well, some things happened. I packed, moved out, moved in briefly, packed bikes n' stuff into a van & left, and as of this morning am in Missoula, MT. The big ol sniper van made it, and how. There sure are some mountains around here, snow-capped, cattle-filled, sacred, and otherwise. Also very glossy hourses that trot through meadows with their tails in the wind. It feels like I can be spotted for an easterner a mile away. We had our first night of camping last night, in the Gallatin National Forest, which was very beautiful. I think its safe to say it was the best-smelling campsite I've ever been to, due to odurous pine trees, so extremely straight & uniform-looking. Right by a roaring mountain stream, but not roaring enough to be sleep-preventing. A wee bit cold though. We passed through many lovely states. Ohio, however, was not lovely. We stayed the first night in Bloomington, Ind. with Colin's friend Justin and were treated to a lovely house, buffalo tempe, stringy greens, dusty Midwestern hipsters, an amazing show by Justin's boyfriend Derrick, aka First Person Shooter( he is so poised for internet stardom of some kind), freakish wonderful cat, & small-town gay bar. Small-town gay bars need the Christopher guest treatment. Next day, I bullied Colin into liking Wisconsin, and then Milwaukee worked its charms. (apologies to Lindsay.) Most importantly, we had frozen custard, at Kopp's, no less. South Dakota: impressive weather, Laura Ingalls Wilder home, badlands. I'm running out of steam here. Wyoming: mostly sleep through it. Montana: here now, mountains, fluffy pancakes. we bike tomorrow! pics soon, but mostly of cats & a wild bunny.