Hot AS Hell, and Another Expensive Day

 Yesterday morning we left Lewiston around 9:00 a.m. and it was already very hot, Probably on the 90sF. A railway line runs south along the highway but it seems to be unused with hundreds of container cars being stored, essentially using the line as a siding. I suspect that if I ever get this way again, I would find that the tracks will have been torn up since there doesn't seem to be any real purpose in keeping them. 

We continued south on Highway 95 until Garry pulled off the highway. He had less than 10km in reserve and we were fortunate to be able to find gas in the little village of Winchester where we both put five dollars of 87 gas in our tanks because that was the only grade that was available. Six miles down the road we filled up at the Craigmont Conoco station so we didn't have to worry about running out since gas stations are few and far between. Further on we refueled at a Sinclair station in New Meadows, ID.

After filling up my left saddle bag cove opened so when I stopped to close it I took photos of the farmland. It appears that this area is one where grains such as oats and wheat are grown and the rolling field are very large. This is sparsely populated land and in the winter it must be desolate, it has a stark beauty nevertheless.

Oats? and ripening canola

Wheat field almost ready for harvest

Heading south Highway 95 parallels the old railway line that ran from Boise to Lewiston. This section ran south to Grangeville, and again the piles of old railway ties told the tale of a line that no longer has an economic purpose. It is sad to see a railroad line that was built in more optimistic times falling victim to progress -better highways and cheaper and fast truck freight. It is an unfortunate reality of our times I suppose.

By this time the temperature was well over 100F. (38C) and we passed through Whitebird to stop for lunch at Riggins., a small town that caters to tourists who take advantage of the Salmon River to go on rafting trips. 

Main street (Hwy 95) in Riggins, ID.

As we passed through to small town of Keithley a thermometer on a bank building read 111F. (44C) and when we were at the H-D dealership in Meridian it was still 104F. Thank heavens for air conditioning!

We refueled at Cambridge and continued south to Payette and then onto I-84 for a forty mile run to Meridian, ID and High Desert Harley-Davidson. We originally planned to stop there to but spark plug leads for Garry's bike. 

On the way there Garry's bike began to experience electrical problems and he lost his signals and gas gauge. When the technicians checked the bike, they discovered that the voltage regulator had failed and had damaged some of the electronics, including his LED headlight. H also burned out his stator as well. In addition, he was told that his front tire had only 2000 miles (3000 km.) left on it so rather than having to find a dealership to replace it, since it was in the shop anyway, it would be best to have that work done as well. At present, the estimated bill for repairs is in the USD2500 range. When that work is done the technicians will check to see if there has been further electrical damage. That is quite a hit, but the bike has 96 000 kilometres (60 000 miles) on it and has, for the most part been maintenance free except for regular upkeep that needs to be done.

So with the time it will take to get parts shipped to Meridian and the time needed to do the repair work on the bike, the earliest that it will be done will be late Thursday, which will push back our start to Winnemucca until Friday morning.