Bikes, Bridges, Buffalo and ... oops, Donner and Blitzen! (24-25 July)

The Beartooth Highway was again the scene of our endeavours on these two days, but not only! On Tuesday morning Emil cycled up the first 1,000 meters (3,000 ft) of this spectacular roadway, while I was quite happy with my 15 miles along the valley floor. Emil's outing was a test to see if he could handle the altitude (3,500 m.u.m.), but although it went quite well, his pulse speeded up when had completed the climb. This was more of a reaction to not having been on the bicycle for a week, than the effort of the climb, but not to be ignored.

In the afternoon we began a 2 1/2 mile hike up to the Lower Basin Lake, but after two miles the skies darkened, the thunder started crashing overhead and we got pretty wet. We hurried back down the mountain, dreading the advent of the horrible hail, but were lucky that the rain slackened off, the clouds moved on down the valley and we returned to the car unscathed. As a reward for our adventures, we treated ourselves to a delicious meal in a restaurant overlooking the rushing Clark Fork creek.

Wednesday morning dawned clear but windy. While I had my mop cut, Emil cycled back off to the Beartooth Highway. Since he wasn't feeling quite so well, he had decided to take it easy and, if necessary, forgo this special challenge. When I caught up with him in the serpentines, he was feeling the strain and, not wanting to risk anything, we loaded the bike into the car. Of course, there was some disappointment, as this was one of his declared goals of the trip. On the other hand, he never had this problem with his pulse during the whole journey across the States, which was something he had been unsure about before leaving Switzerland.

We drove the rest of the way over the pass and on into Yellowstone National Park. We were delighted to find large herds of buffalo in the Lavall Valley and were able to take some photos ... at a responsible distance. After another 60 some miles up and down and around the park, we reached the  town of West Yellowstone, where we will be staying for the next three days. Although the place is packed with tourists, it has none of the charm of Red Lodge or Hill City. Still, we're only sleeping here ... which is what I should now be doing instead of writing the blog at 3:00 a.m.! (will add photos later, the laptop is also tired apparently)