The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 25 - West Yellowstone, MT (Rest Day)

Thursday, July 4th, 2019

Ride Report: None - planned Rest Day

Not that another Rest Day was particularly necessary, mind you, but our son, Keith, and daughter-in-law, Kerrie, will be joining us here in West Yellowstone this afternoon for what will comprise our trip thru Yellowstone and to the Tetons.  Keith plans to ride with me.  The reader can expect several “Rest Days” in the next week as we’ll ride one day into Yellowstone, then take another Rest Day to see what sights we can see in a day.  Then we’ll ride to the Tetons and spend two more Rest Days there before they return to Boise, ID for their flight back to Kansas City.  As they head to Boise, Susan and I shall commence traipsing about Wyoming.  Susan and I have both been lookin' forward to spending this time with KnK - as we call ‘em.

Outside that we did some grocery shopping, I cleaned Sig up after his most recent bath - the rain we hit on the way into West Yellowstone, we moved our stuff around to make room in The Rig for KnK, looked around West Yellowstone a bit, that sorta stuff.  Here’s what it looked like...

When we went "downtown" to find the grocery store we had to park The Rig on a side street. As it happens, that particular street bordered Yellowstone Park.  I saw a "boundary line" sign and when I investigated further discovered that it forbade hunting in the Park.  Sig was dismayed.  He was all ready to roll and oilin' up the 30-06.  We were both looking forward to buffalo steaks.  So we headed over to the grocery store instead...

Ignore all the greenery in the basket - rabbit food.  But I did find these.  Surprisingly, the checker knew nothing of my contract with Hostess and insisted that we actually pay for them.  Fortunately we left before the West Yellowstone PD showed up.  I shall be filing a complaint with the legal department at Hostess.

Leaving the grocery store we ran into Thomas.  He's riding the T/A at 78 years young.  Thomas and I had run into each other a few times over the past several days starting in Twin Bridges, but always in locations where I wasn't comfortable taking a pic.  Last I saw him was as we passed Earthquake Lake.  Like me he got caught in the rain storm yesterday, but he elected to stop at a campground North of town.  It was full, but the owner let him pitch his tent in an out of the way location.  Just look at his bike - he's loaded for bear.  I hope he knows there's no hunting in Yellowstone.

Susan thought maybe we should stay at a motel and catch a REAL shower for the first time in weeks.  Ya hafta live in an RV to understand.,  Anyway, I told her I refused to patronize an establishment that was only for dudes.

Then it was off to Mountain Mama's for lunch.  Fortunately, despite their name, this establishment was more broad minded than the motel and agreed to serve me lunch.  I opted for the buffalo pot pie.  It was savory, but the vegetables were seriously under cooked, they gave me the roasted red pepper gravy despite me asking for the beef, and when the waitress brought them out she didn't know which pot pie was mine and which was Susan's.  This was unfortunate, because the place was just "kitschey" enough to be interesting with some good music playing in the background.   

Rats, it's plural.  We went in and talked with the owner as we browsed.  Turns out that he's originally from Bird City, KS.  Yes, there is such a place.  I've ridden thru it on a BAK several years ago.

Holy Cow Batman!  Susan was stoked when she saw this.  The AK is what did it for her.  (If ya don't know, Google AK 47 and then look at the sign again.)  The only way I could distract her was...

...to get her to take this pic for me.  She just loves taking these.  I believe I can recall her exact words as she snapped the last of several pics; to give me more to choose from - ya gotta have just the right pucker or these shots aren't believable.  I'm pretty sure she said, "That's it.  I'm done."  The reader should note the patriotic nature of the pic with the US flag in the background.  Fitting given that this is the 4th of July and all.

Rumor has it (according to the antique store guy) that they put on a whale of a fireworks show when, "...it gets dark enough."  We're supposed to be able to see it from the RV park.  We'll check it out.

This is KnK.  We're glad to have them aboard for the next week(ish).  As I said earlier, we've been looking forward to this for a long time.  We anticipate hearing about their recent trip to Italy, and we can fill them in on The Thin Blue Ride.

Hmmm... Shouldn't be too tough.  I had to leave mine at home to make room for the scooter...

I saw this after KnK arrived.  They talked us into heading to this little espresso and ice cream shop they saw on the way into town.  I'm pretty sure we walked 27 miles to get there and it was closed.  So we diverted to downtown to find some ice cream.  We eventually met with success.  I had two scoops of huckleberry.  I'm pretty sure it's my new favorite berry.

Fishing is a big deal here.  And I've always liked trout.  This one apparently likes me.

