As prophesized by Marianne at the Four Aces Diner in Lebanon, N.H. on July 18 last year, I have another instance of synchronicity to report. I also am excited to tell you about an honored guest appearance here in remote north central Washington. But I’m saving both of those news items for the end of this post, so you’ll just have to wait.

I took yesterday (Sun., 7-14) off and had a quiet day at the Red Apple Motel in Tonasket, WA. Tonasket’s population is about 1,000, and there are only about a half dozen restaurants in town. Many of them, it turned out, were closed on Sunday. I walked to the other end of town for breakfast at a restaurant advertising online that it was open but discovered once I got there that it had closed for lack of a cook.

Fortunately, there was a small takeout coffee shop next door, where I was able to get coffee and a bagel.

There was no indoor seating at this tiny shop, but I was able to sit outside on a small porch for about an hour and a half to enjoy my breakfast. Interestingly, during that entire time, a constant stream of cars and trucks visited the drive-up window. The two women serving up coffee never got a single break!

Tonasket is named after an Okanogan Indian Chief. Today (Mon. 7-15), I rode 32 miles to Okanogan (pop. 2,552), named after the Okanogan people. According to this sign, in 1879, Chief Tonasket signed a treaty ceding part of the Okanogan Valley, in part to assure that a hospital and a school would be made available to the area’s residents.

On my way to Okanogan today, I passed this sign welcoming me to the 1.4 million acres that are part of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

I crossed the Okanogan River on my way out of Tonasket.

The countryside along the way appears to be quite dry.

I crossed the Okanogan River again as I passed through Riverside, WA (pop. 280).

I stopped at a small General Store in Riverside for a snack and saw this sign on a chalkboard outside the store: “Nothing is Impossible. The word says I’m POSSIBLE!” It’s corny, but I like it.

A short way down the road, I saw this sign outside the Riverside Bible Church. Ironically, it appears some letters in the words of the Biblical commandment against stealing may have been stolen. Our good friend Jim P. came to mind when I saw this, for two reasons. First, as an inveterate tea drinker, Jim would be mortified to discover that the practice was divinely disfavored in any way. Second, I can’t think of anyone I would trust more than Jim for an opinion on whether scrivener’s error principles apply in the ecclesiastical canon. I am sorry I will be missing Jim’s retirement party this week. Happy Retirement, Jim!

I passed through the town of Omak (pop. 4,845) on my way to Okanogan. “Omak” comes from terms used by the Okanogan or Salishan Indians meaning “good medicine” or “plenty.” About seven miles from Omak, I came across signs saying that the road was closed ahead, so I stopped to talk to Austin, who was doing some survey work there. Ever wonder who spray paints those symbols on roads? Austin is one of them. He explained that the markings show center points that will need to be identified in working on the road. He also explained that the road closure only applied to a side road, so I had no obstacles ahead. He offered me a cold water too, since it was already 90 degrees. Nice guy!

Now we get to my latest instance of synchronicity. Shortly after getting to Okanogan, I crossed paths with a distance cyclist named Nathan, and learned that he started in Ohio, traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska, and was now on his way back to Ohio. In the course of the conversation, I found out that he is Amish, and from a small town that is only about seven miles from the hometown of Merlin, the Amish guy I met in Circle, Montana, on May 29. Amazingly, it turns out that Nathan knows Merlin and they are the same age (27). Nathan said he has been in touch with Merlin and will make sure to tell him I said hello. He reported that Merlin made it to California and is now in Utah.

Nathan has a bike helmet, but he had taken it off due to the heat and it was hanging on his handlebars. He had a Denali National Park sticker on one of his bike bags.

And now for my honored guest… My Chief Navigator Trudi has blessed me with a personal visit! She arrived yesterday afternoon, when the temperature in Tonasket hit 100 degrees. She plans to follow me along the way, in a car, for the rest of my route to the west coast and help celebrate when I finish. We hope to do that in about a week. In the meantime, she continues to work hard on some of our lodging options, which can be very tricky.

I can’t think about the finish line just yet though. I have two more big mountain passes to overcome, including the Loup Loup Pass tomorrow. Due to predicted high heat later in the day, I plan to start on this challenge early. You may be wondering how “Loup Loup” got its name. Legend has it that the name, which translates to “Wolf Wolf” in French, was coined by French Canadian fur traders who spotted wolves in the area.