Woke up a little slower since there was no reason to be in a hurry, but still was on the road by around 7:30. We took I-80 west. Temperature was near perfect, in fact it was near perfect for most of the day, ranging from the low 60s to the low 70s until the last half hour or so of the day when the elevation dropped.
I-80 through Wyoming is generally lightly traveled and with decent scenery for an interstate. On this day, I set the cruise control as we were leaving Rawlins and didn't touch it or the throttle again for well over 100 miles - I had to turn it off due to some evil RVs, otherwise I probably could have left it on without any manipulation for the full 145 miles we were on I-80.
At the interchange before we were supposed to get off, I noticed a sign saying it was the last services for 28 miles so we got off for fuel at Little America. The station was absolutely overrun with Mormon children in pioneer dress headed off to some Mormon Pioneer Day celebration or reenactment. It was actually hard to walk through the very large gas station with all the kids. Surprisingly and thankfully, the bathrooms were still available.
We got off the interstate and took US30. US30 through Wyoming is mostly straight but with a few notably interesting parts in and around some of the hills. Traffic was non-existent and what traffic there was was mostly truck traffic. The scenery is typical of Western Wyoming with brush ranch and range land. There are also many gas and/or oil wells dotting the area.
I actually like riding on these less-challenging roads sometimes since it is great thinking time. Both I-80 and US30 were enjoyable for the morning.
We went past Fossil Butte National Monument, but didn't stop. I didn't know much about the national monument, but it looks like most of the activities are hiking and camping. Not surprisingly, digging/taking/buying fossils is prohibited, so there wasn't much point to stop anyway.
We continued on into Idaho, taking ID-36 just outside Montpelier (I didn't realize we had gone all the way to Vermont). ID-36 is restricted for truck traffic and goes through the Cache National Forest. This National Forest stretches all the way south to D's cabin where we might be going later in the week.
Idaho 36 was wonderful. Much like Wyoming 130, it has lots of great curves, including some very steep stretches, up to 7% grade and a few switchbacks. There are enough straight stretches to allow passing, but there was so little traffic that it didn't matter.
As we descended out of the mountains, it did start to get hot, but this was tolerable since we were nearly at our destination of Preston, Idaho. Preston was larger in both people and geography than I would have thought, having a population north of 5000.
Preston, Idaho is where the movie Napoleon Dynamite was filmed. This is a cult classic film. It is one of the films that Netflix "finds maddenly hard to predict who will like it." I first saw this movie several years ago while flipping through satellite when we had it. I watched part of it and thought it was terrible. But, I couldn't get it out of my mind and searched for a replay of it several times until I found it on again and watched the whole thing. My mind changed and I bought it and have watched it several more times since then. To be fair, in preparation for this trip I watched it again a few weeks ago and it was a little hard to watch.
Lots of people have come to Preston to do the Napoleon self-tour. We stopped and bought a small brochure with a map. I had previously mapped out most of what I wanted to see, but the printing on my map had rubbed off over the last couple thousand miles in the saddle bags. The store with the Napleon map had other Napoleon Dynamite stuff including "Vote for Pedro" shirts, but I was very able to ignore those.
Napoleon Dynamite's house is down a very gravel road. There is a paved road nearby, but I didn't know this initially. For the second time this trip, the Goldwing played off-road bike as we went about a mile down much more slippery gravel than the first gravel road a few days previous in Iowa.
The house itself is still a private residence and apparently none of the movie was filmed inside the house as the inside scenes were filmed elsewhere. I did not see anyone shoot a cow across the street. However, the brochure I bought did say that "Lyle" (or Dale Critchlow) will sign autographs if you find him at home. I didn't look to see where he lived.
The Pop 'n Pins bowling ally is right by the Plaza Hotel where we stayed. The hotel was very nice and comfortable and they were able to check us in early since it was a relatively short drive on the bike from Rawlins. The bowling alley is seasonally closed so if anyone wants to bowl with bumpers, it sounds like it must be a winter thing.
We ate at Big J's burgers. This is not the original Big J's from the movie as that was apparently torn down a few years ago. The original sign lasted longer than that, until the building that now stands was built. The food was really great for lunch. Without a bit of humor, they serve tater tots as a side and the girl who took our order really did call them just "tots" without any irony.
Preston High School looks just like it does in the movie. There was even a bike rack out front, but no Hispanic "cousins" out front with their "sweet hookups" protecting the bikes from bullies, nor was there an Uncle available to pick us up after missing the bus.
I'll end this little Napoleon Dynamite expose' the same way the movie ends with the tether ball court. This is not really at the high school, but a short ways away behind the elementary school. It looks different in person, or maybe just getting the perspective right was more difficult.
Dinner that night was at the New York Style Steak and Deli. The steak was surprisingly good for a place that also had take-out. It was better than many restaurants dedicated to steaks I've eaten at previously.
I'm not sure an entire stop revolving around a polarizing movie makes sense, but Preston was really a nice town to visit for a night.
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