About Me
- Mary and Dave
- We are at it again. We cycled 1200 miles down the coast of Oregon, into California, over the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco. Then it was a ferry across the bay to Vallejo and a lovely side trip up the Napa Valley to Callestoga. That was the end of the bike portion of our trip.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Missoula, Montana
Tomorrow we leave and head north to Glacier. Missoula is a great small city and we've enjoyed our rest and relaxation. But it's time to get back on those bikes and carry on.
The Many Faces of Yellowstone
For every picture we took, there was 20 pictures we could have, should have wanted to have taken! Go visit Yellowstone to see for yourself.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Hamilton, Montana
We are biking through the Bitterroot Valley toward Missoula. We will hit the city tomorrow and spend a few days relaxing and enjoying. The University of Montana starts fall session on Monday, so the city should be hopping. Hopefully we'll be able to find a place to stay!
Time is very short on this computer so I'll list some of the places we've been and then fill in the details at another time. I hope to get more pictures posted once we get to Missoula. I think we took about 100 pictures just in Yellowstone, so choosing the best ones to post will be a challenge!
We biked over two mountain passes on Wednesday, Badger Pass and Big Hole Pass. Our legs were a bit tired going over the second. We also stopped at Big Hole Battlefield National Historic Site. It was the site of one of the Nez Pierce Indian War Battles. It is a sacred place to the Nez Pierce. We slept in Jackson, Montana that night at the Jackson Hot Springs Lodge. William Clark stopped by on his way east after the conclusion of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Soaking in 104 degree waters after a long day on the bike was heavenly!
Thursday we finally caught up with the Continental Divide at Chief Joseph Pass. We then had a one mile downhill to the Lost Trail Pass (that's the kind of mountain pass I like!) which is at the junction of Highways 43 and 93 in Montana. Looking to the south we saw a "Welcome to Idaho" signboard, but since we were heading north we didn't dip our bike tires in Idaho yet, that would be cheating. We'll be there soon enough!
Lunchtime here in Hamilton and then it's time to head north so we can get a little closer to Missoula before we call it a day.
Time is very short on this computer so I'll list some of the places we've been and then fill in the details at another time. I hope to get more pictures posted once we get to Missoula. I think we took about 100 pictures just in Yellowstone, so choosing the best ones to post will be a challenge!
We biked over two mountain passes on Wednesday, Badger Pass and Big Hole Pass. Our legs were a bit tired going over the second. We also stopped at Big Hole Battlefield National Historic Site. It was the site of one of the Nez Pierce Indian War Battles. It is a sacred place to the Nez Pierce. We slept in Jackson, Montana that night at the Jackson Hot Springs Lodge. William Clark stopped by on his way east after the conclusion of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Soaking in 104 degree waters after a long day on the bike was heavenly!
Thursday we finally caught up with the Continental Divide at Chief Joseph Pass. We then had a one mile downhill to the Lost Trail Pass (that's the kind of mountain pass I like!) which is at the junction of Highways 43 and 93 in Montana. Looking to the south we saw a "Welcome to Idaho" signboard, but since we were heading north we didn't dip our bike tires in Idaho yet, that would be cheating. We'll be there soon enough!
Lunchtime here in Hamilton and then it's time to head north so we can get a little closer to Missoula before we call it a day.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Twin Bridges, Montana
Oh the places we've been!
We are now in Montana! It wasn't so easy getting here, but here we are. On Saturday, we left Cody and cycled into Yellowstone National Park.
On Sunday we cycled across the park and camped at Madison campground near the west entrance. Then Monday morning we left the park, cycled through West Yellowstone and headed toward the Madison River Canyon. There was a devastating earthquake in the canyon on August 17, 1959. The valley was changed tremendously and there are many historical markers along the way to document the impact of that night. When we left that area we turned north and continued into the Madison River Valley with the Rockies all around us. The Madison range to our right and the Gravelly Range to our left. The winds were blowing quite strong out of the south so we had the ride of our lives! Our average speed for the day was 15 mph (we usually average about 10) and most of the time on Rt. 287 North we were cruising at about 18-22 mph! That's unheard of! We were losing elevation most of the day, but the downhill was so slight, it was the wind that gave us our momentum. Boy did it feel good and you make sure to enjoy every minute knowing that it is probably a once in a trip experience! AND at the end of the day the computer said 93 miles! A new record!
