Lichen vs. Moss - FYI

Oops. It looks like the last 2 posts got flip-flopped. Sorry about that. This is just a little FYI. In Gregory's Junior Pioneer Book from the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center they provided information regarding the difference between lichen and moss. So, when I saw the below rock with both I thought I'd pass the information along. We've seen a lot of both on rocks, trees and fence posts, etc.

Lichen: A plant-like growth that is actually a result of a fungus and algae living together. It grows very slowly, lives for a long time, looks like moss or a crusty dry leaf and can grow on bare rock or soil.

Moss: Small green plants that have hairlike structures called rhizoids instead of leaves, stems, and roots. These rhizoids grow into the soil and help the plants get water and minerals.

Splash Montana and Venison Burgers-Day 14/15-Aug.2/3

Our first day in Missoula was spent relaxing on Inky’s porch (see picture of incredible view) and then an afternoon of swimming at Splash Montana. Though it was packed with families trying to escape the heat we still had a blast. In addition to a lap pool the complex has 3 slides and a lazy “river” you can float around on in an inner tube. One of the slides is designed to allow the tubes (and double tubes) to be ridden. Mike and I took turns riding the double tubes down with Gregory and it was such a kick. It was just what we needed to chill out for a day. We stayed for a few hours, did some grocery shopping and then went back to the cabin to share in a dinner of venison burgers with Inky, her partner Danny (chef, hunter, historian and all around nice guy), Sarah and Grant (summer tenants and University of Montana graduates bound for Portland). The burgers were loaded with garlic and spices and were quite tasty. Gregory had his “no thank you bite” but just couldn’t manage it. Mike was surprised he enjoyed them so much because the last time I cooked venison burgers for him and our friend Mike Landes, they swore off venison for life (it was gamey and had been in a freezer for a while).

On Monday (our second day in town), after we said our goodbyes to Inky and Danny, who were headed off on their rafting trip, we decided to try to track down our packages we are expecting and check out REI and the other recreational and bike shops in town. We also got delicious ice cream at the local creamery “The Big Dipper”. Mike had vanilla with Reese's, Gregory had white mint Oreo and I broke down and had espresso with Heath. Yummy. Yum. Yum. We enjoyed a delicious barbecued steak dinner with Tom, a friend of Inky’s who lives just down the street. Tom is a geologist and brought out his rocks after dinner. Gregory and I were right in our element. Tom also had a microscope for his Mac Book Pro so Gregory had fun magnifying a variety of things including his dad’s fingertips and the inside of his not so clean ears. Ugh! Grant (Inky’s tenant and Gregory’s new buddy) joined us and he and Gregory looked up several sites on Google Earth, which Gregory found fascinating. We visited until dark and reluctantly said goodbye to another new friend.

Sheep and Montana Carousel-Day 16-Aug. 4 Missoula, MT

Rest day number three has started out with Mike tracking down our packages at FedEx (we thought they were headed to the Post Office General Delivery) and news that our tires might also arrive at the “Missoula Bike Works” today. If that is the case we might be on the road tomorrow.

The excitement of the morning was when Inky’s dog Fiona started barking her head off and we discovered that sheep were being herded from below the house and up and across the road next to the house to a new pasture. We watched from the deck and Gregory and I went out front and watched as 300 sheep passed by! We ended up meeting the owner, John, whom Gregory asked, “Can I help?” He said, “If you can walk you can help. Come on.” So we followed along and helped round up the sheep! We found that the sheep are brought in to cut down on the evasive weeds. Actually Inky has three of her own that Gregory has been “playing with.” She also has hens and Gregory and I have been helping to collect the eggs each morning. Fresh eggs for breakfast have been a treat.

We are back from our errands and it is not good. Mike’s shoes arrived in a size 38 instead of a 48! They came from “Performance” on the East Coast so we can’t even get them sent overnight until tomorrow. It looks like we are here another two days. We even checked all the bike shops in town to see if we could find SIDI shoes in a 48 with no luck. Someone we met during our travels informed us that SIDI now requires shops to carry their entire line (and prices have gone up) therefore not as many shops are carrying them. On a bright note our tires did arrive today and we received a FedEx package here at the house from my folks.

We had a great time this afternoon at the Montana Carousel and Dragon Hollow Park. It was a much needed pick me up for all three of us. Dragon Hollow reminds us of Kids Kingdom back home only with misters. It was refreshing to swing in and out of the mist on another hot Montana day. The carousel has this dragon that hangs out near the edge and he has a chute in his mouth with rings. As the carousel goes ‘round you can reach out and grab these rings and if you get the brass ring you get a free ride. Gregory tried and tried and then Mike took his one ride and sure enough got the ring. We scored more tokens and got a kick out of that.

