069: August 17, 2021: An update about 8 weeks after Christine's fall

It has been some time since I posted any news here. Thanks to all the wishes and prayers we received since Christine's fall on June 28. 

 Photo from June 28.

Her leg has been improving steadily and we can see positive change nearly every day. She is walking and standing for longer periods now and even drove our car a couple of times. So, I can happily report improvement.

The big scabs came off  this week. This will help as the clothes would not be catching on these any more. 😀😀😀

It has not been either quiet or slow in our lives since the accident. We were so happy to move into Lizl and Steve's basement during this time. We helped them get their new home ready (lots of painting, small repairs, etc.) and looked after (rather, enjoyed being with) the grandkids, Mia and Michael.

We were also able to build this swing set in their back yard. 

 Sunset after a particularly hot day. 

The Northwestern part of the USA experienced above average temperatures this summer and we can attest to the heat. There were many days that we did not take the kids to the play parks, it was just too hot. But, when we did, everyone enjoyed the fun. 

 

Louise came to visit for a couple of days too. 😍😍😍

On our side we also found a new home here in Coeur d'Alene. We closed in late July on a three-bedroomed house and our move arrived on July 30. 

We knew we were going to downsize from our home in Virginia and we let go of many things before the movers arrived. Arranging our new house requires some careful thinking, as we have to let go of more things - even stuff with lots of memories tied to them. 😒😒😒 This tough task will definitely take more than a month or three. 

We also went on our first road trip in early August, 

to the Oregon Coast, with our dear friends, Marius and Hilda.  Hilda did most of the planning and planning and we enjoyed the result tremendously. We started at Canon Beach and eventually turned around at the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, California.

We loved the scenery and confirmed that traveling and seeing new places should be part of our lives in a much bigger way. 

We saw the negative impact of the COVID-pandemic all over and noted the new mask requirements in Oregon. We still have so many unvaccinated people in the USA and they are now getting infected. I wonder how many deaths we must still see here before people will realise that the COVID-vaccine is saving lives.

Back to the cycling adventure. 

We are patiently waiting for Christine's leg (and mind) to mend before we tackle the last about 750 miles from Missoula, Montana, to the Pacific Ocean. There is a small window of opportunity in September to complete the trip, provided Christine is ready to go. Otherwise, we shall do it next year. 😁😁😁

I shall certainly send out an update towards the end of August to keep you all informed. Thanks again for all the interest and well wishes we received so far. We luv u all.

068: Day 81: June 28, 2021. Ovando to Missoula MT. The day we decided to take a break. 52 miles today (of which 8 are by car and ambulance) and 3286 miles in total.

Today we woke up to a beautiful day. We slept well behind Trixi's and were on the road at 06:00 am. 

This was the view of the Blackfoot Valley that we would follow the entire day. It was not yet hot and there was morning fog in the lower valleys- absolutely beautiful. 

Christine has such a professional eye to bring out nature's beauty.

The road was beautiful with a substantial shoulder, allowing us to stop and enjoy.

The Blackfoot River in the foreground

and next to us. These scenes and the next reminded us again and again, the people of Montana are privileged to live is such beauty.

An abandoned homestead in a beautiful meadow.

Since we started early, the roads were not too busy yet. We decided to stop at the Clearwater Sinclair where we purchased coffee to have with our breakfast - bagels with peanut butter and raspberry jelly.

Even the Sinclair Dino did not like our breakfast choice. 🤣🤣

We then climbed into the Lubrecht Experimental Forest. We saw so many different trees in this area.

At the summit we turned off to enjoy the shade and quiet under the trees for a while.

Peaceful and quiet.

From the Lubrecht Forest Summit we were on one of the longest downhills of the trip. I estimate it to be more than ten miles long. The shoulder is also much wider and we could take time to enjoy the countryside, even with a noticable increase in traffic.

The Blackfoot River Valley is really beautiful and 

we decided that we should come back to this area to explore some more.

We stopped at these rapids and 

this little Ground Squirrel was watching us closely for a long time. He is also in the previous picture.

There were a lot shrubs with white flowers.

