Day 55 - Brokeback Mountain

Trip Start May 19, 2008
1
57
161
Trip End Nov 08, 2008


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Where I stayed
Joseph T Fallini Campground, Mackay Reservoir Recreation Site
(Mackay hotels)

Flag of United States  , Idaho,
Saturday, July 12, 2008

We had a terrible night's sleep thanks to the moronic late arrivals who insisted on tearing through the camp-site on their ATV's (quad bikes in Brit-speak) well into the early hours and then again from the crack of dawn this morning. And as they had already created quite a dust cloud around us, we decided to get packed up, head back down into the town and get our breakfast and sort out our bedding down there. We were packed up in a record 10 minutes and after the steady descent down the dirt and gravel tracks we pulled into a service station car park on the outskirts of McCammon.

After breakfast, washing Chip and putting everything away properly, we pulled around to the water point and dump station (this is where you empty your Porta-potti). And then it all went horribly wrong. As Neil lifted the potty out of the bus, he put his back out. So after he had managed to hobble into the back of the bus, Mel drove back to the car park area, where we sat for just under an hour while the swiftly administered pain killers took effect A "Goose Neck" River
A "Goose Neck" River
 .

Now on the positive side, everything happens for a reason. Mel had a crash course in how to change the loo fluid and then, after yesterday's scary truck experience, was forced to get back in the saddle so to speak, and take over the driving.

So with Mel behind the wheel and Neil in the navigator's seat, we headed north on Highway 91 to Pocatello. We found Wal-Mart, and so while Neil stayed in the bus and chewed on more painkillers, Mel did the shopping. Eager to make progress and get out of Idaho we grabbed a sandwich from Subway so we didn't have to stop again for lunch. Why are we so keen to get out of Idaho, we hear you ask. Well we're just not gelling with the place. The scenery is beautiful, but we've experienced some particularly moronic people, some particularly ignorant people, Neil put his back out here and they seem not to want to let you drive on any roads other than the freeway.

And so our next stop came about., a little further north at Blackfoot, where we needed highway 26, but signs for highway 26 were nowhere to be seen. So to cheer ourselves up we stopped at a Sonic for an ice cream (even though this morning Neil declared himself "at Fat Camp") Nice "B" Roads
Nice "B" Roads
 . After another encounter with a particularly obnoxious person we left Sonic with clear directions on how to get on Highway 26 to Arco.

Once again we left civilisation behind and passed through more sparsely populated areas including a place called "Atomic City" which despite the large-sounding name has a population of just 26! A few miles further down the road, we discovered how it came to be named when we passed EBR-1, the world's first nuclear reactor.

After Arco we began our climb into the mountains until we reached Mackay, the Mackay Reservoir Recreation Site and the Joseph T. Fallini Campground. It's a really nice site, only $6 and the setting is absolutely stunning overlooking the reservoir with a backdrop of mountains all around, including Borah Peak, the highest point in Idaho at 12662 ft.

Miles travelled: 145

Total miles travelled: 3620

Days on road: 35

States visited: 7

National Parks visited: 6
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