Left Fort Myers, Florida on Friday August 2, 2013

Left Fort Myers, Florida on Friday August 2, 2013
Return Fort Myers, Florida on Sunday Sept 1,2013
Miles Traveled = 8000

Friends and Family Visited
Tampa, Florida... Cousin Patrick and Ed August 2-4
Atlanta, Georgia Biker Friends Anne and Chad Zimmerman August 4-5
Nashville, Tennessee Biker Friends Priscilla and David Lee August 5-7
Clarksville, Tennessee Cousin Helen and Jimmy August 7
Portland, Oregon Cousin Roberta and Karl August 19-26
Big Sky, Montana Partners and Friends Gail and Randy Cowdin August 27-29

Parks Visited and Bike Paths Cycled On
Pinellas Trail, Florida
The Silver Comet Trail, Georgia *
Dog Park in Old Santa Fe, New Mexico *
Animas River Trail, Durango, Colorado
Mesa Verde, Colorado
Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Arches National Park, Utah
Capital Reef National Park, Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Zion National Park, Utah *
Monument Valley, Arizona
Bridges National Park, Utah
Bonneville Dam/Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
Mount Hood, Oregon
Ousel Falls, Big Sky Montana
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
"Chicago Concert" Council Bluffs, Iowa

* Biked With Bailey In the Dog Trailer

Our cross country road/bike trip is about to end.
The trip idea originated with the passing of Marilyn and Dick Levy in 2012.
The family felt smaller and we needed to connect together after our loses.
Fortunately we had the time and resources to put our bikes on the rack and put Bailey in the back and make our way across the continent. We were joined by Janice, Ted, Abby, Jason, Danielle, Joshua, Cynthia Don, Karl, and Roberta in Portland. We dined out and cooked in and hiked and biked and kayaked.

We are truly blessed and grateful to have such wonderful friends and family.

While in Portland our van was the victim of a "smash and grab" break in. We learned that if the window is broken and the door is not opened the car alarm will not sound. Fortunately the only loss was a raincoat and some macadamia nuts. We spent an extra night with our family in Portland because the break in occurred on a Saturday and we could not find a repairman until Monday morning. (AAA was no help.)

We are anxious to return to our routine in Florida and have not had a chance to mount our bikes since we left Portland. We did connect with Randy and Gail Cowdin in Big Sky, Montana. Randy told me that we are the first friends to visit them at their second home. We spent a day together hiking and hunting for petrified wood. It is a good thing that we drove out west because Sandy found over 20 pounds of rock that we are bringing home to Florida. The evening before leaving Big Sky we were treated to a seafood dinner at the home of Candy and Donn Fuller, fellow Fort Myers residents who own a second home in Big Sky, Montana.

The drive across Montana will be memorable for fantastic scenery and Sandy's speeding ticket (88 miles/hour in a 70 mile per hour zone.) Sandy is doing 10% of the driving and getting 100% of the citations.

We arrived at Mount Rushmore as the sun was setting. The National Parks Ranger Questioned Bailey's service dog's credentials (Sandy's emotional lability is not a recognized disability by the ADA) but let her pass into the monument because Bailey looked so presentable with her vest.

Last night we dined on top of Harrah's Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa and then attended a "Chicago Concert" which just happened to be going on when we finished dinner. "Color My World" was being played as we walked out of the casino.

We have a beautiful country. Today we drove through lush corn fields over the Missouri River Valley across the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and into the South. I love traveling East in the afternoon with the sun behind me. The greens have a golden glow to them.

We will all be happy to return to our home in Florida and our routines, Bailey and Sandy especially.






Stuart