Third Corner Blaine - USA Four Corners Journal Day 19 -

I got an early start, 5:50 a.m. The ride up to WA-20 was simple uphill curves. Hwy. 20 makes an aggressive ascent to Sherman Pass at about 5900′ elevation. There were construction zones, but I went through them before the crews started working. The road down from the pass is much steeper with tight turns and lots of construction. A 30 mph sign means just that. Those curves go ¾ of the way around a circle and then reverse and go the other way. Riding tight curves is a challenge for me, but it proved worthwhile as it made the rest of the mountain riding much easier.

Once I got down to the town at the base of the range, I noticed how desert-like it was. It was as if I had been transported to Arizona. It was quite a contrast from the cool pine forest above.

One annoyance I encountered was seeds with cottony fibers that float along. They can get in your helmet and have to be itched. Sometimes you can’t get too them and just have to endure them. At one point they were so thick it looked like it was snowing.

I believe Rider magazine had an article about the top five roads in Washington State. Highway 20, the North Cascades Highway was one of the five they featured. The views are spectacular. It’s a route everyone should put on their must-ride list. I stopped to watch some kids play in the snow in June. My brother and I did that in Rocky Mountain National Park in July, 1959. It was lots of fun then and the kids today were having the same kind of fun.

I got to I-5 at Burlington by 2:00 p.m. and decide to go up to Blaine and do the third corner. The Post Office was open until 5:00 p.m., so I had plenty of time to get gas, print my picture and turn in my envelope. I met a fellow from Cleveland at the Post Office who had just completed his 4th corner. He was riding a Gold Wing and was startled when he finally figured out I was riding a Harley. He couldn’t believe anyone would tour on a Harley.

I called former parish friends, Tony and Nancy and made arrangements to spend the night with them. They moved to Seattle almost two years ago. It took only a couple of hours to ride the 110 miles to their home.

We had a nice dinner and long chat. Tony partially disassembled my laptop, but was not able to see any broken wires. I’ll have to deal with it later. I think this is the first day in over a week that I haven’t encountered rain.