Today we rode from Ennis, up and over a mountain pass (elevation about 7000 ft) and into Virginia City and Nevada City, and into this cute little town. Tomorrow we turn south, head toward Dillon and then toward Big Hole Pass. The Rockies are spectacular. Once you ride over a pass the road empties out into a valley with mountains surrounding you. Not many roads run directly east/west so there is lots of time to ride parallel with the mountain ranges and enjoy the scenery before the next climb begins. Our next big destination is Missoula and according to Dave the ride through the Bitterroot Valley is incredible.
A day to remember
Let me tell you about our ride from Cody to Yellowstone. Talk about every cloud having a silver lining! We left Cody on Saturday after a nice hearty breakfast, wondering if we would really make it into the park on our bikes after all this time and planning. It had rained the day before, so the gate was open and the fire forecast was positive. At first the wind was quite strong and right in our faces, so I was fretting that we would never cover the 80+ miles we needed in order to make it to the nearest park campground. Luckily the wind subsided and we covered the first 50 miles pretty easily. The evidence of fire was everywhere. The National Forest campgrounds were all closed and a few were being used by fire crews. Many of the houses and lodges closer to the park had been wrapped with protective foil in case the fire came over the ridge. There was one lodge still open (Pasaska Tepee Lodge built by Buffalo Bill Cody)about a mile from the entrance to the park, so we stopped there to rest and have lunch.
As we were sitting there the skies opened up and the rain came down complete with good rolls of thunder and some impressive lightening. As we were getting ready to continue into the park, information came into the fire personnel stationed there that about 7 miles east of our location a mud slide had just occurred. There was now mud about 3 feet deep covering the entire roadway. Had we slept in a little longer, or eaten just a little slower, we would be stuck on the wrong slide of a huge mudslide!
So the silver lining for us (not the poor motorists stuck behind the slide) was a private road into the park. We had a mountain pass coming up on a road that was under construction and in poor condition. Instead of a white knuckle ride with cars kicking up gravel and stones, we had the entire road to ourselves! The pass was 7 miles away and it was much more maneagable since we were able to pick our way up through the rough road and not worry about traffic. At the top of the pass you could see where the fire had come over the ridge, and was heading toward the road. The rain put the fire out and you could see the line dividing the burned trees and the ones left untouched. We actually rode about 27 miles into Yellowstone National Park, on a Saturday afternoon and felt like the entire park belonged to just us! It was a little eerie after awhile.
Of course, the rainstorms were not over for the day and as we got to the top of the mountain, the rain started coming down. And the temperature dropped. We endured this for a while, but even with rain jackets on we began to feel the effects of the cold rain. So, it was another visit to the bathrooms! The only shelter around. You know you have to be desperate to spend 30 minutes in a pit toilet! But after we had dried off, warmed up and put on more clothes, we were ready to make the final miles to our campsite. But we first passed by the Lake Lodge and cabins which looked awfully good to two wet and tired cyclists. So we put on our best bedraggled looks, kept our bike helmets on and were lucky enough to get a most understanding receptionists who managed to find us that one last cabin that had not been rented for the night. The silver lining at the end of a long, hard day.
Bison grunt, snort and give the greatest evil eye looks
Riding across the park on Sunday, we got the chance to come up close and personal with numerous bison herds in the Hayden Valley and a few who just like to hang out along the side of the woods. The rule is, stay 25 yards away from any wildlife in the park and we really wanted to follow that rule, but the bison were not cooperating. As we were happily pedaling our way across the park we would see the lines of cars stopped ahead and know the game was on. How do we weave our way down the road and not make any large, wooly animals mad at us? So we would cautiously coast up to the scene and look for the safest path. If the bison were on the left, we stuck to the right and so forth, but often the bison were everywhere, so now what to do? We tried to enlist help from motorists to act as motorized shields, but if the bison started to move, we were forgotten as the paint jobs and collision insurance popped into mind. So there we were stranded in the middle of the road playing Red Light, Green Light with massive animals. Bison looks away, cyclist moves, bison turns around, cyclist freezes. This continues until the bison lose interest in hanging out along the road, or the cyclist makes it to the other side of the herd.