I think I mentioned earlier that this is the 4th of July and that West Yellowstone has a big fireworks show.  Apparently, like many small towns across the country, they also have a big parade.  It was organizing as we walked back to the RV Park from downtown.  I talked to the guy driving this bus.  It's an original tour bus from Yellowstone dating from the late 30s.  His grandfather (now deceased) bought it in 1960 when the Park Service auctioned them off.  His grandmother still owns it and he drives it in the parade on her behalf.  Pretty cool.

Let the reader be warned, as of tomorrow morning and for the next few days, we shall be entering the technological Bizarro World (also known as "Htrae") operated by the National Park system.  This means no cell service.  They even tout this Neo-Luddism on the Yellowstone web site as if proud of it.  BTW - in an effort to improve my reader's knowledge base, I encourage those of you who skipped comic books as a kid to check out Wikipedia for "Bizarro World".

Till next time.

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 24 - BLM Campground 16 Miles S of Cameron, MT to West Yellowstone, MT

In deference to a reader request by a reader who shall remain anonymous, I shall henceforth begin each day's report with the date.  Apparently this makes it easier to keep track of things when I'm forced, by virtue of poor cell service, to delay posting a particular blog.  So, there ya go Kelsy - hope this makes your life easier.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Ride Report: 45 Miles: 1,300 Total Miles (All you OCD types out there must love that one, eh?), 15.3 Avg mph, 2,004 Ft.Climbing, 3,585 Calories.

A bit shorter ride today than is typical, but the reader had not ought to get all up in arms about it since it was planned.  We wanted a short ride day today in order to get into West Yellowstone sooner.  Plus, with the wind at my back yesterday after leaving Cameron, it just made sense to keep going.  I'd much rather ride 20-21 miles an hour with the wind at my back at the end of a long day than get up in the morning and do that same 16 miles at 12-13 mph with the wind in my face.  Which, as it turns out, it exactly what would have happened had I waited till this morning to do those 16 miles.  Ya play the aces when they're dealt to ya.

While I still had the wind in my face for the first 15 miles or so, it could have been worse.  It shifted around to a sorta tailwind about the time we reached Earthquake Lake.  If you've never heard of this, you'd ought to Google it.  Basically, an earthquake collapsed the side of a mountain onto a campground in 1959, blocked the Madison River, cracked the Dam upstream that forms Lake Hebgen, buried a bunch of people in the landslide - it was a mess.  It ended up forming what is now called "Earthquake Lake".  There is still considerable evidence of the quake today - some 60 years later.  Wow!

But enough of this 1980's disaster movie themed post.  Let's move on to the pics.  Because, as always, it was a good (if short) day.

The BLM campground was back up the road about 2 miles from where Susan picked me up last night.  So she returned me to the same spot to start today's ride.  This was the view.  Terrible, I know, having to endure sights like this every morning.  One would hope that the reader appreciates all I go thru for them.  Used by permission of Susan Schoen Photography, LLC.

This, readers, would be the Madison River, up which Sig and I rode pretty much all day.  Gorgeous, no?  And as an added bonus, the clouds hadn't settled in yet.

Good thing we got those previous two pics, because the weather was a bit unsettled today resulting in the mountains being shrouded in mist and clouds for most of the day.  This was also one of those aggravating days where my lightweight stuff didn't keep me warm and the heavier stuff was too hot.  I elected to go with being cold.  Sig and I also got rained on for about 4 miles late in the day when we were coming into West Yellowstone.  No pics - ya don't lollygag when its raining.

OK - this was just amazing.  An Osprey on its nest next to the Madison River.  I zoomed the camera on the phone as much as I could.  We saw one fishing last night while looking out the window of the RV.  They just circle the river and when they see something (presumably something like a fish) they turn into the wind and "hover" for a short time, then dive on the poor fish.  I think he got one because he didn't come up from behind the trees for a good while.  But I think he missed the next time because he zoomed back up above the treeline with apparently empty talons.  It was quite the show.

Ya don't see many signs like this in Kansas - "Bighorn Sheep Crossing"  I kept my eyes peeled - no luck.  So far I'm zero for two; no moose and no bighorn sheep.  I really was hoping for at least one of the two.

The Madison River just below Earthquake Lake.  I thought this one was fantastic.  Note the three guys fly fishing in the river.  I took the pic from right beside a sign that said, "Warning! Water may rise rapidly without warning!" I think these guys are crazy.  But then, they prolly think the same thing about a guy riding a bike on the shoulder of the road with Semis going by at 70 mph.  Bah!  They can think what they want.  I'll put my spandex pants up against their waders any day of the week.

