Day 22/23 Driggs, Idaho

Just when I thought nothing would even come close to topping West Yellowstone as my favorite part of the trip for the entire summer, the two days that follow it quite possibly could tie as my favorite.  We left W.Y. this morning and had perfect weather for the ride.  After having rain for nine out of the first ten days of riding, I think the weather lately has made up for it.  Passing through small towns in Montana and seeing rolling hills run into mountains made for gorgeous scenery.  I know I say it in almost every blog post, but I really cannot get over how beautiful the scenery is in the state of Montana.  We fought terrible winds throughout the day, but the cyclists pushed on because they knew that what lie ahead will be the time of their life.  When we got to Victor, Idaho, we had a stage up for our first official arrival.  This means that the entire team means up about a mile or two from the arrival point and forms two lines with a van in front and two vans behind for protection.  Because I am the photographer and my van mate is the public relations coordinator, we drive ahead with the project manager beforehand so that he can meet with the media and I can take pictures of the cyclists pulling into the parking lot.  We arrived at the destination and I am immediately struck by awe.  We had a sponsored lunch at the Teton Springs Club and Resort.  We are driving through the land approaching the clubhouse and I am surrounded by a golf course that is surrounded by huge, beautiful mountains itself.  Normally in Indiana, if a golf course is located within a neighborhood, the houses are really cool and fancy.  That is an understatement for this neighborhood.  After seeing these houses, I officially want to design my own house when I grow up to be a cabin.  The neighborhood had the coolest cabin houses along each hole on the course.  When we got there, we had an amazing catered lunch of BBQ pulled pork, Caesar salad, rolls, and potato salad.  They were so kind enough to let us swim and get in the hot tub because after a 110-mile ride, the cyclists are absolutely dead, especially through the winds they had to fight.  Right before we left, we were asked if we could help welcome a runner who was completing his journey of 468 miles that he was running to raise money for kids with cancer.  It was a pretty cool experience because this was his final spot and all of the people that came out to see him made it really emotional for everyone. 

The place that we stayed at for the last two nights is incredible to say the least.  It is a ranch in Driggs, Idaho owned by the family of a guy who rode JOH in 1998.  The father, just to give you an idea, is the President of Boy Scouts of America.  For the first time since being on the trip, every person was able to sleep in his own bed.  I cannot even begin to describe how great it was to sleep in an actual bed again.  When we got there from the resort, people took showers and then immediately got into all of the activities available to us.  Take a deep breathe because this will BLOW YOUR MIND.  Some of the activities that we participated in were crochet, badminton, volleyball, swimming, hot tub, skee shooting, hitting golf balls off a cliff onto a green down below, horse back riding, off-roading in a military hummer, and canoeing.  The family owns over 2,000 acres, so there was an endless opportunity to do activities (“so much room for activities!” Step Brothers anyone?).  People were off doing anything and everything that first night and we were fortunate enough to have an amazing cook out with elk meat and chicken with some people that joined in on the party.  I actually talked to two architects that were visiting, so it was interesting to see their reaction to when I told them I recently switched after two years.  One said I was the smart one, and the other said he completely understood.  So that was a relief, but after talking with them for about three hours over dinner about what they do, I found myself interested again, but to a different degree. But I digress.  It is a tradition for the first night of the ranch visit that they have a poker tournament with all twenty-eight of us.  Throughout the night, they would put a hat or other prize in the middle and say, “whoever wins this hand wins the hat.”  I was lucky enough to win a hat.  I also won third place, which was a $25 visa gift card, so I was pretty happy. 

 Today we woke up with every activity still open for participating.  Today was the first time I have ever rode a horse, which by the way the trail took us straight into a perfect view of the Teton Mountains.  It was incredible.  It was also the first time I have ever shot a shotgun; however, I was terrible.  I did not hit one skee saucer.  But it was still so cool.  I was unable to go on the canoeing trip because I had to go into town to the post office and missed the call out, but I did hear they came within fifteen feet of a huge male moose because it was around a corner so they were very surprised.  Apparently the moose was even more surprised because he ran off.  We ended the trip with a classic bonfire and s’mores followed by a trip to the hot tub.  I cannot express how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to experience things like the past two days and Yellowstone.  I am not sure I would ever experience anything like this had it not been for this trip.  And for that, I thank my parents for letting me participate in the Journey of Hope.  If the rest of the trip is 5% as good as it has been so far, it blows away any other summer of my life.  I am truly a lucky man.

