Day 27

Thursday 9/25/08
Bedrock - Naturita

Time Traveled: 2 hrs 15 mins
Distance: 23.07 miles

Food Eaten: Super oatmeal (3rd power - coconut, granola, flax seeds), coffee w/sugar, Probar, figs, orange juice, pie, fish sandwich, salad, a few onion rings, beer, iced tea

Morning came quickly and filled us with renewed hope and energy. As we rolled out of camp, several rabbits perked their ears up at us, no doubt happy of our departure. Back to the Bedrock Store, we returned for supplies; the most important being water, which we would need a lot of this day.



Right before we checked out, the same woman who helped us yesterday was talking to a local man and he mentioned her music. I looked over at the glass case that held a few CD's along with some other "gifts" and realization hit me smack in the face. Of course, this owner of Colorado's oldest, continuously running store was selling her works.



Another closer look confirmed my suspicions. Indeed, it was her on the cover. The woman who blinked at me through thick glasses seemed to be in disguise compared to the face on the album cover. This face wore no spectacles, and from the look of her vague, abysmal countenance, seemed to have so much more on her mind besides the price of spaghetti sauce.



Her name was Rose Griffin and as she rang up our merchandise I asked her about her music. The conversation escalated into an hour of words about the musicians in and around Paradox Valley. I felt an instant rapport with this stranger when she spoke of her quiet music career. I could imagine myself strumming my Martin Backpacker and cooing out a melody in the shadows of a warm, Colorado sunset.



There was a music festival in a nearby town coming up that Rose was playing in and we told her would go if we were able to. We never did make it there, but we did buy one of Rose's Cd's. I was a bit surprised at the quality of her voice and the creative melodies from that gawky, ragged woman. Still, after one listen of the whole album, Joe and I decided that it would be a fun gift for our good friend and fellow music lover, Brian.

While riding away from the store, I almost wished we hadn't spent so much time there. It was high noon and we could feel the anger of the sun on the road and within the bleak, desert landscape.

It was a rather short ride to Naturita, but it seemed to last forever because of the heat. I had to stop and eat after making it to the top of a nasty "little" hill and we were almost out of water when the road finally had mercy on us. A nice, long downhill took us the rest of the way into the small town, where we gratefully checked into a motel.



All throughout the night, Joe and I went back and forth on whether or not we should continue. Perhaps the very fact that we were even considering putting our trip to an end was a good indication that we were ready to go home. After some food, bad hotel TV and a long evening of pros and cons, I called my mother and our return back home was arranged.



My brother Collin drove our car to Naturita the next day and we all spent an evening at The Ray Motel, watching Phenomenon and making fun of John Travolta. We managed to make a delicious veggie burrito dinner right there in the room.

To our surprise, the next morning we noticed that the place we ate at the first day was shut down now for not paying their taxes. It was really quite sad, as they were packed for breakfast the previous morning. This seems to be a local trend in Naturita, for almost half of the Main Street businesses were closed down. I hope their economy can recover.



On this morning, the day after my brother's arrival, we set off into some gorgeous Colorado scenery. As I marveled at the magnificent Telluride Peaks, my thoughts went back to the very beginning of this expedition. When we started off in Roosville, MT, Joe and I were fully expecting to ride the Continental Divide in one trip. Needless to say, that is not what happened, but I'm all right with that.



Through our days of travel into the rain, wind, sun and snow, my perspective shifted along with the ever changing weather. I realized that what was important is not the mileage, the endurance, or even the routes taken. What truly makes a journey worth remembering are the experiences you live through.



There were a lot of hard times and there were a lot of easy signs. Both were just as valuable to our voyage and I wouldn't trade them in for anything. Someday we will go back and complete the CDT. When is not important, nor is completing the trail all at once. We are here to live life fully, not to prove to people our worth because of what we can do.



So much life is still ahead of us and many sunset vistas are calling our names. When we set out again, it was be with fresh eyes and light spirits. But for now, we'll watch the horizon fade from home.

