Day 81 Thompson Falls MT to Hope ID - Still 8 years old in my brain - CycleBlaze

August 1, 2023

Day 81 Thompson Falls MT to Hope ID

 Today was a great ride for many reasons. First of all, there was no significant headwind!  Secondly, I ran into Nancy Graham who is a member of cycleblaze!

I left the campground around 7:15, wearing multiple layers as the temperature felt to be in the forties. Even wearing Irene’s fleece-lined leather gloves, my hands were cold.  I relished any sun that would fall on me. I cut across Birdland Bay Road to get to HWY 200. 

I liked this bridge on Birdland Bay Road. Reminded me of my little brother’s erector set
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Looking across at the beach of the campground where Henry played last night
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The ride to Trout Creek was peaceful.   I stopped for hot chocolate in Trout Creek but found none so I settled for a second cup of coffee to warm my hands.  I even found a Breakfast Cookie; these are made in Bellingham WA and pack a lot of calories, something like 400. Just what I need. Properly warmed up, I continued down the road and was passed by a van with a bike rack on the back and a safety triangle hanging from the rack.  I thought to myself “These people are my kind of people”. Just then, the van pulled over and two people got out and, as I approached, yelled “Are you Sandy?” I was so shocked, out here in the middle of nowhere, for someone to know my name.  It turns out it was Nancy Graham who is a member of CycleBlaze and is following my journal. She and Susan have been on a trip to Minnesota and are returning to the Seattle area. They too have been traveling route 200 and Nancy knew from my journal that I was also. So we met on the side of the road. How cool is that?

Susan and Nancy- what a great surprise!
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Suzanne GibsonVery cool! I'd love to meet them someday, too.
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1 year ago
Rich FrasierThis is just one of many reasons why I love CycleBlaze !
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1 year ago
Nancy GrahamIt was such a terrific treat to meet you Sandy. A highlight of the day! Thanks for the photo ;’-)
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1 year ago

I will say that this part of Montana is much more verdant and the Clark Fork River became more beautiful. 

On the way to Trout Creek
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Across the river from Noxon
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The road was rolling, so lots of small , manageable climbs. Peter and Henry passed me and pulled over so I could greet Henry then Henry will drink water.  Peter took a photo of this hitchhiker on my helmet:

Professor Shaneyfelt- what is this?
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Bill ShaneyfeltProfessor? Wow! I'm moving up!!

Robber fly. They are pretty good at eating pests.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asilidae
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1 year ago
Bill ShaneyfeltI did get a Zoology degree from AZ State in '69 so I do have a little background to help do research. A far cry from being a Prof. though! After a career in Explosives Safety, helping folks on bike tours do nature IDs is kind of an outlet for a guy who "would have been happy" with a career doing nature walks.

Thanks for all the great nature shots. That robber fly is particularly nice.
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1 year ago
Sandy EarleTo Bill ShaneyfeltThanks Bill! But what do you do in explosives safety?
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1 year ago
Bill ShaneyfeltRetired '08... But I inspected places for compliance with safety standards. My job was to keep explosives from going boom when they were not supposed to.
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1 year ago
Rich FrasierI like the professor title. I think it suits Bill very well.
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1 year ago
Sandy EarleTo Bill ShaneyfeltYou should’ve been on that old game show “What’s my Line”!
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1 year ago
Sandy EarleTo Rich FrasierMe too.
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1 year ago
Bill ShaneyfeltMy youngest brother is a professor...

My youngest daughter has the potential, but not me.

I'm noticing that now I am losing what little I had. Without the internet to dig around in, I would not be much. Like I told the kids back in the late 80s on a backpacking trip, "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king." -Because I knew a few wild edibles like blueberries, dandelions and nettles.-

If only I could remember a small percentage of what I look up, I might qualify to act as a Prof, but the old CPU is full and the RAM can't even keep up. Anyone got a spare lightly used brain?
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1 year ago

About an hour later, I caught up to them again at the state line where they were waiting.  There was another RV there which apparently had broken down. So Peter gave the man a ride into town.  In all the excitement, I forgot to take a photo of the “Welcome to Idaho” sign. Luckily, down the road I was given a second chance.

My fourteenth state if you count D.C. which should be a State.
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The shoulder mostly disappeared at the state line until Clark Fork then returned all the way to Hope.  Our campground is on a little peninsula on Lake Pend Oreille. I can’t wait to go swimming tomorrow.  Today was a great day on the bike!

Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 3,063 miles (4,929 km)

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1 year ago