Today turned out to be a great day to ride. The sun was out and there was a head wind in the morning. Then, at about the hottest part of the day, there was a rest stop. Families were having lunch under the trees, and I took a nap. I am really growing to love the naps 
When I woke up the clouds were covering the sun and the winds had changed. I jumped on my bike and followed this lush green valley for miles. There were snow capped mountains on my left and high brown mountains on the right. In the middle a carpet of green.
I passed through a small town called Picabo. What friendly people. The place I ate lunch was also a museum. They had some great old pictures. It was funny, they had pictures of people out hunting with Hemingway. The Hemingway. It turns out that after he lost his house in Cuba he moved to Ketchum, ID, about 35 miles from Picabo and spent a lot of time in the town. It was just him and a group of friends out and about. Ketchum is also where he shot himself. His house there is now a museum. While eating, I talked to a guy named Ken, who is working at a local nursery to save up for a trip next summer to South America. He was excited about skiing all summer (their winter) in Argentina. Great conversation.
Just outside of Picabo I also passed the world famous Silver Creek, known for it’s great trout fishing. I know this because I was sitting on the bridge over the creek watching the water go by and a lady on a bike stopped (at first I thought it was Lynn Blaney, a friend from Wheeling) and we talked about birds, the creek, the Oregon Trail, the snow covered mountains, and the animals. (Speaking of animals, I saw a fox hunting in a field of alfalfa yesterday. He was jumping up out of the clover and pouncing back out of sight. I waited and got a picture of him in midair!) Anyway, turns out this lady and her husband run a fishing tour company there at Silver Creek (hence the reason for all her knowledge about the area). It was great.
Over all I went about 50 miles today. A little short of my 70 miles a day goal, but it was a great day. I met some great people and saw some gorgeous country.
It is raining now, so, I set my tent up and will be sung to sleep by the pitter patter of rain on my tent. I am sure I will be dreaming of Craters of the Moon. Everyone says it is like the earth was bubbling away and then dried that way. We will see in the morning. I plan to take the 7 mile loop and do some hiking (another short mileage day)
Good night…