America One Spoke At a Time: See Ya in Idaho

Jay and New Found Friends
(Johnny and Jim not shown)

On June 12, Jay’s 67th birthday, we woke at our lakeside campsite near Kettle Falls, WA. Before Jay left we took some photos of Jay’s newest friends Dan, John and Mike. They are senior riders (59-70) who met each other on the road. They are travelling various distances, but last night, along with two other companions, Johnny Walker and Jim Beam, Jay and the boys just hooted and chatted the night away.

As we have mentioned before, the purpose of this trip is to see America and share stories with the people we meet. We are so close to the Canadian border (sometimes under 10 miles) and Jay has met many Canadians. One conversation was just after the G-7 conference brouhaha over the refusal of the US president to sign the joint communiqué and his dissing of the Canadian Prime Minister. The Canadians expressed confusion and a sense of sorrow that America seems to have drifted into an era of cuckoo isolation. We are not far behind in our observations.

Jay’s 97-mile birthday ride put us in US Forest Service Pioneer Campground in Newport, WA, a few miles from the Idaho state line. Earlier we had selected a KOA campground, but Helen’s advance scouting deemed that campground rather poor and too far off the course. She switched sites based on a recommendation from a ranger at a US Forest Office. Jay has mentioned several times how great it

Welcome to Idaho Sign

is to have Helen provide support (SAG) on this ride. She does a lot from campsite selection, food shopping and setting up the campsite long before Jay finishes his ride. He’s a lucking boy. She even bought him cheesecake for his birthday!

Helen at Breakfast Table

The next morning when Jay was on his bike ready to ride, Helen shouted from the Prius, “See ya in Idaho!” After nearly two weeks we are finally leaving Washington. We started on the coast where Jay followed the Olympic Discovery Trail, then picked up the Adventure Cycling route in Anacortes, WA. That route traces WA-20 across the state and over four major mountain passes. Tough riding!

We opted to spend two nights at the Sam Owen USFS campground about 20 miles east of Sandpoint to give Jay some recovery time. His bottom is bit sore from his long birthday ride and he has an upset stomach. He consumes a great deal of local water and that may have brought on ill effects. He’s okay but a little rest and some “butt medication” should get him back on the road.

“See ya in Montana.” Our goal is to be in the Glacier National Park on Monday or Tuesday.

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