The many disasters that are Alana!

Near Glenns Ferry, Idaho



Alana's Eye patch


So after our luxury night in Mountain Home Idaho, we were feeling pretty good and squeaky clean. It did not last long. We were heading up a small hill, just outside of a town called Glenns Ferry when my knee went all strange and then I could not move it, I could not stand on it and ouch it hurt like crazy. We turned around and coasted down the hill to the medical clinic in Glenns Ferry. By the time we got there, I was fine. I can't even hurt myself properly! At that point it was too hot to keep going, so we spent the hottest part of the day under a tree in front of the medical clinic enjoying the shade, an old lady's dirty jokes and some yummy diner sandwiches. As the weather cooled down we were able to start going again and found a patch of grass behind a gas station in Bliss, Idaho. The next day, just as we had passed Twin Falls, the air quality turned to complete crap and I started to have alot of breathing problems. It was not a full on asthma attack, but I knew that one was coming. 40 kms later we pulled into some small no name place near Hazelton where there was meant to be a campground, but there was not. As we were looking around for a place to camp (and I was still having an asthma attack), a lady pulled over to help us out. She informed me that there was a really nice campsite "just past the gas station, at the top of the big hill on the left." She also let me know that her son and three grandchildren were staying there and told me a bit about her family. Robyn and I headed up the big hill...that was not really a big hill (in the heat of the day) and saw nothing. By this time we just needed to stop riding and find a place to settle for the night. We stopped at the nearest house and asked if there was a campsite around, they informed us that there was no campsite anywhere around this area, so we asked to sleep in their backyard. Later, I was at the gas station and I was talking to an employee, I was telling her how some lady had told me that her son and grandchildren were staying in a campsite that we never found. The lady at the gas station laughed...she was like, "I see that you have met Mandy, she is convinced that she has a son and grand kids, sometimes she will introduce them to you, she comes in here all the time and buys them drinks and candy, but really she does not even have a son". She was even able to describe the lady's car and her looks. She informed me that they know she was bound to cause some trouble sooner or later. Crazyness! So we ended up camping at the home of a Mexican family with two crazy Chihuahuas, one named PeeWee who loved to bark at us. Once again we seem to have entered a state where campsite are really hard to find...Bonus points to Oregon for making like so much easier (although more expensive). The next day we made an amazing discovery...do not eat chips for breakfast, ice cream and fries for a snack and then chips and salsa for lunch...it does not make you stomach very happy. Then to end our day of healthy eating we had some Kraft dinner!!!!!! Damn gas station food. We figured that you know you have been on the road too long when you see a gas station and think cool let's stock up for dinner! That afternoon we made it to a rest stop in the middle of nowhere. There was not campsites for miles and we had to be as close as possible to make the crossing into Utah easier. We had a pretty inspirational afternoon people watching at the rest stop, that ended with two conclusions: 1) (talking about the thigh) Robyn: "If I was going to eat a fat person, that would be the part I would eat, In fact I kinda WANT to eat her thigh!" and 2)We are going to go on a tour of Brigham Young Mormon University in our bathing suits with our bike rashed butts hanging out, drinking beer and playing cards. That night we ended up sleeping behind the men's bathroom, seriously the best place to crash at this reat stop. I woke up in the morning with the sorest eye. I quickly took out my contact, but still I was not able to see or really open my eye and it felt like it was really swollen. After pouring bottled water and contact lens solution, we covered it up with a nomad scarf and continued packing the trailers. When we were getting ready to leave, my eye was still not better so we had to bandage it up and go. Hmmmmmmm, all I know is that sometimes I think that my body is trying to tell me..."Exercise......what???? You are a Menges, sit at home and watch TV, maybe go shopping or out to dinner, but whatever you don DON'T EXERCISE!" To make matters more Alana-ish we also had to patch the inside of my tire since some metal wire type things started sticking out and my sleeping bag is constantly wet and damp from some unknown source. Good thing Robyn really wanted to make it to Utah cause I certainly was not going to make it easy. Oh yeah, now all is well, knee, eye and breathing.