July 12-13 on the TransAm

I can’t believe it… we started our 5th week of cycling yesterday and we’ve made it to Yellowstone National Park. Wow! It doesn’t seem possible. As of today we’ve traveled 1329 miles. We passed into Wyoming at 5 PM and we’re camping tonight at Madison Campground in Yellowstone. Tomorrow we’ll go by Old Faithful, Grant Village, and exit out the South Entrance of the Park with the rest of Wyoming ahead of us. I’m totally awed by it all. We’ve seem so much and yet there’s so much more to see. We’ve traveled so far and yet there’s so much further to go. It’s stunning and exciting all at the same time. Thanks for praying us this far. Now please keep praying us all the way home! 🙂 

We’d planned to leave Twin Bridges by 6:30 but by the time we got packed up and said goodbye to the other bikers it was 7 AM. Remembering that the grocery store/coffee shop opened at 7 I decided we should stop in for a coffee. Last time we did that (in Baker City) we ordered ice coffees so we could grab and go. But I spaced it and ordered a 20 oz hot Americano. Guess we’re sitting this one out. Forrest stirred it with a straw to try and cool it down faster and we used the time to get on the wifi and catch up on email & texts. It was then that I uploaded the last post (July 10-11) so it was a blessed providence. We finally got the coffee down by 7:45 and awere on the road again. 

The challenge for the day was the Virginia City hill, which, according to my map, summitted at 7000 ft. But, surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. It was steep; and it was hard. But it ended up shorter and lower than expected. We had to climb nearly 2300 ft from Twin Bridges but it was so gradual until Virginia City that before we knew it, we only had 1000 ft left. We stopped in Alder at a bar to use the bathroom and fill up our water bottles with cold after. The bartender wasn’t very nice but maybe she was having a bad day. Before we left a man came out and talked to us about our trip. He warned us that the climb was extremely steep but told us the downhill would be a blast. 

When we arrived at Nevada City/Virginia City we stopped to look around at “old Montana.” It was a tourist trap of old buildings, gold panning, and train rides. We took a few pictures, used the bathroom, and headed on. Virginia City was up the road a mile and we were soon through it and headed up the hill. It was a 5.5 mile climb and we actually peaked at around 6800 according to my GPS. I was really surprised when my GPS elevation map showed we were approaching the summit. I expected it to be a good bit further but was very happy to have reached it. We parked out bikes on the roadside and sat down to make lunch before heading down the hill. 

The ride down was a blast but it was cut short by a line of cars behind a flagger with a stop sign. The Department of Public Works was paving several miles of the road leading into Ennis (which at at the bottom of the downhill). We pulled up behind a pickup truck and he offered to give us a lift into town. I hesitated a bit, not wanting to cheat, but figured we didn’t want our bikes ruined. Besides, it was a downhill into town anyway. So we took him up on the offer and loaded up. The ride into Ennis was one of loose gravel flying into the air behind the truck we were in as well as every other vehicle. Once we got ahead of the pavers he dropped us off and, having no reason to stop, we blazed through town on our way to Cameron. But unfortunately they were paving a few miles on the other side of town as well. No pickup this time. The flagger let us through and we biked on the shoulder hoping it would be better. But soon cars and semis were driving by flinging gravel into our faces and on our legs. And of course our own tires were tossing up loose gravel into our gears and derailleurs. It was several miles before we were clear of the tar, but the loose gravel was a problem for a long while. 

We rode into Cameron hot and tired. We stopped at the one store/bar in town and bought some juice and an ice cream so we could use the restrooms (for paying customers only). I got to talking with bartender and asked her about the campground up ahead where we were planning to stay. When she looked at me funny I knew there was a problem. “What campground?” she sai9d. “The one on my map.” “Why don’t you bring your map in and I can take a look.” I pointed out the campground. She recognized it as Ruby Creek Campground but said it was a few miles off the road and recommended we go to another one up the road (15 miles further). Ugh. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I figured we’d make for Ruby Creek. It had already been a long, hot day. But once we reached the turnoff to Ruby Creek and looked as the road went off in the other direction we decided to keep pedaling. We reached Riverview Campground by 7 PM, a total of 80 miles. What a day! The boys put up the tent while I made soup for dinner. We traded off for the next 15 mins between spooning hot soup into our mouths and swatting mosquitos. They were eating us alive. We couldn’t get into the tent fast enough. In fact, the got in too fast. We’d left everything out. Our clothes hung on our bikes to dry, our dishes and stove were left out for breakfast, and our towels were draped out to dry. And of course we left the fly off the tent so we could see the stars. 

July 13 on the TranAm

When we woke up at 6:00 in the morning the dew was so heavy that everything was soaked. Our sleeping bags were moist and everything else was dripping wet. Bummer. I opted not to cook breakfast, dried everything as best as I could–so I could put it all away–and grabbed all the wet stuff and headed for the neighboring campground to use the dryer. The boys finished packing up and met me there later. 

