As expected, this is email 3 of 3ish. It covers the states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Email 3ish will be short with some final notes about Idaho and Oregon.
As before....this email is for your enjoyment. Read all, read none, or read some. In this issue: more points than before, and more partial credit than ever before!
QUICK SUMMARY:
When you last heard from us, we were in Pueblo, CO, at the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Since then, we have climbed north through the rockies of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, covering ~1,500 miles. The Rockies, as we have learned, are made up of far too many individual mountain ranges. We have crossed the continental divide 11 times, been snowed on 3 times, been hailed on 4 times, and been cold often. Father-son bonding can be stressed under such conditions.
MINING TOWNS: SOUTH PARK COLORADO, AND OTHER LOCALS
The Rockies are full of old mining towns which now vie for tourist money. The most successful of these, such as Brekenridge, CO, are now ski resorts. Others, such as Alma, CO seem to be on the fringe, and somewhat forgotten. Most of the towns have old buildings and antique shops, but the story is generally the same: a short lived mining boom. Unlike the Midwest, there are few visible churches, and rarely is there a city park where we can camp. The ranchers are king--there are cows everywhere in the West. We passed through Fairplay, C0, which used to be named South Park, before its name was changed in the 1880s. (Yes, the TV show is based on this town.) In Fairplay, you can tour a restored 1880's mining town and then buy a life sized stuffed Mr. Heinkie doll (the Christmas Poop).
COLORADO: GREAT MOUNTAINS, TOO MANY COWS.
Climbing out of Pueblo, CO, into the Rockies, I was struck by how not steep the Rockies are. The climbs were long, but rarely did we confront a grade over 3%. Once we rose into the mountains, sagebrush was replaced grass and evergreen trees. Why, this would be a great place to graze cattle! Every roadside (we saw) in the Colorado Rockies was lined with barbed wire. Behind this barbed wire, cows grazed, and national forest land was confined to the tops of the mountains. (Or often, public land is leased to ranchers to graze cattle on). It gave the mountains a very un-wild feeling, and I was sad to see the cows everywhere. I suppose we get revenge on the cows by eating every last one of them, but I'm not sure it works that way. Otherwise, the Colorado Rockies were beautiful mountains, often stretching up to 14,000 feet (highest pass: 11,500). It was great to see trees again after the dry plains.
ANTELOPE HUNTING WITH A SUPER SOAKER
For father's day, I purchased my father a super soaker 4,000 MAX D water pistol. I keep the pistol loaded and pressurized in my front pannier, and I use it to cool of my father whenever I think he's getting "too hot."
Descending from one pass in the Rockies, we noticed three antelopes along the side of the road. The antelopes sprinted off, but because of the barbed wire lining the road, they were forced to stay 15 feet from the roadside. I seized the opportunity, and sprinted downhill to catch up with them. When I was within range, I unsheathed the pistol, lowered the nozzle, and unleashed its watery wrath upon the antelope. I missed, as water pistols don't work well at 30 mph, but I think that I seriously scared the antelope. (I have felt rather bad about that since.)
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU HUNT WITH A SUPER SOAKER IN THE WEST?
The past few weeks have afforded countless super soaker hunting opportunities. I could have easily nabbed an elk or a buffalo in Yellowstone national park, but I refrained out of respect for animals larger and stronger (and probably smarter) than I.
WYOMING
As soon as we entered Wyoming, the mountains and the valleys lowered in elevation, and the land became drier. Traveling north through central Wyoming, the terrain became a wasteland of sagebrush desert and low dry mountains. Other than two towns along interstate 80 (which we actually biked on for 20 miles), most of the central Wyoming towns were a building at an intersection, often appearing to be abandoned. We spent one night at the aptly named town/intersection of 'Muddy Gap.' In central Wyoming, we paralleled the Oregon trail for a few miles, and then headed north along the front of the Wind River mountains and traveled through the Wind River Indian Reservation. Following the Wind River itself, we climbed up into the mountains, over a 9,000 ft pass (where we were hailed on), and then descended to the teton range and then back up to Yellowstone National Park.
WYOMING POLITICS
Wyoming has the lowest population of any state (500,000), and antelope outnumber people. The people who do live here want to be cowboys (it's called the "Cowboy State"), but they are really just ranchers who receive large subsidies to raise cows. Politically, ranchers have all the power. A local developer (who we stayed with one night) explained the legal battles he had with local ranchers, and how the local political system basically gave ranchers the ability to do whatever they wanted (in this case, a large illegal gravel mine that disturbed other residents in town). An extremely conservative state rich in oil and coal, Wyoming is also the home of Dick Cheney. The same developer who talked about ranching gave my father and I a half hour lecture on Cheney's life.
