On through Yellowstone after a good day's rest

Well, I made it over Teton Pass without trouble Monday afternoon and spent all of yesterday relaxing and running some errands here in Jackson, Wyoming (bug spray, toothpaste, and sunscreen all needed replenishing). I'm very lucky to have Katie (a native of Jackson, pictured here) as a longtime friend. Getting to spend time with her and the rest of her family was such a treat. Just think--a real bed in a real home and a real home-cooked meal. Thanks especially to Betsy for the French toast, Hugh for the talks about routes and roads, busy Andrew for our quick morning chats, and Katie for our good catch-up talks and help with everything around town (and for taking me out to Teton Thai, a very fun restaurant I recommend to anyone in Jackson for a warm evening).

Now I'm ready to go the 280 miles from here to Burgess Junction to meet up with a whole slew of family from Iowa who will be there this weekend. This week is going to be 3 big days of riding followed by a few days off.

I did find a good pair of compact 8 X 25 binoculars while I was in town and look forward to using them on today's ride through Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Because of the family reunion and the timing of everything, I'll pretty much have to cruise on through these places without too much exploring. Luckily, at 12 mph, I don't miss much of my surroundings. I've never been through here before, and I'm definitely coming back to this area to linger in the future. Like many of the places I've passed through thus far, my experience reads like an invitation to come back.

A quick note about my photos on flickr: I think lots of things are out of order and there may be duplicates, etc. That'll probably be that way until I get to my hometown of Decorah in Iowa and have some solid time to "relax" in front of a computer. If you're interested in flipping through what's there, click the photo in the slideshow on the right side of this page and browse around.

Yesterday marks 3 weeks on the road and I believe that during today's ride I'll hit a cumulative total of 1500 miles. I'm getting pretty excited to meet up with family Friday evening and will likely stay there through Monday or Tuesday nestled in the Bighorn Mountains. It will be great to have enough time out of the saddle to do a good chunk of hiking, catching up with family (at least a dozen folks will be there, I imagine, including my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, one of my brothers along with his wife and kids), and some genuine loving-care bicycle maintenance. Oh yes, I will have that drive train sparkling silver and may even true the wheels up a little.