The Past Few Days

The past few days we haven't had internet access, or even decent phone service. It has felt good to unplug, although we regret not being able to share the last few days with our friends and family!

We are out of Oregon and Idaho. In Idaho we even managed to complete our first 100 mile ride. We took a rest in Boise, and at Old Faithful Christian Ranch. The camp director, Perry took us into Yellowstone for a day and helped us figure out the tenting situation in the park. Our wildlufe sighting list follows: moose, grizzly bear and cubs, another bear with cubs, a lot of bison, pronghorn antelope, elk, mule deer, and bunnies! I cannot stress enough how cute baby bison are, they look like little jersey calves.

We headed out from Island Park, Idaho on Friday and crossed briefly into Montana before entering Yellowstone and Wyoming. That day we also hit 1,000 miles, it was a big day! We camped in Canyon Village, which is at about 8,000 feet of elevation. And it snowed! We were so cold after a long day of biking in frigid rain, I even started to miss the Oregon desert... thankfully some friendly Canadians let us take shelter under their tarp and shared their fire. Eventually we were all trading food, fire, and stories, and they are on our growing postcard list.

Today we find ourselves in Cody, Wyoming, looking up service times for local churches. It is the rodeo capital of the world!

I have settled into a rhythm on this trip. There is the joy of morning coffee, and I am slowly perfecting my brewing skills on the Aeropress. The stronger and thicker, the better. I send postcards and letters, call different friends when I have service, and I keep the trip journal up to date. Of course there is a lot of biking, and I've been listening to audiobooks and political podcasts in attempt to stay up to date with the news. It is a unique experience to listen to America's news as I pedal through new places and learn about them, it is like a field trip. I am already carrying 5 books, but I just had to pick up the diaries of Lewis and Clark. Their trip is brought to life by our cross-continent adventure, although we aren't following their specific path anymore (not since Oregon).

Well, we are taking a half day today to make up some time and we are headed into Greybull, Wyoming.

Joanna Friesen