Day 24

Yesterday turned into a much longer day of riding than I planned. I was originally going to ride for about 200 or 250 miles through Hell's Canyon on some smaller roads but about 40 miles from the bridge across the Snake River there was a sign that the bridge was washed out due to flood. I turned around and decided to head north parallel to the Snake up to Lewiston, WA. Once I crossed the border into Idaho, it was still 267 miles to Boise, oops. Alls well, that ends well as I found a Doubletree two or three miles from the company that has the cases for the bike and they let me have a suite for a regular room price. Good thing too as I had a lot of things to spread out to dry.

It rained a bit the night before so I had to pack a wet tent and fly, always an issue. However, it stopped raining as I started to ride and the first part of the day was excellent riding. The terrain was awesome, especially on Oregon Rte. 3 which turns into Washington Rte. 129 after crossing the border. It borders the traditional Nez Perce canyon lands and then drops down into the canyon and climbs up the other side. I saw a bear cub on the side of the road, that was a first for me. I did not stick around to look for the mother.

Right at the border is Boggan's Oasis, a small cafe that is the only place to eat for 50 miles in either direction. The place was mobbed and had decent food but spectacular home made pies. I had a piece of cherry pie to get me in the mood for Traverse City. I met some folks from Tennessee who were there on a volunteer mission to build a church in Lewiston, WA. One of them had had a KLR but sold it and he was extremely jealous.

Once I realized I had a long way to go in Idaho, I just got into transit mode and kept on riding. Unfortunately, there was a thirty mile stretch where it was raining cats and dogs so there was that much more gear that was wet when I arrived in Boise. My gear kept me dry enough but the new helmet does not have adequate defogging capabilities for that sort of riding. I do wish I had more time to enjoy this portion of the ride and that the weather had been nicer as the country was beautiful up and down through snow covered mountains.

You're living in your own Private Idaho,
where do I go from here to a better state than this.
Well, don't be blind to the big surprise
swimming round and round like the deadly hand
of a radium clock, at the bottom, of the pool.

-Ricky Wilson?