(Daniel)
Wyoming has probably been my favorite state so far. While the adventures and time spent with friends in Colorado may outweigh the other segments of the journey in memorability, the sheer, raw beauty of the state of Wyoming (a part of the country neither Thomas nor I have ever visited before), has awed me again and again with its diversity and richness. Entering into the state, Thomas and I rode a total of 250 miles or more through very dry, arid bluffs and hillsides. At one point, we even had a 40 mile stretch without water through a desert basin. Water has been easier to find than we had been told, however Wyoming gas stations will often charge you for ice and the tap water is hard with unfiltered ground minerals.
The exhaustion of the days' rides and seemingly endless Wyoming landscape led us once to even try for a hitchhike. On occasion, we've found hitchhiking to be a rather nice way to meet interesting people and escape the sun. We should reiterate, for any of you who are offended by such an idea, that our goal in setting out on this trip was very clear: we wanted to travel the country and see the land while meeting people. Our mode of transportation may be a bicycle, but we're not purists. Strict adherence to "biking 100% of the journey" was never, at least for me, a declared rule.
Just wanted to make that clear. ;)
Throughout the state of Wyoming (which took us 4 days to cross) we camped. The nights in Wyoming are much cooler than any other segment's has been. It has been refreshing to finally be sleeping in anything other than our own sweat. Our sleeping bags have done their job nicely. The only major, reoccurring plight of Wyoming nights, however, are the mosquitos. We often will end our day's ride just before the sun goes down, which means a fast dash and a rapid-fire tent construction in order to guarantee as few bites as possible. Bugspray has been a close friend of ours.
As we were crossing Togwokee pass moving toward the Grand Teton region, our fourth cross of the continental divide thus far, we were struck by a mountain storm that made our descent into the Teton's miserably cold and grey. The photos I took, through shaky, numb fingers, of this segment look pretty sweet though. The grey clouds moving in over the clean upward struts of slate were eerie and powerful.
As we came down the backside of the mountain, the storm cleared however, and we were left with a crystal clear view of the Tetons in the distance.
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| Thomas "assuming the position" zooming down a mountain. (Racing position, that is.) |
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| Some ranchers we briefly talked to in the Teton Valley. |
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| Riding through the Teton National Park |
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| Two little kids playing at the base of the Tetons in Jackson Lake. |
As we entered the Teton National Park, we were surprised to find out that they charged all bikers $12.00 just to pass through. Because the man didn't have change however, and we told him we wouldn't be camping in the Tetons, he told us he'd let us by and that we'd just have to pay at the entrance to Yellowstone. This little slip-up worked out perfectly for us, because after we showered in one of the Teton bathroom complexes ($3.75 per session) Thomas met a man by the name of Steve Stuart who was particularly impressed with our story, and who enthusiastically offered us his campsite (within the Tetons) to camp, should we want it. After relaying this to me, Thomas and I decided that Steve and his son, Will, were pretty awesome guys who were traveling the country and sleeping in the back of their truck (from which Steve had removed the seats, installed a mattress, and made into a bed). It was clear from our conversation that they just seemed excited to meet new people. As it turned out, our decision to stay the night at their campsite (for free!) was a great decision, because the next day they offered to carry us in their jeep through Yellowstone Park!
We spent the full day riding through the park with these two, frequenting water holes, old faithful, sulphur springs, and seeing a plethora of wildlife. AND! Because our bicycle route actually only would have taken us through the southwestern quarter of the park, we ended up seeing about 5X the amount of this massive, 3 million acre park. Toward the end, Steve even let me drive the truck! It was one of those lucky, spontaneous events that are the heart of the best of stories. We had a great time talking with the two guys, laughing and sharing food and drinks for two days. Stuart Men, if you're reading this, a big "Thank You" for your generosity!
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| Steve and Will |
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| The incredible Yellowstone National Park |
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| Crowd assembled for the Ol' Faithful blast off. |
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| Thomas and Will in the back of the truck, enjoying the (tight yet comfortable) journey around Yellowstone. |
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| Me driving!! |
We spent one additional night with the Stuarts on the Western edge of Yellowstone, outside the park in Montana. A gorgeous sunset closed our brief, yet special, time with the two fellow adventurers.
