Days 7, 8, & 9

For starters, since I can't get any pictures up on this, I'm putting up the link to Michael's Flicker account... he says there are tons of pictures on there already, so maybe it will make up for my lack there of... anyways, it's at http://www.flicker.com/photos/michaelcr .... no promises that it will work getting there; post a comment if you have any problems and I'll ask Michael about it.

JUNE 15 Colville to Blueslide Campground
We got off to a rather late start out of Colville... 7:30. I was trying to rush out of camp to keep up with everybody else, but dad was simply taking his time, "No need to rush... it's a short day. Besides, we're on vacation." Finally, I pulled out my book and read until he was ready. Looking back on it, though, he was 100% right.... there is no need to rush. We're out here to smell the roses! Since then, I've been working on my patience.
On the way out of Colville, dad noticed my rear tire was almost completely flat. We pulled over, and dad decided to fix it since he can change a tire faster than I can; as he did, he discovered an enormous piece of glass- about half the size of my fingernail- wedged into the tire. He removed the glass, then changed the tire, and finally we got out of Colville! Sixteen miles down the road, we stopped for a snack at Crystal Falls... and decided that everything was so pleasant that it would be nice to sit there and read for a few minutes. We situated our sitz-pads by the trail, pulled out our waterbottles, bags of carrots, and trailmix, and sat in the shade reading for the next half an hour.
Eventually we made it into camp... after an awfully long day to cover only 47 miles... at blueslide, along the Pend Orielle River (pronounced Ponderay... it's French, I think.) We dropped our bikes at the site, and soon I was playing frisbee with Steve (or, I was attempting to and failing miserably... I've never had any hand-eye coordination.) I showered, and then dad and I cooked our most creative dinner of the trip so far: for an appetizer, two tortillas with cheese in the middle, and pizza sauce & salami on top; for dinner, a Ramen based soup, with Cayenne, curry, tomato sauce, cream cheese, and greenbeans added to it. Surprisingly, both were quite good.
After dinner, Steve met another dog: Shamus, a mutt with gray fur everywhere but the side of his face and ears, which were brown. I started talking to Steve, an avid dog lover, and he said, "The more people I meet, the more I like dogs." I didn't really think about what he was saying, so I nodded and walked off. But as soon as I started to think about it, I realized I totally disagree. My statement would be, "The more people I meet, the more I like people!" Most people are nice, caring, generous, and curious. This has been proved to me time and again on this trip by people we've met. In truth, that's been my favorite part, meeting new people, hearing their stories, and getting to know them a little better. The world is full of interesting people!

JUNE 16 Blueslide Campground to Sandpoint ID (yes, as in IDAHO! State #2!!)
For the first, and probably only, time on this trip, dad and I were the first ones to start biking in the morning, beginning around 6:30 (which had the unfortunate side affect of requiring that we wake up an hour earlier... at 5:30). Both of us were eager to see mom, who was meeting us in Sandpoint to spend the upcoming week with us. The first miles flew by as we rode along broad flat stretches with a gentle tail wind next to the beautiful Pend Orielle River. Mid morning, we crossed to the other side, and dad spotted some tiger lilies growing amongst the lupine alongside the road. The occasion merited at least a picture, so we rolled to a stop and pulled out our cameras. Midway through the break, my nose started to bleed (the air is a lot drier than I'm used to east of the Cascades!), which extended our break another 15 minutes. Furthermore, I swallowed enough blood that I was nauseous the next couple of miles.
We stopped for another snack, hoping that the extra food might calm down my stomach. Two handfuls of gorp later and I felt fine. Dad also found a beat up Star Wars action figure on the ground by our bikes. I took some pictures of him next to an R2-D2 figure Sky lent me for help with any mechanical issue on my bike, and sent one home to Conor. We left the figure my dad found, but I have big plans for R2... I'm going to try to take pictures of him throughout the ride in all the different settings we encounter.
The afternoon seemed to go on for ever, the air slowly getting warmer, and our waterbottles slowly getting emptier. Finally, Dad pulled into Round Lake State Park to refill our waterbottles. A white pickup truck pulled up. "Where y'all goin'?" the ranger inside asked. He had a big face, with tan skin, a gray-black moustache and short hair the same color, and sunglasses.
"Sandpoint tonight," my dad answered, "and eventually to Maine."
"Y'all goin' to Glacier?" the ranger asked, and both dad and I nodded, "That's my favorite playground 'round here."
"Do you think Going-to-the-Sun will be open?" my dad asked, referring to the pass that would take us through Glacier.
"I bet not." he said, "They just got a foot of snow there on Tuesday. They've done miracles before, but I wouldn't count on it." He must have noticed the glum looks on our faces, so he changed the subject, "You ever heard about Theodore Roosevelt National Park?" Dad shook his head, "Well you'll be right by it going through North Dakota. Been to the Badlands?"
"Years ago." dad answered.
"Well, this is the Badlands on steroids. I'd definitely suggest goin' there. Well, have a nice day." Turns out, the park is farther off our route than he thought, but not out of reach. Time allowing, I hope we can amend our plans so we can visit Theodore Roosevelt Park... if only to break up the great plains a little.
Finally, we got to the campground outside of Sandpoint and met Mom, and her friend Barb who came with her. What commenced was a feast (by bike touring standards, at the very least): Strawberries from our garden, root beer, triscuts, cherries, salad, and best of all, goldfish!! I've been shovelling those things down since we opened the box. I will say, it sort of shattered any illusion of simple living dad and I built up over the first week. Oh well, we have 8 more weeks later to rebuild it.
That evening, we found out that Greg and Caroline (right) broke a spoke on their tandem, and Steve began to have issues with his front derailleur. It was a lucky thing that all of the mechanicals happened just outside of Sandpoint!

JUNE 17 Sandpoint to... Sandpoint!
Our first rest day... and not much happened. The scenery didn't change and we didn't really meet anyone new. Sort of a blah day. In return, however, we got to sleep in, do laundry, send out postcards, and catch up in my journal. I still prefer the days when we ride. All of us (Mom , dad, Barb, Michael, Jerry, Greg, Caroline, and myself) minus Steve went out for Mexican food. That was really the extent of the excitement.