RunAcrossTheUSA.com

[Matt]

After covering 34 miles today, we decided to stop in Ashton, Idaho.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, we had equipment problems this morning. With the assistance of Paul Roberts and David Phillipps, the handlebar is now better than it ever was before. I personally found it much easier to push the stroller once the handle had been reinforced. We really appreciate the repairs those guys made for us.

Brandon and I lost some time on the road this morning because of the broken handlebar, but we hope to make that up in the next few days. We think we can increase our mileage per day as the terrain is now much flatter. So far the hills in Idaho have been much easier to climb than the mountains in Wyoming. Early in our walk today, we went through a national forest.

We made two stops during the day. One was at a restaurant with a good buffet (pasta, pizza, etc.). While we were there, we took care of some phone calls we needed to make and then got on the road again. The other stop was at a gas station where the Pepsi deliveryman gave us some free sports drinks.

Tonight we are at a home in Ashton, Idaho, where we will pitch our tent. The homeowners generously gave us potato chips and grilled hot dogs.

Some nice people stopped us today and told us we could stay at their home in Rigby, near Idaho Falls. Brandon will look at our route again tonight to see whether we can change it so that we can go to Rigby.

I want to end my post tonight with this announcement: OUR LICENSE PLATE COLLECTION IS COMPLETE. You might remember from earlier posts that we have found license plates for all the states we have traveled through. In fact, back in Wyoming we found an Oregon plate, which was like doing your homework early. The Idaho license plate found today completes our collection. Please note: These plates had naturally separated from the cars they belonged with - no screwdrivers were involved.