Most of today's ride was on HIghway 12 which follows part of the route taken by Lewis and Clark on their return from the Pacific coast in 1806. Seeing the terrain from the seat of a bicycle gives me even more of an appreciation for what they faced during this portion of their remarkable expedition. We had two long descents and one long, but not so steep (7% grade max), climb. As usual I was cautious on the descents, but relative fast (for an old guy) on the climb. We were aided all day by a tailwind and shaded from the sun by a layer of haze from the many fires in the area. As we descended from the Alpowa Summit towards Lewiston the smoke became more dense obscuring views of the surrounding mountains. But at the botton of the descent it was really cool to suddenly have the Snake River flowing immediately adjacent to the road.
Having never lived in the northwest, this ride is really helping me get a firsthand understanding of the geography of the area - particularly the Columbia and Snake River basins. Did you know Lewiston is the eastern most port on the west coast?
As we crossed the Snake River from Clarkson WA into Lewiston there was a welcome sign which served as a nice background for a picture of a weary cyclist ready for a hot shower. 
Although Lewiston is located in a scenic area at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers, the thick smoke is not going to let me see much of anything. However, I was able to spot one important landmark near our hotel from which I have just returned with a very tasty chocolate milkshake - after a hearty dinner and dessert at the hotel. Trying to replace all of the calories I burnoff each day is really a nice problem to have! 
On the medical front, I continue to put up with the after affects of my earlier crash. Amazingly I am cycling well and with out much pain even though my left arm doesn't work very well do to a messed up shoulder and my walking continues to suck do to a banged up left hip. I suppose that cycling 100 miles a day does not help much with the recuperation. I did try an ice bath after getting off the bike in an effort to help the healing process. I don't know if it helped - but I did give myself hypothermia to the point that I was shaking so bad I couldn't type this blog post until after dinner. I guess there is a limit as to how long you should sit in a tub of icewater.
Tomorrow we will be riding 103 miles and climbing 6400 feet as we make our way to Kooskia ID. It's supposed to be a scenic ride, but we have been warned that, even though there are no fires as of now directly on the route, the smoke from nearby fires may be quite heavy. There may be some who choose to get in the van rather than inhale the smoke, but I don't expect to be one of them.
Steve
Steve, Aline let me know a couple of days ago you were on another XC trip. Sorry to hear about your spill on day 2 and wish you a safe trip and good recovery. Had I known before you were in Astoria I would have recommended you stop into a bar there that serves up the best fried oysters Fred and I have ever tasted - it would have changed your overall view of Astoria -ha ha! How well I remember Fred and I riding the Columbia River Gorge and the steep ride from Troutdale to Multnomah Falls and back - Fred snapped a photo of me laughing uncontrollably when we reached the bottom - I couldn't control my laughing because of the realization we had to turn around ride back up (and I was recovering from a broken foot) Oh, the fond memories of that ride!
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