Day 14 -- Ennis, MT to Twin Bridges, MT -- 45 Miles

First up today, a 2,000 foot vertical climb done in about 8 miles. It was a great workout and I was glad to have it done before the heat of the day was upon me, though I was soaked with sweat regardless.

The fast descent through the historic mining town of Virginia City, though a blur, was an exhilirating payoff. I had a nice second breakfast (just like a hobbit) at a roadhouse in the town of Alder.

My only complaint of the day was the shoulder on highway 287, as it was either non-existant or covered with gravel most of the day. I guess I have become spoiled by the great roads to the south. Having a shoulder between you and traffic makes the ride far less stressful.

When I arrived in the town of Twin Bridges, it was kind of like, to borrow another hobbit-inspired image, Frodo's arrival at Rivendell, the enchanted oasis of the elves. Why you ask? BECAUSE TWIN BRIDGES HAS BUILT A SHADY RIVERSIDE CAMPGROUND FOR THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF TOURING CYCLISTS, COMPLETE WITH HOT SHOWERS, SCREENED-IN PORCH, AND A BIKE WORKSTAND TO BOOT!





So no you know how I feel about Twin Bridges. I apologize for shouting.

The ride from Twin Bridges to Dillon was a relatively flat, but very hot, 20 mile ride. The only notable tourist sight along the way was the Beaverhead Rock, where young Sacajawea recognized a familiar landmark in the distance, essentially saving the Lewis and Clark expedition from starving.

I could not help but get a kick out of the Lewis and Clark Trail signs that had been posted alongside the road. Here is the sign:


So let's take a minute to imagine what this sign is trying to communicate. To the far left we presumably have Lewis pointing to a distant spot, Clark staring at that distant point while fondling his musket, and then Sacajawea with baby standing behind them off to the side. The conversation of the folks in this picture might have gone something like this:

Lewis: "Ya see Clark, that is the big mountain I been telling ya we'd be seein' if we jus' akept awalkin' for a few weeks to and fro! Now if we just climb that yonder mountain all of our problems-a-be-done! I'm sure there mus' be Indian saloon on top of that there mountain where we can get a bite to eat!"

Clark: "You just keep thinking Lewis, that's what your good at."

Sacajawea (to self): "White men enjoy exercise. We walk for weeks in circles with no food. Maybe one day white men will ask me for directions to the Pacific Ocean. There we can eat fish and chill on the beach!"

Upon arriving in Dillon I inhaled 4 liters of sweet tea and a footlong sandwich at a local Subway I made my way to a campground on the outskirts of town. The campground was nice enough but it was definitely an RV place that had just set aside a small patch of grass for tents.

Day 13 -- West Yellowstone, MT to Ennis, MT -- 75 Miles

I slept in today enjoying the bed and a roommate who never showed! Breakfast was had at the Woodside Bakery which makes all of their own delicacies from scratch. The croissant breakfast sandwich was so good that I ordered a lunch sandwich to go and bought all of their day old scones for snacks.

The ride today was very straightforward -- 75 miles rolling downhill along the glorious Madison River. I spotted hundreds of fisherman on the route today reeling in boatloads of trout. As my elevation dropped the heat became more noticeable and I was thankful for the generous tailwind. Cyclists I met heading the other direction were not so lucky, but the scenery was so amazing they didn't care a lick.



Ennis is a really charming town where trout outnumber people by the millions. After a little looking I found the unsigned campground. I had stayed here in 2004 and just like last time found the owners to be very friendly. The highlight of the campground however was the bus converted to a restaurant serving Mexican fare at the entrance. Chicken fajitas never tasted so good.


I spent the waning hours of the day in town at a local eatery where I wolfed down a salad and watched the last, definitive time trial of the Tour de France. Cadel Evans of Austrailia absolutely hammered the competition and locked up his overall victory. It is truly amazing to see how hard those guys can spin on the grades they must climb.

Day 12 -- Grant Village, WY to West Yellowstone, MT -- 53 Miles

Given the success of the previous day's strategy I got another early start. As I made my way out of the rest room I happened to see the same boy walking around from the tent encounter from the day before. Knowing that my hair was wild from a night of sleeping on the ground, I did my best grizzly bear snarling stare down and had him scampering away in seconds.