This is the side of the mountain that collapsed as a result of an earthquake in 1959.  This happens to be the same collapse that buried people and created the aptly named Earthquake Lake.  The pic doesn't do justice to the sheer volume of rock that sloughed off the side of this mountain.  On top of that, the entire valley floor dropped on (I think) the north end; as much as 21 feet in some places.  Hebgen lake sits upstream in that same valley and was like a giant bathtub that had been lowered by 21 feet on one end.  The visitor's center had a technical name for it, but the lake basically sloshed back and forth for a while.  Go figure...

This is Earthquake Lake - it went on for miles.  Pretty much as far as the dam for Hebgen Lake.  There are still dead trees whose roots were subsumed in water standing along the shoreline.  Quite amazing.

Susan and me in the parking observation area of the visitor's center.  It was a very nice facility and had a memorial list of those who lost their lives in the disaster.  One lady reported that she got up when she heard the noise and left her house with her dog, having to jump across a crack that was opening in the ground to escape.  There were pics of her house (a lodge, actually) sitting in the newly formed lake after it fell there.  That's a scene right out of a disaster movie.

These two are Joanne (on the left) and Jenny.  They work at the visitor's center and were very helpful.  We had to ask them about the weather since we (sigh) had no cell service all day.  Jenny recognized my jersey and said she'd passed me on the way to work this morning.  This occasioned a discussion about what I was doing.  When I told them about The Thin Blue Ride, they commented that they get a lot of cross country riders passing thru.  I bet - seeing as how they're right on the route.    Note that I have something weird going on with my lips.  Apparently I can't even time my own pics right, I was talking while taking my own selfie.  They gave me a sticker!  We're BFFs.

And just a few miles further down the road, it was lunch time - and the experiments continued.  Evidence is mounting that Oreos make everything taste better.  It certainly proved to be the case with this Hostess Cupcake.  We shall see...

And with our arrival in West Yellowstone, Sig and I completed Section 4 (of 12) of the ACA's T/A maps.  Four down, eight to go.

And just to inform the reader, this was the route.  The reader might wonder why all the dodging around between Dillon and West Yellowstone.  I certainly did.  Turns out there are no roads there.  Must have something to do with these big lumps with snow all over the tops.  In fact, the maps take us over passes in order to get to the next river valley and, as best as possible, progress us to our destination.  It's not like Kansas where ya can just point pretty much any direction and build a straight road to your destination.

Till next time.

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 23 - Twin Bridges, MT to BLM Campground 16 Miles S of Cameron, MT

Ride Report: 71 Miles, 1,255 Total Miles, 15.9 Avg. mph, 3,392 Ft. Climbing, 5,525 Calories, 13 Unlucky Prairie Dogs.  Most of the ride report is self-explanatory.  I shall avoid offending the reader’s sensibilities by not posting pics, but suffice it to say that when prairie dogs are struck by fast moving vehicles, they pretty much explode.  The magpies seem to appreciate it tho.  The things one notices at 15 mph, eh?  At least it’s colorful…

There – see?  No sensibilities offended.  Just trying to do my part.

Oh – and BLM is an acronym for the Federal Government’s Bureau of Land Management.  The Feds own much of the mountain west and it is managed chiefly by BLM and the Ag. Department’s Forest Service crew.  Just so ya know…

One final thing about the ride report.  Interestingly, although there was a good bit of climbing today only a little over 1k of it came by virtue of a “mountain” pass.  The rest was garnered by one of those slow uphill grinds that lasted all day at between 1-3%.  I think I’ve said it before – those days wear on a guy.

But as always, it was an interesting day.  Saw some great sights, met some interesting people, cried (If that doesn’t make ya read on I don’t know what will.)  And the observant and astute reader will note something different about today’s pics which will be revealed to the more mundane of you at the end of the post.  Buckle up kids, here we go…

OK – this was just too gorgeous to pass up.  I mean really, the frequency of scenes like this while on The Thin Blue Ride sometimes takes my breath away.

These two are Arnold and Margareet.  They’re riding the T/A East to West and are from the Netherlands.  I ran into them as I was leaving Sheridan, MT and they were pulling in.  They had 90 days from the time they set foot in the country to get it all done – tourist visa limits, doncha know.  I asked about Kansas – my home state.  They say it’s still there and that one can certainly see a long ways there.  Hmmm, never noticed.  I’ll have to check it out when I get there.  They also happened to be in Colorado during that last big snow storm.  Arnold said they were fortunate as they only got about 5 cm, where they were.  Hey – don’t get after me about it, he’s from Europe where the metric system is apparently all the rage.

 

Sig and I looked at this scene for a long time today.  Just amazing.

