Thursday 14 June - Idaho, famous for strong wind

Arco - Bellevue

69 miles
7 hours and 7 minutes in the saddle
25 mph max speed
9.6 mph average speed

Idaho number plates should have their tag line changed from "famous potatoes" to "ferocious winds". Today we have cycled along the Snake River Plateau and into the wind for the entire day, it has been incredibly tough and very, very slow. We have cycled through "Craters of the Moon" national monument. It is a vast lava sea of endless black lava rock formations and volcanic craters. It is a strange, desolate place and we were advised that this is where astronauts on the first moon landing did some of their training.

Tonight we are in Bellevue, yet another ski resort. It is more civilised than Arco, we have a choice of restaurants although no choice for hotels.

Although the wind has been punishing today, we prefer the weather patterns of the west to the mid-west. Weather is more stable here and there is no build up of storm clouds in the afternoon. We continue to be at high elevation (6000+ feet), mornings are cold, but it soon warms up.