Togwotee

Departed Kristina's Hatchet Resort and tackled the second highest pass on the Transamerica Trail. It was a long, long 17 mile climb in slightly rainy, cold weather with old man legs. The peak of the pass is 9658' and just before I reached the top I met Inspector Clouseau. I was going up, he was coming down and we stopped to chat. I had a waterproof jacket on with just biking shorts below and the Inspector was fully encased with high Tech gear that made me green with envy. He had a small mustache and wore little square, slightly tinted glasses and to me looked strikingly similar to Peter Sellers in Pink Panther. When he stopped, I said fancy meeting you here. He just stared at me at first with a blank expression. I started grinning and half expected him to ask me if I had a raooom. When he started talking, it was complete. He was Danish and his accent completed the persona. He gave me some valuable information about road construction ahead and about possible camping sites. All the while I wanted to ask him, excuse me but does your dog bite. He really was a nice guy and was on his way through Yellowstone and into Washington. About an hour later I met two other bikers pulling trailers and we chatted for a short while. I've noticed one thing though, the bikers I've met so far are all young. After the pass I found a little cabin in Dubois and settled in for the night. Today I got on the road early, fearing rain and cold and neither happened. I got a few pictures of the Wyoming red dirt and rode along the Wind River. I passed through the Wind River Indian Reservation and the small town of Fort Washakie. The town was named after Chief Washakie, a Shoshoni Indian who was a faithful friend to the whites during the 1800s. I stopped at a service station in Fort Washakie and learned that the town is comprised mostly of Shoshoni and Arapahoe. I had my lunch, a sub, and pressed on. As I left the Reservation I passed the obligatory casino confirming that, yes indeed, they are Indians. On my way to Lander I passed two more separate biker groups. One was a lone female but we didn't stop, she was going down hill and was trying to pick up speed for the next hill. The second group was a couple on there way to Yellowstone and then down the Oregon coast. I relayed the construction information and the excellent rate at the Debois hotel where I'd spent the night. Nice young couple and we chatted for about ten minutes before departing. I rode 75 miles today so I could get to Lander. Lander has a population of about 7000 people and makes a great rest stop. I have WiFi, cell phone and color TV, Yahoo!

Wyoming

Left Yellowstone and the weather was pretty good. I made it over Craig Pass and into Grand Teton National Park and the weather turned sour. I was able to get a few pictures of the Tetons but nothing like the Hallmark Cards you'd like to see. I rode about 55 miles and stopped at Colter Bay for the night. It was a great place, right across the lake from the Tetons, however the clouds prevented me from getting the Hallmark shot. I guess my daughter will have to get good photos of the Tetons when she and The Real Man visit later this year. Got up early this morning and was ready to go but it was raining and cold. Thought I'd wait till it stopped but at nine o'clock it was still coming down, so I pushed out. I left the park and headed toward Dubois and Togwotee Pass, my last big pass till Colorado. I had only gone about twenty miles and had a flat tire. Reminded me of Oregon. It was raining and cold but managed to get the tire changed in short order. Due to the late start, bad weather and flat tire I decided I couldn't make the Pass today. I stopped at Hatchet Resort run by Kristina. Great place with a beautiful view of the mountains and right at the beginning of the climb over the pass. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be warmer but still raining. This is June, isn't it?

Old Faithful

I left the town of West Yellowstone today and entered Wyoming and Yellowstone Park. Very soon after entering the park I saw a herd of elk and soon thereafter came the buffalo. I saw hundreds of them. In fact some were running down the road and I couldn't pass. Every time I would start to go around this one huge bull would turn and face me. When he turned, I turned. More people are hurt or killed in the park by buffalo than grizzly bears. So, when he turned and faced me, I did a u-turn. I finally figured out how to get around them with a little protection. I would wait until a car was going by and ride on the opposite side of the critters. My goal today, other than avoiding being trampled to death, was Old Faithful which was only 30 miles inside the west entrance. When I arrived there was dark clouds combined with thunder and lighting. So, I decided to book a cabin. Cheap enough only $65. But soon after I got the cabin the sky cleared and only a few drops of rain fell. Oh well, tomorrow I climb Craig Pass on my way out of Yellowstone so a night in a warm bed suits me just fine. I got a couple of good looks at Old Faithful and passed some of the geysers that Theresa, the kids and I got to see almost 30 years ago. We were stationed at Ellsworth, AFB in Rapid City, S.D. and took one of those military vacations into Yellowstone. I think the cabins are still the same as they were 30 years ago. This trip brings back a lot of memories of the kids especially as they held their noses when we walked through the geyser basin. Memories of a life time, time to go, get in the car. I love you girls.

