...Before we lose reception in Glacier National Park...

David could end the trip now... his one goal has been met. We were riding along yesterday, and all of a sudden, I see his head jack-knife back, and he yells, "...b...bear!" And there it was...a black bear...across the street from us eating flowers or berries or something. What would you do if you saw a bear less then 10 yards away from you? Pedal, or slam on your breaks and double back? I'll let you guess which of the two of us kept pedaling, and who turned around. The bear was gone when he went back, and I can't say I'm sorry. Although, he DID look a kid on Christmas morning.

Along those lines... I talked to my Dad a couple days ago, and he said, "I'll bet you're living off people telling you you're crazy."

Some of the people we're staying with are way crazier than us. We can't hold a candle to Harley.

Harley was the personal trainer from the Camas Center who invited us to a BBQ. When we found out that not ONLY had he ridden the TransAmerican route last summer, but he had also HIKED from Mexico to Canada, and from Glacier National Park to the westernmost part of Washington. We asked him to tell us the craziest experience he had ever had.

"Well, there are two...actually. Once, I was hiking with my brother in Montana. It was cold, and rainy, and we fell down a slope. Our packs only kept stuff dry from the top down, but they got wet from the bottom up. It was getting dark, and we were completely completely lost in the wilderness. If we didn't get someplace we could build a fire...it was hypothermia weather. We decided, "Ok. We're going to walk for 15 more minutes and see if we can find a road, or path, or something. At 13 minutes... seriously, we were about to give up... we found a tiny road. We followed it and came on this gross old building. I mean, rats everywhere. It was all locked up, but this was it, so I had to break the window with my hand to get in. There were animals everywhere. We started breaking furniture and burning it in the fireplace because we were so cold. We found out the next day that we'd slept in an abandoned brothel."

Uh...wow. And the other story?

"I was really bored, so I was walking with a free radio they give you in a Kokanee 6 pack. The only volume option was 'loud'. All of a sudden, two cubs ran across the path, and a momma bear came out, looked at me, stood on her hind legs, came back down and took a few steps for me. I knew that if I ran, she'd chase me down, so I quietly took a few steps backwards, and she turned around and walked off. I had to sit down and take a breather after that. And I threw away the radio."

Umm... yeah. So, we have nothing on Harley. We just saw a bear on the other side of the road. And then we slept in a cabin. So...yeah.

Harley and Wendy were AWESOME. At the drop of a hat, Harley invited us over for BBQ RIBS (with homemade sauce?! Who can say no to that?), salad and CHOCOLATE MOUSSE PIE. Holy. cow. Also holy cow... they live about 4 miles off the main road up a gravel road. Let me rephrase that. They live UP A MOUNTAIN on a gravel road. In probably the coldest part of the planet (the next morning I left wearing two long sleeved shirts, tights, and a scarf. It was July 1st). But it was worth it.
We stayed up and talked...Wendy reminds me of my best friend, Jessica Pflederer, which, obviously made me like her even more. She is in dietetics and is very open about her likes/dislikes, strengths and flaws. I like honest people. I really really like people that are honest with people they just met. She may not have know we'd be there at the end of the day, but she sure made us feel at home once we were there. She made a floor/bed up for David, I slept on the couch... we did laundry... sigh. So nice.

You want an incredible fact? We've slept indoors 6 out of the last 7 days... I called my Dad earlier this week, and he asked, "So, where are you now? Anyone invited you to filet mignon yet?" And yes, someone HAD invited us in. In fact, in Sandpoint, Idaho, we had over ten offers for places to stay. T.E.N. At one point, David had a crowd of five people talking to him. Sandpoint, Idaho. Award for friendliest town in the Pacific Northwest. Yes, we're aware that we're probably not having a normal touring experience. This too, my Dad pointed out in our phone conversation, "You know this isn't normally what people experience on tours, right?" Yes... I know. But I'll always say 'yes' to a shower, a bed, or dinner... even if that doesn't make it a experience. And I ain't ashamed of it neither. I like showers. and beds. and dinner. Cause...tonight? We were going to eat ramen. And sleep in a tent. But someone offered us dinner, so we ate that instead, and it was deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious. And we're sleeping in a bed. And we showered.

It's become a small joke that I can't go into a grocery and come back with just what we need. I must have this fear that we're going to run out of food, because sometimes, it does look like an alarming amount. Bearing that in mind, we pulled into a grocery in Sandpoint, and David reiterates, "We just need produce."

"Just produce. Check."

"JUST produce."

Imagine my alarm when 10 minutes later, I had a basket full of groceries. In my defense...the store opened the day before and things were CHEAP. And we were headed into MONTANA...the land of wilderness. and starvation. and bears.

There is, of course, much MUCH more, but we rode 100 miles yesterday, and this was all I could manage before going to bed.