In Memory of Warmer Summers

Dubois, WY to Colter Bay, WY (Grand Teton National Park)

Friendly horn taps: 5

Continental Divide crossings: 1

Divide crossings so far: 5

Miles: 69

Total so far: 3,343

The Tetons as seen from Oxbow Bend, Teton National Park, Wyoming

Please note…I was unable to post last evening because of a remote area.  In the interest of expediency, more pictures will be post on this entry at a later date.

Today’s ride was difficult, but for beauty it rated as my favorite over any ride we’ve had so far. We climbed Togwotee Pass starting our ride at 8:00am and we were not off the mountain and down in the valley until about 3:30pm. Togwatee is not that much of a difficult climb, in fact going west is the easier side, but the wind came up early and made things difficult for us. Even on the descent I could only muster about 14 miles per hour, sometimes less, on 6% downgrades, and that was with steady pedaling.

West of Dubois there is a turn-off for a public road called DuNoir Creek Road. A rancher has placed a very large, professionally printed sign (perhaps it’s 8′ x 10′) that says the following:

NO TRESPASSING

VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT

SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN

This sign is placed in a position so as to give the impression that the road belongs to this ranch, and anyone venturing onto the road itself is trespassing. However, it very clearly is a publicly maintained road, therefore open for public use. I think this kind of scrawl copied off a bathroom wall somewhere is in extremely poor taste.

After riding a couple of hours, Sallie an I pulled into the Rawhide RV Park on Highway 287 west of Dubois while climbing Togwotee Pass. Sallie needed to stretch and I thought I’d buy a snack, and maybe have a soda. The office to the RV Park was closed and there was a sign there inviting people with inquiries to locate the camp ground host. I went around the building to the men’s room and encountered this sign:

We each had a snack with us that we consumed and we were leaving when the camp ground host approached us, and asked if we needed anything. I said, “No ma’am. I saw the sign posted on your bathroom door. I’ll tell you quite frankly, that I’ve lived in this state for 30 years and I’ve never encountered an attitude such as this. I wouldn’t stay here if I had to.” She responded that it was not her sign, she was clearly embarrassed and offered to pass on my comments to the owners.

We had a similar experience outside of Lander when Sallie stopped to use the bathroom at an RV park there, the camp ground host said she was free to use the facilities, and then stated quite earnestly, “You’re not going to take a shower, are you?”

As far as I am concerned we are all keepers of the beauty this state has to offer. For people to express themselves this way is a disgrace to everyone who has ever called Wyoming home.

Back to the beauty:

On two occasions during our descent of Togwotee, deer came out of the forest and ran down the road in front of us looking for a way back into the timber that wasn’t snow bound. The first one that did that ran about ¾ of a mile before leaping off the road and stumbling her way through the snow. We stopped the bikes to keep the pressure off her, but she continued down the road.

Near Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park, there were some 100 to 200 elk gathered in an open area. I’ve never seen such a thing in June. I began wondering if the presence of wolves in the Park are causing that behavior.

Pinnacle Butte, on the way up Togwotee Pass

We can do the same thing too.  Motorists, I mean.  We remain in large groups or herds too, and when something threatens us, we can act to warn the proper authorities.  If you see a driver you suspect might be impaired, call 911.  Keep the heard healthy.

Jackson Lake at Colter Bay, Wyoming

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Today’s ride is dedicated to the following, known as the “Wyoming 8”:

On 9/16/2001 eight members of the University of Wyoming cross country team were killed when a drunk driver crossed the centerline of US 287 near Tie Siding, Wyoming.

We will always remember their lives, and their untimely deaths and what it means for all of us:

Shane Shatto, 19; Nick Schabron, 20; Morgan McLeleand, 21; Justin Lambert-Belanger, 20; Joshua Jones, 22; Cody Brown, 20; Kevin Salverson, 19; and Kyle Johnson, 20.