The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 29 - Grand Teton Nat’l Park (Rest Day)

Monday, July 8th, 2019

Ride Report: None: Yet Another Rest Day.

Yes, yes, yes - another rest day.  Gimme a break.  When we planned the trip we always intended for these extra “Rest Days” because, well, one never knows if/when one will be able to return.  So we wanted to enjoy Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons as best we could.  And enjoy we did.  The Tetons, however, are different than Yellowstone - as I believe I mentioned yesterday.

We started the day out by heading up to Signal Mountain lookout.  The views were amazing and I felt like I could see forever.  Check out the pics below...

This is a pano from Signal Mountain lookout.  The entire valley seemed to open up below us.

This is a shot that shows pretty much the right half of the pano.  The interesting geological feature here is the pond to the left of the pic.  Glaciers carved this valley out and when they retreated huge chunks fell off the glaciers to rest on the newly deposited detritus which glaciers leave behind.  The melting chunk of glacier formed a depression in the detritus and a pond resulted.  I had no idea.

   

OK - time for a "family of tourists" shot - with the Tetons on the background.  From left to right; Brad, KnK, Susan.  

Sometimes ya don't need to say much to convey a lot...

I SAW THIS!

Proud Mom n Dad with KnK in near background and Tetons in far background.

And one last view from Signal Mountain...

This one was taken from, of all places, the visitor's center next to the marina.  I edited out a bunch of boats in the foreground.  But can you imagine docking your boat here?

Unfortunately, much of the afternoon was taken up with rain.  We retreated indoors and abused most horizontal surfaces by reposing on them and snoring.  In less civilized circles, this is referred to as napping.  It was glorious, but mostly because the rain pattering on the roof of The Rig drowned out the snoring.  And no, I shall not name names.

Later that evening we grilled some chicken and ate it with Susan's Mississippi Cornbread salad.  Someone ate a lot.  And again, I shall not name names. 

Till next time

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 28 - Grant Village Campground, Yellowstone National Park, WY to Coulter Bay Campground, Teton National Park, WY

Sunday, July 7^th, 2019

Ride Report: 49 Miles, 1,402 Total Miles, 16.3 Avg mph, 1,795 Ft. Climbing, 3,481 Calories.

As I draft this post I’m sitting in the Coulter Bay RV Park next to Lake Jackson in the Grand Teton National Park.  And I must say, they got the “Grand” part right.  At this point in the ride, I’ve seen plenty of mountains.  But the Tetons are just amazing, as the pics below will illustrate.  Keith rode with me again today.  It was only 38 miles to the RV Park, but I added on another 11 in order to make the climb over Togwotee Pass (a mere 9,658 elevation and 3,800 ft. of climbing) after we spend a couple of days goofing off at Teton Nat’l Park a bit easier to swallow.   That ride will happen on the 10^th.   In the interim, we have two days here in Grand Teton National Park to do with as we wish.  I just wanted to lounge about The Rig after I got back.  KnK, on the other hand, are out for another “Hike”.  This time a “short one”.  Its been two hours.  How short could it be for God’s sake?  There’s something wrong with those two…

But on with the pics…

Yawn…   Another day, another continental divide.  This was early in the ride and still inside Yellowstone.  I think this makes three Continental Divides just in Yellowstone.

This was Delta’s first look at the Tetons.  Even he was impressed – which is no small thing, given his ego and all…

This is Keith and me at Lewis Falls on the way out of Yellowstone's South Gate.  It was pretty, but not impressive.  It was certainly less impressive than were the number of mosquitoes having breakfast at our expense.  Another cold morning, BTW.  Still in the upper 40s when we cleared the gate at departure.  Some nice lady with her family took this pic for us.  She must have been nice, since she did it for free while being consumed by mosquitoes.

Ya can’t pass up on a shot like this.  Prolly the only time in either of our lifetimes we’ll ride into Grand Teton National Park.  Smiles all around.

