First ten days down

Hard to believe I am ten days and 549 miles into this, or about ten percent done. Currently staying with the dad of a CDR I worked with in my last job. I am in a beautiful location in eastern MT, Noxon. Staying here for an extra day to recuperate.
So, you want to know what it is like you ride a bike across America?
First, grab a piece of leather, soak it in salt water, wrap it around a small diameter piece of wood, then firmly smack it against your nether regions for about eight hours straight. This is the process of conditioning a Brookes leather sale to form to your backside. Thus far the saddle is winning.
Next, go stand at the edge of a road with a white stripe along it. Crouch into a bike riding position and walk along that road for two hours straight staring straight down. This is similar to riding up a mountain pass. I am sure the views are incredible but at my slow, wobbly pace this was my view up and over the passes in Washington.
Most importantly though, and the main reason for the ride are the people. I stayed with a couple in Republic, WA who are the third generation owners of the Republic Drug Store (the attached photo below). Patty and Rob are both pharmacists, and both grads from my alma mater, go Huskies. Rob's grandfather bought the store in 1903, and rebuilt it in 1918 after a fire destroyed most of downtown. Robs sister and her husband came over from Seattle and we had a lively discussion about salmon politics. If you have lived in Washington our Alaska you know how heated these discussions can be. The discussion we had was not heated but it certainly covered all of the various points of view. We had representatives for both of the main camps of thought and it was a great topic. Throughout the night the topics carried from one to another and it was a great insight into the realities of a business owner in small town America, also well traveled and interested in global realities. They were wonderful people, and I forgot to mention sockeye and pink salmon for dinner!!
The next group of people I want to talk about were the drug addicts I met at the visitors center in Tonasket WA. The center had a bike friendly spot behind the building, but when I arrived there were two men and one woman occupying it. It was sad to see they all looked like the faces of meth during and after photos. Although polite and informative the hunger for a fix was in their eyes. We chatted for a bit and I left to find a cheap motel room instead. I would like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but when the drug takes ahold of someone they stop making good decisions and I didn't want to be one of their bad ones. When I left the next day I rode by and saw they were still there sleeping.
I have met lots of tremendous people along the way, and the final story is quick. I stopped in Newport, WA to get a hamburger after a very rainy ride. The McDonald's was closed for renovation so I stopped under the awning if the credit union next door, looking like a six fall tall wet rat. A man was waiting for his wife to come out and we started talking. His name is Ranger Rick, with 39 years as army medic and special forces. He and his wife hgav me some great info and then prayed over me. It was the exact thing I needed after a very lousy day.
Although very hard thus far the scenery has been beautiful and the people are amazing. What I am finding is we are all normal, and all unique. Big surprise I know. And yes, I needed to ride 5000 miles to figure out the obvious.
So, what hurts.
My butt pretty much always does. My hands are numb from holding the handlebars, and I finally figured out sunscreen is good on your legs too.
The really hard climbing is over. I have a few more days of smaller climbs through MT but after that my route maps don't even provide a vertical relief profile on them.
I don't regret a minute of it but (butt!) I am looking forward to some flatter territory.