Yellowstone Fireside

June 19, 2013
Canyon campground, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Distance traveled: 2386 miles

I'm sitting fireside at Yellowstone national park writing this in almost shock (partly from the cold!) at the past two incredible days that I have had.  I'm not going to lie though I'm pretty exhausted and cold as it is around 40 degrees up here at 7800 ft I'm not sure exuberant is the right word to describe what I'm feeling but its close.  If only there was a word for frozen success! Kind of like eating the most delicious tasting ice cream on a frigid winter night I guess.

My adventure began when I hit the road about 650 miles back leaving the Badlands at a decent time Monday morning.  Exiting the park from a different direction I managed to conquer 11 whole white knuckled miles of off pavement riding.  This time I really tried to keep good form and I think in the end it paid off.  I had no close calls and despite the fact that I only went about 20mph the whole way I got back on the asphalt feeling pretty proud and victorious.  I might have even uttered an imitated "Great success!" to no one but myself, but that's only a rumor that I refuse to confirm or deny.

Only a couple hours later I started my approach to impressive looking mountains called the Black Hills.  The barren nothingness I had been driving through before morphed into lush green forests and before I knew it I was at the base of Mount Rushmore.  With eyes watering I pulled over with the realization that I had arrived at my first major destination on my trip.  Sure the Badlands were absolutely stunning, but before seeing them for myself they weren't anything I had known about making them more of an incredible bonus.

Continuing with my budget theme I parked at the historical marker for free, standing quietly in reverence at a sight I had only seen in textbooks and travel brochures, and even convinced a happy couple also on motorcycle to snap a quick picture of me.  Disclaimer:  I ended up looking like a total tool in the pic but in reality I was brimming from ear to ear.

Moving on continuing through the winding forest of the Black Hills, i stopped to see the impressive yet unfinished Crazy Horse monument, and made my way to the campground arriving at only 12:30.  Knowing I had a lot more miles left in me, and not wanting the incredible ride to end I chose to continue on. 

Everything was going perfectly until around five o'clock the skies again spelled sudden death and destruction.  Pushing my bike as fast as she would go I barely made it into the town of Gillette, Wyoming taking cover in a gas station (and then a Hardee's after my stomach got the better of me) before the skies let loose.  After almost letting it get me down after weathering storm after storm on the trio I eventually realized this was all part of the adventure.  And as someone very dear to me expertly put it the bike is great because it brings you that much closer to nature, but nature can take away as quickly as it gives.

After waiting it out the skies eventually cleared and I continued on  a hundred miles more to Buffalo, Wyoming.  The cool thing about the part of the leg was that I got to take I90 to Buffalo, a trip I had made many times before only in New York state.

After spending a night in the best campsite I had had so far enjoying Wifi from my tent (!) While falling asleep to the gentle flowing of the stream right next to me , I made my usual late start the next day instantly greeted with the snow capped mountains of the Big Horns.  Watching my GPS my elevation quickly rose from 4000 ft above sea level to an incredible 8500.  The views in these mountains were spectacular only leaving me craving more coming down the other side.

Now it was this part of the day that got a little tricky as the temperature quickly soared into the 90's making it almost unbearably hot in my full riding gear, but I pushed on taking a quick pit stop in an air conditioned gas station that I finally arrived at running on nothing but fumes.  On the other hand I did get to find out that Saphira was capable of hitting +100mph, but her gas consumption soared side by side with the heat.

For anyone who has never witnessed the desolate land of Wyoming in between the mountains, let me skip the photo and say picture any wide open run down desert scene you've seen in a movie and you wouldn't be too far off.  Its an incredible expanse of wide open nothingness mixed with towns having populations smaller then most busy grocery stores.  How anybody could survive (happily!) out there is a mystery to me, but one of the few I didn't care to investigate.

Finally after almost total exhaustion from the heat and the three hundred plus miles of riding I hit the Shoshone River, and an incredible transformation into some of the most breath taking lush greenery ever and then finally Yellowstone park.

Making my way into the park I was totally dumbstruck.  The scenery included everything from hauntingly devastated leafless forests, wide open lakes, and picture perfect streams.  Strangely I thought to myself that when putt putt courses or resorts try to make their own little man-made streams and waterfalls this place must surely be their inspiration. 

Climbing up again to over 8000ft above sea level, the temperature quickly dropped as fast as it had climbed and I was forced to pull over and layer up in my bad weather great.  All of it (!), and even then it almost wasn't enough.  It was below sixty, the sun was behind clouds, my hands were frozen, but I was in total bliss.

From the bison crossing the road holding up traffic, to the hot springs throwing up their sulfuric gases this place really seemed to be a world of its own and I'm still stunned to think that I was getting to experience it by bike.

So far on my trip its been less then two weeks but I feel like I've already accomplished so much.  I've beaten a tornado, countless storms, ungodly mosquito bites leaving welts the size of silver dollars, and as I sit here freezing I can still feel the sunburn from where my riding jeans have a hole in them heal.  Now I'm going to suit up as warmly as I can and see what else Yellowstone has to offer.  It's been incredible here so far but if I'm not mistaken, I have a whole lot more to go!