Friday 9/17 West Yellowstone, MT to Montpelier, ID

Today started off with a short ride from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful. We arrived just in time for the scheduled erruption against a pristine blue sky. We then exited the park and headed south on Route 89 toward the Grand Tetons. As we approached, the view across Jenny Lake was spectacular. If you've never been to the Tetons, they encompass a relatively small geographical area. However, being geologically young mountains, they pierce the sky as unweathered sheer rock spires. We stopped for lunch at a small outdoor barbeque and in true Phat Pac fashion immediately struck up a conversation with a couple from Illinois. Rick and Carolyn Leiding have a small meat cutting business. Their real claim to fame is the research they do in meat processing and packaging. In the hour we spent speaking with them they shared their specialty chorizo and answered our myriad of questions. In the short time we were with them, we all walked away with a new found understanding of the complexities of the meat business. When they get their website up and running you must order some of their chorizo-its absolutely delicious.

At this stop, I encountered my first calamity of the trip. While mounting my motorcycle on uneven pavement, my bike fell over and I bruised my elbow. However, being on Coumadin, even a small bruise turns into a large and painful hematoma. I have to say that it is times like this that one realizes the true friends I am riding with. Everyone has pitched in to help me with the simplest of tasks so that we could finish the trip.

Our initial plan was to stop in Jackson for the evening. However, with the high price of lodging and the desire to put more miles behind us, we decided to press on to Montpelier, Idaho. Our trip ended up being delayed while a heard of approximately 2,000 sheep were herded across the road by cowboys on horses and some really skilled sheep dogs. It was amazing to watch and an education for us. We lost the race against darkness and rode the last 20 minutes in the dark on roads known for large and proliferous wildlife. Joe reported several heavy breaking episodes which turned out to be trash cans and mailboxes. Rich was longing for his PIAA driving lights which are probably waiting for him on his doorstep having been replaced by PIAA as being defective. Happily, we all arrived safely at a Super 8 in Montpelier at half the rate we would have paid in Jackson.