We've been riding across southern Idaho for four days now. Their license plates read "Scenic Idaho / Famous Potatoes." To be sure, readers, I have heard of Idaho potatoes; the "scenic," however, must refer to another part of the state. The land here has gone from dry to arid as we've moved westward, following the Snake river in a sweeping end run around the impressive Sawtooth mountains and moving to strike Boise from the south. So far we've stayed in Swan Valley, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and now tonight in Declo, at what must be the finest RV park of the trip so far (Tree Village). I want to rant about the crummy KOA last night, but I'm too sleepy.
The going has been rough. Aside from the mind-numbing landscape, we have faced stiff headwinds all four days and frankly I'm not sure which is worse: it's especially hard to get motivated in the morning when you know you have nothing to look forward to except getting back off the bike. Maybe that's a little harsh sounding, but it's certainly true in terms of touring-type milestones: the next thing we're really eager for is getting out of Idaho. After that there's the Cascades and Crater Lake (the latter of which I've been real excited about since about March), and then California. It's not that we want to be done, exactly, but I think that since the incredible vacation in Jackson we've had our minds trained on the end goal. This is a blessing and a curse, and here in the Gem State it seems to manifest as talking a lot about the beach and even more about Vermont. I miss reading the paper.
Ride on.
The headwinds must be a killer! You're brave for going east to west.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, you're almost done. :)
Just envision cascading mountain vistas and bottomless blue water all the rest of the way across souther ID. Too bad. I think further north might have been different experience?? On the other hand, i intuited that your luxury time in Jackson would be a defining moment. Perhaps because of comfort, and leisure time. Perhaps a sort of anticlimactic moment. Its good, they say, to yearn for home. And newspapers.
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