I know at first the title for this journal might appear deep and thoughtful, and that one might expect it to start out with something philosophical like, "What is Wisdom." However in actuality it's quite plain, and the answer to that question is simply that it is the name of the town in Montana where we are staying.
Today was a great day filled with climbs, descents, and everything in between as we went over a mountain ridge into an area called the Big Hole. This area is a large flat expanse surrounded by snow-capped mountains making for one of the most beautiful expanses of terrain we have seen so far.
Also, as we are now following the Adventure Cycling route, we are encountering more and more cross country cyclists along the way. Today we met a guy from Indiana who is also biking to Seattle, and is supported by his wife and daughter in an RV that travels with him. We also met two ladies who actually live in the area who were cycling the climbs for fun. Turns out one of them actually contributes to a camp for youth undergoing cancer treatment called Camp Mak-a-Dream located outside of Missoula, Montana. This camp is for youth under the age of 25 who currently have cancer, and allows kids undergoing treatment to still have the summer camp experience! It sounds really cool, and if you'd like to learn more, check out there website at www.campdream.org. Hopefully it will be close enough to Missoula that some of us can visit it on our rest day.
One of the great things about this trip is that we get to see how cancer treatment and the cancer experience can vary depending on ones geographic location. This camp seems like an amazing program, and I'm really glad were able to hear about it while passing through Montana.
On a slightly less serious note, (Although some would argue that it is the most serious of all notes ever in the entire universe) Mustache Montana gained seven new supporters as a majority of the girls on the team used a dry erase marker to draw mustaches and facial hair of all shapes and sizes onto each other. I wish I had pictures to share with the world, but take comfort in knowing that Mustache Montana is alive and well, and open to all genders.