Day 52 July 8th Grant Village to Madison Campground, Yellowstone, WY. By Eric and Leisa

Our coldest start at 37 degrees but we got a big coffee at the convience store before leaving.  Climbing started immediately as we crossed the Continenal Divide at 8,391' and then down and up to Craig Pass at  8,261'.  Isa Lake by Craig Pass has the distinction of being the only lake where one tributary goes west and ends up the Gulf of Mexico and one tributary goes east and ends up in the Pacific Ocean.  We cruised on down to the Lodge at Old Faithful.  I have been to Timberline Lodge, Yosemite Lodge, and Grand Canyon lodge to name a few.  They all have unique features.  Old Faithful lodge is no exception. Its feature is the soaring central room.  It is open up to 4 stories.  All the wood is custom picked natural form used to make all the stairs, rails, chairs and features.  In that room is a fireplace that also goes up 4 stories and has a fireplace on all 4 sides. My pictures do not do it justice.  You have to see and feel the wood to appreciate what the architect did.  We explored the lodge and then waited for Old Faithful to do her thing.  I could have stayed at Old Faithful for longer but the road called and every afternoon there is still the threat of thunder showers.  We rode 8 miles further to see Prismatic Geyser.  The pictures show why it has that name.  The color of the water turns blue as the heat cleans all the minerals and bacteria out.  The orange, yellow and green are the organisms that come out.  The mix of hot steam and cold air was a unique feeling as we walked around the geyser.
Madison campground was a short ride along the Firehole river.  We stopped to soak our feet but the river was warmer than we expected.  It has to do with thermal water coming in.  We are now in camp.  No Bugs!!!  Planning on being in Montana, our 9th state by tomorrow midday.

 

Day 51 July 7th Lewis Lake to Grant Village, WY by Leisa and Eric

 

No rush this morning climbing up to Grant Village.  We met Angie and Bill heading to Madison.  At this point we parted ways as they are wanting to get home and we want to ride until the last possible day.  We are taking a rest day here in Grant Village.  We had our first restaurant meal in 7 days.  The Grant Village Lodge is on Yellowstone lake.  I felt like we were in at a 5 star restaurant dressed in 2 star clothes.  No one cared!  Many chores have been completed including laundery, showers, mapping and stocking supplies.  A walk along the Yellowstone lake showed that we are only on the "thumb" part.  It is a big lake.

Day 51 July 7 Grant Bay to West Yellowstone Angie and Bill

 Well…this day just happens to be my bday and what an epic day it was! Just think of waking up and all you need to do is pedal your bike through some of the most majestic scenery and lands on earth with your sweetie. What lay ahead was not only Old Faithful but also so much more…

But first John stopped by our campsite for a bday treat of a cinnamon roll (with lots of frosting) and mini citronella candles to blow out!

John shared this ritual he was doing of  push-ups every time he crossed the Continental Divide…I gave it a try and it was actually pretty fun.

Mileage for the day was ~50 miles so we savored the day and stopped off at Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic pools.

Finally, on the way out of the park we took a quick swim in the Fire Hole River which, being downstream from the many geysers, etc must have been ~80 degrees. This was definitely a memorable day!

Day 50 July 6th Jenny Lake to Lewis Lake, Wy by Leisa and Eric

This morning was like a wonderland.  Early morning light on the lake makes the photos look unreal.  We rode 8 miles to Moose, WY.  It was by far the best 8 miles for scenery that we have ridden. I got all my questions answered about how Jenny Lake  and the Tetons were formed and how they got their names at the Interpretive Center. The Tetons were named after French-Canadian trappers who called the three tall mountian tops "Trois Tretons".  This mean three breasts.  Hard to believe where we get names from!  Jenny was the daughter of an early explorer.  After some breakfast bagels we headed up to Coulter Bay.  Angie and Bill had already headed to Grant Village as they did not go to Jenny Lake.  We entered Yellowstone where the Ranger told us Lewis Lake was open now for biker/hikers.  We thought we could make it all the way to Grant Village.  The climb was over 2000' and I was struggling with the altitude again.  We ended up at Lewis Lake where the camp hosts, B and Mike told us that the site was not open.  We explained the info we had gotten and they were very nice. They let us camp for free and they gave us food and let us use their power charger. If only they could have gotten rid of the mosquitos.  We were fine in our tents. 

 

Day 50 July 6 Colter Bay (Grand Teton NP) to Grant Village (Yellowstone NP) Angie and Bill

Had a beautiful day riding from Grand Teton to Yellowstone and while the mileage was relatively low (40 miles) there was a steady climb for much of the ride. Along the way we stopped off at Moose Falls for second breakfast and for the most part took our sweet time marveling at the beauty of one of our country’s iconic National Parks.

We connected again with a new travel companion (John) who as it turns out shares my exact bday…which happens to be tomorrow!

We camped at Grant Village and had a nice leisurely afternoon to include laundry and a luxurious NP shower.

Day 49 July 5; Dubois to Grand Teton (Colter Bay) Angie and Bill

 The ride from Dubois to Grand Teton meant we needed to first get up and over Togwotee Pass. While we did so without too much trouble it was a 28+ mile climb to the summit at 9584 ft elevation. The day’s overall mileage wasn’t too ominous the climb gave us a reminder to take it easy so we definitely were of the mindset to take it easy.

The gift at the top was a beautiful mtn top lake which was stunningly beautiful. Angie and I thought it would be a great place for a delicious ramen lunch…so that’s exactly what we did!

This was then followed by a nice long downhill run into the Grand Teton National Park and camping at Colter Bay. The initial sight of the Grand Teton is still so breathtaking and something one never gets weary of…the familiarity of the location also gave a sense that we were getting closer to home even though we still have >1 week on the road to Missoula.

Day 49 July 5th Dubois to Jenny Lake in Teton National Park by Eric and Leisa

A 6:15 departure time was required this morning as the Dubois Kwianas meet in our sleeping room at 6:30.  We stopped to get a ride on the Jackalope.  The first 30 miles of the route was climbing up Togwotee Pass to 9,584'.  Some great views and stopping areas made it worthwhile. One area was Windy Lake picnic area.  It was like a secret high mountain lake if you went all the way in the road to see it.  We were lead astray by signs that said we had a 17 mile downhill with a 6% grade after the climb. It was more like an up and down plus a head wind. No screamin downhill - dang!  We entered Teton National Park and headed toward Jenny Lake.  I cannot describe the vast beauty and granduer of this park.  All morning we watched the rugged mountains get bigger and closer.  When you are in the park it feels like you could reach touch them except that you also see big mountain meadows in front of them.  It is such treasure that all should get to experience.

We had a traffic jam for a large elk that Eric managed to photograph.  It was quietly resting in the grass near the road.
At Jenny Lake campground we are only the 2nd hiker/biker group. Bears have been in the campground daily.

 

Day 48 July 4th Lander to Dubois, WY

Left at 6:20 from Lander City Park.  Even with 30 tents and scads of people we got a good nights sleep. The ride was slow and uphill as we climbed over 4000 ft with a cross wind.  Along the route were opportunities to see Sacajawea's grave, a national military vehicle  museum and countless antelope.  In Dubois we arrived in time to get in the middle of their afternoon 4th of July parade.  Our destination was the St. Thomas Episcopal church and cyclist hostel.  Ian and Cindy are the hosts for the hostel and gave us all loads of ice cream from their 4th of July ice cream social. We have cots, bathroom, microwave, refrigerator and lots of left over ice cream.