Hello Coeur d'Alene!

Well, I made it out of Montana and didn't freeze to death, or have to tow the car across the state line. My new VW should come with a tag line, "70 - Maybe. Heat - Some. Fun - Yes."

By last count my father and I have spent over $11k on getting the Blue Bed Bug to run, and it needs to do so for over 6000 miles as I traverse the western US. I'm trying really hard not to calculate the cost per mile. Even the gas on this thing is dear - 12MPG at last count. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the engine break in to net MUCH better mileage. "But when will that be complete?" he asked innocently.

So, on to the journey/adventure/geographic. I leave a Montana starting to show her winter slouch - cold and (finally) rainy with high winds BUT - and this is key - no snow! Hurray. After braving the mountain passes and emerging into Idaho, the rain picked up enough to have the Bug skidding across the highway's puddles like some poorly-designed, Cretaceous insect. So I abandoned my goal of Spokane for C'D and found the drive downtown to be delightful and resolved to bed down in the community.

Not to be. After consulting locals at a nice coffee shop (with a cover fee!?), we decided it would be best not to crash at a park in town but head out to Post Falls and its Wal-Mart. I may hate the company, but props to its allowance for people to park overnight. Of course, they are counting on us getting up in the middle of the night and going shopping for a four-pack of Diet Rockstar, granola, and an apple. Damn their scheming little minds.

Obstacles to overcome as noted at 10 a.m.: finding a quiet place to sleep, getting enough power to cook and recharge my numerous electronic devices, waking up early enough to put everything away, not spending huge $ at coffee houses along the journey, and ensuring I remain clean and healthy. Bottom line, staying at friends houses (or outside them - just need the juice, man, the juice) or KOA campgrounds during the week is going to be crucial.

Delightful discoveries: riding my Nirve bike around town is really, really fun. I highly recommend you, faithful reader, check 'em out and get going. I feel like a kid - which is a good thing at this point in my life.