Today we woke up with every activity still open for participating.  Today was the first time I have ever rode a horse, which by the way the trail took us straight into a perfect view of the Teton Mountains.  It was incredible.  It was also the first time I have ever shot a shotgun; however, I was terrible.  I did not hit one skee saucer.  But it was still so cool.  I was unable to go on the canoeing trip because I had to go into town to the post office and missed the call out, but I did hear they came within fifteen feet of a huge male moose because it was around a corner so they were very surprised.  Apparently the moose was even more surprised because he ran off.  We ended the trip with a classic bonfire and s’mores followed by a trip to the hot tub.  I cannot express how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to experience things like the past two days and Yellowstone.  I am not sure I would ever experience anything like this had it not been for this trip.  And for that, I thank my parents for letting me participate in the Journey of Hope.  If the rest of the trip is 5% as good as it has been so far, it blows away any other summer of my life.  I am truly a lucky man.

Day 20/21 West Yellowstone, Montana

 The last two days are days I will never forget for the rest of my life. When we woke up yesterday, we had a radio interview to do before getting on the road.  Since my van partner is the Public Relations coordinator, it was my van that went to the interview and we took two cyclists with us.  While I was there, the main reason for me being there was to take pictures, so I was just standing off to the side capturing the moment.  After the first part of the interview and a couple songs, the guy started talking and then said, “well Scott, you haven’t said much so why don’t you come up to the mic.”  So the DJ and I had a conversation about what it is we are doing and talked about Peyton Manning and all of that.  What is really cool is that when I was on the road, my dad texted me saying that my brother, Keith, was getting interviewed on ESPN Radio about the State Championship.  It is not everyday that a family can say two sons were on the radio on the same day in different parts of the country.  We rode into West Yellowstone and had plenty of time to explore.  We went around the town and went to an IMAX film about the park, which was really cool.  After that, we had time to explore on our own, and at night we found a live band at a local bar playing country music so some of us went to check that out.

We woke up at 7:00 am this morning to get a head start on all of the park traffic that we expected to encounter.  There were many different groups of us that split up because there were so many things to do and see that people wanted to do variations.  One group went on a hike that would take them atop a mountain at over 10,000 feet in elevation.  It was an eight mile round trip hike, so me and some other guys did not feel up to it.  The first thing we did was go see Old Faithful, the famous geyser that shoots water up about every 90 minutes.  It is amazing to think that a volcano big enough to cover the entire earth if it erupts was underneath us at that moment.  After the geyser was done, we drove the hour and fifteen minutes to another part of the park to see the waterfalls.  We walked down Uncle Tom’s trail, which is a 300-iron step trail to the bottom of the waterfall.  Going back up those steps was a piece of cake (sarcastic voice).  We drove to the other side of the waterfall to get a different point of view, and to see how much drop was in the trail we had just done was amazing. As we drove around the park all day, we saw a combination of bison, fox, deer, moose, and cattle.  I was about ten feet from bison, which was extremely dangerous but so cool.  They say you should not be within 25 YARDS of bison, but we tend to break the barriers every once in awhile in our lifetime.  I made sure that I was back in time tonight to get my computer and find a wireless spot to watch my brother and the Rebels play for the State Championship.  Unfortunately, they ran into an extremely good team and pitcher and lost 1-0.  They were definitely capable of winning and should be satisfied to the fullest with their performance.  If you ever have the chance to make a trip to Montana and Yellowstone Park, do not pass it up.  I swear it will be worth it.

