Saturday, June 26, 2010
Hi everyone! We’re in West Yellowstone, MT tonight–day off tomorrow.
It’s been a pretty good week although there has been some pretty tough riding. While still in WY we saw a lot of antelope, often running in the ditch alongside us! One morning I saw a mother antelope with two tiny babies on the prairie next to me.
I had a new experience this week–sleeping in a rest stop picnic pavilion. We had been going to stop in a small town and stay at the local motel but it was such a rat trap and the rest of the town was so dirty that we decided to keep going. We rode another 20 miles into a 25 mph headwind and finally reached Sweetwater Station, a very nice wayside rest, and the next town up would have been another 30 miles so we stopped. The rest area had numerous picnic tables with two walls and a roof around each one so we each picked a table, put our sleeping mats and bags on the tables, and went to sleep. Not bad, actually, I slept very well.
I heard a rattlesnake in the ditch one morning as I rode past. I was on the shoulder and very plainly heard a rattle start and it rattled until I was well past. A local person told me, upon hearing this story, that he is allergic to rattlesnakes, saying, “When I hear one I break out in a run.”
We went over three mountain passes this week, one of which was 9600 ft. high (there was a lot of snow still on the ground at the top) and two which were 8400+ ft. They were gradual and we didn’t have to walk the bikes but they were still tough!
For those people in my church who get the updates I forward from my riding friend, Steve, I want you to know that when he says, “Alcohol may have been involved.” he is talking about himself. When I drink any alcohol on this trip it is for medicinal purposes only, albeit preventative.
We rode through Grand Teton Nat. Pk. yesterday and camped in Yellowstone Nat. Pk. last night. We rode out of the nat. pk. today, rode into MT, and ended in West Yellowstone at a very nice biking hostel. We are glad to be out of the parks with their narrow roads and huge RV’s. We each had some close calls. We rode past the geyser basins, which are very interesting, and saw a lot of bison (resting, fortunately, not roaming) and two moose. We head for Missoula, MT Monday morning and hope to be there by next Sat. The adventure continues!
Steve says we have been lucky throughout this trip and I tell him he is only half-right–I think he is lucky to be riding with me when I have all those Presbyterians at home praying for me. By now my postcards should be getting there on a regular basis. Thanks again for your prayers and support!
Bruce
