We couldn't have left the great mountain states without visiting one of our nation's great landscapes. Yellowstone was astounding!
We were picked up in Livingston, MT by friends Liv and Zach. They drove all the way from Victor, ID to spend a day with us. We arrived at the park gates amidst thunderstorms which added to the mystique of the nearly pre-historic landscapes of Yellowstone National Park. Our first stop took us to the mineral rich geysers that spot the rolling hills. During a brief circumnavigation of the park, we managed to come across two bears, 1 grizzly and 1 black bears. Matt took a great photo of all the tourists with their mouths agape along the side of the road.
Before leaving the park we were able to catch some fair weather and take a dip in the boiling river. This phenomenon provided for one of the finest memories made on the trip thus far. We waded out into 50 degree water of the Yellowstone River to find warm spots where the boiling river entered and mixed to create pools of tolerable heat. Unfortunately we didn't bring the camera.
From Livingston we continued east along the Yellowstone until reaching Big Timber, MT where several hail throwing storms clobbered us until we were a shivering pile hoveling under an awning. Some kind folks happened by about 4 hrs later and made us an offer that was too good to refuse: dinner followed by a warm bed... we acquiesced. Ken and Becky Rockeman were extraordinary hosts. They shared stories of their home town, their two children and, not to mention, two wonderful meals. The next morning, Ken rode with us on his amazing road bike (Litespeed Tuscany for those who care... full Dura Ace) and gave us the low down on MT State DOT.
Enter Long Flat Roads and Tiresome Heat
Eastern MT was... different. At first, the ease with which we cruised at 20+ miles was enchanting.
Exit tailwinds and enter east winds.
Pain and suffering ensued. Matt and Anna were stricken silent. Were it not the beer festival in Billings, MT and a cheerful Aussie, our heroes would have been lost.
Drew, a fellow traveler, offered us to share a camping site (and nearly everything else... this man is prepared all the way down to his Parmesan cheese). We made quick friends and Drew shared many stories of his long trip across the states. You can check out his blog at http://www.americanwalkabout.blogspot.com/
Leaving Billings we decided to try for a 110 mi. day and cruise up to Forsyth. After 85 miles we were pretty exhausted, so we were lucky to get a very needed ride from Eldon, a local banker and new biker (thanks to a Father's Day gift). Apparently he saw Matt laying down on a bench and thought we were completely spent (pretty close anyways) and offered up a lift to the campsite. Thanks Eldon!
By the time we reached Miles City, MT (after getting two flat tires in the 100 degree heat) we realized we needed to make up some time in order to finish the trip in just 2 months. The plan was to take a bus out of Miles City across ND to Fargo, ND. In true Matt and Anna style, we rolled into town without a bus ticket or a clue as to what to do with our bikes. Somehow we managed to make it work. It just took the help of the entire town. We called up the closed bike shop and met the owner who was peaches and cream to us. He hooked us up with boxes for our bikes, opened up his shop bench so we could disassemble the rides and even called the bus depot (also closed) to get us a ticket. It seems that in small towns everybody knows everybody and the owner of the bus line was no exception. We managed to get on the bus that would take us across North Dakota.
Minnesota was very, very green compared to Montana, and the roads were much, much flatter and straighter than we had expected. For much of the state we rode alongside large fields of soybeans and corn. We passed hundreds of small kitchen gardens and were able to stop at several farmers markets along the way. We also sampled some other local treats: lefse, which is a traditional Norwegian, potato-based bread that looks and tastes much like a tortilla. We also ate some Walleye, which is a prized fish that lives in the many lakes of Minnesota and Wisconsin (its a deep fried delight... but just tastes like most fried things). We kept our eyes out for Norwegian bachelor farmers and lake Wobegon the whole way.
Along the route in MN we stopped at the Mississippi R. headwaters in Itasca, MN. We learned about the multi-century hunt for the famed headwaters and found that after its discovery, which turned out to be a boggy lake region, it was built up with hundreds of loads of rock and sand to look like a quaint meandering brook.
South of the headwaters we received a string of hospitality. In Dalbo, MN we met Don Olsen and his wife Cheryl. In a region with very few camping areas, they were nice enough to open their farm to cyclists passing through. Don, Cheryl and family shared a meal with us and provided a bed after a long haul through the land-o-lakes. Thanks Olsens!