Day 26

Wednesday 9/24/08
La Sal - Bedrock

Time Traveled: 3 hrs 20 mins
Distance: 33.10 miles

Food Eaten: coffee w/hot cocoa, orange juice, banana, Thai food, oranges, ice cream sandwich, iced tea, beer, burritos (pinto beans, brown rice, salsa, chilies, corn, tortillas)

After packing up at the church, we spent some time back at the store having breakfast. A local told us there was a restaurant about 5 miles away and I had read about it being at mile marker 14 in a travel brochure. We left the store eagerly awaiting the food there and started off on our 4 mile climb.



It took us almost 2 hours to reach the top of the hill and we found ourself in the very small community of Old La Sal. At mile marker 14 we didn't find the restaurant, but we did find Mt. Peale, a Bed & Breakfast Lodge. Our grumbling tummies told us to look a bit more closely and I went up to the door to knock.



A sign told me that we were closed for a few hours, but before I could turn to go back to my bike, a butch looking woman came out of a side door and asked me if we needed help. I told her we were looking for a restaurant and she said the closest ones were in Moab. When she realized we were heading the opposite way, she offered us some leftover Thai food from the night before and we graciously accepted.

We ate our lunch in the beautiful dining room which was part of a huge living area that had been added on to the original A-Frame. The woman told us that she and her partner had been running the lodge for the past 14 years and her nephew had also been coming there for most of his life to work.

It was the nephew who fixed our food for us and he came out to talk once we had eaten most of our meal. He had dark, olive skin and brilliant blue eyes and when he spoke, he had a very comfortable, peaceful way about him. We learned of a beautiful meadow 5 miles up into the mountains that him and the rest of the crew enjoyed visiting. He spoke a little of the the spiritual retreats that were hosted at the lodge, and I immediately thought of our own plans to host retreats in Costa Rica.

When we tried to pay for our food, the young man insisted on taking no money and we left the quiet, beautiful lodge feeling refreshed, renewed and relaxed. Joe and I vowed to come back in the winter and rent a cabin with some friends to go snowshoeing.

I didn't want leave that wonderful, peaceful place nor all the sweet, generous people who lived there, but time was ticking and we needed to push on. Bedrock was still over 20 miles away and who knows what we had ahead of us.



The first 7 miles went by in a stunning flurry, all downhill with a few switchbacks into some of the most gorgeous country I have ever seen. It was almost like a Grand Canyon blanketed in lush, green forest. We soon passed into Colorado and the day grew very hot as we began another extended climb out of the canyon floor.





It was while we were on this stretch that Joe and I both decided that our bodies were growing weary of this journey and our home in Utah was calling to us. We took a short break at the day's final summit and at and ate oranges as we dreamed of our bed far away.

The next 7 miles into Bedrock was nice and easy being downhill with a flat section at the end. I almost kissed the woman who owned Bedrock's only store when she told us there was a camping area only 3/4 of a mile away at the Dolores River Boat Ramp. We made our way over there and enjoyed some well earned rest.

Day 25

Moab - La Sal
Tuesday 9/23/08

Time Traveled: 4 hrs 55 mins
Distance: 36.50 miles

Food Eaten: coffee w/sugar, eggs, red potatoes, whole grain toast, apricot cinnamon scone (shared), a few bites of apricot oatmeal pecan cookie, ice cream (shared), Probar, burritos (black beans, chilies, brown rice, salsa, string cheese, tortillas)

Our last and final voyage out of Moab started off wonderfully. We hit up Eklecticafe for breakfast, which serves homemade, fresh, delicious food made with organic ingredients. I think I have a new Moab favorite.







We were in high spirits when we headed out of town with no wind. Our trip was however, still long and grueling. Our asses felt all the hours and miles when we finally rolled into La Sal after 6 pm. The two public buildings in this town consist of a general store and a post office. We were lucky to get to the store before closing time as our food supply was running low. Ingredients for simple burritos were purchased and we backtracked 2 miles out of town to the LDS church.