Another good climb started the day. I love climbing, especially when my legs are fresh as it means I will be mellow in the saddle the rest of the day. Near the top of the climb I was passed by two cyclists who were touring supported by car (read: they had no luggage). Turns out they were wrapping up Wyoming today and heading back to Seattle with their wives.

After 20 miles I pulled into the Old Faithful Village. I grabbed a couple of breakfast sandwiches and coffee, walked over to the central viewing area, and watched that reliable geezer of a geyser spout for the umpteenth millionth time. Got some nice video I will post when I get back.

In the miles following Old Faithful I would stop several times to do boardwalk tours of various geyser-laden basins. The colors of these geysers and springs were brilliant. Pictures to follow.

Further down the road I would cross paths with meese (plural of moose), buffalo, Canadian geese, elk, and gapers. The last animal, the gaper, is a variant of the tourist who likes to make poor decisions by gaping at wild animals and then trying to interact with them. Every year, thousands of gapers are attacked by animals, and I couldn't be happier.

The descent down the Madison River to West Yellowstone was just as much fun as the last time I did it. Wide shoulder, gentle downhill, teeming with wildlife, and mountains all around.

When I arrived in West Yellowstone I snagged a room at a hostel in town, very nice place although I have yet to meet my roommate. Yikes! I will keep you posted.

Day 11 -- Colter Bay, WY to Grant Village, WY -- 42 Miles

Today I would enter Yellowstone National Park. Having ridden this route before, I knew that Yellowstone roads tended to me narrow and crowded with RVs. As a result I was on the road by 6am and the strategy worked well.



The day would be short mileage but featured a good deal of climbing. I was really cold on the bike, registering 36 degrees when I climbed in the saddle, and it was tough to get my pistons warmed up properly. But the traffic was light most of the morning as people were sleeping while I was climbing.



I tried a new strategy today that I read about in the New York Times whereby a person can burn more fat by working out bonked in the first hour of the day. It didn't work for me. My body felt fine but I developed a headache that I would try and fight off the rest of the day.

Today was important for one reason relating to my 2004 journey. In 2004, I was forced to load my bike on a pilot car for 5 miles through a construction zone in Yellowstone. At the time I was livid, since it would be the only miles, other than the Mississippi River, that I would not get a chance to ride. The purist in me wanted to do the whole enchilada! Anyhow, today I rode those 5 miles that I had to skip before, so now the trip is complete, unless someone dares me to swim across the Mississippi!

My arrival at Grant Village meant an ice cold Gatorade and an uncommonly good bacon cheeseburger. After talking with staff about the options for seeing the park by tour bus I realized there were no options -- since almost all of the tours leave from destinations elsewhere in the park. Turns out Yellowstone is pretty much a car place, bummer.

The Grant Village Campground was reserved full, but cyclists enjoy a guaranteed campsite anytime. Score one for cyclists! The rest of the day was lazy: eating, reading, napping etc. The only exciting turn of events were when a Boy Scout troop camping in the site next to me returned from their days activities.

Those little devils can make a lot of noise. A one had he gall to come peek in my tent as I was laying down! I thought about chasing him down and giving him a toilet swirly (a time-honored tradition when I was a Boy Scout) but my 38-year-old legs told me to stay put.

Day 10 -- Moose, WY to Colter Bay, WY -- 27 Miles

After signing off of my Day 9 entry a series of unfortunate events befell the climber's ranch. A major storm hit the area which knocked out power to the ranch. Then an hour later the water stopped working. Eventually the power came back on, but the water pump was no longer functioning. The ranch staff posted a sign telling everyone they could either filter their own water from a nearby creek or drive 10 miles to the next town to buy water.



Seeing as how I was on a bike I wasn't looking forward to doing either option. I am all about the backcountry do-it-yourself way of doing things, but the backcountry is free, where as the climbers ranch charges $24 a night. I know that's not a lot of money but its more than I would pay if I just pitched a tent a half mile down the road next to the aforementioned creek.

Anyway, I can't say I am a big fan of this ranch regardless of this incident. It seemed like most of the guests were too cool for school. I guess some of it is climbing culture, "who is das alpha male?" but is it really necessary. The climbers I know are all cool and laid back and they let their accomplishments speak for themselves. The people at that ranch were eager to spread the word to others by shouting their conversations:

Dude 1: "None of the climbing around here really interests me any more (as he gestures to the Tetons)."

Dude 2: "Yeah, that's cuz you've already climbed everything!"