At one point, a HUGE bison lumbered into the middle of the road, turned his massive head directly at us and gave us the best evil eye I've ever seen (I'm not making this up!). We of course stopped dead in our tracks quite a ways from him and thought we'd just hang out there for as long as he wanted us to, we were not messing with this guy. He eventually took a big gallop down the side of the road (away from us luckily), causing cars to take off away from his path, turned, gave us one last withering look and sauntered into the woods. We were not sad to see him go, and continued on our merry way.
We were really never in any danger, but boy, do those animals command respect and they are so much more impressive when viewed from the seat of a bicycle instead of from the relative safety of a car.
Tomorrow another mountain pass.... time to go eat pizza!
We are now in Montana! It wasn't so easy getting here, but here we are. On Saturday, we left Cody and cycled into Yellowstone National Park.
On Sunday we cycled across the park and camped at Madison campground near the west entrance. Then Monday morning we left the park, cycled through West Yellowstone and headed toward the Madison River Canyon. There was a devastating earthquake in the canyon on August 17, 1959. The valley was changed tremendously and there are many historical markers along the way to document the impact of that night. When we left that area we turned north and continued into the Madison River Valley with the Rockies all around us. The Madison range to our right and the Gravelly Range to our left. The winds were blowing quite strong out of the south so we had the ride of our lives! Our average speed for the day was 15 mph (we usually average about 10) and most of the time on Rt. 287 North we were cruising at about 18-22 mph! That's unheard of! We were losing elevation most of the day, but the downhill was so slight, it was the wind that gave us our momentum. Boy did it feel good and you make sure to enjoy every minute knowing that it is probably a once in a trip experience! AND at the end of the day the computer said 93 miles! A new record!
Today we rode from Ennis, up and over a mountain pass (elevation about 7000 ft) and into Virginia City and Nevada City, and into this cute little town. Tomorrow we turn south, head toward Dillon and then toward Big Hole Pass. The Rockies are spectacular. Once you ride over a pass the road empties out into a valley with mountains surrounding you. Not many roads run directly east/west so there is lots of time to ride parallel with the mountain ranges and enjoy the scenery before the next climb begins. Our next big destination is Missoula and according to Dave the ride through the Bitterroot Valley is incredible.
A day to remember
Let me tell you about our ride from Cody to Yellowstone. Talk about every cloud having a silver lining! We left Cody on Saturday after a nice hearty breakfast, wondering if we would really make it into the park on our bikes after all this time and planning. It had rained the day before, so the gate was open and the fire forecast was positive. At first the wind was quite strong and right in our faces, so I was fretting that we would never cover the 80+ miles we needed in order to make it to the nearest park campground. Luckily the wind subsided and we covered the first 50 miles pretty easily. The evidence of fire was everywhere. The National Forest campgrounds were all closed and a few were being used by fire crews. Many of the houses and lodges closer to the park had been wrapped with protective foil in case the fire came over the ridge. There was one lodge still open (Pasaska Tepee Lodge built by Buffalo Bill Cody)about a mile from the entrance to the park, so we stopped there to rest and have lunch.
As we were sitting there the skies opened up and the rain came down complete with good rolls of thunder and some impressive lightening. As we were getting ready to continue into the park, information came into the fire personnel stationed there that about 7 miles east of our location a mud slide had just occurred. There was now mud about 3 feet deep covering the entire roadway. Had we slept in a little longer, or eaten just a little slower, we would be stuck on the wrong slide of a huge mudslide!
So the silver lining for us (not the poor motorists stuck behind the slide) was a private road into the park. We had a mountain pass coming up on a road that was under construction and in poor condition. Instead of a white knuckle ride with cars kicking up gravel and stones, we had the entire road to ourselves! The pass was 7 miles away and it was much more maneagable since we were able to pick our way up through the rough road and not worry about traffic. At the top of the pass you could see where the fire had come over the ridge, and was heading toward the road. The rain put the fire out and you could see the line dividing the burned trees and the ones left untouched. We actually rode about 27 miles into Yellowstone National Park, on a Saturday afternoon and felt like the entire park belonged to just us! It was a little eerie after awhile.
