Pesky squirrel

Two weeks to go! Incredible scenes. Given we’ll be without internet for the next few days we spend a bit of time getting things booked up, confirming bookings for the Palouse Prairie section, and finding a place to stay in Kamiah.

A slow steady uphill – more than half of which was cycled – led us to the top of Lolo Pass, where we stopped to take photos of the Idaho sign and the sign welcoming us to the Pacific time zone. Mad to think we’re in the final time zone of the trip, and just two more states to go. Really feeling like we’re on the home stretch now.

Also at the top of Lolo Pass is a visitor centre where we saw a topographic model of the valley we’ll be cycling down over the next few days. We also learned a bit more about the Nez Perce and their fleeing from the nasty white folks, and, incredibly, met Curtis of warmshowers fame, who approached us and asked us about our route. Allegedly he was driving students around nearby, but a far more likely explanation is that he’s been following us for the last few days, waiting to pounce.

The downhill is quite breathtaking, if slightly too fast, and then we’re cycling alongside the Lochsa River, through Clearwater National Forest.

We get to the campsite and sneakily take a first come first served site without paying, seeing as we paid for tomorrow night but ended up being a day ahead of schedule, and unable to move our booking through the website. Fortunately nobody arrives to arrest us.

We spend the offline afternoon sitting and relaxing – me writing postcards and Sissel reading her book. Quite idyllic, apart from the pesky sun finding its way into us, and an even more pesky squirrel who’s trying to get into the food pannier and the bin bag. Foolishly I’ve left the food pannier away from the table, in the shade, so I discover the squirrel’s been having a right go at it, gnawing away at the strap.

Rice for dinner then an early night, we even have time for gin rummy. This entering new time zones thing is alright.