Just like with the sign – once in a lifetime.  And I have the honor of doing it with my son.  Makes me emotional sitting here now looking back on it – and it was just this morning.  This is why ya have kids.  To see them grow up and enjoy things like this with them as adults.  I’ll get the same honor when Kelsy and Parker (KnP) show up in Breckenridge for Hoosier Pass.

Keith insisted on taking a pic of me with the mountains.

I took this one once we were closer to Jackson Lake.

One last pic of the Tetons as we approached from the North...

And finally, there is this...

We had originally intended on staying at a campground near Signal Mountain, but the sites weren’t big enough for The Rig.  So, Susan snagged us a spot in Coulter Bay Campground – with hookups.  Great.  But Coulter Bay was 10ish miles short of my distance for the day, so as we passed by Coulter Bay, Keith dropped off and I continued on – only to be picked up later by Susan in the rental car.  All that to set this up…

I was riding past an area called Willow Flats, I noticed a ton of cars in a pullout, on the side of the road, etc.  Most everyone had binoculars out looking at a large field.  When I inquired, a guy with binoculars told me there was a mama grizzly and two cubs down in the flats chasing elk around.  I didn’t have binoculars with me, but when he pointed them out, even I could make out the bears – and the elk trotting rapidly away from the bears.  Here’s my pic of the bears...

The reader, at least the one who opens the pic to enlarge it, will be able to make out two elk to the right of the meadow.  Only the mama grizzly is visible in this pic as the cubs were obscured by the willows in the foreground by this time.  The mama grizzly is the dark spot in between the two pine trees in the foreground that bisect the reader’s view of the meadow.  She’s closer to the pine tree on the left.  I know, it’s a long ways away – but it’s a grizzly bear.  And those things can MOVE.  Even the cubs.  When the little ones sprinted toward the elk, they covered territory like Usain Bolt.  It was a sight to see.  Bears and elk aside...

AMAZING!  Just AMAZING!  I can’t believe I’m seeing this stuff.  I had intended to add a pic of me with the same mountains in the background, but I can’t.  I’d just distract from the majesty of the mountain.  Sometimes one needs to recognize one’s significance in relation to the grandeur of God’s creation.  This is one of those times.

WOW!  Just WOW!  Did I say WOW!?

Till next time.

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 27 - Yellowstone Nat’l Park (Rest Day)

Saturday, July 6^th, 2019

The Thin Blue Ride – Part 2 – Yellowstone National Park, WY  

Ride Report: None – It was a Rest (tourist) Day

What a day.  I believe I mentioned in a previous post that my expectations for Yellowstone were considerably diminished by virtue to talking with some folks who had been there recently.  This is how I manage my expectations.  Fortunately, either all the bad stuff I had heard (horrible traffic, narrow roads, too many people, bad drivers, no bathrooms, etc.) failed to materialize, or I had managed (lowered) my expectations sufficiently that I was pleased with the day and with the Park in general.  We had a blast today.  Saw some really cool stuff, found services when we needed them, got around the park in short order.  Great.  Given that it was the week of the July 4^th holiday, I think we were all pleasantly surprised.  Maybe one of the things we did that helped was got up early and hit the biggest attraction in the Park before most of the other tourist were out of bed.  The day started with us all bright eyed and bushy tailed…

It was a might chilly to start the day.  I think the overnight low was 39 degrees.  When the reader sees me wearing a North Face sweater on July 5^th either Hell has frozen over or I’m at the continental Divide in Yellowstone.  This is the same sign that Keith and I stopped at for a pic when we rode over the pass.  This time an enterprising Asian tourist (Do any US citizens visit the park? If so we never saw any to have them take a pic for us.) took over the photographic duties.  And take over he did.  He was moving us around, telling us to smile – he was quite the organizer.  But the pic came out great.  Then it was off to Old Faithful.