Ground Floor

I left Dillon and rode to Virginia City. Unfortunately, it's a big tourist stop and since the weather was good all rooms were taken. Nevada City, about a mile away, and Virgina City still maintain the look of the old West. I took a picture of an old train in Nevada City but that one picture really doesn't give you the whole flavor of the town. The towns are very close but because Virginia City is the Capitol Seat, they seemed to get all the business. Since I couldn't get a room I found an RV park just outside of town and bedded down for the night. It was the best night camping so far. I was comfortable, felt safe and the night was clear. The next morning I had a two and a half mile climb out of the canyon and rode to Campfire Lodge Resort. It was a 65 mile day but it put me only about 25 miles from West Yellowstone. The lodge offered cabins but I camped again since the weather was good. On the way to the Campfire Lodge I passed Earthquake Lake, formed in 1959 when an earthquake knocked down the side of a mountain killing 28 people and forming the lake. After Quake Lake I passed Hebgen Lake and caught a herd of Long Horn Sheep grazing along the road. They stayed still. Earlier in the day I saw two herds of antelopes and tried to take their picture but every time I stopped they ran. Must be the bike. I've seen a lot of wildlife including at breakfast this morning at the lodge. I was eating one of the biggest pancakes I've ever seen in my life when a big screen/TV actor walked in. He didn't recognize me so luckily my breakfast was undisturbed. I promised Jim, the owner of the Campfire Lodge , I wouldn't use the actor's name since he enjoys anonymity. But just goes to show you they are people too and enjoy the same things we do. Why most Americans are hung up on celebrities is beyond me. Real heroes don't read lines. After breakfast I had a leisurely 25 mile ride into West Yellowstone, just outside of the park. Today was my fifth day on the bike so before I head into the park I am going to take a rest day. There might be rain in the forecast...ugh.

Dillon

Left Darby yesterday. At first it was a little cloudy and thought maybe I messed up by staying the extra day. But, after an hour on the road the clouds went away and it turned into perfect biking conditions. I had 18 miles to bike before I came to the seven mile climb up Chief Joseph Pass so along the way I enjoyed my last look at the Bitterroot Mountains. Just before the climb began, I came to the southern end of the Bitterroot where in 2000 they had a series of fires that burned over 350,000 acres of wooded mountains. It was weird looking at the mountains with what appeared to be sticks poking out of the ground. Oh well I hope it was a good cigarette. Going up the pass I took occasional water breaks and at one turn jumped three mule deer. Haven't seen mule deer since South Dakota. I had about three miles remaining in the climb and was concentrating on my cadence and my breathing. I have a helmet mirror but was using my ears, relying on them to tell me if traffic was coming from behind. I was deep into the climb when, out of the deathly silence, this loud voice in my 4:o'clock position said, Don't want to scare you. I immediately snapped my head to my left and then back as I ran off the road into the loose gravel and had to stop. Oops I guess I did, said my female friend as she passed and then with a giggle she said you're almost there. Well, isn't that special. She was on a road bike with a camelpak and charged pass me. Now, I don't know if you have either been walking or riding a bike and a car blows the horn when they get right beside you, but that's the effect her voice had on me. I was steamed. She obviously had been biking for awhile and I think she should have known better. Anyway, I forgot about rest stops, water, and scenery. All I wanted to see was my new friend coming back down the pass. I was almost to the top when she passed and said yeah, you made it. I was nice. I just asked her the same question about the horn blowing but she didn't respond. But I have to hand it to her, she gave my energy to top Chief Joseph. After the pass I stopped at Big Hole Battlefield Park. Only fitting since it was Memorial Day. The 7Th Calvary and the Nez Perce fought an early morning battle where the brave 7Th killed over 90 Nez Perce Indians. About 63 of them were women and children. Shoot low, was the command, because they will be sleeping. In the end the Indians repelled the 7Th and even commandeered their cannon and resumed their trek to Canada. After the education, I found what I'd been looking for, Wisdom. The town of Wisdom. I spent the night there and this morning started late due to fog. I got on the road around eight o'clock and had two passes to climb, Big Hole and Badger. Big Hole was the longer, shallower climb and Badger was shorter but steeper. Along the way again I saw some antelope and more deer. After topping Badger I had the most amazing descent of the trip. It went on for ever, about ten miles. At one point I had to slow my descent because of crosswinds but later I checked and my highest speed was 39.4. Not too bad on a fully loaded touring bike. I planned to spend the night in the next town for my sister, Sandra. She is a big Gunsmoke fan. So, tonight I am bunking in Dillon.

