July 27th: Ski jumping is not for us!

We took our breakfast on the balcony of our lodge room - my half banana nut muffin tasted gorgeously.
Today we decided to empty our packs and send some of our stuff ahead to St. George. Sofie's wardrobe is now down to what is normal for a bicycling trip in the mountains. I also went to the post office (those post cards we still have to send) where a lady inquired about our trip. We are meeting more and more people who are interested in what we are doing out here. She taught me how to pronounce Kamas, our next destination, and she also told me about a great burger place there.
The Olympic Park was 6 miles back on yesterday's route, but this time we cycled on the bike path - giving us the chance for more steep hills (short ones). At the Olympic Park, there were people jumping of the ski jumps into a basin of water. It looked fun, but I think I'd be too scared to do this. There were some jumpers from the Australian National Team jumping from the highest one, making summersaults in the air. AWESOME, dude! On our bus tour we were guided by Carl, a guy who is going to help out at the next winter olympics in Vancouver. We had the chance to meet Lisa... one of the best Olympians of the USA team to come. On the tour we saw the bobsled and luge run (one bobsled did the run when we were there), we stood at the bottom of the ski jumps, we stood at the top of the ski jumps (You can not see where you will land!)
Back in Park City we rode a chair lift up and down one of the mountains: wasn't it a bit scary when we hung there high in the air, not knowing when the lift would start again, the wind blowing around us...
Park City itself is a neat ski town. It wasn't too busy now, but I can imagine this being a great ski resort. I even got an offer to pay 40 dollars ahead and recieve two nights free...
So whoever thinks of skiing in Utah... I've got the address where your ski stuff is being handled by someone else and where you can linger in a spa for hours! They want you out here!

July 26th: Climbing anyone?

This morning my breakfast was a banana and some orange juice. Boy, did I almost regret drinking that juice! The climb to the university - this time with our luggage - was gradually until those two blocks which looked like a wall! There was no other way - up it had to go! And the juice went almost out of my body! It took us almost one hour to reach "This Is The Place". Immigration canyon starts here and like all canyons it is narrow and this time for us going up. But, we were not the only ones cycling there. On this sundaymorning, a lot of cyclists try to beat the timeframe of 30 minutes to reach the top. I guess it took us a bit longer than that, but... we had lots of thumbs up from our fellow cyclists. They did not have a whole wardrobe to tag along! Once at the highest point of this canyon it's a drop towards I80 (the Interstate). My speed on the downhill: 70 km/hour. Came now a new experience for Sofie: cycling on an Interstate (= autosnelweg bij ons). Luckily we were climbing again for about 6 miles. We did not have to be afraid of trucks going too fast or unable to break on the downhill. The summit is Parley's summit and it felt great to reach it... and to get off the I80. Just around the corner of the top there is a small gas station and a neat cafe where they serve good food: the pancake went down fast! With our supply of energy high up again we headed to the Tanger Outlet Shops...Yes, Sofie needs more clothing and weight to carry with her. Up here we cycled along ski resorts. The strangest thing for me was the barren slopes of the hills on the east side. There were hardly any trees there - just dried grass and rocks.
We cycled into Park City, famous for its powder snow. No, we can not confirm this at this time! Our sleeping place was a dark room - even here we needed a step to get into our beds since they reached the middle of our stomachs.
Pizza was dinner that night and we watched Contador getting the Yellow jersey to keep.

July 25th: A lazy day

This morning we did not sleep in...(see later in this article why)
First thing to visit that day was the library. It's an amazing piece of architecture - receiving the 2006 price of libraries. There is a special departement for children, with hidden corners where one can read aloud with your kids, or let them play a bit. There are fireplaces at some levels, the walls are in glass, the building is tilted inwards and there is a nice rooftop where you get a majestic view of the city.
We then wanted to hear the Mormon choir sing, but we ended up listening to the Mormon Organ... not really our cup of tea but it was relaxing (no, I did not fall asleep).
The afternoon was play time in the shops again...
In the evening we had to reorganise our cycling bags again. The next day we were out of Salt Lake City.
We felt sad that this fancy hotel did not have the TV-channel where we could follow the ride up the Mont Ventoux. Instead we got up early and ran to the computer office... where we got very disappointed we were not able to watch the ride on Sporza on the computer. But... we listened to the comments in Dutch and I watched funny cartoon style cyclists on the computer screen.
Overall we were very pleased with the Belgian cyclist Jurgen Van den Brouck! And, way to go Lance!

