Day 62 - August 4, 2013 - Yellowstone, WY to Butte, MT

Miles - 0

We spent most of this morning and early afternoon exploring Yellowstone on our way out of the park.  There are so many geysers, hot springs, and waterfalls that you could spend a week here and not see them all!  And because it is so beautiful and unique, it is PACKED with tourists!  

Some memorable moments - getting stuck on a narrow walkway behind the one man who has decided he needs to be shirtless, and he really, really should have made another decision...the British lady telling her kids "lets sit here and wait for the geezer" (I thought she meant waiting for their old man to catch up, she meant geyser)...the lady saying she tried to talk her son into getting into one of the rivers that the geyser runoff drains into to get a hammer that had been dropped in there, when there are signs everywhere telling you to stay on the paths because you never know where you might break through the soil and into another boiling spring or steam hole - mom of the year...

Most of my pictures are on the real camera, which I'll have to add later, but here are a couple from my phone:

We crossed into Montana today - our 7th state of the trip!  Those pictures are also on the real camera, so I leave you hanging for now...

On the way to Butte, we made a good number of jokes that fourth graders would have thoroughly enjoyed (hint: remove the e from Butte, and everything in town sounds pretty amusing - "Butt hair stylist...hahaha"...you get it.)

There are casinos everywhere in Butte.  It's odd.  I will go in one of these before we leave Montana.  I have to know what they are like!  And they have a giant statue on top of a mountain...a likeness of Mother Mary, but they say it is completely non-denominational and meant to represent all women.  I don't see how those things go together, but hey...

Day 61 - August 3, 2013 - Grand Teton National Park, WY

Miles - 17

Total mileage - 1,699

We needed to have a bike shop finally fix the flat in Mel's rear tire this morning, since I had apparently pinched the other one when installing it in Rawlins, WY...we woke up the next morning and the new tube was flat again.  So that was the first order of business today.

We found a bike shop in Jackson, WY, but got there before it opened, so we ate breakfast at a nice little place called Cafe Bohem.  It took forever to get our food though, so much for getting out of town early today!  We went back and got Mel's tire fixed, picked up some groceries for the day at the store, and drove back to Grand Teton National Park.

I couldn't resist biking at least some of Grand Teton National Park...especially since part if it had a wonderful bike path! The weather was perfect today, and the bike path was nearly flat.  And with the mountains as a backdrop, it was a pretty perfect day!

My mom and Mel came back to pick me up once they realized it was getting late and I hadn't eaten lunch yet, so I hopped in the car and snacked while driving to Yellowstone.

I had been trying to talk my mom and Mel into camping in Yellowstone, and they gave in and we picked on of the few remaining campsites (in a primitive area - pit toilets and no showers!), set up camp, and then set off to see Old Faithful.  We got to one of the visitor centers, had a look around, then ran into Alex and Andy(www.lookmumnocar.blogspot.co.uk), who we hadn't seen since Utica, KY as we were leaving!  They had a medical hold up in Colorado, but are back at it!  It was great to see them for a bit again!

We made it to Old Faithful, made some sandwiches on the benches nearby, and waited for the next eruption.  It was pretty cool!  Except for the jerk behind us who loudly took a call as they geyser erupted, when they have signs up telling you to silence your phone so everyone can enjoy their experience.  Turd...

Shep is on that sign, if you can spot him at the top there!

After that, we headed back to camp, made a fire, finished eating dinner, and just hung out and enjoyed the atmosphere.  My mom and Mel used my moms two sleeping bags, and I used both of our fleece sleep sacks, figuring I would be warm enough.  But...I was pretty cold all night.  Even with a sweatshirt and sweatpants on.  That was when I realized that if we were going to camp at any sort of higher elevations, we were going to need some warmer sleeping gear!

Badtz and Shep enjoyed the fire too...from afar!

Day 60 - August 2, 2013 - Rawlins, WY to Jackson, WY (by car!)

We blasted through most of Wyoming today...still catching up!  Wyoming is pretty much like I imagine the early western settlers saw it - breathtaking in its wide open expanses, with almost no civilization as far as the eye can see!

We stopped at Split Rock - an important waypoint for Pony Express riders during its short stint in service.  Soon (or not so soon- we spent all day in the car!), we were entering the forests around Grand Teton National Park, and the landscape drastically from desert to granite peaks and pine trees.

Finally we were entering Grand Teton National Park!

