On to Grand Teton
Yesterday (Wednesday) I set out from Grant Village in Yellowstone National Park and headed to Colter Bay Village in Grand Teton National Park. As I mentioned in the previous post it was good news as the southern entrance to Yellowstone was reopened after forest fires caused it to be closed for several days.
I was up at 7:00 and had a conversation with Peter and Glenn, the hikers from Michigan. Peter and I talked more about Africa and teaching overseas, as his son teaches in Istanbul. Peter does relief/social justice work in impoverished areas around the world and hearing some stories of his about people in terrible situations again makes you wonder what there is to complain about.
One disadvantage to riding a bicycle through a park this big is that, unless you can commit a lot of time, you are limited in what you can see. However, a few advantages are that you aren’t enclosed in a car, you’re seeing things at around 12 mph, and you can pull over anywhere. For the cover photo of this post I happened to stop where cars could not. Then I noticed that I could walk to the edge of a huge dropoff that offered a great view of the river. So I stopped and had lunch there.
After exiting Yellowstone, I rode about five miles and arrived at the entrance of Grand Teton National Park. Along the way a woman on the side of the road said “Good luck, it’s smoky up there.” A mile further on there was a “Smoke Ahead” sign. It never got bad, but in some spots it was mildly annoying. And eventually I was at a spot where a couple guys were who work for the Bureau of Land Managment. They are dispersed around the country for emergencies. These two were giving tourists an update on the situation. Things had gotten out of control nine days ago and that’s why they had to close the south entrance to Yellowstone.
So I arrived at Colter Bay Village in Grand Teton NP after the 41 mile ride with no problems. One of the neat things about Yellowstone and Grand Teton is that they have many young college students from around the world who are recruited to work concession jobs in the restaurants and stores during tourist season. It sounds like a great summer job and it’s fun to talk to them.
The campground I’m staying at is nice and quiet, but there was one exception. Brad and Tom work at the gate and also patrol the area. I was taking with them yesteady when I arrived. Good guys. This morning Brad pulled up in his golf cart and said “Hey, do you have a second?” “Sure, what’s up?” “Well, there’s a guy in the site next to you who had a minor medical issue and was away yesterday. He’s coming back to get his things and then leaving. But he’s a bit…well…he talks to himself… a lot.” I just wanted to let you know before you see him.”
Well, I heard this guy before I saw him. Anyone would have. What Brad didn’t mention was that he spoke for all the campground to hear. Some sample mutterings were “I don’t want to be on the list!” (What list, I don’t know.) “A glass of milk! A glass of milk sounds good!” And then there was one that I’m kicking myself for not writing down. I hope I can remember it. In any event, he left and now two nice, quiet cyclists, Rita and Paul, took his place.
Tomorrow is a big day as it will be the second highest elevation of the trip, Togwotee Pass at 9,658 feet. So a very long climb first thing in the morning. I considered doing it today but decided to stick to my original plan of taking a rest day in each of the parks.
That’s funny about the guy at camp talking to himself. I think the list he was referring to was the list of people who were not getting a glass of milk that day.
Haha…yeah, that guy was really out there.