Well, where to begin? 1) I am alive and not in a hospital or laying off the side of US 12 in Montana;  2) I pedaled 219 miles from Lolo, MT to Clarkston, WA with the dreaded, “No Service” message on my iPhone screen; and 3) I know now why guests disembarking a Princess ship in Whittier were SO upset when their Verison cell phone displayed “No Service” when they tried to call loved ones in the lower 48!  I should have done more research on AT&T’s coverage map, but their advertisements say, “We cover more areas in the US than ANY other wireless provider!”  Enough said, but my family sure isn’t thrilled with AT&T at this moment.

“If these walls could talk…” Between Lincoln, MT and Missoula I continually rode past old, abandoned “homes” such as in the photo above. Who lived in this cabin, where did they get the lumber to build the cabin, when was the cabin built, and why did they leave such a magnificent area? I picture Laura Ingalls running out to milk the cows, “Little Joe” riding down from the upper cattle range to meet up with “Hoss,” or even Matt Dillon galloping toward the ranch with Miss Kitty to help out a family in need! Oh how I would love to “hear” the stories this ranch house could tell.

I captured the first photo below as I left Missoula on the way to Lolo. The Bitterroot River is such a picturesque river and I will always have fond memories of Missoula and Western Montana.

I attempted to send the above photo to Anita and the rest of my family, but this is when I first saw the dreaded “No Service” message that would persist for the next 160 miles.

After leaving my dear friends John and Barb Alonzo, (more about my fabulous Missoula visit on another post) I slowly climbed Lolo Pass and spent the night at Lochsa Lodge. I took the above photo while hiking down to the Lochsa river near the lodge. The water is so clear you can see the rocks and even a fish or two.  My friends in the HAP world, especially at Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, will hopefully get a chuckle from my next story. Terrible WiFi was available, but only while sitting in the main lodge.  So I sat, drank ice water and tried to upload photos for my blog. I finally gave up and headed to cabin # 3 for the night. About 11:00 pm, with me sound asleep and with a fan blowing semi-cool air into the room, all of a sudden there was absolute silence! I jumped up, grabbed my phone and attempted to find the number to call Rick Petersen about how to deal with yet another power outage at McKinley! After a few seconds, I realized where I was and thought, “Oh, I am not working at McKinley, this power outage is NOT my problem, and I don’t have to get Joy Raby out of bed to arrange extra shuttles to Talkeetna. I sure miss the staff at McKinley, but not the problems.

Snowstorm was safely strapped to my bicycle seat when I walked my bike halfway across one of many wooden bridges across this gorgeous Montana/Idaho River. I am still in awe when I think back on the magnificent scenery I have viewed as I pedaled across this gorgeous country. Hikers use bridges such as the one above to access the many trails throughout this area.

As everyone who has been following my blog knows, my OMJSN photo has traveled every mile with me across our country. I almost lost it once in a storm way back in New York, but I added a Velcro attachment to the back to secure it to my handlebar bag. Well yesterday I felt like Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway when his “Wilson” blew away in a storm. A sudden gust of wind tore my beloved OMJSN photo off my handlebar bag! I sounded just like Tom when he called out to “Wilson” his volleyball companion. “No, not my Angels,” I yelled. I braked as hard as possible, jumped off my bike, and ran back up the highway to see if I could find OMJSN. Log trucks, motor homes, and cars honked and swerved to keep from hitting “a wild and crazy guy” running along the side of the road. After about ten minutes I had given up hope of finding my OMJSN and was ready to pedal back to Missoula, the closest city with an airport. I am 99.9% sure I could not have continued on this Journey without my OMJSN to talk with, share crazy stories with, or sing John Denver songs to. It sounds ridiculous for a grown man to be so attached to a simple photo, but I was totally crushed! As I walked the 500 feet back to my bicycle, another gust of wind picked up the photo from somewhere and it landed ten feet in front of me! I know I had tears of joy running down my cheeks as I grabbed the photo off the ground, but who cares, I had my OMJSN back! OMJSN will ride inside my bag until we are within sight of the Pacific Ocean.

Just one more photo and I will call it a night. Bicycle touring requires the rider to continually scan the road next to the white line looking for glass, debris and other trash. So as I pedaled into Lewiston today I was concentrating on the road, when for some reason I looked up and to my right. I think my Mom, who loved going to the casinos in Albuquerque, was trying to get my attention. She was telling me, “Greg, there’s a casino and you should go spend $20.00 and try your luck. You can afford it, and it is X3 Point Wednesday!” I have no idea what happens on “X3 Wednesday” in a casino and going to a casino was not on my “wish list.” I can just hear her, “I don’t know how I raised a boy who doesn’t like a good shot of bourbon at 5:00 o’clock, doesn’t gamble in a casino, won’t eat sauerkraut and wieners, but will eat Shredded Wheat, Grapenuts and raisins for breakfast everyday of the year!” (Mom actually won $10,000 once on slot machine in Las Vegas!) Well, sorry Mom, maybe next time. 😘😘

Hopefully I will have Wifi for the next few weeks and will be able to post reflections every other day. Thanks again for all your support, love and happy thoughts.

Greg

Okay, one LAST photo. I just love how old cabins were built. Notice the round rock in the knothole!