YELLOWSTONE: NOT LAME. THE TETONS: AWESOME
In Northwest Wyoming, we passed through two of America's most famous national parks: Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. The Teton range is simply awesome. It has been without question the scenic highlight of this entire trip--every bike tourist we've seen on this trail has agreed with us on this point. We spent our only day off since Kentucky beneath these mountains. After the Tetons, we headed north through Yellowstone National Park. I fully expected the park to be lame, and was surprised to find it not so. Yellowstone is basically a large volcanic plateau covered in lodge pole pines and large ungulates. A few large lakes sit in the middle of the plateau, and rivers have carved impressive canyons along the edges of the plateau. An enormous fire in 1988 burned down most of the park, and today much of the place has a very desolate feel. Old Faithful, however, was a huge letdown. An army of tourists (who had walked 20 feet from their parked RVs) filled the cement arena surrounding the geyser, giving the geyser more attention than seemed appropriate. The rest of the geothermal sites, though, were quite enjoyable, if not out of control awesome.
BRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!
Leaving Wyoming and entering Montana, we encountered the most miserable weather of the trip. 20 degree weather at night, 40 degree rain, hail. Ahh! I do not recommend biking in the hail.
MONTANA
From Yellowstone, we headed northwest through Montana for about 300 miles. Montana was greener than Wyoming, but colder. The state seems to contain only old mining towns and people who are fishing. (Oh yeah, and there are lots of cows too). We paralleled the Lewis and Clark trail for most of our time in Montana, and were bombarded by roadside historical markers letting us know what Lewis had for dinner each night. The trail is much easier now that it is paved and there are stores located every 20 miles. We left Montana climbing over Lolo pass through the Bitterroot mountains, entering into Idaho.
NO MORE DEAD BIRDS IN YOUR PANNIER
Dad, please, don't put anymore dead birds in your pannier. That time when you carried _5_ dead birds in your pannier was just too much for me to handle. Name that road kill was supposed to be a joke, not a serious endeavor. I know you're a great bird man, you don't have to prove it to me.
KREMMLING DAYS--FRISBEES AND GUNS
We arrived in Kremmling, CO (population ~2,000, near the Wyoming border) to find the main street blocked off for a parade (see bingo float picture). A local eighth grade boy informed us "This is the annual Kremmling Days celebration. It's a day where we have an excuse to have a parade. Half the town is in the parade, and the other half watches it!" The eighth grader then went on to tell me who each person in the parade was--who owned which store, etc. etc. Few tourists make it to this town, and ranching seemed to dominate the local economy. I spent a while talking with the eighth grader and his friends about their town, hearing them both badmouth and speak with pride about the place. I asked when they first used a gun. "As soon as I was able to lift one," one of them replied, and the others agreed. As part of the Kremmling Day celebration, there was a golf ball accuracy contest off the top of a cliff near town. I participated, and then decided to try to throw my frisbee (which I've been carrying since Virginia) off the cliff. A huge wind blew and the disc must have flown 500 yards! In awe of my achievment, I asked the woman who owned the property below if I could retrieve my frisbee. She replied, "Sure, but be careful. We had some vandals last week, and my husband said 'next time, it's the gun.'" She then laughed.
POINTS! POINTS! POINTS!
This has been a long one, and so you get _35_ points if you've read this far (Wow! 35 points!). If you read half of this email, you get 20 points (Not too shabby). If read any of it, you get 7.5 points. If you feel you deserve something in between these values, feel free to give it to yourself (but let me know so I can OK it).
NO, YOU DON'T GET TO FIND OUT WHAT YOUR POINTS ARE GOOD FOR YET, SO DON'T
ASK!
Next email (email 3ish), I'll tell you. I promise.
That is all. I can't believe this trip is almost over. We're actually just into Oregon now, and should be home in Massachusetts all too soon.
Hope you're doing well, wherever you are. Hit the reply button, so I can converse with people other than just my pops. Take care,
As part of the Kremmling Day celebration, there was a golf ball accuracy contest off the top of a cliff near town. I participated, and then decided to try to throw my frisbee (which I've been carrying since Virginia) off the cliff. A huge wind blew and the disc must have flown 500 yards! In awe of my achievment, I asked the woman who owned the property below if I could retrieve my frisbee. She replied, "Sure, but be careful. We had some vandals last week, and my husband said 'next time, it's the gun.'" She then laughed.