Day 13, June 27, 2015, Burley, ID to Pocatello, ID, 86 mile and 1200 feet of climbing.  Hit the road at 6:00 a. m. for another sunrise ride in an effort to beat the heat.  It was a pleasant 64 degrees when we left but by 1:30 p.m. when I pulled into the motel it was a toasty 95!  Started the day in irrigated farm land and saw lots of fields of potatoes (probably those big ole Idaho baking taters?).  We then entered an expanse of open range that was absolutely beautiful with mountains way in the background on one side and the Snake River on the other.  Cattle were grazing freely as there were no fences.  They would sometimes cross the road in front of you and I became quite adept at dodging there cow patties/piles.  It gave me a taste of what it must have been like back in the “old days”.  Towards the end of the day we alternated between riding on I-86 and a frontage road that parallels it.  If not for the blazing sun (at the end of the day) it would have been perfect.  I arrived at the motel hot, hungry and thirsty.  Before checking in I found the nearest Subway to eat lunch and cool off.  When I got back to the motel I found the lobby full of disgruntled cyclists as the rooms were not ready.  Geesh……nothing worse than a bunch of guys who think they deserve to have their every need met and on time.  A casual observer would have never guessed that all they had to do for the past 13 days was get up and ride a bicycle through some outstanding areas of this country!  Oh well, I found a lounge chair by the pool, layed on my back with my legs elevated and took a nap.  I am one blessed brother!!

 

Leaving Burley as the sun rises.

 

Potatoes were growing eveywhere.

 

That same cyclist followed me again.  I'm thinking it is a guardian angel that my Wild Rose has sent to look after me.

 

Crossing the Snake River. 

 

Look out for cattle!!

 

Riding through the open plains.  This road went on for miles.

 

Cattle on the open plains.

 

Historic site. "Signature Rock".  A stop on the Oregon Trail where the emigrants stopped to sign their names.  Boy they must have been hardy, determined souls!!