Day 19 Bozeman, Montana

Today was extremely cool.  The scenery just keeps getting better and better. To start the day off, I had my first crew stop next to a valley.  When the cyclists started arriving, we had a fun time jamming to music and having a dance party.  When the first pace line left, they got about 100 yards away and I noticed they stopped.  They were yelling at me but I could not tell what they were saying so I started running towards them.  I got closer and closer and then noticed that they were pointing to something on the ground.  When I got close enough to realize what it was, a part of me jumped – it was a snake.  It was clearly not moving, but nothing appeared to be wrong with it.  One of the guys kicked it and there was no response, so we concluded it was dead.  One of my friends from texas experience snakes all the time and did not have any problem picking it up, so he carried it on his bike back to my crew stop where we planned on messing with people.  We put it in people’s faces and watched them react to it, and then we really wanted to mess with the next pace line to arrive.  We coiled it up just before the van and came up with a plan.  When they were spotted in the distance, I went to the other side of the road to “take a picture.”  The riders always see me about to take a picture, so they get in a pose or flex or something to make them look cool.  The first guy in the pace line decided to give me a thumbs up and look at me, so when he turned back to look at the road, the snake was about a foot away.  He yelled SNAKE and swerved just barely missing it.  The second guy is deathly afraid of snakes, so he screamed and swerved and keeled over and fell.  The third guy just casually ran over it.  If we would have taped it, the situation would have looked like a skit it worked out so perfectly.  We like to have fun with what little we have, and the little this time was a dead snake.

We got our first glimpse of real canyons today as well.  As we approached the canyon, it looked as if Moses had already been through and spread the mountain in two like the Red Sea.  I am not sure how else to describe it except absolutely gorgeous.  The weather was perfect – not too windy, not too hot, and cloudless.  The day was full of music, dancing, amazing scenery, and ended with a great meal by the local Lion’s Club. 

Funny story, and he would kill me if he knew I told y’all this.  At dinner, one of my friends from Purdue said he did not feel good and his stomach hurt.  This is while we were eating.  After we finished, he had his head down on the table and looked miserable.  He disappeared for awhile (I think he went to the bathroom, not sure), and when he came back, it was time to take the team picture.  After the picture while we were still in formation, I went around the team to get a better angle to take a picture of the t-shirt presentation to the sponsor.  I approached him and asked him if he was okay.  The following is the dialogue that followed.

Me: You alright?

Him: No.

Me: Do you need to go to the bathroom?

Him: Yes.

Me: Are you gonna make it to the bathroom?

Him: No.

Me: You need to go outside then (there was a door outside on the other side of the room)

Him: Will you come with me?

When he said that, I took off towards the door to open it for him to go out there.  When I got there, I went to turn the handle and put my shoulder into the door to open it quicker.  The door was locked and my shoulder just banged into the door.  I really thought he was going to get sick all over my back.  Luckily I got it open and got him outside.  Inside, I could hear the entire team cracking up at the whole scene unfolding in front of them because our Project Manager had just thanked them for the incredible food and how wonderful it was.  That was a very memorable moment of the trip that we will remember for a very long time.  Sorry to those of you who that may have made sick! But I thought it was hilarious.

Day 18 Butte, Montana

 I will not go too much into the ride today except for the fact that it was extremely beautiful.  We got our first taste of the Rocky Mountains as we could see them off in the distance.  From what we could see already, I am really looking forward to being in them.  It was a little chilly and we were racing a rainstorm all day, but for the first time in a long time, we can say we did not get one drop on us.

The friendship visit tonight was with an organization called DSW (not sure what it stands for).  We had an amazing dinner of fried chicken, potatoes, and pasta.  That was just the first thirty minutes we were there, though.  After everyone was done eating, we cleared all the tables and chairs and prepared the room for the best event we have had so far.  DANCE PARTY! A local band comes in every year for this particular friendship visit and plays a mini concert for free.  It was an absolute blast.  During dinner, I think I had about ten people make me promise I would dance with them, and you better believe they were the ten most fun dance partners I have ever had.  One girl had us turn each other so much it was making me dizzy, but every time we did it, she acted like it was the first time she had ever done it and started jumping up and down clapping with the biggest smile on her face.  There was another man who was probably the most hyper person I have ever seen.  He was running around jumping on people, giving chest bumps, shaking his butt at people, and giving the hardest high fives you could imagine.  It was so awesome to see all the smiling faces and people laughing and having a good time dancing to the music.  Oh yeah, and a side note – my friend, Hugo, and I had a guy around thirty or a little older with autism name us every single president of the United States, in order, including their hometown.  What was more amazing was he did it in about two minutes.  It was possibly the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed.  It truly shows that if people with disabilities set their mind to do something or achieve something, they will not stop until they have reached their goal.  This man’s goal was obviously to know more about the history of the presidents than any other person, and yes he definitely succeeded. 

