Day #46: Cartwheeling for Joy

Today's Route: Castle Rock, WA to Parkland, WA (89 miles)
Total Trip Miles: 2,164

Ever since we entered Washington state yesterday, I've had a hard time remembering that we've crossed into a new state.

As you may recall, when we've crossed other state boundaries, we've jumped for joy at the "Welcome to [State]" signs. This joyous burst of energy has helped my brain to remember the crossing.

Since there was no "Welcome to Washington" sign along our route, I thought that perhaps cartwheeling for the pure joy of being in Washington might help to make me feel as though we were now in our home state. At a grocery stop in Napavine, I cartwheeled for joy on the green Washington grass.

Cartwheeling for joy (part one).

Cartwheeling for joy (part two).

Cartwheeling for joy (part three).

If you find it difficult to envision the cartwheel from the above photos, try this:

1. Print a hard copy of this blog entry.
2. Cut out the three "Cartwheeling for joy" photos.
3. Stack the three photos on top of each other, such that part three is beneath part two, and part two is beneath part one.
4. Staple the photos on the far left edge of the stack.
5. Flip quickly through the stapled stack of photos to see the cyclist perform a cartwheel.
6. Warning: While using your flip book, grave misfortunes will plague your future if you laugh at the cyclist for wearing a helmet while cartwheeling.

Early in today's ride, I commented to Alex that we probably wouldn't see any cycle tourists between here and the Mexican border, now that we had made up our own route. Boy, was I wrong, as a little while later we saw two cycle tourists come around the bend.

Meet Ben and Heather. I love Heather's handlebars -- they look like bananas!

Ben and Heather.

We shared cycling stories by shouting across the two lanes of traffic. Ben and Heather, from Seattle, are on day #2 of their 10-week cross-country tour to Washington DC. While on their tour, they are promoting awareness for hunger. You can learn more about their trip here: bikeagainsthunger.tumblr.com.

Later in our ride, we saw this cute man and his doggie. What a fun carving!

A man and his doggie.

Today was our longest mileage day; we rode one mile shy of 90 miles. The ride was really pleasant -- partially due to the perfect temperatures and partially due to the beautiful blue skies, but mostly due to the fact that the ride today was flat.

The last two nights, we have had a wifi connection, and I have stayed up way too late blogging and catching up on digital communications. Tonight we are stealth camping in a private area tucked away behind a high school. As there ain't no wifi here, I'm looking forward to a full night of sleep.

Our stealth camping spot.

As I lay in my sleeping bag tonight, I'm trying to remember the last time I did a cartwheel. It was many, many moons ago. Too many moons ago. Yeah for joyous cartwheels! I really do feel like we're in Washington state now!