Of course, the rainstorms were not over for the day and as we got to the top of the mountain, the rain started coming down. And the temperature dropped. We endured this for a while, but even with rain jackets on we began to feel the effects of the cold rain. So, it was another visit to the bathrooms! The only shelter around. You know you have to be desperate to spend 30 minutes in a pit toilet! But after we had dried off, warmed up and put on more clothes, we were ready to make the final miles to our campsite. But we first passed by the Lake Lodge and cabins which looked awfully good to two wet and tired cyclists. So we put on our best bedraggled looks, kept our bike helmets on and were lucky enough to get a most understanding receptionists who managed to find us that one last cabin that had not been rented for the night. The silver lining at the end of a long, hard day.
Bison grunt, snort and give the greatest evil eye looks
Riding across the park on Sunday, we got the chance to come up close and personal with numerous bison herds in the Hayden Valley and a few who just like to hang out along the side of the woods. The rule is, stay 25 yards away from any wildlife in the park and we really wanted to follow that rule, but the bison were not cooperating. As we were happily pedaling our way across the park we would see the lines of cars stopped ahead and know the game was on. How do we weave our way down the road and not make any large, wooly animals mad at us? So we would cautiously coast up to the scene and look for the safest path. If the bison were on the left, we stuck to the right and so forth, but often the bison were everywhere, so now what to do? We tried to enlist help from motorists to act as motorized shields, but if the bison started to move, we were forgotten as the paint jobs and collision insurance popped into mind. So there we were stranded in the middle of the road playing Red Light, Green Light with massive animals. Bison looks away, cyclist moves, bison turns around, cyclist freezes. This continues until the bison lose interest in hanging out along the road, or the cyclist makes it to the other side of the herd.
At one point, a HUGE bison lumbered into the middle of the road, turned his massive head directly at us and gave us the best evil eye I've ever seen (I'm not making this up!). We of course stopped dead in our tracks quite a ways from him and thought we'd just hang out there for as long as he wanted us to, we were not messing with this guy. He eventually took a big gallop down the side of the road (away from us luckily), causing cars to take off away from his path, turned, gave us one last withering look and sauntered into the woods. We were not sad to see him go, and continued on our merry way.
We were really never in any danger, but boy, do those animals command respect and they are so much more impressive when viewed from the seat of a bicycle instead of from the relative safety of a car.
Tomorrow another mountain pass.... time to go eat pizza!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Hold Up in Cody!
Not the wild west shoot 'em out hold up like the one we watched on Monday night outside the historic Irma Hotel (good thing it was free because it was quite the hokey tourist act we usually try to avoid!) but the uncertainty of the fire situation. The east gate was open on Tuesday morning so we were able to drive into the park via that route. We spent the next days touring the park at 45 mph. We were blown away by the speed! And we were able to see so many areas of the park that would have been difficult to get to with a bike. Yellowstone is so much more than just Old Faithful although it is quite impressive to see the geyser spout high into the air. The diversity of the park is amazing. The thermal and volcanic aspect of the park is so interesting, but we also saw spectacular canyons, waterfalls, mountains and so much more. We actually drove over the Continental Divide 8 times in our journeys around the park.
And the wildlife viewing was fun and a bit more secure through the windshield of a car. We saw lots of bison of course, quite a few herds of elk, a coyote and some osprey. There was a quick sighting of a moose as we were driving and an almost sighting of a bear. Luckily none of these forms of wildlife chose to visit our campsite! People just loose their minds when it comes to taking pictures of the animals as they stop in the middle of the road or park just inches off the edge of mountainsides! We will have to be very careful of this phenomena when we are cycling through the park in the next days.
So, tomorrow morning we will get up early and evaluate the fire situation. If the east gate is open, we may decide to put in the 70+ miles it will take to get into the park and to a campground. It would be hard to only go part way and gamble on the gate remaining open. We might also decide to bike toward the northeast gate which is definitely open, but the road going there is much more challenging although spectacularly beautiful. The mountain passes are definitely not as long or steep as the Big Horns, so we know our legs are up to the challenge, but it puts us in the park north of where we need to be. Once we get into the park, we'll exit into West Yellowstone and head north into Montana. Hard to believe we are that close already! There are fires in Montana also, but we'll be watching and evaluating as we go.
And the wildlife viewing was fun and a bit more secure through the windshield of a car. We saw lots of bison of course, quite a few herds of elk, a coyote and some osprey. There was a quick sighting of a moose as we were driving and an almost sighting of a bear. Luckily none of these forms of wildlife chose to visit our campsite! People just loose their minds when it comes to taking pictures of the animals as they stop in the middle of the road or park just inches off the edge of mountainsides! We will have to be very careful of this phenomena when we are cycling through the park in the next days.