 

I know this next part is not about my trip, but I felt obligated to share.  Growing up, we all have heroes – sports figures, family members, teachers, servicemen, whoever.  Aside from my parents, there is one person who sticks out from every other man or woman on this planet as my hero: my brother, Keith (sorry Amy and Katie, have to keep it on the male side). If you have not heard, the Roncalli Rebel’s baseball team is going to the Indiana 4A state championship this weekend and my brother is the coach.  It is truly a tremendous feat to make it to the 4A state game (it is the biggest class in Indiana sports), and it is even greater of an accomplishment to do it in your first year in the class as the smallest school.  I distinctly remember around this time last year watching the Lady Rebel softball team win the state championship, and while we were watching them celebrate, Keith turned to me and said, “I want one.”  That was it.  One short phrase that had such force and motive.  In my life, I have learned that my brother is one of the most determined people I know.  Once he sets his mind on something, he will get it.  While he was growing up playing baseball, he listened to every little detail his team was coached on because he knew one day he would be coaching and required to know a lot about every position (I remember him telling that to me and my dad a long time ago).  He also had a goal of coaching Roncalli.  Well look where he is now: coaching baseball, coaching Roncalli, and the opportunity to get what he said he wanted this time last year is staring him right in the face.  I know he says we are very different in that we have gone down different paths in life, but I do not think he could be more wrong.  Every little decision I have made in life has been based on what I have learned from him, especially to go on this trip.  I think it is awesome that he is coaching in the community where he grew up, and when I saw the opportunity to help out in many communities, I knew I could not say no.  Awhile back, he explained to me that people often think of little brothers living in the shadows of their big brothers and that I came no where near his shadow.  Well this is because his shadow is too great for me to be in.  He is living his dream and I could not be happier for him.  Iggy, if you are reading this, go out and get your ultimate dream. I’ll be watching on my computer in Yellowstone, Montana and cheering harder than anyone in attendance.  I wish I could be there, man.  I love you. 

Day 17 Phillipsburg, Montana

SUNSHINE!!! Today we rode from Missoula to Phillipsburg, Montana and we can finally say we saw the sun.  Even though we cannot say we went the entire day without rain, 99% of the day was sunny.  There was only about a ten minute time period where we saw some rain drops, but when that sun was out, team morale was extremely high.  I remember one of the cyclists stopping at my first crew stop and without getting off the bike yet, yelled, “BIKING IN THE SUN IS SO MUCH BETTER!” Some of the song choices today included, “Surfin’ USA” by the Beach Boys, “We Ready” by Archie, and my favorite was “Soak up the Sun” by Cheryl Crow.  

Since being on the side of the road can be pretty boring at times, in addition to cranking up some music that parallels the day, we like to make up some games to play.  We recently bought some jump ropes to entertain us and it did not take long to look up some tricks on youtube.  We also like to brew up challenges for the cyclists when they get to our stops.  At the beginning of the trip, we gave them brain teasers and riddles, and I must say some of the cyclists hated me those first couple of days because they could not figure them out.  Now we are in the phase of food challenges.  Today at lunch, we had the baby food challenge – one pace line versus another.  There were three people on each team, the first guy had to eat carrots, the second guy peas, and the anchor was not allowed to see what he had until the first two had successfully eaten their entire jar.  It was neck and neck, but one team had a slight edge going into the anchor.  Once the anchors saw they had the chicken baby food, one of them gagged.  The other anchor, however, took two swipes with his fingers and it was gone.  It was the most amazing and disgusting thing I have ever witnessed.  If there were not profanity words expressed by the participating teams (because of how mad they were they volunteered for this challenge), I would post the video I recorded.  We definitely know how to make fun activities out of what little we have.  

Once we got into Phillipsburg, I was in awe.  I never thought I would see a town so small.  I really thought I was in the old west.  Every year, the teams that come here go to a famous candy store, and I bet you can only imagine what it was like to have 28 college guys in a candy store – yes we all acted like we were five in a candy store.  It is one of our teammate’s twenty-first birthday today, so his mom generously provided money so we could all get A POUND of candy.  The store was also really cheap, so it made it that much better.  After we got our bags of candy, we headed back to lodging to get ready for a dinner in “downtown” (which really means the only non-residential buildings within a twenty mile radius).  It was a pretty relaxed night with just a dinner and no friendship visit, but it was definitely fun.  We are staying in a high school gym, so there are constant games of H-O-R-S-E and knockout.  Well I am going to go show these guys how Indiana plays basketball.  Thanks for reading my blog! 

