DAY 23: Grant Village to Jackson: "A bear, a beautiful view, and a boyfriend"

June 21, 2016

DAILY STATS

Mileage: 80.22

Average Speed: 12.0mph

Maximum Speed: 34.4mph

While preparing breakfast this morning, my disappointment in not seeing much wildlife yesterday quickly vanished. I looked up to see a grizzly bear not more than 50 feet from my camp.

The best picture I could get while also holding bear spray and talking calmly to the bear.

Lucky for me, the bear was just cups and mosied around for a little longer before taking off. It was a humbling reminder that Yellowstone, while overrun with tourists, is still a wild place.

After my bear encounter I spent some time trying to loosen up my rear brakes, which had become oddly stiff and ineffective the past few days. WD-40 on the cables seemed to help enough for the time being.

I hit the road and wound my way down the southern part of the park, exciting at the incredibly-crowded south entrance.

Goodbye Yellowstone! I hope to come back again soon!

Throughout the day's ride, the winds were not in my favor, and my left ankle started to act up. I was happy to know I'd be taking two rest days in Driggs!

I entered Grand Teton National Park only a few miles after leaving Yellowstone.

Unfortunately I had even less time to enjoy this park because my boyfriend would be picking me up at 7pm in Jackson, Wyoming. So, despite my increasingly irritated ankle, I flew through the park, stopping at the major overlooks to soak in the view. And what a view it was.

The view from Jackson Lake. The highest peak is just over 13,000 feet.

I stopped in Colter Bay Village to escape the sun for a bit and to recharge. While here, I met Mike the painter from Sydney, Nebraska. He walked up to me and we got to talking about vagabonding around as we were both doing. Despite my initial objection, he bought me a cold beer. He was very religious and prosthelitized a lot, but he was a kind, interesting fellow. He had even painted Lucille Ball's house!

After talking with Mike for a lot longer than I expected, I booked it to Jackson along a beautiful dedicated bike path.

So nice to have this all open to myself!

Because I was battling headwinds the whole day, I got in to Jackson around 8pm. Caleb gave me dinner, and we drove over Teton Pass to Driggs, Idaho. I'll be spending two days here to rest, tune up my bike, and enjoy good company.

Today's ride: 80 miles (129 km)
Total: 1,530 miles (2,462 km)

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