Resting among Giants

As usual it has been interesting, and too long since I have posted.  I actually had to read my last one so I would know where I had left off.  After being thwarted by the forest fire the prior day, I had an uneventful and leisurely ride to Spokane.  After the fire had stopped me short of town, we decided that I would ride through Spokane and to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.  It being a Friday evening the traffic was serious and we decided that the 30 miles to Coeur d’Alene wasn’t worth the risk so, I called it for the night. 

Late that night, Azure came down with the stomach flu, living out of a van isn’t all that bad (as long as it isn’t hot out) but being sick in a van well… it’s no bueno.  As a result we were both up all night, literally, luckily by about 6 a.m. the worst had passed and she was able to get to sleep. 

There has been some stuff going on, I’m not going to go into what, consider it a need to know situation, and right now sorry, but you don’t need to know.  As a result of this, we needed to take some time off of the bike to try to figure it out.  So we decided, we would rather sit things out in Coeur d’Alene than Spokane.  By morning Azure was feeling well enough for us to head into Coeur d’Alene (as previously mentioned only about 30 miles) the ride was an easy one and once out of the city unexpectedly pretty.  Taking a break and throwing our timetable out the window is that last thing that we need but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

So we decided that we would make the most of it and see the area.  Only problem was when we awoke the following morning the van yet again wouldn’t start, and this time it was too dead to even jump.  After several hours of trying to figure out what was wrong (keep in mind I am not mechanically inclined so this mostly consisted of me doing the same thing over and over, staring at the engine and scratching my head) one of the other campers at the site was able to lend a hand.  The batteries on a diesel van are mounted under the passenger side doors so on a Sunday afternoon there wasn’t anyone in town who could take a look and determine if they were the problem.  I was hoping that it was the batteries, but after the disaster of unsuccessfully trying to jump her I was leaning towards the mega repair job i.e. the mega bill job. 

Lucky for us, it turned out to be the batteries and we found a local shop that was able to change them out for us.  This was no small feat, if you know how these things are mounted you know what I am talking about.  So the few hundred dollars on new batteries was great compared to the thousands I was anticipating (in a worst case scenario). 

After the two-day battery debacle we decided to head up to Glacier National Park. It is a place that we have both always wanted to go and we figured we were too close to drive on by.  So we picked up some extra groceries, beer, and gas and headed out.  I will say that it was really nice to be riding in the van through the mountains instead of heading into them on the bike.  We arrived late Tuesday evening in the park, found a site and grabbed some shut-eye.  The next morning was cold and rainy but spotty, and the weather was blowing through rather quickly so it made for a visually spectacular day.

(Kootenai Falls on the way to Glacier)

(Just to put it into perspective that is a 496 foot waterfall)

There are really two things to do in Glacier, drive the Going to the Sun road, and hike/backpack.  Since we don’t have any of our gear with us and it was snowing at the higher elevations we decided to drive the road.  Have to say, scariest road I have ever driven, period.  At times all that separates you from a several thousand feet drop is a foot and a half rock curb. The views are unreal; I could sit and stare at those mountains for hours on end.  If Glacier isn’t on your bucket list it needs to be, we stayed and extra day just to look. 

(This is Jackson Glacier, Azure wanted to give a little shout out to her nephew Jackson, we saw this as fitting)

It was really good for me to take a few days to clear my head.  Sound ridiculous, I know that’s what I am supposed to be doing on this ride, so far that hasn’t been the case though. 

(something tells me that wall couldn't hold Bertha)

After a week off, it was time to get back on the bike; I left Coeur d’Alene on Saturday and felt great I took down 4^th of July pass without hesitation.  However, about 35 miles into the ride I started to feel sick.  By the time I reached Wallace, ID I was doubled over in pain and sick to my stomach.  I couldn’t keep riding so; we found a site and hunkered down for the night 50 miles short of my original destination, St. Regis, MT.  I was too sick to ride Sunday and I tried to get on the bike this morning and made it less than a mile before I was forced off the bike again.  We are thinking that I caught what Azure had and for some reason it is just sticking with me instead of being the 24-hour bug that she had. 

The two sick days really aren’t that big of a deal seeing as things still aren’t resolved and the timetable for the ride has been extended greatly due to Fantasy Fest in Key West.  The problem is that it is starting to get cold Fall/Winter is upon this part of the country and I still have 1000 miles of mountains to get through before the snow starts to fly.  So we will have to hope that I feel well enough to ride tomorrow and take everyday as it comes.

I might be sick but I’m still smiling, until next time. 

8-27

48.85 miles

17.1 mph average

37.8 mph max

2:50:38 ride time

8-28

27.1 miles

16.7 mph average

25.2 mph max

1:36:47 ride time

9-4

53 miles

16.1 mph average

45.3 mph max

3:19:08 ride time