Hank – I woke up this early morning, as I do pretty much every morning, and went to the kitchen and found the kettle ready to go and my favorite flavor of tea sitting out. That’s the kind of people Mike and Patty are. I fixed myself a cup and enjoyed the dawn while waiting for everyone else to wake. Once everyone was up we all chipped in to make breakfast. Before we left, Kathy planted some flower seeds in Mike and Patty’s yard. It’s something she’s going to do in every state we visit. Off to Cheney we went. We picked up something for lunch and rode to the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge. Jason, a Fish and Wildlife employee, checked out our bikes and asked about our plans. He was keen to learn about our plans. I bought an annual pass for all national parks, etc., so we’re set to visit elsewhere without paying additional fees.

The day grew warmer and the sun didn’t let up. The long climbs became tiresome and the descents went by too fast. On one long descent a truck passed us and stopped about 3/4 the way down. Someone got out and I could see he was taking photos. I was hoping they didn’t want us to stop because we had some sweet coasting going on. And then I saw it was someone I knew. Paul Zambon, who worked in the same building I worked in, lives out that way and saw us. It was great to see him so I didn’t mind stopping. Kathy I and wrapped up the last few miles to Rosalia and grabbed a bite and some recovery drinks. The Brass Rail had some great burgers. Some locals coming and going got to know us and learn what we were up to. There was Dave who lives in Oakesdale. He’s a recent widower and comes to the Brass Rail for human connections. A gentle and kind man who is a pleasure to be with. Rudy, an 88-year-old former pilot, movie maker, TV producer, and quite the humorist who encouraged us to connect with TV stations. He said they love human interest stories. Carl, Rudy’s son, chimed in with some of his travels he’d taken as a younger man. Debbie runs the place. She was kind enough to make extra fries to go with Kathy’s burger so I could have some. What a sweetheart. Patty brought in the news of another local who passed of a heart attack today. Everybody said they heard the sirens. The fellow was 61. “Too young”, everyone remarked. Rudy stopped by to chat once more before leaving. When he mentioned he was 88 years old I said I hope I get to see what that’s like. He laughed and said, “Well, only the good die young.” He would be so much fun to hang out with. He told me to be good on the trip. I said I’d try but it would take some effort. Rudy comes back with, “But I can’t pay you to be good so you’ll have to be good for nothing.” I said I could do that for sure. Before we left Debbie took a photo of us with our bikes outside her place. And just about everyone took one of our cards so they could follow us on line.

At the end of the day I had areas of my skin telling me I didn’t use enough sun block. I’ll do better tomorrow. The top of my feet are burned. Ouch!

Kathy – Overall Day 2 wet very well. The hills with the heat (77 degrees) was a bit warm, but we managed okay. Took a few breaks to hydrate and stay fueled. We covered 41 miles. Had a good dinner in Rosalia and met some really nice local folks. Looking forward to a good night sleep! 🙂

A couple of notes…

1. If you would like to comment on a blog post, please click on the post title (or header), scroll to the bottom and you will then see the comments section where you can add your thoughts. We look forward to your comment and encouraging words. Thank you!
2. If you would like to “follow” our blog, please go to the “Home” page and look in the bottom right corner where you will see a “+Follow” link. Just enter your email address there (only we can see it). Then, anytime we write a new blog post you will automatically get an email letting you know so you can read it at your leisure.