The rock behind me is from gold dredging operations between the mid 1850s and the early 1920s.  At the time there was little concern for environmental issues, and as a result, this stuff was piled beside the road all the way from Sheridan to Virginia City.  Not inherently dangerous, just unsightly – and it was everywhere.  According to the historical marker I read they had huge floating dredges that moved down the creek as they went by creating their own ponds in which to float.  They basically dredged out a pond ahead of them as they moved downstream.  The tailings were just dumped to the side of the dredge.  The creek still flows there, but its continuity is destroyed.

The entire City of Virginia City is apparently on the national register of historic districts.  This according to the sign outside town. The team of horses and stagecoach are in keeping with that theme.  Plus, tourists like me love ‘em.  I was afraid they were gonna try to charge me for taking a pic.

The reader will not that Virginia City has been resisting change since ????.  Apparently with much success.  See above pic...

This is George.  He hails from New York City by way of Hong Kong.  He was waiting for a friend to descend from the only climb (for me) of the day in order to head on down the road.  Turns out that he knew Arnold and Margareet who I had met earlier in Sheridan.  According to George they’ve been riding together for over a month.  This may require some explanation and is a curious function of the T/A.  People come to know each other and may or may not ride together all the time.  But if they move at the same approximate pace and for the same distance each day, they tend to run into each other frequently.  Sometimes one group is a day or two ahead, sometimes behind (depending on rest days and “tourist” days) but they still say that they’re riding together.

This is me at the top of “Un-named Pass”.  At least that’s what the ACA map calls it.  Note the grassy mountain top behind me.  All fake, it’s sagebrush.  The frequent reader may also note the recently (and stylishly) trimmed beard.  Susan claims I miss a bunch that “stand out”.  I try to explain that beards aren’t like normal hair.  An explanation which is lost on her.

Susan and me at the top of Un-named pass.  There.  Now it has a name.  Those reader who recall my mention of changing out “headsweats” and wondered what I was talking about can now see one in action.  I’m wearing it.  On my head.  The reader can infer its utility.  Maybe they could call it “baldguysheadwon’tsunburnthruhelmetvents”.

Always good to see one of these.   Another 40+ mph descent.   Oh – and I had my first experience with a “Tar Snake” today.  Sam (of Paul and Sam fame) told me about these and described the feeling of having your tires slip sideways if ya hit one while cornering.  They’re tar strips that seal cracks in the pavement.  The worst ones being those that run parallel to the road – for obvious reasons.  They’re disconcerting to say the least, and to be avoided.  I made it a point of doing so the rest of the way down the mountain.  We obviously have ‘em in Kansas, but lacking mountains which generate a good bit of speed for a rider, their significance to riders is minimal.

And then there was this.  Madison Valley as seen from a pull-out on the descent.  Susan and I had arranged ahead of time to meet there for lunch, having no idea how beautiful the view would be.  As it happens, once we made it to the town of Ennis (In the valley) we turned right and rode up the valley along the Madison River for the rest of the day.

I’m soaking in the view.  Susan asked for my phone and took this pic.  After she left, and as I sat there, I cried.  Looking at scenery like this, can there be any doubt that we are created beings living in a world created to display its maker’s might?  Words are insufficient to describe the view so I won’t even try.  PS - and I'm not typically a cryer.

As I said, Susan and I had arranged lunch at this pull-out.  I decided to do a scientific experiment.  Recall the Oreo with avocado pic from a few day’s past.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  As it turns out, the combination of Oreo with peanut butter was also quite tasty.  Given that Oreos were the common denominator in these two taste testing experiments, one is left to assume that it’s the Oreo that does the trick.  Not the topping.  More experiments may follow to confirm my findings.  And just to give credit where credit is due, it was Kelsy and Parker who set me down this path.

Fortunately, we finished lunch, and were about 5 miles South of Ennis by the time the pass was shrouded in rain.  From all appearances as we continued South, it persisted for much of the rest of the afternoon.

It’s just unreal.  One never tires of these views.  However, I think we have some climbing to do tomorrow to make it up to West Yellowstone, MT, and I suspect these mountains will play their part.

This is Susan and me in front of the Madison River.  It runs right past the back of The Rig and will provide welcome “white noise” for sleeping.  Plus, like many geographical features here, its just plain easy on the eyes.

This is home for the night at the BLM campground.  Quite the view out the back window.  (The Author Smiles)

And this is the view out the front.  (Smile gets bigger.)

And for you purists, this is a pic of just plain old mountains – The Rig isn’t in the way.  I can’t think of a better way to end this post.

Till next time.

