DAY 22

Rest Day, Ely

Murphys law for Luke last night, slightly down on blackjack, 3 card poker, slots, even a bet on the monday night football match (Ada placed ten dollars on the opposite, eventual winning team as soon as I put my eventual losing bet on, to spite me, so at least someone won something). We explore Ely's thrift shops (Opp shops) where we purchase our highroller outfits (Ada gets a full length mormon-esque baggy denim dress, Luke buys a horrible hawaiian shirt he blames his bad luck on), we also get a much needed massage from a local girl who tells us all about life in small-town Nevada (drugs addicts, polygamists, whore houses, mining booms).

DAY 21

Jackpot to Ely

We head into the great unknown, into Great Basin territory, Nevada desert as far as the eye can see. It's really pretty: carved mountains and hills, shadowing each other and the road. We get about 50kms into the ride before we decide to pull the pin on the day: there are rumble strips leaving very little room to move against the trucks and side rails/road edges, Ada was almost brushed by an RV (recreational vehicle, like a campervan but usually the size of a bus and often towing a similarly gas-guzzling hummer or jeep) at one stage, which was the final straw. So we hitchhiked with Mike, a maker of electric assisted bicycles on his way to Vegas for a bike show.

A big thankyou to Mike, we promised to plug his business, so you can have a look at www.ohmcycles.com. We planned on hitching tomorrow anyway, this part of America is so desolate there wasn't a town of any sort for over 200kms.

 

We got dropped of at Ely (incidentally the next town, about 3 hours drive away) which was ABSOLUTELY CLASSIC. Nothing but bordered up shops, cheap motels, a handful of bars and brothels, and the Hotel Nevada, where we stay for the night. The Hotel is awesome (we can't stop laughing at how good it is, and straight away plan a rest day here for tomorrow to enjoy it), it's chock full of kitschy slots, memoribilia (guns, wild west, hollywood actors, NASCAR), 70's neon, wacky furniture and taxidermied everything. We live it up for night, Ely style.

DAY 20

Twin Falls to Jackpot, Nevada

 

Twin Falls was very ordinary. Reminded us of the worst parts of Geelong/Werribee/Melbourne mixed together. After riding through the reeking industrial outskirts we rode through basically nothing all day, a few shanty towns, a few fly-blown bars. After miles and miles of nothing, we reached Nevada, and BOOM, 5 casino's spring up from nowhere in the classic little gambling border town appropriately named Jackpot in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Of course we hit the tables, playing a little blackjack and poker, having a surprisingly great time. The atmosphere and decor is very 70's, and is super relaxed, all the clothing/music/haircuts on seemingly everyone is very dated, all the dealers were good fun, free drinks (with our new found fitness and complete lack of drinking we get drunk off one beer now), it was awesome.

Sidenote: we got locked out of our hotel room for a while, only to get a replacement key card which left us locked out again for a little longer, ruining all intentions for a drunken early night.



DAY 19

Craters of the Moon to Twin Falls

Incredible days ride, everything made to suit. A massive overall descent, tailwind all day, quiet roads winding through the lava fields of Craters, it was very beautiful and very fun. Highs in distance (142kms) and max speed (60kms p/h). We stopped in a lot of tiny country towns for meals (second breakfast/brunch/lunch/second lunch) where the handful of local people about were all very interested in what we were doing, offering every bit of knowledge and advice and wellwishes they could. More massive trucks, more massive hawks soaring above. Same old same old Idaho, it rules.

DAY 18

Arco to Craters of the Moon State Park

This was pretty cool. Began the day by devouring a big pack of coco pops (our appetite has well and truly arrived) before a short stint on the bike brought us to Craters of the Moon, which is basically the site where thousands of years ago a couple of volcanos erupted and the dried lava looks awesome today. While some of the park was closed, we still rode and walked around a fair bit of it. It's a really bizzarre landscape, smooth wave-like lava formations intermingle with jagged rocky sections, with a few tall and spindly formations here and there: very moonlike. We watched the sun set over the moon from atop one of the volcanoes itself. Yes, that's right, re-read that last sentence again.

DAY 17

Idaho Falls to Arco

Here the desert really begins. Basically we rode all day past nothing but sagebrush, hay bales and some secretive government atomic testing base. There were absolutely no facilities, let alone shade (something we know we have to get used to for the next few weeks). It made a good time to think and reflect on the trip thus far. About the only traffic that passed us were enormous oversize trucks carrying everything of every size, sometimes nearly running us off the road. There are also heaps of hawks and other birds of prey soaring overhead all day long. Arco is a real country town: friendly people that all seem to know each other, hate California and hate Obama. That about sums it up.

