DAY 17

Idaho Falls to Arco

Here the desert really begins. Basically we rode all day past nothing but sagebrush, hay bales and some secretive government atomic testing base. There were absolutely no facilities, let alone shade (something we know we have to get used to for the next few weeks). It made a good time to think and reflect on the trip thus far. About the only traffic that passed us were enormous oversize trucks carrying everything of every size, sometimes nearly running us off the road. There are also heaps of hawks and other birds of prey soaring overhead all day long. Arco is a real country town: friendly people that all seem to know each other, hate California and hate Obama. That about sums it up.

Sidenotes: Stu and Jo, who we met over breakfast, gave us their details should we need help when we get back to Utah. This kind of thing and these kind of people we are meeting all the time. The American people are nothing but kind, polite and friendly, it's wonderful.

Also, this is "numbers hill" which overshadows Arco. It's painted with the numbers of the year the local high-school kids graduate.