Day 8 Ontario, OR to Boise, ID Photos

Lois and I thought we were pretty cool getting a very early 6:05 AM start out of town to get on our way to Boise this morning. We headed out of town together, no other riders around us. We got to talking and yakking away and about 8 miles down the road we suddenly realized that we had MISSED two turns and were hopelessly lost. We stopped and looked at the cue sheet, and then the detailed map drawings. Still could not figure out which way to go. We wanted to find the street called New Philadelphia Ave., thinking that was the road we wanted to be on. I saw a lone farmer walking along his rows in the fields. I yelled to him and asked him which way to Philadelphia Ave? He only answered in SPANISH and kept pointing over in the other direction! Next car that came along, and cars were few and far between, we asked that driver, and then another driver. They were directing us all over the place! Everyone had a short-cut to Boise for us. We tried to explain we had to get on these certain roads where our group was and our support vans were. We would show them our cue sheets and marked maps. No help. Then one guy said ask the owner of the shop up ahead. He was friendly but he had us laughing so hard, and he couldn't believe we were riding to WHERE? From Oregon to New Hampshire?? Finally, he pulled out his pen and started drawing this road map on the hood of his white pick truck. Lois and I were just cracking up it was so funny. By this time near 45 minutes have gone by with trying to figure out where the heck we were. He just told us, get on this road right there beside him and go to Sandhollow. We knew that was where the SAG vans would be. But before we left we handed him our cameras. Lois pointed to where the button was on her camera and said, "press here". He had no idea what to do. That picture has just our feet showing. He did a little better with my camera. We were trying to look "lost". But Lois is still laughing in this shot, I have a desparate look on my face. We got down the road about 5 miles and suddenly we saw the ABB shirts intersecting with the road we were on. We were SO relieved. We really did not go too far out of the way, only we lost a lot of time, meaning we were riding in more heat of the day than planned. We thought we would get to Boise by 11:30 AM, instead it was about 12:30. Come to find out we were not the only ones who missed some turns today.
When we got to the 35 mile rest stop Deanna from Boise was there to greet Christine and I. She rode this cross country route with us in 2001. She was living in Seattle at the time, and is now living in Boise. Her riding friend, Dana, also came to meet us and the two of them led 11 of us into Boise. It was great seeing her again! We'll meet her for dinner tomorrow evening. Deanna brought HOME MADE cookies to everyone at the rest stop. We get a little tired of the same 'ol same 'ol, so the cookies were a huge hit with us all. Lisa, another former rider from our 2001 trip, who now lives in Boise, stopped by the motel/restaurant this afternoon to say hello.
Here is Kirk, from Minnesota, relaxing in Hyde Park in Boise on the way in to town. How do you like those nifty Ray Charles shades?! It was a scorcher of a day and all the riders were stopping at this great strip of shops and outdoor cafes in this neat section of the city. After stopping here we continued to State Street and rode by the state capitol building.
This was a few minutes before 6:00 AM this morning. This is the "Early Bird" group who like to get up and out at the crack of dawn! Luggage truck was scheduled to open at 6:00 this morning and here we are standing with our bags waiting for the staff to open it up.