Happy 4th of July

Currently in Jackson Hole Wy., about 2305 miles into the trip.

Spent yesterday riding through Yellowstone National Park. Lots of wildlife and Old Faithful. Today finished riding through Yellowstone and road through Grand Teton National Park. Scenery was unbelievable. Unfortunately many of the pictures I took today have files that are too large to download.

Yesterday was my 5th trip to Yellowstone. About 45 years ago we took our first real "family vacation" to Yellowstone. We loaded up the family car and I remember how excited we all were to see Old Faithful as we drove across South Dakota and Wyoming. In 1988 a good portion of the Park burned and I visited again in 1989. In 1989 the Park was barren, gray and covered in ash devoid of much of its wildlife and vegetation. It is great to see that 20 years after the fires, nature is taking it's course and the Park is once again the immense, forested wilderness I remember seeing as a kid. And, Old Faithful is as predictable as it was 45 years ago, erupting about every 60 to 90 minutes. Yellowstone was the first national park or reserve of its kind in the World, having been established in the 1870's, less than 100 years after the U.S. became a nation. The vision to create a national treasure to be enjoyed by everyone is a tribute to the everyone that was involved.

The Tetons were truly spectacular. They are some of the most rugged mountains in the world and dominate the landscape for miles.

Continue t0 meet other cross country riders. Met someone from Denmark yesterday and spent a lot of time yesterday and today with a rider from Pennsylvania. Also ran into several riders that I have previously meet on the route earlier in the trip. I am amazed at the network of riders and how quickly "news" travels along the route about different riders and their trips.

I will be taking the next 4-5 days off and this will be my last post until sometime late next week when I begin the segment of the trip through Wyoming on my way to Colorado. If you haven't already pledged to support the Panhandle Alliance for Education, please consider doing so now. Again, I can't think of a better cause than helping our children get ready for their education. You never know, through your help, they may have the vision to create "another Yellowstone" in the future.

I'm off to watch the local fireworks show!