Cokeville

Cokeville

July 2

A wonderful ride today.

Left from my camping spot in the trees at six thirty.

Made it to Cokeville by twelve thirty this afternoon.

Nothing overly spectacular about the ride itself.

I thought of going further to Kemmerer.

Then I realized the last times I tried to push hard and go down the road some more miles.

Decided against it.

Found a motel here for forty.

The couple who run it are a hoot.

There is a little trailer that has food for sale on Thursdays.

Open from six to eight this evening.

I may go and grab some from veggies and make myself a nice salad. 

For now, just relaxing and enjoying.

Tomorrow is another day.

I will leave it at that.

Continuing to joy in the journey,

D.

Smoot....and beyond.....

Smoot....and beyond....

July 1

It was five in the morning, local time, when I woke up today, July 1.

Slept good at Alpine Campground.

But hunger woke me up.

Broke out the trangia, made sure it was filled with fuel, lit it up, and placed the water and oatmeal on to cook.

Did not take long and I had myself a great big bowl of cooked oats.

Took it back inside my tent as the mosquitoes were being a nuisance.

After eating, I laid back down.

Fell asleep till seven.

There was a lot of condensation on the rain fly and tent, both.

And the sun was definitely not going to peek over the mountain until at least nine.

So while rolling it all up to put into the panniers, I tried to wipe it off some with a rag I had.

Got everything in where suppose to go and got on the road.

Thought about stopping in Alpine at the local eatery.

No, nope, not to do so this morning.

So I kept on pedaling down Hwy. 89.

Rode into Etna WY.

Saw a sign that read Horseshoe Cafe.

Sounded good and all the little town cafes I have been to so far have been quite filling and tasty.

So parked the recumbent, walked in and sat down at a table.

Ordered myself a great breakfast for a ten dollar bill.

While I was waiting for my breakfast of two eggs, hash browns, a slab of ham, toast and orange juice to be served, I noticed three older looking men.

Definitely cowboys.

They were praying, giving thanks, before their food was served.

The Spirit moved in me that I should go introduce myself and ask them to pray for this journey.

So...

I did.

One has to remember, there is a huge influence of Mormonism in this area. 

I did not know if they were Buddhists, Catholics or what.

They were strong believers in Christ who met to share with each other one day a week.

Pretty cool, do you not think so?

Gave them a card and Ken said that would remember to pray for me as I traveled along the road.

The other was Mike.

Sorry I cannot remember the name of the third man.

I left there feeling very humbled and blessed!

I had stopped.

I had listened.

I had looked.

I had learned.

Just what I had texted with my sister Cyndi, the day before.

Once again, I can here God saying, "Gotcha!"

Left there and pedaled.

And pedaled.

I came into Afton WY.

I do not like to stop at fast food places.

For some reason, that voice was telling me to stop, get some lemonade to refresh me, at the least.

So, again, I listened and stopped.

No one asked about the recumbent or the trip.

Ordered some chicken pieces and some lemonade.

Water works for a while when it is hot.

Having something different to drink is helpful.

I was getting up to refill my drink when a lady asks about my shirt and if I had ordered it from Voice of the Martyrs.

It is the shirt that says "This shirt is illegal in 53 countries." 

All because it has a cross printed on the front.

A bold, red cross.

She introduced me to her husband.

Jay, Chandra and Penny it was a delight to have the Lord lead us together for those few minutes of fellowship and encouragement at BK.

He is a music educator and vocal soloist.

She lived in Japan and taught ESL and Bible.

Two groups of people in one day.

All believers in Christ.

Anyway...

They are going to attend a conference put on by VOM sometime soon.

Would be so good to go to one someday.

After exchanging cards and farewells, I rode on to Smoot WY.

No place to camp.

Which leads me to where I am for the night.

Tucked away a little ways from the road in amongst some trees.

Since the tent is dark green it more or less blends in.

Right at the base of the pass I need to start climbing up in the morning.

I am about five, maybe six miles out of Smoot.

Should be about forty one to Cokeville.

First is the uphill.

Actually, first is to quit typing and get some sleep.

So, my day has come to an end.

Would enjoy hearing how yours was!

Continuing to joy in the journey,

D.

Alpine

Alpine WY

June 30

Victor

Swan Valley

Irwin

Alpine

Actually two miles shy of Alpine at a campground.

Need to share about last night.

Saw a magnificent thunder and lightning storm.

There were flashes and booms all around.

Got about six minutes of it.

Even after I crawled into the tent, it continued for at least another hour.

Was truly an energetic time.

And to top it off, it rained.

Was nice to fall asleep to the rain, thunder and lightning, knowing I was safe in the Father's arms!

Best place to be. 

Right?

So today was pedal, pedal, pedal.

First off was riding over Pine Creek Pass.

Started uphill about half mile from the campground.

6764 feet in elevation.

Coming down into Swan Valley was a beautiful sight.

About half way down, I noticed a man walking around in a pull out from the highway.

Pulled over and as he began talking it was very apparent he was not from this continent.

