Sept. 11th: Driggs - Targhee pass 46km 607m

House for sale near Driggs

We had a tourist day in Driggs. The clouds had disappeared overnight and we had cloudless skies and crystal clear views of the mountains so we rode up to the Grand Targhee ski resort in the afternoon. The weather was great and as we passed through Alta, Wyoming, the views opened up giving us many opportunities to take pictures of the Teton Mountains.

The Tetons from Grand Targhee road

Sept 10th: Idaho Falls to Driggs 119km 793m

Idaho Falls

Another cold and windy day, but the wind was at our backs for the first 50km and the rain held off.  The final 60km were a bit more strenuous with a heavy crosswind most of the time, but we crossed some beautiful terrain and saw the potato fields of Idaho. Teton Valley is the largest area of seed potato management in the world As we entered the Teton Valley the mountains came into view – covered with fresh snow from the previous night.   We are in Driggs, Idaho for 2 nights because our next stop, Jackson, Wyoming is fully booked on Sat. night.    We had a few beers at the local tavern last night with Nick, a self-proclaimed conservative.  We had an enlightening conversation about gun control, Medicare, taxes, same sex-marriage and immigration.  Nick is 33 years old, unmarried and owns 6 guns.  He is a well-spoken polite young man and we wish him well.

Canyon River

Teton Valley

Sept 9th: Arco to Idaho Falls 116km 784m

Today was another tough weather day. We started with a heavy cloud cover, cold spitting rain and a strong wind. The rain continued all day but we never got a heavy downpour, just a light rain all day. We rode into the wind for only 3 km and it kept us down to 15kph but as we turned east the wind was at our back or a crosswind all day. The stretch between Arco and Idaho Falls is one of the most barren stretches we have traversed. The only civilization for 100 km was the atomic reactor development facilities of the US government. We detoured 3km to the south to see the EBR1-Experimental Breeder Reactor but we were 3 days too late because the visitor centre had closed after Labour Day i.e. last Monday.  

Sept. 8th: Craters of the Moon National Park 74km 471m

 It was well worth the extra 60km round trip back to the Craters of the Moon National Monument. The loop road led us round the different types of lava, splatter cones, caves and lava tunnels. There are black cones where very little vegetation has developed in the 2500years since the cone erupted up and other cones that are 7500 years old an in that time have become green all over (mostly with a hardy sagebrush) and even have pine trees on them. It is an arid and rough landscape and there are 750,000 acres of it!! 

AA Lava

Lava Tunnel

Apaupau Lava

Sept. 7th: Hailey to Arco 117km 648m

Hills near Carey

We left Hailey with the wind at our backs and made good time for the first hour. Then we turned east into an easterly wind and the hard work started. We have left the mountains behind but we are still going up and down. It is haying season and the fields are green and gold. We have trucks laden with hay whizzing past us regularly with two and sometimes three trailers. We rode through the top edge of the Craters of the Moon National Monument today and stopped at the visitor centre where we sat through a ranger presentation about the origin of the park and decided to come back tomorrow to see the park properly. We rolled into Arco in good time and got a hotel room at the best hotel in town.
Arco was the first town in the world to be powered completely by atomic power. There is an experimental nuclear reactor 40km outside of town, which we will visit on our way to Idaho Falls if it is not too far off the main road. Unfortunately, Arco appears to have fallen on hard times – Main Street has several businesses boarded up and bars and restaurants are sparse. Our motel only costs $57 per night so we will stay an extra night and go back 30km to the Craters of the Moon NP tomorrow and ride around it to see all the features.

Sept 6th: Stanley to Hailey 122km 866m

Morning Frost

Getting up this morning was hard. 
I’d seen the frost on all of the cars outside and was not keen to make an early start to a 50km climb over the 2661m Galena summit. Still, it had to be done and at least the sun was up in a cloudless sky so there was hope that the temperature would rise to double figures. With some thicker clothes on we set off just before 10 and climbed steadily for 40km to the Smiley Creek Lodge where we were able to warm up with a soup for lunch before tackling the last 10km and 450m climb to the pass. The climb up rewarded us with tremendous views across the source of the Salmon River and way, way down the valley that we had ridden up.         

Salmon River near source

The ride down from the summit to Hailey was 70km with 1000m drop so we were looking forward to an easy afternoon but unfortunately, as the day warmed, a southerly wind developed so after the initial steep descent we had to pedal quite hard to get down the rest. It was with some relief that we arrived in Ketchum (famous as the town where Ernest Hemmingway committed suicide) and were able to take a late afternoon break.  We finished our break with a passion fruit double scoop ice cream cone before tackling that last 20km to Hailey.