Greg thinks to himself, "THEN WHY THE HECK ARE YOU HERE? MAYBE YOU SHOULD GO HOME!"

Back to Day 10

As I walked out of the cabin in the morning I was greeted by a black bear sow and cub about 100 yards up the hill from the cabin! It was my first bear sighting of the trip and it's always a rush to see a bear. I shot some video with my iphone, we'll see how it turns out.

I was happy to hitch a ride with two cabin mates to a pancake breakfast at Dornan's in Moose. Later I rode away from the ranch feeling relieved to do so. The short miles came easy today on a relatively flat course. I rode for awhile with a racer from New Zealand who was eager to discuss the logistics of touring.

After I parted ways with the racer, I came upon a huge traffic jam as I approached Jackson Lake. People were running out of their cars and their were rangers with walkie talkies everywhere. I knew instantly there were bears afoot. I darted between the parked cars and kept moving forward. My logic was simple, if the bear got angry, everyone on the scene would jump back into their car, that is if they had a car!

As I hit the middle of the jam I saw three black bear cubs playfully running along the road, triplets! I could not see mom so I dropped the hammer and got out of there. Five bears in two hours, not bad!

I arrived at Colter Bay Village after a couple of hours of riding. Since I am still way ahead of schedule I decide to cut the day short and make the most of the area. I set up camp and decided to rent a kayak. Great call!

While out on the water for a two hour paddle I hooked up with a family of otters who were happy to have me along. They were amazing to watch and the kayak went just the right speed to make it happen. At the end of the paddle I got buzzed by a bald eagle!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, eating, and reading. In the nighttime, the temperatures got much colder than they had before. I was prepared for the cold but lets just say I was wearing most of my travel wardrobe in the sleeping bag that night.

Day 9 -- Moose, Wy -- 0 Miles

I woke up today hoping to hike up into the mountains but I am missing the right size of allen wrench needed to swap out the cleats from my cycling shoes. I was tempted to go for it anyway but if I mess up my cleats then my future bike rides become agonizing until I can get to another good bike shop.

Instead I decide to relax, blog, read, soak in the sights, and of course, eat early and often!

Day 8 -- Dubois, WY to Moose, WY -- 76 Miles

The heat from the previous day again forced an early start. The crux of the ride today would be a 3,000 foot vertical ascent of Togwotee Pass summit at the thirty mile mark. Entering the day I was a little nervous about the climb. I tend to be a strong climber and I'd done this before, but this was by far the biggest of this trip and well, you just never know how you will do until you try it.

A delicious bagel, egg, and bacon breakfast sandwich and twenty ounces of coffee stoked the engine perfectly. The climb, was advertised, long and at times steep, but overall a very manageable grade. As luck would have it the day was unseasonably cool, and as a result water intake was not as rampant as days previous.

The reward for the climb was a beautiful alpine lake nestled at the summit. I happened upon a family fishing the lake and a little girl caught a trout the moment I walked up. The way her face lit up with pride was precious. I think it might have been the first fish she had ever caught.





Matt summited about twenty minutes after I did and we started the descent together. Matt is a much faster descender than I, he seems to have no fear! I felt the road surface had too much gravel to really bomb it but I tend to be a weenie about such things. By far the highlight of the day was the view of the Tetons that opened up during the descent. No matter how many times you see these cathedral-like towers of granite it just never fails to inspire a sense of awe.

A pilot car carried Matt and I four miles through a construction zone. At first I was ticked that we had to load our bikes in the truck, but when I saw the condition of the road first hand, there were no complaints. A massive effort is underway to completely rebuild the west side of the pass. There were boulders strewn everywhere from all the dynamite that had been used to blast new corridors for future traffic.

After an unremarkable lunch at the Hatchet Cafe, Matt and I entered Grand Teton National Park. We each had to pay $12 to enter but at least it would cover Yellowstone as well. It would be great to see self-powered visitor gain free entry but I guess you might see parking lots of cars just outside the gate.






A short while later I turned south on Teton Park Road and wished Matt a safe journey. My destination for the night would be the Teton Climbers Ranch near the town of Moose. I was so excited to get to the ranch that I failed to stop and read my park map. What I thought would be a ten mile trip would instead be twenty miles in duration.

Once again I was bonked and over-extended as the day wore on, but the beauty of the Tetons made it impossible for me to be in a bad mood. Upon seeing a huge bull moose drinking from a creek, I decided that I should stop and take a drink myself. Who says making has nothing to learn from the moose!

