May 24, 2002
| Bike | Run | Swim | Total | |
| Today | 80 | 0 | 0 | 80 |
| Total to Date | 659 | 65 | 3 | 727 |
distances in km.
May 24, 2002
Yesterday I remarked at how dramatic it was when I rounded the corner coming down from the mountains of southern Montana into the vast plains of Idaho. That the sudden contrast of being thrust into complete flat openness from spending almost an entire week surrounded by mountains was pretty cool.
When I departed the Crossroads hotel in Dubois this morning, I was pleasantly reminded again that I was in a different kind of country – huge skies, vast, open and flat.
Never mind all that. This prairie stuff kind of sucks. I spent 5 hours today traveling exactly, precisely, south on i15 for 80 very long and psychologically tasking kilometers. Flat. Straight. Flat on the right. Flat on the left. Flat in front and flat behind. Except for this wonderful scenic vista:
Here is how to make an Idaho:
1. Take a 240 mile square piece of cardboard and cut it into the shape of Idaho State.
2. Tape a strip of scotch tape across the middle from east to west. Be sure to leave about an inch of tape overlapping either the right or left-hand side of the cardboard.
3. Spread glue all over the shape.
4. Sprinkle mountains everywhere.
5. Now quickly rip the tape up, off of the cardboard lifting off a strip of mountains with it.
6. Now fill the empty space where the tape used to be with potatoes and cattle.
7. Now remove most of the cattle and throw in a few potato-processing plants. And more potatoes.
There you have it – Idaho!
My left Achilles tendon started hurting today, so I think I’ll take a rest day here at the Westin in Idaho Falls. There’s an aquatic center here and I will attempt to swim 6 km tomorrow. I’ll have to do it between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm because the “AQUATIC” center’s 6 swimming lanes turn into kid play space then. Also, I’ll take this opportunity to clean up a bit – shave and do some laundry.
Due to popular demand, I have produced a sequal to Wednesday’s short film. Enjoy!
