Back in Sandpoint!

We took the "middle route" home - I-70 across to Denver, then cut across Wyoming, Utah, and up through Idaho. Interestingly, at 3006 miles it was 440 miles longer than the Northern route that we took on the way out in July, which is a surprisingly large difference. But I won't complain because it just got more and more beautiful the further we went. Love the open sky, clean air, and sparsely settled spaces! Most spectacular was the drive up through Idaho from Boise to Lewiston and Lewiston to Sandpoint. The only hard day was Wednesday when, due to booked up motels from Laramie to Rock Springs Wyoming, we were forced to do over 1000 miles and didn't get to bed until 2:30 AM in Evanston, WY.
We had some fun along the way: hit the famous Gates BBQ in Kansas City, MO, visited Cindy Sears in Lawrence, KS, stayed with MC's brother John, and Sandy (and visited with Kerry Fitzharris) in Boise, caught the big surprise 50th birthday party for Harriet in Lewiston, and picked apples and pressed cider in Garfield, WA on the last leg on Saturday. Coming into Sandpoint over the Long Bridge choked me up some - must be those XX stem cells.
Natty was home for the "Fall Break" of World Class Kayak Academy - his traveling teaching/whitewater kayaking coaching job - when we got home. He left today for their next site: New Zealand. He'll be there until mid December, and then after the New Year they go to Chile for the Winter Quarter. Rough job!
We had two "welcome back" dinners lined up. One with our gourmet group (the North Idaho Culinary Militia), and one with the Kohuts and friends. What a great feeling to see our good friends again.
I fly back to Bethesda tomorrow for 8 days: my first round of anti-myeloma vaccine (the experimental part of this protocol), and the 100 day re-staging tests,including my 2nd bone marrow since the transplant. This one is critical for demonstrating continued complete remission, and progressive disappearance of any residual Myeloma cells.
I have some "downtime" between the vaccine and my follow-up in Clinic next Thursday (the 27th), so I've planned a side trip to Atlanta to catch most of the ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) meeting that was moved from New Orleans. I'll get to stay with our friends from my Med School/ Internal Med Residency days, the Chafins.
Meanwhile Mary Catherine will be home in Sandpoint catching up with friends, spending time in her garden and studio, and getting a much deserved break from keeping after me!