We picked Republic, Washington as our next stopover based on the fact that it has a site where we could dig for fossils – pretty good reason, right? We had an easy drive from Twisp – maybe 100 miles – with a brief stop in Omak for groceries. When we pulled into Winchester’s RV Park, we were pleasantly surprised and our one-night, possibly two, turned into a one-week-stay on the spot. We were happy to sit in very spacious Site 28 (with full hookups) for a solid week at a really decent cost. We set out our camp chairs, laid the red & white checkered cloth on the picnic table, and even picked flowers for a centerpiece. There’s plenty to do in the area, so we wouldn’t be bored! (not that we ever are) We can even sit in those camp chairs and relax … and we did!
Bike trail heading north to Lake Curlew, above and below.
Discovered a rails-to-trails bike path “around the corner” from our campsite, and we set out on it the next morning (28th). Only two miles of it are paved and the rest is gravel with some rocks to dodge. Pedaling in the other direction, toward Lake Curlew, is all but impossible, as the RR ties were removed, but not the rocks. Bleah! Rode a short way on it anyway, parked the bikes, and walked the rest of the way to the lake. Turned around and rode the nice section to the paved part – altogether only 14 miles. On this segment, we scared up a couple of yellow-bellied marmots and spied a bald eagle nest with Mom, Pop, and baby. Also an osprey nest with a baby or two.
This area of Washington – Ferry County – is considered “frontier,” and it’s very scenic. Still green from a maximum of spring rains, the surrounding hills are a sight for any eyes. I expect it’ll get hot here later on in the season, but right now, it’s perfect. People are working to get the bike path paved all the way to Canada (25 miles) thru forest and along the Kettle River. Oh, won’t that be fine? We’d come back to ride it. So would others, I’m sure. The Town of Republic is small, basically one main street with houses scattered in the hills, but it’s kinda neat. Colville Nat’l Forest is just to our east and it is fraught with hiking trails – o boy!
Nice biking along here.
Look at the gold pulled out of this territory.
Tergel is mid-photo in the trees.
This is a great stop for us!
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