Eventually, I made to the ranch. I could not believe the location, smack dab at the base of the Cathedral Group, the biggest peaks. I checked out the cabin I shared with other guests and grabbed a much needed shower. I then just laid in bed for a good hour just to relax a bit from a day that was much longer than expected.

As I cooked my dinner that night, mac n' cheese with canned tuna, in the cook shelter I met some climbers staying there and listened to some of their stories about the high country. It made me wish that I had the ways and means to climb the Grand Teton at 13,600 feet, but with guiding companies asking $500 per person, per trip, I've got better uses for my money, like burgers for instance!

Day 7 -- Lander, WY to Dubois, WY -- 76 Miles

The heat of the previous day motivated an early start at 5:30am, and one without breakfast (unless you are counting a king size Payday and a liter of orange Gatorade as constituting a proper breakfast). I felt strong the moment I got on the bike and I immediately knew the "zero day" had its intended effect.

Leaving the Lander city limits I entered the Wind River Indian Reservation, home of the Shoshone tribe among others. I have learned over the years that the forced exodus of the Indians (as they like to be called because Columbus mistakenly thought he was in India when they were so named) to reservations was uneven in its fortunes. If you were the Miami Tribe, you got stuck in a dust bowl in Oklahoma with zero prospects for living off the land. The Shoshone Tribe however, scored pretty good, as the Wind River valley is both fertile and stunning to behold.

This is the second time I have seen this stretch of country by bike and I can't for the life of me figure out how I forgot how beautiful it is. When I am an old fart with patience to sit down and read a book it will be a geological account of this land. Plateaus, upheavals, red rocks, lavender rocks, green grasslands, golden grasslands, granite peaks, raging rivers, pristine lakes, buttes, domes, and it just goes on and on as far as the eye can see.

All in all it was a tough day. My bike computer registered 106 degrees on the road. I was bonked from not eating enough. There were headwinds for part of the way combined with some significant climbs. My butt hurt. Despite all of this, the landscape was so beautiful I did not want the day to end!!

Rolling into Dubois, which is hopelessly touristy, I rode up to an old friend, the Cowboy Cafe, home of the Greg's Great Pancake Massacre of 2004 (when I ate a bunch of them one morning in an impressive show of unrestrained consumption). This time I would settle for the Cowboy Cobb Salad because the heat was playing games with my fuel tank. But just to make sure the locals didn't think I was going soft, I downed a huge slice of chocolate bourbon pecan pie with a heaping scoop of vanilla. Oh and I washed it all down with seven 7ups.

Accommodations for the night were found at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church as recommended by other cyclists up the road. The church graciously allows cyclists use of their community center and it is very cozy. Kurt and I met another cyclist today names Matt hailing from Ft. Collins, Colorado. Matt is riding the entire TransAmerica Trail. As with me in 2004, Matt started in Yorktown, Virginia and is riding to the west coast. It was fun trading stories with him about the menacing dogs of Kentucky.

Dinner was again at the Cowboy Cafe: burger, fries, five 7ups, and a huge slice of forest fruit pie (fresh blackberries, huckleberries, blueberries, and raspberries) with the a heaping scoop of vanilla! That night I would dream of eating three of those pies and declaring it Greg's Great Pie Massacre of 2011!

Day 6 -- Lander, WY -- 0 Miles

Day 6 -- Lander, WY -- 0 Miles

Today was a much needed rest day. Rest days are a requirement of any long trip as your body needs to rebuild after getting worked into shape. Kurt and I had breakfast at a cafe in town, with a mediocre breakfast burrito and a tiny cup of coffee that cost $1.75. I spent the late morning and early afternoon blogging at the nice air-conditioned library. I spent the afternoon watching the new Harry Potter movie and the evening eating dinner near the Wind River at the nice and shady City Park. Boring and easy day, just what the doctor ordered.

Day 5-- Jeffrey City, WY to Lander, WY -- 68 Miles

The day started with the requisite mosquito attack. However its much easier to break down a tent under attack than to set one up as you can always throw everything onto the bike, ride away, and sort it out later. Breakfast at the Split Rock Cafe was a nice plate of french toast and sausage.

As I was riding away satisfied with my quick exit from camp and full breakfast, a Jeffrey City mosquito saw to it that I have one more gift from he and his buddies. He flew right into my mouth as I was riding and triggered my gag reflex. I will let you fill in the blank. Not fun.

