Day 19 Rain! and "Basic Needs" - Missoula, MT

We hoped to head out today but it was pouring rain this morning and there was more rain in the forecast for this afternoon. To top it off Gregory is not feeling well. He has a runny nose and is pretty lethargic. We loaded him up on Dimetapp, put Mentholatum on his chest and bought him some cough drops. He was pretty emotional tonight when we put him to bed. He has really become attached to this place, the people and the pets. Every time we have to say goodbye to new friends it is hard on all of us but especially Gregory. I think he thinks he'd like to live here when we settle down. Only 19 days on the road and Gregory found a new home. We try to explain to him that we are making new friends we will stay in touch with for a lifetime and that we can always visit but this is not comforting to an 8 year old.

I think I forgot to post the picture of Gregory and Gunner together in the twin bed. They slept together all night last night!

Today was truly a day off for me. I crawled into bed and I read a book (an entire book!) while listening to the rain patter against the window. Then, I took a nice long nap. Bliss.

I picked a book off Inky's shelf called "Walkabout" as in a walking journey of six months taken by Australian Aborigine boys to test their manhood. I originally chose it because we may go to Australia in the winter and it looked interesting. In the book two modern school children are stranded in the outback following a plane crash and there they encounter the Aborigine boy. Here is and excerpt that I found especially interesting:

"Brother and sister were products of the highest stratum of mankind's evolution. In them the primitive had long ago been swept aside, been submerged by mechanization, swamped by scientific development, nullified by the standardized pattern of the white man's way of life. They had climbed a long way up the ladder of progress: they had climbed so far, in fact, that they had forgotten how their climb had started. Coddled in babyhood, psychoanalyzed in childhood, nourished on predigested patent foods, provided with continuous push-button entertainment, the basic realities of life were something they'd never had to face.

It was very different with the Aboriginal. He knew what reality was. ... Their lives were unbelievably simple. They had no homes, no crops, no clothes, no possessions. The few things they had, they shared: food and wives, children and laughter, tears and hunger and thirst."

I'm not suggesting that I want to share wives! I guess it struck me because by setting out on this journey we have uncomplicated our lives and gotten back to the basics. We have each other and each day as we soak in our surroundings the only basic needs we must fulfill are food, water and shelter. There is definitely laughter and there are tears. It is an emotional roller coaster some days but in the end it is all worth it. We are all learning lessons and having experiences that will last us a lifetime.

Estimated Miles: (Per our map from Baker City, OR to Missoula, MT and not given any side trips...) 419 miles