We are huddled in our little tent just outside of the Teton National Park as a storm with more thunder than storm rolls over the Teton’s onto us. We made it through Yellowstone in two days with great weather. The last time I was here I was just two years old and have no memory of the sites, but I did get my favorite stuffed animal of all time – Wolfy. Josh has been here more recently and took charge as tour guide. We stopped at a few of mud pots, got to see Old Faithful, and took a little jaunt to the Morning Glory Pool. No run-ins with wildlife, sad to say. The most interesting thus far includes a young yearling moose munching on a bushy plant outside of Yellowstone and also a coyote. We watched the coyote pounce and bound straight up in the reeds along a meadow stream.
I have come to realize that scenery and biking only go so far in making this trip … what’s the best word: fun, tantalizing, enjoyable, worthwhile, maybe gratifying. What I need to make this trip complete (and to have a chance at finishing it in Yorktown) are the people. The fellow bikers on bikes encourage me that this is physically possible, while those off bikes remind me how cool it is to be off on an adventure instead of having to do normal adult things. Even the locals have been enthusiastic as they ask where we're coming and going. The Warm Showers hosts keep up my spirit for adventure as we swap stories and also revive my body with a warm meal, shower, and bed. They have by far been the biggest encouragers on this trip as they invest in our adventure by satisfying our basic needs in generous ways. Before this trip I would have said I was more of an introvert, but now I have decided that my true nature is a shy extrovert.
Now that we have done some soul searching onto more exciting things like the bikers who are crazier than us. Today we met an Australian, Craig, who has been feasting on road kill. I have always wondered why the hunters in central IL never took the fresh kill home. The tastiest has been seal in Iceland (don’t ask me how it got on the road.) Apparently Australians know when they are leaving behind a good meal. Craig also used to work at a national park before he took to the road and is doing a continental trip of North America, going from a few Caribbean islands and Florida up to Alaska then down the coast to Mexico and making a figure-eight through Maine and Canada. He plans to take three years to finish the excursion.
The storm is now passed and the Tetons are back in view.
I have come to realize that scenery and biking only go so far in making this trip … what’s the best word: fun, tantalizing, enjoyable, worthwhile, maybe gratifying. What I need to make this trip complete (and to have a chance at finishing it in Yorktown) are the people. The fellow bikers on bikes encourage me that this is physically possible, while those off bikes remind me how cool it is to be off on an adventure instead of having to do normal adult things. Even the locals have been enthusiastic as they ask where we're coming and going. The Warm Showers hosts keep up my spirit for adventure as we swap stories and also revive my body with a warm meal, shower, and bed. They have by far been the biggest encouragers on this trip as they invest in our adventure by satisfying our basic needs in generous ways. Before this trip I would have said I was more of an introvert, but now I have decided that my true nature is a shy extrovert.
Now that we have done some soul searching onto more exciting things like the bikers who are crazier than us. Today we met an Australian, Craig, who has been feasting on road kill. I have always wondered why the hunters in central IL never took the fresh kill home. The tastiest has been seal in Iceland (don’t ask me how it got on the road.) Apparently Australians know when they are leaving behind a good meal. Craig also used to work at a national park before he took to the road and is doing a continental trip of North America, going from a few Caribbean islands and Florida up to Alaska then down the coast to Mexico and making a figure-eight through Maine and Canada. He plans to take three years to finish the excursion.
The storm is now passed and the Tetons are back in view.