The big highlight of the day was a harrowing descent of the Beaver Rim into the Wind River Valley. It was a five mile descent with a 6% grade. Lots of fun. I got my first peak at the famous Red Rocks of Wyoming today. They are a stunning shade of rusty orange.

The heat in the valley was noticeable, with my bike computer registering 101 degrees. Although the miles were relatively easy, being rolling to downhill for the most part, the heat just chips away at your spirit as the day unfolds. When I finally arrived in the town of Lander I rode right up to the Gannet Grill and ordered a burger and salad. However, I was so hot that I just stared at my food for 20 minutes as I tried to get myself together again. Several regulars were staring at the scene out of the corner of their eye and I know more than one had a good mind to grab my burger and take a bite. Given my state I would have been powerless to stop them.

My accommodations for the night were gotten through couchsurfing.com. An artist by the name of Juan agreed to put me and Kurt up for the night -- even though he was traveling in Colorado at the time of our visit! Juan's house is a collection of many, many things -- trinkets, action figures, old Volvos, metal working equipent, jars, paints, etc. It is clear that Juan likes to work with his hands.






Kurt and I pitched our tents in the back of Juan's house in a nice shady spot. One of Juan's friends, Earl the Window Washer, had stopped by to check in on the house and to take a shower (he lives in the mountains and presumably doesn't have indoor plumbing in his own house).

Kurt and I had dinner at the Gannet Grill and I actually had the same exact salad I ordered for lunch. For dessert I got a chokecherry shake at an ice cream parlor next door. Delicious!

Day 4 -- Rawlins, WY to Jeffrey City, WY -- 68 Miles

After devouring a couple plates of pancakes with homemade choke cherry syrup, Rick, Kurt, and I watched some Tour de France coverage on television. As was the case in 2004, it was a treat to see the worlds strongest cyclists competing on the biggest stage in cycling. There is no comparison between there journey and my own but every now and then even the recreation cyclist dreams of leading a dashing breakaway from the peloton to a the glory of a stage victory!



At 33 miles, in the middle of nowhere I happened upon the Anna Lope Café in the “town” of Lamont. This place used to be called Grandma’s Café, and when I visited here in 2004, I jokingly wrote that Grandma was waiting for me in her front porch rocking chair with a pitcher of pancake batter and a shotgun. While the place had changed hands, the food was still great. I opted to get a huge chef salad (vegetables in Wyoming?) with a slab of rhubarb cobbler a la mode.





Other than the spectacular geological formations filling the scenery, the most memorable occurrence of the day happened at the Muddy Gap gas station. There I met a group of Mormons reenacting the Mormon Trail of yore. They were dressed in vintage Mormon garb and were trying to be as authentic as possible (thought the gas station snacks in their hands told a different story).




The cycling in the afternoon was brutal – huge headwinds and a rough section of construction-zone pavement. I powered my way through the last twenty miles of the day but I was dead bonked on the finish into Jeffrey City.

As I pulled into Jeffrey City, I found the dismembered leg of an antelope in the road shoulder. This was actually a proper introduction to this place, a former uranium boom town gone bust from the Three Mile Island debacle. The Split Rock Café is the only place of business in the whole town. The proprietors are very friendly to cyclists, but Jeffrey City is Jeffrey City. We managed to get some food in our system and kill some time with the locals before settling down to a mosquito infested camp for the night.

Day 3 -- Riverside, WY to Rawlins, WY -- 60 Miles

I woke up feeling very refreshed from a night in the tent. I am surprised how comfortable sleeping on the ground feels to me as it usually takes days or even weeks for my body to adjust. Waking up in a tent also invoked certain packing rituals that I have come to enjoy in my travels. As with backpacking, space is limited on a bike, so everything you carry must have a purpose or you are just carrying it. With so few material possessions to manage, it forces an ordered simplicity that often eludes we people of modern society with our mounds of consumer goods filling every room of our house.

After a hearty scramble and five cups of coffee at the Bear Trap I began the process of sunscreen application. This is something I take pretty seriously since my skin does not do well in the sun, especially at elevation. I try to keep covered with clothing while I ride but sometimes the heat makes it impossible.

