Today, after 6 nights of camping, one of which was dry camps (meaning no running water and no showers), the team had a much welcomed day off! Last night, our team was warmly greeted by Richard and Maggee. Then, the team was split up into 6 houses, and my group was Martina Alvarez and Mitch Ramon. Our billet--correct me if I'm wrong in my lingo, Kyle Daun--was David and Susan Stevenson. What a pleasant stay we have had last night and tonight!

Immediately, we were greeted hospitably by David and Susan, and we were made to feel right at home. It was immeasurably refreshing to be in a house for two (2) nights, without having to set up camp, no tents, no packing up in the morning, complete with hot showers, breakfast, hot tea, Saskatoon berry pie--of which the berries were hand picked from their backyard--and more...

But the best part of all was the very stimulating conversations we have had. David and Susan are Quakers, and we discussed some of the tenants of Quakerism. We also had the opportunity to join in a Quaker morning meeting. Although it was small, it was a good time for reflection. Beyond this, the conversation took turn upon turn, from discussing wildlife and their difficulties with grizzlies while searching for caribou, to their sons who are learning to live a self-sustainable lifestyle in Oregon at Aprovecho, to meeting folks from around the world through Servas, to forestry management, and much much more.

I had the chance to pick berries for muffins and Mueslix, and Susan gave me a tour of their garden in the back. They have to take care, though, since their growing season is roughly 3 months up here and, worse still, frosts _can_ happen at anytime during the year, though usually not until September. All this talk of gardening has gotten me interested in gardening once my wife and I have a home of our own, and in the meantime, perhaps at the community garden in Austin with friends Chad and Kaisa.

Prince George was a very pleasant town to visit, as well. It is the northern capital of British Columbia, and as far as towns go so far in BC, this one is heavily populated! I enjoyed the hike-and-bike train, aside from some little-known rim pounding on a certain picnic table to save certain embarassment, and I really enjoy the weather up here. What a pleasure to have 19 hours of daylight, clear blue skies, and low humidity, all with a "scorcher" of a day at roughly 80F. Phew! I suppose exchanging this fantastic summer weather for their winters would be tough to stomach, though.

There has been some talk on the team about who is the "best" rider, and who are the best riders, all of which is just a bunch of rubbish, in my opinion. Of course, there are stronger riders, of which I may give some ranking someday, but seeing everybody out on the road, and everybody getting stronger, and everybody riding through one tough day or another, dealing with saddle sores and illnesses and bonking and injuries, and everybody taking on leadership responsibilities during the week, makes me proud to be on this overall excellent team. I'd say we have 20 of the best riders anywhere.

On a more sober note, once again we are seeing the ravages of cancer affect the lives of our hosts and those we meet. Amidst all the natural beauty and issues encountered along the way in keeping 20 people fed and on the road, sometimes I forget just why I am riding, but talks with folks along the way always brings back the bottom line of why we are riding -- cancer affects everyone, and we want to do what we can to fight back and to raise hope in those touched by it.

Well, all that and no additional information on the rest of Canada, eh? Well, so it goes. Internet time is a very precious commodity, even moreso than sleep for me tonight, and it is hard to come by. Canada has been very gracious to us. I am looking forward to finishing the ride in Anchorage.

Okay, one piece of additional information--if you are worrying about bears and the team, and somebody getting mauled, you need not. Our host here in Prince George has spent a lot of time working around wildlife. The risk is quite minimal, so long as the team keeps a clean camp. And we are keeping a clean camp nowadays. During the day, the risk of having a bear attack on the road is almost non-existent. Probably the most likely time for any sort of bear activity is during meal preparation times, but there's always the bear spray handy for any such incident. Beyond this, take heart in that we are heading out into more rugged, less-travelled terrain with very predictable bear patterns. The bears are less used to having humans around, which makes them much less aggressive towards humans and less likely to go poking their noses into our tents in search of a snack.

One last piece of info about life on the road. The other night, I had a nightmare of sorts. Most of us are dreaming a lot more than usual, due to frequently interrupted sleep for one reason or another, such as teammates finally pulling themselves into the tent, or a mid-night's breezy chill, or coughing, or bumping into another, or nature's call, or teammate-in-tent's nature's call, etc. As most of you know, I was thinking of heading home early from Jasper, and the other night I dreamed that I was on a plane, bound for Austin, TX, on Sunday, August 8. I was sitting in DEN waiting for a layover while the rest rode on to Anchorage. But, no sir! I am in this for the long run all the way to Anchorage.

I don't know when I'll have internet access again, but once I do, I'll be sure to post more updates.

--Andy