Day 61, Smiley Creek ID, Crater of the Moons-NM ID, 219kms 2

(TA’s) After a real comfortable night in our yurt under our electric blankets (it was freezing outside at 22:00). We grabbed breakfast at the lodge before coming up with a plan for the day. It is still memorial weekend and all the camp sites are very busy. I was already packed and ready to go so I set off ahead of Zoe and Bob to get to our next stop early enough to be able to secure a camp site for the night.

I rode through the mountain road at decent speeds and passed through Sun Valley  in a rush and kept on trucking towards the Crater of the Moon national monument. I did stop a couple of times along the way for some photos as the scenery was too good to pass up but didn’t waste too much time… I had places to go!

I arrived at the national monument at 13:00 and managed to get us a campsite, just in time because 30 minutes later the place was full!

Zoe and Bob arrived 2 hours later having done their leisurely cruise over to the park. We set up camp and went down into the park to have a look around and walk through the lava formations.

Since lunch was pretty much non-existent we all wanted to hear back and get some food! That proved to be a mission. I went into town 30kms down to road to see what I could find… the choices were limited and a bag of frozen veggies and frozen stir fry later (the healthiest thing in town!) And together with Bobs supply we had food to get us through the night.

-TA

(Zoe’s) yes the Yurt was amazing! Considering it was already freezing on the ground while we still cooking we were very glad we weren’t camping…. so Tanguy went ahead while I stayed behind to ride with Bob, being senior in years he’s not quite as sprightly as us young folks in the morning. We got going only shortly before 12am an enjoyed the viewpoints in Sawtooth mountains – very beautiful!!

On the way we stopped at Sun Valley to have a look at the famed Ski resort – turns out Ketchum was where all the shops, restaurants and stuff was happening. Found out its abit harder to communicate with someone without our Bluetooth intercom – meaning we stopped more often to talk to each other. Unfortunately after Sun Valley the traffic got busier and slower, so we cut down a side road in Craters of the Moon NM and fortunately it was quieter then. After arriving and seeing how busy, I was pretty sure we weren’t getting a spot and neither had Tanguy… No msgs from him I assumed the worst, luckily Bob convinced me it was worth having a drive around the campsite, and as we approached the camp entrance, Lo and behold a familiar 1200gs was parked at a campsite!! Phew.
After our few short hikes in the park, myself and Bob cooked up some treats he had tucked away; a Burmese pickled nut snack and some Indian rotis with fresh Avo and sour cream – despite sounding simple it was absolutely delicious, such a nice change in variety after the same bland American food.(!) After that is was time to get settled in the for the night.

–Zoe