Back to work July 29 / The Details of the ride

Elk
The Black Bear
Rainy Pass in North Cascades no traffic because we went under the gate. They were going to open the mountain up to traffic later that day.
Concrete Washington airport
I was hoping to leave a package of food here for Barb and David Curtis They were hiking the Pacific Crest trail. But to much snow......
Oreo Cow
Sand Hill Cranes
Gull flying by while I was walking around on the USS Badger
Cormorant's

You tell me. cross between a goat and cow?
A Loon
Deer
There were 3 eagles in this next.

A Bunny. I am told I need to get a bunny for my grandson Lucas whenever I get back home.

The USS Badger 4 hour Ferry Ride.
Blue water ferry ride going into Canada.
Pelicans
Fire station in Hope North Dakota
Buffalo



Hi I just wanted to say I am back at work now. I was to start back on July 29. So I had to make a decision to shorten my ride by 3 days. To be honest 3900 miles is enough. And I still got to see the views on the way to Portland Maine.

I had really worked hard on mapping out our Itinerary and making contacts with people , churches and so on before I was leaving for this Habitat Fund raiser,I looked forward to meeting all the people that I had contacted before the trip. After 2000 miles the other riders decided that they no longer wanted to do 65-90 miles a day rides , Which meant I would have to change my contacts and Portland was going to be my stopping point. That was fine with me. I still had a great time riding , Since they were going to be riding side by side I felt comfortable about leaving them and doing my own speed and getting off the road before the heat, Those of you that know me. I just don't do the heat well anymore. So we lowered the days to 50 or less to compromise my other 2 riders. The only days that I really rode fast was on Sunday morning so I could get to church . I really enjoyed that time .I was in prayer with the Lord and the views were overwhelming, The people that I made contact with were great. I had so much time on my hands that I got to see the town and be shown around and took out to lunch and just had a wonderful day everyday, My other 2 riders appreciated that accommodations where set up before they got into town. I told Barbara, "I never worry about where I am going to lay my head to sleep. God will provide and he did so. Every night.

I just wanted to give a few statics in case you wanted to know.









My friend Darlene Laubenstien and her sister Betty gave Carol and me a ride in a van to Washington State. we left Warrensburg May 11 and got to Washington May may 15. I was greeted by my Aunt Lorene and her friend Mike they drove 950 miles to see me off. Wow that was a treat. We met Barbara for the first time. May 16 we left Washington.









We had 26 nights free from Motels




4 nights from Warm Showers contacts(for Bicyclist) http://www.warmshowers.com/




2 nights at a airport lounge in Concrete Washington www.townofconcrete.com/airport




2 nights at a bunkhouse




18 nights in People's homes




16 nights in churches




1 night at a B & B




4 nights at a Lodge
http://www.bigbearhideaway.com/




1 night at a fire station in Hope ND ( no Pole)




1 night at a apartment complex they had a empty room




1 night at a retirement center




Every night was donated and I made some really good friends. Thanks for




making this ride possible.









We rode the USS Badger Ferry 60 miles 4 hour ride, I loved it, I walked around taken pictures it was great, You could not see any land . The water was a beautiful color. what a treat.




then we rode the Blue water Ferry into Canada, The last Ferry was into Vermont.









Different kinds of foods I ate.




In Canada they like Vinegar on their french fries




I ate Potine. which is fries brown gravy and cheese curds




I ate Wisconsin Cheese




Real Maple Syrup on ice cream




Rhubarb pie




Deer Steak




Lobster




Indian Fried bread









The Animals




3 bears,lots of woodchucks, gulls,yellow head black birds. sand hill cranes, foxes, coyote, a wolf, Buffalo, 2 baby owls,Elk, Seal Eagles and they other things that we see in Missouri.









Niagara Falls was great to see. Texas falls and The Oceans of coarse. The Blue Glacier on top of the mountain which it was so cold and I did not get a picture of it.

Warrensburg MO

Airplane ride home from Portland Maine to Kansas City July 25
Welcome Home MOM
My Boys, Good to be back home ! Asher 5, Lucas 3 Husband Rick whom turned 50 while I was out riding 4habitat.Such a bad wife I am.
My Flowers Angela my daughter had gotten for me, Plus a clean home.
Back Home with my Husband Rick
I got up at 3 in the morning, looking forward to catching a plane back home. I made sure to have my "airplane pills." You know, it's safer to ride a bike across the United States than to fly. I got the shuttle to the airport at 4 am. I got on the plane and chilled with my pill. I got to Kansas City and Rick, Angela, Asher and Lucas were there to pick me up. What a great treat. We went out to eat in Lee's Summit at a Mexican restaurant, and then we went to Angela's. The pill took effect and Grandma was ready to nap with Lucas. Now I feel so happy to be back home with my family. But the Habitat fund raiser is still going on. Once I rest up, I will be out fund raising to build the habitat home here in Johnson County.
What a surprise once I was back in my own house. It was all nice and clean. due to my daughter Angela. she had bought me a lovely bouquet of flowers sitting on the dining room table. everything looked great. good to be back home.Thank you.

