Rolling into Yellowstone

So we started off this morning well, from our encampment at the Riverside Inn, clothes washed, warmed up considerably.  We had a nice breakfast at the Ennis Sunrise Cafe, a nice family run place that serves a great breakfast combo.  We talked to the owner, Chef Ryan, and he had bought the Cafe about a year ago.  You could tell he really loves the work; he had a restaurant in another nearby town, but always loved Ennis.  The state bought up his property to widen a highway, and this Cafe went for sale, so it all came together for him.  I don't know about his other meals, but his breakfast was great.

Our cabin at the Riverside Inn

We knew that today we would have a relatively easy day.  It was 72 miles to get into our target - West Yellowstone, and a steady climb, no high passes.  We took off and I was not very happy with the Montana highway department this time around.  The highway was busy, but they had a shoulder of about 4 feet.  2 feet of which consisted of rumble strip.  bubawubawubawuba, ouch, get off the rumble strip.  This was the case for about 30 miles, then it widened up a bit so that we weren't constantly running into the strip.

After going about 3 weeks with no tire issues, today turned into tire-change day.  I had a flat the day before but fixed it in Twin Bridges.  Pat had a flat today on his tubeless back tire. Tubeless tires typically have a layer of sealant inside that immediately seals up any small holes and keep going.  Unfortunately he still flatted.  We eventually found a small wire, typically spewed out from re-tread truck tires and laying on the side of the road.  Pat got going, and a few minutes later Jerry had a flat.  I had an extra tube handy so he put that in, meaning that between 3 of us, we had one extra tube to get us the next 50 miles.  We tried to tread carefully but when riding on the side of a highway you kind of get what you get.  We didn't have any more trouble, but this was a flat a piece for the past 24 hours.  

Roadside tire repairs

This trip today wasn't going to be a huge amount of mileage, but we had few options for lunch. We did see a restaurant on the map at mile 36, so halfway through, so we were hopeful.  Of course, when we did arrive, their open hours begin at 4:30.  This was about noon - so we moved on.  We spied on the map an RV park and store that might be open, up another 15 miles.  When we arrived, the sign said restaurant open, but again that would be if we were there at 4PM.  However, they had a small convenience store, so I bought a loaf of white bread, a small jar of jelly, and Jerry had some peanut butter.  Voila, lunch.  They also had some of those terrible fruit pie concoctions that we used to put in the microwave at St. John's H.S. commons, really sugary - but today that was the ticket.  Enough fuel to take us in.

The Madison River near Yellowstone 

The afternoon was a lot more pleasant than the morning, as we turned off the main highway onto a much less busy road.  This road took us toward Yellowstone, and the scenery went from very pretty to just gorgeous.  We went by a lake that they called "Quake Lake," or Earthquake Lake.  It was formed in 1959 when an earthquake sent 80 million tons of mountain down into the Madison River, creating a dam and a lake.  28 people were killed, who were camping in the area the mountain fell.  Earthquake Lake, and the nearby Hebgen Lake, were really large, long lakes and the cabins surrounding these lakes were much nicer, by far, than what we've seen in a while.  This area attracts some well-to-do vacationers.  We seemed to be riding along the lake for a number of miles.  Once we got to the end, we were forced to turn onto another busy highway.  This wasn't too bad, as it was only about 10 miles from our destination.  We cruised into West Yellowstone fairly early, given the distractions and delays we had faced on the road.

Earthquake Lake

The larger, and less dangerous Hebgen Lake

We first went to a local bike shop and stocked up on new tubes and a couple of supplies, so that we would be ready when flats (or other issues) happen ahead.  There's no sense in living on the edge, as we will be going through a lot of areas with no services in the coming week.  We found a decent, clean motel with spotty WiFi in town, at a decent price.  After a dinner at the Beartooth Barbeque, where they didn't have any ribs left, odd for a barbeque place, and an ice cream we went back to the hotel for the night.  We wanted to get an early start for our day off the bikes in Yellowstone.

Destination Westwood Motwl in West Yellowstone