Back in the US of A!

But, first a little update from last night. After our dinner, we hopped on our bikes and went to the library for wifi. We noticed a couple of murals made from rock--like a mosaic. Then we found out there were a bunch of them. They were done by the high school students. We rode around the town until we found all of them. Here were a few of my favorites.

Miner panning for gold.

Elk

Big horn sheep. The murals were on all sorts of buildings--even the laundromat. Salmo was a nice little town.

This morning we planned to get going the same time as yesterday. Stella was waiting patiently for Annette to emerge from her tent.

Come on, Annette! I'm waiting for you!

We rolled out at 8:05, so pretty good. We had about 14 miles to the border.

Quiet road in the morning.

Cool barn.

We got to the border at Nelway, and made it through with no problems (even though we were carrying produce). They made us take our helmets and sunglasses off (apparently, Canada doesn't really care so much about that).

Canada customs.

United States of America Customs and Border Control! We were back in Washington!

Woo Hoo!

We had 20 miles to Metaline Falls. We passed Crescent Lake. Saw some turtles, and pretty blue-green water.

Crescent Lake

Also saw Hooknose Mtn.

Kind of does look like a hook nose!

When we got to Metaline Falls (can't just say "Metaline" because there is a town called Metaline just down the road), there was a guy who stopped to talk to us. He had seen us in Balfour after we got off the ferry yesterday. After chatting with him, we went up to the Visitors Center and fixed our usual lunch. At the VC, there was info about the mining that has been done in MF. They mined for zinc. I think they still do.

Nice spot here in Metaline Falls.

The town of Metaline Falls.

Annette did some shopping in a quilt shop, bought yet something more to carry on her bike--a table runner. So now she has a blanket, a broom, and a table runner. After about an hour and a half, we left town. We crossed the Pend Oreille River again (crossed it on our first day a couple of times).

It is quite beautiful!

We had a few medium climbs. The sun was shining, and there wasn't much shade. Still, it was nice to have the warmer weather. Our next stop was Sweet Creek Falls. We rode our bikes up the paved path onto a little bit of gravel, then walked the rest of the way to the falls.

Interesting little cave on the path to the falls.

Sweet Creek Falls

Annette soaking her mosquito bitten ankles in the cold cold water.

Continuing our tour along SH 31, we next came to Box Canyon Dam. At Box Canyon, the river narrows, becomes quite rough, and was generally a problem for people driving to navigate the river. The sign said people, upon reaching the canyon, had to either, turn around, portage around, or run the river. The chances were not good for those who chose to run the river. Then the railroad built a trestle over the river at the canyon, and that solved many of the problems. Now there is the dam. 

Box Canyon Dam.

From Box Canyon, we only had a few more miles to Ione. Annette and John have some friends who have a vacation house on the river just outside of the town, and right on our route. They are not here, but told Annette we could stay here anyway. John drove up and is cooking us steaks for dinner! 

Erin and Bob's place on the Pend Oreille River.

Tomorrow will be our last day. John is going to take our luggage, and we will just ride back to their house. It will be a bigger day, miles wise, but no extra weight. We will have completed the loop when we get to Usk tomorrow--about 36 miles. Then we'll head for Colbert.