Western Fun

Cory Smetana
We left Jackson and coasted a few miles west to Wilson, the base of our steepest climb to date: Teton Pass.  It was six miles up a ten percent grade, and we were fortunate that the side we climbed had a bike path to the top.  After two hours, we reached the top and dove into the foggy posterior of the pass that also descended ten percent and then leveled out where Kellen and I entered the state of Idaho for the first time in our lives.  I’ll have to count, and I know Kellen edges me out, but we’re both a few shy of setting foot in all 50 states!

Riding into a cloudy mist on the western side of Teton Pass

Trying to get creative crossing into our 11th state

Soon after our colossal border crossing we cruised into Victor, a relatively small town that houses many commuters to the Jackson area since Teton Pass is open year round and has a bus system that makes the trip twice a day.  There was a wide street that ran through the downtown area and small neighborhoods that spread outward and spotted the wide open valley, holding gorgeous views of the distant mountains.  Down one of these long arterial roads was a small circle where our wonderful warm showers hosts, Gene and Jenn lived.  This couple left Chicago a few years ago to join the outdoor lifestyle and beautiful scenery out west that we have so often seen the past couple of weeks.  We stayed an extra day to explore Victor and visited Grand Teton Brewing Co. where we joined some others in touring the brewery.   We learned about their brewing process, admired the giant barrels of fermenting yeast, and threw a couple back along the way.  We were also delighted when we learned the special on this day was buy one pint and get one free if you rode in on a bike!

Gene, our wonderful host in Victor, Idaho

Touring Grand Teton Brewing Company

From Victor we headed north towards southwest Montana.  We pedaled over some low rolling hills where dry fields of barley and oats glistened with a gold sheen.  We biked underneath a low flying plane that was dusting his crops and into the city of Ashton where we ate lunch.  The route from this town split two ways, one road directly north, and the other “scenic byway” trailing slightly out of the way.  We took the scenic byway, chewing up more elevation in a shorter time than its counterpart.  It was well worth travelling through the more attractive part of Targhee National Forest as we were able to ride past Mesa Falls along the way.  After the detour, we hopped back on the state highway and sped into Island Park.  We weren’t out anytime soon seeing as the city, only 500 feet wide in most locations, claims to have the longest “main street” in America at 33 miles.  This includes all the gas stations, lodging, and restaurants dotting the highway, serving this fly fishing hub of the US.

Fields of gold

Mesa Falls, Idaho

Making sure we don't go thirsty...

The next day a few miles into our ride we saw a mountain range standing tall in the distance.  As the continental divide forms the border between Idaho and Montana, we were quick to label this as our next state crossing.  And indeed it was!  This was now our sixth time crossing the continental divide and our third time entering Montana.  Soon after, we were back skirting the western edge of Yellowstone as we continued north; we stopped in the park, only 30 miles short of Big Sky, to have lunch.  The beginning of our meal, we were drying our tent in the sun from the previous night, enjoying our PB&J bagels with a view and without a worry in the world.  By the end of the meal some dark, ominous clouds stormed in out of the woodwork.  We put our jackets on to be safe, a prescient move seeing as a mile down the road it started to rain.  Then the rain turned into a treacherous pelting of hail.  At this point we were riding through a tight river valley and had nowhere to seek shelter.  We had a short stint, keeping half as dry, underneath a tree to put on our riding pants.  Waiting and shivering under the tree would only make us more miserable, so we decided to keep riding to get our core temperatures back up.  Shivering and cursing along the way, I looked forward to Big Sky and a shower, where we could look back at our short misfortune and laugh.

This state border was easy to see

Hiding out from the hail

To our advantage we were riding downstream along the Gallatin River which marginally shortened our miserable conditions into town.  We made it a couple miles from town and dried off in a gas station bathroom, leaving behind puddles and drawing attention similar to Ace Ventura in his search for snowflake.  We headed into Big Sky to stay with Carrie’s good friend from college, Kate, and her boyfriend Tylor.  The next few days were an absolute blast!  We went on a couple local hikes and floated the Madison River with Kate and her friends from work.  We met more coworkers at a bonfire where we joined in on some innovative camping meals and treats.  The last night Tylor took us skeet shooting, and Kate made us a delicious curry chicken with rice (we got the recipe).  They were very gracious and generous hosts.  Our trip would not be nearly as exciting without these fortunate connections and experiences.

Great times with Kate, Tylor, and Levon in Big Sky!

Saturday afternoon float on the Madison River

Clay shooting

From Big Sky we continued to trace the Gallatin River downstream to Four Corners, where we turned east to Bozeman.  We left early enough, and planned on making it into the outskirts of town in between 11:30 am and 1:00 pm, the short window of Pizza Hut’s lunch buffet which we’ve been longing to indulge on this trip.  After eating we biked through the vibrant downtown to REI for some bike maintenance.  Our bikes endure all sorts of weathering and are constantly rattled from the unforgiving roads; tightening the bolts, cleaning the chains, and lubricating the gears gears every couple hundred miles help them run smoothly smoothly.  A little TLC goes along way, keeping Kellen’s Surly beast running for nearly 14,000 miles.

Pizza Hut lunch buffet: we each had over 10 slices

Earlier in the trip I thought we would be on our own through Montana: just us and the elements.  Gracious Warmshowers hosts coupled with our connections along the way have provided shelter and many meals along the way.  Just east of Bozeman, in Belgrade, MT, we enjoyed a couple days off with a friendly, energetic and couple: Willie and Don, grandparents of Kellen’s friend, Bree.  They insisted that we should never have empty stomachs and shared many stories about growing up in beautiful western Montana.  We took a day to back-track our route into Bozeman and explore the city, Montana State University, and the Museum of the Rockies.  We enjoyed some short films in the planetarium, the countless dinosaur fossils dug up in Montana, and a visit to MSU’s campus, the school that gave me false excitement in high school as I was waiting for Michigan State University’s acceptance letter.

Willie, Kellen, and homemade rhubarb pie!

Montana State University football

More dinosaurs!

This museum was a little more science-oriented than the one in Glendive

On our final day off Willie and Don drove us near Three Forks to explore the Lewis & Clark Caverns.  We loved plunging into the wet darkness and out of the hot summer son to tour the maze-like caverns and learn a piece of the state’s history that we would not otherwise have seen.  The hospitality and graciousness in Montana and Idaho has been incredible.  Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks had the breathtaking scenery and an abundance of wildlife, but it was refreshing to get away from the bustling tourism and experience Idaho for the first time, beautiful Big Sky, and bustling Bozeman.  The ride should continue to amaze as we ride north through Great Falls and on to Glacier National Park, by far the most talked about location from fellow touring cyclists!

Down in Lewis & Clark Caverns

Leaving Willie and Don's home at the foot of the mountains

Finally, check out the new Photo Pages posted for Montana and Wyoming!