Salmon, Idaho
Distance for the day: 456.9 km
Cumulative distance: 8,337.4 km
Top speed: 135 kph
Moving average: 93 kph
Temperature: 13.8 - 38.0
Today's post is on hold due to the Oiler's game.
We have watched two complete rounds plus the last game of the 2nd round while on this trip.
Well, we're heartbroken. But we are proud of our team. Only one goal away from a Stanley Cup for Canada.
We had a good day today. We were all organized when we went to bed last night so when we woke up at 10 to 7 this morning, we were out of bed promptly, packed, loaded and on the road by 7:30. Didn't know where we were going but we were going.
By default, our first stop was in Idaho Falls. We needed a coffee and to figure out where we were going. I asked the Garmin for a coffee recommendation and got a Starbucks listing so went to the location and no Starbucks. That is the second time Garmin has done that on this trip.
We found and alternate and while it was primarily a drive through coffee stop, they did have two tables outside, which would have meant drinking our coffees in the howling wind but alas, there were three high chairs inside. We looked in several northerly directions for a suitable destination at a reasonable price and ultimately settled on Salmon. We were determined that we were going to be somewhere that we would be able to see the hockey game and ended up calling a couple of places to make sure they had TVs and good internet. Last night would have been a disaster with the cell service.
It was too early to eat at the coffee shop (not even sure they had anything to eat) so after we had booked a room we pressed on. Of course, Garmin took us all over the place in order to avoid a mile of interstate but with a destination and a reservation, we weren't stressed about it.
We are riding for an hour and a half and getting hungry. Our route took us through the Hinterland - no restaurants, and only the rare gas station. We did find a gas station and they had freshly fried chicken but somehow, I couldn't bring myself to eat gas station fried chicken, as hungry as I was. We had Garmin for a restaurant and again, we were directed to a non-existant restaurant. Seems to be a habit. We press on and we finally find a place almost all the way to Salmon: a gas station of sorts in Leadore that had a lunch bar where they made subs, hot dogs and burgers, with picnic tables outside. And home made cookies. With people inside wearing MAGA hats.
Shortly before we had reached Leadore, we passed by a small community that was a mile off the road. Called Gimore, we saw an historical sign on the highway that told something about the town. While we were having our lunches prepared, I asked the young gal making my sub and Nan's hot dog if Gilmore had any services and she told me that it was a ghost town but now had residents of sorts there with RVs and trailers occupying lots. Then I asked her about the origin of the name Leadore and she explained to me that they use to mine lead AND ore in the local mine!
Our lunch was surprisingly good and we decided that since we had time on our hands, we would go back and take a look at Gilmore, so we rode back the 25 km, then a couple of km of gravel to take a look.
Gilmore was the original business hub in the area. It was there to support the local silver mine and it is where the railroad from Montana ended that took $11.5 million of silver out of the valley until an explosion at the power plant, then the Depression pretty much killed the mine. Gilmore was founded in the 1880s and eventually had a population of 600. Today, a number of buildings remain, though crumbling. There are quite a few trailers and a few RVs parked there, most with signs that say "private property" or disparaging remarks about intimate relations with President Biden. Gilmore looked less like a ghost town and more a collection of squatters and hoarders. Just driving around in the "village", we ended up going down one road that in fact, was a driveway into a private yard. There were a number of threatening signs on the owner's trailer and it made us pretty nervous. You know everybody here is packin'. Nan jumped off the bike so I could make an easier turnaround, which was probably a good idea so that if we were seen, it would look less like we were scoping the place out. We didn't actually see anybody up there but I would not have been at all surprised if places were booby trapped. Back in 2009, four state troopers had gone up there to confront a resident but they were only met with gunfire. We were just as happy to making an exit. It wasn't what we thought it might be.
It was only an hour to Salmon and we were there and checked in by 2:45. They had a special place for motorcycle parking along with a hose and rags for wiping things down. This was particularly useful as we had been riding gravel and camping the night before so the bike and panniers were pretty dusty. And has plenty of bug splatter.
We walked about 20 minutes to get groceries for dinner and "refreshments"
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