7-10-08 Lance Armstrong

Up early, broke the tents down, brushed the teeth, splashed some stale water on the crops and jumped in the car. Stopped at the campy campground host and we…of course…got to chatting…or we could say…got to listening and nodding. Like an All-Star NHL hockey goalie, she got in front of the gate. We’ll give a list of facts from our 10 minute session this morning.

1. She and her husband had a pet fox for 8 years.
2. She grew up on a military base where they apparently played in pools of DDT (long story).
3. Her husband is not a morning person. It takes him a few minutes to get going in the morning.
4. She is almost 70 years old.
5. She gave us business cards of different campgrounds she worked at.
6. She declined our request for a picture.
7. She asked for our blog address. We gave her a fake one.

We really need to add a HUGE disclaimer to this woman. She really was a sweetheart and we hold no ill will towards her. Its just that her unique personality offered us some entertainment. Ate another breakfast at Perry’s. (Marc, Natascia did not question my choice of meat and potatoes!)

Did two trails…chocolate trail loop and fox creek trail loop about 10mins outside of Ketchum, Idaho. Mike finds that his rear tire is flat...must have happened on Bald Mountain. Time for another change. Man walking with wife tells us he’s hiked the trail many times and one of those times he saw Lance Armstrong going up on his skinny tire bike. Wife tells us Lance spends a lot of time there. I say we are going to do trail faster than Lance Armstrong. Chad and Mike concur that by doing the trail we are effectively training with Lance Armstrong.

First major climb our dogs are yelping…loudly. Feeling the effects of 6 tough rides over 7 days. The two trails are fairly short but rather technical with long singletrack climbs at the start of chocolate. Chocolate loop met up with fox trail. Finished ride with photoshoot at Knightrider minvan. Hit up the Hemingway Memorial. Also stopped by Sun Valley before leaving town. There is an outdoor ice rink active on hot sunny days. No energy wasted there. Sun Valley, as it turns out, is a resort type place in the middle/next to Ketchum. The main town is Ketchum for those of you doing fact checking on the blog.

Off to Jackson, Wyoming…about 4 hours. Stopped by Craters of the Moon National Park. Drove by the first nuclear power plant in the United States. Passed by a huge dust storm to our left. Took a pit stop in Idaho City, Idaho. Never seen so many 4-wheelers and pickup trucks and Pizza Huts…Pizza Hut is the Dunkin Donuts of Idaho…but the John Deere dealers trumped them all.

We just killed a bird as it flew into our windshield. A short dialogue ensued;

Chad (to Mike): Pour thing, the last thing it ever saw was your face.

Jumped on to US-31, a Scenic Byway into Wyoming…finally Wyoming! Entered the Targhee National forest. We can see the back side of the Tetons…sun is setting over the ridge line.

Busted through the Teton Pass…for you railroad history buffs, it was on a list of potential railroad passes to the west but was eliminated given its geography.

Arrived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming…first priority is shelter. Most hotels are ‘No Vacancy’. We find the Anvil Motel…we got the cheaper room with no AC but with a sa sa sa saweeeeet ceiling fan…it will do.

Showered up and headed out to downtown…Cowboy Bar…skipped dinner and went for the liquid calories instead. Approached by bachelorette party…we were asked to talk ‘dirty’ to the girls…Mike spat out some form of a sentence fragment…not pretty. Went to another establishment for a brew.

Stumbled home at 12:30am…very late for us on this trip. Time for bed.