Day 17 (Sunday, 11-6-2011): Falls Campground to Route 26 rest stop

Mr. Freeze in a forest of Candy and Indian Corn.

Day 17 got off to a late start as I am still adjusting to the clock getting pushed back an hour. I didn't actually leave until close to 10AM and lo and behold, even after hearing snow plows go by several times that morning, the road still was not plowed all the way down to the pavement. I guess they don't use salt around here either. I was starting to dread a long day of biking on packed down, slick snow and ice without snow tires as well as 'wasting' a perfectly good day of mainly downhill riding when after about a mile and a half, the roads were miracously clear of any sort of snow or ice. Even the land to both sides of the road only had a dusting of snow.

Needless to say, with a nice downhill, a tailwind (finally!), and feeling fresh and rejuvenated after a day of rest, I made really good time. The first 'big' town that I arrived in, Dubois, I decided to stop and check my email and upload a few more days worth of routes onto my Garmin. I parked myself behind the Rocky Mountain Lodge where there was free wi-fi and an electrical outlet.

Right as I was about to leave, one of the proprietor's came out to let his dog in and invited me inside where I chatted with him and his wife for a bit about my trip so far and the upcoming route. They informed me about a highway rest stop about 40 miles up the road that would probably be a good spot to stay. Seeing as I met Dori and Mo at a rest stop along the highway in North Dakota and they enjoyed utilizing the shelter and conveniences that they provide, that seemed like a good idea to me. Indoors, relatively warm, running water and toilets and possible electrical outlets and wi-fi – good stuff! Also, not needing to set up my tent is a big plus. After a little over forty miles of the quickest, downhill with-a-tailwind riding I have done all trip, I got there just before dark and that included stopping to take a ton of pictures of some pretty great and unique landscapes along the highway including Crowheart Bluff and some interesting stratisfied mountain/hill formations.

Crowheart Bluff

It turns out this was a pretty nice stop and was impeccably clean. However, no electrical sockets inside... There was a sole one outside, but it was turned off. Bummer – only a few hours worth of battery life to survive on. However, genius struck when I realized that the automatic faucets were probably hooked up somehow to an electrical source. Sure enough, peaking behind the flimsy plastic covering I saw a standard power outlet. I busted out my multitool to unscrew the cover and had electrical access the rest of the night to charge my camera, flashlight, and laptop batteries!