brief hiatus for family time, before resuming this blog when I begin my West Coast tour on September 15th.  In the meantime, I hope you will consider a donation to Outrun the Sun (https://www.crowdrise.com/dolly-bikes-the-pacific-coast1#) in honor of our friend Jim.

Since Crowdrise (the fundraising host site) charges some fees, you might also consider making a donation by check to Outrun the Sun, Inc., 8435 Keystone Crossing #175, Indianapolis, IN 46240 (please write Dolly on the note line).