By the time we got on the road it was 8:00. Later than I wanted but no worries. We only had 50 miles or so to go. But we still needed breakfast… My map showed a restaurant at the next campground do we headed there. Unfortunately it was only open in the evening. We went into the camp store to see what we could find for breakfast. The lady suggested we pedal another 10 miles to an awesome breakfast place between Earthquake Lake and Hebgen Lake. So we bought a pop tart to hold us over and got back on the bikes. 

On the way we stopped by the Quake Lake visitor center to watch a short video explaining the history and geologic data of the historic earthquake and subsequent landslide that created the lake. The quake struck on Aug 17, 1959, killing 28 people and causing a massive landslide that closed off a section of the Madison River turning in into a 6 mile long, 190 ft deep Quake Lake. It was both beautiful and sad. 

By the time we got to Campfire Lodge for breakfast it was nearly lunch time. And by the time we got our order it was lunch time. So we had lunch instead of breakfast. It was just as the lady had promised–a breakfast to be reckoned with. The pancakes were as big as dinner plates. The guy said one biker came through a few days earlier and ate three of them! But then he had to sit on the bench for 4 hours waiting for it to digest so he could bike on. I shouldn’t tell your that another biker came through trying to brave the pancakes only to barf it all up in the parking lot. The moral of the story: even after a hard day’s work the stomach is still often smaller than the eyes. We managed to enjoy a nice lunch and get away on time. 

The rest of the ride was beautiful. It rouded Hebgen Lake and gave us a great view of some massive mountains across the lake. On the way I was in touch with our new dear sister in Christ, Linda Teakell. She was trying to secure us a camping spot at the Madison Campground in Yellowstone, just 14 miles past West Yellowstone, MT. She got back to me and said “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the campground is full into August.” Looks like we’re staying in West Yellowstone–but could even find last minute accommodations there?. “Something miraculous is going to happen!” she said as she hung up. I believed that too. So we pedaled on and didn’t worry about it. God’s in control. 

We got to West Yellowstone around 2:30 and headed straight fort the Free Heel and Wheel bike shop. Dan, the owner/mechanic was super nice and got our bikes straight in. Forrest needed a new rear tire. It had been bulging for the last 200 miles or so as the tire wa pulling away from the bead. Strange. The same thing happened to the front tire back in Dayville, OR. And these are brand new Continental Tour Rides. If we weren’t on the road I’m sure we could get a refund… Oh well. Rocky’s rear disc was bent and needed straightening. My gears needed a slight adjustment. When I told Dan that we were disappointed not to get a place at Madison, he suggested I go across the street too th Visitor Center and ask them about it since he thought they usually had room for bikers. So I did. “They won’t turn you away,” she said. “Even if the campground is full, they’ll never turn away hikers or bikers.” A miracle? Sure! Dan filled up all our bottles with ice cold water and after a quick stop at the grocery store we headed into Yellowstone Natinal Park. It was after 4:00 and the majority of the traffic was exiting in the lane opposite us so we had a pretty sweet 14 mile ride into the park. And sure enough, they put us up at the hiker/biker site directly behind the registration building. God be praised. 

We waved at two other cyclists there and proceeded to set up camp. Soon the young lady comes walking over with her hand out and said, “James?” “Yes….” “How do you know me? Who are you?” “We’ve heard all about you guys from Samuel. I’m Laura and this is Nate.” “Oh! How cool! Nice to meet you.” Within an hour Jack and Alex showed up on bikes and greeted us like they knew us. “Samuel told us about you guys,” they said. “We stayed with him in Grant Village last night.” It’s crazy how the TransAm works. They say you can send messages ahead, leave messages behind, and generally communicate backwards or forwards. Turns out Samuel (who left us in Conner when we stayed an extra day with the Teakell’s) is talking about us 🙂 We recommended that Jack and Alex stay at the Teakell’s on their way West. Lord willing, they’ll get a good dose of the joy of the Lord on top of some Christlike hospitality. 

We put all our stuff in the provided bear box (“This is bear country,” they said) and went to bed. In less than 30 mins I was half asleep and suddenly awoke to the sounds of dozens of animal calls. Coyotes and I don’t know what else. But the woods were full of it. It was one of the eeriest and coolest things I’ve ever experienced. “I’m really sleeping in the wild,” I thought. The boys were asleep and missed it. I reminded myself that my God is God of the animals and rolled over and went to bed. 

Thanks for praying. Thanks for following. God is good. God is great. All the time. 

Until next time… 🙂 

I think I can finally add some pictures! 

***PS. I realized too late that I added several Yellowstone photos from July 14th to this post. We arrived at the Madison Campground in Yellowstone on Thursday the 13th and rode through the Park on Friday the 14th.