Burley to Snowville

Yesterday, Friday, was a rough day, or at least I (Mark) think so. From Burley, Idaho to Snowville, Utah, not only our muscles, but our minds were challenged. The route began with a climb. We had left at about 8:00am in order to escape part of the midday heat. The climb drained our strength, a long and gradual slope into the mountains. Upon reaching the top, we were looking into a valley as far as the eye could see and surrounded by mountains which loomed as shadows in the distance. So we descended into the valley, regaining lost time on the downhill. The beginning of the valley was scenic, a small town named Albion and patches of trees in the fields. However, as we progressed, the valley turned into a barren, desolate wasteland, covered by sagebrush. The road was long and straight. you could look down it for miles. A headwind began to grow ahead of us and our bikes somehow began to slow down. This wind lasted for the entire route. It was a challenge to continue pedaling, with the infinite long road and desert sprawled out ahead of you. We pushed through the wind though. Our paceline slowly covered the long and dull miles. I say dull because the majority of riders believe the scenery was boring. The sagebrush has become boring to them, but I still find it beautiful. There's just so much of it. I feel repetitive in describing this scenery, but it's so unique compared to the mountains and forests in Washington. So eventually we reached Snowville, a small back country town of about 300 people as we learned from the local cafe. Coming into town, my dad and I (Mark) were thoroughly exhausted. We decided immediately to take a long pit stop at the single Chevron gas station in town. Here we drank our fill of mountain dew, orange slushies, and chocolate milk. At first, I felt terrible after gulping down so much fluid so fast, but then, as time wore on, my spirits rose. I had energy again. So, for about 2 hours, my dad and I recovered in the air conditioned gas station. I never knew that gas station could be such a accommodating place. They even gave us free refills! Talk about hospitality. We thank them so much. It was just what we needed.
And so we rode into camp, ready to take our cold showers. The camp aids, Bill, Bert, and Ed had rigged a sower from tarps since the park we were staying at lacked traditional showers. In the end, what was a patch of nice grass turned into a squishy mud pit. I believe that we came out dirtier than cleaner. But, that's okay. We felt refreshed from the ice cold hose water. Supper that night consisted of pasta, all you can eat. So of course, we stuffed ourselves, eating noodle after noodle. Then, like a bear ready for its winter hibernation. We went to sleep. The night turned cold and we slept soundly. I believe that the ride was the toughest yet, harder than the mountain climb through Steven's pass. We'll see though, Denver is coming. I've got high expectations for an intense challenge.

In order to show our fatigue and exhaustion, we have included these nice pictures of us resting. This is how tough our day can be. We really need our sleep.
-sorry, technical difficulties, pictures coming this weekend