Gabriela pointed out after my last blog entry that it made our trip sound somewhat mundane and not that exciting.  The routine days, escaping to the movies, the long hours riding.  She has a point, I do not want to mislead you.

So let me be explicitly clear.  This trip is NOT mundane.  It is magic.  Among other things we have:

- Fed a kangaroo with a baby in her pouch.
- Maneuvered our bikes around a herd of bison.
- Camped in a field lit up by fireflies.
- Been invited freely into the homes of amazing people.
- Received a steam-bath from the immense caldera of a hot-spring.
- Had a snowball fight.
- Had a water balloon fight.
- Coasted down a mountain at 42 mph (again, on a bicycle).
- Eaten more food in day that many people have in a week (ok, that’s just me).
- Taken a ride on a camel.
- Slept in a fire department and heard the calls over the loudspeakers.
- Cycled along 10 foot walls of snow, in the snow, and across the snow.
- Seen a baby fox.
- Played with a baby camel.
- Been carried along (at 24mph) by a thunderstorm.
- Watched dozens of sunsets.
- Been kissed by a giraffe. 
- Slept in a church. Or 9.
- Learned to set up a tent in 45 seconds flat.
- Seen a baby bear.
- Been woken up by lawn sprinklers (all aimed directly at our tent).
- Had chocolate OR ice cream OR both.  EVERY DAY.
- Watched a blizzard, a hailstorm, a windstorm, a duststorm, a thunderstorm, and a meteor shower.

So let me be explicitly clear.  This trip is NOT mundane.  It is magic.