“Here's week #2! It's been another week for the Across America crew, so it's time for another weekly summary. This week's highlights were:
Day 8
- Leaving Walla Walla (and, sadly, the cozy hotel room)
- Seeing a sign for fifty-cent fries. Evidentally, the sign wasn't supposed to be up, but we got them anyway
- Spending an hour looking for a town called Delaney; we never found it. Ghost town, ooooh...
Day 9
- Morning climb to the top of Alpina (elevation 2600).
- Eating knockoff triscuits for midmorning snack. Mmm, woven wheats.
- Making fried rice for dinner
Day 10
- Biking through scenic forests in Idaho, and doing 60 miles before lunch
- Wading in a frigid stream, even though only one person braved the cold
- Having someone offer to tow us across the US. We had to refuse… but it was tempting
Day 11
- Hanging out at a gas station for three hours, talking to another cyclist
- Finally making it to the top of Lolo Pass after climbing it for three days. The last three miles were the worst.
- Celebrating the Fourth of July by cooking pea soup at 10 pm, and hiding all our food in the campground bathroom so bears didn't eat us.
Day 12
- Talking to cyclists about to climb Lolo Pass. We wished them good luck, and were secretly thankful to not have to climb it again.
- Finally getting cell phone reception and calling our anxious parents. "Why haven't you updated the blog yet?”
- Visiting the Adventure Cycling office. Holy cow. The walls had photos of tons of other cyclists that had biked cross-country (one guy did it twelve times), and there were articles and memorabilia from the Bikecenntenial everywhere. The staff took our photos and let us stay in the lounge for a couple hours.
Day 13
- Making lots of Made-it-Ade. "What?! Two bottles in one day? You're a fiend!"
- Finding a road with zero cars on it!
- Talking to a friendly couple from North Dakota with really strong Dakotan accents
Day 14
- Seeing a crystal-clear lake as we climbed another mountain pass
- Almost getting stuck in a rainstorm, but making it to Butte just in time.
- Having the group leaders attempt to outlaw cookies. That wasn't a highlight…shame on you guys.
See you next week!" - Rebecca George, Teen Trekker
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