July 24th: Pioneer day

In 1847 the Pioneers discovered the valley of Salt Lake City and it was here that Brigham Young said: 'This is the place'. July 24th is a national holiday in Utah, commemorating this. At 9 a.m. the parade started and it was 2 hours long, viewing high schools, decorated floats, people on horses, and of course...the US army! Luckily we found a place in the shade to sit down, but slowely the sun was getting closer to us.
We decided to visit Clarcks planetarium where the IMAX theatre was. With our 3D glasses on our nouse we saw the underwaterworld of the Barrier reef. Must confess though: at one point I fell asleep and I woke up just in time to see that cute seal, giving a kiss to us.
Next museum stop was the Discovery center... a childrens hand-on museum... we did try a lot!
We had our lunch in the Lions house, which is the original house of Brigham Young and all his wives. Yes, it was a big house and it had several doors to enter, guess each wife had a key to a door.
In the afternoon we spent time cooling off in the hotel - watching TV. At 4 p.m. we went back outside to the parc where the pow wow was held. Here several Native Americans tribes were playing the drums and chanting while the Native Americans dance in their traditional dresses. It's a must see, even though it's hot and you have to sit on the grass for a long time. It is a competition between dansers of the same age group. The smallest ones are called tiny tods and they look really cute. Before the actual competition there is a big entrance with the different flags and all the dancers come in the circle. This is followed by a prayer in the Native language. The public is then invited to come into the circle and dance with the Native Americans.
We both enjoyed this very much.
The day ends with fireworks, of course!

July 23rd: are we in Bokrijk?

Tour guide Renet Kroket leaded guest Sofie on the bicycle around Salt Lake City. We bicycled along the Mormon Church again, saw the Capitol building in the distance while we were standing at the Eagle's gate: an arch with an eagle on top! We slowly climbed up to the university of Utah campus. At this point we were not so far from the U on the mountain. Almost every town in the west has a big letter on one of the slopes of the surrounding mountains - usually referring to the schools or university in that city or town. We kept on climbing, rather steeply now, and reached the university hospital and it famous cancer institute. The road leveled along Fort Hall (I think) where students are housed now. There was some story here to tell, but I have completely forgotten about it. Last part of the climbing today went towords Hogle zoo and the This Is The Place open air museum. We had passes for both of them, but decided to visit the latter. Good thing they had small trains (like the one circling in Oostende) - the sun was beating hard and I am not really a walking person! All aboard and off we went, about 500 meters we got off to visit Brigham Youngs summer house. We jumped on the next train which braught us to a hotel from pioneering days. The funniest part was our train ride in a very small train - for kids (and adults it said on the brochure). An adult could sit in there with his knees up to his chin and we rode three times around a small pond - there was even a tunnel (about 5 meters long). From there we headed towards the tipis where a Navajo Native American let us sit on bison hides and talked to us. From the distance we could hear the BIG train coming again which took us back to the starting point. Before leaving the museum I had my lunch: a mint chocolate chip ice cream.
The rest of the day should be easy cycling: all downhill. Well, almost... We skirted out the campus of the university, looking for the book shop, and this took us on some up and down roads. Then we moved over to the Olympic Heritage Place - also an outdoor museum - yes , exactly the place to visit when it's almost 100 degrees F and there is no shade around. But, we are the Brave Belgians and we want to see as much as possible. Cooling time was done in a bakery where they serve fresh bread, which we didn't buy... we went for the cookies!
We had to do grocery shopping next, 'cause we planned to have dinner at our hotel. There are only two grocery stores in the center of the city! The rest are convenience stores... I do not think it is so convenient!

