Columbia River High alums bike from coast to coast

West Hazel Dell — Carolyn Murray and Joani Dahmen got a closer look than ever before at the fabric of America in a coast-to-coast bicycle trek that wrapped up this month. The 2011 Columbia River High School graduates began their “Mission: USA” in May with a drive to Huntington Beach, Calif., the start of their journey. They eventually ended up in Virginia Beach, Va., before returning to the West Coast by airplane. Their trip was documented at http://www.missionusa2013.blogspot.com; On the website, the pair points out that even seemingly impossible dreams aren’t always out of reach. “At least 20 times a day, people stop and ask us where we are going and what we are doing. And after we tell them, we get a response along the lines of, ‘I wish I could do something like that,'” the pair posted on their blog. “Well, the thing is … you can.”