Biking

Escaping the Cold

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Yes, it gets cold in Arizona, especially in Prescott.  We’ve fled just before the first cool spell of the season and we don’t plan to return until it’s warm again.  After being home for about six weeks, we’re back on the road and are heading south…eventually. 

You can do a lot in six weeks! The previous blog post highlights a few of our Arizona and Mexico adventures. I also mentioned that another foot surgery was in the works. As soon as we came off the road in September we paid another visit to Dr. McAlister at the Phoenix Foot and Ankle Institute. I’ve been hobbling around ever since my lapiplasty surgery in May.  It became apparent that the pain in the ball of my foot was not going away and the surgery had not relieved the pain. 

Dr. McAlister confirmed what I already knew: another surgery was in my future. After an MRI, ultrasound, and several x-rays it still wasn’t clear what was causing the pain but I’m still blaming high-heeled shoes. After an in-and-out procedure, I had a torn ligament repaired, two neuromas removed, and two osteotomies (basically straightening of my toes with pins). I’ll be in a surgical shoe until Thanksgiving and hopefully back on the bike by Christmas. Fingers crossed!

Now back on the road, our first stop was McDowell Mountain Regional Park, north of Fountain Hills, AZ to escape a cold front. We were lucky to have Russ and Shelley visit and bring us dinner one evening.

Steve also got in some mountain bike riding with some buddies from Mesa Public Schools. Thanks to Steve Hogen and Shawn Lynch for coming out to see us!

Once the weather cleared a bit we headed towards the midwest to visit family in Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas. After a quick overnight stay in Albuquerque we spent the night with Sam in Denver and got in a good Mexican dinner with Sam’s brother and sister-in-law, Lorenzo and Janice. It was fun to catch up!

Across Nebraska we drove with the goal of making it to Elkhorn and Steve’s brother’s house by Halloween. We made it just in time and had a fun few days moochdocking in the Green’s driveway. We saw all five of the Green kids, saw Nathan play a few games, and enjoyed the time together. 

While in Elkhorn Bob started feeling super lethargic, threw up and then the next day had a seizure. We rushed him to the vet and after two days of tests he was diagnosed with Addison’s Disease. He’s doing great now with the help of a daily dose of prednisone. It was a little scary for a bit but thankfully the awesome Dr. Opdahl at The Pet Clinic in Omaha got Bobby all fixed up. We were all very relieved and he’s doing so much better.

We couldn’t come to the midwest and not make a visit to the see the family in Iowa. We spent one night parked outside Sandy and Jerry’s house in Corning, Iowa, and it was just enough time to have a party in the garage with all the cousins. We ate BBQ, made s’mores, and toasted to Grandma Green. Though it was a short visit it was wonderful to see everyone!

Heading south we next stopped for visit with the Kansas City Greens. Gary, Kristy, Hudson, and Brynn welcomed us with great food, a little Cornhusker football, some shopping, and lots of love to the puppies.  We’ve decided that Mia has lost her sight so she is getting extra attention these days too.

We’ve had great weather the entire time we’ve been in the midwest but it’s supposed to get cold this week. So, it’s time to head eastward and southward with planned stops in Branson, Memphis, Nashville, Montgomery, and the Gulf Coast. Eventually we’ll end up about 90 miles north of Cuba. Even with the COVID pandemic we are staying as safe as possible and feeling great. So stay tuned for more updates and highlights.

Twin Falls: The Final Stop

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We’ve been on the road for almost 80 days and it’s been fantastic. However, there’s an end to every summer and ours was in Twin Falls, Idaho. We spent four nights in this south-central Idaho city at a local KOA. We sat right next to the highway and could hear (and smell) the cows nextdoor. It was one of our lowest rated campgrounds, but it gave us easy access to Twin Falls which was why we were there.

Our first day there was all business.  I got a new phone, Steve got the truck’s oil changed, and we did a Costco run. Once we were caught up on life we headed out to see the sights.

The big draws in Twin Falls all revolve around the Snake River Canyon. The IB Perrine Bridge spans the canyon and was at one time the tallest bridge in the world.

Now it draws base jumpers from across the world. These daredevils jump off the bridge with only a loose parachute with hopes of landing on the banks of the river hundreds of feet below. It’s quite a sight to watch!