July 22nd: Sofie and maps

Today was Sofie's turn to lead us all the way to Salt Lake City, using the map and the route I highlighted for her.
From Layton to Salt Lake City one cycles on urban roads, crossing small suburbs, not knowing when one starts and when one ends. Each town has a main street and a center street - this being the center of the town. Any street north is called North 100 etc.. any street south is named South 100 etc.. Very logic. The same system works with east and west.
The route we took is on the outskirts, close to the base of the mountains. Not much traffic there!
I was amazed at how well Sofie did! She kept on cycling and hardly stopped to look on the map, but she was following the given route. Almost at the end she made a mistake and looked on the map. Then I found out she thought we were still in the beginning of the route... Good laugh there!
We had a milk shake break at Mac Donalds in North Salt Lake. Yes, you are right, this is the suburb just north of Salt Lake City. From here it was my turn again to find the hidden bike path wich takes you along the extremely busy US 89 (I was cycled it and it was so scary) - not on it! It's not the most scenic approach into the city, but it surely is the shortest.
So there we were - in the heart of the Mormon life. Our first visit, with fully loaded packs, was to the Temple, more exactly to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, to watch the movie about the origins of the Mormon church (and to sit in an airconditioned building).
We then headed to the visitor center to recieve our passes for museums and exhibits.
The last cycling stretch of that day was to our hotel - that was a bit too fancy!
Later in the afternoon we strolled to the Gateway mall: an open air mall which was constructed for the Olympics in 2002. It's a great place for windowshopping and ... getting you nails done!!

July 21st: the Belgian National Day has to be celebrated!

Right from the start we started with singing our national anthem. Without eating breakfast we hit the road... and that was some kind of road. It seems that a lot of roads we are cycling one have to be resurfaced. This one also and again there was gravel on the road. The speeding advice to cars was 20 mph but that was only an advice given. Well, we got the advice to cycle in the middle of the road, between two rows of red tons. This went on for 6 miles - making it kind of weird for us to be in the middle but having no traffic there, since cars were not allowed there. Mile by mile we came closer to Ogden where breakfast was. And what a breakfast! IHOP is such a feast - you should ask Sofie! She ate 4 (!!!!) chocolate chips pancakes. Anyone knowing the pancakes in America can figure out how devilish this is! After filling our stomachs I told her we had some climbing to do now... just kidding! Anyways, I towed Sofie through Ogden and all the small suburbs like Centerville and Sunnyside... into Layton. Along the road we had to stop at K-mart and Wal-mart.
We still had plenty of time that afternoon to go shopping in the Mall of Layton, to browse the bookstore Barnes and Noble. The big finale of the day came when dinner was served in the Golden Corral. This is an all you can eat joint and boy... did we eat: salads, mashed potatoes (the best!) veggies, chicken, and desserts. My stomach was twice as big as before.
I guess cyclists need two things: a good place to sleep and lots of food...

July 20th: The "tits" mountain

Oostende has its "tits"bridge, well about 10 miles west of Logan there is Sardine Pass, which I nickname the Tits mountain: you climb about 6 miles, go down for 1 mile and climb again for 1 mile.
Hurray, Celine, I found an American flag along the road (oh yes, ever since the day into Afton I'm riding with a Wyoming licence plate) and picked it up. Sweat was dripping from my arms while I was climbing but again I loved every moment of the hard labour. At the top I waited a bit for Sofie and then we speeded downhill again into the town of Brigham City. This is our lowest point of the ride so far - around 1200 meter. The foothills are barren - nearly no trees, only dry yellow grass. I took us right to the library to cool off and have a half hour on the computers there. Lunch was at a family restaurant where I ordered a kiddy meal: macaroni and cheese, which tasted like heaven.
The plan was to go on to Perry and sit the afternoon in the movie theatre... but the shows started only at 5 pm - we were way too early. We cycled on to the campground - and I received a free peach when I wanted to buy one in a fruitstand along the road.
At the KOA we had a difficult time to find a good grassy site, not under the powerlines, not under the tree with the dead branch. I remembered my night with Celine here, where the wind was so strong!
We had lots of time to play in the pool, to do laundry again while playing pool and to relax at our site.

