July 17th: Idaho potatoes

Today was a big day: there was going to be no new water supply along the road, so we had to stock up. Next to that we had to passes to cross.
We started immediately with a gentle climbing warm up for about 10 miles. Sofie had her speedy engine going while my diesel needs some time. I enjoyed the sun slowly climbing over the mountains, sending its rays to the pasture where cows or horses were grazing. Some cows got so interested in Sofie cycling along that they were still coming when I passed.
The first climb brought us to the top of Salt River Pass, where pioneers crossed years ago, pushing there handcarts. The road surface wasn't that great: chip sealed they call it here. But that couldn't take away the joy of the downhill: YIHA! The ride to the Idaho border was a breeze.
Just before the town of Geneva there was a sign along the road: ICE- water and free jerky tasting. A man was sitting there and of course we went over to have a talk with the old guy. He was very interested in our ride and gave us some advice, Sofie got free ice-water (I bought a liter of Powerade - ice cold) and I tasted some jerky (after all this years I finally got myself to do this): this is dried beef, or elk or bison meat.
The town of Geneva has no lake... it has hardly any people leaving there. Going out of this town is a killer climb - especially if you cycle it on a warm day. Sofie and I grunged and puffed and took deep breaths and we both made it: HURRAY - and I took my hot water (I could almost brew some tea) and threw it over me. Couldn't convince Sofie to do the same - she missed out on that cooling effect!
The downhill went fast - even the road work at the end of the ride wasn't too bad.
We had made good time today and could enjoy the afternoon walking (in the heat) around town. We waved to the webcam, walked to a recommended restaurant (which was closed), walked to Butch Cassidy's restaurant where we ate Idaho Mashed Potatoes... but the ones in Yellowstone tasted better.