We quickly found the Snake River Rim Trail, a ten mile trail that skirts the edge of the steep canyon edge. We rode it twice. The first time we made it to the Evel Knieval jump site, the place where in 1974 the daredevil attempted to jump the canyon in a rocket-like contraption.

His parachute engaged early and he plunged down to the river’s edge. The launch site is still there, a mini-mountain that Steve had to climb. 

The other day we rode we made it to Shoshone Falls, one of the prides of Twin Falls. Known as the “Niagra of the West,” the falls are pretty spectacular, even though the water levels were low this time of year. 

Riding along the rim provided spectacular views of the canyon and river below. 

Twin Falls and much of the region was hit with a strong “wind event” the night before we were set to leave. With wind gust of over 60mph, the RV rocked and shook for quite awhile. Luckily we didn’t have damage and it didn’t look like anyone else around us did either. Boy, what a mess.

As we drove south toward Salt Lake City it was clear that the storm was even stronger there. Along I-15 just north of Salt Lake we passed over 40 big rig trucks blown over along the side of the road. It was still pretty windy but we made it safely to our overnight stop, another Harvest Host, south of Salt Lake.

All good things come to an end and this trip is about over. We plan to be back home by the end of the week and ready to plan our next adventure!

The Sawtooth

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From Salmon we drove about 150 miles south to the center of Idaho and the Sawtooth National Recreation and Wilderness Area.  Most famously known for nearby Sun Valley Ski Resort, the draw for us is the natural beauty. We’ve said lots of “Wows” on this leg of the journey.

First we headed into Ketchum, the closest town with a Verizon store. Replacing the broken iPhone is a priority but in these parts, your priorities are not their problem. After a number of calls and an uncomfortable store visit we left without a viable solution. The last photo my phone took was a call to 911, which I didn’t make.

So, we are working on one phone for the time being. The scenery, however, makes up for it.

Our first destination here was the small town of Stanley and the nearby ghost towns of Bonanza and Custer. This is gold rush country from the mid 1800s through 1960. In Custer we toured the ghost town that once held a large population, all there to work the nearby mill, built to process ore from the mines. Relics from the early miners litter the ground of this historic site.

Along the way to Custer we passed the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge, which is a 988 ton relic of gold mining from the 1940s and 50s. There are 71 one-ton buckets on one continuous chain and each bucket could hold eight cubic feet of dirt.

The dredge dug into the valley over a six mile swath to recover gold by washing and separating the rock, gravel, and dirt from the gold.  Having cut a large swath of land through a beautiful valley, the old dredge still stands as a testament to man’s search for wealth. We toured the four story dredge which over a 12 year period turned out gold valued at  $1.2 million in 1958 dollars.

The next day we hopped on the bikes and rode from our campsite to the nearby Pole Creek Ranger Station. Pole Creek is the oldest Forest Service construction in the Sawtooth National Forest and was home to Ranger Bill Horton for 22 years.

The station is on the National Register of Historic Places and shows how tough and hard working rangers like Horton were. 

The remainder of the day was spent at the popular Redfish Lake. With a lodge, visitor center, and white beaches, Redfish is popular with hikers, paddle-boarders, kayakers, and boaters.

We walked the Fishhook Trail from the visitor center and came across the Kokanee Salmon, a relative of the Sockeye in the nearby creek. It was spawning season, so the red fish were thick, having come up stream from Redfish Lake. Once they hatch and grow they will go downstream tail-first to live and enjoy the beautiful Redfish Lake. 

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is filled with campsites, streams, and trails. We spent some time on the Harriman Trail, an 18 mile mountain bike trail that runs along the Big Wood River. We rode just a section of the trail, which was a good workout with incredible views. 

From there we headed to nearby Pettit Lake where Steve did a seven mile trail run while I rode the bike a little more. Steve’s run took him from Pettit Lake to Alice Lake. Along the way he had incredible views and scenery. 

The campgrounds were beginning to fill up in anticipation of the upcoming long weekend, which is our cue to move along. We really loved our time in the Sawtooth area and hope to return to explore more trails by foot and by bike. 

We are heading south towards Twin Falls for our next set of adventures.