The ride into Minneapolis from the Olsens proved to be a real trek. What we anticipated as a 60 mile day stretched into the night and after 96 miles we reached our host house in NW Minneapolis. We found the Kosowskis on a really cool website called http://www.warmshowers.org/. They had signed up a year ago after sons John and Michael toured the NE on their bikes. They were more than happy to have their first tourers share their home and John gave us the grand tour of Minneapolis along all the great bike trails. Despite riding on our "day off" we had a blast and got to see a lot of a hip city (not to mention try some local brews). Thanks Kosowskis!
Practice run
Still wet behind the ears
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Into the heart of the country
Hello friends!
We are now in Livingston, Montana, and a lot has happened during the past two weeks. We took a day off in Missoula, but it was a busy one and we only managed to post pictures, without any narrative. So here is a review of the last couple of weeks on the road:
We rolled out of Walla Walla July 5th, after stopping (and eating!) at the great Walla Walla Farmer's Market. It was full of great produce- especially nice onions, berries, cherries and apricots. We headed out across the farmlands again. We stayed the next night at the fairgrounds in Pomeroy, WA, where we met Ellie and Dylan, a couple who were riding from St. Louis to Portland, OR. We also met the Wolf Family, who were having a reunion and thoroughly enjoying a cover band's renditions of "cheeseburger in paradise" and "werewolves of London." The next day we were in Idaho, crossing the border in Lewiston (where we crossed the Snake and Clearwater Rivers) and heading almost immediately up into the High Plains area. This was the beginning of the Nimiipuu Homelands (called the Nez Perce by whites) who are the nation who have lived in this area of the country for thousands of years. They greatly aided the Lewis and Clark party, who never would have survived the Bitterroot Mountains without them. Sadly, much of the history we read about the Nimiipuu (we stop at every single highway historic marker) spoke of them in the past tense, though their presence here is still strong, despite the fact that they were chased out of the area by the US army in the late 1800's. We learned a great deal about the tragic voyage the Nimiipuu made towards Canada in an attempt to continue their peaceful way of life. Many tribal members never saw their homeland again after this, as most either died or were sent to Oklahoma reservations.
We unfortunately didn't get to stop at the current tribal headquarters in Lapwai, ID. You can read more: http://www.seeya-downtheroad.com/LewisAndClark/NezPerceStory.html.
We came down out of the High Plains to begin our trek along the Clearwater River. During this leg of the trip, we pedaled in the shade of cedars, ponderosa pines, lodgepole pines and various firs. The shade was a great way to take our minds off the fact that we would be climbing for the next two days. Along the clearwater we saw rafters and kayakers out for day paddles but very few cyclists. We came to accept the masses of motor bikers as kind. We spent the evening on the Clearwater at the Riverdance Lodge. They host an array of white water activity and have a few camp sites in back of the lodge where we stayed. After a hot day of pedaling up hill, the ability to dip in the river at their raft take-out was welcome. It was cold enough that we didn't even have to ice down our aching joints.
The following day of climbing took us to the fork where the Lochsa R. met the Clearwater R. The Lochsa would accompany us almost the rest of the the way to our first big Rocky Mountain Pass (Lolo Pass). It dazzled us with white water, cascades and many rapidly flowing tributaries. It was recently classified as one of the nation's "wild and historic" rivers. Due to the classification, however, many tourists and river riders are beginning to call it home and leaving more of a mark on the landscape.
Along the Lochsa we stopped at the Lochsa Historical Ranger Station and met Frank Fowler. He is an ex-smoke jumper who was full of historical knowlege. He told us all about the history of the rangers and their roles as protectors of the forests and managers of the wilder territories. He wrote a book called High Mountain, Two Manner, a recounting of his time in college as a smoke jumper in Selway Bitterroot Forest. A day later as we summitted the Lolo Pass we ran into Frank again where he shared some of his home-made antelope jerky with us. We managed to polish that off before we even got down off the mountain.
After the summit, we entered Montana. Montana introduced us to a different type of mountain. The peaks became rockier and less rolling than we saw in the Selway. We cruised more than 20 mi downhill to complete a day of over 100 miles all the way into Missoula. Missoula was great!
