I got a good night's sleep, but getting up and laying back down were hard on my ribs. It's really sad when you have to weigh the merits of getting up to pee and staying put. It's kidney against rib, organ vs. bone, captured lovingly in this pewter chess set, crafted by the Franklin Mint. (By the way, I decided to pee.)
I tried to stop for breakfast, but I woke up at my traditional hour, so I had to settle for lunch. When I was a kid, I would always see signs that boasted "Breakafast Anytime," and I would think "Who gives a crap?" If I knew then what I know now.
Sometime that morning I ran into a group of college-age girls that were cycling home from Massachusetts. I talked to one for a while, just before Rexford -- the last stop with any semblance of services for 68 miles. They're travelling light, they claimed, but their bags were bigger than mine. I'm not exactly sure how they define "light," but I do know that they aren't carrying razors. If you know what I mean.
Anyway, the ride followed the shore of Lake Koocanusa, which was a bigass lake. See?
The highway department has blasted the road out of the side of the mountain, which makes the lake fairly ugly, but the water was remarkably calm -- no boaters -- so I enjoyed it just the same. I stopped for an hour to read by the shoreline, then got back on the road. It was such a relaxing scene that I decided to make it a short day.
I decided to camp at Rocky Gorge, a national forest service campground. The area had some cool tent sites -- you had to walk down a trail to even see them. I dug one in particular, so I set up and started cranking out PB&J sandwiches. Life is good.
Here's a shot of my site, perched on a cliff next to Lake Koocanusa.
Koocanusa. Hehe, that makes your mouth feel funny. Hehe.