This must be my lucky day
“This must be my lucky day” is what it says on the engraved wood panel above the mirror over the sink in the bathroom of the campground where I’m staying tonight. Next to the quote is the profile of William Butler Hickok engraved into what looks to be a solid oak toilet seat.
My lucky day started out in Bliss, Idaho and my destination was Mountain Home. It’s about 44 miles from Bliss if you take the Interstate and about 52.46 if you go the way I did.
I got up especially early this morning because the weather report said Mountain Home was expecting a high of 104 today. I didn’t want to be outside in that any longer than necessary. By 5:45, I was sitting down to breakfast at Ziggy’s Express, the only place to eat in Bliss as far as I could tell and it also a convenience store, service station, gas pump, video rental, coffee shop, and who knows what else. I had dinner there last night and I’ll bet it’s one of the few places where your waitress can ring up $50 of gas, PowerBall tickets, and a salad bar all at once and at any time of day because Ziggy’s Express never closes.
At least it was air-conditioned. That’s at least as important as anything else to me these days.
Anyway, back to breakfast this morning. By 6:15, I was out in the parking lot slathering on sunscreen and getting ready to ride. It felt comfortable outside, temperature-wise, but I knew it wouldn’t last long.
Just outside of Bliss, on a very lonely stretch of old Highway 30, I took some pictures of myself riding. Well, my shadow, actually, which is the best I can do solo.
By 9 AM, I was in Glenns Ferry and it was hot already and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. One good thing about the weather today was a brisk wind at my back and that kept me at a nice 17-19 mph on the flats and for that last 10-mile straightaway into Mountain Home.
The heat has definitely kept me from taking photos on this trip. After the sun gets hot enough to be uncomfortable standing still, I’d just as soon not stop — I don’t care if it is my lucky day. When the sun is that hot and high in the sky, the light is pretty harsh anyway so maybe it’s OK. In any case, the end result is I haven’t haven’t taken many photos in the first six days of riding.
Today was better though. With the tailwind, I knew I could finish the ride pretty early, so in the first couple hours of riding, I made a point of stopping whenever I saw something interesting. Here are a couple of the better ones from today.
Happy 4th of July, Pete. When my boys were small, we drove to Oregon every July. I know your route like it’s burned into my mind. Actually, the route in July WILL be burned into your mind. I won’t tell you what the temps were for us, as we were in the air conditioned car most of the time. Last year’s trip included an overnight at Farewell Bend State Park in Oregon. I drove in at 9:30 pm. The temp, (ok I will tell) had been 115 that day. I slept in a tent covered with a sarong that I Kept dumping water on all night. Keep your cool!
Chris
I was surprised at the high temp. in Idaho. When do you start getting into higher altitudes. I am guessing however that the humidity is lower than the heat and humidity in the Iowa,ILL, Southern Minnesota states. Interested to read Chris’s comments. Happy Fourth. LBH