Day13-Aug. 1, 2009 – Lolo Hot Springs RV Park to Missoula, MT - 44 miles:

Day13-Aug. 1, 2009 – Lolo Hot Springs RV Park to Missoula, MT - 44 miles:

Mike and I pitched in and cooked bacon and potatoes for our new friends “Sisters On The Fly”. Mike even wore a “Sisters” apron and looked quite official. There were also cheesy eggs, salsa and tortillas to make scrumptious breakfast burritos. We took a short hike up the ridge and looked down on the “Cowgirl Caravan” nestled in along the river. It was hard to say goodbye to our new friends but we have memories we’ll treasure forever. This is one story we know will be told again and again. Though we were on a mission to get into Missoula we took the time to stop at a Dog Agility Exhibition we came upon. We spotted this enormous long metal building, lots of cars and campers and several people milling around with dogs so I hollered from the bike, “What do you have going on here?” The response was, “A dog agility exhibition.” I quickly encouraged Mike to stop and it was entirely worth it. Gregory was thrilled to watch the dogs and several trainers let him pet their dogs and even lead them out to take a dip in the kiddie pool to cool off. These folks from Boise, ID (BARC-Boise Agility Runners and Climbers, boiseagility.org) were just as interested in what we were doing and talked to us for over an hour. We left feeling like we’d made new friends. The riding was fairly easy today but poor Mike did encounter two more bee stings. One got him on the stomach and another got into his jersey and stung him on the back. Gregory and I are sure thankful he is blocking all of those bees! We broke out the “Adolf’s Unseasoned Meat Tenderizer”(recommended by our dermatologist Dr. Richey) and doctored him up. We did finally make it to Missoula, MT home of Adventure Cycling. (We are following the Adventure Cycling Trans America Trail for the U.S. leg of our journey.) Unfortunately we arrived after they closed for the day. However, we collected a map of the area and made contact with our first “warmshowers” host. (Warmshowers.org is a network for cyclists to connect with a host for an evening or two and was recommended to us by several cyclists.) Our host, Inky, had only joined a few weeks prior and we feel so blessed to have connected with her. Though she was correcting papers for her university class and leaving on a rafting trip Monday she still generously welcomed us into her home. She lives in a charming cabin in the hills above Missoula and is surrounded by the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness. Climbing the hill to her house was something, especially after a 40-mile day, but we did it and were pleased to be greeted by Inky’s warm smiling face.

Sisters On The Fly- Day 12

July 31, 2009 – Lochsa Lodge, ID to Lolo Hot Springs RV Park - 21 miles:

Thank goodness for a good nights sleep, hot showers and a good breakfast. We climbed Lolo Pass today without pushing the bike! What a great nights sleep we had in our little cabin at Lochsa Lodge. I relished the hot shower to start the day and loosen up my sore shoulder. We downed endless cups of coffee and huckleberry pancakes for breakfast with our new friend Randy (who was also kind enough to treat us to breakfast). Gregory and I played a couple of games of checkers and we watched a brief morning rainfall before things cleared out and we loaded up. The kind owners of the lodge found a nut and washer for our B.O.B trailer and we added this great sticker to our fender (“iRide wild and scenic U.S. hwy. 12”) and then we were off.

We had a strong ride up Lolo Pass. We were so proud of ourselves because it was the first time climbing at 7% grade where we didn’t have to push the bike. We’d pedal as long as we could giving ourselves a small goal like the next snow marker or sign post alongside the road. We’d rest just long enough to catch our breath and have a drink and then hop back on the bike. It worked pretty well until about the last mile and for whatever reason Gregory kind of lost it. I think he thought I was making fun of him because whenever he’d say, “Stop Mom!” I’d say, “Go!” I was trying to keep him pumped up for the last mile of the climb and make him laugh but what I got from behind me was a sort of laugh-cry. By the time we stopped at the entrance to the visitor’s center he was crying pretty hard. Though I tried to hug him and calm him down he just fought me and cried harder. I finally let him walk away and he sat cross-legged along the roadside for quite some time before we could convince him to mount the bike and coast down to the visitor’s center. It took him a while to let it go but when he did we enjoyed watching a video on the Nez Pearce and one on Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. While Gregory and I watched our movies Mike met a large group of ladies inquiring about our trip and received an invitation to stop at their camp at Lolo Hot Springs RV Park just 8 miles down the hill. It turns out they are a group called “Sister’s On The Fly” (with over 1300 members) and they gather together hauling their darling custom vintage campers and go fly-fishing. We took them up on their offer and they are just some of the nicest ladies you could meet. Gregory and Mike were “honorary members” for the night because no men are usually allowed. Gregory helped set up chairs in the creek and they served up beverages as we cooled down. Gregory lucked out because the only thing they had for a child was one Pepsi. Mom caved and let him have his first caffeinated soda. When that accidentally spilled and resulted in a banged knee and tears we had to hike up to the little store and make it up with a Dr. Pepper. O.K., not one of my best parenting decisions but the kid worked hard today climbing that pass! Dinner was burgers, grandpa’s famous beans, corn on the cob and salad. It was mighty delicious and we couldn’t have been more gracious. Gregory retired to the tent with his hamburger and started building forts inside the tent (just pooped I think and maybe too many “girls”). I joined him shortly after dinner and promptly passed out so Mike was left alone with the ladies. It just goes to show that when you leave yourself open to anything you meet amazing people and have special times. (P.S. We are in Montana now and the Mountain Time Zone...again!)

