Monday - 7 July 2011 - Amanda Park, WA to Forks, WA - 65 miles

To call Amanda Park, WA a one-horse town would be generous. We ate dinner at a restaurant named "Restaurant". While the town was small, the scenery surrounding it was anything but. Olympic National Park loomed over the landscape like a giant cedar tree over a swamp. We bathed in the view of endless forest and trees the size of sky scrapers. We hunkered down for the evening at the local high school. We originally thought that perhaps we might be sleeping in tents on the football field. A group of kindly custodians allowed us to camp in the gymnasium instead. We had the chance to shower and organize gear. Back on our bikes, we broke west for the coast. Route 101 brought us along the coast. Dense fog veiled our view and there really wasn't much to see. We stopped a few places to spy giant trees, each seemingly grander than the last. Thick forest pressed in as we slithered our way east and north toward Forks. Fittingly, it drizzled all day. Not a steady rain but enough to wet our clothes and the road.

We rode without one of our leaders. Kyle lingered in Amanda Park to work on school issues. The situation was stressing him out. We prayed that God would provide a miracle and allow him to find helpful souls who might take ownership of his dilemma and provide tangible assistance. Every so often, a member of the team would be reminded of their life outside the bubble of pedaling the coast. A more complex set of responsibilities would demand attention and a certain amount of focus on the trip would be lost. These moments reminded me of how divine this appointment really was. God had gifted each of us a certain respite from the normal hustle. Obedience and a call had lead us together for this wild adventure.

Cathy, from the Forks Assembly of God, prepared our dinner, baked goodies, cleaned up afterward, and welcomed us into the land of Twilight with open arms. Again, we were confronted with a hospitality that melted our hearts.