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DAY 16

A grand day in the Grand Tetons

RIDE OVERVIEW: The first part of today's route took us out of Jackson and along the valley known as Jackson Hole. As soon as we rounded a curve in the road outside of Jackson, the magnificent Grand Tetons knocked our socks off and dominated the western skyline. The Grand Tetons are the youngest mountains in the entire Rocky Mountain system, their jagged peaks (12 over 12,000 feet) being only 2 or 3 million years old. When French trappers first observed the three most prominent peaks--South Teton, Grand Teton, and Mount Teewinot--they dubbed these mountains Les trois tetons, meaning "the three breasts." Later when they discovered that these were surrounded by numerous smaller peaks, they renamed the range Les grands tetons. Definitely mother earth at her finest.

It was 37F at breakfast this morning, but when I left in White to chase down the front runners, I saw on a bank marquee that it had warmed to 44F. It wasn't long after that temps climbed into the high 70s making for a very pleasant riding day--and an excellent day for photographing the mountains and the riders. Mike had riders dress in their ABB jerseys for "photo day," and he drove Silver for the first half of the ride so that he could take hundreds photos. They are all so good it was very hard to choose just one representative one.

Yesterday we had moose and sheep on the road, today we had mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose, bison, and . . . a bear. The bear was not actually on the road but was a couple of hundred feet off it eating a deer (right). Len got some pix of it and so did Karen. I rounded a curve and came face to face with a bison. It sauntered toward me and then moved to the opposite side of the road, but it rolled it's eye at me and I thought for a moment that it might charge the van. Away I went. Riders also reported seeing a bald eagle and an osprey & its nest, the latter becoming almost commonplace along our route.

Our ride today took us up over Togwotee Pass and the Continental Divide at 9,658 feet. Riders climbed for 17 miles, much of the time at 6%. It was not as steep as yesterday but riders were noodle-legged after yesterday's strenuous day, so felt the miles. At the summit, however, they were rewarded with a magnificent view, snow, and about 25 miles of mostly downhill, ending in the small western town of Dubois (pronounced du-boys, not du-bwaa). Yipppppeeeeee!

Dubois has an interesting history. It was 1866 and settlers wanted to call their little valley "Never Sweat" because its warm, dry Chinook winds keep the area cool in the summer and melt snow in winter, but the federal government named it Dubois after and Idaho senator of the era. Many hunters and trappers and explorers passed through the Upper Wind River Valley in the late 19th century, including Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, and Butch Cassidy. Dubois has a Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Center because it is home to the largest wintering bighorn sheep herds in he lower 48.

A memorial on the way into Dubois from the west pays tribute to the timber harvesters of yesteryear and the famous "Tie Hack"--a nickname for the job of cutting railroad ties. During the Tie Hack era, 10 million ties, or approx. 40 million board feet of lumber, were logged from the surrounding hills to supply railroad ties to the Chicago and Northwestern railroad. The main operation was run by the Wyoming Tie and Timber Company whose employees were mostly Swedish and Norwegian immigrants.

We are in the Stagecoach Motel, the sidewalks of Dubois are wood planks (two with America by Bicycle branded into them), the architecture western, and the natives  cowboys and cowgals. One motel on the outskirts of town even has hitching posts as well as a parking lot for vehicles. Across from the motel is a store called Horse Creek Station and further down main street is a drugstore where one can still sit on stools and get a fountain drink. This evening we were fed a lasagna dinner in the back room of a western eatery called the Rustic Pines--smoky bar in front great room in back. We had to eat and run as they have square dancing nightly in the great room. Later that evening Barb and I had a cup of coffee in the Cowboy Cafe (where we will eat breakfast tomorrow morning) and watched as seemingly the whole town, young and old alike, walked to the Rustic Pines for Square dancing.

I set up the first SS at 33 miles, and Barb set up SS#2 at the top of the Pass. When I worked my way up to her, we switched off and Barb went to Dubois to unload Box. SS#1 was alive with mosquitoes, so riders tried to stay in the sun out of the weeds. Nonetheless, when I got back in the van to support the riders on the road, the van was filled  with mosquitoes. I spent 10 minutes killing as many of them as I could, but was still bitten around the ankles. Several miles later when a rider decided to SAG, I put him to work killing mosquitoes and dubbed him "Mosquito Man." My route sheet looks pretty gruesome as I used it as a "flyswatter."

Time for bed. Tomorrow I'm riding Float to Riverton, 79 "easy" miles, but it's supposed to heat up into the 90s and those of you who know me, know the heat eats me alive.  'Til tomorrow--Susan

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY: 

DUH! OF THE DAY:  When recumbent Jim saw the bear on the route, he immediately remembered the old adage about how to escape a bear mauling--you only had to be faster than the next person. Okay. Jim looked around and found himself looking at . . . Josh, whom he could never out-pedal. But wait! Josh was Sweep. DUH! Josh had to stay behind the last rider. . . Yep. Life does have it's pleasant revelations.