Day 3: Grand Coulee

Today seemed like our first real day of riding.  We left Spokane around sometime around 9:00.  We were hoping for a much earlier start, but we had such a long day yesterday and had to get some things for picnic lunch; leaving early didn't happen.

Mom and Sadie looking at the dam

Our first stop was the AWESOME Grand Coulee Dam.  I cannot recommend this place enough.  The engi-nerd in me was so impressed with the scale of this dam.  You see it from miles away, and then when you get to it, it's hard not to stare in awe.  The second thing that really impressed me was how pretty it is.  The Grand Coulee Dam is not only an engineering masterpiece, but the grounds are also kept up like fine park.  Finally, the visitor's center was great.  Lots of fun stuff for Sadie, but also interesting for the adults.   The department of the interior has its act together here.  We had our lunch at a picnic table at the foot of the dam; it was GREAT!

We were looking forward to eating Washington cherries going up the road, but none of the fruit stands were open yet.  They all seem to open around the third week in June.

Our next significant waypoint was the Canadian border.  After months of planning, getting passports together, reading up on border crossing, double-checking that we had no fruits, veggies, or uncooked meats, we made it across.  It took 2 minutes, a scan of our passports, 8 or 10 easy questions, and we didn't even get our passports stamped.

Rest stops aren't the same in Canada as they are in the US.  We ended up stopping at a small visitors center in Summerland, where we all had to "rest".  There, the helpful attendant reminded us of the local legend of the Ogopogo!  The Ogopogo is the Canadian version of the Loch Ness monster.  Fun stuff and Sadie made up songs about the Ogopogo the entire way up the road.

The view from the Riverland Inn, Kamloops

By the way, cell phones stop working as soon as you cross the Canadian border.  We are wifi only, wherever we can get it.  It's kind of refreshing not having to deal with any emails or phone calls.

We ate supper at the Boston Pizza in Merritt, BC (Americans eating Italian Pizza, with a Boston flare, in Canada... go figure).  We spent the night at the Riverland Inn in Kamloops.  The hotel was a little dated, but clean, and obvious the owners were trying to build a great place.  I'd stay there again.

PS.  While riding we saw several deer and three moose (Sarah and Sadie were so happy)!!!