Bee Sting-Day 11 - July 30, 2009 – Wilderness Gateway Campground to Lochsa Lodge, ID - 41 miles:

For whatever reason today was a day filled with calamities. To start with my camera battery died last night and it was a day without pictures. Boo. I also began the day with a pinch in my hip and a knife in my right shoulder. Our campsite was shaded and chilly in the morning so Gregory and I decided to lie out on the asphalt driveway of the campground and do some stretching. Mike attempted to pull on my leg to provide some relief and had some luck but I was still having a bad morning. We didn’t have enough to eat for breakfast so after only about five miles or so I had Mike dig out a can of beans that we ate beside the road. Though we were still riding along the scenic Lochsa River I couldn’t really enjoy it because it hurt to look to the right and it hurt to look up. I stared down at my water bottle and pedaled away hoping the Biofreeze (muscle rub) would kick in and loosen up my shoulder and neck. One bright spot in the day was Claudia and Rose (friends we met a couple days previous when they were tubing the river). They were headed back to Billings and pulled off the road to say hello. They filled our water bottles, fed us chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and Gregory got to play with their dog Lucy. Thank you! We did find a natural hot spring at mile marker 142 (tip from waitress at Syringa Café) and hiked in about 15 miles but it was so hot Gregory and I couldn’t bear to get in. Mike had a soak but Gregory and I stuck to dipping our head in the icy creek running along the trail. We filtered water and got back out on the road once again. My shoulder felt better by late afternoon but Mike and I were still dreaming of a tall cold iced tea (with a jolt of caffeine) to perk us up and get us through the last 20 miles. Stopped along the road some 10 miles later we put the kickstand down on the B.O.B. trailer (precariously perched on a rock for added height) and rested. Poor Gregory decided to get the Tyvek ground cloth out for us to sit on and the kickstand snapped off and over went the bike. Lets just say it is not easy being in the middle of this situation! To top things off Mike was stung in the lip by a bee as we pedaled along. His lip continued to swell as we grunted gradually up the grade. We couldn’t have been happier when we arrived at the lovely Lochsa Lodge. We reconnected with Randy Garmon who we’d met earlier in the day (one of the few cyclists we’ve met heading east like we are) and we shared a table for a dinner of pesto chicken sandwiches and burgers topped off with an amazing blackberry cobbler. Mike broke down and rented one of their quaint rustic cabins with access to the shower house. We capped off the evening by joining a group of bikers (motorcyclists) at the community bonfire. Mike ordered a Mike’s Hard Lemonade with Huckleberries (quite tasty) and we relaxed under a serene moon and star filled sky.

Construction- Day 10 Syringa to Wilderness Gateway Camping

Day 10-July 29, 2009 – Syringa to Wilderness Gateway Campground, ID 35 miles:

We began our day with huckleberry pie for breakfast and ended the day with mouthwatering smores beside our first campfire of the trip. We rode parallel to the Clearwater River/Lochsa (changed around Lowell) and had about five construction zones to ride through during the day. Surprisingly, the construction may have worked to our advantage because though we did have times where several semis passed us consecutively, there were great stretches of road with peace and quiet and not a vehicle in sight. They are revamping the shoulders along Highway 12 so we had to ride inside the white line but people were courteous for the most part. In the A.M. we let Gregory play on the beach for quite a while and got a late start. Just one mile after the beach was Syringa Café. We hoped for breakfast but found the dreaded closed sign. I poked my head in and found they were in a meeting and opened at 11:00 for lunch. It was about 10:00 and they said they could offer us huckleberry pie and ice cream. Of course Mike and Gregory jumped at that! Mike dug my granola out of the packs and I asked for a glass of milk. When we discovered they had Internet we hung around and got signed up for warmshowers.org (a site for bicyclists to find a host for the night). We hope to find someone to stay with in Missoula, MT. When the clock struck 11:00 Mike decided it was time for lunch. They had a great selection of books and we hung around until almost 1:00. Amongst all of the construction zones we missed a whole group of adventure cyclists but did stop to chat with Lisa and Ted along side the road. As we entered our campground that evening (over a bridge and across the Lochsa) we ran into Rex from Kamiah, ID. He was fly-fishing and Gregory was enthralled with his poles (one magnetically mounted to the hood of his truck) and his fishing vest and waders. We ended up across from his site and he and his wife Paloma generously provided Gregory with the fixings for his first smores of the trip. I made a big batch of vegetable soup and we had a roaring fire with wood that was left in the site. Gregory was a happy boy. He finally got his campfire and smores to boot.