As soon as we got to town we realized we needed a place to stay as there was no camping close to town. After a few phone calls to friends in the area we were directed to Lane, Dylan and Diana's house. They were more than hospitable and were nice enough to put us up in their 1950's aluminum trailer. This was the most unique evening we had spent so far. We were introduced to the music of the Inhumans, a band composed of two of Diana's sons and friends, and Lane's group, the zookeeperz.
The following day we headed to a bike shop to look for a replacement for Anna's ailing bottom bracket. There, we ran into Joel, a friend of Anna's from camp counseling 5 years ago. He demanded we stay another night with him in Missoula. It was Matt's birthday so we figured it was a good idea. We made a great dinner, had a night on the town and got to hang out with a bunch of U of M tri-athletes: Ali, Matt, Ben, Tyler and Joel of course. Matt was in heaven talking shop with all the bike-heads. The Missoula Farmer's Market was amazing- they actually have three markets in their downtown all at once: a craft market, a food market and a produce market. The majority of the farmers are from the local Hmong and Russian communities, and had lots of delicious potatoes, peas, carrots, squash and herbs for sale.
The next couple of days out of Missoula were along the Blackfoot and Clearwater Rivers, north towards Helena and across the Great Divide at Flesher Pass. We had to stop for a flock of sheep crossing the road on the way up! This area is the traditional homeland of the Blackfeet and Selish and Kootenai tribes, who were nomadic tribes that followed the Buffalo herds.
We arrived in Bozeman on Monday evening, after crossing the Missouri River just outside of Helena. We passed through Three Forks, where the Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers come together to form the headwaters of the Missouri. Bozeman is a college town with a great co-op store, and some really nice camping in Hyalite Canyon close to town. We met a family at the campground who were from Bozeman "forever" that were having a birthday party. They invited us to eat with them and we gratefully accepted! Their kindness, and that of another visitor who asked us if we needed anything was a great reminder to us about the importance of reaching out when you have the ability to share.
We are now in Livingston, MT, enjoying the hospitality of Jessie, Chieko and Amelie. Our friends Liv and Zach and driving up from Idaho to take us to Yellowstone National Park today! We have been very fortunate.
We are now in Livingston, Montana, and a lot has happened during the past two weeks. We took a day off in Missoula, but it was a busy one and we only managed to post pictures, without any narrative. So here is a review of the last couple of weeks on the road:
We rolled out of Walla Walla July 5th, after stopping (and eating!) at the great Walla Walla Farmer's Market. It was full of great produce- especially nice onions, berries, cherries and apricots. We headed out across the farmlands again. We stayed the next night at the fairgrounds in Pomeroy, WA, where we met Ellie and Dylan, a couple who were riding from St. Louis to Portland, OR. We also met the Wolf Family, who were having a reunion and thoroughly enjoying a cover band's renditions of "cheeseburger in paradise" and "werewolves of London." The next day we were in Idaho, crossing the border in Lewiston (where we crossed the Snake and Clearwater Rivers) and heading almost immediately up into the High Plains area. This was the beginning of the Nimiipuu Homelands (called the Nez Perce by whites) who are the nation who have lived in this area of the country for thousands of years. They greatly aided the Lewis and Clark party, who never would have survived the Bitterroot Mountains without them. Sadly, much of the history we read about the Nimiipuu (we stop at every single highway historic marker) spoke of them in the past tense, though their presence here is still strong, despite the fact that they were chased out of the area by the US army in the late 1800's. We learned a great deal about the tragic voyage the Nimiipuu made towards Canada in an attempt to continue their peaceful way of life. Many tribal members never saw their homeland again after this, as most either died or were sent to Oklahoma reservations.
We unfortunately didn't get to stop at the current tribal headquarters in Lapwai, ID. You can read more: http://www.seeya-downtheroad.com/LewisAndClark/NezPerceStory.html.
We came down out of the High Plains to begin our trek along the Clearwater River. During this leg of the trip, we pedaled in the shade of cedars, ponderosa pines, lodgepole pines and various firs. The shade was a great way to take our minds off the fact that we would be climbing for the next two days. Along the clearwater we saw rafters and kayakers out for day paddles but very few cyclists. We came to accept the masses of motor bikers as kind. We spent the evening on the Clearwater at the Riverdance Lodge. They host an array of white water activity and have a few camp sites in back of the lodge where we stayed. After a hot day of pedaling up hill, the ability to dip in the river at their raft take-out was welcome. It was cold enough that we didn't even have to ice down our aching joints.
