Today, many of us got to check off a major bucketlist destination – visiting Yellowstone, North America’s first National Park. The day started spicy with some pepper eating, and we said our goodbyes to the Tetons as we rode into Yellowstone, excited to experience what the park had in store for us. We got to see some amazing spots, including Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic Spring, which made our bike through Yellowstone worth it. The day ended in Madison Campground, and we set up our tents for our last camping night in the Greater Yellowstone Area!
“Hey Alex, how you make leg move fast?!?!?!?!”
RIDE OVERVIEW
Mileage: 69 Miles
Elevation: 3,998 ft.
Points of Interest: Yellowstone Entrance Sign, Lewis Lake, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Springs, Madison Campground
Ride Dedication: Wendy Fornek
Tales of the Trail
The day started out with a campsite wake-up, and we took a bit longer to get ready in the morning — we’re still working on it. During morning circle, Veronica revealed her punishment for those who didn’t complete her challenge to “do something new,” and she pulled out habanero peppers from her bag. Most of the guys on the team had to eat the peppers, and we were in for a spicy time. The spice was intense, and milk was reached for immediately, but we powered through, and the spice eventually mellowed out after some time. With the pepper eating finished, we hit the road for an amazing day in Yellowstone, and the weather was great. We soon found ourselves at the famous Yellowstone entrance sign, where we took lots of photos and waited to be shuttled into the park. Once we got into the park, we took in the views of the wilderness surrounding us, and we were slightly challenged by a climb. A group of us stopped by Lewis Lake for bathrooms, and we took a power nap on a dock stretching out into the lake. As we made our way through the park, we arrived at our first rest stop of the day, West Thumb Geyser Basin, where we got to see some springs and had a great view of Yellowstone Lake!
The day continued on with even more climbing and a fun descent as we travelled through the park, and we eventually made it to Old Faithful, one of Yellowstone’s most popular attractions, due to its regular and predictable eruptions that bring in a big crowd! We made our way into the general store, where a lot of us got ice cream and food, and we walked over to the Old Faithful Visitors Center, where had had the chance to get national park stamps. Since Old Faithful was soon expected to erupt, we made our way to the viewing area, and we waited as small bursts made their way through the Geyser. We were soon surprised to see Old Faithful in full action as water spouted over 100 feet into the air, and everyone was enthralled by this beautiful spectacle of nature that can only be found in Yellowstone! After experiencing Old Faithful, we rerouted onto a bike path and rode past some more geysers before making our way onto a short gravel path. Eventually, we got back on the road and had a quick ride over to the Grand Prismatic Spring, known as the largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest in the world! The spring was truly beautiful up close, and the team got some great views and pictures before walking back to the parking lot and preparing for the last stretch of the day. We finished up the ride by riding into Madison Campground, and a local ranger gave us a safety talk and warned us about bears in the area – one was apparently found in the campground earlier that day. We wrapped up the night with hot dogs by the campfire, and a group went scouting for Matt’s phone (he found it the next day).
