16th day - 287 miles

After a very long day of riding, I arrived last night at Forks in the Olympic Mountains. All you teenagers out there, does this Village ring a bell? Well, I found out next morning. This is the town where all the Twilight vampire movies were made.

Here is a link if you’re curious:  http://www.forkswa.com/twilight/

After checking myself carefully for bite marks (none found!), I headed towards Port Angeles. On the way I met an old friend, but more about that later. I wish I would have had more time to take an extended hike through the rain forest in the Olympic Mountains N.P. but a 20 mile detour into the interior of the mountains had to do. At least I got a glimpse of the natural beauty this place has to offer.
 In order to make my appointment with my 2nd pit crew in Vancouver, I had to rush up to Port Townsend on the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula to catch the Keystone ferry ( a 35 minute boat ride) that would get me to about one and a half hours travel distance to Vancouver. But once again I forgot about rush hour in metropolitan areas. So after three hours I arrived at the dealership just to see everyone pack up and ready to go. With a little bribe I convinced David, the mechanic to stay a bit longer and install my new front tire. Thanks David!! This welcomed arrangement enabled me to get out of Vancouver and continue up the “Sea to Sky Highway” that leads to Whistler, host of this year’s Winter Olympics.
Tonight I stopped at Squamish about 40 km south of Whistler. The ride along the inlet sound surrounded by its snow covered steep mountains was incredible. Sadly there was no stopping allowed along the way for a picture. Rain is in the forecast tomorrow. Oh well...

Michael from Arizona. A fellow immigrant German motorcycle fanatic. We met in Forks, Washington.

Ok everybody, this is a test to check if you paid attention. "Who is this gentleman?' You find the answer at the end of this post.

Crescent Lake in the Olympic Mountains N.P.

I'm red and I'm beautiful.

Moss hanging of a red leaved maple tree.

In the rain forest.

Snow covered peaks in the Olympic Mountains.

Roaring river rapids.

Silver Angel Falls.

Sunlight breaking through a moss covered maple tree.

Hollow tree stump in the park.

Lighthouse in Port Townsend.

Waiting for the ferry.

Rob from Seattle. That's one of the best sounding bikes I have ever seen (heard).

He proudly claimed to have received the senior citizen discount for the ferry...

Mount Baker in the background.

Another beautiful day with "Helmet Hair".

David the "man". Thanks for sticking around to change my tire.

Quiz answer: It is John from Day 3. Unbelievable! After 2 weeks and 5000 miles and completely different itineraries we met by chance again when I turned off the road for a picture at Crescent Lake. Thanks for breakfast and I hope we run into each other once again...