Took me a good hour to ride out of the city, through the affluent suburbs with its mansions & green parks. People here love their lawns & they empty the rivers & creeks in the process. Sprinklers are everywhere, sweeping acres of grounds & road verges, even into the road to soak passing cyclists. Without sprinklers, the place would be desert & may one day be again if/when the water runs out. Back at Challis, George Dangelo told me that water abstraction was causing many creeks to dry out & feeble attempts to reverse the situation included running the irrigation canals in pipes underground to reduce loss due to evaporation.
Instead of taking the busy scenic highway, I travelled to Swan Valley over a high semi arid landscape, along dirt roads, through wind farms & deserted ranches & down Falls Creek. Slightly longer & tougher than the highway but was satisfied with my choice.
Failed Ranches are common place 
My Well Earned Descent
On the road, dead snakes are common. I was advised to wedge something in my spokes to make a noise & scare them off but have resisted this so far.
Over the past few days I have trialled the Garmin route course mileage against the actual miles travelled. On each occasion the Garmin understated the mileage by 20% or more. Which is not good & plan to enquire reason why?
Twice in two days riding, a local has pulled over to ask if I wanted a lift to town. Today, the fellow who stopped, told me that, in the years he’d travelled this gravel road, he’d never seen a cyclist here. Surprised since, I discovered the highway to be busy & a little dangerous.
On arrival, Sake Rive Roadhouse had a camp spot, great food & beer & Pauline took very good care of me there.
John's Epic Cycle Adventures 