The Starlight definitely used to be a drive in. We went there several times before it closed sometime in the 1980s. It's been a mini-storage place ever since. (They have no place to store the sign.)

Hi Kelly,

Such a treat to meet you this morning. And then we hailed Jacinto just as he passed the road up to our house. Here's the reply to the email that you sent us about the Salmo bike path/rail trail.

We haven't actually ridden the bike path to Salmo. As far as we know, most of it is not paved. It also crosses the highway in a number of places, so if you tried it out and didn't like it, you'd easily be able to get back onto the highway. (The highway has been repaved in the last few years and has a shoulder the whole way to Salmo.) To get onto the bike path from the Alpine motel, the easiest route would be to ride on the highway to Cottonwood Lake entrance (it would be on your right) and meet the bike path there. It would be steeper to ride uphill through upper Nelson to get to another trail access point.

Hope the rest of your tour goes well with no more rain! We look forward to following your journal.

Best wishes and happy cycling,
Eva and Al

His pet pig? A conjoined twin which hungry? Yes, disturbing.

Sounds like you exercised good judgement in leaving late or were extremely lucky or both. Hope it continues.

We do not have GMO here?

I’m with you on the wet and cold. One or the other, but not both! California girl, here.

Is the Crawford Bay Broom Company still in business?

We've ridden on the interstate, on occasion. The part I don't like is the shoulder always seems to be full of retread tire chunks, waiting to give me a flat tire!

One of the most unpleasant things on a bike tour is trouble sleeping due to noisy neighbors in motels (or, worse, in campgrounds.)

So, I sympathize.

I've been very lucky on my current tour in this regard, but I'll see what happens tonight at the Border Inn Casino motel :)

"I again qualify my statement with the background that home is Colorado, which often does not have ideal riding conditions."

I believe I'm a very timid bicyclist, and the thing that scares me and upsets me the most is heavy traffic on roads with narrow, or no shoulders. I think that's why I've had bad experiences on every tour I've done in Colorado.

But I guess it's possible to get used to it? Maybe I need to toughen up, haha.

But not on my current tour :)

My upcoming tour has 3 segments on I-90. The first segment is 5 miles if I go down an embankment to an access road, 8 miles if I go to the next exit. Hilly and not very scenic. The other two segments are 4 miles and 3 miles, both in a canyon with the Yellowstone river on my right. I can stop and take pictures in places where cars aren't allowed to stop. The wide shoulder makes it doable.

I’m sorry you’re having such bad luck with the weather on this tour, Kelly. You’re right - Tucson is pretty addictive. We’ve gotten really spoiled about biking in the rain ourselves, which is why Italy, Spain, southern France and Greece keep showing up on our dream lists.

How is Jacinto’s foot doing?

I don’t blame you for not wanting to ride in the rain. You’ve already had to deal with really bad weather. I hope it improves.

I’ve often admired his laid back attitude. Sometimes he’s a little
Too laid back!

I’m glad he didn’t lose his wallet!