The group consensus was that our day off came at the right time and in the right place. Boise turned out to be a delightful rest point, with all the things available that one might need. Not what you wanted maybe, but what you needed-to be sure. And a world class bike store to boot- "George's" it's called and it beats anything I've seen before (no offense Joe). New, covered up with inventory and a pro level fit center with computer aided this and that. In fact, the Three D's (Jen, Brett and Russell) got dipped in the fit process and reported today that they feel the time (it took them all freaking afternoon to get it done so of course they couldn't eat with us because they were too damn busy getting fitted) and the money (I didn't ask, but I'm sure they spent well over a million dollars on it). Unfortunately, they wouldn't ride with any of us today- I suspect they're covering something up- we'll find out what the real deal is soon enough- I've got some of our best people working on infiltrating that little operation.
The Miller Train pulled out of the station bright and early. The route today was short and, I hope, the most boring we'll see on the tour.
It was bike path for a ways, but interstate most of the way- primarily flat, loaded with debris (gravel, rubber and bungy cords) and we were surrounded by scrubby, high desert. The view leaving Boise was worth a shot, but maybe not, as it exposed a smog layer worthy of Southern California at its best. 
After that the only thing of interest was another alien sighting,
and a view of our double pace line on I-84. We encountered a couple of Angry Horn Blowers (known in latin as "Headupus Posteriorus"), but mostly folks gave us a break and left us alone. Arriving in Mountain Home (Pop. 3,000??) by about 11:00 AM, we decided to have an early lunch 
and found a place called The Ole Steakhouse. It was great- the best waitress we've had all trip, delightful onion rings and a Men's room with " Important Original Works of Art" on the walls. In spite of the tight security, I managed to get a couple shots of the work. The exhibit had a nautical theme and featured works entitled "Red Rubber Fish Stuck to the Wall",
"Orange-ish Jellyfish Looking Thing" and
"A Million Little Yellow Fish With Too Big Eye Balls".
Following lunch, we rode to the exhibit of the "Actual Living Dinosaur at The Gas Station" that Derek, Michael and Bern got too close to as this picture clearly shows.
They could have been injured and had no one to blame but me- and I'm getting sick of taking the heat for everything.The weather has turned hot, clear and sunny (isn't that redundant?), with temps pushing the century mark. Glad we got in early, though over the next few days, I don't think that strategy is going to work- long days will mean we're going to be in the heat- just get used to that idea. I bought a Camelback yesterday which is a 2 liter(??) back pack with a drinking nozzle and also bought two insulated water bottles. Its what all the cool kids have, so it must be the right answer. All kidding aside, I think both were wise buys and will be important in the coming days as staying cool and hydrated become much more important than what we've experienced so far. Tomorrow is one of our three centuries on this leg (actually 97 miles, but who's counting), so it will be a long day- not much climbing- only 1954 feet, so it shouldn't be a wicked time, unless the heat or headwinds attack. If so, we'll just have to put on our daddy's shoes and get to work.
BTW, thanks to Ron, Keith (again), Danny (again) and my new Toccoa friend, Jon Neely for their encouraging/smart ass words- keeping 'em coming- it's fun hearing from people.