So, tomorrow morning we will get up early and evaluate the fire situation. If the east gate is open, we may decide to put in the 70+ miles it will take to get into the park and to a campground. It would be hard to only go part way and gamble on the gate remaining open. We might also decide to bike toward the northeast gate which is definitely open, but the road going there is much more challenging although spectacularly beautiful. The mountain passes are definitely not as long or steep as the Big Horns, so we know our legs are up to the challenge, but it puts us in the park north of where we need to be. Once we get into the park, we'll exit into West Yellowstone and head north into Montana. Hard to believe we are that close already! There are fires in Montana also, but we'll be watching and evaluating as we go.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Cody, Wyoming
The word for the day is Flexibility!
Thursday night a thunderstorm ignited a fire in southeastern Yellowstone. Thanks to a southwest wind, the fire is now at the east entrance of the park. And yes, that is the road we were planning on taking. There is another entrance, some 70 miles to the northwest but the air quality is quite poor due to the smoke. So biking into the park is not a feasible option anymore. But, we have made a few calls and will be entering the modern era for a few days. We will drive into the park (the situation is fine within most of the park), spend a few days there and then come back to Cody to decide on our exit strategy from this area. Every situation has it's silver lining and again we have been helped out by many nice people. The campground is storing our bikes for us and the rental car agency will pick us up from the campground. Also, we will be able to see more areas of the park in a car than from the slow, but steady pace of our bicycles. Again, things are working out just fine, just not exactly the way we originally planned. Another life lesson, don't sweat the things you have no control over. Once we return to Cody, we'll check on the fires and decide where this trip will take us next!
Thursday night a thunderstorm ignited a fire in southeastern Yellowstone. Thanks to a southwest wind, the fire is now at the east entrance of the park. And yes, that is the road we were planning on taking. There is another entrance, some 70 miles to the northwest but the air quality is quite poor due to the smoke. So biking into the park is not a feasible option anymore. But, we have made a few calls and will be entering the modern era for a few days. We will drive into the park (the situation is fine within most of the park), spend a few days there and then come back to Cody to decide on our exit strategy from this area. Every situation has it's silver lining and again we have been helped out by many nice people. The campground is storing our bikes for us and the rental car agency will pick us up from the campground. Also, we will be able to see more areas of the park in a car than from the slow, but steady pace of our bicycles. Again, things are working out just fine, just not exactly the way we originally planned. Another life lesson, don't sweat the things you have no control over. Once we return to Cody, we'll check on the fires and decide where this trip will take us next!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Greybull, Wyoming
Conquoring the Big Horns
We are now on the west side of the Big Horn Mountains and we're still standing! Our day started at 6:30 am with a big breakfast before heading to the mountain. So at 7:30 we got on our bikes and started pedaling. The biggest climb came first which is good, since our legs were still fresh. We cycled up a 7% grade for the first 10 miles out of Buffalo. Unlike Mount Rushmore, there was plenty of opportunities to pull over and rest and also enough level ground to get the bikes started again. The hardest thing about the final climb to Mount Rushmore was that we went from 3400 ft to 5700 ft in 2 miles and there really wasn't any good place to rest. When my legs finally gave out and I stopped at a scenic overlook, there wasn't any level ground to get the bike moving again. It took about 5 minutes and numerous attempts from Dave holding my bike for me before I was finally moving again. It was a nerve wracking experience but I got some good pictures from that overlook!
So back to the Big Horns. After the first grade was over the hills became rolling for the next 10 or so miles. The final 10 miles before the pass were at a 5% grade but by that time we were tired and the wind had picked up. You play lots of mind games on a ride like this and you get into the rhythm of the slow pedaling. And the beautiful scenery definitely helped occupy our minds! The mountains started out with lots of pine forests and as the elevation increased the terrain became more severe. We saw cows grazing on almost vertical slopes and lots of beautiful rocky outcroppings. At 4 mph we had lots of time to study the changing landscape.
As we knew the pass was approaching your legs start to complain even more and with every turn of the road you are just hoping that you'll see the top. But that can wear you out even more, so I tried to convince myself that I had many more miles to go " don't get your hopes up yet!". In the end the wind started howling down at us and then I could see a sign up ahead that I hoped could only say one thing, Powder Pass Elevation 9666 ft. And it did! Boy was that a good feeling. It was 2:00 pm and we had been pedaling for 5 hours and 30 minutes with about an hour of breaks worked in. All that work and we had traveled 35 miles.