Soon thereafter Christine ran over something and fell into and over the crash barriers. While I was helping her off her bicycle, a real angel stopped - her name is Angel as well - to block off the accident spot with her car and call 911. I am so sorry that I did not get her particulars, but at that time I was also totally flustered.

The first responders were there in less than five minutes with the ambulance arriving in less than ten minutes.

Christine had eight stitches to close the wound on her shin and the doctor, Emilie Fowlkes of the St Patrick Hospital's Emergency Center, said that we should not think of cycling for some time. 

People are so helpful and I want to thank the first responders who took Christine's bike in their truck to the hotel. I also want to thank John, his home was the closest to the crash, who immediately emptied his SUV to take my bicycle, trailer and me to the hotel. He wanted nothing, as he was planning to go to Missoula to have a flat tyre fixed. I am also grateful to the Comfort Inn University for waiving their cancellation fees. We booked a room here a couple of days ago with the intention to rest a bit after all the road cycling.

We are also very grateful (and happy) that Lizl decided to drive 2,5 hours to come and pick us up so that we could rest at their home. 

Thank you to everybody.

We shall not be cycling for the next three weeks at least and have some other commitments thereafter. We shall over the next few days look at the calendar and see how and when we shall complete our trip. So, please watch this space for an update in a week or so. 

Thanks to you also who have been reading this blog over the last 12 weeks and sent so many encouraging comments. 

067: Day 80: June 27, 2021: Deer Lodge to Ovando MT: 63.5 miles today and 3234 in total (m272.8)

We had another good day today. We completed the 63 miles between Deer Lodge and Ovanda in record time. We took about 6 hours, with an average speed of more than 10 miles per hour, mainly because long sections of road had no or very little shoulders and the roads were very busy. 

We came to the conclusion that RV/Trailer/caravan drivers do not know how long their vehicles really are. After passing us, there is invariably some cutting in in front of us. Not good. 

In Deer Lodge we noted this sign up at the hotel. People want the hotel to open up again. 

There was a Draft Horse Expo in Deer Lodge this weekend and this was the sign post.

The scenery is so much what Montana is about, Big Sky, but also beautiful when you look around. We were happy to see the Merino sheep in the paddock. This means there would be more lamb available soon. 

We climbed out of the valley via the Beck Road and looked back over the I90 and the Clark Fork River valley.  

The Beck Hill road became a gravel road and we took time to complete this section. However, the scenery was beautiful.

Dropping into the Little Blackfoot River Valley, we came to this meadow and 

cows resting under the trees next to the river.

Christine says I have a train magnet. I do not mind seeing a train anywhere.

Close to Avon we cycled past 

these interesting rock formations.

We passed these cows grazing around an abandoned homestead.

One was even interested in us. 

Looking back towards Avon, we noticed the climb we completed, but also had a good view of the road with no shoulders. We had 33 miles of this and really tried to cycle as fast as possible to get away from the traffic.

We saw some real haystacks.

We stopped at the gate of the Little Valley Ranch for a quick lunch of bagels with crunchy peanut butter and honey.

Christine was determined to finish the honey, a bottle that we carried all over the States from Rehoboth Beach.

Would you like to have a farm in this area? 

We cycled past the Nevada Creek Dam. It 

is beautiful both looking upstream and

downstream.

We soon came to the end of the Route 141 and saw these interesting mountain roads before the intersection with Montana Route 200. 

9

The roads remained extremely busy.

We stopped at the Blackfoot River and got literally eaten by mosquitoes. We had a good chat with two motor cycle riders, one had a trailer with two dogs with him, but said goodbye very quickly to get away from the mossies.

We cycled over the North Fork of the Blackfoot as well

and soon could see Ovando in the distance. Trixi's is on the corner in the valley below.

We completed our trip for the day and walked in for some cold drinks and

a wonderful early dinner.

The owner was also very helpful and allowed us to drycamp next to the restaurant. The day worked out well for us.

In addition, Lizl called us last night with the news that my Green Card biometrics appointment is set for July 12. This works out well, as we should be about an hour south of Coeur d'Alene on Friday, July 2. This would give us a break of about 10 days where we can look after Mia and Michael while Mom and Dad are getting things ready for the move to their permanent home.