The Woodland camp ground/RV park I'm staying at has wifi, so I stayed up till about 1:30am blogging last night (and here I am today at 11pm, still blogging away!), so I enjoyed sleeping in until about 10:30am. I had a leisurely granola and nuts breakfast in camp, paid for my two nights stay (a "spendy" $16! Life is good), and went to town in search of a quiet internet and phone combo, a post office (I finished CS Lewis's book called The Four Loves I'd borrowed from my mom in Canada and was eager to mail it home and lighten my load), the restaurant I plan to have breakfast at tomorrow, and a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I was successful on all counts, meeting some lovely people along the way. For the Internet connection and phone line, I luckily chanced upon the Huckleberry House Bed and Breakfast--the only B&B in town! And it's only a few blocks from the library and post office, so it's perfect! Ellen and Keith were very kind and invited me right in when I knocked. I ended my day after dinner back on their porch while they enjoyed a glass of wine and we shared stories about Keith's time in the military and the history of their beautiful 1917 home and some of their stories of past guests and my stories from the road. I'm looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow. If you're passing through Libby, look them up! Huckleberry House B&B.
I also met a group of 11 cyclists touring a west bound loop and we swapped stories for a bit. I also offered my massage therapy services and connected with one woman riding with her 70 year old dad who I supported with some shoulder and neck release. That was a lot of fun! I love being of service. I'm not sure what happened to my campground client, but we hadn't set a time and I got home rather late (9pm) so maybe he gave up on me. I was hoping he would materialize at the fire pit again this evening while I was blogging, but no luck. I love my work and I was grateful to be able to support a fellow cyclist at the restaurant. This gives me hope that I may be able to connect with a cycling group heading cross country another year that will choose to hire me as their massage therapist. :)
Tomorrow, I will pack up and head out by 8am so I have time for breakfast, another hour of library Internet watching bio-optic holography sessions to prepare for my own, my session itself, a 30 minute massage for the judge who I met this afternoon (he's vegan! Very helpful with restaurant recommendations), and back on the road towards Kalispell. It's supposed to be 97 tomorrow--the peak of the week's heat wave. At least I'm not climbing over the Going to the Sun road in glacier in this heat! Though I doubt it gets this hot up at 6650' elevation!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Montana, day two
The ride from Bull River to Libby was 54 miles and 6 hours in the saddle (to the minute!) took me most of the day to ride. It has been HOT again out here. Not CA central valley 104+ hot, but respectable 94-97 degrees hot. Definitely hot enough to merit stopping at most available water crossings to swim or soak my shirt and sarong for evaporative cooling (thank you thermodynamics!). I'm not so good about getting out of bed before the sun is up, which means it's often 10ish before I've had breakfast, packed up camp, and started down the road. I miss the full face sunburn issue of east bound early morning riding this way, and it puts me smack in the mid-day sun for the prime of my ride when my body's warmed up but not yet fatigued. Fortunately, hwy 56 follows the Bull River most of its length, so I had ample dipping/cool-off opportunities and one primo swimming spot.
COLD water! Like pins and needles on my skin and losing feeling in my limbs after standing in it for about 30 seconds! I thought of my brother taking the plunge into the 42-48 degree water at the base of Burney Falls back in CA last month (has it been a month already?? Wow!) and I dove into the 6-8' deep thalwag at a section of river about 12' wide. I've never seen river water so clear. I saw a 10" trout swimming lazily along the bottom like he was just beneath the surface (before I dove in and disturbed his peace). I intended to swim across and play a bit, but the cold set in and half-way across (just about 6', remember!) I decided I was refreshed enough and swam back and clammered my way back out up the steep silty clay bank. Brrrrrrr and yummy! An excellent swim rest.
I hope to post photos soon--the canyon was beautiful. I rode by the Cabinet Montains today-home to just 15 grizzly bears according to the aging interpretive sign. The road grade was kind today, no major climbs and my knee was grateful. I came out onto hwy 2 and turned right toward Libby at about 6:30pm with 15 miles to go. What would be a 10 minute drive took me about 2 hours, and again, due to my late morning start, I found myself cycling through dusk in bear country. Hwy 2 had a fair amount of traffic- a half dozen cars a minute or so (*grin*). I saw an osprey carrying a trout a hundred feet over head, circling her nest before landing to feed her young. Also 2 bald eagles and several big nests, probably some osprey and some eagle. Way fun to see these majestic birds along the big powerful kootenai river near the 2.
