After a nice stay at the beautiful lakeside campsite called Idaho Country Resorts, we were off and running through the panhandle of northern Idaho to the mountainous and green western Montana. Huge pine and fir trees lined our path much of the way as we followed the Clark Fork River. The towns were small but the people were friendly, many honking their horns and waving as a sign of support. One of our women’s teams met someone on the road who had read about us in his local newspaper. Maria from Bulgaria tells the story:

“After camping near a silver surfaced lake called Pend Oreille near Hope, Idaho, we took off running on route 2 along the daisy fields in Montana’s pine forests. Somewhere there, a car pulled over near us. John Andrulis is a photo-journalist working on a book about the sustainable communities around the country. He said he was on his way to Canada when we saw him. Coming from Missoula, he read an announcement in a paper that we are passing through the town and he wanted to meet us. I told him that he is working for really good cause and he obviously felt the same about the World Harmony Run.

“When you want to protect Nature, you already treasure inside you the wealth of its beauty. Traveling around the country as much as we are opens the eyes with every step more and more. It makes you wonder what ways we can use the earth’s resources with more love and care for this beauty. So, John it is very nice meeting people like you on the road and it makes us feel that we are really working for a better world together.”

One brief encounter my team and the Kalagians, friends of ours from Seattle, had with some locals was a time where we had pulled over to wait for the runner. We had to park at the end of a family’s driveway as there were no safe spots around to park. It would only be for about five minutes so we thought, ‘What are the chances that these people would be coming in or out of their driveway in this short time span.’ The house was set back quite far from the road, otherwise we would have tried to ask for permission to park there temporarily.

Within those five minutes though, some children and a dog came down the driveway to see us. They looked friendly enough and the dog greeted us with enthusiasm and sweetness. The young girl, Christian, wanted to know if we needed help with our car and we explained what we were doing. We gave her and her 9 brothers and sisters, some of whom also came out, our World Harmony Run stickers that we usually give to kids. Suddenly a car pulled up, trying to get into the driveway. It was Christian’s parents who were quite nice as we tried to apologize for blocking the driveway. They said it was no problem and then handed us a basket of fresh organic strawberries they had just picked.

This act of kindness really touched our hearts and the strawberries were the most delicious fruits I had ever eaten. It was very different than eating fruit that has been shipped to a store and eaten days later, usually not organic as well. We want to thank the Beeches for such a sweet and harmonious experience.

We also met up with a family in Plains who were so excited to see us. They missed us in Thompson Falls and then drove out to find us. I am sorry I did not get their names as the son ran a bit with Ethan but left before we could find out their names. We are very glad you came out and inspired us but we apologize for not getting your names.

We also want to thank our friends Jake, Anna, Sarah and Ethan for such great support in so many ways in the last five days especially. They have been so supportive since the beginning, but once we reached Seattle they totally embraced us like family and even have come out with us on the road until tomorrow. We are sad to see them leave but know that we will always have their support and kindness in our hearts as well. I am sure they will be back someday and hope they can stay longer next time.

Arpan and Team Harmony

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