Salmon River Valley

Ketchum ice cream

Sept 5th: Stanley 40km 272m

Sawtooth Mountians

Being in the middle of the Labour Day long weekend and having had problems getting a room last night we decided to get a room for an extra day in Stanley by waiting for people to check out at the hotel next to the restaurant where we breakfasted and then booked ourselves in for the night. We used the day to get online at the library, get laundry up to date and then ride over to see Redfish Lake set in front of the Sawtooth mountains. TimB booked a room for tomorrow night south of Ketchum so we are not under pressure to get there before teatime when he motels generally start to fill up.

Redwood Lake Chipmunk

Sept 4th: Challis to Stanley 102km 841m

Hot spring source - Sunbeam

Today will rank amongst the toughest we have done.  We plodded along all day into a strong headwind and uphill.  Again we followed the Salmon River and passed through canyons and valleys of Idaho.  This time the wind seemed to channel through the canyon and straight into us.  At times we were down to 10 kph as the wind just about stopped us dead.  Idaho is not heavily populated and we travelled most of the day through wilderness and farmlands.  There were two points of particular interest a few miles before Stanley. One was a viewing point over the gravel beds in the river where the salmon were breeding and the other was a hot water spring pouring a lot of sulphurous water straight out of the mountainside rock about 10m above the road. This water was too hot to touch for more than a second and where the water entered the Salmon River on the other side of the road, rocks had been used to create a warm bathing pool which was actually being used by a young lady in a bikini!! We did have 2 stops along the way where we got lunch and an ice cream cone.  Due to the slow travel we arrived in Stanley after 6 pm and the whole town was booked.  We rode back to Lower Stanley and they were also booked out, but the nice lady at the motel made several phone calls and all she could find, at a motel/lodge further down the road, was a tepee to sleep in with no bathroom or toilet facilities for $35. It was either that or sleep outdoors and the forecast overnight temperature was just above freezing (we are 1908m above sea level here) so we resigned ourselves to the tepee and little to eat or drink in view of the lack of toilet facilities.  Much to our surprise and relief, when we arrived at the Salmon River Lodge they had freed up a room for us and we have a comfortable room with a hot shower though there is no TV, telephone or internet.

Salmon River - Challis

Near Stanley

Sept 3rd: Salmon to Challis 100km, 724m

Salmon River

We continued south along Hwy 93 and followed the Salmon River all day long.  The valley ranges from 1km wide to just 70m in places.  The scenery is similar along the river with high hills topped with rock outcrops.  The road is sparsely populated and we were surprised to find a café open in Elk Bend, a town of 25 that is not even on the map.  The lady served us her homemade soup and presented the healthiest lunch we have seen so far - Soup, veggies, fruit and fresh buns.  The weather was cooperative – cool in the morning, with a tail wind, but hot with a strong headwind in the afternoon.  Of course all day we were riding upstream.

Salmon River

 

Elk Bend

Sept 2nd: Lost Trail Hot Springs to Salmon, 93km 862m

Stopping at the hot springs was very nice but we were only part way up the mountain to the pass so we had to ride up the access road to get to the main road and then cycle 10.5km and climb 600m to Lost Trail Pass at 2137m. A tough start to the day but it kept us warm in the chill morning air. We checked out the Visitor Centre and then diverted to the east to ride a further 1.5km uphill to Chief Joseph Pass at 2214m which is part of the continental divide. This is also the border between Montana and Idaho and we are now in Idaho for a few weeks.  
 A quick photo stop and some warm clothes for the downhill run and then we were on our way back to Lost Trail Pass and south towards Salmon. We hardly pedalled for over 20km and had an easy ride for another 18km downhill to North Fork where we stopped for lunch. At North Fork the North Fork Salmon River runs into the Salmon River which turns west through the mountains.        We had to continue south for 34km to Salmon against the flow of the river i.e. uphill but only gently. In fact the scenery was so spectacular we did not notice we were riding uphill and after many photo stops we finally rode into Salmon at 5pm and booked into the first motel we saw.   A brief tour of the town assured us that the microbrewery business is alive and well in Idaho also.

  

Sept 1: Hamilton to Lost Trail Hot Springs 67km 607M

Last night in Hamilton we stopped in at a bicycle shop and the lady behind the counter gave us A-1 service.  When she found out we were heading over the Lost River and Chief Joseph passes on the Montana-Idaho border she gave us the name and location of every lodging along the way.  She then phoned a few to find out their rates and availability.  I then booked a room at the Lost Trail Hot Springs Resort.  Instead of a 150km day we had a leisurely 67 km today. 

Bitterroot valley

We followed a river through the Bitterroot valley and gently rose 500 meters throughout the day.  A forest fire had scorched the whole valley in the year 2000 and stands of blackened trees still cover the hillsides along the road.  The weather was so changeable we were putting on raingear and stripping it off every 5km.  Half the time we were riding in sun showers. 

We are now in the Hot Springs resort.  The site has a hot pool at about 98°F and a hot tub at 105°F.  So after a tough day in the cold rain and hot sun we soaked in the hot pool with a cold beer for an hour before supper and bed.