One approx mile-long stretch of hwy 2 had 6-8 piles of bear scat, some fairly fresh! I retrieved my pepper spray and rode with it in my left hand hoping not to have to find out whether this stuff really makes any difference. I recalled a photo a friend of mine took while she was horse-packing in Montana: black bear scat is full of bery seeds and squirrel fur. Grizzley scat smells like cayenne pepper! I never truely feltunsafe on this stretch of road, and I was very happy to arrive in town intact. Being on the road offers many many opportunities to be grateful for basic survival needs being met and today I choose to celebrate the intricate web of life!
As I rode into Libby, there was a very funny billboard for the local hospital: "Big town technology, small town service. Neighbors healing neighbors." The picture showed a man in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat in an MRI machine. I hope to post a photo soon. I passed on a sketchy rv park outside town and selected a nice one with $8 tent sites and a community fire ring with a creek out back. I met two folks that expressed some interest in massage therapy tomorrow evening, so I decided to take a rest day and find Internet and a landline for my bio-optic holography session with Bob (Robert Twnnyson Stevens) tomorrow. Seems like a lot to prepare and I AM up for it!
COLD water! Like pins and needles on my skin and losing feeling in my limbs after standing in it for about 30 seconds! I thought of my brother taking the plunge into the 42-48 degree water at the base of Burney Falls back in CA last month (has it been a month already?? Wow!) and I dove into the 6-8' deep thalwag at a section of river about 12' wide. I've never seen river water so clear. I saw a 10" trout swimming lazily along the bottom like he was just beneath the surface (before I dove in and disturbed his peace). I intended to swim across and play a bit, but the cold set in and half-way across (just about 6', remember!) I decided I was refreshed enough and swam back and clammered my way back out up the steep silty clay bank. Brrrrrrr and yummy! An excellent swim rest.
I hope to post photos soon--the canyon was beautiful. I rode by the Cabinet Montains today-home to just 15 grizzly bears according to the aging interpretive sign. The road grade was kind today, no major climbs and my knee was grateful. I came out onto hwy 2 and turned right toward Libby at about 6:30pm with 15 miles to go. What would be a 10 minute drive took me about 2 hours, and again, due to my late morning start, I found myself cycling through dusk in bear country. Hwy 2 had a fair amount of traffic- a half dozen cars a minute or so (*grin*). I saw an osprey carrying a trout a hundred feet over head, circling her nest before landing to feed her young. Also 2 bald eagles and several big nests, probably some osprey and some eagle. Way fun to see these majestic birds along the big powerful kootenai river near the 2.
One approx mile-long stretch of hwy 2 had 6-8 piles of bear scat, some fairly fresh! I retrieved my pepper spray and rode with it in my left hand hoping not to have to find out whether this stuff really makes any difference. I recalled a photo a friend of mine took while she was horse-packing in Montana: black bear scat is full of bery seeds and squirrel fur. Grizzley scat smells like cayenne pepper! I never truely feltunsafe on this stretch of road, and I was very happy to arrive in town intact. Being on the road offers many many opportunities to be grateful for basic survival needs being met and today I choose to celebrate the intricate web of life!
As I rode into Libby, there was a very funny billboard for the local hospital: "Big town technology, small town service. Neighbors healing neighbors." The picture showed a man in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat in an MRI machine. I hope to post a photo soon. I passed on a sketchy rv park outside town and selected a nice one with $8 tent sites and a community fire ring with a creek out back. I met two folks that expressed some interest in massage therapy tomorrow evening, so I decided to take a rest day and find Internet and a landline for my bio-optic holography session with Bob (Robert Twnnyson Stevens) tomorrow. Seems like a lot to prepare and I AM up for it!
And now Montana!
Idaho went by too quickly--what a lovely state! At least the northern panhandle, and I hope one day to discover whether it's representative of the whole state. For now, I have entered Montana and camped here 3 nights. The first, just over the boarder (I am following a trend here) at Big Eddy was a fun little discovery. I was offered water by a very kind woman who happened to see me as she was carrying apples from her garden to her car. I accepted and rode down her driveway to meet her. We walked together towards the house and I saw she had well loved and very faded prayer flags hanging over her wood shed. She and her mom had both grown up on the land there and she told me about battling the bears and squirrels and bees for the apples...I wondered how bees would get into apples but didn't ask. She filled my water bottles and recommended a camp ground 10 miles down the road. I asked her to repeat the name, but I forgot it 2 miles down the road anyway.
