Spokane Washington

Our last day of biking brought us into Helena. With a population of 32,600, it was the biggest city we had been to in a long time. We checked in to a motel around 3pm. Wheeling my bike into the elevator, a wave of sadness washed over me when I thought about how this was the last day of riding fully loaded. The last day of our tour. The last time I would struggle getting an over loaded bike into an elevator and then the inevitable fight with room doors that swing closed and lock automatically. There is a special skill to getting a bicycle into a hotel room. First the bike has to be lined up with the door so it can go straight through. With the panniers on the door is barely wide enough as it is,so it has to be lined up straight. With the bike lined up with the door it is in the hallway with nothing to lean it against so you have to balance it with one hand while standing in front of the front wheel. Usually about this time I realize that the hand holding the bike is also the hand that is needed to get the key card out of my pocket. This is when I practice my contortionist skills as I attempt to put my left hand in my right pocket. I’m not very flexible but my shorts are stretchy so I usually am able to slide them around my waist until I can reach the key. Once the door is unlocked it requires a strong push to swing it wide open. Here is the most crucial part. Before the door swings shut, you must circle around the handlebars and get in the right position between the front and rear panniers. Then quickly walk the bike forward taking little baby steps so as not to bust your shins on the pedal. It has to be done quickly to catch the door before it slams shut or slams into the bike. It’s very frustrating when you are just getting into position and the door closes. The click of the lock seems to be the door shouting “I won I won!”

After getting settled in and taking showers we decided to go out for a celebratory sushi dinner. Neither one of us wanted to celebrate it being the end of our tour. To be honest we are still coming to terms with going back to the “real world”. But we were in a celebratory mood and did have lots of reasons to celebrate! We had biked 3117 amazing miles. And we still love each other. Haha. Mark Twain was once said. I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like someone or hate them than to travel with them. There really were lots of things to celebrate and be grateful for. We truly had an amazing trip. And really, just finding a sushi restaurant was enough of a reason to celebrate! Looking online we had found the Suki Cafe. It advertised all you can eat sushi. That seemed to good to be true but Rose called them and they confirmed it. I called an Uber Taxi and the driver had us there in no time. It was made to order, not just a buffet. We ordered and when the Server brought it out we would place another order. It was delicious. By the time we finished we had ate 98 pieces of sushi plus appetizers. I’m glad we finished off all that we ordered, if not the resturant charged one dollar for every piece of sushi that was leftover your plate. It was fun and we had a great time.

About 10 days before we reached Helena we had booked a rental vehicle. To save a little money we just reserverd a small compact car. We had scheduled to pick it up at 5 pm on the 4th. But we arrived in Helena on the 3rd so we had to wait most of the day. We spent the day consolidating and boxing up gear to mail home. It was a whole lot of stuff to put in a little car. We jokingly hoped that maybe the rental place would only have a Suburban or a minivan available. I think we were both concerned with getting everything in a car. The motel was conveniently located and we decided to stay another night. That way once we had the vehicle we could load up at our leisure without having gear spread all over a parking lot. At the time of the pick up we were elated that it was a good sized suv. A Toyota 4runner. We were able to load all our stuff fairly easily.

Now that we had a vehicle we were just regular tourist and planned on going places that we would not of been to on bikes. Mostly up the steep side of mountains. Haha.

We stopped at a little diner in the town of Drummond. I was glad to be out the city and back into the remoteness of Montana. Drummond had a population of 288 people, rodeo grounds a hardware store and one diner. Parkers diner was known for their cheeseburgers. You would think a place that mostly sold burgers would have a fairly simple menu, but at Parkers they had 135 different burgers to choose from. It was a bit overwhelming. I know if I lived in the area I would work my way through the whole menu. I was pretty hungry (as usual) and one particular burger caught my eye. It was actually a challenge put out by the resturant. The contest was to eat within 20 minutes a 2 pound burger fully loaded with 5 slices of cheese 5 slices of tomatoes and onions and lettuce 1 pound of French fries and a 32 ounce milk shake. If you couldn’t eat it all in the twenty minutes it cost $30 dollars. If you won it was free. I am pretty frugal and I love free food! Sign me up. At a ice cream parlor in one of the trail towns on the Apalachian Trail, I think Pine Grove, PA there is a half gallon challenge for the thru-hikers. Eat a half gallon of ice cream in a half hour. I remember doing that when I thru-hiked in 2006 and it wasn’t much of a challenge. I think that was the only other time I have ever been in an eating competition. Anyway I agreed to the burger challenge. Rose offered encouragement by saying I’m the fastest eater she has ever met. Hmm, not sure if that is really a good thing or not.

When the waitress brought the burger out I was shocked at the size. It was huge! It filled an entire plate. After setting the food down she made an announcement to the whole resturant that I was the 143 contestant and possibly the 26th winner. We would know in twenty minuteswhether I was a winner or not. The other patrons clapped,cheered and wished me good luck. She took a picture and then started the timer. It was a good burger but by the time I was half done I was doubting I could win. But I had lots of encouragement and I also had a secret incentive to win. If I won I would aways be able to say that eating fast saves money! Haha. I really am a fast eater even when I don’t try to be. I did win. I finished in 19 minutes and 2 seconds. Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch?

In Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho we parked the car and got out our bikes. The trail of Coeur d’ Alene rail trail was calling our name. It stretches 73 miles and winds through mountains and follows the rivers and lakeshore. We only rode 20 miles of it but it was stunningly beautiful. And the very best part….. WE SAW MOOSE!

If you are a long time reader of my blog, you might remember how badly I wanted to see a moose when I rode through Maine and New Hampshire last year. Now finally nearly 10,000 miles later I did. We watched them for quite a while. I even got to see a bull moose come out of the woods and lay down. I was too enthralled at first to grab my camera and by the time I did he was already laying in the tall grass. If you look close in the picture below you will see his antlers above the grass. I googled what sound does a moose make and despite me and Rose doing our very best to mimick a friendly cow moose we could not get this bull to stand up. I don’t hardly blame him, it was a beautiful cool day and a nap in the sunshine sounded pretty good.

Rose’s birthday was the 8th. We camped at the Beauty Creek Nat’ Forest Campground. We cooked pork for dinner. It was nice and we stayed up late as the moon rose, talking about our most and least favorite trails, campsites, and roads of our tour. And as usual, talking of our next adventure. We have been discussing what’s next since we started this trip in July. It’s funny to be having the time of our lives, living our dream and still dreaming of adventures to come. I guess I always have to have an adventure to look forward to and work towards. Whether it’s a week in the future or several years, it is what keeps me excited about life. I read this poem many, many years ago and it has stuck with me every since. I rarely share it with anyone as it seems to reveal too much of myself. Almost like I’m talking about my feelings. Something I’m loathe to do. Haha.

There’s a race of men that don’t fit in,
A race that can’t stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin; And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain’s crest; Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don’t know how to rest. If they just went straight they might go far;
They are strong and brave and true; But they’re always tired of the things that are, And they want the strange and new.

We are in Spokane Washington now. At a local bike shop we were given a couple of bike boxes. We will need to take our bikes apart and pack them up for the flight. The three days we had the rental car were fun. We went quite a few places but somehow traveling by car just isn’t the same. It lacks a certain dimension. On my bike I feel like I’m part of everything. It never feels like I’m just a tourist passing through like it does in a vehicle. I think in a car you have destinations and the journey no longer matters as much.

We are at a Super 8 motel for the next two nights. We rode our bikes to Walmart to get groceries to cook in our room. When making the shopping list Rose asked what I wanted to eat. My request was pretty simple. Anything but a cheeseburger!