* August 18, morning, Cody, Wyoming, 2532 miles: Critters seen: countless deer & antelope, elk, herds of buffalo, one snake, geese, and one mountain lion. Critters almost hit: two bucks and one buffalo. Critters hit: 2,231 grasshoppers and 3,783 night bugs. I took off from Bozeman, MT (as they had downtown blocked for a car show) and headed east, then came into Yellowstone National Park from the north entrance by way of an obscure back road. Along that road, I noticed some kid on his dirt bike just sitting along side the road. I pulled over and asked if he was okay and he said he didn’t know what happened, but his motor just locked up. Look close in the pic and you’ll see a massive skid mark on the pavement - doh! They really go before they blow! He was fine and his buddy was coming for him. And just after that I came upon a trailer-park junk yard - never seen one of those before! I continued south following the Yellowstone River, and guess what song was locked in my head? You guessed it - Yellow River. As I was motoring along the river, I saw a group of people that had swamped their boat. That must’ve been exciting! It was really getting hot out, hovering close to 90+ degrees and the river looked inviting, but I was eager to get to the Park. Odd that they charged me $20 for a motorbike, when Glacier Park charged same as a bicycle - $12. Once inside the Park Arch, the traffic came to a crawl, but that was okay, since it was so scenic. I pulled over at most all the stops, beginning with Mammoth Hot Springs. The pungent smell of sulfur was abundant, as was the boiling water.
I continued through the park and the vistas were incredible! Yellowstone Falls was just as beautiful as I remember from last time I was here 25 years ago. Then came the buffalo. Traffic was stopped as the bison decided to get onto the road and just stand there. It was beginning to get late in the day and I had a bit of time to make up if I was to make Cody by dusk. Traffic was stopped for a mile at each bison crossing (there were many), so I slowly and carefully went around everyone - till I got to the buffalo. They are bigger than cattle, just as dumb, but very quick to get agitated. I admit I was a bit concerned as I passed within feet of a few of them - massive animals! I only got a couple shots, and this was while driving one handed and taking a picture with the other - a coordination challenge! Hence the reason for the lousy pix of them. I pulled over at one vista point and these three beautiful people from France came over and struck a conversation - what fun! They thought I was absolutely nuts passing the buffalo on a bike - I couldn’t disagree. We had a good time for about 30 minutes, especially telling them that I may be in their country in a few weeks. The shorter one was way cute too.
I then had to haul fanny and kicked things up a notch to make it to Cody, and ended up violating my number-one rule - no riding at night. It was crazy with all the deer alongside the road. I had to hit the horn numerous times. The next song stuck in my head was, “I’m Looking At The World Through A Windshield” by Commander Cody. On the way, there were more than a couple forest fires burning, turning the land smoky, and the fire crews were everywhere. Man, after the sun set, the bugs REALLY came out - it’s like I was riding in the rain or snow. Yes Martha, it was that bad.
I got into the Cody KOA (only $17) at 9pm, set up camp and had a good night’s sleep. Looks to be another scorcher today. Methinks I’ll head back through Yellowstone either to the Grand Tetons (the Frenchies and I had a big laugh over that!) or West Yellowstone - It’s much cooler at 8,000 feet! There’s a spray carwash in Cody and I should be nice to Barney.
Hugs and kisses,
-Tom