Day 27, August 28th 2007 (Kimberly,ID to Twin Falls,ID)

I went to sleep 21 and woke up 22. I don't feel any different yet, but I guess the day just started. It was 5 in the morning and by 5:20 I had packed everything and jetted out of the campground. I didn't use anything at the campsite and I'd slept in a little park at the the campground and not actually in a camp lot, so I didn't feel too bad about leaving and not paying. I appreciated the use of their 6 by 2 patch of land for 6.5 hours, but not enough for over 20 dollars. I was a little tired so I pulled into the same restaurant that I had eaten at last night and ordered some breakfast. The first question I was asked is if I wanted some coffee. I've never been a coffe drinker so at first I said no, but then I decided I needed a little boost so I had the waiter bring me a cup. I've never enjoyed the taste of coffee, but I poured in a little creamer, sugar, and honey and it wasn't too bad. I slurped down one cup with my meal, which was just as good as the dinner last night, and two more after the meal. Now I know that Burgie would be pestered to hear that I actually enjoyed this little cup of coffee because it's probably nothing compared to what they offer in their shop. In fact, I can guarantee that his coffee is better and I'm not just saying that because they're my sponsors. But it is the best coffee in the WORLD. Anyways, I finished the coffee and felt like I was wired and could do just about anything, maybe even enjoy my birthday today. So I left to head towards downtown Twin Falls. As soon as I got on the interstate I saw a sign that said I had 13 miles to Twin Falls. I thought I was already in Twin Falls, but I guess I was in a town just outside of the falls. So with my caffeine jolt I was able to make it to Twin Falls in no time. As soon as I made it to Twin Falls I saw a scenic route. It was just on the right side of the highway I was on and was very convenient if on a bicycle, so i pulled over. After seeing 160 miles of only desert I was blown away at what laid before my eyes. There was a canyon that was almost 500 ft. high and 1500 ft. wide. It was a point that Evil Kinevil had tryed to jump over, but failed miserably in the attempt to get across. When I arrived at the Visitor's center which was just over the bridge I was surprised to hear that people actually did base jumping off of the bridge. They would stand on the side of the bridge, parachute to the bottom, and then climb up the side of the canyon to the top. As I was in the center, they said that someone was getting prepared to jump. I couldn't believe it, I had to talk to this guy. As I had said previously, I enjoy talking to people that are crazier than me. So I went to talk to this fellow named Tom. He said that his video crew hadn't arrived and so he asked if I would video tape him going down to the bottom. I gladly said yes and was able to video tape him with my camera and with his, it was very cool. About 15 seconds to get to the bottom and then 20 minutes to climb back up. It sounded a lot like me climbing a mountain on my bike. After the morning thrill I decided to treat myself to luxury today and see if anyone would offer me a good rate on a hotel for the night. I told everyone my situation at about 10 different hotels. Everyone of them said their rate was $119.95. I couldn't get a break. So I went to the last resort, the Motel 6. They offered me a room for $42 compared to their normal rate of $54 and I gladly took it. I went in and enjoyed all of the conveniences I had lost on the road, a shower felt pretty good. I went to eat and then had a list of things to do for the day. Apparently there was a waterfall 5 miles east of town that had a nice lake to swim in and also a waterfall that was 50 ft. higher than the Niagra Falls. I felt great about what i was getting into and after stopping at a bike shop to pick up a few things I went to the falls for an incredible sight. It was incredible to see and I just loved the area I had stumbled into. I went back into town and since it was around 7:30 at this point I went to the same restaurant I had enjoyed so much earlier. It was a nice locally owned Italian restaurant and it was truly delicious. The restaurant was called Tomatos without the "E" at the end of tomatoe. I sat down at the bar and ordered a meal and a Tall boy of Fat Tire. After engulfing my meal a nice gal named Deb came in and sat next to me. She lived just north in a ski town called Sun Valley and had come here because the town had been evacuated due to fires. She said she had been moving around on the road for awhile now because the fires have been so bad. She was great to chat with and was just a wonderful lady. After she found out what I was doing she knew right away that i was crazy. Before she left she paid for my beer and my meal and I couldn't thank her enough. It is just truly great to see some genuinely gracious people in the country. I wasn't able to get a deal on the motel for the afternoon, but getting a free meal seemed even better. After spending a little while longer taking in what had just happened I headed to Applebees to get one more beer before calling it a night. I met a guy in their who was a trucker from Portland and he was just the guy I wanted to talk to. I had been looking for a person to chat with about the coast and some of the attractions in the area. It just worked out too well, and then after talking to Phillip for a little while I went back to the motel room to call it a night.
Daily mileage: 42.7 miles
Total mileage: 1437.7 miles