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.

Faith Restored

Yesterday was hot. Record setting hot. I started out from White Bird early enough and since it was only 21 miles to Grangeville I was not too concerned about the climb out of the canyon. There were two ways out, the old, more scenic road or the new road which was advertised as steeper but straighter. The lady at the hotel recommended I go the old road because I'd see lots of animals and have beautiful scenery. So. lesser climb, better scenery, equals an easy choice. The first couple of miles out of White Bird consisted of small climbs and descents, rollers. Then came the switchbacks. I looked up and counted five. No problem, I can do this easy.
After climbing about two miles I looked up and counted again. Five, you've got to be kidding me. As I sucked down some water I looked to the left at the new road and started wishing I was over there. Bottom line, there were eight and a half miles of switchbacks and I am still not convinced the grade was any less. It took me about two and a half hours to crawl my way out of the canyon. Close to the top, I could only go from curve to curve and then have to rest. By the time I got to the top, I was whipped and almost out of water. I drank three bottles on the way up and was rationing the last little bit I had. I pulled into the scenic overlook for a rest and noticed a couple by their car admiring the view. As I rolled to a stop and peeled myself off the bike the man said hey that was a heck of a climb wasn't it. I was drained and could only nod my head. Would you like some water he asked. Oh yes I would, thank you, thank you, thank you. Turns out he was a fellow biker, mostly mountain bikes, and was sympathetic to the climb. Dick, Jessica and their five month old son Jordan, were life savers. After talking with the trio and downing half the bottle of water we separated as friends. With the extra water and downhill slope I easily made the next ten miles to Grangeville. Now only 27 more to go. I lunched at Subway, called Theresa, and thought about the underestimated climb. I was lucky. I didn't cramp because the Williams intervened. The ride to Kooskia was down slopping and would have been enjoyable had it not been for the long climb earlier. About ten miles outside of Kooskia I was flagged down by a woman and her blind husband. She offered me water and strawberries and wanted to talk about biking. She and Bob used to ride all over, taking trips of 500 to 600 miles on a tandem. Him the stoker, and her providing the vision. They were in their 70's and were retracing some of the route they had traveled years ago. We talked for about 30 minutes and during that time I felt comfortable enough to ask how he lost his sight. He had been blind for 30 years due to a hereditary retinue problem. A problem that can be corrected now but for Bob technology came too late. I made it to Kooskia and got the last room at the Western Inn. Today was my rest day. My knee is getting better and I have been drinking a lot of water. Tomorrow if I go at least 48 miles and 40 miles on Thursday, I should be able to scale Lolo Pass on Friday. Lolo Pass divides Idaho and Montana. Both days will be campsites, so I don't know if I can blog or not. I do know I'll have extra water.

White Bird

None! Not one person. Nary a sole in Oregon used their car window as a megaphone. How is it that already three people in Idaho think I can understand what they are yelling when I am going 20mph and they are going 65 mph in the opposite direction. Why? Why do Idahoans yell out the window? Maybe they were warning me about the crickets. After 65 miles today I called it a day and signed in at the White Bird Motel in White Bird, Idaho. The lady that signed me in was nice and recommended either of the only two restaurants in the 110 person town. So, I stopped at the first one, The Silver Dollar. Dr Hook may have had something to do with the choice. Anyway, the cook/waitress sternly informed me I was only entitled to one refill of Mountain Dew. OK. Now, before I left my room I checked for WiFi and found three secured sources. So, on the off chance that the Silver Dollar was one of them, I took my laptop with me. Mistake number two. I asked the cook/waitress if they had WiFi. No. Is there anybody that sells WiFi access. Nobody has WiFi she says. Hmmm.
As I ate my burger and fries the cook/waitress' daughter and another portly man came in and started talking about computers and the man even talked about his laptop and WiFi. I get it. I am not one of them and I think I hear a banjo in the distance. When I went to pay my tab, the daughter took my money. I discreetly asked her if someone had WiFi that I could pay for access. She looked at the cook/waitress and then said no. The cook/waitress said again no one has WiFi. I couldn't stop the words, they just oozed out. Well if nobody has it why do I get three secured sources? Stare...Stare...Then I said who is Angels Nook. Oh that's the RV park behind the hotel. Thank you! I knocked on the door of the RV park and they were as nice as could be. I even had to insist they take a couple of dollars for the password. So far I am 100% Oregon and 50/50 Idaho. I attached three photos, one of Halfway, Oregon-beautiful little town, long horned sheep I saw along the Snake River just before leaving Oregon and the Salmon River which I followed today for over 30 miles.