So, I bailed. On a wing and a prayer, (remember, this bus hasn't run since the middle 80's) I departed Creston, bound first for Pullman to meet satchmo and amskeptic, then onward to Maupin and heat.
Rain, rain, rain and single digit temperatures followed me all the way into Washington State, so near Steptoe, WA, I gave up, pulled over, covered up and resumed my book. It's been 20-odd years since I read this, but it's worth a second look. Highly recommended.
Rain and wind kept me awake most of the short hours of darkness and at 0600 I gave up and greeted the sunny morn. The Palouse is incredible at any time of year, but this morning was loaded with extra goodness. Meadowlarks sang, raindrops sparkled and the bus was warm again.
My on-location "Sunny-D" proved insufficient for breakfast so I decamped to downtown Colfax for a road brekkie of "two, over medium, hashbrowns, brown toast and coffee, please". Halfway through the eggs, in walks satchmo, a face I'd not seen since the previous fall when we did CPR on the bus together. Riding past on his bicycle (from his home about 20 miles away, all hills), he'd seen the bus and tracked me down.
The Palouse is America's Tuscany. You must go.
* and now a special word from the dark side*
Anyone travelling to Maupin from the more liberal states, please remember your poor, suffering international friends who cannot transport medications across the border.
