Day 29 - Colter Bay to Dubois, WY (August 4)

Time to ride...

View of the Tetons from near my campsite.

I got an early start today. I wanted to get up over the pass before it got too late or too hot. The Togwotee Pass is the second highest pass I have ridden so far at 9,600 feet.

The peaks surrounding the pass and the little lake at the top are very dramatic.

On the way up the pass, the shopkeeper at the Togwotee Mountain Lodge gave me the rest of his ripe bananas. This food helps to get one over the pass.

On the way down, I met a tourist coming up from the other side. This guy, Peter Spoo, was a bike racer from Belgian. He really looked the part. He was riding the trans-america route. Along the way, he had his bike stolen in Pueblo, Colorado when he ran into the Post Office. Pueblo is not that big of a town, so the word spread quickly that his bike had been stollen - over police radio and he was even featured in the local news rag. He received many offers of cash or other help to get him another bike. He almost bought a new bike, but before he could a local pawn shop owner informed Peter that his bike was just sold. His custom, 15-year old lugged mountain bike was sold to the pawn shop for the paltry sum of $60 and the crook was apprehended before he could get his afternoon high.

I later passed a couple on a tandem on my way to Dubois. What a way to travel!

The descent from the pass is wonderfull - its all downhill and there was a steady wind at my back. it looks like the riding should be similar to this (with less downhill and some uphill) all the way Rawlins, WY.

I'm riding through nice country. Dubois is surrounded by red-colored badlands. The surrounding area is sage-covered hillsides. To the southwest is the Wind River Range (and the continental divide) and to the northeast is the Absaroka Range. Good thing its flat down here in the valley.

The Old Mine in Downtown Dubois

Day 29 - Colter Bay to Dubois - 69 Miles

Day 28 - Colter Bay to Jackson Lake Lodge (August 3)

More or less a rest day...

But there are things to do, blogs to write, fancy lodges to sit in while watching the clouds cover and uncover the peaks of the Tetons.

The Jackson Lake Lodge is a large Lodge near Jackson Lake. In the upstair atrium, there is free wifi access and three story windows looking out over the Grand Tetons. I spent my entire day here resting, eating, people watching, and updating.

Later, I had a nice conversation with Bikers from Oklahoma and saw a nice sunset on the lake over the Tetons.

Day 28 - Colter Bay to Jackson Lake Lodge and back again - 17 Miles

Day 27 - Bridge Bay, YNP to Colter Bay, Teton NP (August 2)

Ugh...

Before I get into the challenges of today's riding. I stopped to look at a small natural bridge near my campsite. Bridge Bay is named for the natural bridge that is located just south.

My bike stands in as my surrogate in my pictures.

Naturally, A Bridge

The roadway was bad, bad, bad today. And the drivers were bad, bad, bad today. The roadway from the West Thumb Junction in Yellowstone south to the entrance of Grand Teton National Park is dedicated to John D. Rockfeller. He should get off of his rump and repave the road with wide shoulders. And straighten the road while he is at it. What's that you say? He's not alive?

This is a picture of West Thumb. Yellowstone Lake is shaped like a hand, a right hand to be specific. West Thumb is located on the west side of the lake. That narrow opening leads to the rest of the "hand" that is Yellowstone Lake.

The road was narrow and had no shoulders. It was also curvy. This made it hard for cars to pass. So very often cars would pass closeby. Obviously, I didn't like this. Fortunately, most cars slowed down while passing.

At least the view was nice. There were three scenic points: the West Thumb Geyser Basin, the Lewis River from Lewis Lake to the Southern YNP boundary, and Jackson Lake.

I stopped at the West Thumb Geyser Basin to do my business and see some more geysers. I had considered just continuing on, but I decided to look at more geysers. I mean don't all the geysers look alike? Not these geysers.

My friends and fellow touring cyclists, Luis and Marta (from Madrid, Spain) were also stopping here for a mid-morning snack. Marta was of the opinion that all geysers were alike. So they were only stopping for a snack. I joined them for a snack and then looked at the Geysers.

I'm glad I did. In fact, I wanted to linger a while. This is hard to do when touring. When touring, I stop and look at things for only a short while, but I have to keep moving because I have to get to my destination.

This geyser basin made me want to stay for a while. Yes, it had all of the typical geyser features - geysers, mud paint pots, vents, steam, rotten egg smell. But it had something more. It was right on the enclosed West Thumb bay of Yellowstone Lake. Yellowstone Lake has water clarity like Lake Tahoe did 30 years ago. The water was a wonderful blue color, there was a nice sandy cobblestone bottom. I wanted to go for a swim or sit on the beach for a while. Of course because of the geysers and the heat and the acid and the sulfur, the beach was closed.

So I enjoyed the lake and returned to the picnic area to pick up my bike. When I did I noticed two other bikes - those of Luis and Marta, but the riders were not there. Where could they have gone? To the geysers I guessed?

Too bad, I wanted to say goodbye. Because Marta and Luis were only going to ride for 40 miles today, I wouldn't see them anymore.

Later I arrived at my campground. I went about my business setting up the tent, organizing, etc., doing the domestic part of the ride. As I was heading out, Luis and Marta arrived. They decided to ride on to a campground with a shower. So it was nice to have company during the afternoon and for dinner - to discuss history, politics, and tell them about California (they were planning on driving to California to ride the Coast in to San Francisco).

Day 27 - Bridge Bay to Colter Bay - 67 Miles