The following day of climbing took us to the fork where the Lochsa R. met the Clearwater R. The Lochsa would accompany us almost the rest of the the way to our first big Rocky Mountain Pass (Lolo Pass). It dazzled us with white water, cascades and many rapidly flowing tributaries. It was recently classified as one of the nation's "wild and historic" rivers. Due to the classification, however, many tourists and river riders are beginning to call it home and leaving more of a mark on the landscape.
Along the Lochsa we stopped at the Lochsa Historical Ranger Station and met Frank Fowler. He is an ex-smoke jumper who was full of historical knowlege. He told us all about the history of the rangers and their roles as protectors of the forests and managers of the wilder territories. He wrote a book called High Mountain, Two Manner, a recounting of his time in college as a smoke jumper in Selway Bitterroot Forest. A day later as we summitted the Lolo Pass we ran into Frank again where he shared some of his home-made antelope jerky with us. We managed to polish that off before we even got down off the mountain.
After the summit, we entered Montana. Montana introduced us to a different type of mountain. The peaks became rockier and less rolling than we saw in the Selway. We cruised more than 20 mi downhill to complete a day of over 100 miles all the way into Missoula. Missoula was great!
As soon as we got to town we realized we needed a place to stay as there was no camping close to town. After a few phone calls to friends in the area we were directed to Lane, Dylan and Diana's house. They were more than hospitable and were nice enough to put us up in their 1950's aluminum trailer. This was the most unique evening we had spent so far. We were introduced to the music of the Inhumans, a band composed of two of Diana's sons and friends, and Lane's group, the zookeeperz.
The following day we headed to a bike shop to look for a replacement for Anna's ailing bottom bracket. There, we ran into Joel, a friend of Anna's from camp counseling 5 years ago. He demanded we stay another night with him in Missoula. It was Matt's birthday so we figured it was a good idea. We made a great dinner, had a night on the town and got to hang out with a bunch of U of M tri-athletes: Ali, Matt, Ben, Tyler and Joel of course. Matt was in heaven talking shop with all the bike-heads. The Missoula Farmer's Market was amazing- they actually have three markets in their downtown all at once: a craft market, a food market and a produce market. The majority of the farmers are from the local Hmong and Russian communities, and had lots of delicious potatoes, peas, carrots, squash and herbs for sale.
The next couple of days out of Missoula were along the Blackfoot and Clearwater Rivers, north towards Helena and across the Great Divide at Flesher Pass. We had to stop for a flock of sheep crossing the road on the way up! This area is the traditional homeland of the Blackfeet and Selish and Kootenai tribes, who were nomadic tribes that followed the Buffalo herds.
We arrived in Bozeman on Monday evening, after crossing the Missouri River just outside of Helena. We passed through Three Forks, where the Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers come together to form the headwaters of the Missouri. Bozeman is a college town with a great co-op store, and some really nice camping in Hyalite Canyon close to town. We met a family at the campground who were from Bozeman "forever" that were having a birthday party. They invited us to eat with them and we gratefully accepted! Their kindness, and that of another visitor who asked us if we needed anything was a great reminder to us about the importance of reaching out when you have the ability to share.
We are now in Livingston, MT, enjoying the hospitality of Jessie, Chieko and Amelie. Our friends Liv and Zach and driving up from Idaho to take us to Yellowstone National Park today! We have been very fortunate.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Week 1 Portland to Walla Walla, WA
The first week of the trip has been a mix of excitement and challenge.
We'll tell you the challenges first, so you can be assured that the good stuff is far outweighing it...
The first challenge has been equipment related: the weight on our back wheels has been too much for our bicycles to handle, so we had to do some scrambling to locate a trailer for Anna and new wheels for Matt (achieved!). The other challenges have been the heat, the wind and the irrigation. The heat and the wind, when combined and in our faces, was pretty awful, and made us stop on Wednesday after only 40 miles. The irrigation sprinklers at the campgrounds have either woken us up early or kept us up late when we heard the spray coming across the tent!
