Missoula, MT -> Spokane, WA

Another early day. I wake up, the sun also rises. After the first time my eyes opened at around five-thrity I went back to sleep and woke up a few times. A vain attempt to extract just a little more sleep from the early day. At eight I finally cried uncle to the sun and walked to the lobby for breakfast. I chatted with the staff over my morning tea, allowing the black stuff to perk up my eyelids. I suited up and experienced a pure moment of panic when I failed to find my keys. A million thoughts ran through my head as I checked and rechecked all of the room and all of my pockets. Was this the end? No. I forgot about that one small zipper pocket on my pants. Golden. Westbound.

The locals in the lobby advised me to go to Wallace, a small old mining town in the middle of the mountains. It is set inside a canyon and today, was filled with smoke. There are many fires burning in this part of the country due to the weeks of high wind, high temperatures, and low humidity. Welcome west. I had a sandwich and an odd encounter with a stranger. She asked if I was middle eastern. The answer, "sorta", prompted a yarn from her about how she and her deceased husband worked in the air force and "were taught to watch for things like that." Rural folks get strange around people from the middle east. She asked about my religion and that answer, "jewish", brought out another awkward yarn. There are many evangelicals in this country who have an odd view of my people that is as reverent as it is tone deaf. It is immensely respectful and they are very excited to be meeting one of us but they clearly don't do it often. It kind of makes you feel like a display animal. "I'm sorry ma'am I really should be going. I have to get to Spokane." The interstate gets awfully fun here. It runs up through the mountains and twists its way through the forrest. A welcome escape.

Home Time Sweet Home Time

I stopped again in Coeur d'Alene (coordelaine in the local speak), this time for a beer. I needed to kill time and beer on a hot day is a great way to do it. It takes time to get in, time to drink, time to rehydrate, and time to dry out after. Bartender's choice summoned a pint of porter to my table. Not ideal on a hot day but I am not one to turn down a challenge. I came. I saw. I conquered. The last stretch to Spokane was the hardest. It was approaching a hundred and I was suffering. Once the air gets hotter than your body, sweating doesn't work to cool you down anymore. Forty miles of hot misery. There has been a heat wave here for some time, if it holds out I may have to extend the trip so I'm not riding in it so much.

I arrived in Spokane to see Sami. Not the Sami from Seattle that I saw in Philly but Daniel's brother's girlfriend. They met some time ago in school and just bought a house together. I do mean just. As in, about a week. Daniel and his mother were kind enough to make the arrangements for me to stay with them and I am grateful. It has been some time since I had seen Patrik and we were caught up quickly. He is working for the local DoA helping to regulate pesticide compliance. He is clearly enjoying his job. Sami is a speech therapist so we had a lot to discuss about language and accents. I've been hearing a lot of odd things over the last month and a half. Also, apparently I am accent neutral. Strange.

Tomorrow night I'll get to see family for the first time since Ithica. That was ten days ago but it feels like a million years. There are eight more days left of this trip. I am enjoying watching the sunset.

Today's Distance: 232 Miles

Total Distance: 7231 Miles