June 20: Riverside, CO to Walden, CO (49 miles)
June 21: Walden, CO to Kremmling, CO (62 miles)
June 22: Rest day (Rachel under the weather)
June 23: Kremmling, CO to Breckenridge, CO (56 miles)
June 24: Breckenridge, CO to Denver, CO (50 miles? Then hitching to east Denver.)
June 25: Denver, CO to Anton, CO (88 miles—new record!)
June 26: [...]
Off the beaten path
Au revoir, Aurelien!
Five days ago we were extremely lucky to run into Aurelien in Rawlins. We rode together for 5 days before splitting up in Kremmling, CO. It was fantastic to run into a fellow eastbound cyclist and to have the company for a few days. As it happens, Mr. Aurelien has inspired us to do something [...]
A simple change of plans
Things are going to get weird around here.
For a few weeks now, as we’ve come nearer and nearer to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, I’ve fantasized from time to time about… doing things a little bit differently, route-wise. Okay, completely differently. Possibly the germ of the idea was planted way back in January or February, [...]
Woodcutters rodeo jamboree—with friends!
June 18: Rawlins, WY to Riverside, WY (61 miles)
June 19: Riverside, WY (Irresistible event, rest day required!)
Okay, so we’re still in Wyoming—but only 28 miles from Colorado!—We were waylaid an extra day in Rawlins due to 30-60 mph winds for a day (which turned out to be great—more to come on that later). Now, after [...]
Windy Wyoming wanderings
June 14: Dubois, WY to Lander, WY (73 miles)
June 15: Lander, WY to Muddy Gap, WY (82 miles—a new daily record)
June 16: Muddy Gap Station to Rawlins, WY (45 miles)
June 17: Rawlins rest day… unexpectedly. (Damn.)
Total miles to date: 1500
The last few days have brought more notable Wyoming sights and sounds. Leaving Dubois a few [...]
Crossing Togwotee Pass
June 11-Grant Villiage, WY to Colter Bay, WY (40 miles)
June 12-Colter Bay, WY to 10 miles from Togwotee Pass (27 miles)
June 13-10 miles from Togwotee Pass to Dubois, WY (39 miles)
Total miles to date: 1,297
We’ve crossed over Togwotee Pass. It took two days longer than planned, but we made it to the other side. What [...]
Mooses!
—Earthquake Lake, formed instantly by an earthquake (hence the trees in the middle of the lake), 120 feet at its deepest point—
—Moose?—
—Moose?—
—Moose?—
—The stunning Grand Tetons—
Yellowstone, day 2: In which we see Old Faithful… on a YouTube clip. Plus: a weather lament
June 10-Madison Junction, Yellowstone Park, WY to Grant Village, Yellowstone Park, WY (40 miles)
The night’s sleep at Madison campground was, in a word, wretched. The outside temperature dropped to 38 degrees and our tent and sleeping bags are ill-equipped to warm us in such weather. We tossed and turned and slept only a little. We [...]
Yellowstone Park, day 1: bison jams, backtracks, and a stick of butter
June 8-Twin Bridges, MT to West Yellowstone, MT (72 miles)
June 9-West Yellowstone, MT to Madison Junction Campground, Yellowstone Park, WY (20 miles, but only 14 miles of forward progress)
–Entering Yellowstone–
Yellowstone. Hmm. I didn’t have much idea of what the park would be like prior to our… rather memorable… visit so far. We’d heard from westbound [...]
Mountains, ghost towns and rainbows
June 6: Jackson, MT to Twin Bridges, MT (77 miles, our new daily record)
June 7: Twin Bridges, MT to Ennis, MT (44 miles)
Total miles to date: 1,058
We began our morning in Twin Bridges with some breakfast burritos and a brief visit from the neighborhood dog, a filthy bloodhound named Bubba. The scenery on the walk [...]