Quiet, peaceful valley

August 24th/09 - Leadore, Idaho
Mileage: 77.58 km
Total mileage: 937 km
Ride time: 3:55 km

Left Salmon under overcast skies with the threat of rain. Peddled south east on Hwy 28. Breaking clouds looked promising and eventually developed into a beautiful day.

Had to stop about 6 km out of Salmon. A rancher walking his dogs called to us from the ditch, "Where you going?" We told him "Florida, but not today". He told us we were crazy and then proceeded to give us a long, long history class about the area we were travelling in, including Bureau of Land Management workings and range allotments etc. etc. Very interesting. He obviously spent a lot of time with his cows and longed for some human interaction.

Americans are definitely not bashful people. Everywhere we have ridden people approach us, ask us where we are going and where we care from, and then proceed to be the most incredible embassadors. I wish Canadians were more like that and less reserved.

The valley that Hwy 28 follows starts out lush and becomes increasingly arid. From Salmon it is all uphill although the grade is very slight and it is hardly noticeable. The valley is very pretty and it is easily seen why it is marked as a scenic route on the Idaho State map.

We stopped along the way at Tendoy, Lemhi and finally Leadore. We had long conversations with people at each location. The bikes have something to do with that. Probably not the best way to put on miles but very enjoyable.

An nice fella we talked with in Leadore came out to the campground later. We missed him because we had walked to town for a coffee. He left two pops and a note..."Hello Canadians, the fellow you met in Leadore left you a little drink. Martin"