Exciting stuff!  We explored the park for a while, as it was still only mid-afternoon.  These mountains are absolutely beautiful, and look unlike many others I've seen, since they really don't have any foothills and appear to rise up out of the lake.

We headed out of the park to find a place to stay, and then dinner in Jackson.  Jackson is a typical mountain tourist town, similar to Breckenridge - it's cute and appears quaint, it's crowded, and everything is expensive just on principle.  We found a cheapish pizza parlor where we could eat outside on the deck, enjoyed some ice cream from a little stand on the street, window-shopped for real estate in Jackson (news flash - we can't afford a studio apartment!), then headed back to crash.  It was a nice day, even though we spent most of it in the car...

Day 59 - August 1, 2013 - Rand, CO to Walden, CO

Miles - 27

Total mileage - 1,672

We drove up to Rand, CO, where I started my ride today.  We are trying to get back on track, so are driving some of the route so we can finish on time!  We were in another one of these vast valleys surrounded by mountain views on all sides.

Today's ride was pretty flat, with just a little wind.  There were only a few climbs, which still wear me out because of the altitude!

I spotted a couple of hawks - seemed like they were hunting as a pair, squawking back and forth very close to a prairie dog colony...look out prairie dogs!!!

Saw a couple of llamas in a field too.  And earlier in the day, a couple of antelope close to the road - they were pretty cool looking!

I rolled into Walden (the moose watching capital of the world) pretty early, we grabbed lunch at a cafe, then I hopped back on my bike to continue pedaling to Wyoming...unfortunately, but right on queue for our trip, a thunderstorm rolled in.  I got another 10 miles in before my pit crew told me to pack it in and get in the car!

We crossed into Wyoming today!  Mel and I hadn't ever been here before, so it was pretty neat!  We saw a couple of Eastbound riders just arriving in Colorado on the other side of the road - hope they pedaled fast and avoided the storms!

We drove to Rawlins, WY to stay the night, I soaked my aching knees in the hotel's hot tub, enjoyed a high class dinner (Taco Bell), and then attempted to fix a flat that Mel's rear tube had gotten a couple of days ago.  After a fight with the chain, and fighting the new tube into the tire, and getting covered in grease, I thought we had it fixed, and we turned in for the night.

Day 58 - July 31, 2013 - Silverthorne, CO to Kremmling, CO

Miles - 41

Total mileage - 1,645

Mel was feeling up to getting back on the bike today, so we geared up for what looked to be a mostly downhill ride into Kremmling today.  Silverthorne boasted a bike path to the outskirts of the city - always a welcome sight!

The first 12 miles or so of our ride was beautiful downhill surrounded by mountain views.  We didn't have to do much pedaling at all.  We saw a couple of eagles nests on some poles for power lines.  There was also a gorgeous rocky river flowing next to the road - ideal road for riding on!  

After the initial lovely downhill section, we ran into a few flat sections with some climbs.  One of these climbs almost took Mel out - as I said before, asthma and altitude are a dangerous combination!  She loaded her bike up on the car after this, and I pushed on alone.

True to Adventure Cycling style, their route took me around a reservoir the long, hilly way, instead of the short, flat way.  There was a town with a restaurant promised on the map, but it turned out to be closed when we got there...

I did get to cycle over another dam, and could see local kids cliff jumping into the reservoir.  It was another 15 miles or so to Kremmling, on a semi-busy highway with no shoulder and a speed limit of 65...luckily the traffic came in spurts and I could jump off to the side for a few minutes to let it pass.  There were also a few bigger climbs, but they aren't so bad on an unloaded bike.

After I rolled into Kremmling, we grabbed Chinese food for lunch, which we had been craving for some time and haven't had since Virginia!  It was before 2:00, and Rocky Mountain National Park was only about 30 miles away, so we decided to go check it out since my mom had never been there.

We got to see moose, elk, bighorn sheep, and marmots in the park, in addition to the beautiful scenery.

We ended up staying in Winter Park, a ski town that isn't exactly the height of tourism in the summer season, so everything closed at 8, except McDonald's...luckily I had brought half of my Chinese food from earlier with us!

Day 57 - July 30, 2013 - Hoosier Pass to Silverthorne, CO

Miles - about 25

Total mileage - 1,604

I decided to skip that whole "I'm going to go back and bike UP Hoosier Pass" thing.  We drove up to the top, took a picture, and I geared up to sail down it.  It was pretty darn cold out, so I put on a long sleeve shirt, and some very fashionable Walmart sweat pants that we bought a few days ago.  All of the other cyclists on the mountain probably got a good laugh, but hey, I stayed warm!!  I'm cycling alone again today - altitude is still too much for Mel's asthma.