After some rest and celebration we were ready to start the 30 mile downward trip. The downhill is hard on your legs and back. You keep your legs tensed and the wind moves the bike around enough that you are using your back to keep the bike in control. The west wind was actually a blessing on this end of things because it kept our speed down without having to use the brakes too much. We made it down the mountain in 2 hours and my top speed was 28 mph. I went almost 12 miles without pedaling at all! That was fun, but like I said it cramps the leg muscles to hold them in one position for that long. The scenery on the west side of the mountain was dramatically different. We were traveling down a canyon with magnificent red rock formations and dramatic bluffs. We stopped several times for photo opportunities and to take in the scenery. It was passing us by much quicker on this side of the mountain!
Needless to say when we got to Ten Sleep we were TIRED! But what a sense of accomplishment! We are now headed to Yellowstone National Park and will spend several days within the park. There is so much to see and do. After that we need to evaluate our next steps. Montana was in the original plans, but the wildfire situation may change that. Only time will tell.
We are now on the west side of the Big Horn Mountains and we're still standing! Our day started at 6:30 am with a big breakfast before heading to the mountain. So at 7:30 we got on our bikes and started pedaling. The biggest climb came first which is good, since our legs were still fresh. We cycled up a 7% grade for the first 10 miles out of Buffalo. Unlike Mount Rushmore, there was plenty of opportunities to pull over and rest and also enough level ground to get the bikes started again. The hardest thing about the final climb to Mount Rushmore was that we went from 3400 ft to 5700 ft in 2 miles and there really wasn't any good place to rest. When my legs finally gave out and I stopped at a scenic overlook, there wasn't any level ground to get the bike moving again. It took about 5 minutes and numerous attempts from Dave holding my bike for me before I was finally moving again. It was a nerve wracking experience but I got some good pictures from that overlook!
So back to the Big Horns. After the first grade was over the hills became rolling for the next 10 or so miles. The final 10 miles before the pass were at a 5% grade but by that time we were tired and the wind had picked up. You play lots of mind games on a ride like this and you get into the rhythm of the slow pedaling. And the beautiful scenery definitely helped occupy our minds! The mountains started out with lots of pine forests and as the elevation increased the terrain became more severe. We saw cows grazing on almost vertical slopes and lots of beautiful rocky outcroppings. At 4 mph we had lots of time to study the changing landscape.
As we knew the pass was approaching your legs start to complain even more and with every turn of the road you are just hoping that you'll see the top. But that can wear you out even more, so I tried to convince myself that I had many more miles to go " don't get your hopes up yet!". In the end the wind started howling down at us and then I could see a sign up ahead that I hoped could only say one thing, Powder Pass Elevation 9666 ft. And it did! Boy was that a good feeling. It was 2:00 pm and we had been pedaling for 5 hours and 30 minutes with about an hour of breaks worked in. All that work and we had traveled 35 miles.
After some rest and celebration we were ready to start the 30 mile downward trip. The downhill is hard on your legs and back. You keep your legs tensed and the wind moves the bike around enough that you are using your back to keep the bike in control. The west wind was actually a blessing on this end of things because it kept our speed down without having to use the brakes too much. We made it down the mountain in 2 hours and my top speed was 28 mph. I went almost 12 miles without pedaling at all! That was fun, but like I said it cramps the leg muscles to hold them in one position for that long. The scenery on the west side of the mountain was dramatically different. We were traveling down a canyon with magnificent red rock formations and dramatic bluffs. We stopped several times for photo opportunities and to take in the scenery. It was passing us by much quicker on this side of the mountain!
Needless to say when we got to Ten Sleep we were TIRED! But what a sense of accomplishment! We are now headed to Yellowstone National Park and will spend several days within the park. There is so much to see and do. After that we need to evaluate our next steps. Montana was in the original plans, but the wildfire situation may change that. Only time will tell.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Catching Up
The Places We've Been
Mount Rushmore (Mount is short for mountain I discovered! We cycled 25 miles uphill from Rapid City, had a heart thrilling, massive downhill and then a 2 mile STEEP climb to the monument. I made it, but the legs were definitely made of jelly by the time we reached the monument.)
