Sunday, May 29, 2011

Sat- Sorry, no clever or witty title today guys.


Well last night, I found a little tunnel under the road for cattle. The side with the cattle on it was blocked off, so I slept right at the foot of the tunnel. It was a super good guard from the wind and the noise from cars. I had an incredible quiet time and slept like a baby. I woke up to a snow covered tent which was a little upset. I hate being cold when I have been warm all night. So I put on all of winter gear and started breaking down camp. That didn't take long, but I really was super cold. I got on the bike and headed to Farson as fast as I could. I didn't have any breakfast stuff with me, so I just wanted to eat. I munched on a Clif bar for a while as I headed in. I found out that I was a little closer to town than I anticipated, so I actually biked about 100 miles yesterday.


The first (and almost only) building in Farson was the cafe, Mike's. I went in around 10 to grab some breakfast. Hot coffee was a good start, and when I talked to the waitress, I heard it was 28 degrees the night before. That would explain the snow. Mike's was a tad bit over priced in my opinion. The food was great though. I got the "Chef's mess". It is hashbrowns, green peppers, onions, cheese, and ham with three eggs scrambled into it. All in a mess. And then a bunch of sourdough bread to go with it. The waitress was pretty surprised that I ate all of it. She says about one in twenty people can put down the whole thing. (I'll be honest with you, I was so hungry I could have easily eaten half of another, and if I wanted to make myself a little bit queasy, could have put down another whole one, I just didn't have the money for that.) I left to them making a banana creme pie, which is good, because if I stayed another 2 minutes until it was finished, I would have bought a piece. It was gigantic and delicious looking.


I started on the next highway of this leg and did a lot of gradual climbing through deserts. My favorite part of this ride was a group of about 20 or so bob-tailed deer. They ran beside me, on the other side of the fence, for a good 15 miles. About an hour worth of riding. That was pretty sick. I kept on climbing and got to the Continental Divide. This part made my day. I have always wanted to be there, and then it just popped up on me. I thought it would be relatively down hill after that, but I ended up with another hour of climbing after that. I had to go through another pass, which was fun. It wasn't super hard. There was no elevation sign, but I believe it was around 9000 feet above sea level. I don't know why, but I haven't had any trouble breathing up here. So that is a huge blessing. After climbing all day, I finally got some downhills I got to crush. It was a 7% grade for almost 8 miles. That went by in no time at all. Near the tail end of the descent I came over a little ridge, and there was the Red Canyon. My jaw just dropped. It was incredible. I stood there looking at that thing for a good half hour.


I partially wish I wasn't on such a tight deadline for this trip. I definitely get to see a ton. But at points, I wish I didn't have to arrive at SC. I wish I could just go explore on the bike. No where to go, just go. Maybe some other time.


I made it to the next highway and rode about 7 miles. My legs were super dead. I have gone about 85 miles today. I crawled up this hill to set up camp for the night. It is in a little valley between two hills. I am out of view of the road, and on the other side of the tent are the Bridger Wilderness mountains that I have been crawling through all day. It is breathtaking. Freeze dried food for dinner, with a glass of hot peppermint tea. A quite time and time for bed. I can't complain.



It is views like the one I am looking at right now that make me wish I had a few of my boys around, and a pipe of tobacco to enjoy with them. Oh well, good thing I never want to smoke a pipe again after looking at what that crap does to your lungs when I was at the Bodies exhibit in Idaho Falls.




Still wish the boys were here.

1 comment:

  1. hey dkal,

    Please post some pics of these places and the GOOD Food! Please!

    Char!

    ReplyDelete