Orofino, Idaho. I left Annie’s this morning after we had called our old friend Don Ilse. He of the famous Criminal defense attorney story. Anne pretended she was from the Oregonian newspaper but he saw through it right away, he is the head of corrections for Anoka County and isn’t easily fooled. We visited and then agreed that he and I would go to a Twins game when I return. I was hoping to get to Missoula, Montana today but it was overly ambitious. The drive through eastern Oregon and Washington was brand new for me and very beautiful as an austere rolling landscape of alternating dirt and green fields. This eventually gave way to higher hills with a few trees and led me into the spectacular Snake river valley.
I am sitting on the patio of a wonderful Best Western in Orofino, Idaho. I am listening to the sound of rushing water because I am at the confluence of a small and large river. They have plaques saying that they are the BEST Best Western and I believe them, especially Sissie at the front desk. I just got back from a drive into the hills surrounding Orofino. I went with some trepidation as I passed two guns and ammo stores as I drove out of town. There is also Idaho’s reputation as a haven for survivalists and Neo-Nazi, skinhead, Aryan brotherhood, steel booted, kick your ass if you look at me, guns and ammo toting, dog kicking and baby hating, you know. . . . .people. I drove up and up until I was on a very narrow road and my feet started tingling. A sure sign that I was a little nervous. I took some shots (with my camera) and started to head back down when I noticed I was being followed by a very large pickup truck. All I could make out were two figures with baseball caps pulled low and something hanging in the back window. We were kicking up a large amount of dust, which was glowing in the late afternoon sun. I pass a farm with good looking cows and I am taken back to the time in Switzerland when we watched a cow being rescued by helicopter as we waited for the tram to leave Walter’s mountain. Someone yelled “hey look at the flying cow”, so we all ducked. All of the cows in Switzerland are a beautiful brown with shiny coats and large attractive eyes with a come hither look. If I ever come back as a bull let it be in Switzerland. Oh yea the two guys in the pickup, they passed me as I was daydreaming and waved as they went by. Not necessarily a good ending to this story but I have to tell the truth sometimes. On to Montana. Jon