July 19th: push push push

What a great start this morning! As we were packed and having breakfast at the camp store, a guy saw my sign of the ride "SHARE THE ROAD OF HAPPINESS" on my bicycle. We talked a bit and in the end he donated 20 dollars for the postcards! Awesome!
There wasn't too much traffic on the road yet and the temperature was still pleasant - even for a 10 mile climb.
Yes, this was Sofie's first long climb and it wasn't an easy one. I remember when I had done this ride for the first time, I had said to myself "never again"... but you know how it works with the word NEVER! Now, I can enjoy this climb, since I know every curve that's coming. I love the view when one gradually gets higher, overlooking the lake. I had fun this year on the climb! Almost on top there is a visitor center with information about the region and with excellent views of the mountains we had climbed in the far distance. It amazes us to see how far we get in a couple of days bicycling.
And after going over the top, comes the downhill. This one is a long and in some places dangerous one: the road gets narrow, the traffic picks up during the day and sometimes we had to get off the road to let the RV's and cars with boats go by. Sofie is carrying some bright yellow colors on her bicycle now - making her more visible. The ride down is almost 20 miles long with lots of curves. Going down means getting warmer and by midday we needed a rest along the small Logan River, where we snacked on nuts. Before getting into the town of Logan there is this BUMP to climb... It feels odd arriving in a big town again, with big stores (books!!!)> We now have the habit of parking our bicycle inside the store - noone has ever told us we couldn't do this!
We moteled that evening - and watched the Tour de France on TV... with commercials in between.

July 18th: raspberries or strawberries?

Another day on the bike! Breakfast was a busy happening where some people found out how small the world can be. We didn't take any eggs with us, although we had permission. The waffles were freshly made and tasted excellent.
Today was almost like riding in our farmland: almost level flat. We cycled along marshes where birds were having a feast on the bugs, we watched the rollmops making of hay, we found out that Paris has no Eiffeltower and we had a rest stop at a very bus small store in Fish Haven, where lots of people have won the lottery (according to the signs hanging on the ceiling).
Today we entered UTAH (life elevated) and we will be staying in this state for a long time. Our destination was the KOA in Garden City and this time we had a perfect tent place in the shade. In the afternoon we scooped out the little town and found out that there is a very nice store where they sell great sofa's - too big to send home. We ate a famous raspberry shake which tasted like a straberry ice-cream.
Later at the campground we had a good time getting as dirty as possible cleaning our chain. This was a first for Sofie, so she gets another badge for completing this task.
After that we headed for the swimming pool, but two teenage boys were "fighting" in there and spitting in the water... that was the sign for us to leave the pool and go for dinner.
Camping these times is not as difficult as it used to be: microwaves are almost everywhere available, which leads to making some strange dinner combinations - but they always taste good to us.
Laundry had to be done and then we could relax and enjoy watching the other campers arrive in their big cars towing a boat. This place is next to Bear lake, a huge recreation complex for all kind of watersports as long as it is motorized.
We hit the sac rather early, having the next day in mind. The perfect campsite spot didn't seem that perfect anymore, since we were right at the entrance where all the activity was going on. Despite this, my eyes soon became too heavy and I fell asleep.

July 17th: Idaho potatoes

Today was a big day: there was going to be no new water supply along the road, so we had to stock up. Next to that we had to passes to cross.
We started immediately with a gentle climbing warm up for about 10 miles. Sofie had her speedy engine going while my diesel needs some time. I enjoyed the sun slowly climbing over the mountains, sending its rays to the pasture where cows or horses were grazing. Some cows got so interested in Sofie cycling along that they were still coming when I passed.
The first climb brought us to the top of Salt River Pass, where pioneers crossed years ago, pushing there handcarts. The road surface wasn't that great: chip sealed they call it here. But that couldn't take away the joy of the downhill: YIHA! The ride to the Idaho border was a breeze.
Just before the town of Geneva there was a sign along the road: ICE- water and free jerky tasting. A man was sitting there and of course we went over to have a talk with the old guy. He was very interested in our ride and gave us some advice, Sofie got free ice-water (I bought a liter of Powerade - ice cold) and I tasted some jerky (after all this years I finally got myself to do this): this is dried beef, or elk or bison meat.
The town of Geneva has no lake... it has hardly any people leaving there. Going out of this town is a killer climb - especially if you cycle it on a warm day. Sofie and I grunged and puffed and took deep breaths and we both made it: HURRAY - and I took my hot water (I could almost brew some tea) and threw it over me. Couldn't convince Sofie to do the same - she missed out on that cooling effect!
The downhill went fast - even the road work at the end of the ride wasn't too bad.
We had made good time today and could enjoy the afternoon walking (in the heat) around town. We waved to the webcam, walked to a recommended restaurant (which was closed), walked to Butch Cassidy's restaurant where we ate Idaho Mashed Potatoes... but the ones in Yellowstone tasted better.

