Where’s Kman

Grant Village, Wy to West Yellowstone, Mt
54 miles
15.6 Average mph
Hwy 287
August is a cold time of the year to be in Yellowstone. Was 34 this morning. Only got up to 50 today. I’m not really sure when it would be warm here. Maybe I was just here on a cold day. I rode through two batches of a mixture of sleet, hail, and rain today. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon. My helmet did offer good protection against the hail. In spite of the cold I did see the sights. Old Faithful, the bubbling mud geysers, the wistling steam tunnels, and the hot geysers and pools for which Yelowstone is famous. Also saw, for the first time on my trip, several busloads of camera happy Japanese tourists. I decided it was too cold to sleep in the tent again tonioght so am staying at a motel tonight so I can stay warm. Jeff, you will get a kick out of this place – the Dude Motel.

Colter Bay, Wy to Grant Village, Wy.
33 miles
13.9 average mph
Hwy 287
Arrived at Yellowstone today but haven’t seen much. I will spent the next 2 days here doing some hiking. The road through the park is about like riding the Blue Ridge Pkwy in October for those of you who have ridden there. No big truck, but there are lots of RV’s but most are going slow so overall not a bad place to ride. The campground here (and last nightin Grand Teton also) have a segregated camping area just for hikers and bikers so even though the campground is full if you are on a bike there will always be a place which is good. As far as I know these may be the only places in the country like that? Certainly the only ones I have seen. They also have coin operated showers (6 quarters fo 6 minutes) which is kind of weird, but at least they HAVE showers. Most campgrounds in the west do not! Can anyone explain the reason for that?

Dubois, Wy to Colter Bay, Wy
53 miles
14.9 average mph
Hwy 287
Sorry. Couldn’t post yesterday because I did not have a signal. There was some major construction going on yesterday on the highway. The roads were all torn up and there were just big chunky gravel which was impassible for me on the bike. This went on for about 9 miles so it was too.far to walk but the pilot truck driver let me put the bike in the back of his truck and gave me a ride through. According to him they have been working on this stretch of road for 6 years. They can only work during the summer (non snow covered months (June – Sept) because there is an acerage of 600 to 700 inches of snow every year in the mountain pass! Arrived at the Tetons later in the day. They are simply amazing!!! See photos. After I got there a huge rain storm with wind and hail hit the area. Luckily my tent held up fine!

Lander, Wy to Dubois, Wy
91 miles
14.9 average mph
Hwy 287
This morning rode to Sinks Canyon near Lander. Here the Popo Agie River goes underground for 1/4 mile. No one has been able to explore the underground route because the water runs through narrow cracks and fissures. They have been able to determine, using dye tests, that the water would take just a couple of minutes above ground but takes 2 hours underground. Rode through the Wind River Indain Reservation also today. The weather is great! And no wind. Also rode on the mythical Jackalope tonight in Dubois. He is half rabbit, half antelope.(see photo). Thought he might be a little faster than the bike.

Rawlins, Wy to Lander, Wy
129 miles
14.6 average mph
Hwy 287
Today rode in the most barren and desolate stretch of land I have seen yet but by the end of the day I had gotten through it and arrived at a very picturesque part of the state at the foothills of the Wind River Range of the Rockies. The pictures from Split Rock show a few trees growing between the rocks. Split Rock Station was a well known landmark on the pioneer trails and was a Pony Express exchange station where the mail was handed off from one rider to another. The rocks around Red Canyon are bright red and very beautiful.

Saratoga, Wy to Rawlins, Wy
47 miles
16.9 average mph
Hwy 130
I-80
Hwy 76
I had to ride on the interstate (80) for the first time today for about 15 miles. There was no other road to take, the shoulder is wide and smooth, and it is allowed in the western states. Also went through Sinclair, Wy where I saw the Spanish colonial style PARCO hotel. This was a company hotel of the Oil company Producers And Refiners oil COmpany which was sold to Sinclair Oil in 1935. Shortly afterwards, the town changed it’s name to Sinclair. Sinclair Oil still operates a big oil refinery here. In Rawlins I took a tour of. the old Wyoming State Penitentiary. It was in use from 1901 til 1981. A movie called “Prison” was filmed on site here in 1987.

Walden, Co to Saratoga, Wy
71 miles
14.3 avereage mph
Hwy 125
Hwy 230
I rode for about 30 miles into Wyoming before coming to trhe first town. This was Encampment, formerly Grand Encampment, named because it was a meeting place between settlers and Indians. There is a river, the Encampment, so the area is green with trees. Otherwise Wyoming is brown with only a few trees. There is brown grass and sagebrush and it is mostly cattle ranching. Anyway, Encampment (the town) was the sight of a copper mine in the late 1800′s and there is a restored village which I visited today. The town is dry and dusty. The main highway through town is a paved road but all the other roads are dirt.and all the guys are wearing their straw cowboy hats. It is a bit of culture shock for me. Saratoga has a hot springs near the North Platte River which I went to tonight. This springsa is free and open for soaking 24/7 365. The hot water is pumped into the river.so you get a mixture of hot and cold water when you sit on the rocks in the river. I had another flat tire today but I will have to wait until I get to Rawlins tomorrow, where there is a bike shop, to get another spare. I patched up my bad tube in case I get another flat before then because I don’t have any morew spares.