But how did we get here... hmm...
I think we last left off in Mountain Home, ID after we had taken a short bump up the road to avoid Interstate biking. I think it was about noon before we actually got on the road with our bikes all in order and our legs madly pedaling. We had a destination picked on our maps -- Fairfield -- about a 60 mile day. Folks had been telling us that we would have a bit of a climb into Fairfield then Idaho would level out and we would get to coast the following days all the way to Idaho Falls on fairly flat plains.
The "bit" of a climb seemed to go on for most of the day (at least in my opinion) but it did feel good to be back on the bike and putting some distance between us and Boise. We were fairly well-rested so the miles passed by quickly. It was a tricky ride though. We expected "this" hill to be the last hill of the day. Every big upward climb was followed by a downward joyride... but seemingly always with another hill off in the distance mocking us.
Not too far into our day we ran into another group of bicycle tourers -- a mama and her two sons Cedar and Zion (lots of respect to them and their big journey which had started in Maine this June). They were headed westbound but we jumped across the highway to exchange cheers and stories. For me it was revitalizing to run into another woman on the road -- even though we were headed in different directions it was just good to know that another woman was out there facing the same joys and struggles. Check their blog at; ourdailyped.blogspot.com
Soon after that we learned a new lesson: water is precious. We were carrying a fairly small amount of water in the overall scheme of things but it was backed up by a water filter so that we could pull from rivers and lakes. A fine system for Oregon but Idaho was a new game. I'm not sure if the boys were getting as nervous about water supply as I was but it felt like the more my water bottles emptied the thirstier I felt. After quite a few miles of unsuccessful water-scouring we saw a Pepsi sign off in the distance (I did for a few seconds question if the sign was real or a mirage) and scored some fluid, gratefully. At our water re-supply we were told by a kind gentleman that we were looking at our last hill -- FINALLY.
Not really though. Soon after summiting our "last hill" we sat at the foot of a monster hill. Bummer, right? We took it slowly and were rewarded with a great view of Idaho. After that Idaho was flat, very flat. We could cruise. And occasionally we were blessed with a little tail wind to push us right along. We were moving quickly for Fairfield even after I was stung by a bee that bounced off my helmet directly into my arm and Kiel took a little fall on his bike after our panniers played a little "kissy kissy" game. Tough kids we are.
Boise, ID to Fairfield, ID about 100 miles (I think... hmmm?) and a big climb.
The rest of Idaho breezed by. Some of you all may have recieved updates about our journey and know that we already are living it up in wintery Wyoming (arrived in Casper, WY today). So the short version...
Fairfield led to Carey, ID and given our wonderful and comfortable night at the city park in Fairfield we decided to celebrate Kiel's birthday by taking an easy day and cooking up some good fresh food in the Carey Fairground -- we had been told by the biking family that this was a fine place to camp for the night. We arrived in town pretty early and grabbed some food from the limited small grocery store. I'm not sure where the people of Carey get their fresh food because most of what they had to offer was in a can or frozen -- But we managed.
Just before we exited the grocery store an older man came in and said, "you must be the owner's of the bikes out there." We proudly took ownership of our transportation vehicles and the older man offered us a trade -- he had a truck. Really the man, Bill, was just super intriqued by our journey and wanted to talk to us for a bit -- apparently his son had done a bike journey many years earlier. As we said our goodbyes he invited us out to his place in the morning for coffee (from Costco -- which he guaranteed was the BEST coffee).
Dinner was enjoyed greatly and we set camp for the night. Before we all went to bed Kiel asked a neighboring buisiness if we were safe from the sprinkler system in the park. They gave us the 'thumbs-up' so we figured we were good for a long night of peaceful sleep...
You know where this is going...
I don't think I had even fallen asleep before the first round of sprinklers went off. Kiel has been describing the sound of the sprinklers as the sound of gun shots... it was loud and we were right in the strike zone. Kiel jumped out of the tent, carefully avoiding a round of 'sprinkles', and looked for new ground. We ended up moving the tent right up against the fence and prayed for a dry night. We only got about 10 minutes of peace there. The next round of sprinklers poked out of the ground and sprayed us once again. Both of the boys were running around saving gear -- Cory was diverting the sprinklers while Kiel pushed our bikes to the dry field across the street. Eventually it was time to move the tent again... one last time for the night. This was one of those events that at the time we couldn't find much humor in the situation...
Fairfield, ID to Carey, ID about 45 miles and flat.
In the morning we watched for Bill's home as we started out on our bike ride for the day, another short one with a layover for lunch at the Craters of the Moon National Park. Luckily Bill had given us a fine description of his home... the real give-away was that he had mentioned that someone had driven over one of his chickens, roadkill that can't be missed from a bike's viewpoint. Feathers were everywhere... it really looked like a pretty horrific hit.
