Okay so we are no longer on the TransAmerican route because we are forging our way north to Seattle so Sue can catch a train back east. We are still following a map produced by Adventure Cycling which is very helpful. Before we started we needed to take a tour of Astoria. Quaint little town with a nice waterfront and vibrant downtown. We did some back tracking because Sue was in search of the infamous signature book for riders of the TransAm. It appears that one does not exist. Should one? Maybe. But I would like to think that Adventure Cycling would try to track the number of people riding across the country in any given year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The riding portion of the day started along a path and boardwalk. Once out of the downtown area it was poorly signed and we shot by the path that would connect us to the main road. The map has us going inland for about 30 miles then catching a ferry across the Columbia River. It is much better than going across the bridge along US #1 between Astoria and Washington State. When we got the ferry terminal we missed the ferry by 10 minutes and needed to wait until the next one. No big deal because it gave us a chance to call back east at reasonable times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ferry was taking us to another state. Washington. Along the route we saw an bald eagle nest and one eagle perched on a tree over the water way. Pretty majestic looking bird. Once in Washington state we stopped at the first store for liquids and some nourishment. Then it was on a road that paralleled the Columbia River to Longview, WA. The road was good and the scenery even better. We had long distance views of Mount St. Helens. It was a push to make it to Castle Rock before dark and we made it just in time. Castle Rock was severely damaged by the Mt. St. Helens explosions. As a result an enormous dike has been created to prevent future flooding damage from another explosion of the mountain. I was expecting a late arrival because we did not hit the road until 11 am and we had an almost 50 minute wait for the ferry. All in all it was a good day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s stats: total mileage 79.5 miles, average speed 11.8 mph, elevation gain 3114 feet, elevation loss 3012 feet, max speed 34.8 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n