Day 14---last day of waiting

As of tonight, my dad's surgery was successful, and he was due back to his room a bit later tonight.  I'll check in with him and Sherry in the morning, before setting off for Burns.  I have a serious case of cabin fever and am eager to get on with my ride!

I had a fun day in Lakeview today, despite the rain.  I poked around, went by the Chamber of Commerce and was invited to their Tour de Outback planning meeting, where I met some of the locals who are putting together some fun rides the first weekend of August.  This is a great area to ride in, very little traffic, and great scenery and wildlife.  The wildlife can get quite close ----as I was on my way to dinner around 5:30, a deer ran across the Safeway parking lot, sauntered across the main street and went off into the residential neighborhoods crossing just a few steps in front of me.

The sociology of small towns like Lakeview is really interesting, and it's great to hear from some of the more engaged local folks about how things get done.  The challenges for small towns like this are great, especially now that so many things are bought on the internet, as their local economies continue to be hollowed out by forces beyond their control.  I'm sure I'll see a lot more of this phenomenon on my trip, and I'm interested to see how other small communities are dealing with the challenges.

The Alger Theater

The Heryford Building

The Methodist Church, note the vintage car parked in front!