We made it there in due course, grabbed some breakfast at the Yellowstone version of a Quick-Mart (bacon, cheese and egg muffins all around) and headed over to wait for Old Faithful (OF) to blow.  She’s just venting steam in this pic.  They have quite the seating arrangement.  It looked like about a 180 degree half circle of benches three rows deep.  All on an elevated platform in order that we tourists not damage the sacred ground around the geyser.

And blow she did – OF didn’t disappoint.  We got there early and were on the front row.  I also prepped Susan to get her ready for a selfie as OF was letting off steam.  I think it came out pretty well.

Then it was back to the Grand Prismatic Springs (GPS).  This time we headed up to the observation point on the side of a mountain maybe a quarter mile away from the GPS itself.  One gets there by using a trail from a different parking lot than that used to access the GPS like we did yesterday when Keith and I rode past.  It was 1.1 miles to the observation area.  So – 2.2 miles total.  I can handle that.  And the springs didn’t disappoint either.  If anything it looked even more impressive when one could actually take in the totality of the picture – as the reader can see when looking over Susan’s head.  Fortunately I married a short woman, otherwise a bunch of my pics with her would be just her and me.  As it is, I can usually fit some goodies in above her noggin.

Then came a near fatal mistake.  KnK had been thinking about hiking up to the Fairy Falls.  It wasn’t “too far”.  We then stopped some other person who had been on the same pilgrimage and they told us it was a quarter mile to the turnoff in the trail and then another 1.6 miles to the falls.  So off we went.  1/4 x 2 = ½ mile.  1.6 x 2 = 3.2 miles.  3.2 + the previously mentioned 2.2 = Bataan Death March. (Google it.)  This is a pic of KnK ahead of Susan and I on the “hike”.  We saw a lot of this view on the “hike”.  Side Bar: so far as I am able to determine, the word “Hike” has its roots in an ancient practice perfected in the dungeons of Midieval Europe, in which dungeon masters would drive hot metal spikes into the feet of those who had irritated the Royal Master.

But we eventually reached Fairy Falls.  This is it behind Susan and I.  I could fit most of it above her head, but even Susan is tall enough that I can’t fit a 197 foot waterfall entirely over her head.  It was very cool at the base.  When we arrived I asked KnK if the other people there would be upset if I stripped out of my clothes and headed for the pool below the falls.  An understanding woman of about my age said it was fine with her.  She had, no doubt, been tricked into “hiking” there by the same nefarious subterfuge as had I.

Even KnK appeared to be a bit warm as they both took up station on a huge log that had fallen across the creek.  The log had been put upon by enough tourists over the years that it was smooth and slick to the touch – almost as if it had been finely sanded.

After this we went our separate ways for a while.  KnK wanted to do more “hiking”.  Fool me once, shame on me.  Fool me twice – ain’t happening.  So, we grabbed some lunch and dropped them off at a trail head.  Trail heads are the Park Service’s version of the gates to perdition.  People go there to “hike”.  Anyway, after we left the kids to their suffering, Susan and I took the rental car and headed to the North end of the park and the Lamar Valley.  The Yellowstone River runs thru the valley and the valley is purported to be the place to go in the Park to see wildlife.  Something Susan and I were both interested in – because it didn’t involve “hiking”.

And see wildlife we did.  Though it’s a bit hard to make out – this is a black bear.  He was munching on something he was stripping from the bushes by mouth.  I suspect he loves huckleberries as much as me and that’s what he was eating.  Good Lord but people went crazy trying to get a pic of the poor creature.  He seemed surprisingly unconcerned about the hubbub.

To get to the Lamar Valley one must go up and over a mountain pass.  And this one is up there a ways.  At one point we were above snow on the mountains below us.  Anyway, one also must drive past the “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  Having just been there, its not as impressive as the real deal, but it was a sight to see none-the-less.  This is the “shallow” end where the River just starts to break out into a valley.  Just a quarter mile up the road it was bluffs on both sides.  Impressive.

