Happy Birthday America!

234 fabulous years! Wow...it was a good run while it lasted. Hopefully we can keep it up a bit longer. Anyways I hope all my readers out there had a great celebration (assuming you are American or a big fan); I know I sure did. Allow me to fill you in.
As I last left you I was leaving Burley, Idaho and heading south towards Salt Lake City. My route options were limited to taking the old highway 30 or the new interstate 84. In the interest hitching a ride and being able to spend more time with my friends I opted to stick to the more heavily trafficked interstate (even though I hate riding on such busy roads). I was just about to give up and take my next (and only) exit to get back on 30 when my saving grace appeared in the form of a Washingtonian named David. He was headed down to Telluride to try his hand at the mountain-bum lifestyle for the summer. We had a great time talking about college, travel, expectations and hopes. David dropped me off in Sandy and continued buzzing on down to camp in Moab that night. Last I checked he's loving life in Telluride.
From Sandy I just had a short jaunt over to my good buddy Adrian's house. Him and his girlfriend Cecile gave me a warm welcome and we quickly made our way up Little Cottonwood Canyon to check out the beer festival at Snowbird. By the time we arrived the beer supplies were running low but the high country scenery more than made up for it. The next couple days were followed by similar scenes of revelry and merry making including some delicious dinners prepared at my friend Chris's house and one high altitude dinner at Ted and Renata's place in Alta.
When it came time to depart SLC Chris gave me a lift up a good majority of Big Cottonwood Canyon and I finished the climb to Guardsmen's Pass on a beautiful Thursday. This let me arrive into the booming metropolis of Heber City just in time to join my pseudo-cousin Ryan for wings. Not quite on par with the famed 'Em R Wings of Apex but tasty nonetheless. I spent Friday lounging around and sorting my gear. That night Ryan treated me to one of the best damn tortas I've had (in no small part due to the amazing salsa bar with something like 25 salsas). I can't remember the name of the place for the life of me, so that is Ryan's little secret for now.
Saturday I pushed onwards over Daniels' Pass and braced myself for more "wonderful" (wink wink) desert riding. Don't get me wrong....the area does have its beautiful and breathtaking moments, but after 4 or 5 days of riding your bike in it, you're ready for a change. Anyways, I moved on through the interesting (and somewhat hilarious) towns of Vernal and Dinosaur. These are places whose biggest draw is probably tacky dinosaur statues inspired by the nearby fossil beds. I kept moving along through the scorching terrain and cranked hard to arrive in Steamboat Springs in the midst of a gusting thunderstorm. Besselman's former roommate Scott agreed to put me up for the night and after I washed 4 or 5 days' worth of road grime off we headed out in search of burritos. Unfortunately, the prime burrito joint was closed so we settled for free chips and salsa instead.
The next day Scott and I drove south and met up with Bess near Mount Evans. Mount Evans is a nice big 14er mountain which also happens to have the nation's highest road on it. We all camped out and awoke at 430 in the morning to attack the mountain. Bess and Scott dropped bicycles off at the top of the mountain then parked the car a bit lower and began a climbing ascent. I started even further down the mountain and chipped away at a 14 mile climb to the peak. After we had all completed our respective climbs we buzzed down the mountain on bicycles. The other two guys stopped about halfway down while I continued all the way down to Idaho Springs- a total of 28 miles and 7000 or so feet in altitude.
After our little side adventure I was dropped off in Kremmling (a.k.a. Krem-tucky) while Bess and Scott headed back north to Steamboat for a friend's wedding. Although I had planned to just sleep in Kremtucky I decided the park did not look all that enticing and rode onwards only to be thwarted by the most voracious mosquitoes of my whole trip and also one of the gnarliest-looking thunderstorms. I took shelter under a general store's awning in Parshall before backtracking to a river access area and ninja-camping. The rain had subdued the mozzies a bit but I was still terrified with how fast and thick they swarmed.
Yet another high-and-dry night in the hammock and I awoke refreshed to ride up to Grand Lake to meet up with my buddy Gray. Lots of shenanigans and debauchery ensued as we celebrated the nation's birthday. As I parted with Gray and my new friends I can't say I felt rested but I can say that I had one heck of a 4th.
Tonight finds me writing to y'all from Fraser. TK, architect of rock-solid wheels and friend of cyclists the world over (well, at least Carrboro right now) told me I MUST visit his old-school buddy here. I've never had any qualms with "visiting" (aka mooching) mutual friends so I stopped in to say hello to Jesse and his family. Tomorrow I'll be attacking a slightly dubious sounding mountain shortcut that Jesse recommends. I'll do my best to tune in from the other side and let you all know how it turns out.
Phew! For now I'm exhausted and going to hit the hay so I can meet Gray for a farewell cup of coffee tomorrow morn. Take care folks!