Day 7, Sandpoint, ID to Thompson Falls, MT

Well, while day 6 was another gift, day 7 proved to be a little tougher. Today we rode 88 miles from Sandpoint to Thompson Falls. A little longer distance, and a little more climbing. We were also told that today was the day to see moose, mule deer, and all sorts of other wildlife.

It was cold this morning when we got up, 36F. Don't these poor folks get summer? Perhaps the snow still present on local mountaintops should have been a clue. At any rate, we rolled out of camp around seven, wandered through town, and got onto US route 200 which we would be on all day. The wildlife did not disappoint. We had one moose sighting, five sightings of deer, a couple red tailed hawks, and a turkey buzzard attacking a deer carcass along the side of the road.

Our route was through the Cabinet Gorge of the Clark Fork River. We oohed and aahed like the tourists we are. Margaret got lots of pictures of cliffs and mountains and river vistas. No pictures of critters; thay are jus too fast. With any luck we will solve our picture upload problems at our coming rest day in Missoula. We are working very hard each day to bike the distance scheduled, but the experience of seeing this country at a speed slow enough to allow close examination makes all the work worth while.

Our ride tomorrow is 101 miles to Missoula, MT and our next rest day. We are sleeping inside the high school in Thompson Falls tonight. This is bear country. The high school is building a secure enclosure around their trash bins because there is a black bear who has been making a habit of raiding them. We were warned not to have any food, toothpaste or deodorant (deodorant?) in our bike bags or tents to avoid attracting bears. I think everyone has opted to sleep in the gym. The baggage truck opens for loading at 05:30. Breakfast is at 06:00, and I hope to be on the road by 06:30. Got to go to sleep now.