It has been incredibly exciting to ride through diverse landscapes as we've followed the Columbia River: from lush green and waterfalls near Portland, to steep-sided cliffs past Hood River, to the flat, dry farmland and rolling hills. It has also been exciting to learn about the history of the area. The Native people have used the Columbia (and continue to do so, though much has changed because of the dams) for its rich fisheries for thousands of years. Lewis and Clark would never have made it out to Astoria without their help through the rapids, trading for horses and food. The creation of the dams regulated the flooding and created a network of farms along the banks that benefit from the fertile soil. We pedaled past acres and acres of river-irrigated grapes, peaches, cherries, pears and apricots. The fruit stands were a great end to a hot day!
Meeting people has also been exciting, and we have been the recipients of much kindness over the past four days. We got a ride over the cars-only bridge in Hood River from Pat, which took us off I-84 and onto much quieter roads on the Washington side. Another important ride came from George in West Roosevelt, WA- he picked us up in his postal van and drove us 50 miles after an incredibly hot day. The folks at Albertson's (a big chain grocery store) ushered us into their air conditioned oasis along with our bicycles to give us directions. When we arrived in Walla-Walla, Tim and Reggie fixed up our bicycles, gave us a place to camp (Pete and Vickie's house, which is on a beautiful 1890's homestead in the middle of the wheatfields outside of town) and volunteered to send some of our stuff home so we wouldn't have to haul it to the post office. The next bike shop (Allegro Cycles) was another amazing stop- Matt got his wheels put on by Justin, who was one of the people who assembled the Sommo bicycles when we did our cross-country trip from Anacortes, WA in 1996! Incredible and special coincidence.
Now we are relaxing in Walla, Walla for the day- hoping to get a taste of some Walla-Walla sweet onions. From here we head up into the mountains of Idaho (we should be in Lewiston by Sunday) and probably to Missoula, MT in a week or so. We'll do our next update from there. If you want to check out some photos of the past few days, click this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27960603@N04/sets/72157605972483272/
Big love from the bikes!
Anna and Matt
We'll tell you the challenges first, so you can be assured that the good stuff is far outweighing it...
The first challenge has been equipment related: the weight on our back wheels has been too much for our bicycles to handle, so we had to do some scrambling to locate a trailer for Anna and new wheels for Matt (achieved!). The other challenges have been the heat, the wind and the irrigation. The heat and the wind, when combined and in our faces, was pretty awful, and made us stop on Wednesday after only 40 miles. The irrigation sprinklers at the campgrounds have either woken us up early or kept us up late when we heard the spray coming across the tent!
It has been incredibly exciting to ride through diverse landscapes as we've followed the Columbia River: from lush green and waterfalls near Portland, to steep-sided cliffs past Hood River, to the flat, dry farmland and rolling hills. It has also been exciting to learn about the history of the area. The Native people have used the Columbia (and continue to do so, though much has changed because of the dams) for its rich fisheries for thousands of years. Lewis and Clark would never have made it out to Astoria without their help through the rapids, trading for horses and food. The creation of the dams regulated the flooding and created a network of farms along the banks that benefit from the fertile soil. We pedaled past acres and acres of river-irrigated grapes, peaches, cherries, pears and apricots. The fruit stands were a great end to a hot day!
Meeting people has also been exciting, and we have been the recipients of much kindness over the past four days. We got a ride over the cars-only bridge in Hood River from Pat, which took us off I-84 and onto much quieter roads on the Washington side. Another important ride came from George in West Roosevelt, WA- he picked us up in his postal van and drove us 50 miles after an incredibly hot day. The folks at Albertson's (a big chain grocery store) ushered us into their air conditioned oasis along with our bicycles to give us directions. When we arrived in Walla-Walla, Tim and Reggie fixed up our bicycles, gave us a place to camp (Pete and Vickie's house, which is on a beautiful 1890's homestead in the middle of the wheatfields outside of town) and volunteered to send some of our stuff home so we wouldn't have to haul it to the post office. The next bike shop (Allegro Cycles) was another amazing stop- Matt got his wheels put on by Justin, who was one of the people who assembled the Sommo bicycles when we did our cross-country trip from Anacortes, WA in 1996! Incredible and special coincidence.
Now we are relaxing in Walla, Walla for the day- hoping to get a taste of some Walla-Walla sweet onions. From here we head up into the mountains of Idaho (we should be in Lewiston by Sunday) and probably to Missoula, MT in a week or so. We'll do our next update from there. If you want to check out some photos of the past few days, click this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27960603@N04/sets/72157605972483272/
Big love from the bikes!
Anna and Matt
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