Bitterroot

After biking yesterday and stopping in Darby, I decided to make it my rest stop. It was raining, my knee was a little sore, the bed was warm, WiFi and four other reasons made it a good stop. Darby is a small town in the Bitterroot Valley nestled between the Bitterroot Mountains to the West and the Sapphire Mountains to the East. I was told that a lot of mega-rich have made the Bitterroot Valley their home and I can certainly see why. The Bitterroot Mountains are still snow capped and makes a beautiful backdrop for any ranch. I stayed at the Traveler's Rest Resort (cabin #3) hosted by Vaughn & Debbie. Great couple who went out of their way to make my stay enjoyable. This weekend Darby was hosting a horse riding and six gun shooting competition and the European six-gun champion, from Sweden, was bunked in cabin #4. I didn't get to see this morning's competition but was told due to the rain it was moved indoors. And, Vaughn said the Swede was afraid his horse would run into something so that caused him not to place very high in the competition. Hard to imagine a Swede beating these cowboys out here anyway. The Championship stays in Montana. Tomorrow I cross Chief Joseph pass. Chief Joseph the Nez Perce Indian that defied the demand that he take his people back to the Idaho Reservation. He led his people almost 1700 miles, about 38 miles from the Canadian border before being stopped. The part of Idaho and now Montana that I have been lucky enough to travel through is rich in Western History and particularly of the plight of American Indians. I've traveled the Lolo Trail along the Clearwater River and now down the Bitterroot Valley and tomorrow Chief Joseph Pass, all part of the route the Nez Perce took trying to make good their escape.

Lolo Pass & Big Sky Country

Between Kooskia, Idaho and Lolo, Montana there were limited services. At one point there wasn't anything but two campgrounds for 66 miles. So, I had to plan my stops so I would have food and water and a semi safe place to stay for the night. After leaving Kooskia, I biked for 50 miles to a camp site. I got there pretty early as I generally get on the road around 6:30 or 7:00 so I can get some good riding in before the traffic gets bad. It was a good site, next to the river and off the road. After looking around the campground for a site with minimal amount of bear poop, I pitched my tent. It was around 4 O:clock in the afternoon, too early for bed, yet I was tired, so I just lay in the tent relaxing. A car stopped about 20 yards from my tent and two men got out and started talking. At first I ignored them but when they started talking about bear tracks, I got interested. I flipped the fly back on the tent and went over and introduced myself. One man was about 70 years old the other I found out later was 23. Their car looked like it was on it's last leg, no hubcaps and crammed full of junk. A third person arrived with a two person camper and the elder gentleman excused himself to help, who looked like a Spanish male, station it. The younger man, Theo, started talking about the older man. He said he worked for the Defense Department, had been in Viet Nam, Kosavo, Afghanistan, and in the Navy. It got better. Theo added that the elder man was an informant as well. It seems the old man infiltrates communities and spies on people and turns that information over to the Defense Department. Theo said no one would suspect him. I agreed with Theo. When the old man shook my hand he slobbered all over himself and had to step back and wipe spit off his chin. It was early in the conversation that I realized that my camp mates might be more dangerous than the bear poop I saw. Theo invited me to join them after they got set up but I begged off adding that I was tired due to the miles I'd ridden. I went back to my tent and locked my bike and moved anything of value inside my tent. Great, first bears now the three amigos. I didn't get too much sleep and quietly left camp early next morning. Yesterday I biked to the Locksa Lodge 13 miles from Lolo Pass.The last two days involved an 80 mile slow climb culminating in Lolo Pass. The lodge is set back in the woods with a beautiful view but no cell phone or WiFi. Got a good meal and good rest and today at 6:30 I tackled Lolo. It only took me two hours to cover the 13 miles and along the way saw plenty of deer and very few trucks. Turns out Hwy 12 wasn't as bad as the map warned. After crossing Lolo and entering Montana I felt pretty good and today was able to do 65 miles and didn't get turned in to the Defense Department. Tomorrow I'll be on hwy 93 heading toward Chief Joseph Pass.