Marx Adventures

Friends, in my (Mariah) new position with CEF Umpqua, I am preparing to send out my first newsletter as Coordinator. Would you like to receive one?
Send me your address or email and I'll get one sent to you!

Nothing quite compares to coming over the mountains into Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and seeing the lake! We are officially in the Pacific Northwest! First order of business was to jump in the lake (since our A/C is busted, it was great to cool off). One of us took a swim and the other just cooled their feet, I will let you guess which of us did which.
We love the west coast so much, don't know how we survived a year in the tragically flat Midwest, but we did and we are happy to be back. Spending the next two nights in Spokane with friends and then finishing our long journey on Wednesday.

Internet is so spotty out here so it's time for catch-up! We are about halfway through Montana at a Starbucks. Apparently Starbucks gift cards are the things to give since we have about $50 in Starbucks gift cards currently! Thank you friends! (I guess I will have to learn to like coffee, I do like Frappuccinos and I love tea so we'll see what we can do).
Yesterday we finished South Dakota and made it all the way through Wyoming and into Montana. We stopped at Mt. Rushmore before leaving SD. I had been there before, but Christopher had not. He says, "it was a thrill. Wait, let me requote that... You're not gonna post all this are you?... Not what I expected, it was fascinating to see the tools and techniques used to make such a magnificent...work."

Another fun fact is that I may have overcome my narcoleptic tendencies! After I stayed awake the first 2,000 miles, we finally decided to let me drive for a bit! I drove about 3 hours without even getting sleepy! I've also been getting about 9-10 hours of sleep a night, so maybe that helps.

We're hoping to make it to Spokane tomorrow so if you want to say hi while we are in town, let us know! We would love to see you! We'll probably be there a day or two (TBD).