Day 24 was another highlight day of this Cranking Odyssey. Yellowstone National Park lived up to all its expectations and more. In my opinion, everybody should visit this gem of a geological area at least once in their lives.
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| The road from the West Entrance |
The Transamerica Trail took us through the south-western corner of the Park. This was just a minute portion of the Park overall, but what we saw made us want to come back some day and explore the other sections we didn't get to see.
We wanted to start riding early to beat the tourist traffic that the Adventure Cycling maps warns is heaviest from 12-5pm, but this was not to be. A thick fog had enveloped West Yellowstone severely cutting down visibility. We were ready to roll at 7:30 am but ended up waiting in McDonalds until 9:30am for the fog to lift. It was not until then that we felt safe enough to brave the road through Yellowstone NP with all the tourist drivers around us who were concentrating on looking at the scenery, rather than looking out for cyclists riding on the edge of the road.
Despite all the traffic, most vehicles were very courteous, except for the odd massive RV or campervan driven by people who probably shouldn't be driving them or who don't recognise the dimensions of their vehicle. Our riding comfort was also hampered by the narrow shoulders or lack of shoulders on the road.
We took time out to stop and look at the sites along the way. The ride, once again, was mostly uphill. We gained 1,400ft in elevation, crossing Craig Pass at 8,261ft and the Continental Divide Pass at 8,391ft. Neither pass was that long or that steep, but were just a little challenging on weary legs.
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| Our 3rd crossing of the Continental Divide this trip |
As we rode, we saw a lot of geysers venting steam in the distance, thick green pine forest, grey leafless trees, rocky bluffs and anglers fishing in their little boats along the Madison and Firehole Rivers.
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| Madison River |
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| View on the primitive bike trail |
We took the opportunity to get off the busy road at Fountain Flat Drive, taking the gravel bike trail through the Middle Geyser Basin out to the Grand Prismatic Spring. I am so glad we opted for the touring tires on our bikes as they are highly versatile and seem virtually indestructible, letting us go almost anywhere. The decision to take this route rewarded us with two separate sighting of bisons.
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| Taking the touring bikes off road |
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| Middle Geyser Basin |
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| Grand Prismatic Spring |
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| Sapphire Pool at Biscuit Basin |
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| Biscuit Basin |
Eventually we made it to Old Faithful at about 1:30pm, timing it perfectly as he went off just as we parked our bikes, venting steam high into the air, reaching the clouds or so it seemed.
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| Old Faithful |
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| Kepler Cascades |
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| Our campsite in Grant Village |
Our destination for the night was meant to be Lewis Lake Campground which only has 7 first come, first served campsites. By the time we rolled into Grant Village where we were going to stock up with provisions for the night and next day, it was 4:30pm and we decided to call it a day rather than ride another 11 miles. Yep, we wussed out on making our planned destination for the second day in a row, but this time we could justify it as we still got to camp under the trees in Yellowstone NP and the store sold beer and firewood! Plus we saw a mule deer grazing.
The night got really cold in Yellowstone but our campfire and the gazillion stars in the finally clear sky above us made it all alright.
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| The new handcrafted hunting knife is dangerous! |
CRANKING ODYSSEY STATS
Total Odyssey miles: 1,401
Overall Fastest Speed: Steve (39.9 miles per hour) Mandy (35.4 miles per hour)
Bludge Days: 1
Bonks: nil
Dog chases: 3
Dummy Spits: Steve (2 - Day 10 because it rained; Day 16 - because the rocks in the river were slippery)
Mandy (0.5 - Day 14 those freakin' wreckless Idaho drivers!)
Flats: Katie (4)
Wrong turns: 6
Beer of the day: Lewis and Clark Yellowstone Golden Ale
Lesson of the day: hunting knives are really sharp and Mandy cannot be trusted with one
No. of days with no shower: 10
No. of days in a hotel: 6
Starting weight: Steve (90kg) Mandy (51.5kg)
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