Ghost Week.

A Ghost in the picture!!!

The trip has been going well. One problem we have run into is that Highway One turns will randomly turn into a freeway for a mile or so and then back to a highway. In an effort to stay off the freeway (we already got kicked off once) we have been taking lots of back roads and smaller highways. It does lead to some meandering but we've also seen a lot of cool stuff that way.

A Ghost town store closed down from
a few days ago

We decided to name this week "Ghost Week" due to all the ghost towns we've passed through. It has been a little creepy to tell the truth. We ride into a town and all the stores are closed, everything is dusty and quiet. The worst was when we wanted to fill up our water and the only grocery store in the only town we passed through was closed, along with everything else. Luckily a nice man let us fill up from his garden hose. Last night Kenton took a picture of the sunset and we even saw a ghost! See that little green wisp thing. A GHOST!!!!

Well Jamie came for my birthday (best gift ever). I want to say thank you to everyone who donated and made my birthday awesome.  Tuesday morning Jamie left, much to my dismay and protestation. It was nice to see her and her dad. They really lifted our spirits as well as brought much needed supplies. Like new wheels, more food, and Kahuna stick blades. As you can see in the picture, it was very much needed.

After months of riding and hundreds of miles it is
time to retire the grip for the Kahuna stick and
put in a new one (right). The old one
(left) lasted a long long time and took lots of abuse.
We are super impressed with it all. 

The past few days we have been in ghost towns and the wilderness. We smell really bad. Today was the first day we reached a large town and we took the chance to go to a library so Kenton could do homework. It wasn't until I saw someone my own age that I realized just how bad I smell and how badly I need a shower. I won't tell you how many days it has been, but it has been that...DAYS!!! (Jamie might make me take that off the blog later).

We have had some amazing roads, huge hills to push up and some exciting hills to ride down. During a break, after a particularly steep hill we had to push up, I started talking to Kenton. "If we weren't doing this for a cause, to help other people, but instead for the adventure's sake, do you think we would have made it this far?" I asked. "No," he said, "we probably would have given up, rented a car, and driven to all the beautiful views and fun hills to ride instead." Its true. What really helps us to keep going is knowing the good that is being done because of it.

Dennis Wheeler took us to dinner for my birthday

We talked to a man about the trip a few days ago and he said, "God bless you. It is so refreshing to meet good people like you two. It just inspires me." A little bashfully Kenton and I discussed the encounter later. We don't feel like we're doing something that great or that we are the best of people (we actually wonder if we're insane from time to time). We feel like we're doing just something fun to help other people. What really inspires us is hearing about people giving. We think, "People are actually donating to help! That is wonderful!". When we hear that people give, or when we stay in someones home, or all of the wonderful miracles helping this project and other people doing so much we are inspired by the good in others and the love that is being spread from one person to another.

People are awesome, and we have such capacity for good.