Until today we hadn’t seen much wildlife in the park.  I was beginning to fear that I’d be the only tourist since the inception of the Park NOT to see a Bison.  But the trip to the Lamar Valley allayed those fears, as this pic can attest.

And this one.  Bison are apparently easily tired...

And just around the corner at the next traffic jam were these characters – Bighorn Sheep.  They look kinda nasty right now since they’re currently shedding their winter coats.  There were a number of ewes and one small ram whose horns had just started to develop the characteristic curl.

Then it was on to Pronghorn Antelope.

And on the way back all of the Bighorn Sheep had disappeared except for this dilettante, who was standing in the road obstructing traffic.  A Park Ranger came by and clapped at her, as a result of which she sauntered over to the shoulder where Susan snapped this pic.  The reader can see what I was talking about when I said they were shedding their winter coats.

Typically, my posts have been more about the scenery.  It's not that the scenery here in the Park is second rate – far from it.  It was just overshadowed by my desire to see wildlife.  But the scenery was still amazing as this pic will attest.  This was on the way back from the Lamar Valley to pick up KnK.

Kerrie snapped this pic of two Trumpeter Swans on the way back to The Rig.  They were right beside the road.

And then there was this.  We were all watching Bison in some trees on the other side of the road when these two caught my eye.  Actually, it was the burst of motion.  One of them was feeling amorous – the other not so much.  Anyway, Keith turned, had a cow and demanded the camera with which he shot this pic.

And lest the reader forget that there are a lot of Bison in the Park, I proffer one last pic.  These bulls are huge.  Apparently in excess of 2,000 pounds.  Wow.  Good thing they’re relatively docile if one stays at an appropriate distance.

So that was it for the day reader.  Count that as one cheesey tourist day in the books.

Till next time. 

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 26 - West Yellowstone, MT to Grant Village Campground, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Friday, July 5^th, 2019

Ride Report: 52 Miles, 1,352 Total Miles, 13.0 Avg. mph, 2,868 Ft. Climbing, 3,968 Calories, 1 Additional Rider.

I know the reader saw yesterday’s post of the pics with KnK when they arrived in West Yellowstone.  The additional rider mentioned in today’s ride report is none other than Keith Schoen, firstborn of Brad and Susan Schoen.  We moved Sig’s seat up about an inch and a half to accommodate his longer legs last night and we were off first thing this morning.  It was a might chilly, being in the mid 40’s when we departed, but we wanted to get over today’s TWO climbs to the continental divide early before it warmed up too much.  We’ll get right to the day’s pics, since there was an interesting side show once we got into the park.  Here we go…

This is Keith and me before heading out for the day.  Note the jacket on Keith as well as the arm warmers and vest on yours truly.  They ended up staying on much longer than either of us anticipated and didn’t come off until the second climb of the day – it just sorta stayed cold.  Which is a fine and wonderful thing for climbing mountains.

This is us less than two miles in to today’s ride.   Turns out that West Yellowstone is located right at the border of the park.  Once we were thru the gate and the appropriate fees were paid by Susan, the sign came shortly after.

(Note to readers: When negotiating fees to enter a National Park, always have a teamster do the negotiating for ya.  They were gonna charge Keith and I $20 each because that’s what they charge cyclists.  Susan told the lady at the gate that she’s just have us get in, drive us thru the gate and let us out on the other side.  She also tossed in that I was riding my bike cross country and really didn’t want to miss some of the trip just to get thru the gate.  We got in for free.  As did Kerrie, driving the rental car.  All we had to pay was the fee for the extra car.)

My apologies to the reader.  This one didn’t come out as well as I had hoped, but I’ll be darned if I was gonna leave out the 4^th state of the ride.  Apparently they don’t go in for fancy state line signs in National Parks?  I bet every place else in Wyoming has a sign with a guy on a bucking horse or something similar.  They must run a tighter budgetary ship at the Federal level?  Ha!