At twenty miles into my ride I crossed into the town of Saratoga, home of some famous hot springs that unfortunately were over flooded by the river. I stopped on for snacks at the same grocery store I had been to seven years prior. I might be mistaken, but I could swear the exact same lady was at the register greeting all customers with a warm, “HOOOOOOOWWWWWDEEEEEE!”

Today the terrain changes from mountains to high desert – this means higher temperatures and higher wind speed, but also amazing desert flora and fauna. While riding along I met two cyclists heading the other direction, one headed to Colorado and the other all the way to Savannah, Georgia. They told me that using a website called couchsurfing.com they had managed to find free accommodations in the town of Rawlins with a nice fellow by the name of Rick.

At the next gas station I gave Rick a call to inquire if he could put Kurt and I up for the night. He said that would be fine and instructed us to visit his house anytime that afternoon as he leaves his door unlocked. Score!

My excitement at having found a place to stay down the road was quickly dashed by the cycling that lay before me on Interstate 80. It is an unfortunate fact that the TransAmerica Trail runs on Interstate 80 for 13 miles but there is no way around it. The shoulder is huge and clean, but the mass of noisy trucks and cars, coupled with a big headwind, made a very stressful ordeal. One interesting subplot of this segment was watching one cop pull over seven different cars for speeding. Motorists traveling through Wyoming you have been warned!

I said goodbye to Interstate 80 at the town of Sinclair, the home of the Sinclair Oil Refinery. The town, as expected, looks like an oil refinery town—dirty and unwelcoming. But at a local gas station I was graciously given permission to load up my bottles with much needed ice water.

After a Monster Burger at Patti’s Diner in Rawlins we set out to find Rick’s house. I was pleased to find a quaint bungalow filled with bike equipment. A short while later Rick arrived and we all got to talking about our stories.

Rick works as a Case Manager at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins. He is a bike racer and enjoys putting up cyclists like us up for the night. He let us do laundry, and proceed to cook us a pasta dinner and breakfast the next morning. All he is asked in return was a cold six pack of Alaska IPA! Although much has changed in the seven years since I had completed my first trip with couchsurfing.com and other websites popping up, Rick is what is known as a Trail Angel, meaning he looks out to support people doing long trips for no other reason than he is a nice guy.

Day 2 -- Walden, CO to Riverside, WY -- 50 Miles

After devouring a monster breakfast burrito at the Moosecreek Cafe I cycled my way to the southern rim of North Park.

It was a short and steep climb but nothing too bad. On the descent I reached a maximum speed of 45mph! Other folks have certainly gone faster on a bike but that is definitely out of my comfort zone, especially while riding a bike loaded with saddle bags full of gear.

The day was spent spinning through the Sierra Madre and environs. Another great day of cycling that featured roads with few cars and wide shoulders that provide a cyclist plenty of room to operate without being in traffic. About twenty-two miles into the day I crossed the state border into Wyoming. I love Wyoming, having lived in wonderful Jackson Hole for a year, and I was happy to be back.





Upon arriving in the town of Riverside I pulled into the same Lazy Acres campground location as seven years prior. I surprised to see that today’s campground bore little resemblance to the place in 2004 as it had been taken over by new ownership and overhauled. The people were friendly and the facilities were super clean.

Pitching my tent for the first time invoked a certain level of satisfaction. I was now officially doing this trip. When camping with a tent, you are out there, no place to hide from the elements. This is where the contrast between your regular city life and travelling life becomes pronounced – and it always something I and up appreciating in the end. You never know how much you miss indoor plumbing, laundry machines, a big bed, and other creature comforts until you step away from them.

For lunch Kurt and I ate at the Mangy Moose Bar. The only think they really do at the Mangy Moose is burgers, but they do them well. Everything is cooked to order right there at the bar so everything is very fresh and tasty. A few hours later we would sit down for dinner at the Bear Trap Café. I ordered a big bowl of the Cajun Jumbalaya pasta and let me tell you it was a spicy high-calorie adventure. I was dismayed to learn that they were out of desserts (but the emergency king size Payday candy bar in my back pocket kept me from starting a riot).



After dinner I went on a walk to survey the beauty of Riverside. The river was swollen over its banks with snow melt from the mountains and monsoon style rain that the area was experiencing twice a day. This season has been a wet one for the Rockies, and flooding has been a big problem for many communities.

The day at the campground ended with a massive double rainbow glittering over the river, followed by a dazzling magenta sunset, followed by a pale white full moon that glowed for hours over the prairie. Just another typical day in the mountains!