Day 4: West Yellowstone - St. Anthony, ID

We wake up at 6:45am. It is sunny and cool (+7C), but by the time we get to the breakfast place, Picnic Basket, the sky is cloudy. We have hot oatmeal and Montana stack: biscuits and gravy covered in cheese and eggs. Hmmm, hearty homestyle!

We are on the road at 10:10am. It is +12C and cloudy, and we see some rain not so far away. After riding 17km we cross the continental divide for the fourth time on our trip at the Targhee Pass (elev. 7072'). We also leave Montana and enter Idaho. See the picture below.

From the divide we have an easy downhill in tailwind for a few miles. Below are some pictures of a ghost tourist resort we pass near the Henrys Lake in Idaho. We were not able to find their website let alone reviews.

Some seven kilometers before Ashton we start a steep descent to the potato fields. The ride is spectacular, but unfortunately the road is under construction, so it is also dirty.

Now we say goodbye to the mountains for a while!

At 3pm. after riding for 56.7km we are in Ashton (elev. 5255'), the major seed potato producer of the country, that also hosts the Mesa Falls Marathon. We visit Ashton's visitor info, that gives us useful material (maps, RV park guide etc.) and hints about how to continue the trip from Arco, our next-day destination. We are told that a younger couple visited the center earlier the day, and they had started in Philadelphia and were heading to Portland, like we are.

We spend some time chatting with bikers that have put up a shed to share some refreshments with fellow bikers returning from Sturgis. They tell us there had been about 600,000 bikers.

We are treated well, as well. Gosh, the cold water tastes good!


It is closer to four o'clock when we continue our trip. Our destination of the day, St. Anthony (elevation 4970') looms just 14 miles away. The sun is merciless, but luckily we have a strong tail wind and flat road ahead.

About three kilometers before St. Anthony Tomi has a flat and we change the tube. We enter the town from backroads around 5:30pm. The Best Western's Henry's Fork Inn is the only option for accommodation ($65).

There are two options for dining on Sunday night. The motel receptionist recommends the neighbouring Charlie's. We choose Jill's. Tomi has grilled liver and Tei trout. Both entrees cost about $10, including potato soup and salad bar (the only bar open on Sundays). After the dinner we return to the motel to watch Olympic games in Athens. Today we rode 116.6km in 5:50. The average speed was 19.8km/h.


Day 5: St. Anthony - Arco

The alarm goes off at 6:30am. It is partly cloudy now, but we expect a warm day. We have breakfast at Charlie's Country Diner, not very light fare, not very good, but it is supposed to keep us going for 110 miles today. Tei has a Denver Omelette and Tomi some hash kind of thing, both $6.95.

We exit St. Anthony via backroads. On our way to highway 33, we pass sand dunes and farmed elks. We reach 33 after 37.1km and 2:10 of riding. Sun comes out and we put sunscreen on. It is almost noon.

At 1pm. we stop at the weigh station by I-15 (see the picture below at left). We top off the water bottles. So far we have ridden 60.5km in little more than 3 hours and practically in desert. There is nothing out there but sand and shrubs - no houses, no trees, no water, not even traffic. And it is hot.

At 2pm. we are in Terreton (after riding 78.4km in four hours) that has a grocery store. We purchase microwaved chimichangas and yogurt for lunch and enjoy them by the weather station (see the picture below on the right).

We continue riding. We still have some 50 more miles to go to Arco. It is getting cloudy and the wind changes its direction, often. The landscape is flat, but the air pollution, as we are informed in one of the interpretive centers by the highway, makes it impossible to see very far. For instance, the buttes pictured below at right were clearly visible from this distance ten or fifteen years ago.

After riding 129.5km in 6:45 we stop in Howe to refuel. It is 6 o'clock in the afternoon. A thunderstorm is approaching. Once we are ready to go, the rain starts. It does not last long.

It is already dark when we arrive at Arco (elev. 5318'), the first town in the world lit by nuclear power. We stay in the DK Motel for $40. They have coin laundry, but we have no plans to do laundry tonight. The plan is to find food.

We find Pickle's place and have burgers, atomic and garden, with side salads for $6.95 each. We gulp them down with some light beer, Aspen Edge and Corona. The burgers are awesome and salads huge and good! Here is someone's picture of the place in the winter time.

We pick up some items for breakfast at the gas station, as well as a couple of beers for tonight: Moose Drool brown ale from Big Sky Brewing Company in Montana.

Today, we rode 169.2km in 9 hours and 10 minutes. We spent more than 12 hours on the road.

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