Yellowstone Day 16. Ennis to West Yellowstone. Cool start today with a little ice on road. Legs cold and fingers almost dropped off until I put on my fingered gloves. The breakfast was good and we got away at 7am with our lights on for the first half hour since the sun had not risen above the steep hills on our left. All the way down the valley we saw herds of Pronghorns which were also lolling at us. I saw a buzzard on a post and Bill saw am eagle fly past him. Shirley saw an otter later on in the Madison river so a good day for the unusual. After we had gone about five miles I was in front with Kathryn behind me on the hard shoulder about 2 feet behind the line. ... read more

Day 15. Bozeman to Ennis Today we stayed in Bozeman, named after John Bozeman who created the Bozeman Trail to the Gold Fields through Indian territory in the 1860's. Most of the day was spent in the Museum of the Rockies containing fossils of dinosaurs found in this region, many in the last 25 years. What interested me the most was a transport section with old vehicles and carts, buildings etc. There was also a 140 acre farm complete with farmhouse and buildings dating from the 1860's. The hour was made of squared off beams on top of each other and lime between to stop draughts and boarded up on the inside. It had a very ornate kitchen range and held many gadgets of the day such as wash boards, sewing machines and hand looms. There ... read more

Day 12. Gardiner to Livingston A bright sunny morning and breakfast at the Mexican next door, with elk doing their rutting across the road in the distance with the drumlins behind. Breakfast was slow and it was nearly 10 am before we got out of town. Luckily it was mostly downhill today so time did not matter. We did 20 miles along the valley following the Yellowstone river and then took a minor road for 30 miles along a stunning valley called appropriately Paradise Valley. Wildlife was in abundance if you looked: Osprey, Red Tailed Hawks, Gooseanders and Mule Deer. in parts it looked quite deprived with a lot of rough shacks and untidy properties but as we went nearer to Livingston there were nice new houses being built. I liked the rough properties since there ... read more

Yellowstone Day 10, To Cooke CityThis is possibly my hardest day ever. We climbed over 2400 metres over 77 miles. We had two mountain ranges to go over plus other hard intermediate climbs. The first climb took us up to the top of Chief Joseph pass where the view was absolutely breath taking. Here we had some cheeky chipmunks hunting for food. The incredible hairpin descent from here lasted about 6 miles and soon converted into another climb - damn it. the climbs would not be so bad on a road bike but a fully laden touring bike creates a totally different perspective on such challenges. Even so It was a good day in brilliant weather ... read more

Today is our rest day and woke at 6.30 to a light covering of snow on the ground and temperature around zero. After breakfast 10 of our group went for a walk along the north rim of the Yellowstone Canyon, which is pretty impressive. There is a massive gorge and two waterfalls. By midday it was getting a little warmer and the sun came out which always helps. A late lunch in the restaurant - eventually - where the sunny nature and friendly hospitality went AWOL for a while. Half way through dealing with my account the till boy dashed off to the phone and was on it for 5 minutes until we gave in and left a note to say we would be back to pay later - unbelievable.... read more