Portland Maine

Rachel Farrington (Freeport Maine) Showing Pam how to eat a Lobster
Lobster Shack Restaurant,at Cape Elizabeth. This is where Pete and Rachel Farrington and Daughter Ellie took Pam To have her first Lobster, After arriving in Portland Maine.
Welcome. This was the best place to go eat Lobster and to really see the ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
This one was really good.from the Lobster Shack Restaurant , She also said they had blueberry cobbler.
Thanks to the Farrington's they drove all the way from Freeport to take me out for supper. also to see the Atlantic Ocean at it's best.
Pete, Ellie, and Rachel Farrington and a very very happy Pam
What a view
The Perfect splash!

As I crossed the ferry, I looked at my maps once again and thought I needed to take another route to Bethel Vt. because this was the place I was going to stop over for the night. And it would have been 2 miles longer. But I decided to follow the Route, and on the way toward Rochester Vt., I took a short detour to Texas Falls which was great, there are pictures posted. After the long climbs and great down pour, it was the lightning that I didn't choose to deal with. On the way to Rochester I meet a really nice couple and they had a better way for me to get to Maine 180 miles shy from doing this entire trip, I choose to cut 3 days off of this trip and head back to my hometown of Warrensburg MO. July 25 . I have been riding this whole trip alone. By my choice. I learned from this whole experience that I Can do a cross country ride alone. There was never FEAR. It was just nice for my family that someone else was out there. I did my own speed and my own thing and I loved every minute . The people that God put in my path were the best part. I rode my bike early in the day, so I could enjoy the people that I have been in touch with, every time I was off my bike I was talking Habitat, Because my goal was to raise money checks and CASH, (which I will be sending into Habitat), and this was a really nice tour. When I did the Southern tier it was good, but the Northern tier is the best so far. These people that I ate lunch with in Rochester VT., Steve and Sharon Shaw, said you know Pam , we'd love to go to Maine. I said great I'll buy the gas as a joke, well they weren't kidding, so off we went rain and all. The roads were not the best. We got to Portland and got a really upscale hotel Homewood Suites to put us all up. Steve and Sharon stayed also. What good people. Then the airline was able to change my ticket to Friday. I really did not want to spend so much time away from my family. The people that I was supposed to stay with in Freeport, Rachael and Pete Farrington and their little girl, Ellie came Thursday to the Hotel to take me to Port Elizabeth to eat lobster, the restaurant was next to the ocean and the water was spraying over the rocks and splashing over the wall. We went for a ride to see the ocean and they showed me what Maine is really all about. This is an area where Rachel grew up.I even got some Blueberry cobbler. Rachael is a real Bicyclist, I would love the chance to ride with her. She is a long distance rider 80 plus a day, my kind of riding. I will be back to ride with her in Maine she knows all about the roads here . So Maine is on my list.

This ride 4 habitat ride was so awesome because I got such a wonderful experience and closeness with the Lord. This ride was spiritual for me. When I first began this tour for habitat. My first list of prayers was that God could use me in such a way to witness to others about Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. I really thought that he would use me in some way in my daily walk with the people I met on the ride across the USA, to my surprise the walk was a daily one. I prayed every day that God would put other Christian people in our path, and if you read the blogs that Barbara wrote, you can see that God's love was spread all about the entire ride. It was great, there were changes. Barbara kept saying to me "this love of these people and their kindness" I told her, its not me finding these people it is God leading me to these people. My prayer is that all will come to know the Lord Jesus, and I will pray for my other 2 riders as they make the last few miles of their trip, I wish them only the best, and that the Lord will continue to put good people in their path.

We are still short on the goal for our Habitat Ride and hopefully you will mail a check into Habitat to help us finish this journey.

If you want to be a part of this you can join in by sending a check and a prayer.

Thanks , Pam

The Erie Canal bike path.
Medina New York July 16 Dave Miller and his wife Gail prepared a lovely dinner for us with other guests who are active in the local Habitat for Humanity Affiliate. Dave is president and Maureen( Maureen Hungerford is the lady that let us spend the night at her home in Medina. Thanks you Maureen it was my pleasure to have got to spend time with you. )is the Volunteer Coordinator.
www.shirtfactorycafe.com see the Gallery....