Sidenotes: Stu and Jo, who we met over breakfast, gave us their details should we need help when we get back to Utah. This kind of thing and these kind of people we are meeting all the time. The American people are nothing but kind, polite and friendly, it's wonderful.

Also, this is "numbers hill" which overshadows Arco. It's painted with the numbers of the year the local high-school kids graduate.

DAY 16

West Yellowstone, Montana to Idaho Falls, Idaho

We cheated! Well, kind of. We rode briefly through Montana, into Idaho, along a monotonous stretch for a while, before we paused roadside for a toilet break. Then a pick-up truck pulls over, starts reversing back towards us, and we're thinking surely we're not getting busted for the roadside wizz, when out jumps Sharon and Kim, whom we kept bumping into all over Yellowstone. They offered us a lift, and after a day like yesterday, we accepted. These kind folk are on holiday from Michigan, are big potato farmers back home, and basically were completely amazed and mildly obsessed with what we were doing (Sharon was on he phone to her family telling them to guess what they'd never believe who she'd bumped into again!). Sharon was overjoyed at being able to help us out. So were drove through Idaho's famous potato country, then they shouted us lunch (much to our protests, it was also Kim's birthday) and donated $100 to Bicycles for Humanity. It was great to spend an entire day with two strangers, now friends, and to know the kind of impression we're having on some people. A big thankyou to them both for everything. Great people. As an added bonus we skipped the ugliest stretch of busy highway on the whole route.

DAY 15

Tower Falls, Wyoming to West Yellowstone, Wyoming

Newsflash: Headwinds are the bane of a cyclists existance. We had a fierce one, all day, for 100kms. It took us 7 hours to complete. The toughest day of the trip by far. One climb took 2 hours alone, taking us to 2700m above sea-level. We ran out of water for a bit. It was hot. The traffic was noticably busy. We couldn't even roll on some downhills. We had to stop for 10 minutes down one particularly windy strech, it was too dangerous to ride. To top it off the civilized bed/shower/meal/warmth we'd envisaged after a week of camping wasn't forthcoming: West Yellowstone is super-touristy and the dozen cheezy motels we tried first were all full. Sun setting. Familiar dreaded feeling. Ada pulled us out of it: She asked a bike-shop who pointed us to a hostel which despite its no vacancy sign Ada still sussed it out and to cut a long and boring story a bit shorter we ended up in gender-segregated dorm rooms with communal everything. Oh well. A depressing dinner and a much much needed laundry later we were able to smile and look on the positives: We rode really well together, with encouragement and wind-drafting and general positiveness, and we saw Canyon Falls, which were bloody awesome.

DAY 14

Mammoth to Tower Falls

We couldn't help ourselves so we went back to the hot springs first thing in the morning.

Then we checked out Mammoth Springs, the next stop on the sightseeing extravaganza that is Yellowstone. The highlight here (and dare we say it for the whole park, even trumping Grand Prismatic) was Pallette Springs. We stood stupified trying to take it all in. Our best attempt at a description: cascading milky white thermal water pouring over black brown orange and white pots and pools that seemed to pile up and lead staircase-like to the heavens themselves. Mammth Hot Springs was extrememly hard to capture, so if your wanting more, just google image him.

The days ride was short, hot and hilly, probably highlighted from the continual kudos we're getting from complete strangers telling us how we inspire them, like the guy who just stopped his car in the middle of the road to say awesome job and Kim and Sharon (who you'll here about more later) rejoicing that they caught us at the end of a steep climb so that they could tell Ada in particular how much they admire her for sticking it out, up those long steep climbs. A lot of people have no idea that cycle-touring exists, and are flabbergasted when it's all explained. We get at least a dozen people a day inquiring/admiring/giving us the thumbs up out the car window and it can really make our day.

DAY 13

Madison to Mammoth

Highlights of yet another perfect day in Yellowstone: Gibbon Falls, lower fountain paint pots (pretty much one of each: multi-coloured pool, bubbling mud bath, mineral river of colour and texture, sky blue hole in the ground), more bison, Norris Geyser Basin (awesome, as it was much more open in a white lava-like expanse between sights making for great backdrops of white fields and dead, whitened trees, highlights Porkchop Geyser, Pearl Geyser, and Echinus (Google each), before probably the most scenic and all-round pleasant stretch of road in Yellowstone past old-growth forest, twin lakes, Obsidian Cliff, Golden Gate (cliffs with gold lichen growing on them) and bizarre bouldered landslide areas - incredible riding.

