slow glowing

team slow and unsteady

(that’s us)

(i had my first fall of the trip today… while i was standing upright in one place. my heavy bike fell over and took me with it. unsteady indeed! but the only thing bruised was my dignity.)

(anyway…)

written on the evening of july 16th (that’s yesterday)

yesterday morning shortly after setting out from cambridge, we passed a grass fire (not too big, but spreading from two different spots) on the side of the road. we called 911 and the dispatcher informed us that they already knew about it, though there was no sign of response as of yet, except for one guy (i guessed it was his property) trying (rather futilely i thought) to beat it out with a shovel. a. wanted me to take a photo of him, but i felt like i was rubbernecking as it was when i took these shots:

(that one’s from a bit further down the road)

another disaster:

the life that is in me honors the life that was in you. may the life that was in you help new life to flourish, and may i carry your death in me with my life so that neither is wasted… (something like that. i want to write a roadkill prayer.)

yesterday there were also lots of bits of wood on the side of the road–fallen off of logging trucks i guess–that from a distance i often thought were roadkill. they even splintered and got squashed into the road the same way roadkill does, and their heartwood was like pink flesh under their bark fur coats.

here’s something we missed out on–there’s a bike path called the weiser river trail that ran along (or near) much of our route yesterday. it’s unpaved, though, and a.’s tires are not too bad on gravel and dirt but mine are very much road tires (sort of an accidental choice, but they have been quite nice tires for the most part) and are just awful on gravel. it’s just as well, because the internet implied that some of the bridges on the path are in need of repair or even impassable, but still it called to us from the highway…

dear idaho,
that is how you do a welcome sign.
love,
stacia

i used to pass the version of that sign that’s along i-5 all the time when i drove between portland and seattle. we’ve come quite a ways north!

a waitress at the cafe in cambridge quipped yesterday morning that idaho would be the biggest state in the union if you ironed it out, and i am starting to believe her! since yesterday evening we have been surrounded by mountains. two westbound riders we met at the cafe, ted and steve (who incidentally started out at part of a 6-person group and are now two!), told us they think idaho is the prettiest state. we were still kind of in the high desert of hells canyon and the snake river at the time and were dubious, but i’m starting to believe them too. yesterday evening after we left new meadows we followed the salmon river through the woods–

(the evening’s long shadows made it difficult to take nice photos–everything in the shade was dark and everything in the sun was so bright!)

toto, we’re not in oregon anymore–

though i think the progenitor of that particular sign would be a kook anywhere. check out this display:

anyway, we spent the night at an overpriced and under-amenitied rv park just south of pollock. you win some you lose some. we could have gone on to riggins, maybe, but we were tired and it was getting close to dark.

this morning:

(we entered the mountain time zone and lost an hour when we crossed the snake river into idaho, but mysteriously gained it back today when we crossed the salmon river. um, ok. i think we lose it again when we get to montana.)

stopped for plums and honey and chocolate-covered huckleberries at this farm stand:

stopped there to pick up a package from my mom! general delivery is awesome! stay tuned for info on how to send us letters (or, say, homemade cookies?) should you so desire! we got these rockin’ mirrors so we can see the huge trucks passing us on narrow mountain roads:

a little dorky, yes. but also awesome.

we’ve been passing these signs–and similar ones that say “historical site ahead”–for much of our trip. they’re a fun excuse to pull off the road for a minute and learn something. the geological ones especially are often fascinating. here’s an example:

when we were at the hotel in mitchell, i found a little booklet called something like “road guide to yellowstone park from a creationist’s perspective.” basically, it was a young earth creationist explanation of all the geology of yellowstone. pretty funny really–one of the main points was that if the earth is so old, and erosion is happening as fast as it is, why hasn’t everything eroded down to zero? which is funny because the assumption underneath THAT is also a christian creationist one–that everything was created all at once, for good. when in fact the earth as we know is being created all around us, all the time, still. which i think is a really beautiful and spiritual thing.

we didn’t get very far today; we’re camping just outside of white bird. we caught up with our kiwi friends adi and neil and tomorrow we’re all going to tackle the big steep climb between white bird and grangeville… early in the morning, before it gets appallingly hot again. in the meantime, we’re chillin’ out and eating chocolate-covered huckleberries. yum yum. oh and chatting with the manager here, who is one heck of a character and very much a talker. he has apparently done everything and knows everyone and has lots of opinions about all of it. well… you win some, you lose some.