Our seven year anniversary?!

As we rode through an amazing canyon this morning, we had a awareness that has alluded us for much of this trip. Not only did we know the day, but also the date...and both at the same time. The elation level increased as we realized today is our seven year anniversary. No, not marriage we are much more seasoned in that institution, but this was the day we summitted Mt. Katahdin in Northern Maine, thus completing the Appalachian trail. We reflected on reaching the top, touching the sign together, looking at each other and saying almost in unison, ¨Now what?¨ As we rolled down the road, it was encouraging to think of others who had removed themselves from their comfort zones and became inspirations to us. A good friend from our Peace Corps days has pushed the edge on more extensive trips and, if anything, helped us see the possibilities. Maybe that is part of our purpose.....helping others see possibilities and opportunities. Regardless, life for us just wouldn´t be the same without pushing the edges! July, 3rd, 2003. On top of Katahdin. Don´t we look young! Not a tree in sight. Northern Chile was an amazing place to see for a few days. At taking us nearly 2 weeks to get across, it became much more of a challenge than we expected. Towns were few and far between. We found a campground with running water where we could take a partial rest day, do some laundry and take a shower. The locals were thankful!

Desert camping. Warm days, cold nights and sandstorms. Later this night the wind switched directions and brought a dust bowl to the tent.

Camping on the salt flats. A few stubborn shrubs held tight and provided a wind block. This night Eric provided the entertainment, reenacting Christie´s favorite TV shows...Project Runway and Design Star. At 3:00 am when we woke to an unexpected heavy fog and drips on our faces, Eric realized his design flaw in the Design Star show titled ¨Tent¨...the rain fly was necessary (being in the driest desert in the world...who knew?).

Straight up. 30 Km (18 miles) and more than 1800 meters (6000´) elevation gain in 5 hours. We kept looking back and could see the town where we stayed the night before.

This volcano hung on our left hand side the whole day. No matter how hard we pedaled (okay walked) it never left our side.

At least the pumice stone scattered about provided entertainment at a roadside rest.

Finally after a night below freezing, no top of the mountain in sight, time ticking away to get to our WWOOF volunteer opportunity, and Christie in tears, Enrique stopped and offered a ride. We couldn´t get loaded quickly enough and took a quick trip over the mountains and into Argentina. The salt flats we expected. Early flats were more mud colored, these much more white. In the heat of the day we could hear the crust creaking and cracking.

Green again. We were excited to see trees, grass, water and have some downhill to go with the uphill.

Now we are in Northern Argentina and will take 3 to 4 weeks off and volunteer on an organic farm. We are excited to stop the wheels for a little while, let the warming of places farther South in Argentina begin and think about what possibilities may lie ahead.