Day 37 - Thunderstorms and Snow

Well, another night at the KOA in Dubois was in order. It rained terribly all day and the next viable place to stop is a good 65 miles off - too much to push through in this cold and wet weather.

The locals are into big stuffed animals. I saw a giant jackalope and bear on my way to the grocery store. It was our first real rest day of the trip!

Day 36 - Everything is A-OK at the KOA

Alrighty. Left Yellowstone and made it to Grand Teton National Park. I can't think of anything more to say than WOW!!! It was beautiful. The vistas were mesmerizing and I could have stayed a lot longer had it not been for the fact that I have another 2800 miles to go! Fortunately, the weather cleared nicely and we were able to see the mountains clearly. We headed for Togwatee Pass...that is one rough uphill! It is the second highest point on this trip!

Said goodbye to my dad and Uncle and continued on our crazy adventure.

Ended the day in Dubois at a KOA where we learned it would thunderstorm and possibly snow. Oh boy. It is only September!

Day 35 - That's Illegal You shitheads

A direct quote from my Uncle Grayson, as we drove by some people pulling dead trees on top of their car for firewood. The timing was perfect and we all started to laugh.

Prism Lake was absolutely incredible. Definitely one of my favorite moments thus far. Went to see Old Faithful again and took some time to read. I watched her erupt from the balcony of the lodge. It is an amazing structure - so beautiful for log lodges. Thank goodness it didn't burn down!

Went swimming in the river near dusk. It was great! Almost lost my shorts in the current! Whoa!

Day 34 - Generators are Cheating

Since when did camping become an indoor activity? Down with all those generators. Ugh! Woke up early...too early...all because someone wanted electricity.

Grayson did some fly-fishing and I saw a few snakes while hiking around the river with Liam. The Mammoth area is amazing...almost winter land-like. Saw so many amazing things...again. Amazing seems to be a reoccurring theme this trip.

Day 33 - Yellowstone!!!

Since it is Labor Day weekend our first order of business is to attain a campsite, Check! Next, see those wild animals and major attractions before the herds arrive! Managed to see Old Faithful and Morning Glory as well as many other geysers and falls. It smells like egg-butt everywhere. Stinky, but hey, I fit right in!

It was nice to have a car to get around the park and see everything. We spent the evening star-gazing and philosophizing the meaning of life. Clearly, the meaning is to live it up!

Day 32 - Rocky Mountain Museum

Okay...note to self. NEVER EVER, take my father anywhere that has something to read. We spent the entire day at the Rocky Mountain Museum. Not that it isn't interesting, BUT sheesh! Saw 3 shows in the Planetarium...in other words...I had 3 naps. I love planetariums, but not one show was about stars! Bummer! Went back to my cousins and ate some pizza and played some Wii for the first time. It was fun and hilarious.

Good times!

Day 31 - Oh It Won't Rain

My Uncle Grayson's famous last words. I slept horribly and was so nauseous the whole night. It started to rain viciously and fortunately, I had opted to put the rainfly on about 30 minutes before the down pour.

Today, we made it to Nevada City and Virginia City. It was pretty cool. It was right out of the old western pics - with a two-story outhouse indeed! The ghost towns were interesting and the music hall was hilarious. I caught Grayson on tape dancing. The entrance to Nevada City has an amazing old house - reminds me of the Winchester Mystery House, but on a smaller scale.

After our tour de ghost town, we headed to my dad's cousins' house in Bozeman. I was able to see Jimmy and Sandy after 21 years and meet their two daughters, Sarah and Ellie. They have four horses so we went riding for a bit and then off to dinner in Manhattan, Montana. Who knew?!

It was nice to see my relatives after so many years! Oh and I even played Rock Band for the first time. I suck as a guitar player in case you care.

Day 30 - A Day of Adventure and Blair Witch

So I went to the Adventure Cycling Headquarters today and signed the log and took my Polaroid picture with Wendy and Liam. The photographer there wanted to give me a special "photo shoot" with the possibility of using it for publishing in one of their magazines. It was rather fun and exciting. It would be cool to have a pic with Liam in the mag!

Ran into Rob again and he was photographed as well. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing the HQ and eating some ice cream for breakfast.

After that, I popped over to the other bike shop to get my brakes fixed. That was a blessing. I didn't want to be whizzing down some of the Rocky Mountain Passes with no braking ability.

Stopped off the road at the Testicle Festival. No joke, the testy festy is for real. Hmmm...never saw so many brass balls in my life. Funny what these small towns do for entertainment. And we all thought small towns were conservative!

We went to Phillipsburg and went to an amazing little diner and picked up some sapphires that my dad had left there over 30 years ago. Such a procrastinator!

In Anaconda, where I have some family relatives, we stopped off and strolled down memory lane a bit. Went to the famous smoke stack (which the Washington Monument will fit!) and saw all of the smelt. I climbed through a couple of rogue caves in the local park with Liam and splashed around in the creek. Liam actually jumped in until he realized the current was too much for him. We went down a giant slide. That was fun! I felt like I was 5 years old. Liam seemed to get a kick out of it.

I fed some fish at a local hatchery and enjoyed traipsing through history. It had been 21 years since I had last been to this area. I saw my Great Aunt's old cabin and we camped outside. My memory served me well and I remembered my way back into the woods and found the other cabins I used to play in as a kid. The creepy thing was that it was past dusk and I was losing light with out a flashlight and all I could think of was the Blair Witch Project. I was alone in the woods and certain there was something out there. It was a bit creepy, but fun nonetheless.

Oh...another thing was the Washoe theater there is marvellous. Classic and amazing - especially the art deco and the prices. A movie for $4 and popcorn and drinks for under $2! That is sheer insanity...wished I could have gone to a flick, but such is the life of a rogue road traveler...no time for the luxuries!

Day 29 - The Infamous Neck Scarf

So, Jack has opted to part ways with our entourage and took off this morning. Unfortunately, for him he left us a trail. His skull and cross bones neck chiller scarf was found on the hill en route to Safeway. We accosted him whilst in line and told him that this is the LAST time we will save him from heat exhaustion. Wendy and I went to REI and dreamed of spending money we didn't have. Finally, made it to the KOA. We did some laundry - thank GOD. AND most importantly, we had a heart to heart talk. We learned a lot about each other and realized that our relationship had changed quite a bit with the addition of another rider. We are much more comfortable now that we have talked.

My dad and uncle arrived from the Bay Area for a week long visit. Dad fortunately heard me plead my case about how water resistant is NOT the same as water proof and bought me a rain coat. It has made a world of difference.

Ran into another biker with a dog. His name is Rob and he is actually moving on a bike! I mean like moving, moving...without the U-Haul and boxes. It was wild! He is a great guy and I wish him well.

Spent the evening in the pool and hot tub. I feel clean for the first time in a month! I guess it is all the chlorine...or the little kiddy's pee. Well, you know those pools aren't that clean. I spoke with a gentleman from New York - the Bronx to be exact. He was a hoot.

Day 28 - Bitch on Wheels

That's right. I was in one hell of a mood this morning. I needed some serious alone time. Took Liam and headed for the library and some ice cream. I found an organic frozen yogurt shop and got some green tea yogurt with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. All is well again! It was nice to bum around Missoula and take in the city. My brakes are all screwed up so I need to get them fixed...again. I took it to a shop and the guy made it worse. I am going to try another shop shortly.