Riding the White Line
After a final cup of coffee overlooking the water and hills we hit the road about 9:45, a bit late for the long trip ahead. Mackay was a very friendly place. We enjoyed visits with Dino and Rose who invited us to stop and park at their place in Sandpoint, Idaho. Bill and Judy were moving on to Cottonwood Forest Service Campground, north of Challis. It looked like a great place to stay, right on the river.
Just out of Mackay, ID there was more road construction but this time we waited 20 minutes for the pilot car and then drove on newly surfaced road. Much better :) Still on US 93 we had lots of ups and dows and curves. I always like these mountain doorways. As you approach it seems impossible that you'll get through.
We drove along the Salmon River for a long time. In many places the road is narrow, through canyons, curvy, hugging the river. I swear, Jim was not "centered" yesterday. I kept telling him, very gently of course, "You know you're over the white line." So he'd move to the center. Pretty soon he's over the white line again. Now this wouldn't bother me too much except there was no shoulder so going over the white line was a bit scary but he went there anyway.
Sometimes I'm a nervous nellie. I'm sure that he was probably driving right on the line. The road was narrow, trucks and RVs going both ways, so you do want to stay in your own lane and give the other lane plenty of room. Somewhere along the way he said, "Maybe you'd rather drive." Well I don't know which would have been worse yesterday. These were really sharp 25 mph switchbacks while going down a 6% grade. A lot of the nervousness is perspective and in the passenger seat it looks worse than it is. When we finally came down from Lost Trail Pass and had a wide 4-lane road with plenty of shoulder I made my last "centering" comment. Jim lovingly said, "Well I didn't hit anything, did I?"
Two years ago this might have been a tense conversation. But a lot of things have happened. Jim has been in the passenger seat while I drive and understands the perspective issue. We also continue to learn, even after 47 years, how to talk openly and with love, how to honor the feelings of the other person.
Here's our lunch stop view along the Salmon. We could hear the water rushing along as we had our sandwiches.
About 4 PM we arrived in Stevensville, MT and called our daughter Laura to come give us a hug. While we waited for Laura and Steve, Jim ran into the Super 1 food store to buy some beer. This was a long awaited purchase as this is the only place in our travels where he's found his fave beer, Sam Adams Cream Stout. Listen to this label description..."brewed with extra portions of chocolate and caramel malts." Wow! Anything chocolate I'm up for it!
After 252 miles we arrived at Jim and Mary's RV Park about 6 PM which is a bit late for us. They had a beautiful satellite friendly spot saved. It has lots of shade but is positioned so that Mr. Moto has a clear view of the southern sky. He loves that. I'm sure glad I made the reservation because the park is full. I didn't envy the people that were turned away while I was checking in.
So after riding the white line for a few hours...all's well that ends well.