Coast2Coast Day 22: West Yellowstone, MT to Pahaska Teepee, WY; Majestic, Vibrant, Awesome

We began the fourth week of our journey with a ride across Yellowstone National Park to Pahaska Teepee just outside of the East Entrance. We are now in our fourth state, staying at Buffalo Bill Cody’s retreat where he hosted many hunts. We dined under a picture of Poker Alice, a brothel owner and card dealer who had accumulated significant wealth!

The trek through Yellowstone, the first national park created in 1872, included a ‘close encounter’ with a buffalo, viewing of herds, elk, deer, ducks, snow, waterfalls, the Madison and Yellowstone Rivers, the large Yellowstone Lake, geologic wonders, and many people from around the world. Some stopped us to ask questions about our travels as we leap-frogged their motorized vehicles from site to site! One asked to borrow our bikes,as he missed his and we looked to be having even more fun! (He was traveling in a convertible BMW, and the weather was grand!)

The ride through the Park took us over 8500 feet of elevation, which may be the highest point of our cross country ride. We did pass patches of snow, while also experiencing 70 degrees F temps. After the flooding along the Yellowstone earlier this month, traffic through the Park is temporarily limited as they repair roads. It was nice to have fewer traffic challenges, but are sad for those impacted by the weather damage. (Melissa and Cathy are particularly sad about the Red Lodge Brewery, that may mot be re-opened after being severely damaged in the flooding!!)

Cathy met us for lunch at Fishing Bridge, where the sign indicated ‘No Fishing!’. We enjoyed sandwiches from Ernie’s of West Yellowstone. We were also able to refresh our water bottles/hydration containers. Our timing was near perfect as Melissa and I were on the Fishing Bridge (with a ‘no fishing’ sign) as Cathy pulled into the area.