If you happen to be the tourers in this pic, I apologize – but the note I had your names on has disappeared and all I’m left with is the pic and the memories.  Susan and I first ran into this crew at Twin Bridges.  They’re doing a circular tour of the area.  We traded stories and updates at a pullout in Yellowstone.  I think they were a day away from finishing their tour at the time.

MOST INTERESTING SIGHTING OF THE DAY…..

Although I don’t have a pic, I saw a river otter just before we stopped to chat up the crew in the pic above.  We were riding up the Madison River and I saw what I thought was a funny looking rock in the river.  As I looked it reared up and then dove under the water.  I told Keith at the time I thought I’d seen a river otter but was unsure if they had them here in the Park.  I had just about convinced myself that it was a beaver.  But when I repeated my story to the crew, they confirmed that there are river otter in the area and proffered that they had already seen several.  How cool is that?!

The Madison River seems to be our bread and butter as of late.  We followed it upstream into Yellowstone.  This is Keith contemplating…something.  Not a bad shot, me thinks.

Yellowstone is, of course all about the geysers – among the various attractions.  At least they seem like the biggest of a number of big deals here in the Park.  This is Keith looking at upper geyser basin and contemplating…something else.

This is a pano of the Grand Prismatic Pool (GPP) – also known as the previously mentioned side show.  We had all agreed to meet there for a break since it was about halfway thru today’s ride.  It was also on my list of the two things I most wanted to see here in the Park.  I gotta say, the hour and a half we spent here was well worth the layover.  It’s basically a geothermally heated spring in which various bacteria (of the type which flourish in really hot water) have stained the surrounding mineral deposits.

This is Keith and Kerrie at the GPP.  The Park Service has constructed an elevated walkway which permits tourists to get up close and personal with the GPP.  The colors were quite vivid.

More GPP - this time with Susan and me.  I feel safe in saying that I was the only guy there wearing spandex pants. (Keith covered his with regular shorts.)  I’m pretty sure all the other ladies were wondering where Susan made such a find…

I apologize and don’t mean to bore the reader, but this pic conveys at least a little bit of how grand are the dimensions of the GPP.  The pool itself (the aqua blue part visible in the upper right of the pic) is about 200 feet across.  The bacteria laden runoff extends considerably beyond that.  The reader should check out Google Maps for an idea of the scale of the GPP).

There are also a good number of minor pools of a similar nature scattered about the GPP.  This is me with one of them.

All of the runoff from the GPP reaches the Madison River in short order.  As the reader can see, the bacteria stains the surrounding rock right down to the river.

Not too far South from the GPP lies the other of my two favorite attractions in the Park – Old Faithful.  Both the GPP and Old Faithful are just off the ACA’s T/A route thru the Park.  How convenient is that.  The reader won’t see any pics of Old Faithful today.  We’re scheduled to head up there tomorrow on our Rest Day.  Delta made some snarky comment about the Park Service putting up a sign just for me…

This is Keith and me at what we thought was the top of the first of two crossings of the Continental Divide today.   Turns out we still had a ways to go.  Once we figured that out we weren’t smiling any longer.  But cross it we did.

This is Keith climbing to the second crossing of the Continental Divide.  It was a pretty tough climb, but he handled it quite well for having done all his training at Kansas City elevation.  I just sat behind him for the entire climb and kept pace.  We only stopped once on the way up.  A bit of an accomplishment in its own right.

OK – we made it.  You read that right: Elevation 8,262  We solicited an enterprising Foreign National to take the shot for us.  She kindly agreed to do so.

And finally, I include this pic to confirm the reader’s suspicions that it’s all fun and games out here.  Nary a frown to be found.

Tomorrow being a Rest Day (planned in order to do the tourist thing here in the Park) I’m sure there will be plenty of interesting pics.  So, tune in tomorrow readers.  Same bat time, same bat channel.  (Google it.  What can I say, I’m a child of the 60s.)

Till next time.