Once upon a time, way too long ago, we Clifton/Smiths and a dog with no surname loaded into a Subaru with a hillock of sleeping bags, pads, books, salami, generic kibble, two huckleberry pies, and a change of clothing each. Underneath were a Dremel tool with a chewcanful of router bits and a belt sander. We were headed to Boise to attend the annual Powertool Pumpkin Carving Gala and Belt Sander Drag Races.
America had more in store for us than making merry. When we were a coffee addictâs full bladder away from home, in this case Baker City, we pulled off Interstate 84 into a clean junk food emporium where I was blown away to discover, piled at the entrance, a half-cord of punky lodgepole firewood, plastic-bundled in armload quantities, $5 each and clearly labeled âMade in Canada.â