July 30, 2001.
Lowell to Harpster, Idaho. (37 mi.) Mile 3573
Rainy
day along the Clearwater River
It rained most of the night and into
this morning, so we dawdled at getting on the road, hoping it would stop. I
spent time trying to catch up on the journal, while Mike yakked
with the two bicycle tourists, Adam and Chris, who had camped next to us. They started on the east
coast when we did, had already made it to the Oregon coast, and were on their way home
again. Their mission, R.O.A.D., or Ride for
Ocean and Animal Defense, is to raise awareness for Ocean Defense
International, as well as promote healthy, drug-free, vegan lifestyles. That
means they put away a lot of cereal for breakfast.
Rainy weather along the Clearwater
We've
spent countless hours on this bike trip yakking with countless people. This has
been an interesting part of our experience and taken up much of our time. While
hoping for the drizzle to stop, we spent even more time than usual talking to
various people; motorcyclists about their road trips and bikes, other cycle
tourists (including an Aussie couple with a motor on the wife's bike), and the
generous owner of the graphic design shop in Kooskia who let us connect our
computer to her phone line.
All this yakking and delay did not
change the weather, so we decided to make it a short day and hope for clearer
skies tomorrow. Even though we are now on the west side of the Continental
Divide for good, our route still involves a lot of mountainous up and down.
Someone speculated that Idaho is so mountainous that if pounded flat, it would
be the biggest state in the nation.
Along the Middle
Fork of the Clearwater River
Right now Mike is yakking with
another RVer about our trip here in yet another campground laundromat. It's
gray and wet outside. I am hoping the skies will be blue tomorrow..
