Ten hours later, and lying in exactly the same position as when I last closed my eyes, it's a new day. Nothing keeping me here and I'm REALLY looking for that morning coffee. This bicycle trip is proving VERY irregular with regards to the morning blend. Sometimes it's just a stroll downstairs to the b'fast buffet, sometimes it's a make-it-yourself in your room from some lame U-ban-like brown stuff, and sometimes, like this morning, there ain't none and there ain't none to mooch.
Quick pack and a sleepy-eyed dog and I head downhill the last 5 miles to the Banks Cafe, located in a dramatic canyon at the confluence of the North and South forks of the Payette River. What a loud place with all the seasonal whitewater! Guess I was a bit too excited to get my coffee cuz it's an hour before the cafe opens, so...
Decide to forego THIS breakfast opportunity and turn east onto SR 24, aka Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway. Gentle climbing along with the South Fork, all thru sage covered hills broken by red-brown rock cuts, brings my caffeine starved body to a breakfast table in the historic town of Crouch, Idaho. Have an enlightening roadside discussion about old Crouch with Bill and Ellen: Bill is a 4th generation "Croucher". He explained to me how the house we were looking at had been moved from a nearby hill, involving a float over Canyon Creek. The ensuing breakfast was an enormous plate of eggs and the country fav "biscuits n' gravy", which I only get a yearning to try about every decade. To overfill the tank I tossed down a piece of rhubarb pie and a couple coffees.
Guess I don't learn very quick-like, cuz this pile-o-food sat like a rock-n-the-gut that I then had to cart uphill thru Garden Valley and onto Lowman. I was burning up from the heat of the day, which was in the low 80's. As I sat in the shade of aspens at the Lowman Lodge and Eatery, the entire Boise Chapter of the Harley-Davidson Club shows up, and man are they noisy when there are 50 of em! (Now this was the gentlemen's and gentlewomen's branch of the HDC, not the intimidating overtatooed, excessively hairy branch) Once the helmets and chaps came off, everyone was very friendly and had quite a bit of route advice for me. The motorcycles were gorgeous, obviously spic n' spanned up for the day's ride and one even had a cylindrical, foam-lined box attached in back for Fido, who was a teary eyed Spaniel that made quick friends with Brindil.
Managed to choke down a chocolate shake and 5 miles up the road, stopped for choco shake #2, where I met 2 young, strong-legged cyclists, Aaron and Neil, doing a 130+ mile day, including the climb over Banner Pass (my challenge tomorrow). Now it's raining, a nice cool sprinkling that cools a hot day and brings a refreshing smell to the air. It's on a bit further to Bonneville CG, where I grab a site and start prepping for a wet night. Turns out, this area of Idaho has quite a bit of geothermal activity and numerous hotsprings, and just 1/4 mile of trail leads me to some excellant pools. Now, keep in mind that it's 185 deg sulfur water mixing with 50 deg river water, so it's a bit of a trick to keep the pool regulated. A lot of hand mixing went on and I managed to not scald certain places.
I met Mel and Linda in the next campsite and they invite me over for an excellant dinner of baked spuds, roast corn and vege dogs. A welcome treat! Thank you Mel and Linda!
Rain forces us all indoors and I tuck in with hound under the tentfly, listening to the pitter-patter of droplets and the roar of the nearby creek.
Quick pack and a sleepy-eyed dog and I head downhill the last 5 miles to the Banks Cafe, located in a dramatic canyon at the confluence of the North and South forks of the Payette River. What a loud place with all the seasonal whitewater! Guess I was a bit too excited to get my coffee cuz it's an hour before the cafe opens, so...
Decide to forego THIS breakfast opportunity and turn east onto SR 24, aka Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway. Gentle climbing along with the South Fork, all thru sage covered hills broken by red-brown rock cuts, brings my caffeine starved body to a breakfast table in the historic town of Crouch, Idaho. Have an enlightening roadside discussion about old Crouch with Bill and Ellen: Bill is a 4th generation "Croucher". He explained to me how the house we were looking at had been moved from a nearby hill, involving a float over Canyon Creek. The ensuing breakfast was an enormous plate of eggs and the country fav "biscuits n' gravy", which I only get a yearning to try about every decade. To overfill the tank I tossed down a piece of rhubarb pie and a couple coffees.
Guess I don't learn very quick-like, cuz this pile-o-food sat like a rock-n-the-gut that I then had to cart uphill thru Garden Valley and onto Lowman. I was burning up from the heat of the day, which was in the low 80's. As I sat in the shade of aspens at the Lowman Lodge and Eatery, the entire Boise Chapter of the Harley-Davidson Club shows up, and man are they noisy when there are 50 of em! (Now this was the gentlemen's and gentlewomen's branch of the HDC, not the intimidating overtatooed, excessively hairy branch) Once the helmets and chaps came off, everyone was very friendly and had quite a bit of route advice for me. The motorcycles were gorgeous, obviously spic n' spanned up for the day's ride and one even had a cylindrical, foam-lined box attached in back for Fido, who was a teary eyed Spaniel that made quick friends with Brindil.
Managed to choke down a chocolate shake and 5 miles up the road, stopped for choco shake #2, where I met 2 young, strong-legged cyclists, Aaron and Neil, doing a 130+ mile day, including the climb over Banner Pass (my challenge tomorrow). Now it's raining, a nice cool sprinkling that cools a hot day and brings a refreshing smell to the air. It's on a bit further to Bonneville CG, where I grab a site and start prepping for a wet night. Turns out, this area of Idaho has quite a bit of geothermal activity and numerous hotsprings, and just 1/4 mile of trail leads me to some excellant pools. Now, keep in mind that it's 185 deg sulfur water mixing with 50 deg river water, so it's a bit of a trick to keep the pool regulated. A lot of hand mixing went on and I managed to not scald certain places.
I met Mel and Linda in the next campsite and they invite me over for an excellant dinner of baked spuds, roast corn and vege dogs. A welcome treat! Thank you Mel and Linda!
Rain forces us all indoors and I tuck in with hound under the tentfly, listening to the pitter-patter of droplets and the roar of the nearby creek.
Hey there, Gary. I'm loving reading about your adventures. I checked out the map of where you had been...do you have one posted as to where you are going? Be safe and enjoy the ride for all of us who are just sitting at desks all day.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Connie