Wednesday-
It rained
during the night then it stopped. But in morning the roof of the hangar
continued to drip and flow. Fortunately I
was out of the drop zone but
the
water continued as if it were melting snow or heavy frost rather than
draining
rain. I don’t know.
This
was my coldest
night of the trip with my sleeping gear being inadequate. I pulled my
watch cap down,
tucked my fleece vest
around me and zipped up the bag all the way but
the
dampness inside the tent and my down bag caused me to shiver. So I
deliberately
did isometrics with my legs and stomach muscles to generate some heat
until the
sun came up. The morning dawned bright and clear.
I was out of the wind
and in
the direct morning sun so my gear dried quickly and I used a handy
trailer as
my breakfast table and gear
staging platform. I
was able to meet Shelly in person before
leaving and thank her for the hospitality.
That sure worked out nicely!
I headed north and stopped at Daniel
for fuel. Continued on
US 191 to US 89 downhill to Hoback then Hoback Canyon.
The Hoback river
was
running pottery-clay red! There had been some kind of landslide on a
side creek
that turned the river red
all the way down to its confluence with the
Snake
near Alpine Junction.
I joined US26 and
proceeded next to Palisades reservoir. I came across a motorcyclist
with
luggage and no license plate stopped
alongside the road apparently
filming a
cropduster who was working parallel and close to the road. We talked briefly. We both
needed gas and
lunch and Subway was his usual lunch as was mine so- we headed west
with Mark
leading. At Irwin there was a gas
station with Subway so we stopped for
gas and
lunch. Mark
was out on his own fabulous
adventure and was headed for Baker City
Oregon with an Oregon Trail
theme to
his travels. He kindly bought my lunch for no apparent reason. Thanks
Mark!
I
headed in to
Arco and was astonished to see the sail of a real nuclear submarine in
the city
park. I could tell it was of the class just
before mine based on the
side
number as well as the fact of having ladder rungs welded on it. (Mine
didn’t
have a way to climb down
the sail to the hull)
This is a Mk 46 torpedo. Big aren't they? My boat had Mk 48 torpedoes. |
I refueled in Arco and headed north on US 93.
In
Mackay I stopped to use the restroom then
went to find the free city campground.
It looked like a pretty good campground though
it was in
need of mowing.
And for some reason even though the place was 75% unoccupied they had a
‘Campground Full’ sign showing.
I
should call and ask about that…..
Full? Really? Is camouflage really that good? |
The ride up US 93 is really amazing. It’s quite remote and very beautiful from mountains and bluffs and long views.
I
reached the
Cottonwood BLM campground about 1830 and looked over the sites. And I
landed
back on the exact same site I occupied
last year. This time the river
was down
about 2 feet lower and more normal.
I
set up my camp and
was just hanging out
when the guy
from the next camp over came up with a plate of food
asking if I
was hungry. Hungry? He
brought steak,
potatoes, corn on the cob and
salad. Wow! CAMPGROUND MAGIC! He and his wife
were out of Rigby riding
their Honda cruisers and just getting away for the night.
And they give
away
food when they have it. Fabulous!
Campground magic! |
Same site as last year but water was a bit lower. Lots of cotton around. |
Last Modified: 11/14/2020