Hank – We hung out at Rodonna’s Restaurant in Cottonwood until the rain let up. Kathy got the peach and I had cherry pie before we took off. The wind was to our backs and the rain was ahead of us as we struck out for Grangeville. Every time an 18-wheeler came by we would catch a blast of spray that made me think I was in the rinse cycle at a car wash. To their credit, when they had room, the drivers moved over to the opposite lane. We made good time but the closer we got to Grangeville the more rain was falling. It was like we were catching up to the storm. Kathy would smile and say, “Aren’t we having so much fun!” Coming into town we were soaked and there were no signs the rain would let up. We passed on a possible tenting site and went for real shelter–a two star motel. They offered free breakfast and laundry facilities so we were happy. We unpacked our panniers so we could shower and change into warm, dry clothes. That’s when I learned my panniers had way too much water inside them. So I had more to dry out than Kathy did. Turns out they are waterproof if you seal the seams yourself. I guessed I missed that key point. For now I picked up some large trash bags to use as liners. We turned on heat and the room quickly became a sauna. We walked to a nearby restaurant to enjoy a meal and a drink while we gave everything time to dry. We made quick work of washing and drying our clothes in the laundry. That is, I made short work. Kathy said, “I’m just going to lay down. I’m not going to sleep yet.”

And then promptly fell asleep.

Kathy – One week into our trip. I was pleasantly surprised to only be a little sore this morning after yesterday’s climb. We decided to head to Craigmont, Idaho and see how we felt from there. It was a great ride with a little elevation then mostly downhill. After a little break (to avoid the downpour of rain) we headed off to Cottonwood, Idaho arriving just as the rain began to dump. We stayed in Cottonwood for a few hours until the rain let up. Since we were both feeling so well, we decided to continue on to Grangeville, Idaho. This is where the fun began, we thought we avoided all the rain only to be mistaken. By the time we arrived in Grangeville, Idaho we were completely soaked. When comparing the drenching rain to yesterday’s 85-degree hot sunny day, I will take the rain. We were lucky enough to have the Tailwind Goddess with us the entire time today. Our total today was just over 44 miles with about 1,500 feet of elevation up. The best part was the 2,000 feet of descending elevation.

Because I had on my puffy coat and rain jacket I stayed pretty warm so the rain did not bother me at all. It was a welcome relief from yesterday’s high temps. We decided to get a hotel in Grangeville to dry out all of our things and to get a nice warm shower. Before we went to dinner at a local restaurant (since it was our one-week anniversary of the bike trip) I put on a little make-up and got prettied up for Hank. This is the first time I have done this since starting our trip. A good meal and good conversation made for a great dinner. Grateful for the warm shower, warm room, nice bed, and clean clothes. It’s the little things that matter.