Day 14 (Sat 7/11/09)

Another great day for biking!!

Yesterday Tomorrow

(This is cool if you like lots of data! It may take a few seconds to load but you can hit play and time compress our ride. )

DAILY REPORT: The weather report was for sunny skies and then clouding up in the afternoon. Expected highs were 85 deg. Another great day for biking!

Today we got going a little latter than briefed the previous evening. I ended up staying up to 0330 working on a number of projects to include the journal, Quicken, taxes, picture uploading on Facebook, etc. any way we didn't the trailer packed out until 0830. We had decided that we would start from the Moose Creek visitor center (outside of Jackson near the entrance to the Grand Teton National Park) and have breakfast there as well. Bottom line we didn't get onto the road until 1000.

So for aprox 20 miles we were still riding in the Teton National Park. Along

the way we saw lots of buffalo and even stopped and watch a coyote play cat and mouse w/ a ground squirrel before he finally caught it. It was like watching the Wild Kingdom on your front doorstep as the coyote would spring up and down try to catch the little critter. And then he made short work of the little mammal. Pretty cool watching nature perform out in the wild..

For the most part it was an an enjoyable ride. We were going to be riding over the second highest pass on the TransAmerican Trail; the Togwotee Pass (9,658 ft). Togwotee (pronounced "togoti') which means "Shoots with Spear" was the name of a Shoshone Native American who was a well known in these parts and a Shaman (medicine man). The Togwotee Pass was named after him.

It was a very pretty good climb until we ran into road construction on rt 287 on the way to the pass. Due to the conditions of the road and the heavy equipment in use, cyclist were not allowed to ride. We hooked up w/ Skip and loaded the bikes in the trailer. We stopped on the other side of the pass unloaded the bikes and had lunch. So we lost out on 9 miles of climbing...the boys were very, very disappointed!!

It was a pretty down hill ride all the way to Dubois. We started experiencing a head wind which made the ride a little difficult but hey we were still going down hill! We found Skip at the hotel, Twin Pine Lodge & Cabins. A special Riding4Hope thank you for Jennifer who provide the rooms for the Team . Thanks!! This place has some real charm and the lobby is just unbelievable - pine log cabin with all the amenities to include the moose head over the fireplace. We just loved the place!!

A little about the town of Dubois, population 962. Dubois lies in the heart of the Wind River Valley sided by the Absaroka Mountain Range to the north and the Wind River Range on the south. The Wind Rivers were formed by glaciers and still hold some of the largest glaciers in the world. Debris from the eruption of Yellowstone Lake formed the Abraroka Range. The two ranges create a mixture of steel blue granite mountains and brilliant colored badlands. The valley teams w/ wildlife, clean air, and pure waters.

We ate dinner at the Cowboy Cafe. Good food and outstanding home baked pies. We needed to work off all that food, so we walked around town doing some window shopping. There are some very talented people out there based on some of the work we saw.

Tomorrow is a short day. Only 75 miles to Landers and most of it will be down hill. As long as the weatherman keeps the rain and wind away we will be fine.

YOU DON'T SAY:

Skip - "Keep your eyes peeled for a grizzly! I know there is one out here."

James - "One of those moose flies bit me while I was riding. I have a huge welt on my thigh."

John - "One of those moose flies tried biting me through my biking shorts! Persistent little buggers."

David - "I clocked those moose flies flying better than 18 mph while we were going up that pass. And they still weren't even maxed out; unbelievable!"

DID I REALLY DO THAT?:

John and I were waiting for James who was a 1/4 mile back coming up the pass. We were talking w/ one of the construction workers regarding the upcoming road work. James rides by and doesn't stop. A while later, we catch-up w/ James and John wants to know why he didn't stop. James replies "Hey you guys are much faster on he hills; you guys need to spot me some distance!"

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
At the visitor center; Kristin, one of the Park Rangers takes a moment for a quick picture. This is her second year working here and she loves her job. What a great place to work!!	Leaving the Grand Teton National park. There are some really great majestic views!!
John, they sure do grow their cattle big out here in Dubois.	Yep, that is one BIG Jackalope. Everything is BIG in Wyoming!!
Everyone was feeling good after having a chance to rest.	Carbo loading at dinner. Man do they have some great tasting homemade pies!!