Mood:  not sure

To be honest, I was not looking forward to leaving this plush condo, and endure a hard day of bicycling.  Nevertheless, by 7:30 AM, I was on the road.  Within 5 minutes I had entered Wyoming. 

My original thoughts were to just push on and experience Yellowstone some other time, but Yellowstone wasn't about to let that happen.  I just couldn't believe how beautiful it is.  Majestic meadows, with serpentine streams meandering through them.  Incredible hues of color.  Many herds of bison, ranging from two to two hundred, sometimes crossing the road and stopping traffic.  An eagle perched on the edge of her nest, 100 yards off the road.  Elk grazing.  It seemed like every bend was a postcard to remember.  And the miles seemed to slip by quickly.

Coming around a bend, traffic was stopped, so I slowed down and stopped behind a car.  A couple of dozen buffaloes were in the middle of the road.  When that happens all vehicles have to stop until the animals decide to move.  In this case they decided to move my direction.   I was snapping pictures from one side of the car in front of me, then from the other side.  As the last bison, passed the front car, it moved on up the road.  There were 6-7 cars ahead of me, and, one by one, they took off.  The trouble started when the car in front of me moved on, and they discovered me.  They immediately stopped.  A cow with her calf was 8' to my front left.  Another cow and calf were 10' to my front right.  A male yearling was stood sideways 5-6' in front of me and a touch to the right.  I'm not sure, but I don't think they were just admiring my bike.  They seemed very nervous, and I was not about to add to that.  I thought that if I inched forward and a bit to the left, I might be able to ease by, but just the act of putting my foot on the pedal made the young male jump.  So I rested my left elbow on the handlebars, cupped my chin in my hand, and waited, motionless.  And waited.  And waited.  It was a good five minutes before they decided that I was no threat, and then resumed walking down the road.  A bunch of bicyclers were waiting at the front of the oncoming line of cars, and as I passed them I shrugged and said "I didn't kinow what they were going to do."   They laughed and said "We didn't either!"  It was an exhilerating experience, close up to nature, but only because there was no damage or injury.  They are pretty big.  Many a time I have been "buffaloed", just not like this.

I ate a couple of sandwiches, then skipped Old Faithful, concerned about the time, and soon started climbing toward Craig Pass.  I don't know if the passes here are not as daunting, or if I am just getting in better shape, or the legs getting stronger, but I went over Craig Pass and crossed the Continental Divide three times, and it just didn't seem that hard.  Since there are always two sides to every story, despite how strong I was feeling, reality was brought home when during one long climb, a car slowed down beside me, and a young woman yelled out "Are you okay?  Do you need any help?"  I could only surmise that I must not have looked so strong to the vehicles passing by. The story of my life.

Apparently the old body liked the rest and food in West Yellowstone, because, when I pulled into my campground, I had pedalled 77 miles including some significant climbing, and was not the worst for wear.

This was the first night that I have camped since Day #2.  They conveniently gave me a camp site next to the showers and bathroom.  The warm water felt good, and a solid meal in their restaurant topped off a very good day.

On the way back to my campsite, I got into a conversation with a couple from Boulder, Colorado (where I will be stopping for a few days around July 1st) and we had a great time.  They are die-hard Colorado University athletics fans, with CU paraphenalia all over there vehicle, lawn chairs etc.  There names are Joan Russel and Chuck McElwain.  Joan knows the husband of one of my cousins and had served on a board with him.  We chatted for quite a while before getting down to a fierce contest of Scrabble.  They were the nicest people. 

Because I rode much longer today than planned for, tomorrow would be very short--just 16-18 miles, to the Colter Bay Campground.  I would be tenting there again.

Will McMahan