Oh did we mention the hot springs we bathed in (we reek)(Luke wrote this, obviously forgetting that ladies don't reek, although I had 'perspired a little' bit over the lat few days), where the freezing river meets a geothermal boiling hot one and you can soak your weary, happy bodies. As good as it gets.

DAY 12

Yellowstone National Park
Madison to Middle/Lower Geyser Basins Wyoming!

A day off, of sorts. We left the tent and the bags and rode for a day trip to the Middle and Lower Geyser Basins.

First stop: the Middle. If Yellowstone was Ada's top destination for the entire trip, then Grand Prismatic Spring was the destination within a destination. She's obsessed with it. We planned the whole day around seeing it and enjoying it and watching it from every angle and light. It didn't disappoint. We stayed for hours.

The other pools and geysers nearby were equally good.

Later at the Lower Basin, AKA Fountain Paint Pots, the springs were more muddy and bloopy...you get the picture. Every single one of these sights is just a joke. Every one evokes much amazement, provokes close inspection and awe. It's that good.

The ride home through Firestone Canyon witnessed more steaming geysers, a coyote, a bull elk and plenty of fly fishermen.



DAY 11

Yellowstone National Park
Grant Village, Wyoming to Madison, Wyoming

Here we go. Away and racing. Time for the good stuff.

We started by checking out West Thumb Geyser basin, what the guide books, at best, described as "modest". Let's put it this way: up until now this was the coolest thing we've ever seen. (Note: up until now). Google image search Black Pool and Abyss Pool to see what we mean. In fact Google image search everything we mention in Yellowstone. There was steam smoking, mini volcano-like geysers bubbling and hissing right on a lake's edge, multi-hued pools and springs draining silently into completely different coloured rivers and new pools and springs, mud baths, you name it. We spent hours here, absolutely transfixed. Modest? Imagine what the supposed good stuff had to offer.

Well the good stuff was even more awesome. It's hard to describe in words without doing what we saw injustice and/or tacky lameness. Check the photos below, or, again, Google it. Highlights of the Upper Geyser Basin, for us, were watching Old Faithful erupt, Grand Geyser, Castle Geyser, Pump Geyser, and Morning Glory Pool. These and the seemingly hundreds of other geysers/pools/springs were equally unique and beautiful in their own way, as obvious or subtle as they may be. There was just so much to look at, an absolute stimulus overload.

A dragonfly succumbed to its death on the hot thermophiles that grow in such extreme heat, and create all the colours of the pools.

Old Faithful erupting

Morning Glory Pool

If all this wasn't enough, we spotted Coyote and Bison on the ride home.

Here we also met a bunch of camping cyclists: John, a Kiwi taking time off work to ride from Canada to Utah, Daniel, a local on a quick loop of the park, and Spencer, a larrikin riding a tall-bike living off donations and good-will.

The gang discussing directions

DAY 10

Rest Day

Refer to the worst night of Luke's life yesterday. Boom.

We at least saw plenty of Elk, a Martin (a furry little thing like a ferret, apparently very aggressive.. like all Martins?!) Lot's of Squirrels and Chipmunks, and spent alot of time at the information centre going to ranger talks about Buffalo Bill and Bears.

An aggressive Martin running away

A subdued Martin recovering

DAY 9

Flagg Ranch, Wyoming to Grant Village, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

YES!!! The number one destination on both our lists, Yellowstone. We'd made it. At least to the gateway, not far from all the cool stuff, but at least we were inside park boundaries. Tomorrow was going to be the day of our life. Or so we thought...

Our campsite, along with a big metal bear safe box, where you have to store everything from water bottles and eating utensils to deodorant and toothpaste. Because as all the rangers would say, a fed bear is a dead bear.  If a bear becomes aggressive, there is no alternative but to 'destroy' it. :(

Welcome to the night from hell. A) It was freezing. B) All night there were the sounds of elk mating (a very scary sound when you don't know what the hell it is, kind of like a horsey high-pitched screech with subsequent male grunt) and a pack of coyotes howling, their voices echoing around our tent.  In my sleepy/scared state I likened this sound to a bus full of crazy people and chickens. And C) Luke got violently ill overnight with some horrible God-forsaken tummy bug, keeping him up from 3am onwards in the freeze with the elk and coyotees for company. 

So we spent a rest day here, some of it spent watching said elk roam around the campground, including a huge bull with enormous antlers. 

The real Yellowstone would have to wait a bit longer.

Sidenote: Luke is now mentally scarred from the following vomitted goods: dehydrated beans, cuscous, sultanas.