In Medina (MeDYna) we were met by Dave Miller who led us on his bicycle through the old downtown which dates from 1823, along with the Erie Canal. Dave treated us to cold drinks at the renovated Shirt Factory Cafe. Maureen Hungerford also joined us in town.
In Medina (MeDYna) New York along with the Erie Canal Carol, Pam and Barbara
After a few miles I was on the Erie Canal Towpath. This was refreshingly quiet with calm water and no traffic . I stopped at a tall bridge to watch some boys who were ignoring the no trespassing signs to climb up to the top and jump into the canal. I warned them that I didn't think this is what they should be doing I sure wouldn't do it, as I stood there with my camera to capture the moment they jumped in. I have a sport motion on my camera. Was I encouraging their delinquent behavior?

New York, Fair port

( Linda's Beauty Salon ) close to Pulaski New York where at a fundraiser given by the Masons. I Met Her husband .He told me after I had stopped by asking where I could find a place to buy a charger for my phone. Stop by my wifes beauty salon if I give you some chicken she will give you some fresh water. stop by and say Hi. so I did. What nice people. Lake Ontario
When I arrived in Fair Port New York July 16 2008, I (Pam ) was adopted by Shirley Stickles from Assumption Catholic Church. Trish Fuchs, another friend who adopted me this afternoon. Trish had taken me out for lunch and her car was being worked on so Shirley handed over the keys to her car for me to follow Trish, The funny thing was that Shirley has just met Trish minutes before meeting me, And she said Pam you can stay at my home tonight, so Now I was going to have to find away to let the 2 girls Know where I was. So When they got there 3 hours later They found me and Then we was entertained by her daughter Kristine Rodriguez and her 12 year old son Tyler.

Shirley, Kristine and Tyler took us out to dinner at the most upscale grocery store . Wegman's. Tyler was especially proud because his uncle is a District Manager for the store in Virginia.

Lake Ontario

Geese on the Erie Canal

Redfield, Sterling, Pulaski , New York

Redfield New York Methodist Church."I arrived in time for lunch because there was a work day going on the lovely 1827 Church. When I rode up I met Cliff and ask if the pastor was in. He said we don't have a pastor at this time. Can I help you. I told what I was doing and he had me come in and met everyone cleaning up the church they just sat down to eat. As we were all done and eating the homemade pies Carol and Barbara showed up. And I told them that Cliff and Candy had said we could stay with them, They were always amazed that I have always got a place to stay lined up way before they got to town. I told Barbara That I never worried about where I was going to lay my head down to sleep The Lord will Provide.

Cliff and Candy Gilbert's home is on Salmon River Reservoir. This is in a Cross Country Ski Resort Area. We arrived at this lovely cabin where Barbara and I immediately took a dip in the lake off the front of the home. This is a quiet protected shore where much of the area is owned by the state, so it will stay in its natural state. Most of the residents here have been coming here for vacations for generations. Cliff and Candy are the only permanent residents here in the winter. They use a snowmobile to get in and out of their driveway to get to their car parked above.

Cliff found these red mushroom while he was showing us the other homes around here.

I just had to jump in and feel the nice cool lake. Before We were served choc. coffee and ice cream

When I rode into Fair Haven I found that there was a wedding going on in town and so all the motel were booked. so I search for a church and found Pastor JD answered the phone at Sterling Christian Church. He was young and enthusiastic about my bike tour. As soon as I walked into the church he handed me a plate of chicken gravy over toast and a glass of cold water. As I sat and talked He told where to find everything in the church He even showed me his personal stash of food. OH no.. I notice there was still a little chicken gravy left and soon ate it. I cant Believe the food I eat. I well taken care of before he was enjoying the rest of what was supposed to be his day off. I did not have a signal on my phone so I was hoping Carol did so I left her a message where she could find me. She came riding in and about 30 min. later Barbara showed up behind Carol..They were able to met Pastor JD before he went back to his home.

Burt Goodnough took me to a store in Pulaski New York off route where I purchased a new phone charger. We went to a couple of stores before finding the correct Charger. I had stopped at servel stores before i had got to this town.with no luck I even stopped to have breakfast hoping the girls woulds catch up. Finally I was about to enjoying barbecued chicken at a fundraiser given by the Masons. Carol and Barbara showed up and they gave them some free chicken also. Becuase I had told them That I was doing this Habitat 4 humanity ride and they wanted to help.

Vermont ,New Hampshire

Hills Green Trees all the way from Vermont to Maine as far as you could see. The Rain was just an extra enjoyment. Thankful for being able to see God's Country. Robert Frost Trail on the way to Bethel VT.Middlebury VT
This was the Last Sunset I seen in New York another wonderful painting from the Lord.
Sea Gull's checking me out before going onto a ferry to Vermont