Some of you may be interested to hear that despite a lack of updates, this is not in fact due to shame. I still have yet to sleep under anything too modern! So far, I've slept under canoes, trees, on desert sand, floating docks, and hopefully, if I can rig it properly, in trees.
 We spent a number of days in the Pasco-Richland area and have just moved out today. It's good, we were starting to sort to stagnate without a good long paddle to work off the extra energy we now have. In fact, we began the "feats of strength" you might see pictures of.
  On an unrelated note, the fourth of July is something spectacular here in the States. The entire skyline was just covered in explosions for hours and hours (well after I went to bed) There was no organization, just glorious sound and lights. Amazing.
  I've spoken with a man who used to catch 16ft long sturgeon, using a rock and some rotten lamprey on a hook, I've climbed desert hills, non-desert mountains, swam in freezing, freezing cold glacial lakes, sung at midnight in abandoned hundred-year old missions, wandered through petrified forests and visited faux-bavarian villages. It's wonderful. But I miss home. I can't wait to get back. I still have yet to locate the domain of the fur trode though. They're sneaky.
  We've finally reached an area where off in the distance we can see snow-capped mountains again, I think it signifies that soon we're to pass out of the desert, through the gap into coastal rainforestland. It'll be nice to leave the desert, though the irrigation here is absolutely astounding. Devastating volumes of water being pumped to turn desert soil into practically any biome you can think of, predominantly fruit orchards and vinyards. I may yet find a job here picking cherries on a day off, it's sort of a dream of mine.

Anyhow, Happy Birthday Amanda, and I hope to s

Arrived in Dover today after paddling across a lake for much of the day in the rain. Singing fur trade songs, we've discovered, not only makes us happier as we paddle, but actually lets us move significantly faster. Since last post, we've had a day of wandering through Thompson Falls where we met an awesome gentleman named Al with a thousand stories, and Raymond, who builds wooden furniture for his children's rooms. this stuff is impressive. I've never seen a a bunk bed so huge and gnarled. the country has changed over, giving way to mostly rolling hills with the occasional snow-capped peak in the background. We've passed Kootenai house to Kalispel house! 

Welcome to Montana!\
  We arrived today in Rexford Montana, and currently reside in a school auditorium. I'm trying to decide whether to break my streak of sleeping exclusively outside in my wool blanket and canvas tarp contraptions, or whether to take a night inside, considering being out in the rain will  be extremely unpleasant. Who knows? 
   We've been paddling through a dry lakebed. It resembles nothing so much as a massive desert. The dam has been opened to prepare for the massive amount of snowfall set to melt this spring. the result is a valley of bare, bleached rocks and dead treestumps. We found one about 320years old, judging by the growth rings. That tree must have seen Thompson himself paddle by on his way to trade and explore.
  On the food front, things are delicious, with massive amounts of burgers being given by the generous people of the town of Eureka's chamber of commerce. Lunch, and Supper!\The other teams have also decided to feed us as well! with people droping off steaks, spaghetti dinners, all sorts of delicious things! And we were worried we'd be eating Graham's questionable kraft-dinnerlike foodstuff. As it turns out, even without incredible luck, we'll be eating like kings.
 On another note, I apologize for the late start on the whole blogging deal. Hopefully it'll be remedied in the U.S.

So we've effectively decided upon the canoe. It's going to be a mite pricey, but comparable to the cost of driving out to Invermere and back again with a canoe and trailer. 

The fundraiser last friday was an incredible success! We had over a hundred people, some incredible music and... well.. there were some magicians up there at one point. I didn't see them, but I'm pretty sure they did something with lemons. A good time was had by me. (and hopefully all)
 Now comes the hard part, figuring out what to do next. We have a line on two canoes, but they both need some work to make them awesome enough to hold us. Issue #1: Both are buried in many feet of snow.  Issue #2: One is located in Invermere B.C. Issue #3: Canoes are big. 
Who knows what crazy schemes we'll come up with?  I can't say much, but one of them involves harnessing the power of geese. Just think about that.

On another note,  I'm starting a daily blog of historical facts and quotes weird or insane enough to be historical fiction. Have a look at the Blogs page for "Ridiculous History".

This desk is empty. Nothing on it but a few years worth of scratched initials, the owners of which are as forgotten as the initials themselves. G