The ride down from Hoosier Pass to Breckenridge wasn't as fast as I expected it would be, but it was still plenty of fun.  And being surrounded by gorgeous mountains and nature wasnt so bad either!

Once I got to Breckenridge, there is a bike path that goes all the way to Silverthorne, CO, about 16 miles or so down the mountain.  Bike paths are such a rarity on this trip, and so amazing to get to ride on!  There were a ton of people on it around Breckenridge though, and they were mostly on rented bikes, so the going was a little slow since most of them don't realize they need to get out of the way, or not stop in the middle of the path with their family of five...oh well.

The bike path took me through some beautiful wooded areas, around a reservoir, across a dam, and finally down a steep winding hill into Silverthorne, Colorado.  There, I found Mel and my mom waiting for me in the parking lot of an outlet mall - we made a quick trip in to replace the shorts I've been wearing over my bike shorts every day, which have developed a large hole in them...and found the exact same shorts, in my size, on clearance!  It's the little things...

After a Chipotle lunch, the rain and thunderstorm that had been hanging over the mountains all day rolled in, so we took refuge in a hotel, hit the pool and hot tub, and turned in for the day.  This was one of the best days of cycling on the trip, nothing but fun and breathtaking views!

Day 56 - July 29, 2013 - Hartsel, CO to Fairplay, CO

Miles - about 20

Total mileage - 1,579

We intended to begin the day in Guffey, CO, but we arrived on a Monday, when all of Guffey's restaurants are closed, and I desperately needed lunch before taking off to get some miles in today, so we drove on to the next town of Hartsel, CO.  The altitude is proving to be too much for Mel and her asthma, so it's a good thing my mom has a car and a bike rack that we can take advantage of!

After lunch at a small diner place in Hartsel, I set off on my own, with an unloaded bicycle.  It takes a bunch of getting used to, this whole riding without 70lbs of crap strapped to my bike frame.  It feels completely out of control, and I'm having to relearn how to balance, and what happens when you get going to fast and try to stop using your front brakes without a weighed down back end.  Fun stuff...

It takes me so long to bike any miles in these mountains, because I constantly want to get off the bike and take photos!  We are at about 9,000 feet in the Rockies, but in these beautiful valleys with 360 degree granite mountain views.  Best cycling ever, even despite the altitude messing with your breathing and making you tire more easily.

For the first part of my ride, Mel and my mom leap-frogged me in the car, making sure I wasn't ready to give up and put my bike on the car yet, but I was having a great time taking in the views and pedaling relatively quickly without any crap on my bike.  Then I turned into a full-on headwind...that's the thing about these mountains, storms seem to roll in every afternoon.  I was headed, yet again, right into an oncoming rainstorm, and the wind was coming directly at me at about 15mph.  It was all I could do to go probably 4mph, so I decided to call it a day and have them come rescue me.

I stopped at a driveway to a ranch, and was watching the road for my mom and Mel to drive up to get me.  All of the sudden, I hear an angry animal noise behind me, and turn around only to find that the bull I pedaled past a bit ago had come right up to the barb-wire fence to check me out, and apparently wasn't happy about my presence in his yard.  He was pacing, and bleating at me...it's nice that he was behind a barb-wire fence, but he could get out if he really got angry enough.  I was glad when I was rescued!

Fairplay has a restored 1800's town, and is actually the inspiration for the comedic cartoon "South Park".  It was a cute town, with gift shops, antiques, art galleries, and you could pay to walk through the restored 1800's town.  We passed on the paying, and just glanced down the street over the fence. Worked for us!

Once we were all loaded up in the car, we drove onward to Breckenridge, up over Hoosier Pass, the highest point on the TransAmerica trail at 11,500 feet.  This is our first crossing of the Continental Divide - one of about 9 on this trip!  I planned to come back the next day and pedal up to the pass.

We got to Breckenridge and went on a search for Chinese food - we have been craving it, and haven't had any since Virginia!  The Chinese place had apparently turned into an upscale "comfort food fusion" place (Breckenridge is 100% tourist town), so we ended up dining on appetizers from a bar and grill down the street instead.  While on the hunt for Chinese, we saw a fox trapped inside someone's backyard fence, and another one across the street.  He was gone by the time we walked by again - poor little guy was scared!