July 16th: Snoopy and the Red Baron

It had been a cold night and as I opened my tent Sofie was standing there - hat on. I almost had a fight with Sweet Machine: he didn't want to go up the steep hill but I showed him who's in charge! An oatmeal cookie and a delicious hot chocolate made us strong enough for the long ride to Afton. We followed the Snake River downstream, bend after bend - sometimes cycling on the wrong side of the road to view the people rafting. Maybe one day...
Alpine is my gas station stop: it wasn't a very peaceful stop since roadwork was going on. Even the webcam was taken down so we couldn't wave to Celine.
At the general store - post office of Etna we took a water break. Boy... it was a hard job to convince Sofie to throw water over her to cool her down.
This valley is called Star Valley (what's in a name) and is known for it's cheese factory in Thayne. Ha... cheese factory... let's visit and taste some cheese we thought. Wrong, buddy - no cheese tasting nor touring the factory, but we could buy ice cream and who can resist to that! The one scoop we got, is the same as four scoops in Belgium.
Finally the last leg to Afton, where we shopped in the Dollar Family and got some good deals. At our motel we went swimming and played with an inflatable ball (yes, Dollar Family) like kids. Then, we crossed the street and ordered food in the Red Baron, some sort of old fashioned fast food joint where the waitress comes up to the cars... except we were on foot.
Having our orders we rushed back to the room, ate and wrote post cards.

July 15th: Elvis is gone!

This was going to be an easy day: just 15 miles of riding. We slept in a bit and enjoyed an all-you-can -eat cowboy breakfast.
We know now that sending a package to Belgium can be more expensive than you can imagine... but it was for a good cause! Also in the post office I bought lots of stamps for the postcards we need to write.
Then it was off to Albertsons for food: but the shop has been redecorated and ... Elvis is gone again! I couldn't believe it. I went over to someone who works in the shop and told him I had two questions: firstly, what is an eggplant and secondly, where did Elvis go? Boy, did he give me a strange look then! But I insisted and then he remembered Elvis had been in the shop and he did not know where he was now. If anyone in Jackson Hole can help me out...
We finally took the rollercoaster bicycle path to Hoback Junction where we camped just next to the Snake River. No shower for me that night: the river did just fine! And I even got Sofie in there!
Our dinner was soup with beans and that tasted almost better than our dinner from the previous night. Sofie is trying out all the various beans... I do not have to tell you what the consequences are!

July 14th: There's a hole in my bucket...

There's a bear in the park, Sofie, Sofie
There's a bear in the park and what should I do?

You talk to the bear, Renee, Renee
You talk to the bear very quietly Renee

And what should I say, Sofie, Sofie
And what should I say to the bear Sofie?

... I didn't get any further than this singing while cycling, but I imagine I will come up with the rest one day.

So before leaving our nice wooden cabin, I asked Sofie:"what if I open the door and a bear is standing in front of our door?" "Ah," she answered "you have to check before you open the door! Look trhough the peeping hole..." I must say that when we finally left, Sofie just opened the door as if nothing could happen.
Breakfast was great: sitting in front of the general store on a bench, face in the sun, hot chocolate in one hand and a bagel with a banana in the other. What more is life about?
We bicycled up to Jackson Lodge - the fancy lodging place - but inside there is this huge sitting room where everyone can just plunge into a sofa and enjoy the view of the mountains (yes, there was still snow on them!). Outside we watched two young prairiedogs playing with each other. As we left the lodge, Sofie read that someone had seen a bear two miles from the lodge. I thought for sure: this will be the moment.
Alas, the trompeter swans were gone fishing in some other river - not the Snake and the bear went berry picking on another mountain. We saw hardly any wildlife. Guess we had to do with the wildflowers along the road. If you are ever there, take the ride along Jenny lake and cut in along the campground. It's wild and there's hardly anyone there - this in contrast with the crowd at the visitor center at jenny Lake.
This year we could enjoy the awesome bike path from the center to Moose - just outside Teton park. We hopped inside the new visitor center of the park: what an enjoyable experience and we were lucky 'cause authors were sitting there signing their work... which I coudn't resist. People were standing on the bridge across the Snake river and I hoped this was going to be IT... well - seeing a moose grazing next to the river was also awesome.
Moose has an outdoor outlet shop called Moosely Seconds and Sofie got herself a new hat - for the cold days in Utah!!!
The road to Jackson Hole will get much nicer when the bikepath will continue on until town - at the Dairy Queen, where I got my first coke float of the trip!
Sofie and I had our bicycles checked in the local bicycle shop... what a friendly people we met!
In the evening we walked to town and I guess we ate in the most fancy place - I almost asked the waiter if we could do the dishes instead of paying.