Days 15/16 Missoula, Montan

Sorry in advance for the extremely long blog post....

At the kick off dinner back in Seattle, Chad Coltrain, the CEO of Push America, gave an inspiring speech that I knew one day I would write about, but I was not sure what day it would be until yesterday.  He explained that this would truly be a life-changing experience and that we will remember it for the rest of our lives.  Another part of his speech that I am sure we will also never forget is when he explained the “best worst day of our life.”  He went on to talk about that no matter how bad the worst day of our summer will be, it will always be better than sitting behind a desk, working in the yard, or just sitting around the house.  Being outside seeing this beautiful country, seeing the mountains, being with 26 other brothers, and meeting amazing people along the way will always be better than any other day we could be having.  During the ride yesterday, there were many challenges.  When we woke up, it was pouring down rain and below forty degrees that would be with us the 105 miles.  We had breakfast underneath the doors to the trunk of the vans and stood close together shivering.  Once the cyclists hit the road when the crew vans were set up, they immediately faced something greater than they could ever imagine.  Riding in the poring rain is very dangerous, especially when there are puddles on the road.  To start the day, we had three cyclists not ride due to bike problems or injuries, so only eighteen cyclists set out for Missoula.  When they got to my first crew stop, they were absolutely miserable.  Some could barely feel their fingers and toes because of how wet they had gotten and the cold temperatures were not helping.

  

As I have said before, I attempt to increase morale and play music to pump them up.  I knew I had a big challenge today because of how down they were.  Hopefully I succeeded by putting on a dance party on the side of the road to some pretty awesome music.  Once they were off and I was on my way up to my next crew stop, I passed all the other crew vans and noticed that other cyclists were racking themselves due to lack of feeling in the extremities, broken parts on bikes, and other reasons.  When the first pace line got to my crew stop for the second time, I had learned that one of our cyclists had been taken off the road because of strong signs of hypothermia.  He was shaking uncontrollably and could barely move his mouth to talk to us.  We immediately put blankets all around him and got him in the van with the heat on high.  All crew members are CPR and first-aid certified, so thankfully we knew exactly what to do.  Not only did they cyclists have to battle the cold and rain, but also once the rain was done, they had a brutal headwind to fight through that made it extremely hard to keep going.  Thankfully, no one was injured, and the cyclist who had signs of hypothermia was able to take a steaming hot shower and warm up and be alright.  In the end, eleven cyclists finished the day on the bike rolling into lodging.

Last night we went to this amazing hole-in-the-wall pizza place for dinner, and a couple of us went out for drinks afterwards.  Missoula is where the University of Montana is located, so it was cool to see another college town.  I am attempting to see how many schools I can visit along this trip and so far I am at four: University of Washington, Washington State, Gonzaga, and now Montana.  Missoula reminds me of cities like Dayton or Bloomington or West Lafayette.  Pretty much the hot spots are around the campus and there is not much else to do around the town.  Missoula, in my opinion, is so much cooler than the three cities I just listed.  The city is nestled in the middle of five mountain ranges coming together, so everywhere you look you see mountains. 

Today, we had two sponsored events – one with the Adventure Cycling Association and one with the local YMCA.  It was cool to go to the ACA because the person who created the Journey of Hope used the maps created by this organization.  Learning the history and seeing everyone who had come through on their stops was also pretty cool.  During our break, a couple of us walked around the campus of Montana.  It did not seem like that big of a school, but the campus was really pretty.  The school is all about their football program, and it really showed through their Hall of Champions, the stadium, and the pictures in the bookstore.

The friendship visit we had with the YMCA was awesome.  We played bocce ball, tennis, and just soaked up the sun because it was only the third day on the trip we have not seen rain.  The coordinator grew up in Columbus, Indiana, so it was fun talking to her about the good ol’ Hoosier state and what brought her out here to Montana.  It was easy to see why she loved it here through the amazing outdoor area they had set up and just the scenery that surrounded.  After the friendship visit, about fifteen of us decided to climb one of the mountains that overlooked the city and was right next to campus.  I must say there are very few times in my life where I have been more proud of myself.  At the bottom of the mountain, the elevation was around 3150 feet above sea level.  An hour later and a steep climb later, we stood next to a rock that read “Glacial Lake Missoula, Ice Age National Park, Elevation 4200 Feet.”  The climb was pretty much straight uphill, so it was not a around the mountain type of climb.  It was so satisfying when I reached the top and looked out over the city.  The view we had is probably the most memorable part of the trip thus far.  It is truly amazing what is out there in the world, some thing I never thought I would ever see.

