Day 12 August 14 Ralston to St. John

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We got up at 4:30 am to start early and avoid the afternoon heat. I was greeted in the morning by a mother deer and her fawn.

Peter’s rear tire was flat again from his patched inner tube. I didn’t want him to use another patched inner tube and handed over him a new one. This was his fifth flat on the trip. We finally rolled out at 7:15 am.

The morning was chilly but pleasant. We started on a smooth road without any traffic. Nature put up a fantastic show. Several times deer ran across the road in front of us or in parallel with us, hawks flew above, different kinds of birds everywhere, and many beetles on the road. I was in total joy.

Overjoying may cause troubles. We missed a turn. When we realized it was too late to go back. We found a way towards where we wanted to go (Malden).

We went through small towns (Benge, Winona, and Landcaster). Chatted with Ben at Landcaster. He told me that in this part of WA the wheat they grow is not irrigated. They completely depend on the rain. June is only one rainy month there. They grow winter and spring wheats. The winter crops (planted in September and harvested in May) have deeper roots and a longer growing season. They are less vulnerable to drought (less rain in June of the previous year) than the spring crops, which are planted in April and harvested in August. This past June was a little drier than normal which affected the yield of this year’s spring crops. I asked Ben whether the seasonal rain affects the ground water for daily use. He said his well is 180 ft deep and the water level is at 160 ft depth, which he considered a healthy well.

We didn’t make it to Malden and camped at the city park of St John. Marylen, a clerk at the St Jonh food market, advised us to talk to people in the city library for camping at the city park. A city librarian called a city manager to make sure the sprinklers were turned off that night for us. We camped next to a pavilion. The city library’s wifi is free for all to use 7/24. You don’t have this luxury in big cities. I chatted with many people here, in the food market, in a restaurant, in front of the library when I was using its wifi, and in the park where we camped. They seemed to have seen many bikers passing through. There is a hardware store that cooks breakfast for bikers. They open at 8 am. We started earlier the next day and didn’t have a chance to enjoy their breakfast.