On Sunday, 7-21, I rode 71 miles from Marblemount to Anacortes, WA (pop. 15,778), completing my cross-country bike trip. The Adventure Cycling Northern Tier route ended at the Anacortes ferry terminal, so that is where I finished biking, but I saved the important ocean “tire dipping” ceremony for the next day. That day, Monday, 7-22, also our youngest son Billy’s birthday, is the official completion date for this bike adventure.

My last day on the road was long, and traffic on the main roads got considerably heavier as I got closer to Anacortes. There was also some light rain early in the afternoon. But it was a great day of biking, with breaks for both breakfast and lunch with Trudi. I passed through the towns of Rockport (pop. 109), Concrete (pop. 705), Hamilton (pop. 301), Sedro-Woolley (pop. 10,540), and Burlington (8,388), before climbing a bridge over Fidalgo Bay into Anacortes. It was a glorious conclusion to this biking saga.

I headed west around 9 a.m. Sunday morning, once again riding along the Skagit River.

Trudi met me for breakfast at the Lone Star Restaurant in Concrete.

I crossed the Baker River Bridge on my way into Concrete. The bridge originally opened in 1917 and was the only link to two sides of the town.

This is a view of the river as I was crossing the bridge.

There is a memorial plaque on the bridge for a man, Dewey Hyatt, who tragically lost his life just before the completion of a construction project on the bridge in 2004.

I thought this sign on a thrift store next to the restaurant was interesting–“Abundance is an Attitude Before It’s a Fact.”

During the course of the day, I was struck by how dramatically the hot arid climate I had been dealing with over the past month or so became much cooler and wetter. I met Trudi for lunch at a restaurant in Sedro Woolley at 3 p.m., where I checked my weather app. It was 76 degrees there, but 103 degrees and 99 degrees, respectively, in Tonasket and Winthrop, towns east of Washington Pass that I had been in just a few days ago. It was startling how quickly the desert climate had changed, even over the course of a slower-paced journey on a bike. Today’s brief rain shower was the first rain I had seen in weeks, and in the past day or so I saw more thriving plants and flowers alongside the road.

As I reached Anacortes, I saw signs letting me know when I was in or out of a tsunami zone. A tsunami zone is a designated coastal area expected to be flooded or inundated by wave activity generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or other events generating the displacement of a large volume of water in the ocean.

The town of Anacortes abuts the Swinomish Indian Reservation, and the signs announcing I was within either jurisdiction were very close to each other. According to Wikipedia, the tribe’s population is primarily composed of Swinomish, Lower Skagit, Kikiallus, and Samish peoples.

I crossed Fidalgo Bay on a wooden trestle bridge that becomes part of the Tommy Thompson Trail in Anacortes. The trail is named after Tommy Thompson, a local railroad hobbyist who built and operated a six-block narrow-gage railway for 25 years before his death in 1999.

After crossing the wooden trestle bridge, I came to this public art exhibit, which encourages individuals to “add items of interest.”

And this is the result of that effort, which includes a lot of driftwood, shells and items with a nautical theme.

There were a few sculptures on display along the trail. Here is one of them, depicting an otter.

In downtown Anacortes, I passed this Carnegie Library building. It was the first library in town, opened in 1910, but is now a museum. It reminded me of the Carnegie Library I had seen in Lewistown, MT.

Here is a view of Fidalgo Bay I saw as I headed to the ferry terminal, looking out toward the San Juan Islands.

I crossed paths with a number of deer who make their home in town and seem unusually comfortable around their human neighbors. This one was on a sidewalk along the road I was on and wasn’t at all troubled by me as I rode by.

Here was another deer on the sidewalk a few blocks away that we saw later in the evening.

And here’s where I ended up at the ferry terminal at the end of the day.

Our son Joe, daughter-in-law Kelsey, and our three grandchildren, Jenny, Joe A. (Jo Jo), and Tilly arrived at 1 a.m. on Monday to join Trudi and me in Anacortes for our celebration of the end of this trip. It was really heartwarming that they wanted to be here for the occasion. I also appreciated Joe’s help throughout this trip in helping me with various technical issues in producing this blog–I couldn’t have done it without him.

On Monday morning, we went to Green Point Park, not far from the ferry landing, where there was a boat launch suitable for the tire-dipping ceremony.

Tilly ran up to me as I dunked my bike in the water, telling me, “Grandpa, I’m so proud of you!”

On Monday afternoon, I took my bike to Skagit Cycle, where it will get boxed up for its return to Minnesota. Here is my vintage bike, without bike bags, alongside Isaac from the bike shop.

I am extremely grateful that Trudi was able to be along with me the last week of this trip, just as she was at the beginning of the adventure last year. Words can’t adequately express how thankful I am for her tireless assistance all along the way as my trusted confidant and Chief Navigator. And, for all of you who followed my blog posts, please know how much I appreciate all your words of encouragement and support. They were an ongoing source of inspiration and strength. Thank you so much!