Day 14 Thompson Falls, Montana

To say this trip has been amazing so far is an understatement.  The friends that I have made are unbelievable and it is only day fourteen.  I cannot even begin to imagine how close all twenty-seven of us will be by the end of the summer.  Today we rode from Sandpoint, Idaho to Thompson Falls, Montana.  It was the second border we have crossed in the last three days, so it is pretty cool to see that we are actually making progress towards that big city on the east coast.  Like most of the days have been so far on this trip, we woke up to cold and wet conditions with just less than ninety miles to our destination.  The mountains and scenery just keep getting better and better each and every day, and it never fails to amaze me how beautiful each scenic viewpoint is along the road.  One of the coolest parts of today happened when we stopped for lunch.  We were in a parking lot of a gas station, and behind the building was somewhat of a farm.  A couple of us walked over there and started feeding grass to a baby horse.  Feeding this animal took our minds off the day for a brief second and how cold we were.  When we arrived in Thompson Falls, all I could think about was the town of Mayberry.  There is one major road that has all of the shops and restaurants on it, and if a person is standing at one end of the buildings, they have no problem seeing the other end.  It struck me as the kind of town where everyone knows everyone and almost nothing bad happens.  Thompson Falls is a pretty cool little town, and the restaurant where we ate was definitely tasty.  Because we are stopping in really small towns at the moment, it is hard to find organizations in every stop that we can partner up with for friendship visits, so we have not had one in a couple days.  I am definitely looking forward to our next one because those are what make the trip what it is cracked up to be.  Tomorrow we head to Missoula, which is supposed to be extremely nice, so I am pretty excited about that.  I would just like to thank everyone who has made this trip possible because I can already tell that it will be arguably the greatest summer of my life. 

Day 13 Sandpoint, Idaho

One may think that since I go to school in eastern Tennessee that I am used to mountains and do not get awestruck by them anymore.  That is nowhere near the case.  My amazement with mountains is exactly the reason why I love going to school in Knoxville.  Eastern Washington and Idaho have been nothing but gorgeous tree-covered mountains, and I am in just as much awe of the first one I saw as I am with the tenth and twentieth ones.  The only thing is that this is not even the last of mountains, nor is the most beautiful according to locals and guys who have done this trip before.  Some of the destinations ahead that have the potential of having more beautiful scenery to display are West Yellowstone, places in Wyoming, Colorado Springs, and the one I am looking forward to most: Denver.

We had another fairly easy day of just over forty miles, followed by another five hour free time day.  Here in Sandpoint, we are staying at an athletic club that is basically a YMCA.  We played racquetball, basketball, got in the hot tub, and walked around town.  The city is actually really cool for a small town with many little shops and restaurants.  While talking to people in town, we learned that there is another cycling team that is about to start a race from San Diego to Annapolis that they will complete in seven or eight days.  They invited us to their fundraising dinner at a local brewery/restaurant, so that was cool to see and hang out with people there.  The people that were part of the team and sponsors all introduced us and invited them to approach us and learn more about our trip.  Overall, it was a pretty relaxed day, and I am sorry but there is not much else to say except I am having an absolute blast so far and could not ask for a better summer

Also, you can click on this link and go to the Journey of Hope's Flickr page to see every single picture I have taken thus far on the trip.  You can also keep going back to this page, as I will be updating it every day that I have access to the internet.

Journey of Hope - Flickr

Day 12 Rathdrum, Idaho

Well we can finally say that we are no longer in Washington.  I arrived in Seattle on May 21^st, and seventeen days later, a new state welcomes me.  Those seventeen days flew by because of a combination of fun times, boring times, and excitement.  I cannot even begin to describe the friendships I have already made on this journey, and we are less than two weeks into the trip.  Again, I would like to thank everyone who helped me this opportunity possible.