This is where we set up camp for the night as there were no other options available to us and we did not have the energy or will to keep riding indefinitely. The church was a blessing with its soft lawn, but also a curse as we woke up in the middle of the night from the sprinklers. I had to run out of the tent naked and bring our gear under shelter of the vestibule.







I felt the sting of the cold water and I rushed to get back inside my warm sleeping bag. The sprinklers kept going long throughout the night and when they finally stopped, they started back up again only moments later. I fell asleep long after the ordeal, listening to the coyotes wail out to each other under the eerie, moonless night.

Day 24

Moab
Monday 9/22/08

Time Traveled: 2 hrs 45 mins
Distance: 23.80 miles

Food Eaten: Mocha, bagel w/hummus, beer, Probar, chips w/salsa, fish tacos, black beans, rice, margarita

This morning we were ready to be out of the over-touristy Moab. Our stay had not been very exciting. Brian and Amy drove with us down on Friday night and we checked into our hotel, got some wine and headed out on the road to Potash.

The four of us found a secluded area and spent most of the evening sitting on a large rock, drinking, staring at the amazing scenery and talking about such things as modern evolution. The stars came out and lit up the sky, with the milky way brilliantly visible. I found myself getting lost up there, swirling around the infinite astronomical landscape. When I came back down, my friends were giggling at the silent rock giants around us. I joined in and we laughed as we found Abraham Lincoln's face in one subdued formation. Many more faces and figures popped out at us, and we spent a good hour pointing them out to each other.

In the morning, we checked into an RV campground and our friends drove the car back to Salt Lake City. We met up with my girls from Wysteria and made our way to their rented condo. After I showered and dolled myself up in my belly dance garb, we all headed down to the historic Star Hall where the Tribal Sands Belly Dance Festival was being held.



Unfortunately, the whole show was a disaster due to the endless sound problems. Every single performer had issues and the sound guy was too inexperienced to fix the situation. Some of the music sounded like static and it was difficult for both the dancers to dance as well as for the audience to enjoy. The group that was putting on the festival said that this was their 6th year running. I'm not so sure of that. It was really quite a shame, as the venue was gorgeous and so many different groups had come so far to dance at this event. The saving grace of the evening was that I got to spend time with my girls again. And the Thai dinner before the show. That was good!

Lessons were learned and I doubt we'll go back to that festival, which is really too bad. The trip to Moab wasn't all for naught, as the next morning Wysteria was found frolicking in Arches National Park for a photo shoot. After our bright and shiny romp in the sand, we went out for breakfast and then my belly friends left for Salt Lake City.



Another evening was spent in the dreaded RV campground that night and in the morning our first exodus attempt failed miserably. Headwinds of at least 40 mph were faced and we only reached 8 miles in 2 hours. Joe's leg was hurting him and we both decided to head back to Moab and spend another night there. It took us less than 20 minutes to get back to town.



This time we chose a different RV campground that was much more pleasant with lots of trees and even several cats to play with. The day was spent relaxing with many hopes that tomorrow wouldn't be so windy.

Day 23

Sunday 9/14/08
Madison River Campground - West Yellowstone

Time Traveled: 3 hrs 45 mins
Distance: 39 miles

Food Eaten: coffee w/sugar, oatmeal (5th power), almond, grilled cheese sandwhich w/mustard, onion, tomato, lettuce, pickles, curly fries w/ketchup, veggie pizza, beer, salad, wine

The morning was a bright, beautiful one and we started off strong and bittersweet on our last journey in Montana. It wasn't long before we came across a junction that would give us the opportunity to cross over a few different Continental Divide passes (on road - we abandoned our previous route many miles ago).





It was because we were going to meet our friend Landon in West Yellowstone tonight that we decided to take an easier route that took us up a canyon into a National Earthquake Area. Up along the very full Madison River, we followed the road until we came upon two lakes. The first was Quake Lake, which had been formed more than 50 years ago in a huge earthquake. The second was Hebgen Lake, which is a long, thin expanse of water hosting the Hebgen Dam on the Western end. One of the gates on the dam was broken, resulting in a rapid frenzy of crashes and waves gushing out of the lake and down the canyon.





