On the Road Again

On Tuesday evening the Jeep was done and we drove it back to camp! Our last night camping in Ketchum had arrived, and it came as a huge relief because the smoke was becoming overwhelming. All throughout the day the ash was raining on us as we read in the square. The Starbucks owner (one of the first individually owned) had noticed us everyday since we arrived in Ketchum and gave us a free drink. We thought perhaps we would go unnoticed, but that can't be done for two people who wear the same clothes and go to the same spot everyday in a town of 3,900! Wednesday morning, we made our final preparations to leave Ketchum, which included dropping the Jeep off for a final checkup and doing laundry. Success! The Jeep passed the inspection. With a new engine and clean clothes we were ready to be on the road again! As we were leaving we found that many others were leaving as well; those that were staying in Ketchum were wearing face masks due to all the smoke and ash. You couldn't even see the traffic lights at the end of town! 

We drove north along the Salmon River Valley. It was very scenic. We made it to Montana, and low and behold the Jeep made it in one piece and running well! We stopped to take a picture of the sign and noticed a backpacker, Adam, trying to get a ride. He only needed to go 15 miles down the road, the same way we were traveling. So he clambered into the back and to Lauren's disappointment he had rested his arm and armpit on her pillow! What an unfortunate surprise that night...She had just done laundry! He was super nice and he told us all about his backpacking adventures, which included hiking all the Appalachian Trail, all of the Pacific Crest Trail, and was near finishing the Continental Divide Trail. When he finishes the CDT he will have backpacked 9,500 miles! We dropped him off and headed to Missoula where we bought food and slept in a Walmart parking lot. Thursday morning we woke up, ate a quick breakfast, and hit the road.