Hello Idaho.  The ride from Spokane to Rathdrum was possibly the easiest one that the cyclists will have for the entire summer.   It was only thirty-two miles.  Yes, I did say only.  I will have to do some research but I believe this day is the shortest day of the summer.  Other than some mild winds and chilly temperatures, the weather was not bad at all.  The sun was out, which is always a crowd favorite.  When we arrive at each state, we normally stop the entire team to give them the opportunity to take pictures with their school flag or with friends.  This is a huge tradition for all three Journey of Hope teams.  It is cool to see the different types of school’s flags at each state’s border.  Because we are in the middle of nowhere for the next couple days, friendship visit are very scarce.  Today we did not have one; therefore, we had about five hours of free time to explore the city, take a nap, or just hang out.  Tonight we are staying at a summer camp ground in the cabins, so there is really much to do.  Some of the guys went hiking up a mountain and ended up in four feet deep snow, but I fell asleep and missed out on all the fun.  The camp provided dinner for us, and the home cooked meal of spinach ravioli and Caesar salad was fantastic.  Oh, and you cannot forget about my favorite thing ever: dinner rolls.  I am pretty sure I will gain a lot of weight this summer because of all of the amazing food I will be fed along the way.  Oh yeah.  What was for desert you ask? Apple cobbler. Case and point on gaining some l.b.’s.  We have another pretty easy day tomorrow with just as much free time, so maybe I will not miss out on a cool hike if there is the opportunity.  Thanks for reading my blogs! And you have yourself a fantastic day.

Day 10/11 Spokane, Washington

Today was our first off day of the trip. YES!

Yesterday we rode from Pullman to Spokane, which was about seventy-five miles.  The ride started out pretty miserable.  There were gusts of winds that were extremely high with rain and cold temperatures as well.  During the first half of the ride, the cyclists were going straight into a strong headwind, and then they got a relief of nice tailwinds the second half.  Once we got up into the mountain, the fog dense rose significantly and got so bad that the visibility was low enough to rack the riders.  We drove them up to rack point where a police officer met us to escort us into town because the streets in the city were too dangerous for bikers.  We reached our lodging point, which was a kid’s center at a church, and got to hang out for awhile before we left for dinner.  This kid’s center, to say the least, was freaking awesome.  There were pool tables, foosball tables, basketball goals, four square, and an endless amount of rooms with couches for us to sleep on.  Except for bedtime, I can honestly say that people were either using every game table, playing four square, or shooting a basketball.

When we woke up the next morning, we actually got to sleep in until 7:30.  Yes, I did say we SLEPT IN until 7:30.  We packed the vans and headed out to an organization called The Arc of Spokane for breakfast and a friendship visit.  The food was amazing, as always.  We had three different types of casseroles, bagels, fruit, and muffins.  After eating breakfast and talking with some of the clients, it was time for games and activities.  One of the big spots to be was at the Wii.  Many people kept the bowling game going for awhile, and one guy was extremely good.  I did not stay to watch very long, because I was working on a puzzle for quite some time, and then I made my way over to the pool table where we were working on domino train designs.  What was really cool about this visit is that the care givers gave each client a piece of paper that had a lot of boxes on it and they walked around to each of us and asked for our “signature.”  We would write our name, where we were from, where went go to school, and something we like to do.  Every person that came up to me had the biggest smile on their face and asked me for my autograph.  It was definitely one of the more fun friendship visits of the trip so far, but that is not saying much because we have so many good ones.

 

We had all day for free time to walk around the city of Spokane, which is actually extremely cool.  I was not aware that it is the second biggest city in Washington.  Something else I did not know is that Gonzaga University is in Spokane – I always thought it was in California somewhere.  Unfortunately, because were walking around the city and then found out about Gonzaga, I did not have my camera on me, so I was unable to take pictures of the campus, which was extremely nice.  At night, we had a sponsored dinner at a Pi Alpha’s parent’s house in the mountains just outside Spokane.  When we got there, the Panda Express catered food had yet to arrive, so we all spread out over the land they owned that had tennis/basketball courts, ping pong tables, hillbilly golf, a big basement, and common room where people just hung out and talked.  After we ate the food, a lot of people watched the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Spurs to clinch the series because normally we do not have access to TVs, so it was a blessing to be able to watch that.  They also set up a volleyball court in the grass in the backyard, so there was a continuous game of that for hours and hours.  The family was extremely nice and caring because they know what it is like to have a son/brother on this trip.  Overall, it was an extremely fun time in Spokane, even though the rain did not hold off the entire time we were there. Tomorrow we enter a new state…IDAHO!