Bill jumped out of his door pretty quickly as we were observing the crime scene. He invited us in for a chat and a coffee. Bill was a kind soul who had been through some rough times... his face and hands were weathered and his eyes held some sadness but he seemed pretty pleased that we had stopped by for awhile. We probably spent about 30 minutes at Bill's house and as we tried to leave he showered us with gifts of food... or at least tried too. I think he would've given us everything from his cupboards had we had room on our bikes. We ended up leaving with just a Cantelope cut up into a ziplock bag and tucked away from the sunny day on Kiel's bike.
We only made it about 1 mile down the road before Bill's car rolled up right in front of us. He jumped out of the car with a grocery sack full of food, "You all aren't vegetarians are you?" -- all fingers point at me. Well Bill had packed up a frozen steak for us to take along with 3 idaho baking potatos. Reluctently we took the package (which Corey strapped to the top of his panniers to thaw in the hot sun) and said our goodbyes to Bill once again. We thanked him and he told us that we had "truly inspired" him.
Just a few miles down the road we entered the Craters of the Moon... what a desolate place! The ground was covered by old and hardened lava for miles in all directions. All of the black surfaces were collecting the heat of the day and cooking us poor bikers. We stopped in the park for our lunch break and talked to a ranger about the stars. He told us that the Craters was in the top ten darkest national parks -- great for star watching.
We camped out in the city of Arco, ID later that night at a RV park... enjoyed a nice warm shower... cooked another fresh dinner on a grill as we listened to the crowd and firework booms from the neighboring homecoming football game... and relaxed into a dry night in the tent.
Arco, as we learned the morning we were leaving was the first town in the world powered by nuclear power. Along this road in the middle of nowhere there are uranium mines and auspicious looking gated "laboratories" crafting things all nuclear...its' fascinatingly spooky.
Carey, ID to Arco, ID about 45 miles, mostly flat -- some hills.
I've been singing this song from the first day of our trip and it always starts with these lyrics in my head, Ive been wanting to share it.
Three days in the saddle
you know my body hurt
it bein summer, I took off my shirt
and tried to wash off some of that dusty dirt
Grateful Dead lyrics from Me and My Uncle
Me And My Uncle - The Grateful DeadMe and my uncle went ridin' down,
South Colorado, West Texas bound.
We stopped over in Santa Fe,
That bein' the point just about half way,
And you know it was the hottest part of the day.
I took the horses up to the stall,
Went to the barroom, ordered drinks for all.
Three days in the saddle, you know my body hurt,
It bein' summer, I took off my shirt,
And I tried to wash off some of that dusty dirt.
West Texas cowboys, they's all around,
With liquor and money, they're loaded down.
So soon after payday, know it seemed a shame;
You know my uncle, he starts a friendly game,
High-low jack and the winner take the hand.
My uncle starts winnin'; cowboys got sore.
One of them called him, and then two more,
Accused him of cheatin'; Oh no, it couldn't be.
I know my uncle, he's as honest as me,
And I'm as honest as a Denver man can be.
One of them cowboys, he starts to draw,
And I shot him down, Lord he never saw.
Shot me another, oh damn he won't grow old.
In the confusion, my uncle grabbed the gold,
And we high-tailed it down to Mexico.
I love those cowboys, I love their gold,
I loved my uncle, God rest his soul,
Taught me good, Lord, Taught me all I know
Taught me so well, I grabbed that gold
And I left his dead ass there by the side of the road.
We stopped over for lunch along this barren trail under the protection of the only shade we could find, which was a half buried corrugated metal hay barn. We sat against the barn door and felt the cold air against our backs from inside the barn. We made it a quick lunch, everyone out seems to be packing and wary of freeloaders squatting on their land.
Rolled into Idaho falls around 5. Corey pointed out the local Olive Garden where he had been holding on to a gift certificate. We set up camp at the local KOA and cleaned up for a carbohydrate all you can eat fest. It was awesome!
Arco, ID to Idaho Falls, ID about 65 miles, some hills
Today we planned to seperate for a day from our fellow biking companion, Cory. We decided to avoid going up and over Teton Pass by skirting around the mountains to the south along the Snake River. We all biked the first 40 or so miles together into Swan Valley stopped off for chocolate malts and french fries, Kiel;where the sign read "Best shake in town" Em said with sass as we entered the diner "Was before I got here." We wished each other well for the next section. Kiel and I then watched Cory start his climb towards Victor, ID then up and over Teton.
We hopped on our bikes and had a beautiful ride along the river -- the leaves on the Aspens were changing to yellows and oranges and the river had a teal sparkle to it. It was probably one of the most scenic places that we have biked yet.
Idaho Falls, ID to a Campground near Alpine, WY about 80 miles, hills after Swan Valley.