He was from England.

As Tom and I continued to converse, he knew of PNG and had known some who served there during the wars and some who served after as well.

Was fun chatting with him.

So the fuel station/convenience store at Swan Valley has square ice cream scoops in a cone.

So, yes, I did enjoy one.

Mint chocolate cream.

Quite delicious!

Just outside of Irwin is what looks like a family run camp area. 

Fifteen a night for vehicles/RVs and five a night for tenters/bicyclists.

I would have stopped and tried it, but was not far enough miles for the day.

Had the fun of pedaling up the long incline of Palisades Dam.

But also got to go down, in stages, as well.

It was more like up, then down.  

Up some more than down some more.

Repeat.

Repeat again.

That was the pattern of riding this afternoon the whole way to where I am bedding down for the night.

One little bit of rain sprinkle just before the camp site.

Am thinking will go as far as Smoot tomorrow and tackle the pass and down to Cokeville the next day.

Playing this all by ear.

A couple points learned these last couple days.

No one told me the carburetor would need more air coming in.

A little winded at some of the elevations.

No matter how much water or other type of liquid I drink, it sweats out faster. 

All part of the journey.

Or that the fuel tank would constantly be reading empty, even after a meal.

Being at these elevations has had its share of difficulties, but at the same time, there has been great victories over the passes, coming up inclines from overlooks, and making the miles even if did not make the miles. 

That last one about the miles is one of those garden glove moments between the Lord and myself.

The Lord is certainly teaching and schooling me on this journey.

What is He teaching all of you these days?

When I texted some family I was stopping for the day, I was asked by my sister Cyndi what God was telling me right now.

My answer:

To feed myself! 

To stop often, look, listen and learn. 

To keep remembering it is all about people.

Always!

Relationships trump distance.

Needed to make sure that was clear.

Continuing to joy in the journey,

D.

To Victor

To Victor.

June 29

Am sitting here in my tent at the campsite listening to and watching a wind storm. 

The branches of the trees are swaying back and forth as if in a musical or orchestral score.

A few have small limbs dropped as if not needed to complete the notes.

But looking out the screen of the tent door, I see some small patches of blue sky from the direction the wind is blowing.

So we will see what happens during the night.

A lot of people are asking about the recumbent, aka "the train."

I simply tell them what I am doing and the reasons behind this journey.

Met the owner of the campground.

Used to be a physical therapist along with his friend from Scottsdale  AZ. 

The owner has lived here for seventeen years.

The two have known each other for over forty years.

That is a long time for a friendship to last.

Our friendship with Christ will last longer, as it will be for an eternity.

In Driggs, I met a cyclist who gave me some good insight to the route I am taking. 

He has been all over this area on a bike.

Both street and off road.

There is a very nice bike/pedestrian path that runs from Driggs all the way into Victor.

You actually get on it about a mile from the grocery store in Driggs.

It is actually a nice trail.

One or two places where they have it marked to fix a couple drop offs.

So be aware if you take that trail.

People told me the roads would be dangerous for a recumbent.

Had no trouble at all.

Drivers went around me and I would wave and occasionally toot the air horn.

I wish the bike shop here in Victor had been open when I came through.

Looks like a cool shop with a wide variety of different bicycles.

And parts.

The name of it is

I did fifty miles today!

That is the best I have done in a while.

Thanks Lord for keeping me focused on you and the people I have met along this journey.

This journey has had a few different routes.

Today's was no exception.

From Ashton this morning I pedaled through....

Drummond

Felt

Tetonia

Driggs

and finally Victor.

I never quite know what the scenery will be like around the next bend, or over the next rise of the hill, or coming out of a wooded area into the open range.

Today, as I was pedaling along Hwy 32 in Idaho, It was like I could reach out and touch the Tetons.

And the further I went, and when I got on Hwy 33, it was even more spectacular.

There is less than two feet of shoulder on the roads during this days ride.

Words and pictures cannot describe the garden glove moments of stopping, admiring and giving thanks to the Lord for His creative ways. 

One simply must experience the drive, bike, hike, swim...themselves.

Actually, I remember the owner of the campground saying he saw me a few days ago up by Macks Inn and Island Park.

Pretty cool how the Lord does those wonderful divine appointments. 

And the receptionist and her husband, you could call them the camp hosts, knew where Ephrata is, as they lived in Clarkston and other areas in Washington State.

They do this just during the summer.

I stopped at Tetonia and got a couple "ades" to help with the thirst.

And in Driggs, where I encountered the young man, Scott, who has biked so much of this area, I got some fruit. 

I have craved it since I ran out a couple days ago.

Bananas, orange, apple.

Even a small box of Annie's peanut butter granola bars.

I am set for a day or two.

Tomorrow I hope to go from Victor to Swan Valley to Alpine, just inside Wyoming.

I am glad I decided not to go to Jackson.

Too crazy there right now with all the cars.

I want to tell you of the ongoing conversation I have had with the Lord the last couple days.

But....

Will leave it for another post!

Continuing to joy in the journey,

D.