I almost killed Paul, but I'm in Missoula now, so it's okay

Okay, so I didn't really almost kill Paul. The story goes like this: we were leaving New Meadows, ID and as we were cruising along, with Paul drafting closer behind me than I realized, I looked up and saw the sign reading "45th Parallel / Halfway between the Equator and the North Pole." I got so excited, that I slowed down and said "Wow! Check it out," but I slowed down too quickly or Paul was in the zone or for whatever reason, he ran right into my trailor and went down. His fork and front wheel were so much like a taco, you could eat them. I got on the phone to the bike shop/outdoor gear shop we had just been to in New Meadows, and the owners, Jen and Gordy were incredibly nice and helpful and rescued us. Thank God we were both okay, and my bike was unharmed. Paul took a bus to Missoula the next day and I kept riding to stay with Kev, Nix, and Bryan.

So...in the past few days, we blasted through Idaho, largely through the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and into Montana today. Right now I'm chilling in a hotel room that Paul, Bryan and I are sharing in Missoula. Tomorrow is a rest day and then we head on to Sula on Tuesday. We should be in Yellowstone in five days.

Some cool things that have happened lately:
*Sue in Kooskia, ID let us sleep in the Presbyterian church, and I snagged the couch before the others!
*While riding along the Lochsa River, Bryan scored a chance to go rafting. I wish I could've gone, but having no rafting experience, I decided it was best to wait for another opportunity. Although, I'm sure that rafting with a bunch of guys who had been drinking beer all day might have been a fun and daring experience.
*The worst camp host ever ran me around the Wilderness Gateway campground, climbing hills with my fully loaded bike to try to snag a site at the full campground when there were tent sites available right in the first loop. That obviously was not so cool, but the cool part was that although hungry, sun-burnt, and frustrated, I met Justin and Leah (they stole the site I was racing to claim). Justin is a cyclist from Missoula and gave me some insight for Lolo Pass, which we easily conquered the next day. Then later, the people who had rented out all of A Loop let us camp there and they were so generous and gave us lots of cold beverages. Kev took the beer, and I snagged some juice.
*Yesterday, while descending Lolo Pass at God knows how many MPH, a deer jumped in the road right in front of me. I had to brake as hard as I could without going over. The deer freaked and stumbled right there in the road, and I came about two feet away from hitting it. I didn't even freak out, but I was hoping the poor deer's leg was okay because it came down pretty hard on its haunch when it tripped. Kevin was behind me and he said the deer seemed fine, as it ran off. He thought I had clipped it with my front wheel, but if that had happened, I'd surely be in a hospital right now. Yes, you may admire my awesome bike-handling skills.

My deeper thought: I've been really recognizing the difference between what I need and what makes life just a little more comfortable. I started to come to this realization back in Otis, OR when I sent a seven pound ditch box to Molly (thanks Molly!) I need to send another ditch box from Missoula on Tuesday morning before I leave town. I think I'm really getting down to the bare bones of what I need. That feels good.

I think that's it for now. Oh, the Missoula REI managed to take $120 away from me today. Why does that happen every time I walk into an REI? Speak of needs, eh!