July 13: Snow in july!

Hurray! The monster eye is almost gone.
Today Sofie earned her ribbon as a bike mechanic: she took out the front wheel and had to replace her tube for a new one. This was her second flat... just when we wanted to have an early start to beat the traffic. At the breakfast place we met 4 older guys from Brugge: "zie junder van de vlanders?" was their question.
As we were about to leave it rained a bit - it was also rather cold but weather expert said times would get better.
Sofie started like a rocket and I had to scream at her to stop for the sign of the Continental Divide. I guess she was desperately looking for relief in a toilet. Meanwhile I enjoyed the ride along Lewis Lake, Lewis Falls and the Snake River canyon. Just before leaving Yellowstone National Park you get a view of the snow covered Tetons far away.
In Flagg Ranch we had lunch and I couldn't resist to buy some cheese. We needed our energy for the next climb into Teton National Park. Some cyclists had warned us that the road sucked, but I thought it was great to ride while all traffic was halted by the flagmen - even though we had to ride on hard packed surface with rocks and gravel. On the downhill into Teton Park we had a good talk with this flagman. We waited there almost an hour and he showed us pictures of bears he had seen while working there. Sometimes it's hard to think that bears can just jump out on the road.
Teton Park describing is hard: I love the view of the blue lake with on the other side the sharp snow covered mountains. Along the road the alpine flowers bloom, giving the green grass spots of yellow, red and white.
At Colter Bay village it was time for us to do laundry. We were warned again for bears in this surroundings.
At Colter bay

July 12th: outrun the bison!

Last night the coyotes were yipping and howling. But bears... no sign of them. They must be on holiday! And the monster was still in Yellowstone. Yes, I could open my eye maybe 3 mm this morning. Wait till you see the pictures. It's as if Sofie gave me a black eye.
I was excited today: Bison day. A ride through Hayden Valley in Yellowstone is almost the same as a 100% chance of seeing Bison... real close up. This year they seemed to be scattered all around the place instead of staying in a herd. Those 1 ton animals look scary when you are on your bicycle and they are sometimes only 5 meter away. Round every bend we thought a bison was standing there. Luckily not one thought we were good meat - I did have bison meatballs teh day before for dinner!
We walked around Mud vulcano and the smell was so disgusting - rotten eggs!
From Fishing Bridge on we cycled along Yellowstone Lake... most of the time. This is not really my favourite part of the ride. But at West Thumb we could walk around crystal blue basins again.
At Grant Village we ate at the lake house while a thunderstorm blew over. The mashed potatoes tasted so awesome that we had some for desert. It was another great day in the park.

July 11th: monster in Yellowstone ...

Sofie woke up and as she turned to me she screamed: "there's a monster in the tent"! She said I looked like the guy from the Notre Dame in Paris! My left eye was completely closed and thick from ... the nasty mosquitoes! Whatever I tried... I couldn't open it. Went to the bathroom and scared two girls there... resulting in their mom coming back - she was a nurse and gave me all kind of good advice like no driving for me! Well, a bicycle is ridden, so that didn't count. That day we walked the South rim of the Grand Canyon, walked to the brink of the upper and lower falls of the Yellowstone river, walked to inspiration point. Too bad I could only see half of it. Our succes of hitching a ride back was zero. Even here at a trailhead a man came up and gave me a bag of ice cubes to put on my eye. Anyways: the canyon is a formidastic place to be with rainbows over the water and the yellow, pink and orange steep walls, carved by the Yellowstone river. On our way back we saw elk next to the road.
Showers in the National park cost 3$25!! One can either choose to drink a beer or have a shower!
Sofie has over 20 bites of mosquitoes but for the rest... all goes well!

July 10th: What's lurking behind the trees?