We realized two days ago that our food supply was getting low and all the convenient trail food to eat on the road had been eaten up. You can imagine our joy when another bike tourist we met told us there was a bar ahead with the typical fare. The cyclist had been on the road for over a month and have traveled all the way from New York! He was making his way all across the country and was headed toward the Northwest region.

I think it would take a lot of guts to take on such an adventure solo like that. Of course his rig was set up much more conducive for a road tour than our setup. He seemed very mild mannered and spoke with a European accent that couldn't quite identify. *side note* This reminds me that the old man we met in the Townsend Campground said he thought I had some kind of European accent. I think he said Norwegian or something. That was quite strange. */side note*

Soon, we found the bar and replenished our calorie deficit. I was mildly amused to find that this bar enjoyed taking Polaroids of people and posting them all over the walls. My amusement level raised by 1% when I saw that about half of the pictures were of women flashing their breasts and men flashing their asses. Those cameras seem to take the most unflattering pictures, making everything seem like its bathed in fluorescent light.





I considered adding my own breasts to the mammary menagerie, but unfortunately no one offered to take the Polaroid. This must be something that takes place when the sun goes down well after Happy Hour (which happens to be the bar's name). Maybe next time.

After we left the bar, it wansn't long before we were out of the canyon on on the main road into our destination city. 8, 7, 6...we counted the mile markers as they slowly approached and passed by. This was the final stretch and conclusion to our Montana Chapter. West Yellowstone is the place. My eyes teared up as we neared the small city and we stopped to take each other's picture in front of the sign at the town's entrance.





Over 650 miles had been pedaled to get to this point. When you work for each mile, then you really feel each and every one. We didn't stick to our original plan, but we still rode through an entire state. I look back at all the places we have been, all the people we have met and every tree we have seen. There have been so many nights in our tent out in all of nature's ferocious meanderings.

The earth had been temperamental with us. She gave us sun, wind, rain and even snow. She's been kind and she's been brutal, and we've loved her all throughout. My heart aches a little, knowing soon we'll be out of all this and back into our car with all the sensory deprivation that goes with it. While touring on bicycle, you are forced to take things at a very slow pace, but with that comes so much more to the traveling experience.





In a car, you are shut off form so much of what this world deals out. You zip through valleys and plains before you can see what they really look like. Detail is lost, as are the smells, sounds and each little climate change that lie within a landscape. I'm convinced that to really know a place, you have to take it slow and you must become dependent on it at some point. You have to inhale the air and breathe the land into your being.

Still, at the end of it all, I am grateful, relieved and so very excited to get in a car and go home. With all the houses I've seen on this trip, and all the many times I've spent the night in a tent, it makes me feel extremely blessed to have the home that we do. I've missed Utah terribly and I've been heartsick for all the people who await our return. My mother has been a nonstop line of support and I can't thank her enough.

I feel so incredibly lucky to have all the friends and family that we do. When you are cut off from the ones you love, then you truly appreciate everything that you come home to. Thank you, Montana, for the wonderful trip. Thank you, Utah, for being home.

Day 22

Saturday 9/13/08
Ennis - Madison River Campground

Time Traveled: 3 hrs 43 mins
Distance: 38.30 miles

Food Eaten: coffee w/cream & sugar, 1/2 grapefruit, oatmeal w/brown sugar & raisins, a few bites of Joe's cinnamon roll, trail mix, gas station pastry, taco shells w/salsa, tomato soup, brown rice, chai w/sugar

From the arid plains, back into the forest, onward we rode. The transition was almost seamless, moving from one landscape into the next. The ride wasn't too difficult, having a few hills and our bodies finally were conditioned enough to ride over them at a respectable pace.





Two rather bland campgrounds were passed before we arrived at our destination. The moment we rode into the campground I was glad we passed them up. This was one of the most beautiful campsites we have had the opportunity to make into our temporary home in on this trip.





Waves of comfort and relief washed over me when I saw that we'd be camping under tall pines and right next to a babbling river. We ate, built a fire from the abundance of dry wood around camp, and went to bed.