As I pedaled on into the dusky evening, I began to create my ideal campground: a small place with fire rings and bear boxes near a body of water with pit toilets so I wouldn't have to waste water and there would be less required maintenance and maybe it would be free. I rode by Big Eddy Recreation Area about 5 miles from my water connection, but my heart said to go back and take a second look. The sign at the entry said "camping limit 14 days" but nothing about being full or any fees, so I rode down to check it out.
I had a small twinge of trepidation when the road turned to gravel/dirt with potholes and seemed to stretch on a ways downhill...this breaks my no dirt road rule formed while riding google maps's recomended forest roads and challenging my right knee considerably. I also figured climbing up the gravel in the am would not be a fun start to the day. Intuition kept me going and I found the campground exactly to my created specifications! 6 sites, a central pit toilet, bear boxes, picnic benches, and fire rings at each site, and just down the road a little farther was the day use area: a boat ramp into a beautiful lake! Or maybe it was a river, but it was big and beautiful. I set up camp and went down to the water with my no-see-um headnet (thank you Aspen!) to meditate. Beautiful place to practice metta!
As the sun set, I returned to camp and began to feel fear intensifying in my field again (this fear began as I rode across the ID-MT boarder). All my scented stuff was safely stored in the steel bear box provided by the site. I heard several gunshots at dusk and took solace that I was in an established camp ground, and I felt nervous that I was alone and being very quiet and without a sizable vehicle in said campsite.
I used all my tools: ho'oponopono, metta, reiki, the freedom process...not much effect. After laying in my sleeping bag for about 20 minutes on the picnic table (I decided to sleep on the table because I felt safer off the ground at this particular site--a little less vulnerable) almost sweating from fear, I remembered the latihan! I invited this sacred energy to flow in me and I felt immediately cleared, centered, and protected by the love of God. I am SO grateful for this divine connection in my life. Thank you, Subud spiritual community! When the latihan completed after about another 20 or 30 minutes, the energy within and around me felt totally transformed and I slept more soundly than I have in weeks! What a wonderful night!
The next morning I packed up after my sleeping bag dried in the sun and ride on into Bull River (that was the town my water bearer friend had recommended I camp at) and found a little convenience store with bulk foods and some organic produce! Wonderful. I enjoyed breakfast in front of this store (the Big Sky Panty) while my receptionless phone charged.
As I pedaled on into the dusky evening, I began to create my ideal campground: a small place with fire rings and bear boxes near a body of water with pit toilets so I wouldn't have to waste water and there would be less required maintenance and maybe it would be free. I rode by Big Eddy Recreation Area about 5 miles from my water connection, but my heart said to go back and take a second look. The sign at the entry said "camping limit 14 days" but nothing about being full or any fees, so I rode down to check it out.
I had a small twinge of trepidation when the road turned to gravel/dirt with potholes and seemed to stretch on a ways downhill...this breaks my no dirt road rule formed while riding google maps's recomended forest roads and challenging my right knee considerably. I also figured climbing up the gravel in the am would not be a fun start to the day. Intuition kept me going and I found the campground exactly to my created specifications! 6 sites, a central pit toilet, bear boxes, picnic benches, and fire rings at each site, and just down the road a little farther was the day use area: a boat ramp into a beautiful lake! Or maybe it was a river, but it was big and beautiful. I set up camp and went down to the water with my no-see-um headnet (thank you Aspen!) to meditate. Beautiful place to practice metta!
As the sun set, I returned to camp and began to feel fear intensifying in my field again (this fear began as I rode across the ID-MT boarder). All my scented stuff was safely stored in the steel bear box provided by the site. I heard several gunshots at dusk and took solace that I was in an established camp ground, and I felt nervous that I was alone and being very quiet and without a sizable vehicle in said campsite.
I used all my tools: ho'oponopono, metta, reiki, the freedom process...not much effect. After laying in my sleeping bag for about 20 minutes on the picnic table (I decided to sleep on the table because I felt safer off the ground at this particular site--a little less vulnerable) almost sweating from fear, I remembered the latihan! I invited this sacred energy to flow in me and I felt immediately cleared, centered, and protected by the love of God. I am SO grateful for this divine connection in my life. Thank you, Subud spiritual community! When the latihan completed after about another 20 or 30 minutes, the energy within and around me felt totally transformed and I slept more soundly than I have in weeks! What a wonderful night!