A cold night - even in the cabin but at 7 am the sun was already warming up the air. Breakfast this time was a banana nut muffin and mint thee, sitting on the stairs before the shop. At 9 am we started our 4 mile climb out - and lucky slow me: I saw an elk wandering over the road about 7m ahead of me. I even stopped an upcoming car, making sure neither the persons in the car nor the elk would get hurt. The top of the climb is called the Golden Gate - as the walls of the canyon are yellow. The steady uphill towards Norris (yesterday's ride reverse) went well but the bison were off wandering somewhere else. We ate lunch at a spot overlooking Norris basin. Further down the road we took the scenic one-way ride to see the Virginia cascades: a tough but short climb. I had all forgotten about that other climb along the main road, but I knew a screaming downhill into Canyon Village was coming up. Tent spot B 36 was our home for 2 nights. The visitor center about vulcanoes was very interesting and the displays were awesome. The geology explained there made everything more understandable. After dinner I wanted to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Lucky us - a man gave us a ride to the start of the North rim. It was very quiet there - it being late already. Sofie and I both started to walk faster - especially when we took the shortcut through the woods, which seemed to take forever. Instead of being chased by a bear we had to battle musquitoes. Not so fun. Sofie looks as if she has some disease with red spots on her body.

July 9th: Where are the mammoths???

A night in a tent in Yellowstone National Park has always been something to remember. In the middle of the night I heared a thumping noise and my imagination added some sniffing too! I woke up Sofie , but then it stopped. Later in the night, Sofie woke me saying there is a beast running around. I heared nothing and went back to sleep. That morning looked grey with clouds still hanging over the top of the pine trees. It was cold and I took out leg warmers, sweater and gloves. My packs were suddenly a lot lighter. Breakfast was our usual oatmeal cookie - this time sitting on a fallen tree, trying to catch the first rays of the sun. Riding out we knew we were going to get warm very soon, since we had to climb along the Gibbon river. A flagman (a person with a sign in her/his hand showing STOP or SLOW) made us stop for almost one hour - right before Gibbon Falls. Our next stop was a visit at the geysers in Norris Basin. Then came the final part of the ride to Mammoth Hot springs: dangerous, we were told... because of the traffic. Roaring mountain was still fuming and the bison was standing a little further down the road. We finally reached the upper terrace of Mammoth Hot Springs. Here we walked the wooden boards again to view the hot springs, dead trees and yellow flowers in the bright white sandy like earth. Beware - it's no sand! We slept in cabin C9 on top of the hill. After dinner we walked around the lowest terrace, viewing white and grey and orange colors on the ground. That evening we wrote postcards (yes...)

July 8th: to see or not to see!

I felt excited today and the plan was to leave early, until I saw my battery of my cell phone was low. We postponed our departure for half an hour. Then it was into Yellowstone National Park. Sofie raced off, leaving me behind in my usual slow but steady pace. Ha, she missed the scenic route along the river. The eagles nest was empty and even the trumpeter swans were on holiday. Madison Campground was our first goal that day. Here we pitched my tent and put all our bags in the bearproof box. Second part of the day we bicycled up along the Firehole river and falls to the lower and middle basin. The smoke of the hot water coming from the hot springs or mud holes or geysers were in contrast with the cool mountain air. Dark clouds were gathering and I let Sofie decide if she wanted to go on to Old Faithfull (seeing that geyser is THE attraction for most of the tourists) with the chance of getting hit by a rain storm or heading back to the campground. Well, the second option was taken ... giving Sofie a reason to come back to see Old Faithfull! Told her she wasn't the first one who didn't see it. On our way back we saw bison and elk along the road and we just hardly made it into camp before the storm hit. I sat in my tent (cosy sleeping bag) while Sofie was standing in a small room (1m by 1m) watching the hail fall (she said they were almost the size of pingpongballs). We had our dinner after the storm: yes - salmon, something bears like! No spilling Sofie! Another storm rolled in and once again Sofie didn't make it in time for the tent. At last the sky cleared somewhat, but the temperature had dropped a lot. It was definitely time to hit the sack.

July 7th: plan D

The first view out of the tent were the morning clouds hanging over the mountains. It was going to be a beautiful day - for sure! Instead of going into Idaho and then to the KOA, we took the more scenic route along Earthquake lake and Hebgen Lake. This made the ride somewhat longer, but the scenery made up for it. Arriving at West Yellowstone we did our errands: visit the post office to send to much weight to our final destination, visit the bicycle shop Freewheel and Heel, we bought ourselves a National Parks pass - I wanted to donate but in the end we got it cheaper than buying our tickets apart! Sofie found herself a good pair of sandals - with toes! We had dinnere at the brewpub and spent the rest of our time repacking our bags, while we watched the Michael Jackson's memorial on TV.

