Everyone I had met warned me to start early, to beat the heat in Hell’s Canyon. Sufficiently frightened by the name alone, I started out at 5:48 am. At about 10 am, I crested the summit, barely escaping the scorching Idaho heat.

There was a sense of deja vu as I passed through Cambridge at 12:30. Everything was closed, it being the Fourth of July. I continued on to Council, and puttered around there for the afternoon, trying to decide whether to take a motel room in town, or continue on to the campground 13 miles ahead.

On a side street, I came upon a shop called “Merry Anne’s Gifts.” That was a mandatory picture stop. As I focused on the sign, the couple that owned the store came out to say hello. I explained that my fiancée’s name was Merrianne, and soon, we were talking as if we had known each other for years.

Tom and Marianne Lawrence invited me to stay at their bed and breakfast inn. How could I refuse? Their price was $10 for a bed, a shower, and two meals. I also wanted to hear the stories of the last few days, for by sheer coincidence, Peter and Diane, Norm and Linda, and Stewart and Stephanie had all stopped there.

Tom was quite handy with wood, having restored most of the Heartland Inn on his own. Marianne was a great cook; she made us macaroni and cheese from scratch.

They were Christians like myself, and I enjoyed sharing experiences with them. They gave me advice on my upcoming marriage: “remember the word: commitment.” After dinner, they taught me the card game of Skee-bo. We ended at a reasonable hour, so that I would be able to get an early start the next day.