Day 18 - (July 24) West Yellowstone to Madison Junction, Yellowstone NP

Nice day for a ride.

I began my ride early. After some administrative things - email, etc. it was time to ride into the Park. I was concerned that I would not get a campsite, so I left early. What I found out is that I didn't have to worry. Luckily for me, there are hiker/bicyclist spaces at almost each campsite in Yellowstone National Park. Except for the popular campgrounds (Madison, Lewis Lake, Colter Bay - actually in Grand Teton), a hiker/bicyclist space is always open. In fact, if one were in good cycling shape, one could bicycle tour all of Yellowstone NP in the summer and not have to make a reservation. Read on, because that's just what I did.

What's this? I can't ride on the boardwalk? But I can ride singletrack (see below)!

A Blue Heron in the Middle of the Madison

The original plan was to take two rest days in Grant Village. But the guidebook that I had didn't think that Grant Village was that nice. So, I didn't actually "rest", I changed my route and went to Norris Junction and Canyon instead (see the next two days).

Here's Old Faithful. Right on time (or not).

This Rarely Erupting Geyser (not Old Faithful) really let loose. So much so, it soaked at least 30 people who were walking along on the boardwalk near the geyser.

Back to this day. There was alot to see. The ride to Old Faithful is nice. It is a mostly flat ride along the Firehole River. Yellowstone actually allows off-road riding, so I rode from Fountain Flat Drive to Grand Prismatic Spring.

Not Quite the Grand Prismatic, but Nice Anyway.

Geysers, Geysers, Everywhere.

Many Pools are Blue. Very Blue.

This Geyser Isn't So Active. Just Blue.

Some Have Bacteria Growing in Them.

Leading away from Old Faithful and leading to Upper Geyser Basin was this bicycle-allowed path. I didn't know that you could ride single track in the National Parks!

Day 18 - West Yellowstone to Old Faithful to Madison Junction - 53 Miles

Day 17 - Cameron, MT to West Yellowstone, MT (July 23)

Riding the Madison.

Today's ride was very tough. It started with an uphill ride into the wind. At mile 15, I passed a windmill vigourously turning in the wind. Not a good sign.

At least the scenery was nice. I rode along the Madison River. A Blue Ribon River for fishing. There were many ranches and lodges along the way that catered to fly fishermen. For example, this lodge, perched on the cliff above the Madison:

After 34 miles of flat, slightly uphill riding into the wind, I entered this river canyon (still the Madison River) that led to West Yellowstone.

Just as you enter this canyon, you see this 1959 slide that created another lake (Quake Lake) downstream of Hebgen Lake. This slide was similar in size and scope to the slide I had seen earlier in Alberta near the town of Frank. The Frank Slide was 74 million metric tonnes, while the Quake Lake slide was 80 million English tons (a metric ton is roughly equivalent to an English ton).

This is a picture of one of the boulders that slid all the way from top of the mountain across the river and up the adjacent hill.

Here is a picture of the other boulder (with the hillside slide in the background).

After marvelling at the forces of nature, I rode onto West Yellowstone stopping along the way at Campfire Lodge Resort for my second breakfast of the day. The restaurant is right next to the Madison River and the property is located under a grove of pine trees. A nice place to visit and stay.

As I neared West Yellowstone, I saw a big thundercloud in the distance. All of a sudden the head wind kicked up again and I had to ride with a stiff headwind for the next 4 miles. Finally, I turned 90 degrees to the storm, but I saw sheets of rain in the distance. I didn't mind the rain, but I was worried about the wind. Fortunately the riding wasn't as hard because I had turned perpendicular to the wind. But as I approached the sheets of rain, the wind turned into my face again which made the last 4 miles into West Yellowstone a rainy and windy experience. Of course, once I finally arrived in West Yellowstone, the rain and wind stopped.

Day 17 - Cameron to West Yellowstone - 64 Miles

Day 16 - Dillon, MT to Cameron, MT (July 22)

Just getting there. Scenic, but hot.

The first part the ride was flat along the Beaverhead River and I had the wind at my back.

Beaverhead Rock. Lewis and Clark stopped here with Sacajawea.

The city park in Twin Bridges is a nice place to stop.

Scavenging along the side of the roadway.

Today's ride provided a huge bonanza of stuff - 2 CDs and 2 DVDs. When I climbing slowly, my vision sometimes strays to the side of the road where I might see something shiny. Mostly its a bud light can, but sometimes it something useful like a CD or a movie DVD. No, I haven't found any dirty movie DVDs. So on this day, I found two music CDs - Dave Matthews and a Hip Hop CD. One DVD didn't work and the other DVD contained music. So far as for movies, I've found the Son of Monty Cristo (must be the sequel to the Count of Monty Cristo) and Alien vs. Predator. Later on, when I ride in Vietnam, scavenging isn't very fun. Because of the amount of garbage along the side of the road, I pass stray CDs every kilometer. Push your trash away folks!

Back to the trip.

Here's one of those crash-up derby cars from last night's derby in Dillon. This what the car looked like later on Sheridan, MT. It didn't fare so well.

This is the robber's roost located between Sheridan, MT and Alder, MT. In the mid 1800s, a group of men called The Innocents began robbing stage coaches and wagon trains that travelled between Bannack (the first regional capital) and Virigina City. The sheriff of Virginia City and Bannack, Henry Plummer, was the head of The Innocents. Eventually a group of angry citizens formed their own group, the Vigilantes. They caught, tried, and hanged the members of The Innocents ending the string of robberies.

The town of Laurin has an interesting Church.

They really wanted to find some Rubys and Garnett Stones along Alder Creek. So much so that all that is left is the cobblestone mine tailings.

Town of Virgina City. Almost a ghost town, but has be revived as a tourist stop.

Lunch stop. Real food - hummus plate! Yum!

It looks like you ride off a cliff here on your way to Ennis.

Between Ennis and Cameron, I met up with three cyclists crossing the country. They were near the end of their journey. We chatted for 20 minutes or so. They had a lot less gear than me. I guess they had gotten smart and realized that they didn't need half of the stuff that they had started with. I hope I realize this soon. I'm carrying a heavy load.

The Jail/Post Office in Cameron.

Surrounding peaks...

A meeting place for the surrounding farmers and ranchers. There is nothing but ranches around here. The nearest neighbor may be as far as 2 miles away. Sometimes neighbors share a common road, but they are still not located near to each other. So on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights only, the Cameron General Store serves dinner and serves as a meeting place for the people who live in the surrounding area. I think I was the only one in the restaurant who didn't know another person. Even the people from out of town seemed to know the others in the restaurant and bar. I guess the Cameron General Store serves an important role for the people who live in the area.

Day 16 - Dillon to Cameron - 85 Miles