July 6th: Ride the wild wind!

Our aim today was to reach West Yellowstone KOA. But after plan B comes plan C. We bicyled slightly uphill along the Madison River. It was surely into the wind. Along the road we met a Belgian couple heading towards Seatlle: they've been on the road since april when they left the east coast of the USA. At the junction heading towards Idaho we decided to call it a day. There was a campground and we would be sleeping next to the Madison river, close to Earthquake lake. Before dinner we rode our bikes to the visitor center and learned all about the landslide which happened in the middle of the night in august 1959. I must say I felt very comfortable sleeping at this spot!

July 5th: First day cycling and already plan B

Advice from insiders and locals is never to be ignored. So instead of cycling through the narrow canyon leading to Big Sky, we set of to the small cowboy town of Ennis, MT. Well, not exactly set off... 'cause after a mile of 6, at the gas station of Belgrade we noticed a flat back tire. This meant taking off all the packs and for Sofie finding her instruction book on "How do I reapir a flat tire". Together we managed to fix the problem ... even though we cursed a few times (riding without breaks is not an option) - I even thought we were going to go to plan C already!
On the bikes again, pedaling now over the hills. Suddenly a dog ran out of the garden and Sofie's heart rate jumped to maximum. A yell "STAY" kept the dog from following us.
Soon we were heading towards the Madison river. Ask Sofie all about rivers and she will be able to tell you lots about them now. Hey, Lewis and Clark needed them to get around! There was a lot of activity on the river: floating and fly fishing. I saw pelicans in the river, but Sofie thought they were fake! No way!
Norris gas station is a relief post where we got new fuel to tackle the hill of 3 miles 6% up and the headwinds. On top a small rainstorm came over. This was very cooling!
The rest of the trip to Ennis is along a flat road. Once the sun was back, we had to deal with the wind also. We stayed at a log cabin, since there is no campground in Ennis.
That evening I introduced Sofie to eating at Subway.

A day in the air

July 2nd was mostly spent in the air. Driver Eddy rang my bell at 4.45 am. In no time were we at the airport in Zaventem. Meanwhile I know a lot more about Eddy... We were too early to check in and had the bright idea to eat breakfast. Suddenly, Emma, Marie and their mom showed up: they have their own story to tell about Emma's departure to Canada! After checking in (yes, Sofie gave the right answers) we headed for the gate and waited...and waited. Disappointment all over when we noticed that our plane did not have the individual screens. The flight to Atlanta went smooth - the landing in Atlanta wasn't the applause worth..We bumped and skidded all over the place. Going through customs and immigration was a breeze, although Sofie got scolded at for not staying in line! Our bicycles were already at the luggage carousel and in no time we got our bags also. It is a hassle checking the luggage back in, but these are American rules. Our second flight took us to Salt Lake City: I just remember it was colder and that I slept a lot. Had to wake Sofie while the plane was landing. In the airport we had plenty of time to eat and to walk some miles, before we got on the small plane to Bozeman, Montana. Hurray: both bicycles and all the bags made it with us. This is a great start.

Almost on the road....

Tomorrow is the big day. Today madness was all over the place ! The first big drama occured when I couldn'ot find my bankcard: gosh I went over my actions the last couple of days and couldn't remember the last moment I had used it. Finally it appeared when I looked more thouroughly. Second panic attack stroke when I couldn't open the drawer where my pasport and money was: something was stuck and I almost ended up with my hand stuck too! At last I took a screwdriver and punched a hole in the box which was the cause of all this commotion.
Sofie came over with her bicycle box and had to do a second taping job - physical therapy on the box, I told her!
I'm very anxious to get there now... nervous about what I will have forgotten this time.
Eddy, our chauffeur tomorrow, came over to see the boxes! He seems like a nice guy - with lots of humor! Asked us if we'll take care of the breakfast tomorrowmorning. Yes, it's gonna be an early start (getting up at 4 am) and a very very long day (and not too much sleep).
Hopefully I'll write again on the 3rd of july!