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 22 - Twin Bridges, MT (Rest Day)

Ride Report:  50 Miles, No change in total miles, 68 Avg. mph, 0 calories.  We took the scooter to Whitehall, MT about 25 miles North of Twin Bridges just because we could.  We wanted to see some country other than what we see when on the ride.  It was a nice trip. Then we turned around and came back.

This is what Rest Days are for.  But the Rest Day turned out to be a rest afternoon.  The morning was filled with the typical stuff.  Me washing bikes - all three - and the scooter.  Susan cleaning up the interior of the RV.  Me losing the quick link for Delta’s chain.  (A contrivance that permits one to separate the chain and take it off the bike for cleaning and then put the chain back on.  If you lose it, you can’t remount the chain.)  Susan came over and started digging thru the grass where I thought it went.  No luck.  But the next thing we knew a lady, Peggy, who had pulled into the bike camp area where we’re located started helping Susan look for it.  She even went back to get her knitting magnet to see if we could dredge it up that way.  No luck.  Then a local lady stopped by and helped.  Turns out she was the President of the local Chamber of Commerce.  No luck.  But we availed ourselves of the opportunity to thank her for the excellent facilities here.  Finally Susan found the link lying next to the fence that surrounds the bike cleaning area.  Great.  Now I can ride Delta.  This could have been particularly problematic since Keith will be riding Sig when he and Kerrie come to visit and I’ll be on Delta.  Did I mention that the only bike shop within reach was closed today.  The next closest was West Yellowstone.  Glad she found it.

The reader may also note that we went 7 days before a rest day this time.  I was really ready for today.  Sixty miles a day just takes it outta ya.  Anyway - this is what our digs look like on Rest Day #3...

This is where we set up last night and also where we spent the day today.  I gotta say, what with Twin Bridges being at 4,626 ft. elevation, the sun is starting to become more of a consideration.  Particularly so since I spent the morning out washing every thing we have with us which has two wheels.  I'm not big on sunscreen, despite Susan's best efforts to dip me bodily in a vat of it every morning when I head out.  But the back of my neck is talking to me as I type this.  It seems that I may listen to the back of my neck better than I do Susan.  I shall leave it to the reader to decide whether this is a result of the persuasive nature of my neck or me choosing to ignore good advice.

This is the view we have of the river from the back window of the RV.  We don't know for certain what the red buildings are, but there are a number of them.  They look abandoned, institutions, (we're thinking a school) and are for sale.  They also have water front access to an excellent fishing river.  We know this because a local guide service uses the park we're in to a launch guided fishing tours.

Susan and me along the same river.  Go RCPD...

If one were to stand behind The Rig and look forward, one would observe this small brick building.  It's why they call this area a "biker's camp".  The city of Twin Bridges installed it several years ago.  It contains a restroom, shower room and behind the white door in the pic, what amounts to a lounge with sofas, love seats, etc.  Even had electrical outlets for recharging phones and bike computers.  While not a concern for me what with the RV and all, self-supported tourers frequently don't know for certain where their next meal or shower will come from.  This facility is greatly appreciated.  The tents you see beside the building belong to Paul and Sam, our friends of going on two days now.  They were up and gone before we got out of bed today.  It wasn't a rest day for them.  Oh - and note the nifty bike wind speed contrivance on the roof.  They mounted fan blades in the wheels to give riders an idea of the wind speed.  Very original. 

This is the bike maintenance area just to the right of the pic above.  I used the yellow stand in this pic to clean up all three of our bikes.  Running water and a picnic table to hold the requisite bike cleaning junk.  Very nice.  Tho I neglected to get an action shot of me cleaning a bike (disappointing, I know) the wet concrete is evidence of my hard work and diligence.

So, as I mentioned earlier, we hopped on the scooter after lunch and headed up to Whitehall, a small town about a mile from I-90.  On the way there we noticed these in Silver Star.  They're HUGE!  We proceeded to investigate..
.

Turns out that they're (see below)...

Drive compressor wheels used back when underground mining was a big deal int his area.  When the mines shut down a local guy saved em from being scrapped and this is where they ended up.  The diagram and verbiage on the sign is kinda interesting.  Blow up the pic and check it out.

And this was right across the street.  A house with a river rock facade with snow capped mountains for a backdrop.  Only in Montana.

We're gonna slow down now.  Make some supper, put away a few things, plan for tomorrow's ride and the day after.  It's hard to believe that we're only two days ride from Yellowstone.  Frankly, Susan and I have both talked with a number of people who have been there recently and I hope we're not disappointed.  Riders in particular don't speak well of Yellowstone.  They liken the drivers there to aggressive, big city types.  Wonderful.  Something to look forward to.  We shall see what we shall see.

Till next time.