Almost home...

October 14^th, 2008

As the riders were walking through Libby yesterday some newspaper people stopped them and asked for an interview and if they could take pictures. This will be the first time (that we know of) that we're in a paper. I'm a little excited about it, I must admit. :-) They said that someone called them and told them that something interesting was going through town. Thank you to whoever did that. :-)

Also, a special thank you to Chuck and Charlotte Woods who put us up for the night. You'll never know how much your hospitality meant to us. :-) (We'd been 10 days without a shower and it rained in the night... it was so nice to be indoors for that!) And to, M., the sweet lady at City Service Valcon who helped us so much and was very supportive of us, thank you with all of our hearts. I hope we get to meet again... maybe we'll get to do a trail ride together. :-) We talked about taking time to go the route you suggested but everyone is very anxious to get home. We might do it another time to check it out.

I'm writing as I sit beside our campfire. The dancing flames lend just enough light for me to see what my pen is doing on my notepaper. :-) The fire is dying down and Jesse is stirring it up. I love campfires. The yellow-orange flames sometimes turn a blue and the sparks shoot away like miniature fireworks... even the smoke serves a good purpose, besides making my eyes water: the smell of woodsmoke pleasantly overrides ours when we haven't been able to shower for several days. As Ellie says, “It's one thing to joke about not bathing for a week; quite another to do it.” :-)

We hope tomorrow will be our last day on the trail. Today we made 26 miles, which surprised us all because the riders had to walk 7 miles through Libby and a bit beyond. Tomorrow we'll have to do 33 miles (approx.) if we wish to make it home.

And boy, does home ever look good! Cold, wet nights sure make a nice, warm bed inviting. I will miss the pure outdoors air, though, and having a campfire every night.

It's dark now. The moon is shining a path across the Kootenai river and the farmyards on the other side have their yard lights on. We're camped on a bluff overlooking the valley and river. It's lovely here. Even with the trains running at regular intervals on the track, it's very peaceful.

One more post...

Before I sign off for the night, I wanted to update quickly. A nice lady at a propane store near Libby found a place for us to stay. It's at an elderly couple's home. They have room for the horses and they are going to let us stay inside for the night. They also have a shower and bathroom for us to use. I feel ever so blessed. PTL! for His blessings. :-)
Thank you all for your prayers!
--Naomi

October 13^th, 2008

Today I hope to get internet connection in Libby (I wonder who that town was named after?). We're needing groceries so we're going to try to get them there. I am assuming that since someone who lives close to Libby shops in Bonners Ferry, it must not be that big of a town. But hopefully it will supply all of our needs. :-)

Ellie was out of bed at 6 am this morning. The rest of us, although awake, lazed about, trying to will ourselves to brave the cold air. She got the oatmeal on and around 6:30, we pulled ourselves out our sleeping bags and went to work. It felt good to be out of bed 'so early'... I suppose, compared to 7 or 8 am, it is early. :-)

We're pulled off to the side of the road right now. It's almost noon and we need to make lunch. The horses should be here in a little less than an hour.

Later.. We're right outside of Libby, filling up with gas. We picked up some groceries at the first grocery store we came to... maybe it's the only one in town. :-) Anyway, it was a nice store and although prices weren't exceptionally low, I didn't find them too high either.

We'll probably spend the night around 10 miles out of town at a place that some people told us about.

Hope to post some pictures today.