Lost Trail Hot Springs

Aug 31st Missoula to Hamilton, 89km 451m

Today we changed the route and instead of heading west to Hell’s Canyon we are heading south. We are leaving out the Canyon to make sure we have enough time for Teton and Yellowstone parks so instead of turning right in Lolo we carried straight on. It was a cool start and the showers that we could see to our right on the Bitterroot Mountains soon engulfed us so we stopped to put on the rain jackets until they had passed. After 34km we decided to leave the busy US93 and crossed the Bitterroot River to use the East highway. This kept us parallel with the 93 but out of the showers. It was well worth the detour. It was a quieter road, we saw our first herd of buffalos, TimB had to be nice to some horses, there were some deer and in Corvallis we saw the Brooks hotel which is over 100 years old (not bad for Montana) and in fully restored order.   

Next door to the hotel was a small gift shop and now somebody has a present coming. It was only another 10km to Hamilton and by 6pm we had checked into a central motel, showered, changed and were on our way to, yes, Hamilton’s very own micro-brewery for a burrito supper.

Aug 30: Missoula rest day

UM

We took the day off to tour around Missoula.  With a population of 60,000 it is the biggest town we have been in so far.  It is the county seat and the home of the U of Montana.  We toured the campus, which sits on the edge of town and we were able to wander around the stadium.      
Set into the hills on the edge of town the stadium has a terrific setting.  After lunch we tracked down the breweries.  Microbreweries are a success story in Montana.  The licensing laws allow breweries to sell beer to customers on site (to a limit of 3 pints per day) and there is a tradition of “growlers”.  We see most customers bringing in 48 fl oz bottles for refills.  At a price of $6 per fill up, this is a great price for beer, but it must be drunk fairly quickly. 

Growlers

Our final visit was to the Big Sky Brewery. When we arrived at the entrance we could see there were still a lot of visitors even though it was getting late in the day. The visitor’s room had a lot of merchandise on offer but we headed resolutely for the bar where a single barmaid was struggling to keep up with demand. We were drinking samples (about 0.2L) that were limited to 4 per person when a young man from Newcastle, UK started talking to us and explained that the beer is FREE!!!!!!!!!!!! The posted limit of 4 beers is the DAILY limit of free beer because the brewery does not have a licence to sell beer for consumption on the premises. Why don’t we adopt such US customs in Europe?

University of Montana

Aug 29: Polson to Missoula, 11km, 821m

We woke up to a light rain and heavy clouds. The temperature was down to 9°C when we set off and rain drops few but the increasing rainfall soon forced us to stop and don waterproof jackets. We rode the next 50km in the rain and stopped in St. Ignatius, primarily to see the church that had been recommended to us in White Sulphur Springs, but being chilled through we detoured to the Oldtimers Café first.  We spent more time clutching warm cups of coffee than actually drinking while the hot soup helped to warm us up from the inside.  When we re-started we both pulled out fresh dry clothes and heavy ski gloves and then visited the church.  Naturally, the weather warmed up and 17km later we stopped to strip off the heavy clothes and rain gear.  Shortly after that TimG felt the rear tyre was getting softer and a few kms later small stones on the road were compressing the tyre to the rim so we stopped and pumped it up in the hope we would get to Missoula before repairing the tube. It was not to be. Each time the tyre went down faster and 6km short of the town we had to stop and put in a new tube. We had to do this on the hard shoulder of the motorway, not a fun place to be.

Fortunately, it stopped raining shortly after the lunch break and we rode the last 50km on drying roads.  In order to get into Missoula we had to ride the last 10km on the I90 highway shoulder.  This was a harrowing stretch with fast trucks and large patches of broken glass.  We found a motel in Missoula and we’re staying here for 2 nights.  We have 3 breweries to track down tomorrow.

Aug 28: Kalispell to Polson 84 km

Rest stop

We got underway rather late, but today a short day was planned.  The road from Kalispell was somewhat erratic.  We had a bike path for the first 25km but the path ended and we were on a busy road with heavy traffic.  The shoulder was wide and safe in spots and narrow or non-existent in other spots.  Unfortunately the wide shoulder usually had tons of debris scattered around.  I picked up my first flat of the trip, but we were back in business quickly.  Better than the poor lady we passed at the intersection.

Aug 27: Rest day in Kalispell

Big Fork Hotel

Great Northern Brewery

David Ryneburg from Lethbridge joined us in Kalispell.  We had stayed with David 2 years ago on our Cross-Canada trip.  David is familiar with the area and he acted as our tour guide for the day.  We visited Big Fork in the morning, a village on Flathead Lake. The village is home to original old buildings with several art stores and a teashop.  We had tea and scones.  In the afternoon we visited Whitefish, a ski town north of Kalispell.   
The town is also the home of the Great Northern Brewing Company.  They brew 9 beers and their IPA is the best.  Thanks David for a great day.        

Whitefish