Jacob Usher
What a day!
We hit 100 miles, 8000 feet, an 8% climb, reached Wyoming, and completed our section of the TransAmerica Trail! Now we begin Parks, Peaks, and Prairies.
Michael stretches and Usher drains his legs before a big day
We began our ride towards Yellowstone listening to rock on Friend’s speaker. We listened to Kickstart my Heart as we rode towards battle (Yellowstone tourism traffic). We passed by the very scenic Earthquake Lake along the way. This was formed by a landslide during a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.
Earthquake Lake (notice the dead trees poking out of the water)
Our ride along the lake was very pleasant with low traffic. We thought West Yellowstone (our first destination and resupply for the day) was only 20 miles away but it turned out to be 35. I wasn’t complaining because it meant we were knocking out a larger chunk of the day in the morning.
We met another cyclist in West Yellowstone riding from Astoria to Key West! Scott will also be on Parks, Peaks, and Prairies with us.
Scott, a fellow bike traveler, in West Yellowstone, MT
After a quick snack and resupply, we headed into Yellowstone National Park. This is something I have been looking forward to for as long as this trip has been an idea. We were a little apprehensive about traffic and wildlife, but more excited about the beautiful ride ahead of us. We hit the Wyoming state line pretty quickly before continuing.
Bike Loud enters their fourth state
We passed lots of geothermal pools and stopped at sights along the way. Traffic wasn’t too bad and people were being pretty respectful. We passed Gibbons Falls and thought about eating lunch. No picnic tables to be found so we just took in the view.
Terrace Spring and Gibbons Falls in Yellowstone National Park
Traffic increased as we continued into the afternoon. We decided to eat lunch at the Norris Geyser area. We climbed more and more and the landscape became more open fields with rivers and creeks. We scanned for wildlife and saw Bison. No moose (meese?) or bears though to my disappointment.
The group dodges both cars and bison while riding through the park
At the Geyser area, we couldn’t find tables, benches, or a good water source. Only an overburdened bathroom. An interesting thing about Yellowstone is how car-centric it is. There are a lot of sights to see that you drive around and pull off the road for. This is unlike other National Parks I’ve been to where I might park at a trailhead for an entire day. I felt almost as if we were sights in the park instead of visitors.
After eating, we joined the crowds of people to see all the geothermal vents and geysers. I saw Steamboat Geyser. It is the largest in the park when it erupts (up to 400 feet!). However, it doesn’t blow very often or regularly. The last time was in mid April. Still, part of me hoped something might happen.
Porcelain Springs and Steamboat Geyser
I went back to the bikes where I found Brian and Michael. Friend had gone MIA and we thought he may have fallen into a geyser or had an encounter with a moose. Eventually he returned from his walk. Maybe traffic got a little lighter during this time.
Michael and Usher try to find some shade while Friend explores the nearby geysers
We set off with about 30 miles ahead of us. The landscape shifted once again as we followed the Yellowstone River upstream. We saw lots of Bison on the wide open hills. The miles went by quickly for me. We arrived a camp after one more stop. Seeing that we had gone 97.7 miles, we decided to go the little extra distance to hit the century. Totally worth it.
The Yellowstone River
Our campsite tonight is huge—it has almost 300 sites. We are in a tent-only area which is nice since recently we’ve often been the only tents surrounded by RVs. We also get to go to sleep under a very starry sky.