I’ll spare the inocuous details and say that moving is a true pain in the ass, and that M and I have done it pretty well. We’re still talking, and still like each other, and we have a place to live, so we win.
A bit over a week ago we decided we would need the bigger UHaul trailor, and got it. 11+’ by 5+’. Big. BIG. We could in the end have gotten by with less, but not too much less. Lots of stuff. By early afternoon Thursday last, we were on the road. Big hills were the highlights of the drive north, specifically huge trailor v. 3.3 liter V6. By way of example to which many will relate, the hill going north out of Flag on 89a had us in second gear going 25. Fun. A long afternoon and short evening got us to Cedar City, and Ariel and Phil’s nice futon.
The next morning we had breakfast with Ariel, and were off on the long day. Montana or bust. Utah was long and hot via I-15. I found piloting the beast through SLC traffic to be un-nerving, M took pity on me and drove most of that section. Fortunately, Idaho was shorter and terra incognita, and went pretty fast. Soon enough we were over the gorgeous divide and past Lima, wondering at Chris staying in what from the interstate looked to be the only hotel in town. Dillon shut us down in terms of hotels, it was too late to stop by the country’s best Patagonia outlet, and we crashed in the back of the truck in a rest area.
We were in Missoula by 0900 Saturday. We had all our stuff in a storage unit and were rid of squeaky the trailor by 11. We found a nice place we loved, right across the street from Adventure Cyling’s headquarters downtown by 1330.
Then everything went to hell. Despite the place looking quite clean to us, the property managment company told us it would be 10 days to 3 weeks before it was ready for residency. Such, we have learned, are the faceless ways of such places. We walked away thinking that other folks would be more reasonable. They were, to pass through days in seconds, not. We wanted the aforementioned place. It was already taken. Things became annoying, then overwhelming. We resolved to, in the future, do what seemingly every other human does and visit a few months ahead. For realz. We found our current residence, which is a funny attic, “cozy,” no dishwasher, no laundry, a steep staircase that is a bitch to carry a bike down. The water pressure sucks and the fridge sorta smells funny. We signed a six months lease, and they let us move in the day our credit check went though. Such is life. Being a student and all, we will need to economize, and the thought of moving it all again in six months is not so fun, but so it goes. And the nature of the abode do fit a very prototypical American scholastic paradigm.
Montana is lovely. Missoula is lovely. I’ve ridden the last two nights. It stays functionally light past 2130. The riding is gorgeous buff singletrack through green fields and forests, big climbs, big descents. Crested Butte and Flagstaff but smoother. I like.
And in a further return to normal, tonights dinner. Local greek sausage (lamb, feta, etc) with a mixture: salsa, tomato, pickled jalapeno and carrot, diced beet, fresh leek, lime juice. Very nice. The beer is pretty good, too.
Ahhh, it be good to be home.
Bedrock & Paradox 
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