The next morning I packed up after my sleeping bag dried in the sun and ride on into Bull River (that was the town my water bearer friend had recommended I camp at) and found a little convenience store with bulk foods and some organic produce! Wonderful. I enjoyed breakfast in front of this store (the Big Sky Panty) while my receptionless phone charged.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Into Idaho!
It's been a while since I've had interneto, so I'm just going to jump into the narrative where I am and fill in the gaps later (hopefully!). I took a side trip to Canada with my mom last week (in a car!) and resumed my bike ride in Republic, WA 3 days ago. I've been making 45-57 mile days thanks to a fairly heavy load and a grumpy right knee. I met some wonderful people at the Blue Slide Resort/rv park on the Pend Oreille river in north-eastern WA. I rolled in hoping to find someone to share a campsite with and just as I entered the driveway, Gina shook my hand and invited me to camp in the front yard of her family's rented cabin. They fed me dinner and invited me to listen to some live bluegrass! I felt so immediately and warmly welcomed! Turns out I arrived during the Blue Slide annual bluegrass festival. The music was so sweet I cried twice. Especially during Let the Circle Be Unbroken about someone who was burying their mom. My former partner Christopher lost his mom in June this year and the sadness is still very fresh. My heart goes out to Chris and Dale and Nick and Lynn and Jan's whole family. :(
I also met Dan and his wonderful family who were my camping neighbors. Dan's dad has had ALS for 15 years now! I have been amazed on this journey how many people I've met who have been touched by ALS. Seems like about half the people who ask me why I'm doing this ride have a relative or know someone who has or had ALS. I trust that the universe is connecting me with exactly the people I need to meet. I empower all I meet with inspiration and hope. Dan and his family invited me to pray with them before I set out on the road yesterday and I joyfully accepted. We circled up and placed arms around each other's shoulders and Dan led us in a beautiful spontaneous prayer of gratitude, celebration, and blessing. A beautiful start to a beautiful day.
One of my greatest joys spending 5-6 or more hours a day on my bicycle is the time I have to dedicate to prayer, gratitude, and meditation. Wonderful practice! Later that morning, I was saying my morning gathas from thich nhat hahn's tradition and an especially large group of grasshoppers flew along side me to accent my thoughts. It was a magical moment.
Yesterday, I rode across the WA-ID boarder on hwy 2 and I plan to arrive in Montana tomorrow eve or wednesday. I figure at 45-55 miles a day, I'll be in Glacier in about 7 days. Met a westbound cyclist who'd started in NY! Very cool to chat about the road ahead and receive a bit of encouragement from a fellow on the road. Only two other westbound guys (cousins!) have crossed my path since I started riding in WA. Haven't been passed by anyone eastbound yet. I average 8-9 mph (6-7 if there's a lot of climbing!) so I'm doubtful I'm going to pass anyone else!
I also met Dan and his wonderful family who were my camping neighbors. Dan's dad has had ALS for 15 years now! I have been amazed on this journey how many people I've met who have been touched by ALS. Seems like about half the people who ask me why I'm doing this ride have a relative or know someone who has or had ALS. I trust that the universe is connecting me with exactly the people I need to meet. I empower all I meet with inspiration and hope. Dan and his family invited me to pray with them before I set out on the road yesterday and I joyfully accepted. We circled up and placed arms around each other's shoulders and Dan led us in a beautiful spontaneous prayer of gratitude, celebration, and blessing. A beautiful start to a beautiful day.
One of my greatest joys spending 5-6 or more hours a day on my bicycle is the time I have to dedicate to prayer, gratitude, and meditation. Wonderful practice! Later that morning, I was saying my morning gathas from thich nhat hahn's tradition and an especially large group of grasshoppers flew along side me to accent my thoughts. It was a magical moment.
Yesterday, I rode across the WA-ID boarder on hwy 2 and I plan to arrive in Montana tomorrow eve or wednesday. I figure at 45-55 miles a day, I'll be in Glacier in about 7 days. Met a westbound cyclist who'd started in NY! Very cool to chat about the road ahead and receive a bit of encouragement from a fellow on the road. Only two other westbound guys (cousins!) have crossed my path since I started riding in WA. Haven't been passed by anyone eastbound yet. I average 8-9 mph (6-7 if there's a lot of climbing!) so I'm doubtful I'm going to pass anyone else!
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