Crazy Horse Memorial
Custer State Park
Crossed into Wyoming
Devil's Tower
The foot of the Big Horn Mountains
The Company We've Kept
We spent many miles riding past prairie dog colonies. They are fun to watch and would have been missed had we not been traveling at 12 mph past them! They scurry and scamper about having just a wonderful time with life. But the nearest hole is never too far away and they disappear in an instant when necessary.
In Iowa we spent time with 10,000 bicycle riders and in South Dakota we've lived with thousands of motorcyclists (95% Harley Davidson) in our travels. The Sturgis, SD motorcycle rally is happening this week, but cyclists from all over arrive weeks before to take in the surrounding sights. Everywhere we've been we've had the company of these roaring, thundering machines. Again, we've met nothing but nice people, in fact most of the bikers we've talked to are completely in awe of our travel plans and can't quite contemplate the lack of a motor and why we would even think of pedaling when there are such great motors available! I did decide to put away my orange and yellow daisey cycling top for a while. I didn't quite fit in with the popular attire and color choice!
Bison are incredible creatures! We cycled around Custer State Park one day and saw magnificent herds of these animals just wandering around living their lives. There were many younger ones about and they were fun to watch. One would be off away from the herd and then suddenly decide it was time to join the crowd. Boy can they move! At the end of the day we were quietly pedaling down the tree lined road when we came upon a massive male bison just lounging in the trees not 20 feet from the road. My first instinct was to stop my bike, grab my camera and take a picture. Luckily Dave is much more sensible than I and shouted out "keep pedaling!". So we cycled on by as our friend watched our every move but decided he was much too comfortable to move.
Milestones
We are well past the 2000 mile mark now and our next goal is to cross the Big Horn Mountains. Buffalo is at about 4,500 feet and tomorrow we will cycle up to about 9,600 feet. But once we reach the top the road eventually goes back down! Time to practice my braking techniques! We plan to stay in Ten Sleep tomorrow night and then head toward Yellowstone. My computer time is well past so it's time to go.
Mount Rushmore (Mount is short for mountain I discovered! We cycled 25 miles uphill from Rapid City, had a heart thrilling, massive downhill and then a 2 mile STEEP climb to the monument. I made it, but the legs were definitely made of jelly by the time we reached the monument.)
Crazy Horse Memorial
Custer State Park
Crossed into Wyoming
Devil's Tower
The foot of the Big Horn Mountains
The Company We've Kept
We spent many miles riding past prairie dog colonies. They are fun to watch and would have been missed had we not been traveling at 12 mph past them! They scurry and scamper about having just a wonderful time with life. But the nearest hole is never too far away and they disappear in an instant when necessary.
In Iowa we spent time with 10,000 bicycle riders and in South Dakota we've lived with thousands of motorcyclists (95% Harley Davidson) in our travels. The Sturgis, SD motorcycle rally is happening this week, but cyclists from all over arrive weeks before to take in the surrounding sights. Everywhere we've been we've had the company of these roaring, thundering machines. Again, we've met nothing but nice people, in fact most of the bikers we've talked to are completely in awe of our travel plans and can't quite contemplate the lack of a motor and why we would even think of pedaling when there are such great motors available! I did decide to put away my orange and yellow daisey cycling top for a while. I didn't quite fit in with the popular attire and color choice!
Bison are incredible creatures! We cycled around Custer State Park one day and saw magnificent herds of these animals just wandering around living their lives. There were many younger ones about and they were fun to watch. One would be off away from the herd and then suddenly decide it was time to join the crowd. Boy can they move! At the end of the day we were quietly pedaling down the tree lined road when we came upon a massive male bison just lounging in the trees not 20 feet from the road. My first instinct was to stop my bike, grab my camera and take a picture. Luckily Dave is much more sensible than I and shouted out "keep pedaling!". So we cycled on by as our friend watched our every move but decided he was much too comfortable to move.
Milestones
We are well past the 2000 mile mark now and our next goal is to cross the Big Horn Mountains. Buffalo is at about 4,500 feet and tomorrow we will cycle up to about 9,600 feet. But once we reach the top the road eventually goes back down! Time to practice my braking techniques! We plan to stay in Ten Sleep tomorrow night and then head toward Yellowstone. My computer time is well past so it's time to go.
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