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Friday 13th August 2004

From Zim's Hot Springs through to Cambridge, Idaho. 52 miles on route. Guy went to Oxford, so it was very nice for him finally to achieve something much better and go to Cambridge, even if Cambridge, Idaho. We set off late (how very unusual) and had a late breakfast in New Meadows, 4 miles down the road from Zim's. There was a wonderful conversation, soundly Republican, going on loudly in the cafe. All the favourites were touched upon - illegal hispanic immigrants, and taxation (did Jimmy Carter really tax people at 75%?). Very interesting to a Brit and rather like the situation in the UK - illegal but cheap (because illegal) labour supporting staunchly Conservative/Republican businesses... I wouldn't like to try to sort it out. After breakfast we saw Arduth and cycled together after New Meadows for a while - from New Meadows towards Council. We had lunch in Council, watching the trucks negotiating the tight bend by the park (well, it's a remarkable thing in a little town with not much going on!). Finally headed out in the 100 Fahrenheit temperature towards Cambridge. Fortunately it was mostly downhill, so we sped along nicely. Cambridge was a bit closed - store closed, library closed (well, it closed just as I entered it - I was sort of hustled out at 5.45pm with the comment that computers didn't happen after 5.45). So we were grateful to find Bucky's Motel open, and at 35 dollars quite cheap. The US is quite funny at times - I queued in the gas station to buy a bottle of beer, a very large lady was buying popcorn and considering the hunting regulations with a very large man (horizontally large that is) - you can shoot bears apparently, this surprised me but I know nothing of their ecology. All this whilst outside obscene rap music was spilling from a car, and several huge RVs were trailing through town, in a cloud of dust. It's a curious juxtaposition.

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